Watch out for that tree!

To make up for the fact that I had a "fake" tree, while we were visiting my aunt Cyndi bought the largest real tree on the lot! (Okay, maybe not the largest on the lot but definitely the largest that would fit in the living room - I had to smush the angel on the top/kind of wedge it against the ceiling!) Peter and my uncle Ben managed to get it through the door and get it open and centered in the stand. Then it took three people to get the lights on and five to decorate! My cousin Rebecca was visiting from Germany and we had a fantastic time having Thanksgiving dinner for the second week in a row, watching movies, and hanging out/relaxing. Our adopted cousins Greg and Lilly came up from South Carolina as well so we had a really full house! I loved it! 

There wasn't quite an ornament on every branch, but we did manage to get a few on! 

San Diego, Post-Thanksgiving

Being an only child, I never thought I'd get to experience the joy of being an Auntie. Luckily, I was wrong! and Peter lets me borrow these adorable wee people. One day, I hope to make our relationship to one another official but let me tell you, it is already pretty permanent in my heart! Seriously, how cute are they? We got to spend a few days in California the day after Thanksgiving and despite a serious cold on my end (note how tired I look/how dry my face is), we had a blast! Lots of hours spent playing on the floor and chasing just to chase... 

Oh, and smooching babies... bliss!

Traditional Christmas Cookie Playdate

The holidays were a busy time around here! So busy, in fact, that I haven't blogged in a zillion years. Sigh.

Here is a post, better late than never... Baking and decorating Christmas cookies has really become my holiday tradition with the kids. In fact, the kids look forward to it so much they start asking about it around September! This year we were a little short on time but we still managed!

The girls helped me with the baking. They are close friends and at this point, cookie professionals! They sprinkled the flour and spread it around, warmed up and pat down the dough, rolled it out with ease, selected cutters and cut! They also closely supervised the baking process, sitting close enough to enjoy the smell!

After picking up the boys, we settled into the decorating! The kids totally took over the whole process this year (they are growing up so fast!) icing their own cookies and creating complex designs with multiple colors, layers, and patterns! Each cookie was done so carefully - the overall look really mattered to everyone (as opposed to other years when the only goal seemed to be to load on as much candy as the cookie would hold).

In the end, they were so beautiful! and more importantly, delicious!

Christmas at Home :)

This year I only spent half of November/December at home thanks to a TON of personal and work travel. As a result, I was originally not going to decorate for Christmas at all (see Scrooge in the dictionary for a recent picture of me). I've seriously been dragging from burning the candle at both ends (note no blog posts in two months) and yet, at the last minute... inspiration hit and we decided to get an artificial tree for the first time (to prevent an inevitable tree death from lack of water/attention from so much travel). I decided on one in Target and Peter and I drove around the greater Boston area until we found one with it in stock (nothing is ever easy, is it?). When we unpacked it I was so disappointed! It was flat and hideous and tiny! I thought they gave us the wrong tree! Luckily, Peter kept his cool and assured me I could fluff it out and make it lovely... he was right, as usual, don't tell him I said so...  

With a little TLC, it turned out just fine!  Every year we add a few ornaments with meaning/linked to something about us at the given time... This years ornaments were a teapot, spoon, and later cup and saucer because of our semi-regular night time tea ritual that began a few months ago. We also picked up a glass ornament with 2011 and a partridge/pear tree reference and a glass Fenway stadium ornament to make the tree a little more representative of Peter too...

While decorating our tree, Peter made our traditional chilli and then later we went on a fancy date (Chez Henri, oh la la so French!) to celebrate. We didn't actually open presents until New Year's Eve (funny for us since we normally open so early) because we were apart so much beforehand. Overall, a very nice holiday!

Favorite Fall Finds

This post is way overdue!

Before Christmas I was particularly enjoying:

- Fall colored flowers
- Pumpkin decor (some of the pumpkins below were a gift to friends, while the other was a gift from a friend!)
- Our new teatime scrabble mugs!
- The She & Him Christmas album
- Those life factory glass/silicone water bottles below...

Just a few little details of my day to day...

Halloween-ie (Beter late than never!)

I hope to always go so all-out for Halloween! This year Peter and I went as Chucky/Bride of Chucky while Jay went as himself in 1982 and Laura went as Butters/A sleepover victim in Sleepover Massacre... We had a low key party night at Trilby and Matt's house (which was decked out to the nines) - lots of drinking, eating, games, and some scary viewing material...

Fantastic Four: Scavenger Hunting

The weather has been unbelievably gorgeous this week! I decided to take full advantage of it during our playdate by hosting a fall scavenger hunt outdoors.

Our first find: this "leaf with animal holes":

They raced around, each at one point or another taking a leadership role in choosing what to hunt for and where to find it. It all happened very naturally and I just followed, snapping pictures and occasionally offering encouragement.

My favorite found object - a tree with a (massive!) hole in it!

Overall, a fantastic and fairly simple playdate that got us all moving outdoors and honing our reading, teamwork, and observation skills!