December Blur

December is one of those months that always seems like a blur. I think I will get started early, and instead I find myself up all night Christmas Eve. This year was no exception...but before we skip straight to Christmas, I will show you a tiny bit of the build up.

I am not sure if I actually made this in December, but the pictures were taken in December, so I will say it counts.

This summer my sister hosted our extended family IN HER HOME for a family reunion. Over thirty people. Jenny is amazing. Not only was it a great time, but the reunion also happened to coincide with her birthday. Because of this, and as a thank you, I promised her an apron. It took me four months to deliver, so long that Jenny had completely forgotten about my promise. The sad part is that I think I picked out the fabric for her apron over 2 years ago. It just went to the bottom of the project pile and out of sight out of mind. *sigh* It is done now, and it did make for a great surprise.

My second project was something I never thought I'd take on. At the beginning of the month a parent in Eve's class asked if I thought I could make a Cabbage Patch doll. She had found a head at a thrift store, but didn't want to take the project on. I knew I should decline, but I like to help out, and I wanted to see if I could do this. I am SO glad I did! It was a fun project, and I think there will be more of these in my future.

Isn't she cute? I had so much fun recreating the look of a real Cabbage Patch doll. Aurora and Eve would now like their own dolls with purple and blue hair respectively...I am not sure I want to start making custom heads, but I would like to make a few more. My favorite part about this doll (aside from her bum and belly button. They were really cute!) is that I couldn't find fabric the right color for the skin, so I dyed it. To my surprise, it was a perfect match for the face! WOO HOO!! (really I yelled that when I pulled the dyed fabric out of the dryer)

And now to Christmas. Oh Christmas. I had such good intentions. Matching outfits and jammies, some blankets and maybe even some doll things. I also had plans for a few special friends. Well, my poor friends got left behind (I do love you all I promise!!) and my kids got store bought jammies. The matching outfits did happen, but only under the pressure of a Glee concert.

I have mentioned my kids' total inability to pose in a normal fashion haven't I? Good. Then you aren't surprised by the picture. :)

The only "momma made" gifts the girls got on Christmas morning, were name blankets. They have both been getting jealous of all the new babies getting blankets with their names on them. When I made their cousin Juliana a big sister name blanket, official requests were made. So I stayed up late late late on Christmas Eve making blanket sets for the girls. One for them, and one for their dolls. They were very well received. (which made the late night very worth it)

After Christmas we made a long snowy trek to central Wyoming for New Years. It was VERY cold, but the kids had a great time sledding, ice skating, jumping on snow filled trampolines, and hanging around with cousins. It was a great way to round out 2010.

December also meant saying goodbye to some amazing friends. Somehow, this was yet another thing that I didn't manage photograph. We do have some excellent memories. Kim, Jeremy, Seth, Amelia and Libby, we miss you all terribly. It wasn't the same ringing in the New Year without you....and we'll Skype soon (don't get any ideas Kim!) :)

Hope you had a fantastic holiday season, and may you have a wonderful 2011.

P.S. I am not one for resolutions. I only break them, but I am not opposed to a goal or two. Last year, I set a goal to read 24 books in 2010. I made that goal by the skin of my teeth. (see list of books read in my sidebar) This year, I would like to up the ante and read 36 books. I have a few books in queue, but if you care to make a recommendation, I'm all ears!