Advent Adventures: Homemade Wrapping Paper

The idea is to dip cookie cutters in paint (we used BioColor Red and Colorations Metallic Gold Activity Paint) then transfer those shapes to your paper then Voila! Wrapping Paper. However, if you are three, you may prefer a more hands-on approach.

It all started out being fairly tame. Notice the nice shapes the cookie cutters leave behind...

Then the experiments began... William testing the "movement" of the paint on the plates and Sara started smearing

"Ooooooo, how 'bout I make a print, Mom?"

Happiness

All we need is to put a bow on her! Best present ever...

Advent Adventures: Gingerbread Houses

At the rate we’re building, we’ll soon have an entire gingerbread village. This is one of our favorite holiday activities (it shows up in various forms in the advent calendar—sometimes just us making them, sometimes inviting friends for a play date/party variation).  I love the endless creative opportunities and hands-on process. The kids love enjoy that too but let’s be honest, some activities are really all about the candy…

Trader Joe’s stole my heart this season with their $7.99 Gingerbread House Kit that comes with adorable frosting figures. It is quick to build and wonderfully stable for little hands to dive right in and decorate without waiting for the frosting to harden. Also, this kit provided the best recipe yet for gingerbread house building (whip one egg white until peaks form, add 250 grams powdered sugar until mixed then add some lemon juice and water to achieve a nice thick sticky texture)—I will never go back to my old basic mix!

Some folks might miss the pre-made frosting that comes with some kits but an opportunity to lick the spoon is never missed in this house...

Look at those cuties (the frosting figures too)

So focused

While we're on the subject of Trader Joe’s… can I just tell you how muck I love that store? Let me count the ways with this list of some of our favorites this holiday season…

On the first day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, a fabulous South African Smoke Seasoning Blend (made from mostly paprika, no chemicals, adds a wonderful flavor to veggies or tofu)

On the second day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Two Gingerbread Houses

On the third day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, tri-color Veggie and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips

On the fourth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, four cans of organic beans (best price anywhere… even though I know that it would be cheaper and more healthy to make them from dried beans… working on doing that more)

On the fifth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, 5 pounds of Juicy Satsuma Mandarins (easy to peel for the kids and oh so juicy and delicious)

On the sixth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Sesame Honey Cashews (William would eat these by the cup-full if we let him)

On the seventh day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, a 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Bar with toffee, walnuts and pecans (great stocking stuffer)

On the eighth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Snap Pea Crisps (this would be Sara's snack of choice any time)

On the ninth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Organic 9 Grain Whole Wheat Bread (if you don't like your bread to be sweet, this is a great one!)

On the tenth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, all my favorite nuts and seeds at great prices

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, affordable organic dried cranberries

On the twelveth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, delectable Soy Creamy Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert

OK, so I actually consolidate my trips a bit more than my list suggests... but you get the idea. Much better than partridges in pear trees, don't you think?

Filling the Advent Calendar

"Baby William" four years ago, his second Christmas

Two advent calendars grace our home. One is filled with treats from elves that come every night and tuck goodies inside the doors (the elves know better than to trust that our 3 and 5 year olds would leave the numbers unopened until the appropriate day).  The other calendar is made of felt and has lovely little pockets where I place daily holiday activities.

A friend suggested this a few years ago and it’s been a wonderful way to help stay focused on all the fun, friendship, and love this season inspires. Here is my list so far (I know it’s more than 25 needed for the month but it’s good to have lots of choices) and a preview of what we’ll be up to in the coming weeks:

Make a “Grateful Garland” using paper stars, mittens or stocking shapes (kids pick)

Create paper snowflakes and tape them to the windows

Make hot cocoa with candy cane stirrers

Forage for evergreen boughs and decorate inside

Create colorful paper stars

String cranberries and popcorn

Gather unused toys to share with others

Make edible decorations for the birds and squirrels

Read 5 Christmas stories beside the fire

Sing Christmas carols beside the fire

Make salt dough ornaments

Make a card (or two) and send it to someone special

Poach pears

Roll beeswax candles

Stay up late and sing Christmas songs by the tree

Hang decorations on a tree outside!

Light a candle in honor of Hanukkah and talk about various faiths and celebrations

Make Christmas cards for friends and family

Mail Christmas greetings to family and friends

Paint Christmas ornaments together

Make gift tags

Decorate the Christmas tree together

Make & bake Christmas cookies

Decorate Christmas cookies

Deliver Christmas cookies to a neighbor

Paint everybody's toenails in Christmas colors

Purchase a present to give to charity

Picnic lunch by the Christmas tree

Go out after dark to look at Christmas lights

Write a special letter to Santa

Make gifts for teachers

Festive family disco night!

Go out somewhere special for dinner

Ice cream sundaes for dessert

Make popcorn & watch a Christmas movie

Make a special bookmark for your favorite storybook then read it together

Give your favorite pet a Christmas present

Write a love note and put it under Daddy’s pillow

Build snowmen in front of the Senior Center

Create holiday art/craft bags for kids in hospital

Make Snow Angels

Make snow ice cream (snow + sugar + vanilla + milk)

Sleep under the Christmas tree

Attend a program at library or local nature center

Shop for an adopted family in need

Christmas Crafts! Make paper chains, pom-pom garlands, noodle garlands & more

Plant paperwhites (early for blooms at Christmas)

Make tasty treats for the birds

Family game night

Fondue night

Chocolate Fondue night

Attend a holiday concert or play

Tell a friend at school you think they’re really cool

Recycle some toys to share with others

Read a Christmas book together

Take food to a local food bank

Go see Santa!

Sit by the fire & drink hot cocoa

Roast marshmallows in the fireplace

Make thank you notes before they are needed

Make a list of 10 things we are thankful for. Share with your Grandma!

Hot chocolate & cookies by the fire

Learn a Christmas song and Skype it or call to sing it for someone

Breakfast for dinner while wearing Holiday pajamas!

Christmas cookie play date

Gingerbread house-making party!

Make popcorn garlands for the tree

See a Christmas show

Go for a family hike to find signs of winter

Face painting

Build and decorate a gingerbread house

Make our own wrapping paper (dip cookie cutters in paint)

Wrap presents

Eat dinner by candlelight (celebrate Solstice!)

Take a drive in the dark to look at Christmas lights

Sprinkle Reindeer food (oats + glitter) outside

Put out treats for Santa (and the reindeer)

Let me know if you're interested in a printable version complete with fun little graphics--I'd be happy to pass it along and spread the cheer!

Decking the Halls

Determined to enjoy all of our Christmas treasures for at least one whole month, we didn’t waste any time decorating our house. Storage boxes were pulled from closets the day after Thanksgiving and our massive tree came down from the attic. Yes, our tree is fake and no, I didn’t ever think we’d have one but have to say that I love not chopping down a tree, fighting with fitting it into the tree stand, making it look straight, keeping it watered, hanging the lights evenly, etc. etc. A fake tree is easy and can be enjoyed for a solid 30+ days with no fire hazard!

Sara and William donned their head lamps and delighted in the adventure of checking out the attic, a section of the house they rarely see. My little lumberjack wanted to carry the tree down from the attic himself but Daddy ended up doing the heavy lifting. It’s unbelievable that no ornaments were broken in the process of emptying the Christmas boxes, the kids were so excited to dig everything out. Ornaments from my childhood (bless my Mom for saving them) and ones that their Daddy made years ago (bless his Mom for saving those), ornaments that the kids have chosen, and personalized ornaments; each one felt uniquely special as we unwrapped them.

Taking advantage of the weather, we hung our outside ornaments and lights too. A couple red-nosed reindeer helped.

Hmmm... "helping?" Time to take this one in for hot cocoa

Leaf Piles

Some families toss a football around after Thanksgiving. Leaf wrestling is more our style.

I Am Will, Will I Am

“YUM!!!  YUM!!!  YUM!!!” No, that is not the sound of my children hollering with joy about their Halloween candy (they’re actually very quiet when chocolate is being consumed). Some people shorten the name William to just Will but original Sara decided “Yum” was what she’d call her brother. It began as “E-Yum” but morphed into “Yum” more recently. I was beginning to wonder if she just might decide that’s what she likes to call her big bro but it all changed a couple weeks ago.

I documented to very moments when she made this shift in a first-rate interview with Miss Sara herself. Taping was going beautifully along the edge of Jubilee Farm’s hay maze until my fascinating line of questioning was interrupted by a chicken in my face…  

Sick Day

Without getting too graphic, I’m just going to say that poor Sara has a tummy bug and it has been a messy day. She began throwing up in the night so her sheets, blankets and pajamas were the first casualties, then my sheets and clothing, plus clean up rags had to be laundered. She seemed better after getting big brother off to school and even asked for toast. That went down fine and gave her a little energy but not enough for preschool (and we didn’t want to share germs) so she tagged along for my much-anticipated appointment with a nutritionist (apparently, I need a professional to tell me to drink more water and stop eating the kids’ mac and cheese or grilled cheese crusts for lunch if I want to lose weight).

Anyhow, it was a good meeting and this nutritionist gave me some great recommendations (along with telling me to drink more water and stop scavenging for food from my children’s plates). Little trooper Sara sat patiently through the meeting and was excited that I brought her a snack in the car… you know where this is going, don’t you? Silly, silly Mommy gave Sara her little Trader Joe’s organic smoothie thinking it would be nourishing for her tummy. Her tummy decided otherwise. Moments after she drank it, driving at 60 mph on the freeway, I hear an awful gushing sound, then another and another and I can’t do anything about it except talk in a soothing voice and hand wipes back to Sara. Talk about a trooper, she was so brave and patient.

I was going to go on about the thankless task of taking apart a car seat and washing every piece, and using a steam cleaner only to be amazed by how long it takes to clean the #@&*%! cleaner when the job is done. I even took a picture of my “tip,” the quarter and penny (plus two plastic pirate coins) found in the wreckage but a sick child changes everything. All I can think about is my sweet Sara Bear asleep in her room. She was exhausted by bedtime but still mustered the energy to negotiate keeping me in her room all night “you stay and I not do throw ups.”  It didn’t work but I sure admire my darling girl’s tenacity.

She'll be back to her happy, healthy self soon

Budding Barista

Gone are the days of quietly sipping my latte while thumbing through a magazine and present are the days of “Little Helpers.” Coffee grounds all over the counter top and drips of espresso are part of the deal but that’s OK since my drink of choice costs $5 at Starbucks—for five bucks, I can wipe a counter. And who am I kidding? I make just as much mess when I make a latte on my own. Anyhow, as long as they are careful about the hot parts of the little espresso machine and allow me to reach in for the parts I need to do, my budding baristas push the on various buttons, wait for the green light, and turn the steam knob when I say, “go.”

“Mom, I do the panting?” Sara asks and it cracks me up every time. She is talking about “tamping,” the part where she uses the cool little tamping tool to press the coffee grounds into place but I can’t help but imagine myself panting like an eager puppy in anticipation of my coffee fix. How about you do the tamping, and I'll do the panting, Sara Bear.

"How 'bout we make some hot chocolate now?"

Autumn is...

…Salmon Days, our local festival celebrating the return of the salmon. The kids love the big parade but the big treats are even more exciting 

Chocolate coated strawberries with sprinkles and whipped cream = one happy boy (yes, he devoured the whole thing)

…lots of Indoor Arts and Crafts

Finger painting (which inevitably becomes whole arm then tummy painting)

Gack, also known as Flubber. William can't get enough of it, Sara says it's "too yucky" yet has no problem covering herself in slick finger paints

…chilly soccer evenings

...hay rides at Jubilee Farm

…pumpkin patches

…our annual pumpkin carving party with Grammy and Baba

Focused on getting the face just right

So proud that he carved it all by himself

…costumes

…and more costumes

We're going through a Super Hero phase, can you tell?

…and last but not least, our soundtrack these days is "The Monster Mash" courtesy of the singing Frankenstein doll my Mom gave us last year. Wow, those batteries are lasting a long time.

Halloween is still a week away but kids are incredibly good at making the most of it all month long.

A Welcome Weekend

Last week was one of those weeks… too much running around, a couple new classes to fit into our schedule, two evening meetings, and constantly feeling on the verge of dropping one ball or another. We welcomed this weekend with open arms and did our best to make the most of it.

September has surprised western-Washingtonians with warmth and humidity that we aren’t accustomed to. Veggie burgers for lunch on the patio on Saturday may have been our last meal outdoors for a while. Simple but lovely to sit outside and enjoy the beginning shades of fall and remaining flowers in bloom (including sunflowers which I never thought I’d be able to grow here).

Look at these beauties lined up in a row, grown from seed in our shady yard and not chomped by deer--amazing!

Then a kind neighbor friend invited our children for dinner so Rob and I could enjoy an evening out. We had early appetizers at a local wine bar then honestly, didn’t really know quite what to do with ourselves … it’s a little embarrassing how long it has been since a “date night” but it was so pleasant to just relax together with no demands or cries for help coming from any direction. Room to breathe and time to reconnect was lovely.

Pancake Sunday started with, you guessed it, pancakes. Then we hurried out the door for a bike ride before the rain came. The Preston-Snoqualmie Trail provided an excellent wide paved path for me and William to ride while Daddy ran alongside with Sara in the jogging stroller. No, he didn't have any problem keeping up, a testament to his running abilities (or my slow bike riding, I'm not sure which). A light wind floated yellow leaves from the trees and sunlight streamed onto our path. Only two miles of mostly flat trail led us to a view of Snoqualmie Falls then we turned right around to bike more--those kids didn't want to sit and look at waterfalls, they wanted the wind streaming past them!

Racer Boy wasn't even biking without training wheels a couple months ago--now he's unstoppable!

Besides zooming in the stroller, Sara enjoyed collecting colorful leaves...

...cruising on her scooter alongside Racer Boy

...and puddle jumping

As we dive into the coming week, my energy is renewed and I feel extremely grateful for all that is going well. Even when we’re busy, it’s alright. I’m adjusting to the reality that having a child in school doesn’t mean extra free time for Mommy, rather I’m busier making sure I’m where I need to be for pick-ups and drop-offs, frantically coordinating schedules and entering dates on our calendar, corresponding with teachers and parents of classmates, and making sure lunches and snacks are packed for busy afternoons once that Kindergartener is home at 11:30. Oh yes, and there is my lovely little Sara Bear, she has big plans for her Momma time while big bro is in school. Relaxing? What’s that?

Preschool has reignited her passion for finger paints

"Dat me...."

"and dat my curly hair!"

This Moment: So Much Fun with Cousin Christen and Cuckoo Grandma (Happy Dog Too)

A Friday ritual (with a twist this week). A handful of photos capturing some simple, special, extraordinary moments. Moments that I want to pause, savor, and remember. Hosted by SouleMama. (If you're inspired to do the same, please leave a comment below with your link.)