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)

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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!

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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.

years later...

Years later, we peek in to the empty limestone building with our curious children close by.  I only remember the way it was on that marvelous evening in November.  Lights were strung, the accordion and violin played familiar Italian tunes into the evening, friends and family stood by us, cakes of ladyfingers and cranberries waited by the window to be cut, rustic chandeliers and candles glowed against the simple stone walls and the warm honey-colored rays of the setting sun welcomed us as newly weds.

Now, years later, our lives are so vastly different from that day.  Our priorities have changed by the little ones that now grace our lives.  Yet, that familiar feeling of friendship, closeness and enchantment still remains and links us together no matter how much things change.

So happy we remain. 

Cheers to these sweet years together!

they were...

Only one of them threw us for a loop when she exclaimed that she wanted to be a butterfly.  The other enjoyed the safety and security of her very tame and comfortable jack o' lantern costume.  

Now, what do we do with all the candy?  They've turned into addicts overnight...