December Daily #7 ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside

Despite the fact that it was about 5 degrees outside, Ellie, Kohlton and Remmie had fun in the snow.

They had a nice time inside, too. Larr bought a space heater so it is nice and toasty warm in the big room, finally. Remmie is always happy for a hug.

This evening Ellie and Kohlton joined his dad, Mark and the crew from the shop for the company Christmas dinner. They went down to Larimer Square and will have dinner at Ocean Prime.

December Daily #6 ~ Unusual Traditions, Part 2 + a Mac and Cheese Recipe

My birthday is on New Years Eve, which means that my birthday and Christmas have always been pretty tied together. For many years I had a sleep over to celebrate my birthday. It was a wonderful thing. We had the entire family room in the basement to ourselves. I thought we were so cool. I had an 4' aluminum Christmas tree, complete with a rotating color wheel, that was set up in the corner. I loved that silly thing and took great pride in setting up all by myself each year. I don't recall whether I had any ornaments to go on it or not. Somewhere along the line I think it became too ratty to keep. It was a lot like the tree in the photo above.


I'd pick a dinner that I liked that year and we would have that. We would also watch "The Trouble with Angles" with Hayley Mills, eat our dinner and talk the entire time. We would stay up too late, talk too loud and laugh even louder.


I had not thought about any of that for a long time, but I saw an aluminum Christmas tree in the window of a local thrift store about two years ago. It tugged at my nostalgic heart and I had intended to go back and buy it. However, by the time I returned for it, it was gone. My mom has a magical gift for finding amazing deals and stuff at the thrift store so I have put her on the case. It will likely take a few years, but I imagine that one of us will find one some time in the next few years.

It makes me wonder what silly things will become nostalgic for my own children.

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Wisconsin Mac and Cheese
via:

1/2 lb macaroni
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
2 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded Cheddar/jack or Colby/jack cheese
Boil the Noodles

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box. Make sure to cook it to al dente.

The Cheese Sauce

Heat a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and melt. Then add the flour. Start to whisk to make a roux.
Whisk until the butter mixture starts to boil and foam. Then cook for another minute until it starts to lightly turn brown.
Slowly mix in the whole milk. Continue to whisk and cook until it starts to thicken.
Then add the salt, pepper, paprika and Monterey Jack cheese. Whisk until the cheese is fully melted.
The sauce will not be too thick. This is perfect.

To Serve

Pour 1/2 cup of the cheese sauce into the bottom of a bowl. Then add 1 – 1 1/2 cups of cooked noodles to the bowl.
Then top with 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar/jack or Colby/jack cheese and serve.

December Daily #5 ~ Unusual Traditions

the topic for today is unusual traditions your family has. This was a hard one for me and I will tell you why.

When the kids were little, I would whip myself, and them usually, into a frenzy trying to make sure that I included every holiday tradition that I thought they might want. I was worried that I would leave some important tradition out and that when they were older, they would lament with their friends that their childhood had been lacking since they had not had that one tradition that everyone else seemed to cherish so. The end result of that kind of thinking was a frantic pace. Instead of enjoying the season and being in the moment, I would begin to plan the next special moment even as I should have been focusing on the one that we were in. It left me feeling like I was lacking as a mother. We'd go to playgroup and I would listen to the stories of the perfectly executed home decorations and displays. I would hear about the wonderful outings, the new Christmas pajamas, the family portrait in a snow covered field, etc. Those stories were both inspiring and humbling at the same time.

When my mother-in-law was still with us she would make sure to take us all to a Christmas show every year. Many years we would go to the Denver Center for Performing Arts presentation of "A Christmas Carol." Other years we would take in a Christmas concert over at the Buell Theater. I think the best year was the concert where the Colorado Children's Coral joined in with the Denver Symphony Orchestra. We even went to "The Nutcracker" one or two times.

My own mother has traditions that we keep as well. Every year she hosts an open house on Christmas eve. Everyone is invited. I always loved the feeling of being so welcoming and having people join us. My mother would have a fire going in the fire place and a nice spread of food that would have a theme each year. It would happen in the early evening and end just in time to make it to the Christmas service at our church which was just five minutes away. When I think about my mother, I think about how welcoming, loving and fun she is. I think that is how others see her, too.

Another tradition of my mother's traditions has gone away, sort of. Early in our married life, my mother purchase a German Christmas Pyramid (we called it a glockenspiel.) (It was similar to the one above.) My mother loved it. At the time we were young and thought that the glockenspiel was sort of tacky. We all laughed. She laughed, too. She replied, "watch out where you laugh, it may become yours some day." The next year it was re-gifted. This happened for many years. Most of the time the person who held the glockenspiel that year would add something to it. We would continue to tease my mother about the tackiness of the decoration. It had meant to be in all good fun, but somewhere along the line someone decided to end that tradition and has not re-gifted it in years. I worry that somewhere in that fun, the teasing became hurtful to my mother. I asked her about it the other day and her answer was vague. She sidestepped the question about whether it bothered her or not and simply replied that someone still has it, but that it is not to be known. I hope that it reappears. I'd like to see it again. I don't think of it as being so tacky anymore and I would like to know that it was all in good fun and had not hurt my mother's feelings.

Then one year I got really sick, too sick to do much of anything other than exist and make sure the family was limping along. We stayed home,we did very few things. And that year was one of the better ones. I came to see that the kids were not missing out on so much, really and they were so much more relaxed. I came to realize that they took on my own stress and their sensory input was on overload. It was then and there that I decided I needed to worry a lot less about "keeping up with the Jones." Each year I still have my own struggles with wanting to "keep up with the Jones." I don't know why that it, but I work hard to keep it in check.

Now that my kids are older, they are able to lead most of that kind of activities we take part in and I worry about it a lot less. We still have traditions, like watching the holiday movies and having a nice family dinner,but the rest is up for consideration.

December Daily # 4 : Holiday Movies

One of my fond memories from the holidays during my childhood was the joy my mother and I had anticipating the Christmas Specials that would air each week during the holiday season. We would eagerly scour the Television Guide, pen in hand, to see what was coming on that week, circle it/them and then make sure that we would be available to watch them. This was before you could record them on a VCR tape, and certainly befor Tevo. If you missed it, you missed it; there was not fixing that. During the day the music from the special that would air that night would run though my head. Sometimes we would even eat a special dinner while watching the shows. My favorite was toast fingers. My mom would cut pieces of toast into four or five long strips that then add a different topping to each one: butter, cinnamon sugar, jelly, peanut butter and mayonaisse. It would come with a large, cold glass of milk. I so looked forward to that. As a mom myself now, I realize that my special favorite treat dinner was most likely a response on my mother's part to not wanting to have to cook a whole meal or perhaps we were low on food. What ever the reason, it is one of the things I look back on fondly.

My favorite shows were all by Rankin and Bass. I think "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" was the best of them all. I always cried through the Island of Misfit Toys part. Next up would have to be "Little Drummer Boy." The scene with the lamb cluthced at my heart. Then of course there was "Frosty the Snowman," "A Year Without Santa," "A Very Charlie Brown Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." I am sure there were others as well.

I think that some of the magic of Christmas movies aimed at kids has been lost or changed, at least. Now that the kids can own the movies, watching them on demand, they miss out on the magic that my mother and I shared. My daughter would perhaps say that it is better now because you can watch them whenever you want to. She loves holiday movies, too, but hers are very different. I think "Elf" is her holiday go to movie. For my mother it is "A Christmas Story." "Polar Express" came out just at about the same time when the kids began to make a shift from believing in Santa Claus and being absorbed in the magic of the season in a very real way to seeing the holidays in a more adult manner. I tried to make that one special for them, but we missed that mark. We have the beautiful book. We had a special bell and we watched the movie. I had wanted the special tea cup and saucer with the Polar Express logo on it (like it is in the book) but they just did not seem to care. Ethan says that he does not have a favorite holiday movie. The way he said it, makes me think that maybe the holiday movie bit is a girl thing.

Ellie starts out her season with a viewing of "Elf." I like some of the more romantic, even cheesy, holiday love stories like "The Holiday." Each year I look for a new one.

What movies do you love to watch during the holidays?

December Daily #3 - Oh Christmas Tree...

This evening the long awaited and promised snow storm has begun. The snow is fluffy and artistic. Each one is a tiny work of art of crystal structures. As I drive home from the store the snow swirls around and the light streaming is glittered with the cold stuff. It was the perfect evening to get a Christmas tree.

We usually get a Fraiser Fern, but Ellie fell in love with a giant (most likely about 10") Grand Fir tree and so it followed us home, with a little help, of course. The fact that Kohlton could join us made it all the better. Larr is a bit of a humbug and does not care to take part in getting a tree and Ethan was still at work. This year our tree came from Home Depot. They thankfully made short work of our usual routine since one of the lot attendants trimmed provided a fresh cut on the trunk of the tree and then slipped it into an orange netting that made it oh so much easier to transport. On the way out the kids found packages of blue and silver ornaments that also needed to come home with us.

We turned on the holiday music and began to decorate. I did the blue LED lights and later Ellie added the tinsel garland. Kohlton placed the star and helped keep the dog entertained for a time. He and Ellie also took much pleasure in hanging the ornaments. I hung back and let them enjoy the process together. That was much more fun than hanging the ornaments. Slowly the other parts of the house are getting decorated, too.

All of this gets me into the Christmas mood. I am enjoying focusing on these elements of the holiday season. As I type this, it is late and the snow continues to fall, making a glistening, reflective blanket of white that will look like something from the movies in the morning. I hope that the Christmas season finds its way quietly into your heart, too.

December Daily #2: Santa Claus

Today's topic is Santa. Since our kids are older, we do not have any recent photos of them sitting on his lap. However, I thought I would share some Santa Claus related memories from my own childhood. Our house is just two blocks from the house I grew up in. My mother still lives there and loves to decorate it for the holidays. She says that her house looks like a Christmas ornament store. Perhaps she is right. I love the way she celebrates the season. When I saw today's prompt my mind went straight to the photos my mother lovingly displays and adds to each year. I thought for sure that each photo was a Santa photo. However, when I went over to photograph it, I found that they were few that included Santa. Still, that simple display is magical for me.

(The one in the cowboy hat is me.)

I am certain that we went to see Santa, but my mother is not a picture taker, so I guess those memories are more in our heads than on display at her house.

In the 1970's there were still big department stores downtown. Each one sported big, elaborate scenes that told stories. I especially loved the Nutcracker inspired displays. My mother would get a new outfit for each of us. We would bundle up in our heavy coats, our hats and mittens so that we would not get cold on the bus ride down town. We would have dinner at Woolworth's and then walk the length of the outdoor mall admiring the windows. Our goal was to make our way to the Santa's Village a the May D&F department store at the end of the mall. Out front people would be skating in a man made ice rink and the stores looked like something out of a Hollywood movie. Once in the basement we would wind our way through another elaborate display that was like walking through a Department 56 village, but the buildings were all about five feet tall. The fake snow was fluffy and deep. We'd enjoy music as we waited our turn to see Santa. An elf would guide us to his magical chambers, Santa would listen intently, shaking his head and taking notes. Upon leaving he would hand us each a small candy cane that was cut off a long roll of them.

The volunteer firemen in my town hosted a very special event each Christmas Eve where Santa would ride the fire truck up and down each street, visiting kids at their homes, handing out small stockings filled with candy and peanuts. His visit was much anticipated. You could hear him coming by the sound of the siren on the truck. We would step out to the sidewalk, hoping back and forth between our freezing shoeless feet, watching as Santa slowly made his way to our house. One year my mother purchased a fancy velvet bag which she filled with presents. As instructed, Santa stopped by for a visit, gave us our treats, our small gifts and took photos. Then he retreated, bag slung over his shoulder. I think the magic of that event enchanted my mother for a little while, until she figured out that Santa forgot to leave her special bag. She never did get that bag back and she retells that story each year. Sometimes I think about making a similar bag and dropping it off.

By the time we had our kids, May D&F was long gone. I search high and low for something as magical, but none was to be found. We did the next best thing which was to visit Santa at Echter's Greenhouse where his reindeer were hanging out and the store was filled to the brim with pointsettias and specialty Christmas trees. Ellie tells me that she was terrified of Santa for a while. I would have never of known that had I not asked.

December Daily - Day #1 What Signals the Beginning of the Holiday Season?

December Daily: #1 - What is one food or tradition that kicks off your holiday season or that really makes it feel like the holidays?

Ellie says that Christmas is her favorite season; for her it begins the day after Halloween when the stores begin to set up their Christmas and Holiday displays. Thankfully Ellie loves to wrap presents and this summer she set up a wrapping station in the big room in the basement. Her brother calls it an elf work station. She lovingly and artfully arranged the bows, the ribbon and the gift wrap. When we go to the store she checks out the designs. Just last week I had her pick out some new wrapping paper and some bows. She was conservative and requested very little so when I found tiny, colorful bows at another store I picked up three packages of them. This year we also added washi tape to the mix. Now, I love to make things with paper, but I don't like to wrap presents. I think it is a glitch in my DNA. Ellie, on the other hand, loves to do it. I love watching her joy.

I, too, love to see what the stores are putting out for the holiday season. Some years I find lots of things I love and want. Other years, not so much. I am both disappointed and relieved. It is fun to find things that I love, but storage space and money require that I have a bit of self control. This year I am able to resist most of what Target has to offer, but Crate and Barrel, one of my favorite stores, has a few things I love:
Lazer Cut Village:

Cut paper garland:

I also love to look at the cards from some of my favorite suppliers. I have such fun looking at the designs over at Shutterfly. I will unveil our card later. I also love some of the designs from Paper Source:

I also begin to think about holiday projects. They often include cut paper, glitter, paint and the like.

I'd like to make something like this sign this year. I have picked the song, yet.

This meme may capture some of the joy of the season for Ellie.

The boys were not available to answer this question. I think this might be more of a girl thing. If you come over to our house you will find art projects (including lots of glitter and glue), stuff for fancy hot chocolate, such as whipped cream, chocolate shavings and curls, and sprinkles, of course.

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A side note:

For several years now I have admired the "December Daily" projects that some of my favorite scrappers have created. Ali Edwards comes to mind most readily. She is a very popular blogger who also happens to celebrate the creations of others. Her December Daily Flickr group is worth checking out. I like the ideas that she shared here, too. I will be incorporating a set of fancy numbers that have been generously provided by Traci Reed Design. I don't really have the time to do an album like those, but I want to be more conscious of the holiday season this year. Partially because I want to sort of slow myself down and notice the beauty of the season and worry less about my to-do list. I also feel like this may be the last Christmas season with all four of us under one roof. Ethan's work takes him out of town often enough and his life is leading towards adventures. Ellie is clearly thinking about the holiday traditions she cherishes and what she will incorporate or create in her adult like. it is exciting to watch both kinds of growth as it unfurls. I want to try and capture what this is like. (I wished that I had taken part in a project like this when the kids were young. However, I had not come up with the idea and no one else had either, as far as I know.)