Christmas Wrap-up

So, we wrapped up Christmas and are already moving on to 2013!  Soon, tiny A will be 1 year old.  Crazy!

The Christmas countdown ended with a successful "Minivan Express" trip after our Christmas Even service.  As the kids boarded the "Minivan Express" they handed me their ticket and I punched it with my hole punch.  I printed the tickets on the back of a shiny gold gift bag to create golden tickets.  Then, they each got an individual bag of popcorn and hot chocolate for the trip.  It was  the perfect night because it started snowing while we were inside for our Christmas Eve service.  It was cold, dark and snowy...just as it should be on Christmas Eve.

Not only did Santa visit our house on Christmas Eve night, but the Tooth Fairy made a visit as well because Cb's lost her second tooth!  What a lucky duck!

The kids enjoyed opening their Christmas presents in the morning and it was filled with tons of excitement and chaos.

Each kid got a kangaroo jumper ball, so they've been bouncing all over the house.  F and Cb's got little MP3 players and we had no idea that they would be such a hit.  They've been wearing them everywhere listening to their music.  I ended up buying F regular headphones that go over his head, but prior to that he could not keep the ear buds in.  So, B tied a bandanna on his head to keep them from falling out.

I finally finished little A's doll.  I absolutely love her curly hair!  It is so fun, and it was fun to make.  

All you do is wrap the yarn around wooden dowels (I used wooden pencils), soak them in water overnight, and then bake them on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees for about an hour.  When you pull them off the pencils, you get beautiful ringlets!  Here's the original tutorial.

Our Christmas feast consisted of a delicious ham, rolls, asparagus, brussel sprouts and MomPom's potato casserole.  I didn't think I liked brussel sprouts, but my friend sent me a recipe that sounded good, so I gave them another try.  I loved them!  All I did was coat them in olive oil, seasonings, Parmesan cheese and crumbled cooked bacon.  Then, I roasted them for 30 minutes and they were fantastic!  I'm making them again for New Year's Eve.  For dessert, sweet potato pie, which is my favorite pie.  I use this recipe for the crust, but increase the sugar to 1 Tbsp. and decrease the salt to a pinch.

Other than our blessed Christmas celebration, tiny A started pulling himself up to standing with consistent frequency, this week.  This is creating havoc for little A, because now tiny A can reach more of her toys.  Needless to say, she doesn't usually handle it with much patience.  Some might even say that she over-reacts...quite a bit.

B got his Christmas wish of bagpipes!  They sound much nicer than his practice pipes.  I'm looking forward to seeing him in a kilt and playing his bagpipes, someday soon!  Since B got his bagpipes, I'm going to go out with a friend tomorrow and get mine...cowboy boots!  I'm so excited!

Christmas Countdown Catch-up

I've gotten a little behind in our Christmas countdown, so let me catch you up!

We made dog and cat treats for the animals at the animal shelter.  We tested the dog treats on Pugsley and he liked them, so those were a success!  Quality tested and approved.  We haven't delivered the treats to the shelter, yet, though.  I think we will do that after Christmas.  Hopefully the animals won't mind.

Last night, the kids had a Sundae Snowman (and it happened to be Sunday).  We only had Jumbo Marshmallows and Mint ice cream, so our snowmen are a little disproportional. 

 Merry Christmas Eve!

Family Time

The past two Christmas Countdown activities were very family oriented.

#17 was family game night!  Cb's chose "Sorry", while F chose "Cars Matching".  

The result...B played both games at once.  What a multi-tasker!  

Little A had her own little role playing world going on with her "Sorry" pieces.  (It appears from the pictures that Cb's is easily bored while waiting for her turn)

#18 was family sing-a-long and jingle bell bracelets.  While B was at work, the kids and I made their jingle bell bracelets in anticipation of the evening sing-a-long.  F decided to make a jingle bell necklace, which required a lot more body movement to jingle.

Here is the final result!  Look at Tiny a.  He's got rhythm in him and he can't contain it!

Dog Treats

Cb's performed "Jingle Bells" for her Christmas piano recital, yesterday.  They played at the mall, which was pretty fun!  She volunteered to go first and did great!  You'll have to turn up your volume, as it is a little hard to hear.

Afterwards, we walked around the mall and ran into some Star Wars characters.  F wants an R2D2 for Christmas.  We said, "Only if R2D2 learns to clean, cook and put you guys to bed."

Brad was pretty excited, as well.  He wants a Tie-Fighter for Christmas.

Today's Christmas countdown activity was making dog treats for Roxie, the kid's Sunday school teacher's dog.  Ms. R. brings Roxie to church sometimes and the kids LOVE playing with her.  Ms. R. lets them throw the ball for Roxie and give her treats when she's all done.  We tried the treats out on Pugsley and he gobbled them up!  So, I think Roxie will like these homemade dog treats.:)

Catch up!

I have a few days to catch you up on for our Christmas countdown.

The kids delivered Christmas cookies to the neighbors.

Cb's helped me make Christmas gifts for their teachers.  We made chicken and pork rubs which we will decorate and attach a recipe card to.

B took Cb's to the Nutcracker.  I got all the kids a little Nutcracker doll before she went to the performance.  F was bummed he couldn't go, but we told him he will be able to go next year.

Yesterday, we delivered Christmas cookies to the firemen.  They were so kind when we showed up, welcomed us in and started giving us a tour of the fire trucks.  Then, they gave each kid a fire hat and sticker.  Cb's and F were playing fire fighters for the rest of the afternoon.  I was amazed at how excited they were!