I realized I never posted the official "smiling with Santa" photo from the Santa Claus breakfast. Good thing I remembered! :)
'Tis the season for travel. In this podcast we share some of the tidbits we've learned over the years about surviving the holidays with kids and even give some *gentle suggestions* for those hosting family or friends with little ones in tow. Enjoy!
We finally had the chance to do our annual trip to the dollar store for the boys to pick out Christmas presents. If you remember, because everything is so cheap, we give them them free reign to pick out whatever peaks their interest (no questions asked). We expanded their shopping list this year so they were responsible for picking out gifts for our immediate family as well as some of their cousins. I have to say, they made some good choices. We even let them wander on their own (while we were stalking at a safe distance) for the gifts for mom and dad. They were so excited about their newfound independence.
I'm not going to release the list of results just yet (for obvious reasons), but here's what we ended up with last year in case you're curious.
As we do every year, we've been trying to figure out how to teach giving back this holiday season so it's not all about receiving. Sounds familiar, I'm sure. Part of this lesson is taking an active role in the holiday sharing project through our church. We bought some books for a local elementary school, we donated a couple hats and pairs of mittens to the "mitten tree", and then we picked two gift tags with specific requests for families in need.
Our selection? Two different tags for kids asking for "doctor stuff". Seems simple enough, right? The doctor stuff for the six year old...no problem. The doctor stuff for the 10 year old...a lot harder. I spent way too much time putting this kit together (the photo at the bottom of the collage above), but at the end of the day I'm happy to be sending the gift onto a deserving kid. Even if she loves it just a little bit, all the work + hunting will be totally worth it.
At one point today, I looked out my kitchen window and there were three squirrels scampering around the walls of our screened in porch (one on each side...on the outside, thankfully). I'm sure this is a sign of something. I just don't know what yet. I'll keep you updated about any other shenanigans.
Just in case you can't make it to our house to see what Christmas looks like to us, I thought I'd bring some of the holiday love to you. Enjoy!
Tonight was a good night. I managed to attend a niece's holiday concert AND another niece's dance team performance back to back. Just another reason we moved back...I just love these girls.
This has been the standard scene in our living room for far too many days. Ok, it's just been two but that feels like forever when you don't like staring at a mess.
The boys (including Chris) have been living the dream, though. I guess I'll let it slide...for one more day.
I'm sorry I've been a terrible blogger this week. I missed two day (TWO DAYS!!) somehow. That's when you know it's been a busy week. That's when you know it's the holidays. All is well, though, and I'm happy to be back at it.
We had an insanely busy weekend full of holiday fun including cookie decorating, a holiday party, and krumkake rolling with grandpa. Whew. Every year I get totally sucked into the excitement and anticipation of the holiday season only to get *slightly* overwhelmed and exhausted by it all. That seems normal, right?!? Oh...and it's only December 10th. I better rally for the second half of the season or Christmas Eve is going to be rough!
We've got a new episode coming out tomorrow and I realized that I never posted the last one to my site. Eeek! See? I'm *a bit* behind in everything lately. This episode about milestones give a bit of back story (which you probably already know) about Robbe's speech delays and offers an update, too. Give us a listen!
These two have been really into matching these days. I mean really into it. I fully support it and think it's super adorable, but I want everyone to know the wardrobe choices are not coming from me. That is all.
**Special note: Chase finally has pjs that fit! It's been a long time since I could say that. Thanks for all your hard work, Grandma Bibi!
St. Nick visited our house last night and filled our shoes with some coins, clementines, a couple of new Christmas books, and a puzzle. A pretty good haul for a Wednesday.
Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa M. for bringing this tradition into our lives.
My mom came up after school today for our official holiday baking extravaganza. The goal was three cookies (with two additional crafts added while we waited for cooling + baking) and we nailed it. All the sweets turned out super yummy. Now if only we can manage to have them in the house and not eat them all. That's no joke.
Here are the recipes in case anything's looking too good to resist:
Glazed Little Orange Cookies with Cinnamon and Cloves (I didn't come up with this name)
Pretzel M&M Hugs (although our preference is for round pretzels)
Peanut Butter Blossoms (thanks, Aunt Pam for hooking me on this cookie!)
Happy baking!
I may have lived my whole life without ever eating from the Target cafeteria, but sweet Robbe didn't even make it to his fourth birthday. After picking him up from school and running an errand, we were running short on time so it was either eat at Target (which Robbe was also really excited about) or delay nap (which really isn't an option at all). I think we made the right choice. And it was so cheap! ;)
With temperatures hovering around 50 degrees all weekend and some close friends in town to entertain, we enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the house a bit more than usual. The winter parade on Friday night, some downtown shopping yesterday, and some playground and hiking time today. Even after all of that, I still don't think I'm going to be ready for the high of 23 on Tuesday. If it's going to be that cold, there better be snow!
Well hello, Santa + Mrs. Claus. The boys were super excited to present their lists to Santa this year. It was a hard decision, but they both managed to come up with their wish list *just* in the knick of time.
In case you're wondering:
Dear Santa,
I would like the Imaginext Pyramid with some pirate stuff, please.
Thanks and ho ho ho!
Dear Santa,
I would like a Playmobil Camping Lodge for Christmas. I would also like a surprise, please. My brother and I have been very good this year. I'm wondering what your reindeer eat.
Merry Christmas!
For past Santa lists, check out these links:
The boys witnessed their first real fireworks display (that's because they can shoot them at 630pm in the winter instead of 10pm in the summer). After a bit of preliminary skepticism, both boys are now excited about the idea of fireworks. Whew.
Tonight Chase took on the role of teacher and had to show us (and Grandma and Grandpa G.) around his classroom for the annual Students as Teachers event. When the hour was up, Chase had given us four presentations (for anyone familiar with the Montessori vernacular) and we were impressed and excited about his work in the classroom. We're feeling lucky to have stumbled upon this school.
I bought an adorable card kit (similar to this) on a whim when I was making a return to Michaels and I have to say I'm super impressed with the quality + simplicity of the project (and, because it was on sale, the kit was $3.50 for six cards!). Everything was peel + stick or sprinkle (the flare inside the snow globe). The boys loved that they could actually help with the project (not always the case when we start these types of crafts). Quick, easy, fun, and adorable. I'd highly recommend.
I think we kind of rocked our outside house decorations this year. Candles in the upstairs windows, lit garland over the bay windows, and a single strand of lights around the door. So festive, right?
It makes me so happy every time I pull into our driveway. :)
Two hours and 13 crafts later, and Trinity Lutheran Church's Advent Workshop didn't disappoint. Robbe even got to participate in the fun this year!
This event is definitely a family favorite and one we look forward to all year long. Thanks to all the volunteers who donate their time + energy + craftiness in order to pull the workshop together. Until next year!
The house is a total mess but it's starting to look Christmas-y around here nonetheless. The tree is decorated, the outside is pretty much done, and some of the other random decorations have been strewn about as well. I like it. I like it a lot.
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