Ho Ho Ho

Ok, Santa had a very busy schedule this year, so we decided to get on his dockett early and take advantage of an timely visit- it was just easier for Santa, you know. What with travelling all over the globe, one early stop in Knoxville was just what worked for him. So, for those we love near and far, I thought I would post the happy faces of my kids, your grandkids, and neices and nephews- thanks for paying the extra postage this year. All your gifts were so great and generous.

Sticking Traditions

As a fairly new mom, this whole Christmas thing, I must say, is really fun. One tiny pressure that I feel though is creating those warm and fuzzy memories my children will always remember. Hopefully through scrapbooks and blogs, it can at least appear as though. But alas, I have those who paved the trail to help; like, Grandparents, Friends and Aunts and Uncles. Here are some great shots of two traditions others helped me start. First, my friend Heidee who grew up in Austria handed down a favorite tradition from her family, the advent calendar, complete with Austrian chocolates. Although Maddie missed out this year, Ben absolutely loved it. Here he is with his calendar. He is a bit baffled why we can't have chocolate every morning now.

Another great treat Ben had starting on the 13th was thanks to my Mom. It was the 12 days of Christmas "Dotty Style". Ben got into the swing of things and would come to our bed every morning (yes, at 6ish) and would jump up and down for his chocolate and present. spoiled? no way!

Another tradition I would like to see stick is hiding my children under Uncle Wade and Aunt Donna's Christmas Tree. These folks did the Griswald's proud this year and came up with the most monstrous tree I have witnessed west of the Biltmore Estate. Thankfully Ben and Maddie were able to show off the many benefits of such a big tree. Now, every day is arbor day at the Wade and Donna's.

Saying Goodbye to our Basement!

Seeing that our days with a basement are dwindling, I decided doing an art project with Ben would be a great way to blow it out and use our basement. I am sure I will miss having a basement so I will just have to take memories like this with me.

I got this idea from one of my many "busy books" which offers ideas for fun times for toddlers. We had a plethera of boxes due to all my online Christmas shopping, so we made a "City" and I finally mixed the tempara paint that had been sitting in my garage for months. (Ben kept wondering where his paint was. Anyway, we just layed out newspaper, lined up the boxes and started painting. Ben had a ball, and Dad joined in, as it was late Friday afternoon.

Maddie had fun watching and playing some music and clapping- yes, she can clap now!!!

I thought an especially blog-worthy photo was when Todd helped Ben use some tools- Ben's favorite pastime!

Christmas Cookies

Christmas is just so much more fun with children! Sounds like a very obvious statement- but for those who have known me a long time know how heartfelt that statement is. We are in the midst of Christmas for a 3 yr. old and a 8 month old, so I am trying to instill some fun traditions that might stick. Ben has found that making cookies is pretty fun. Here I did the easiest route and used store-bought cookies, and made a simple icing. They turned out cute, and for really cheap cookies, they were quite good.
Maddie will be joining us soon and I am looking forward to many more cookies in the future!

The Christmas Pumpkin Patch

I have recently had so many blog-worthy moments in my parenting experience, that I just don't know how I can record them all. As I ponder about the purpose of this blog, I really see it as a "living scrapbook" for my children. One day, we will all be able to look back on these ramblings and see that the childhood experience was fun and full. Some noteworthy sayings Ben has come up with lately are...

"Bless my heart!"

"Where is me???"- while hiding under his infamous white blanket

"I love Tananas" (bananas)

"I am making a pumpkin patch!"

which brings me to my first blog-worthy photo of the week!

We had recently bought a huge box of grapfruits to support our H.S. band fundraiser. Anyway, Ben saw a great opportunity to decorate our house- after all that big box of "pumpkins" was just sitting there! So, he took each grapefruit aka pumpkin and placed each one on a stair- while saying "I am making a pumpkin' patch!"

The Felted Purse! Yea- My First Noni Bag

I have lusted after beautifully felted Noni bags for long enough, so I decided to make one. It wasn't so hard, knitting can just be time consuming when you can't do anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) uninterrupted. It was originally intended as a gift, but, I was so pleased with the outcome, I decided to keep it for myself. Bah Humbug.

Here is pre-felted

Here is post - felted:

Holiday Fun

Ok, I knew Christmas would be MUCH more fun with children, but I guess I underestimated just how fun it is. Ben is now 3 and he is really starting to "get" Christmas. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, Hiedee, we are able to experience an Advent calendar just like the one she had as a child in Austria, where she grew up. It is priceless to see how excited Ben is every morning (at about 6 am mind you!) about getting a little chocolate behind the paper door of the calendar. It is really priceless. Today, I took some shots of a great outing of making gingerbread houses with fellow moms. Many thanks to Susan for hosting this really fun event! I have a feeling the "jonesing" for bigger and better houses will continue next year as well!

The Big Move

Well, here it is! Our soon to be new house. It is located just about 4 miles from our current house, and it offers a few more things we are looking for now that we have a family. With a community pool, tennis courts and basketball courts, Ben is sure to have a fabulous summer. Did I mention it comes with a "boom boom" or what Ben calls a trampoline. (don't tell our insurance agent) Anyway, I think it is going to offer some changes we have been needing in a house. All the bedrooms will be on one floor, and here is the most exciting feature- the master bath was recently remodeled for a show on HGTV! We plan to close on Dec. 29th so we aren't counting on anything until the dotted line is signed by ALL! but, we are sure the new year will be exciting!

Ben's 3rd Birthday Bash, take two!

Ok, so having a birthday that is overshadowed by a major holiday can have it's drawbacks, but so far, Ben has not felt the brunt of that. He has just celebrated "Fish Party" number two, thanks to the fact that we were traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday on his actual birthday, so his little buddies got to celebrate first, and then the Grandparents got in on the gig. Here are some shots from our trip to Tampa. It was a long drive, but the weather was great and we enjoyed seeng the parents/grandparents. Thanksgiving feast was awesome, as was the company, and nothing beats Grandma Seavers' oatmeal cookies.


We also had a great time at Sea World - Ben loved the dolphins, and Shamu. He also liked the penguins and the sharks. He and Maddie had a great time, and honestly, I enjoyed watching Ben's face during the shows at Sea World more than anything else! All in all, it was a great time- I would highly reccomend Sea World- It was actually my first visit, and it was great!