New Years Luncheon

We hosted a lovely luncheon with some of our favorite families today ( The Wilson's, The Neilson's & The Janveau's).  The kids & I worked together to get everything ready.  We made an erray of reasonably healthy snacks, two main dishes( turkey vegetable soup & homemade mac & cheese) & one large pan of the yummiest cinnamon buns.  I was a great way to move into a new year !  Here's hoping 2011 will be a good one !!

I LOVE a good deal !!

4 - Winter coats

2 - nighties

1- bras

3 - shirts

1- pr. flannel jammie bottoms

3 - spool of ribbon

4 - gift boxes

3- candles

2 - pkgs sticker gift tags

3 - tree ornaments

1 - pkg ornament hooks

Grand Total $ 55.79

We went skating today........

and guess who put skates on too?  That's right this crazy momma.  My one & only goal was not to brake anything.  Which I'm happy to share I was successful at.  I was actually able to go around several times with letting go of the boards. Yahooh !!

We had great fun.  It was great getting to catch up with friends.  Liam was the first & last on & off the ice this time.  He did really well with managing the cold.  Ana is a self taught ice princess.  She's getting pretty good at spinning and is working on skating backwards.  Keish & Anthony give it their best....let's just say it's not their sport !  I took advantage of having Grandma's camera again and caught some of the action....hope you enjoy !

In this one my sweet boy is giving me a little advice to get me started......

It was a good way to spend a afternoon !!

Christmas pics

 8:11am: Stalkings

8:48am: Breakfast

( French toast Casserole & Bacon)

 9:57am: Gifts

(Their Grandma "box")

( The Best YELLOW gift this year ! - Thanks Grandma !)

 10:31am onward.....

( These are all from Grandma......)

( Ana made this lovely !)

( Veggies waiting to be prepped for dinner)

( a good game of snakes & ladders, one of the many new games from Papa & Grandma Heather)

This magnificent masterpiece was a gift from the very talented  Jacob Dunlop - Age 3 & a bit

Twister Video

We received a Christmas parcel from Ms. Jody-lynn & little Jacob about two weeks ago.  The funny thing is that they were receiving one from us at the same time...we had not discussed exchanging gifts.  Which made it all that much more special.  In ours was the game Twister, a web cam so that we can skype with each other & some homemade candy...which is super yummy !  This afternoon we decided to play a couple rounds of Twister.  I thought I'd try and use the video option on Grandma's camera.  It's a little wonky and full of giggles.  This is my first time trying to post video here.....here's hoping it works !!!

Thanks Jody-lynn !!

Are we having a feast Momma?

Me - Yes darling, I guess you can call it that !
Ana - What is a feast anyways?
Me - A celebration meal with lots of choices.
Ana- What are our choices tonight?

Well.......on tonight's menu there will be :

Roast Turkey

Ham

Mashed Potatoes

Brussel's

Smashed Carrots & Rutabaga

Baked Yams

Corn

Pickles

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Gravy

&

Strawberry Cheesecake

Merry Christmas !!!

a little gift to myself this holiday season.......

newly sharpened knives....$25 well spent !!!!

Blessings & Longings

Blessings.....

- a warm house with power as we move into our third week of raging storms.
- no feeling of having to keep up with the " neighbors"
- so far there hasn't been any raging... a little "stuckness" but that is manageable !
- empowered children who feel confident enough to just pick up the phone & check in with Danielle when they feel the "Gremlins" taking to much control.
- thankful for a " Danielle" that we feel safe in trusting.
- to be starting a new year with no looming financial pressures.....well except for my huge longing for a new digital slr.
- so thankful for all my amazing "local ladies" ( Deb, Penny, Lynne, Cori, Cyndi, Sandra, Linda, Suzie, Trudy, Melissa, Nicole, Marin, Sarah, & Cathy)
- happy to have some current family pics...Thanks go out to the fabulous Lynne & Shelby !!!

Longings.....

- a would love to find a new hairdresser....my hair has not been this long in years .....
- would really like having the new toilet up & running.
- wish the element in my less than 6month old dryer had not decided to die three days before Christmas !!
- to get my sugar cravings under control & in turn shed some of this extra weight.
- to not be so scared to go ice skating with my kids.....
- to have the results back from all those tests for Keisha & Liam......
 

More Blessing.....

- for more charming pics of my darling little boy .....oh those eyes !!!

Merry Christmas.....

Funny Boy

Thanks Ms. Janveau for sharing these funny pics !!

Sunset's Christmas Show !

 ( Anthony's class sang a combination of "rewritten" Christmas songs)

( Keisha's class sang a song & preformed two dances)

This was K&A's finally Christmas concert.  I was hoping to try and get some decent shots, however my little point & shoot wasn't in the mood.  I think it's packing it in !  Here's hoping I can purchase that new digital slr I've been saving towards soon.  Both Keish & Anthony did really well with their performances, especially since both don't like being on " stage".  Keisha remembered all her steps and Anthony was actually singing and not looking all sullen & tortured !!!

We had so much fun......

in my school kitchen over the last couple of weeks !  We decided that this years family night at the school would be a great place to show case the kids baking.  So we formulated our plan and decided that we were going to try and keep our projects a surprise !

Over 4 days we made:

3 Lemon loaves

2 Pumpkin loaves

Cranberry Jumbles

Ting a lings

Brownies

Glazed Ginger bread cookies

Lemon Coconut Mini Cupcakes

Chocolate chip squares

S'mor Lollypops

Yum Yum Balls

Cranberry Shortbread

Gingersnaps

 ( Keisha working at Mrs. Wadhaum's Card station)

 ( Liam signing his own name to his raffle tickets)

( the 4/5/6's playing their recorders)

This years family night was a craft/sing song/raffles & refreshments evening.  Each teacher hosted a specific craft in their classroom.  Families had the opportunity to move from class to class with their children making some beautiful treasures for the holidays.  My four enjoyed themselves greatly !  The refreshments were well received by the parents.  The kids where pretty impressed with themselves when they saw all there hard work displayed.  Over all it was a lovely evening !!