Scenes from Advent

The whole month of December flew by this year! And due to my dental issues, we didn't get to do nearly what I had planned for this Advent. But we did make some memories together, and the children were very understanding about the whole thing.

So here is a "scrapbook" of our Advent 2008:

We participated in the The Kids Ornament Swap over at The Crafty Crow, (I hope to post more about this in the future). The girls made these "icicle" ornaments. They turned out so pretty!

Pappy Jack and Linda came for a visit.....

St. Nicholas Day.....

St. Nicholas Day Parade of Saints Party at our local Catholic high school.....Creating gifts for our friends.....

Baking cookies......

Decorating the Christmas Tree........

Candle rolling for gifts......

Skylar's Birthday Party......

The Annual Co-op Gingerbread Party.....

Enjoying the Christmas Decorations (this snow globe is a favorite!)....

Polar Express Night (watching the movie, then taking a break for cookies and hot chocolate).......

Making chocolate dipped goodies and fudge.....I'm sure I've missed something, but this is a good overview of some fun things we did this December. I'll post some photos of our Christmas celebrations when I come back from a blogging break.

I'm off to enjoy my family and celebrate the birth of Our Lord. May God bless you all during this beautiful Christmas season!

TTFN

~Tina

Merry Christmas!

TTFN

~Tina

A Handmade Christmas~~A No Sew Fleece Blanket

This is for my 10 year old. It should fit her twin bed. It was so easy to make and took about 2 hours.

Looking at the pictures, you can pretty much see how to do it.

It was two pieces of fleece(2 1/2 yards each), back to back.

Then cut strips along the edge and tie them together. Easy peasy!

But soooooo warm, soft and cuddly when it's finished!

I chose this pattern for Sky because she is all about peace and love. And it happens to match her current bedding (the sage color), which was just icing on the cake.

I think she'll like it!

TTFN

~Tina

The Handmade Christmas Continues~~A Toddler Boy's Dressup Box

Evan loves to play dress-up. He has a Bob the Builder hat that he wears, along with the toolbelt. He's also borrowed his sisters' playsilks to be superheroes. But there's not much else he can do with what we have. So back in Oct. I decided to make him his own dress-up set as a gift for Christmas. Nothing fancy, just some basic things for him to pretend in.

I bought some hats and accessories at the dollar store, and saved them. Then I bought some T-shirts to make the clothes. I also used some of my old T-shirts. Although I'm not finished yet, here's what I have so far.

An Army Outfit (I still need the shirt for this one.):

A firefighter's uniform (the jacket needs "tweeking"):

This is Alexa trying it on for him.A Soldier (still need the cape):

A cowboy (the brown vest is made from an old polo I had). I'm not crazy about the gun and not sure if I'll include it :

A pirate:

I still need to make him a "batman" mask. I'll use the same cape for the knight as I do for Batman. I might also throw in some other fabric squares to give him more capes to be whoever or whatever his imagination can dream up.

These costumes are far from perfect, but luckily they should be enough to please a 2 year old boy.

How are your Christmas gifts coming along? Did you finish creating or shopping, yet?

Have a wonderful day!

TTFN

~Tina

So Sorry for My Lack of Posts (TMI alert)

Yes, I'm finally back. So sorry for the long absence. It was unplanned, I assure you. I went to the dentist on the 10th. Mind you, I haven't been to any dentist for a very.....long.........time. I do brush and floss my teeth and take care of them at home. I just don't ever go to the dentist (although I take my children regularly). I was nervous as all get out. To say I fear the dentist and "all things dentistry related" is an understatement. It comes from many bad experiences, I suppose. Not from my childhood, but from my young adulthood.

Anyhoo. There I was. At this wonderful dentist that my hubby (my handsome beloved with the well-taken-care-of-teeth and no fear of the dentist) found from a radio ad. This ad basically said they offer "sedation dentistry". Yippee Skippee! No kidding. I would never be excited about any dentist unless they knock me. I can assure you this wonderful dentist rocks! He was so nice and understanding of my fears. All of his staff are the same way. They don't make me feel like a total weenie for avoiding "all things dentistry" for the last......well let's just say..... many years.

He took a look, took some x-rays, then told me what needed to be done. I should mention, too, the other factor that got me into his office was the fact that I was in extreme pain from a toothache. Turns out that tooth was infected, along with another one (not good at all for people with heart murmurs) and both were going to have to come out. He started me on antibiotics for those immediately. And I had some cavities and old fillings that needed repaired, too. Oh, and a crown needed replaced.

Ok, so lots of stuff. But the great part is he knocked me out! Well, not him, exactly. His office has anesthesiologists who come there for wimps like me. I went back the following week. I was knocked out for at least 3 hours, while he did what he had to do. I woke up, still very groggy, but not feeling any pain. I was quite out of it. So much so, that when we got home, I had to go to bed to shake off the rest of the drugs. I woke up an hour or so later feeling pretty good.

I had the follow up today. My stitches are driving me crazy. He said they have to disolve on their own. But I have no pain. And with the help of Dr. Aunon, I will be a person who has regular dental visits from now on. I've even decided to start taking the children to his office.

I do have to go back to get my new crown on in January. It will take about a half an hour. I'm not looking forward to that at all. I'm trying not to think about it, for now. But, I know that I'll be fine and it's important that I take care of this. I have to be a good example to my children, too.

Between all this unplanned dental stuff and all of our Advent preparations, there's not been much time for anything else. I'm still working on our handmade Christmas. I hope to post some pics of my progress, soon.

Hope you are having a blessed Advent!
TTFN
~Tina

Happy Birthday, Skylar!

Today, our Smileygirl turned 10! No more single digits for her! Skylar has always been a smiley girl. Ever since she was a little baby, she would light up the room with her contagous smile. And I've watched her go through some very difficult things (blood draws, surgery, stomach viruses). She rarely complains and she always comes out with a smile.

She has a love for all of God's creations, from the smallest bug to the largest tree. She is a very "go green" kind of girl. She keeps our family in check with conserving energy and water. And John and I both feel that she is going to do big things for this planet some day.

Skylar has such a genuine concern for the feelings of others. She would sacrifice just about anything to make someone else happy. She is affectionate, loving and gentle. She will give endless hugs and kisses all day. She can be tough, though. Especially when it comes to defending her family or friends. Skylar is very loyal. I admire her inner strength and gentle nature.

Skylar you are my sweet Smileygirl and I'm so proud to be your mom!

Happy Birthday!

I love you tons!

~mom

Crunch Time

My "countdown to Christmas" just got altered. I was already feeling like Christmas is coming way too fast, and now this. I have to have major dental work done Wednesday that will probably put me out of commission for at least 2 or 3 days, maybe more. And it will be soooo close to Christmas. So for me, I now need to be ready for Christmas by Tuesday night. Oy.

And it's not just that I need to hurry to shop, wrap, decorate, bake etc. It's that I really want my children to enjoy Advent a lot before this dental work makes me feel like doing nothing but resting. We've already done some festive and fun things this Advent, ( I hope to share pictures, soon) but I'm trying to squeeze in some more. So, here's what's coming up for our gang.

Saturday....Taylor has play practice, then we have Skylar's 10th BD party in the afternoon(yay!). Depending on how we feel, we might go out shopping (yuck, I'm not a fan of shopping this time of year and it will be soooo crowded)

Sunday.....Mass in the morning, then some shopping while Skylar goes to her friend's BD party. Taylor has a BD party to go to in the evening. And this is Skylar's actual BD, so we will spend the evening with pizza and a movie, maybe.

Monday.....Taylor's last Creative Writing class before Christmas and Alexa's final speech class. We also have a Christmas Craft day with our local homeschool group. Then I hope to take the girls to the local Model Train Show, after dinner. I'm thinking we can check out the trains, then walk around Old Town. Then hopefully pop into some casual place to get hot chocolate. As a last resort, we'll go to Denny's or IHOP and get some there.

Tuesday.....wrapping gifts, maybe a teatime, laundry, making cookies and fudge, any of the above. Oh, and Taylor has practice.

Wednesday....The big day...blah. I will be knocked out for 3 hours so my dentist can do all my repairs at the same time.

Thursday....Recovery day.

Friday.....Gingerbread party with our co-op. Boy I hope I am up to this. I don't expect to be talking much, but I just want to get there so the kids can enjoy it, then I can come home and sleep (if I need to) while Evan naps.

In every free moment, I need to finish internet shopping and in store shopping, wrap gifts and finish the gifts I am creating. I'm still working on Alexa's felt food, but haven't even started Evan's dressup set, Alexa's dressup set, Skylar's cozy blanket, Alexa's cozy blanket, Evan's family photo book and Taylor's Alice in wonderland gift. I know this sounds like a lot, but most of it will be pretty simple to make. I also need to make fudge for the neighbors. Ok, so maybe it is a lot. *sigh*

I'm continuing to read Christmas stories to the girls, while I can. I've ordered some books on tape for them to listen to when I'm "out of it". I hope to have some movies ready, too.

How is your Christmas prep coming? Are you ready?

TTFN

~Tina

Weekend Highlights

On Friday, we had our co-op. The kids always enjoy that. Friday afternoon, my dad and his wife came to stay for the weekend. We had such a nice time.

There were pillow fights.

And wrestling around.

Snuggling and watching movies together. (My dad with Skylar)

(Skylar and Alexa with Linda)
And Buttons loved watching the squirrels in our backyard. The children woke up on St. Nicholas Day with surprises in their shoes.And they received their Christmas gifts from Dad and Linda, too, since we don't think we'll get to see them again at Christmas. Each girl was quite happy with their new attire.

And anyone who knows Evan knows how much he loves Cars, so this "light up" jacket was a hit!

We stayed indoors almost the whole time they were here. Who wants to venture out into the cold when you've got all you need right here?

And as an added bonus, it snowed Saturday night!

We loved watching it from inside as we enjoyed a pizza dinner. (Although Skylar would have been quite happy about going out into the snow and playing.....even in the dark!)

Sunday morning, they had to head for home, and we had to get ready for Mass. We said good bye and gave lots of hugs. We hated to see them go, but it was such a wonderful visit.

After Mass, in the afternoon, the children and I went to a local St. Nicholas Day Festival. Here's Alexa with St. Nicholas, himself!
And they had a craft table, where Alexa made a lovely angel ornament.
This was all the closer Evan was willing to get to St. Nicholas. He would take tiny baby steps forward, then back away. It was so cute.
I saw Skylar here and there when we were at the festival. It's all in one big gym, so I can usually see her from wherever I am. And I'm such a worrier, I look around for her every 5 minutes. She had a blast playing games and winning lots of prizes! She won holy cards, 2 rosaries, saint medals and lots of candy. She participated in this pinata game, too, but it's hard to see her in this crowd of children .This Saint Nicholas Day gathering has become a bit of a tradition with us. The children look forward to it every year.

And yes, I finally did it! I got out my Advent wreath. I feel better now.
Hope you are having a blessed Advent.

TTFN

~Tina