advent: day 23

Let me sneak just a little peek...

This one is so incredibly curious.  I know she is peeking ever-so-sneakily here and there.

advent: day 22

There is nothing like hand-made elf booties to keep your feet warm on a cold day.

advent: day 21

Today, we baked and enjoyed some special treats from our dear neighbors.  I love the tradition of baking for the neighbors for the holidays.

(The above photos are of the cookies my neighbor baked.  She made 6 different kinds from all over the world!  What a treat!)

advent: day 20

Setting up the little train that runs around the tree is so exciting for a 4-year-old!  

Looking at all the details inside is so much fun especially when you're doing it with one of your favorite people!

advent: day 19

We just can't get enough of all the beautiful lights this year!  Driving around after bedtime in our jammies to look at all the lights has become a nightly tradition.

advent: day 18

These little hands picked up pecans like they were candy on an afternoon drive to a sweet little town.

advent: day 17

Dashing around and delivering gifts with your little cousin is the best!

advent: day 16

Handmade ornaments are the perfect touch to the tree this year!  I have never loved them so much!

advent: day 15

Watching this little angel sing on stage with all her classmates was quite the treat today!

advent: day 14

Sweet holiday shows that I remember from my childhood were shared together.  Watching these year-after-year never gets old and sharing them with a new generation is wonderful!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

advent: day 13

Today they set up the little nativity at the bottom of the tree.  They spoke of the little baby and all the animals and wise men that came to see him.

advent: day 12

Watching these two read together on the couch, unprompted and without arguing is probably the best gift a mother could ask for!

advent: day 11

A special note filled with lots of hand-drawn pictures and a little list was sent to Santa.

advent: day 10

Visiting with these enchanting folks was wonderfully entertaining.  Meeting Ms. Claus was a first and was a great primer for chatting with the big guy.  The amazement and wonder in the eyes of all the children was adorable and so very memorable!

 

advent: day 9

Crude, but whimsical, snowflakes were cut and hung in the window today.  Cutting through layers of folded paper was a bit challenging for the little hands but unfolding the final product was magical!

advent: day 8

Let's decorate a gingerbread house together!

advent: day 7

Toes, like prunes, take a break from a long bubbly soak in the tub.

advent: day 6

 Together, these hands created lovely button-adorned felt wreath ornaments.  They sat around the kitchen table and worked on this for hours.  I was amazed at how art and creativity can so easily bridge the 88 year age gap.

advent: day 5

My kids were super excited to celebrate a very special baby's birthday today!

Hats were worn, cake was eaten and sweet songs were sung.

advent: day 4

The rain boots came out of the closets and were proudly worn out to a holiday cookie decorating party.

These little fingers scraped icing off the freshly decorated cookies.  Icing and candy canes were the only thing consumed at the holiday party.

advent: day 3

Finding that perfect spot for an ornament on the tree amongst the lights and limbs has become quite a science in the mind of this girl.

advent: day 2

Great-grandmother's hands point to illustrations in a favorite Christmas book.  Reading by the tree at night with Great-grandma is a favorite holiday tradition.

advent: day 1

I recently saw a website that encouraged families to document their days leading up to the holidays.  I thought it would be neat to try it this year.  I will probably regret this commitment when things get wild and crazy but it might be fun to try.  It seems that the little people NEVER get tired of pouring sprinkles onto frosted cookies {even if the sprinkles are left over from Halloween--good thing, they don't care about the colors yet}. 

counting the days...

Thanksgiving was last week and we all now seem to be counting the days...

I made this Advent Calendar today with my big girl.  It was super easy and quite fun to do together.  It will also help with those nagging questions about how many more days until Christmas!  Not to mention, it is good for counting and number recognition for the little ones.

All you need are these fun things:

24 - count mini muffin tin (about $5.00 at most large stores)

via

assorted Christmas scrapbook paper cut or punched into 2 1/4 inch squares

this is the punch I used

superglue to glue the paper squares to the muffin tin

{this is the ONLY kind of glue that will adhere the paper to the non-stick surface of the pan}

printed or hand-written numbers (1-24) cut or punched into 2 inch circles

here is the punch I used

To make the calendar, first arrange your paper squares on the muffin tin in a pattern you like.  Next, superglue  only the bottom 3 sides of the square to the top of the muffin tin opening.  This will create a little pouch for your goodies/notes to go in.  Next, glue your numbers on top of the paper squares in order from 1-24.

We had lots of fun counting and sorting the numbers as we glued them.

Next, think about what you want in your Advent Calendar.  I decided to use little strips of paper with little goodies written on them.  Instead of little gifts, I decided to give fun experiences so that we will spend more time over the holiday season together.  

Some of my Advent experiences were:

decorate a gingerbread house

drive around AFTER bedtime to look at the lights

dress up to eat breakfast with Santa

make cookies for the neighbors

buy a Christmas tree

get hot cocoa at our favorite coffee shop

I jotted down each little experience on a strip of paper and tucked it into the top of the opening of each square.

VOILA!  

Our Advent Calendar took about an hour to complete and it is ready for December 1st!

Happy Advent Season!

Thanksgiving Placemat

This year for Thanksgiving, I thought it might be fun to make placemats for the kids.  I thought it might be fun for them to learn how the table is set and remind them of a prayer before we eat.  Right now, my girls are into Madeline and love to say her prayer before they eat.  

For Thanksgiving dinner, I printed each child at the table a special placemat and will give them stickers to decorate their plate (on the placemat).  Hopefully, it will aid in a peaceful dinnertime, especially when dinnertime gets long and the kids get antsy!

If you'd like to use this too, you can download a copy by clicking here.

Happy peaceful eating with kids tomorrow!

Give Thanks

Warm and Cozy: Cranberry Orange Sauce

I love different cranberry sauces for Thanksgiving.  Anything that is a little different than the traditional canned stuff is worth the time to make!  This recipe is super easy and marries the tastes of orange, cranberry and cinnamon.  What could be better?  I made mine with fresh cranberries and oranges.  Enjoy! 

Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Tyler Florence

Ingredients

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 orange, zest cut into strips and juiced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 
  

Directions

Put all the ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature or cool and refrigerate. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving

don't rush me

I feel like it is the first week of December!  Everywhere I look there are Christmas lights strung, wreaths on doors, Christmas music playing in coffee shops and retailers advertising Christmas goodies like crazy!

via

Geez, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet!  I hate feeling rushed through the seasons and holidays.  The poor kids are so confused and think it is Christmas time when we should all really be focusing on Thanksgiving.  All this Christmas craziness seems so early this year.  

Stop rushing me!

Does anyone feel the same?  

i thought we had a few more years before this...

For some odd reason, I didn't think little notes on bedroom doors {telling the little sister not to enter} appeared until much later in life.  After a no-sleep naptime, this note appeared on my girl's door.  Sadly for the big sister, the little sister still enters without permission.  She sweetly pointed out the note on the door to me a few days ago almost as if she knew what it meant but still entered into her big sister's room to play with all the things that aren't her own.

I still remember when I didn't want my little sister in my room.  She was destructive and reckless and I was neat and organized.  The day she cut off my Barbie's hair was a day I will never forget. {sniff, sniff}

Funny how when you see bits of your life unfold and repeat in your children's lives.