Christmas

What a wonderful whirlwind these last few days have been!  We have so many incredible Christmas traditions in our family and we like to spread the celebrations out over as many days as possible!  We are so blessed to live near both of our families and loved celebrating both separately and all together!  Here are some highlights of our Christmas week...
The boys had such a fun time reconnecting with their cousin, Clara, who moved to North Carolina in August...

We had a wonderful time at our annual neighborhood stone chapel Christmas that my mom has been organizing for the community for the last 20ish years.  Always a special part of our holiday...

We ended up celebrating with my side of the family on Saturday...yummy food, hyper cousins, and lots of laughs.  It was a great day!

That evening (Christmas Eve) we went over to our friends' house for our annual gathering.  We love going to the Macs and it's always a special time for me as Lindsay M. and I grew up being best friends and they were like a second family to me!
Camden got to decorate cookies with Lindsay (if you are my facebook friend, you know how highly anticipated this activity was!!!)...

On Christmas morning our boys were up bright and early.  The boys and I waited upstairs while Scott got the fire going and made sure everything was ready and then down we came.  It was a special morning with just the four of us opening presents, playing with the new toys and enjoying our time together.
Our tree...yes, this is taken in the morning...we have early risers in this household!

 Camden was teaching Micah how to open a present...he was so patient with him and kept saying, "I'm gonna find a present for Mikey to open now!"  Love those two!

After a couple hours at home, we headed over to Scott's parents' house just 15 minutes away.  Brian and Sarah came over from Portland, ME and we enjoyed a delicious brunch, opened presents and hung out until heading home for naps...

Christmas night we had both sides of our families over to our house!  It was SO fun to host a special evening and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves!

My mom and her parents/Caren and Me (I don't like wine, but it was fun to pretend!)/Scott and his Dads  :)

 Camden helped me make cupcakes to celebrate Jesus' birthday!  He was SO excited to sing happy birthday and helped lead the entire family in song!  :)

This morning (Monday) Brian and Sarah came over for a visit and we went on a freezing cold walk.  Camden and Micah both love these guys!

All three boys enjoyed a nice nap before heading out for our last event - a delicious turkey dinner with all the fixings made by my Daddy at a beautiful local home that my grandparents were staying at!  YUMMY!!!!  After we ate and sang a few songs it was time to say goodbye to Caren, Dave and Clara and we headed home for a little down time! 

 These two are going to miss each other!

 Singing some songs - four generations!

Phew, it was an exhausting and wonderful week!  Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Elf on the What?!?

So I know this post is probably going to offend a few readers, but I just have to get it out of me.  This has been bubbling up in me for weeks, actually since last year, and I just have to ask out loud.  What on earth is up with the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon?!?!?  For those of you who don't know about Elf on the Shelf, it is based on a book and the plot is summarized here on wikipedia:

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Every day from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, each family's scout elf watches over the children and then at night, once everyone goes to bed, the elf flies back to the North Pole to report back to Santa about what activities, good and bad, took place throughout the day. Before the family wakes up each morning, the scout elf flies back from the North Pole and hides. By hiding in a new spot each morning around the house, the scout elf and the family play an on-going game of hide and seek. The Elf on the Shelf explains that elves get their magic by being named. In the back of each book, families have an opportunity to write their elf's name and the date that they adopted it. Once the elf is named, the scout elf receives its special Christmas magic which allows it to fly to and from the North Pole. However, the magic might go if touched, so the rule for The Elf on the Shelf states: "There's only one rule that you have to follow so I will come back and be here tomorrow: Please do not touch me. My magic might go, and Santa won't hear all I've seen or I know." Although families aren't supposed to touch their scout elf, they can talk to it and tell it all their Christmas wishes so it can report back to Santa accurately.

My understanding is that most parents use this little elf as a way to keep their children in check during the holiday season.  "Don't hit your brother, the elf (usually some creative name) is watching and will tell Santa that you've been naughty."  Seriously?  It just seems strange to me.  I'm not a big fan of using the whole Santa thing to scare my children into good behavior, but I guess to each their own.  

Oh, and it costs $30!!  AND it has sold more than 1.5 million copies!  I guess I'm just not on that bandwagon...should I be?!?!?

If you are an elf on the shelf fan, let me know why in the comments!  Maybe you can make a believer out of me!  :)

'Tis the Season

Ok, just to clarify my previous post...I was definitely talking about trying to avoid big box stores like Wal-mart this holiday season.  If I'm looking for something that I can buy locally, I always try to do that.  We have the cutest shops in our area and I love supporting our local economy.  I just would much rather shop from the comfort of my own home for items such as Camden's awesome new scooter he's getting for Christmas, than wander through the isles of Wal-mart with the rest of America!  And yes, you probably know of my love for Amazon (thank you free two-day shipping), but this article circulating on Facebook is not cool.  Support local businesses.  I personally know the people who own about half of the shops in New London and I want to continue to see that small town thrive.

Anyway, my two little elves and I have had fun preparing for Christmas these last couple of weeks.  Yesterday, we decided to make some muffins to bring to our neighbors along with our Christmas card.  Camden had so much fun helping me bake and both boys were so excited to visit our neighbors' homes.  We are so blessed with the best little neighborhood to live in.  I've known the families on either side of me my whole life and they just love our boys!

Yummy blueberry muffins...

 I even scrounged up some Christmasy looking bags to fill!

 My little helpers...

 This house has the coolest gardens and yard!

 My mother-in-law made us this beautiful swag for our door.  I think it's funny that it's called that...but it is! Thanks, Mom A!

 We're supposed to get a little bit tonight!  (my homemade chalkboard isn't doing very well...see all the previous notes on there?!!?!  oh well...it's still cute enough for me). 

 Our calendar.  Camden looks so little in this picture from last year!

 Camden has loved opening the door on his advent calendar every day.  It's so fun having kids to share these special traditions with!

 Our stockings...

 And our nativity scene with the iPod in the background and a sleeping sheep.  Not very picturesque, sorry!

 Our home looking in at nighttime...

 Our neighbors put lights on this little lone tree in the field across from our house.  I love it!

 Our house in the background..

Only a few more days and Scott will be home on vacation for 2.5 weeks!  Can't wait to have some special family time together!  Enjoy this season - we sure are!

My First-Ever Post With No Photos, But You Should Still Read It!

I am absolutely loving this Christmas season.  Have I mentioned that yet?  Loving listening to Christmas music.  Loving our beautiful tree and the candles in the windows.  Loving listening to Camden's ever-changing Christmas list (recent list-toppers include a robot, a nutcracker, a tea-set and a dollhouse).  I had my first sip of eggnog today and it was lovely, although I can only take eggnog in very tiny amounts.  One thing that I'm not loving??  Holiday shopping!  I know, I know...everybody loves to shop.  Not this girl.  I mean, I guess it would probably be different if I had an unlimited budget, tons of spare time on my hands and the stores weren't 30+ minutes away, but unfortunately, money is tight, time is fleeting and we live in the middle of nowhere.  My mom offered to watch the boys on Friday and I was so excited to take an excursion to Tilton to run some errands and potentially start my Christmas shopping.  It turned out to be a pretty unsuccessful trip.  I've found out that I'm really good at wondering around aimlessly (seriously, people were looking at me weirdly because I had a blank stare and didn't know which way I was going).  And let me just fill you in on a little secret: Walmart isn't an enjoyable place to shop even on a Friday morning a month before Christmas!  There were SO many people.  The toy isle was completely overwhelming - I've never had so many inanimate objects singing at me, talking to me and beeping at me.  It was crazy.  If you aren't in the market for battery operated toys, than Walmart isn't for you!  I left with two boxes of cereal and a box of crayons!  I think I'll stick to my wonderful Amazon where it's shipped free to my door in two days and is generally cheaper than what I find at the stores!  I do enjoy walking the streets of New London and supporting the local shops, but I'm hoping to stay away from the crazies in the big city from now on!

I have to say, online shopping has revolutionized my life.  Especially since having kids when getting out to run errands is an entire day's event.  If you ever shop online, and if you like to get money back in the mail(!!!) you need to check out Ebates.  I'm obsessed with this site.  You go to Ebates and from there select the store that you are going to order something from and then you just shop as you normally would.  That's all you have to do and then you get a certain percent of what you spent back in the mail.  I just got a check from Ebates for $8.00 recently after I placed an order at Snapfish!  Amazon isn't a part of Ebates, but we've received cashback from JC Pennys, Lowes, Home Depot, Shutterfly, Snapfish, Sears, Old Navy etc...
You should join (you only have to give your email address and you get a bonus giftcard just for joining (and I'll make some bonus cash if you use my links above!).

Cheers for shopping from your couch and saving money! 

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.  It is SO nice to live so close to our parents.  Holidays are so much more relaxing when you are driving 15 minutes max to visit family, sleeping in your own bed, and at least having the option of napping at home.  We had our Thanksgiving meal over at Scott's parents house with Jeff and Ashley, Brian and Sarah and my parents.  (Have I mentioned how nice it is when the co-in-laws are friends?  Oh, I have?  Ok, I'll try not to rub it in any more).  I actually didn't take any thanksgiving photos this year!  Shocking, I know.  I was kind of sick and just enjoyed hanging out without a camera attached to me.  Scott did take this one photo of me and Ashley and Sarah when we were out cutting down Mom and Dad A's Christmas tree.  Apparently, I need some hip sunglasses!  :)  I so missed having my sister here for Thanksgiving, but it is always fun having both of these wonderful ladies around!

After the excitement of thanksgiving, it was really nice to have a quiet family day on Sunday.  We had a great time going to Colby Farm to pick out our Christmas tree.  Although Scott and I can never seem to agree on a tree, and we seem to wander endlessly through the field of evergreens, there is something so fun about the experience.  It took us a little longer than usual this year, but we found the perfect tree for our house.  The boys had fun tromping through the snow looking for the best tree and, of course, the little Christmas hut at the end was a big hit.  Free hot chocolate and candy canes are sure to make any three year old happy.  They also have tons of cute little toys to play with, books by local authors for sale and a roaring fire in the fireplace!  It definitely got us in the Christmas spirit (not that I needed any help...the big snow storm in October pushed me over the edge and I've been listening to Christmas music since then!  Oops!).

 Camden refused to open his eyes...little bugger.

 Getting warm by the fire...

 Candy cane face...

 Our picture on the wall from two(?) years ago!

 Playing with the singing snowman and santa toys...

 Attempt at a family picture...

 The boys were so excited to see the tree up in our house!

I know this isn't a great picture, but I couldn't not post the brotherly love!

I am SO in love with our tree, our candles, our wood stove...the whole Christmas season.  And it's not even December yet!  I guess I'll have a long time to enjoy it!