Merry Christmas!
kimberly December 24th, 2009
From our family to yours, wishing you all the best of the holidays!
Merry, merry!
Archive for the tag 'christmas'
I’m Back!
kimberly December 22nd, 2009
Hmmm… that was a rather unplanned blogging hiatus.
I have an inexplicable love of lists (making them, not necessarily following them), so here’s what has happened in the last few weeks:
- We spent three days at Great Wolf Lodge — the getaway provided a much-needed break for all of us, especially as Todd had just come off his busiest time of year at work and we were all feeling a little frayed at the edges. Leah couldn’t get enough of the water and Adam got his first taste of gambling at the arcade playing a game where you would be rewarded with tickets if your token landed on the marked areas of the rotating wheel. The first time he tried? He won 50 tickets. Look out, Vegas!
- And then we got sick. First Adam was off school for a week, then Leah and I came down with the same miserable cold. Leah is better (but now she’s working on a molar so she’s still a bit crabby) but I’m so run down that it’s taking forever to get over this and I can’t remember the last time I could breathe without sniffling. Todd miraculously escaped this round of illness, which he attributes to the copious amounts of vitamin C he’s been consuming via clementines.
- Adam performed in his very first Christmas concert last week. Oh my gosh, it was priceless! I don’t think Todd and I had ever laughed so hard watching the kids put their all into the performances. We did record most of the concert, which we’ll be sure to play for his first girlfriend at the same time we pull out the bath photos. As you can see, he does not suffer from stage fright in the least, instead exhibiting an unprecedented level of “I’m too cool for this.”
- Last week Leah had a second appointment with the pediatrician… and she has gained 320 grams! We’ve completely changed the way she eats (i.e. no more grazing, shortened mealtimes, feeding her the most calorie-dense foods first) and it seems to be working. I am so grateful that she is making progress, and though the doctor was hoping she would have gained more, I’m thrilled with her results thus far.
- In between coughing and sneezing and chasing Leah around with a tissue, I’ve been working on getting all the Christmas gifts finished. Being sick completely derailed my schedule and now I’m going crazy trying to finish the remaining presents. I think there are only four left. To finish in three days. I may have to pull an all-nighter. Or two. Wish me luck!
Christmas Crafting
kimberly November 12th, 2009
‘Tis the season…
In my spare moments between cuddling up with under-the-weather children (Adam is sick again — I am this close to homeschooling him if only to not have to deal with the never-ending merry-go-round of coughs, colds and other assorted viral goodies that seem to be making the rounds) and straining my eyes in front of the computer matching fonts and finding the “right” shade of taupe that is neither too beige nor too cream, without being “too taupe”, I’ve been working on Christmas presents.
Many are in various stages of completion, from still thinking about the perfect materials to just need to weave in the ends. This one, however, is done:
This is a Baby Bundles doll, made using a kit from Dancing Rain Dolls, and will be one of Leah’s Christmas gifts. Having never before ventured into the world of doll-making, I was a little nervous, but the directions were clear and the doll came together reasonably easily.
Adam loves that the doll looks like Leah, particularly that the doll has the right skin colour. In fact, he loves it so much that he has asked for his own Korean doll for Christmas. When I reminded him that adding something to your wish list does not automatically result in receiving said item, he countered with “Well then, Mummy, how about you just make it for me now and give it to me?” Huh. Unbeknown to Adam, I actually am working on a doll for him as well, specifically the My Baby Doll, also from Dancing Rain Dolls. However, it’s still at the “stuffing” stage, where it looks rather alien-like and not very cute. I hope to make some progress on Saturday, when Adam is at Korean school and away from my sewing area.
And, of course, there are countless other sewing and knitting projects to be completed, hopefully with photos to come over the next several weeks.
‘Tis the Season
kimberly September 30th, 2009
We’re a week into Autumn and it’s time for me to start getting my butt in gear for Christmas: Christmas knitting and sewing, that is. Apparently there are only 85 days till Christmas, and given that I have 13 gifts left to make, I will need to average one project every 6.5 days. Hmmm… I think this is doable, though it might leave me (more than) a little ragged by 24 December.
I actually cast off this Gothik Scarf last night at SNB and it is waiting to be blocked. Hopefully I’ll get to that part tomorrow. Or maybe Friday, at which point I’ll take some better photos that will show off the stitch detail a bit better. And speaking of SNB, it was rather quiet last night; just Rochelle and me were there to knock back copious amounts of coffee and attempt to make great progress on our various projects.
Since I was still feeling in the scarf-knitting groove, I immediately cast on for Japanese Vines. Two pattern repeats later, I have the beginnings of a delicate lacey scarf.
Now I just need to get it done in the next 5.5 days to keep on schedule.
The Post-Holiday Wrap-Up Post
kimberly December 30th, 2008
The Christmas tree came down this morning, much to Adam’s chagrin (“But the tree will not look handsome anymore!” was his concern as I stripped the tree of the garland). The cards have been saved/recycled and the piles of gifts have mostly been put away.
I’m so freaking tired. However, I did promise to post about our mostly vegan Christmas feast, so here goes:
Appetizers
- Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Hummus (ED&BV) and Pita
- Sun-Dried Tomato Dip (VCON) and Pita
- Tahini Dip and Flatbread (brought by my sister)
- Salted Soy Nuts (Bulk Barn!)
- Softly Spiced Nuts (ED&BV) — I tripled the recipe and was glad I did
Main Course
- Mashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes (VCON)
- Thanksgiving Wild Rice — this time I used pistachios instead of almonds
- Mashed Potatoes with Earth Balance and almond milk
- Steamed Broccoli (as requested by Adam)
- Assorted Dinner Rolls
- Cranberry Sauce (made by my mom)
There was also a turkey, dressing and ham for the omnivores, but those aren’t vegan, so I’m not really counting them.
Dessert
- Jam-Print Cookies (ED&BV) — I used apple butter instead of jam
- Walnut-Carob-Cranberry Clusters (ED&BV)
- Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies (VWAV)
Add some mulled apple cider and wine and it was definitely a feast!
This was the first year that Adam really “got” the whole idea of Christmas, which was wonderful in that he could participate a bit more fully in the giving of gifts and decorating and what-have-you, and horrifying in that he got so amped up that he could dissolve into tears at the drop of a hat.
At some point during the day, Adam decided that since the stockings were empty, they would make great socks. I was laughing too hard to discourage him.
All in all, it was a successful holiday, but I’m very thankful Christmas comes but once a year.
- baking , cooking , life
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