Christmas with SC McLeods

The Sunday before Christmas, Ashley's oldest sister Holly was home so we got to spend time with her. We went to eat at Mellow Mushroom downtown and then trekked over to see the lights the zoo. It was a cold night and neither Mason nor Levi had had good naps so the actual seeing of the lights wasn't that enjoyable. But it was neat to be with Holly. She and Ashley rode with the boys on the carousel while I snapped a few pictures.

I love this picture. They waved everytime they passed me :o)

Whirling whirling whirling...

We celebrated Christmas with Ashley's immediate family the Thursday night before Christmas. I made Mallory an apron and a cookie mix. Doesn't she look cute?

We also managed to get a Christmas picture of our little family! Of course, I had already sent out my cards but it's nice to have a festive picture for the album (and blog). 

And here's a more accurate picture...Levi making a funny face and Mason making a Mason face. 

The next morning, Ashley's grandparents and aunt and cousins from McBee came. I thought this was a great picture of Holly and her grandma. 

It's wonderful to have so much family for holiday celebrations. But on Christmas Eve, we were on our own. Ashley made good use of the day and started constructing our chicken coop. And then that evening we went to a friends' church downtown for their Christmas Eve service. Followed by a trip to Chick-fil-A because I knew we weren't making it back to Gilbert to eat! So even though it was unconventional, it was special because we were together. 

Christmas Time at Preschool

Middle of December meant the end of school for Levi, which also meant his class had their Christmas party. I volunteered to the be room mom this year and I'm enjoying organizing everyone for our 3 year-olds' class events (Fall Festival, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas). But before I get to that...I want to give myself a pat on the back for FINALLY learning to make pancakes. And a big thanks to White Lily for creating a delicious, easy recipe that has rewarded my family with yummy pancakes multiple times already. I've even gotten braver and am trying shapes, such as this one of our dog Max (who spends most of his time at Ashley's  parents' now). Unfortunately I dropped it on the ground before I took the picture and his appendages fell off.

So preschool the Christmas party--we opted to serve the kids pizza (shaped like upside-down Christmas trees, right?) and then decorate cookies.

I made this felt Christmas tree and had the kids play "Pin the Ornament on the Tree" while some of the other moms and dads got all the plates ready (side note--this class has great parents and grandparents who volunteer to help!).

Levi decorating his cookies. He was very exact with his icing placement.

I have limited pictures of kids in his class because some parents aren't as open as I am with publishing their kids' pictures on the web...want to respect that--but I thought this one was neat to capture them all working hard.

Mason had fun, too. Most of the time I kept him in the stroller but he did eventually get out and explore the classroom.

That night Heritage had their company managers' Christmas party. Mama and Papa came down to watch the boys so we could go enjoy ourselves.

Related but unrelated to this post...I figured out a quick relatively healthy way to let the kids make cookies...take wheat flatbread (which I use to make pizzas with the kids)...cut the shapes, butter and then sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 for a little bit and ta-da...cookies that taste pretty good and were fun to make!

And seeing as December is a "making month"--here's a picture of the quick present I made up for Levi's teachers...a French Toast Kit! Bread, eggs, bacon and a special homemade cinnamon syrup that my sister-in-law Kelsey introduced me to over Thanksgiving. I actually took it to school in the cooler bags you can buy at the grocery store but thought this looked better for the picture. Both Levi's teachers said they enjoyed it so I might make this my go-to teacher Christmas gift until I come up with something better. 

Levi and Mallory's Adventure @ EdVenture!

Last Friday Levi, Mallory and I went on an adventure to EdVenture, Columbia's children's museum. We had a great time (despite the horribly behaved schoolgroups there...that's a letter to the editor waiting to happen...when I have time). Levi and I picked Mallory up around 10 a.m. and we drove to Edventure. None of us had ever been so it was extra fun to experience this with them.

Here they are in front of Edddie--you can climb all the way up him and inside are different slides, etc. that mimic the inside of the body (heart thumping, etc). It's pretty cool to walk in the front door and see this!

There are tons of exhibits and most of them were perfect for 3 1/2 year olds, including this one on farming. Levi and Mallory are planting and harvesting carrots, broccoli, etc. 

In the construction exhibit, the kids could operate a Bobcat by pedaling it. That is, if the big kids would stay off and let them do it on their own. Grrr...goes the protective mama/aunt.

There was a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, complete with all sorts of foods to put in your cart. 

Upstairs there was a machine like at a bank drive through--only this one was for sending messages. We took a break to eat lunch at the McDonalds' in the basement. By then, most of the school groups had cleared out so we walked through the downstairs exhibits again. 

Another round at the Pig...Mallory unloading her cart, Levi waiting in line, and this really nice boy being the checkout person. 

There is a real fire truck parked inside the museum. 

I'm pretty sure this is how Mallory and Levi would drive...Mallory hitting the gas and Levi watching the road. 

Mallory loved the fireman pole and Levi loved wearing the fireman outfit!

This picture captures the day perfectly...Mallory was so pleased with herself for building such a large block tower. Although EdVenture is expensive ($10 for anyone over 1), it was definitely worth the money. Levi and Mallory had a blast. Next time I'll make sure to not go on a Friday (field trip heavy day)--but overall, it was a great experience!

Decorating for Christmas

I love Christmas and there's something about having kids that makes this holiday even more special. Because my parents, brother and sister-in-law were here with us over Thanksgiving, I got a headstart on decorating. It doesn't take much convincing to get me in the mood to decorate, especially with the sounds of XM's Holiday Traditions playing in the background. Here's a little tour of Christmas at our house....

First, we started with a bee-like structure for the top of our roof. Oh wait, that's not Christmas decor...that's our new rotating antenna. We've been cable-free since moving to this house and have LOVED it (especially not having the extra $100 bill every month). Our other antenna wasn't picking up all of the possible channels (we receive 15 or so) so Ashley purchased a rotating one. The funniest thing about this antenna...part of the instructions called for "finding a large piece of bamboo to mount it on." We're guessing folks in Asia, etc. use this antenna! It works pretty well now that we have the kinks straightened out. I'm still amazed that Ashley climbs on our steep METAL roof!

White he was working on that, the boys and visited the garden and then went on a walk in the woods. Note Mason is carrying a head of broccoli with him. 

Fall garden bounty...at the end of our broccoli....will get 4 heads of cabbage and enough carrots for several uses. 

Ok so back to the Christmas decorations. Lately, I've gotten sucked into the world of Pinterest, a site that allows you to visually keep up with neat things you see online. One of the big uses is for DIY projects. I found these cute felt medallions to make (but I must not have pinned them to my boards...boo!). 

They were super easy and cute!

Then I sewed them to a piece of bias tape (love this stuff) to make a place to hang Christmas cards. Ahem, ahem...the boys are anxiously awaiting Christmas cards, folks, so send them on! Oh and our Man is in the corner. This piece has been in all three of our houses...a antique store find of Ashley and his mom before I was in the picture. Sometimes he freaks me out but now for the most part, I like his company. Visitors always have questions about him!

I love this Vietri bowl my friend Amanda gave me one year (she used to work there). It's the perfect color green for Christmas uses, especially when ornaments are piled in.

And our tree...the lighting was perfect here! Wish I had had the boys stand in front so I could get a good Christmas tree picture with them. Our big living room windows make for a great display. 

Next year I want to find a larger wreath for our porch railing and garland to decorate our front door. I'll wait for the after Christmas sales now. Hope your Christmas is shaping up to be Merry and Bright!

Gobble Gobble!

This year we had a big change in the Mitchell family tradition...Mama handed over the reigns for hosting Thanksgiving. For the longest time I thought that she had taken over the tradition from her Mama but what really happened was when my parents got married and moved to the house they still live in today (log cabin on the hill), she invited her parents and in-laws over for Turkey Day. It was a small thing and one of the most notable events was she forgot to sugar the pumpkin pies and her father-in-law just asked for more Cool Whip instead of telling her it missing sugar. Fast forward 30+ years, and Thanksgiving at Mitchell's Fief had grown to almost 30 people at times. It was a special day with family and friends joining us. And while Mama loves Thanksgiving and caring for her family, I wanted to try my hand at the holiday so Joshua and I asked if we could change it up this year and have a smaller gathering at my new house. Mama agreed and the rest of the family made their own arrangements for eating Turkey on the last Thursday in November.

So....this year, Joshua and Kelsey flew in from Colorado on Wednesday. Mamam and Papa picked them up in Charlotte and drove down. We scaled back the menu considerably to our favorite dishes and a new holiday was celebrated in our white farmhouse. Here's a recap of our day...

I got a new jar of mayonnaise out of the pantry and somehow managed to drop it...It exploded everywhere, including on my face and hair. I was being a sweet sister and getting it for Joshua and Kelsey who were making deviled eggs.

Kelsey and Joshua cook a lot together--for our meal they made the deviled eggs and biscuits. And later in the weekend, they made some delicious French toast!

Max came to visit. He lives with Ashley's parents now but we still like to have him come over. He enjoyed the holiday and even caught a lizard. 

Ashley and Joshua readying the turkey fryer. This was the first fried turkey my family has had for Thanksgiving. 

My friend Jennifer Powell and her husband Scotty came for two nights, too. It was good to have one of my closest friends at Thanksgiving, especially because Jennifer and her family have been coming to Thanksgiving at Mama's for many years. 

The boys really enjoyed getting to spend a lot of time with their Aunt Kelsey and Uncle Josh(ua). The weather was amazing so we got to spend a lot of time outside. 

The meal is served! Lots of deliciousness!

Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Mama's pie selection so she baked 4 types for us prior to coming down (pumpkin, pecan, apple and blackberry). Not sure I'll ever master her pie baking...right now I'm happy Marie's pie shop still is going strong!

Ah the newlyweds...apparently Scotty has a big thing for turkey and pumpkin pie. We kept on "pushing" him to eat more...but it didn't take much convincing. 

Friday the guys went shooting guns....and bought some new ones. This picture was hilarious to take--Scotty isn't really a "gun guy" but he was a good sport and went along. 

Levi really loved Roxy, Jennifer's cockapoo. So cute! He would talk to Roxy like she was a person..."Roxy, come play with Playdoh with me....I love you, Roxy." We're thinking about getting 2 puppies at the start of the year. 

Friday evening my friend Nan came over to take a few family pictures. Here we are waiting. 

Mama and Papa took the boys to eat at Burger King Friday night while Ashley and I went out with Joshua, Kelsey, Jennifer and Scotty. The crowns were a hit of course. 

More fun...

I love this picture of Mama. She's so beautiful, even though most of the time she denies it. I think she really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year because we took away the stress. 

Saturday night Uncle Jack and his family came down to eat hamburgers and hotdogs with us. It was fun to get to visit with them. 

And then Sunday, we decorated for Christmas and celebrated that holiday with Joshua and Kelsey since they won't be coming back to NC this year. 

Love my brother and his beautiful wife! 

The boys really enjoyed their generosity....one of the favorite presents was a train set from Ikea. 

So that was a our Thanksgiving...we enjoyed being together, even if at times, the boys weren't on their best behavior (it's hard to have two little ones share a house when they're used to doing their thing all the time). I'm definitely thankful for both sides of my family and my friends.