december whirlwind

hi all. well as always the month of december has been a blur. i have come to realize that it's the year's "warp zone" – anyone remember those little holes that super mario would fall into? it's like an alternate trance-like world but with goodies! even the background music changes, just like in december... as soon as the turkey is carved, it's black friday which is like the tippy-top of the roller coaster ride of the holidays. fa-la-la-la-laaaaah!!! from then on, everywhere you look, every song you hear, everything is holiday. it's quite amazing. this year i've had such a hard time keeping creative in my work. how can all of these images and sounds and lists not have an impact? while at my desk, i try my best to drown out this holiday madness in order to get to work but i still see the tree's lights reflected on my monitor! all of that said, i do love christmas. i just find it more difficult every year to separate my work from all of these images thrown at me. any ideas?


aside from my designers block, i have been a bit elfy. the girls and i have been crafting, wrapping, singing carols, eating, wrapping, eating, wrapping...... it is quite fun. i discovered a fun little shop on etsy that sells blank wooden pegs and such – great for making your very own little dollies. i have decided to make little peg dolls for my nieces and nephews of all of their cousins because they don't get to see each other that often. now they'll be able to play together when ever they want! since we will not see them until after christmas day, i will continue to make these next week and i will post when i am finished. below, are some tiny trees we painted.

i came across a bunch of really cool toys this season. here are a few of my favs:

kimochi dolls – these are so adorable and such a useful tool for communication between you and your child as well as your child's communication with others. there are a few different characters (personalities) that you can choose to purchase for your child. they come with tiny feeling dolls to be put in their pouch when they are feeling that way. so for example, when your child is feeling angry, he or she can find the angry faced doll and put it inside of the kimochis pouch. this may spark some further communication and so on. the website is highly informative for the parent or teacher. take a look. i purchased the cat for my toddler.

creationary - how awesome! it's like pictionary (one of my all time favorites) but you build the word with legos and have your partner guess! nough said.

lil log cabin - although i did not buy this, i wish i could. it's like the little house family and i think it would be a great addition to the little house books and shows. my daughters would love this - too bad it is way over priced! maybe one day i will make one myself. check this one out that someone made. it's just like the ingall's!

last but not least, i did indeed pull together another 'recipes & tidbits' this year. here it is in pdf form and also posted on the right of this blog for safe keeping. 

truly enjoy each other – give thanks – peace – happy 2011!!!