Activity Advent 2011

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Can you tell I'm getting a little excited...

Supplies:
Advent Bags (etsy)
Activity Card styling

2009
2010
Our Calendar of Activities this Year:

• Bring out the decorations!
• Elf-Yourself with Daddy (jibjab)!
• Shaving Cream Snowscape in Media Tub!
• Get our Christmas Tree (Lowelands Farm)
• Shoes out for St Nick (read St Nick Story)
• Make Salt Dough Ornaments
• Decorate Ornaments
• Holiday Movie Party
• Visit the National Tree
• Write Letters to Santa
• Go (Attempt!) Ice Skating!
• Popcorn and Cranberry Garland for outdoor trees!
• Bake Gingerbread!
• Visit Santa (@FairLakes Mall)
• SnowFlake Craft
• Pick out new yearly ornaments!
• Breakfast in Bed for the Birthday Boy!
• Carter's B-day Party
• Make "Snow" for Media Table!
• Christmas Cookie baking
• Wrap family gifts while listening to Carols!
• COCOA PICNIC!!
• Breakfast for dinner!
• Take a drive in Jammies (with Cocoa!) to see the neighborhood lights!
• Read the night before Christmas and unwrap new jammies!

In addition to the above, we'll be hanging with our old pal "Noodle" the elf on the shelf (he is scheduled to arrive on Thanksgiving night).

We'll also be starting a new tradition:  I am in the process of wrapping all of our (24 of them anyway!) Christmas books so that the kids can open one a night to read before bed- I think the combination of opening a "gift" each night and watching the substantial stack dwindle will really get them excited for Christmas day! (here's a neat take on the same idea!)

I really love this time of year- I wish I had the energy to put this kind of effort into every month for the kids :) 

Tiny Dancer

The first day of ballet...

I die.

Mother's Day

Ohhhhhh... Mother's day...

What a wonderful, luxurious, heaven-sent day.

Breakfast in bed, flowers and cards, Champagne,

PJ's till noon, naps and purple velvet cake- 

   the two little creatures that ate all my cake gave me my title aren't half bad either!  

Teacher Appreciation Week

Having once been a teacher, I have to say, teaching is a rewarding, EXHAUSTING, heartwarming, and (OMG did I mention) EXHAUSTING job!  I mean, the part of you that is filled-up daily by delicately shaping the lives of future generations, can quickly be depleted again by the parents! effort it takes to keep up the requisite sing-song-y, sweet, smiling affect whilst coercing THE.LEARNING for hours on end.

In honor of every saintly individual- standing tall in front of the chalk-board 180 days a year, wiping noses (and bottoms) of children that they did NOT spawn, fighting the cesspool of mutant super germs passed on by little fingers, and maneuvering the land-mines of IEP meetings, parent conferences and field trips- I say thank you.  And by that I mean; 

THANK.YOU!ENJOY.A.COOKIE.AND.A.CUP.OF.COFFEE.

AND.POSSIBLY.EVEN.A.MOMENT.OF.WELL.DESERVED.QUIET.

AND.HEARTFELT.UNADULTERATED.GRATITUDE.

Steal this idea: Ceramic buckets with chalkboard detail from Michael's, concept and book-mark template from Modern Parents Messy Kids, cookie-pops and sprinkles from the loving fingers of a happy student.

Easter

90 Years

Today, My Grandfather turns 90.  

Saturday night we celebrated all 9 decades of life that this amazing man has seen.

8 of his 9 grandchildren!

All four of his great-grandchilden 

(if you count the top of Carter's head!)

Li'l Spartans: Class of 2025 Ununion

A few weeks ago, I ran into an old friend from high school at a local park.  As we caught up, she mentioned how many alum are still local and that many of us have kids in the under 6 set.  This prompted the idea to throw together a Future Spartans mini reunion; and thanks in large part to facebook, here you have it:

The kids had a blast playing together

And it was wonderful catching up with old classmates

Half-y Birthday to you

I keep writing (and deleting) sentimental posts about my baby is growing up, and how she's all THREE AND A HALF, and how we totally can justify celebrating unbirthdays around here.  But really  I just wanted to make a cake [SHOCKER!]

Half-y Birthday to you,

Half-y Birhtday to you,

Half-y Birthday dear child of a peculiar age

Half-y Birthday to youuuuu!

Your Resident Fool

Oh my gawd, you guys.  I.am.a.RIOT!  

I mean Seriously, hysterical.

Because I can totally April Fool's the SHIT out of my kids*.  (At the ages of 2 and 3).
And because that's not really eggs I served them- And because they think I am the funniest human being on the planet**
_________________________________________________________

*In case you're wondering- yes, actually, I did have kids specifically to satisfy my need to be a complete and utter tool surrounding every.single.Halmark.holiday.***

**save for maybe that guy in the Statue of Liberty costume on the corner this morning, and possibly also the dude at the gym who can't put his arms down.

***See you tomorrow with a detailed re-cap of Sophia's half birthday (yeah, you heard me!)

Because Parking is Bad Enough on a Monday

Ahhh, Springtime in DC...

The Tidal Basin,

The Cherry Blossoms,

The Blustery Sub-Zero Wind Chill.

   

Thank goodness for wooly picnic blankets (that are better used as wooly-blanket-type-blankets!) and mounted police officers (who serve, protect, and completely distract small children from the discomforts of frost bite!).

Cassie's Cake

I think I mentioned the "practice cake".  I'd like to introduce you to the "Not Practice Cake".

Here she is, In all her glory- on site and fully decked out.  

Marble pound cake (for 30) with butter-cream frosting and fondant decorations, topped with chocolate star lollies.  

The end.

Of Cake and Other Guilty Pleasures

Two stories:

1.  I'm creating a cake for a friend's second birthday party, and decided to throw together a practice cake 

(Practice Cake [prak-tis keyk] noun- a bad habit I have of subjecting my husband and children to an identical version of a cake they will be enjoying at an upcoming occasion (and because I'm a stellar planner, this bright idea usually strikes no more than 7 days in advance of said occasion- see also: kids cracked out on loads of sugary frosting)).  

As it turns out, this particular cake is stressing me out, as the buttercream to marble cake ratio is tricky. Dense cake + Super sweet icing = weirdness- You care, I know, stay with me... So anyway, I baked (another!) cake this weekend and decided to pawn it off on a few poor souls that aren't related to me... enter the second (and more relevant) of the two stories.

2.  About a year ago my best mommy-friend forced strongly encouraged me to start watching trashy television programming-  My apparent lack of "reality" tv consumption was not only troubling to her, but it seriously hindered our ability to make excuses for random mid-week wine drinking.

So, yeah, The Bachelor.  Here's the thing- We watch.  We drink copious amounts of wine.  We snark.  And on occasion, we find reason to do so at each others houses while the hubbies tend to the kids.  I was easily sold.  

Last night was The Bachelor Finale-  What better reason to set up a dessert buffet, invite the girls over and trash talk the night away.  It turns out that half the women I know (and their MEN, btw- Patton!) watch the show- so again, easy sell.

Below: the breakdown of empty calories I force-fed my beautiful skinny friends

I call this masterpiece "What television program is complete without marble cake" Makes perfect sense, no!?! 

"Dearest girlfriends, please indulge in Chocolate Ameretto Mousse shooters topped with cakepop roses, you are looking fab and I've been baking practice cakes- let's level the scales, shall we?"

Chocolate covered-strawberries, Chocolate Wine (yea- you heard me!), champagne... I hear that if you haven't given these things up for Lent that the calories AND guilt don't count.  Score.  

 And Lastly, please forgive the gratuitous iphone photo of the open (and enjoyed) second bottle of chocolate wine- Now may be a good time to reiterate the stellar planner bit- or catch up to that wagon I've fallen off. 

Be Mine

Seems I'm only a holiday blogger- ah well, what can I do?
So, Valentine's Day; on with it, then-

I unabashedly stole* the greatest kids valentine idea in all of the world- I am totally in love with this cute and original (?) photo card idea...

It starts with a cute picture of your little one with a fist outstretched:

It then gets a bit of the photoshop treatment:

Then print and slit with an exacto-knife, insert a lollipop... and Voila',  insta-VALENTINE!:

Too cute, right!?! You're welcome!


*All craftiness credit goes to Alissa from 24-7-365 blog.