MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Today has been a wonderful day. I know this has nothing to do with crafts and projects, but it's been so nice, I just wanted to write about it. It seems the German tradition is to do all presents on Christmas Eve. Since we live in Germany, Michael wanted to do this. I compromised. We each opened a gift last night, but save the rest for today. We decorated the tree. Normally we decorate about a week before Christmas, but I'm tempted to do it this way again. Just plan better next time so we can make the temporary ornaments, like cinnamon bundles and popcorn strings. Also, we need to find a better place for the tree, so we have an outlet to plug in the lights. Then the kids put out cookies and eggnog for Santa. They called their father and he read them "The Night Before Christmas". Just before bed, we went online and saw where Santa was, on the NORAD Santa Tracker. At that point he was in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

This morning was proper chaos. We woke up at 4, since Michael had to go to work early. The tree had exploded with presents from family and Santa. The kids dug in. It's nice that they can both read their names now. They are able to find their presents easier. There were also a few gifts for Michael. He was very happy with the board game "Cattan" and surprisingly happy with the cute leather making kit. It ended up having a bunch of tools and other bits that he could use and didn't already have. Plus, he said his wallet was dying and he'd make a new one with the kit. COOL! He even got a fuzzy coloring poster. I couldn't help it. I picked up some for the kids and figured he'd give me a cute pouty face if he didn't get one too. :-)

The kids were also excited with the cat. They had both picked out a cat toy for her as a present. This morning they opened her presents in front of her and were thrilled when she immediately wanted to play with them. Of course she really likes Paul's new Cars racetrack. She keeps trying to catch Lightning McQueen as he flies around the racetrack. the kids think it's hilarious.

And of course I got some cool gifts as well. I received the 2 volume set of "The Oxford Anthology of English Literature" from Old English until now. SUPER COOL! And a nice little travel crib/changing table/play pen for the new baby when it comes. And the new microphones for the game systems is fun. Michael will never be able to shut me up now. So many singing games to conquer. :-)

And I'm looking forward to tonight. After Michael gets home from work, we'll have a delicious dinner. Duck, sweet potatoes, pink salad, lemon pudding and pumpkin bread. At least that's the goal.

And the view out the back living room window is beautiful. The snow on the farm behind us, is gorgeous. It's a nice Christmas.

Son's Room...

Paulchen's wall is mostly painted. There are a few spots that I need to put a basecoat on, but I'll get to that tomorrow. I just have to move a few things out of the way first, but I'm too tired tonight. Then I'll sponge paint the red overcoat.

The adhesive for the wall art never came in, so I'm not even bothering to finish with the Cricut and wall art right now. No point if I can't adhere the art to the wall for Christmas morning. So tomorrow I'll focus on the curtains and blankets. Those should whip up pretty quick. I picked up new curtain rods for Paulchen's room today. They should look cool.

And there are definitely advantages to working in a craft store. You know when there are deals. We're trying to get rid of a lot of merchandise that isn't selling, so much of the store was 75% off. I picked up a few fuzzy coloring posters, a couple wooden model kits and some pom-pom craft kits for the kids. This means the kids will have new stuff for their walls and shelves, after we do some of these things after Christmas. Neat!

Daughter's Room Pt. 2...

Aveline's room is all finished. The last little spots were sponge painted tonight. Tomorrow I start my son's room. If I don't get too tired or dawdle, I will have the blue layer painted by bed time and the red sponging will be, at latest, finished Christmas Eve. A bunch of the cut-outs are finished for Aveline's room. My only fear is, the movable adhesive I ordered to make them into stickers, won't be here by Christmas Eve. Thus I will not be able to adhere any of the cut-outs to the wall for Christmas.

The fabric for her curtains is ready to be cut and sewn. That shouldn't take too long. The little lap quilt with Tinkerbell is almost finished as well. I just need to stitch two sides to the backing. If I run out of time and don't get it quilted, she won't notice the difference and I can do that in a few days.

Daughter's Room...

So, for this Christmas, the kids are both getting their rooms redecorated. My daughter's room is in a Disney Princess motif. My son's in a Disney Cars. Their favorite themes. My daughter's room is going to be painted pink, with purple sponging. This next week I'm picking up a canopy that hangs from the ceiling, over the bed. I also ordered fabric that will be turned into curtains and a valance. The final thing, is I'm making removable wall art with my Cricut. I have a Disney Princess cartridge and will then throw the cut-outs in my Xyron with removable adhesive to make them stick to the walls. Today we began the painting. We have most of the room finished. I'm impressed with the time we made it in.

The kids are watching us paint and know we're doing that part. The rest of the stuff is being made while they're in bed. Then Christmas Eve, once they're asleep, we plan to put everything else up, so when they wake Christmas morning, they wake to their brand new rooms. It'll probably blow their minds. Also, one of their Christmas presents is shared. I ordered an 8 foot long stencil of the night sky. It goes on their ceiling and then you paint with glow in the dark paint, the actual map of the summer night sky in the Northern hemisphere. I had a similar kit as a kid, but I had a stucco ceiling, so it wasn't very good. Our kids have a nice flat ceiling. So it should work much better.

Below are two pictures of my daughter's walls. Not quite finished, but you get the general idea for the painting. As my fiance says, it's definitely a little girl's room. It's bright, but that's the point. I want my kids to have fun rooms that are all their own.