A Utah Christmas

A BIG thanks to all those who made our Christmas BRIGHT!
A HUGE thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Young for flying us out to Utah!

Highlights of our TRIP:

*Sledding

*Skiing

* Playing copy cat with Aunt Kristi

*Laser Tag

*Eating out

*Receiving Aunt Jill's handmade aprons

*Our blog book from Aunt Kelty & Uncle Duane

*Bowling

*Making cookies with Grandma Ginger

* Late night talks by the fire

* Avery adoring Grandma Young

*Aunt Heather & Brinley writing letters to Santa

*Paintball

Oh what a fun time we had!

Now it's back to pre-school, teaching classes at the gym, stamp clubs, dance class, Cody on call, taking down Christmas and pureeing lots of vegetables!

Butternut Squash Spaghetti

Merry Christmas!

We are in Utah this week with family...but previous to our departure I uploaded pictures so that I could update the blog while we were away! So instead of Christmas pictures you get a couple of Avery enjoying butternut squash spaghetti last week!

The New Catalog is HERE

The boxes of new catalogs arrived on my doorstep just moments before Friday's order pick up time...SO those picked up their orders have already been able to drool over the new catalog!

If you are signed up for clubs starting in January you too will receive your free copy at our first club on January 16Th!

Make sure to check HERE to view the new catalog online beginning January 1st!

Our Week

This picture perfectly describes our week with Avery!

Playroom Organization

Problem: Avery getting into everything all the time. A need to help Brinley learn to clean up what she is playing with before moving onto another project.

Solution: Decorator weight fabric, a great friend who can sew (thanks a million Ashli), Stampin' Up double stitched ribbon and a few hooks from Sears.

Neighbor Treats

Growing up we would deliver neighbor gifts as a family and carol at the doorstep of each home. My Mom was always so creative in coming up with great gifts on a budget. Now I am the Mom and we do the same thing.

Here are this years treats!

PS

I enabled the comment section of each post so if you want to leave a comment for little old me, or anyone in our family just scroll to the bottom of the post and click on the time (ex. 9:35) it was posted, then at the bottom of that screen click on "Post a Comment."

What's Cookin' in Leah's Kitchen

When Brinley was a wee one I thought that if I feed her fruits and veggies every meal she wouldn't go through a phase of not liking them as most children do. Boy was I wrong! Brinley is quite picky when it comes to cooked veggies even though I still offer them to her almost every day. Avery on the other hand is completely satisfied with a meal of black beans, green beans and broccoli...I'm sure she will change just like Brinley did.

SO, I am on a quest get vital nutrients into my kids bodies by using the tricks in Jessica Seinfeld's new book called Deceptively Delicious. I've been steaming and pureeing a variety of vegetables including: beets, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato, butternut squash and spinach so far. Then I label plastic bags as seen above and freeze them until I use them inside of recipes as an ingredient. I do still add a side of veggies to meals as well.


So far I have made grilled cheese with sweet potato (Brinley loved it), pink pancakes with beet, chicken & stuffing with cauliflower (that was certainly not Cody's favorite) and taco meat with butternut squash.

This method of cooking does take more time and prep, but it's so worth it to get natures medicine into my kiddos!

December Club Nights

This is a sparkly snowflake ornament I made to show club members just one possibility using our On Board product, designer paper and Stampin' Glitter!

Last month we had Christmas themed club projects so this month I decided to dabble in spring colors. My club ladies created a 6X6 scrapbook page, a card and a cute little 2008 goals list. We used designer series paper, ribbon originals and the Garden Whimsy stamp set this month.

For the Technique Table demo we learned the Crackled Glass technique as shown here in the butterfly card (but you can't really see the technique well in this picture), and how to make a super speedy ornament with nothing but paper and ribbon!

I made these little gifts below for club members to say THANKS for being a part of Stampin' with Leah. I used our Apple Cider paper so inside I attached a packet of apple cider using the tab punch.

A big thanks to all of my lovely clubies! I will see many of you in our upcoming club series which begins on January 16Th at 7:30pm!

My Dear Paige

My dear friend Paige and her darling baby Brooklyn came from Tennessee last week to visit us. About two days before she left (yes half way through her trip) I started getting VERY sad about the thought of her departure.

Now perhaps for some of you a vacation includes relaxation, a beach perhaps and dinning out. Well Paige's 5 day vacation included the following:

Listening to a chorus of crying, babysitting while I helped with our ward Christmas party, enrichment, meals at home, laundry and dishes. HOWEVER, it also included: lots of laughs (like when we discovered Avery eating Paige's deodorant), making Ginger Bread houses out of graham crackers, hours of great conversation, eating the most delicious ice cream Ohio has to offer, a trip to the library with the kids (this can be more entertaining than many performances) and just being together.

My Dear Paige, how I do love you! Remember how we became "blood sisters" on the beach in Mexico? Remember our summer together as teenagers when I was often lame, but we were always so darn funny together? Remember how you were with me during my bridal photo's and shower? And now look at us, both Mommy's. We need to keep on creating memories together even if they include a lot of diapers, discipline and dishes. Thank you for coming. Thank you for being so sweet to my girls. Thank you for sharing your beautiful baby with us. Thank you for enjoying a "vacation" at our home. Thank you for just being you!

Snow Day

This week it snowed, a lot! Brinley insisted on going out first thing in the morning on the first day it snowed. It was so cute to see Avery experience snow for the first time!

The following day my dear friend Paige arrived and I was able to suit up and play in the snow with Brinley while Paige stayed in the house with the babies.

Pudding Baths

Tradition = Pudding baths

Tradition originated = during Leah's childhood

Brinley loves it!

Avery's first experience was this year, she did NOT like it.

Good cheap fun!

Here's the deal folks

This year I only made 60 Christmas cards. This means that we don't have enough to send them out to all of our friends and extended family. SO, all of you wonderful and dear friends living close by, please know that we did not send a Christmas card to ANY Columbus friends since it's all right here on the blog for you to see.

We still want to wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Stamping Friends, here is all that I used: versa mark, silver embossing powder, white stazon, clear envelopes, The Snowflake Spot stamp set, crimper, 5/8th's real red ribbon, Soft Sky paper and rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit.

Christmas Card Post

Our year in a nutshell

Brinley:

Turned four. Acquired a desire to chat on the phone. Began dance and loves it. Started "four year old preschool" and loves that too. Believes that she is the boss of Avery. Learned to write her name. Enjoys play dates with friends. Loves to read and sing.

Avery:

Turned one. Learned to sit, crawl, babble, walk and feed herself. Loves to sit inside of any available object. Learned to defend her territory. Likes to drink the bathtub water. Can sing the melody of Twinkle Twinkle little star. Learned to get into cupboards with baby locks on them. Has more energy than I can handle.

Cody:

Working hard through his second year of residency. Best Dad in the whole world. Studies a lot. Teaches a great gospel doctrine class at church. Attended two OSU football games. Has become a fix-it man around our first home. Runs outside at 5:00am to get exercise before his busy day begins (even in the freezing winter).

Leah:

Still cooking, cleaning and mothering full time. Enjoying facilitating monthly stamp clubs, workshops and helping demonstrators in my group. Attended the annual Stampin' Up convention in Denver, Colorado with four friends in my downline. Achieved certification in Body Pump and continue to teach several aerobics classes a week.