Puppets are awesome, right? Yeah, they are. The Detroit Institute of Arts had a puppet performance by Preston Foerder (whose website I can't seem to find) and the girls and I headed over with some friends. The puppeteer came on stage dressed like a janitor with all the likely tools and then proceeded to tell stories from Grimm's Fairy Tales with his puppets, which he made on the spot from mops, dusters, bags, and socks. The kids learned that you can use everyday things to make something truly spectacular. After the show the museum had a puppet making workshop for the kids. They provided scraps of material, yarn, markers, glue sticks, googly eyes, and the cut off fingers from canvas gloves, which provided the base of the finger puppet. Great idea, right?! Go get some gloves at your local hardware store and let the kids go nuts!

The kids each made a few puppets and then found a way to put on a puppet show right then are there! We will definitely be doing this again soon.

Our visit to Santa was kind of anticlimactic. This was the first year that Erika agreed to talk to him, so I was kind of excited. She sat on his lap for the obligatory picture, told him what she wanted (a porcelain Cinderella) and was done with it. There was no magic in her eyes. Audrey didn't even really want to get near him, but agreed to go sit on his lap if Erika went with her. She asked for some bells and looked quite suspicious of the whole thing.



We cut out snowflakes from tissue paper on the 2nd of December. There are no pictures because I was too busy folding paper and assisting in cutting.

We were supposed to write letters to Santa the next day, but the girls didn't seem interested, so we didn't. This is supposed to be fun, right?

On Saturday we got our Christmas tree! That morning I started searching for places to cut down our own tree, but then I remembered that it was cold out, and that it was a 45 minute drive each way. The "lot" tree is perfect and we aren't all covered in sap. Now I just have to remember to water it.



On Sunday the girls and I went to see the Nutcracker with their Mimi. We magically ended up with front row seats and the girls loved it. Erika was enchanted and hardly blinked. Audrey asked a lot of questions very loudly. I know that we will do this every year and love the tradition of it.

And that brings us almost up to date. Yesterday we made ornaments for the tree. Erika and I made some salt dough and cut out holiday shapes while Audrey napped. In the afternoon the girls painted their ornaments.





If you want to try this yourself, here is a salt dough recipe. And here is The Artful Parent's glittery version of the ornaments.

And finally, today we are going to a local coffee shop to donate a few toys to local children whose parents are unemployed.

And how about you? Holiday shopping done? Tree trimmed? Lights up?

Let's just ignore the six month hiatus and move on, shall we?

I was up late last night finishing our advent calendar. Last year we made a paper chain advent calendar and there was an activity written inside each of the loops. I was going to do the same thing this year, but decided at the very last minute to do something different. I wanted little envelopes, but wasn't sure how to make them. Then, in a flash from the past, I remembered that the middle schooler in me still knew how to fold a piece of paper into a little envelope to be passed in class.

Take a square piece of paper and fold it into a triangle:



Fold in the sides of the triangle:



Fold up once:



Take one flap and tuck it into the note, I mean envelope:


Take the other flap and fold it over the other side so that it looks like a little envelope:



Tada! Cute, huh? I wrote one activity in each envelope and taped them to some raffia. As you can see, today's activity is going to visit Santa. Come back and see what we have planned for the rest of the month! I will post our activities daily.

Let's just ignore the six month hiatus and move on, shall we?

I was up late last night finishing our advent calendar. Last year we made a paper chain advent calendar and there was an activity written inside each of the loops. I was going to do the same thing this year, but decided at the very last minute to do something different. I wanted little envelopes, but wasn't sure how to make them. Then, in a flash from the past, I remembered that the middle schooler in me still knew how to fold a piece of paper into a little envelope to be passed in class.

Take a square piece of paper and fold it into a triangle:



Fold in the sides of the triangle:



Fold up once:



Take one flap and tuck it into the note, I mean envelope:


Take the other flap and fold it over the other side so that it looks like a little envelope:



Tada! Cute, huh? I wrote one activity in each envelope and taped them to some raffia. As you can see, today's activity is going to visit Santa. Come back and see what we have planned for the rest of the month! I will post our activities daily.

Let's just ignore the six month hiatus and move on, shall we?

I was up late last night finishing our advent calendar. Last year we made a paper chain advent calendar and there was an activity written inside each of the loops. I was going to do the same thing this year, but decided at the very last minute to do something different. I wanted little envelopes, but wasn't sure how to make them. Then, in a flash from the past, I remembered that the middle schooler in me still knew how to fold a piece of paper into a little envelope to be passed in class.

Take a square piece of paper and fold it into a triangle:



Fold in the sides of the triangle:



Fold up once:



Take one flap and tuck it into the note, I mean envelope:



Fold the other flap the other way to make it look like an envelope:





Tada! Cute, huh? I wrote one activity in each envelope and taped them to some raffia. Come back and see what we have planned for the month! I will post our activities daily.

I know. I've been missing in action for a bit too long, but I can explain. First, there was our little bean's second birthday to plan and stay up late preparing for.

It was an ice cream party, but I just had to make some mini cupcakes, too.



And, of course, there was ice cream. We had tons of toppings and let the kids make their own sundaes.

Audrey had a great time and loved all the attention.



There was a pie eating contest. Audrey didn't win, but she was happy to sit and eat that whipped cream one little fingertip full at a time.



And there was a relay race with water balloons in ice cream cones. It was about a zillion degrees that day, so water balloons were a big hit.



After the birthday festivities I had to get ready for a solo trip out to California for a dear friend's wedding. This is all you need when you travel alone. Amazing, isn't it?



Visiting with wonderful friends that I don't see nearly often enough, witnessing the union of such a special couple, and spending the weekend driving through the bay area with my Dad, talking each other's ears off, was so spectacular.

This is just a slice of what I've missed writing about, which brings me to my final reason for slacking. I have somehow managed to pull a tendon in my hand. It hurts. It hurts more when I use my left hand like I'm doing right now. So, forgive me if my posts are short for a while- I have to give this thing a chance to heal.

I hope the last few weeks have been as good to you as they have been to me!

Inspired by SouleMama

Corey and I both love sweets, so our kids didn't really stand a chance. It's hard trying to teach a kid about self control though, when it comes to chocolate and candy. "Why can't I have more marshmallows?" Erika kept asking me over and over again one day. So, I took her to the computer and showed her a food pyramid. And we talked about the things she can eat lots and lots of, and the things that need a little moderation. To really drive the point home, we made our own food pyramid chart to hang in our dining room.

First we went through some old Real Simple magazines and cut out pictures of food (grocery store circulars would be great for this, too). Then we talked about where they went on the chart, and glued them into place.







And then we made these.



I know. I'm evil, right? But you know what? Erika ate her dinner with enthusiasm that night, telling us where each food fell on the food pyramid. She ate her brownie and totally understood why she could not have a second piece.

What a gorgeous weekend we just had. The main order of business was this privacy fence that we wanted to get up. Corey and I (with a little help from Erika) spent the bulk of Friday staining it and he and his Dad put it up Saturday. Not a huge home project, but a big one for us.





On Friday, for our five year anniversary (five years!), we went out to dinner at a local brewery and enjoyed an awesome dinner (complete with an eight beer sampler) and uninterrupted conversation with my best friend.

On Saturday night we all went to a party with bubbles, chalk, tons of great food, a gaggle of girls making fairy houses and catching butterflies, and an outdoor movie showing of Bed Knobs and Broomsticks. Yeah, it was pretty rad.









The girls also helped me plant some flowers in hanging baskets on the new fence.







And last, but not certainly not least, we had a live Fish Sticks performance in our backyard. Now, you may not have heard of the Fish Sticks yet, but you will. Corey and Erika started the Fish Sticks this last winter and after many practices they played their single, Hawaiian Cowgirl Robot, to a live audience of two last night. While the girls took their showers, I got the stage ready. It was an awesome performance.

Inspired by SouleMama

We watering our gardens this morning when Erika came across this.



You see it there? That post with the rope wrapped up around it? It's an old clothes line that has probably been there since 1939 when our house was built. This home only had one owner before us and the grandson of the couple who was selling the house gave us the original blueprints, photos of the home just after it was built, and lease. Having these things has connected me to the woman who occupied these walls with her family in a strange way. Every time I see this clothes line it reminds me of Mrs. Waters, the woman I never met, the woman who lived in this home for so many years. Cooked in the kitchen where I cook for my family, walked up and down the same stairs, and hung her family's clothes on this clothes line. I have never used a clothes line before today, but, with Erika's urging, we got it up.





I've been seeing the pictures that are posted on GardenMama's 'Wash Wednesday' the last few weeks and it gave me the itch. There are lots of good reasons to use a clothesline, but I always thought it was just too much work in an already hectic day filled with chores that rarely get done. What I discovered as I was helping Erika hang up our clothes was that it is actually a break from all the running around. Instead of running down to the basement and quickly tossing the clothes into the dryer, I spent some time outside talking with my oldest about the way things used to be, enjoying the beautifully sunny day, and relaxing. Suddenly, it wasn't a chore. It was a pleasure. I'm sure the allure of this will wear off when I have a giant mountain of laundry in my basement again, but I intend to keep using the clothe line because it reminds me to slow down mentally. And, believe me, I need that.