Finished

It is now just 3 "sleeps" till Christmas, and the stockings are finally hung. This year I decided to make new stocking for everyone. The ones we had were too big to fill and so I thought this would be the year. I bought the material back in 1997, just a year after I was married with the hope that I could use it to make a tree skirt. So it has been sitting in my "sewing" bin all this time.
Since I was feeling a little "Martha Stewart-ish" this year I pulled out some news paper and made my own pattern and had enough material to make the long awaited tree skirt as well. So they all match, which is very important to our little Holly. For some reason she is totally into things matching and she is only 4! Although I have to admit what she thinks matches, doesn't always.
Anyway after much trail and error they are finally done. If you don't look too close they are not bad for my first attempt at such a project, all from scratch. I'm very proud of the tree skirt because it turned out the best. I don't know, there is just something about making something all by yourself from start to finish. It's just a great feeling knowing can accomplish something like that, although not perfect, I'm still happy and proud of my self.
The kids love them and really like having their initial on the top so they can tell who's is who's. Mason has even tried to ware a couple of them around the house. He just can't understand why you would put socks on the wall and not ware them, he makes me smile.
The cats like the tree skirt because it is quilted and comfortable for them to sleep on. We don't have any gifts under the tree yet, on account of Mason. He sees gifts and wants to open them NOW. So to save me a little bit of sanity we have decided to wait until the week before Christmas to put anything under the tree. I start wrapping tonight while Ethan and Holly are off to dinner with Ryan's parents. Then the fun begins....keeping everything wrapped and a surprise till Christmas morning. Wish me luck!

Christmas Preschool Program

Today was Holly's Christmas Program for her last year of preschool. She has been singing the songs for it for a couple of weeks now, which has given me my Christmas music around the house. We were able to get front row seats and saved one for Dad. Ethan was in school and was pretty upset that I wasn't going to go check him out of school (that's what they call it, really) for the program, so it was just Mason, Ryan and I watching and cheering Holly on.
This year she was a cow in the nativity scene, which she wasn't too happy with at first. Then I explained to her that the cow was a very important part to have because the cows were the ones to sing the baby Jesus to sleep after he was born. That made her feel better, so when she played her part today she was all smiles.
Holly also played Blitzen, one of Santa's reindeer's. I didn't get a picture but I got a video clip:




She did so well and was such a great little singer. At the end they had Santa come in and gave each child a chance to sit on his lap and tell them what they wanted for Christmas. She then got a candy cane, a gift from her preschool teachers and a gift from the gift exchange. Afterwards she got a hamburger and frys from McDonalds for lunch. So all in all she had a great day and her Dad and I couldn't have been prouder.

More Happenings

I figured that I would take a couple of days to update everything. After Halloween then came Ethan's 7th Birthday. We went down to Ryan's family the Sunday before and had a party with them. Uncle Shawn has his birthday just 3 days before Ethan and so we celebrated both birthday's together. We had a great dinner and then cake w/ ice cream and gifts afterward.
On Ethan's birthday, day he woke up to find a new bike from Mom & Dad. He was so excited he had to go right outside and try it out, although it was a little cold. Latter that day we had a bunch of his friends over for a party. All the kids had gotten out for American Thanksgiving the day before so it all worked out to have it in the middle of the day. We ordered pizza's, played pin the tale on the donkey and of course more cake w/ice cream. Everyone love the prize bags and the party was a hit. Now almost a month latter I'm still trying to get Ethan to write his thank you notes. He is old enough now that he can write them out on his own, but he thinks of it as work and so he is slow to do them.
Thanksgiving was the next day and I got up early to put the turkey together and get it in the oven. I found all the Martha Stewart Thanksgiving recipes and really wanted to try them out. I even made stuffing the old fashioned way with bread, vegetables and the whole 9 yards. It all turned out great if I do say so my self. The only bummer was that Ryan was in bed sick the whole day and only got up to eat, which he only did because I told him that if he was too sick to eat then I wasn't going to go to all the trouble of making a big dinner. Ryan's parents went to California this year and all his sisters had their in-law's to go to so I was just cooking for us. He didn't want to miss out on the dinner or the left overs so he got up. We had a nice small, low key Thanksgiving, which was just fine with us.
Ryan was sick in bed for 6 whole days. We were pretty sure it was the swine flu as he had all the symptoms and was told it just needed to run it's course. He still is not feeling 100% more than 3 weeks latter. But on the bright side he doesn't have to get the swine flu shot. Mason had a much milder case and the rest of us got away with not getting it. ;)
I put up the Christmas tree the Monday after Thanksgiving, only to find out that our lights on our pre-lit tree were dead. So we had to get a new one, all I have to say is thank goodness for Wal*mart sales. I have been decorating and re-decorating (thanks Mason) little by little ever since. I am working on making stockings today. It's my first time doing all by myself, even making my own pattern. Once they are done I will post a picture of them with the matching tree skirt. As you can tell I've been feeling a little "Martha Stewart-ish" lately.
That brings us up to date and I'm sure we will have a lot to post as the holiday's progress. The kids are already bouncing off the walls and we still have 14 days to go. But I will admit that it is kind of fun with the magic so alive and to have three little ones to keep it going. I just have to make sure I remember all the magic that my Mom was so good at when I was growing up. It has evolved over the years but if there is a question I can't answer then my kids are the first ones to say let's get Grandma Bo on the web cam. She is the resident expert on all the magic of Christmas, as it should be. So that years from now that will be one of the great things my kids and remember and share with my Mom...Christmas. Which makes me happy.

Too Long....

Once again my life has picked me up and run. It's times like these that you look around and say "Holy Crap how does time slip by so fast".
Since my last post we had Halloween which was really fun this year because one, it was really warm and I didn't have to bundle my kids up to go trick or treating, and two because it was Mason's first time going out. Ethan surprised me this year by wanting to be Dracula. I really thought he would want to be Iron Man or something, I even offered to get him a new costume but no he just wanted teeth. We had almost everything else.
Holly had to be a fairy this year. Last year was a princess and she told me that she had to be the fairy this year since her name was "Fairy Princess Holly Bug". The logic of children...who can argue with it?
Mason of course had to be a devil. I got red hair stray and got his Mohawk going with it, because I knew he would never keep horns on. It fit him so well.
The kids had so much fun going around our neighbourhood. Now that we have been here awhile we know more people, thus making it more fun for them. Ryan went out with them and I stayed home to pass out candy. We had more trick or treater's this year, again because we have been here longer and more people know us.
Mason started getting tired after a while but Holly was such great big sister to him. She took his pumpkin up to each house with her and asked nicely if she could get a candy for her little brother. She really impressed her Dad with the kindness she showed. Great time and great memories.
We have such great kids. They drive me crazy on a daily basis but it's the little moments in between where I can really see how we have been blessed. Holly and Mason are getting closer each day. I think they are bonding more because they are spending so much more time together, just the two of them while Ethan is in school all day. I will often come into the room and see them sitting beside each other and Mason will have his hand behind his sisters back.
Ethan and Mason are getting closer too now that they are sharing a room together. Mason feels like he is more a part of things and Ethan has been trying harder to be a good big brother.
You see, Mason just LOVES Patrick who lives across the street. He will see Patrick and just run right up to him and give him a big hug. I think Ethan has been a little jealous of Patrick and so he has been working on being nicer to Mason. Just the past week Ethan has been coming home from school and Mason will run and give him a hug. I can just see the big smile on Ethan's face when that happens.
Life has been crazy and I've been going in too many directions lately. But at this Christmas season we need to look at what we do have and not dwell on what we don't. I think that will be my New Years resolution this year. To take more time for the things that matter, to see the good things.