Toys for Other Tots

I've (hopefully) started a couple of holiday traditions for our family: the annual ornament, setting up the tree, and donating a toy each year to charity. The latter is still in it's formative stages - in theory we would all go together as a family and pick something out that was meaningful, but time was against us this year so in the final days before collections ended I grabbed something on my own during a rare solo shopping trip. I still tried to make it meaningful by picking a doll that reminded me of The Cupcake:

 

It was barely in our house for 24 hours before I remembered to grab it on my way to a meeting at a school that was collecting for toys for tots, but it was just enough time for TC to see her. And go completely nuclear when she was not allowed to "had it! had it!"

Guess we have some work to do on the "Christmas Spirit", eh?

The doll made it to the charity, the kid eventually recovered from her blubbery puddle on the floor, and has since started to play with her own dolls (which are more age appropriate and have less hair to destroy).

Should I really give Santa Credit for This Anyways?

The Cupcake visited Santa, and can pick him out of a photo (though sometimes she calls him PaPa), and if you ask her what he says, she will give a hearty "Ho ho ho!" But TC doesn't know what Santa "does" yet.

 

Thank goodness.

 

Nor does she have any sense of time, or dates, or holidays. Which is very convenient. I decided to put together her big present, purportedly from Santa, on December 23rd, since it was a lazy Sunday afternoon and we had no obligations, and we'd be out late on Christmas Eve for sure. I had no idea what I was in for. I couldn't even lift the box (which could double as a pauper's coffin with no trouble).

 

 

Everything was packed nicely, all 7.5 million pieces in one huge brick...

 

With 400 pages of IKEA-ish sketched directions.

 

I called in reinforcements - power tools are one of man's best advancements. Though I could have used some elves too (maybe Santa knows what he's doing?)

 

The pile of foam wrap, cardboard, and styrofoam was bigger than the original box. The physics are baffling.

 

But somehow, 3 hours + 6 broke nails later, it was done. And adorable. And sturdy (so far). In fact, this thing is WAY nicer than any of our kitchen cabinets. And since our kid has no concept of Santa, or days of the week, or dates on the calendar, we just let her discover it when she got up from her nap instead of trying to hide it for 2 more days (did I mention it weighs as much as a small car?).

 

It was a hit! The Cupcake loves her "chicken." Especially the "seenk!" It has a ton of storage, the oven and dishwasher open like cabinets (instead of opening vertically, at which point the kid steps on the door and breaks it immediately after assembly), and even that "tile backsplash" is heavy wood, not just cardboard. She won't leave the shelves in the oven or dishwasher, but otherwise she has been loving it for hours, talking and cooking and amusing herself just as I had hoped.

Definitely loves filling everything from the sink, I'm so glad we got this sturdy set with a heavy duty faucet! The phone has to be her second favorite, and she even points out the big numbers on the "base" of the phone.

 

 

I'm not sure what we'll do next year when she has a bit more awareness of the world (probably buy pre-assembled gifts?) but there still seemed to be plenty of Christmas magic this season, even if some of it came a few days early.

P.S. This is the KidCraft Urban Espresso kitchen set via Amazon. It was about $180 (I think) and right now I'm super happy with the choice. While it was a bit of a bear to put together (not necessarily hard, I did it myself in about 2-3 hours, and didn't do anything wrong, it was just a lot of steps), it seems really sturdy, everything is smartly designed for real kids (i.e. the oven door thing), there are no noisy buzzers or sound effects or flashing lights (we have enough toys that yell at me), and I can definitely see this lasting for years to come. It's not terribly huge either, we're going to keep it in the living room for now since that is where we spend most of our time. It says 3&up on the box, but there are no small (removable) parts and my almost 2 year old, while pretty tall for her age, is able to interact with everything just fine.

The Ornament Tradition - 2012

One of the holiday traditions we are starting is to pick out an ornament for The Cupcake each year. Something that relates to her life during the year we get it, and once she is all grown up and decorating her own tree we can give her the whole set of memories to begin her own collection of holiday decor (in theory...I'm not necessarily convinced I'll be ready to part with them, but for sure she can have them in the will).

 

Two years ago, when I was pregnant, we started with this one.

 

Last year, her first Christmas, I picked out a monkey in a ballerina costume which looked almost identical to the little monkey on her first birthday invitations, and suited our little dancing (and running, and climbing, and wiggling) monkey just fine:

 

 

This year I was pretty sure we had to find something that represented her FAVORITE guy in the whole world, and no, it's not Daddy or PaPa...

 

It's Elmo.

 

The first thing TC asks for in the morning is Elmo. Sometimes it makes me feel like a massive failure that my almost 2-year old knows a TV character so well, but I swear it was love at first sight - Elmo was one of her earliest words, PaPa P got her a stuffed Elmo doll when she was pretty little, and some days a little Elmo is just the lifesaver we both need to make it through another long day (the years are short, but the days are looooooong). This past week we volunteered at a gift wrap booth for 3 hours a day 4 different days. How, I ask you, does one entertain a toddler in an 8' X 8' space for 3 hours? Elmo makes the impossible possible. Instead of beating myself up over it, I'm going to accept, acknowledge, and heck, even celebrate it. Elmo is a big part of our life right now.

 

This was the best likeness I could find of the officially licensed ornaments. We wanted to be sure the money went to Sesame Workshop, without whom I could never get dressed or pee during the day. I like the idea of getting a glass ornament each year, while she can't play with them, it will feel like more of an heirloom to hand over eventually.

 

Here's hoping you're building family traditions of your own today & all year round...

Merry = yes, bright = not so much...

I was pretty proud of myself after I cheaply replaced our defective Christmas tree lights a few posts ago:

 

For a very short time. Then the new lights also bit the dust. There are about a dozen out of the two full strings that are still lit. I give up.

 

I'm not going to even bother trying to figure it out until I undress the tree, so we'll just pretend they're all still flashing away happily for a couple more days. We went pretty light on the holiday decor this year, just the tree and a little garland:

 

It actually turned out pretty festive though! We have this great archaway between our living and dining room. A few 3M hooks, some wood bead garland, a red ribbon, and some large plastic Christmas bulbs started us off.

 

As the holidays drew nearer, I punched a hole in each Christmas card we received, threaded it onto a plastic ornament hook, and added them to the garland.

 

A few glittery candy canes on each end for good measure too :)

 

With a toddler on the loose I knew I didn't want to deal with the fish-hook style ornament hangers, I know I pretty much step in one each year and have to extract it from my heel, I definitely didn't want to be pulling them out of The Cupcake's gullet - so I was pleased to find these plastic (and more toddler-friendly, though I'd still her rather not acquire any) hooks.

May your days be Merry & Bright - even if your lights are b!tchy.

The Cupcake meets Santa

We never made it to Santa last year, I had good intentions but froze up whenever I saw the price list for photos, or didn't like the outfit she was wearing, or the mood she was in, or just in general thought I could do better and so I ended up with nothing. This year could have very well been the same, but we took advantage of several happy coincidences and ended up with a sweet snapshot:

 

 

I'm not very happy with the low resolution (we bought the file, for $35 or whatever ridiculous amount I paid I should get a good resolution file) but the pics are cute and made for some adorable holiday cards (cropped a bit). We didn't intend to see Santa that day, we were just wandering the mall and admiring the lights when we came across his cottage with no line. And then we realized The Cupcake was wearing a red plaid tunic, and I had the weekend off to work on Xmas cards if we could get it together, and really wouldn't it just be the perfect opportunity...

 

And then she freaked out when we tried to send her to the big guy, ugly crying and all.

 

So maybe not...

 

We took a detour to the food court, ate some fried rice, and I combed her hair with a fork (where my Little Mermaid fans at? Dinglehopper FTW?) and bought a couple quick hair ties and some bows at a Claires.

 

And with the help of Santa's special bribes (stuffed animals, cookies, patience) we got a few good memories.

 

And I ordered my Xmas cards that night.

 

Mom wins. Claim them when you can.

 

Let there be light, dammit.

I have a loose tradition of putting up Christmas decor the day after Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if I've done it every year, or for how long, but it makes sense and I usually have some free time over that weekend, so it's convenient. This year the hubs had to work but The Cupcake was being semi-accomodating so I was able to sneak downstairs  and wrestle the medium sized tree up the stairs from storage. It's a partially collapsable 6 footer or so, and usually we just leave it set up in the laundry room during the off season. I take off the decorations but not the lights, since that seems like a waste of time just to put them back on again and it they don't fall off like ornaments do.

Last year I used a new set of lights for the first time, some fancy-schmancy LED ones I scored at Target on clearance the day after the prior Xmas. Red & white. I was happy to see that the tree would fit perfectly on top of a desk we have in front of the window right now, keeping more of it up and away from TC and showing off the lights out the window very nicely. I set up a sparkly tablecloth, plugged in the tree and...nothing. Well, 3 of the 4 strings were nothing. Dead.

Guess these weren't the kind that stay lit when one goes out. Sigh.

Next step: unwrap all the stupid lights, and try to keep them untangled.

Worst step: pretend that in jiggling and removing all the bulbs and putting them back in that I will somehow know what is wrong and make them work again. Ha. Ha Ha. Repeat for all 3 strings. Ha.

Actual worst step that I hadn't even anticipated: flinging TC into quarantine in the hallway when she whips one of the dead strings off the table and smashes one of the (apparently glass) bulbs on the floor, sending glass shards everywhere. 20 minutes sweeping and vacuuming ensue. Possible obscenities muttered. All lights end up in the trash anways. Lose 1 day + a few dollars. Spin again.

And the story concludes with a trip to Target for new lights, a pondering of the LED ("greener" but expensive) vs. traditional lights, hubby requesting they blink, and an eventual decision to get the cheap Earth-killing lights (in multi-colored "twinkle" variety) because the rest of the string will stay lit when one goes out, and thus in theory shouldn't need to be replaced for a few years. The LED ones could last longer, but if one goes I'd have to figure out which one or end up in the same place as this year. Also, after winding them on, I found I only needed 2 sets instead of the 4 I used last year, so the whole tree is done for less than the cost of replacing one of the broken LED strings. Works for me. I even found the adaptor so I can use a remote to turn them on and off instead of digging behind the furniture. Super productivity points.

Yet to come: deciding which ornaments to risk with the cupcake...

Still more schwag...

There are a couple Christmas ornament stands at the Minnesota State Fair, and I just couldn't pass up this little treasure when I saw it:

 

 

A cupcake coach photo frame ornament?!?!? YES! I love personalized ornaments and I have a whole set of sweets-themed ornaments and garland, so this is a PERFECT addition!

Carin's Casa of Creative Crafting: Gingerbread House Party!

Carin is the crafty kind of person you love to have around for inspiration, but also secretly hate to try and live up to :) She is AMAZING! She's always crocheting (or knitting? I don't even know the difference), offering around GORGEOUS/NUMMY frosted sugar cookies, and building the most fantastical costumes. It's enough to make a moderate hobby crafter feel mopey and inadequate, but then she goes and wins you back over again by hosting a GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING PARTY! Yeah, she's pretty cool. She made snacks:



And she actually BAKED A GINGERBREAD HOUSE for everyone who came! (Are you kidding me? I'd totally have bought kits :) But these smelled sooooo much better!) So I arrived and got this:



Which I then set about assembling:



And decorating:



I took a few cookie breaks - pretty sure I ate all the Xmas trees. The hedgehogs were too darned cute to destroy:



More decorating:



The snow is much prettier with sprinkles, don't you think? I wouldn't mind shovelling half as much if it were really this cute all winter:



IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I haven't done a gingerbread house since Daisy Girl Scouts, and I've always meant to, so I can't thank Carin enough for having this event (not to mention doing all the baking, mixing, and CLEANING! I'm pretty sure there was candy EVERYWHERE by the end, so sorry!). Everyone had a good time, and I think our whole "village" was pretty fun:



Having creative friends rocks:









Thanks Carin & everyone, what a great way to get in the holiday spirit!

Cupcakes & Christmas Trees

Last year I had a total of 5 Christmas trees decorated for the holiday season. One was huge, three were very small, and the medium one is the only one I decided to deal with this year. I love decorating for the holidays, and feeling the glow of Christmas lights in our living room has seemed magical ever since I was a kid, but I just know with Cupcake's impending arrival (4 weeks?!?!) that I can't count on any time/energy to pack everything up later on, so I'm scaling back now. I'm also not hosting a cookie exchange this year, which I'm kind of sad about but not sad enough to deal with all the baking and dishes, so I'm glad I was realistic about that months ago and begged off. That said, I had to put up at least ONE tree:



I need to pull out the tree skirt to finish it off, but I finally found all of the "sweets" ornaments I bought after last season! I love them. And there are a few more picked up along the way, but not too many. I've had a hard time resisting buying more, especially since everything is going on sale now, but I'm trying to keep my priorities in line :) Maybe after Christmas clearance though, if I can still waddle...



I did let myself splurge on ONE special ornament for this year though:

(Cupcake's real name masked)

I cannot believe that Christmas is just 2 weeks away...I'm WAY behind on my shopping, though I'm definitely looking forward to a few days off work. Cupcake has been STRONGLY cautioned to stay put until her due date, mostly due to my hangups about holiday birthdays (I only want the best for her!), and though I'm slow and waddly and still suffering with heartburn, I'm excited to finish creating her room and catch up on some other projects before she crashes into our lives. Won't be long now...

"Sweet" Holiday Decorations

I did a bad thing. I meet friends monthly for dinner at our favorite Chinese food restaurant, which is next door to a cute little pharmacy. Sometime before Xmas I was early for our meeting, and stopped in there to grab a birthday gift for another friend. While checking out, I spotted the most adorable tree full of Dept. 56 and OneHundred80Degrees ornaments - all in the theme of candies, cakes, and other sweets!
I fell in love.
But I resisted.

...

Until after Christmas. When I was again early to our meeting. And thought I'd "just take a look." I was sure they'd be gone, and actually didn't see them at first, but when I did...at 50% off...well, you can guess what happened:



I bought them all. Well, nearly. I couldn't help it. They're just too cute for words. These little lolipops are my favorite:



Then there's the blown glass soda fountain drinks:



Goodie goodie gumdrops!



Brownie bites and petit fours:



Several colors of clay candy canes - with just a dash of glitter:



Everything is so adorable, I can't wait to have a tree with just "sweets" next year! I think I'll do the mid size one that was all red & silver this year, and stands on my whimsical Dept. 56 table. I'm dying for this garland to tie it all together:



I'm really excited about it. I spent a couple hours last weekend carefully wrapping up each one and packing it away. I've always had a Candyland or Willy Wonka themed Halloween party on my list - and I about died when I saw THIS PARTY on Bakerella's blog.

I'm dying again just looking at it. Can you imagine the fabulousness?

The play bakery with the dozens of felt cupcakes are just mind blowing.

Of course, my dog would eat them, just as happily as real cupcakes.

But I'm still in love.

More Craftastic Giving: Photo Necklaces

Looking back, I actually did quite a few personalized gifts this year. I didn't set out with any specific idea to do that, it just sort of happened, and I think it worked out really well. Most of these I did through Heritage Makers, and I'm very happy to report that EVERYTHING was well received - the Christmas Cards, the canvas, a calendar for Grammy (post to come) and these great photo necklaces:



The above is a shot of my mom's gift, it's a 3-pendant necklace with photos on both sides. I did a charm for each kid (me, sister, and brother) with a recent photo of us on one side, and a photo of the couples (me & hubs, sister + her new hubs, and brother & his GF) on the other side. It's really adorable! I modelled it as soon as it came:



Another great parent (or grandparent) gift idea would be to do a photo of grown children on one side, and baby or child photos on the other. They're hard to photograph because of the glare and tiny nature of the pics, but they were really cute. Brother's GF also got a photo necklace, a single pendant one with two cute photos of her & my brother together, yoinked stealthily from her facebook page. Since the photos are so small, quality isn't really an issue, and a facebook photo worked just fine.

The chains are very thick, chunky almost, and it was a lot younger and hipper vibe than I was expecting. I like it, and plan to make myself a necklace eventually as well. It'll coordinate well with my treasured Tiffany bracelet.


My mom loved hers so much, she showed it off the next day at another family Christmas gathering. I guess that means it's a hit!

HeatherEve's Holiday Extravaganza: Recap

It was plenty hard to force myself out of bed this morning, but I am actually looking forward to a nice quiet day of work to help recover from our 4 days of Christmas. Four days! The weather actually ended up EXPANDING our celebrations, believe it or not. Here's the brief re-cap

Xmas Eve: shovel 8" of snow. Punch people who say "we didn't get hardly any accumulation." Tell neighbor who plowed our front sidewalk that he is my very favorite person in the world and I no longer care that his dog digs up my yard. Head up to northern 'burbs for Xmas #1, Mom's side. Ate much roast beef, ham, 30lbs of mashed potatoes...Mmmm. Let the food coma begin. Mom says "My plate is so pretty, you should take a picture! I oblige:



Forgot Grammy's super cute craftastic present. D'oh. Watching the snow pile up outside - could those flakes BE any bigger? Drive home = much suckage. 20 minute drive turns into 1 hour +. Visibility poor, roads awful.


Xmas Day: shovel 4" of HEAVY snow. OUCH! Power Shovel proves it's awesomeness. Head back up to northern 'burbs for my immediate family gift opening. Roads total disaster. See 6 cars in ditches, most with people still inside. Somehow make it to destination. Sister & new bro-in-law attend via Skype. Hilarity ensues:



Dad receives TWO Snuggies, dog receives one, and me & sis get giant footie pajamas. Apparently my family is chilly. Dole out our fun craftastic gifts. Receive some fun craftastic gifts. Head back out onto the roads - finally plowed! Yay! Head back to in-laws. Planned meal is re-scheduled as Wisconsin relatives are snowed in. Head to Buca instead. Have a FANTASTIC meal:



Yum.



Yum.



Yum.
Even get a cupcake because my birthday is within a week!



Food coma continues. Hope this will be new tradition. Retire early.

December 26th: Additional Xmas #1, spend the morning wrestling Christmas trees back into their homes, wrapping and boxing up ornaments, trying to sort of create order.



Stubbed every toe, broke pinky nail below the bloodline. Found water seeping into basement. Not feeling very Christmas-ey. Suck it up and head to in-laws for rescheduled Christmas Dinner. Food coma continues:



Turkey, stuffing, twice baked potatoes, scalloped corn, sweet potatoes, cupcakes, cheesecakes...ZzzZzzZzz.



Think I might pop.

December 27, Xmas #4: Head up to the great north for Dad's side. Roads fine till last 8 miles. Trucks don't realize they can't stop on ice either - fly past me at 70 mph+. Fear for my life. Make it to grandma's! Biggest cheesecake I've ever seen, in a FULL SHEET PAN. Oops, haven't uploaded those photos yet :) Give grandma traditional gift of dog treats (also a sweater). Laugh at how fat "Bubby" is (that's the dog, not the grandma). Declare Christmas over. Head home to watch "Pawn Stars" marathon.

WHEW.

Hope you all had very happy holidays, welcome back to the real world :)