MommyCoddle

2009 : in photos + words : january

For the next twelve posts, I thought I'd take a look back at 2009, a month at a time. I'm going to pull a favorite picture or two, a few words from a post I want to remember and cherish. I feel like it's a good way to reflect, and a good way to go forward into the New Year. 

To celebrate the good things, the hard things I thought I might just not make it through, the "seasons" that have passed, the funny moments and the joys of 2009, before I wish her so long.

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: 15 January 2009 :

 Befriending a Rooster

I've got this thing with roosters. It goes back to my childhood growing up on a farm. There was Friendly, the rooster who did not live up to his name ....

: 13 January 2009 : 

: Cue The Doves : 

This morning in a sleepy stupor, I heard the rustling of children downstairs. Moments later, I woke to hushed giggles beside my bed and opened my eyes to a dove, preening her feathers on my pillow ....

: 05 January 2009 : 

New Year, New Project :

Habit was born out of a desire to capture little bits of our everyday lives--nothing staged--but real life moments we experience every day. It was meant to stretch us ....

a christmas letter

This morning I am facing what may be the biggest baking/cooking/prepping day of my life. I'm looking forward to the challenge. But first, I'm taking a quiet moment for a bit of coffee, sitting across the room with our lop-sided little tree that was decorated last night by eager little hands.

I thought I'd quiet this little blog for a few more days, but before I do I couldn't forget to wish all of you a happy holiday season. May it be peaceful, merry, warm, and just right. 

Before I go, however, I wanted to share with you a special Christmas letter....the one my mother sent out this year to our friends and family. I wish I had that perfect picture to go with it--because I know exactly which one I'd choose--except it's at her house, and I am here. But I have a feeling the picture will be clear enough in your head. 

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. 

xo.

molly

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She became my project when she made her way, so many years ago, to the sheep pen in our barn in Leitersburg, Maryland.  Along with two others, she traveled up I-81 from Virginia Tech to Hagerstown in the back seat of daughter Mary’s silver Ford Escort.  Emily was an orphan, and even though I didn’t need a single (or triple) extra thing to do, her fuzzy head and sweet eyes captured my heart.  What’s a mom to say?  Drive those lambs right back to Blacksburg?  Hardly.

Under my care and two bottles of milk replacer a day, Emily flourished.  Soon grain and hay replaced the bottle, and come springtime she discovered green grass and warm sunshine.  Emily and her barn mates, Hope and Nelson, were thriving.  

One late Spring evening around the supper table, conversation turned to the fact that Miss Emily was the only lamb on our farm yet to be sheared.  Since the weather was mild and daylight lingered a little longer, Mary and I headed out to the barn after the dishes were done, with halter, extension cord and clippers in hand.

Here was the thing about this situation:  When we sheared a sheep, it stood on an elevated metal platform. Its head was immobilized by resting the chin in a U-shaped bracket with a soft rope corded around the neck.  Emily had never been off the ground, all four hooves at once.  She had never had her head stuck into something that held her fast.  Sometimes this scenario is challenging if the sheep determines to buck, so to speak, the system…and most do.  We didn’t know how this would go.

Together, Mary and I hoisted Emily onto the stand, placed her chin in the holder and threaded the rope across the back of her neck securing it under her chin.  I stood on one side distracting Emily with a handful of grain.  Mary, on the opposite side, plugged in the clippers and flipped the switch.

The first pass with the clippers from the base of her tail up the middle of her back brought no particular response from Emily.  Mary continued—legs, chest, underbelly.  Emily was incredible--standing there munching peacefully.  Mary shut off the clippers in order to apply fresh oil and let them cool before attacking the last obstacle, Emily’s head.  Loud, vibrating clippers around the face, eyes and ears of a sheep are hard to tolerate even for the most stoic of animals.  So far, Emily had been a dream, but now it could all fall apart.

I dipped out a fresh scoop of grain and Mary started in along the jawbone and toward the ear.  As long as I live, I’ll never forget what happened next. In her moment of fear, as the clippers approached her eye, Emily leaned against me.  She simply shifted her weight and leaned on me.  No panic or jerking.  She just leaned in and we stood there together braced against one another until all was quiet again.

I haven’t forgotten the message Emily sent me that evening.  Unexpected things come along—especially these days.  Jobs disappear, portfolios shrink, houses don’t sell, accidents happen, health issues surface. But there is something anyone can do…lean in.  The Good Shepherd, whose birth we celebrate this time of year, stands near with wisdom and provision.  Every time.

We are blessed beyond measure and send our love and greetings to you and yours.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND PEACE IN THE NEW YEAR.

decorating, naturally

This is one of those posts I've been meaning to share for weeks now. But I'm just getting to it this morning. A little late, I know, but maybe it will provide a little inspiration for any last-minute crafting you and your family might do this week.

Emma and Mary's 4-H club decorated a Christmas tree this year which then gets auctioned and sold for charity. This year the club decided to create ornaments for the tree that were all handmade using natural materials. The idea was inspired by the Brandywine River Museum which decorates a two story tree each year made completely of these handmade ornaments, with natural materials gathered from the grounds of the museum. 

For the get-together the 4-Hers were told to gather and bring any natural materials to the meeting with them, as well as a good supply of hot glue guns! Everything was dumped into a large table and within minutes the 4-Hers were creating. 

It was truly amazing for me to stand back and watch the creative minds of these children come to life. Many had never visited Brandywine, but with a table full of raw materials, they were able to come up with the most creative, amazing, inspiring ornaments. Their ideas were endless. 

The tree turned out to be amazing, as you might guess. It won an award at the festival, and was one of the first to sell( for quite a good price. ) And it has inspired quite a few crafting moments here at home as well. Especially when the combine was working across the road last week, spewing corn cobs and seed into our yard....

I truly hope this inspires you to take a little walk outside and gather. You'll be surprised what little minds can come up with. Just have the glue gun hot and ready. 

See the whole set of ornaments HERE. 

to my husband : please don't read this post

It's probably dangerous to be posting about Christmas gifts, but this one is so simple and quick, I wanted to share it before the holidays. And it is the kind of thing I love to see hanging around my home. Yes, this gift is for Dan, but I think I love it just as much as I hope he will. 

We're on an extremely small budget for the holidays this year. I've had to be super-organized and super-creative. I've also had to figure out exactly what I want to get each person on my list, versus wandering aimlessly online and in shops, looking for something to catch my eye. 

Ironically, it has been somewhat liberating to be reigned in so tightly this year. In my mind I came up with a plan--one nice, squeal-worthy gift for each child and a few smaller, inexpensive gifts. But for Dan, I knew I wanted to give him a few things that were either handmade or "created" at home. 

In the past I made him these silhouettes of the girls, which he loved and immediately hung up in our apartment. And now they sit just at the top of our stairs, here at Thomas Run. (While taking this picture I realized that Elizabeth's silhouette desperately needs to be updated--her baby picture is quite boy-ish.) 

And this year, I wanted to do something similar--something to mark this year, these ages of our girls. 

When I was little I remember my handprints, made in paint, hanging on the family wall in our kitchen. And with that idea in mind, I decided to create a fabric version for Dan. 

I traced each of the girls hands and then machine-appliqued the handprint onto some linen fabric. With Mary and Emma, I had them write their own names inside of the handprint and I wrote Elizabeth's. Then I simply embroidered over their names with a split stitch and added the year in which the handprints were created.

I was pleasantly surprised to find these frames at the dollar store which fit perfectly. They are not a standard size, but are the type of frame where you'd add multiple photographs of different sizes into a matte board. I removed the matte and slid in the fabric handprints. 

All in all, the stitching and sewing could easily be completed in a day and the whole project cost me $3, since I only used fabrics and embroidery thread in my stash. 

And I think they'll be a pretty nice addition to our growing family wall.

In other shopping news a few things catching my eye, that I wanted to share while there's still time:

Stonz booties : Elizabeth received a pair of these last spring. And I can't tell you how wonderful they are. She is still wearing the same pair she received last year--they are warm, (especially with the sherpa liner), durable, easy to wash (even after an episode in the mud), they stay on, and they are so cute. 

Olive Juice : We've talked on here before about finding (or not finding, actually) classic, age-appropriate clothing for children. And I am completely smitten with this company. Their clothes are classic and well-made and have a touch of vintage charm that I really love. For some of us, the prices may be a little intimidating, but it is well worth your two seconds to sign up for their email list. They have frequent and wonderful sales. I've scored many good deals when they discount all items in their "outlet" to $10. Mary has this shirt. Emma has a dress from them, that I can't find online at the moment. And I absolutely love this, this, and this. Oh! And this, and these!

RosieHippo: I'm also excited about this gift that will be making it's way under our tree for Elizabeth. She'll also get a little set of these.

A few other handmades catching my eye : with our history, of course I kind of dig these fox pillows--is that strange? I secretly wish I could get one for each of the girls. I love the 2010 Tea Towel Calendar from Cicada Studio. And there is a lot of potential with these blank, unfinished wood cutouts....

Phew! That's enough links for one post....happy handmade, happy crafting, happy shopping.

more local love

The smARTS Week, that I wrote about yesterday culminates in an Arts Festival held at the school over the weekend. It is a juried art show and sale that displays the work of some amazing local artists.

I always love to go because their work is so inspiring and there are so many amazingly talented artists and ideas, from every genre of craft and every walk of life.

I told myself this year, that I was going to do some Christmas shopping while I was there. I came home with nothing. Well, nothing for Christmas....but a few small things for me. I'm horrible, I know.

The bracelet and bobby pin were from Allison Fomich--who had the coolest stand. I pretty much loved everything she was making. (I could have done a lot of Christmas shopping there, had I not been so selfish.) But you know, the bracelet--those are SO my colors. And I wear a bobby pin in my hair every.single.day. I think I deserve to have a cute one, don't you?

Thankfully, Allison is online and I'm pretty sure I'll be hitting up her etsy shop or sending her an email once I get serious about Christmas gifts.

The ring is from a funky little stand that I also fell in love with. It was hard to pick just one, and who can resist a fun little ring that's cute enough to eat. 

As I walked around the art show, I picked up cards here and there of a few of my favorite crafters and I thought I'd share their etsy shops here, for you to explore and enjoy.Though I have to say, seeing their work in person, and meeting the artists face to face is so much better than any online website or shop.

Alison Fomich (the bracelet and bobby pin) : Tigerlilly Shop :  Alison's blog

Poppi (the ring) : Poppi Shop

Dana Marie Hosler : her shop : her website

Shelly Daly : A Stone's Throw : her shop

Backlog Pottery : website (also home of Trashy Women)

Heidi Hammel, Reclaimed Creations : website

many of the crafters at the show belong to Baltimore Craft : website : on twitter

carving pumpkins with power tools

Our pumpkins barely made it to the carving blocks this year. In fact, if I hadn't rescued them quickly enough our chickens would have made short order of them, just like this scene. In fact, the chickens had already started some of the "carving" for us.

Since we didn't get to the carving until after Halloween, I really wanted to encourage the girls away from faces to something that could be more Fall-ish. Emma seemed pretty dead-set on carving something scary into her pumpkin...that is, until I brought out her daddy's power drill.

I wish I had pictures--bits of pumpkin flying everywhere. Girls wielding power tools. But a mother can only handle so much power tool safety without trying to photograph it at the same time. Some things are better left to the imagination.

Once the carving was finished, I happily carried the pulpy mess into my kitchen where I spent a painstakingly long amount of time cleaning the seeds. I LOVE pumpkin seeds. I mean, seriously LOOOVE them. It really bothers me if I accidentally let one slip into the discard pile, or I miss one hiding in the pulp. I get every.single.seed.

And then I roast them with a little salt and butter in the skillet, all while fighting off little fingers who try to get in on the goodness.

Now they are sitting on the center of our kitchen table in a canning jar, whose lid I have screwed on so tight, I can barely get it off myself. It's kid-proof, requiring help (and the rationing of seeds) whenever little children decide they want to dip in to the treasure chest of seed-wealth.

I get down-right aggressive about the careful, slow devouring of these seeds. 

And I'm thinking next year, I'm planting a whole row of pumpkins in my garden....

Mary, the angel and a star

This seems like old news now, but every time I look at the pictures, my mommy pride starts oozing out of all my pores. So I had to share. Emma, Mary and Elizabeth had their theatrical debut this December in our church's Christmas play. My sweet friend Lori, (thankfully) re-wrote a horribly cheesy play into a classic nativity story.

Mary played Mary, Emma was the angel and Elizabeth was the star that the wisemen followed to the stable. Mary had no lines, but was on stage for most of the play, including during her "pregnancy"--a balloon stuffed in her dress, which when Jesus was "born" she pulled out of her shirt and threw on the ground...and it floated and danced across the stage for the remainder of the play.

I warned Lori that I didn't think Mary would be able to pull it off. When push came to shove, I thought she'd chicken out. She is so shy and worries so much about people laughing at her (sometimes, this worries me about her, I have to admit), I couldn't imagine her feeling brave enough to go on stage in front of so many people. But after I had a confidence-building talk with her about why people might be laughing, and that they weren't laughing at her, she embraced the role. She pulled it off and is already talking about doing it again next year.

Emma was an angel and delivered a mouthful of lines with volume and clarity. She's had her lines memorized since the first evening Lori put the script in her hands. But for her, the evening was more about the wings and the glittery white dress than anything else.

And Elizabeth. Dear Elizabeth. She was the star that the wisemen followed to the stable. At the proper cue in the play, Dan was supposed to strap the cardboard star I had made onto her back, strip her down to her little white onesie and send her wandering across the front of the church.

Dan got so caught up in the play, he nearly forgot. She made it to the stage, the star thrown over her overalls and red wool sweater at the last minute, just as she turned the corner in front of the audience. And wander she did. Across the front of the stage, up the aisles, onto the stage to pick up Mary's "pregnancy balloon" and check out the baby Jesus, and over to me at the piano. I think she wandered around the church for the rest of the play.

We've created a monster and haven't gotten her to sit still in a church service since.

I sat behind the piano for all of it to play and sing the carols. I missed most of the play except for a few lines. And Dan sat awestruck in the pews, completely caught up in the moment, with my camera and Flip sitting untouched beside him.

Oh well. Some things are better left for our own memories, I suppose.

Of course I did maul my children with the camera once the play was over. But Elizabeth had already wandered into the kitchen, tasting each of the Christmas cookies and then throwing them in the trash.

More Christmas catch-up coming soon....
...as well as the news of a new project I'm working on with Emily, and some exciting "newness" here on mommycoddle as well.

Cheers!

{Guest Post}: Emily shares about Hanukkah

Two weeks ago, I was out running errands with the girls and we saw a sign that said, "Happy Holidays". My children asked what that meant and why it didn't just say, "Merry Christmas". I did my best to explain to them that at this time of year not everyone celebrates Christmas and I used the example of my "bloggingfriendEmily" (that's how you say her name in our house), who's family celebrates Hanukkah.

This of course, required me to explain to them more details about Hannukah and as I fumbled through I realized my description was falling short. And I told them I would just have to ask Emily to tell us a little bit about how her family celebrates Hanukkah and all the wonderful traditions that surround this holiday.

So I am so happy to turn things over to Emily on my blog today. Enjoy her lovely words and beautiful photographs. If there's anything I've learned about Emily, in getting the chance to get to know her in person, it's that she lives her life very thoughtfully and mindfully. And that same mindfulness and thoughtfulness overflows into her relationship with her children.

Thank you Emily for taking several moments out of your holiday season to share this with us.

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I was thrilled when Molly asked me to write about Hanuukah for her blog.  But also overwhelmed – there’s so much to say about this holiday, about any holiday.  So I asked my kids.  I asked them what they’d want Emma and Mary and Elizabeth to know about Hanukkah.  and this is what they said:

*they said tell them about the miracle of Hanukkah.  Not the part about the one drop of oil lasting for eight days, which everyone thinks is the miracle, but is actually a legend.  Tell them about how the tiny Jewish army of the Maccabees beat the great Syrian army to regain their religious freedom and their holy temple – that’s the real miracle.  (you can read more about the story of Hanukkah HERE.)

*they said tell them that presents don’t have anything to do with Hanukkah.  That Jews in America saw their Christian friends exchanging gifts on Christmas, then Jews adopted the custom.  tell them that traditionally, and in Israel still today, people don’t give presents on Hanukkah – they give coins to children.  That’s all.  (which is why we have chocolate coins, or “gelt” on this holiday.)

*they said tell them that Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday for the Jewish people.  Unlike some holidays when we don’t work or go to school, and instead we go to synagogue to pray - on Hanukkah people work and go to school (unless it falls during winter vacation like this year!).  and there are no special Hanukkah services in the synagogue.  We celebrate this holiday at home.

*they said tell them that we celebrate Hanukkah by lighting a “menorah” or “hanukkiah” which is a candelabra with nine arms – one arm for each of the eight nights of the holiday, plus one extra arm for holding the “shamash” or “helping” candle.  each night, when we light the “hanukkiah,” we strike a match and light the “helper” candle – which sits apart from the other eight candles (maybe it’s taller than the others, or off to the side.  somehow it’s separate.) – and then we use the “helper” candle to light the other candles.  each night, we light the number of candles according to the night of the holiday – so on the first night, we light the “shamash” and one candle.  on the second night, we light the “shamash” and two candles.  and so on until we light nine candles on the eight and final night.  we light 144 candles over the course of the whole holiday!

*they said tell them that we like to play the dreidel game during Hanukkah. And they said tell them that we sent them some dreidels in the mail so they can play too!

*they said tell them that we eat delicious fried foods on Hanukkah – latkes (fried potato pancakes), and jelly donuts - because of the legend of the oil.

that’s what they said.  These are the things my kids wanted emma and mary and elizabeth to know about Hanukkah.  There’s so much more, of course.  I wish I could tell you everything.  I wish you could hear the singing.  And see the lights shining from the candles on the hanukkiot.  And smell the oil from the latkes frying.  It’s a beautiful holiday.  and I’m thankful to molly for the chance to share a bit of it with you here. 

I do hope you enjoy your holiday season – whatever holiday you are celebrating.  And I wish you much peace and joy in the coming year.

No "Naan"-Sense bread

I've been trying to write this post for four days, but we've been busy. You know, learning to read the newspaper, pulling all the cushions off the sofa and jumping on them, those sorts of things.

Now there's just way too much to share, too many pictures to show, so I'm going to have to pace myself and stick with the original post.

But first I just want to whine about the fact  that I am really dying this year without a sewing machine. Mine is broken, thanks to a nasty attempt at sewing with knits. The machine is not worth the repair that is needed and a new machine is nowhere in the budget right now.

And of course, THIS would be the holiday where my children are asking, begging, for the majority of their gifts to be handmade. Little House on the Prairie bonnets. Little House on the Prairie aprons, Little House on The Prairie sleeping caps, dresses....I'm dying, folks. Anyone have a sewing machine they want to rent me for a week?? Ugh.

Anyway, I'll figure it out.

I'm having a hard time with the Christmas shopping this year. Feeling like my children really don't need much, you know? And they aren't asking for a lot either, which is kind refreshing.

Will you tell me what you are getting for your children this holiday season?

It always gives me ideas and if nothing else, late winter brings several birthdays in this house and I'm always looking for ideas. Do tell, and I promise I'll keep the secret.

My original intent with this post was to share a new recipe for Naan and to share my ugly, poorly lit, "Mom can you stop taking pictures of the bread so we can eat?" photograph .

I've been on this Naan-kick lately. It tastes so good with everything--soup, stew, salad, pasta. And I'm always buying the painfully expensive package of it at my grocery store. I figured there had to be a way to make it at home.

So I went to my Joy of Cooking cookbook which has yet to fail me. And lo and behold (which sounds like something my mom would say), there it was. I even had all the ingredients.

It is so simple,turns out so yummy, and is so dangerous. Just what my waistline needs--a simple, easy-to-make white bread.

Here is the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, with my commentary:

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Combine in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer:
2 cups bread flour
1/2 teas. salt
1 1/4 teas. active dry yeast

Add:
2 Tbsp. melted butter or vegetable oil (I used oil)
3/4 cup yogurt or buttermilk, at room temperature (I used b'milk and helped it along to get it to room temp via the microwave. Because room temperature in my house, is the same as the inside of my refrigerator. I'm not kidding.)
1 teas to 1Tbl of water, as needed (for me, it took way more than 1 T. to get my soft ball of dough formed)

Mix on low speed until a soft ball of dough is formed. Knead by hand or on the low speed of a mixer with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic. (I recommend not kneading it on top of the spot where your children just spilled hot cocoa mix. Just a recommendation. Though turned out rather tasty.)

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours. (this is where I take my dough in near the woodstove. I will say, the first time it hardly rose at all. But I went with it and it still turned out fine. Bubbly and good.)

Punch the dough down and divide equally into four pieces. Roll into balls, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. (or while you go outside and lock in the chickens for the night.)

Place a baking stone(wish I had one) or inverted baking sheet (have one) in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees. Roll out each ball of dough into an oval 8-10 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. Brush the tops with melted butter.
Add toppings, if desired--poppy seeds, scallions, etc.

Place the dough topping side up with as many ovals as will fit without touching directly onto the baking sonte or sheet. Bake until each oval gets puffy and just begins to turn golden 6-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and bake remaining dough. Drizzle over the baked bread, 1T melted butter (optional).

Serve warm.

Now go forth and bake Naan. I'll catch up more next week.

Country Living Christmas

Two years ago, when one of Emma's favorite farm cats was killed, my uncle's first words to her were, "Emma, life on the farm is tough." This summer when one of our guineas"disappeared", again his words to her, "Emma, life in the country is tough."

And so this afternoon when I looked out from the upstairs window and saw a large red-tailed hawk sitting in the juvenile oak tree in our backyard, staring at my five clueless guineas scratching in the flowerbeds below him, those words started playing on a loop in the back of my head.

But, I didn't let it stop my attempts to save my poor guineas from a traumatic attack or even death. I called for the dog and flew down the steps and out the door, ripping the scarf from around my neck, flinging it over my head and making all kinds of growly, intimidating shooo-you-big-mean-red-tailed-hawk kinds of noises as I came busting out the front door.

And then he jumped...in a downward swoop towards my guineas. It was like slow-motion. And if it hadn't been for my trusty dog, who was 20 feet ahead of me, heading out towards the field, I think we would have lost one.

Life on the farm is tough. But you better believe I'm going to do everything in my power to keep my little outdoor brood from harm. Phew.

Now if they'd just stay off the road, I might be able to relax a little more. I've come to get used to a car passing by the house, hearing it slow down, honk it's horn and then carry on. And peeking out the window I see the guineas and the rooster casually walking from the roadside, business as usual.

Moving on to less traumatic thoughts, I'm really excited about having our first Christmas here in the Thomas Run house. I haven't decorated a house for Christmas since we were living in Wisconsin three years ago. And even more exciting is that this house is so much more, "me", closer to my true style, not the Victorian, "closest thing I could find to east coast charm in Wisconsin" house that we used to live in.

My favorite way to decorate, especially on a budget, is with lots of natural materials--greens, dried flowers and seed pods, holly berries. Baskets, fabric, candles in the windows...oh, don't get me started.

Here are few pages from this month's issue of Country Living that I clipped (tore wildly) from the magazine, full of inspiration:

top secret (and a giveaway)

The things inside this notebook are top secret. But it's a good thing I don't have a house full of readers because I've been known to leave it open on the kitchen table. Although I will have to keep a close eye on Emma this year. There are a few things I'm sure she could figure out.

I've been keeping this Christmas notebook for the last three years, following the tradition of my mother and my grandmother. Both had black books full of Christmas lists, presents purchased, filed neatly under years and names. It was always so tempting to peek into my mom's book. It had all the answers. But I never did. I am such a good daughter.

We have looked back in recent years though, remembering what we got in Christmas of '86 or '92. It gets me all nostalgic for roller skates with keys and snoopy snow cone machines. (Okay, never got the snoopy snow cone machine, but boy did I want it.)

So my Christmas journal is pretty simple--a list of names down the side of people I need to buy or make gifts for. A column for ideas and a column for the actual gift that will be given in the end. I tell you, that idea column has come in handy many times, especially when birthdays roll around and I'm out of ideas. There is a nice list of things that were not purchased or made and it gives me fresh ideas.

In the back of the journal I tuck the Christmas cards from the previous year so that I make sure I don't miss anyone on my list. That top card is my sister's family. They definitely win the award for best card almost every year. That's my niece there in the picture hanging on the neck of their donkey, Noah.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more Christmas inspiration. Can you tell I'm excited about our first Christmas in the Thomas Run farmhouse??

And speaking of holidays and giveaways....I'm giving away a PALM CENTRO over on the babycenter blogs. I feel like santa claus. Don't miss your chance to enter and win it! I'd love to see one of you all win!! (but that will be completely up to the random number generator, of course!!)