12 days of Christmas, day 8

Day 8 already! Here is Charlie with a new Christmas book that was given to him today at school. His teachers are so thoughtful. The boys have gotten books each year for Christmas while at preschool. He was pretty excited about it, so I went ahead and let him open it now.
It is another cold and rainy day here. Not too bad, but we are in for the day. I went to the post office and was surprised that we only had to wait 15 minutes. I also picked up a couple of teacher's gifts for Charlie's teachers. We got them little pots with marigold seeds. I am going to finish adding postage to my Christmas cards and hopefully get those out in the mail today, if not tomorrow.
Have a good one!

12 days of Christmas, day 9

Well, here is my 9th day of Christmas photo. Tonight was Harrison's Christmas program. This is the best shot that I got of him. The show was cute, but from a mother's standpoint it was a bummer. I could barely see him up on stage, that is why I have this photo of him after the show. It's not the best, but it's a moment worth remembering. :)

The four of us went to Panera Bakery after the show and Robert and I each had a bowl of soup while the boys shared a big fruit cup and of course, they each got their own cookies. Harrison really wanted to go to the place where Charlie and auntie and I wait for him while he is at CCD. I thought it was only fair that we go, plus I was a little hungry. After that, we just had to by Target which is conveniently located next door. Charlie got a new Spider-man ski cap (Harrison has been wearing his beanie lately) and I picked up some tissue paper. Nothing exciting but we had fun looking at all of the Christmas decorations.

12 days of Christmas, day 10

We are slowly but surely making our way through the Christmas books. This has got to be one of my favorite things about this time of year. There are a couple of oldie but goodies in there too. That's my old Richard Scarry book down on the bottom. My new favorite this year was picked up at Hallmark of all places. It's the one on the top, Christmas A to Z: Fun Facts for Kids. It is a great little book. I would recommend it.
We are missing a couple too, these are the books that I grabbed on my first search. I don't think you can ever have enough books.
There is a great article in the Parade magazine today by author, James Patterson. It is a letter to his son about the importance and joy of reading. Be sure to check it out.

12 days of Christmas, day 11

The boys are getting bigger and here is some proof. A nativity from Playmobil has replaced the Little People one that we have. (I also have several beautiful nativities, this is not our only one.) We got a beautiful set when we got married that is put away now. My Christmas decorations are minimal this year. This is the first year of the Playmobil nativity. I love the Little People one, at least I've got another little person coming that will enjoy it soon. :)

the 12 days of Christmas, in photos

I can't take credit for this idea. My friend Marie did this last year and it was really fun to check in on her every day. I also L-O-V-E what she did with the photos she took. Be sure to check it out. A little scrapbook is the perfect idea, and I think even I could pull that off. So thank you, Marie! A photo a day for the 12 days of Christmas. It seems easy enough, right? We shall see. So today, I am starting off with an out-take from our Christmas card photo shoot this morning. Last year we went out to Brea and got some neat photos, this year well, the circumstances around here are different. ;) Here is a blurry shot. The boys were cracking up, I had to remind Charlie not to lean down when mommy is taking a picture.

I've got Christmas card envelopes addressed. I haven't got any cards made yet, but I do have my supplies handy. That has got to count for something, right? I have never made all of my Christmas cards. Most everyone gets a store bought card and my immediate family and crafty friends get handmade cards. It is much easier that way. I applaud those of you that hand-make each and every one.

We don't need to discuss that countdown clock over there. I am well aware that time is flying by. I am choosing to just keep moving along. It doesn't help that my friend Stephanie that was due only a week before me had her baby on the 10th! Mama and baby are doing well. :)

happy saturday, or what's left of it

Christmas will arrive tomorrow here when we go get our Christmas tree. I have already told Robert that the decorations are going to be low key this year. I just don't have the energy but I'm no killjoy either. I would love to get a smaller tree then we usually do but I can't do that to the boys. They are very excited. Things are moving right along here. I go back to the doctor's office in another week and then they will start seeing me weekly. :0

Harrison and I had a great time painting ornaments last week. We each chose something small, and we were out in no time. While we were uptown we stopped in a new toy store which is super neat. They have the coolest things, we even picked out something for Charlie while we were there. I am thinking about going back in to get one of these. After all, I do need to go back and pick up our finished/fired ornaments.

Has anyone ever seen this before? I love the idea of having a little elf on a shelf and I know the boys would get a kick out of it too.

I have been enjoying super stamper Tim Holtz's new blog. His techniques look very detailed, but he has instructions for each step. I think I can do them on a much smaller scale. Susie, remember we got to see him in action at Carson? His style is very unique, but I think there is something for everyone. You can see his blog here:Tim Holtz

my busy weekend

It has been pretty busy around here as I'm sure you can imagine. I still need to do some Christmas shopping, but I may send Robert out to pick up a couple of things.
I have spent a lot of time at Etsy looking at handmade baby items like, bibs, blankets and burp cloths. There is so much cute stuff to look at, I always get side tracked and then forget what I was originally looking at.

My baby shower was on Sunday. My sister and my mom really knocked it out of the park. Thank you again guys. I will take a couple of pictures to show you all of the hand crafted goodies. My mom made about a dozen each of little pink and blue felt dresses that had a little pregnant bump inside of them. Each guest picked out a dress wear as a pin. One dress in particular had "more" of a belly (a tiny button hidden inside) and whoever picked that one was the winner.
My dad even got involved and made the base for the adorable diaper cake that my mom and Chris made. Look how cute it is. I spent about a half an hour yesterday going through all of the stuff that they packed onto it.
I got a chuckle out of the cake. It says, "Congratulations Jenny, Happy Pushing." Only a mom would love that. I got so many wonderful things, all things that we need. It was so nice to see my friends and family, some of which I haven't seen in awhile. We all had a nice time.
The last picture is a little sneak peek for my card club. Susie's theme was sparkle. Pretty appropriate this time of year, wouldn't you say?
Right now, I am off to Color Me Mine with Harrison to paint a couple of ornaments.

42 days to go!