Merry Christmas!

Just like the story Bear Stays Up for Christmas, today we popped some corn and brewed some tea. We prepared and rested. Now, like bear, we are staying up waiting for Christmas. The little ones are in bed but who knows if they will sleep when people arrive and the merriment begins.

Merry Christmas dear friends! I hope that your Christmas is filled with deep peace, joyful celebration and great wonder.

Quick Takes Friday (no. 7)

--- 1 ---

As French Canadians, our Christmas begins on Christmas Eve: the Reveillon. We go to mass on the eve of Christmas and then make our way to someone's home (our home this year). We eat, exchange gifts and enjoy the merriment into the wee hours of Christmas morning. The little ones aren't forced to participate but if they happen to wake they are welcome to join in the fun.

--- 2 ---

Tomorrow will be a day filled with last minute preparations. A little cleaning, a bit more decorating and lots of food prep. This year we will be eating traditional tourtiere (meat pie) and home made mushroom soup. Simple but delicious.

--- 3 ---

I managed to complete and wrap all the handmade Christmas gifts in time. I did have to let go of a few projects but I'm fine with that. All our gifts are wrapped in handmade cloth bags with the exception of a few larger gifts which were tossed into pillowcases.

--- 4 ---

Because the little ones won't be participating in the Reveillon this year I'm trying to figure out when they should open their gifts. We will be going to mass as a family Christmas morning as Hubby will be playing music. I've thought about waiting to put the gifts under the tree just as we are leaving for church (while the little ones are in the car) so that they will be there for after church. When do your little ones open their gifts?

--- 5 ---

With all the sewing and knitting done for Christmas I've finally had the chance to pick up a book to read. I started reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. I read her novel The Forgotten Garden and really enjoyed it.

--- 6 ---

December has been a month fraught with illness. First my little ones came down with a nasty influenza, then Sweetpea had an ear infection lasting two weeks! Now my poor Hubby has the sniffles which seem to have developed into a sinus infection. It seems like some years are worse than others for illness. I hope that all your families are in good health for the holidays :)

--- 7 ---

Today we had some lovely friends come for a visit. We went sledding and Monkey tried skating for the first time. The day was beautiful, even if the wind was a little nippy. It was such a nice way to get in the spirit of celebrating the birth of Christ.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Handmade Christmas: Crazy Crayons

I had almost given up on this project because I couldn't find a mold for the crayons. Then I happened to stop at a local thrift store (just yesterday) and there I found the perfect mold, a small muffin tin. To make the crazy crayons I used these instructions.

Monkey enjoyed taking off the paper and breaking the crayon into smaller bits. I think its because he was allowed to do what I normally don't let him: destroy the crayons! The whole process took us a couple hours but he helped until we put them into the oven to melt.

These crazy crayons are going to be little gifts from Monkey to his friends. Tonight he selected each crazy crayon for his buddies and we packed them up.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Up here in the North we are surrounded by forests. A few years ago we started the tradition of hunting for our Christmas tree the weekend before Christmas. This tradition came after a lengthy conversation about the merits of a real Christmas tree versus a plastic Christmas tree. As a compromise we decided to cut down our tree from the wild.

Finding the "perfect" Christmas tree in the wild is very difficult. The trees never seem to have enough branches and don't stand quite straight.

Even if our Christmas tree looks like it was taken out of the Charlie Brown Christmas story, we've learned to love the quirkiness of it. In fact, this year Monkey declared our tree to be the "most beautiful tree ever". I guess there has to be something said about finding beauty in imperfection.

This year we have a few new additions to our Christmas tree. A little spider, which was a gift from a friend. In parts of Germany a spider is one of the first ornament for go on the tree. There is a beautiful children's book about this tradition called Cobweb Christmas: The Tradition of Tinsel.

There is also a new ornament that I won as a giveaway over at A Broken Fortress. It's a stamped metal snowman ornament from Stamped with Love.

The last addition is a knitted Christmas ball that Hubby picked from the piled that I knitted this past month.

Now that the Christmas tree is decorated we are all eagerly anticipating the celebration!

Christmas Baking

When we lit the pink Advent wreath candle this Sunday, I had a moment of surprise. Advent is zooming along. I continue to make progress on our Handmade Christmas. I had to re-evaluate a few projects and simplify. There was just no way I could complete everything on my list.

With Christmas only 10 days away it's time to get started on Christmas baking. I've checked my list from last year and made some changes. The first item on my baking list this year is a fruit cake. When I mentioned that I was making a fruit cake Hubby was surprised. Why would I want to make something that tastes... awful? It's true that for some people fruit cake has a bad reputation. But, until I've baked my own fruit cake I wait to pass final judgement.

My cookie list comprises of a variety of cookies, some old and some new.

Cashew Caramel Cookies
Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Coconut Macaroons
Ginger Cookies
Hazelnut Jam Thumbprints
Pfefferkuchennusse (gingerbread nuts)
Rugelach

I will also be making some delicious French Canadian sucre a la creme.

What special things will you be baking for this Christmas?

A Handmade Christmas: Knitting

Knitting has consumed most of my spare time these days. If I can squeeze in a knit here or a purl there, progress is being made. In November I made a list of potential projects. Sweaters, socks, slippers, hats, those were the sort of things I had planned to be knitting. Then I came across some knitting books and my plans were drastically changed.

The first book that I obsessed about was 55 Christmas Balls to Knit. These knitted Christmas balls are so unique and precious. Once I got the hang of knitting a ball it would take me a couple hours to finish one. I used a nice study wool yarn and stuffed them with wool batting. These will be perfect little gifts.

Our library brought in Knitivity and that cause a whole other set of distractions. I started to knit Mary and Joseph and still want to knit baby Jesus and the donkey. So far I've completed two doll bodies; they look a little odd without clothes or hair.

In between knitting Christmas balls and small dolls for the Nativity scene, I was knitting up dishclothes. Knitted dishcloths are quick and easy. In fact, it was one of my first knitting projects back in the day. They also make nice gifts when paired with some handmade soap (I don't make my own soap... yet).

Then I remembered that I wanted to make some knitted things for my godchildren (three of them). Enter Knitted Toy Tales. I knitted the Frederick the frog prince for one godchild and Eddie the elephant for another. Monkey was quite please by the frog and gave me some tips for which colours I would use when I knit his. It appears there might be some other knit frogs in the near future and perhaps a knitted bear for Sweetpea. For my smallest godchild I turned to a favorite: the Milo vest.

There are so many things you could knit to give to others. Do you knit? What will you be knitting or making for others this Christmas?

The Feast of St. Nicholas

Happy feast of St. Nicholas! 

Last night I realized that I gave away our ugly polyester stockings. I couldn't remember giving them away, but Hubby pointed out to me that I did mention it to him last year. So instead, like true Canadians, we lined up our big bulky winter boots by the unfinished fire place last night. This morning they were filled with all sorts of goodies.

Hubby and Monkey each received a beautiful handmade top from Mountain Tops and I sewed Sweetpea a Hen and Chicks from Handmade Beginnings. There was also some fair trade chocolates and other items tucked into the smelly boots. Monkey was excited. Sweetpea was dazed. She has a bad ear infection, poor girl.

I printed some copies of the St. Nicholas paper doll from Paper Dali for colouring. Later we'll make some Candy Cane Cookies and eat them with hot chocolate. Perhaps we'll even watch Veggie Tales Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving.

Did your family do anything special for the feast of St. Nicholas? There's still time for a cup of hot chocolate!

This post is linked to A Ten O'Clock Scholar Nativity Carnival.

Weekly Menu

Things have been somewhat chaotic with the little ones being sick with the flu. This past week we had no menu but I think we are all getting tired of eating Campbell's chicken noodle soup so I thought I'd write down a simple menu for this week.

Monday: Broccoli soup.

Tuesday: Bolognese sauce with pasta.

Wednesday: Chicken and vegetable quesadillas.

Thursday: Slow-cooker elk barley soup.

Friday: Leftovers or fried eggs and toast.

Saga of the Influenza

This is the first time I have seen the influenza wreck havoc in our home. I went to nursing school, the knowledge I gained through my experiences there can be and have been very helpful at home while caring for my little ones but other times makes me a little (okay a lot) paranoid. Generally a high fever lasting more than a few days makes me suspect something but a fever going on for five days makes me nervous, unable to sleep, and begging for coffee in the morning (I don't drink coffee but I did this morning).

And the coughing is awful! It keeps Monkey up at night. Last night, he slept on the recliner and was soothed by never ending Diego episodes on Netflix (Diego drives me crazy). Just as he appears to be improving... (wait haven't I been saying that since Friday?) my little Sweetpea decided to join in on the fun and spiked her own fever today. I am feeling exhausted and can't sleep deeply because I'm worried. Hubby on the other hand... well we won't go there...

Clearly I need to relax a little (can you tell I'm on edge? maybe it was the coffee) and trust God to take care of our little family. Please say a little prayer for us.

Never fear Frog Prince is here!
The picture is a little blurry but he does look a little better.

Seven Quick Takes (no. 6)

--- 1 ---

Sickness has forced us to go back to the basics. Pajamas, Campbell's chicken noodle soup, Netflix, Popsicles, water, tylenol and ibuprophen. Monkey seems to be finally improving. It's been three long days of high fevers, coughing and other not so pretty symptoms. The rest of us continue to be relatively symptom free but I know we aren't safe yet. Hopefully, the extra doses of vitamin C and D will pull us through.

--- 2 ---

Advent is here. Our Jesse Tree is up (join the Jesse Tree Link-Up!) and our Advent candles are out. The Advent wreath is another matter. I'm embarrassed to say there is still no wreath surrounding our candles. Maybe this weekend, if we are feeling well, we'll make a trip to the forest and gather some evergreen branches.

--- 3 ---

I'm moving into the third trimester of my pregnancy. It surprises me to think that there are only three months left and another little one will join our family. We're excited and a little nervous too.

--- 4 ---

The many projects for our Handmade Christmas are coming together. I still have a few larger projects to start like the quilted table runners for my mother. I don't have much quilting experience but luckily I have a a lovely friend who's an a talented quilter and is kind enough to help me out.

--- 5 ---

I started taking violin lessons a again in the fall. I've only taken a year and a bit of lessons so I'm quite a newbie but Hubby and I really enjoy playing music together (he plays the piano). We hope that our playing together will inspire our children to plays their own music one day.

--- 6 ---

Despite trying to keep things simple this month, it has already filled up with various activities. Looking at the calendar leaves my feeling overwhelmed. When I feel overwhelmed, I start writing lists and eating cheese. Mmmm cheese.... when I'm really stressed I'll take a bite out of a block of Parmesan.

--- 7 ---

Hubby and I have been enjoying listening to this particulalrly beautiful yet intense Beethoven sonata.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

That Time of Year - Virus Crisis

A few days ago I was bragging about how Monkey had never been sick to his stomach. Of course, bragging isn't nice and it seems I've learned my lesson quickly. The influenza has reared its ugly head in our home. Monkey is the first to succumb. Fever, coughing, vomiting... poor little guy. It makes my heart ache seeing him so sick. While everyone else appears to be healthy, I know each of us will succumb eventually. I know we aren't the only ones suffering with this nasty bug. Please keep us and others who are unwell in your prayers over the next few days.