Almost time!

It is almost time for many things. Baby will be here any day now. And so will 2013. We survived 2012!

The week before Christmas, we got a good dumping of snow, it looked like it was going to be a white Christmas. But a day and a half later, it was gone. The temperature went up, the rain came down and bye-bye snow. So, we had a green Christmas. To look out now, you'd never know!  We always have at least one good storm between Christmas & New Year's, sometimes two. This year is no different!

Our first one was Thursday, the clouds came by and dumped about 10 cm (4ish inches) on us. Just as I had to leave for a Doc's appointment 30 minutes away it started, and it came down fast!!. Thankfully, Mr Man had gotten home from work early as his truck was broken (again) and it had also started earlier where he was, the truck was a quick fix, but he thought the roads were going to be to bad so he quit for the day. So, he was able to drive me to and from my appointment. The Doc said it can literally be any day now!!

Our second storm is today. It started sometime between my 2:15 and 3:35 trips to the loo. At 3:35 it looked like it had been snowing all night, and now at 10:30 AM, it is still going strong. Today is another indoor day as they do not expect it to stop until about 5 PM, dropping another 15 to 20 cm. Thankfully, we live in an apartment, no shovelling except for a small 4 foot deck!

We have both been sick all week, as well, so it has mostly been an indoor week. We managed to get out on Christmas Eve to our parent's but bowed out early at both places due to being tired, and we are not the only ones sick. His whole family caught it, to. On Christmas 'morning', he started poking me at about 2:30 asking if we could get up and unwrap presents now (worse than the kids! At least our nephews, aged 4 and 6, slept until about 8!) I put him off until about 3, then we got up for an hour and opened everything. We got to my Mom's for Christmas dinner, again bowing out early to go home and sleep. His Mom cancelled her Christmas dinner on Boxing day because she was so sick, she had it yesterday instead.

Boxing day I spent in bed, and him on the couch watching back episodes of NCIS. We took a quick (2 hr) spin to the emergency room when my temperature spiked around dinner time, but otherwise spent the day trying to get better. Thursday, the storm hit and we only went out for the Doc's appointment, and he walked to the store to get bread and milk, by this time he was feeling better. Me, not so much.

Friday, we got out to hit some Boxing Day sales, but still I felt like crud, so we were not out long. I got a Sophie Giraffe for baby, though, she was 10 dollars off!! I also spent my gift cards at the book store, I got a new e-reader just before Christmas, so with the cards I got 5 books and a cover for it.

Saturday we went to his Mom's for dinner, then out to get more sales, but we have not much funds so all we got was some scrapbook paper & stickers from Michael's that were 50% off.

And today, he is pretty much all better save for a cough. I am coughing and still stuffy. I am achy due to baby and hoping she comes soon!

Today will be an indoor storm day, I am going to clean a bit and the tree will be coming down. I have a bit of writing to catch up on and then I guess the rest of the day will be dedicated to watching TV and being comfy!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, have a good day!!

~Natasha.

Chocolate Pretzels: A quick Christmas treat

This is something I found last year, I can't remember if it was on Pintrest or Blogger (before Pintrest), but I made them and they ended up being a hit, so I decided to make more this year.

Both last year and this year, I made them while I was baking cookies. This way, I did not have to re-heat the oven. When my last batch of cookies was done, I turned off the oven and slid these in for a few minutes.

I got my pretzels and kisses at the Bulk Barn, a lot of the pretzels were broken, but I managed to get enough for about 40 bites. All you have to do is lay the pretzels out on a pan, then unwrap and put a Kiss (or Hug) on top of each one.

Make sure you have enough pretzels to cover each one (I forgot and when I counted, I had just enough), and then stick them in the oven for a few minutes until the kisses are shiny and starting to melt.Pull them from the oven and quickly stick another pretzel on top (or I have seen some people use a nut, M&M or Smartie instead).

I stuck them in the freezer for a few minutes to quickly set them, but you can either refrigerate or just let them sit on the counter for awhile, as well.

Do not use the microwave for these! I tried last year and they melted unevenly resulting in hard centres so the top pretzel would not squish on.

There you have it, a quick and easy treat that you can whip up when unexpected guests are knocking at your door!

Enjoy!

~Natasha.

Let it Snow!

First large storm of the year, December 19th, 2012.. 

Been snowing for an hour, about 10:30 AM. 

About 1:15 PM

About 2:10 PM

About 4:45 PM, just before sunset. 

Still more to come!!

~Natasha. 

Candy Bouquet

Another Christmas present that I made this year is a candy bouquet. Once again, I got the idea from Pintrest, it came from a blog called Funky Polkadot Giraffe (that is an awesome name for a blog). I made this in half an hour while I had a load of laundry running, so if you need a quick and cheap gift, I recommend it!

I started with a piece of chocolate in a square box. This was for my base.

I flipped it over and using my glue gun, glued a box of Whoppers to make the first side of the vase. This was the easy part.

The opposite side was made with a box of Junior Mints, It was easy getting them on there, but I had to hold both until they dried to make sure they stayed straight upright.

The toughest part was getting the boxes of Glosettes and Good & Plenty in as the sides, trying to squeeze my glue gun inside the vase to get the edges. They are a bit uneven, but it could be worse, I guess :-) 

I asked my recipient about a month before what her favourite bars and boxed candies were. This is what I used when I was picking everything.  Something that was not on her list was the Good & Plenty, but it was the only box that would fit together to make the vase. I got the boxes at the supermarket and the bars below at the dollar store. Except the Caramilk, Rolo and Toblerone, I got two of each. 

The original post said to use your glue gun to glue the stir sticks (I used skewer as I already had them on hand) directly to the bars, I was afraid this would melt them. For some,  I just slid the skewer between the inner and outer wrappers, taping the top and bottom as necessary to keep it from sliding around.

The rest had a fold on the back, so I lifted it and put the skewers under, again, taping as necessary.

I filled my vase with some tissue paper to hold the skewers in place.

And finally, inserted my chocolate bar flowers into the vase! I had to go back and re-tape some bars as the skewers had poked through, as well, I had to cut some skewers as they were to long and sat to high,

All wrapped and ready to go for Christmas day. Hope someone has a huge sweet tooth!!

One more creation down, I only have one more to post and it is a few recipes, yum! Christmas Eve is a week away, and all I have left to do is make a batch of shortbread, one of maple fudge and I am thinking of making another batch of cherry balls, as they seem to be everyone's favourite and the first batch only made just enough to divide up between everyone.

Have a good Monday, everyone!!

~Natasha.

Great Grandma's Brag Board

As I have mentioned before, this Christmas I am attempting at making a lot of my gifts. This is something I decided to make for my Grandmother, since very soon I will be presenting her with her forth Great Grandchild. I took the idea from Pintrest, I very loosely adapted this project.

I started with a piece of wood that I had purchased from a local lumber yard  it cost about 6 dollars and I had them cut it so I had a 2 foot piece, and another chunk that is living in the trunk of my car. Makes the place smell great! :-)

I painted the wood completely black, and dug a few clothespins from my bucket. These I painted as well. This was ten at night, and I didn't have any pink, so I went with purple for the girl, blue for the boys and yellow for a future just in case.

The next day, after they dried, I wrote the kids' names on them with a fine Sharpie. I don't know if it was the paint, or the marker, but I had a hard time with it. The ink kept disappearing, so I had to constantly scribble on a piece of paper to get it back. This is why they look so scribbled and uneven.

As for the board, I set the clothespins on it with pictures clipped to them to measure out where my writing would be. I just freehand wrote 'Great Grandma's Brag Board' in pencil, so it would appear shiny on the black pant.

And then I painted over it; I had to use two coats of paint. After this, I did the edges of the board and let it dry another overnight.

Finally, I glued my clothespins on with my glue gun, putting them in order by age. I got each parent to pick their favourite picture of their little ones for our Grandmother to have on her board, and I just sent them to Wal-Mart for printing.

These are just some prints of Kyristan I had in my desk, I used them for placement purposes.

All that is left is to put something on the back for hanging, and I may have to get my Dad to do that as I am not great at that sort of thing!

So, this wraps up all my Christmas gifts, I have a couple more to post about but this was the final creation. All I have left to do to be prepared is make a batch of shortbread and one of maple fudge, then we can get the show on the road!

I am pretty much prepared for baby, to. Less than three weeks now! I started packing last night and am doing some laundry today, aside from sterilizing some bottles, everything is ready to go!

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

~Natasha.

Christmas Tree

We got our first winter storm today, about 5 cm (2 inches) of snow, and on top of it an hour or two of freezing rain and finally several hours of rain, which is supposed to continue all night and into tomorrow. So, yesterday I bribed Mr. Man with a batch of snickerdoodles to put up the tree. This morning, while it snowed, I decorated.

This is our first Christmas in this apartment, and as you can see the star just brushes the ceiling  My last few places were very high, so I was surprised when he got the tree up and there were only inches between the top and the ceiling! I tried my best to get everything on there this year, because I know for the next few years I may have to forgo my pretty glass ornaments because of curious toddler hands.

I have a lot of baubles that are older than old, given to me by my Mom. This is one that hung on my Grandmother's tree for years. 

These are some more of my Grandmother's ornaments. 

The next two my Mom said were on her tree when she was a kid, so they are from the early to mid 1950s!

This next one was one I picked up at a craft sale about 3 years ago. It was supposed to go home with Kyristan, but never made it there. That year, we had all gone to my parents for Christmas Eve / Morning, so my sister decided not to have a tree. She and Kyristan helped me decorate my tree, I had gotten this as a special ornament for him to put on. 

My Angels are a set of four that I purchased from Avon a few years ago. they are very fragile glass and unfortunately last year I broke the wing off one. I think they are beautiful, especially when the light shines through. 

This is one from my tree when I was a kid. In the 80's there was a TV show called The Wuzzles, my sisters and I each received a ornament for the tree that year. Mine was the Elephant/Kangaroo, who originally came with a candy cane that disappeared soon after. I found this year that he has lost an eye, and I notice now that the painted on kangaroo pocket is mostly worn off. 

Every year, I buy one or two new decorations for the tree. This one is from last year, a mug of Tim's coffee. I bought it because last year was our first Christmas together and the thing we do the most is go to Tim's every weekend morning and people watch. 

This is another new one from last year, and behind it another old one from my Grandmother's tree. The snowflake I bought at a craft show last year. I usually don't buy things I can make myself. I have some of the clay here and planned on making some but never got around to it. 

Another one from my Mom, it hung on our tree when I was a kid...and I noticed today it is a bit broken to. 

This one Kyristan picked out when he was about 18 months old. My first Christmas in my own place. I was babysitting him one day and took him to the dollar store to get decorations, our budget was 10 dollars. I  let him wader the isle and pick 8 boxes (allowing 2 dollars for taxes) of plastic baubles and toys. This is the only one I have remaining because I have given away or tossed the rest as I replaced them with glass decor. It is a memory of that first frugal Christmas and of the older lady that thought K was so cute as he toddled up and down the isle while I said 'just one more!'

These I bought a few years ago at Michael's, I have three. They are porcelain and meant to be decorated to taste with a sharpie. I love the clean white look of them, so I have left them as is. I have had many guests agree.

This is one of two Eeyore's on my tree, both a gift from a good friend.

Another from my Mom, we had oodles of these in three colours hanging on our tree when  I was a kid. At the time I thought they were ugly, but now that there are only about 6 left, I love them and wish I had more!

Another one given as a gift, from way back in 1997 when I was in high school and a Junior Leader with the local Girl Guide group. This was made and given to me by one of my fellow leaders.

And finally my star, another thing picked out by K from my first tree. I have never been able to find anything nicer than it, and when I had lost it last year I actually went out and bought another exactly like it (and twice as much). I found it when we were moving a couple months ago, this is the original  not the replacement. It is wrapped as it has much more sparkles on it.

Another full tree shot, it is kinda looking a little bare in spots, I may have to find some more ornaments! I think maybe because usually it is against the wall, so I only have to decorate the front and sides, this year I had to decorate all the way around since it is out in the open.

The only thing you will not see on my tree is tinsel, I have always hated the stuff. My sisters love it. I lent my tree to my sister about 4 years back and I am still picking the stuff off! Blech!

Hope everyone had a great Monday! Merry (early)Christmas, everyone!! 

~Natasha. 

Nursery

The Nursery is complete! I have been slowly working on it all week (all month, actually) with lots of help from other people. and finally today I finished it.

Time for a tour...here we go!!

Hanging on the door is my bunny, I received her as a gift from an Aunt when I was a kid. Somehow, she survived! And so I thought it would be nice to have her hanging there.

First stop, the dresser/changing table. Above it I have some purple camo butterflies that I bought off eBay. I highly recommend the seller, she was quick and provided a product that was top-notch (and could not be found anywhere else for the price). The dresser has 4 drawers and two cabinets  in the top I have the cloth diapers, the second has 0-6 month onesies and sleepers, the next has extras, as I have lots of wipes, diapers and creams from my shower and samples. And the bottom has stuff that we will not use right away that we were given, some larger diaper covers and toys that were labelled 6 + months. One cabinet has blankets in it, and the other is empty for now, because the laundry basket needed a place to go. It is in front of the door.

To the left is changing supplies, disposable diapers for the first few days, diaper covers that my Mom made, and in the centre some odds and ends for grooming.

To the right, receiving blankets and wipes. And the heater control that has a purple camo spot. :-) The instructions said to put one on the wall for 24 hours to be sure it would not peel off, after the day was up, I stuck it on the heater control.

Next up is the crib, with the letters I made last month, some more butterflies and some stars. The stroller is sitting there for now, but eventually it will move to the car trunk for convenience (since we live on the second floor). Hanging over the crib is a tie blanket I made and two quilts that were given to me by Mr. Man's Mom.

The one on the left was his when he was a baby, I believe she said his Grandmother made it. The one on the right was made by his Mom for baby Salean.

The lovely purple-ish camo curtains that his Mom made for me. I had to go to another city about an hour away, because all they had here was blue, pink, grey, green and turquoise. I wanted a matching crib skirt, but didn't want to go all the way to Fredericton to get the fabric.

Onto the closet. It is a tight squeeze between the blanket chest and the book shelf, but there is no other place for the chest, so it will have to do! I decorated the door with some circles and stars I got with my eBay order. I have lots of clothes for baby on coat hangers and all her pants and a pair of shoes in a hanging closet shoe organizer.

Next is the bookshelf and baskets I had done up. The shelf is from my computer desk, but it take up to much space on top of the desk so for the last few years it has just been a junk catcher. I decided to put it to good use in baby's room. On the door is the diaper bag I was given, and they can't be seen, but in the alcove of the shelf on the floor is the play pen and a plastic container that is for collecting things to give away as baby grows out of them. In it now are  few soothers, because me managed to accumulate about a dozen! I don't think that many is needed!

Close up of the baskets: on the left top is a basket containing hats and mittens and one containing socks. To the right is most of the library I have accumulated. On the bottom left, the outside baskets contain the two knitted sets I was given for baby, the one in the middle is bibs. On the bottom right are toys, one has rattles, the second some stuffed sensory toys and the third teethers, duckies and a cool ball I picked up.

Above the shelf are more stars and another butterfly, and a collage of photos. Baby has lots of cousins (and another on the way, thus the blank photo spot), and I wanted to have her family close by. Also are a few stuffed animals that I had been given or bought and a glass clown that was given to me by her Grandmother (a family tradition).

And finally, for cuteness, I put a few more of my camo spots on the garbage can. I still have oodles of spots, butterflies and stars, but plan on saving them for the next time. Hopefully we will be moving out of an apartment and into a house in a couple of years, so we will need to re-do a toddler room!

The only things I am thinking of adding are a few pictures for the walls, and if I can get it,  small shelf to keep the crystal clown on. I don't want it just laying anywhere in case it gets broken!

I hope you liked the tour, only a few more weeks to go!

Happy Friday, everyone!!

~Natasha,