Christmas Cards are Coming!

For the past week, we have been blessed with Christmas cards from friends. I just love getting mail. In fact, checking the mailbox is a highlight of my day. I think this is why I love to make cards for people. This time of the year is especially fun 'cause the chances of getting something worth opening increases greatly. Even if I don't get a letter or a card, it's pretty likely I will get a cool new catalog to "window shop" with.

Now that it is December 10, I am feeling behind the 8 ball. I haven't even started my Christmas cards or my Christmas letter. I used to make all my Christmas cards, so I would start in the summer to insure they were done in time. Now that I have 3 kids, my priorities have changed a little. Although I still pile quite a lot on my plate this time of year, I just try to simplifly where needed.

So far this year, I haven't decorated much for Christmas, unless you count the few things I quickly set up on the mantle the other day. So far I have decorated the dining room 3 times for various birthday parties, but sadly, no Christmas tree yet. Dan's mom has loaned us her pre-lit tree this year and I just picked it up today after church. Before Hayden was born, I would have much rather had a real tree. However, now I realize that this time of year is crazy busy for us and an artificial tree is better than no tree. Perhaps we will still go cut one down later this week so we can have one in the living room and another in the family room, but I'm not holding my breath.

I am hoping to decorate the tree tomorrow and then take some family photos to include with the Ernst Family Christmas letter...I just keep saying to myself each day "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..." ("Little Engine that Could" classic kids book) and somehow, I do get things checked off my list. Boy will I be glad to have Christmas cards in the mail... I won't be able to exhale until that task is done. Thank you to every one who has already sent their Christmas greetings. We love hearing from all of you.

Picture of the Day 12-10

Look at those eyelashes!

Here is Hayden looking cute as ever, playing with daddy's new Xbox controller...
...part of Dan's early Christmas gift.

Picture of the Day 12-09

Baby Bob

Here is my dad 60 years ago...born December 1, 1946. Don't you just love those "vintage" baby photos? So sweet!

Dad's 60th Birthday Bash

For his 60th birthday, all the "kids" threw him a 50's themed birthday party

We had a diner style menu of homemade cheeseburgers, fries and soda. I got those cute retro burger baskets online and they were the perfect touch.

Here's Bob's Big Boy (aka Aaron). Notice they are both wearing shorts in the middle of December...Crazy!

Mid-way through the meal, the guys/kids got the Nerf guns out and pandemonium broke out. Here is Dan shooting my mom. Did I really just type that? He wanted the gun she was using and wouldn't take no for an answer. Look at how many times she was hit in the arm! Sorry Mom...all in good fun right?

My dad is not a big game player, so instead I posted this up for everyone to ponder: Name that Bob. Can you name them all?

Here I am getting the banana splits ready.

Singing Happy Birthday to Dad

Here's my dad with his banana split and a huge spoon...the better to eat it with.

My brother got my dad a remote control newer-model Mustang. My dad used to drive a red Mustang, old-school style...very cool.

Before he left for the night, Grandpa turned into a one man amusement park ride. Here he is flipping the grandkids.

Picture(s) of the Day 12-07-06

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning...

Wow! I am so thankful my brother left his camera at my house... otherwise I wouldn't have been able to share this with you.

Look at how much snow Mt. Hood has already.

Ode to my Camera

Born on December 24, 2003, Candice Camera was a loyal companion. She was always there for me in good times and bad. Candice captured moments in time like no other. At the time of her arrival, she was one of the best around. She was very good with people and loved traveling and sunset walks on the beach.

As an avid collector of pixels (she had 4 megapixels) she could often be found staring at the 3 most beautiful children on the planet. She looked in to the eyes of these children day after day, never complaining or growing weary. This was her greatest purpose and she did it gladly. Even when she was dropped she would dust herself off and be good as new...that is, until the fateful day that changed her forever.

On December 3, 2006, Candice endured a near fatal accident that would render her almost useless. It was a busy day for Candice as she spent hours digitizing images of little girls giggling and playing, looking about as cute as can be in their party dresses. Finally after a full day, she was resting momentarily when suddenly, she was bumped off the edge of the table. Candice fell through the air and came crashing to the floor with a terrible thud. Typically she could recover, and although she tried, poor Candice had landed on her frontal lense with zoom fully extended. She could no longer retract and focusing was a thing of the past. Candice was examined by professionals, but they all said the same thing "man, she's toast."

It is with great sadness that I must bid farewell to my beloved Candice Camera. I will miss her, but her memory will live on in the thousands of thumbnails I have saved in iPhoto. Good-bye Candice...sniff, sniff...Good-bye...

Photo of Candice Camera courtesy of Camilia Camera (Aaron and Tami's camera they left here the other night). As you can see, her lense is forever extended.

What's up with Preschoolers anyway?

Today was a typical day for us: school, play dates, housework, make dinner...the usual. Well just about 5 minutes before my dinner was ready to come out of the oven, Zander comes running to me crying because there is paint all over his clothes. Why is there paint all over his clothes you may be wondering...Well, while I was upstairs for no longer than 5 minutes, Zander thought it would be a good idea to bring a can of paint into the new play tent that was set up in the living room. Not only did he bring it in there, but somehow it got tipped over. The top wasn't hammered down well, so about 2 cups of oil-based primer spilled inside the tent and somehow landed on Zander as well. It got on his warm up jacket and his school jeans. I was past the point of being furious, I just wanted to get the paint out ASAP. I took the food out of the oven and dished up the kids, then drove like a mad women to Bi-mart (the only store around besides the grocery store) to track down some paint thinner. After reading a half dozen labels I came home with what I thought would do the trick. It said it was safe to clean natural and synthetic paintbrushes so I took a gamble and hoped it would be safe for the nylon tent as well. After calling my parents in a panic I headed outside in the dark of night and started in on the clothes first. It was clear that the jeans were a lost cause, so I moved on to the warm up jacket (40% polyester) Success! It was coming out. I managed to wipe away almost all of the paint, except near the zipper. Now on to the tent. By this time I noticed that I had gotten some paint onto my jeans, so I took a break and scrubbed them and changed into paint clothes. After about 30 minutes of pure turpentine bliss, I somehow got it all out. At least all that I could see by the light of the full moon. I will have to revisit it tomorrow when I can see better.

So my question remains unanswered: What is up with Preschoolers? When Natalie was this age she decided to color her almost new comforter with my lipstick. Another time I walked in on her only to be informed in a yet small voice "I cutted my hair mommy." These darling preschoolers who look so innocent have such innovative ways of destroying things. Never underestimate the power and might of the wee little ones, for they are capable of doing things unimaginable to us, the parents. Their reasoning is like no other. Don't even bother asking them why they do these things. They have a secret weapon: Ignorance. By using phrases such as "I don't know," (as they look up at us with their sad puppy dog eyes), we are forced to respond back with "what do you mean you don't know?" To which they reply with another "I don't know." We as parents are powerless against such logic (or lack thereof) and so we just send them to their room or time-out chair or whatever until we can think of what on earth we are going to do with them.

Never a dull moment around here. Hope your day was less messy than mine.

Countdown to Christmas: Letter to Santa

My goal for the next few weeks is to post ideas for you to do with your family at Christmas time. I would love to hear what traditions you do with your family and or what you remember about Christmas from your childhood.

Writing a letter to Santa

This year our kids seem to be at that "magical" age where they still believe in Santa. Growing up I do not remember believing in Santa. In fact from an early age, I was quite afraid of him. As I got older I made a point not to buy Santa themed decorations due to my strong conviction that Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus. However, as a mom, I was surprised when my then 4-year-old Natalie sat up on Santa's lap after her preschool Christmas program and proceeded to tell Santa what was on her wish list. It was from that moment that I knew I had to play along. This year, Natalie has been learning to write words, so I thought it would be a good time for her to practice by writing a letter to Santa. I found this kit at the store and it came with 3 form letters to Santa as well as pre-addressed envelopes, stickers and a promise of a letter back from the North Pole.

Natalie wrote that she wanted a new Ariel Doll, fruit, a carriage for her Ariel doll and a new plate. I helped Zander compose his letter and he is asking for a Lightning McQueen car with buttons that drives and follows directions and talks, m&ms and a red ornament.

Happy Birthday Andrea!

Today is my sister Andrea's birthday and I was so tired from Natalie's party yesterday that I completely forgot about calling her...so Andrea, if you happened to read this...Happy Birthday! I mailed your card last week, so I'm pretty sure you got it by now. Hope you didn't have to work and were able to have fun.

Princess Party Decorations

All the little details
One of my favorite aspects of throwing a big party is the theme. Once I have a theme to go by, I go crazy...no joke. I become somewhat obsessive/compulsive and can't stop the machine that is...Alyssa: Party Planner! I will be the first to admit that I do go a little overboard...but it is so much fun. The decorating really sets the mood for the party.

Here is the "castle" entrance, all decked out with a red carpet and all.

As you come in, two tall castle towers draw you into the living room where the day's first activities will take place. The towers were made with things I found around the house. I searched all over for something to make these with and almost gave up until one day when I was snooping down in the basement and I came across an old roll of linoleum flooring. Perfect. I cut it into 2 pieces and rolled them back up around some paint cans for stability. (the paint cans are inside the base of the towers). Then I strung the Christmas lights up and covered them with some gold curtain sheers I took down when I put in denim valances in the boys room. Glad I kept them, they came in handy. The cones on top were just made from tag board.

Here is an over-head view of the "sparkle station" where the girls could get a glittery make-over. They could add sparkly decals on their nails, as well as polish and glittery body spray to top it off. (The tray is from the dollar store and the mirrors were on clearance at Michael's)

Here is Princess Natalie's birthday throne where we took photos of all the guests with the birthday girl. The canopy is from Natalie's bedroom and the chair is from my office. By the way, you can also see the new paint job I did in the dining room too.

This is the living room where the gifts will be unwrapped. I love to hang things from the ceiling. It makes the room look so much more festive. I got that inflatable castle on clearance for about the same price as a large mylar balloon...it was a steal at 60% off.

One of the most important areas to decorate is the space where they will be eating. I wanted to make this area feel magical and very girly. I used a large bed sheet for a table cloth and strung Christmas lights under the table cloth for a soft glow. I turned an ordinary looking dining room light into a chandelier by hanging a clear and lavender faux crystal Christmas garland from the arms of the light. Then to add a more elegant feel, I hung tulle garland swags from the ceiling.

Every year I have made a themed cake. Now, I have no formal training in cake decorating, so usually I just wing it as best as I can. Some turn out better than others, but it's always a challenge. This year Natalie requested cheese cake, so I was stumped. I did a lot of visual research on google images (which is where I get some of the best ideas) and came up with about 20 great looking castle cakes, but I just couldn't figure out how to make it all come together. So, I did the next best thing...I made a castle cake topper out of styrofoam. I even carved out the bottom and put battery operated lights so the castle would glow. It turned out pretty good. I hope I don't regret not being up for the challenge of making a real cake, but I think this turned out just as pretty.

For all the little girls (and my two boys) I made personalized mini cheesecakes topped with whipped cream. The names were piped out of melted candy melts onto parchment. Under the parchment I had printed out everyone's name in a simple font so it could serve as a pattern for me to follow when writing out their names.

Happy Birthday Natalie!

Lots of Birthday photos to share with you tonight. I made most of them small, so you may need to click on the photos to enlarge them.

Here is the one and only, Princess Natalie on her 6th Birthday.


As the guests arrived, Natalie crowned each of them with a sparkly tiara.


Then they got a glittery manicure and and a spritz of body glitter. While they waited for their nails to dry, each guest had a picture with the birthday girl on her throne.
Although Prince Zander didn't get a makeover, he did participate in the other activities.

Once everyone had their picture taken it was time for crafts. Each guest got to decorate a tiara frame and then they embelished magic septors.

These are some of the completed crafts.


By the time they played a few games Natalie was pretty ansy to open her gifts. As you can see, everyone is excited to see what she got. Natalie received so many great gifts, most of them were Ariel themed. The gift she is hugging is a Prince Eric and Princess Ariel wedding doll set...something she has wanted for a very long time (she has a secret crush on Prince Eric.)

Right in the middle of opening her gifts, Natalie got a special birthday phone call from her favorite princess, Ariel. She was so excited.

After all the gifts were unwrapped, it was time for cake. This year Natalie requested cheese cake, so I bought some mini grahm cracker pie crusts and made everyone their own cheese cake topped with whipped cream and their name written on top.

Even Hayden got some cheese cake.

Everyone got to take home a princess goblet filled with a tiara sucker,
gummy snacks and an Ariel lip gloss.

After everyone left, Natalie looked over all her cards
and we read them together.

It was a busy couple of days, but well worth it to see all
the smiles at the party.

Slumber Party

Tonight we are having our first sleep over. My two nieces Becca and Alexis as spending the night with our kiddos. They played lots of dress up, had pizza, watched Charlote's Web and then got really hyper when it was time for bed! It's been kind of hectic having extra kids over when I'm getting the last minute party preparations taken care of, but I think the kids are having a fun time (in between melt downs!).

I just hope they all get enough sleep tonight so they are in good moods for the big day...on that note, I'm going to bed myself.

Fabulous Food Friday

Fairy Godmother's Magic Wands

Bibity-bobity-boo! I made a batch of these magic wands for Natalie's princess party on Sunday. All you do is dip pretzle rods into melted candy (for using in candy molds) and coat with sprinkles. This would be an easy Christmas treat, just use while chocolate and coat with red and green sprinkles.

Picture of the Day 12-01

Zander was busy this morning building things with his blocks and tinker toys. You can see his race car in the foreground and the trophy behind it.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Today my Dad turns 60 years old. Rumor has it, by turning 60, he has broken some kind of family curse...you see my grandpa, his dad, died early when I was only 7.

Way to go Dad! I'm sure this birthday is especially meaningful after your bout with cancer. We are so glad everything turned out for the best. I mailed you your birthday card and you should get it today, but if you want a sneek peek, you can see it posted on my Paper Capers blog.

Looking forward to celebrating with you on the 9th. (We had to postpone the party because Aaron and Tami are out of town.)

All About Natalie

Natalie is a very sweet girl who reminds me a lot of myself at her age. She is five, but will be turning six on Sunday. I can hardly believe she will be six already. Some times she acts like a 6-year-old and other times she acts like 6 going on 16! The other day we went shopping for her winter coat and as we passed by the clothes, she would comment on them saying things like "stylin'," and "oooh...sassy!" I had to do a double take when I heard her say that one. Last month we were eating lunch after church when she spotted a boy from her preschool last year and she said "Mom, there's David...he is so cute." I just don't think I am ready for this yet!!!

She is already very influenced by her school friends. It is very important for her to have friends and play dates. When I ask her how her day at school was, it's usually not about what she learned, but who she got to play with or who was unkind to her that made her day a good one or a bad one.

It used to make me sad for her that she was not as outgoing as other girls, but then I just had to realize that I was the same way and I eventually got over it. I can relate to her insecurities and her shy tendencies, but I often wonder if there is something I can do that will alleviate her worries. Dan and I try to encourage her to try things, but she just doesn't like to try anything that is out of her comfort zone. I encouraged her to sign up for the Kid's Choir at church. She didn't really want to, but eventually warmed up to the idea after listening to the practice CD over and over. When she was younger she liked ballet, so she took lessons for a couple years, but when she decided she didn't like it any more, I didn't push it. I just want her to be happy, but I don't want to enable her to be shy by not pushing her every once in a while.

Natalie still has a very active imagination and enjoys dressing her Barbie and Ariel dolls up in clothes she makes with towels and bandanas held together with ponytail bands and hair clips. Now all of her dolls are sporting custom mermaid tails so they can all swim together. She believes with all her heart that mermaids are real. Her friend told her that she saw Ariel at the beach, so now Natalie is totally convinced. Meeting Ariel at Disneyland should be exciting for her this spring. I can hardly wait!

Her imagination is not limited to mermaids. This morning she informed me that "bat-girl" came to her room last night and was flying around with her purple wings. Besides mermaids, Natalie really loves horses, or at least the idea of horses. She is a little timid when it comes to riding on them. She also likes our cat Harley and her pet fish, Coral.

Natalie also loves to draw and she is really coming up with some cute pictures. They are mostly of mermaids or people with lots of hearts and or balloons and flowers everywhere. She has been learning to write things and always asks us to spell words for her pictures. She is very thoughtful and makes cards and pictures for people, even her brother Zander.

This summer we read Charlotte's web to Natalie and she loved it. She loves to hear stories and I'm sure will love to read as soon as she learns how. Until then, she can't get her fill of stories and almost every night she asks us "tell me a story when you were little."

Natalie is very interested in the world around her and enjoyed picking lots of flowers this summer. She is always making flower arrangements for me. It is so sweet, I think there was a new dandelion bouquet on the counter almost every day last summer.

Right now her favorite color is blue. For awhile now I have been dressing her in pink, pink, pink and she doesn't mind. But knowing that she likes blue too I have been looking for some cute blue clothes to add to her wardrobe.

Having a girl is really a dream come true for me. Being able to share my experiences with her and help her navigate her way through life is very rewarding. It's also so much fun to go shopping for a girl like Natalie, but sometimes I have to stop myself from overindulging her. I could go crazy with clothes, toys and crafts but there is this this whole budget thing I have to keep in mind. I have fun fixing up her room all girlie-like, it looks so pretty (Now if I could only keep it clean!) Now that she has her own room, she is big into privacy...not just from her brothers. Right now she has a sign on her door that says "No Mom." I don't take it too personal...with her limited spelling, it's just her way of saying I want to be alone for a while. Kind of cute...I just hope she takes it down before she turns 16!

This picture was taken last spring in a studio set up for fairy portraits.

I just couldn't resist. She won't be little much longer.