Good Fortune Cookies

You can learn a lot about a person by the way they watch a Packers game. When Jorden and I were dating, he used to gather all his Packers bobbleheads on the coffee table in front of the tv.

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

 

Jorden is off all this week, which means a different pace at our house. PJs until noon, lots (and lots...) of family time, a chance to sleep in (ha! yeah right), and... the thing I'm most excited about... yummy breakfasts! Not having to shuffle a husband and kiddos out the door means more time for the most important (and most delicious) meal of the day!

The Little Ornaments (That Almost Weren't)

It's been a rough year with Christmas ornaments. I've had A LOT of fails, a few near misses, and more time wasted than I care to talk about. I have chased children around Michael's on numerous occasions while searching for inspiration, I have ransacked our craft supplies and littered our dining room table for weeks now with the beginnings of ideas that were never brought to fruition, and I have considered (briefly) the idea of just not making any this year.

Seasonal Scented Play-Doh

Today is the last day of school before Christmas break...and you know what that means...time to search the depths of our creative genius and find ways to occupy the kiddos during their week off!!  I am usually one to let the kiddos figure things out for themselves, but yesterday's unexpected day off was a reminder to me of just how quickly kids become bored... and just how nice it can be to have some tricks up your sleeve!

Christmas Card Bouquet

Dear Christmas Cards,
I kind of despise you. Not so much receiving you, but sending you. Year after year, you threaten to put me over the edge on the Christmas stress-o-meter, and year after year, I curse you and vow to do something different in the future. Well, it's that time again, and guess who hasn't even started my cards? Yep, that's right! Apparently we were just not meant to be.

Friday's Find: Faith in the Midst of Tragedy

These are my 3 kiddos. It goes without saying that they are the center of my universe...as, I'm sure, all children are. My heart is breaking today for all the moms and dads whose universe was forever altered by the senseless violence in Newtown, Connecticut.

An elementary school - one place you know, for sure, you are safe.

A Kindergarten classroom - the most innocent of all the children there.

11 days before Christmas - I know there is never a "good" time, but this seems especially cruel.

White Chocolate Raspberry Oreo Truffles

What is it about Christmas that turns us all into little kids again? Ooh-ing and aah-ing over twinkling lights, belting out Christmas tunes in the car, sipping hot cocoa by the fire, searching for the perfect branch to hang our favorite ornament, writing out wish lists and anxiously awaiting the presents under the tree, making (and eating) a ridiculous number of cookies & treats...

...and then decorating them like little miniature Santa hats...!?

1000 Words

We all know the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words".... and when you have kids, it sometimes feels more like two thousand!! I've been wanting to find a way of incorporating more of my "real" life into my blog, and what better way to do it than with pictures?!



...Like this one of Nora's little fingers messing with my photo shoot! When I looked back through my series of pictures, her fingers were in half of them, and always in the same spot. She was obsessed with a little nub of white chocolate and kept grabbing for it! Right after this photo was taken, I turned to find her with the entire truffle shoved in her mouth....where was my camera when I really needed it??

DIY Festive Holiday Plates

Okay...I have to admit...this was not my original intent for the doilies. No, my original intent was some type of framed wall decoration. But somehow, in the midst of cutting and placing and setting aside for later,

Bare Branch Christmas Tree

When Ellia was in kindergarten she came home with an assignment: Guess how many trees are in your yard, then count them all to see how close you came. Simple enough, right? Well, the guessing part was okay. But then the counting started. And we very quickly realized that:

 

                                                       (a)we were living in a forest  and

                                                       (b)our guess was WAY off! 

 

The 'simple' assignment took us forever, and at some point (around 150) we decided to stop counting and go back to just guessing. There were just.  too.  many.  trees.

 

Waiting on a Winter Wonderland

This morning we stepped outside and it finally felt like December!

...at least a little...

Broken Twig Tree

 This simple Broken Twig Tree comes together in just minutes and uses natural elements to create a beautifully striking DIY Christmas decoration!

 

So...have you heard Christmas is almost here? Ha! Between frenzied shopping trips, family get-togethers, cookie baking, unpacking boxes upon boxes of ornaments and decorations, meal planning, party hosting, and, of course, trying to keep some of the magic alive...it would be almost impossible not to feel the pull of the Christmas season!

Jingle Bell Napkin Rings

I'm cooking up a dinner party. Which makes me laugh, because we've hosted two family parties in the past three weeks, and I'm pretty sure the laaaast thing Jorden will agree to is another party. But who asked him, anyway?  :)

Friday's Find & A Wish Come True

So....not only is it Saturday instead of Friday...it's also reeeallly late Saturday and I am just sitting down to write this post. That seems to be the way things are going around here lately - 'tis the season, I guess. The good news is that Cubby has returned for the season (yay!), promising good behavior from my kiddos (we'll see about that one...) and a rekindling of Ellia's faith in wish-making :)