Helping Families to Connect and Thrive

ADVENT DAY 12: GRINCH MOVIE NIGHT

12.12.20

I’m not sure which part of this evening was my favorite: the epic grinchy milkshakes or hiding the ornament in Cole’s underwear drawer for the kids to find! Really all of the evening was great, from the delicious all-green dinner to making the sprinkle covered pretzel rods for our Seuss inspired milkshakes to snuggling up together to watch The Grinch. Can we also just take a moment to admire Isaac’s Grinch sketch that he busted out in two minutes— amazing! It was such a treat to have Grauntie and Gruncle join us for the weekend and enjoy our cozy new fireplace that they worked tirelessly to help us install!

ADVENT ’21 DAYS 10 AND 11: MAKE PUPPY CHOW AND CHRISTMAS PIZZAS

12.11.20

As you may have seen in our last post, we had to do some with our advent activities, so we ended up with two advent activities on Friday. Thankfully, they both aligned perfectly with our movie and pizza night tradition!⠀

The kids and I made puppy chow during the day and they LOVED the process— and the taste testing, of course! I gave them each their own little paper bags to shake, and they giggled like crazy. ⠀

That evening we made Christmas shaped pizzas for dinner; a pepperoni and cheese candy cane and a pesto, spinach and artichoke wreath. Then, we cozied up with all our tasty treats and watched Christmas movies. It was the perfect way to wrap up our busy week!

ADVENT ’21 DAY 9: MAKE UP-CYCLED CANDY CANES

12.11.20

We were all so worn down on Wednesday that we chose to skip our advent activity and then double up on Friday when we had more energy. We also forgot to prepare our ornaments for an activity one day, so I had to improvise. And my ADVENT DAY 9 activity (an up-cycled candy cane craft) wasn’t very exciting to the kids. You know what it’s like this time of year— there is just so much to juggle and not everything can be perfect. Mistakes happens, changes are necessary, and it’s all okay. Deep breaths, remembering the purpose of advent activities, and the ability to adapt has kept us smiling during the hairy moments this season. ⠀

I must say, the candy canes sure are adorable, aren’t they? Isla was far more excited about them once we dusted them with a little glitter. Ha! We hot glued magnets to the back of the candy canes and they made our fridge look extra festive. As Isla drew them will be such treasured keepsakes for us as well!

ADVENT DAY 8: MAKE BEESWAX CANDLES

12.08.20

During winter, few things evoke a sense of peaceful coziness more than the warm glow of candlelight, so I thought it might be fun for us to try our hand at beeswax candle making.

I ordered sheets of beeswax and wicks online, and could not believe how simple and enjoyable it was to roll the candlesticks. The kids absolutely loved the process! It was such fantastic fine motor skills practice for them too!

We placed the finished candles in an assortment of aqua bottles and holders we had around the cottage, and lit them during our dinner that evening. The kids were so proud of their creations and absolutely giddy about the candlelight dinner. In fact, Cole has requested candles at every breakfast and dinner since! ⠀

As someone who is highly sensitive to all the additives of candles (and therefore never or rarely) burns them, these all-natural beeswax candles were a really lovely treat. They would make a beautiful handmade gift for loved ones too! Given how much the kids enjoyed making them, I think it is safe to say we have found a really lovely new winter tradition.

Santa Auggie

12.07.20

So, Jen, what did you do today?⠀

Well, I didn’t spend the afternoon crafting a tiny Santa hat for a kitten photo shoot…

that was yesterday!!!!!

Isla and I had the best time making a tiny felt Santa hat for Auggie, and were completely tickled when we discovered that he was happy to leave it on!