Belated Merry Christmas

Christmas eve we had dinner with Me-Me, Greg and Hans. Me-Me and I decided on a seafood dinner. She picke up the lobsters and I got the calms and shrimp. Hans was terrified of the lobsters and when Anna heard we were going to eat them she started to cry. "They are my friends. We can't eat them!" So yes we secretly hid and cooked the lobsters. I placed then at the other end of the table. When Anna came in to eat she requested to eat crabs too. So she eat and enjoyed the "crabs".

After dinner Gerard and Greg had a little elf work to complete. Me-Me and I cleaned up and the kids played. In all it was a wonderful night. We sat down and watched the Little Drummer Boy (my personal favorite) then we went to bed. Mrs. Claus dropped off PJs and notes for the kids. Anna kept telling us that she was going to get up and give Santa a great big hug. So this year Santa had to be extra quiet.

When we woke up Anna whispered "I think Santa was here." Quick as a wink she was out of bed and running down the hall. I was not fast enough to get her squeal of delight over the presents (hopefully next year). She hugged her horse Diamond and told him that she loved him.

This year was different from previous years because Anna can now read her name on the tags. Gerard got a fire pit that Anna has been dying for him to use. Anna got a small electric car. The funny thing is it took her over an hour to figure out that it actually drives. I got a mini-chopper that I wanted and a can opener (I really did want both of these items this year). I made Gerard promise that we would do the whole Christmas holiday for cash and we actually did. I also got a couple of gift cards for Disney so I will be making my reservations for July for our stay prior to the cruise.

I can not believe that 2013 is right around the corner. How is it possible? I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.

The night before Christmas...

Or three nights before but who is counting. I was so lucky this year because not only do I have Christmas eve off I also have the weekend before Christmas off. La-La, Me-Me and I planned on having our family gathering on Saturday so that they would be free to spend the holiday with their Dad. Gerard's parents will be at his sister's house for most of the holiday and my Mother will be at my other sister's house for the entire holiday.

We decided to do a low key celebration with a gift steal so that no one had to spend much money. Everyone got the perfect gift. Hans bought Anna Jingle the dog. We ate something I found on pinterest called funeral sandwiches that were out of this world (even Gerard liked them which is a big deal). I made homemade Danish rice pudding like when I was a child. Jenny loved it too.

But by far the best part of the evening (in my humble opinion was the Family Fancy Project). Yes, I am over the top. Really Christmas is no longer about the presents. It is about making the memories. Perhaps this is happens when you get older or wiser or both. Prior to everyone arriving I talked with Anna about getting presents and the rules that go along with receiving a gift. She got two gifts and has been over the moon about them both. Jingle has not left her side. She remembered all of the rules which makes me a proud Momma.

Back to the Family Fancy Project. I know it sound a little crazy but really it is fun. The cost was pretty low and everyone who was involved really thought it was the best part of the night. Me-Me and I decided on The Night Before Christmas scene. We talked it over drew it out did a little pre-painting.

Here is the finished project



 

 

I pre-painted the snow, sky and house. I am impatient so I use a blow dryer to dry the paint faster.

 

There were 12 of us here last night but a project like this can be for and little as 2 or as many as a 100 or more. Here is a break down of what we used and how we did it.

 

Materials:

 

20x24 art canvas I bought it on sale for about 10 dollars

Acrylic craft paint multiple colors

Foam 1 inch brush

3 random paint brushes that I used for the fine features such as the deers legs and outlining the sled.

 

Santa's Sled was the side of Jim Deer's hand (his was the largest hand the curled up part was the tip of his pinkie

Santa was Greg's thumb. I painted it red, cream then red in a strip fashion.

Sled's runners was the side of Grammy's hand

Reindeer were Anna and Hans hands

Light on the house were finger prints

For the tree I painted fingers to the second knuckle

The deer in the yard were thumb prints one vertical one horizontal

 

Of course we put the year in the corner. When we got towards the end of the project we still needed presents in Santa's sled so we used finger prints again. Rather then doing presents under the tree we decided that this would be the perfect place for everyone to sign the project. The signatures look like little presents under the Christmas tree. Everyone signed I thought about how blessed I am to have each one of these special people in my life.

 

I urge you to try something like this instead of exchanging gifts. Honestly it looks pretty cool in person but it is the laughing and memories that make it feel better then any gift I could have received.

 



 

I wish I had thought to make someone in charge of the camera when we were doing this project. We did manage to get really cute pictures of Hans.

A visit with Santa Claus Part 3

Tuesday was my appointment with the Oncologist about preventative cancer treatment. We discussed my relative risk of developing breast cancer based on my history. At this time I have decided not to start the preventative chemotherapy mostly because the research does not improve the survival rate. The preventative chemotherapy reduces the occurrence rate which is different. The plan is to be monitored every 6 months in the hopes of detecting breast cancer in the early most treatable stages.

So on Tuesday Me-Me needed to pick up Anna from school because I would not be able to make it back to town in time. She texted me to tell me that she got Anna and that her and Hans were playing well together. About an hour later I got this picture...

Anna lost another tooth. Once again I missed it but this time we have the tooth! I guess someone will be looking for two front teeth for Christmas. I picked Anna up, headed home to put her Christmas dress on, and pick up Daddy for the trip to see Santa Claus. She was really quite excited. She told us that she had been making a list of who was naughty and nice. Which makes me laugh because is really is quite bossy (a bit like me I suppose).

As we were driving she asked Gerard to find the Baby Jesus' star. They found it and once again we talked about how Christmas was a celebration of the birth of Jesus. It makes me so happy to know that she is listening and knows the real reason for why we celebrate on Christmas. I will not lie I do also love the magic of the season.

 

They were waiting for our turn and watching the Big guy in  the Red suit.

 

Of course I bought the professional picture as well

 

 

I LOVE this picture!

 

 

She told Santa that she was on the Nice list but he already knew that. She told him that she wanted a rocking horse for christmas. She was so excited that she forgot to ask for anything else. We ate some pretzels and headed home. This was the perfect ending to the day.

 

Christmas Activities Part 2

Those of you who know me in person know my love of Pinterest. Me-Me posed this question to me..."Have we always done this many projects or is Pinterest making us do them?" This is a funny and good question. The answer is I have always done this many projects. Sitting still or watching TV has never been a pass time for me. Prior to Anna I had a sewing room. I would spend as much as 2 hours a day sewing. I would sew everyday. For me creating is a good thing. It lowers my stress level and gives me pleasure. I want Anna to enjoy creating too.

She is actually a very creative child. I have remarked before that I love to listen to her play and that is because she has such a large imagination. Usually this is how I learn about what has happened at school.

As a child Christmas was more about Santa and less about Christ. Now both of my parents believe in Christ but I think it was just how it was at that time. I knew have liked the comments by others of be good or Santa will not bring you a toy so we do not talk like that here. If I here others tell Anna that I stop the conversation. I want her to be good year round because it is the right thing to do not because it is close to Christmas.

Back to Pinterest and our fancy projects. When Pinterest first came out one of my very first pins was of baby Jesus. Here is that pin Basically you use the child's foot print to make the manger for Baby Jesus. Anna LOVES animals and I am a terrible artist so we decided on just adding a few animals to out picture too. I used Anna's hand to make the odd looking camel. We decided on these animals because the camel brought the Wise men, the donkey brought Mary and the sheep to keep him warm.

Anna informed me that this is the last time I can use her foot. I half giggled and was half sad. I just love her little feet. She told me the paint feels gross. After she saw the completed project she changed her mind and told me that I can still use her foot. Her favorite part was painting the North Star. We talked about the birth of Christ and that this is the reason why we celebrate Christmas. I think she really gets it but you will have to wait until part 3 to hear why. Here is the picture of our project.

 

 

The Scripture that I decided on was the same as the example Luke 2:12

 

 

Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.

 



Christmas Activites Part 1

We have been busy. So much has happened that I plan on breaking this post up into 3 different entries. Since Anna has been home one of our new family Christmas activities has been to decorate gingerbread houses. Last week La-La and I looked at the calendar and realized that the number of days that we could get together to do gingerbread houses were very few. We made a plan for Monday. A mass text went out to everyone who might be interested. Well La-La ended up cancelling due to homework that still needed to be finished but Aunt Jenny, Bernie (Aunt Jenny's friend), Hans and Me-Me were still able to make it. Maybe next year La-La.

I have to laugh because each year we have a vision for what our houses will look like that get totally abandoned during the actual making of the houses. This was Aunt Jenny's first year that she was able to decorate a house because in past years she was driving. I laughed because she told me that it was much harder than it appears. I think Hans really enjoyed it this year. He would put the candy on and then lick it off. He is such a boy and an funny kid to boot.

Did you notice his hair cut? Me-Me asked the barber for a trim and he buzzed it all off. She is in shock. Hans has mixed emotions over the hair cut. He keeps asking "Where is my hair?" Gerard loves it Greg (Hans' Dad thinks it is a bit short). He looks so much older with it short. Any way how about some pictures of the houses.

This year Anna was less into decorating I think because she was tired. She already had a long day at school. Next year we will plan it for one of her days off. Although she was still quite excited about the candy.

When all is said and done we had a very nice evening. I love how I get to spend so much time with my family. I would truly miss them if we lived farther away.

Disbelief

So I turned the TV on this morning (Anna is still sleeping) so that I can watch the news from Connecticut. I have friends that live in Connecticut so when I first saw this on Facebook I felt sick. When I saw where the shooting was I knew at least one friend lived close to the location. My other friend is a teacher in there. I will not lie I check Facebook throughout the day. When the one friend posted that they were okay I was so relieved and nervous all at the same because the other had not posted.

As I rechecked Facebook I saw that she had commented on our mutual friend's post. I did not realize until then just how worried I was about her and her little guy. Melissa I was never so glad to see you on Facebook. I can not imagine how those who are personally affected are feeling. I pray that these families are able to find some closure.

It has been a difficult week for me. My tears have flowed over the past week because of the decisions that I need to make. Tuesday, I see the Oncologist. I will need to make the decision as to where or not to start chemotherapy as a preventative measure for breast cancer. I am still very undecided as to where I will decide to start this medication. This morning I have realized that I need to live each day that I am given because each day is a gift. I guess I am just a slow learner or one that forgets easily.

Hug your babies, Hug your wife or husband. Accept the challenges that you are given.

The Nativity is up

I remember thinking a while back that I love outdoor lights for the Christmas season. The ones that I love the best always had a nativity in the set up. So a number of years ago I was searching through Christmas decorations at Wal-Mart (this was before I realized that I had way too many decorations) and I found a light up big plastic nativity. Here is the funny, I think the blow up decorations are really cool and pretty but I am a little old school when it comes to Christmas. I love the old movies about Christmas and the older songs too.

The big plastic decorations were something as a child that we never had. So when I saw them I grabbed them. Every year since then I have put them out front. When Anna came along I did not realize just how much she would enjoy them too. Each year she gets more excited then the previous year when it is time to put them out. Occasionally, she will stand at the attic door and ask for her baby Jesus throughout the year. I love how she loves doing this with us.

So about a week ago we took them down and had them in the garage . I was waiting for a night when we would all be home to put them out. Gerard picked up Anna from Hans' house on a night I was getting ready for work. She came running in to tell me "Daddy said it is baby Jesus time." I frowned at him and he realized his error. It was 10 minutes before I had to walk out the door.

I threw on my uniform, grabbed my camera and still got to watch the excitement in her face as she dragged the big plastic figures out of the garage to be set up. I was able to snap a few pictures and still make it to work on time. I did make Anna promise that she will still want to do this when she is 16, including sit on the cow. She promised so I feel better about her getting a little bit bigger.

 

Once everyone was in there proper places she told us that they were cold and needed to be covered up. So with the help of a few rags from the garage baby Jesus, the cow, Mary and Joseph were warm.

 

She is quite the climber.

 

 

Christmas 2009

 

Christmas 2010

 

 

Christmas 2011

 

Christmas 2011

On my soapbox

My class is done! I am elated to say that I recieved an A. I am now off from school until January 7th. I sat down last night to finish my last essay for the class that I was taking. I turned on the computer, connected to the internet and saw a head line that caught my eye. I will be honest I do not watch the news. My T.V. time is down to about 2 hours a week if that. I stopped reading trash magazines after Princess Diana was killed. I refuse to even pick them up while waiting at the store. I feel very strongly about this so I was surprised when I clicked the link about the nurse who killed herself over a prank in England.

I am sure so many know way more about the prank then I do but apparently a few radio hosts tricked the nurse into giving out information about Princess Kate and her pregnancy. Because of this prank the nurse decided to take her own life. I guess I am so sad for her and her family because someone thought it would be funny to invade the Princess' personal life at a very emotional time with no regard to how others could be affected. I know that the nurse was wrong to give out any information but what a horrible joke to play on an innocent nurse who was probably nervous as heck to be caring for Princess Kate.

The week has flown by

Yesterday I opened my eyes and thought "Where did the week go?" I have been off for the past 8 days and I did not get nearly half of what I wanted to get done completed. I am sure that I packed on way more than I should have for the week. What I did get done is amazing in my eyes anyway. The tree is up! Seriously, I am going back to putting the tree up after Thanksgiving. I love having the house decorated. It take so long to get everything up that I feel like I do not get a chance to really enjoy it.

Anna declared that she was "In Charge of the Tree" this year so I let her be. I ton of years ago way before Anna a little girl lived next door. I knew her parents well just from chatting and seeing them outside. We were talking about putting up our trees one year and the little girl overheard me. She had been playing with her friend who also lived in the neighborhood. They were about 10 I think. So I offered to let them put on all the decorations. Their parents agreed to let them come over and help. For me it was wonderful they helped me drag down the boxes from the third floor which in itself was a big help. I made hot chocolate and cookies. I told them to decorate it any way they liked as long as the angels were at the top of the tree.

Now let me tell you I have WAY TOO MANY ornaments! I think I have 3 or 4 totes full still up stairs that I have not opened in a couple of years. Last year I gave a number away to my nephews. I know that sounds silly but Gerard was unknowingly collecting Hallmark ornaments...Okay I was buying them for him that is the truth. So we had about 30 football and baseball ornaments. My sister also had one of each of these football ornaments so you know the fights that can happen when you have two boys who love football. I settled that for her, now they each have a set.

So back to the little girls, they laughed and giggled. I loved watching them place the ornaments on the tree so carefully. I wondered what they were thinking. Just then they told me "My mother never lets us touch these kinds of ornaments. I often think about that day with those girls. We live in a small town and I ran into the not so little girl who now has a house of her own. She remembered that day too which I guess surprised me. It made me smile. I did not realize it then but the most precious thing about this time of years is how it makes you feel. It is so not about the gifts but the feeling kindness and peace that is so important.

Someone is excited!

Anna is in charge of putting the star on the tree today.
By far the favorite thing that she has unpacked is her nativity.





Sorry for the poor photo quality but I wanted to put them up while we were doing the tree.

A busy day

This morning we will be heading to Anthony's birthday party. In case you have forgotten these two got married last year in preschool. They both still love each other to the point where the teacher is making them play with others in the class. I really do not think it is a big deal. Anthony is a cute little guy, full of energy. Anna went to sleep last night knowing that tomorrow was the party. Rather than trying her best to stay up she told me she has to sleep because of the party.

My hope had been to spend the rest of the day decorating but alas Gerard is working extra again. Since the hurricane he has pretty much worked every day and night. He may not know it now but he is not working tomorrow.

Yesterday I was cleaning out our closet, Anna was trying on my clothes which was very cute. She said the sweetest thing to me. "Mommy I like being you." What I did not realize is that she was also playing in my jewelry box. Yikes! I realized that my engagement ring was missing and another diamond band that I usually wear was also missing. My first thought was "Why did I not lock them up?" If they are lost it is totally my fault. Yes, Anna should not have been in my jewelry box but she is 5 and I am not. I will not lie a drop of panic set in, did she put the rings in one of the bags I had already taken to donate?

I searched and searched, when I found my engagement ring a wave of relief came over me. I am still looking for my diamond band but I have come to the conclusion that if it is lost it is lost. I had plans on having the diamonds reset in both rings but I guess I have to scratch that plan for now.

This was the year that I was going to have planned ahead and made an advent calendar for Anna. Due to Gerard's work schedule I have had very little free time. What free time I have had I needed to dedicate to school work. I still am planning on making one hopefully today or tomorrow. I do not like how this season is already feeling rushed to me.

So that is life in our little world today.