Day 223 | Dear Santa

If we can kick this nasty cold bug by the weekend, we have big plans to make a trip to see Santa. That means we have to get prepared, so Chase and I wrote his letter to the big guy this morning.

Here's what it says (in case you can't make it out):

Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year. I'm a big helper to my mom and dad and I'm very patient with my little brother.

I would like the following for Christmas:

1. Thomas boat

2. Watch

3. Camera

4. Fruit

Merry Christmas!

Afterward, we decided that we should probably write one for Robbe, too, since he's too little to do it himself. 

Here's Robbe's letter:

Dear Santa,

My little brother, Miles, has been really good this year, too.

If it's not too much trouble, he would like a toothbrush. And maybe a surprise. He likes surprises.

Merry Christmas!

Dr. McKnight suggested we get Robbe a toothbrush for his two new teeth and Chase took that suggestion seriously. Straight to Santa for that request. 

Day 221 | A Little Distraction

Rough morning for this family: I think Miga is the only one who slept well (and not all Robbe's fault this time), we're back to our solo existence after all our family left (so sorry to see them go), and it's cold outside.

After a particularly rough night, though, getting out of the house is a must. No one handles being sleepy and stir-crazy well (at the very least I can speak for myself), so we bundled up and headed to the library. Chase had a blast practicing his colors with Elmo (I overheard him laughing out loud several times) and Robbe enjoyed exploring every nook and crannie. 

It was just he distraction we all needed to power through until naptime (for all of us!). 

Day 220 | Post-Party Pleasures

A few of today's joys after yesterday's celebration:

1. Beautiful flowers: my mom and dad gave us one arrangement, a couple of sweet friends brought two bouquets, and my mom braved our holly tree (we have a holly tree!) to round out the collection. These flowers make me SO happy. 

2. A clean kitchen: something about the accomplishment of cleaning up a huge mess that feels so good. 

3. Leftovers: as I mentioned yesterday, we had lots LOTS of food left over. I guess that's better than the alternative, right? Well today, the amount of food left over is an amazing reward. Snacks for days, ham for an egg scramble for lunch (amazing!), and sweets that I should be avoiding but are too good to pass up. Yes, sir, I will take another handful of chex mix

Day 219 | Holiday Shindig

We hosted a little holiday party tonight and I am exhausted. It was a wonderful evening full of friends and family, yummy food, and festive cocktails (thanks to my bartender husband).

The kitchen is semi-cleaned up, the food is semi-eaten (why didn't people eat more?!?), and I'm semi-awake. Well worth all the time and energy dedicated to the event, though. Couldn't have been more enjoyable.

Special thanks to my mom and dad for helping out in innumerable ways to make the evening a success. We are grateful.

Day 218 | Holiday Train Tour

It was time to take our holiday spirit on the road. Off we went to the Botanic Garden for their annual Season's Greenings exhibit. The trains (Thomas even made an appearance!) and the foliage didn't disappoint again. Definitely a must-visit holiday stop in this city.

From there, we headed over to Union Station to check out its holiday model train display. A significant step down from the trains we saw earlier in the morning, but still a festive excursion. We even made time to overlook the real trains loading up passengers.

I wouldn't say it was Chase's perfect day but with all the trains, Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa in attendance, and lots of holiday activities, it was pretty close.

Day 217 | The Taste of Christmas

I managed to squeeze in baking a batch of my favorite Christmas cookies into today's chaos (school for Chase, airport trip to pick up Dad, lots of cleaning, etc.). They are perfectly unique and festive for this time of year.

Here's the recipe but I use craisens and orange zest as a substitute for the cherries and lime. 

Highly, highly recommended. 

Day 216 | Felted Acorns


Aren't these the cutest things ever? I'm obsessed with them.

A little pre-planning (think acorn hat hunting with Chase), an experienced felter (that's you, mom), roving, hot water, and Dawn dish soap. That's it. 

Take a bit of the roving, get it wet under hot water, add a teeny bit of dish soap and roll. Squeeze out soap/water, rinse a bit, keep rolling. Eventually you end up with a cute little oval of felted magic. Let it dry and find the perfect acorn hat to fit on it. Add a little hot glue to make it stick. 

You might be wondering what I'm going to do with these...sorry, that's a surprise. 

Day 215 | Sock Snowmen

Chase got in on the action with our latest craft: sock snowmen.

I won't reveal who is receiving these beauties, but it's safe to say they probably aren't checking the blog. 

The snowmen are made from baby socks (white for the body and colored for the hats) stuffed with rice (which Chase was an expert at and kept him very focused) and then decorated with googlie eyes and a scrap-fabric scarf. Ta da!

The cutest snowmen around.