Fixing Those Obnoxious Noisy Toys

Did your kids get toys that make a bunch of noise?  I know I know, silly question!  Some noisy toys are less noisy than others, some are downright obnoxious.  Little Man got a bunch of construction trucks for Christmas which he LOVES, and some of those are really loud.  So I fixed them.  And I'm going to show you the trick I learned years ago!

 Here's one of the more obnoxious sounding toys that we got for Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, he loves it and I'm glad he got it!  But I'd be less glad if I couldn't do what I'm showing you next.  And you should get some note paper because it's complicated.

Look around for the speaker holes, and cover them with a layer of clear tape.  That's it!  Usually one layer is enough to turn down the volume without taking the fun of the sounds it makes away.  If you looked around our house at noise-making toys, you'll find a lot of them with tape on them.  Some are quiet enough on the low setting to not need any tape, but many do.

So if you're kids toys are driving you crazy because of the sound, tape them up!

Our First Christmas Dinner

Alternate title "It's About Dang Time!"

Since Sweet Pea was a baby, 10 Christmas's ago, Spencer and I have been trying to fit in our family's Christmas celebration on Christmas morning.  But there has never been enough time.  We would come downstairs to the tree and our stockings and open our Santa presents.  Then we would open our presents to each other.  After that we would eat a quick breakfast (though one or two years I made a special breakfast, but it was rushed) and spend the next couple hours getting everyone ready, food for 3 locations ready to go, presents for 3 locations ready to go, and hope we don't forget anything.  Then we'd head over to my mom and dad's, second we'd go to my dad's side of the family, and finally spending the evening with Spencer's relatives.  It was a long day and very very rushed.

Finally this year I gave up on trying to celebrate on Christmas day and planned a special Christmas with my family for the evening before Christmas eve!

I wanted to make a big special dinner, have plenty of time to open and enjoy presents with the kids, and have dessert, followed by more family time.

The morning of the 23rd the kids went with my mom and mother-in-law to Macy's 8th floor display of "A Day in the Life of an Elf" and have lunch at McDonalds, while Spence was out working.  That time alone in the house was a life-savor because I wanted to have the house clean for the weekend and it's harder to do that with kids around!

 I made Pioneer Woman's "Perfect Potroast" and "Creamy Mashed Potatoes", salad, homemade hot chocolate, and a thaw-and-serve cookies & cream pie for dessert!

 People listen!  This is the best pot roast you will ever eat in your life!  Combined with the creamy mashed potatoes (which I put too much butter on but it was extra awesome that way!) it is perfection on a fork!

 When the girls saw the table all set pretty they were so excited, they could tell it was something special and that just made me feel so good!  Everyone loved the dinner, even Little Man who didn't really eat any of the other Christmas dinners we went to all weekend (he's a stinker like that).

 After dinner we opened presents.  Spence and I didn't have the cash-o-lah to buy for eachother so we had just planned on watching the kids open their gifts, but the girls had gone to the dollar store with Spencer's mom to shop for eachother, their brother, and Spence and me!

 I think we got a bigger kick out of watching them open the gifts they got eachother than the gifts we got them!  They were very thought out presents!  They got me bright pink nail polish because they know I like that color on my toe nails, nail clippers (constantly clipping my and the kids' nails) pretty ornaments, cd holder for the car (needed) and some other goodies!

Just Dance Kids

After all the presents were opened and enjoyed at a leisurely pace we had our dessert, and more playtime before heading to bed.  It was truly my favorite Christmas!  I cherished that relaxed quality family time together and can't wait to do it again next year!!

I Remember...

Care to join me while I reminisce?

Did I spell reminisce right? I must have because spell check didn't say anything.   Moving on...


I remember:

When I'd be excited to get back to my college campus so I could have high speed internet instead of dial-up.  Remember dial-up internet?

When the only way to access the internet was with America On Line and your minutes came on a CD.

When the cool thing was to have pagers in high school.  Now middle-schoolers have cell phones. So weird.

When DVDs started getting popular and a friend of mine had to explain to me what made them so much better than a VHS.

Same with CD's, but I didn't need explaining on that one.  I think it was my Aunt Debbie S. that got my my first CD.  If I remember right it was a Mariah Carey one.  I could be totally wrong there though.

When I heard they were making a new TV show about a show-choir, and being the choir geek that I am was excited and hoped hoped hoped that enough people would watch it so it wouldn't get canceled in the first season.... that was Glee.

When we only had one child and it seemed difficult to leave the house with her.  Now we have three and when we only have one it feels almost like none.

When my little sister was really little and she would pronounce the word "remember" as "renember".  My cousin and I made a bet with her that we could get her to say "renember" by the end of the day.  I won that bet during a "spontaneous" dinner time game of "I Remember..." where we all went around the table saying what we remember.  I felt like quite the clever little thing that day ;o)

When Christmas involved going to one place on Christmas Eve and one place on Christmas Day.  Oh how simple those holidays were!

When we had to haul pack 'n plays with us everywhere for big holidays so that whoever our youngest child at the time could nap.  Now they all sleep in beds.

When I last saw my half brother, it was Christmas day, 15 years ago.

Getting pulled over when I was 18 for speeding.  I was on my way to my college choir and I was so engrossed in my Christmas music ("The Christmas Song" in case you're wondering) that I wasn't paying much attention to my speed.  Oops!

When I was only ever expected to bring bread or juice to Christmas's because of a combination of multiple parties to go to in one day, having young children, and not really knowing how to make stuff.  Although people don't ask me to bring hard stuff (thank you family!) I have slowly branched out in my Christmas food!  This year I am bringing Cinnamon French Toast Bake, along with some simple things like a frozen pie, cinnamon rolls, and yes... buns!

How every year Spencer and I would try to cram our family Christmas with the kids into Christmas morning, only to wind up stressed out by the time we got to our first location.  This year I'm excited because we are having our family's Christmas on the 23rd!  I'm making Pioneer Woman's perfect pot roast, creamy mashed potatoes, a salad, and a thaw-and-serve cookies and cream pie!  Then we'll open presents and maybe sip some hot cocoa!  Can't wait!!

Cookie Baking MY Way

Last week I made sugar cookie cutouts for the kids and I to frost, because Christmas is coming soon, and if you know anything about me it's that I love cookies!

Because my Christmas tree and snowman cookie cutters were dirty, I decided to make candy canes and snow flakes!

 But, even with an excessisve amount of flour they were kind of sticking and getting messed up... so I changed it up a bit... because I can.

Yes those look like Pumpkins, yes they are supposed to be pumpkin cookie cutters, but because it is a highly dependable cookie cutter I used them anyway and called them "bulb ornaments".  Works right?

Then the girls and I frosted them!  Little Man didn't want to decorate, he's not into that artsy fartsy stuff that we are.  I made the frosting with powdered sugar and milk.  I like to start with it a little runny and then add more powdered sugar until it thickens up.  It's still a bit runny, but that's what the paper towels are for!

And because I'm kind of a freak, and because it's delicious, I threw some chocolate chips on a ball of sugar cookie dough and popped the whole thing in my mouth.  YUM!

And yes... they are all gone, and have been for a few days now.  But we made a bunch more (different kinds) last weekend so I'm all good!

Christmas weekend part 2

Please excuse the awful blurry pictures, if you have to cover them with your hand so you don't get a headache, I will understand.

I remember being a kid and waking up way too early on Christmas morning.  I would sit in my bed wide awake and anxiously watch for the clock to reach the appointed wake-up time.  Then my sister and I would race into our parents room to get them up so we could go upstairs and open presents!

We told the girls that they could get up no sooner than 7:00, and come and wake us up.  Had I been smart I would have set their alarm clock back a few extra minutes, but instead their clock is set 2 minutes fast... so at 6:58 we heard them clamber out of their beds, jump across the hall, and crawl into our bed chanting "It's Christmas It's Christmas!" 

Little Man was still sound asleep so we invited the girls into bed with us to snuggle for a while.  I don't know how people do the whole family-bed thing, the 4 of us were squished pretty tight and Spence and Sweet Pea were trying not to fall off the sides.  It was a sleepy, joyful, squishy family moment.

After about 15 minutes of snuggling and wiggling and talking about Christmas, Little Man woke up and we all headed downstairs.

Once in the family room the kids discovered that Santa had left unwrapped toys in separate couches and table for each kid.

They quickly went about discovering their loot and digging in their stockings!

Santa had even left the whole family a gift, Rockband 3 and the keyboard!

After Santa presents we opened our gifts from each other.  One of my gifts were these slippers...

They have not left my feet since then except to put on real shoes or boots to go outside, to take a shower, and to go to bed.  And when I go to bed they sit right next to the bed so I can slip them on immediately.  They are warm, soft, comfy, and have a hard sole which gives them a sturdy feel.  The best part? They only cost $5 when I picked them up on black friday.

Yes that's right, I picked them up.  But Spence wrapped them so he still gets some credit!

After we finished opening our gifts we got dressed and ready for the rest of day 2.  Once everyone was dressed and ready there was a little more time to play with toys. 

This is Little Man playing with his remote control construction equipment and matchbox cars.

Babydoll and her new doll.  She thinks it's an American Girl doll, but none of us are about to correct her.  One of her aunts and grandparents each gave her an Our Generation doll, which are a lot like the American Girl dolls, but a whole lot more reasonable priced!

At 11:00 we went to my parents' house to celebrate with them, my sister, and her boyfriend.  We had a Delicious meal of lasagna, spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and pies for dessert.  I've never made homemade lasagna and have become pretty accustomed to the frozen variety, so getting the homemade stuff was amazing!

We had a wonderful time visiting, opening presents, playing "Would You Rather?", laughing, and I even squeezed in a short nap! 

One thing I asked for for Christmas was a pair of haircutting scissors.  I'm trying to learn how to cut at least Little Man's hair to save time and money.  I might even give Babydoll's hair a whirl.  My sister gave me these and I can't wait to give it a go!

Later that afternoon we left my parents house, stopped back home to drop off and pick up presents, and let the dog out for a potty break.  Then we headed down the road to Spencer's parents to celebrate with his aunt, uncles, and cousins. 

There were over 10 kids there, so they had a blast playing hide and seek, the dice game, and running around together.  One amazing thing about kids, they can see each other once or twice a year (or in some cases here once every two years) and still play together like they are best friends! 

We had a huge meal of several appetizers, ham and turkey, and various salads.  When you get a couple dozen adults together for a party, there's always a surplus of delicious food! 

We played the dice game, ate, opened presents, ate, got caught up with each other, ate, and generally had a great time! 

We finally returned home at about 10:30, got the kids into bed just before 11:00, organized the gifts for the next day, realized we were missing the game gifts for the next day (ended up using them for a different game), and collapsed into another puddle of fatigue.

Stay tuned for the rest of Christmas weekend!

Christmas weekend part 1

Christmas this year was wonderful!  For a year now I've been talking about how much I liked last year's Christmas because we got snowed in and were forced to stay in town.  We missed everyone we didn't get a chance to see, but since 2002 our Christmases and Christmas Eves have been full of driving around, dropping off and picking up presents, driving around, spending a few hours at each place and then racing off to the next place.  So last year when we were snowed in we spent Christmas with our parents who all live very close by, and at home sledding and enjoying our new toys. 

This year was even better!  Although Minnesota had record breaking snow fall this month, we were not snowed in.  But since my dad's side of the family agreed to have their celebration the day after Christmas, we were able to see everyone and take our time everywhere we went!  Now when you're kid-less and traveling to multiple families' houses, like my sister this year, it is fun and exciting and though I'm sure you're worn out by the end of it, it's nothing like lugging 3 kids and all their stuff around with you (and trying to figure out how to get a decent nap in for your toddler).  Traveling to multiple parties with kids is no easy feat, but spreading things out and minimizing how many parties each day (2 works perfectly if they are timed right) really simplifies things.

We started the night before Christmas eve with baths and showers for the kids, I braided the girls hair per their request so their hair would be wavy, we gathered up our outfits and made sure we got things washed that needed to be, and sent the kids to bed.  Spence and I then spent quite a while wrapping the presents that had been purchased more recently and organizing the game gifts and white elephant gifts.

Christmas eve morning was spent getting dressed up, making monkey bread, gathering up presents, swooning over Little Man in his tiny little tie (I died when I saw him all dressed up, then I revived myself so I could gush over him some more), and making an enormous mess.

Then it was off to my aunt and uncles house for a big brunch, a couple games, and lots of good times.  My mom took pictures with her new camera and emailed them to me since my camera has been crap, and it will be taking blurry pictures until I get it fixed.  Thanks mom for the pics!  The highlight for Babydoll was when Santa made a surprise visit! 

Babydoll loved that Santa stopped by, and was plenty excited to get an early gift from him!  He brought the girls each a puzzle, and Little Man got candy and a car (I think). 

Though Sweet Pea says she still believes in Santa, she has gotten to the age that sitting with him and the Easter bunny are for little kids.  It just doesn't thrill her anymore.

see what I mean?

After several relaxed and fun hours with my mom's side of the family, we drove home to let the dog outside and swap presents for the next party.

Every year for Christmas eve Spencer's mom prepares a lobster and shrimp dinner and we eat by candle light (though the last couple years we've added the lights turned up just a bit with the dimmer).  We started with some presents for the kids, then enjoyed a big dinner of lobster, shrimp, butter, popcorn shrimp, potatoes, butter,  salad, corn, buns, butter, milk, wine, and sparkling grape juice.  Then we opened more presents, enjoyed eachothers' company, and checked the norad tracker for where Santa was. 

Around 8:30 Santa was in South America and moving his way up to the states.  My sister-in-law Allie pointed this out to Babydoll who immediately jumped up and exclaimed that we have to get home now! so as not to miss Santa.  Once home we put out the cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer, got the kids in jammies, and put them to bed.  When Spence went in for his goodnight hugs for the girls Babydoll looked at him dead serious and told him, "you better be in bed before Santa gets here, or else!"

The kids in bed, our work was not yet over.  We got the family room downstairs cleaned up for the upcoming morning, laid out the kids Santa toys, and got organized for the next day's events. 

Then collapsed into a pool of fatigue.

Christmas weekend part 2 tomorrow!



Momma Getting Fresh with Santa?

I could tell you more about being sick, but I just coughed up some nasty stuff so I'm going to change the topic for a minute.

You're Welcome.

It's Christmas season, my favorite time of the year when I'm not stressing out or freezing my hiney off!  This means it's also time for Christmas music, and time for me to cry at nearly every other one.  The classic Christmas songs make me instantly reflect on a time 2000 years ago.  A time when a tiny baby was born in the most modest of birthplaces.  The fact that I know that baby grew up to teach us about God's word, the kind of life we should strive for, and because humans can never live a sinless life he would eventually die so that our sins could be forgiven and we could join Him in Heaven, brings tears to my eyes often.  Sounds like a Savior to me!

That said, not all Christmas songs have that effect. 

Take "I saw Mama kissing Santa Clause" for instance.  When I was a little kid I remember being confused as to why it was a cute song.  Why would people sing a song about a mom kissing another man... while the family sleeps... on Christmas eve! 

I guess to me it was a cutsie song about a married woman getting fresh with an old bearded man, not a cutsie song about some forthcoming bedroom role-playing scene!

Come to think of it, either way, that song disturbs me.