Be Still My Heart

My Valentine #1:  didn't want to cooperate yet resigned himself to a photo while he held his Valentine's Day craft and treat.

My Valentine #2:  had no choice but cooperate while I took her photo since she can't maneuver her own limbs.

My Valentine #3:  my partner in raising #1 and #2.  My love.  My best friend.  My gardener (grows his own lettuce).

I Blinked and Christmas was Over

As much as I love decorating for Christmas, I was dreading the 2+ hours I spend unraveling light strands and bringing boxes in from the garage.  Soooo we broke down and bought an artificial tree.  Christmas is long over and I'm still a little sad about it.  But getting the tree all decked out in 30 minutes was pure bliss.  Maybe we'll go back to a real tree one year...

 

Most of our decorations have remained the same but I try to shake things up as much as I can.  Here's our dining room light fixture -- the ornaments are new for Christmas 2012.  Thank you Pinterest for the idea!

 

Love this boy so much!

Another Pinterest steal.  The lights got hot really quickly so this photo shoot lasted all of 3 minutes.  They also took a beating when Nate dragged them down the driveway so I guess we'll need new Christmas lights next year.  Oops.

 

I think this way Nate's favorite Christmas activity.  I put a small artificial tree in his room while he was at school.  There was also a nice selection of ornaments on his table (Mommy-approved for possible breakage).  He was so excited to see them when he got home.  And I did a good job of letting him decorate on his own....I had to calm my inner Type A and suppress the urge to "help" him balance out the decorations.  He was thrilled with how it turned out and it was fun seeing him so happy.

 

Photo props are hot right now so we created some and took them to a friend's party.  Everybody seemed to have a good time with them (PS Chelsea was asleep during this photo).

 

There she is!  Chelsea on her first Christmas morning.

Had to include this pic of Nate's nativity set since it appears he has the Walker organizer gene.  Everybody is grouped appropriately.  I'm proud.  And a little scared.

Numero Uno Dad

We've been playing a lot of this lately:

That's Uno.

We play a lot. 

Like 4-5 times a day (modified rules for a preschooler). We also play Sesame Street Crazy Eights and Memory Match. Nate is seriously a card game junkie. If he wasn't only (nearly) 4 years old I'd be concerned that I was raising a card shark. 

So with Father's Day this weekend, I got to thinking and came up with this:

That'll be the card that goes with Lee's Father's Day gift.

Getting this photo was no easy task. I got a lot of shots like this one:

Nothing's easy when it comes to kids, right??

Happy Father's Day!

Low Budget Halloween Make-up

Learn from us:

Eating an entire bag of dried blueberries makes your mouth look a little scary. With this face, who needs a Halloween costume?!

Seasonally-Challenged

 

4pm at the Cook House

Nikki hunts for Halloween decorations in the garage.

Nate plays in his backyard pool.

Pumpkins become pool toys.

We're seasonally-challenged.

Easter

We had a nice {but exhausting} Easter weekend. 

Hope yours was lovely too!

Hello 2011.

Happy New Year!

 source

If you still have your Christmas tree, I just read about a neat tradition: cut a small block off the bottom of your tree, save it, and then burn it in your fireplace next Christmas. You could burn it on the first day of Advent or Christmas Day and talk about the true meaning of Christmas or your favorite Christmas memories from years' past. Doesn't that sound lovely? I hope to share more traditions on my blog this year. In the meantime, enjoy this first week of 2011!

Christmas Highlights

We had the BEST Christmas.

Hope yours was special too.

Last Minute Wrapping

It's the 23rd...if you are in the midst of wrapping gifts and need some help, look no further.

Whisker Graphics has some super cute download-able gift tags available here. Other gift tags are available via one of my favorite design blogs, How About Orange, and The Long Thread.

Also, for wrapping inspiration, check out all of the images on these two sites:

The Decorologist

Stylish Eve

Happy wrapping!!

Christmas Rewind

Here are a few photos taken in our house back in the early '60s. 

Short and fat -- cute tree! I think I see a few Shiny Brite ornaments that are a lot like mine. And isn't it nice seeing wrapped boxes under a Christmas tree instead of gift bags? Call me a traditionalist -- I prefer boxes to bags.

Our tree is in the same corner of the living room right now. This is my Aunt Sharon. What a cutie.

Okay, this is great. For all of you Christmas crafters in 2010 -- here's a reindeer made out of dishwashing detergent bottles. My mom made this in 196?. I think it's kinda cute. I believe it's sitting on top of a television or hi-fi (Google "hi-fi" if you don't know what that is).

Jingle Bells and Other Stuff

Santa -- Still Bad

He was excited before we got there.

He was excited as we waited in line.

He was excited at the 6-foot mark.

Then he wasn't excited anymore.

 

Ha! Sorry, but it makes me laugh.

I was hoping Ruby the Bear would help. Nope.

 Here are a few more...

If you're keeping score at home, 

that's 3 Santa, 0 Nate (proof here).

Have a nice weekend -- only 8 shopping days left!

Ahoy Santa!

We've already seen a train covered in Christmas lights so what's next? Boats! Lots of boats during the Christmas boat parade in Marina del Rey on Saturday night. Nate danced and ran around in between looking at the boats (he said he liked "the ones with music and guitars"). That kid has an abundance of energy. He entertained many of the parade attendees and I think most of them were thinking "wow, that is one crazy kid. Good luck to his parents." I used to think that too when I was single and now I AM that kid's parent. Oh boy. 

Christmas Home Tour

Our Vintage Christmas in 2010

Let me show you around (ps -- if you're new to my blog -- I live with my husband and 2 1/2 year old son in the house my grandparents built in 1941 in Southern California).

 

Welcome to our home! Here is our tiny entry way. A couple Christmas birdhouses sit atop my Grandmother's childhood desk.

 The entry takes you directly to our living room. We have a 6-ft. Noble Fir in the corner covered in vintage '50s Shiny Brite ornaments I've collected the last few years. And, yes, we store toys in our fireplace. We're strange like that.

 A close-up of our fireplace mantel.

 This is one wall in our dining room. I love Christmas cards but have never found the right way to display them. This seemed like a simple solution -- draping a garland around a framed print and tying on the cards. That way I get to look at them all the time.

 My '60s Santa light purchased for $5 at a thrifty store. He sits on the hearth. Nate was scared of this light last year (go here for the story) but this year, he's done a 180 -- LOVES Santa and kisses him goodnight.

 A little Christmas vignette on our built-in china hutch.

 The Man Cave needs a little decorating too.  
Go Santa! Go Saints!

 

It's going to be a very Merry Christmas for us

and, we hope, for you too!

If you'd like to continue the home tour, click on the links below and keep the party going!

 

and

Kelly's Korner

It's Santa! -- Choo Choo!

We saw Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive tonight by train..... 

Lots of lights. Lots of people.

 

I know most women don't want to hear this, 

but she looks like she could be his mom.  

Couldn't they find an older santa??

Soap bubbles in the air. 

Snow -- California-style.

 

One last shot of the train before heading home for dinner.

CSI - Plymouth Rock

What happened here? You make the call.

 Meet Myles and Rose Standish.

As the only Thanksgiving decorations in the Cook house, Myles and Rose take their roles seriously. They represent their fellow Pilgrims with great pride. But behind those gentle expressions lie a dark secret...

Good Gracious Rose! What happened to your head? Was it:

A) Myles became violent and whacked her with a turkey drumstick after she asked if he would kindly hold her basket of fruit too;

B) She's allergic to tryptophan and her head exploded;

C) She got tired of listening to Myles talk about "those Native people" and bashed her own head against a wall;

D) Nikki dropped her in the garage while rearranging her holiday decorations.

If you answered D, well, you're wrong. It's B. Poor Rose. She should have stuck with the Tofurkey.

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

We take so much for granted

of life and liberty,

and think tht we deserve it;

that all was done "for me."

Think how they must have struggled,

new pilgrims in this land.

So many died from hardships

yet still they made a stand.

When all the work was finished,

new crops sowed in the ground,

they gathered with their neighbors, 

asked blessings all around.

Oh, God, help us be grateful

for gifts you've sent our way.

For these we want to thank you

on this Thanksgiving day.

- Kris Ediger

A Holiday Favorite: Christmas Cards

Christmas cards are one of my favorite holiday traditions. Period. I love receiving cards and I love sending them out. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, you'll find me out in the garage, digging through my Christmas decorations until I get to a large tin box. This box holds every photo Christmas card I've received. Yes, every card. It's so much fun to see how people have changed, how babies have grown into big kids, how everyone looks so jolly and happy. I've been enamored with photo Christmas cards since I was a kid myself.

This is the week I'll start thinking about our family Christmas card for 2010. We've tried a few different vendors over the years and have been pretty pleased with all of them. But I consistently go back to Shutterfly because of their large selection of designs. This year's crop doesn't disappoint. (how do I decide on just one?!?) Here are a few of my favorites:

Merry Plaid Christmas Card

I'm a sucker for plaid.

 In His Name Christmas Card

I like the message on this one.

Love Stockings Christmas Card

Hey, we're a 3-stocking family so this would work, right?

Good Blessings Christmas Card

I really love this card. The design is modern and the message is true: Every good gift is from above.

Now for the big news: this year, Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers. That's a great deal -- 50 cards is a lot! If you're a blogger and you're interested in participating, go here.

Disclosure: This post is part of my participation in the Shutterfly 50 free cards promotion.

Halloween Fun...The Finale

A whole week of spooktacular activities for the Cook family:

Picking out a pumpkin at the patch.

Toddler Halloween party at our local park.  

It was SO fun!!

Pumpkin carving lasted about 5 minutes.

Nate decided he'd rather put a puzzle together in his room. 

Maybe next year...

This trick-or-treater is ready to hit the neighborhood.

Bring on the candy!

Story: Nate liked handing out candy to the kids at our door the first 2 or 3 times, then he saw a teenager dressed as a scary skeleton and he burst into tears. After that, he'd cry when the doorbell rang. Later on, after we finished handing out our candy and he was taking a bath, Nate kept saying "no kids." I had to convince him the kids were at home, in bed, and the costumes were put away. Poor little guy. By the way, if you're a teenager and you can afford your own cell phone, I think you can buy your own candy at the store and leave trick-or-treating to the little kids. Just sayin'.

We hope you had a fun and safe Halloween!