A Bit of Christmas

I'm not big into decorating.

I love decorations and the tasteful decorating of others, but it's a huge effort for me.

So, since it isn't a priority for me, we don't really have that many decorations.

Our 9 foot pre-lit Christmas tree is an especially huge pain to decorate. (Shawn wants to point out that I was the one who wanted the darn thing... I concede.) Last year, I let the kids decorate the bottom third of the tree and, eventually, Shawn did the other two thirds.

This year, since we will be opening presents with family, we decided that bringing out the big tree was a needless chore. So we just let the kids decorate the small tree.

That is, it was decorated at one point...

I got frustrated with all the ornament-playing at first but just gave up.  ;) Ella has also knocked down the tree once already...

We've also been painting ceramic ornaments. These ended up willy-nilly on the floor and are now piled below the tree.

Averi's been making some decorations in pre-school:

So cute!

Here is our mantel:

You can see our Christmas card holders and the advents that Mom made for me.

Next year, I'm really hoping to get a few more Christmas decorations. Eva is making us stockings this year and so I'd like to get stocking holders and do something like this:

(click on photo to go to post)

Curtain rod suspended between two stocking holders for multiple stockings!

I have a bazillion other Christmas ideas on Pinterest as well, of course.

This is what our table looks like when it is clean!  ;)

I have some garland above the cabinets, otherwise, that's it for Christmas this year!

Taylor's Turn in Surgery

Averi passed the surgical torch to Taylor on Friday.

He's having some minor surgery in a "sensitive" area (I deliberated how much detail to go into and decided to be vague).

The nurses were very impressed with how happy Taylor is!

Here's our little trooper after the procedure:

He had 5 popsicles!!

He's still very careful about bending over and going to the bathroom but the swelling is going down. The poor guy is constantly wary of people around him.  ;)

Making Cookies with Grandma Nelson

Irresistable Ella

My first reaction was horror and then gut-busting laughter!

Yes, that's a fishy cracker up her nose!

3 x 7 = ack

For some reason, the math of my laundry just hit me today...

(Three kids + two adults x seven days a week) + sheets, towels, PJs and "accidents" = a whole heck of a lot of laundry.

:(

November: Photo/Video Review

A quick way to catch up on my pictures...

Ella appeared to be studiously hunting for bargains (and not happy with the selection).

Averi playing with the camera caught some interesting and incriminating photos of Ella!

Hmmmm... Dental floss and Mommy's glasses....

The children playing with balloons left over from a baby shower...

Happy Ella:

Silly Ella!

(This is her favorite face to make and I crack up every time!)

Ella fell asleep amongst her toys...

Averi loves to brush Mommy's hair and put in clips!

Mommy loves it, too!  ;)

A sweet moment between siblings...

Makes everything worthwhile!

Sister play time...

Taylor and Averi helped Daddy to shovel the driveway with their shovels!

 And paused to watch the very late recycling truck go by!

Ella's really starting to enjoy coloring!

 I must draw attention to her adorable, braided piggies!

At first we thought Ella had colored her own face...

...but her communication skills were sufficient to rat out Averi!  ;)

Taylor often plays in the snow from when he gets home from school until it's dark enough that Mommy has to call him in!

Our first snow day:

Froggy girl:

Acting Proclivity

My little Ella Bella is an actress!

After cleaning out my pantry, I have a small space on the floor where I will be putting a step stool.

One day, I heard some puzzling noises coming from that spot.

Upon investigation, I found Ella wedged in there with her fingers poking through the overhanging wire shelf, crying out, "I'm trapped! I'm trapped!" She then wrapped shaking arms around herself and rocked back and forth, saying, "I'm scared... I'm scared..."

It was an incredible performance for a 2-year-old!! Evidence of an active imagination as well as some serious dramatic skills! ;)

Update

It's been a long time since I updated the blog! Well, blogs!! I've been keeping VERY busy with organizing my home and family.

You may have noticed the addition to my blog links on the side... I started a blog to keep track of my organizing progress and perhaps to give ideas to others. (There are TONS of ideas out there... check out my Pinterest board!)

I've also finally gotten around to renaming this blog... I can't think of anything more representative of motherhood than "A Work and a Wonder," can you?

[Edited to add:] With the blog name change, if you are viewing this on a feed, you will need to update the feed address. Email subscriptions are not affected. Thanks!