Boys' school valentines.

(Quite possibly the best picture I could get of the two of them since Theo's birth.  I am absolutely 100% crazy about these two boys.  I suffer from tremendous guilt not having enough time in the day to spend more time than I do with them.  But it is what it is, I am a working parent.  One thing is for sure, they will never question my love for them.)






2013 Easter Egg Hunt from Melissa Mensavage on Vimeo.


Untitled from Melissa Mensavage on Vimeo.

It seems that every holiday sneaks up on me and I am finding myself scrambling last minute to make sure we do the typical festivities.  For example, I totally screwed up and we never really got to see Santa.  Grandma and Ginga did take the boys to see Santa while I was at work, and by the time they went, I didnt care I wasnt there but in reality, I wanted to be there. 

Anyway, since I never thought to buy an egg coloring kit to you know, color eggs for the holiday, I found a recipe for Easter Nests.  You know the chow mein noodles and such??  This is a version of it.  I think they look nice, they taste okay, but I am not sure this is the best recipe. 

Either way, Max had fun putting the eggs in the nests.  He did awesome, I told him two big eggs and two small eggs.  Look at his master piece!


Here's the recipe in case you want to give it a try.  I did do a taste test of the nests, and really they arent all that bad.  The only trouble I had was with the shaping of the nests, I had to chill the mixture for a good 30 minutes prior to, and because of the marshmallow creme my fingers got sticky rather quickly.  I just washed my hands several times, but I am sure you could use powder sugar.  Enjoy!

Easter Nests
yeilds approximately 1 dozen small nests
1 7oz jar marshmallow creme
1/4 c creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 6 oz bag of chow mein noodles
M+M's*
*you could very well use raisins, nuts, peanuts, etc.
mix marshmallow, peanut butter and butter until smooth.  Add chow mein noodles.  Chill.  On waxed or parchement paper, form mixture into nests.  Add toppings, chill again for 30 minutes. 

This is just a few of the items I made, I am still waiting on a couple of others to send me their pictures. 

1. A felt garland for my sister Sharon.  Though techncially this wasnt a Christmas gift, it was a Thank You/Hostess gift from our visit in October.  I am terribly slow. 


2. Two stuffed animals, an owl and a giraffee, for Theo.  I was clueless on what to get him this year seeing we had all the baby toys, and I really dont have any room for too much more stuff. 


3. A felt town/house for Max.  Found this pattern and fell in love with the idea.  It came together pretty easily, just time consuming because of the amount of items to glue.  Max kept asking when he could play with it.  Now it just sits out on the floor in the kitchen for whenever he wants.  (had I taken the time and gone through the matchbox cars we already own, I could have saved myself a few bucks and not purchased the construction set.  oh well.)

I havent been terribly good at taking pictures lately - feeling a bit disconnected with my camera.  I mean I totally missed Theo's Six Month post.  (Poor guy ... I'll have to make it up to him somehow.)

Anyway, Christmas came and went in a flash this year.  Probably because I was knee deep in making gifts, one that is still sitting on the kitchen floor that needs finishing, and each time Max walks by it asks when he can play with it.  Soon... I hope...

The few moments I really wanted to get on camera I found myself just being a part of the moment.  For example, Max picking out the cookie, plate and cup for Santa.  Then putting them under the tree.  Then putting the Santa key on the front door knob (because we dont have a chimney).  It was a precious moment.  One I know I'll remember for ... well, ever. 

So next year I'm thinking I need to have a holiday party.  If for nothing else but to have reason to do this:


via

How cool is this??

pinterest

pinterest

Totally inspired by Soulemama. 

I have these evergreen shrubs in the backyard that are totally overgrown and the flower bed is a giant mess,and every year I say I am going to rip them out and plant something more appealing.  Well each year comes and goes, and I never get around to landscaping this particular bed.  Then Christmas comes along and I am very thankful I didnt rip them out so I can make myself a fresh wreath for the house.  Or use in a centerpiece.

This year I decided for a couple of reasons that I would do my best to make gift giving special.  I'm not sure if others feel this over-commercialism of the holiday.  I do especially when I see all the sales for items so so cheap that it makes me wonder exactly what it costs to make these items - you know t-shirts, shoes, electronics, games, etc.  And the over-abundance of these items in the stores only means an over-abundance of items in people's houses.  And which means half of this stuff will be in garage sales this summer. 

So when it came time to start thinking about gift giving, I really wanted to do something from the heart, something handmade.  Yes, this is taking up a HUGE amount of my time.  We are talking late nights, ignored children for an hour or two on the weekends, lots of trips to the thrift and craft stores for supplies.  But I think in the end the receivers of my gifts will appreciate these more than a gift card, or something that they would never use. 

What are you doing for gift-giving this year?

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After the holiday, when everyone has received their gifts I will post everything I made. 

The holiday cards have been ordered.
The 'elving' has begun.
The holiday music station on Pandora is getting plenty of play time.
The holiday movies (Christmas Vacation, Elf, White Christmas, Deck the Halls) are in the DVD player.
The magic seen on Max's face when he looks at the tree, priceless.
The joy Max expresses as we drive home in the dark, and says, 'Look at THAT house!', priceless.

'Tis the season.

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ps - Thank you to my niece for putting up and decorating the tree for me.  Its beautiful.  You cant see it but there is a section on the tree, bottom left, where Max added ornaments.  Like 8 ornaments on one branch.  I will take pictures and savor this.

Each year I receive several adverstisements in the mail from Shutterfly, Snapfish, Tiny Prints, Minted and a few other online places for christmas cards.  When I flip through the beautiful pages I see these awesome pictures that coordinate with the card.  So when it comes time for me to put together our christmas card, the anxiety jumps like six levels because it has to be perfect. 

Well, this year it will be nothing of the sort.  Getting a two year old and an infant to look at the camera at the same time is close to a miracle.  To get a two year old to smile nice and not with some phoney smile all the while saying, 'CHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSEE'.

I was able to get a picture that will suffice for the card.  Its not my favorite, but taking these photos this morning was awesome...just see these:

This year Halloween had a different meaning - because Max was catching on to the concept of 'put on a costume and you get candy'. 

Ironically Theo was sick on Halloween.  I had him in the emergency room in the morning for a high fever.  Why is this ironic? Because Max was sick on his first Halloween. 

I used a hand-me-down costume for Max this year - a baseball my sister made for my nephew like 14 years ago!  Then Mom worked hard to make a basketball for Theo. 

They are no professionally made costumes, but they were perfect.

This year Max will really get the idea of Halloween.  Right now he still is weary about it and says no when I ask him to try on a costume.  I know for sure he will love the trick-or-treating part. 

Dad came in to town for a visit last weekend.  We havent seen him since Max's 1st birthday, so it was long overdue and really great to spend quality time together. 

We decided to have the annual pick-your-pumpkin event while Dad was here.  Andrew, Kelly, the twinkies, Mom, Al, Dad, Max, Theo and myself all headed over to Johansen Farms in Bolingbrook. 

The twinkies and Max absolutely loved it.  Cant wait for Theo to be old enough to join in on the fun.

i love tyler's face!

  

We did indulge in their apple cider donuts.  I mean ridiculously indulge....who cant?? They are good.  Ridiculously good.  Along with their apple pies. ... yum.  If you go, I recommend either, and if you want to be dangerous, like us, cause we roll like that...get both!  You wont be disappointed!

Happy Easter Everyone! 

(yeah, sorry this is a day late, but better late than never!)

I have to say for a holiday, one that isnt all that high up on my favorites list, it was a pretty enjoyable one.  I mean I never really even mentioned the Easter Bunny to Max.  We were at a park district event on Saturday and saw the Easter Bunny, and I was all 'Oh. Max. There's the Easter Bunny.  Say Hello.'  No enthusiasm, no trying to explain who he is, nothing.  We both looked at the bunny, and then turned away.  I am not sure what it is about Easter, but its just not as magical and cool as the others.  (Sorry Easter.)

But, Grandma and Ginga put on an awesome egg hunt for Max and the Twinkies.  They loved it!  Charlie started to cry when it was over.  Max kept asking for more eggs, even this morning when he woke up!

High Five Grandma!  You've started a tradition!