Family Tree

Since I was able to get a new Christmas tree this year my poor little 'old' tree was sitting lonely and untouched in the basement. So, yesterday after seeing this adorable idea online I had the urge to put up a second Christmas tree. It only cost me $10 to put this tree together because I had all the other supplies already. First I bought $5 worth of ribbon at Wal-Mart and draped it down the tree top to bottom.

Then I spent another $5 at Real Deals and got these cute star pillows for my tree topper.

I copied several random family photos in black and white, matted them on black cardstock and randomly stuck them throughout the tree.

It really looks adorable and was cheap and easy peasy!

Nestled next to the tree is this family heirloom old rocking chair. My Grandmother was rocked in this chair when she was a baby. I love things with a history.

I hope all my friends an family have a very Merry Christmas! I will enjoy the next two days making cookies, preparing my home for the upcoming festivities, and sipping hot cocoa by the tree.

Christmas Q&A

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

How do you pass up chocolate!?! As for Egg Nog....I just can't get past the name. 2. Does Santa wrap the presents or just sit them by the tree?

He wraps them for sure. Opening them is half the fun! I don't put any of my kids presents out until Christmas Eve....bigger impact that way.

3. Colored lights on a tree or white?

I like white. But someday when I do my "CANDY" themed tree I will use colored.

4. Do you hang a mistletoe?

I don't need to, I get plenty of kisses without it.

5. When do you put up your decorations?

The day after Thanksgiving but it is soooo hard to wait.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

I really don't have one. Hot Chocolate and Toast I guess.

7. Favorite holiday memory.

Being pulled on a sled behind my Uncle Bob's jeep. So Fun!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

In third grade Mrs. Kotromanes (spelling?) told us the tooth fairy wasn't real so I assumed the same about Santa. My mom was not happy.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

We open pajamas from both grandma's.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

Traditional, red and green, a little bit country.

11. Snow. Love it or dread it?

Love it when I'm inside with nothing to do but watch it fall. Dread it when I'm driving.

12. Can you ice skate?

Yes, I even sneak in a twirl or two.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Michael Jackson History CD. I even let out a scream.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays to you?

Starting our own traditions with my little family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Sugar Cookies! I can't stop eating them. It's a good thing they take a lot of work or I'd be in trouble.

16. What tops your tree?

A star. But it's red, Rocky said it should be yellow.

17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?

Giving, I wish I could give more.

18. What is your favorite Christmas song?

"The Christmas Song" (chestnuts roasting) by Nat King Cole.

19. Candy Canes. Yuck or Yum?

Yum!

20. Favorite Christmas show?

"Ernest Saves Christmas" I love it!

21. Saddest Christmas song?

"Christmas Shoes" of course.

If you post a Q&A of your own let me know. I will stop by and read it.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The stockings are hung. Why are there four you ask? There is not another baby...I bought the stockings when I was pregnant with Rocky. We were planning on having two kids at the time and then....SUPRISE!!! Sawyer came along and I wouldn't trade him for the world. The fourth stocking is either mine and Robbie's to share or the dog's, we haven't decided yet. The piano is decorated. Someday I will have a child who can play it much better than his mother...I hope.

The centerpiece is festive. Read the tile without crying, I dare you. I bought it the same day I was complaining about wiping walls.

Shopping is done. Except for my mama. We like to shop together so it's hard to sneak her a gift when she's with me.

Tree is up. My new tree I must say. I love it. It came equipped with lights, twigs, and berries. I tied the bows for it myself and bought a few new decorations to make it complete. I was really proud of it until I seen Kari's tree...hers belongs in a window display.

Now I've got a yummy candle lit, banana bread baking with chocolate chips for Robbie, and Christmas music in the background. It's a wonderful life.

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.

I just love this time of year. I love the lights, the smells, the music. Even among all of the hustle and bustle, the long lists of things to do, the draining of my bank account...can't forget that, I am still left with a gratedful heart this time of year. Maybe that is because of the miracle this holiday represents. The humble birth of our precious Savior. I am reminded of a book I read a couple of years ago. I found it in a box, I believe it belonged to my dear Aunt Beverly...who always made Christmas extra special, I will never forget. The book is called "Two From Galilee-The Story of Mary and Joseph." 'This is the story of two real people whose lives were touched by God: two people chosen by God to provide and earthly home for His Son.' I think I might pull this book out and read it again this season.

So to kick off the season I loaded my clan and took them uptown to see the Santa Claus parade. This happened a couple of weeks ago but posting it now is better than never, right? One thing that I have noticed as I've loaded pictures for my blog is that as the designated camera woman there are rarely any pictures of me so I'm making a mental note to get Robbie to take the reigns once in a while.

I can't help but shed a tear whenever I stand to salute a flag. Ball games, parades, or at school. I tear up every time. I am just incredibly grateful to live in this country and I am so proud to be an American.

The streets were almost bare for the parade but that allowed us to get some personal attention from good old St. Nick. Lucky us, Mrs. Claus was there too.

What a great Santa he was too. Real beard and everything. When we got home there was another Santa standing across the street waving at cars, he wasn't nearly as believable. Canyon was a bit confused, we had just seen Santa, so I told him it was an imposter.

These are a few of my favorite things....

1. Listening to my children's prayers.

2. A home cooked meal.

3. Watching my boys play pretend.

4. Miniature peanut butter cups....the perfect balance of peanut butter and
chocolate.

5. A long soak in the tub.

6. Scented candles....especially the one's that make it smell like I've been baking.

7. Hugs from Robbie.

8. Old time music....like from the 40's.

9. Being a mommy.

10. CHRISTMAS!

Poor Baby

We've been hit! The swine flu has made it's presence known in the Palmer household. My sweet little Rocky is the victim. The rest of us are fine, so far. I've been washing bedding and blankets daily, washing hands constantly, and keeping things clean the best I can while caring for the little guy. A couple more days and I think he'll be as good as new. What a bummer, eh?

When Mama's Happy, Everyone's Happy

So this week I have had a new ambition.....to turn off the darn T.V. and become a better wife, mother, and homemaker. Yes, much of my blame goes directly to that 56" enormous television that sits in my family room. I turn that thing on and it just sucks me in for the rest of the day. Good heavens, I don't know what I would do without my DVR!!! It's almost as bad as my addiction to PEPSI(which I am just not ready to give up yet). I really need to limit my recordings to General Hospital, Dr. Phil, Oprah, Dancing With the Stars, Biggest Loser.....STOP, STOP, STOP! That is only half of my recordings list! You can see that this has gotten out of hand. Now instead of going directly for the remote each morning I am going to turn on some good music-Micheal Buble is my current favorite-and get started doing something productive. I know this will make my life easier which will make my family's life easier. I cannot create the atmosphere I desire in my home if my attention is on things that really don't matter. It has been a couple of days since this new mindset set in and so far so good. I've been playing games with my kids, doing puzzles, reading, and my kitchen has stayed clean...which is a miracle!

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?

So, in my efforts to become a better housewife, I woke up this morning and made blueberry muffins.....right out of the box. Unfortunately, I should have allowed myself an extra 1/2 hour because we were racing out the door to make it in time for preschool. They must have been good because here is all that was left. My day didn't stop there, since I am also trying to be thrifty I decided to start a little craft project. Is it illegal to recreate crafts you see at, lets say, Quilted Bear? Well, I did this little project for $0 because I had all the supplies I needed at home. First I asked Robbie to cut three blocks of 2x4 to my desired lengths from a piece of scap wood.

Canyon was very helpful. He sanded the wood with me to make it smooth so we wouldn't get any slivers.

Then he helped me paint just the front of the blocks. I'm really not sure how his dad would feel about his involvement in making "crafts" but his interest stopped here so there is no need to worry.

Then I printed off the words I was to paint onto the blocks. I cut these letters out so I could trace them onto the blocks. That took some time......

.....but not as long as it took to hand paint the letters. After I painted on the words I sanded over the entire thing to rough it up.

I painted a little saltbox house on the small block and stack them like this. I thought they turned out perfect. Now I just need to find the perfect place to display them.

My next project is to do something with this old wash tin I found out in the field. Any suggestions?

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman

We all know Spiderman's true identity now.....ITS ROCKY!!! Today he had his preschool Halloween party and here are him and Maggie in their little parade they had for the mommy's and daddy's. I'm not sure why he's not wearing his mask, it's probably best.....he probably would have tripped trying to see! All of the costumes were adorable. Thank you to Miss LuAnn and Miss Hailey for being such wonderful teachers. There are twenty-five 3 year olds in the class, how they manage it is beyond me. But Rocky is loving every bit of it as long as Maggie is by his side.
After their little parade the children stood on the steps to sing a Halloween song they had been practicing. You can see Rocky and Maggie found a spot right by the front door to stand. They were holding hands...so cute. They are great cousins.

Fall Project #1

Here is my beloved OLD changing table I found at the DI for only $20. My original plans were to use it as a potting bench out in my yard. I decided to bring it in to protect it from the weather over the fall/winter and found that it fit perfectly in the little nook by the door to our garage. I wasn't a big fan of the wood finish so I decided to paint it red, my favorite color. I like things that look old and worn so I took some sand paper to the corners and edges. I don't really care for the hardware on it but I think it is probably original so I am going to leave it. After all was done I shined it up a bit, added a couple accessories and I think it looks GREAT!

I have a whole list of projects I'd like to accomplish this season including painting my interior doors chocolate brown instead of white. I'm not sure if it will work, what do you think?

Halloween 09

Yay! It's Halloween! For some reason I just love this holiday. Maybe it's not the holiday I love, maybe it's the season. Life just seems to move slower this time of year. Here is a little peek and my boys costumes this year. Sawyer is my little Charlie Brown. He's not bald, his hair is just so blond that I was able to draw a face on the back of his head.
Canyon wanted to be Indiana Jones this year and Rocky wanted to be Spiderman, AGAIN!

Grandpa Rules!

Up and ready for the big trip. Grandpa Dean is so nice to take the whole family to Disneyland, we wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise. All the grandkids had matching "My Grandpa Rules" shirts to wear in the airport.Waiting for our flight. I was nerous. Nervous to fly and nervous that my kids would be terrible on the plane. I didn't need to be for either, we made it safely and my kids were angels.
Rocky and Grandpa Dean.

The cutest bunch in the airport.

Disneyland

We were so excited to finally be at Disneyland and couldn't wait to enter that gate.Rocky, Maggie, Sawyer, and Canyon and Mr. Rabbits house.
Rocky loved the teacups.

But any ride that went inside he kept his eyes shut.

A Day With Canyon

The best idea we had was to take my mom along for the trip. She was so much help with the kids. Our second day of Disneyland she voluteered to stay in the hotel with Rocky and Sawyer for the first half of the day so we could spend some time with Canyon riding what he wanted to ride. His favorites were Indiana Jones and Star Tours, my two favorites too. Here are Robbie and Canyon in Tarzans Tree House.
The three of us in line for Indiana Jones.

We took Canyon over to California Adventures and rode the Tower of Terror. I have to say this is one of my favorite rides ever. So FuN! Canyon didn't like it too much though. Anything that gives him that tickly feeling in his stomach he doesn't like. We're too cheap to buy the picture so here is a picture of the picture. Canyon doesn't look too happy. The next day a mom was trying to convince her daughter to go on the ride and I told Canyon to tell her he went on it and instead he told her, "Don't listen to them, I hated it, don't do it, you won't like it."