New Christmas Tradition

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I love this time of year. Its been especially fun this year as my little boys have been super excited. Like many of you out there I am sure that we share a common Christmas tradition; Christmas eve Pajamas! I love getting new slippers or Jammies on Christmas eve! But this year we have added something new for a tradition with my little men. See I love books and reading. So this year and every year after this since I love the idea so much, I have added a story book to the jammies. I thought what better then snuggling in a new pair of Jammies is reading a bed time story with it! Its awesome. So tonight Jaxon snuggled with Mama in his new digger jammies and reading a new digger book!
  Why I didnt think of this before Ill never know!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Yes I did just start this book the other day... it only took me 2 days to read. I was just captivated. I am always so enthralled by Holocaust tales. I think it was one of the most horrific events in the history of the world and I always get so drawn into it. I think its because I dont understand it. I dont like when I dont understand it. See I love criminology and understanding the way criminals think. While I dont agree with it I have always been able to mostly understand how serial murders, and arsonist, etc can twist reality and think what they are doing is ok. so Its not the fact that Hitler was a complete whack job that gets me... what gets me is how he was able to convince so many other people that his logic was right when it was so obviously crazy! So I think thats why I get sucked in... Im trying to understand the horrible nightmare.
  Anyways... I read the Boy with the Striped Pajamas. It was so good. Really sad as All books on this matter are, but really well done. There has been some critisim about how believable it is for a 9 yr old boy (bruno the main character) to be the son of a powerful Nazi commander and not be aware of what is really going on or even what a jew is. I think I can see it... Bruno is a little immature to begin with and I think its nice to see that even in nazi Germany kids were still kids.
  There has also been some remarks about how at auschwitz there were no children Brunos age for him to find and befriend and how the fence was electric (not like in the story) To which I say... 1) there has been some documentation of children there...they may not have been kept there as long as in this story but they were at one point there. 2) its a fictional story. All respect was shown for this awful event but its still just a story. so the author took some liberties to make his story his. 
   It was a beautiful story of innocence and friendship and in the long run karma...

Sea of Monsters

Last night I finished reading Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan. (It's the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series) I really enjoyed it. I actually enjoyed it more then the first book even. Its a very easy read, not requiring a lot of brain power, which is exactly what I need during this hectic time of year. where I found the first book (the lightning theif) dragging this one was pretty fast passed and grabbed my attention and wouldnt let it go.
  Bare in mind that its for younger readers, so yes the story line is a little young but sometimes that can be fun too. One nice thing about reading books meant for a younger audience is there is now major gore (yes there is fighting in the book but no blood splashing or squirting from an enemy) and there is no sex (Percy gets all embarrassed when he even thinks that annabeth looks pretty) and there is no cursing (ok Annabeth says oh my gods a few times... but the reall big swears containing 4 letters are not there!)
  Its a book I read and am now looking forward to reading with my boys when they are older. There are 3 more books in the series but I have decided to read a book or two before hitting up book 3 (I dont want percy Jackson overload!) So I have moved onto reading "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" I started it this morning and am already almost 100 pages in. So you can imagine its a good one. Thank goodness its holidays and I dont feel super guilty for turning on cartoons or the Wii so Jaxon can play while i read... the guilt is still there but I can justify it since its the first day of holidays!

Final Christmas Count Down

Here we are... the last week before christmas. What to eat??? We are heading up to Edmonton to spend the big day with my family, so this weeks menu is pretty dull as I am determined to use up leftovers and things that will go bad before we get back in the new year! (Sorry for the friends we have coming over for dinner... if you were expecting a magical meal... think a little more low key!)
Monday - Stef and Jarett are over - Baked Pasta and Ceaser Salad
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Smiths are over - Breakfast, Hasbrowns, eggs, waffles, etc
Thursday - Leftovers/Soup and Grilled Cheese - Then Dessert in Okotoks with my hubby's family
Friday - Christmas eve (we will be in Edmonton) - Chinese Food (yay Traditions!)
Saturday - The Big Day! - Turkey/Ham and more sides then you can imagine!
Sunday - Fride Rice with the leftover turkey!
  Are you all ready yet?? I am... I have one more gift to finish up but Ill have that done tomorrow! Im looking forward to a week of Pajama days, cleaning, packing and maybe a craft or two!

Harry Potter

Well.... its beeb days since I posted anything... ooops... i blame my mom... we have been busy getting ready for christmas and up late-ish playing scrabble and phase 10.
  Anyways... I have seen the latest Harry Potter movie. It was awesome! I love Harry Potter. I often think I should be more grown up but whenever I read the books or watch the movies I find myself wishing it was real and I was attending Hogwarts and playing quidditch, etc, etc. Makes me sad when I look around and realize that I dont have a magic wand and will never hear the sorting hat tell me im a Griffindor!
  But the movie was awesome. It was alot darker then the previous movies, but if you have read the books then that is to be expected. The acting was perfect... as always. The only down side was that it was mostly just Harry, Hermione and Ron. again if you have read the book then you can expect this. But here is a fact you should know about me... I cant think of a single book where the main character(s) have been my favorite. I am a background, underwritten character lover. I always cling to the characters in the back scences... In the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series its Shakespeare... in the mortal Instruments seires is Magnus Bane... In Harry potter its Kingsly and Lupin.
  I am so excited (and a little sad) for the final movie. YAY HARRY POTTER!

From Jaxon... To owen

Today has been a day... so yes I am doing a post of something I did a while ago with Jaxon. he is Three and is now old enough to remember past christmases and get really excited. I guess it helps too having me has a mom who starts planning christmas in like September. And where did I get that from... Oh my momma!
This year Jaxon really understand presents. So he was wanting to make sure that Owen got a present from him. So we went to the store and picked something out. Then a little while later for Craft time one afternoon we made wrapping paper. Jaxon made his own wrapping paper to wrap his present to his little brother Owen... sweet eh??

Jaxon loves stamping!

I helped stamp on some words...

The Diamond of Darkhold

I have had a few rough nights this past week... My children dont sleep. I was up most of the night on Saturday, then again on Sunday with my little monster owen. (we watched food network) but then last night I was up from 2-530 with Jaxon. (we watched Super Why) So this will be a lame post as I am trying very hard to keep my eyes open!
  I just finished the book Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrua. It is the 4th book in the city of Ember series. In case you havent heard of this series Ill sum up. There is a city underground, but no one knows its underground. The world above ground as all but been destroyed, but now this underground city is failing so its inhabitants venture out to find a better life and then they face different struggles. It's a series that I say in appropriate for the 9-12 age range. I really enjoyed the First book City of Ember. It really held my interest. The second book, the people of Sparks was even ok. However the 3rd book, the prophet of Yonwood, was forgetable... really I dont remember what it was about! and then there is the Diamond of darkhold. It must be better then the third but not by much. yes I get that they were written for a younger audience. But these even seemed to naive for the age group. I found it hard to believe at times that a grown up wrote the book as it seemed like the words were those of a child. (you might be thinking like that about me right now... but Im sleep deprived!) the General story line; Lina and Doon head back to Ember in hopes of helping the people in Sparks, is sweet, but weak. I was glad it was a short book so it didnt take up too much of my time. I really think this should have been a one book series!
Oh well...Im a firm believer that there are really few books out there that are a total waste. Reading is never a bad thing!

On to bigger and better things... I am currently reading Sea of Monsters, the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Im 4 chapters in and totally hooked... What is Tyson???

Pancake Balls!

I love breakfast foods. I will eat them any time of the day. This is one I have discovered recently and its another great one. They are called Ebelskivers (sorry the spelling on that is probably wrong). You need a special pan for them.. I got mine from my mom (thanks Mommy!) but Im pretty sure she got it from William Sonomas. It looks like a fry pan but it has little half circles indented into it. Those little indents make these wonderful goodies!

These little pancake balls are filled with gooey goodness! My Favorite thing to fill them with is Nutella but Cinnamon Sugar is pretty good too. Other people say that Jam or Banana and Nutella or Strawberries or other fruits are yummy too. But since I dont eat cooked fruits/Veggies Ill stick to the Nutella ones!

Once you find and buy one of those wonderful Ebelskiver pans its super simple to make these bundle of breakfast delight. All you do is make a pancake batter (I used a mix because I have yet to find a pancake recipe I enjoy) and then you fill the well half full and then scoop a Teeny Tiny amount of filling ito the center then fill with more batter. Let it sit like this for a few minutes until the one side is cooked... then here is the tricky part... flip it over so the top half cooks... I use two wooden kebob skewers to flip mine.
Im Hooked!

Preschool gift

As we are approaching Jaxon's last week of school before the Winter Holiday I thought it was about time if I got my butt in gear and busted out the little goodies I had planned for him to give to his class mates. It was super easy! All I did was paint lids to baby food jars (which I had a ton of from when owen was little) Then I punched out a read circle and Jaxon helped me stamp on christmas stamps and I wrote "Happy holidays from jaxon" around the edge of the circle. Then I filled the jars with green and Red M&Ms (Jaxon says those are his favorite!) and done and done...

What kid out there doesnt like little chocolates!?!

a little slice of Heaven

I LOVE CHEESECAKE! because of my deep love for this desseret I am often found at the Cheesecake Cafe. Its Wonderful. last night was one of those awesome nights when I find myself sitting there in a booth enjoying a slice of heaven. They even had a new flavour for me to try! Terry's Chocolate orange cheesecake. It was great! Ok... it wasnt my favorite flavour... ROLO... but this was really really yummy!
  I think I also love cheesecake so much because I have this super wonderful friend, leah, and we have made it sort of our traditional night out. When I need Leah time we go for cheesecake. I love leah and i love cheesecake so it makes me one happy girl!
  So any of you ladies out there needing a boost??  Grab your Bestest girl friend and head over for Cheesecake... that combination cures all!

Teacher Christmas Gift

This is the first year I have had teachers to make Christmas Gifts for. I was super excited then I was made even more excited because Jaxon's two teachers at Leap n Learn are AMAZING. He Loves them so much and talks about them all the time. Since they make him so happy I LOVE them. I have had the opportunity to help out in the class room and watch them in action and I am beyond impressed with them. The ROCK!
  So here is what I made for them... I hope they like it. Its a Super easy, quick, inexpensive gift. I think they turned out super cute!

I made Monograms out of Crayons. So you need to get crayons, cardstock and shadow boxes. Oh and I glue gun.

I found these super cute templates on the internet... I cant remember where ... but thats to who ever had this on their site! I just changed the names and monogram to match Jaxon's teachers and printed onto the cardstock.

Then you Cut the crayons to match the shape of the Monogram and glue it onto the cardstock. Only use the low setting on the glue gun... it melts just a thin layer of the wax. But it works great!

Once you are done but them in the shadow box. I put a little colored cardstock behind just to give it an added punch of color!

VOILA!

Christmas Card

Check out this super cute card I made... Im pretty impressed with myself.

I have to give a big Thank you to my beyond amazingly talented friend Elisa who taught me out to make this penny slide cards. The snow flake is attached to two pennies making it spin from side to side as you tilt the card. I know! Super Cute!

Weekend Projects

I was so lucky to get so much time to get so many projects worked on over the weekend. Here are a few of what I did

Yes Im still making Felt Food. Here are some Chocolate Chip cookies. Jaxon was thrilled to see them. "Chocolate Chip cookies are my favorite!" They are super simple, like all the felt food I make.
1) Cut two circles that are the same size.
2) Use some scraps to cup out some chips. I used White and Dark Brown. But I think a rainbow chip would be cute too... I may have to make some of those! Also... dont make them all round. Chocolate chips melt when you cook them and look all weird anyways!
3) Glue chips to one of the circles.
4) Blanket stitch and stuff

Yummy Dinner eh? Its Chicken Drumsticks, snow peas and pineapple rings. All crazy simple and I think pretty self explanitory... but if not just ask... Ill tell you how I did it.

And for my Friend Jeannette. here is the progress report on the car mats. This one will be Jaxon's Im still missing a few buildings that still need logos on them, and I still need to add embellishments like trees and a playground. And i still need to sew a few down. i have attached them using that iron on stuff so Im stitching them down just to make sure they stay on. Owens... well right now its just a road.... I have a long road ahead of me!

Christmas Devotional

Tonight was one of my most favorite nights of the year. It was the First Presidency Christmas devotional. I always love it. I love to see the decorations and hear the music and the sweet messages. I have a paticular soft spot for these three great men. But that sweet spot grew even more for Pres. Utchdorf tonight. Here is why. Jaxon was sitting there playing DS and not paying attention... but I was just glad my three yr old was being quiet so I could listen. Then Pres Utchdorf starts quoting from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Jaxon instantly stopped what he was doing and then listened quite intently for a while. he was thrilled to hear some of his favorite story.
  This had been a great weekend for me. I have been getting Tons of projects done! Stay tuned because this coming up week Ill be posting more felt food, a fun teachers gift and a creative christmas gift... among other things Im sure!
  This is one crazy week Im heading into. lets hope Manic Me Sticks around long enough for me to get through it.
   back to the Devotional... I love how it brings in the true meaning of Christmas. I want to give a shout out to my Awesome friend Karrie... she has helped to organize an amazing Christmas service project. She is collecting everything needed to provided christmas to 10 under priviledged families leaving in calgary.I loved this because I always want to help out and give service at Christmas... but I dont know how to organize it or sometimes I forget in all my hussel and bussel... so Thanks Karrie!

Christmas Tradition

I am having so much fun getting ready for Christmas this year. I love Christmas but this year is especially great because my oldest little fellow is now old enough to really get into Christmas with me. So I am now able to pass on my family traditions to him.
  One of my all time favorite Traditions is Muffit the Christmas angel. Way back when I was little... Im talking 1986... my Grandma Ellen got us a Christmas book filled with all sorts of stories. It was big and red and glossy... it was magical. The best part of the book was a 24 day count down to Christmas. It is a story about a little angel who is all thumbs working in the Christmas department of Heaven. Each day dec 1-24 you read a bit of the story. I love it. Apparently its a really rare book and its made even rarer by having the muffit story in it. My mother has looked high and low and all over the internet for copies but even when she thinks she has found another copy... alas it has everything but the 24 muffit stories. Sad eh??
  Well I currently have the Big red book in my house... I think thats only because I am the only one of my siblings to have any kids at the moment... Grandbabies always win out! So Mama Nelson had passed on the book to me so I can share the tale with Jaxon and owen. Jaxon is loving it. Im not sure how much of it he is getting but he gets super excited and asks for it each night... Im pretty sure its because of two things... he loves numbers and counting so advents and other count downs thrill him and now he thinks he is getting 4 stories instead of his regular 3!
  I just love having someone to read the story to!
What are your favorite traditions?

50 Below Zero

Sorry.. again for missing the post yesterday... I was out late at our RS Christmas program. Thanks to all the Ladies that helped me get it all together and all the ones that performed. GREAT JOB!
  We started a new month the other day, which means Jaxon got his new book of the month. It was our last month focusing on Robert Munsch. (im sure he will get some more Robert Munsch books... but next year the monthly books will be someone new!) The Final installment was 50 Below Zero! I cant help it I am in love with the Classic Munsch books and I thought it was appropriate since we had such a frigid cold snap a couple weeks ago. Jaxon was especially thrilled since he had read this book that day at school as well. This is one of his favorite bunch of Munsch Videos to watch too. Personally I think you cant go wrong with Classic Munsch.
  Fun little fact. he wrote this book while up north visiting a school. All the kids come and their cheeks were frost biten adn he thought these children need a story about being cold... they would understand!

Mockingjay

  I FINALLY got around to reading Mockingjay, the third and final installment of the Hunger game series. I had put it off for a few reasons. First I had tons of other books that I had to read before i needed to return them to the library. and Second I hadnt heard many good reviews about it. But I must say I was pleasently surprised. It was my no means my favorite of the three (that would be the second one Catching Fire) But I liked it alot better then I had the first book.
  yes there was alot of violence... they are at war after all. But I loved the book. I couldnt put it down. I was up most of the night reading and then Id have to tear it from my hands to convince myself to sleep before the boys woke up. It was so good.
  Maybe I loved it so much because it all turned out how I wanted things too.. ok there were a few deaths I wasnt expecting and while I see the shock value and how the play into the story, there was at least two people who ended up on the dead list that I would have liked to see alive at the end.  But Katniss made a couple moves that surprised me, in a good way. And She even picks that right guy to end up with... I wont say who in case you havent read the series yet.
  I think I need to buy the series and read them all back to back... good times!