rushing by...

I can't believe how fast December has gone by...between class projects and crafts and events, we stayed busy.

I made this peppermint pixie for my YOE tree...the last one for the year.
and some yummy candy cane syrup for coffee, hot cocoa and ice cream.and some last minute gifts for friends and neighbors who love to cook.....French Market Soup Mix with recipe and a wooden spoon.



a penguin for one of Kaela's friends...a cell phone case for someone's daughter who loves purple...
some aprons were made for friends and family...




Even Matt had to make something....this mole for a math project on measurement. We think the teacher just likes moles and created a project around them for fun! Whatever the reason, Mr. Molensky sure turned out cute...


with his little briefcase and newspaper. (he NEEDS a Starbucks coffee cup don't you think?)


I love his glasses


We managed to drop all 37 Baby Jesus Rocks by Christmas Eve and dropped our last toy for the year at Matt's orthodontist...a crayon roll...


I made so many things LAST MINUTE this year that I really want to get back into the habit of making things all year long.

surprises!

Someone sent me a Secret Santa gift!
I was sooooooooo surprised! I did not join this swap because I was just too busy. I don't know who put me down as their recipient.
Whoever you are, thank you!
The lady who sent this sweet package to me is named Tammy. She isn't allowed to tell me who chose me.


and another surprise came from Jill.....this AMAZING owl cozy....which is beautifully made. Just gorgeous.


and if that isn't enough, she sent me all these goodies! The only thing not used so far is the cookbook....but it will be! Jill even sent goodies to the rest of my family....so sweet.


Thank you for my wonderful surprises!

Christmas for the dogs......

Each year I make these dog bones for Ginger and Mojo. It is a recipe from a magazine I used to get years ago.
It makes about 4 dozen large bones and they LOVE them.
If you give them one of these and a store bought one, they eat these first.

Kaela and I make several of these braided toys for them each year too....they LOVE them and will happily play tug of war with each other until the toy is shredded. Mojo will actually bring us the gooey little tidbits to try to get us to throw it for him...so gross!



They also get to tear up gift wrap and envelopes that have been discarded.

We don't let them tear something up unless we can't reuse it...but one time Ginger jumped up and grabbed an envelope that wasn't opened yet.
She tore a check in half...good thing we got it back in time.



when they were puppies, we had to teach them that things under the tree were off limits...and we can't put THEIR goodies under the tree, that is just too tempting..especially the homemade dog bones!


it creates a HUGE mess...but only at Christmas and on birthdays...and the fun they have is worth it!

another tradition

We started taking the kids to see a children's Christmas play back when we lived in DFW. It has become a tradition with us and is something we look forward to doing each year. No matter where we lived, we would try to find a play to go to...which was hard when we first moved to Slidell. Thanks to Katrina, most play houses were not open.
We found one a couple of years ago at City Church in New Orleans and were thrilled that they had a new one this year called "The Christmas Post."

Matt had long standing plans so Kaela invited a friend to join us for the evening.


We got really good seats this year, up close to the stage. Dinner was wonderful...

The "Ignite" jazz ensemble played before the show while people were being seated.

Here they are singing "Be Our Guest" while dinner was being served



the main event...



As usual, this was a wonderful musical, with a great message around the holidays.

ironcraft

This week's challenge was to make something from any of the past challenges.....so I picked the "stay warm" challenge since I missed it back in January.

I made a scarf for someone who doesn't read my blog (fingers crossed)....I hope she likes it.



I think it will look lovely on her.

I also made this cowl for someone who DOES read my blog....hoping she hasn't in a while though...

Thankfully, Kaela was home to model it for me!

Star from afar.

Sometimes you get little surprises tucked inside Christmas cards......
they always make me smile.


thank you Tammy!

Birthday Girl.........

Yesterday was Curly Girl's 14th birthday!

I can't believe she will be in high school next year. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful daughter....she is truly a wonderful person.

I did take a lot of photos....but girls at this age don't LIKE photographs being taken of them...especially while eating pizza....so most are blurred or only show the backs of heads.....
when you get a bunch of girls together, silliness will ensue!

We took them all to see Sherlock Holmes which totally ROCKED....and then came home for ice cream cake

Notice the wardrobe change? I'd forgotten how important going to the movies can be. At least I got a few photos with faces in them this time!





Then they all played Just Dance 3 all night......and crashed (almost) through the ceiling...
In the morning, there were a bunch of sleepy heads scattered throughout the bedrooms!



apparently someone is cold!Gee, what a tired looking bunch of girls we had at breakfast this morning!!!!

My brother sent this to me yesterday. I could NOT keep from smiling the entire way through it.....



just make sure your speakers are ON!

wrap it up...ironcraft #50

This week's ironcraft challenge is all about gift wrap.

There once was a time when I was all about wrapping. I enjoyed it so much that I would wrap everyone's gifts. I did all sorts of creative things. I even had a place I bought special ribbons, and each year, I had a different theme.

Now? Not so much.

When holiday bags came into vogue, my gift wrapping mojo left me, never to return. After all, it was so much EASIER!

But yesterday, with gift in hand, I stepped up to the challenge.

Here is the result. It is actually prettier in person but you get the idea. The Santa ornament is tied on with red floss so you can't see it.


Who knows.....maybe this will inspire me to start wrapping gifts again.....

or maybe I'll just have a glass of this....

and call it a day!

thieves among us....

Poor Mojo.

See that little orange pom pom next to his foot?



It fell off one of my booties the other day and I gave it to Suki to play with.

Then Mojo stole it. He carried it around EVERYWHERE for almost a week. Even after all that time, it was still in good shape.....

until Ginger saw it, stole it and destroyed it in less than 10 seconds!

Moral of the story..... its time for me to start making Christmas toys for the pets

traditions...

Each year Kaela helps Dean put the Christmas lights on the roof.
Matthew helps with the yard stuff.....toy soldiers, elves and candy canes...but Kaela REALLY gets into doing the lights.

It is her special time with Dean....who enjoys his time with his daughter....





She loves to get out and climb around.

They start late in the afternoon and work into the night so they can see how well the lights are working. She loves this because it gets cold and I always bring them hot cocoa.


I love it because they ALWAYS have such a great time together. We are so blessed to have Dean, what a wonderful husband and father.

ironcraft photography drama

This week's ironcraft challenge was "Something for the kids."

My daughter's art teacher is pregnant and due SOON. She is decorating her baby's nursery in The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme.

I made her this Very Hungry Caterpillar set that dolly is modeling:



okay, so its too big for a doll...getting a good photo was hard (I suck)...I decided to try again and pulled it all up around the baby doll.....


And now it looks like the doll was EATEN by the very hungry caterpillar! haha!

when I pulled the cocoon off, the baby fell out EXACTLY like this....


she must have been flipping for joy that she wasn't actually eaten!!!!