Advent 2012

The tragic events of last Friday have served as a poignant reminder to me that nothing in this life is guaranteed. I am so grateful for each moment of every day with my precious boys. Here is how we spent our days this Advent season.

On the first Sunday of Advent, I went (all by myself!) to a wreath-making workshop at the Oregon Ridge Nature Center, one of my favorite places in this area. I was the only one who made an advent wreath - I dug through the boxes of stuff they had there until I came upon exactly 4 candleholders. It was meant to be.

Jude and Felix helped me set out the gorgeous Nativity set that Dan's mom made for us. They love those camels.

We picked up these discarded branches and trunk pieces for free when we got our tree, and they smell amazing in the woodstove. (I took the boys by myself because Dan is working so hard to finish his dissertation we decided he couldn't spare the time to come with us this year.)

 Making ornaments...until today these were all we had on the tree!

The handmade stockings are another amazing gift from Dan's mom...

 Henry, of course, has been making all kinds of Christmas-related art.

 Chocolate Thumbprints, Henry's favorite cookie and a Christmas tradition around here...

Most of us have been sick for most of the month, Jude and Felix worst of all. They are still pretty snotty/coughing/low fevers on and off. We've made the best of it with lots of snuggle time in our bed watching Christmas movies.

The other big project this month besides the Christmas cards was preparing gifts to mail to family and friends. We finally sent them off on Friday!

 We made Gingerbread playdough on Thursday. The boys, of course, LOVED it. I tripled the recipe so we could send some to our friends.

 Gingerbread for sale...

On Friday we went to the B & O railroad museum. Henry wrote a letter to Santa, we saw the holiday train displays, and everyone made some pictures.

 We had a wonderfully relaxing pajama day today. Dan baked up a storm, and I made Peppermint Bark for the first time! I also finished Felix's owl ornament, and we finally put the ornaments on the tree. Now I need to make ornaments for Jude and Henry, and finish a few other things.

I

the day after

Sometimes the day after a birthday is hard, but today was a good day! This morning, Jude, Felix and I ran a few errands. They both brought their hand kites with them everywhere (yay!). We went to two post offices to get Christmas stamps (the first one was out), dropped of some library books that were long overdue, and got two more thyme plants at the local nursery, because I had used up the one we had. (I am still loving my front porch herb garden and use it all the time in my cooking!) While there, I saw some Christmas ornaments and got an idea of one I could make for Felix...

I have noticed just in the past week or two that we have turned a corner with independent play - meaning, I don't have to supervise the boys' play all the time anymore! This is a huge milestone for me. I can be in the kitchen while they play upstairs in their room...it is wonderful. This afternoon, all three of them were engaged for about an hour doing their own thing (well, I was helping Felix off and on a lot of that time, which is understandable). Felix was painting with glitter, Jude was building with Legos, and Henry was playing in his room. There were some thuds and bangs coming from upstairs that Felix and I were wondering about, and after a while, we went upstairs to check it out.

 Turns out he had turned their room into a restaurant! He loves this new kitchen - they all do!

Henry and Jude proceeded to serve me a number of delectable dishes.

I also completed a big project today - the Christmas cards! The past few years I have spent so many hours on these, and I decided to go simple this year and "mass produce" them - i.e. each one is the same design. I am really pleased with how they turned out.

 Cards are best addressed with a cupcake and a cup of tea. (Or a large glass of wine.)

In case you're wondering - yes, that is our address on the card. I send one to myself every year because I love to save them, and want to have the postmark on the card. I can't be the only one who does this, right?

I set out this little basket and paper tonight, hoping it will inspire some creativity tomorrow...we'll see!

{simply ten good things}

I have a lot of little tidbits I want to share, so I decided to borrow an idea from (who else?) SouleMama. So, here goes my first try at simply ten good things...

 {making our own italian seasoning using spices we had in-house}

 {a vintage skillet I found at the flea market on Sunday. It makes the most divine eggs I've ever had, and is the perfect size for warming up a portion of leftovers for lunch}

 {brothers playing together at Hard Bargain Farm on Monday}

 {Felix and Jude loving the swings}

 {a hat knit for a friend's new baby - my first hand-knit gift}

 {the transportation exhibit at the National Museum of American History}

{Jude learning to pedal his trike all by himself}

{a $2 bus found at the thrift store today}

{a $20 thrifted toaster oven that looks and works like new, and warms up my favorite lunch: chicken pot pie}

{a set of thrifted baskets that I'm still not sure what to do with...any ideas?!}

It was warm and sunny this morning, but as I composed this, the air shifted and there is definitely a chill in the air. I am lamenting the fact that I do not have more knitted sweaters, cowls, booties, and vests ready to go...I'd better get to work! Hope you and yours are enjoying this fall season...please share your own "simply good things" here as well!