Mondays with Eliza

When I signed Eliza up for gymnastics in Waukee on Mondays while Skylar was in Perry at dance I thought I would be crazy by this time of the year, but I am loving the one on one time with Eliza we have some of the greatest conversations.  Tonight was no exception.
Eliza: Daniel hit me today when my legs were still numb after coming in from recess.  We had to go to the guidance counselor , and he wrote me an apology note.  I accepted his apology.

Mom: Good girl.  Why would he hit you?

Eliza: I don't know.  I guess I am just going to be the kid who always gets hurt.  I got kicked in the face last week.  I smashed 3 fingers on the bars today.  I got hurt on the merry go round and Daniel hit me.  I guess I need a bodyguard.

Mom: What kind of bodyguard?  Should we wrap you in bubble wrap or do we need to send a big guy like Daddy to school with you everyday?

Eliza:No....I just need one of my big friends to walk around with me all of the time like Aubrey, Isabel...

PRICELESS!

Christmas sights

Hanging around home today, so thought I would share a few Christmas decoration photos.

Local Shopping and Santa

We started the day visiting Santa at the First Christian Church in Perry. The girls each took a photo with Santa, than mom got into the last one. We are never too old to pose with Santa...

 

Then, I took the girls to Slater for a little local gift shopping. One of my friend Joan's friends had a sale at her home. She makes the cutest bags, mittens, jewelry, pillows, stockings, and other decorative items. The girls and I all found some cute stuff. (and a couple of gifts I will keep as a surprise)

Next we headed back to Perry for an Open House at artist, Betsy Peterson's place. We have one of her creations already, but I was searching for gifts this time. We found one gift(also remaining secret) and the cutest little wooden stars to go on our tree.

Also, we did stop in Woodward on the way home from Slater in a little local flower shop to scope out the Christmas decorations. The girls and I each bought little metal Christmas trees to add to our decor. The girls' trees are brass colored with little green and red decorations, and they put them in their rooms. My tree is a sequined silver and found a home on the back of the piano with some silver, red, and black vintage metal boxes.

I love supporting local businesses, and it was a fun little shopping trip with the girls this season.

Amazon wish lists are wonderful!

I tried a new technique this year. Amazon wish lists. They are quite slick.

I created a wish list for Danny, myself, and each of the girls for Christmas then shared with Dad and Carol, Mom and John, and Jolene and Neil. It is really nice because they link straight to websites to make the purchases from and allow buyers to mark them as purchased to avoid returns due to duplicates later... It has really been easier than trying to describe "that one pink sparkly outfit in the Justice catalog" to Grandma and Grandpa. : )

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3A89J354PN3TB

Then, Dad created one for us to look at for him. What a concept! Wedding and Shower registries have been around for years. Why didn't I think of this idea?

I hope to include the girls' paper wish lists here too, after I scan them.

Advent Calendar

Well, our Advent calendar is going to be interesting. I made the numbered tins for Dec 1-Dec 24 last year and placed them in a tray for the girls to open each day to find a candy surprise and to countdown the days to Christmas. I was hoping we would be able to put them in a barn wood framed metal board rather than a tray, but Danny wasn't able to finish the barn wood project until after Christmas last year.

Well, this year the frame is done, and it is huge and wonderful! It is made of wood from the old red barn at the Cunningham farm, and I am so happy we were able to repurpose it for such a special purpose. However, the magnets on my Advent tins just aren't going to cut it.... Eliza and I had the tins filled and perfectly arranged, then the cat hit one , and they came tumbling down like dominoes. We rearranged, we slammed the office door, and they came tumbling down like dominoes. We rearranged, took a few pictures, Skylar opened the first tin to collect the prize for Dec 1, she put it back, it fell, and the others tumbled after. She got frustrated and stomped off. Then, I placed them neatly back and Skylar took a couple of pictures of the intermittent dominoes. As of bedtime last night, all of the tins were back in place, but it should be a comical 24 days.

Letters to Santa

Well, it's been a year since I posted the last time. I have decided that I need to appreciate this Christmas season more and plan to journal and document this season as much as possible. I want Christmas to be as magical for my kids as it was for me. Tonight, the girls wrote letters to Santa , and we sent them in to be considered for publication in the local newspaper. They are precious, so I thought I would share.

Art Auction and Scrapbook weekend

Well....the art auction was a blast. There was about 140 tickets sold for this auction, and the mingling was fun and spirited.

Several of the artists that donated pieces for the auction demonstrated and spoke about their creative process. One artist from Perry, Betsy Peterson, brought her actual inspiration item and read the poem she wrote as well as the art she created. She is a folk artist and Danny and I love her work. I had never bid at a live auction before, but I couldn't resist. There was a healthy battle with myself and one other, but Danny urged me on. We ended up winning the item for $150. I think that was a reasonable price for one of Betsy's pieces and the money went to scholarships anyway. Such fun!

We also met the Steffen's at the auction. (the couple we bought our house from) They were very nice and personable. We talked to them about some of the things we had done to the place. and they were curious which girl slept in which room. It was nice to meet them in person.

I didn't get much sleep before headed out to pick up Joan and get to a scrapbook retreat in Des Moines on Saturday. It's easy to jump out of bed when you are going to play with your girlfriends though...at least for me. I so needed this girl day. My goal was to get 12 layouts done, relax, laugh often, and do a little retail therapy. Mission accomplished! I am so thankful for my girlfriends. Thanks for the perfect day Joan, Mary, and Karla. Also, thanks for putting up with tired and puncy Gina. : )