An Uncle Mike Moment

Just a moment from our week, a moment with his favorite uncle, one meant to be savored always...how bout you? What are you savoring this Christmas week?

Handmade Christmas - The Traveling Pyrex

My aunt and uncle are notorious for bringing food. They are very generous folks and their food is always welcome here. I imagine it's welcome at other people's houses as well. So when I saw this neat idea for a traveling casserole, I knew this was the gift for them.



It came together surprisingly easy. I was able to get the insulated batting online in a sleek Black Friday sale at Joanns...score! I also used it for the oven mitts and various other gifts!



I didn't get a picture of the side of this pyrex...bummer...I actually used etching cream and etched their name in it! It was a lot of work. I printed out their name and taped it to the side over contact paper. From there, I used an exacto to carefully carve out each letter. I used a paint brush to paint in each letter and I waited....ever so patiently...for several minutes. When I washed it off, the etching was perfect! They'll never lose this casserole! Perfect!!

Handmade Christmas - The Oven Mitts

I pride myself on my homemade gifts each year. Most of them are of the sewn variety. Some years, I imagine I'll do something like make a big batch of Vanilla Extract and package it all pretty, but I digress...there is something particularly loving about collecting ideas through the year and sewing up a few gifts...



Over the next few days, I bring you The Handmade Christmas (2011, of course!) I couldn't share these before because some of my family actually READS my blog! This year, Pinterest has given me a few new tricks up my sleeve. By next year, there will be even more, I'm sure!

So to start, the oven mitts. When I saw them here, I knew they were the perfect gift for my cousin Dawn. She likes to bake. I know her well for making the cakes and cupcakes for many a birthday over the years. She even made the amazing baby rattle cupcakes for my baby sprinkle! Of course, it was fitting for a baker to receive oven mitts!



What I like about this pattern is that it isn't the wonky side thumb. You actually reach in and grab the pot out of the oven with it! It works well with the opposable thumb! Wouldn't you agree?

Merry Christmas

This year I count my blessings....I'm loving...

...a boy who loves the Polar Express so much it hurts!

...a healthy baby girl who's learning to sit, cutting two teeth for Christmas, and grabbing for toys like never before!

...adoring cousins.

...memory making with Grandma and Grandpa.

and

...good spirits.

I hope you had an amazing Christmas! Here's to a Happy New Year!

For Dear Friends - The Ornament

A few days ago, we got together with some dear friends for fondue and laughter. It was a wonderful evening. These friends had never quite gathered like this before, for these are my knitting friends...the ones I meet every week at the local coffee shop...I had a few surprises up my sleeve, as did some of the others...these ornaments were one of them!

When I first saw this ornament over on Pinterest, I knew I had to make not one, but a bunch! I put it in my bag of tricks to craft for the holidays!



I used a glass ball as my base and wrapped the yarn around it after tacking it down with hot glue to start. The knitting needles are actually very simple...you'd never guess! I cut bamboo skewers to the length that I wanted and glued wooden beads to the top! They really were very simple to make and I'm in love with the way they came out!

My friend Kerrie, over at Sea Kettle Diaries posted a brief tutorial on how she made hers after she saw my pin. Go check hers out! They are just as beautiful! She has a different spin to her needles too!!

A Caroling We Go

Old fashioned as it may be, it's such a magical night. We take part every year, with dear friends, down the dark streets of Neptune. Many a door does not open for us, perhaps they are perplexed...but for the ones that do, oh the smiles they give us. You see the joy on their faces as we sing our songs for them.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The First Gift of Christmas!

My little guy is a huge fan of the Polar Express, as you might have guessed with his love of trains. So it's no surprise that I have much of the book memorized and when I thought of this post, these words came to mind.



Maura receives physical therapy every other week. Susan comes to see us and does play therapy with her then. She's been coming now since August, since just before Maura's last batch of seizures. She's been helpful in giving us ideas to guide Maura along in her development. So naturally, being a part of our life, we have a small gift for her as well.

This knitted cuff came together very quickly...It's called the kindling coffee cuff and I found it over at Ravelry.



I pulled it all together with a coffee cup from Wawa and a gift card for Susan! You see, Susan travels from child to child. I'm sure she occasionally stops for a beverage. This will surely come in handy in the brisk winter. I'm sure she'll just adore it, don't you agree?

A Christmas Tree Moment

Just a moment from our week to savor always in all his excitement. I hope you found a moment in this time that is oh so busy!

Decorating the Tree

Opening the box of ornaments is rather like opening up a window to the past. I mentioned the ornaments recently that we got as children...many of them still adorn my tree. Interestingly, I slowly watch the ornaments shift as my children begin to add their own ornaments and we make room by putting some of ours away...none the less, there are still ornaments that I couldn't live without.



"The angels, where are they?" I ask Joe. You see, there are two angels that have been on the tree since I was about Patrick's age. I put them on lovingly every year. Then there are the angels that Sister Ann, a nun I worked with when I taught Catholic school, gave me...beautiful quilled angels!



We continue to add to the memories on the tree each year and those memories will go on well past my time here on earth. I'm just as sure my mother thought the same thing as she created those memories for us as small children ourselves.

Looking back on the NICU one more time

We were featured over at The Preemie Mom Blog this weekend! Go on over and check it out! And if you know anyone who might be in need of this valuable resource, please pass it on! I wish I had this when I was in the NICU with Maura. While it was only 8 months ago, it seems like a distant memory. I wish this for every NICU mom today!

http://preemiemomblog.blogspot.com/

Picking the Tree

It seems we always pick a day in December where the chill just grabs you right to the bone to go and get our Christmas tree. No matter, the sun was shining, and at least it wasn't windy! We headed to pick out the tree that would be the one we'd gather around this year for gatherings and memories.



I have a personal preference for a tree. I like the Concolor Fir. It's a pretty tree with longer needles and a light citrus smell. The branches are often gnarled and twist gently. It's really just a pretty tree!



As soon as we got to the farm, we knew a highlight would be the tractor ride for our little guy. Seems that these tractor rides go on longer than just the harvest, he was surprised to see them last well into the Christmas season as well!



It didn't take us long in the field. My husband sat down with our little guy and showed him the saw and how it worked. We took a gander around the field, but it seemed that the first tree we looked at was the one we came back to. It was meant to be!




They cut the tree while Maura and I watched. We caught the tractor back to farm, tree in hand. Patrick yet again relished in the journey.



As they prepared our tree for us to take home, we headed to the shed for some hot cocoa. Patrick got his first taste as the crisp air nipped our noses. We piled the tree on top of our car and headed home. Patrick could hardly wait to get it in the house. Could Christmas really get any better?

A Christmas Train Moment

Just a moment from our week...one that a certain little boy has been waiting nearly a whole year for! What special moments are you savoring this week?

Making Memories

When I was a small child, my mother would take us out of school for a day so that we could all head to the Fountains of Wayne and experience Christmas. We'd ooh and ahh over the many rooms of brightly colored and decorated Christmas trees and we were allowed to pick out one ornament. We'd then head up the staircase to the top, where the magical animated Christmas story awaited us.



We did this every year. It was magic. I still have many of my ornaments that I chose as a child. The memories of that place, although it no longer exists, brings me back to my childhood. So of course, I want my child to have similar memories...



It was no surprise when Joe mentioned the Wannamaker Light Show that we had to go. I looked it up and found out that the Strawbridge Dickens Village was also at Macy's. And the Comcast Christmas Spectacular was only a few blocks away. It was like hitting the jackpot!

We took the speedline over to Philadelphia. Patrick enjoyed every minute of it. We even saw the light show twice!

A First Foods Moment

Just a moment from our week, one to remember and savor always...Thanks to Amanda for her weekly gathering of inspiration!

What special moment do you want to share this week?