Merry Christmas!!

Alright- I had a few more posts I had wanted to squeeze in before Christmas but I think this is going to be the last so that I can focus on other things... I think.  :-)

This is our Christmas card this year and I want to share this Christmas love with all of you- my wonderful and loyal readers!  Whether you are new or old to my blog, I appreciate each and every one of you and all the comments you generously send me!  Everytime I receive a comment email it makes my day and helps me feel like I am getting to know you all just a little bit better. 

You have been with me through thick and thin, plentiful and poor, and I can honestly say, have probably seen a more revealing side of me than maybe even some of those who I know IRL (although, some of you I do know IRL- so I guess you guys just have me on overload!).

I love you all and appreciate your friendship!

Have the Merriest of Christmases this year!  

Focus on Jesus, because nothing else really matters!

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

My 2010 Christmas List

Let me just preface this list by saying it's a dream list and I have no prospects or expectations of receiving most (or any) of it.  This year I truly am thankful to just have a roof over my head and that fact that blogging actually allowed me to get gifts for my kids.  Alright, with that said I give you...

The Mama Kenz Christmas List 2010

1-  iPad. Hmmm... Well that's a no brainer!  Every day I find new reasons why I want need an iPad.  Here are just a few:

1. I'm the Head Mama of Gabby Moms- the new blogging program for TEACH Magazine- and it's a LOT of work!  An iPad would make it much easier for me to get my work done and stay in contact with the Moms and my wonderful fellow staff at TEACH!
2. I'm a blogger!  Hello!  Enough said.
3. I'm a homeschooler and I work with a lot of downloadable curriculum (especially in my reviews for Heart of the Matter).  Being able to use iBook to read PDFs and show them to Rhythm would be HUGE for us! So helpful!  I can't even imagine!
4. I'm a blogger
5. I'm not a big fan of the calendar on my iPhone and have had my eye on this app that syncs with google for months!  I get all googly eyed about it!  (Haha- googly eyed for google!  I kill myself!)
6. I'm a reader!  I would love to start simplifying my book stash to ebooks and many of the blogging book review programs I work with are starting to offer ebook formats.  I would save time, money and I'd be able to read while nursing in the dark!  AND my books would sync with my iPhone!  What is that, like, a quintuple score?!?!
7. I'm a blogger.... :-)... But that also means I read blogs which would also be easier with the iPad.
8. My computer is completely running out of space and outdated and I think that most of what I do could be conducted on the iPad for much less money than buying a new computer right now.
9. I am beginning to teach childbirth and postpartum classes and it would be great to not only keep my notes on my iPad but all my Keynote presentations to deliver to my classes!  See all the business potential here?!
10. They are just plain and simple the coolest piece of technology to come into existence in the last 30 years!

Hmmm... So maybe this post would have been better titled "Top 10 Reasons I Need an iPad!".

I like to tell myself that the real reason I won't be receiving one this Christmas is not because we are dead broke and couldn't afford it if we tried, but actually because I am patiently waiting for the second model to hit the market since it's sure to have major upgrades in memory and capabilities, not to mention a front facing camera for video chat, bug fixes and a likely lower price.  So yeah.  If you couldn't tell, I want an iPad.

2.  As long as we're talking about things I am REALLY not going to get, I might as well throw it out there that I would LOVE a Canon Rebel T2i!!  And Photoshop Elements!  Costco has a great package with lenses and everything!  It would be so nice to be able to take really awesome photos of the kids and take my blogging photos up to the next level.  *Sigh* Someday.

3.  Clothes!  Most of my wardrobe still consists of the fashions I was wearing in college, which just don't exactly speak to the style I would like to think I currently have!  I would specifically love a couple of pairs of leggings and pretty much anything from Down East Basics or Ann Taylor Loft.

4.  Books!  Here is my basic list-

Under a Maui Moon by Robin Jones Gunn (the first of the two books my favorite author came out with this year!)

Christy Miller's Diary by Robin Jones Gunn (and the second!)

Nowhere, Carolina by Tamara Leigh (I reviewed the first in this series earlier this year and really enjoyed it!  I wold love to read the second installment)

The Backyard Homestead (a cool book I just came across, all about producing your own food even if you don't have much land.  Kind of cool.)

Deceptively Delicious and Double Delicious by Jesssica Seinfeld (I have checked the first one out from the library before and we really liked it!  Great ideas!)

and lastly (for now)- Birthing from Within (which I need for the Childbirth classes I'm teaching)

5.  Curriculum- I know it seems silly, but I would really love to get Galloping the Globe so that I could start slowly working on preparing for kindergarten.

6.  A profession blog makeover!  I would love one by Graphically Designing, but am also well aware that I will never be able to afford one.  A girl can dream!

Alright- I'll stop myself there!  What are you wishing for this Christmas?!

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Christmas Cookies!

Well, this is definitely one time that I really wished I would have been able to use my BOSCH!!  However, I was at my mother's house when we made the dough for our butter cookies, and as many of you know my cookie paddles had a bit of a mishap so I wouldn't have been able to use my BOSCH if I had been home anyway.  (although my replacement paddles should be here soon!)

What a ham!  He can't even bake cookies without trying to get attention!

So, we ended up mixing the cookie dough by hand!  Ugh!  Well, to be fair, I should be honest and say my mom pretty much did the mixing, but I empathized with her and took care of two crazy boys while she did it, so that has to count for something!

Once we got that done we were so exhausted that we only baked one batch!  Haha!  However, she did send me home with a bunch of dough to toll out when I was feeling more up to it.  So, over the weekend I finally went for it and cut out and baked Christmas cookies with the boys!

My little kitchen helpers!

Can I just say I am really glad that nobody ended up with a concusion from all the swinging around of the rolling pin they were doing?!  Seriously!  Eventually we did get all the dough (that didn't end up getting eaten raw) cut into festive Christmas shapes and for that one night they were glorious and delicious.

I did throw them into ziplock bags however that caused them all to taste like plastic by the next day, so their scrumptiousness was short lived.  Hey I tried!

He had to get his apron on!

Next year I will definitely be employing the use of my BOSCH Universal Plus Mixer with the cookie paddles to make a much bigger batch, and hopefully assortment, for the Christmas season!  Maybe next year we will even get around to frosting them (which my husband prefers, and though it does make them prettier, I actually like them plain!  So, nanny, nanny booboo!).

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Beautiful Christmas Cards with little work for you!

Every year I love figuring out my Christmas cards, and most years I design them myself.  However, this year, since I seem to have my hands so full with the boys and I am in the middle of writing a novel, I thought it might be nice to have someone else do all the work.

I have always had my hesitancy about pre-made card templates, though, because they typically all look the same and don't have any place to add a little annual update letter, which I always like to include.  With all of that in mind, I was very pleasantly surprised by Shutterfly's Folded Christmas Photo Cards!  They actually have a plethora of unique designs with lots of space to write, which is just perfect for our little family!  I am so over joyed to take out so much of the work!

My favorite design is this one.  Or wait- maybe it's this one.  Scratch that- this one is the coolest!  Or... I don't know!  There are so many choices!

While I am over there I just might pick up a couple of their desk calendars as gifts for the grandparents.  These calendars are sweet and, once again, unlike others I've seen, and of course Nana and Grandma would adore them!

We were hoping to be moved by the holidays and through a big winter bash at our new place in the woods, but since that doesn't look like it is happening quite as soon as we thought we might still be able to have our party come January.  If that is the case, I would love to send out some of these cute invitations!

What are you planning for your Christmas Cards this year?

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

My Christmas Card to All of You!

As I am preparing to send out our Christmas cards I thought I would post one to all of you!  I greatly appreciate all of my readers and consider you my friends!  Thanks for all your support and I am looking forward to bringing you fun new giveaways, how-tos and even a super secret new blog in the coming year! 

Merry Christmas!

Mama's Holiday Wish List Meme!

 Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year? 

It is kind of a tough year this year, so I am not really expecting much of anything.  I am hoping to get a grain mill to mill our own wheat (I have been trying to make our own bread lately and would like to continue to do so).  Ultimately I would love to get a Vitamix Blender, but I know that isn't going to happen (but maybe at the fair next year if things are going better!). 

I need new socks underwear and a haircut, but those sound pathetic to put on my wish list, so scratch that.  I would really love to get this set of books and DVDs and this book from the Simply Charlotte Mason website about early childhood learning, the Charlotte Mason Method and establishing habits in your kids and yourself.

I would also like to get the Duggar's book and a Message/NIV Parallel Bible.  So, yeah, I think that is about it.  I am sure I could come up with a lot more, but those are things that come to mind that even if I don't get for the actual Christmas holiday I hope for us to be able to afford in the early part of the new year.

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? 

Hmmmm... I am trying to think of one I have received.  I got some cute fabric coasters from my sister-in-law a few years ago.  Those were nice.  Yup, I think that's it.

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? 
A few years ago I bought the fabric to make bags and notebook covers and I was also going to include aprons, homemade bath products and knitted wash cloths- they all have yet to be made.  Maybe someday!  I would also really like to make quilts, but I think that will happen many years from now when I have more time and space!

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? 

I received a new Cabbage Patch Doll every year and loved EVERY one of them!  I would set up my whole little Cabbage Patch family and take pictures and everything!  I LOVED those dolls!

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year? 
R-Man wants just about everything he sees!  Mostly he wants trucks, construction equipment and legos.  I would like to get him some books and games so that we can start having family game nights. 

For Lion Cub I hope to mostly get clothes and diapers, I mean what does a 6-month-old really need anyway, especially when he has all of his brother's old toys to play with?!

6. What is your favorite holiday food? 

We have BBQ crab every year for Christmas Eve dinner with my family and it is to die for!  I wait all year for it!  I will have to post the recipe for you all because you simply haven't lived until you have had this crab!


I also have a minimal obsession with my grandma's popcorn balls and suckers!  They are sooooo good!  In fact, I should go call her right now so we can plan a date to make them!

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays? 
I am considering making a few simple things (which I can't really post because the people I will be giving them to read my blog! :-) ), but it is really going to depend on how much time I have (Lion Cub makes everything more difficult right now) and if we have the money to buy the ingredients and so forth.  We'll see!

8. What is your favorite holiday movie? 
This is so bad, but growing up my family had a tradition of watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- it is just so stinkin' funny!  We all know all the lines and have a hoot watching it!  We don't watch it with the boys around now though, so alternatively I enjoy the classics, like the Rudolph from the 60s, and The Santa Clause.

9. Favorite holiday song? 
I love Carol of the Bells.  That is a really hard question though because I like so many of them!  I mean it's Christmas music!  What's not to love?!

10. Favorite holiday pastime?
This is a year of lots of new traditions for us.  We are going to do The Jesse Tree Advent countdown, decorate cookies, go look at Christmas lights in our PJs and I am working on more!  I really want to make things special and memorable for our family, especially now that R-Man is getting to the age when he will start remembering the events.  So, any tips or ideas you have would be greatly appreciated!

Christmas already?

Yes, that time of year is rolling around again and as we begin to embark on these months of holidays I am setting out to create new traditions for our family (as we have faced many big changes in recent months) and keep things focused on what really matters. 

In addition, since finances have been tight I am trying to figure out how to bless my family and those around me with gifts from the heart that don't require much cash.  We'll see how that pans out, since those gifts tend to require good bits of uninterrupted time which I do not currently have!  On any hand, I thought I would post the link to a fabulous blog I recently found- Life in Grace.  Edie is hosting a "12 days of Handmade Christmas" party that has some wonderful little ideas, so hop on over and check it out!



I would also love to hear about some of your unique family traditions!   Things you bake, make, spend your days on or give special meaning to this season and create lifetimes of memories- please share!

A picture perfect Christmas... almost

Wow- what a whirlwind this holiday season has been, and really, it isn't even over! We still have to go see a bunch of my relatives who just came in from out of town AND New Years AND our anniversary on New Years Eve! Crazy! But for the sake of this post we will just stick to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

So, Christmas Eve we went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house around 2:30 pm. My grandma had brought my Granny (great-grandma) over from the Alzheimer's home she has been living in this last year so she could see the whole family. She is so sweet and interesting to talk to because she comes up with the craziest stories!! I told her that her nails looked nice (they had painted them) and she told me, "Oh thank you. Don't tell anybody, but the boys down at the pistol range just love them! They don't know what to say! But don't tell anyone- they think I'm at the home!" The pistol range?!?! Too funny! Like she escaping and running down to the pistol range to flirt with the guys! (that is Roman & me, up top)

We had BBQ crab for dinner- my all time favorite dinner!! Basically you put a bunch of crab (in the shell) in this homemade BBQ sauce and let it warm in the oven for a couple of hours- SOOOOO GOOD!! Just thinking about it right now is making my salivate! Yumm! We have it with salad and garlic bread- completely indulgent!

After dinner we started opening gifts. I was really excited because I thought that Roman would be really into it this year, and he was at first! That is, until he opened up one of his toys and then all he wanted to do was play with it, not open anymore gifts! Poor guy, we had to keep taking his toys away from him so he would open up the rest of his gifts! I think he thought he was in trouble! We all got nice stuff though! Actually it was pretty funny because all the gifts I received from my grandma I had specifically picked out and some I had even ordered over the internet for her since she wasn't sure how, and yet by the time I got to opening them I had completely forgotten what she was giving me! The holidays had totally sucked my brain out by that point! Oh man, I felt like a moron!

So, later that evening, once things had died down, we headed home to drop off our gifts and pick up our luggage to head out to my in-law's picturesque lake cabin. Roman fell asleep in the car and when we got there I managed to get him inside and laid down fairly quickly (although he did decide to wake up about a bazzilion times that night- mostly to go potty! I can't decide if this is a curse or a blessing!). After we got him down we (well, mostly Jer) put together this little car track with power cars that follow it. It turned out to be a pretty big pain- you had to get every curve at just the right angle or the cars would jump the track and go fourwheelin'! And of course, what does Roman do Christmas morning but run right through the track in all of his excitement and mess the whole thing up!! Oh well- we had fun! He got LOTS of other cars this year- mostly from the movie Cars which he totally loves! He even got a little "Tow Mater" tow truck that he can sit on and push around the house- it has an ignition and a cell phone which he totally loves! His other favorite toy is a play kitchen! Every morning he runs out and makes me breakfast- how sweet of him!

My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew showed up around 11 and we opened up the family-exchange gifts. My in-laws gave us a one-night stay at a hot springs in Montana which I am really looking forward to, along with tickets to Blue Man Group, which I have wanted to see for quite some time! My nephew got Guitar Hero III, which we played most of the next two days! It really is a lot of fun! I wasn't half bad if I do say so myself! We had a competition where we all had to play the same song and compare our scores- maybe not the best idea since after hearing "Slow Ride" EIGHT TIMES we were all about to bang our heads against the wall! It was still fun though! (I am to the left, Jer to the right- he was really into getting in full character & rockin' it out!)

But now for the REALLY interesting part of the holiday. It was late Christmas afternoon and I headed into the bathroom to find an over flowing toilet containing less than agreeable contents, left there by "someone" (okay, my 9 year old nephew!). Well, for the two days prior we had been able to hear gurgling through the shower drain every time we flushed and as it turned out we had all been slowly glogging up the system- GROSS!! Jer and his dad tried for hours to fix it! The plunged (which only caused things to back up into the tub- completely nasty!!), they went on the roof and tried to snake the system through the air vent- nothing worked! Of course no plumber was wanting to come out on Christmas night for less than a fortune, so we were forced to find alternative bathroom facilities until the next day! We concluded that peeing outside (in the snow, while it was snowing- talk about freezin' your patootie off!) would work for everyone, but what to do about the "other" end. Well, my in-laws found an old porta-potty toilet they had used on their boat, so we set it up in the laundry room (separate from the house) and they decided that everyone could line the bowl with a plastic bag and then throw the bags away in the dumpster!! Needless to say I began praying immediately that I would not be forced to use these facilities, and by the grace of God I made it home without paying a visit to the laundry room! Hallelujah and Amen!! However, I did get a kick out of taking pictures to document the whole ordeal. The first is of my brother in-law- we had brought the porta-potty in to clean it up. The second is of my father-in-law- showing off our new bathroom! Too funny! It was one of those character building experiences (as my mom would call it)!

What ended up happening then, you wonder? Well, they called out a plumber the next day and after a few hours he concluded that there must be a broken pipe, or roots in the pipe, or something. In other words, it was a bigger job than he could handle and after the snow melts my in-laws will probably end up having to have major plumbing work done on the cabin. To top it off, as the plumber was trying to leave his van got stuck and Jer and his dad had to go out there and push!

The even bigger bummer is that Jer was planning on taking me to the cabin for our anniversary next week! My mother-in- law said, "Well you still could." I said, "Oh yeah- that's my idea of romance- no running water and peein' outside! Come on!" Oh well, I am sure we will figure out something!

So that pretty much sums up our Christmas adventure! All in all, it was lots of fun and a nice time to spend with our families. And hey- I learned to play Guitar Hero III! Haha! (Jer & Roman over there -->)

I think I'm in love!

My new yarn finally arrived today! I am so excited! It is 100% Uraguanian Merino Wool and it is sooooo soft! I bought it a couple of weeks ago from 100 Pure Wool and it is my first really nice yarn purchase. I have used Cascade and a couple other okay brands for Roman's woolies, but this is by far the most luxurious! I just can't stop petting it! I can't wait to knit it up to see how it looks! Jer liked it because he said it looked "manly". A lot of the other colorways I showed him he just couldn't get into, but this one he loved! Good thing, 'cause he is going to have to hold it for me tonight while I wrap it into a center-pull ball! And it wasn't even expensive! Shipping included I only spent about $30! I can't remember exactly how much, but it was only about $7 per skein! Woohoo!


Oh, and check out these cool stamps from Uraguay! According to the package it cost $150 Uraguanian which translated to about $9 US! Crazy Huh? I want to start keeping stamps like these, and other little bits of uncommon art to put under plexiglass on my craft table someday. When I have a craft table and a studio to put it in, that is! Wouldn't it be cool on an old door turned table? Oh, I can dream!


For now this is my "studio". We just moved it out of our bedroom into the living room yesterday so that I can get more use out of it. It is the perfect place to sit and knit and do my Bible Study.
The blanket across the front is the lapghan I am crocheting for my grandparents. It is slowly growing, taking much more yarn than I had expected! Oh well, it will be nice in the end and they will love it!

The quilt across the back is one I started a few years ago in a sampler class. I really like it but I still need to add a border to it so that it is the right size and then actually quilt it and bind it! Someday it will be finished! For now though, it helps my little chair feel homey and inspired!

Itching to blog...

Wow- this gets addicting! I love it! I never thought I would but I totally do! I find myself waking up at night thinking about what I want to blog! And then there are all the amazing ideas I have gotten from other blogs! So- a big THANK YOU to the fellow crafty, bloggin' mamas of the world! I salute you!

So, update on Christmas! I have moved beyond the planning stage to the actual making stage! I bought the yarn for my Grandparent's crocheted afghan on Friday and I think it is going to turn out really nice! The yarn is just Homespun, but I figure that will be easy for washing and use. It has a nice mix of a mossy green, heather and copper/peach colors. I think it will go well in their living room (hopefully they will think so too!) This is the first time I have really made many gifts for Christmas, so I hope it goes over well!

This morning Roman and I watched to Jon Courson's message from August 5th. It was nice to get some teaching since we haven't been to church in a few weeks. Jeremiah has been working every weekend and I feel like it is pointless for just Roman and I to go since I end up sitting in the nursery the whole time anyway. Jon' s message was in Psalm 14, talking about how we need to acknowledge and remember God, keeping in mind that we could face eternity at any moment. It was really good. You can find it here. I was amazed when he started listing the statistics of how many people die- 50 million a year; 6,000 a hour; 100 a minute! There's a glimpse of reality for ya! Are you prepared?

Christmas is Coming!

Okay- you may think I am crazy but Christmas has been on my brain lately! Probably because I am planning out my Christmas projects and I have a lot of them! I figure that if I want to get even half of what I have planned actually accomplished then I had better get started soon! My first big goals are the afghans I am crocheting for my grandparents. In addition I have a long list of other fun items that I am either sewing, knitting, or craftily making in general, but I can't post them just yet for fear of some of the recipients finding out! All in all, I think it will be lots of fun and if I start now it hopefully won't be too stressful! So, Merry Christmas All!