app fun!

so, several months ago i lucked out and got ted's old iphone. i don't use my cellphone that much and, in fact, i don't have a data plan for my iphone. ted put the sim card in my iphone and it is a go phone. recently i've noticed that a friend of mine on facebook has been posting some really cool pictures of his kids using instagram. turns out instagram is a free app! so, this has become a new quick hobby of mine. you take the photo, choose an editing tool and upload the photo-easy.

christmas crafts

this year i decided i wanted to start a few traditions. this included a few advent activities. the first was a jesse tree. i copied a friend of mine and made the ornaments out of clay. once i got the hang of it i had fun creating and assembling the little pieces.

here they are, all 25! i inserted sterling silver jewelry hooks in each ornament and baked them. the clay really held it color and consistency quite well. then i painted each of them with a satin finish glaze.

i was thinking i would find a branch-like tree that we would keep year after year, but i finally just broke down and bought this live one from trader joe's. we didn't do such a great job of keeping up with it because of all the traveling, but i know the kids will enjoy it each christmas season!

i saw an advent calendar like this one in a pottery barn catalog and decided to make one myself. it's made out of felt and i actually got to use some new stitches on my sewing machine!! most of the work was done by hand. you can't tell from this photo, but i hand-stitched numbers 1-25 under each pocket and our last name at the bottom. it took me a while and i now have to doctor up santa on pocket 25 because corinne absconded with his beard, hair, hands and cuffs!

tangled

another adventure we had in florida was the kids' first movie experience in the theater. my mom really wanted to take the girls to see "tangled". so, while my dad and ted went to see some action flick my mom and i braved the almost-empty theater with all 3 kids. they did really well. ella was so into the movie. she sat with her chocolates in hand and 3d glasses in place. it really was such a cute movie. i have to admit that i enjoyed it, too!

mommy time

so, while in florida i was able to have some time to myself. my mom treated my aunt and me to pedicures and manicures. i've never had such a good pedicure before. the place was so nice inside and it was fun to go with someone else. i asked for a christmas design on my toes and this is what the gal came up with. she took great pains to get the snowmen just right. since then i've been really careful to always wear socks with my shoes so that i don't "scratch the paint".

i also got out and spent some time with some old friends. marni, alecia and i have been buds for over 15 years. we had a good time chatting and catching up. i miss those gals!

first friday

the town of eustis, where my parents live, has a street "fair" the first friday of every month. for christmas they had a boat parade (it is lake county) and all the boats decorated with christmas lights. i couldn't resist taking a picture of my handsome husband!

ella and i got our faces painted. we all had dinner and ate while listening to a cover band playing in the street.

it was a good night, but very chilly!

pony rides

we took the girls to a christmastree place where they had hayrides, a petting zoo, a campfire to roast hotdogs and marshmallows and pony rides. ella was so excited to ride the horse. she tried to climb on, but in the end i had to pick her up and put her on the saddle. she enjoyed every minute of the ride! i couldn't believe that she wasn't afraid at all.

grandma's birthday

we surprised ted's mom for her birthday. she had a big birthday party planned and ted promised to be there friday after thanksgiving, but we all came! bohdan got to meet grandma for the first time.

the kids really enjoyed playing at their cousins house. they have chickens, goats, cats and a dog!

unfortunately, corinne got bit by the one mean chicken. even now when reminded of the event she says, "mean chicken bite me". however, she's still an animal-lover.

for my mother-in-law's birthday we all went to silver springs park. it's a really pretty park with natural springs and boat rides. we all enjoyed the day:)