O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! I love putting up our Christmas tree, thankfully so does the rest of the family. We've always been very quick Christmas tree pickers. Maybe it's that the perfect one just jumps out at us so quickly. At any rate, the kids don't end up freezing outside trying to pick one out.


We've started a great collection of ornaments and even have a few childhood ones on the tree in honor of our pasts. Yes, a few of them are made of paper and popsicle sticks. Charlotte had a really fun time hanging the ornaments. Unfortunately, Gretchen was sleeping. And, as we suspected, any time she's in the living room she beelines for the tree and pulls at whatever she can get her hands on.

On another note, as of today, Gretchen is crawling on all fours. She's done it a couple times and has crawled a good distance. Yikes! Happy decorating!

video from santa

This morning there was a message from Santa to Charlotte in my inbox. I know she will love it! Stay tuned for the results.....

Video From Santa to Charlotte

Update: Charlotte was amazed by the video. She kept repeating, "Santa said my name!" My friend Lisa shared this with me and what a great deal of fun it was. Charlotte certainly understands the concept of Santa and wants to sit on his lap again too.


We also put up our tree tonight. Charlotte was a good helper with the ornaments. She even helped me string the lights. Tomorrow we will make garland and then I'll snap a photo of the tree. I've also taught her that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and she plays with the Nativity Scene on our piano. Just keeping Christ in Christmas.

overnight baked french toast

A week of traveling, family and food. It was wonderful in every shape and the girls were troopers. Charlotte went without a nap for most of the week and took it like a champ. I'm so proud of my girls. They are also learning to be very polite and respectful. We had a few day stretch in there that Charlotte was dry as well. She even went potty in a few public restrooms!

Gretchen just turned 10 months old and so badly wants to be 2.5. She is trying to pull up to her feet (can get to her knees) and has made about "6" crawls on her hands and knees. Otherwise she still resorts to the army crawl. I can just tell she wants to run, play and talk like her older sister. Very soon, I know she will be.

I made my first turkey (and GRAVY!!) all myself this weekend. My mother-in-law helped prep the turkey. It turned out great and I'm very thankful. I know my mom and grandma are proud of me. After all, I have to perfect it!

I also made a few recipes that I hadn't before. I'm not great with making things that I can make ahead of time and then serve. However, thanks to Pinterest, the ideas are endless. Take this Baked French Toast. I've made it twice now and it is to die for! Very rich and yummy. This whole pan actually fed almost 6 people. You really can't have more than two slices.

Overnight Baked French Toast

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 loaf brioche or challah (French toast can also be sliced 1 1/2 inches thick)
• 8 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• (optional) maple syrup and powdered sugar for topping

Directions

1. 1In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
2. 2Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary.
3. 3Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices. My note: I recommend dunking each slice into the egg mixture and then layering them in the pan. Dump the rest of the egg mix over the slices. When pouring, I couldn't get the slices drenched in egg enough.
4. 4Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.
5. 5Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours.
6. 6In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
7. 7Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don't dry it out completely.
8. 8Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.

potty progress

I spent the weekend at my mom's house. My nephew and niece were there too. My nephew is 5 and most certainly in underwear. I took advantage of this and put Charlotte in underwear on Friday and put the potty in the living room. She did really good except for the #2 part. We kept working on it on Saturday using pull-ups too. Charlotte started to actually say, "Mommy, have to go potty!"

I never thought I would jump up and down after hearing that phrase.

Charlotte has now been dry since going to bed last night. This includes peeing in the middle-of-the-night and going while we made a stop into the office. What a super job she is doing! Could it finally have clicked? Are we really on the potty track!? Good thing I have two types of travel potties, just in case!

Gretchen is all over the place. Crawling up a stair to get into the next room, eating like a maniac and just being a kid. Today she and Charlotte were rolling around on the floor laughing and playing together. That melts my heart and makes me so happy to see the love they have for each other. Gretchen will be 10 months next week.

Charlotte (2.5) & Gretchen (10 mo)

Note from Dad: Kevin got a 7-point buck on opening weekend. His biggest yet! Yea Dad!

king quilt completed

I'm. In. Love. With my new quilt. I just love how it turned out! The colors are fresh and amazing. They look great in our room and will look even better when we get a bed frame (that Kevin will make) some day.

urban lattice pattern modified

Quilt measures approximately 96x108". Printed fabric is mostly from Amy Butler's lines but there is a little Michael Miller thrown in. The binding/sashing is Kona Aloe and the filler is Kona Medium Grey. This is a color pallet my husband and I could agree on, especially since we loved the color of the wall. I also made a throw pillow cover and two pillow shams. Mmm...

Since the quilt was so big I couldn't fit it under my machine and had to send it out to be quilted. Through the Milwaukee Quilt Guild I met a woman named Cindy Fenske and she was able to do a great squared stippling. You can email her at Lucifen [at] aol [dot] com if you are interested in her services.

close up of quilting

At first I thought this would take me forever to complete but it really didn't. Less than a month I think. So, if you are thinking about creating a king-sized quilt, go for it!!

crafts galore

This last few weeks, I've been on a role! I've managed to complete some great projects that I really wanted to test out. Thanks to the new Pinterest, ideas are leaking out my brain!

Make It And Love It

No-slip hair bows for the girls at a fraction of the cost. And, I can make more and more and more. Tutorial from Ashley at Make It And Love It.

cloth napkins

Eight cloth napkins for those special dinner guests. They are approximately 17" square to start with (before the seams). I used some Kona Red on top of a cotton linen from Joann's. I love how they turned out. After a wash they are super soft and ready to get dirty from a messy face. Love them!

I also made eye makeup remover. I hate the one I use and can't afford the good stuff. You can get the tutorial from Adelyn Stone. I tested it out this morning and it worked great. In our house we had Burt's Bees shampoo and Apricot oil, so that's what I used.

I also finished up Charlotte's twin sized quilt. It's on her bed and looks great. It matches her toddler quilt and the colors in her room. If it stops snowing, I'll get a photo soon.

Lastly, I picked up my king quilt from Cindy Fenske. She long-arm quilted it for me and she did a fabulous job. Luckily it cost much less than taking it to a quilt shop. I'm almost done with the binding and after I wash it, I'll have photos up! This is going to look so sweet on our bed with the matching shams.

hug your children today

Hug your children today. Hug your mother, your father and your dog. Never forget how delicate life is.

On Sunday, a very close friend of mine lost her baby. Yes, God decided that this little man was meant for Heaven far too soon. He was born 4-weeks early, but still full-term. He had been healthy up to this point. No problems, nothing to give his parents reason to doubt. Labor went well and he was born via C-section. After a short cry, little baby boy passed away. He was 6 lbs. 10 oz. Why? We don't know yet. Hopefully the hospital staff will have answer to that question soon. This my friends, makes my heart ache so bad I cry every time I think about it for longer than 30 seconds.

Charlotte keeps asking me, "Mommy, why are you crying?" And I've explained to her that Mommy's friend lost her baby. The baby died and is now in Heaven with Jesus and Helga (my first dog). She understands that Heaven is a place where you go and don't come back. (Seeing as she can't see Helga until she goes there.)

This was their first pregnancy. This is unfair. Why? Why? Why????

Please say a prayer for baby boy. I'm not going to say any names out of respect for the family. But believe me, they need every bit of support and prayers possible. This is going to be a very difficult journey for the entire family. I'll be going up for the funeral and hope to make a few trips after that for support. I miss my girls and it's really hard being so far, especially during this kind of sorrow.

Remember when I complained that the kids don't listen or that Gretchen wakes up far too many times during the night? I take it all back. Every single word. (Choking back tears...) I don't really care about no sleep, the bags under my eyes, the extra pounds I can't get rid of. I don't really have a single thing to complain about. I have no right when other people I deeply love are going through such painful times.

I hurt for my girlfriend and I wish there was something I could do.

Please, say a special prayer.

milestones

Gretchen is growing! We went to the doctor this week for her 9-month visit. She is healthy and staying on the charts. 20 lbs. 6 oz. (75%) and 29.5 inches (97%). It was a no-shot visit and Charlotte got a sticker. Our restless nights have still been restless but the last two Gretchen finally did awesome again. Wednesday she woke up at 1 a.m. but didn't need to eat and Thursday she woke up at 3 a.m. for a quick bottle and went back to sleep. I tell ya....the last few weeks have been rough with her waking up multiple times. Perhaps the Tylenol that I gave her helped her sleep. I think we might stick to that routine for a little while. (Just pretend I didn't just say drug the baby.)

Today Gretchen also hit another milestone. She successfully (twice!) went from laying on her back to a sitting position. Wowzers!! What a big girl. She's eating a ton and really wants to feed herself. She's been eating things like noodles, PBJ, bread, banana, soup, peas, yogurt, fruit chunks, etc. Gretchen looks at us eating and I can just see her little mind thinking, "I want that too!" It's sad to think that in three short months we'll be celebrating her 1st birthday. How sad.