Advent Calendar: Day 1

Tonight, A and I (J isn't here) made a handprint wreath. I decided to do this on a night J wasn't here because we already have one that he made back in 2010 that we hang every year. I thought it would be nice for A to make one that matches his.

Advent Calendar

Earlier this year I decided I didn't want to buy gifts (toys) for my children for Christmas. That may sound horrible to some, but I have my reasons.

First, they have enough crap. Seriously. I can't walk into their rooms without tripping all over the the toys they already have.

Second, I want them to understand that it's not about the gifts. I don't want to raise greedy kids who think they should get the newest and greatest toy just because it's Christmas. It's about spending time with family and being thankful for what you already have.

With that said, I decided to do an advent calendar this year that focuses on doing things (and spending time) as a family. Since I only have J every other week, I made sure to schedule the activities that would impact him the most for the days he's here.

For instance, donating a toy. I've talked to J a lot about how blessed he is to have what he does. I know my kids don't have everything they've always wanted, but they do have a lot. And definitely more that many kids out there whose family can't afford anything. So this year I'm taking the kids to the store to pick out a special toy to donate to a local charity.

There will also be a lot of activities that focus on spending time doing special activities around town. I guess I've been living under a rock all these years, because I never knew so many things were happening this time of year.

I wish I could show you my calendar that I've spent the past week working on (at night after the kiddos went to sleep) but I haven't quite finished it yet. I was hoping to have it done by the first, but time slipped away. So, once I get it finished I'll update with a photo. Oh, and speaking of photos, I somehow lost my camera so all of the photos I plan to upload over the next few weeks will be from my phone, so their quality will be lacking. Sorry.

Happy Halloween



I cannot believe it is November already. How did that happen?

I had a lot of fun this year with the kid's costumes. I let J pick out the theme again this year and he decided on Star Wars after he saw a Darth Vader costume at the store. I knew I couldn't make one better so I forked over the $20 and called it a day. Of course, then we went on the search for a light saber. The cheapest one we could find was $10. I know that's not a lot, but I really wanted to keep cost down so I tried to come up with something different. My search led me to the Halloween accessories aisle where I found a foam sword. Then with a few cuts to make it look more "saber" like and a nice coat of red paint we were set. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out, and for $2, you can't beat that.

 

With J being Darth I decided to make A Princess Leia (original, huh?). After doing some research (I'm not too familiar with Star Wars, so I wasn't sure what she wore) I decided to make the white dress Leia wore in "A New Hope." I set out in search of an easy pattern for a long sleeve dress and came across this one. I did tweak it a bit to make the sleeves come to a point, but other than that, it is exactly the same (it was so easy to make, I even made another one out of cute Halloween fabric). For the belt I bought a pack of key chains from the jewelry section in Jo Ann's and clasped them together, then tied white ribbon to each end and tied it around her waist. I knew A wouldn't wear a wig, nor would she stand to wear a headband, so I did the next best thing. I put her hair in pigtails but looped the last little bit of hair so it looked like a bun. Easy.

 

Christmas Photo Dump

In my attempt to do a (very late) Christmas recap post, I have decided to just post all of my pictures followed by a quick little detail about each one. As I mentioned in my last post, we had a very busy holiday season. Just about every weekend was filled with an activity. Then the two weeks around Christmas we went to Sea World, not once, but twice (once was just Jamie and I). So here you go, I hope you like pictures because I have a ton of them...

First was the Smores and Cocoa party at my sister's house. I was able to steal these pictures that each of my sisters' took.

A wearing her antlers, enjoying a snack

She loved the swing

Wheee

I guess she wanted to go outside

A wasn't too fond of this Minnie the Snowoman

Here are some random Christmas related photos

This was the first (and last) time
A was this close to the tree

She loved the antlers so much,
she wouldn't take them off

Thursday before Christmas we decided to take a trip to Sea World. We knew we wanted to go for their Christmas themed festivities, but we weren't sure exactly when we would go. Then I stumbled upon a great hotel deal, a $350 room for $50!! Since the deal ended on Christmas, we decided to pack up the kiddos and head down before. 

It was so hot the days we were there. There was a time we became concerned about A since she wasn't willing to drink much water, but in the end we all were fine and had the time of our lives. Seriously, it was an experience we will never forget, and may even try to do again next year. 

Attempted a picture of
both of them

Trying to get a picture in
front of the whale

A and J in front of the HUGE tree

Posing with the snowman

Standing in front of the "Sea of Lights"

So handsome

The "Sea of Lights" just before the show

J wasn't quite sure what to think of them

A loved the penguin that was her size

Shamu show at night

Acting goofy on the Toy Soldier's stool

A and J playing in the hotel lobby before day two

A was playing with our park map

J was showing me that she ripped it

J in front of the penguin wall

Waiting in line to see Santa after riding
the Polar Express

"Sea of Lights" during the day

Such goofy boys

Me and my #1

Writing a note to Santa

What he wrote

Sesame Street Christmas

A really loved this show, J even enjoyed himself

The only character she would go to by herself

Taking a break (to cool off)
in the baby care room

The opening of "O Wondrous Night"
one of the best shows we saw

The end of the show, definitely a standing ovation earned

The Toy Soldier goofing with A

This is the giant otter elf
that Jamie won for me

Once we were back home, we had a day to recover before Christmas morning. By now, we were all exhausted, but looking forward to spending it with family. Unfortunately, J woke up at 3am Christmas morning with a severe asthma attack, so it was late before we all settled into bed for the night. Thankfully, Santa understood and made a special late trip to our house.

Christmas tree pancakes

A Christmas morning

J Christmas morning

She had a blast opening her presents

Just what he asked for

One of the best games, we played
this for about 3 solid hours that night

A laptop

A was just as interested in
J's new Hot Wheels track

Lesson learned, never give a foam ball
to a toddler...

Her gift from Santa and definitely her favorite

A and J's ornaments from Sea World

Hello 2012!!

Happy New Year to those who just so happen to stumble upon my little blog here. It has been crazy around here and I still have a ton of pictures to edit from all of our Christmas festivities. I hope to be back sometime this week with a whole recap of our holiday fun. Until then, I hope you enjoy the time you get to spend with friends and family as this new years begins. And may it continue well into the new year.

Santa Babies

So over the past few weeks (I know, blog slacker) we have done quite a few family Christmas activities. Since I finally got around to editing my pictures I figured I'd show them off.

Our first family fun activity was to attend our town's annual Christmas parade. Since we live in a small town, the kids and I were able to just walk to the parade route. When we left the house it was nice and cool, perfect "fall" weather. However, once the parade started, it became very overcast and got chilly really fast. Thankfully I brought sweaters for the kiddos, but we were all a bit chilled once we got back home.

What small town parade doesn't start with a tractor. Our's sure does!!

Then came J's favorite, the police officers.

Of course I couldn't resist getting a few pictures with my babies.

Then came the entertainment. Our local high school marching band. A really enjoyed listening to them play.

Throughout the parade the kids were given a few gifts. J was very pleased with his police activity book, and A was sporting her goodies from the local bank. However, the best gift was an amazing pop-up book the kids were given. I'm not sure who was handing them out, but it was such an awesome thing, I'd love to send them a thank you. Oh well, in case they happen to stumble upon this blog, I'll just say it here. Thank you for the wonderful book, we have all enjoyed is as a family. Oh, in case you are wondering, it was call Journey to the Moon.

 Another odd, small town thing. Llamas! I snapped this picture then laughed when I finally got a chance to look at it. I think it's funny how they are looking at each other.

Once we got to the end of the parade it was time for Santa. Every year he rides down the parade route on top of the fire truck. Apparently A didn't like the fact that they kept blowing the horn to announce his arrival.

After the parade I was able to take a picture of my loves. Aren't they just the cutest!?

Later that same night it was time for Jamie's company holiday party. Every year they bring in Santa for the kids to sit on his lap and then each child gets a gift. This year we were lucky enough that they decided to feed us too! And it was yummy.

First thing we did once we arrived was stand in line for Santa and it didn't take us long to make it up to the front. While we were waiting we kept pointing to Santa and telling A about him, in hopes that she would sit on his lap and not scream her head off. 

Well we got one thing we hoped for. She didn't scream but she also didn't sit on his lap, not technically. She wouldn't let go of Jamie's jacket for him to back away. So I decided to take advantage of a family photo opportunity and I put down my camera and jumped in behind J (sorry no photo of that yet).

J hasn't ever been the sit on Santa's lap kind of kid. Every year he has stood there and not really known what to do. So here is a funny pic of J trying to talk to Santa but really wanting to get away. *Santa already knew what J wanted because of our magical mailbox, which I hope to talk about more this week*

After our visit with Santa it was time to eat. Once we were finished the crowd was settling down and Santa was free, so we decided to take advantage hoping we could get a cute picture of A. I'd say we succeeded, although it didn't last long.

After our second visit with Santa it was time to play. The big kids were having a lot of fun throwing a football though a hoop, so A thought she would join in. 

And so did J. Who happens to have a pretty good arm for a non-sports lover.

So that concludes our fun for that evening. But the holiday fun wasn't over just yet. This past weekend we went over to my sister's house to have our "annual" hot cocoa and smores party. I don't have any pictures from the evening but we did attempt to take a cousins photo. Oh man, was that entertaining!

Still upcoming for the week ahead is our annual holiday dinner here at our clubhouse and also a last minute trip to SeaWorld to see all of their holiday events. We're so excited to be able to spend some quality family time in such a wonderful place. And of course there will be plenty of photos to share. Until then, have fun and stay safe.