Christmas Times a Coming

Today was the day.
The day that we ventured into the crawlspace and pulled out 12 Rubbermaid's of decorations, re-arranged the living room and made room throughout the house for the mass amount of Christmas joy.
After a few hours it's starting to feel allot like Christmas and I love it.
K insisted on playing, and singing, carols to decorate the tree and it really did fill the house with spirit.
I am so ready for a bit ( and I mean a bit) of snow to top off the atmosphere.

After pulling out all the dishes and washing them up, I noticed something I never had before and starting laughing so hard I had to grab the camera to share.

These are some Santa mugs that I received years ago and we use for the official Santa milk and cookies.
But I wonder, does Santa have another job when he is not delivering toys???


I was planning to make high heel stockings for the girls this year but forgot I made these ones last year.
I do need to make J one and I have the best idea for that one.
I will share it when it is done.


I love these little men we made years ago.
I am surprised they have made it this long.

E putting on the angel with help from daddy.

It was K's turn to pick the colours of the tree.

She picked white, pink and silver.

I think it turned out wonderfully.

What the season is all about, family.

Christmas Is On It's Way

Just about one month away and I am set and ready.
I had a rough time last year with anxiety and it plagued my holiday season.
This year I am allowing myself to enjoy, relax and take in the merriment.

The kids are getting excited and I think I may need to actually reign them in a bit, but it is hard with it in full display in every store and when Nana has her tree up already.

Yesterday we did our annual Santa's Workshop room cleaning.
I asked the girls to gather a few toys that they would like to give to a needy child.

Well, as I suspected, they came out with a book, a ball and a few mismatched toy pieces.

I asked them how they think they might feel if that is what Santa brought for them for Christmas morning.
Well K stated that she would be glad that at least she got a present.....
Where I responded with ....yes you are right, that is nice,.....followed by a sternly quizzical sneer.

SO K invited E back into the room and they processed to tear it apart and came out with a huge laundry hamper full of great toys that they realized they really didn't need or play with any longer.
AAAHHHH!!!! Lesson learned and morals intact.

I was so happy to drop these off today. I hope they will go to a good home.

In the spirit of giving, my girls were also in the spirit of getting.
Today we wrote out our Dear Santa letters.
I had to share them.
They are so cute.

E is only 3 and trying so hard to write her name.
If you are able to translate scribble, you can actually see that she did it for the first time.

Tonight I am sewing up all the goodie bags for giving out full of Christmas nibbles.

And tommorrow is all about making cards and tags.

Maybe even a few snowflakes for the windows.

I love the holiday season.

Still Here

Yes I am still here.

I am still crafting and sewing but I am finding it a challenge to post lately.

Life is busy, great wonderfully full and fun..but busy.

Ans as this gloomy weather holds on I feel more inclined to sleep than post.

SO a quick update....

-I am officially done my shopping and short of posting my x-mas cards and wrapping I am free and clear to enjoy the holidays and bake away.

-We have been making many Christmas decorations and am looking forward to decorating the house in fine holiday fashion.

-J had his 34th birthday and it was a full family affair.

Everyone made it out for dinner and it was so nice.

We had 4 yummy cakes to wish him a Happy Birthday with at Mom's house and many great gifts.

But as with most things in my world nothing went as I had planned and I feel like I failed him miserably for this occasion.

-My sister is having a baby and it is very very late.

Hurry up already I want to be an auntie.

-I have been sewing capelets like crazy and am loving re-purposing old sweaters.

They are scarf like wraps for your neck and shoulders and look very comfy, warm and a bit stylish as well.

-On Friday we brought our cow in and the sheep are now wintering at a friends pasture.

The egg chickens, cats and dogs are all that is left after an incredibly busy animal year.

Our freezer is full and my animal chores have basically disappeared, well for the winter anyways.

I am so excited for a relaxing season.

-I am looking at all the chores that have to be caught up in the yard and think it is going to be a long winter with an ugly wet yard.

Thankfully we have our wood stove and I am basking in the heat and loving it.

-This months article for Our Big Earth came out and it looks great.

Give it a read sometime. http://www.ourbigearth.com/category/food-and-your-family/

-A friend and I went to the first screening of New Moon on Thursday night at 10:00 pm. I have not stayed out or up that late in quite a long while.

But well worth it. Then I got to go again with 8 members of our family and I brought K as a surprise and I loved it again.

I think I may read the series once more because it is such brain candy.

-I got a great new hat. I am in love.

The little lady is pretty cute too!!!

So we are happy and healthy, for the most part, and hope you all are too.
xx

Stuck in the Mud

When the neighbour boy called to say his brother was stuck in the mud, my first thought was "Geesh, how stuck can a 14 year old be?? And where could he possibly get stuck?"
So I quickly bundled the girls up, turned off dinner in the oven and ran over.

OK this poor boy was in deep and at first I couldn't figure out how he got himself so stuck.
I actually thought he was pulling a prank on me.
He had been walking and stepped into a sink hole and his legs sunk in so fast he couldn't move.
We had recently put in a new septic field for his home and the edges are really soft, as we found out tonight, because the soil has never had to withstand any really wet weather let alone this monsoon.

His brother heard cries for helped and checked outside and then called me.
I ran and grabbed a shovel and K grabbe dthe camera.
I started to dig but knew I wouldn't get anywhere as the water was pouring in and he was sinking more.

I called for back up from our other neighbour and he, being a big lad, tried to pull and tug with no avail.
We dug, and finally got a boot and cut it open to release his foot.
The other foot was lost so we worked on getting one out at a time.
J's mom came home and started to help as well.
At this point, about 30 minutes in, J started to get scared and was freezing, tired and crying.
We had to reassure him and comfort him and dig, dig , dig.

My J came home and helped out and finally we had one foot out and were about 45 minutes into the ordeal.
We were minutes away from calling the fire department but after a few good digs and a huge 4 man tug we got him out.
I felt so bad for his tears I couldn't take anymore photos.
Relief for him and his momma I tell you.
And my arms, they were quite shaky after all that digging.
Poor little man spent the next 2 hours defrosting in the tub.
Bet he has the sniffles in the morning.
Lesson learned, no more mud jumping on our yard.

Planting a Kid Tree

I begrungingly had to fill a huge hole that the dogs have been digging lately.
I think the cat may be leaving incentives in there.
I pulled a wheel barrow full of fresh dirt and the girls started to fill it up.
When I returned, E had planted K boot deep into the ground.


I love the fun they have.

With the freezing cold nights and the much cooler days, poor Miss Molly had been in need of another new and warmer coat.

K picked out this funky skeleton fleece and it turned out quite nice.

Molly is appreciative.

Yet she still is chilly and shivers and chatters her teeth.

I have leg warmers for her on the sewing table as we speak.

It is worth a try.

That will make for a conversation starter.

One of THOSE Days

This sums it all up.

Who ever said Terrible Two's must never have had a three year old.

In no way did K prepare us for the perils and extreme challenge of E.

She has tested me like no other and has brought me to tears more than once.

It is often said that she is a handful, and many have a difficult time containing her.

I get comments endlessly on my ability to mange her and my endless source of patients.

She has a heart of gold and is so full of love and curiosity that she has buckled my knees with laughter.

She does all the quintessential kid things that are too cute but she goes that one step further.

Lately she has become so completely indignant that I am at a loss.

And today I wouldn't win any parenting awards.

I have read many books about strong willed children and people are very generous with advice but at the end of the day I must find a way to allow her to grow and be herself, yet be respectful of all of us around her.

She is three and today, like many days, I am exhausted and ready to sleep after a day of her full on so to speak.

We are in the troughs of no more naps and this may contribute to the sheer magnitude of insolent behaviour, but I need a solution....and I am starting to think I am not above candy bribes!!!

My poor angel.

So sweet and needy, so mischievous and independent.

A beautiful mix but a drain on mommy.

I have said if she was the first she would have been our last.

And after spending a night at a friends home last weekend she said that if E "wasn't so darn cute she would trade her in for a way easier model".

Touche.

Now she is cluelessly sleeping snug in my bed with her thumb in mouth asI am writing to ease my mind and reassure myself that tomorrow will be better.

I hope.

Cinnamon Germs

I am an avid hand washer and make everyone scrub when they come into my house, especially after being in our yard with all the animals etc.
With all the seasonal flu's and H1N1 creeping around I have been extra vigilant as of late.
Yet I have also noticed that my ladies have become extra lazy about this necessary and effective health regime.
I have tried the song trick but they just sing it super fast.
I tried new fancy fun soaps but the soap ends up being a toy and doesn't really help the process.
I have tried to be firm and that works, they diligently wash their hands.... but not at all good enough.
So I tried a little trick.
I sprinkle cinnamon "germs"on their damp hands and asked them to wash them off.
It took about the same amount of time as a thorough hand washing and emphasised the necessity for getting into all the creases and corners.

Now they have a better appreciation for the reason why it is so important to wash well and get all the invisible germies off.

Here's to good health.

Through the Eyes of a 6 Year Old (photo heavy post)

K had a photo contest with her homeschooling.
She asked to borrow my cameras and she began shooting away.
I am facinated by her images and her ability and her eye.

She said she now always looks at things as though she was taking a picture of it.
How cool is that.
I wish I had some formal training to teach her the basics and the theory, till then she is in her element shooting away.
Here are some of my fall favorites as of late.

Papa's Log Sort

We have always had a loader in our yard.
We, and when I say we, I mean J, has built all our fences, gardens and yard stuff/toys.
The girls have had tonnes of fun playing around with them and J has had more than his share working them.
They are great working machines.

Papa has a 5 year contract at a log sort on Ladysmith and last weekend we went to have a look around.
It was great for the girls to see Papa at work to put it into perspective.
Usually they all work so far away that they cannot see them in action.


We got the full tour and had a lot of fun checking it all out.

So many big machines moving around can be intimidating for some, but these girls are so used to them they wanted their turns too.
Unfortunately they would probably have slowed down production.

No playing around in these parts.

They even have a few boom boats.

I love these boats and when we lived in the Queen Charlotte's I almost got a job running one.

It didn't pan out and I think that was for the better really.

The boss man heading back after the tour and filling the girls up op on sweets in the coffee room.