Christmas 2013

We had a white Christmas this year...the kids had fun playing in the snow the Sunday before Christmas and it stuck around until the end of the week!

This year's salt-dough ornaments (minus their jewel decorations...)

Christmas morning

Family pic at Church

Ponies and new footie-jammies made for a happy morning for Gemma (and a photo bomb with his new guns in the back!)

Kolbe with his robot, Quiver the Stygimoloch (this is a very cool line of toys, by the way), and Clem with his ramp racer.

The kids were a lot of fun to shop for this year, and I think they are enjoying their gifts.  We have spent some nice time with family and friends and are thoroughly enjoying the holidays!

Journal: Christmas Eve

TODAY

Out my window:  Dark, cold, about 3 inches of snow on the ground.  Pretty.  It should be a white Christmas in these parts.

Clothing myself in:  Grey sweats, turquoise sweatshirt.  Since it's Christmas eve I will change later.

Around the house: Wrapped our last gift last night.  Well, except one I'm still waiting on to arrive...

 

The baby:  Sweet as ever.  He has been napping so much better the past month or so, it's been really nice.  I think he's ready for a big-boy bed, but we really don't want to buy one as the baby room is kind of a dedicated baby room (read: we wouldn't have anywhere else to keep it) and I don't feel like collapsing the crib, etc. etc.  I'd convert the crib to a toddler bed, but I can't lay in it with him and to me that kind of defeats the purpose. 

 

The kiddos:  Gemma got one of those bracelet maker Fun Loom things from her godmother for Christmas.  That girl is going. to. town.  I was kind of surprised she caught on so quickly.  The box says "8yrs and up" and even though she is into that kind of stuff I still thought it might be tricky for her.  I mean, when I was trying it out the night before (after kids were in bed) so I could help her with it the next morning, Aaron suggested I rename it the Dammit Loom.

Kolbe is so full of Christmas cheer, he is adorable.  He is my Christmas carol kid (LOVE hearing him sing) and Frosty the Snowman has hands-down been his favorite show of the season. 

In the kitchen: Spaghetti last night, which is a fave with everyone around here!  Aaron is carving up the Christmas Sushi today, and he'll be running the smoker on Thursday.  The rest of the week will work its way out and there will be no shortage of good things to eat I'm sure.

Crafting: ehhhhhhh, after the above comments about the loom I think I ought not claim anything here.  The salt dough ornaments are complete though, another successful year of ornament  making with the kids.

Learning:  Each day over break I'm having Gemma choose two things (her choices are math, reading and handwriting) to work on during homework time.  I googled "Common Core Kdg Math Worksheets" and was thrilled to come up with a ton (click here) that align with the standards, so I printed all stuff I know they've worked on at school.  (Strangely?) she has really been liking those and has chosen one every day.  I figured we'd just keep our regular routine (which includes hw each afternoon) over the break, and that seems to be working out well.

The little elves wrapped all the salt dough ornaments and got them labeled correctly (I hope!) so we are good to go! 

Reading:  I started A Certain Small Shepherd with Gemma, and hope to finish it sometime soon.

Watching: We started a special on The Vatican last night on H2.  I was a little dubious, because I do not typically trust the History Channel's angle on things that involve the Church and Jesus Christ.  The first part of it was interesting enough, but then I fell asleep.  Lame.  So the jury is still out, indefinitely probably.

Bringing me joy: Advent.  I love this season so much.  Family.  The snow.  Parish Mission.  Playing with the kids.  Coffee with a friend.  NPR Christmas music and my Advent at Ephesus CD.  Cozy fires in the fireplace.  Bedtime, I love the kids but I love when they go to bed too and the house is quiet...and then I pass out of exhaustion before I can really truly enjoy it.

Thinking about: Getting the kids up for the day.  Time to sign off!!

Pictures to share: 

We have some construction going on near our house, the kids thought the dirt piles were awesome!

Anyone need some size large Thirsties diaper covers?  $30 for the lot of six, excellent condition (they have just never fit my kids quite right).

Journal: Christmas is coming

TODAY

Out my window:  Sunny and cold, but not tooooo coooooold.  The week ahead actually looks pretty moderate.

Clothing myself in:  Grey sweats, yellow tank and a pink hoodie.  Messy bun.  Socks.  Comfy.  I love lazy days around the house with my family.

Around the house: Nice fire burning in the fireplace now.  Kids are playing nicely (enough) and hubby is making a pie.  I GOT THE CHRISTMAS LETTERS WRITTEN!!!!  And stuffed and addressed!!  And SENT!!!!!!!  Hallelujah!  Buying and wrapping is essentially done.  I am really excited about the gifts we Santa got for the kids this year, I am excited for Christmas morning!!  Speaking of Santa, I really liked this article.

 

The baby:  He nods yes or no when you ask him a question.  He doesn't have any words but he sure understands what is going on.  He is just so cute.  LOVE him!!!!

 

The kiddos:  Kolbe fell up the neighbors' front steps yesterday on the way to take them their Christmas card (and they didn't even end up being home!) and got a little gash on his forehead.  I thought it may need a stitch, but decided to wait until Aaron got home for work at lunchtime (minor emergency was open until 6, so I figured we had an out if the butterfly bandage didn't work).  He's had it bandaged up the past day now and it looks like we will be OK without a stitch, which is good.  That would have been very traumatic for him.

Gemma just has four more days of school until Christmas break!  Looking forward to that!!  Last Friday at school they had their "Santa's Workshop" where they did Christmas crafts and built gingerbread houses.  I got to go with her and it was a fun afternoon.

In the kitchen: Honey Chicken and broccoli salad; Beef and Veggie Stew; Baked Salmon and sides; quesadillas

Crafting:  Because I'm pretty sure the honesty police will get me if I count gift-wrapping as a "craft".  We will be working on our annual salt-dough ornaments sometime between now and Christmas, I am thinking that will be a good activity once Gemma is out of school.  It is fun but something I definitely have to gear myself up for.  Lots of (sometimes messy) steps.

Learning:  Oh my goodness, I put out a request on FB for recommendations for handwriting practice, and my former boss linked me to the Zaner-Bloser website.  If you click here and then scroll down and click on "free version" you can make all kinds of handwriting worksheets.  I made a whole binder of Scripture verses for each letter of the alphabet (thank you Catholic Icing), letter and number worksheets, Commandments, Sacraments.  Now Gemma can just flip through and choose something to copy.  SO excited!!  I am hoping to have her do this 3-4 times weekly during homework/learning time.  AAAAAAAND, since I put them in a binder they will be all ready for use with future children. 

Reading: Enjoying our Picture Book a Day selections immensely. 

Watching:  Gold Rush season 4.  Oh my goodness, they have no idea what they are doing in Guyana.  It is like watching a train-wreck.

Bringing me joy: Advent.  Confession.  Gifts for the kids and others.  Looking forward to the parish mission.  Advent.  My family. 

Thinking about:  meh, not much.

Pictures to share: I traveled to my aunt's funeral (with Clement) this week.  This is me with my Uncle Dennis (my aunt's hubby) and "Hank" the Koala.  Hank used to ride in Uncle D's Firebird and when I was a little girl and rode with him I'd always play with Hank.  I later 'inherited' him and he has been a fixture in every vehicle I've driven since.  Please pray for the repose of the soul of my aunt (Gloria) and also for my Uncle Dennis and their daughters.  This will be a tough Christmas for them. 

Kolbe's bonk-bonk

Advent Wreath 2013

I thought I would join in the Catholic Mom Advent Wreath link-up today!  I made our Advent wreath last year after getting plain tired of the taper candles and the messes they caused (and the sheer number we went through).  We like to leave our wreath lit during all three meals, and that turned out to be a lot of candles!!  Plus, as our children have grown and become more, um, eager in blowing out the candles all that hot wax just became a little messy.  I ordered some 3x6 inch pillars from an online store and used an old wreath and some embellishments hot-glued to one of those charger-plate things you can get at the craft store.  I love how it turned out and we are on our second year of the same candles, so even though they were a little pricey to me it was worth it.  We are also using O Radiant Dawn for the second year now as a family prayer/mediation each night.  This book is so simple and wonderful.  The Advent season is my favorite of the year...the newness, the anticipation and preparation.  I love the rhythm the prayers and traditions bring to our days as well.  Some of our other favorite family Advent traditions are:

• Reading a Picture Book a Day for Advent and Christmas 
• The Holy Heroes Jesse Tree DVD
• Lovely music to listen to like Handel's Messiah and Advent at Ephesus
• The children love their nightly story from the Advent Storybook

Blessings to you and yours as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior.

Journal: early Advent

TODAY

Out my window:  Dark.  Cold.  Wiiiiiiindy.  Twinkly Christmas lights.  

Clothing myself in: pass

Around the house: Most of the Christmas decorations are up.  The kids actually helped with the ornaments on tree...all three of them (well, Clem played with the purple shatter-proof ornaments that don't match the red and gold on the tree)...and it went really well.  I think they are OCD like me (scary, yes? no?) because I only had to move like three ornaments.  They did a really good job.  Aaron got a bunch of icicle lights and lined the outside of the house with them.  In years previous he has just done our two evergreen trees, but he decided the kids were getting old enough to think that was kind of lame.  ;-)  It looks really nice.

I need to write our Christmas letter.  Sigh.  Starting is always the hardest part.

 

The baby: Cute cute cute.  My parents have this dancing monkey thing that sings Jingle Bells and he started rocking. out. to it on Thanksgiving evening.  Never seen that kid, or ANY kid, dance with the moves he had.  In footie-jammies no less.  I got some video on my phone, but it is horribly awful quality.  Kind of makes me want to cry.  OH well.  Maybe he'll do it again.  I treasure the memory.  He has started shaking his head "yes" when you ask him a question.  When he has to poop he grunts and looks at me and holds my hand while we walk back to his "poop chair".  He doesn't talk much but he definitely communicates.  Oh, and he LOVES the big slide at the park and can climb up to it and go down it all by himself.  I usually guard him because I am paranoid and over-protective but he can do it on his own.  The other kids weren't doing this until they were sneaking up on two.   Oh my.

 

The kiddos:  I enjoyed Gemma's week off school, it really was nice having her around all day and I loved seeing her get to just play.  But it is nice being back in our usual routine this week too.  I am excited for Christmas break and so is she.  Not much else new.  I have been getting more "okays" and less fits when I ask her to do something, or answer something she asks, even if she isn't particularly happy about what I ask or answer, and that has been nice.  She is growing up, have I mentioned that?  

Kolbe's speech is improving so much.  He has been working on initial /k/ and is learning how to say his name!!!!!  I am noticing that he is starting to use sounds that he learns/works on at speech in his everyday conversation and I think that's so cool. 

In the kitchen: This week homemade pizza, chicken picadillo, meatloaf, chicken noodles and baked salmon.  Steamed veggies, some stuffing, tortilla chips, cheesy bread and fried rice for sides.  We have also discovered ground pork at the local meat locker and have been subbing it for beef in some things and it is really tasty! 

Crafting: We made pine cone turkeys for Thanksgiving!

I have been working on Christmas shopping (mainly online, although I did get out on Saturday for a bit...no Black Friday shopping for me this year!) and thinking about wrapping.  Lest anyone think that I think shopping is crafting, I do not.  I just had nowhere else to put that.  Progress is being made.  WHEW, this late Thanksgiving is really throwing me for a loop.  Tomorrow is the 5th?  Of December??  holy crap.

Learning:  Advent is in full swing, and I love our activities.  I was telling a friend the other night, Advent just brings such a nice rhythm to our days.  The kids are watching the Holy Heroes Jesse Tree DVD each morning during breakfast and coloring an ornament for that.  We light our Advent wreath during mealtimes.  Our Picture Book a Day selections are being enjoyed by all and we are using O Radiant Dawn (I really love this book) for family prayertime/meditation/discussion each night.  The kids also have a story each night before bed from The Advent Storybook. It is very sweet.  We are also using our activity chain again this year and I am liking it, as are the kids.  It's a fun visual to count down the days and the activities are simple yet meaningful.

Reading: bleh. nothing.  I really should pick up something.  Should. 

Watching:  This and that some evenings.  Enjoying this season of Gold Rush immensely.  

Bringing me joy: Advent.  I think this is my favorite time of year, liturgically speaking (and maybe otherwise as well).  Shopping for the kids for Christmas.  Listening to Handel's Messiah.  (Buy it.  You will not regret this purchase.)  Kolbe singing Christmas carols.  The beginnings of Christmas traditions in our family...it is really fun that the kids are getting old enough to remember things we've done other years, and I love how excited they get about some things.  Kolbe thinks Christmas lights are THE BEST, and gets so excited when he sees them. 

Thinking about: Life and death.  My aunt passed away today and there is nothing like death to get you thinking about life.  May she rest in peace.  

This article, Choosing to Make the Coffee, was really good and since I don't think I will Food for Thought anytime soon I am just sharing it here.  And speaking of Food for Thought, I liked this one entitled Can Charity Hurt? as well and thought it brought up some really good points.  I am glad to see that those who oversee large charities are asking these challenging questions of themselves and others. 

Pictures to share:  

Happy Feast Day, Clement!

LEAVES!!!

Advent & Christmas Picture-Book-a-Day 2013

This year I have picture books selected for Advent through the Epiphany.  There are so many good books...some new (to us) and some old favorites!  I smile every time I see the big pile of them in my closet.  I am going to post our title list in the order we will read them, for the most part, authors are in parenthesis, and give a brief description/commentary.  All titles can all be found on Amazon (though some are out of print).  Most of them can also be found at the local library, and we own a handful.  Blessed Advent!

1. B is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet (Wilner) - A beautiful, rhyming alphabet story of the Nativity.
2. The Friendly Beasts (we have two, one by McGinley and one by dePaola) - I really like both versions.
3. Gingerbread Baby (Brett) - So fun!!  We read this every year.
4. Marta and the Manger Straw (Kroll) - New for us this year, a very beautiful story of giving and sharing.
5. St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend (Stiegmeyer) - Why don't they make this one in hard cover??  I love it.
6. A Special Place for Santa (Pieper) - Great for helping young children realize that St. Nicholas and Santa are one in the same.  Wordy, so not great for toddlers, but I still like it. 
7. The Nutcracker (Jeffers) - Gemma enjoys this story (we have a different version), this particular version is new to us this year.
8.  On This Special Night (Freedman) - A yearly fave, we're doing Nativity stories on the Sundays of Advent.
9. Mary (Wildsmith) - For the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
10. St. Francis and the Christmas Donkey (Byrd) - I think we had this one last year.  Anything about St. Francis is a winner in my books.
11. The Legend of the Poinsettia (dePaola) - LOVE this one!  Read it every year around the feast of OL Guadalupe.
12. The Lady of Guadalupe (dePaola) - Another one (that is sadly out of print) I would love to own.
13. Mortimer's Christmas Manger (Wilson) - Cute and sweet.  We usually read this dozens of times.
14. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Seuss) - A classic.
15. Room for a Little One (Waddell) - Another yearly Nativity story.
16. The Crippled Lamb (Lucado) - New to us this year, but a beautiful story my MIL introduced me to years ago.
17. Bear Stays Up for Christmas (Wilson) - It's just fun, we love Bear around here.
18. Great Joy (DiCamillo) - I love this story, it is beautiful and the illustrations are gorgeous.  Another that we read every year.
19. Millie in the Snow (Steffensmeier) - Another fun one.
20. Can You See What I See? The Night Before Christmas (Wick) - We all enjoyed this one so much last year, the pictures are really fun to look at.
21. Snow Bears (Waddell) - For the First Day of Winter
22. This is the Stable (Bettoli) - Fun and rhyming, reminiscent of The House that Jack Built
23. Four Friends at Christmas (dePaola) - Gemma loves the Four Friends and their seasonal adventures.
24. The Christmas Story (Watson/Wilkin) - A beautiful Golden Book for Christmas Eve.
25. The Story of the Nativity (Usborne)
26. The Twelve Days of Christmas (Ray) - New to us this year.
27. Christmas in the Big Woods (Wilder) - We always like Mary and Laura stories. 
28. Snowmen at Christmas (Buehner)
29. Song of the Stars (Lloyd-Jones)
30. Cock-a-Doodle Christmas (Hillenbrand) - Little people (and animals) can do big things, too!
31. Mary's First Christmas (Wangerin)
32. The Last Straw (Thury)
33. Baboushka and the Three Kings (Robbins)
34. The Not So Wise Man (MacDonald)
35. Hurray for Three Kings Day (Carlson)
36. The Story of the Three Wise Kings (dePaola) - A great story for the Epiphany.