Chanukkah, 2016 (Part 2)

5th Night...

The Rover cousins came over for a fun night of hanging out and eating "Chanukkah themed Pasta" and Michelle's delicious cornbread!!! Keeping with the past 2 years tradition, we had a big game of Dreidel going, but the chocolate began to melt! They had a great attitude though, and the whole night was a blast!

6th Night....

This was our "clothing" night :) From Pajamas to slippers and socks, the kids were snuggly and warm tonight!

Daddy got a super warm and fuzzy jacket, and mommy got a game of dominoes!

7th Night....

Singing Hanukkah Songs with our friends, Alaina and Roman

Jason and Tyler were VERY honored to have the job of carrying the Hanukkah "Olympics" torch in and then out of the sanctuary! It was so much fun. They sure were nervous, but they both did an excellent job, and Tyler got a medal for it, too!

Waiting to watch the judges do the Sufganiyot Contest Tasting

Jason was in the Latke Eating Contest! He put out great effort!!!

Emilie and Micah won medals for their Sufganiyot,
 in the Sufganiyot Tasting Contest

Not much left of the kids' Sufganiyot!!!! All 3 types were DELICIOUS!

Getting ready for the Dreidel Spinning Contest!

Dreidel Spinning Contest: Jason Vs. Tyler!

Dreidel Spinning Contest: Micah Vs. Lena

Jason won a medal for the Dreidel Spinning Contest!

We had a great time watching all the events

She won a metal too!

Mommy sang in the Solo Singing contest, singing "Blue Hanukkah"
(she rewrote White Christmas...)

8th Night....
Well, we had a wonderful 8th night but unfortunately we didn't get any photos of it! It was our special "Family" night, where we got the kids a large bag of Chicago Mix popcorn, and a new game...Monopoly! We read the instructions and had a fun time playing it!

The little girls couldn't really play with us, but we anticipated that, and the little girls got a huge bunch of dress up clothes and new ballet slippers each! We listened to music while they danced and we played. It was lots of fun.

Overall, a WONDERFUL 8 days, full of Family, Love, Adventure, Laughter, and Joy.
Goodbye, 2016!

Lovingly,
Heather

Chanukkah, 2016 (Part 1)

Pictures say so much more than words!
This holiday season was just awesome, as all of the kids are now old enough to participate and be excited, which made the time so much more memorable and fun.

1st Night....

Well, as it was also Christmas Eve this year, we were able to spend the first evening with our cousins, have a lovely supper, open gifts, and drink lots of hot and creamy coffee!

After we got home, we lit the first candle, sang the blessings, and opened a couple Hanukkah gifts together

2nd Night....

Christmas night we spent with the Rover cousins. It was nice to not have gifts be the focus at all, just family, fellowship, and good food!

3rd Night...

This was lots of fun....the first night that we as a little family, were able to quietly enjoy the festival of lights from the warmth of our own home! This was also the night we had anticipated giving the children their gifts. We had a few surprises for each other, too ;)

4th Night....

We had fun with these goody bags! The 4th night was "Necessities" night, where each child got needed hygene items, and each child got a couple fun treats too!

And the boys each got a new kippa (made by mommy!), and each got a set of kippa clips which were MUCH needed!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our 2016 Hanukkah Celebrations!

Lovingly,
Heather

Crafting Craze

I am certainly not crafting every waking moment...but every now and again I really get a creative itch and MUST create something!

That combined with child-requests, and holiday gifts/decorating, I have been quite productive this fall (yes its still fall...even though it was only 22 degrees outside last night...).

Before more crafting happens and my phone starts screaming at me about the overload of project photos, I figured I had better post these!

 Monkey Tutu

Emilie has a pretty cute little red tutu, and has lately hit the age of constant-dance-readiness. Its pretty cute...but sometimes a ballerina just needs a buddy. In this case, a monkey buddy. Cause monkey see, OBVIOUSLY monkey wanna-do, right?? Right. 

Monkey needed the tutu, so I made it happen. Tulle is a beast though...it has a mind of its own. this little thing was quite the tough one to master, but master it I did, and Emilie has been tickled pink! Or red. Whatever...She is in love ❤

Fleece Blanket: Upcycled 4 ways!

When you head to the local walmart store for "Black Friday", but the "awesome deal" fleece girls pajamas are $5 still? Not cool. Until you walk past the end display stuffed full of fleece blankets with adorable prints. They are only $2.50. You had a business sewing baby and toddler pants, and have an awesome pattern for them. What do you do? That's right! Back that blue cart up, pick the cutest girl print that you know your daughters and new baby niece will look adorbs in, and take it home to snip to pieces and create!

I had extra, so Emilie's bunny got a "night-blankie" too! Nothing wasted!

Faux Cast Iron Wall Art

I adore my wall art! I have had lots of fun making these creations, and it feels so good to be recycling something that we as a large family, produce alot of...empty toilet paper rolls! Earlier this year I made a "Tree of Life", but this time I wanted something holiday/winter specific. What could be better than a 6-point star/snowflake, and a Hanukkiah??

Cinnamon & Clove Scented Oil

I needed to refresh my pinecones. You know, the ones you get for $5 and have lost their scent before the holidays are even over?? Yeah those ones. Buying a bottle of $7 oils to get a refresh for the year isn't exactly the answer (might as well buy the pinecones again!). But, if you can make your own oil for cheap cheap?? DO IT! So I did. Its not done, so I have NO idea how strong it will be, but it smells pretty good every time I pop the cork and take a whiff!

I filled my little bottle with pieces of cinnamon sticks, and about 1 tsp of whole cloves. Fill the rest of the bottle with olive oil, and let it soak for about 3 weeks. Don't make the mistake I did, and wait until December to do this...get a head start and begin when the leaves start falling, and you will have a beautiful brew by the time Thanksgiving rolls around!

Baby Leg Warmers (AKA Baby LegDoodles)

I still have a box of these lovely leg warmer pieces that were just too cute to part with when I retired my sewing business. I love cracking out the cute fluff when there is a new baby in town! Little miss got this sweet pair. Can't wait until she fits in them!

Back Heating Pad

Jonathan had a really rough night a few days ago. While my personal "Rice Sock" packs are great for concentrated areas of pain, it really doesn't cut it when you hurt ALL over. My sister had made an awesome rice pad for our brother that was giant, and so I decided to make one for Jon too! Grabbed some "manly" flannel, a few cups of rice, scissors, and boom! Made Jon a back heating pad!

Lovingly,
Heather