Lost Tooth

Sat. Nov. 26: The boy woke up this morning & had lost his loose tooth – before his permanent tooth even starting coming through (a first for his bottom teeth). He was very excited.

He cleaned the tooth (since apparently you get more money from the Tooth Fairy for a clean tooth) and put it in a zip-lock baggie. He also wrote a note for the Tooth Fairy to include with his tooth.

It was a rainy day today – perfect for putting up more of our indoor Christmas decorations, taking it easy (I’m still fighting this cold) and watching Christmas movies. The boy has discovered the Peanuts movies and really enjoys them. :)

~Carey

Christmas Journal

Friday, November 25, 2011: Today, the day after Thanksgiving, was the official start of the Christmas season for me, and so the official start of my Christmas Journal. This year I plan to follow along with Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class, although I'll likely using her prompts in a different order. I also plan to mash up JYC with Ali Edwards' December Daily. I'm excited to get started!

Since this is most likely our last Christmas in our current house, I want to capture all the little details and go all out decorating. I want to savor the magic during this hectic time and enjoy the traditions our little family has established. I will record something each day, with words and photos (and other scrappy goodness) to document this, my favorite time of year.

Today, I had planned to work but stayed home sick (sadly, I was sick yesterday too and hubby did all of the cooking for our feast). The boy loves to decorate for any holiday, but by far Christmas is his favorite. After some pleading, I agreed to put up the tree. I had purchased some new filler ornaments and glitter decor last year after Christmas, so we had a lot to put on the tree! The boy shares my love of decorating and reminiscing as we pull out each ornament. I love sharing that with him.

The boy said it's our prettiest tree ever, and even placed his award ribbon from his 1st grade "prettiest" tree contest onto the tree. I have to agree with him - it looks pretty and is very full!

Christmas Album

I’m already getting excited about Christmas and participating in Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas class and mixing it with Ali’s December Daily. I’m currently planning to do my album digitally (although I’m still waffling on that – I’ve got lots of Christmas goodies in my paper stash).

I’m hoping to make it easier on myself by using Karen Funk’s Christmas Magic Quickpages along with her Christmas Magic kits to mix in my own pages with the quickpages. These can be found at Design House Digital. By making it easier, hopefully I’ll be able to stay caught up!

Happy Scrapping!

~Carey

I Love Christmas Lights

Christmas Journal entry.
Friday, Dec. 4, Lights: I’ve always loved driving around to look at Christmas lights. The more lights and decorations, the better! This year, I found a new favorite home that has tons of decorations, but is still tastefully done – a hard combo to achieve!

This came out a bit blurry. I’ll have to go back & get a better photo!

So Much To Do!

Christmas Journal entry.

Thursday, Dec. 3, So Much To Do: Now that we’re counting down the days until Christmas, I’ve realized I have quite a lot to do! I’m going to take a day off of work to be able to make a dent in the list, esp. the shopping for gifts!

• Make penguin costume for play
• Make a list of presents to buy
• Buy presents (a biggie!)
• Wrap presents
• Clean the house after decorating
• Make cards
• Take Collin to see Santa & get picture
• Make hand-made gifts
• Make Christmas cookies
• Scrapbook when I can!

Winter Weather

Christmas Journal entry.

Wed., Dec. 2, Weather: The weather was unseasonably warm over the weekend, but now has dropped below freezing, with a chance of snow! A few flurries fell, but it mostly was a cold mist all afternoon and evening. It seems December always announces its arrival with a change in the weather.

Counting Down

Christmas Journal entry.
Tuesday, Dec. 1, Counting Down: December has arrived! Time to count down to the big day. The boy is excited about moving the candy cane on his countdown calendar and opening the doors on his advent calendar. We also have a countdown with the number blocks. The boy filled the advent calendar up with candy himself and set it on the cedar chest. Now, he’ll open a door each day of the month until Christmas.
photo coming soon

Stockings

Christmas Journal entry.

Monday, Nov. 30, Stockings: Now that we have a dog in the house, we aren’t able to hang the stockings from the banister  at the top of the stairs (or they’ll get chewed up). So, we hung them from the sofa table in the living room. We also bought two new stockings – one for Copper and one for Comet.

photo coming soon.

Trimming the Tree

Christmas Journal entry.
Sunday, Nov 29, Trimming the Tree: The boy has been so excited to decorate the house this year! He keeps asking to get more decorations. He did a fantastic job decorating the tree, helping set up the pictures with Santa, and setting up all the other decorations. He has also been making a lot of decorations, too.
quote: “Mom, I’m saving electricity by turning off all the lights and just turning on the Christmas lights.” What a sweetie.

Decorating outside

I’m catching up on posting for my Christmas journal. Since the Christmas season officially starts the day after Thanksgiving, I decide to start my journal before Dec. 1.
Sat. Nov 28 – Today, the weather was absolutely perfect for putting up decorations outside – it was almost 75 degrees! Each year, I put the lights up outside – net lights on the bushes and  a string of lights around the front door. We’ve added an inflatable snowman (last year) and polar bear (this year), along with a lit deer (this year). This year, Marc wrapped the columns with garland, something I’ve always wanted to do. The boy just loves all the decorations!

December!

Wow! December already?! We spent the days after Thanksgiving decorating for Christmas. The weather was perfect for hanging the lights outside – 75F at the end of November – can’t ask for much more than that!
My Christmas Journal: In 2007, I completed a Christmas Journal, and am sooo happy I did! Last year I planned to do it again, but I had a not-so-stellar Christmas season. So this year, I’m again participating in this class and reclaiming my Christmas, just as Shimelle did with her first Christmas journal. I’m starting the day after Thanksgiving, since that’s the official kick-off for the Christmas season.

Nov. 27, Manifesto: This Christmas, I pledge to record my thoughts, feelings and memories each day, through writing and photographs, and to create a scrapbook (eventually) documenting the season. By doing this, I am taking back my Christmas, the joy and love I feel about this time of year and sharing that with my family. I will relish the details and savor every moment!
I will post my pages (once I complete them) here and to my flickr account. I also plan to add a slideshow here from flickr just for my journal pages. :)
However you do it, be sure to slow down a bit this holiday season to document some of your favorite (or not-so-favorite) memories from this Christmas and Christmases past. You’ll be so glad you did.
From 2007: