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2009
As 2009 draws to a close I thought I'd reflect back and share some of my favorite posts with you from the past year. Enjoy!
School Supplies shopping - as the mom this time!
Will gets down with Choo Choo Soul
So, what are some of YOUR favorite happenings over this past year? Here's to hoping there are many more in 2010! Happy New Year! ♥
How time has flown! My little Jakers is three months old and is quite a chunk! Here are just a few things that make you, YOU, Jacob:
You're just so darn sweet and I can feel the days zooming past us as you grow and change day by day. I love you so! ♥
Nathan lost his FIRST TOOTH today! It had been loose for a few weeks now but this morning he woke up and it was super wiggly! I knew it would be either today or tomorrow that it would come out. I jokingly told him while he was brushing his teeth this morning that I wasn't sure that Santa AND the Tooth Fairy could be out on the same night so hopefully it would be today that he lost it. And, that he did.
He and Will were chowing on the gingerbread house when all of a sudden I heard, "MY TOOTH FELL OUT!". I looked over in disbelief but indeed he did have a very different grin upon his face. He dashed over to the bathroom mirror to take a look at his new smile and was grinning from ear to ear.
I know this is the first of many Tooth Fairy visits we'll be receiving! ♥
As the holidays are just a few days away, I thought I'd share a great resource that promotes healthy holiday strategies. California Raisins have always been a part of our holiday traditions here since I am giddy about oatmeal raisin cookies, so imagine my delight when they contacted me about sharing some great info with you, my readers, and offered to give away a fantastic gift basket!
I just received this great package and it's full of yummy raisins and some of the kitchen supplies you will surely be using this holiday season and into the year ahead. Be sure and check out California Raisins Healthy Holiday Series for some great ideas on how to eat healthier this season while staying satisfied.
Want to be entered to win the gift basket pictured above? Here's how you can enter:
Contest ends December 26th and winner will be announced here on the blog and notified via email. Good luck!
(Disclosure: This post sponsored by California Raisins, however, the opinions expressed herein are my own!)
One of the most fabulous things EVER about my family (namely, my mama) coming to visit for the holidays (or any reason, for that matter) is that David and I can get the Grammmy World's Best Babysitter to watch the kids if we want to catch a movie (that's not rated G) or go out and enjoy dinner together!
How often do you get out with your spouse? Do you think date night is important? Why or why not?
According to Juice Box Jungle, over 75% of moms feel like they don't get out enough. Are you one of those moms? One of the things I've recently discovered is Restaurant.com where you can get $25 gift certificates to certain places in your 'hood for just $10! Plus, they've got a special deal right now - if you use promo/coupon code SANTA, you'll save an additional 80% off your gift certificate order! (Be sure and check the fine print for each participating restaurant, as sometimes they are only valid certain days & times).
Be sure & check your zip code for places in your area and leave me a comment if you score a great deal! Here's to dining out more! ♥
(Disclosure: This post sponsored by Restaurant.com, however, the opinions expressed herein are my own!)
This past week was full of wintery type stuff. So. Not. My. Thing. But, I made the best of it. We got a nice dumping of snow so of course the kids wanted to go outside and play in it. Thankfully they are of the age where I really don't need to be out there with them but can more or less just supervise from the front door. Yeah, I like that!
I did head out there for a few minutes to snap some photos, though. And then they wanted to go sledding down our slopey driveway so I obliged. I love that they're up for playing outside no matter what the weather here. Wish I could say the same for me but if I can't wear flip-flops outdoors, then it's too cold.
We also managed to put together our gingerbread house for the season, which the kids absolutely love doing. I can't blame them. They totally enjoyed the gingery goodness that the house was filled with and designing exactly what pieces of candy would go where. Ah, to be a kid again!
This coming week is their last week before Christmas break so we've got school Christmas programs and parties on the agenda. I am looking forward to having them home for a while without the routine and schedule that school makes us keep.
This past weekend I took my two oldest boys to the Nutcracker Tea Party - what has surely become a fun tradition for us this time of year and we had such a festive time! They were the handsome-est boys in the place and had the attention and admiration of all the young princesses at the ballet!
There were several moms and members of the ballet themselves who made comments to me that it was wonderful of me to bring my boys (without girls or sisters) to such an event. And why not? They love dressing up and enjoying the tea-time treats and pastries. They were smug when I told them we'd have to wait an entire YEAR before going again. I am so glad this has become a tradition of ours and hope it continues for many more years to come! We had an awesome time!
The afternoon began with a pint-sized tea party and the boys enjoyed cut fruit, cheeses, tea sandwiches, breads, and of course COOKIES! One of the things I really love about the whole experience is that the kids get to see the ballet up close and personal and are encouraged to dance along with the show. I also think it's so cool that the characters come around before the performance begins to pose for pics with the audience! So fun! We can hardly wait till next year! ♥
Their favorite part - the FIGHT scene!
With the arrival of Advent this year, my boys are so excited to begin with our usual traditions and even introduce a couple of new ones.
Our staple Advent activity has always been our Jesse Tree. The kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this tradition of doing the daily reading and the anticipation of getting to the ornament that coordinates. This year they will have to take turns doing the ornament each night.
Another wonderful thing that I incorporated last year is our Christmas Countdown Socks. And boy, Nathan certainly remembered these when I busted them out this year! The first surprise in their socks today was a clue about where to find our newest Advent tradition - Elf on the Shelf.
We read the book that came with our Elf and the kids are so excited to have this new tradition. Part of the fun is naming and registering your Elf so Nathan came up with the first name (Egbert) and Will came up with the middle name (Nelf). I am sure they'll be bouncing out of bed every morning just to find out where the Elf is! For those of you with small kids, this is a great tradition to start! I've heard so many cute stories from other moms who do this with their kids.
Then there's our refrigerator magnet tree that they were really into last year. They fought over who was going to put that day's magnet on. Great....hope this year is not a repeat!
This year I also picked up an Advent wreath of sorts and the candles for each week. Nathan is particularly excited about this because they are doing it at school as well.
Speaking of school, Nathan came home with the cutest Advent countdown project I've ever seen!
Love the idea of moving the star on the yardstick closer to the manger each day. So cute and such a treasure!
And lastly, the last of the Advent activities is an actual Advent Calendar by Playmobil. Thanks to them, I recently received this and the kids are going to love it! It consists of 24 individual boxes with a different part of a winter forest scene. Each day the kids will open up the corresponding box and reveal the new piece that goes to the play scene. The set comes packaged with everything including the boxes and play scene pieces. I can tell - this is going to be a lot of fun!
So what are some of your holiday or Advent traditions in anticipation of the big day? ♥
{Disclosure: Product provided by Playmobil}
Do I seriously have a two-month old? How can that be? Someone please put the brakes on because my baby is growing so, so fast. I took Jacob for his two-month checkup today and was told by his doctor that he is a "big boy". Yep, I concur! Anyway, he's in the 75th percentile for weight - a hefty 12 pounds 12.8 ounces! No son of mine has EVER been in the 75th percentile for weight at ANY age! Yeah, I am feeling pretty good about my liquid gold right about now!
Baby Jake is such a sweetheart. He's my little Goomba! He's smiling and cooing so much these days and I am finding myself savoring every moment since I know all too well how quickly these days and months will pass. Pretty soon I'll be shuffling him around to soccer, football, violin, and who knows what else!
But for now, I'll enjoy him every moment I get! ♥
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