handmade holidays part two

For the little girls I made earwarmer headbands and beanies. I love how the crochet flowers turned out. For the flowers I used a tutorial  I found on youtube. I tried to follow a written pattern, however I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. I am a visual learner. Anyways, I really like how these earwarmer headbands turned out and I think once the holiday rush is over I'll make myself a pair.

Handmade Holidays

When it's cold outside, there is nothing better than cuddling up for a long winter's nap. This year our family decided to do a "nice" white elephant gift exchange. When shopping for white elephant gift exchanges I love looking for unique - but nice - items. I'm not fond of gag gifts - I hate giving them and I hate receiving them. They are a waste of money. I had everything I needed to make these lovely little pillows on hand. I think they turned out nicely and I might go ahead and make myself a set for the guest room.

Family Zoo Day

The day after Christmas we woke up early, packed Lucas up in the car and drove down to the San Diego Zoo to spend time with family. It was a beautiful day, with perfect weather and sunny skies. Many of the animals were out and about soaking up the sun. Lucas enjoyed running, jumping and quacking at the ducks. By late afternoon, Lucas (and Mommy) were exhausted and ready for the long car ride home.

Merry Christmas from the Harrisons

If you didn't get a Christmas card from the Harrisons...don't worry, we are still friends. This year I really dropped the ball on the Christmas chores. We did get the house decorated, the tree set up, and the outdoor lights up, however the Christmas cards, baking, and gift shopping was put off until the last minute. In addition, I have completely ignored Thursday's Child. This year our Christmas celebrations stretched over a period of two days. Christmas eve day we spent the afternoon with my parents, than Christmas eve we partied with my husband's family. On Christmas day, we quickly opened gifts at home before jetting off to brunch with Dadi and Dada. We ended Christmas day with a family party at my Grandma's house. It was truly a Christmas miracle that I made it though the past couple of days with my insanity intact.

With everything we had going on, I became a grumpy, stressed out Mommy. Just ask my husband. I was so stressed about making sure I got gifts for everyone on my list (within our mere budget), and that those gifts got to the intended recipient, that I never got the chance to sit back and enjoy Christmas. So now...on December 26th I am going to sit back with a cup of hot chi and relax by my beautiful tree and enjoy what little I have left of this holiday season.