Posts Tagged ‘ holidays ’

Preparing for Halloween

October 25, 2011
Preparing for Halloween

We carved three of the five pumpkins we bought at Whistling Well. The big kids drew their designs in dry erase marker and Mark carved them. He did Ellie’s himself. The big kids gutted their own pumpkins too, after only a little protesting by Grace. Ellie helped throw the guts in the garbage for Grace, who was across the table from the trash can. Grace took a bowl full of seeds out to the woods and “planted” them. We’ll see if we end up with anything next year. We also got all the kids’ costumes. We bought Connor’s this...

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Personalized glass Christmas ornaments

December 6, 2010
Personalized glass Christmas ornaments

Everyone in my family has a green glass bulb ornament with their name on it in silver glitter. My mom got these from a catalog when I was little for the four of us in my immediate family. When I moved out, my parents gave me all the ornaments that were somehow or another “mine,” including my name ball. When I got married, my husband got his own name. You can see how faded mine has become when compared to his. Each new child meant a new name ornament. The kids love putting these on the tree. As I...

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O Christmas tree, how lovely your tradition

November 28, 2010
O Christmas tree, how lovely your tradition

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, How lovely are your branches! O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, How lovely are your branches! In beauty green will always grow Through summer sun and winter snow. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, How lovely are your branches! O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, You are the tree most loved! O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, You are the tree most loved! How often you give us delight In brightly shining Christmas light! O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, You are the tree most loved! O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, Your...

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Celebrating Halloween early is just plain wrong

October 29, 2010
Celebrating Halloween early is just plain wrong

Because Halloween is on a Sunday this year, I’ve heard even more talk than usual about when to celebrate. When I was a kid, trick-or-treating happened at nightfall on Oct. 31 in your own neighborhood. There was no question of doing it any other way, that I can remember. When I move to Wisconsin in 2002, I encountered “trick-or-treating hours.” The cities there (most of them anyway) have a set time frame for trick-or-treating. This year in Eau Claire it is 5:30 to 8 p.m. I learned Tuesday that Harrisburg, Pa., celebrates Halloween on Thursday no matter what day...

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Zoo Boo was exhausting

October 24, 2010
Zoo Boo was exhausting

I was going to blog about Zoo Boo at Como Park tonight but I’m just too exhausted. “What are you talkin’ about Ma? I’m still wide awake.”

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Gifts for infants: Beyond bibs and booties

December 18, 2009
Gifts for infants: Beyond bibs and booties

But if you have infants to buy for, either for their birth or Christmas, here are some things that have caught my eye lately.

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Personalized Christmas ornaments

December 14, 2009
Personalized Christmas ornaments

I’m piggybacking on Missy’s post about personalized Christmas ornaments today. (Don’t worry, Ellie’s birth story is coming soon.) I love Christmas ornaments that have meaning to them, whether they are something a kid made, something that signifies a hobby we enjoy, something bought at a special place, or something with our names/pictures on them. You won’t find any plain colored glass balls on our tree. I have a cross-stitched ornament for each year until I got married. Each one represents what I was into that year or something new I did, like beginning piano lessons or taking my first...

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Dear Santa (wordless Wednesday)

December 9, 2009
Dear Santa (wordless Wednesday)

A lot of bloggers post a picture on Wednesday for a feature called Wordless Wednesday. No words isn’t usually my thing but today I’m going for it. I have too many words in my head for any of them to bubble to the surface. So, here’s your Wordless Wednesday:

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A last-minute St. Nick’s Day

December 7, 2009
A last-minute St. Nick’s Day

So after spending hours on Friday writing and reading about stocking stuffers, did I make sure we had enough stocking stuffers for St. Nick’s day, which was yesterday? Nope, never even crossed my mind. We didn’t celebrate this holiday growing up so I rely on Mark to remind me about it. Which usually happens about 10 p.m. Dec. 5. I thought I had some small items in the box of gifts for the kids but neither of us wanted to go to the garage to get them. After church and a lunch at Baja Sol yesterday, I pulled out...

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Tigger and Pooh trick-or-treat

November 13, 2009
Tigger and Pooh trick-or-treat

Halloween was more than just one day around here. First we went to the pumpkin patch Then went to a Halloween party at church Then carved pumpkins And finally went trick-or-treating. We went down a couple of block near the governor’s mansion. Everyone in the neighborhood had decorated houses, lots of carved pumpkins and was really into the spirit of Halloween. There were lots of other kids around too, which makes it more fun. Our kids had a blast and eventually got to the point where they could go up to the doors without us and say “trick or...

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