Food for the birds!

Yesterday, Lucas and I went to a friends house and strung cranberries and popcorn together and rolled a toliet roll in bird seed to put on a tree for the birds.  So, Merry Christmas birds!  Lucas liked doing this, though he liked eating everything better, including the bird seed!

Holiday Sweets Making

I realized that since we were not going home for Christmas that if we wanted the traditional treats that our families make during this time of year, I was going to have to do it.  This turned out to be a two day process.  The start was kind of rockie, I screwed up the easiest recipe, and that is when I decided that there was no way I was attempting to make divinity, thus the two day process. When I finally did get around to making it though, it worked!  My divinity rocks!  Thanks to my little candy thermometer and the kitchen aid (oh, how I love you!) everything tastes great and now we're in the process of giving it all away, because let me tell you after two days of baking sweets I am all sweeted out.  I went to bed the last two nights on a sugar high!

Gingerbread Houses

Annual decorating of gingerbread houses, this year we did graham crackers, we decided this was easier and worked just as well, so for now on it will be graham crackers!  Craig built the house (it's his favorite job *sarcasm*)  and I assisted with the frosting while Lucas decorated!  We did get distracted when Santa showed up on the front of a fire truck, handing out popcorn and candy canes!

Decorating Cookies

I made a bunch of sugar cookies to frost and decorate for playgroup.  When we got to playgroup all the kids are decorating their cookies and Lucas doesn't want to decorate a cookie.  I am thinking "really? I just put in all of this work and my kid doesn't want to decorate a cookie?"  (It could have been the fact that he just wasn't feeling good, though he had seemed fine earlier that day.)  I decide that I will pack up and go home, because if he's not feeling good he shouldn't be hanging out with other kids.  I am all packed ready to head home, Lucas looks at me and says, "I want to decorate a cookie."  Go figure.

Ouch!

Last Wednesday Lucas had a fever and I just couldn't get it to stay low, after the Tylenol and Motrin wore off his temp would go up, he was ornery and irritable, and would not sleep at nigh. , On Friday night he coughed all through the night, by morning he had completely lost his voice and when he coughed he would wince because it would hurt.  And yet even with this I still struggled with whether I should take him to the polar express (which is really fun activity the library puts it on where you ride a trolley to Santa's workshop and you get to pick a toy and sit on Santa's lap.  Spaces fill up fast so I had signed up weeks in advance.), to the point that we start to head to the library and then I came to my senses and realized how unwise that would be, in the end we ended up at the doctor's office,  Lucas was diagnosed with not one, but two ear infections!  Poor little bug, it just hasn't been his season, no colds JUST pneumonia and now ear infections.  At least it gave us an excuse to lie low, we didn't do much the next several days.  However, he is feeling better!  Which is great because he can still enjoy Christmas!

Ego outs D-D-D-Dora!

Ever since we rented a Diego video (because they didn't have Dora), Lucas has been picking to watch 'Ego' which is what he calls it, over Dora.  I don't know why it is more appealing, it might have something to do with the fact that 'Ego' is a animal rescuer, and Lucas loves animals.

Which of these does not belong?

While cruising through our local Wal-mart (in State College, PA of course) we came across a most unusual sight, tell me what you think:

I'm guessing someone at the shipping plant accidentally grabbed the wrong hoodie and stuck it in a box with very similar looking apparel, but part of me wants to think that BYU's new ESPN contract is causing such national exposure and publicity that they're starting to sell BYU apparel in State College (that would explain why there was only one of them, the rest were all sold out, right?).

Lazy!

December is suppose to be a busy time when you're running to and from activities and shopping.  Not us.  I don't like shopping and though we're doing some fun things this season, I have not overbooked us.  We're not going home this holiday season.  So we have had some of the laziest days this month, waking up late, not getting ready for the day till late afternoon.  Since the temperature has been dropping, and I am limiting when we go out in the cold, we have been staying at home in the warm house.  It has been wonderful, though I am sure reality will be setting in  any minute now, and I will have to start getting things done, but for now, I will enjoy staying home and reading a book.  Seriously, how often does that happen?

Snowman!

Poor little tyke!  Every time we go outside, Lucas goes for the snow, saying, "snowman, snowman".  However, by snow I mean the tiny piles of ice with a thin layer of snow covering them.  Were still not sure if Lucas want's to build a snowman or if he is referring to the snow as 'snowman'.  After numerous times of this occurring, I decided to take action.  Today Lucas and his little friend made marshmallow snowman yummy and enjoyed every bit of it.  Who doesn't enjoy eating sweets at 10:00 in the morning.  Hopefully sometime this winter we can build Lucas a real snowman!

Lucas wasn't really mad, it was just a well timed picture.

Breakfast with Santa!

This past Saturday we took Lucas to the festival of trees (I know what your thinking and it is nothing like that festival of trees, this one is very, very tiny!)  We ate breakfast with our friends and Santa.  We took Lucas to sit on Santa's lap, not sure what to expect, because last year he cried and cried and would not do it!!!  We're making progress, though.  Lucas sat on Santa's lap without even one tear drop, never mind that he was stiff as a board and had this terrified look on his face, is was still a success!  (The picture doesn't do it justice, Lucas looks for too relaxed in the picture.)  Breakfast was yummy and Lucas seemed to enjoy himself.  We wandered around the trees for a few minutes, because that is literally all it takes is a few minutes and you have seen it all.  Watched a puppet show and we were good to go (ran errands and get home so we could have lunch and Craig could go to work and write his paper!)

Inevitable!

We have been spoiled that last couple of weeks with warm weather!  It all ended today, or should I say it begins.  It rained all day and then at about 4:30pm it started to snow and it is getting colder.  Time to pull our the hot chocolate maker!!!

Smith

One of my very good friends came to visit on Monday and was able to stay the night.  It was a blast!  We watched a chick flick and stayed up till 2:30 am talking, I felt like a teenager!  We drove around in the rain, to show her the Amish, and ended our day with ice cream at Penn State.  I think it was a successful trip, she says she will come back again.  Thanks Smith, for coming to visit us, we really enjoyed it and please come visit us again!

A REAL Tree!!!

Success!!!  For Christmas this year we got a real Christmas tree, and it didn't even take much to convince Craig that I needed a real tree for Christmas.  This beautiful tree was calling my name, the minute I started looking it was saying, "Katie, pick me, pick me, pick me!"  I listened and it is the perfect tree!  It fit inside our house, just about touching the ceiling, and not to bushy.  On Sunday we decorated the tree, I found these plastic, non-shatter balls, so Lucas could help decorate the tree.  While decorating the tree Craig made the comment about having to redo it after Lucas finishes, I looked at Craig and said, "no, I am not touching what he has done, it is how it is."  So how it is, is most of the decorations are at the bottom of the tree, with clusters of balls and ornaments, this tree has a lot of character!  Lucas had a lot of fun decorating the tree, now if only he could stop touching the tree.

"Peanut butter and Jelly"

Every day for the past week at about 10:30 am Lucas will start asking for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  This just goes to show what I allow my child to eat for lunch every day, (it is difficult to heat anything up quickly, because we are still without a microwave).  Though the other day I did boil him a hot dog, to change things up, since a hot dog is definitely better than a pb and j, right?  I have tried to remind him numerous times that he can only have one for lunch, but Lucas does not understand this concept.  He'll ask for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at all times of the day.  I have even tried to offer him other snack option, no Lucas wants a pb and j.  At lunch time when I ask him what he wants he has been telling me, "Peanut utter and am sandich, cheese, urkey, and ummus."  He has been a pretty good eater!  Maybe that is why he has been having a growth spurt!