Christmas Advent 2013

It's that time of year again! I can not even believe how incredibly fast this year has gone by. I love Christmas and this time of year the most for all the fun family activities we get to do together. I am not big on gift giving and receiving and this year we will be focusing on it even less. I want to end this year with a pile of memories, not a pile of stuff. 

 

Countdown to Christmas - Advent Calendar Activities

 

 

December 1: Letters to Santa

December 2: Make and hang paper snowflakes

December 3: Make a birdseed wreath

December 4: Dance to Christmas music

December 5: Watch the original version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and drink apple cider

December 6: Read The "J" is for Jesus and eat candy canes

December 7: Make cards for our holiday friends

December 8: Make salt dough ornaments

December 9: Make snow globes

December 10: Watch Elf and eat Christmas popcorn

December 11: Make chalkboard ornaments

December 12: Make tin can luminaries

December 13: Family ornament shopping trip

December 14: Wake Forest Christmas Parade with hot cocoa

December 15: Visit Santa

December 16: Make cinnamon ornaments

December 17: Watch The Polar Express and drink egg nog

December 18: Make chocolate peppermint fudge

December 19: Make a gingerbread house

December 20: Dress up in pajamas and drive around to see Christmas lights

December 21: Open Christmas cards

December 22: S'mores on the firepit

December 23: Make reindeer food

December 24: Bake cookies for Santa

December 25: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

 

Be on the lookout for a few upcoming posts that relate to some of the activities we will be doing.

 

Do you do an advent calendar with your family? What are some of the activities you include? 

 

                    

Flashback Friday: If Elijah Were a Girl

 

I have pretty much always thought that Elijah looked just like his big brother Jacob from the very moment he was born. As you all know, Jacob is my step son, whom I love dearly, but unfortunately the only blood relation between us lies within his little brother, Elijah. My dad handed me a stack of pictures, he had gotten from my grandfather who passed last year, and this photo of me on the left was among them. I was a little tickled to finally get to the see the side of Elijah that looks like me.

What do you think?

                    

Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family to Yours!

And for those who have been anticipating the Christmas card of Jason and I this year, here it is.

I look so much like my mother right here it is scary! 

                    

Sartorial Kid | Preparing for Thanksgiving

Last weekend Phoenix watched me get ready for my photos with Jason, deeply interested in the way I was curling my hair. I will be honest with you and tell you that I had no idea what I was doing. I have curled my hair maybe 10 times in my life and a few of those times ended in disaster because I made the mistake of trying to brush it out. We all know that that just leads to one big frizzy mess.

Phoenix is much like me when it comes to fashion and I never would have thought that she would be interested in having her hair curled, but this morning when we were talking about what we will wear to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving, she told me she wanted me to curl her hair. I immediately told her to go pick out what she was going to wear and then we would practice ahead of time since I'm an amateur when it comes to one of the most important womanly skills ever... hair doing!

 

Sweater: Old Navy, $15
Jeans: Kohl's, $12
Shoes: Target, $10
Bracelets: Crazy Looms


Don't let these pictures of my beautiful girl fool you! It is cold and rainy in our neck of the woods, and other than planning out our Thanksgiving attire, we have spent the day under warm blankets, watching holiday movies, and drinking hot chocolate.


linking up with Holly for Sartorial Kid Wednesday. 

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE BARN OWL PRIMITIVES GIVEAWAY GOING ON NOW!

 

                    

Come In We're Awesome! A Barn Owl Primitives Review and Giveaway

This year has definitely been one of change for me. I started the year off losing weight, I took a slight blogging break to reassess what I wanted out of this space, we purchased new furniture and made some decor changes, and I even started adding pieces that were more personal to our home. Things that reflect who we are as a family.

 

One thing we recently added was a piece from Barn Owl Primitives. I had been wanting a piece from this amazing company for quite some time, so when I had the opportunity to get one, I never realized how difficult it would be to decide which piece to get. I know I went back and forth with my decision for several days before finally deciding on the Come In We're Awesome/Sorry We're Closed Distressed Sign. It was actually a sign I overlooked each time I browsed through.

We are a pretty silly family and we use a lot of humor get us through each day, especially those tough times. I often joke that we would make a pretty great reality TV series. After looking through the signs one last time, I came across the Come In We're Awesome sign and knew immediately that it was the one we should have. Shockingly, we have had no company since it showed up and I sat it near our front door, but every afternoon as my girls come in from off the bus, they say "Come In We're Awesome!" as they walk through the door.

I am so happy with the choice I made and for years to come I will look at that sign and remember these days as they walk through the door at the end of each day. I am so impressed with these signs. I have made my own signs and they just don't even come close to the quality of a Barn Owl sign and I am confident they will stand the test of time.


Excitingly enough, Barn Owl Primitives has so kindly offered to giveaway $50 to use toward anything in their shop.


Some of my other choices while shopping were the Creativity Take Courage sign, The Vintage Style Reindeer Names sign, and the Trust in the Lord Word Art Sign. I also loved this Ice Hockey Typography Sign because we are big hockey fans. There are so many wonderful choices that you could spend that $50 on, so be sure to enter below!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was given $50 to spend at Barn Owl Primitives in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced in any way. Six Cherries on Top Disclaimer/Terms of use


                    

Healthy Autumn Harvest Pear Parfait

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Post Pebbles, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PostWalgreens http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

 

Hands down, my step Mom is the best cook ever. I always look forward to the holidays because I get to over indulge in all of the wonderful food she prepares. And growing up, weekends with my Dad meant waking up to the smell of something amazing cooking up. However, not every day had her slaving away in the kitchen, but that didn't mean the meals she prepared wouldn't still be delicious and made with love.

Some mornings instead of just throwing a toaster pastry on a napkin or shoving a doughnut down my throat, she did everything she could to make sure I still had something yummy to wake up to. One of my favorite simple breakfasts was when she filled a bowl with Post Grape Nuts Cereal, a can of drained peaches or pears, a little bit of sugar, and then poured milk over it. It was seriously so good!

 

As I have gotten older, I have tweaked that childhood favorite and recently introduced it to my children. They enjoyed it so much, they licked the bowl and begged for more, and as a Mom, I felt great knowing that my kids were eating something healthy.


Healthy Autumn Harvest Pear Parfait
 

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You will need:

• Post Grape Nuts Cereal
• Greek Yogurt (either plain, vanilla, or pear flavor for this recipe)
• Fresh pears (diced)

Layer yogurt, Grape Nuts, and pears to the top of a glass or bowl, ending with the pears on top.

That's it! Enjoy!

Honestly, my step Mom probably still doesn't know that that simple breakfast she occasionally prepared would be such a big hit with me and that here I am, 30 years later, preparing my own version of it. It's kind of amazing how big of an impact even the little things can have on us, and how important it is for me to create these kinds of memories for my own children.

But this recipe, if you even want to call it that, is so simple and not just for kids, and even on the busiest mornings, you can still enjoy a healthy breakfast. But why stop there? It makes a great snack too!


Guess what? Right now, Walgreens has a fabulous in-store discount on Post cereals. Each cereal is just 1.99 and available for a limited time only.