Welcome to Lunch! Let me show you how to make a snowman you can eat!

Ingredient List: cream cheese; candy canes, pepperoni pieces, raisins, pretzels, candy stars, carrots, and blueberry bagels.

First, add the cream cheese. Then make a design with all the stuff. Here is my "Snowy Guy" and "princess tower" candy cane. {He loves to rescue princesses}.

Here is my mom's snowman. She was sneaky and added gummy worms to her guy.

Now you can “eat their head off and their butt-heads…”

**I, Mom, have now interuppted this regularly scheduled program….No Potty Talk!**

Enjoy!

Hey there! I just want to pop in and let you know that one of my previous blog posts was included over at the very fun, useful, and kid oriented blog, Just for Fun.

Sandy, a mom of 5 kids, does children’s book project themes for her family. My book theme about Sam and Gus was featured with her latest book theme post. I just thought I’d give a shout out to Sandy for adding me to her post! Thanks!

Awww….more twinkle lights and homemade goodness. Here are some photos from our evening.

My new star lights. They twinkle. They said twinkle on the box. Before I paid for them wish I would have seen the word, twinkle. Sorta pretty, the little eye spasms they are.

Ry helped me bake some White Chocolate Peppermint Scones. It was given to me as a dry-mix Christmas gift. Super Yummy. So Yummy, the Y in Yummy is staying capitalized.

FYI: I am seeing the Nestle white chocolate red and green swirls chips on way-clearance everywhere. They are totally worth the buy.

**growl**excuse me, I think I need to go downstairs and eat more right now!

If  you have convinced yourself, I only spend my evenings staring at tiny bulbs and gorging myself into near sugar shock in peaceful quiet bliss. Let me correct you.

It’s noisy here.

WALL-E joined our family post-Christmas. Grammy Lu and Papa Den’s Santa sent it in the mail. The Elves said it had fallen off the sleigh. He is buzzing around our home very nicely. Thank you elves!

The above photo is of Molly’s love-hate relationship with WALL-E. She runs away when he gets too close but she never stops talking to WALL-E. We even have to say good night to him before she’ll go to sleep.

Speaking of noise. Sack race anyone?

Last night, at the final Christmas party of the year (Hi Aunt Karen!), I received a few reusable Target bags filled with lovely, fun treats and movies (yes, for future nights of staring and gorging). Little did I know that the bags would be so…how do you say?…useful?

Ry hopped right out of his Target bag as he rounded the corner.

Some of my photos can be so soothing, inspiring, and pleasant. Don’t be fooled. The noisemakers, as V from V and Co. calls her children, are always nearby.

I am strongly leaning toward taking the Christmas tree down tomorrow. I know I said I’d linger in Christmas for weeks to come but…

The tree is looking a bit stressed:

• The manger scene under the tree looks more like a bus station with people littered all about.
• The, “No, Molly!”, effect has long lost its ability to thwart my little one from thinking all the ornaments are her play things, so the the tree looks like it is not wearing any pants.
• I found more mini-ornaments from the kids’ tree in the tuper-ware drawer than on the mini-tree.
• Even the mini artificial tree decorating the bathroom is starting to shed its needles. Is that even possible?

So to help me ease out of Christmastime and into this new year, besides clearance shopping myself into the poor house, I thought of a few projects to do with leftovers. No, not old ham and potatoes. Crafts, what else?

Leftover Cards

Ornament shown was made by my Aunt Mary Jo.

When I was a kid, my Aunt Mary Jo taught me how to make a circle-triangle patterned sphere ornament. I thought of publishing a tutorial here at Just a Blink, but why reinvent the wheel?

I searched the web and found an Icosahedron Ornament tutorial from a math teacher’s blog called, The Quilted Turtle, that makes this project formerly know as, Old Christmas Card Balls, sound way cool. Check it out if you want to re-purpose your Christmas cards this season.

Used Advent Nativity Calendar

Q: Want to make a fun Christmas scene for your felt board but don’t want to cut it out of felt?

A: Reuse an old advent calendar or buy one at an after Christmas close-out sale to create such a scene.

Items Needed:

• Felt board
• Old advent calender with nativity scene or other winter-y/Christmas-y illustrations
• Scissors
• Just Hooks (one sided Velcro; sold in office supply stores)
• Lamination or Clear contact paper (for longer lasting pieces)

Directions:

1. Cut out desired pieces
2. Laminate
3. Apply self-sticking, one-sided Velcro to each piece
4. Stick pieces onto felt board for a removable and playable Christmas or Nativity felt board scene

Someday Blankets

**I Heart Target** I picked-up two King flannel sheet sets, on Christmas clearance, for $5 a piece. Yes, I said King. I saw the cozy and wintry patterns on the flannel and I knew that they had to come home with me. They hopped in my cart like a match made in heaven. Little do they know, they’ll be cut-up and poked with a needle a couple thousand times.

Oh wait, I don’t know where my bobbin is or how to get sheets to become blankets for my darling little ones.

But for now I’ll keep the sheets tucked away, by my absurdly large, decor shelf collection (I just seem to attract them at every garage sale I see), in the corner of my closet for the someday blankets I know they have the destiny to become.

I suppose New Years has become a symbol for change. Change of calendar, change of….well maybe, the calendar is the only change I can think of right now, but you know what I mean. Things like regrouping priorities, goal planning, and praying for peace and all of that.

So here are some priorities for me this year, as told through some photos from today’s breakfast.

1. Learn to serve others with a whole heart, put myself after others, and remember eating breakfast in jammies just feels better, so do it!

As I took a photo of my delicious 2009 blueberry pancakes, I unknowingly picked up Ry stopping to serve his sister some juice.

2. Know my strengths. Between courses off breakfast, we played some video games. I will be honest, I get booed of stage every time I play the game Guitar Hero. Strumming along to fake chords and missed rhythms is not my idea “fun”. However, I am willing to cheer, educate, and of course photograph someone else doing all the Guitar Hero work.

Thanks Uncle Tim, for letting us borrow Guitar Hero for the weekend.

3.  Try new things. French Toast…really? Well, odd as it may be, I really cannot remember making this totally common breakfast before (largely due to the fact I have sworn it off as an ‘ick’ food for most of my life). I used the french bread leftovers (from our traditional bread/oil New Year’s Eve snack) with some vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and of course, powdered sugar for some awesome french toast. This new change, will be repeated. Yum!

You never know what breakfast can teach you about yourself!

Welcome 2009!

We had a merry-filled evening with good cheer, french bread with olive oil and cracked pepper, and loved ones (Neat Pete’s brother Tim and our sis-in-law, Lisa).

Lisa makes Tim smile.

Ry got to stay up late, 9:30 p.m., to celebrate. He had no idea what the big deal was about New Years, he just wanted the ‘berry pop’, which was really Italian pomegranate soda. He also really like serving himself ice, with a tong, from the ice can.

BTW: My best wishes to Dick Clark’s family, but come on, it’s time to let the man retire!

Happy New Years Eve!

New Years can often represent a fresh start in a new look, attitude, or plan. Goals are thrown about; some serious, some ridiculous.

I just plain want to have more, freshness. Fresh foods to eat,  laundry to hang, and goodness sakes, I’d love fresh bread, daily…with butter.

Most of all, however, I am bone-breaking, heart-longing for, dying without one thing…Fresh Air!

It is my goal this year to be in nature, for 30 minutes or more, everyday. Yes, thank you for the reminder, I know where I live, snowy Minnesota. I think I want to tackle it anyway. Okay, I’ll let myself off the hook for anything below 0 degrees; those days I’ll just do 2-3 minutes before frost bite kicks in, eating away my very skin.

So nature, here I come again, returning to you for some much needed, bigger-than me, time. Time to see, feel, and hear the work of God all around me. Time for my lungs, heart and every inch of me to say…I am alive and well, take me to see the world (though I am sure many of my adventures will begin and end in my very own yard).

Today, I took the kids on a sled-walk. No need for bicycles or strollers to transport us around. The streets are covered in ice. I am not exaggerating. We traveled the neighborhood with binoculars in tow, searching for snow-birds. Then we played at the park followed by some cocoa, pretzels, and chocolate snowmen.

I am not tempted to make a check-mark on my list called, “Take down Christmas”.  My bathroom’s red and green fingertip towels are in no danger of being sequestered to the attic any time soon. I love the twinkle lights, in and on my home, that brighten the dark, wintry nights that lie ahead.

The Holidays seem to linger at my house. For starters, the week following Christmas, I have three parties to attend. I still have ornaments to buy for next year. (Yes, I am that cheap, that I will buy keepsake Hallmark ornaments the year ahead or 5 years ahead; even though the imprinted year will be not exactly, how do you say… accurate.)  I have grown so accustom to eating other people’s baked goods, that I may just have to do some Christmas cookie baking of my own.  I have soups to simmer with left-over ham. And I will continue to watch films from my Holiday movie collection well into 2009.

Most others rush to pack away decor, dishes and photos in big plastic bins the day after December 25th. I will be here, most of January and maybe a few days of February, sipping cocoa, letting the lights twinkle, and still talking about true meaning of Christmas.

Below are some more images from Christmas…I just can’t let go. I love Christmas!

Our first year doing Santa. Ry told us about how toys get to our homes, "Jesus makes the gifts, you know, Santa just delivers them to us."

He filled our wool-sock stockings with care.

We found an ornament on Grammy Kris' tree of Neat Pete circa 1st or 2nd grade.

Nothing says, Christmas, like letting an 18 month old try to put her bow onto the family cat.

…at least that is what the song says, right?

Summer, in all it’s sandy glory, is pretty wonderful too.

Here are some wonderful things from this time of the year, in no particular order.

1. Felt snowflakes; I made a garland of white lights and a variety of gray snow flake ornaments for over the sliding glass door.

2. Milk and Cookies; Is that patio furniture still in plain sight? Why yes it is. BBQ, anyone?

3. Handmade Gifts; Great Aunt Mary Jo and her friend Diane made a set for Molly’s doll crib; Wool socks so colorful and warm…from who else? Julie, my knitter friend and co-worker.

4. Bundled Children; I think Molly and Ry look like such a great team as they slide down our backyard together on a sled.

5. Warm Cozy Nights; That don’t start until 9-something because Ry, 4,  just has to push the limits by getting out of bed…every night.

It is a wonderful season. Thank you all that have been so loving at Christmas and throughout the year!

As if unexpected car repairs (leaving me stranded in a snow storm for an hour); leaky faucets (ruining everything under the sink and more); a goose egg on my dear Molly’s fore-head; and watching my G-ma GG come near to the end of her days is not enough…my Uncle passed away 7 days before Christmas.

I do not share the above list for pity. Rather, I share it to keep it real. My heart is balancing on a tight rope of darkness and light. Hope and Joy are ever present even during the most difficult days that turn into difficult nights. I have comfort from the Comforter, Jesus.

I strive to be graceful under pressure. I am saying hello to peace. Long ago I used to only find a nightmarish anger. Praise God for love!

I would like to share some of the love I had for my Uncle Mick.

Dear Uncle,

My heart is heavy with loss. My memories of you are strong. Your laugh is still with me.

Thank you for your continuous generosity, genuine curiosity and unyielding verbosity.

Thank you for fighting for your nation and your brothers. Your sacrifice has been an inspiration.

Good-bye Uncle Mickey. I hope to see you again.

Greatest Love and Respect,

Jessica

Uncle Mick at a family party (summer 2008), ever ready to engage in discussion, sits in the living room as I busy myself in the kitchen. (I am in the background).

21 Gun Salute to Mick's service in the Air Force and Vietnam War.

My, newly widowed, Aunt Rosie receiving Mick's burial flag of the United States of America.