A Christmas Story by Laura

Not to be outdone by Nathan's little story, Laura has come up with one of her own. She declared hers is really funny. I couldn't agree more and am sharing how she told it.

The Snowman Going to Fake Work by Laura Rose Lacerda

Oh no me, Frosty I'm going to be late to my fake work snowing. I had better hurry before it rains.

And I almost forgot Crystal my wife to take with me.

So they ate cookies with blue frosting and then they drive to go to work.

And then they made it to work and so they meeted their elf friends and then they were helping them make toys for Santa to deliver to the kids.

And so Santa got Rudolf in case he doesn't lose him and then they make more toys for Santa to deliver more toys to the kids.

And then they meeted crazy elf fish friends.

And then they meet Buzz and Woody.

And then they meeted Garfield with his family.

And then they buy some candy at the candy shop.

And then they go back home and they went into the airplane in the sky with Santa.

And then they meeted Shrek and Fiona at the swamp with their family. I guess Puss was there and Donkey and Pokeynose too.

And then they goed to sleep.

And then they woke up and then on the next morning they got presents from Santa. They got parent presents.

The End.

A Christmas Story by Nathan

Nathan is exploring all kinds of things lately. He is really into reading everything he can and making up stories even more than usual. So tonight he is an author and tomorrow plans on being an illustrator. I wrote everything as he narrated it. I think it is perfect.

Here it is.

Santa Forgets by Nathan Lacerda

Santa woke up form bed on Christmas Eve. He looked at the clock. He saw what time it is. And then he shouted "Oh my, I'm late!"

He put his boots on. Then he put his red pants on. Then he put his shirt on. Then he put his jacket on. Then he put on his hat. An then he rushed to the factory.

Mrs. Claus said "You are late!" So, he got his sleigh all ready to go. He took off. "Oh my, I forgot Rudolf!"

"It's foggy. I can't go without Rudolf!"

So he gone back but he didn't know the way back home.

So he called Mrs. Claus and then Mrs. Claus flew on Rudolf. She setted up Rudolf and then Mrs. Claus got into the sleigh. Then Santa Claus said "How silly I am, I forgot Rudolf."

So they delivered the presents together.

The End

Project 365 - Day 349

So I have been fighting trying to keep Nathan and Laura getting along at least for December and thought I could use Christmas and the nice list and it is just not quite as easy as it was last year. So, my aunt had called yesterday and told me about this book. It is so adorable. The little elf watches the children every day and then magically flies to the North Pole every night to report to Santa and then flies back to our house and sits in a different place and the kids get to look for him each morning to see where he is. They can't touch him because he will lose his magic. I think this will end up being a really fun tradition.

Project 365 - Day 348

Nathan's cub scout den went to a senior home to sing Christmas carols. They were so gosh darn cute singing and visiting with the residents. The residents were so excited to see the boys. Laura got in on the action too. I decided to make some treats for the boys. They didn't turn out anywhere close to the Hello, Cupcake versions I was attempting to make but the kids totally loved these.

Project 365 - Day 347

He's been hanging out under the Christmas tree lately. He is enamored with the gifts and lights and I just love seeing Christmas through his eyes.

Project 365 - Day 346

Cards, cards and more cards. All my aunt wanted for her birthday was more monogram cards with matching pens. She also commissioned me to make some gifts for her. I ended up making a few more for gifts so I have been busy putting these sets together. I am over the moon with the Amy Butler paper packs and love putting sets together with them. I love all the color combinations.

Project 365 - Day 345

So this is Noah's new favorite position. He takes this pillow, puts it down, settles in on it and grabs a book. He loves books. I love that all the kids love books. They are constantly bringing me or Mike or my Mom or Dad books to read. He just looks so big to me now. Not my little baby anymore.

Project 365 - Day 344

Crafts, crafts, crafts. I tell myself every year I will not repeat the previous year and every year I somehow get myself into all kinds of new crafts. I decided to make these "easy" crayon and colored pencil rolls for the kids on my list. Well, since I am a faux sewer I couldn't figure out the correct way to do it so I made up my own pattern just to get them done. So by the end of the weekend I had 10 done and 5 more. They really did turn out cute and I still think that after sewing them all.

Project 365 - Day 342

Laura's empty bed. My sweet little girl is still having trouble sleeping in her bed. She wants to sleep with mommy and it is a battle every night. This night she decided she would sleep in her bed only if she could sleep with lots and lots of her animals. Well the animals were there but she wasn't - she ended up in my bed. We will get there - someday - and until then I just keep reminding myself she won't want to be around me at all soon so I had better take what I can get.

Project 365 - Day 343

The 'cowboy' hats. Laura saw these for Christmas gifts and since it has been so cold outside and she keeps asking when they can all wear their matching hats I thought it was pointless to hold them off. It really is painful for me to look at cowboy hats on them because I love to dislike the dang cowboys but even I must admit the little crew is pretty cute.

Project 365 - Day 341

It's snowing?!? I can't believe it was cold enough to be snowing in Roseville. The kids thought it was so cool. Too bad it melted by noon and they couldn't play in it.

Project 365 - Day 340

Noah and the Christmas tree. He is all about staring and grabbing the ornaments on the tree. I have already performed craft surgery on six ornaments. I only wonder how many more will need fixing before Christmas.

Project 365 - Day 339

Dusti had done some really cool promo pictures and made a birthday banner for our friend Donna's baby (aka reCreate: http://www.recreate.org/) and Dusti had Kendal's birthday party there. The kids had a great time. They made robot/potato head/tin can guys and really got into using all the materials to decorate their special creations.

Kendal wanted to have a Batman party, so we found a cool t-shirt for her and I tried to make some cards but I am not happy with how they turned out. The 'K' was supposed to look like the bat call and the ribbon was supposed to look like bat wings but I just didn't like the look of them. Hopefully she can use them as thank you cards so Dusti doesn't have to buy any.

Project 365 -Day 338

This is what happens when he learns new things every day. He is wanting to eat like the rest of us with forks and spoons and that is proving difficult to master. So, I got the bright idea to use one of these little thingy mabobs. It was going great. He was feeling so proud and eating his oatmeal very nicely. Then I walked away. Never, never, never walk away from a baby eating oatmeal. I wasn't gone very long mind you, maybe a minute? A full 60 some odd seconds later and this is what you can get. This stuff is like GLUE and it was everywhere. I guess I should have known better and been a tad smarter but I was trying to get Nathan out the door for school so my thinking was a little off. I can't believe how trusting I can be when I am distracted. That'll teach me.

Project 365 - Day 337

It was Bup and Laura day. My mom had promised Laura that she would take her to see Planet 51 when it came out at the movie theatre. They had a nice lunch (before the sugar fest at the movies) and apparently Laura ate more than my mom has ever seen her eat (it was pizza). They had popcorn, m&m's, and fruit snacks at the movies and Laura really enjoyed the cute funny movie. I am glad she has this time with my mom. I remember all the fun times I had with my grandma so I know she will treasure this always.

Project 365 - Day 336

Just a little holiday cheer at my Mom and Dad's house. They really go all out with Christmas decorations and the inside always looks festive. The kids were so excited to go and see the lights and help out.

Project 365 - Day 335

Here is the photo from my dear friend Dusti (I still don't like the way I look, but it is tradition and so I must include it)

It has become tradition for Annie, Dusti and I to have birthday lunches at Chevy's. We all love Chevy's and it is a great time with friends. I don't spend nearly enough time with my uber crafty and beautiful friends but this was a great getaway. I was spoiled again with cupcakes and fun gifts to make my own cupcakes. Now if I can just learn how to make them as good as theirs I will be all set. Thanks girls for a great day!

Project 365 - Day 334

The moon looked really cool to me tonight. It was frosty and foggy and full. Just another sign of fall.

Project 365 - Day 333

My new bed. Grandma Alma lovingly sent me some mad money for my birthday and I used it to buy a new bedspread. I love it. I was more than a little tired of my 10 year old spread. I got an awesome deal with everything included. I am not sure how great it is when I had to buy new sheets and drapes but I did get a good deal on those too. I now love to make my bed so I can see it all made up. It really is the little things in life that make me happy. Now if I can just find the time to work on the photo wall of black and white sleeping kid photos...

Project 365 - Day 332

(so picture will have to come later, because I can't seem to get it loaded after two days of trying and I know my dad is wanting more posts!)



We had an incredible dinner and visit with the Dobies on Saturday, my parents even stopped by to share the dinner. The roasted potatoes and butternut squash were really yummy. It is so nice to spend time with them and the kids all love each other so much they just play and play and play and we adults can just hang out. Joni and I love to cook so we just have fun gabbing away and making and trying new things. I had been wanting to try this mashed turnip (aka rutabaga) recipe with crispy shallots. I know it sounds weird but it looked so good with Ina Garten made it. After I burnt the crispy shallots beyond belief, Chris came to the rescue and fried up some onions nice and crisp. They were delicious on the creamy rutabagas. I think I found a new veggie to love.

Project 365 - Day 331

It's Black Friday and yes my mom and I are some of those crazy people who get up in the dark of night and go stand in line to shop. My mom has done this before and this was my first time actually waiting in line. Last year I met her with Noah at 6:30 in the morning but this year I was with her at 3 something in the morning to stand in line at Target. We got some incredible deals and it sure was fun to shop with no kids. We had a very specific list and had envelopes with coupons and times for each store we wanted to shop at (4am, 5am and 6am). It sure was fun, but man oh man was it cold!