Celebrating the Season with Stories

It's December! It came so quickly and I am very excited to celebrate the season with Mr E and Miss C. They are at such a fun age to experience the wonder of Christmas cheer, enjoy traditions, and also learn about the joy of giving!

Although it is abnormally 70 degrees today, I prepped to have cabin fever by now. I planned to really get into crafts and reading and games with the kids. Per Pinterest, I found a great idea to pair holiday stories with a daily craft. I have been inventing my own activities...short and sweet, but also to follow the theme of the book we read each day. So here is what we have done so far!

{December 1st} 

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

Our activity was to create a snowman with stickers. A sticker for the head, eyes, nose, and hat. Mr E creatively drew the rest of the snowman. Miss C drew swirly snowflakes and scribbles.

{December 2nd} 

Llama, Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

Last minute Sunday planning resulted in a simple llama coloring page. Still fun!

{December 3rd}

 Santabear's First Christmas by Barbara Read

This book has a special place in my heart. This is one of the most memorable Christmas books we read when I was young. It wasn't until today when I read it aloud to the kids, that I remembered the story. The touching words and gorgeous illustrations! Being a mom now, it even brought tears to my eyes as I read the heartfelt story. An amazing book with a great moral lesson.

I made special Santabear masks for the kids to decorate and wear. They had a great time running around the house pretending to be Santabear in the forest!

So far I have greatly enjoyed combining books and crafts. Such a simple concept with good books! I am hoping to share more stories as we celebrate through December. Hope you all are enjoying the season!

Another season will be here soon...

Several people have asked, "So are you done with the blog?" As fellow bloggers know, it's a very winding road. Some weeks you can't wait to post about life, projects, and quotes you adore. Some weeks you struggle to find five minutes to accomplish ONE post. And then it tapers off...and life gets the best of you.

But most days, life is SO much better than spending 30-60 minutes writing, composing, editing, and formatting on blogger. I have several ideas for blog posts...DIY burlap PB candles, the new redecorated guest room, toy storage and child artwork displays, hand sewn projects...and the list goes on. Today, however, I have no crisp, clean photos to share. Just life.

Mr. E and Miss C are both loving school! Mr. E is in preschool and flourishes with creativity and has the most creative mind. He will draw abstract and life-like pictures from memory. He can't wait to write letters and we are beginning to do a letter each week here at home {now that he is close to abandoning nap time}. Mr. E is into superheroes...who knew? Growing up with sisters, I was never exposed to larger than life comic characters. The best part is, Miss C loves watching Spiderman cartoons just as much as Mr. E.

Miss C is, well...persnickety. That word encompasses all of her moods. She also has the most lively and carefree personality that peeks through. She love to dance and get all dressed up. Miss C has lived in her 'big dress,' every day this week...referring to the flower girl dress she got to show off at my sister's gorgeous wedding! She boasts about being 'Cinda-bella' for Halloween and usually can't decide between the hand sewn Cinderella blue gown or the flower girl dress. She loves shoes...woohooo! She is her own person and is smart and I am tickled everyday to see her come alive in new ways.

Over the summer, the two kiddos spent their fair share of bickering and fighting. This past week, they have transformed into an imaginary play duo. It's unbelievable to witness! They play together and make-believe with each other. They fix up dolls and spiderman toys with bandaids and stethoscopes, have taken boating trips into the deep {and according to E, your boat has to have magical powers so it doesn't sink}, and they cook the most elaborate pretend feasts for Mom. It warms my heart to listen in on their fantasies and stories. Seeing their childhood spirit renews me as a person and as a parent. I look forward to see what tomorrow will bring...what will they learn? what will they discover? what amazing ways will they interpret the world and life around them?

So there you have it...our life in a small, happy package. Of course it's not always this wonderful, but I can't wait to relive these memories someday now that they have been shared. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Babies, Italian, and Apple Pie

It's baby season! ...meaning there have been several new little ones lately. The kiddos and I wanted to visit, but I remember being a new mom. After the overwhelm of visitors in the hospital, it is relieving to be home alone with a snuggly, smooshy new baby. The last thing I wanted to do as a new mom was plan dinner and cook! We decided to make a few quick trips to provide a meal and take a peak at some sweet newborns!

After a lot of searching, I found a great meal to deliver to the new mommas. A little more gourmet than I am used to cooking, but these lasagna roll ups from Cooking Classy were easy and portable for our visit. They feature a cheese mixture and homemade meat sauce all rolled up into individual lasagna noodles. This is also a great freezer meal to make in bulk and for gatherings!

I also made my favorite Scrumptious Apple Pie from The Pioneer Woman! I made this pie for a local fall festival apple pie contest and it was amazing! No fancy spices used...just the amazing flavor of juicy apples. I use a mix of Braeburn and Granny Smith to give it a delicious balance of sweet and tart. 

If you have never gambled to make a pie crust from scratch, Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust is easy and well...perfect! 

The best part is we got to meet little Makayla and Hampton and were overjoyed to offer some help and good food!

Lunch Printable

My accomplished little sis {one of them} is a wonderful elementary teacher. She has recently been given the opportunity to share more of her talents to teach an accelerated class. So proud and excited for another job well done!

I absolutely love designing classroom art and charts for Miss Kristen! Best of all, I get to see it printed and being used to enrich her teaching and the kids' learning. Last school year, I was asked to design a lunch chart to give the students an opportunity to choose their preferred meal of the day. Kristen then used number clothespins for the kiddos to mark their choice. So bright, fun, and a simple interactive piece of art. 

I am excited to share this chart with my readers! Just click on the photo or caption below to download the 12" x 27" chart. 

Click to download Lunch Count Chart

ENJOY and stay tuned for another free printable to tackle student behavior!