It's That Time of Year Again

Yup, it's Elf Yourself time!

I had a BLAST elfing the kiddos.  I snatched a couple of pix from Jessie's blog, found some good ones of the Bit and the Bean, and here are the results:

This one just cracks me UP! :o)

Then, new this year:

There are eight "dances" in total and they are all HYSTERICAL!  Go. Play.  Enjoy! :o)

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  I do believe Miss Beanie is feeling a bit better.  She's still a nasty mess, but not quite as grumpy today.
2.  I just love all the holiday crafts Lil and I get to do together.  The hand print wreath is coming together nicely.  I'm also planning on a foot and hand reindeer, a couple of projects Paul sends along, and a clothespin reindeer.  That one's a must!
3.  I got my chores done early today!  I missed yesterday's bathroom cleaning courtesy a Bean who needed holding, so I got all the bathrooms clean and the vacuuming done. Yay!  Jaydee, you asked about my ratio of vinegar to water to avoid smelling like a chips shop.  I use a ratio of approximately 1/3 cup:2/3 cup vinegar to water and then add about 20 drops of essential oils to cut the aroma some.  My current mix is peppermint, cassia, cinnamon leaf, and clove bud with a drop or two of tea tree thrown in for disinfecting purposes.
4.  Elfing the kids! :o)
5.  I got my list from Jen today so I'll have only one gift left to purchase.  YES!!!
6.  I tallied up the number of Christmas cards I'm going to need this year and came up with approximately 80.  I will go CRAZY if I make 80 of the same card, so I decided to do 5 or 6 different designs.  I made 9 cards last night, and found three winners in the bunch.  I've a couple more ideas percolating and I'll work on them tonight.  I'm excited because my poor, neglected stamping blog is finally going to see some action again, lol! :o)

No milestones.

All That's Left

I'm going to finish up the tour of Christmas this evening.  However, it's been a rather eventful day and I want to remember those happenings.

To begin, Ellie has the crud.  Her nose is a leaky faucet of ick and she is at the point where she's not happy down, and she's not happy being held.  She just cried and cried for much of the day. :o(  I hate it when they get like that.  Finally, I just had to lay her down because I HAD to teach and I HAD to do some house work, and if she wasn't happy being held anyhow, what's the point?  There is nothing more frustrating than being unable to make your baby feel better. :oS

The Bit and I began learning all about Advent today.  I'm hoping she will remember that it is a time of waiting for Jesus to be born.  We have begun a number of activities to make the waiting a little more bearable and I'll post more on that tomorrow.  :o)

Dinner tonight was a variation on this recipe.  Since we didn't host Thanksgiving, we didn't have a carcass with which to make turkey soup.  Well, I didn't let that deter me.  This time of year I'm supposed to have a creamy, delicious soup, and by goodness, I was gonna have it!  So, we purchased a "woast" chicken from the grocery for dinner yesterday (to eat with the leftovers from "fauxgiving") and I made soup today.  Pretty resourceful of me. ;o)

Brien too has been feeling a little under the weather, and I'll be darned if he didn't eat three bowls of soup!  I'm a big believer in the healing power of chicken soup, and this evening was no exception.  B actually said he was feeling better eating the soup.

Oddly enough, Beanie seemed to feel better as well, after having eaten some.  Yes, she ate the soup.  More to the point, she chowed down on that soup.  I have yet to find a table food she doesn't enjoy--especially now as she has become accustomed to chewing and mashing up "chunks" of food--and it's getting harder and harder to get her to eat any baby food.  I still say I don't blame her a bit.  The soup was FAR better than the cereal and strained squash she had this evening. 

Too bad Lil didn't feel the same... It was like pulling teeth getting her to even try it, let alone eat it.  :sigh:  She too was once a fantastic eater.  What in the world happens between 9 months and 2 years to turn them into such finicky eaters?!?

This evening, Bitty, B and I enjoyed a couple go 'rounds of Mario Kart and then had a lovely story time and bedtime.  It's been a lovely lovely day. :o)


Okay, on to the rest of the decor. 

Hannah's tree, as seen from the front door, looking into the family room.  The playroom/schoolroom is off to the right and the dining room the left. 

Our Hokies tree in the dining room.

It's pretty easy to see I had a special helper who was only about 39" tall helping me, huh?  Look at the placement of the ornaments. :oP  I put a couple of them up high, knowing the baby gate doesn't always contain the Bean. 

Sure enough, I'll hear a jingle bell ornament jingling along and I'll rush to find her under the tree.  Only this one, though (oh goodness, I've just jinxed myself once more!)--she's still left the family room tree alone.

The tree skirt is a favorite of Waylen's, and with the front door open, we get a lovely afternoon sun (it is MUCH better in the fall/winter/early spring than summer...).  Waylen scopes out the choicest spot under the tree in the sun and he is set.  :o)  I'm convinced one of the main reasons he is still alive is because I'm home all day now.  I think if he were to be crated during the day, he'd have a pretty crummy life and wouldn't want to carry on.

I digressed again, didn't I?  :sigh:

Ah, my new garland in the daylight--complete with Fisbee. :o)

Once we got the garland up, I began thinking it needed something.  I found my tin of gold ornaments and voilà! I had worried they might not look good with the silver stocking holders, but they work beautifully. :o)

And, my sweet tree in the light of day.  For a "fake" tree, it's pretty nice.  I'm more and more in love with this tree every day--that's a good thing. ;o)  I know I'll return to a "real" tree in another couple of years, but for now, I'm rejoicing I have no dangling wires for Beanie to pull on and gnaw (right, Jessie?) and no needles for her to eat.  :o)

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  Goodness I LOVE this time of year!  My heart feels full to bursting with warmth, love and happiness.  :o)  I had no idea I would ever feel this again once we lost Hannah.  It's amazing the capacity a heart has for healing.  It's not whole, and it never WILL be whole again, but it's healing.  The scab on that wound is far far smaller and doesn't bleed nearly as profusely as it once did when it's ripped off.  The down yo's still come, but not with the frequency they once did. 

I can't help but wonder if removing a big trigger--stress--from my life, didn't help.
2.  School with Lil is going to be SO fun this month!  I'm going to do TONS of Advent and Christmas activities that I could NEVER do when teaching. :o)
3.  The chicken soup healing something in my honey and my Beanie.
4.  Only five more gifts to be purchased!  Woo hoo!!
5.  Family time.  Ahhhh. :o)
6.  Sticking to my reduced internet time plan.  I'm working on it.  It's easy to do when the girls are so wonderful to be with.

No milestones, just the reflection above.  :o)

Off to work on Christmas cards!!!  :o)

The Decoration Tour Continues

Yet another glut of photos for Lissie, since she won't be joining us for holiday festivities this year.

I'm pleased to say we had the house finished (inside and out) before kick-off yesterday (noon to those of you non-Hokies or 'Hoos).  Brien even set up the outdoor lights and changed out the screen storm doors for glass.  Waylen was quite pleased by this as it means lots and lots of toasty sunlight streaming in the front door during the afternoon.  He likes to curl up on the tree skirt under Hannah's tree and soak up the rays.  :o)

So far (I KNOW I'm SO jinxing myself here!), the Bean has decided to "leaf" the tree alone.  Yuk yuk yuk! ;o)  Seriously, though, she is more interested in her toys and the Fisher-Price nativity than she is in the tree.  Or, at least she was until I wrote those statements...:oP

At any rate, here are the decorations as of right now, un-Bean-spoiled.

Up there is Fisbee.  He reappeared when we got out the Christmas decorations.  I suppose that is a trigger for him to return to watch over Lil and how she's behaving. :o)  Lil, for her part, is really enjoying having him back and races down the stairs every morning in search of him. :o)

Snowmanpalooza over here.  :o)  I set up the bells over here (Nan and Pop give us a new one each Christmas--aren't they beautiful?) and moved the small votive holders here from the mantle.

Lissie gave us this last year.

I have had this guy forever.  He and the cage above are hanging out under the piano.

My shimmery snowmen.  :o)

Hannah's snowman.  I smile every time I see this guy/gal.  I notice more details I have missed on previous viewings, such as the pink pompoms used as buttons. :o)

The Jim Shore snow family was a gift last year. They make me smile.  :o)

Our aged "kissing ball" courtesy of Pottery Barn.

I know the image is crooked, I'm sorry.  :oS  Here are the rest of my snowmen.  :o)

The Hokies snow family are new this year.

This Advent calendar brings a smile to my face.  I remember getting it for a song at an after Christmas sale at a cool store in Hilton Village. :o)

Oh how I ADORE this nativity.

The F-P "activity" all three girls have just loved. :o)  It was definitely worth the money.  Eight years and counting...

Goodness, I've had these for a while.  They are wonderful luminaries.

Our Advent wreath.  Today is the first Sunday in Advent so we'll be lighting a purple candle tonight.

Bowl of ornaments.

I just love this ornament stand.  I change it with each season and right now, it is home to a number of small, tatted snowflakes. :o)

And, finally, this sweet little house and accessories was a gift from a student a few years ago.  They greeted me the first day of school with a cup full of maroon and orange "emmy m's".  I knew then and there it was going to be a great year. ;o)

Those are all the small, decorative touches.  I'm hoping to post some more photos of the tree, as well as the other two trees tomorrow. :o)

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Weekend Sparklies:

1.  Lil visiting with ALL the Sisters today.  She began her morning with Sister Lucy and finished off with Sisters Bernice and Jean.  I'm so happy I have a child who isn't afraid of "old" folks.
2.  The Hokies beat UVA yesterday!  YES!!!
3.  Ellie slept through again last night.  Woo hoo!
4.  We picked up an angel tag from the tree at church.  We have a five year old girl, who appears to be the same size Han was, going by the sizes provided.
5.  The mulling spices are perfuming the air.  Ahhhhh...
6.  Lazy Sunday afternoons when you can take a quick nap and nobody minds.
7.  I'm making Christmas card mock-ups tonight.  Wish me luck. ;o)

No milestones.

Recommendation

I know I've sung the praises of these hooks before, but, if you are decorating a tree, you absolutely must have these.

I had purchased some around five years ago and then I couldn't find them again.  Then, last year, they had them, redesigned.  YES! 

You can take the balls off the end to put them through smaller loops on ornaments.  They are sturdy and don't bend and are just overall wonderful!  AND, should you lose one in the carpet, it's easy to find--without hearing it rattling around in your vacuum's beater bar.  ;o)

And, no, Pottery Barn is in no way paying me to hawk their products.  I just think they're that amazing. :o)

For You, Liss

Wow!  I can't believe how much we accomplished today!  I'm not typically a Black Friday shopper--in fact, I try to avoid it like the plague as I'm TERRIBLE in crowds because they have a tendency to trigger claustrophobia--but, I needed a tree.  In fact, I had to have a tree.  I HAD to.  It's the day after Thanksgiving, after all. ;o)  So, we tried to wait until all the early birds were back home in bed and headed out.

We began at Lowe's (no crowds there) and found sweet poinsettias for $0.98! I only purchased two and now I'm kicking myself... We checked out the pre-lit trees and garlands, picked up the poinsettias and a heater for Lil's room (have I mentioned we keep it c-c-c-cool in our house at night? B and I LOVE it, but notsomuch the girlies) and made our way to Home Depot. 

Now, of the two, Lowe's is my preferred store.  HD was overwhelming with WAY too many folks to "help" you out.  I wasn't overly thrilled with the layout of pre-lit trees, either, as they were right in the front of the store--where people were flooding in--and they were on an end, so you had to keep moving back and forth around the end to look at all the trees.  It was a HUGE pain and I felt quite conspicuous since there were no fewer than four HD associates just standing there as we were trying to decide.

On the plus side, we found a beautiful Martha Stewart tree with 800 lights.  No, this isn't up to my 2000+ standards, but most folks would consider that MORE than enough. ;o)  As it was the only one left, we picked up the display model at a discount.  Woo hoo! :o)

Next stop, Kmart in search of the hippo.  Oh, they had them.  Or, I should say they had had them.  There was a display model and no other hippos to be had.  I was SORELY disappointed.  :o(  AND, they wouldn't sell the display model.  Poop. :o( Obviously, I didn't need it, huh? :oP

We finished out the morning at the 'jay.  I got wrapping paper (I LOVE their "premium" stuff!), a pre-lit garland with battery powered LED lights, "Candyland" and "Chutes and Ladders" for $3/each(!!) as Santa gifts to the family, and a new stocking holder. 

Much to my distress, Pottery Barn is no longer selling the "PEACE" stocking holders I was going to purchase this year and those on eBay are going for a small fortune.  For those who may not remember, there were only four hangers with our "NOEL" holders and I didn't want to uninclude (is that even a word?) Hannah from the family's stockings.  She is still a member of our family, and I'm trying to decide what we are going to do with it when it is hung. 

Will it hold family treats from Santa? Santa's yearly letter? Nothing?  I'm not sure.  B and I will figure it out. 

I'm pleased with the stocking hanger Brien and Lil selected and think it compliments the "NOEL" quite nicely.  Additionally, by holding onto the "NOEL", Lily can have the "L" and Ellie can have the "E".  Isn't that a lovely tradition?

We came home and had some lunch (I have postponed "fauxgiving" until tomorrow) and have been beavering away on the decor ever since.

We put up the tree (holy cow, talk about quick and easy!!), set up the mantle (I did something new and lovely this year!), the piano and the snowmen, and the little decorative touches as well.  Oh, yeah, the "activities" too.  Yes, Lil still refers to the nativities as such. :o)

Because there is just so much to see, I've decided to break up the posts by themes (of a sort).  Today's is the tree and mantle at night. Now then, because I am NOT the photographic genius my honey is, and because it is night and I wasn't using a flash, many of the photos are every so slightly blurry.  I apologize in advance.

So, without further ado, this year's tour of the tree and mantle. :o)

The tree has been "snowed" upon and it looks lovely in the dark.  The pine cones are a nice touch as well.  I swear, I may be a convert to this artificial tree thing.  It was a snap to put up, it's pretty, all the branches are "strong" ones that can accommodate those heavy ornaments, and, if you need to, you can just bend a branch wherever you need it. ;o)

My view right now.  :happy sigh:

Oh how I love to sit in my living room with the lights off and enjoy the tree while Christmas music plays. :o)

A loverly blurry pic.  As you can see, I put up the pre-lit garland this year, instead of my usual "candletopia"/ornament collection.

I have to say, I really do like it!  I'm actually quite chuffed with both it, and the tree. :o)

This is Ellie's first ornament from us (I promise to take a photo in daylight).  Can you see how the little duckie is hanging out in a bubble?

My first couple of ornaments.  These are from 1978--I had only just turned two. :o)

My ornament from last year.

B's from last year.

Ah, fuzziness 'r us here... I had to include this sorry looking critter. ;o)

This was one of the ornament GF gave me last year.  I just love this little guy.

B's bi-plane ornament from a couple of years ago.

Ah, a fuzzy "major award" in miniature.  And, yes, for those of you wondering, we have indeed broken out "A Christmas Story".  :o)

Hannah's ornament from us for this year.  That is BUNCHES of sparkly glitter inside there.

Sweet Monkey girl.  She's always with us.

My new tree skirt.  I've never needed a tree skirt with the family tree because there wasn't much to hide.  I most definitely felt the need for one this year.

B's ornament for this year.  I have a compliment in red.

Another OOOOOOLD ornament from GF.

Grandma gave me this one back in 1995 and I think it is simply beautiful.

And, yet another for the fuzz-fest...

Our tree has quite a few of these over-the-top butterflies as they remind us Han is with us.  This one is Lil's.  You can see her ornament from this year (the fish in a "bowl" down there in the lower right).

My tatted snowflakes.  If I have any Christmas money leftover, I'll be perusing Etsy for more.  I think there is something so amazing about these, beyond their elegant beauty.

Hannah's stocking holder.  I think it's pretty good.  Brien jokingly referred to it as her "patronus", lol!

I decorated the garland with all sorts of gold spheres. :o)

And, there you have it.  Whew!

Lily was SOOOOOOOO "decited" to decorate today.  I LOVE making my house homey and fun for the holidays.  I know it can be hard for a kiddo to wait for Christmas, and we read this at bedtime as a reminder that I know the waiting can be tough.

Ellie, meanwhile, has been out of sorts all day.  I know she was utterly exhausted from not having a nap yesterday.  She was up twice last night (UGH!) hungry and unsettled, and it followed her throughout the day.  I'm sure having her house turned topsy turvy didn't help.

We put her to bed with a dose of Tylenol (I'm thinking her teeth must be bothering her as she is a drooly, slimy mess right now) and she went right down with no trouble at all.  We'll see how she sleeps tonight.

We'll also see how well she responds to the decorated tree.  We made a concerted effort to keep any and all breakable ornaments up well out of her reach. 

I wore Brien out as well.  He is snuggled under the Hokie blanket, sleeping, while the Oregon/Arizona game plays in the background. ;o)

Tomorrow, we'll work on the outside lights, Hannah's tree and the Hokie tree.  I need to take a load of items to Good Will, and then, we're done with a Hokies game to watch.  Usually, I put lights on the tree on Friday and we decorate it Saturday.  Between the tree being done, and the college ball on in the background, I feel as if it must be Saturday.  I'm SO excited every time I remember it's not and B will have two more days at home with us. :o)

I would LOVE to make a sparklies list, but as you have read (if you made it this far...), it was a day absolutely LOADED with sparklies.  So, I'm off! :o)