The last hurrah of Christmas 2011...

Can I induge myself to share one more Christmas family post ... forgive my pride.

My boys ... Shea ... the hubs ... Bryn.

He's gonna be a good dad ...

... and a good uncle.

Parker's great-grandparents ... Papa and Mimi.

Crazy Auntie Kai ... just kidding ... she's a super aunt.

Parker is one loved little boy ...  from the tip of his Santa Claus hat ...

to the tips of his little Puma sockies ... Happy 1st Christmas Parker.

And so ... with this photo ... we put
  Christmas 2011 ...

to bed.

See you next year!

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Over the river and through the woods ... Christmas at Grandmas

Over the river and through the woods ...

... to Mimi and Papa's house we go.

... and what a beautiful house it is.

Daddy's girl.

Grandpa Hoopah and Pdawg.

The wonder of a baby's first Christmas.

Cousin Greta and Blake are waiting for their presents ... 

"What's the deal ... we've been sooo good.   I even put on this sweater ... where's my goodies?"

Michael Jackson's always in style ...  and a "staple" coat.  

Actually it is a wool pea coat for cold Colorado and New York winters ... 

but we told him that a coat was an important staple for his wardrobe ... so henceforth ... 

it will be called ... the  Staple Coat.

A true heirloom ... and elephant book holder ... lovingly made by

"Papa"...  Parker's great-grandfather.  

What better to fill it ... the classics ... Goodnight Moon and That's Not my Donkey.

This awesome  canvas print  from  Perideau Designs ... made to match Papa's book holder.

After a great meal ... a mom loves to see her boys in the kitchen.

Yes ... it's a dog's life.  I see the boys had a little help from Sophie.

I think she's already starting to earn points for next Christmas.

We had a whirlwind Christmas.  That's what happens when kids grow up and move away.

  You have to share time with in-laws ... and work schedules ... and other distractions that arise.

We tried to cherish the time we had together.  We watched movies ... played games ... laughed.

We had great food ... and received beautiful presents.   

There is no better gift for me ... however ... then to spend time with my family.

I'm trying to master the art of being strong ... pretending it doesn't bother me to see them go ...

but I'm sure I don't have anyone fooled.

  

My heart still breaks when they drive off.

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The stockings were hung by ... Christmas Stockings

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ...

A very BIG part of our family's Christmas tradition is the Christmas Stocking.

A note to all you mothers with young children ... your children will not ...

necessarily ... outgrow this tradition.  Mine have not ... and they are ...
well let's say ... all over 21.

Most of these stockings were lovingly made by my mother ... Mary ... aptly named ...

don't you think?  Every year it seems she has to repair a few ... as they get stretched far

beyond their original capacity.  There are new ones added from year to year as our family has

grown.  This year she was commissioned to make one for our newest member ...

Parker Rhodes.

Just couldn't resist throwing in a picture of my Pdawg's First Christmas.  

What a Christmas Angel ...

 Bryn ... such a sweet bear.  Well a 27 year old bear now ... big Star Wars fan ... 

now with Darth Vadar and Storm Trooper spatulas ... a real must have!

My oldest baby ... Shea ... now a daddy himself ... still loves opening stockings.

Kai ... the "angel" of the family... loves Nordstroms in her stocking.

I actually made this stocking for my new daughter-in-law ...  Sarah.   We all love to shop.

I phones and Glitter ... are a girls's best friends.

I don't know why this is mine ... I just don't get enough kisses.

My hubs ... Julio ... the tennis coach.

My dad ... Douglas ... Tim the Toolman ... always gets bandaids and first aid supplies ... can you guess why?

This is my mom's stocking ... Mary couldn't have a more appropriate stocking.

... in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Yes St. Nick was good to our family this year.  

He filled all our stockings with goodies and cheer.

But the best gift of all ... Old St Nick did not leave

Was our family together on this Christmas Eve.

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Superhero Etched Mugs

What does a Pinterest-lovin' ... DIY bloggin' ... creative mom give to her  

superhero collectin' son for Christmas?

Superheroes Under Glass

... well ... not exactly under glass ... but on glass ... or to be precise ... etched on glass.

I have to give credit for my creation to one of my favorite bloggers ...

I Am Momma -  Hear Me Roar.

She created some superhero juice glasses for her youngsters. 

 I have to say I was really intrigued by the process and loved her outcome. 

When I went to buy glasses ... I decided my 28-year old would probably

prefer  mugs  rather than juice glasses ... you know ...  

"to drink big glasses of MILK". 

We all know that's how superheroes maintain their power ... 

drinking "MILK" from mugs.

Here's what you need:

                                1.   Peel and stick stencils

                                2.   Etching cream

                                3.   Paint brush

The first thing you need is a stencil.  The easiest way to cut a stencil is with a

Sillouette Cutter.   But ... since I don't have one of those beauties ... 

I cut the stencils by hand.  I found the logos I wanted by Googling superhero images.

I redrew them onto peel and stick shelving contact paper. 

 May I say... I am counting the days til I can buy a Sillouette.

  As it was ... preparing the stencil was the most difficult part of this project.

Next the fun part.  I actually had my doubts whether this would actually work in the

short time the directions called for.  It really sounded too easy.

I ended up buying the ETCHING CREAM at Michaels.  

So ... stencil applied ... and following the directions on the bottle ... which weren't many ...

I proceded to paint on the cream.  I applied it thickly ... being careful not to slop

over into any areas I didn't want etched.

I waited approximately 5 minutes ... rinsed off the glass ... then removed the stencil ... and

voila ... ETCHED SUPERHERO.  

Even as I rinsed ... I didn't think it had worked.  As it dried ... I had to admit ... 

THEY LOOKED GREAT!

My hard to impress son ... Bryn ... was pretty pleased.  In fact ... he called me today and 

asked me to make 4 more to give to his friends. So I guess that's a definite thumbs up!

It turns out there's a new Batman logo.  Who knew?  

The result was so stunning that I'm planning to use this method again right away.

Glass etching would be great for personalizing glassware of any type for ...

showers ... weddings ... or any gift-giving occasion.

What do you think?  

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