Trimming the tree

Traditionally, we trim our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I"m a put it up early and take it down early sort of gal.  For some reason as soon as Christmas is over all of those beautiful, magical decorations start to look a lot like clutter!  Remember how we went pumpkin picking in the snow?  This year, we went tree picking without coats!  It was unseasonably warm.

My Mom joined as for our tree trimming and helped to decorate some awfully cute brownie Christmas trees.

We also snacked on crackers, brie, grapes and cranberry spritzers!

This year Harris got a darling scout for his ornament since he joined the scouts this year.  I found it here- she even puts there pack number on the ornament!

Grace received a reading mouse because those are two things that she loves and adores!

Egg Decoration and Carrot Dinner

Our Easter egg decoration and carrot dinner is one of my favorite traditions because it is easy and fun (past years are here and here).  This years menu consisted of carrot soup, carrot burgers and bunny ear salad.  For dessert I made bunny sugar cookies. In an effort to keep it simple I chose not to ice the cookies but rather I used cotton candy to create a tail and used a candy eye- I think they turned out darling!  Sometimes simple really is better.

For place cards I used a printable that was meant for cupcakes but it worked out perfectly for our purposes.

Our eggs aren't strung and hanging on our Easter tree quite yet, but we did get some really pretty ones this year.  I'll share them soon.

Embroidered Names

Since I posted yesterday about the christening gown garment bag, I thought I would include my other favorite thing concerning our christening gown. I had each child's name and the date embroidered in the hem of the gown. My hope is that someday names will line the gown all the way around!

Christmas books

Do you know what I love more than children's books? Children's Christmas books! We have quite the collection and add at least one every year. Growing up we always read the same books on Christmas Eve and Bryce and I have continued that tradition. In fact, we literally read from the same books that we read as children. Here are our favorites...

The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa was the last book that we read before going to bed on Christmas Eve. Of course, this could just be nostalgia at it's best but I don't think any other edition of this classic story holds a (Christmas) candle to this one. The illustrations are magical. I love it.

The Sweet Smells of Christmas by Patricia M. Scarry. Again, this is a childhood favorite. I believe that my sister and I both got our own copy when we left home. It's a scratch and scent book which makes it even more special (even though ours lost it's scent a long time ago!). Whenever I read this book I can feel Bears excitement for Christmas!

Santa Mouse by Michael Brown. We just discovered this book a couple of years ago but it is already a favorite. In fact, my children began leaving a piece of cheese out along side Santa's cookies!

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry. This is such a cute book! It is fun to follow Mr. Willowby's treetops and find out where they land! We have a fondness for books that feature animals as "people like" and this fits the bill.

What are your favorites?

P.S. Amazon doesn't seem to have Santa Mouse except through third parties but I just saw a hardback Santa Mouse at Barnes and Noble in their discount bin for $6.00!

Tis the Season for giving away...

Every year around Thanksgiving the children and I go through the attic and their rooms to clean out and give away some of their toys. The benefits are twofold in that by giving away their toys the children can start to understand that there are children who are less fortunate than they are and that the toys will still be used and loved by other children. Also, it clears out and makes room for the new toys that will inevitably be making their way into our house over the holidays. My friend, Jennifer, does a toy give away as part of her family's advent calendar activities, which I think is a lovely idea.

This year I was struck by the toys that Harris chose to give away. Gone are much of the big, plastic trucks and cutesy toys! I just can't believe how big the children are getting! I've noticed that as they get older their toys are much smaller (yeah!).

P.S. I always donate to the Vietnam Vets because they will come pick-up the bags at my house!

Advent Calendar Activities

Tonight starts the advent calendar! Yeah for December 1st! The children really look forward to opening the boxes on the calendar. Last year we took a new approach to the calendar and it worked really well. I'm still tweaking the activities but here's what we've got so far...

1. Receive Christmas pajamas for the season

2. Drink hot chocolate and watch Rudolph

3. Write letters to Santa

4. Go to the lighting of the tree

5. Put together a package for a soldier

6. Go caroling at the nursing home

7. Sit by the fire and read the Christmas Story

8. Christmas books

9. Make peppermint ice cream

10. Go into the city!

11. Watch a Christmas movie with Grandma

12. Family Christmas activity

13. Buy gifts for needy children (pick an angel from the tree at church)

14. Wrap gifts

15. Receive toadstool ornaments

16. Make Christmas candy figures

17. Do 5 nice things for 5 different people

18. A pack of spearmint Gum

19. Go see the Princess and the Frog

20. Make gifts/cookies for friends

21. Sing carols together

22. Put on pajamas and tour the neighborhood looking at lights

23. Make peppermint eggnog

24. Christmas Eve breakfast/ pajamas

Tree Trimming

Last night we had our annual tree trimming dinner and ornament exchange. The children are super excited for Christmas and were really looking forward to decorating the tree. They also have a lot of fun trying to decide what their new ornament will be and represent! Picking out the tree was hard this year but I think we found the perfect one!

While dinner was being made and lights were put on the tree the children decorated Christmas tree cookies and we all sipped on Cranberry Spritzer (the adult kind and the child friendly!).

This year Grace received a soccer player since this was her first year playing soccer. Harris received a tennis player since he started playing tennis.

For dessert we had tree cookies that we made into ice cream sandwiches.

P.S. Does anyone have any advice on keeping two very curious kittens out of the tree? We keep finding Coco sitting in the tree!! I think that it might give Bryce a heart attack!

Thankful t-shirts

I really think that it is important that our children learn to be thankful and appreciative of all that they have. We've been reading and talking about what it means to be thankful. Early in November we read the book Thanks for Thanksgiving, and I asked each of the children (separately) what they were thankful for. I then went to a local embroidery shop and had t-shirts made that listed what they children were thankful for.

Harris' list

Grace's list

I got the idea from a catalogue, Chasing Fireflies, but thought that it was rather pricey at $38 per t-shirt. I ended up spending $30 total- including the t-shirts! They turned out really cute! I'm thinking that it might turn into a new tradition.

Cake painting

I have a new favorite thing. Words do not adequately explain how much I love this painting. Bryce surprised me this weekend with a painting by Carey Haynes. But it's not just any painting.. it's the first cake Bryce and I ever made together. It was for Grace's first birthday and to this day it's one of my favorite cakes we've ever made. It was just so pretty, feminine and simple. I love how Carey incorporated the bow and the texture in the painting is just wonderful.

I know that I have explained this before but I think that it bears repeating. Bryce and I have a long standing tradition (7 years to be exact!) of staying up late the night before our children's birthday parties and making their birthday cake together. I do all the baking and making and Bryce does most of the decorating. To me the cake is what a birthday is all about (you know, besides celebrating the child's birth!), and I really love the time that is spent coming up with the type of cake we will serve and then watching a lovely cake take form under the influence of decorating tips, icing bags and even candy. To date we have made 12 cakes together!

And now I have a beautiful painting to remind me of our cake making tradition. I think the painting is stunning! Thank you Bryce for giving me something so lovely and meaningful. May we make cakes together for many more years!

Painted Easter Eggs and a Carrot Menu

Remember our Easter tree?  Last night we had our annual Easter egg painting extravaganza.  It was extra fun this year because Al and Marilyn were here to participate.  

You might not know how hard it can be to paint on a fragile, blown out egg but it involves...

Concentration...

Laughter...

and a blow dryer.

The final results were magnificant.  I can't decide which are my favorites.  I love the Colorado mountains because it is a reminder that Al and Marilyn were here for Easter.   I also love Grace's fairy and Harris' camouflage egg.

In honor of the bunny that comes to visit on Easter night we also had our all carrot meal.  We started doing this a few years ago and we added to the menu this year.  I think we have gotten it just right!  Everything is surprisingly good (not to mention just plain fun). 

All Carrot Menu

Carrot Soup

Carrot burgers with lettuce

Carrot Cheesecake

When I saw this carrot cheesecake in MS Living this month, I knew that I had to make it for our meal.  It was easy to make and really good.  The carrots are fondant!  

P.S. The children left the Easter bunny some nibbles.  We made carrot muffins and Grace thought he would appreciate some carrot juice.  

Easter Tree

Years ago (before children), our family started an Easter egg painting tradition. Every year, a couple of weeks before Easter, we have an all carrot meal (thus the carrot burger) followed by egg painting. We hang them on a wire tree that I got from the now defunct Martha by Mail catalogue. My Mom and Bryce are really talented and have painted some really beautiful ones. The children's are also special because they reflect the children's growing abilities. Here are a few of my favorite ones.