Christmas 2012

I had intentions of writing a big long Christmas post last week...but it just never happened.  After spending much of December attending to the details of Christmas, finishing up note card orders, dealing with internet AND printer problems, cleaning and then cleaning again I decided that a break was in order, so I took a few days to just chill with the family.  We stayed in our pj's, watched movies, read books, played games and worked on puzzles.  It was glorious!  But I still feel like I'd like to share a few of my favorite pictures from the holidays.  We had a wonderful Christmas, in fact we celebrated for an entire week. We ate great food, caught up with loved ones, and received some awesome gifts.  We are blessed.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and here's wishing you a very wonderful new year as well!

Christmas fun at Newport on the Levee

Today I took the boys to Newport on the Levee to see the Shillito's Elves at Santa's Workshop and the LEGO Holiday display.  They absolutely loved it, and I loved standing back and seeing it through their eyes, as their excitement was contagious.  The elves are adorable, and funny...and a blast from the past.  I remember going to see them with my parents when they were downtown.  The LEGO display was awesome, so many cool details and so many things going on at once.  I think we're going to have to make another trip to the Levee so the older children can check it out.   The tickets are $7 per person, but children under 3 are free with a paying adult.  I was lucky enough to be given free tickets, so we enjoyed the display without having to pay, but I would pay to take the older kids, as I think they would enjoy it.

To see all the pictures I took on our trip to see the elves check out the little things blog Facebook page.  And for a list of all the cool Holiday Happenings in Northern Kentucky you can read this post I wrote over at Family Friendly Cincinnati.  FFC also has posts about Holiday events downtown, Nutcracker performances, Holiday events north of town, where to find Santa, the best light displays and more!  Check it out! 

What's your favorite thing to do around town during the holidays?  (Even if you live in another town....)

merry christmas!

I showed you our holiday portrait out-takes a while back, well here are the winners from that photo session ;)  And for those who have asked, I took these pictures of the kids at George Rogers Clark Park on Riverside Drive in Covington, Kentucky.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas! 

this week...

this week...

we are getting in the holiday spirit,

I am feeling blessed that I have a husband that buys me flowers to make me smile, 

the boys have been engrossed in transformations,

ella learned how to play scrabble,

auntie annie took ella, max & me to the Nutcracker (amazing!),

henry & will went to the drive-in,

we saw the holiday trains at behringer-crawford museum,

and we all fine-tuned our holiday wish lists.

Zanzoe the Elf

Last year we had a visitor show up around Christmas time, the children named him Zanzoe.  He is our "Elf on the Shelf".  Have you heard of these elves?  They come from the North Pole to keep an eye on the children and report back to Santa.  It's really a rather clever idea.  I don't use mine as a threat so much (well, not everyday anyway), but it's our connection to the North Pole.  I love catching the kids whispering to Zanzoe about what gifts they are hoping for.  And it's fun to find little notes that Ella & Max have written to their favorite elf (one such note asked if he knew any Leprechauns).  And their excitement each morning in looking for Zanzoe is quite contagious.  Even Henry gets a kick out of finding the elf.  Last year Zanzoe's hiding spots were not so creative, but because of the kids' excitement this year, and because they are getting older and harder to fool, Zanzoe has been found in a bit more creative spots.  Sometimes.  Other days he's just sitting on the shelf. 

Hanging out with Harry Potter

Reading a good book (I hear it's one of the Game of Thrones novels)

Wheeeee!

And yes, one night he did make a mess...Snow Angels!  (Please note the cocktail in the back of this picture)

On the outside looking in.

What time is it? 

Isn't syrup one of the four main food groups?

This hiding spot seemed easy to me, but it took the kids two full days to find him.  Ella had even left him a note asking where he was. 

Do you have an Elf on a Shelf?  What are some of your creative hiding places?

ella's holiday skirt

I have not sewn in many months, and I was really missing it.  Even though I hadn't been sewing I had still been shopping, so I have quite a few lovely patterns I've collected with the thought of making them into skirts for Ella.  So this week I dusted off the sewing machine, which is new to me, so I had some re-learning to do (I'm a beginner anyway, so it was quite a task).  I spent two days making a skirt that could probably be made in an hour or two by someone a bit more capable.  I enjoyed every minute of my sewing time...with the boys asking constant technical questions, the baby cuddling on my lap (teething) and Ella by my side doing some handsewing of her own.  And in the end I created a cute little Christmas cupcake skirt for her to wear to our upcoming celebrations and gatherings.  I used the Oliver & S Lazy Day Skirt Pattern, it's free and it's simple! And now I'm itching to make some more skirts...so many cute fabrics ready to go!

nana's fudge

 

I spent the day with my mama and sister learning all the secrets to making my nana's fudge.  I feel like I hold this awesome power now.  The fudge recipe has been handed down from generation to generation ~ it's our family's secret recipe for the holidays.  I can't wait to pass this on to Ella someday!

Santa's Little Helper Ornament GIVEAWAY CLOSED

CONGRATS to Maureen N. who said "My favorite holiday tradition is going to see the train display with my son. We started doing this last year and we all love it."  YOU WON the REINDEER ORNAMENT!!!
Email your address to me at: Katie@Cards-by-Katie.com
Thank you to all who entered ~ stayed tuned for more cool stuff in the coming weeks!
And consider Make Shop Live for your holiday shopping - they have so many cool things in their Etsy shop!
 
I know you are all probably sick of hearing me say this...but I LOVE etsy!  I have done quite a bit of my holiday shopping on Etsy.com these past few years, and I have found some very cool & unique gifts there! 
One of my favorite finds last year was a "Reinbeer" upcycled ornament for my cousin.  It was an adorable reindeer made out of beer can - genius!  It's environmentally friendly and a great conversation starter.

The ornament was from the etsy store Make Shop Live.  This Christmas KC from Make Shop Live is sharing one of her upcycled ornaments with me to give away to one lucky reader, and I'm so happy about that!
According to the description of the ornament on Etsy, "SANTA'S LITTLE HELPERS ORNAMENTS are Reindeer shaped ornaments made from recycled Soda Cans. Perfect for your "Root Beer" Lover or Soda Fan this Holiday Season. Makes a fun and lighthearted decoration for any holiday decor." 

To enter to win this adorable upcycled reindeer ornament made from a Retro Dr. Pepper can follow the instructions below.  Be sure to leave your contact info!  A winner will be drawn using Random.org on Friday, December 9th at 2pm.  The winner has 48 hours to respond or another name will be drawn.  Thank you very much to Make Shop Live for partnering with me for this giveaway!  Be sure to consider them for your holiday shopping (they sell many more cool items...not just ornaments)!

How to enter:
1.  Leave a comment telling us about your favorite holiday tradition.
2.  For an extra entry show us some love on Facebook ~ Head over to the Make Shop Live page and the little things blog page and click the "Like" button.  Then leave a comment below telling us you did so.
3.  Share this giveaway with friends and then leave a comment below telling how you spread the word.


Good Luck!

holiday portrait out-takes 2011

I took advantage of an unseasonably warm fall day today to take our Christmas pictures of the kids.  It was nice to have this holiday task scratched off the list.  It's always kind of stressful for me.  I don't know how these photographers do it...getting four kids to look at the camera all at once and smile.  I'm going to share some of our out-takes with you, but you'll have to wait a few weeks to see the official holiday portraits...

And if you'd like another giggle you can check out last year's out-takes here.

This one would have been soooo cute had my youngest monkey looked at the camera.

Playtime between pictures.

Why is this one an out-take you ask?  Well, because Henry is actually standing still and smiling for me.  The problem is, the other three kids were not in the shot.

Nice smirk Sam!  And where is my baby?

Monkeys - I love them so much.

Grouches.

favorite gifts of 2010

on the whole, our family was quite spoiled this holiday season.  we received many great gifts, and more importantly, were blessed with good health, and spent much time with loved ones.  i wanted to share a few of my favorite gifts this holiday season, because i am so giddy about them, these are just a few of the fabulous things we received, perhaps they will inspire you when shopping next year.

michael and i bought these prints for the kids from jenniferfrench on etsy.  they are so gorgeous and dark, i fell in love with them.  we bought half price frames at hobby lobby and michael made mats so they would fit into the frames properly.

sigh.  i never knew i needed an itouch until i held it in my hand.  thank you michael.

fiestaware!  this lovely lemongrass set was from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. 

my children were over the moon with these statues, how cute are they?

each year michael's parents give us a gift certificate to the state parks for christmas, and we can't thank them enough.  i can't wait to start researching where we will go this year!

what was your favorite holiday gift?

{this moment}

Inspired by SouleMama - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

sugar cookies, a holiday tradition

Each Christmas I get together with a few of my cousins, my sister, and my sister in law and we spend an entire day baking sweet treats to share with friends and family.  It's always a special day, filled with laughter, flour, reminiscing, icing and love.  This year we made buckeyes, oatmeal chocolate chip cranberry cookies (thank you anna!), peppermint bark, oreo truffles, funfetti cookies (thanks haley!), chocolate covered pretzels, and of course, everyone's favorite: sugar cookies decked out with icing, candies, and sprinkles.  I love watching our decorators pull out all the stops with their designs.  I thought I would share my sugar cookie dough recipe with you.  What are you baking this holiday season?

Sugar Cookies

1 1/3 cups Margarine
1 ½ cups Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
2 ½ Tbs. Milk
4 cups Flour
3 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Salt

Mix all ingredients well, divide dough into halves (or even quarters) and put in ziploc bags. Chill for one hour (I’ve chilled overnight). On a floured surface roll out dough (about 1/8 – ¼ inch) and cut with your favorite cookie cutters. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 7-8 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and then decorate.