Rudolph Pancakes

I'm sure you've seen these all over Pinterest. They are the perfect breakfast addition this Christmas Season.

 Whip Cream and Chocolate Chips for the eyes and a peppermint nose. Have fun!

My kiddos LOVE them!

Mary Did You Know?

Day 9! 

Sometimes in all the business you just need to sit down and re-focus. This video and song does that for me. Enjoy!

12 Days of "Kiss"-mas!

How about we have some fun with our spouse?

We are always doing so much for our kiddos, what about our Spouse? Let's have some fun!

First off, this is a fun and simple way to sneak in another kiss with your spouse, and just be a little silly. This idea came from one of my favorite blogs- DatingDivas.com

1. First you need to print out your kiss cards! Click HERE to visit the site and print out your 

"12 Days" of Kisses. Cut out the Kiss Cards. I wrote "Day 12", "Day 11" and so on the outside. 

2. Grab some ribbon or twine and figure out a spot to hang it up at. I chose our bathroom. Next I went and looked in my Christmas wrapping box and grabbed some ribbon.

3. Grab some clothes pins or a hole punch to figure out to hang your cards from the ribbon. I purchased these mini decorative clothes pins from Michael's in their $1.00 bins. They were going to be used for something else but ended up working out perfectly for this project! Just use what you have!

4. Next add your cards! I folded mine in half because they went against the mirror and would give away the task. 

5. Now everyday open up the card with your spouse and share a kiss! And since today is the 10th Day of Christmas it's ok to still print out the 12 and get caught up.

Have fun!

Mistletoe is a MUST!

Mistletoe is a MUST (in my opinion) to have in your home for Christmas! I don't mean the real thing, I mean some that will last year after year! 

I think it's important to show our children that Mommy and Daddy are in love with each other and Mistletoe helps make that extra fun! 

You can pick up some "fake" mistletoe just about anywhere. I think I bought mine years ago at the Dollar Store. 
It's one of those Christmas decorations that my kids remember each year... "Mom put up the mistletoe!" 

Our little girl loves to kiss everyone who passes under it! She will even wait and say "Hey Mom come over here..."

She even caught her brother under the mistletoe but he wasn't that thrilled with his sister kissing him. So he tried to wiggle his way out of a kiss.

My kids get it, and by it I mean the fun and laughter of family. We have our moments of chaos and yes still tantrums, but we also have to choose to make times to laugh as a family. This is just another  way of doing that while also sharing our love with each other. My son just drew this photo of our family this morning. What do you see???? Mistletoe, and Mom and Dad kissing! I love it! I want my children to ALWAYS know that I LOVE them, but that I have also ALWAYS been head over heels in love with their Daddy. I encourage you to make mistletoe a part of your family decorations. I also have another part of this mistletoe decoration that I will be sharing with you all tomorrow!

Christmas Lights Here We Come!

Time to go look at lights! Make this fun and special! 

Here is what we usually do... Beforehand I pick up some comfy Christmas sweat pants and sweatshirts outfits for the kids. I wrap them up in a bag and printed out a special note... Then I let Zack (our Elf) do all the work. 

This particular year we had the grandparents over for dinner. After dinner we told the kids that we thought Zack was missing and he was supposed to bring a surprise for them. They searched the whole house and finally in the Laundry Room on top of the washer they found him!

They quickly put on their new comfy Christmas clothes and grabbed theirr "Christmas Express Tickets". One quick picture and then we all loaded in the car!

Our first stop is always starbucks to get our favorite Christmas drinks. Then to go look at lights. 

We even saw Santa and got some cookies.

CLICK HERE to print out your own "Christmas Express" Tickets from "Confessions of a Homeschooler"!

This year I plan on doing the same thing, except I also came across this "Scavenger Hunt" idea from "Macaroni Kid". Here is  a free printout. 

I thought this would be fun for my kiddos.

CLICK HERE to print out your scavenger list.

Make it fun and special! They are only little once.

Turkey Cinnamon Rolls

Here's another Tradition that started in our Family a couple of years ago...

Turkey Cinnamon Rolls:

This cute idea came from "Life as Mom"

Here's what you do (Thanks to "Life as Mom"):

You’ll need 1 cinnamon roll and 1 1/2 large biscuits for each kid. I use the refrigerated kind ’cause it’s easier with lots of little helpers. Cut the 1/2 biscuit in half again. 1/4 is for the turkey face. Cut the other 1/4 into legs. Cut the full biscuit into feathers and let your child dip the feathers into colored sugar or sprinkles. Poke in chocolate chip or raisin eyes. (I don’t recommend red hots or M&Ms because they bleed and make the turkey look like he’s crying.) Bake according to package directions.

Here are our little turkeys. So cute and so fun!

And did I mention good? Gone like that!

Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey

{NO TURKEYS WERE ACTUALLY HARMED!}

A couple of years ago I came across this fun tradition that I found on the 247moms.com 

I knew that we had to incorporate it in as our new Thanksgiving family tradition. We've done it for a couple years now and it's still so much fun!

Ok are you ready to catch your first Thanksgiving Turkey??? {wink, wink}

Step 1: You need a Large Box and crayons. 

Let the kids get busy coloring.  This usually keeps them busy for a quite a while. You are welcome. =)

Step 2: Get some bait for the Turkey! 

This particular year all we had was red licorice. We were convinced though that the turkey had to like red licorice. I mean who doesn't?

Step 3: Print out this cute little poem from Craftysayings.com and read it before your little ones go to bed...CLICK HERE to print. And while your are there print off the little tags to add to the candy.

Now wait til morning....

(While the kiddos are sleeping...set up the "turkey staging".

I usually leave a path of feathers....

Make sure to leave some feathers under the box too and don't forget to leave the candy with one of the tags attached. These are so cute!

The next morning the kids wake so excited of the thought that there could be a turkey under the box! My daughter usually tells her brother "You look first!"

ah...no turkey but there's candy!

Traditions are important I believe and this is a fun one that we always  look back on and laugh. I hope this can be a new tradition for your family too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mesh Wreaths

Mesh Wreaths are everywhere! I attempted my first mesh wreath and I must say... not as difficult as it looks!

Materials Needed:

-Decor Mesh (NOTE...I originally only bought one roll of mesh as you can see in the picture below and ended up needing to go buy another thing of mesh and used 1/2 of the second roll to make mine fuller) 2 Rolls. Usually retails for $9.99 so use a coupon or visit Hobby Lobby this week. %50 off right now.

-Wire Wreath frame (This one was $1.99 at Beverly's Crafts on F Street)

-Pipe Cleaners (I used one to help hold in the beginning and then I used another at the end. I made a loop on the back to hang)

That's it...

Let's Get Started:

1. To get started...I cut long sections of the mesh to make it a little easier for weaving in and out. 
   
   
2. To secure my mesh when I started I used a pipe cleaner to hold. (You can see in the picture below) 
   
3. After that, it pretty much is all about weaving...in and out and making loops along the way.
   
4. There is not a right or wrong way. You will get the hang of it once you get started. But basically you are just making big loops. Twisting and weaving around the entire front of the wreath. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. When you are happy with the fullness and evenness on both sides you are done!

I chose to make a generic wreath that I could add decor to with the holidays but of course you create ones for all sorts of holidays and occasions, like the ones below. 

Back to School Scavenger Hunt

We have done this "Back to School Scavenger Hunt" for the past two years. Each year my kids get so excited and ask "Are we going to do the scavenger hunt again"? It's always the same hunt and for the same supplies but they love it. 

The night before school starts I make them their favorite dinner and then the scavenger hunt begins. It's all supplies to fill their backpacks =)

One of my favorite blogs, Happy Home Fairy is where all of these adorable printouts for the scavenger hunt came from!  Click HERE to print out your own.

Your kids will love it!

My favorite part is the message at the end....

Check out her website for tons of wonderful ideas and printouts!