Friday’s pieces 12/28

1. Last Saturday, we were on base for a birthday party. Before going home, we had to stop by the store and Santa was there! We hadn’t decided if we are going to “do Santa”, but I guess we are now?
2. March (moving-month) is coming up so quickly! Sob. It seems like it always comes up faster than we expect and we end up just moving with a bunch of extra junk. I really don’t want to do that this time. We have been trying to use up the food on our shelves and in the freezers. And for the month of January, I am going to be participating in a challenge called #DeclutterLikeAMother. Isn’t that a great name? It’s a free series of email instructions, encouragement, and a Facebook accountability group to help you clear out the clutter that has accumulated in your house. Let’s do this.
3. I *finally* got around to making Christmas cookies on Sunday. However, it ended up being mostly a fail. The gingerbread cookies came out too thick and hard as a rock (what did I do???), and the lemon crinkle cookies didn’t crinkle. But as an afterthought, I made a half-batch of S’mores rice krispie treats (because I only had a half bag of marshmallows), and they ended up being everyone’s favorite. I’ll probably make more at some point because I still have graham crackers and most of a box of cereal. There will definitely be more cookies coming in 2019, mostly because I need to use stuff up.
4. I made this homemade bread stuffing for Christmas lunch and it was delicious. I always thought it would be so hard and a huge labor of love, but it wasn’t actually too bad. Also, how was this the first time I had ever cooked/eaten parsnips? I absolutely was googling what they looked like in the produce section (just to be sure).
5. Did you see our new wall calendar? It’s going to be so much fun this year!

   

6. We are doing “P” this week, but a couple weeks ago, Noah’s phonics knowledge just exploded. Last night at dinner, we were talking about what letter things start with, and he was getting stuff that started with letters we haven’t even done yet. He even sounded out the word “bit” completely by himself. Sure I’m a teacher, but I’m still floored.
7. Nora turned 9 months old yesterday. She has clearly been going through a growth spurt or a mental leap or something because she has been so grumpy and sleeping a ton. Her favorite things are her brother and her stuffed unicorn, Pinky. I may have gone a little crazy buying her dresses, but I can’t help it, ya know?
8. I cut out and started sewing up a dress for myself that I am very excited about. It’s a dark grey ponte with a faint plaid. I’m also going to be cutting out a pair of pants and using leftovers from the dress for things like pockets. This is the year I’m going for it!
9. I finished my Christmas quilt block just in time for… the day after Christmas. Or maybe it’s just really early for next year. I also got about half of another block cut out. I’m so excited!

   

10. Did December just fly by for you, too? I hope you have a wonderful rest of the month and a great New Year’s!