Birthday, dogs and another crafty thing...

I have a sister who has children with birthdays that fall very close to major holidays. My nephew Aidan's birthday some years falls on Thanksgiving and his sister Bailey's birthday is two days after Christmas. Note to self: If you have a child with a birthday on or very near a major holiday, remember that they still need a special day just for them and to celebrate their birthday first. The mom of these two, my sister, did try and gather the family together before Christmas, but some of the other family were sick and so it was cancelled. Bummer... We did eventually get together and I took my camera.

They have a little toy Pomeranian that Luke loves to squeeze. I'm so afraid he's going to pop the little things head off.

Here is the wreath I made this weekend. I used squares of red felt and hot glued them to a Styrofoam wreath I bought at Joann's. The felt is supposed to look like red roses, but it didn't turn out as well as the picture I saw. This one did take me a while since I had to cut the felt and then do the whole hot gluing thing (which I got a nasty burn and a huge blister from). I hung it on the front door for the picture because I liked the contract of the black, but it hangs on the wall in the front room near the garland I made last week. These are my first valentine's day decorations. They've been kinda fun and I may just make some more. We'll see what next weekend brings.

Had to throw in a picture of my handsome guy getting ready for church this morning. He was too busy eating the cookie I bribed him with to hold still or he might have smiled after I did his hair.

My new addiction

Just before Christmas I happened upon a craft blog called U Create which led me to another craft blog which led me to another and another and another etc...etc. Since then I'm been pathetically hooked to craft blog hopping. It's gotten so bad that I use my lunch hour at work to check on my favorite sights to see what these gals have come up with or happened upon. If only I was so clever! I added a few of my favorite sites over on the right if you want to check them out and be inspired like I have. Here's what I've made so far.

Chris got me a Cricut machine for Christmas. This is the first and only thing I've made with it so far. I haven't had much time but to go over how to run the machine. So, I picked up Valentine paper at Michael's on Saturday and was able to make this in the amount of time Luke napped. Good thing it was 2 hours long. Anyway, I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Another project I did was make a slipcover for my sewing machine. It is now protected from all the dust while it waits for me to use it. This one took me more than 2 hours, but the end product was well worth the time. I made one for my sister, Christina, as well. She got a sewing machine for Christmas and boy is she putting the miles on it. I'll post the awesome bag she made me next time.

I've got some other things I'm going to give a whirl next weekend when I get the time, but for now this is it. I'll keep you "posted", if you don't mind.

Christmas 2009

I should have had the camera out more because I didn't capture much this year.

Luke and Chris previewing the adds for Christmas gifts.

Ward Christmas breakfast - not loving Santa.

Luke always loves cars. He got some from Santa in his stocking.

Chris had some of his family up for Christmas.
Nieces Sydney and Brooke in their beautiful dresses.

Luke got a remote control car from his Grandpa Bill and he loves it.
(it pretty much goes in circles)

What a relief!

Can I just say how glad I am for the holidays to be over? Christmas is my favorite time of year, don't get me wrong, but I also find it very hectic. I barely got any sleep the whole month of December. I was staying up late working on projects and then getting up early to go to work. Weekends I tried to squeeze in as much play time I could with Luke. One Saturday my sister and I baked goodies all day and Luke sat and watched movies. I feel awful when I don't get to spend time with him or if I have to run errands all day and he's in and out of the car constantly which results in a very small nap and no good meals.
Anyways, my goal for next Christmas is to get as much done before the season hits so I can enjoy the holiday. For some reason I can never this never happens, but I've already got ideas of what to make/buy in mind so I'm one step closer!