Chalkboard Globe Advent Calendar
If I’m being really honest, some of my creative ideas are the result of sheer panic or parental guilt. Case in point. My kids have been asking since Halloween if I had purchased chocolate advent calendars. It’s one of their favorite holiday traditions. “There’s plenty of time,” I said. No. No, there’s not plenty of time. In my defense, my grocery store does not sell advent calendars, so I haven’t been able to make an impulse buy that would avoid all this parental guilt regarding the holiday tradition I started. Last week I decided I needed to get serious about finding chocolate advent calendars because tick-tock goes the clock entire…
Happy List: #97
Hello, hello! Have you decorated for the holidays yet? I haven’t, which makes me a terrible blogger! I do plan to put up a tree this weekend and I’m feeling excited about it! This week I shared a big list of what my kids have read in the last couple of months that I would recommend for various reasons. We go to the library 2 – 3 times a month, and at least a dozen books come home with us each time, but not many make it on the list. Thank you for all your positive feedback on those posts, as I know they aren’t relevant for everyone. I also wrote…
DIY Leather Christmas Trees
We had a very special visit from my dad and The Junk Whisperer this fall and they brought me presents. I LOVE PRESENTS! And by ‘presents’ I mean they cleaned out a drawer and brought me a treasure I would have coveted had I known it was in that drawer. I clearly need to do a better job of snooping when I go home for visits. Anyway, back to the gift! The Junk Whisperer brought me a whole stack of emu leather! She knew that I’ve been on a leather crafting kick lately. (See this map, this paperweight, these drawer pulls and this pumpkin.) And then because I’m a super grateful…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 10
I’m back on this lovely Cyber Monday with the tenth installment of what my kids have been reading lately. My kids are 8 and 11 years old. That’s 3rd and 6th grades. I have one kid who goes to school with a book to read on the bus. I have another child who is ‘forced’ to read 25 minutes a day for homework. It’s a bit of a mixed bag in our household, but I still LOVE to read out loud to my kids and they enjoy that too! All of these books should be available in your local library. If you’re shopping online for children’s books this holiday season, please…
Happy List: #96
It’s Black Friday, so I’m not sure anyone’s going to be reading this post today, but I still have things to share! First, I do hope all my American friends had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I’m swimming in leftovers and not sorry about it! Second, this week I shared one of the things I’m thankful for and also how I answered another one of the hard questions my kids threw my way. I’d love to hear about the hard questions you’ve fielded from your children and grandchildren. Now, without further ado, here’s the Happy List. WINTER COAT I’m toying with the idea of a new winter coat and the cut of…
Thankful for Friends
When we moved back to the U.S. this summer to a place we’d never lived before, I anticipated Thanksgiving would be a quiet affair with just our family of four. We’ve had several of those quiet Thanksgiving dinners. I don’t really mind them. The hardest part is to keep the twinge of missing out at bay. Those type of feelings defeat the entire purpose of being thankful. Then, much to my delight, friends from Georgia said they wanted to spend the holiday with us. So let me get this right… These folks want to travel on the busiest week of the year to eat turkey with us? Uh, HECK YEAH!!!…
Mom? Do Bad Things Happen to Everyone?
97.8% of being a parent is answering an endless stream of questions. Most of them come in the form of… “Can I have…?” Or “Why?” Or my favorite, “Why not?” Sometimes there’s just a long “mom” or “dad” with a question mark at the end repeated over and over in increasing volume. Mom? Mooom? Mooooommmm??? When kids discover their voice they sometimes forget they have two legs and can get up to come find you. Then there are the weird questions. Case in point, I was recently asked, “Mom, how does a person become a god?” Uh… That’s what I get for letting my kid read a book at the…
Happy List: #95
Oh my goodness, we are less than one week from Thanksgiving! Who is ready? Not me. Not by a long shot. This week I shared a delicious treat you could make for the holidays – Sweet Potato Cranberry Doughnuts. They feed a crowd! I also shared one last autumn idea – painted acorn tic tac toe. If you set this out during the holidays, I guarantee someone will play! Here’s the Happy List! FAVORITE HOUSE If I had to pick a favorite house right this second, I would pick The Lilypad Cottage in Michigan. I love Kelly’s simple Christmas decor and the blue colors are right up my alley. Go check…
Would I Make It Again: Sweet Potato Cranberry Doughnuts
I’d like to say this recipe had me at ‘doughnuts.’ Then this could be the shortest post ever! Hahahahaha. Actually, this recipe had me at ‘sweet potato cranberry.’ That’s an epic Thanksgiving flavor mashup, isn’t it? I thought so. The doughnut part was just an added perk. Doughnuts are always an added perk. In a series of Internet search twists and turns, I landed on a recipe I didn’t know I needed for Sweet Potato Cranberry Doughnuts from Taste of Home. The recipe concept made me go hmmm. And mmmm. And, yes, I said that all out loud. I know you talk to your screen too. Right now you’re probably saying,…
Painted Acorn Tic Tac Toe
Acorns seem like the bridesmaid of autumn. They always play second fiddle to pumpkins, don’t you think? Well, not anymore! Let’s give acorns their moment, shall we? Besides, I’ve already written about pumpkins a million times. My son and I painted a tic tac toe board when he was 5 years old and in kindergarten. He’s in 3rd grade now and learning multiplication and I’m in denial. The original tic tac toe game pieces were also made by my son…out of perler beads. I have ranted waxed poetically in the past about my feelings on perler beads here and here. You should really read those tales. My melodrama was solidly…
