:)

Merry Christmas

From Us to You

I Fixed The Train

I fixed the train under the tree.  No more Thomas the Train music and it works like new.  In fact, I would say that it works TWO TIMES better then new.  All I needed was a little help from Arthur and Ben.

Arthur is the red one.

One again Amazon and Thomas the Train accessories have come together to save me dollars.  If you haven't figured it out yet, I bought two new trains.  They were $6 each with free shipping through Amazon Prime.  Can't beat a deal like that.

Ben is the yellow one.

Each engine came with a car.  We like to put bells and mini-ornaments in them.  The great thing about these trains is that I flip the switch on top and they go without a remote control that plays music and other noises.  They do "chug chug" along.  If we want quiet play, they are designed to be played with without turning them on.  Maybe that way there is less of a chance of them breaking later on.

There was one more change to the train track.  I moved it from around the tree to in front of the tree.  The kids kept crawling behind the tree to play and I was freaked out by that.  Not because I thought the tree might fall over. there is a daddy long legs back there.  Every time I return with the vacuum to suck it up, he has hidden somewhere.  He is also the biggest long legs that I have ever seen.  Now I haven't seen him for a couple of days.  I hope none of us have an extra surprise in our presents.

Gingerbread House

Every year Grandma gives us chocolate advent calendars and a gingerbread house to put together.  It's normally the house you see at Michaels or the grocery store.  I think Costco even has it.  

This year Grandma went to Trader Joe's.  Chocolate advent calendars are basically the same where ever you go and loved by all children.  Chocolate every day until Christmas!  

But oh, the gingerbread house is way cute.

It's base on a German A-frame house.  In my opinion, the Germans really know how to do Christmas.  I don't know if that is because the first Christmas that I can remember I was living in Germany at the time or because the Germans are really that good.

Everything you see here came in the kit.  I only had to add an egg and some vinegar to mix up the "sticky" frosting.  I thought it was interesting that it called for vinegar to make the powered sugar and egg mixture sticky.  I had never done that before, but it was the best gingerbread house glue I had ever used.

Here is BG's side.  She took her time, picked out her colors, and made it pretty.

Here is LG's side.  She went crazy and couldn't put the candies on fast enough. 

This was the most fun gingerbread house that we had ever put together.  I think it was the kids, not the house that did it.  BG did most of the gluing and building.  I did the fancy frosting work that you see in the front and the tree.  BG is starting to get her crafter's hand and I think next year I will be strictly supervising the two girls putting together their own house.

After the house was all put together, I set it up on the entry table by our front door.  I thought that this would be the best place because it's the least accessible to LG, even though the house is on a low sitting table.  You see, we have a baby-proofing gate that blocks not only the staircase, but the downstairs bath and the front door.  Normally every time the gate is left open, LG charges for the staircase or the front door if it is also open.  Lately, she charges for the gingerbread house.

There are no more gummy candies left on the house.

Christmas Cards

Our little fireplace has had some upgrades since the last time I posted a picture of it. 

Garland- I couldn't help myself.  There's glitter in it.  Enough said.  I also picked up a matching wreath for the front door. 

The Picnic Table- You can just see it in the bottom left corner.  I brought it inside to be the "kids table" at Thanksgiving.  LG loves having this table in the house.  The rocking horse has just been moved to by the breakfast bar.

For a few months now, LG has not wanted to sit in her highchair.  I bought the one I bought because it's highchair that can be scooted up to the table with out the tray and then we wouldn't need to buy a booster seat.  I try to seat her that way and eat with her, but that is working less and less.  We get nervous about her sitting in a chair or on the bench.

Now she eats every meal at the picnic table.  Unless I'm at the big table and then she'll want to sit with me.  My solution to that is eating at the picnic table with her.  I'm really glad I put a sturdier seat on the table, but it is just too small for an adult to sit and eat.  We are going to have to come up with something else soon.LG just really wants to be where the family is. 


Finally,

Our Christmas Cards- A friend of mine has this great Fiskevik from Ikea in her house.  She displays her childrens' artwork on it.  I so want one.  I thought it would be perfect for putting the holiday cards up over our empty mantel.  My trip to Ikea got canceled when the family trip to the zoo was canceled.  Since they are both near each other in San Diego. 

Then I thought up this idea and it only cost $0.  I cut strips of ribbon and hung them to the wall with thumb tacks.  I wasn't going for pretty.  Then I hot glued the cards to them. 

I normally have more cards by this time of year?  So if you haven't sent my your card yet, please do.  I have a cool way of displaying it.

-Yes, the stockings are off centered.  Writing this I noticed that the tree has been pushed away from them.  Normally it's in front of the fireplace filling up all that empty space.

Owl Cowl

I finished the Owl Cowl that I swatched in October, but still need to write up the pattern.  I couldn't wait that long to share the pictures.  

I wasn't sure if I should add buttons for the eyes.  What do you think?

While browsing Ravelry I have seen some knitters add button to just one owl on the sweaters.  I guess if I find some buttons that go perfectly with the yarn I'll add them to one of the owls.  Then the cowl would have a defined front, but it may make it more obvious that it's an owl.

It's nice and cozy; knit in Malabrigo Worsted.  It is a good yarn to keep the cowl from collapsing on itself.  I did notice that it scrunches up in the center where the cables are.  Then lays flat again along the border pattern.  The better to keep you warm I guess.

This blue cowl is a gift that has already been wrapped and delivered, but is local in case I find buttons.  I want to knit another for me in a funner color.  I'm thinking Green Apple.

Thomas the Train

About four years ago DH picked up a Thomas the Train set on the last minute, deeply discounted, just barely enough time before Xmas sale on Amazon.  We pull it out each year to play with it and the rest of the time it sits in it's box waiting for next year. 

Last year we put it under the tree.  Thomas had been played with enough that he wasn't working so well.  We taped a bunch of silver dollars to weigh the engine down in hopes that it would get better traction on the track.  That kinda worked, but not really.

This year we learned that toys don't fix themselves while packed up and sitting in the garage.

BG suggested a complete clean out because she could see stuff wrapped around the axles inside the engine.  I've done that a million times with the vacuum cleaner so I figured it was a really good idea.  Then I took Thomas the Train completely apart. 

There was a little bit of stuff stuck in there.  There was also a moment when I wasn't sure if all the King's Horse and all the King's Men would be able to put Thomas together again. 

After being put back together, Thomas worked great for about fifteen minutes and went back to getting stuck in various spots around the tree.  Normally in the back. 

We will still pull him out every year.  It really is more for show than a toy.  Especially when it plays the Thomas the Train Theme song the entire time it is running.  One can only take so much of that.

The Big Tree

Now that all the rest of you are putting up your Christmas decorations, here is our big tree.  It looks just like it did last year.  You know why?  Because I bought a fake tree.

I don't have anything against going with the real stuff.  Except I don't like dropping that amount of money on something I'm going to throw away two weeks later, and I have to put all the lights on and off, and flocking costs extra, and I have to remember to water it.

I don't have anything against real trees, but my sinuses have a serious issue with them.   At least that is what my allergist told me.

I really love my tree and all it's glittery everything.  There is glitter on the tree, ornaments, floor.  This year I didn't put up any of the glass ornaments.  Even with the child gate up I didn't want to risk one breaking and feet getting cut.  It gave me an excuse to buy more of the 4/$1 glittery snowflakes at Target. 

I found a great wreath for our front door that matches.  It's also fake, so I can reuse it until the color fades.

Sometimes I feel bad for DH having to live in a house fill with all our girlyness.  But then I look at all the glitter and completely forget about him.