A Scattering of Seashells...

"We are like seashells upon the beach ~ beautiful and unique ~ each with a story of it's own to tell."  - Unknown

I can tell you if our family was a seashell, it would have quite a story to tell right now as we navigate through the cold of winter (YUCK!), the start of Miss B's competitive dance season, L's first year in show choir and C embarking on undoubtedly the greatest adventure of his life (to date).  I thought I would take a moment to close my eyes and "pretend" to breathe in the salty air of the ocean while sharing a "scattering" of what has been happening in our world.

Like every other family, we received the game Pie Face for Christmas.  While L & C have so far opted out of the fun...the rest of us (my mom included) have enjoyed taking a shot of whipped cream to the face.  It's all fun and good until some whipped cream makes its way up your nose!  I was sneezing Redi-Whip forever!!!  LOL!

Waiting is half the fun!

And hence the sneezing, right up my nose!!  LOL!

Brave Grandma didn't even stand a chance!  :)

It has brought countless hours of fun to our house ~ when we can get our hands on a can of RediWhip.  Now with this game out, finding a can on the shelves at the grocery store is like finding gold in a mine!!   :)

We have been lucky enough to only have had one major snowstorm this year (remember I prefer the sand to the snow), so we had to take full advantage of it and take the kids sledding. I am embarrassed to say this was the kids first time down a "big" hill, because apparently the slope in our backyard doesn't count.  It had also been awhile since Honey & I had played in snow, because just like the slope ~ shoveling doesn't count either.  For not being a cold weather girl, I will say that we all had a blast!  

Ta-Da!  He made it over the jump and down the hill (backwards, I might add) without falling off the sled!  So proud!!

Just in case you were wondering, that is L underneath all that gear.  :)

Only drawback to sledding, is having to carry the sled ALL THE WAY back up the hill.  Poor L!  

Miss B & I even got to make beautiful snow angels.  

It was such a fun afternoon, it almost makes me wish it would snow again ..... hmmmm ..... no not really.  I still prefer the warmth of the sand, but the laughter and smiles as they slid down the hill warmed my heart (and toes) to make it all worthwhile.  :)

Honey & I watched the first of my three classic movies from my 40x42 list, Casablanca.  I never doubted why it is considered one of the greatest movies of all time, but now after seeing it ~ I have a whole new understanding.  Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman are fantastic! And I am finally able to place all the infamous lines I have heard over the years!  I didn't realize how many had come from this movie!!!  (insert embarrassed blush)  "Here's looking at you, kid."  :)

Finally, in a previous post I mentioned that I had added a few pieces of Holiday decor to our new beach themed area downstairs.  As with all my decorating, I don't rush it.  So while it may be a small start, I look forward to adding to it over the years.  That's half the fun!!

I even included my Christmas turtle in the space.  He finally feels right at home with the mini seashell tree.  These are all shells picked up from our trips to the beach.  I used hot glue to attach ribbon to the back so that they could hang from the branches.  I also filled the base with additional shells.  You can never have enough shells, in my opinion.

Finally, I added this wreath to the window ~ the view looks underneath our deck & no one really wants to see that.  :(  I purchase the wreath pretty much as is from Michaels using a 50% off coupon then added the 3 large starfish to create a more beach-inspired vibe.  I am very pleased with how it turn out!  A little piece of Coastal Christmas in the Midwest...

And there's a small look into the story our family seashell would tell right now as it "scatters" across the beach and through the waves of life.  Until next time . . . 

Love ,
N