Mini's

We always do a BIG gingerbread project each year in our house.  It works out kinda nice....I (being the baker), the hubby (being the builder) and the kids being the onlookers/frosting tasters.  Well, "our" project is almost complete.  As I type this... it is standing...propped between two green bean cans and sitting atop two tuna cans.  Hoping I can post pics tomorrow of the final project (without green bean cans, of course).

I decided it was also a necessity to have miniature gingerbread houses for S and J to decorate as well.  After all.. we all have to express our individuality somehow...right???? When I saw this idea on this site.... I was sold.  I rolled out the gingerbread scraps leftover from our big project and went to work cutting templates, cutting dough, baking and constructing.  Then I pulled out some fun sprinkles and candies and let the kids go to work!

Since these little guys are so incredibly small... (they can fit on the edge of your coffee mug)....we focused on the roofs.  I love what my two creative geniuses came up with.  I still have two more "naked" houses....one for B and myself...but now I think I might just have the kids do these as well!  They did such a good job.  J needed some help, of course....because he was a bit distracted by the opportunity to sample each candy, taste each sprinkle, and of course, lick the frosting.  Love how their little fingers are working in these pictures and love how Miss Sophia is so intent on her project:)

Sophia is so excited that mommy and daddy get to join her at school on Friday for gingerbread decorating in her classroom.  She should definitely be well prepared....with all the practice we've had at home this week:)  Happy Wednesday!

Tis the season

The countdown to Christmas was officially on at our house over a week ago....Sophia and Joseph have enjoyed tearing off their chains and hunting for our special elf every morning.  I, on the other hand, feel like my head is spinning...  So much to do...so little time.....Need.to.stop.and.smell.the.roses.  So.... here are some things that (when looking through my pics over the last few weeks) have helped me to remember the REASON we celebrate this time of year..

1.  Finding beauty in a simple decoration

2. Sitting on Santa's Lap

Sophia asked Santa for the Elizabeth American girl, Buzz Lightyear, and the Toy Story 3 DVD (to share with Joseph, of course!!)

Joseph asked for a Lightning McQueen Leap pad book, a BIG mixer truck and the pizza delivery truck from Toy Story 3.

(Another reason why I hate using the automatic setting on my camera....very bright flash!!!!)

3.  Building together.....Here are the pieces to our annual gingerbread project....only this year there will be a twist.....

I didn't get a picture of this part when we had green bean cans and spaghettios propped against it overnight....just to be safe....Hopefully the next post will unveil the final product!

 4.  Christmas cookies!!!  I LOVE to bake Christmas cookies....but sadly... I have only made a few Christmas designs so far....still have been trying to get caught up on Cookie Construction orders.

5.  And last but certainly not least..... a crowded mantle....and children in eager anticipation of the Magic to come on Christmas Day!

The Magic of Christmas...

We are thankful...Thanksgiving 2010

It just really "felt" like Thanksgiving today...the house smelled of warm apple and pumpkin pies and the weather was brrrrr....chilly!  We got a few pics before leaving for Omi and Papas for the big turkey feast! Mmmmm...Thanks Omi and Papa for a delicious meal!!! 

Love the way these two are looking at each other in this picture!

Here is one of the leaves on our "We are Thankful Tree" this year!  Sophia even helped Joseph write his own leaf.  He was thankful for all of us....and of course his caRRRRRRSs and his lawn mower..too funny!

We relaxed a bit after our big turkey lunch and then headed outside to make some smores....mmmm

Sophia was pretty good at making them!  J just wanted to shove the "unroasted" marshmallows in his mouth!

We headed down to see the Plaza lights in the evening...but I forgot my camera....so no pics to share...but of course it is always fun to see the kids' eyes light with excitement as the lights go on and the fireworks went off.  It's officially that time of year again....oh my...I'd better get busy!!!!

The Claw

Miss Sophia has been enamored with the "Claw" toy machine (as we call it) at the grocery store for quite some time now....really ever since we won a pony at our old favorite Dillons when she was a toddler!  She is always asking if she can have money to play the game and try to win a stuffed animal.  We are teaching her that if she wants to spend her money she can...but she is learning that it takes quite a bit of money (50cents) for each turn....and really the game involves nothing but luck!  Well....this week...during a trip to the store...she decided she wanted to try her luck again...she brought her own dollar and with a "few" more donated by yiayia....she asked me to try to win something for her....

And believe it or not....we DID IT!  Here's our special new friend...maybe next time I can get the pink bear that I was actually aiming for!:)

Had to catch a picture of J in his new warm fire truck jammies.  He runs around in them shouting wee-er, wee-er, wee-er (trying to sound like a fire engine of course)!

And because life at our house has been a bit chaotic the last few weeks to say the least... I have neglected to schedule a haircut for this little guy.  Here he is after "stylist" Daddy had some fun with his hair and brows!!

Praying the chaos settles down a bit....so we can turn all of our attention to the holidays right around the corner!  I have a feeling our Elf may be coming back to visit us soon!!!
Happy Weekend!

Crafty Turkeys

We did footprint ghosts for Halloween...so of course...we had to use our handprints for our turkey art!  Both of the kids thought it was pretty cool that we got to paint their hands and each of their fingers a different color!  I remember when Sophia used to hate to get even finger paint on her hands.  Wow...she has come a long way!  

We had a 70 degree day in November today!! So after we finished our project we got to take some pictures of the final product outside!!! Little J was pretty proud of his work....I think he was even starting to get the patterning concept around the border by the time we glued the last few squares!! :)

And isn't my Sophia just a beauty... She just gets prettier and prettier the older she gets.  I didn't capture how blue her eyes really are here...still need that practice in full sunlight!!!

You probably would never guess that these two bickered all weekend long from these pictures, huh??? You probably wouldn't know how J shut the door over Sophia's foot and left a nice little scratch,  or how Sophia tattled on his every move....oh my.....  But truly...they do love each other.   There were lots of "let's have a car race together," and let's dress up in costumes together...(sad I didn't get a picture of Sophia dressed as a princess and Joseph proudly wearing a bow and headband in his hair!) 

They can be at each other's throats at times...but for the most part, it is pretty obvious how much they treasure one another.

I'm not too excited about the week ahead...flu shots tomorrow and then I am expecting to be off of my feet for a few days....I'm pretty confident that the hubby can hold down the fort though.  I've bathed the dog, attempted to clean up any clutter, and somewhat cleaned out the refrigerator.   I had intentions of making a few "make-ahead" dinners to freeze (as any good mother/wife would do)...but instead, I of course got side tracked by a new recipe I HAD to try for these....

Oh well.... at least they will have cookies, right?  Happy Monday!

M is for....

So proud of his work!  I am proud of him too...even though sometimes he points to it and says..."A" is for mouse!  HA!!! I think we might need some more practice!!!!