2nd Homeade Christmas To-Do is DONE!

This is a project that i have been wanting to do for months! I had it on my crafty to-do list and even enlisted the help of the hubby.  I really wanted something for the girls to play with that I wouldn't have to worry about them breaking.

My part was easy....he says he is lucky to have all of this fingers. I am very please and hope that our little cousins will enjoy their block nativity set for years to come!

Butt, Mom!!!!

I feel a little sheepish with my title, because it isn't a term we freely use in the Munson fam-il-y, but it very much suits this post.

I can't tell you how many times a day I hear "but MO-om" as my children whine about how starVING they are or how much they want to watch a movie or some other trivial thing. Seriously, my children as for food so many times per day you would seriously think I never feed them. On the other hand, I feel like all I do is feed them and wipe their "boonies". The term that we have endearingly used since Hayden could speak and couldn't get the "t" sound for bootie.

Anyway, so today I dropped off Hayden at school and decided to do one errand that I didn't want to put off too much longer due to the long lines that I am sure will start forming in the customer service booths across America. I needed to return two things. Errands like these usually give me the hives just thinking of them, and what MAY occur during the meant-to-be-quick errand. Throw in two antsy 3 year olds and you must be prepared for anything.

So we pull up to Walmart. That in itself can gives me hives. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with Walmart. It just always seems overcrowded with people in a panic or those who are past the panic and are now in the "bulldoze anyone in my way" mode.  It's quite frightening. And that is just if you make it in the door without being run-over by any of the said panickers in their vehicles.  

Sidenote: At one point during our trip they announced on the overhead that a small child, three years old, was missing. Please come to the front to claim her. Seconds later I see a woman and man talking frantically and the woman had that " I just lost my child and need her back RIGHT NOW" look on her face. I also heard her mention three years old. I'm thinking Woman! Did you not just hear!??  So I say, " Are you missing a child, three years old? They have her at the front. Did you hear the overhead?" She looks at me now panicked AND confused and says, "No, I'm looking for size 3 Tights." Sorry, can't help ya there, unless Ella, do you want to donate yours that you are wearing??  I was a bit shocked at the urgency she had on her face for tights. Hopefully the other mom that is missing the child isn't wondering around the store calmly browsing through the light bulb section.


ANYWAY, back to the beginning......We walk in and since the return items are small I opt to forgo the cart until we are finished with the return. The twins each picked a small toy from our treasure toy box/extend-o closet, i.e. THE CAR.  , to bring with them into the store. So we make the return, after waiting for about 10 minutes. The girls dropping and picking up the toys, stuffing them and unstuffing them into my purse, making friends with a man in line, hugging his legs, me being horrified, giving them the stranger danger talk , and of course, every person in the line asking if they were twins. Sigh.

You'd think that was enough, but NO! I thought, lets browse the store. Maybe we can finish up some shopping we haven't gotten to yet. I grab us a cart, Ella picks the front seat and Preslyn picks the basket. I figured this was a bad idea because Preslyn is a notorious basket-riding-stander-upper. But I didn't feel like arguing with them if I tried to switch or deal with the flood of tears waiting to pour.  So we slowly wandered up the center aisles where all the impulse Christmas gifts were. I stop at this one bin to look at something for Hayden and am looking at it and reading and Preslyn calls to me, "Mom, do I have a pullup on?" I look over and Preslyn is standing in the basket, with her jeans and diaper around her knees. Her "Boonie" just glowing in the florescent Walmart lights. I was so tickled I could barely scold her. It was so shocking and hilarious. 

Like I said. I have to be prepared for anything. And I am never prepared for the crazy things these girls pull.

Weekly Eatzerria- Week 2

Hopefully you are finished with all your leftovers and ready for some new tastes besides Turkey.  This week I am getting most of my recipes from my fellow blogger and college friend Elaine. You should totally check out her blog because she has got great posts, good recipes and lots more!
So the meal plan goes like this

Monday

Roasted Cherry Tomatos with angel hair
Panko Chicken- Recipe off the box of Private Selection Parmesan Panko
Broccoli

Tuesday
Peppery Flank
Mac n cheese from a box
Salad
Crescent rolls

Wednesday
Chicken Tagine
Couscous

Thursday
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Asparagus (I pour olive oil and soy sauce over them and broil)
Cornbread (nothing fancy, just the recipe on the cornmeal)

Friday
Sweet Potato & Gruyere Turnovers
Warm winter lentil soup


Thanks Elaine for all the yummy recipes! I can't wait to cook them up!

Turkey Shirts for the Girls

For thanksgiving I got inspired when I saw my friend Leslie's little turkey shirt she handmade for her little Brenley. Why didn't I think of that sooner!?!?!? I thought as I picked up Hayden from her Thanksgiving Day Celebration at school. I figured it was Thursday, I had until Saturday until we had our first family T-day event. Plenty of time to crank out not 1, but 3 turkey shirts....how hard could it be????? Oh did I mention that Sunday was also going to be the twins 3rd birthday bash. Not like I didn't have anything else I needed to be doing. (Total sarcasm intended)

So the turkey shirt-a-palooza began. I wrestled and fought and maybe even growled at my sewing machine. It hated me at times. I was sure it was purposefully holding out on its magical powers, on purpose, because HELLO! doesn't it know that I am on a strict timeline of, I'm-already-crunched-for-time-and-now-I-want-to-throw-in-one-more-MUST-complete-task-before-said-deadline!?! COME ON! work with me machine.

Needless to say that I worked hard, stitched and unstitched. Taught myself new things, even read the sewing manual! All of my skills are totally self-taught since I was not properly schooled in the ways of the sewing machine. Instead I inherited a sewing room of supplies with high aspirations that I would easily "catch on".  Well it wasn't easy, but I did enjoy when I finally started "catching on".

So , I will show you some shots of my finished product. I only managed to finish Hayden's for the first family Thanksgiving. Which was a week early, so technically, I didn't miss the holiday . I finished Preslyn and Ella's by the actual day of Thanks.

Here are the photos.

Ella was so thrilled to get a matching shirt like Hayden and proceeded to walk around waiting for her's to be complete saying, " Mommy making us Tuwkey shuwts" .

Here you can see what I see on a daily basis. Ella has really taken the role of Hayden Jr. to a whole new level. She and Hayden are more like twins than Preslyn and her. Its very interesting to see it all play out. Preslyn is in her own little world. She is going to be an interesting little girl to watch.