Ten on Tuesday (delay courtesy of the Teething Monster)

1. Here is where I would post an adorable Christmas photo of my kiddo - except that I can't find a single one. My normally happy kiddo decided to cut some teeth over our Christmas weekend, so smiles were a bit hard to come by, even amidst presents galore. But our Christmas 2010 synopsis deserves its own post (which is coming soon, I promise), so I'll save the details for later.

2. Instead you get these photos.

Finally, a smile!

When your kiddo is unhappy and starving, and his gums are swollen to the size of Rhode Island, you fix whatever meal works. Last night's dinner: five slices of buttered bread and yogurt (straight from the container, as you can see).

3. Apparently the bread and yogurt meal did the trick because everyone in our house overslept this morning. Dare I say that the Teething Monster might be ending his most recent rampage?

Puh-lease! I'm not that naive.



4. Confession:

I love the tradition of buying a new ornament each year. Justin and I started this our very first Christmas as a married couple, and now we get one for Kendry each year as well. But here is the thing: I don't buy them before Christmas. Instead, I wait until the after Christmas sales and get them on clearance. So am I really the smart little bargain shopper I think I am, or am I totally botching this tradition? And am I the only one who does this?

Regardless, look at the cute ones I found this year (i.e. yesterday):

By the way, in case you were curious, I have it on good faith that the official Hallmark Ornament Committee dictates that the 2 doesn't represent an age; rather, its for a 2nd Christmas. Thats my story and I'm stickin to it!


5. I've been itchin to show you my fun Christmas craft for 2010. I made this Christmas tree out of a styrofoam cone and craft paper several weeks ago. And no, I'm not creative enough to come up with this on my own - I took the idea from a scrapbooking magazine. The reason I couldn't show you until now is because I actually made two and loved them so much I sent one to my sister Angel as a surprise. Truth be told, I think I sent her the cuter one; but thats what you do for a sister. And I still adore the one I kept.

6. Justin bottled his now infamous first brew last week - without further incident, thankfully. Its supposed to sit in the bottles for a little while longer, but he cracked one open this weekend and seemed to impress even himself. He might just have a winner in his first batch!

7. My skin as been crazy dry lately, thanks to the cooler weather, so I finally heeded advice and busted out the rubber gloves for dishwashing. I don't have a real dishwasher (yet), remember? So my hands spend a lot of time in my kitchen sink. But thanks to Momma B (aka my wonderful mom) I still feel like a total diva, even when I'm wearing rubber gloves. I don't know where my mom finds these things, but I can count on at least one fun new pair each year, the pink being the latest.

I may have even busted out some "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" a time or two while wearing these babies!

8. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! We will most certainly be asleep by 10pm in this house.

9. And speaking of the new year, I have a great blog idea brewing - a blog-olution, if you will - for 2011 to be revealed next week. See you then!

10. This Week's Blessing: LOTS of cuddle time with my kiddo. I hate it when he feels lousy, but I love it when nothing but rocking with mommy will do.

Modern Day Christmas Story

Merry Christmas...a few days late.

I was catching up on my blog reading today when I came across this video. Enjoy!

My Grown-Up Christmas List

The hubs and I are not exchanging gifts with each other this year. On top of that, my own immediate family opted not to do an adult exchange this year and to simply draw names among the little cousins. So all things considered, there will not be too many gifts under the tree with my name on them this year, which is fine. But when has that ever stopped a girl from dreamin'? As a last ditch effort I may have whispered a few suggestions from my wish list into Santa's ear when I was sitting on his lap a few weeks ago.

1. The crafter in me wants a Silhouette SD electronic cutting tool. You would not believe what you can make with this amazing piece of machinery, or so I'm told.

2. The thrift store furniture restorer in me wants some Valspars Antiquing Glaze. It is sad that I want paint glaze for Christmas? Regardless, I am told this glaze is a must-have. Now guess which store carries it. Lowes. And guess which home improvement store is not within a 50 mile radius of my home. Lowes. However, should I not find this glaze under the tree or in my stocking come Christmas morning, my wonderful hubby has assured me when can make a pit-stop at Lowes on our drive back home after Christmas. So by this time next week I will have a jar of this stuff in my hot little hands.

3. The runner in me wants the BOB Revolution weather shield so my kiddo can ride with me come rain or cold. He got a little chilly during the Santa 5k a few weeks ago; this little contraption should help prevent that from happening again.

4. The reader in me wants a subscription to Country Living magazine.

5. The baker in me wants a few more of these Pampered Chef scrapers in my stocking. I have one in all three sizes and they are worth every penny.

7. The home improvement DIY'er in me wants a kitchen remodel.

8. The wife in me wants a spa day.

9. The mommy in me wants to be a mommy again.

"Think of all the fun I've missed.

Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed.

Next year I could be just as good,

If you'd check off my Christmas list.

(ba-doop-ee-doop)

Santa Baby..."

Ten on Tuesday, Christmas Style

{Ten Things I Love About Christmas}

1. Spending time with my boys.

2. Claymation Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Watching this movie every year is one of my favorite traditions. Last year Kendry and I watched it together and he fell asleep in my arms.

This year he refused to sit still long enough to watch the movie, although he seemed amused by Burl Ives' talking snowman.

I wonder what next year will be like. Will I be watching it with two kiddos?

3. Christmas jammies! I was up past midnight last night finishing Kendry's Christmas pajamas. I intend for this to become a new tradition - new jammies made by moi for him to open on Christmas Eve and wear that night. (Thanks to my friend Patty for this fun idea!)

4. Stockings. (You can see our homemade stockings here.) The last few years our stockings have been merely for show. We hang them above our fireplace and leave them there when we spend Christmas at my in-laws. This year we're packing up our stockings and taking them with us to the in-laws, where they will be hung by the fireplace in anticipation for Santa.

Who knew it could be so much fun finding stocking stuffers for my boys?! I have enjoyed that more than shopping for regular gifts.

5. Egg Nog.

6. Santa Bites. As a bake-aholic I had to include at least one tasty Christmas treat with my favorites. These are a cinch to make. Crush a full box of Oreos into very small pieces in a mixing bowl. Mix in 8oz of cream cheese until well combined. Roll the mixture into individual balls about the size of a walnut. Place them on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour. Once the balls have hardened, dip each one into melted white chocolate chips (or white almond bark), completely covering each one. Place them on wax paper to set. Once the white chocolate hardens they are ready to eat! Yummers! (For a minty touch: use mint flavored Oreos, or sprinkle the tops of the balls with crushed candy canes after dipping them in the chocolate.)


7. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. There is something so magical about singing Christmas songs by candlelight, remembering the true reason for Christmas.

8. O Holy Night. This has always been my very favorite Christmas song.

"...Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born."

Each time I sing these words I am moved to tears and truly want to fall on my knees before my Lord and King. Can you imagine what it would have been like to witness the angels announcing Christ's birth? Oh, hear the angel voices!

And speaking of angels...

9. The angel atop our tree. My Grandmother gave me my angel years ago and I adore it. When we place it atop our tree it reminds me of the angels who appeared to the shepherds, singing "Glory to God in the highest!"

10. Celebrating the birth of my Savior!

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

-Matthew 1:23-

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jingle All The Way

Did you ever see the movie Jingle All The Way (circa 1996)? It’s the one where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad battle against each other to find this one specific toy for their kids for Christmas. {Yeah me for spelling Schwarzenegger right on my first try!} I remember the movie being predictable but fun, and at the time I found it a bit farfetched. Nobody in their right mind goes to all that trouble for one single toy, do they?

Now let us re-phrase that question: Nobody in their right mind goes to all that trouble for their kiddo, do they?

Yes, they do.

Fast forward fourteen years to the present day, December 15, 2010, and I could be starring in this movie with Arnold. Actually, these days Arnold looks a bit old to be the father of a toddler, so maybe I could star with someone like Brad Pitt. Ahhh yes, me versus Brad Pitt in a Christmas shopping battle - thats a much better visual.

Justin and I aren’t big on buying Kendry more toys because he has more than he can handle already. We also decided to buy him just one large present as his gift from us this year, something memorable that would last him awhile. And if it did happen to fall in the toy category, we wanted it to be an outdoor toy because our house sure ain’t getting any bigger. Behold, the perfect gift: the TONKA TOUGHEST MIGHTY DUMP TRUCK!

Not only is it a Tonka (aka one tough toy) and perfect for outside play, but Kendry has recently started calling every truck he sees a “dunk truck”.

I imagined Kendry emerging Christmas morning to find this enormous Tonka truck beneath the tree, wrapped in a huge red bow. I could already see his eyes light up. I saw him playing with it all Christmas day and even attempting to climb into the bed of the truck. (By the way, this Tonka truck is apparently HUGE so it may actually be possible for a small child to sit in it. Yet another awesome selling point, don't you think?)

I found this truck on Amazon about two months ago and put it on my shopping list for Christmas, figuring I would wait until we got a little closer before I purchased it.

(insert forehead slap here)

In my defense, I didn’t think I was waiting too long to get this ordered because I am on Amazon Mom which gives me special shipping benefits, so getting it here before Christmas would be a cinch.

(another forehead slap)

Today I logged on to Amazon ever so excitedly to get the truck ordered and what do you think I found? “The vendor is out of stock for this item. Please see another vendor.” What?! So I quickly went in search of another Amazon vendor, only to find a single one that wants $99!! Yesterday I could get the truck for $29.99.

At this point I’m thinking “Okay, don’t panic. I’ll just go find it at another store like Walmart, Kmart or Toys R Us.”

Or not.

Apparently this truck is a popular toy this year and EVERYONE is sold out. The best I could find was on ebay and it would cost me at least $55, assuming it was a legitimate sale and the seller could actually get it to me by Christmas. Too risky.

Yes, I am aware that my kiddo is only 19 months old. He will not likely remember anything about this Christmas, nor will he burst into tears if his beautiful yellow Tonka Toughest Mighty Dump Truck isn’t sitting under the tree come Christmas morning. But his mommy might be shedding some tears here shortly if she can’t find this darn truck somewhere.

So to all the Brad Pitt daddies out there who were smart and bought the Tonka Toughest Mighty Dump Truck before I did, you’d better watch out. This mommy is desperate!

On a more serious note, if you are reading this and happen to know where I can still find this truck please let me know. Otherwise I am looking at the Fisher Price version.

Is it just me or does the name Fisher Price sound pretty rinky-dink compared to TONKA?

**UPDATE**

Grandma found one online AND my local Kmart had two left, so Kendry gets his Tonka for Christmas!