Fourth Day of Christmas

It was back to work for my husband on the Fourth Day of Christmas and the boys and I had plans to head my parents' for a few days. Unfortunately, a winter storm kept us home! A foot of snow fell in just a few hours! We had a nice day anyway, and were able to play outside and shovel the walk in the afternoon.

The Bilibo is one of our most open-ended toys. It is perfect for using as a scoop, sled, or shovel and also makes perfectly domed snow-creations!

Sidekick attempting to shovel the driveway, or in as he insisted, "snowblowing."

A ride in the sled for the little guy.

Third Day of Christmas

After a morning at church, I was able to leave the boys in the hands of their dad and run some after-Christmas errands. I battled the crowds (worse than before the holiday!) at the mall to do some returns and exchanges. The boys spent most the afternoon playing outside in the snow and helping my husband install another one of our garage door openers.

Second Day of Christmas

We spent today at home and enjoyed a visit from my husband's grandparents, uncle (and the boys' Godfather), and his fiancee. We haven't seen Uncle D and Aunt L in two years since they live in Hawaii! It was a lovely visit and so nice to catch up!

Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Days of Christmas

Unfortunately, the stomach bug did not release its grip on the "big boys" until last night, so our plans for the last three days of Christmas were shelved. My husband even took Sunday off from his church job and called in to his "Nine to Five" on Monday! Sick, indeed!

Instead, a lot of this went on:

Today, however, was a new day and the boys and I made my eggnog bread first thing this morning. It was one of the activities M. was looking forward to most during the 12 Days of Christmas, so we had to do it! I'm not sure any stores have eggnog left in their markdown cases but if they do, grab a quart and make this treat!

Delicious and the perfect morning snack!

Eighth and Ninth Days of Christmas

Forgive my late posts...

Our fun New Year's Eve turned unpleasant about 15 minutes before midnight, when our two-year old woke up vomiting. My husband had gone back out to see some friends from work, but he rushed home. Good thing-- the poor baby was up nearly the rest of the night sick and very out of sorts New Year's Day, so we didn't do much. (Thankfully, the baby avoided the bug.)

Later in the afternoon, we started to reorganize and clean in the playroom, but the patient conked out around 4 PM. He slept until 7:00 this morning!

M. was feeling better this morning (though still not 100%), so we were able to go to the birthday party of one of our little friends. He had a good time, but was not as energetic as usual and didn't even finish his piece of birthday cake! We came home to a package from Grandma with new slippers for M. and wool socks for me! We spent the rest of the day cleaning up (Dad tried out the carpet steamer!) and both boys hit the sack nice and early.

I hope we're back up to speed tomorrow for some more fun activities before the Christmas season starts drawing to a close!

Seventh Day of Christmas

We spent today preparing for a New Year's Eve party hosted by friends. We brought these tasty dinner rolls and shared a very delicious meal with about a dozen 5 month-3 year olds and their parents! It was a family party, so we rang in the new year promptly at six before hustling all the kiddos home to bed. It was a loud, rambunctious group (kids and parents!) and we all had a ball!

Some of the party animals getting ready...

Happy New Year!

A blessed, happy, and healthy 2009 to all of you!

Sixth Day of Christmas

Another wonderful day!

We went to our MOMS Club Breakfast Bunch in the morning with our cinnamon rolls. It was only a small group, and the boys both had fun with our friends!

The afternoon brought a visit from Grandma and Aunt Whit with some new books for the Sixth Day of Christmas and the boys' "Month Day" (12/29).

M. played outside with Grandma while Aunt Whit, the baby, and I looked through my new Joy of Cooking cookbook (we both were gifted one for Christmas!) and then taught Auntie Whit how to lanolize a wool diaper cover. We all made pizza to end the afternoon. What a great visit!

Fifth Day of Christmas

Besides being the Fifth Day of Christmas, today was a big day in our house because our older son turned 2 1/2 today and the baby is five months today as well! The little boys and I went for the baby's four-month well-child doctor's visit (we're a little behind!) this morning. He's doing perfectly (but we already knew that!) and weighs 16 lbs. 15 oz., has a head circumference of 43 cm., and is 27 inches long. He is a good sized baby, but much smaller than his older brother was at that age! He absolutely delighted the doctor with his smiles and grabbed her hand the instant it was in reach to show off his biting prowess. (He cut his first tooth about 10 days ago.)

We also ran into Target to pick up a birthday present for a friend's daughter and picked out a newborn outfit on clearance for M.'s baby as well as a stacking toy for both boys. I'll try to post pictures soon-- when there's some light!

When we came home, it was time to make cinnamon buns for our MOMS Club Breakfast Bunch tomorrow morning. Yum!

Fourth Day of Christmas

We didn't follow through with our plans for today. Cranky children and several brief power outages preempted our plans to take a long family walk (though that may have helped with the crankiness!) and make a batch of Snickerdoodles. We have plans tomorrow morning, but I'm hoping we can catch up with the baking in the afternoon. The cookies are a special request from my husband and I don't want to disappoint!

Third Day of Christmas

Today one of my dearest and oldest childhood friends came to visit! She's settled in Boston now, and it was wonderful to see her! She hasn't had a chance to visit in a year (I think?) and this was her first time meeting our new baby. She spent quite a bit of time here and we were able to catch up and share a good lunch of potato soup and maple gingerbread.

Before leaving, she left a treat for our boys: puppets! Our older son loves, loves, loves puppets and was immediately taken with these! The cow and lamb are the perfect addition to our collection, as we have a pig and a horse! She also gave them an assortment of finger puppets that I tucked away for a bad weather day when we need a pick-me-up. Thank you!

Second Day of Christmas

We ventured out into the crazed after-Christmas crowds today to pick up a few items at the mall, and to treat ourselves to our favorite ice cream from Coldstone Creamery.

I picked up a book a friend highly recommended (I love it, thanks!) and my husband needed new insoles for his shoes. While he was doing that, I popped into a toy store and thanks to a damaged box, was able to pick up this doll for a discount! I've been eyeing it for our son for close to a year, so I was thrilled! Never hurts to ask, and now this baby is a beloved member of our family! He's nameless so far (when asked what his name is, M. replies, "Doll!"), but is sporting "hand-me-downs" from both of our little ones. Sweet, no?

When we arrived home in a snowstorm, we decided it was the perfect afternoon for our annual Christmas movie. We do not allow our children to watch any television or movies except on Christmas when one is permitted. Last year we chose "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and this year, since How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a favorite read-aloud, and we were gifted a Grinch ornament for our tree, we had to choose this classic! M. was intrigued-- so much so that it reinforced my commitment to our TV-free lifestyle!

First Day of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

As you can see, the Blessed Mother and St, Joseph completed their journey around the Advent Spiral...

This year, we are celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with something special each day: a trip, a small gift, cooking or baking special treats, visits with friends and family... My plan is to blog each day for you! As you can see, I'm already a little behind, but I'll catch up!

The first day of Christmas was a wonderful time spent with family! Our tradition has become to have a large brunch rather than "dinner." Here you can see my brother-in-law, my sister, and my husband manning the potatoes, waffles, and meat. I was in charge of omelets as well as running interference with the boys and grandparents. We also feasted on an Edible Arrangement my sister brought for my parents, apple crisp, and more cookies than we could count!

We shared some wonderful gifts:

A refrigerator for the play kitchen...

A special doll for cuddling and teething...

As the song says, "The weather outside was frightful, but inside it was so delightful!"