Advent Tents

To celebrate the season, I came up with daily activities that our family could do together. I've never had much room for a big advent calendar so I kept it simple this year. I wanted to incorporate our favorite traditions, some easy seasonal activities, and special treats for the month. We're loving it!

I printed out the activities on card stock and glued pretty scrapbook paper to the back of each. Then I folded them like little tents. I found my printable template at Living Locurto.

Every morning, we turn the next tent over to see what's on the schedule.

Here they are in order.

1. Let's go see Santa tonight.
2. We're going to the Christmas parade!
3. You get to eat a few Christmas cookies.
4. We'll make a handprint craft together.
5. Pick a board game to play with the family.
6. Let's make hot chocolate together.
7. Mommy will read you a Christmas story.
8. We'll watch The Polar Express tonight.
9. We're going to the movies! How about The Muppets?
10. Let's wake up early to go see Santa at the tractor store.
11. Read a Christmas book.
12. We're going to make paper snowflakes today.
13. Make Christmas cards for the widows at church.
14. Help Mommy deliver the cards we made yesterday.
15. We'll make a batch of gingerbread play dough and play with it.
16. Let's make gingerbread men.
17. Drive around to see the Christmas lights.
18. Make your annual "My Favorite Things" ornament.
19. Angel Tree shopping
20. Listen to our Christmas books on audio.
21. Help Mommy make goodies for the neighbors.
22. Let's make peanut butter and bird seed ornaments for the birds.
23. Our Christmas Eve (Friday night)
24. Our Santa Claus Morning (Saturday)
25. Christmas Day

Our 1st Elf Breakfast {And A Personalized North Pole Set Giveaway!}

Giveaway at the bottom of post!

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? Our Elf is Elephant and is pretty much the best thing since Santa Claus. He buys us a whole month of "Eat your vegetables or Elephant will have to tell Santa" and "I wouldn't want to go have a chat with Elephant about not sharing your blocks with your brother." and also "Great job! I know our Elf will love letting Santa know how good you are being!"

This year was the first time we had a special Elf Breakfast to welcome our little guy back for the holidays.

I first saw the idea at Little Pumpkin Grace and had been planning a little something for my boys when Kelsey at Snowcones and Lollipops sent over a fabulous custom set of North Pole printables!

We received custom invitations to hand out to friends, a banner, milk and water bottle labels, cupcake toppers, straw flags, custom place cards and a template for our letter to Santa!

The printable set definitely made the morning even more magical for my little man.

The first thing he saw was the special North Pole banner...

then the place card with his own name on it...

and then the powdered donuts and snow milk! My little boy was a very happy guy!

Elephant even brought the boys (one was still sleeping away) a new movie to watch.

Instead of using my straw flags as they were intended, I used them to create a scavenger hunt.

1. Santa sent me to watch what you do. I brought you some presents; to find them, let's start at the Loo.

2. You're one step closer, but where to go next? Let's walk to the room where we eat breakfast.

3. The boy who is four makes this room his place. Hop, don't walk, with a smile on your face.

4. We are halfway there, but not yet done. Go to the front door. Are you having fun?

5. Tiptoe to the nursery, where you'll find the last clue. I'm always very quiet. What about you?

6. I hope you enjoyed our little game. Run to the fireplace and pick up your candy cane!

Then we wrote our letter to Santa. I started him off, then he added quite a bit on his own.  Can you tell finishing soup was a bit of a conflict the night before? 

Really fun memories were made that morning and I have personalized keepsakes and a set of party printables to use next year, too!

Want a set for your littles?

Kelsey is giving away a FREE personalized North Pole set to one lucky family.

To enter, you must be a follower or subscriber of In Between Laundry:

Go to Snowcones and Lollipops and take a look around. Leave a comment saying what you like the best. Leave your email address. Winner announced in one week. 

A Halloween Weekend

What a fun Halloween weekend we have had so far and it's not over yet. Having kids makes holidays like Halloween so much more awesome.

Yesterday, Jeremy and I took the boys to pass out little pumpkin magnets at the nursing home. Earlier in the week, I cut out a stack of pumpkins from orange paper and my oldest boy used a black marker to decorate them with jack-o-lantern faces. Then I laminated them and stuck a magnet to the back. It was a meaningful way to add a lesson on serving others to the regular candy-filled festivities, and I'm now on the hunt for more ways to add projects like that to our routine. My only regret is that I didn't get a single picture of him making the pumpkins or delivering them. Hate that.

After getting to visit with my sister and brother-in-law, my mom watched the baby while Jeremy and I took the big boy to our local Halloween festival. We played Plunko, ring toss, and a few other carnival games before heading home to fix a spooky supper for the grandparents. I loved every minute of yesterday! 

Somewhere in the middle of all of that my sister painted my nails with the cutest candy corns. I'm not usually very adventuresome with nails, but how fun is this? She did a great job.

And now that we're home from church and a delicious gumbo lunch at my mom and dad's, we're hopping in the car to visit my other sister and her family. We'll be spending the next few days with the cousins, trick-or-treating, and catching up. 

Sometimes I worry that these are the best days of our lives and they're slipping by so quickly.

So I'm holding on to every minute.

Halloween Traditions Contest-- Enter Today!

Twinkie Mummies

I'm on the hunt for a few 

TERRIFIC Halloween traditions 

to feature in an upcoming publication.

No-Sew Davy Crockett Costume

If your entry is selected to be featured, you will receive full credit for your entry and a FREE copy of the publication.

Burlap Wreath

You will also be featured on In Between Laundry when the publication launches with a direct link to your website.

Note that you do NOT have to have a website to enter, but if you do, your website must be family-friendly.

"Punkin-Tillas"

Please submit...

Halloween traditions, memories, ideas, projects, and games that your family has loved.

Deadline for submission is 

Friday, September 16, 2011 at 11:59 pm central.

Good luck! 

I absolutely cannot wait to see how 

your family makes Halloween special!

Shared with: Tatertots and Jello

Defining Summer

"Ode to the Sprinkler" by Gary Soto

There's no swimming pool on our street.

Only sprinklers on lawns.

The helicopter of water slicing our legs.

We run through the sprinkler, water on our lips.

Water dripping from eyelashes.

Water like fat raindrops that fall from skinny trees when you're not looking.

I run like a monkey in my orange swimming trunks, jumping up and down, pounding the mushy grass with my feet.

Picking Strawberries in Fredericksburg

Our little family went on an adventure this past weekend to the Texas Hill Country. Fredericksburg is a treasure, ripe with history and natural beauty.

This unique German town is one of our very places to unwind for a weekend.

Once a year, usually in the late spring or early summer before it gets too hot, we pack up the car and head out.

Last year I was too pregnant to travel so I had been itching to see God's beautiful rolling hills and feel the warm, dry air on my face again.

Our weekend is always filled with delicious food (Fredericksburg Pie Co. and Cabernet Grille to be exact), a little shopping and sight-seeing, the bat cave at dusk (nearly a half million bats emerge every night), and swimming in the hotel pool (our 4-year old lives for hotel pools).

But the best part of the trip is picking fresh strawberries, blackberries and peaches at Marburger Orchards.

We have made such wonderful family memories between those rows of vibrant green plants.

Before we discovered this local farm, I had never tasted warm strawberries right off the plant.  

I'll tell you now, it's a challenge to go back to grocery store fruit afterward.

This gorgeous box is sitting in my refrigerator right now.

Oh, the possibilities... jam, shortcake, pie, ice cream.

What about you? Where does your family go to forget life for a weekend and just enjoy one another?

Peanut Butter Crunchy Nests and {My Sisters}

My mama used to make these for my sisters and me when we were little.

Last week when my husband was out of town, I felt very nostalgic making them with my 4-year-old. It sent me into a series of flashbacks, standing on a chair in the kitchen from my childhood.

And I hope that my boys will always share the bonds of tradition and family and familiarity that I share with my sisters.

So, here's to my lovely baby seesters. You're some of my favorite people.

And here's to our wonderful mama, too.

Peanut Butter Crunchies (Nests)

1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
2 cups puffed rice cereal
miniature chocolate egg-shaped candies (Robin's Eggs)

Bring syrup and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and add cereal. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper. Push the candies into the center to create little nests.


Linked to: Tatertots and Jello