yep, i'm that boring

I may be the boringest person on the planet and if you don't believe me... please keep reading. You see my bloggy friend, Merry was asking on her blog today... If you could love anywhere in the world, where would you live?

I gave it some thought. And then I thought about it some more. There are some amazing places out there in the world, but if I'm being completely honest I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I know that's unbelievable to a lot of people. Well maybe the next town over. A couple of friends and I have plans to buy side by side by side mansions and live compound style. But with house prices being what they are none of us will realize that dream anytime soon.

The thing with me is, my family is my entire world. And when I talk family I'm talking bigger than Mike and my kids. Our parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, our friends and so on. I couldn't leave any of them behind. Of course in an ideal world they'd all pack up and move with us to The WCN's part of the world, but that is just as unlikely as the side by side by side mansion dream. The other thing is I live my life in such a completely different way that I have for the past forty years that right now it feels like a brand new place and I love it.

Where would you live if you could live anywhere?

the midway point

So the 25 days of Christmas so far have been pretty low key mostly because I am freezing. Yes, I am freezing. Why did this winter get so cold so fast? Why did it get so cold so fast before the kids had finished this session of riding lessons? Trust me, sitting in a barn for multiple hours per week is way colder than it sounds. So much colder. Only two more lessons left... not that I was counting. Don't get me wrong I love love love watching the girls ride, but I much prefer to watch in the spring. The girls are ready to be done as well. Poor Maya had to hop off Moose a couple of times to warm up in the tack room tonight.

So our 25 days of Christmas have involved a lot of hot chocolate, jammies and fuzzy blankets on the couch while we attempted to warm up. We wrapped some presents, coloured some pictures, decorated the tree and watched a Christmas movie or two. Still to come is The Polar Express, cookie baking, gingerbread house decorating, neighbour visiting and maybe caroling if we ever completely warm up.

it's almost time

Can you believe it's almost December? Was it just me or did December go super fast? It's less than a week until we start the latest edition of the 25 days of Christmas. I cannot wait. The kids cannot wait.

So what do we have on deck for this year? I have no real idea. I really fly by the seat of my pants with this one. For me the 25 Days of Christmas isn't about doing 25 big crazy activities, but more about concentrated family time. I do have some tried and true favourites that I'll be trotting out again this year.

Colouring pages are still a big hit around here. And the girls love that we take the time to colour with them. We sip hot chocolate and giggle about silly things.

Our 25 days of Christmas instructions come via our Christmas Elf, Elwood who sometimes drops off books he borrowed from the North Pole library. We need to leave those books out for Santa on Christmas Eve so he can take them back to the North Pole with him.

We'll decorate a gingerbread house with Granny. Elwood leaves Granny instructions sometimes too!

There will be popcorn and Christmas movies. We'll eat waffles shaped like Christmas trees. Bake and deliver treats to the neighbours. There will definitely be some Christmas themed Charades. We'll wrap some presents, make some ornaments, decorate some gift bags. We'll drink hot chocolate floats and play roll-a-snowman. With this being the Year of Awesome... awesome seems to find us, so I'm excited to see what comes up that we can fill the gaps in with.

Do you do the 25 days of Christmas?

sharing christmas cheer

One of our 25 days of Christmas activities was a multi-day project - making treats to share with friends.

First the kids made a list of who they would like to share treats with so we would know how many to make. Then we got to work making hot chocolate stirrers a fun little project I found on pinterest. They are dead easy. Jab a sucker stick into a marshmallow and dip into chocolate. Leave them upright on waxed paper until they are set and then bag up and tie with a ribbon.




The kids did most of the dipping themselves, I just made sure the sucker sticks were securely engaged. The kids had a blast with this. Some of them they dipped in sprinkles, but most they just left plain. We dipped an entire bag of marshmallows and then left them to dry.




We took another night to pack stirrers and hot chocolate into gifts bags for our friends. We passed the Christmas cards around the table so everyone could sign their own names. Even this part was a fun little family project.




Of course the most fun part was the delivering.




Another fun for the whole family activity.




Abby was super eager to share some Christmas cheer.




Maya was a bit slower to come around, but was having fun by the time we got to the bitterly cold end.




I have to say this was a great family Christmas activity. The kids loved being able to share something they had made themselves. We will definitely be doing this again next year.

best night ever

It's December 1st! The kids have been waiting for this day. The first day of the 25 days of Christmas.... an incredibly awesome idea I borrowed from the fabulous Andrea from a peek inside the fishbowl. I put a bit of my own spin on the idea and invented Elwood, the Elf who's in charge of Christmas fun. Every night Elwood leaves a note telling us what that day's activity is.

Thursday is fright night around here. Abby has her riding lesson, it's an hour long, but it equals about two hours at the stable once it's all said and done. By the time we get home it's headed for 7 and nobody has had dinner. Abby made sure the basket was in place before we left for riding, but I didn't have a chance to get the note into it before we left.

The kids came home to an empty basket, so we tidied and had dinner while the two of them speculated when he would show up and Abby checked on the basket every three seconds.

I work incredibly hard at making things into events for my kids. I want them to have warm and fuzzy memories of their childhood. I want them to always know how important I think this family is because I know..... well I just know. So I do things like the 25 days of Christmas, and sleepover movie nights, family fun night, and family game night. And I know.... I know, it means just as much to them as it does to me, even if they don't realize that it is me.

Some time after dinner as Mike and the kids were cleaning up I slipped away to write "the note", the one from Elwood that said how much he'd missed them, answered a question Abby had asked in a note she'd written and left them some hot chocolate and instructions to write their letters to Santa.

You guys, when Abby saw that note in the basket, she was overwhelmed to the point of tears. She couldn't even bring herself to read the note. She just grabbed onto Mike and I and hugged as hard as she could. You see earlier that evening she'd told me that she's been thinking about Elwood on the bus, how she thought maybe Elwood was me, but then she realized that no, he had to be real. She's nine, so she's just on the brink of figuring it out, to be honest I think she probably already knows on some level, but isn't willing to own it just yet.

I'm not going to lie to you fine folks, I got teary watching her. It's definitely up there as one of my top five parenting moments. One I will replay over and over. I'm pretty sure she will too.

every one is a comedian

Tonight Elwood arrived, just as planned and dropped off a letter and special stationary for the girls to write their letters to Santa. As usual the girls couldn't believe that they *just* missed him. He's tricky, that Elf of ours. So as the girls put their heads together and tried to figure out how he slipped past them, Mike and I had the following conversation....

Me: Did you see that? Did you see how even Maya came into the room chanting Elwood! Elwood! Elwood! Do you think I'm crazy for doing all of this?
Mike: No, the kids love this..... there are other reasons I think you're crazy.

ba-dum bump

25 days of christmas eve

The 25 Days of Christmas starts tomorrow!! Are you excited? Are you participating? Do you think I'm crazy for planning out 25 days worth of Christmas family fun?

On tap for tomorrow - writing our letters to Santa!

shot through the heart

December 1st is right around the corner and that means it's time for the 25 Days of Christmas Adventure. Abby was wondering just the other day what sorts of things Elwood is going to leave us to do. Hoping to get some ideas to help me... uh... I mean Elwood out with his family fun planning I asked her what she'd like to do. And this is what she said......

Bake some cookies and watch a movie.

But not any cookies, oh no! These ones....



Yep, her Mama can bake like nobody's business and she wants "Hills Berry" cookies with Frosty on them. Pardon me while I go pull the dagger out of my heart.

25 days of christmas - message from st. nick

I had heard about this site from a couple of different people before I went to check it out. At Santa's PNP - Portable North Pole - you can arrange to have a personal message sent right from the big guy, himself. I went there and punched in the required information for both girls - hair colour, eye colour, ages, what they wanted for Christmas and then I uploaded a picture.

So tonight for our 25 days of Christmas fun the girls each got a surprise message from Santa himself. Watching Abby get her message was pretty darn funny. You could just see her trying to figure it all out. She was also disappointed that Elwood didn't make an appearance.

What was even funnier was watching Abby watch Maya's message. There comes a point in the clip when Santa asks if - Maya in this case - has been naughty or nice before he opens his big book to check. While we were waiting for Santa to check, Abby was holding her breath. I didn't even realize it until it all came out in a relieved whoosh when Maya's name and picture popped up on the nice list.

I have to admit I wasn't too sure if Maya would be all that into it, but once Santa started talking to Abby - Maya turned to me and asked, "but, what about me?"So very cute. I highly recommend this for your little ones.

25 days of christmas - checking out the lights

We thought taking a drive to look at all the fancy Christmas lights would be a fun idea for our 25 days of Christmas. Apparently this one did not agree.

friday high five - the first few days

So the 25 days of Christmas continues to be a big hit here. So for today's Friday High Five - this is what we've been up to so far....

1. The first night we wrote our letters to Santa. You can read Abby's here. I've already warned her not to expect to get her entire list. Although she's still hoping the trampleen makes the cut. Here's a spoiler for ya - it doesn't. I helped Maya write hers:

Dear Santa and Reindeer - My name is May and I am 3 years old. For Christmas I would like Kai Lan, Dora Dances on her Toes and Hot Wheels. I want to make a different Christmas tree. I want it pink with pink icing on top and big like my Mom's. I can't wait to eat with you. Love Maya.

2. On the second day I printed out this colouring page of Santa's workshop. Abby was trying to figure out which Elf was Elwood. The note said that Elwood's buddy Noelle had drawn the picture for him. Noelle is the Christmas fairy that has been visiting The Mommy Project's house. Look at me writing crossover storylines. Maybe I can get Shonda Rimes to hire me.

3. On the third night - well that was riding lessons and parent teacher interview. Grandma Linda had picked up a huge Christmas themed search and find book. It's probably 2 feet by 2 feet. Grandma Linda and Papa were watching the girls at their place while we were at the school, so we left Elwood's note with the search and find book. So they had fun looking for candy canes, elves and whatever else was on the checklist.

4. On the fourth day, well I admit I was feeling kinda tired and my plan was to pull out one of the Christmas themed storybook I had ordered through Abby's school, when the new Tinkerbell movie - Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure started playing on Playhouse Disney. So I quickly wrote a note saying how Elwood put Tink on the TV special just for us and we should get in out jammies and snuggle on the couch while we watched it. So the kids laid all over me while I tried to knit and we watched the tinkerbell movie and Abby tried to figure out how Elwood got into our living room and put the movie on the TV.

5. Tonight we're spending the night at my Mom's. So the girls will get their note from Elwood there. (And perhaps a buck or two from the tooth fairy as well.) The note will have a password for them to use online to see their personalized message from Santa. I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they watch them. The message is tailored to the person you're sending it too, little kid or adult. Should be fun. Get your own here.

And how are your 25 days going?

25 days

I feel like if I blink it will be December and I am entirely unorganized for this time of the year. I usually have Christmas well in hand by this point, as of today I have one or two gifts in the closet upstairs and a handful of things for the big stocking. I think it's the mild weather that is making me think I have all the time in the world.

In just about a week it will be time to start the 25 days of Christmas. A holiday family time movement lead by the fab Andrea from A Peek Inside the Fishbowl. Mike, the girls and I played last year and it was so much fun I cannot wait to do it again. I realize it sounds overwhelming to have an activity planned for each and every night, but it's not nearly as difficult as you'd think. I think to pull it off successfully you need to be kind to yourself. Not every night has to be a huge extravaganza. The time spent with the family is the focus.

Please take a moment and go read how Andrea sets her and her family up for the 25 days of Christmas and when you get back I'll tell you how we set up ours. Just because I need to be a little bit different.

Last year on a whim I invented Elwood, a Christmas Elf who's in charge of family fun. I have a Christmas tree set up in my office that we placed a wicker basket under and at some point each day Elwood would leave a note and sometimes other goodies in the basket that would outline what our family fun activity would be. I'm not sure why I even bothered to invent Elwood. Maybe because I just love the wonder kids have for Santa and wanted to be able to enjoy that through my kids for a full 25 days. Abby loved getting Elwood's notes because he always seemed to know a little bit about her. I love the way her eyes light up as she tries to figure the mystery out. How does he get in the house? How does he know what I'm doing? I just love it.

with Papa and Grandma Linda. I really don't like to be over scheduled, so I kind of flew by the seat of my pants last year. I would write up Elwood's notes daily just so I could keep them topical. We had some "big" activities and some small ones. I also made sure the girls had a special activity with each Grandparent. I hope to continue with the same activities each year so they have a special tradition with them. We had sugar cookie decorating with Grandma Sandi (those were the cookies we used for Santa). Gingerbread night with Granny. And a viewing of The Polar ExpressFor those nights I made the plans in advance with the appropriate grandparent(s) and then when Abby got the note from Elwood she would call, all excited, to tell them what the plan was for that night.

Those were probably our biggest nights. The other nights I filled in with activities like snowman shaped pancakes for dinner. One night we played Christmas themed charades which was a huge hit and a whole lot of fun. Another night the girls built Santa's house out of mega blocks. I also picked up a Christmas chapter book and some nights were read another chapter night. This year I ordered a handful of Christmas themed story books from the Scholastic catalog to read during the 25 days. It shall be fun fun fun!

And what about you? Are you joining us for the 25 days of Christmas?

25 days of christmas - polar express night

Another 25 days of Christmas update. This weekend was a busy one with gingerbread night and movie night. This year on top of the 25 days of Christmas I wanted to start yearly traditions for the girls with each of their grandparents. Granny had already started with gingerbread night. I think it was our third annual.

For Papa and Grandma Linda , well we all really enjoyed the movie Polar Express. So we invited them over. Or rather Elwood suggested Abby call and invite them over. Papa showed up with the popcorn he and Abby had grown last summer. So they husked it (is that what you call it? I have no idea) and then Papa popped it on the stove.



Just before the movie started Abby checked Elwood's basket/mail box and found two winter themed fleece blankets and a plate full of train shaped sugar cookies to watch the movie with. So we all snuggled in and enjoyed a really great Christmas movie. I'm hoping we make it our yearly event.

snowmen, santa and gingerbread

We are still having huge amounts of fun with our 25 days of Christmas challenge. I will admit this week has been somewhat of a struggle since I haven't gotten nearly enough sleep. Hard to be creative when you can barely keep your eyes open.

For example, I'd like to take credit for this idea, but I lifted it from somebody's blog. I can't even remember who's, so whoever you are thanks for the great idea. Snowman pancakes.



Now this one I came up with off the cuff and to be truthful I thought it was pretty lame, but went with it for lack of a better idea. Surprisingly the kids really enjoyed it. Make Santa's house out of blocks. They went so far as to make furniture as well. This was the evening Mike and I went Christmas shopping so this activity they did with Grandma Sandi, who even cut a roof out of cardboard for Santa's house. Actually she had to cut two since Little My Pie doesn't like to share.



And tonight was gingerbread night. For the past couple of years Granny and the girls have taken a night before Christmas to decorate a gingerbread house. Last year we went with a pre-built model. This year we did not. This year we contemplated calling in Mike Holmes to oversee the repair of some serious foundation cracks, walls that were completely out of level and a roof that was far from plumb.



In the end we managed to hold it together with a lick and a promise. Well actually a lick and some icing. Maya developed quite a taste for the icing.



And when the project was complete and we'd disposed of the leftover icing we found her licking it off the gingerbread house itself. Yeah, I don't recommend eating it. This gingerbread house is strictly for decoration now.



*thanks to Heather for the Princess gingerbread house. The girls loved it! And nobody licked that one.