Holiday Wrap Up

We had a great couple of days eating, shredding pretty paper, and spending quality family time. On Christmas Eve we went to Derek's parents and played some games, ate the best ham I have ever tasted, and Anders fell in love with his chameleon puppet. We came home to put Anders to bed by 7:00 and curled up and watched Elf. Will Ferrell's "SANTA!!!!" never gets old.

Anders woke up nice and early, perfect for his excited parents. We brought him down to the tree and started to open stockings... Anders didn't get past his Lindor. We then had some fun opening the rest of our presents. Anders got some jammies and a story, Derek got a snowboard, and I got my long overdue extensions. The rest of the morning Derek played with Anders and I tried to figure out how to put in the blasted extensions. But I sure loved having long hair again once they were in. Best 2 hours spent.

We then headed over to my parents for brunch and Derek cooked up a storm making his waffles. Once everyone got there we opened up presents and my poor brother got a stomach flu. He ended up going to bed and the family worked on a puzzle. We finished off with a fabulous turkey dinner. All in all a wonderful 2012 Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Love Derek, Alexis, and Anders

Happy First Birthday Little Man!

 The day has finally come... my baby's first birthday. This year has been full of learning and fun and it has flown by. Unfortunately we are sick again. We were supposed to have his birthday party this Saturday but we cancelled it and moved it back a couple of weeks. And it's going to be a blast, because I put a lot of time in planning it haha.

We stayed in bed in the morning but we could feel the excitement in the air that today was a special day. I ended up making some cupcakes and we wrapped a couple of presents. Anders had fun eating his cupcake and we had fun watching him. A very simple day, but special for us.

New Traditions

As it is our first Christmas in our new place and with a new baby we have been having a lot of fun bringing in the Christmas spirit with music, projects, and  activities.

Here's what we've been up to:

• For the first project of the year I wanted to update my wreath on my door. I went on Pinterest and found this idea to use Christmas ornaments with a Fall wreath instead of greenery. I have been loving Christmas ornaments for decorating because of the colors and sparkle that they bring. Seriously, they are everywhere in my house. So when I saw this idea I knew that is what I wanted for my wreath. I got the wreath at Michaels, the balls from the dollerstore, and the bow from Walmart. I'm pretty happy with the result and love looking at it when I pull up to our house.
• Since this is the first year with our little man I decided to make us some matching stockings along with the help of Derek. I'm not really one for sewing, but I actually had fun with this project. We wanted the stocking to be thick so we quilted some diagonal lines so that the batting wouldn't move around. I also decided to alternate the insides with different fabric. For instance on the red one I put in the turquoise fabric. I like when you look inside you see a pop of color. To finish off I added some fun ribbon. Mine is the red one :)

• We also decided to make an advent calendar this year (pic above). Again I found this idea on Pinterest to make a tree out of stripes of Christmas paper which was so easy! It was my idea to use magnets and put it on the fridge and turn it into an advent calendar where instead of chocolate we have a Christmas activity. So far we have done 3 activities: cutting out snowflakes (that we put up in our bedroom windows), shared a kiss by the mistletoe (I ended up drawing one and put it up), and getting a Christmas surprise (I made Derek some sugar cookies-his favorite). Very simple ideas, but they are little bursts of fun to put a smile on your face. I will definitely do this again next year.
• We also took Anders to see Santa. I think we had more fun than he did, it was a big milestone for us. Anders didn't really smile, but he didn't cry either. All in all, a fun trip.

What are you doing to bring in the Christmas spirit? Any easy decorating ideas?? 

Christmas is Coming Early: First Giveaway- CLOSED

I have a little Christmas surprise... Firmo has offered to sponsor my first Giveaway! I feel like I have reached some sort of blogging milestone haha.

 Firmo is an online eyeglass store that sells frames at an affordable price. Additionally, they offer a great new customer promotion by offering a free pair of glasses while the customer pays for shipping.   Sounds like a great deal? I think so!

In partnership with Firmo we would like to offer 5 lucky readers a $20.00 voucher for their store. This Giveaway is International so come on everyone! Here is what you need to do to enter:

• Leave a comment on this post.
• "Like" Firmoo on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FirmooGlasses)

Giveaway will end on Saturday Dec. 8, 2012 at 11:00 pm. The winner will be chosen at random. 

Please note that this Giveaway does not cover shipping and will expire on December 25, 2012.

Good luck!

Blocks

Anders started to play with blocks today.

I think we stayed on the floor all day.

It was so much fun to see him put the pieces together and then clap for himself.

He'll have to stop that eventually, but right now we laugh every time.

Oh Christmas Tree

Today we setup our Christmas Tree.

We went back to red and green.

But spiced it up with stripes and polka dots. 

Anders attacked it like a little cat

and so we had to put it on a ledge by our staircase.

We celebrated with Chinese and chocolate cake.

Little Teeth

A couple of things have been on my mind lately...

Christmas, birthdays, parenting, and return to work.

Sometimes it seems like a lot, that my head is swimming.

But it is also a lot of fun.

Gotta remember the fun.

I'm trying to psych myself up for yet another change in our family dynamic,

and what that means.

But I'm trying to be present every day.

And enjoy the little things that make the here and now so special.

Like these little teeth.

29

Derek had his birthday this weekend. Here's a bit of what happened:

First ever bought cake for Derek

Played games with friends into the morning

Got pie and lasagna as a gift

My brother ate a piece out it first

Best sandwiches ever

Spent all morning blowing up a giant balloon

Worked on sewing new family Christmas stockings for three

Went out for dinner with the parents and a night sled ride

Played with a giant balloon

Anders practiced how to stand and danced whenever a Glee song came on 

Had the best pumpkin soup and cheesecake by Clyde and Delali

Cake before our supper

I heart...

Empire of the Sun Breakdown and Robyn Dancing on My Own

Warm apple pie candles

Snowflakes on my window

Palmegranate lotion

Dance parties with Anders

Hummus and cucumber wraps

Raspberry hot chocolate

Cranberry soap

Moccasin slippers

Purple daisies

Bitten by the Holiday Bug

I know it is early November. I know it. But today I was overcome with the need to buy Christmas ornaments. Maybe it is the talk that we will be getting our first blizzard, maybe it is the Hydro guys putting up our town Christmas lights. Who knows, but I have the need for my house to be filled with red and white, lights, snowflakes,  and glitter.

It started off innocently enough, I just needed to go into the city to get a couple of things. But when I got into the store, I just couldn't help myself. Ornament after ornament went into my cart. And I blame it all on Pinterest. I've been trying to get some ideas on how to decorate, after all, it is our first Christmas in our new home. The result was my head filled with little ideas to welcome Christmas and the excitement to start crafting to turn these ideas into reality.

So now on with all of the projects! I have a list a mile long filled with decor ideas as well as fun family  dates to fill December. Derek just shakes his head. But since last Christmas was filled with getting used to a new baby, I'm ready to celebrate and have fun with my little family. Bring on the lights and tinsel!

Apple Spice

Our house is finally getting back to normal after getting hit by the tri-cold. Thank goodness! I was beginning to dread watching another episode of Seinfeld which I would have never thought possible.

Our baby boy is also still getting used to the time change so he was up at 5:30 am. Needless to say we have had quite a long morning so far and getting a lot done. I have not baked anything in awhile so I thought I'd get a cookin' in these wee hours.

I usually adore anything chocolate and Derek goes for fruit laced baking. Since I am trying to cut down on my sweet intake I decided to play it safe and look for something suited to Derek's taste. I found this little apple cookie recipe that is quite delicious. It's a cookie recipe, but they almost remind me of a sweet muffin or cake because they are spongy and fluffy. I also decided to ice and add a sprinkle of cinnamon to accentuate the apple flavor.

Here's the recipe for these Apple Cookies:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup finely chopped apples

Add ingredients in the order listed. Drop dough by the teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Raisins and nuts may be added if desired.

Icing:
1 cup icing sugar with 1-2 tbls. milk. Icing will be a thick liquid texture.

Put 1 tsp. of icing on the warm cookie so that it melts leaving a thin layer of icing. Sprinkle with cinnamon after icing has set.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

It's finally here! We've been having so much fun this month getting ready for Halloween. Only problem is, all three of us came down with colds :(. We had such high hopes to get all dressed up and take Anders out in the neighborhood in our costumes. Instead we settled for a quieter Halloween, but we definitely had some fun!

Derek knows that I love caramel apples... my mom used to make them for us when we were kids, and I will probably do the same when Anders gets a bit older, but this just wasn't the year for me to make this treat. Caramel apples seem a little finicky because double boiling anything just seems complicated. So instead Derek surprised me with this caramel apple from the store. It was the perfect treat to bring the Halloween mood on Monday.

On Tuesday Derek started to get sick and looked pretty deadly when he came home from work. But after some apple pie (one of his favorite treats) he was happy to carve pumpkins and even got a little creative!

I was pretty excited to see how Anders would handle the pumpkin goo. Anders was a little tentative at first patting the seeds but before we knew it he was squealing away and had the bowl of seeds dumped all over the table.

As for our pumpkins, Derek carved his own and I did one for Anders and I. Derek decided to carve a scary pumpkin and I did something fun. I found a cute idea online to use your baby's hands for eyes and I was so excited to use this idea to involve Anders. The little fingers were a hassle to cut out, but I'm happy with the result.

 Derek ended up staying home from work today and I was not even sure if we would get out of bed since we had an awful night. But with some major rest throughout the day I was able to get up and put up a few decorations and get caught up in the Halloween excitement.  It was so fun to see everyone out and getting ready for the night. By 6:00 pm we had our first "Trick or Treat!" and we were able to hand out some candy. Anders got involved by greeting the kiddies at the door and was sad to see them go. Instead of walking outside we decided to go for a drive to see all the decorations and excitement. It was a nice compromise for our sickly house, but I am so excited to get out next year. Fingers crossed that we don't get sick again!:)

Right Now...

I'm taking a little mommy hiatus and snuggling in a cozy bed full of blankets while listening to Derek tinker on the piano and Anders  playing in the cupboards. Our house is warm and outside there is a light dust of snow that brings a feeling of Christmas. Love these quiet and peaceful morning... thank you for the time off husband; now it's time for some pancakes!

A Pumpkin and Some Sandwhiches

With Halloween just around the corner we decided it was finally time to buy our pumpkin. There are some local farmers that sell pumpkins so decided to go pick up one. We found a pretty big one and I can't wait to get a carving :)

After picking our pumpkin we decided to go into the city for a mini date with the little guy. We ended up going to a little sandwich cafe. They made everything fresh and it was so delicious. It was also the first time that Derek and I ordered the same thing! After almost 7 years of being married that has never happened. Maybe our tastes are beginning to merge? It was probably the only time that I didn't sneak a bite off Derek's plate to try his food.

We also got some Italian soda; Derek had blueberry and I had Kiwii. Funny, with the red and green coloring it looks like Christmas is just around the corner too!

A Little Sunshine

The sun is hiding again under a blanket of rain clouds.

That's ok, I can make my own sunshine.

This banana sucker was probably the best tasting sucker I've ever had.

Along with those oatmeal cookies and crockpot chicken noodle soup.

Those were fun to eat too.

With watching those little fingers and toes that come along with a big personality.

And lots of random cuddles.

But what I'm most grateful today is for my loving husband.

Also known as Derek.

Who got up with our baby boy last night after I tried and tried and tried to get him to sleep.

He just seems to have that magic touch and extra patience.

That makes our baby boy fall asleep.

A Maze in Corn

We had such a nice weekend filled with Fall fun. I've been wanting to go to the corn maze since the beginning of October (where does the time go??) and we finally made it out on Saturday. I almost called it off because it was raining a little and was pretty chilly (hence the winter gear) but Derek convinced me to try. And I'm so glad he did! We had so much fun running around the maze trying to find the various posts, going to the petting farm (I got to pet a calf!), and looking at all the huge pumpkins. We topped it all off at a hot chocolate bar; who wouldn't love a nice hot cup of cocoa with vanilla and hazelnut? 

The Boo Came Early

We got our Halloween on a little early this year with our ward Trunk n' Treat. It is a fun time to dress up, get some candy, and wear costumes out from the cold. Living in Canada it is not uncommon to have snow by Halloween, so when deciding on a costume you must always take into account how it'll look with a snow suit underneath. Pretty frustrating for me as a little girl who always wanted to be a beautiful princess. So an indoor Halloween party is always a must!

This year we decided to go as the circus... Derek was a bunny out of a magician's hat, I was a clown, and Anders a ferocious lion who would do tricks (mostly just crawled through a hula hoop). We had a lot of fun dancing to Thriller and the Monster Mash and Derek even faced off with the missionaries and the bishop in eating a donut off a string. All in all a pretty fun time.

Little party animal was completely pooped when we got home.

Thrifted Fashion: Colour Blocked

What a day, what a day! I tried to baby proof my house a bit more today and I can't believe the time it took! And, sad to say, but most of the corner pads (to prevent head bumping) have either fallen off or Anders pulled them off. So I gave up for today in the hope that tomorrow will be a bit better (I'm gonna bring out the hot guns, specifically, hot glue guns!).

I'm also right in the middle of putting up some pictures after being in this house for about 6 months. The nesting urge has kicked in! But again, this turned into a longer task than anticipated, so I stopped for the day without much really accomplished.

On the plus side, my sister came over to "study" (more like tickle me to death) which was so nice. It's always great to have the little goof around. And tonight we are going to a trunk n' treat! F-U-N!

But onto the clothes... it's still drizzly outside so I wanted to be comfortable and warm, hence the hat, button down, and leggings. I felt like the clutch and bangles snazzed up the pretty low key threads which I liked.The hat also had the added benefit of keeping my "bangs" out of my face since they are such a weird length. All in all I was a very comfortable and warm home destroyer today. Smiles all around.

Hat: Thrifted

Button down: Thrifted

Necklace and Bangles: Thrifted

Colour Blocked Clutch: Burlington Coat Factory

Shoes: Spring

Total Cost (approximate): $42.00