Ornamentation

My first Christmas at the Tedesco house, I was thrilled to see that Jason had a medallion ornament with his fourth grade (I think?) picture on his parent's tree that almost matched the one from my parent's tree. I don't think I had seen any pictures of him from when he was school-aged before I saw that ornament. Wouldn't it be great to have a tree dedicated to just photo ornaments from years past? I am going to try to make some photo ornaments each year for the next few years so that I will have a nice supply for a picture tree. We always just had one Christmas tree growing up, but my mom blew my mind this year by getting not one, not two, but three! trees. Since seeing how festive each tree looks in her house, I've been pondering the idea of getting more than one tree in a few years. (Not this year because we have a busy boy crawling all over the house and our one tree will be placed in our front den with the pocket door safely closed during the day.)  Unpacking ornaments to decorate the tree has always been one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Ornaments that my mom made when we were kids, ornaments that we made when we were kids (Chris made an amazing cyclops gingerbread man when he was five.), ornaments from vacations, our yearly ornaments from my Grandma Dee, they all bring back special memories. One of my favorite types of ornaments are photo ornaments.  I can't think of the last time I looked at a photo album, but I know that every year at Christmas, I cherish seeing my favorite people in our photo ornaments. Pinterest had lots of great ideas for DIY photo ornaments, but I found this site had the best ideas for capturing memories each year. I've already ordered some snowflakes and can't wait to get started making memories.

Also, a few years ago, I got the idea to take all of our photo booth pictures from the last few weddings we had attended and use them in some beautiful snowflake ornaments I bought at Kohl's to give as stocking stuffers to my mom and Jason's mom. The great thing about photo booth pictures are that we are always dressed up for them, the black and white is pretty flattering, and the little pictures are the perfect size for ornaments. Below are two that I gifted my mom and dad for their trees.  We have the one of me biting Jason's leg on our tree because that's a memory I definitely want to relive every year.

 

Wrap It Up

One of the things that I remember most from my first Christmas at the Tedesco house was Jason's mom's signature wrapping style.  Every single edge of wrapping paper was secured with scotch tape so that the same amount of effort that went in to wrapping the present had to go in to opening it too. With every present I successfully opened, I felt not only gratitude but also a sense of accomplishment.

Now that I am a mom, I've been thinking about developing my own signature wrapping style. I know some families use a different wrapping paper for each family member at Christmas, and I've seen other people get real fancy with lace. I think I've found something much simpler. For Father's Day, I used wrapping paper scattered with Happy Birthday in different fonts, but of course, I took the time to write "Father's" over every "Birth" in a black Sharpie. Then, when Maggie's birthday came around, I pulled the Sharpie out again to personalize her paper with an inside joke about our new favorite board book.  So when my sister and I were perusing the wrapping section at Target looking for Christmas tags last weekend, I was immediately drawn to this craft paper, and I think it's going to be my new signature style. Perfect for personalizing with Sharpies and stamps and paint and whatever else I have around at the time, every bow and ribbon will always match, and I'll never need tags. I bought every roll they had.

Also, although I love shopping for and wrapping presents, I look forward to the day when I'm a great grandma and can assign shopping and wrapping duties to the grandkids. Thanks for the PJs, Grandma Cil!

A Perfect Way to Start the Week

I have a family member (who shall remain nameless) who likes to ask one particular question at annual  Christmas soirées upon meeting someone for the first time. It's a highly personal and very technical question that garners immediate scrutiny and judgement upon the answerer. Because I know many of you are working hard and might be struggling to answer questions of what to give, what to bake, what to wear, what to bring and don't need so much added pressure this Christmas, I'm presenting the question here for your prior consideration just in case it comes up at your next shindig. 

That question is: What are your top five all-time favorite, must-watch Christmas movies? 

Mine, in a very particular order, are as follows:

1. Love Actually
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (I've been told that only full-length, non-animated movies are accepted when answering the question at parties, but I don't care. I love this movie enough to break that rule.)
3. Elf
4. The Family Stone
5. Home Alone

Feel free to scrutinize and judge. I'm fully prepared to defend myself over a glass of wine and some appetizers. And if you're up to it, leave your own favorites in the comments. I'd love to see some other lists and scrutinize from the comfort of my couch.

Also, just remember, "If you want more, if you want more, more, more. Jump."

Happy Monday! I hope your week is filled with answers to all your questions and many reasons to jump... for my love!

Symbiosis

After an entire morning of battling Will to wipe his nose and reminding Lola, "No lick," I started wondering if I just let both of them be, would an acceptable (if not somewhat gross) symbiosis come about? I have tried tissues, warm wet washcloths, burp cloths, my fingers (such a glamorous life, I lead), and the kid just does not want his nose wiped. Depending on how naps go today, I might be tempted to let Lola just go for it.

Also, I googled "wiping baby's nose" this morning because I really do need some reinforcement, and I learned wiping down will help get more out of the nose and avoid chapped cheeks and using nipple cream can help with any chapping that does occur. And now, I am done writing the grossest post yet.

Looking Forward

There are days in the winter (I know it's not technically winter, but it's only going to be seven degrees tonight... so...) when I just CANNOT get warm no matter what. Jason worries that there is something wrong with me because of course, he is just lounging in shorts, warm and comfy, while I am wearing three layers and a blanket, shivering. Over the last few winters, in order to try to make me more comfortable (and save on heating), he has bought me a heated blanket and Hot Booties, but what I've found works best is flannel. After nights and nights of warming my icy feet on Jason's leg for minutes and minutes before finally getting back out of bed (Is there anything worse than having to get out of bed when you are already cold?) to put socks on, I finally remembered to put our flannel sheets on the bed, and oh my is it cozy and warm again. I know many people dread the cold dark season of winter, but there really is so much to which to look forward. Now that I am warm enough to keep my fingers outside of the covers, I'd like to share all that I am looking forward to...

Seeing: which toys William really gets into playing with after Christmas morning. The kid has been equally amused by his music table and a kitchen spoon.

Hearing: first words.

Tasting: tacino, lumpia, siapao, and adobo.  Over the year's, Jason's mom has trained me up to want and cook Filipino food at Christmas.  Last year, we made it for Christmas Eve, and this year we are planning to do the same. 

Feeling: warm inside when it's icy outside.

Smelling: our little family's first live Christmas tree. We're going to pick one out the weekend right before Christmas.

Drinking: Tall Caramel Brulee lattes with one and half pumps (that's half the normal amount) of syrup. Forget Pumpkin Spice. These are where it's at.

Wearing: flannel shirts under grandpa sweaters and puffy vests, basically my day to day momiform.

Reading: The Dinner, The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, and The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic. Copies of all three have not only been recommended but also given to me over the last week, and winter is the perfect time to snuggle up and enjoy a good book. If you are looking for a rec, my favorite book of 2013 was Where'd You Go Bernadette. I read it during the summer, but I actually think it'd be a great winter read.

Watching: Elf, The Holiday, The Family Stone, The Grinch, and Love Actually at home and any movie in a movie theater.  Such a luxury these days, but Jason and I are going to make it happen. 

Playing: in our bright new playroom all winter long. Play dates are welcome! 

Making: crocheted baskets.  I have the supplies, but I need my mom to help me get started. I know we'll find the time this winter. 

Also, MOST OF ALL, I'm joyfully expecting the celebration of the birth of Jesus and taking time to let my heart prepare Him room... and heaven and nature sing. 

(This post inspired a bit by Pip. )