MommyCoddle

Christmas Recap Part I

We spent our Christmas Eve in the emergency room. As my Dad said, "these things always happen at the worst time."

Mary slipped on the rug in the kitchen and fell, hitting her cheek on the round drawer pull. The force of the fall caused her cheek to split open under her eye.
The doctor considered stitches because they cut was so wide but thankfully decided to glue the cut closed, instead. (Emma found this quite comical and interesting. I'm going to have to hide the Elmer's next time she get hurt.) Gluing the cut closed means wrapping them up tightly in a blanket, arms pinned beside them, while they apply the glue ("which might sting") to the cut. Then after they are finished applying the glue, she has to stay wrapped until it dries. It was horrible. Thankfully, Dan was at her head, and I was holding her legs, where I had the freedom to cry in shared agony over my daughter's distress.
But, she (we) made it through. She came home, took a three hour nap and we skipped the Christmas Eve service at church, opting for a dress-up dinner instead. (not sure why Mary was sporting a hat at dinner. But I'm sure Emma had something to do with it...)

Now, four days later, she's already picked the glue off her cheek to reveal a tender scar underneath that we are babying with polysporin and vitamin E oil.

More Christmas recap to come later, where I relish in all the wonderful gifts-- given and received, and the good times had by all....

Bah-Humbug!

This post is something written by Dan.  I swiped it from some of the writing he's been doing lately. Enjoy.
Merry Christmas.

‘Bah! Hum-bug!’
The world needs more Scrooges. I would say it again, but you can simply glance to the left if the statement takes you by surprise, and surprise it probably does. Scrooge has become such a part of our Christmas lore and indeed a solid part of our vernacular that ‘Don’t be such a Scrooge’ is understood by just about everyone above the age of five. Scrooge is connected with all that is negative: selfishness, hoarding, greed, and a tight-fisted malevolence and indifference to the world and those who are in need. Dicken’s character is permanently etched in our minds as the archetypal ‘bad guy’ and the forerunner of the Grinch who stole Christmas. However, I think that Dickens had solid hopes that we would read his little book from cover to cover. In doing so, we come away with a very different picture of Ebenezer Scrooge. It is the changed man at the end of the story that Dickens wants to leave us with, not the cold as stone miser.

 Cold indeed. The story is a constant feeling of temperature, from the cold house and cold shoulder of Scrooge, to the warmth of hearth and home and the warmth of jolly Fezziwig. Undoubtedly Scrooge leaves us with a shiver, but also with a hope and a small flame like Cratchit’s by which to barely dream of warmth. This hope is seen early in his visit with the first ghost where Scrooge produces a tiny tear, but says instead that it is a pimple – even a blemish is better than a tear to Scrooge. The other glimpse of hope comes when we learn Scrooge’s first name. In thinking on this I felt that Dicken’s should have named him something like Ichabod, a more ghastly, picturesque, and fitting name meaning ‘the glory has departed’. What better fit for such a negative last name than such a negative first name. But then, Dickens knowing better than me, named him Ebenezer, and in this we see that Dickens did indeed want to leave us with a more positive memory of old Scrooge. Ebenezer means ‘Stone of Help’. Interestingly, when we first see his full name in print, we see it on his death stone, which finally breaks Scrooge to the horrors of his wicked and miserly life. A stone he was indeed, a grave stone, even a pillar of stone. But this pillar became a stone of help, a warm hearted and open handed man who because of his wealth was able to help so many people. Dickens, saw a world of suffering and desperate poverty yet he remained hopeful, for he also saw people like pillars, stones who if they could be made to cry out could become stones of help.

Pumpin' Out The Presents...

Unlike most people, I have waited until the last minute to get all of my handmade Christmas projects completed. And I'm still not finished yet. But, I have scaled back my list to make it more do-able and enjoyable.
Here's a few that I finished last night: a library tote for my neice, Emily, and a small knitted bunny for Mary...

Christmas Preparations

First of all--thank you to all who offered condolences over my lost bookmarks and ornaments. Both are still missing. And,  I have tried everything that you all have suggested to recover bookmarks, with no success. But, oh well, I guess it's my fresh start for the new year!


We have been busy here getting ready for Christmas--sewing, knitting, decorating, buying last minute gifts, and shipping out boxes to family. The girls have really gotten into the art of decorating the boxes before they go off to the post. Mary looks very focused in this picture, but in reality, she put more polka dots  on her cheeks and the bottoms of her feet than on the box.


I stayed up until 1:30 last night finishing this crib blanket/duvet cover for my nephew. Emma drew his name in the cousin's exchange, and his mom asked if I'd make a blanket cover for him. I made him a pillow with stars and similar colors for his birthday, so hopefully this will complete the set. It was a long night, but I was in the "sewing zone". I knew if I stopped I would put off finishing it until the very last minute.
Now most of my projects involve knitting, which is nice because I can work on it anywhere. I don't have to lock myself away in our guest room that I have taken over as my sewing room.
It feels good to be able to slowly work through my Christmas Project List. I always seem to have big plans, and they rarely all get finished. But, I'm at the point now, that it is more important to me to enjoy Christmas with my family and revel in the joy of Christ's birth, than to get each project completed.
(if you haven't read it already, be sure to check out this wonderful post from andrea about celebrating the season.)

Which Is Worse?

Which is worse:
--losing all your carefully collected Christmas tree ornaments from the last five years of marriage...
OR
--losing all of the bookmarks carefully collected on your internet browser?

Both are gone or at least missing at this point. Every year, I carefully pack up our tree ornaments and re-label the boxes which are stored in the basement. But this year, somehow, the ornament box is missing. We haven't moved. We haven't had a major cleaning project in the basement, so I just can't figure out where they could be. I have to admit it took a bit of the holiday spirit from me. At least it stole a little bit of my decorating motivation. But I hope to regain my momentum this week.
As for the bookmarks, I have no explanation. When I turned on my computer a few days ago, and clicked on firefox, the bookmarks were gone except for three randomly selected winners that I guess my computer thought I still might need--my blog, weightwatchers.com and ebay.  I have been "collecting" bookmarks for awhile now, and since my introduction to the world of blogging my collection has tripled--good blogs, tutorials, crafty ideas, good links from other bloggers, ideas for gifts, projects, things to get when we have a little money....
And Dad, I tried all the things you suggested and the search DID turn up my bookmarks. But only the three that are showing in the browser!

And so I have to face these losses with the same attitude--a chance to start fresh:
new ornaments--many more handmade than before, many crafted by the little hands in my life, new ideas, different tastes and styles than what I would have selected five years ago...
new bookmarks--I will no longer bookmark EVERY blog I come across, just the ones that truly inspire me, there's no feelings of anxiety and pressure when I click on my bookmark tab and a GIGANTIC list of links is displayed before me, just teasing me with projects that I have yet to find the time to attempt; new ideas, different tastes and styles....

Aside from all of this, Emma has managed to succesfully pass her cold on to each member of our family. We have spent the last few days in a haze of congestion, sore throats, and bodies that ache so badly it hurts to even be touched by another human. Dan and I have been on a napping rotation as well as an "it's your turn to get up with this crying child in the middle of the night"-rotation. I was beginning to think that I might be getting bed sores.
But, I am the first to emerge from the fog. I am just thankful that we were hit this weekend, instead of over Christmas. That would have been miserable. All of this illness has put quite a damper on my homemade present projects. I have so much work to do this week in makes me want to climb back under the sheets.

But I did manage to get one project started this evening. The first of a few batches of homemade hard candy. This recipe is a flashback to my childhood. It was the first thing I entered in the county fair as a 4-Her. And, I won champion hard candy, thank you very much.  I called my mom this week and had her dredge up the old recipe from her box and I'm hoping to make a few batches to give as gifts to neighborhood friends.

You can make it in any flavor and color you want.  I did a bit of peppermint flavor with just a drop of green coloring. Here's the recipe, if anyone want to give it a try. It's very easy, messy, but fun.
(In case you can't read that last part: drop the pieces of candy into a plate of confectioner's sugar to coat.)

O To Be Three...

(It takes a lot of concentration to write your name upside down and backwards)

Emma wasn't feeling well this morning when she woke up, so about two hours later I convinced her to  get back in bed for awhile and rest. I propped her up with pillows and her giant elephant Lily, covered her with lots of blankets, filled her bed with some of her "friends", gave her paper, one of my "good" pens, and some books to read. We even put on a little music.
Emma is all about atmosphere, so of course she ate this experience up. She's the kind of girl who, when she watches a special movie, wants all the lights out, lots of pillows piled up on the sofa and every blanket in sight draped over her. Or, if its time for some tea, she wants it in a proper cup, with her own little spoon for stirring in sugar, and the small creamer pitcher from her tea set so that she can add the milk all by herself. Most of these occasions are met with squeals and shivers of delight. But I must confess that she gets a lot of this from me....we both love a mini-party at home, whether its a cup of tea, a good movie, sitting down with an art project (knitting, for me), a snuggle in bed, turning out all the lights in the house in order to admire the Christmas tree's twinkle....we are definitely a bunch of squealers in our own right. We're doing our best to pass this on to Mary as well, who can cover her mouth, squeal, and crumple to the ground at the mention of climbing in the chair together to read a book, or the sight of me pulling the wrapper of a candy cane in order to give her a few licks.
Anyway, as I walked out of the room this morning leaving Emma in her nest of pleasure, I thought, "man, what I wouldn't give to be three."  For someone to say, "here, Molly, come climb in bed again. Here are your books, your journal, some knitting...I'll put on some music for you. Just relax and come join us again when you're more rested and ready."
Really, I do get my moments each day: a break for a cup of tea, or both girls napping and a chance to write and catch up with blogging friends, a husband who keeps the girls busy so I can make dinner without tripping over toddlers....so when all is said and done, I can't complain too much.

O Christmas Tree

The Christmas season has official begun in our home. Aside from the advent calendar, we have been holding off on decorating our home for Christmas. Last year we got anxious early, and started decorating right after Thanksgiving. But this year we decided to hold off a little longer. The anticipation for a three and a half year old is just too much. We've already had several crying fits--"I can't wait THAT long until Christmas..." or "But I just want my Christmas presents now..." Now that the number of days until Christmas is within a range that she can count to, it is much easier to wait.
So Saturday we made the short trek to our new favorite Christmas tree farm. It is an old red barn in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fields and fields of Christmas trees of all species. The trucks in the parking lot have bumper stickers that say things like, "Real trees make scents" and you are greeted by friendly tree farmers who give you an axe, a tree sled and a cup of hot apple cider. 
This year as we started the hike up the lane into tree wonderland, a scene straight out of the pages of Martha Stewart, both girls were hit with a blast of arctic Wisconsin  winter wind that sent Emma screaming and Mary gasping for breath. So we parted company with Dan, who made the hike into the woods alone, while we girls headed for the warmth of the barn to pick out ornaments. I'm not sure who had the harder job--Dan cutting and hauling a chubby balsam fir down the snowy lane, or me, trying to keep two toddlers occupied inside a barn filled with fragile tree ornaments, glass bulbs, porcelain angels, and customers milling about holding cups of hot cider. 
I don't know the struggles Dan faced out in the field, but I had my hands full.  Both girls decided to test out some of the wooden toys for sale in the shop, in particular the wooden fishing poles. Any long wooden stick  in the hand of a 20 month old who's killing time in a room of fragility is not for the faint of heart.
From there it was Emma's urgent need to use the bathroom which meant trudging back outside in the snow to the outhouse. Yes a real, hole in the ground, don't lean too hard you might tip it over, outhouse.  Of course there was some trauma when emma peered into the hole and began asking questions. But the real trauma hit, when her cheeks hit the toilet seat which was covered in a thin film of ice.
But, as you can see in the picture above, we came home smiling. A stop at a little deli in town for soup and grilled cheese sandwiches smoothed over an eventful morning. I'm thinking next year, we might just send Dan out for the tree all by himself, and we'll wait at home with hot chocolate and carols. Or, by next year we'll learn the art of Christmas tree cutting in Wisconsin:
--everyone wears a snowsuit
--mittens for all
--find some of those hats for the girls that only have holes for eyes and mouth
--bring scissors and twine to attach the tree to your car
--stop at the gas station in town for bathroom breaks
--choose to cut on a day when the temp is above 20deg.
--handcuff children before going into the ornament shop

Catching up on Advent, and some advice needed...

We are in the process of a little advent catch-up around here. Today we finally made the salt dough ornaments, which will be painted after naps. But, if I completely get caught up with the calendar, this afternoon we will also have to bake ice cream cone cupcakes and make playdough. I'm hoping that since I let Emma play with the left over salt dough that maybe she'll let her mom slide on the playdough. But probably we will be making a big vat of playdough tonight as well. I think next year, I'll add some cushion days....like, read a book, watch a video, build a tent with the sofa cushions.... Even so, I'm still enjoying the excitement that greets each tear of a new link from the chain. (and then I get a little panicked when I see how short it is getting and think of how many unfinished Christmas presents are waiting patiently for me in the craft closet...)

SEWING ADVICE NEEDED:
Speaking of projects, I would like to make big floor pillows for Emma and Mary. I'm looking for advice, recommendations on fabric. I think that wool felt or fleece will get "pill-y", but I like the softness of them. Any ideas, advice would be appreciated.

Well, I sat down at the computer meaning to balance my checkbook and pay bills. I thought a diet coke and a good CD would ease the pain of the task at hand. Dan was laid off again this week. It has been touch and go, since I last wrote about him being laid off. He got more work, but was laid off again on Monday because there are no carpentry jobs right now with this company...just in time for Christmas.
Obviously, Mary has other plans for my time right now...she's calling to me from her crib. Guess I'll just have to set the old checkbook aside for now....

Self Portrait Tuesday

This month's self-portrait tuesday theme is reflective surface. This picture is taken in the spoon that just stirred up a little honey in my nightly cup of tea.

More self-portrait bloggers here and here.

Welcome Advent...

I have been so inspired by all the advent calendars I've seen from  crafty bloggers.  But with a sewing machine in the repair shop, I had to resort to the good old-fashioned paper chain this year. I had big, big plans for this years calendar but as December 1 greeted me this morning, I had no handmade calendar to display. So while the girls were napping, I sat and whipped up my chain. It felt like the good old days of third grade teaching. ( And for the record,  I am in love with glue dots right now. They made the project go so fast, except for the few stray dots that have now permanently affixed my grocery list to my Living magazine.) I hung the chain from a tall cabinet and wrote little projects inside each link.  I decided to confine the list predominantly to craft projects, cooking, and entertaining.
Mary is a little young to appreciate the excitement behind the chain hanging from the wall, except that it is great fun to wear the chains as handcuffs. I'll be shocked if I'm not resticking many-a-link before this has all finished.
Emma can barely stand the fact that hanging in the kitchen is a list of 24 fun projects and ideas FOR HER and Mary, and her mother won't read past the first day. She loves and hates surprises all in the same breath.