The Crafts

Missed a few days in my Christmas countdown. Eh, I'm cool with it. We've been enjoying holiday cartoons on television. We have also enjoyed stealing mom's phone and taking random photos. This morning Maddie decided she needed to get up at 3. She cried for awhile in her bed until I finally got her up for the day at 4:15. First thing I did was make myself some coffee and make her clock in for work. She refilled K cups, read some books, watched some Mr. Ed (not much on at this time of day), and dragged the cat around by the neck. (Maddie's not gentle with Nacho.) Needless to say, I'm feeling ready for bed.  So many random photos... Three more days until Christmas!

A few weeks back we made our annual visit to a Christmas tree farm to chop down our tree. It is always a serious debate on which tree is best and this year we picked a doozie! She is tall and gorgeous; Amazonian-like except that you wouldn't find our Christmas tree in the rain forest. Only 12 more days until Christmas and it feels more like deep, dark January out there with 3 degrees and frozen, solid snow on the ground. Today we watch Scooby Doo instead of playing outside and I will warm my hands with a mug of coffee and frothy milk. I started my baking today. I've got Kringla and cinnamon roll dough waiting for me. Maddie sat in her high chair for an HOUR eating cereal while I mixed and spilled and cleaned. That right there is a Christmas miracle. And now I type with Nacho on my lap and Scooby Doo on TV. These ramblings may seem unnecessary now but I find it fun to look back on what life was like. Sometimes the days spent with only two girls instead of four seem like a far-o...

The other day I made a list of Christmas prep to-dos and then I freaked out. And then I had a cup of coffee and did everything but work on my to-dos. This past week instead of accomplishing tasks we have...broken eyeglasses, made impromptu cookies, watched silly television shows from the 90's (or was it the 00's?), scooped bowls of ice cream, played in the snow, and pretty much anything other than work on those to-dos. Oh, and we also found Darth Vader in the aisles of Target. I guess future Sarah will worry about that list. I love future Sarah. 17 days until Christmas!

I was going to continue my Christmas Countdown posts and then I remembered I never blogged about Sanibel so let me squeeze a little warm sunshine into your afternoon. Each year my parents visit Florida for a week and this time around Natalie and I were a couple of super duper lucky ducks because we got to tag along! If you have just met me then you probably need to know that I have sand, sun, beach on my brain roughly 21 out of 24 hours a day. It's the best. Pretty certain heaven is comprised of beaches, pools, and the sound of crashing waves. (And maybe the occasional cold beer? Maybe.) My dad really needed to check his phone, I guess. Natalie and I were at the beach every day. One day we were there from 9:30 a.m. til 3:30 p.m. Natalie spent her time building sand castles and "camp fires" out of sea beans and shells. We built, we played, we jumped waves in the ocean, and most importantly, we were mermaids in the sea. When I grow up I want to be a mer...

I missed two days this weekend in my Countdown to Christmas. I guess this little elf needed a couple days off. That one day of blogging was stressful...or something. To make up for it I will share two additional pictures. 20 days til Christmas and our last week has been spent chasing our newest little Craft. For my birthday Matt got me a kitten. Meet Nacho. She is a sweetie; a wild, playful, adorable sweetie. Nacho has been a perfect addition to the family...when she isn't trying to drink my coffee and eat everyone's breakfast. She seems to love breakfast. Ha! Nacho doesn't like her pet bed but Maddie sure does. These two never stop moving.

Many moons ago when I maintained this blog on a more regular basis, I thoroughly enjoyed my Countdown to Christmas; a new post every day with a fun photo from our daily life. I have already shared the below photo of FB and Instagram but it is a favorite. I love our beastly tree that scrapes the ceiling and I love that little platinum elf peeking from behind the curtain. I am super pumped for Christmas this year. I just have a good feeling about it. This morning I woke up crabby from minimal sleep (due to my own circumstances) and thought, "wait, I have a husband, four daughters, and a kitten. How can I be crabby?" And then I cleaned up some unexpected kid barf but nonetheless, I still felt good about life. (Kitten news to be shared in tomorrow's countdown photo...probably.) \\