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!

Halloween House

My visiting teachers dropped off some delicious pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting for me (so yummy!!) and a candy treat house for the kids! So thoughtful!

After a week of completing their "routine" chores (make bed, get dressed, brush teeth, tidy room, etc.), Taylor and Averi were awarded with the treat house during Ella's nap.

They were really good with decorating it together, as well as eating it together!

Averi's mouth was completely black!

Preview of Halloween

Averi had the opportunity to dress up in Halloween costume for pre-school today. I took the opportunity to curl her hair for the first time ever, completely understanding that her hair type would not hold it for long!

My cutie-patootie!

Miss Independent

Averi decided she was too hungry to wait any longer for Mommy.

She pushed a bar stool to the counter (the way she does to get her own fishy crackers) and pulled out the peanut butter and Nutella from the cupboard. She grabbed 2 slices of bread from the bag that had been left on the counter from Taylor's lunch-making this morning. She retrieved a butter knife from the drawer and proceeded to make her very own sandwich!

She announced what she was doing to me at this point and so I hastened to give her a bit of help with the spreading but she was insistent about doing the majority of it herself. She then sat down and ate her entire confection (can't say that I find peanut butter and Nutella appetizing)!

You can bet that if I had made her a sandwich with a crust (heel of the loaf) and another dried piece of bread, she wouldn't be eating it! I was so excited by her show of initiative! ;)

Blog Title

I've been considering for the last couple of weeks that I am dissatisfied with this blog's title... The Nelson Family Blog was all well and good when I was new to blogging but now it seems boring.

Tonight, while Ella was loudly admonishing the family at the supper table for some unknown reason (she goes off like this on occasion, to our amusement), Shawn commented that she reminded him of a Frau (he teases stereotypical German behavior on occasion). I sarcastically wondered aloud where she might have gotten it from (referring, of course, to myself).  ;)

Anyway, it got me running through some very silly blog name ideas. Shawn didn't find them as funny as I did. Perhaps it's my sleep deprivation?  ;)

Here's a sampling:

• The Happy Frau
• Brown Frau Now (went on a rhymes-with-cow kick for a bit... I think I started coming to my senses at this point)
• Aryan Nation
• Wunder-blog

Really, that's enough of that.

More meaningful titles might be:

• Family First
• Learning on the Job
• Sleep is Optional
• Motherhood Has Perks (I Promise!)
• My Cup Runneth Over
• The Living Tree (play on the book "The Giving Tree")
• Tired and Happy
• Love the Moment
• Cherish this Time
• __________________ {insert your idea here}

I could probably go on coming up with cheesy names... Would love to hear some other ideas!

Honest Ella

Ella's development has advanced to the stage where I feel comfortable letting her eat snacks at the island/bar unsupervised.

Today, after she announced that she was finished her applesauce, I called back asking whether or not she had made a mess.

It was quiet for a bit and I wasn't sure if she understood my question or not.

She finally called up that there was a mess.

I, of course, immediately investigated and discovered that her "mess" was really only a drop or two of applesauce on the counter.

I guess that was why she was having a hard time answering my mess question!!  lol  Wouldn't want to misrepresent!

Rain

It has been pouring today!

Taylor loves the rain as much as I do... though, it's because he gets to use his umbrella!

He wears Mommy's raincoat with the sleeves rolled up! I haven't been successful in finding one for him... Guess it's too late in the season?

Potato Turkey or Turkey Potato?

One of my Visiting Teaching sisters runs a two-mornings-a-week preschool. She already had maximum capacity but she trialed a morning with Averi and made an exception.

Averi's in Preschool!

She's been in since late September and loves it, of course.

Since Monday is (Canadian) Thanksgiving, Averi came home with a cute little potato turkey! Or would you say turkey potato?

It's a little worse for wear already...