Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Angel Chimes


I always loved the Angel Chimes at Christmastime. It just wouldn't be the same without them. They are pretty simple, but mesmerizing. I have Grandma's... and they were in mint condition, not a drop of wax or dirt on them. Only the patina gives them away as not being brand new. I could stare at them until the candles burned down to nothing, listening to the gentle ding-ding-ding-ding as the metal drops ring the bells... one of my favorite memories.
... and A~ feels the same way.

much love,
erin

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Eat your vegetables!


I wanted to do a quick post on one of our favorite ways to eat our veggies. A~ really does a pretty good job of eating up beans, broccoli, and brussel sprouts.... but one of our first hits was this fritatta.

First you chop up some onion... however much you like... and saute it in an ovenproof skillet with a little butter. Once it's tender, add one small to medium shredded zucchini. I usually sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper. While that cooks, break six eggs into a bowl... you can do four or five eggs if you are feeding less people... or have less zucchini. Add milk, salt, and pepper and whisk well. Now the veggies should be throughly wilted so you can pour in the egg mixture. Cook until well set, lifting up the edge to let the uncooked egg run underneath. Sometimes mine sticks and won't let me lift... that's okay... just stir it around a bit while being sure there sufficient egg to "glue" everything back together. Sprinkle top with shredded cheese - cheddar or a mix is fine - and pop under the broiler. Be sure to wrap your pan handle with foil! When everything is fully cooked, the cheese is melted, and the top is golden it's ready. Cut into wedges and enjoy! I like to put chopped tomatoes on this... but A~ and Sergio add ketchup. Either way it's yummy!

much love,
erin

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Happy Holidays!

We were lucky to get to open presents on Christmas Eve this year. I so prefer doing the Christmas thing with the candles lit and the tree sparkling... it just adds to the magic of the season.

On the way home from church, A~ crashed in the car. She was sound asleep as I carefully carried her inside and laid her down on our bed - coat and all. Then I tiptoed around to finish with the preparations... coookies on platters, candles, music, ... you know - the whole nine yards. I even snuck into my secret hiding place and stuffed the stockings and everything. My thought was... if we really, really, really needed help getting A~ to wake up, Santa would do the trick. I mean... what child isn't going to jump up once they hear that Santa has been there?

When Sergio got there, we added his presents to the pile and went to get Sleeping Beauty. It took a lot of effort... I didn't think we were going to manage it and almost gave up hope... but Papi worked his magic and we finally had consciousness... grumpy consciousness, but that was ok... the grumpy would fade with presents, right? I wanted a picture FIRST, and Sergio humored me on that one, ... before opening presents. Grumpy-puss was not amused. A~ had no intention of even looking at the camera, much less flashing a smile. This was not what A~ wanted to do... but see how well she fakes happy when there are presents involved? Thanks, honey... now you can go for the presents....


We truly are lucky parents. A~ loves anything wrapped in paper. She squeals, says thank you so much, gives everyone a hug, and moves on to the next item. A little present-unwrapping-machine! She is still asking me who got her this and who got her that. If she can't remember, she assumes that it's from Santa. Favorites this year... anything Hannah Montana, the Crayola Explosion Glow Board thingy... it's already seen a lot of use, and the Build-A-Bear kit. Santa brought a Hello Kitty cereal dispenser... I was lucky to get one of the last two at Target. A~ was so surprised... I mean how does Santa know what to get? I wonder.... ;-) It is pretty cool... and I'm sure that I will be posting about it later! :)

Christmas Day had A~ playing with her new booty while I worked on our feast: yummy glazed ham, creamy mashed potatoes (for Sergio), stuffing (for me - I *heart* Stove Top), salad with apple, goat cheese, and caramelized red onions, crescent rolls, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. Nothing fancy, but lots of comfort food. We thought about dessert, but I'm glad we skipped it... we were way too full!


After dinner and cleanup, we went to the Festival of Lights at Bull Run Park. It's a drive through option that takes about 20 minutes or so to drive through. They have a carnival at the end. We've never stopped before, but this year decided to try it out. I, or course, forgot the camera. Oh well... the cold probably would have zapped the batteries anyways. A~ had a blast even though it was quite cold. She rode a number of the rides and I got to tag along on some of them. Sergio doesn't like anything "spinny," so there weren't a lot of options for him, and nobody wanted to brave the ferris wheel with him. Poor guy! We did get him to try a funnel cake for the first time! A~ got me on the swings. I was really nervous, but I was more nervous for her to go alone... and when it started to tip I didn't think I'd be okay. I had to "talk" my way through the remainder of the ride and make jokes with A~ to keep myself calm. Way to go mommy! I hope I never have to do it again! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too!

much love,
erin

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Finally finished!


I stayed up last last night to finish the teacher gifts for A~'s Kindergarten teacher and teacher assistant. I got this idea from Michele on the Papertrey Ink design team... it's a dry erase board made from a picture frame! It works better than a real dry erase board and erases really, really well.


I pulled out some wintery papers I've had for a while and embellished them with stickers, felt, and a little bling. I thought about making them more Christmasy... but the winter season is longer than the holiday season... so winter won! I have to say, I need to make these every year... they are so cool and useful. I may need one myself! :)

A~ helped me wrap them up so that she can take them to school tomorrow. Next week is winter break - wow - how did that sneak up so fast???


More later...

much love,
erin

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Follow that Star!

I am SO excited to finally have a star on the top of our Christmas tree. I've been searching for about 3 years for an acceptable topper. I thought about a bow like on Mom's tree... but decided to use that as a backup... I really wanted a star. And there are lots of stars out there, but too many of them are just plain tacky! I didn't want flashing lights or crazy colors or any of that jazz... just a pretty star with white lights. Actually I found two stars that I liked on the same day. The one I didn't buy was a little bigger and more 3-D, but I was afraid that it may be too heavy for my little artificial tree to handle. And althought I'm excited about this star... the little spring-shaped thing that's supposed to go on the top point of the tree is too short and caused that branch to bend in a very Charlie-Brown-Christmas-tree kind of way. Yikes! So I removed that and used a twist-tie from the packaging to secure it onto the tree at the base and the top just rests in place. As long as nobody bumps the tree, we are in business! :)



On another note, here is a recent layout. Wow! Remember those cheeks? What a cutie! I hand felted the butterfly and didn't think it would work out. It was the ugliest thing ever... but I kept fiddling with it and had the brilliant idea to fold it in half and work the felting needle into the body to make it more dimensional. And it actually worked and took the butterful from wonky to wonderful! Thank goodness! :)



I'm working on tons more... most is due on Monday to the scrapbook store, plus teacher gifts for school... only 12 days until Christmas and only 1 week until winter break at school! So next week you'll see some brand new layouts of past winters and Christmases... and hopefully the cool items I was able to pull off for A~'s teachers... I hope!

much love,
erin

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Card Carrying Member

Well, we finally did it. I finally took A~ down to the local library and she is now the proud owner of her very own library card. (I have one now too!) She was quite proud... and the lady and the counter was very nice and quite patient as she slowly printed her name on the card. We spent almost an hour there looking at books and putting together puzzles. She had a great time... and she brought quite a few books home.... as you can see! We've got some reading to do!





much love,
erin