Winter Wonder(?)Land

We got another six inches this morning.

As of now we have...

A Really, Really, Really White Christmas. Our first White Christmas since moving to the land of Liquid Sunshine nearly 12 years ago.

And You're not going to believe this...

From the land of (It snows two inches and melts by the morning of the next day) rain...

22 INCHES OF SNOW!!!

And that measurement was taken from a part of my yard that is sheltered from the blowing snow drift stuff.

And thus, from the land equiped to handle (It snows two inches and melts by the morning of the next day so why bother being prepared for anything but) rain; we have gone two weeks without garbage pick-up and had a good week of not having mail delivered. That and the only people driving around are us Environmentally Un-Friendly Gas-Guzzeling 4X4's with monster truck tires. Arrr, Arrr, ARRRR! Doing our part to help the masses of little gas-sipping mini-car owners weather the storm.

I know, I know, I do enough knocking on my beastly big family bus. I have to say that I'm extremely grateful for it when it snows. For when there is snow on the road, it transforms from the Big Beast into a Big Blue Snow Angel Snow Mobile.

The Big Blue Snow Angel has put quite the miles on her wings over the past week. And spending so much time flying over the snow banks in her took it's toll. It meant my Christmas sewing suffered a bit, O.K. a lot.

I'm sad to say I probably only made it through half of my projects. But the most important ones got finished. And the others I will still finish just not for a little while. I'm done stressing.

By Christmas Eve the traditional new Pajamas were mostly done. Extra's like sleeves on the girls nightgowns and matching flannel pockets on the boys Tee-shirts can be finished later.

All in all Five pair of Pajama bottoms cost around $15.50.

Three nightgowns, three bloomers, and three matching mini-nightgowns for the Build-A-Bear family members cost $6.25.

So P.J.'s for all eight of us was a Grand Total of $21.75.

Every year the kids get a new ornament. This year their ornaments cost me a whole .50 cents. and that was for the ribbon to hang the ornaments. Everything else we had on hand. We made them Christmas Eve.

Prince Erik used his manly saw to cut up a log from our wood pile into little disks. Evo-man then drilled some holes in each disk.

I digged up a 12 year old bottle of Mod Podge and had the kids slap on some of the white stuff to each of the wood disks.

We took old Christmas Cards that we've recieved in the past and cut them up. Threw on the pictures and applied yet another layer of Mod Podge liberally over the first. Let it dry overnight and Wa-la!

A Unique family craft that we'll remember for a long time. And it doesn't look half bad - just different.

Christmas this year was simple - but wonderful. And thankfully none of the kids complained.

I scored the most. Prince Erik gave me the fourth computer laptop that he bought at Best Buy on Black Friday. The other three he E-bayed and with money made on them combined with and something I e-bayed we didn't have to pay anything for it. A Free Laptop. I like free.

I went over my $100 Christmas Budget but I'm pretty sure I stayed under $200. That and we didn't go into debt for anything. So all in all it was the best type of Christmas you can have.

However the kids are going stir-crazy with not being able to go anywhere because of the BLIZZARD.

So what's a mom to do with a house full of kids going Bonkers?

Have them build a monster snowman - that's what. Topped off with a good old stew pot hat, tablecloth scarf, and charcoal eye's and buttons, he didn't turn out too bad.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!