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!

Ben's 3rd Birthday Bash, take one

So, I have gotten a little behind on the ole blog lately, so I am trying my darndest to get it updated to share some photos of a great little three year old. Birthdays only get better as kids get older- right? Seriously, I feel this privilege will be very fleeting, so I decided to jump in with abandon, and have a "Fish Party" as Ben requested. His actual birthday is on Nov. 25- which is when he will have yet anoter super-sized "Fish Party" at Sea World with his grandparents in Tampa. Bob Bob and Ju Ju - look out! Here we come! Anyway, the party was loads of fun, and Maddie miraculously slept through the entire thing! I had lots of help from my dear mom- Dee Dee, so everything went off without a hitch! Well except for the fact that I didn't think to check my camera battery - which had conveniently died! and, I forgot to serve the fish cookies - which were homemade by golly! I am looking forward to letting these memories live thru the photos! By the way, Grotons Fish sticks are pretty good!

If you were a guest, Ben loved his toys! You are much too generous!

Halloween Fun Young and Old

Ok, Halloween has come and gone. Maddie had her first trick or treat experience, and she buzzed around as a bee, whereas Ben quacked while he trick or treated. Halloween these days is fun- and it is drawn out too! Between Fall Festivals, and now with the advent of "Trunk or Treat" we are covered in too much candy, but we get lots of mileage out of those costumes! Todd and I even ventured out for some halloween fun thanks to my fellow preschool moms. Boy do they know how to have a good time! Many thanks to Allyson for hosting the Murder Mystery soiree. Since our photo might not be very self-explanatory, we were characters in the murder mystery. Todd was Puck (the prankster) and I was Guinevere (Arthur's trophy wife) thus the trophy around my neck. Many thanks to my 12 year old neighbor who loaned me the hardware. Todd wore a mullet; you know, business in the front, party in the back. Well, I have to say, Halloween is inching up as one of my more favorite holidays.
Here we are at the "Trunk or Treat" at Ben's preshcool. It was a great event for families, and the kids loved it. Although Ben doesn't look thrilled in the photo- truth is, he had just gotten up from a long Sunday afternoon nap! He loved the games and the trick or treating from car trunks! Only in America.












Halloween Night was not so frightful. We had fun visiting with a few neighbors. Candy? What candy?

It's About Time You Updated the Blog!

Ok- I am way way behind! When you throw a little travel into the ole schedule, I get all out of sorts, and lose the will to blog- but I am back, so all two of my readers can rest easy. I am sure you all are ready to see the latest photos. These are from a few weeks ago when some fellow moms and myself took the kids to the Museum of Appalachia for their homecoming. It was a great time had by all, and the weather was pristine. A perfect Fall day in East Tennessee! This is the 27th annual Homecoming- so it is a pretty big deal! This is a great place to visit any time of the year, but this event included various musicians and historical stuff that didn't so much impress the little ones as it did us moms. The fresh apple cider was my favorite. And the moms did partake in some awesome fair-like food. (have you ever seen ribbons of spiraled potatoes deep fried?) Well they rock. Anyway, I digress- here are some great shots.

Maddie Discovers Sweet Potatoes!

I just thought these photos were too cute to pass up. Maddie is such a great baby. Sweet potatoes seem to be her mashed food of choice these days. She is warming up to the idea of eating baby food, although she does love that bottle!

Fall Easy Art Project

With Fall in the air, I was looking for some way to bring it in the house...with Ben's help. This is a really easy project that takes very few supplies. It started on Friday, while on a walk, Ben and I started collecting leaves, trying to find all different colors and shapes. Ben had fun, and Maddie looked on! Anyway, I had recently purchase a 8" wide role of art paper at a local school supply store, so I rolled it out across the table, and let Ben (with my help) glue on the leaves. I then took it to a local Kinkos and had it laminated fo $3! I had intended it to be placemats, but because I did not pre cut the placemats, I just decided to make it into a runner. Or, in the meantime, a window treatment! Ha! Anyway, I thought it turned out great! It will be interesting to see if they colors last. As for now, we are enjoying God's artwork in our home!

Time to Blog Daddy! & All Things Orange

What a great week we have had here at the homestead. Today was a particularly great day. The morning started off with cool weather and a breakfast outing to Court Cafe. This is a very old diner that smells just like my Grandmother's kitchen. From there, we went to the "pumpkin patch" where Ben excitedly helped pick out pumpkins for my latest project.

Dad helped greatly today, as I wanted to get some semblance of Fall on my doorstep and in my flowerbeds. I have these great iron rods that fit into a planter, to created this crazy stack of potted plants

I had always envisioned pumpkins stacked on these with drilled holes and filled with christmas lights. If you can't see it yourself, here is the end project;

But, I wanted to note some great "Daddy" moments today that I caught on film. Todd really is a stellar Dad and Ben and Maddie are in for some great times ahead. He knows that all Ben really wants is undivided attention or the opportunity to help "build" something. Even though our nerves get strained now and then, Dad enjoys being Dad- and it shows!

The day was peppered with classic boy moments, as Ben discovered a worm, and brought it to show me.

So many beautiful moments to be thankful for. I simply love days like this.