Bag Balm - The Cure-All

So a couple of summers ago Jacob had to have surgery and the doctor recommended putting bag balm on his surgery site. So we bought a can of it. We put it on a couple of times and he healed nicely. Well, right before Thanksgiving Madalyn got a horrendous diaper rash. We had been putting Desitin on it, baby powder, straight cornstarch, Aquaphor, just about anything we could think of and then we tried our bag balm. Her diaper rash was significantly better in 6 hours. We were thinking of putting off not going to Greg's parents for Thanksgiving all because of a diaper rash. So I have been converted. I found this article today about the myriad of uses bag balm. It's great stuff and worth the $10 a can to have it on hand for whatever.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35170402/ns/business-small_business

Ta-Da!

So I have been scrapbooking for more than 10 years and just this year I departed from the traditonal scrapbooking to explore the world of digital scrapbooking. I am so far behind, with 3 kids and 4 scrapbooks to try and keep up I just kept falling more and more behind. So after being told that this was the way to go (Thanks Leslie and James), I delved in. I started with this year and plan to work my way back. I finished an entire year in less than 2 months and I only have to make each page once instead of up to 4 times. HOORAY! So here is my scrapbook of 2009. I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as we had living it. I am sorry it's so small, I don't know how to make it bigger. If you want to see a bigger video you can email me and I'll send you the pdf file. You'll get the idea anyway,

Heart Hair

I realize that Valentine's Day is a little while off, but I wanted to post a hair do and I found this one from last year. It is Lorelei's absolute favorite do. If I did it as often as she requested it she would have it at least once a week. Unfortunately for her I like a little more variety than that. I only have one picture, we must have been running late for church (as always). So this is actually quite easy. You make a nice neat half ponytail (a talent all in itself, I still haven't mastered that)and then split it in two sections. Either corkscrew braid (divide into two sections and twist both in the same direction and then twist together in the opposite direction) or regular braid each section and put in some clear ponytail holders (you can use color and take them out later, but I like a little added security). Stick your finger in the middle of the half ponytail above the ponytail holder and pull your sections up through. So it flips it and the sections should automatically curve a little. Bring the braided sections down and combine with the hair that has been left down. Make another ponytail and then kind of shape the heart and if you have a very wiggly child add a couple of bobby pins to help keep it's shape. Add a pretty bow on the bottom ponytail and you can take out the ponytail holders from the braids if you feel confident that they'll stay in, my bow would hide the holders you can see in the picture. Curl the ponytail and there you have it. This stays better if done on pretty wet hair, so either spray it down or do it right from the tub. If you do it on dry hair use a lot of pomade (wax) to keep the flyaways from driving you crazy later.

Sharing Christmas!

We hope all of you had as Merry a Christmas as we did here in Parma. Santa was good to the kids (better than maybe they deserved :)). The kids are carrying on the holiday by singing Christmas songs and wishing everyone they meet a Merry Christmas, so aside from all the presents being removed from under our tree it's still Christmas here. Here is a pictorial review of our Christmas celebration

Traditions

So our little family will be spending Christmas by ourselves in Parma again this year, and while we are getting more used to the idea, it still makes me a little sad to not be around family. We could drive to Greg's parents house 5 hours away, but the years we've planned to do that the weather hasn't cooperated and it's hard for "Santa" to find us there and then we have to transport all of the presents back home. So we decided it's best if we stay at home and start having our own family traditions. So while I have a plethora of traditions from both our families to choose from I was wondering what some of your favorite traditions are. What do you do on Christmas Eve that makes you giddy with excitement for the next day? What do you do after all the presents are opened on Christmas day? What do you do to make it last longer. My mother was notorious for making sure Christmas lasted all day. I love that!

Book Review: Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

This is my all time favorite Christmas book. My mother has read this book to me at least once a year for as many years as I can remember. I even had her read it to me when she came around Christmas time a couple of years ago, just after Madalyn was born. It has now become a tradition in my little family to read it the night we trim the tree. However, my kids love it and I read it many more times than that. It just doesn't feel like Christmas without Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree.

It is the story of Mr. Willowby who gets a giant Christmas tree and puts in up in his house only to find that it's too tall. So the butler chops off the top and gives it to the maid who finds that it's too tall for her room and chops off the top. The top keeps getting passed from person to person and from animal to animal. It rhymes delightfully and it's just fabulous. Read it, I know you'll love it! I got all excited when our Christmas tree this year was too tall for our house, so much so that I took a picture of our tree that was exactly like Mr. Willowby's. See?

Guess Who's Two?

Our little Madalyn turned two last Saturday! Time just flies by. She still seems so little, although I know that will change with the new baby coming in March. She is such a cuddle bug and loves to be held still so I guess I still think she's a baby. But she's a big girl. She loves to play, laugh and rough house. She'll tackle her 6 year old brother and laugh while she's doing it. There is never a dull moment with Madalyn around. We love her and her sparkling personality. Here are some pictures of her party. We were at Greg's parents' house over the Thanksgiving weekend. That little doggy has hardly left her side since she got it on Saturday, she loves it!