Home for the Holidays

There's no place like home for the holidays.  This year, it was extra special to have all of us home at my parents' house.  After 2020 and all of the uncertainty, being home for a few days with no cares in the world was like heaven.  My family had a wonderful holiday, and for the first time in 3 years, we all were healthy for it.  It was a blessing.

Jeremy, Eliot and I all drove up Thursday (Christmas Eve) night.  Eliot and I arrived at the house about 30 minutes behind Jeremy.  We then spent the rest of the evening talking for a bit before calling it an early night.  After all, we wanted to make sure that we were in bed so Santa would come!

Christmas morning was a whirlwind.  The three of us "kids" got up as planned at 8 am and waited at the top of the stairs.  After Mom, Dad and Nana got all set in the living room, we ran down the stairs like we always have.  We arrived to chairs and a sofa full of open presents.  Santa left me a ton of the Disney books that I'd asked for.  There were so many things on my side of the couch that I couldn't even take it all in.  Eliot had a bunch of gifts on his side too.

We looked through our new stuff before everyone opened their stockings.  After that, we opened a few of our wrapped presents from Mom and Dad.  Eliot got a bunch of new power tools he'd asked for.  I got the Disney Christmas decor and the Hanukkah decor that I'd asked for.  I also got some resin molds to experiment with!  Santa also gave me a few items from the Disney Ink and Paint collection.

At some point, we decided to take a break for breakfast, but before we did that, Eliot and I had Mom and Dad open our family present.  Mom read the poem that I'd included while Daddy attempted to slowly open the package.  He still beat Mom; he's worse than a kid.  Then, we all paraded into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.  Eliot and I made the waffle mix and then he made the waffles.  Jeremy tended to Mom and Nana and served them their food.  Dad made the eggs and ham.  Then, I bounced between everyone helping wherever I was needed.

After we ate our traditional Christmas breakfast, we turned the Disney Christmas Day special on.  We missed part of it, but we saw most of it.  (Thankfully, Eliot and I set our DVR to record it!)  Then, we continued to open the rest of our gifts from Mom and Dad.

Next, we exchanged gifts with each other.  Nana loved her new Fairy Godmother Funko Pop.  (Eliot and I are planning to get her the Cinderella one too.)  I always call her my Fairy Godmother so it was really special to her.  Jeremy loved his new Inside Out Wishables.  (He had seen them while he was at our house making shelves and he mentioned that he'd like to have a set.)  Dad liked his gifts too; we got him a tire pump because he loved the one Eliot and I have.  We also got him a giant Sven and Olaf inflatable to add to his Christmas decoration collection.

Eliot and I got my Mom a Disney Cruise Line Christmas mug and a DCL Christmas Countdown Calendar.  We know how much it meant to her that we went on our cruise last year before she struggled with health problems this year.  She broke into tears when she opened her gifts.  I also gave her a small stuffed Christmas Tree that I made in my sewing class.  (That was the secret sewing project that I spent a good portion of this past class working on.)  She really loved that as well.

Jeremy got Eliot and I the Mickey and Minnie blow molds that Lowes had from their Christmas decor collection this year.  We weren't going to get them, but after having Dad's set in our living room for so long, we decided we wanted a set of our own!  He also got us Bruni, Sorcerer Mickey and Stitch plushes from Target.  Jeremy picked up a few of the Disney Princess Happy Planner items that I'd wanted.  (Jeremy also has 2 more gifts on order for Eliot that we picked out a few days before Christmas and he has no idea what they are!)  Jeremy also got our three donkeys their own Harry Potter wizard robes.  Finally, Nana spoiled each of us with a gift card and money.

Christmas afternoon, we all relaxed, talked and took turns taking naps.  Later in the day, Mom made macaroni and cheese, ham and beans.  We ate while we watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.  Then, we decided to watch a movie.  Jeremy set up his Disney+ account for us to use.  Eliot and I suggested Godmothered (if we wanted something funny) or Soul (if we wanted more deep).  Mom picked Godmothered and we started the movie.  Just like when Eliot and I watched it a few weeks ago, everyone was in stitches from laughing so hard.  It was a good choice since everyone really enjoyed it.  Afterwards, we all wished each other a Merry Christmas one last time and we all headed to bed since we were exhausted.

The next day, Eliot and I slept in.  He finally got up in time to head to the Ellsworth post office to drop a few packages off.  I knew he'd also want to check Home Depot and Walmart.  What I didn't expect was for him to be gone for over 3 hours!  He had a great time checking out the deals and looking at things.  Apparently, he got a bunch of stuff.

Around the same time, Mom and Dad ran a few errands.  Jeremy and I hung out downstairs in case Nana needed us.  We watched CNN for a little bit before we got sucked into a Harry Potter movie marathon.  Eventually, Mom, Dad and Eliot all got home and Nana got out of bed.  Then, we chilled out watching Harry Potter most of the afternoon.  Jeremy and I wanted China Hill for dinner, so Mom and Dad got that.  Then, we enjoyed that while we finished Harry Potter 4.  After that, we watched the news (Mom wanted to see the weather) and then we decided it was time for another movie.

Mom suggested Frozen since she, Dad and Nana hadn't ever seen it, so we opened Disney+ back up and dove into that.  Throughout the movie, Eliot and I sat in the background giggling on the couch while we quoted different parts.  Everyone enjoyed the movie and I was glad that Mom and Dad finally saw the movie that I've been obsessed with for the past 7 years.  Afterwards, Nana and Jeremy went to bed but we stayed up a bit longer to talk with Mom and Dad.  Then, Eliot and I went to bed too.

The next morning, I wasn't feeling great and I was having some stomach issues.  (I think the Chinese food and peanut butter pie for dessert did me in.)  We had planned to make Mickey waffles for breakfast again, but by the time I got downstairs, Mom, Dad and Jeremy were all eating eggs.  Eliot made his way downstairs a few minutes later and we started the process of packing all of our Christmas stuff up.  

Jeremy left for his drive home around 12:30 while Eliot and I stayed a while longer.  I set up Nana's new tablet while Eliot set Dad's phone up with the Fitbit my Mom got him.  I eventually went to take a quick shower before we finished the packing.  Most of our stuff fit in the car, but the blow molds, Eliot's Olaf inflatable and the Mickey mailbox (also from this year's Lowes collection) had to stay at Mom and Dad's house for now.

Before leaving, we had two more things we had to do.  First, Eliot and I needed to take our 2020 Christmas Card photo since there was room now that all of the presents had been packed.  (A few days ago, I teased a sneak peek of the making of our 2020 Christmas photo.)  Second, we needed to take photos of Dad's inflatable display!  

Eliot helped me set up the table for the photo.  Mom got the wine and Dad got an extension cord for the menorah.  Then, Mom held Eliot's phone up as a flashlight and Dad took our photo a bunch of times until we got it just right.  It was ridiculously silly, but it was totally worth it!  It's the perfect 2020 Christmas Card photo- featuring our TP tree, gifts of wipes and hand sanitizers, face masks, a menorah that won't even light for all 8 nights (because 2020), "Covii the Christmas Germ" as our TP tree topper, a 2319 Christmas stocking and wine.  (Not pictured, the giant plush tiger we forgot to add!)

After taking the photo and packing all of our photo props back up, Eliot, Dad and I went outside to check out the inflatables.  Daddy wanted to make sure they were all still upright and Eliot and I wanted to see them and take pictures.  We crossed the road to take photos while Dad fixed a few of them.  All 21 of them were really cute and they literally covered the entire front section of Mom and Dad's land right by the road.

We headed back inside and Eliot and I double checked that we had everything.  Then, we said goodbye to Nana.  Mom and Dad walked out to the car with us and we said goodbye.  Then, they walked up the driveway so Mom could see the inflatables.  Eliot and I pulled out of the driveway saying goodbye and honking as we left.

On the ride home, Eliot and I made a few quick stops to break it up.  First, we stopped at Dairy Queen in Ellsworth for food.  (Neither of us had eaten anything all day and we were hungry!)  Then, we stopped at Lowes in Brewer.  There wasn't any Christmas stuff left, but Eliot did find a few small tools he wanted.  Then, we stopped in Newport to go to Walmart so I could look at the Disney Princess Happy Planner stuff.  They still had a large selection and I found what I was looking for- and more!  We also got a few holiday items that were on sale.  

We talked from Newport to Augusta before I started to get tired.  I ended up dozing off after Gardiner and I woke up when Eliot was slowing down on an exit.  After asking Eliot where we were, he said we were in Topsham and that he wanted a soda.  So we went through the McDonald's drive through and got his soda and chicken nuggets for me.  That woke me back up and we talked the rest of the ride home.  We finally arrived in our driveway around 9:30 pm.

Overall, our 2020 Christmas was a nice quiet weekend to unwind, relax and be grateful for everything... especially after the year we've all had.  The best gift of all was having all of us together and healthy, but we were still so appreciative of all of our gifts!  (We were certainly spoiled!)  Christmas might have looked a little bit different with the social distancing and face masks, but it was worth it to be home for the holidays.  °o°

A New Christmas Tradition

What’d you get your family for Christmas this year?  This year, Eliot and I got my family a new Christmas morning tradition.  

I was pretty bummed back when I wasn’t sure if Disney would still be doing a Christmas morning parade show.  We’ve watched it every year Christmas morning since I can remember- except when I was 12 and we were physically in Walt Disney World for Christmas… and that stupid time a few years ago when we lost our power Christmas morning. (Yep, I’m still salty about that one.)

Before I knew that I’d still be able to go to my happy place Christmas morning, I decided to get something that we’d be able to use to make a new Christmas tradition, and so we could remember all of our magical trips, whether ABC had the Disney Christmas special on television or not.  Eliot and I have been keeping this secret for a few months now and I've been so excited about it!

Yesterday, we had Mom and Dad open it after we opened our stockings.  With the gift came a poem that I spent a few days drafting before it invoked the right feelings.  My Mom has written little poems like this in the past so it seemed like the perfect way to present the present.  It goes like this: 

"This is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Now every Christmas morning is like a mini Thanksgiving!

Memories of meals with our magical friends,

We’re always so sad when the cruise or trip ends.

But we can relive all the magic right here in our house, 

With waffles in the shape of our favorite mouse!"

Everyone enjoyed the gift.  Eliot helped me with the mix and then he manned the waffle station.  We all enjoyed the yummy waffles and they were a perfect addition.  

Now, every Christmas we’ll be able to eat Mickey waffles- shaped just like the ones at the parks and on the cruise ships.  I have no idea how many Mickey waffles I’ve eaten in my life, but these ones eaten at our family’s traditional Christmas morning breakfast are sure to be just as sweet as any that we’ve eaten before.

Merry Christmouse!!!  °o°

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!

While this one certainly looks different for many of us, Eliot and I are both so grateful that we were still able to travel up to my parents' house.  This has been a year full of uncertainty.  One of my biggest fears was that we wouldn't be able to go home for Christmas.  (It's haunted me for months now.)  Now that we're here, I'm so thankful.

However you're celebrating today, I hope you have a happy, healthy, safe and magical Christmas Day that's still filled with love, family and friends.  °o°

Fun Find: Toy Story Yule Log

Happy Christmas Eve!!!  It's a day early for one of my Fun Find Fridays.  However, since tomorrow is Christmas, I thought I'd share one today anyways. 

Today, I have a Disney Yule Log Video from D23 to share.  I've seen a bunch of these shared online on social media recently.  If you're looking for some ambiance with a little added Disney magic, this is perfect.  It features an hour long video of a relaxing Yule Log, but there are visits from a few familiar Toy Story faces.

I haven't watched the entire thing yet, but I'm looking forward to curling up on the couch next week when Eliot and I are back home.  Maybe I'll even read a book or take a cat nap while listening to the fire.  It sounds like a magical way to relax!  Enjoy!!!  °o° 

The Making of a 2020 Christmas Card

In true 2020 fashion, it's the 23rd of December and Eliot and I still haven't taken our Christmas card photo yet.  Ever since we moved to our new house back in 2015, I've struggled to get them out for one reason or another.  The biggest obstacle is that it's our small businesses' busiest time of the year.  Our #1 priority in December is getting orders out... and I'm ok with that.  It's not that I haven't tried to send out cards.  

Last year, we actually had photos from two trips to Walt Disney World and our Disney Christmas Cruises, but we were away for so much of December that I wasn't able to get them ordered in time.  The first year we moved into our house, I actually took the time to write out all of the cards and order the photos... then I ran out of time trying to address them.  (I still have all of those cards... but they're useless at this point because some were for friends who have had kids since then.)  It's always bothered me that I haven't sent them, but my heart was in the right place.

I swore that I'd get them done this year.  In fact, I was in good shape as I had been planning to use one of our Disney cruise photos from last year.  It seemed like the perfect plan.  They were finished, Christmas-y and I'd have them done early.  

Of course, that was all before the coronavirus struck.  After the year we've all put in, using those photos as our Christmas cards felt depressing and wrong.  The Disney cruise ships haven't welcomed guests aboard since March... and it'll be at least until next March before they do so again.  I couldn't go with my original idea.

Which brings me back to square one.  I've had a ton of ideas, and none of them really felt right.  After we finally were finishing up on orders last week, my creativity started to flow again and I had an idea.  I've had a few friends take special 2020 photos that have been pretty entertaining, and my idea was more along those lines.

Last night, I went into town to get a bunch of supplies.  Now, I've got everything that I need.  Eliot and I are going to take the photo at my parents' house this weekend since we'll have someone to take it.  And I've spent the afternoon today working on one of the pieces that required a little bit of DIY crafting.  It's been nice to work on it while Hallmark Christmas movies play in the background.

Instead of mailing cards out, we're going to do it digitally online like many of my friends have been doing this week.  It's not the same, but it feels like it'll work for 2020.  

Check back on Christmas Day when I plan to do the reveal!  °o° 

2021 Calendars... Hopefully

The new year is only 10 days away.  As the 2020 year is drawing to a close, I find myself looking forward to 2021 more each day.  (Aren't we all?)  What I'm not looking forward to, is that I'm still struggling to figure out how to fix my calendar conundrum.  

Honestly, I haven't so much as opened my blog email in months.  I'm ashamed to even admit that, but it's the truth.  For all I know, there could be important things in there, but it's taken a back seat.  I'm sure it's filled with email requests for my free printable 2021 calendars.  I haven't opened my email because I don't want to disappoint everyone.  I still don't have a solution to make the calendars... and I'm running out of time.

At this point, my only idea is to attempt to digitally copy and paste a calendar together using the ones that I've made in the past.  That will require tracking down each month by which day of the week that month starts on and then checking how many days are in that month.  (For example, I have a note started that tells me January 2021 starts on a Friday and has 31 days.)  That will probably take me hours and be a giant pain in the butt.  Still, with having calendars from 2013 to 2019, it might be possible.  However, I was really trying to make that my last resort since it's not going to be very pleasant.

Eliot thinks he might have one more way to attempt to get into the actual software to fix the design... so I have one last tiny shred of hope.  If it works, you can bet that I'll be making calendars for 2021, 2022 and probably 2023 while I'm at it.  Then, I know that I'll be all set for a while!  That would be such a wonderful feeling!

I guess what I'm saying is... please know that I'm working on it.  If you've emailed me and I've ignored you for months, I'm sincerely sorry.  I just haven't been able to handle that on top of everything else 2020 has dropped in my lap.  Hopefully, Eliot and I will find a way and we can start 2021 off on a happy note- with printable calendars!!!  °o°

'Tis the Season

Hello Friends!  I'm sorry that I haven't checked in for so long.  (I think September was the last time I updated you on our crazy life.)  As you can imagine, things here have been busy... 'tis the season, right?  The holiday season, from Halloween to the New Year's Day, is my favorite time of the year and it's always the busiest.  I always have to make sure I take a few moments to stop and appreciate the moment as we're in it.

Honestly, you haven't missed much.  For the most part, Eliot and I have been busy working on orders for Snowblade Creations and Happily Ever Hatter.  We sent out our last batch of holiday packages this past Saturday, and both of our shops are closed for the week so we can take the week off and enjoy the holidays.  It feels so good to have completed this momentous task!

Other than that, it's 2020, so things have been pretty chill overall.  However, Eliot and I have had some fun moments over the past few months.  We enjoyed our trip to the Disney Store before Massachusetts banned us from traveling there again.  We had a bunch of fun celebrating Halloween with our neighborhood.  Of course, we celebrated my 36th birthday!  Here's an overview of a few other fun moments you've missed.

Eliot and I did our civic duty and went to the polls on November 3rd to vote.  Like the rest of the country, we sat at the edge of our seat waiting for the election results to come in.  At times, it felt like slow torture... we were so relieved when it was over!

We had a few ridiculously warm days in November.  In fact, it was over 70 degrees on November 10th!  Eliot took that afternoon off and we went to Old Orchard Beach to have a picnic.  We picked up food from Amato's and went to the beach where we found an empty bench away from everyone.  We were there for at least an hour eating, relaxing, and enjoying the view and weather.  It was a nice moment before the winter.

Our outdoor Halloween decorations were taken down to make way for a few new Christmas ones.  We didn't put out that many Christmas decorations this year, but Eliot did finally buy himself a few of the little Christmas trees he's been eyeing for years.  He also finally made his little pond.  Unfortunately, our little white deer to go around the pond are buried behind things in the garage... maybe next year!

Eliot and I drove up to my parents' house for Thanksgiving where we enjoyed the holiday with my brother Jeremy, my parents and Nana.  It was definitely weird due to COVID, but we made the best of it.  During our Thanksgiving meal, the three of us "kids" sat at one table while Mom, Dad and Nana sat at another.  The rest of the time, we kept our masks on unless we were in the other room away from each other.  It was uncomfortable at times, but we wanted to do everything in our power to keep everyone safe.  It was well worth our efforts and the food was amazing!

We spent Black Friday relaxing at home for the most part.  Eliot and I found a few deals and sales online.  I bought things from some small shops that I was really excited about!  I also got a few deals on some new Disney clothing and accessories!

That Friday afternoon, we drove into Bar Harbor and took a walk along the pier and shore path.  I haven't walked it in a while so it was really nice.  It was slow going because I kept stopping to take photos.  Plus, Mom needed to rest every once in a while.  She walked quite a ways considering it's the first time she's walked that far in over a year!  After our walk, we drove around town a few times to enjoy the sights.

After our Bar Harbor adventure, we all drove up to Ellsworth to pick out a Christmas tree.  I can't remember the last time Jeremy and I helped pick out a tree for Mom and Dad's house, but it's been a while.  When we were little, we used to pick one out from the woods behind our house.  More recently, we've started to get them from local tree lots.  Eliot has never gone with us to pick one out, so that was a lot of fun to include him.  (Also, he's Jewish, so he's never picked out a tree from a lot period.  We've always had a fake one that we put together for our house.)  I ended up finding the perfect tree for where we're putting it this year... it's not too short but not too wide either.  Then, Eliot and Jeremy put it in the back of the truck and it came home with us!

The week after Thanksgiving, I had my final sewing class of the fall.  I've been pretty tight lipped about it on here, mostly for fear that I'd jinx us!  I was so disappointed when they had to cancel the spring class due to COVID.  It wasn't a sure thing, but we made it through all 8 classes without any hiccups!  I was happy with what I got done in the fall.  I worked more on my tote bags, cut a few pieces for more tote bags, and worked on a secret project!  I also finally cut into the first of my precious custom fabrics.

In December, I finally had a doctor's appointment.  I've been pushing it off, and it's been hard to make one with COVID, but I was finally able to get in for a new patient appointment with my new primary care physician.  Eliot and I will have the same doctor now.  The appointment went pretty smoothly, even though I had to go back a few days after for blood work.  I've never done that before and I was really nervous about it.  It was a little painful, but I made it through!  My arm was sore the entire afternoon, but thankfully we were ahead enough on orders that I could take the day off!

The weekend before this one, my Dad and Jeremy came to our house to help Eliot build some shelves in the basement.  (I should have taken before and after photos- although it's so dark down there that you wouldn't be able to see anyways!)  We knew we needed a better storage solution in the unfinished part of our basement, and these new shelves will definitely help!  We've got so much room for our holiday decorations now!  We just have to get some more lighting and we'll be in business!

Other than that, the only other big moments I can think of have been a few storms!  We had a wind storm a few weeks ago that knocked our power out for 16 hours.  Then, we had our first big Nor'easter storm last Thursday.  Eliot ended up taking the day off so we had time to work on orders.  We ended up with about 18 inches of snow so I'm glad he stayed home; plus, he had plenty of time to snow-blow the driveway!

It's definitely been busy even though we can't do too much due to COVID.  Eliot and I are hoping to have a bit of holiday fun this week.  Maybe we'll take a drive and look at Christmas lights?  We have a few items on our list that we need to purchase.  Then on Thursday, we are heading up to my parents' house for Christmas weekend!  My Mom told me that Daddy put out 21 inflatables by the road... so I'm excited to see that!

I'll be back with a Christmas update soon!  In the meantime, enjoy the holiday season, keep your spirits up, stay safe and continue looking for the everyday magic. °o°