Just call me Mrs Claus

I love Christmas!

I mean I really love it!!  Like, get giddy when I think about it sort of love!

This year I especially love it.  Maybe it is my new surroundings or the fact that I have a wonderful family and friends that I just can’t wait to spend extra time with. Or maybe it is the fact that I am ULTRA prepared for it with all my presents beautifully wrapped and made, just waiting to be distributed.  I love being prepared. Just look at my pretty tree.

It has been for 2 weeks now and has so far survived Tanner.  He doesn’t even go for unwrapping the presents either.  He just picks them up and says how pretty they are, then puts them down (sometimes in different locations around the house).

I usually do a pretty good mix of homemade and store bought presents.  This year I feel I have really outdone myself.  I won’t give away ALL of my secrets because some of my friends and family who read this will be the lucky recipients of these presents but I did some pretty awesome homemade with LOVE gifts.

I got some freezer meal ideas from the Fabulessly Frugal website!  AWESOME!  I honestly felt like I had invented the wheel and wondered why I haven’t always done freezer meals.  A friend from high school also has a bunch of really great freezer meal recipes HERE on her blog that I just can’t wait to try now!  Of course I had to try some of the recipes out before gifting them.  Here is the Ham and Cheese Braid…DELICIOUS!!

 

I also made these little gems- Homemade Brownie mix in a Jar.  I think they are so cute!

 

Whether buying or making your presents, I hope your holiday preparations are going just as well!!

Merry 11 days till Christmas!!

My Munchkins

I realize it has been entirely too long since I had a good old post just featuring pictures of 2 out of the 3 of my favorite people on the entire planet.  (Paul just isn’t as fun to photograph while he is wearing a tutu or mis-matched shoes)  Without further ado…my beautiful babes:

 

Adventures in Eating!!

 

So Happy

 

Concentration

 

 

He wears this around and says “SUPER BABY!!” (notice a horse in each hand)

 

 

Just playing (again..the horsey)

 

 

Graduation board!

 

 

AHHHH!!

 

 

My boy

 

 

Getting sleepy in her jumper.

 

Hand me downs for Emmy Lu that Tanner couldn’t resist trying on.

 

  

Makes my heart melt.  So much love I could just explode!!!

Where did November go??

Seriously….wasn’t it just Halloween.  According to my posts- apparently it was.  I guess things have been more than busy around here.  I think I just kept waiting for the “summer rush” to settle down and it never did.  Between the 3 weddings in Sept, 1 in Oct, buying a house, hunting season-which is 3 weekends in November and Thanksgiving, our lives remain as hectic as they were in August.  Weird…or maybe not for a young ambitious family of 4.  Here’s a rundown of our lives since I last wrote. 

House stuff-

It is going great having our own house.  I really love it.  My redecorating really stalled out over 3 weeks of having company but has plans of getting back on track the next 2 weeks.  My mom and I are going to attempt to tile my backsplash.  I have complete faith that I have watched enough HGTV to accomplish this task successfully :)

 

Kid Stuff-

Emmy Lu turned 5 months old on Sunday.  Time is flying!!  She is happy, relaxed and cute.  She still won’t take a bottle but I have resigned to the fact that she will go straight from nursing to sippy cup.  We’ll just skip the whole bottle thing.  Tanner is doing great too.  He is such a big boy and is talking ALL.THE.TIME.  I think it might be a first born thing but he is very vocal and has a vocabulary the is off the charts.  He knows most of his alphabet and shapes and we are working on his numbers and colors.  We are starting Spanish around here too so hopefully my little amigo will pick that right up.

 

On-the-go and company-

During the month of November we hosted many many people for MN deer hunting season.  Yes my family hunts…but it is more about the company then the actual hunt I feel.  Seeing as we only got one deer yet went through countless cases of beer…I would say I know where the priority lies.  One weekend I had 22 people at my house for the weekend.  I did lots of cooking (which lucky for them all I LOVE to do).

We went down to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving.  I had originally planned on staying home but at the last minute we decided to go spend it with my family that I had just seen for 3 weeks straight (good thing I love them or I might get sick of them…)  I had my first Black Friday shopping experience that got cut short by Miss Emmy Lu who needed me to come home and feed her.  On Black Friday we also did our annual cookie bake.  This year we made over 15 types of cookies….which equaled A LOT, A LOT of cookies.  We give them to neighbors and friends and of course take some home for ourselves.

We helped my nephew Caiden celebrate his 1st birthday last weekend too.  He is a cute, happy little guy that Tanner just LOVES!  After coming home Tanner walks around looking for his cousins saying- “Caiden? Jada? Niya?”  Poor little guy gets lonely.

 

Soo that’s a quick rundown of my last month.  I have been quite the busy momma.   Hope you are surviving the start of the holiday season..I hope to write more frequently in December.

Mommy's Little Creatures

This year the kids dressed up like a bee and a dragon. We walked next door to my aunt and uncle's house for their first trick-or-treating experience. I think Tanner liked it. He may or may not have had a supper consisting of two bites of lasagna, a kit kat, a butter finger and a sucker. Oh well..he loved it and its only once a year.

Welcome Home

We have been living in our new house for 1 full week and are loving it. So far my mom and I have painted the kitchen, started converting a closet to an office nook and gave the bathroom a mini make-over. The house was my grandma and grandpa's house (my dad's parents) so it is in GREAT shape. It just needs to be personalized and decorated by a 28 year old rather than a 73 year old. (even though my grandma is the most "with-it" 73 year old I know). I will post before and after pics side by side once I have some more afters BUT for now here is a photo of our new place.

Side Note: Paul is in LOVE with our land. WE have 40 wooded acres that he has been busy scouting and puttng up his deer stands.

We feel so lucky to have our new house.

Blog hiatus

I have been on a blogging hiatus recently.  For one reason it is because we are very busy up here in North Country.  Paul and I close on a house tomorrow morning @ 9 30 and we have been working on that, prepping to move, etc. 

Another reason I just haven’t been blogging as much is because of my computer screen.  Tanner stepped on my laptop and put a nice crack in it.  Thank goodness I have a wide screen though because at least I have a few inches of working screen left to work with.  We are hoping to get that fixed soon.

I realized I haven’t put any pictures of our new house up and will get to that very soon.  I also have some big plans for the space so get prepared for some awesome before and after decorating pictures.  The home will be “Heidifide” by X mas.  At least that is my goal.  Gotta get my painting, construction, and sewing skills ready for these projects.

Stay tuned…

Talking up a storm

Tanner is quite the vocal little toddler.  I started writing down his vocabulary to count how many words he knew but stopped @ about 80 because the kid seems to add new words every day. 

I love love LOVE his little voice.  He reminds me everyday with his actions that he is a big boy and not a baby.  (Except for maybe when Emmy Lu is napping and he lets me cuddle and rock him).

 

This morning he topped the cutness charts before 7:30 am.  He gets up off my lap, walks to the fridge and says:

“Mama milk please”

which actually sounds like-

“Mama milt pee” But I knew what he meant.  He knows how to melt my heart.

 

I also may have created a monster who can get WHATEVER he wants from anyone.  Instead of the typical toddler whine or scream when they need help or want something, I taught Tanner how to say “Help please.”

I don’t know how many times a day he looks up with his baby blues and says “Help pee”..even if it is with something naughty or that he is not supposed to have.  Hard to resist that. 

Yep, I’ll keep ‘em

I love these little people!!

Emmy Lu 3 Months old

Tanner 18 Months Old

Tanner's Family and Friends

I am ADDICTED to Shutterfly. Here is a photo book I made for Tanner so he could learn the names and faces of people in our family. I didn't have pictures of EVERYONE but got as many as I could find. He loves it and goes for this book every night @ story time.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Family is like Fudge…

Mostly sweet with a few nuts!! 

Boy oh boy do I love my family, and fudge as long as I brought it up.  Nuts and all!!! 

Some of the crew was up visiting, playing and helping with some Fall projects this weekend.

It really fills my love tank having all my people around me.  LOVE LOVE LOVE having them around.

 

Jada and Emmy Lu

Savannah and Tanner (who is a little distracted by the TV here)

 

Saniya and the Bumbo that she fits in

 

Makayla and her sweet kicks…I don’t get it.  I must be getting old.

 

Cousin Love!!

 

Taking out the dock….BRRR.  Glad I was the photographer.

 

Playing outside

 

Savannah riding the fourwheeler around the yard after a lesson from Grandpa.

 

All ready to watch Daddy and the guys sight in their guns

 

Jessica and Makayla…loving the wheelers.

Boys being boys….

and one bad-ass chick!!

 

Yep..he’s a boy..LOVES anything with wheels already.

  

Makayla waiting for a ride.

I found an tote full of my old toys in my parents garage.

 

Remember any of these…Lil’ Miss Makeup, Trolls and my beloved Teddy Ruxpin.

Jada was channeling her inner Fresh Prince.

 

Enjoying the sun!!

Playing catch

 

What a great way to spend a weekend huh?? 

 

Moments like these are the ones to live for.