December 25th

So we celebrated Christmas. Had a little bit of snow that day then the "Artic Blast" storm was over when the last of the presents were unwrapped...
My darling sugar and carb addict also known as Cyrus did indulge way to much resulting in a sugar high that made things a little exciting that day and then Cyrus threw up at the end of dinner- lovely end to the day right. No worries he felt better after a bath, good night sleep, and was back to normal the next day [he seems to have learned his lesson only asking for ONE piece of chocolate the next day] but I won't hold my breath with him remembering this lesson...

Presents were very well received as you can see in the photos...




Possibly a future West Point cadet? A $8 investment has a huge reward in the happiness of one little boy.


Cyrus is a fan of all things superhero and really enjoyed this Batman cave...

The adults did pretty good too- Dan had already gotten his [our] new big plasma television and man those digital channels come in so much better than before. He also received chocolates in his stocking and lot of pairs of socks. He also gotten the mini series "Band of Brothers" on dvd. I got a hand-held electronic game of Sudoku, macadamia and other assorted nuts in my stocking, and the game Civilizations for Xbox which is very nice break to sit on the coach to play instead of the computer chair. Now I just need the new Colony version of the game for the computer...

Christmas Eve

He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!

-Narrator from Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Have yourself a very merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

Counting down....

We're counting down to Christmas with our advent calendar that my Granny D made when I was a little girl [thankfully my brother let me have it]:


And we are really starting to count down until we move into our new house. Looks like we'll be moving January 15-18th! One month to go... It is getting so exciting!

Christmas Program

Here is a picture of Cyrus singing in the Christmas Program at the church today. He is the cute guy in the red shirt about in the middle of the picture. He had fun...

It is beginning to look like Christmas...

Simple Rules for Christmas

Keeper of the Home is hosting a very special Christmas Edition of her Living Simply Saturday Series...

Years past it was easy to keep it simple around Christmas time because we didn't have very much money to go overboard with. Especially after having kids, I did noticed how stressful the holidays can truly be with many mothers working in overdrive to deliver this "have-to-be-perfect-in-every-way" Christmas and I didn't want to get caught up in all that so we (in)formally came up with some rules to keep it simple...

1: Prioritize what is important to you and make a plan without wearing yourself down, loosing sight of what could be a very joyous holiday.

2: Christmas tree is important to us. We tried a new tradition of going to a tree farm and cutting down our own tree this year and loved it. I like to put up the day after Thanksgiving but since we travelled for Thanksgiving, it didn't get put up until yesterday...

3: Food- Two years ago we got a free tree and spent a little more on the dinner, trying out Prime Ribs which was a hit especially with Dan. So this year, we are trying out the Aged Prime Rib from Gartner's and this seasonal favorite usually sells out, I had Dan call today to reserve it for our dinner. It comes in 12-14lb cuts so we'll have them cut it to a 6lb for our dinner and the rest will be cut up into (yummy) steaks. Now I love to cook so planning the menu, trying out recipes, and all that really excites me and doesn't take away from the joy of Christmas for me. Christmas Eve is Chocolate Waffles for breakfast and a very simple lunch consisting of: Polish and Bratwurst sasuages, potato latakes, applesauce, and German Red Cabbage.

4: Shop online- this is a great time-saving tool and usually a great source of deals. I really recommend checking out Etsy- all handmade items and at great prices.

5: Christmas Events- it can get really busy if you try to do 2-3 Christmasy events each week in the month of December so limit it to one a week. Focus on the family and friends around us with a board games and some hot chocolate or cider.

6: A lot of families bake for the holidays. I don't but this is a tradition that Dan's family participated in and since it rates so high on his Christmas memories- I am actually adding this tradition this year. I'll let you know how it goes.

7: Christmas Cards- never did them before but I found a really simple and beautiful way of doing them so I am almost done with them and soon will be on their way...

8: Decorations- It takes me about an hour to decorate the tree and everywhere else so that is keeping it simple.

9: Stop the obession the consumerism of Christmas by giving. Food Banks need food especially this year, help someone with their decorations [elderly], make and give out Christmas cards [soldiers and nursing homes], and think about giving to charity instead of gifts [Kiva is a very fun way to give].

10: Money causes a lot of stress so think about cutting down on the budget, do a couple of the Free events in your area for the holidays, use supplies you already have to make Christmas decorations, and focus on family time...