This and That

It's officially winter here. We had a snow storm on Tuesday, and the temperature has been near or below zero almost all week. I've made it out a few times this week while Monte has been home to watch Isabella, but she hasn't set foot outside the house all week, other than the holy day Mass on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure she was going a little stir crazy, and that that was the cause of her crabbiness a couple of days ago. So we went out on a fun family night last night. I hyped it up to her, and kept telling her we were going on a date with Daddy, and she was SO excited! We went out to eat, made the weekly Wal-Mart trip, with an addition of going to Target, and then drove around for quite a while looking at Christmas lights. It was a perfect Friday night in my book. I was hoping she would sleep in a little today, since we didn't get home until 9:00, which is a little over an hour past her bed time, but she didn't, and I'm not surprised since that's how it usually works . . .



I have some Christmas gifts I want to make, I should probably get on that since it's two weeks away! The only thing I can cross off my list so far is a baby doll blanket I made for Isabella. She is SO into baby dolls, I love it! We got her this doll for Christmas, and let me tell ya, I would have LOVED this doll when I was a little girl. Here's the description of it from the website - "Now your little girl can tend to her very own baby doll - as adorable and lifelike as a real baby. This interactive doll breathes, takes naps, cries and features realistic facial movements. When you give the baby doll the pacifier, her mouth makes sucking movements and her eyes blink. When you remove the pacifier, the baby doll coos. The baby doll cries when she is put down. When you feed her, she gets tired and falls asleep." I was going to make some cloth diapers for the doll that Lenetta linked to a while back, but I think I'll wait on that until she gets the doll, so I know for sure what size to make them.



I love to bake, and every year I bake all of the Christmas cookies and candies for our Christmas with my family, this tradition started before Isabella came along, by the way. So far I've made a triple batch of Peanut Blossoms, Peanut Butter Bon Bons, and Kringla, I've got a ways to go. I have a new recipe I want to try this year - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles, they sound heavenly!!



I had a great girls night out with some friends on Thursday night while all the kiddos (except the littlest babies) stayed home with their dads. There were 12 of us all together, storming the aisles of Target (until 10:30!) together after our supper together. A couple of months ago we raised money to buy Christmas presents for 3 young siblings from our local sharing tree. So we did the shopping for them on Thursday night, it was so much fun to pick out things for them, especially when you know they don't have much, and they wouldn't have had any presents otherwise. It inspired me to pick someone for our own family, too. I explained it to Isabella, that some parents can't give their kids any presents, and she was excited to help pick out things, though I don't know for sure how much she understands, she seemed to get it.



My mom was supposed to come visit us for most of last week, but that didn't happen, due to the snowstorm. I was so bummed! Hopefully, weather permitting, she can come this week instead.



Next weekend we'll be having our Christmas get together with Monte's parents, then we're off to my parents for Christmas.

Monte and I have been playing Scrabble every night after Isabella goes to bed, we are addicted! I forgot how much I love playing board games in the winter!