A Trip to see Santa

We had a photoshoot this morning, which I will blog about under it's own post. But, I figured we would try to go see the Jolly Man after. We got a great pic with NO crying from anyone.

Cora would not smile, I guess after a morning of smiling and being cute, she was slightly grumpy LOL. Lil J is cropped out, but he LOVED Santa. There was no line, so he just chatted with Santa for a while. So cute!

And, my goodness - I apparently have Ghost Children lol

Ordered our Christmas Cards

As I mentioned in a previous post, I received 50 free holiday cards from shutterfly. Seriously, they have so many designs that it took forever (read: 2 days) to decide on one. I narrowed it down to 8, and then let Frank pick from those. That is kinda the way every decision works in my house....I make the options, and he just picks from there. Was this way for baby names too.

I really wanted to have a group shot, and then an individual pics of each kid. But, when we got our pro shots done - there was not a indiv shot of just Elsie. So, I would have to take one myself. I knew I would not get the same quality as the studio did...so, I decided to skip it.

Thank goodness that I did, since it would have taken me even longer to pick a card. I really made the mistake of falling in love with a square one. But, I know from experience that square ones need more postage. And, well - I am cheap like that LOL.

I really love the one we finally picked out. I think the bright colors really go well with the colors in the pictures, and liked that there was enough room to put all our names (and our super long last name) on the card. Plus, it covered everyone with the "Happy Holidays" saying.

I am hoping to get them out as soon as we receive the order in the mail, even bought my stamps already.

Here is what we decided on:

SAMPLE CARD

DIY Hand-Print Turkey Shirt

I had seen this idea on several blogs that I follow - so I thought it would be cute to make for the 3 little kids. It really was super easy. I was afraid that they would look like a peacock, instead of a turkey...but, I think they came our super cute. You can scroll down for the final product.

Basically, there is a product that makes any fabric an iron-on. I use this product all the time for crafts. It really allows you to make something unique as there are so many fabrics to choose from. I am not sure of what brand I used - but this is one brand out there

I just used whatever fabric I had around the house. But, you can get fabric for real cheap, especially since you don't need a lot. I used this product on every aspect of this project (except the eyes).

Some things like the legs and beak could be done with tacky glue or something called liquid stitch. I can't wait to show pics of the kids in their outfits :)

I added step by step directions, with pictures :)

Elsie's Baptism

We baptised Elsie yesterday. She hardly cried at all! The dress is an heirloom, first worn 37 years ago. I think it is really cool that all of my kids have worn the same dress that I (and all of my sister) wore on our Baptism day.

We took some shots in her dress when we got our holiday pics taken. But, it was at the end and she was DONE. So, pacifer in the mouth - whatever works, right?

Free Holiday Cards from Shutterfly

Shutterfly is offering 50 free Photo Holiday Cards for bloggers. Each year, I search high and low for the perfect holiday card, along with the perfect picture. Shutterfly has great designs. But, they have so many great ones, that it is hard to pick just one

In the past, it was easy - just put Colin in front of the tree and snap. Not so easy this year. LOL I remember a few years ago when we went to the Holiday Section of Walmart to take our holiday pics. To be honest, it really was the best idea. It was festive, many different scenes to choose from, and um,,,,,it was free. Gotta love free.

I remember the year that I tried so hard to get the perfect picture in front of the tree. I thought I got a great one, uploaded them to shutterfly, picked the perfect card design and ordered them. It was not until after all of the cards were addressed and mailed that a small detail about the picture it was brought to my attention. Turns out, my “perfect” picture was a picture of Colin with his fly down. Oh well.

Over the years, he has gotten used to the Christmas pics that I require him to take. He knows that a few minutes of pictures will make his mother oh so happy.

Last year, the pictures were a disaster. So, I had to do three separate pictures. And, I had to photoshop Colin’s picture to match the other two. This year, I got really lucky. Colin was a great help, and actually got some great pictures of all four children.

Four children. I still can’t believe that - I have FOUR children!

Shutterfly has so many awesome designs this year. So unique. I can’t wait to hear all the ohhs and ahhs from my family when the get this year’s holiday card. Sure, some because my kids are so damn cute. But, I am sure some will be from the great design of the cards.

Check out all the new designs for this year here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery It is gonna be a hard choice again this year.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels - Baptism Favors

Elsie is being baptised this weekend. I wanted to do a simple favor. Last year, I did the cupcake bites. They were a big hit. But, I wanted to do something different. And, let's be honest....something simple.

I love edible favors, and figured the easiest thing would be chocolate covered pretzels. I made dark choc and milk choc with a white choc drizzle. I used the "defrost" setting on the microwave. I think it actually melts the chocolate better than the full power. In the past, I have use the regular power and feel like the chocolate got "burnt". I let it go for about 60 seconds, stirred it and then let it go for another 30 (ish) seconds. It was the perfect consistency at that point

One tip that I found on-line was to pour the choc onto wax paper and then just roll the pretzel (1st pic). This worked out really well and gave a nice even coating for the pretzel. I have seen some pics and they seems very thick and chunky. I think those were "dunked" in some kind of cup or a deep bowl.

I think the wax paper method worked really well. The only tip with that is not to put too much on the paper at one time. It cools really fast when in thin amounts. After the first time, I just put a smaller amount on the paper and rolled it. I did "tap" it a bit before putting it on the cooling rack. The rack worked better than just waxed paper. The rack allowed less surface area touching the pretzel - so no flat spot like if I just put it on the waxed paper.

After the chocolate was "set" I melted the white and then took a fork to drizzle. I am sure it would have been fine if the choc was not set. But, I did not want to take any chances since I did not have more time. to make more if these were ruined somehow.

I made 60 total - 30 milk and 30 dark. Each favor has one of each. I just made a simple tag. I had wanted to use the extra paper from the invite kit...but my printer was totally not cooperating. So, simple tag it is. No worries :)

Oh, and I gave Cora a small piece of pretzel with chocolate on it. She loved it.

UPDATE - I have made these several times, and have gotten between 35-40 pretzels out of a one pound bag of chocolates.

 

 

Holiday Pics of the kids

We went yesterday to TRY to get Christmas Pics of all 4 kids. We did get some good ones. But, boy - it was NOT fun.

Colin is so handsome, if I do say so myself :) He actually asked to have a few of just him.

I hate that Lil J is cropped out of these. But, I did blur his face in the first one. It is just too sweet not to share. Too bad Elsie looks like the forgotten child in the back there LOL

Cora is getting so big

I have done this before, but figured since I am boring, and have no topics to write about - I would add pics of Cora.

She will be 14 months tomorrow, it is amazing to see these pics; and to see how much she has grown. I have done the same for Elsie - but since she is only one month old, there is only one pic. In a couple of weeks, I will add her pics.

We had our flu shots the other day and I asked if I could throw her on the scale. She is a BIG 27.5 pounds. More than 20 pounds than she was at birth! Wowza! And, she is heavy. I have to carry both girls most times to the car. Cora is a walker now. But, not a directed walker. So - it is not like I can just put her down and say "let's go to the car"

She is still not talking - unless you count "ugh" as a word.