Christmas 2010

 We had the most wonderful Christmas. I feel like this is the year Calder caught on to holidays. He now knows what his birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all mean. This is what it looked like the night before when we finished putting the presents out and stuffing the stockings.

 We feel greatly blessed to have such marvelous families. We would have loved to be with them on Christmas but the distance and weather (and buying a third plane ticket) limited our ability to be with them. We still had a marvelous day filled with love, friends and presents.

 I think this face sums up Calder's day. He loved every minute of it. Actually Christmas present opening lasted until the evening of the 26th. He kept wanting to play with each toy he opened and we didn't rush him so he had presents for quite a while. I really liked doing it this way. I imagine I couldn't force this schedule on a 10 year old though.

 We had three families over for brunch at 11:00. It was perfect. It gave us enough time to leisurely get ready for the day and finish making quiche and cinnamon rolls. This was our third time hosting Christmas brunch with friends and I really like it. It makes it feel a little more like an eventful day without being stressful.

This is how we spent the afternoon. Reading, snuggling under a blanket. What a perfect day!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Santa's Workshop

 On December 23 Calder and I met up with my friend LuAnn and her boys to visit Santa's workshop. Every year Santa comes to visit DC on the Ellipse of the White House. This is also the site of the National Christmas tree, which is not a very attractive tree in my opinion.

 It was a lot of fun for the boys and we were lucky Mrs. Claus was there as well. Calder was pretty excited to sit by Mrs. Claus and have a picture. It was nice to be inside while visiting the Claus family because it was a bit chilly outside.

 Calder weathered it well though.

And in the end it was all worth it to meet the man himself. I have to admit, this is the best looking Santa I've ever seen. The beard is real and even had a little glitter in it. He definitely looked quite comfortable in the suit. Calder was a little nervous but thankfully LuAnn's boys went first so he was okay with it. Although his wish list changed every time we talked about it he told Santa he wanted a train. Santa asked if he wanted a Thomas or a GeoTrax. Calder said GeoTrax even though neither of us have even seen such a train / track system. I love that Santa knows more about the toys available than I do.

Work Christmas Party

Last Friday we went to Jason's work Christmas party. It was an amazing event that started out with buffets of food and dessert, including chocolate fountains. They had a gingerbread cookie decorating station and ice cream sundae bar for the kids.

About half way through the caroling started. The bosses took charge and called out songs and page numbers for everyone to join in. It was really fun! Calder (and I) got to meet some really cool people and we all had a good time.

 

Of course we had to get a picture with Calder in Jason's chair. This is the face he makes when you ask him to smile. 

Capital & Botanic Garden

 We went to the Botanic Garden this last week with some friends to check out the model trains. On the way we walked by the Capital and admired the Capital Christmas tree. (Not to be confused with the National Christmas Tree) It was very pretty and decorated with hand crafted ornaments from Wyoming, where the tree came from as well.

 It was cold that day and this is how Calder travels around DC these days. I asked him if he was freezing and he replied "No, just cold." So don't worry, I don't freeze our kid, I just keep him cold. Speaking of, he is not a fan of the cold. Usually if we go outsize to run errands or something and it is cold he asks to go home instead. If we're going somewhere cool he's willing to face the cold. 

I would also like to mention that it is nowhere as cold as Chicago and for that I am thankful. Calder is too.

 The botanic garden has amazing poinsettias, model trains and DC building replicas made from plant parts. I can't believe all of this was built using only food and plants. It was fun to get up close and try to guess what they used to create it.

 A happier, warmer Calder.

 Calder was so excited to get to see Percy, his favorite of the Thomas series trains. He waved and pointed every time he came by.

And as with everything else in DC (it seems) it was free. I really love it here.

Festival of Lights

 Last weekend we went to the Washington DC temple to experience the Festival of Lights. It was truly beautiful. I was surprised to see so many multi-colored lights. For some reason I was expecting to see all white lights. It was very beautiful. I think they use over 400,000 lights.

 In the visitor center they had a creche collection with creches from all over the world. I took some pictures of my favorites. I have to admit that I don't have a creche in our home yet. I've wanted one for a long time but I don't know what kind I want. I guess I should just get one and then keep an eye out for the perfect one. I do want Calder to have the tangible reminder of the birth of Jesus.

I love this one from Japan for is simplicity.

 I can't remember where this creche is from but that woolly mammoth sure made me laugh.

 This one is from Germany. And below is the sign with tidbits about it.

 This one is from Africa. I think it has a very humble feel and I like that.

This felted one is from Finland. It made me want to create my own but now that I'm home I'm having second thoughts.

2011: The Year to Avoid the New

As I mentioned in my 2011 goals I will not be buying anything new this year, with just a few exceptions. Here's how it will work: 

Okay to buy in 2011:
-Groceries (try to buy local first)
-Toiletries such as toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent etc.
-Eating out when it is part of a social gathering
-Health expenses as needed (i.e.: glasses, prescriptions, doctor visits)
-Travel

-Live performances (not that I go to many but I want to keep myself open to possibility or experience)

-Fabric and craft supplies. I must try to find recycled first and limit my budget to $35 per month.
-Anything with a gift card. 

NOT Okay to buy in 2011:
-Gifts that are bought. It is okay for me to give money though.
-New clothing, jewelry or accessories
-New shoes

-New books, magazines, movies, music etc.
-New electronics (The exception being if my cell phone stops working since we don't have a land line, it would get replaced)

I'm not doing this solely to save money. Yes, part of it is to save money but I also want to recycle more, decrease my dependency on shopping, avoid frivolous shopping and increase my creativity. 

Although I am committed to doing this, I would love to hear your thoughts. You can check out articles here, here  and here to learn more about other people who have done this. I know this is a long shot but if anyone wants to join me in not buying anything new in 2011, please do! I would love the company.

2011 Goals

Here are my 2011 goals:

• Hold Family Home Evening every Monday night. 
• Don't buy anything new for the whole year. 
• Cook at least three vegetarian items a week. 
• Continue to expand my sewing skills. Make more things for me to wear and more things for our house. 

I know these seem like lofty goals and the second one seems downright crazy. I have a plan. I'll explain more in a different post.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

 I love Christmas and I love decorating for Christmas. We have two sets of stockings and chose these this year. I like them a lot.

 Calder's snowflakes.

 We just bought this tree skirt at a craft bazaar for $3.50. It is handmade, real wool and has awesome 1950's charm. I'm loving it.

 Our advent calendar is actually used by Calder as mailboxes and toy storage. We use the red envelope advent calendar below as our activity calendar.

I made this calendar with my friend LuAnn. It was totally her idea and I love it. For more details on how to make it go to Candied Apples.

Holiday Baking

 Calder has been such a good little baking buddy lately. He always makes sure to lick the butter wrappers while we bake. He also asks for a bite of butter when we make toast. Gross I know.

He helped me make sugar cookies this last week and then we invited his friend Abraham over to decorate some. I think the boys had fun and I enjoyed talking to Abe's mom Ariel.

Grandma Kate's Visit

 The day after Thanksgiving Jason's mom came to visit. It was great to have her but I think it was a little too short. She spent hours reading to Calder. He will sit and listen as long as you will read. It was good for him to get to snuggle in with his grandma.

 We decorated for Christmas twice. See, I bought the cutest wire tree from Ikea. The only problem was it looks great with simple glass balls but when you put real ornaments on it, it sags down and doesn't look good at all. We took it down, went to Target and bought a real (fake) tree. I love it a lot and feel like it is perfect for our apartment.

 Calder loved decorating. He especially loves moving the decorations around the tree and asking about them.

 This is Calder wearing some of our stockings.

 Our new, very lovely tree.

 We started a new tradition this year that I love. We ordered sushi, got hot cocoa from the lobby and decorated the tree. Calder and I took a cocoa break at the same time.

 Oh and Calder wanted to ride his "motorcycle" while decorating the tree.

 Playing with daddy.

The first tree. Which we may now own since I can't find the receipt. I guess I could always buy glass ornaments and have a very attractive, yet not very tree like second tree.

Jason's mom and I had the opportunity to visit Jason at work for a sitting. We also got to meet the boss. It was an incredible experience. I feel so blessed to be where we're at right now. I also feel blessed that we're almost half way through.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I know, I'm a little late but here nonetheless. This is proof that my husband is around sometimes and he does make our turkey every year. I also love that he is sticking his tongue out because this is his look of concentration. Oh and this is the only picture I have of Thanksgiving so this is what you get.

We spent the holiday with two of my cousins and their families. It was great! I love them so much and it was fun to just chat and enjoy a delicious if not glutenous dinner. It's nice to have family close by. 

Here are a few things I'm thankful for: 

I'm so thankful that I have a husband who is patient, loving and good at his job.

I'm also thankful that my little boy is sweet, kind, gentle and has a strong desire to be good. 

I'm thankful for technology that enables us to be in frequent contact with Calder's grandparents. 

I'm thankful we live in such a great city with so many free activities. 

I'm thankful for a warm, comfortable, safe home. 

I'm also really thankful for friends, old and new. 

I'm thankful for talents, creative abilities and nap times that keep me sane. 

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.