Christmas Day

23 January 2012

After staying up late on Christmas Eve, we were able to sleep in until about 8 on Christmas morning. We got the kids ready and went out to the living room to see what Santa had left. Mason and Charlie found their new play kitchen, as well as some other various gifts from family. We couldn't decide whether or not the kitchen would be from Santa, so when Mason asked if Mommy had made it, we told him the truth. Mommy Santa Claus kind of screwed up this year and didn't plan very well for stocking stuffers. I guess she he was too busy working on other things. ;) Mason got some toy cars from the movie, Cars 2, that he can use to play games with on the iPad, and Charlie got a pair of shoes. Daddy got a new wallet personally designed by Kaity, and crafted by the talented Quinn Peterson from the Etsy store QP Collections, and Kaity got a few small goodies for her camera (macro ring, remote, and a replacement lens cap). 

After we opened all the gifts, Craig made us all omelette scrambles (scrambled eggs with all the usual omelette add-ins) with a side of biscuits and gravy and orange juice. Elaine and I spent the rest of the morning working on some Christmas puzzles we had gotten. The boys played with their new toys, and Craig lounged around and read a book. Later we took showers and got ready to head back up to Grandma Becky's and Grandpa Roark's for dinner, and the phone call with Elder Janis in Mexico. 

After dinner we celebrated Rebecca's birthday with some cake and presents!

It was a wonderful, calm Christmas!

Side Story:

A few days before Christmas, during the Girsberger Christmas get together, Mason was given a Toy Story Woody doll by some cousins. Mason loves the Toy Story movies and was just thrilled to finally have his own doll. On our way home from the get together, Mason told us that Santa Claus was going to bring him a Buzz Lightyear. This was the first time that he had requested something specific for Christmas. Craig and I just couldn't let the kid down. We looked around to see if there were still any available in local stores, but as to be expected, they were all sold out. So Santa Claus ended up making a mistake, and delivered a Buzz Lightyear to Grandma Lynda's house in California rather than to our house. Mason was so excited to open the package when we arrived in California. 

Last of the Cali picks

The weather was perfect while we were in California, so we spent a lot of time sitting and playing out in the backyard.

 

Charlie loves brooms! Ask him to sweep inside or outside, and he's happy to oblige! :)

Charlie's classic scrunchy face.

Climbing the tree with Daddy.

Uncle Zach showing off his own tree climbing skills.

Playing soccer with Uncle Zach and Daddy.

Grandma Lynda had an extra cowboy hat laying around. Mason liked wearing it and pretending to be Woody from Toy Story!

Dress Refashion

22 January 2012

I bought this dress over 4 1/2 years ago. I wore it to the temple the day that I got married. If I recall, it use to look good on me. Minus 15 lbs or so, and a much smaller breast size (thank you nursing!), this dress was starting to look incredibly frumpy. I've been wearing it anyway though, because I don't have very many other options, especially when it comes to fall and winter church clothes. Well, some of our friends just recently got married, and I knew I could not show up to their wedding looking like this, so I whipped out my sewing machine and a pair of fabric scissors and went to work. 

BEFORE:

The first thing I did was lose the sleeves! I wanted to be able to wear this with a cardigan, but the sleeves and the ties on the sleeves always looked lumpy and awkward under tight fitting sweaters. After the sleeves were gone I pulled in the fabric under the arm pit, and lastly, I shortened the length of the skirt. With a cardigan and a belt, it looks a million times better!

AFTER:

I've always been scared of refashioning clothes, but this time I'm glad I took the risk!

Amaryllis

At our Hanukkah party, a friend gave me this beautiful amaryllis plant. It's been forever since I've had the pleasure of watching one of these grow, and I was so thankful for her thoughtfulness! As to be expected, it grew rather rapidly, but it didn't actually bloom before we left for California. I was pretty bummed out. I took it down to my neighbors to watch it while we were away, and when I picked it back up it was gigantic, and still had 4 beautiful flowers on it! They flowers have since died and withered away, but another four have popped up on another stem. Craig joked and said it's the gift that keeps on giving, but it's true! I just love it, and I hope to watch it bloom year after year. Thanks so much Pam! This was such a thoughtful and gorgeous gift!

I enjoyed taking some time to capture the tiny details of this plant with my macro.

The Boy's Christmas Surprise – A Play Kitchen

Whoever originally said it is cheaper to build a play kitchen than buy one, was lying! Or it's possible that they may know something that I don't, because this was definitely not a cheap project! It's more unique than anything I could have bought for the same price, but it was definitely more (like two time more) expensive than the plastic play kitchens you can buy at Walmart or Toys 'R Us. If you already own all your own woodworking equipment, and you happen to have a stock pile of wood and other random items (ie. a sink, faucet, knobs, etc.) laying around, then go for it; but if you don't, and you'd like to save money, stick with the plastic or find a piece of furniture that needs minimal work. Or, if you're just plain crazy like me, and don't already have the needed supplies, make one anyway. ;)

I started dreaming up this project in early November. I thought I would try to find a piece of furniture to repurpose into a kitchen, but DI (Utah's version of Goodwill) is often heavily picked over, and the newspaper classifieds get hit pretty hard around here too. I finally bought a side table for $8 that I thought might work, but after considering all the wood I would have to add to it to turn it into a functional kitchen, it seemed pointless. Not to mention that neither Craig or I have much experience with woodworking, and with the side table, construction was looking a little too complicated. After much mental frustration, I decided it would just be easier to start from scratch. I looked online and happened to find free plans on how to construct your own play kitchen by Ana White. She provides the supply list, cut list, and instructions. Win! I was feeling much more confident!

Over my birthday weekend (Dec 4th), Craig and I went down to Home Depot and bought all the supplies. Then that Sunday morning, after the boys were dropped off with the grandparents, we started constructing. Thankfully, construction went fast, and we were able to get both units built in about an hour and a half.

The hard part was over – or so I thought! After the construction, I was mostly on my own. I sanded both units, applied wood filler, sanded again, prepped for painting, and finally painted the whole thing myself. I also cut the holes for the sink and the faucet myself, and learned how to score and break plexiglass. Scary stuff! I did have to get some extra help from Craig's uncle, Joe, to refine a few things though, mainly the oven door and the hole for the sink! Thanks Joe, you saved the day!

After much deliberation, I decided to match the paint colors of the kitchen to some cute fabric I found on Etsy. I was originally going to make a curtain to hide the shelves under the sink, but later changed my mind and made aprons for the boys.

Most of the work on the kitchen was done in our cold garage, until I finally couldn't take it anymore and I snuck it all into our master bathroom where the boys couldn't see me work.

Overall I'm very pleased with the outcome! It's not perfect by any means, but it did turn out pretty darn well, and the best part is that the boys love it! Maybe even a little too much! In less than a month, the plexiglass on the oven door is already covered in scratches and scuff marks, the oven door is starting to skew to the left from Charlie constantly sitting and standing on it, the magnetic latch on the door had to be removed because the door stopped shutting all the way, the painted carrot on the chest is also scuffed, and the paint on the inside of the chest is peeling from being opened and slammed shut so often. I guess that's what you can expect from two rough and destructive boys! Oh, and Mason ripped a 4 inch wide hole in his apron. I have no idea how! I keep trying to tell myself that these are all good signs that they love it, but it's a little hard not to wince when I find yet another sign that the kitchen is already aging!

Since we didn't already own play food and dishes, I asked both sets of grandparents if they would coordinate their gifts. They were happy to oblige!

Grandma Lynda and Grandpa Steve bought a dish set,

Most of the silverware has already gone missing. We've caught Charlie throwing stuff in the trash can, so who knows if we'll ever find them all!

 the Melissa & Doug Felt Pizza set,

The box won't last much longer, but the pizza will!

and the Melissa & Doug felt sandwich set.

Grandma Becky and Grandpa Roark bought the Ikea pot and pan set, the utensil set (not pictured), 

the felt veggie basket, 

and the felt breakfast set. 

 Aunt Alissa gave us the Ikea fruit basket a year ago.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!