December 1: Advent

I love this season!  I love Christmas and counting down to Christmas and all the activities (both religious and secular) of the season.  What I don't love it is the crazy, hectic schedule that always seems to accompany all the Christmas fun.

I really want this month to be calm and peaceful and joyful.  But already today we are getting off to a bad start.  It's been a busy Sunday, with a busy morning at church followed by meetings for Daniel followed by a photo shoot for me followed by a trip to the grocery store.  And right now, all I can do is think about ALL the things on my to do list for the week.  Plus, Audrey was super crabby and difficult all day long.  Ugh, it is not feeling calm or peaceful or joyful around here at all.

So somehow, I want to figure out a balance between all these things:  doing what has to be done, attending the events we have to attend, completing the Christmas activities that I like to do, and keeping in mind the real reason for the season.  Is it possible?  I'm not sure!  But I am determined to figure out a way to make it happen.  Because if every day of December is like today, it is not going to be good.

So with that said...here's my plan for this Advent season. 

1.  Advent wreath
This is a new addition this year.  Our church passed out Family Advent Experience bags this morning with supplies for DIY Advent wreaths and weekly readings.  We are going to try to do this each Sunday night leading up to Christmas and then on Christmas morning before we open our presents.

2.  Advent book
We received this book as a wedding gift, and it has always been http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7313142806231844711#editor/target=post;postID=2715993365968001949a favorite.  Each day you open a door to read a part of the Christmas story.  On Christmas morning, before opening presents, we read the whole book and open all the doors.  The book is not in print anymore, so it is fairly expensive to buy.  But if you can get your hands on a copy, it's worth it!

3.  Advent calendar
I made a new Advent calendar this year, and I am super excited about it!!  For the past few years, we used a kit I bought from Stampin Up with takeout style boxes.  The boxes were hung by clothespins on strings in our window.  They worked, but I always dreaded stringing and hanging the boxes each year; too much hassle to get everything even and lined up. 

So I searched for Advent calendar ideas on Pinterest and found the easiest idea EVER!  Shoe organizer Advent calendars!  All you have to do is hang the shoe organizer on a door, then fill the pockets with whatever you want.  So easy and fun!  You can easily change it up from year to year by putting different things inside the pockets.

I got my shoe organizer here.  Then I bought little favor bags from this Etsy store.  I made and printed my own numbers and Merry Christmas sign and attached them to the pockets.

Inside each little bag is two pieces of candy, one each for Audrey and Isla.  We open up the bags after breakfast in the morning.  Along with the candy, there is a slip of paper tucked inside with a Christmas activity for each day. 

I tried to look at our schedule and plan activities accordingly.  For example, we have back to back to back to back events December 15-19, so those events are our Christmas activities for each day.  There will be enough going on then, no need to add more to our plate.   I also knew today would be busy, so I went with something easy like "watch a Christmas movie."  I tried to schedule the more complex activities for days when I knew we had less going on.  The good news is that neither Audrey nor Isla can read, so when we pull out the paper each morning, we have the freedom to change the day's activity at the last minute!

 This is our activity schedule for this year:

1.  Watch a Christmas movie.
2.  Drink hot chocolate.
3.  Get a Christmas tree.
4.  Make a Christmas craft.
5.  Picnic dinner in front of the Christmas tree.
6.  Go to Nana's house (while Mommy and Daddy go to Orlando!)
7.  Play at Nana's house.
8.  Play at Nana's house.
9.  Play at Nana's house.
10.  Go back home and see Mommy and Daddy!
11.  Journey to Bethlehem field trip at school.
12.  Snowflake themed day!
13.  Ride the train at the mall.
14.  Buy presents for a needy family.
15.  Church Christmas Program.
16.  Preschool Christmas Program.
17.  Piano Christmas Concert.
18.  Church Christmas Party.
19.  Wrap presents.
20.  Give money to bell ringers.
21.  Make Christmas cookies; deliver to friends.
22.  Drive around and look at Christmas lights.
23.  Make ornaments for grandparent gifts.
24.  Open a special present before bed tonight.  (the present will be new Christmas PJs and possibly a book or movie)
25.  Merry Christmas!!!

I'm excited because we are going to be home for Christmas morning this year.  It's been a while since we've had a Christmas morning at home with just our little family.  Christmas morning will also be the FIRST gift exchange for us as well.  Many years we end up doing multiple family Christmases before Christmas day, and I think that makes Christmas morning a little less exciting.

November 30: Thanksgiving

We spent the past few days celebrating Thanksgiving with my family.  As has been the case lately, I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked.  And the ones I did take were mostly with my phone and not with my camera.  I'll try again at Christmas!

The girls were SO excited about our trip.  We stopped at Arbys for dinner on our way there, and they were so loud and crazy at the restaurant, I'm surprised we weren't kicked out.  =)

 My sister Andrea spent some time teaching our girls the art of the "selfie." 

Andrea also took Audrey over to my great grandparent's house, where they set up and decorated their Christmas tree.


I took a picture of our Thanksgiving table, before we put out any food and before anyone was sitting there.  I meant to take an after picture, but we were all too busy eating!

Here's my sister Elisabeth with her little girl Braxen.

My mom has lots of dress up clothes for little girls, and my girls had a lot of fun playing with them!

 

Nana, Audrey and I went on a date to the movies!  We saw the new Disney movie Frozen, and we all enjoyed it.  As did every other kid in town!  Our showing was sold out, which means every seat was full, mostly with little kids.  It was a little crazy, but we still had a good time and enjoyed the movie (and the popcorn!  Admission was only $7 and that included popcorn AND a drink!)

We also had a good time celebrating Thanksgiving with my dad and his side of the family and visiting my Grandma in the nursing home.  But this is the only picture I took from those visits:  Audrey and Papa John (my dad).

November 26: Isla's First Haircut

Yesterday, we took Isla to get her haircut for the first time.  Her hair was getting pretty long and straggly in the back, though it was still pretty short in the front.   I thought it was time (probably past time) to get it trimmed.   But I am not brave enough to attempt to cut my kids' hair myself.  So off to the salon we went!

I knew this would not be an enjoyable event for Isla.  New places/people/situations cause her to shut down and get scared.  I decided to go ahead and get Audrey's hair trimmed first, hoping that Isla would watch Audrey, see how harmless it all was, and be more willing to get her own cut.

Audrey was a little nervous at her first haircut when she was two like Isla, but since then she loves going to see Jenni!  It is usually the highlight of her day.  Yesterday, after trimming her hair, Jenni curled her hair and put in a little braid.  Audrey was just grinning from ear to ear when she got done and couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror.  =)

So then it was Isla's turn.  I wanted her to sit in the chair by herself, but she was not a fan of that at all.  So I held her in my lap.  But when they put the cape on her, she freaked out.  She didn't scream, but she sobbed a miserable little cry the whole time Jenni cut her hair.  I gave her a sucker to distract her, but she wouldn't even put it in her mouth.  It wasn't fun, but we did get it done!

I tried to take a before picture while she was sitting in my lap, but that didn't work too well.  This is the best I got.

 

Getting an after picture wasn't much easier.  Once we were all done, Isla did start to cheer up (and eat her sucker).  It wasn't a drastic haircut, but the back is much more even and less mullet-like now.

Today, I asked her if she liked getting her haircut, and our conversation went like this.

Me:  "Isla, did you like getting your haircut?"
Isla:  "Yeah!"
Me:  "You did?  Did you think it was fun?"
Isla:  "Yeah!"
Me:  "Did you cry?"
Isla:  "No.  Me no cry haircut."

I guess she is in denial and has just blocked the whole experience out of her head.  Maybe if she remembers it as fun, then it WILL be fun the next time we have to get her hair cut!

Pinterest Inspired Brinner

Pinterest sometimes get a bad rap for causing women to have idealistic expectations about reality.  Websites like this one are successful by demonstrating how many Pinterest projects don't live up to the hype in reality.

But sometimes Pinterest does live up to the hype.  Sometimes you really can find great ideas, and in today's case, great recipes.  Which is why I love it so much.

Tonight I pulled three recipes from my Pinterest boards and made breakfast for dinner!  I wish I would have taken better pictures, but I had no plans to blog about this.  Until I was getting ready to put the food on the table and thought, "Hey, if this turns out good, it might just be blog-worthy!"  So I snapped a quick picture with my phone, which really doesn't make the food look very appetizing.  But it was good, I promise!

Here's what I made:

Healthy Applesauce Carrot Muffins:
These are super healthy.  They are made with 100% whole wheat flour, no sugar, and very little fat.  And they do taste like they are made with whole wheat flour, no sugar and very little fat.  But they also taste good!!  Surprisingly good, actually.  I ate two for dinner and will eat leftovers for breakfast in the morning.  Audrey liked them too, even though she knew there were carrots in them and she hates carrots.

Waffle Iron Hashbrowns:
This is one that I have seen floating around Pinterest a lot.  And I was a little skeptical.  It seems like the type of pin destined for the Pinterest Fail website.  But these were SO good.  And SO easy!  You just put the frozen tator tots on the hot waffle iron, close it, and in about 15 minutes you have a hashbrown that is super crispy on the outside while soft and potato-y on the inside.  Yum!

Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie:
After reading an article about how blueberries and pomegranates can prevent the flu, I decided we should try to incorporate them a little more into our diet.  I will do anything to avoid having sick kids!!  I'm not a huge smoothie drinker, but this one was pretty good!  I will definitely make it again.

I served some scrambled eggs on the side, and voila...breakfast for dinner, aka brinner!

Thanks, Pinterest!

Pictures with Santa

I am fairly indifferent about Santa Claus.  I don't really try to get my kids to believe in him, but I don't entirely discourage it either.  Audrey has been asking me questions about Santa recently.  I don't really want to lie to her and say that  he is real, but then I hate for my kid to be the one to ruin it for other people's kids who do believe in Santa Claus.  I have remained fairly vague on the topic with Audrey ("I don't know, Audrey, what do you think about Santa Claus?"), always trying to shift the conversation back to Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas.

But I do like to have my kids pictures taken with Santa Claus.  Kind of like our "How Tall this Fall" picture at the pumpkin patch, I just love having pictures to compare from year to year.  So before we get to this year's picture, let's review!

Audrey first visited Santa when she was two in 2010.  I thought she would be afraid, but she had no fear and even smiled!

Then Isla got to join in on the fun in 2011.  Isla was a little too young her to realize that Santa could be scary.  But just wait to see what a difference a year makes!

Last year we tried a new location, where they had a Santa and a Mrs. Claus.  One lap for each kid. I thought Mrs. Claus might be a little less intimidating for Isla.  But no, she was still plenty intimidating.  Isla was not a fan at all.

So that brings us to this year.  Our bank was having a Christmas party on Saturday with lots of free crafts and activities and cookies.  And they also were offering free pictures with Santa.  So, even though it was only November 23 and not even Thanksgiving yet, it sounded like too good of a deal to refuse.

My plan was to put Audrey and Isla alone with Santa.  He was sitting in a sleigh, and I thought maybe Isla would be willing to sit next to him on the sleigh.  As we were standing in line, one of the volunteers noticed that Isla was looking a little unsure of getting her picture taken with Santa.  So she suggested that we should make it a whole family picture, and maybe Isla would be more willing if we were in the picture with her.

I had just rolled out of bed, thrown on my glasses and some clothes before we left the house that morning.  So I wasn't too excited about being in the picture looking like I was looking.  But I decided that maybe it was worth a shot.

Or not.  Isla didn't cry or scream, so I guess that was good.  But she kept her eyes squeezed tightly closed the entire time, and she physically pulled herself as far as possible away from Santa.  (And she refused to let us take off her coat!) The ladies taking the pictures had bells and reindeers and bubbles, all trying to get Isla's attention.  But I told them not to worry about it, because we could sit there all day and try to get her to just look at the camera.  But once she has made up her mind to do something, especially something related to getting her picture taken, there is no changing her mind!

So with that story, I present to you our family picture with Santa for 2013.

I'm tempted to try again with a different Santa and see if I can get one where Isla is at least looking in the general direction of the camera.  But that seems a bit cruel on my part.  So this will probably be our official picture for this year!

Little Mermaid Party: Decorations

This will be my last post about the birthday party. It's only taken me three weeks to write it!

I didn't do anything too extensive for decorations (not like last year's 100 ft long braid hanging out of our front window!).  The main focus was the food table.  I set up the table in front of the window in our dining room, so that I could use the curtain rod to hang up my backdrop.  I despise having to try to hang things from the ceiling, so I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out to use the curtain rod instead.

=

Hobby Lobby has a large selection of bright turquoise, purple and green Christmas decorations this year.  I was able to find several things that worked will with our Little Mermaid party theme! 

I knew the cake was going to be various shades of turquoise/aqua, so I wanted to create a backdrop that represented "under the sea" and coordinated with various shades of turquoise/aqua.  I used some shiny tulle, sequin garlands, and ruffled streamers made out of plastic tablecloths.  I was really excited about the way it turned out once it was all put together.  I actually liked it so much, that i left it up after the party, and just took it down today!  =)

 I was going to spell Happy Birthday, Audrey at the top.  But then that was way too many letters to cut out and figure out how to hang up, so I just simplified and went with Audrey instead.

 You can find a tutorial on how to make the streamers here.  Seriously, they are my new favorite thing.  Very easy to make, though a bit time consuming and a bit painful on my fingers.  But WORTH it in the end!!

 In our basement, I set up some tables and chairs for extra seating.  I did decorate these tables with tablecloths and centerpieces, but I forgot to take a picture!  I just got some sparkly purple and green sprays from the Hobby Lobby Christmas section and put them in a clear vase filled with turquoise rocks and gems. 

I also had plans to turn the play area of our basement into an Under the Sea world.  With streamers and tissue paper poms and various sea creatures hanging from the ceiling.  As the party grew closer and I grew lazier, this turned into me randomly hanging a few crepe paper streamers around the room.  Often my plans are bigger than my motivation to actually do them!  This picture shows the (lame) streamers, and also the craziness in the basement where all the kids congregated to play!

Little Mermaid Party: Favors and Games

Ugh...I'm way behind on blogging!  Here is another post about Audrey's Little Mermaid Party.

I love giving favors to kids at parties.  Probably because I just like giving gifts.  But I think it is just so much fun to see their faces light up when they get a present just for them.  I've started putting the kids' names on the favor bags.  It helps me to remember to give it to them.  Plus, I think kids just feel special when they get something with their name on it.  And that makes me happy!

For the older kids bags, I put a Little Mermaid pen/stamper (found in the Target dollar spot), bubbles (with a custom label attached), Ocean Spray fruit snacks and a few pieces of color coordinated candy.  The younger toddlers and babies got ocean animal bath squirters and bubbles.


 To keep the kids entertained, we played a couple of games.  I wanted to play the games outside where we would have more room.  But then it was muddy and leaves were everywhere, and I really didn't want all that yuckiness tracked back inside my house (on my new yellow rug!).  Inside, it was a bit chaotic, trying to keep them all contained and following the rules in a very small space, as you can tell from my facial expression in this picture!

We played Pass the Mermaid, which was like Hot Potato using an Ariel doll instead.  And we also played Dinglehopper Dash.  I dumped a bunch of plastic forks on the ground, and then we split the kids up into two groups:  boys vs. girls.  We timed each group to see how fast they could pick up all the forks (dinglehoppers according to Scuttle in the movie) and put them in the buckets.  The games were fairly simple, but I think the kids had fun.

In the basement, I set up a little craft station where the kids could make their own jellyfish.  I just had them color on a styrofoam bowl, attach self-adhesive eyes, and then tape pre cut ribbons to the inside of the bowl.  I wasn't sure if anyone would even want to make a craft, but almost everyone did!  Big thanks to my friend Lindsey, who ended up manning this table and helping everyone with their jellyfish!