A Preschool Christmas

Yesterday we hit a milestone in our family. Our first school performance! Parker's class had their Christmas program yesterday and it made us swell with pride to watch him happily sing Christmas songs and do cute finger plays. He really did a fantastic job, and if I was savvy with posting video, we would have his talents on display. While all ended up picture perfect, it sure didn't start out that way!

I somehow missed the memo (or maybe this is something subconsciously known to all mothers except myself), that all little kids dress up in their Sunday best for Christmas programs. I sent Parker off in his cute Christmas fireman shirt from Grandma, jeans, and sneakers. When we arrived at school I was mortified at the sight of frilly dresses, done-up ties and shiny black shoes! Not only that, but all moms were dressed to the nines themselves, as if they were attending the symphony. Eeek! Luckily, the performance was not until later into the day, so I had time to redeem myself and bring him clothes to change into beforehand. I was the classic crazy mom, dragging in the change of clothes, video camera, regular camera, baby brother and teacher Christmas gifts while trying not to break a sweat. I think I failed at that one, but we were so happy with the outcome and celebrated by getting Parker a Honey Dip sprinkle donut for his great performance!

This Song Makes Me SO HAPPY!!!

Wildlights at the Zoo

Okay, this is the last of all of my posting for the day! Last night for family night we did something a little unlike us and purposely messed up the boys' bedtime. We just couldn't pass up Wildlights at the Zoo. It was so beautiful, not too crowded, and only a little bit freezing. The boys, of course, loved seeing the light displays of the animals and even paid a visit to Santa.

But the attraction that really drew them in was the huge model train display. They had six or seven different trains, and little control stations for the kids to drive them themselves! Both boys were in heaven, making us stay to watch for nearly a half an hour. Then we watched the ice skaters on the rink and had a stroller race back to the car. It was one of those perfect family moments that you never want to end...unless it's to go home and drink hot chocolate!

p.s. This song came on the radio on our way home and Parker started cracking up! I guess Jewel's singing can be funny sometimes.

Ornaments

I was sad this year not to throw an ornament exchange party as I've done the past few years. It just wasn't in the cards. To compensate, I decided to put a little extra money into the ornaments that the boys pick out for themselves each year. I have always loved the Hallmark keepsake ornament collection, and this year we splurged a bit when we found these gems:

This one is Parker's. Can you tell what he wants for Christmas?

Here is Tyler's. He is obsessed with anything Mickey right now, and both boys think Donald Duck is hilarious.

Cozy Winter Morning

On Saturday we took the luxury of spending a morning in and making something other than cereal for breakfast. I found this recipe in my files and I don't remember where I got it! If you are looking for a delicious breakfast recipe to treat your family to this holiday season, look no further. This one is heavenly.

Molasses Ginger Waffles

2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, separated
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. molasses
1 c. milk
whipped cream - an awesome topping

Mix all dry ingredients, set aside. Beat egg whites until peaks form, set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar together - add egg yolks, molasses, and milk. Add dry ingredients. Then fold in egg whites. Cook in your waffle maker and enjoy!

For the Blurbarians...

I know that many of you are contemplating/in the works with publishing your blog or digital scrapbooking, and I just had to pass along that I got my Blurb book in the mail about a week ago and I absolutely love it! The pages turned out exactly as I had formatted them and the quality is superb. The only caution I would give is to remember to remove any of your hyperlinks from your blog posts as any words attached to them do not show up in the final printing! I had a couple of goofs that way. Have fun blurbing!

The First Snow

To our surprise, the weatherman was actually right for once and we got six inches of the white shroud today! We were so happy that we had put up our little Christmas lights the night before. Don't they look like something out of a disco room, shining through all of that snow?

Parker awoke and asked, "How can it snow when it's not Christmas yet?" I think he's seen one too many Christmas shows where snow is the integral part of Christmas day.

Luckily Peter survived his commute, and the boys and I had a fun time playing outside. Tyler was thrilled to wear mittens on his hands and grab at the snow, but didn't quite take to the taste of it. Parker and I made a "baby" snowman, as this snow was not conducive to sticking together (we miss the snow from the west)! It was way more of a workout than I was expecting today to bundle and de-bundle the kiddos and I three times over, and build a snowman to boot! I think I need to watch Rocky IV again and get some inspiration from those Russian training sessions!

A Ghost from My Christmas Past

Oh my. At thirteen, I remember highly anticipating this Arsenio Hall episode and recording it on VHS when it finally aired. I then watched it over and over again, using slow motion on any part with Jordan Knight. Have a funky, funky Christmas everyone.

The Ranch a la Christmas

Look at how much fun we had with nine bucks and a bunch of leftover Halloween candy! Thank you, Wilton! This year, we decided to make our gingerbread house into the Stewart family "ranch house." There are, of course, minute deviations from the actual establishment, but I think we did a pretty good job at turning the Ranch into Candyland!

The master builders hard at work.

Here we have our woodpile...

...and the fishing pond at the beaver dams! Good times!

Thanksgiving

I'm finally getting around to posting! We have had a whirlwind of activity the past few weeks, and an evil cold virus trying to thwart my posting plans!

First...Thanksgiving. We had my parents and brother, Mark, come out to celebrate with us. Lucky us! Mom came a few days early and kept the boys busy and having fun with her great Turkey Day crafts! So cute! Everyone helped out with the prep for the feast. Due to the immense amount of food and need for additional buffet-style service in the dining area, we moved the table into our tiny living room and cozily enjoyed dinner! Parker & Tyler opted out of the mainly foreign food offerings and watched a movie in the basement. Note their empty table in the slide show. For dessert, we decided on a "one pie-per-adult" ratio. Pie selections included the much-requested Mom apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate cream pie and a blueberry sour cream pie that Mom & I kind of invented ourselves. They were all deeelicious. We had leftovers for five days and froze the rest.

Second...the Christmas tree. Since the above-mentioned virus had attacked Tyler full-force, our original plans to visit Kirtland were canceled. We decided that with more male muscles around, we would follow last year's agenda and visit a local tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. I found a farm that looked promising online, and we headed out sans Mom & a coughing T-bone. The place had a cute "nativity donkey & sheep" and a fun way to drag your kid...I mean tree, around on a sled. I was pretty disappointed with the selection, however - most of the trees were very short and although we were seeking something smaller than last year's "very fat tree," I was hoping for a little more than the Charlie Brown tree we ended up with. Oh well! After freezing for over an hour out there due to my pickiness, Parker being dragged all the way, we chopped one down and hauled it home. It was fun to watch Parker & Tyler's excitement as we decorated for Christmas.

Overall it was a very fun time to show my family around Columbus. We hit many of our favorite spots and I think my Mom & I literally shopped 'til we dropped. It was awesome. Parker in particular was very sad to see Grandma Brown go, but lucky us! We see them again and every other Stewart and Brown we know in two weeks at Christmas!