Merry Christmas!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! That's what the boys keep saying at least. We have gotten a lot of snow over the last few days and it has been great. The boys have been outside building snowmen and forts and now I don't feel as homesick for Alaska. This weekend was a bit blah. We got rear-ended on Friday and Claire and I had a bit of the stomach flu. But we seem to be doing good now. I love this time of year when you go into stores and see gobs of men shopping. It cracks me up. Today we made an early morning trip to Walmart (suicide, I know) and the only people I saw were men. 'Tis the Season!
Merry Christmas to all! Look for our cards it the mail. Yes, I waited too long again this year to get them out. We have loved hearing from all of you and will be thinking of you tomorrow!

Scrooged

Allow me to rant for just a minute. (sigh) I am very sad as I write this. For the first year EVER my kids will not be having any sort of Christmas party or play or recital or program of any sort. We have lived in many places and my boys have gone to a number of schools. Some schools where Christmas was considered a "winter celebration" and the boys even had fellow students who did not celebrate Christmas. This is not the case this year. We live in a VERY stereotypical Utah neighborhood. I have caught teachers at the school reminding the kids to "Choose the Right". Still we are not going to acknowledge Christmas? I asked someone about it today and the response I got was: "We have never had Christmas parties." What?!
The thing that really gets me is that Halloween was practically and all week party in one of my boy's classroom. Halloween! (My least favorite holiday.)
Ok, I am done now. Forgive me. I just couldn't help myself.

It's All About Birthdays...

What is it about little ones and birthdays? At church on Sunday every time we sang a hymn, Claire broke out in; "Happy Birthday to you...." her own dialect of course. It was hilarious except during the Sacrament. Now she has taken to randomly breaking out in song and it is always the birthday song. I tried to get her to sing with a Jared in there since his birthday in coming up in January. But she insists that it is always "Seff eee." (meaning Stephanie) It is too funny!

Christmas Ideas

So, my friend Liz does this really great tradition. She counts down to Christmas with books. Every year she wraps 25 books and places them under the tree. Everyday they read a book and with some there is an activity that goes with it. I love this idea! I have seen versions of it around the net. The Crafty Crow does one. I like this because it is about doing something together vs. getting something. I am compiling my own list and going to start tonight. The library has been a great resource for this.
Also, we are trying something new this year. Jared taught a FHE lesson on Monday about serving others. Everyday we are drawing names and providing secret acts of service to family members. For each act we get to put a piece of hay in the manger to fill it up for Christmas Eve. The boys are having a great time with this and it is cute to see what things they sneakily come up with. I saw this idea on someone's blog, but can't remember where, so I can give them proper credit if you see it let me know or if I find it I will put the link here.

Wedding Weekend

We have had a full weekend around here. Jed's brother Josh got married and we had fun visiting with family all weekend long. It was the first time all the siblings have been together since last Thanksgiving. The kids are still recovering from the late nights and constant fun!

The Season is Upon Us- Tagged!

I was tagged to do this holiday quiz so here goes:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for the kids, bags for the rest
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial, still trying to talk Jed into the real deal
3. When do you put up the tree? it varies each year
4. When do you take the tree down? 30th or 31st of Dec
5. Do you like eggnog? blech!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Santa once put a block of Tillamook cheese in my stocking
7. Hardest person to buy for? Jed and My Mom
8. Easiest person to buy for? Claire
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep, I like ones that the kids can touch
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? can't think of one....
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? This one is hard but it isn't Christmas until we have watched the claymation flicks w/ Burl Ives
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Depends on who I am shopping for...
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? no!
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? fudge and Russian tea cakes
17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home but then over to Parent's House
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? yes, and I once saw Santa's sleigh when I was five
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? PJ's on Christmas Eve the rest on Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? all the commercial crap
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like the ones the kids have made or those that have survived from our first Christmas
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Fondue or Rachlette
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A White Christmas(cheesy, I know.)
I tag: Candi, Jenn S., Charity

Creative Inspiration

This is an advent calendar Asia made from a muffin tin- this is a great idea for using stuff you already have around the house!

Creative Hiatus (ie: The Candy Cane Sweat Shop)

Well, about the most creative thing we did this week was decorating the Christmas Tree on Sunday. If you look at the tree you can see that it truly was a creative effort by all the kids as Jed and I handed out the ornaments and the kids went crazy. Claire has been having a lot of fun un-decorating the tree ever since.I am planning on not doing as many projects this season and just enjoy doing our usual family traditions around Christmas. For the most part "Creative Tuesdays" will be withheld until the new year. You can still submit ideas, inspiration and your projects and I will post them, as I receive them.
Last night we did have the cloth candy cane sweatshop working overtime, as Isaac's economics project was due today. They didn't turn out too bad and I think he enjoyed doing it. We will see how the fair goes on Thursday.

Baby Don't Ya Cry, Gonna Make a Pie...

There is something about pie that always makes me think of my Grandma Bodek. Especially, when I eat or make pumpkin pie. This afternoon Claire and I were in the kitchen making pies and my mind drifted to her. Grandma didn't make the prettiest pies, but they were always yummy. I remember helping her in her 50's pink and turquoise kitchen a lot. She watched me after school when I was young and looking back I admire her patience as she let me empty random ingredients into bowls and mix the concoctions with water. Growing up during the Great Depression, Grandma never let anything go to waste, and there I was wasting anything out of the cupboard that my little heart desired.I don't remember her using recipes when she baked, she always let me put a "spoon full of this and a little of that" in the bowl.
Grandma never got to meet Claire or hold her like she did my boys. I know that regardless they won't remember her except through my stories. Today when I looked over and saw Claire dumping sugar and cinnamon into a measuring cup and stirring away I got to tell her about how I used to do that with my Grandma. It made me miss her. It also made me think of the things I remember the most about her. Not the presents she got me or the treats she let me pick out at the store. I remember the things she did with me and the independence she let me have. I remember her love.
As we head into the holiday season, I hope we can remember to just be with our kids. Let them feel our love. Try to stress less and do less, that's my inspiration for this week.

Creative Tuesday

Aside from finding new spots to stash Christmas gifts, not too many creative things have been happening around here. Isaac has been working on a school project for the third grade economics fair coming up so I thought I would share what he has been up to. He is making cloth candy cane ornaments (pictured above) This has been a great project because he can completely do it on his own. (part of the point of the project) Yet, it is something that you would like to have on your tree and keep for years to come. You can find the instructions here at: Family Fun.

Creative Inspiration

Charity clued me in to this site: Everyday Food Storage. Check it out! This girl is amazing! She has some great ideas to truly use stuff up and make meals that your kids will eat!

Creative Tuesday

This idea is not a new one but it serves a great purpose. I had my boys make fall leaves out of construction paper. Each night before they go to bed they take a leaf out and write on it something they are grateful for. Jed and I are joining in. I have a basket on my kitchen counter and all of the "thankful leaves" go into that basket. On Thanksgiving we are going to draw all of the leaves out of the basket and read all of the things we are thankful for. We are planning on doing it during dinner. It has been good because it has made the boys think of more things they are grateful for.

And Finally We Have a Butterfly...

We were finally able to get some photos of Claire in her costume after more than a week of a fever(the fever didn't last that long) and then a rash....

Grosgrain

Ok, you have to check out this site. This amazing lady, Kathleen, is starting her own business and has been sewing incredible costumes and clothes that she gives away! She truly is an artist and spares no detail. This is true creative inspiration! It's too bad I don't possess the skills. :) Click on the link below to check out her last costume giveaway.

Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Creative Inspiration

Our inspiration comes from Krystal this week. She has a 3wk old baby and is still doing creative things....
This is from her blog:
I found a thought. "Keep Christmas in you heart the whole year through". The suggestion was to give a calendar. I found these little day planners in the target dollar spot. I am going to personalize them for the girls in my YW class.
Krystal, you are amazing!

Creative Tuesday

This a magnet board that I put together this week as an example for my boys' teacher gifts. They are going to make one for their teacher and make magnets and a stack of papers to go on the board as a gift. I have to admit that I am getting a bit tired of the whole painted wood w/vinyl lettering home decor fad, but at 4 bucks a gift- you can't beat it. Also, it is a project they can totally do themselves.
The next photo is Luke's contribution to Creative Tuesday. Imagine my delight to walk into the kitchen and find him so very creatively practicing his name on our cereal container. To which he responded: "But, Mom it's my favorite cereal!"

Creative Inspiration

We have two sources of inspiration today. This is Claire in the shirt that Dani made that I had mentioned before. She made the matching bow and shirts for all the little girls in the family. The second is from Eli.(I couldn't get the photo larger, sorry) He made this costume for his daughter-complete with a 5 point harness, it was great! What a witchcrafty family.

Creative Tuesday

Well, most of my creative efforts went to Jared's costume last week. Scroll down to take a peek at that. But I did manage to copy an idea from Dani and make this shirt for Luke. It did not turn out as well as I would have liked but he was happy and he was my client. Dani made similar shirts for all the girls in the family for Halloween (but a lot cuter), which I will post tomorrow. I loved this project because it was under 5 bucks, including the shirt and it took me about 20-30 minutes to finish.

Over 100 Posts!

So I was updating a few things and noticed I have reaching the 100 mark! Wahoo! The reasons I started this blog were: #1 to keep a better journal for our family....#2 to keep in touch with those we love but don't see often. I'm feeling pretty good today that both of these goals are being met. So in the spirit of 100 here is a fun tag to celebrate...all who wish...go for it!

100

So here’s a list of 100 things. All the things I’ve done are in blue print.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (closest was a duet)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language( does ubadubee count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia(but I could see it from my house:)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check...notice the honesty here
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club, and participated!
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake....nasty
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100.Visited Italy

Ghouls....

Here are the boys on Halloween Night.....
Jared and Isaac went a lil' old school this year. Nana had a spook alley in her back yard and the cousins had posts during the night, so their costumes went along with that. Claire was a Monarch Butterfly- but her photo did not turn out. Hopefully we can have a redo today. We had a crazy weekend complete with sugar hangovers and an eleven hour power outage, Sat-Sun. I'm glad to be starting a "normal" week!

Happy Halloween!

Hope your night is full of treats and not tricks! Here are our Jack o' Lanterns this year...

Creative Inspiration

This is a day late- I know. I have been running the Halloween sweat shop around here sewing a costume for Jared. Their school is out tomorrow which bumped up all the parties and parade. Which in turn- moved up my deadline!
Asia submitted this fun idea (pictured) these are visiting teaching handouts for Halloween. The idea comes from hand picked daisy.Really cute, I thought. Candice also gave me an idea this week. She takes sandwich bags and pre-packs them with 1 serving size of a snack for her kids and then just keeps the bags in the pantry. Genius! I know when I do this, my boys will ask: "How many bags do I get?" But, we will give it a try. Thanks ladies!

Creative Tuesday

Tis the season for crafty-ness or witch crafty-ness...We had cousins over today and so I decided to get deliciously creative. This idea came from Family Fun. We took a melon baller to apples and made mini caramel apples dipped in sprinkles. This was really kid-friendly and good too! We tried to dip some in peanut butter too, but it did not work out as well.

Birthday Mania!

Happy Birthday to Asia and Liz!
This is a shout out to two "sisters" of mine. I love you both and are amazed by the women that you are. You inspire me to be a better person and I love your candor. You are both married to two lucky guys!
By the way Liz, it has been far too long hasn't it?

Happy Birthday Jed!

Happy Birthday to my best friend and "better half". This is a bad photo of us but we are doing one of the things I love to do most together; traveling and hiking. I love you!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!
Here is a cute flashback photo from my wedding day!
I love you!

We Are Alive....

Yes, we are alive. It took weeks for our internet and land line to be hooked up. Has anyone seen the Brian Regan bit about the phone company? It perfectly sums that up. We are living in a box free zone and somewhat adjusting to our new surroundings. The kids are having fun living closer to cousins and we even had a visit from cousins in Colorado. The last 48 hrs have given me the "opportunity" to experience a parent/teacher/principal conference and a raging fever, sore throat and hacking cough so I will fill in all the details later...

Signing off...

Well, we are moving in the morning and will be without internet for a few days. So Goldilocks will be taking a little break. I will send out an e-mail with more details and our new address etc... Check back next week!

Creative Inspiration

Our creative inspiration comes from Krystal today. This is a photo of her expected baby's room...what great colors that will last after babyhood!

Not So Creative Tuesday

Well, here is my confession: I have not been very creative this week. I have been reorganizing and packing. Need I say more? I did come up with a solution though. With a kindergartener in the house we seem to have a larger endless supply of papers coming home from school. So I set aside a basket for scrap paper and any one-sided papers that come home go into the basket with the clean side facing up. Voila! Now we have a stack of paper just waiting to be drawn on and maybe I won't have to refill my printer everytime I go to print something!

A sigh of relief...

Well, things have come around full circle. Jed has gotten his license and landed a job in SLC that he starts a week from today! We are going to be moving further north this weekend and starting a life with a regular M-F job with normal hours, weekends off! We are so excited and relieved to be done !

Creative Inspiration

There were no submissions this week. Our creative inspiration comes from Heather Bailey Fabrics. I love these pin cushions!

Creative Tuesday

This is my first real attempt at jewery making. I made these earrings on Saturday...

Creative Inspiration

There were no submissions this week but I did come across some inspiration. My neighbors took the leftover PVC pipe they had after putting in their sprinkler system and made a bike rack- ingenious! My camera battery is charging at the moment, but I will post a photo soon. Also, on Design Mom, I came across this fabric garland made by leftover fabrics-to use for decorating at birthdays, etc. Looks simple enough to make and do as a kid project and looks great hanging up!

Blogger

We have a new blogger in the family. Isaac started a blog and is ready to share. Check it out at isaacsgalaxy!

Creative Tuesday

A local scrapbook store had this layout a few months ago, which I thought was great. I copied it with a few tweaks that I made. I loved the idea of documenting my thoughts about Pres. Hinckley. A simple layout I whipped out this morning...

Tired...

Yesterday and today I have been feeling tired and down. Physically tired for sure, all the other types of tired also. Tired of my inadequacies as a mother and wife. Tired of doing the everyday stuff that we all face, tired of our current situation and Jed looking for a new job.......The list goes on and on. As I was "blog stalking", which I frequently do, I went to http://adailyscoop.blogspot.com/ which is a blog that Dani clued me in on earlier this summer. This blog is authored by a mom who lost her one year old daughter in June to a tragic accident. I often visit it and read her inspiring thoughts and amazing strength since the accident. Today was no exception. She was writing yesterday about being tired and I wanted to share her thoughts as they helped me take a deep breath and "buck up".
"We all get tired but we cannot, we must not give up the good fight. We must take up our cross and fight onward. The stakes are just too high. The alternative is too bleak. Heaven watches us most closely when we are tired. It is the crucial point in the game that defines us as players. What do we do when we are tired? Do we give up or do we call for help and carry on. These tired times are defining moments." - Stephanie Waite

All Cartoons Are Not Created Equal...

Friday night is movie night. We usually rent a flick to start off the weekend, especially during the school year. So before I picked up the boys from school I went to a Redbox to get something. Nothing really is out. Then my eye caught sight of the Batman Gotham Knight Movie. I thought "huh- this might be ok, Luke will watch it and probably Jared too." Luke being five has different movie interests than Jared and I wanted to glue all to the T.V.(Isaac is hypnotized by any flashing on the screen so therefore is not a concern when trying to please)

So I rented it and shortly thereafter added one more thing( besides wanting to glue my children to the T.V.) to my growing list of: "How I am a Horrible Mother." Seven minutes or so into it I sat down and looked over at Luke who had his eyes covering his hands. I looked at the screen and noticed how violently the criminals were being beat up and the I heard a D*** and literally in the 2.3 seconds I first looked at Luke and heard the D word turn into Son of a B..... We had it turned off! I took the DVD out of the machine and looked at the rating; PG13. How did I miss that? I am so good at checking ratings, etc. Now, that is not to say that my kids have never seen anything PG 13. We are a house of Star Wars Jedi's and Pirates that raid the Carribean. That being said-- I have chosen just what their little eyes have seen and heard, {sigh} including now. Moral of the story- I am an idiot and check all ratings even innocent looking cartoons, you might be surprised...

First Day of Kindergarten (Sniff, Sniff)

Well, yesterday was Luke's first real day of kindergarten. It has been a long two weeks since the boys started and he has had to wait. Although I am a bit sad to see my baby boy gone- he is so ready! After he sat in his desk and began his assignment, I snapped this photo and he looked up at me and said:(very condescendingly) "Um, Mama, you can go home now!" Ok that was my cue! I know how much he will change and grow and be exposed to this year and I guess that is what makes me sad. It seems like only yesterday that I was taking Jared to his first day and then Isaac. Now, they are both so grown up! (sigh)

Creativeness ( a bit tardy)

Luke, helped me make this teacher gift for our favorite teacher, my sis. It is a pencil/ pen holder and matching card to start off the new year. I think it would make a cute gift for my boys to make for their teachers, also. The plastic juice cans are the way to go- although a little store bought container would be cute too.

The series of cards are all made by Mel and are 3x5. I want to try out this size! Quick, cute and easy!

Knock on Wood

Ok- I think we have some of the bugs worked out, knock on wood. Since it took so long and I am lazy I will save my project for this coming Tuesday. It has been a long week around here. I have been sick and then found out it was strep throat so that kept me down a couple days- fun fun. Jed got his temp license finally and is still waiting to test. We are still job hunting...
Jared has joined the school orchestra and is learning to play the cello which he is enjoying. I love seeing him carry around an instrument that is his size-too funny! Isaac tells me he wants to learn how to play the accordion--we'll wait on that one. I haven't seen any rentals around. :)
On another note- Go Sarah P! I don't care for Mc Cain. But us Alaska girls have to stick together. She was our mayor when we lived in Ak, and I appreciated her spunkiness. This is one crazy election!

Check Back

Ok so Jed is reloading our laptop that got a virus- so check back for creative tuesday-hopefully soon!

Creative Round-Up

There were two submissions this week. the first is from Melanie who made the "bag in a box" above. The second is an altered cookie jar from Dani. Notice the cute recipe holder on the side. I like the colors that you both used. Thanks for the inspiration! Although I will add this; do we really need something to make treats more alluring and attractive Dani? :)

Creative Tuesday

A quick baby girl card...

First Day of School

My babies are growing up "sniff".....