Heartfelt Gifts

IF YOU ARE PART OF OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY, DO NOT LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING POST.  IT WILL RUIN YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM THE KIDS.  DO NOT SCROLL DOWN.

I always try to have the kids do some kind of handmade gift for our family members for Christmas.  This year we decided to give out Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Jar.  They both made a mess helped quite a bit.  I'm telling you ... we had flour from one end of the kitchen to another.  They turned out nice though.  I decorated them with a wired ribbon and instructions.

M can be so silly sometimes.  He cracks me up.

K loves to stir.

I'm nagging him in this picture ... I can be SUCH a NAG sometimes.  (Don't make a mess, be careful, watch what you're doing, etc.)  Just look at the facial expressions and hand gestures.

Santa visits Sonoma Fire Department

Last Saturday (I'm so behind) we went to the christmas party at Brian's station.  The kids look forward to it every year.  In the past, they've had one of the old engines out for the kids to play on but it's in the museum now.  I think the kids were tired, and it took some time for the kids to really start having fun but by the end, they were running around and playing with the other kids.  Dyan was in town so she came along with me to the party.  Brian was working that day but met us there. 

Santa rode in Code 3 on one of the engines (lights and sirens).  So cool, by the way.  The kids are waiting for him to call their names in this photo.

K has no problem sitting on Santa's lap now.  The other say she said, "I'm not afraid of Santa anymore Mommy ..... cause I'm 3."  Why didn't I notice her tummy was showing .... grrrr!

Her FurReal Puppy was a HUGE hit.

M ran over to Santa as fast as he could, posed for the obligatory photo and couldn't wait to tear into his present.

Star Wars Transformer.

A family picture.  The lighting in the app-room sure isn't flattering.  I look pasty white don't I?

Dyan and I.  I miss her already.  Such a great friend.

MOMS Club Christmas Party

Last Wednesday we went to the MOMS Club party at The Club.  The kids had such a good time.  They did arts and crafts, decorated cookies, played with the parachute and enjoyed a visit from Santa Claus.  I took tons of pictures, here are a few of them.

M's pictures always turn out so good.  What a ham.

K could have cared less about the decorating the cookies but loved the eating part.

Giggling out loud while playing with the parachute.

They even had face-painting.  M couldn't wait to be Rudolph.

Hands down the best picture of the night.  This is M getting a first look at himself as Rudolph.  Cute, huh?  Just incase you're wondering.  M's wearing his "Walk To School Wednesday" card around his neck.  He loves getting his card punched and on every 4th punch, he gets another little orange foot for his chain.  He insists on walking every Wednesday and even made Brian walk in the rain on Wednesday.  You'd think he'd forget about it but no such luck.

M and Santa Claus.  M caught me off guard after the party and asked me if this Santa was a "fake" because he thought he was "lighter".

K wasn't going to sit on Santa's lap until she found out that she wasn't going to get a goodie bag unless she did ... she got right up there when it was her turn but was still a little unsure about the whole thing.  She couldn't wait to tear open her goodie bag afterwards and I wasn't sure why.  Well, she gets the biggest pouty face and says, "I didn't get what I wanted."  She though she was going to get her "Animal Doctor" toy that she's been asking for.  It took a while for her to get over that.  She's telling him what she wants in this picture.

A special gift from K

K came home from school and couldn't wait to give Brian and I the most beautiful ornament.  I tried to get her to let me wait until Christmas but there was no way.  I love how it turned out.  She's such a special little girl.

They swirled red and green paint around in a glass ornament.

Itchy-Scratchy

Note to self ... don't make a hat for your little one out of WOOL yarn.  Duh.  M picked out the yarn the other day and I made him a hat using my Knifty Knitter.  I've been thinking about taking a knitting class for a few months and still may but Mona (Brian's cousin) told me about the Knifty Knitter and I couldn't wait to try it.  It's such a cool gadget.  Now, both kids want scarves and Brian wants a hat.  Made me feel so domesticated to make something for M that he could actually wear (providing it wasn't so itchy).  I can't wait to start on another project - no wool this time.

It's a little bit big.  You have to cut me some slack ... this was my first one.  By the way, I didn't like the color M chose, but do you think I could talk him out of it?  It just so happens that after we bought this yarn, he got a new jacket (on clearance - from $59 to $25) and it had this color in it also.

M itching - about 3 seconds after he tried the hat on.  Bummer.  Will have to buy more yarn and try it again.

The Knifty Knitter.  The kit I got came with 4 looms.

The countdown is on.

I bought some peanut butter cups and let the kids put it in the Advent Calender that I made last year.  The first thing M does every morning is run downstairs and get the treat for he and K.  Here are a few pictures of the kids loading it with candy.

I'd like to say that I have absolutely ZERO will-power.  I can't have candy in the house anywhere or I'll eat it.  I've already had to buy another bag of Reeses to restock the drawers for December 23rd, 24th and 25th because one night after the kids went to bed, I had a weak moment!!!  Thanks goodness M didn't notice that the treats were missing.

School Projects

The kids each had Christmas projects to do for school.  Their homework amounts to a lot of homework for moms and dads.  We had fun doing it though.

Would you believe, I forgot to take a picture of M with his Gingerbread Man?  I sent my camera with Brian and he snapped this picture after school one day.  His is the 2nd from the left in the 2nd row down from the ceiling.  He's wearing a red felt shirt, black hat and plaid paints.  Click on the picture to enlarge.  See the words, "here".

K had to decorate a Christmas Tree.  We covered the tree in felt, put the rick-rack on as garland and decorated the tree with glitter-foamy ornaments.  She loved it and couldn't wait to show it to Teacher Michelle.