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? 

 

                    

fat butt friday: "feasting season"

wow, it's friday already? well, i ran once this week. once. ugh! i have been so tired this week. i actually have myself convinced i have a deficiency. like low iron or...low something. don't ask me why i feel like this, i just do. all i know is that i have felt more tired than i have felt in a long time. a different kind of tired. it's weird and hard to describe. but, i have managed to workout still, except once. yesterday was the first time in months that i did absolutely nothing to do with exercise...unless you want to call walking around target for about an hour and a half as exercise. to make up for it, i did get up this morning and workout first thing, which hasn't happened in a while.

 

as it gets closer to halloween, i start thinking about the "feasting season" ahead. it starts in october and ends january 1st for me. last year i had lost 10 lbs. by thanksgiving and gained it all back plus another 10 by the first of the year. within two months i had gained 20 lbs. wholly guacamole! it all started with the world's largest mexican dinner, just a couple days before thanksgiving. i allowed myself to over indulge never thinking it would get so out of hand.

this year i plan to go into the holiday season better prepared. i plan to sit down this week and create a plan for myself. sometimes i find it easier when i write down my goals. hopefully, i will be able to share my plan with you next week, but for now, check out this link HERE that I found about preparing yourself for the holidays.

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the paper mama's photo challenge - holiday colors

the first color i think of at christmas is red. no matter what other colors you have, i personally believe you have to have red.

hop on over to the paper mama and join the fun!

holiday lights bokeh

up until this past week or so, i had never really attempted to create the bokeh look in my photos. it has happened on accident, but never have i tried to do it on purpose.

life with my 3 boybarians is having a holiday bokeh party that i wanted to get in on so i collected a few of my favorite photos that i have taken in the last week to share if you missed them before.

to check out some other amazing photos or to link up to the party with some of your own photos, jump over to life with my 3 boybarians.

i also linked up at here:

Three Day Weekend

What a {wonderful} weekend!  

This Memorial Day weekend, we didn't go on a fantastic vacation or hang out at the pool, we simply enjoyed being near home.  Friday evening, we were able to enjoy dinner out with friends and the relaxation of only having the little monster with us.  {Thanks Grandma Darlin' and Poppy for keeping the kids!} Elijah got to spend some time with his best gal pal Gracie.

I know I am biased, but are they not the two cutest babies ever?

The best part is not only did we get one night, but two nights thanks to my parents.  What did we do with our time?  We made another baby that's what!  Baby number 7 is on the way!

I hope you didn't really believe that!

Actually, we moved furniture!  I got an idea and we went with it, and I love the new living room arrangement.  Yes seriously, that is what we did with our free time...sadly!

Although my cherries drive me INSANE on a daily basis, I missed them dearly and decided to plan some fun activities for them today.  What do my kids like most?  SWEETS!  And since it is rare that they get pure sugar, I didn't mind making these yummy snacks.  Adding a little fruit and a few sugar-free items should justify my reason for giving them THREE different things.

I went with a red, white and blue theme and these can easily be used for Independence Day as well.

White Chocolate Dipped Strawberries with Blueberries on Top

white chocolate (melt it down)

fresh strawberries (wash, dry, and dip in chocolate)

fresh blueberries (wash, dry, and place one on top)

place in freezer for one minute to set chocolate, then ENJOY!

 

Red, White, & Blue Marshmallows

 To make, dip one end of a marshmallow in water and sprinkle with blue colored sugar. Then, dip the other end in water and sprinkle with red sugar. Taste just like Peeps, but better!

Red, White, & Blue Jello

Red Jello (sugar-free), white whipped cream (sugar free), blue berries
 

Hope you had a great three-day weekend! 

Update:  The photo of my little Princess above is my entry into this week's theme "this week" over at Simplicity.  She really enjoyed helping mommy make delicious "Memorial Day Mallows" with me.

 

Be sure to check out all of the other photo submissions over at Simplicity.

Scary Movie Month & Giveaway

October is "Scary Movie Month" in our house. Tonight we are going to pop the popcorn and enjoy one of my kids favorite scary movies, 13 Ghosts. We want to know, what are some of your favorite scary movies? Leave a comment telling us about your Halloween plans, costume ideas and what some of your favorite scary movies are. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a GIVEAWAY for a $5 gift card to use at Blockbuster. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be announced November 1.

*be sure to leave your email address so that you can be notified if you are a winner.

Halloween Fun at The Museum of Life and Science

Check this out! This month at The Museum of Life and Science there are lots of exciting events to look forward to. Check out these events.

Halloween Village (Traveling Exhibit)
October 14, 2009 through November 1, 2009
Don't miss Wolfman Tim's Halloween Village. With a number of moving parts and a train running around part of the nearly 250-square-foot Village, this exhibit will delight children and adults with its intricate detail and whimsy.
Cost: Free with a Museum admission

Science Spooktacular with a
ChemMystery Show (Special Event)
Wednesday, October 28 & Thursday, October 29 | 7pm - 8:30pm
This after-hours spooky science event with Dr. Ken Lyle and his students is sure to be lively! See snakes, spiders and salamanders. Experiment with magic potions, make slime to take home and decorate color-changing treat bags.
Cost: $10 Museum members; $15 non-museum members
Pre-registration required: Call 919.220.5429 ext. 313

FEATURED EVENT

SPOOKY SATURDAY | OCTOBER 24
This fun-filled spooky day is one you don't want to miss!
10am - 4pm

Activities and Participants

• Deep Magic with Joshua Lozoff, well known magician and former actor for the hit TV series Cheers: Strolling show 11:30am–12:30pm; Stage performance 1pm-2pm
• Spooky Chemistry: Study the science of spider webs and explore candy chromatography, fluorescence and phosphorescence and slime.
• Storytelling with the Eno River Boys
• Vanished: Create your own invisible ink and write a secret message.
• Creep Cart: See the tarantula and other invertebrates up close.
• Masks: Design and create your own.
• Spiders, Frogs and other Feeding Frenzies: Watch large spiders, poison dart frogs, and other predators devour their favorite prey.
• MEMBERS ONLY: Feed Me! Learn more about the care and feeding of carnivorous plants.
• Help us fight hunger! Bring in a food item to the Museum between October 9 and October 31to help support the Food Bank of North Carolina's Backpack program. Visit the Food Bank of North Carolina to learn more about the program and to see a preferred food item list.
  

Be sure to check out their website for more information about upcoming events as well as directions if you have never visited the museum.

October is Here!

For everyone who truly knows me, you know that October is my absolute favorite month of the year. It is the first full month of Fall, the leaves begin to change on the trees, there's the N.C. State Fair, Hill Ridge Farms for hay rides, the corn maze, picking a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, and of course Halloween. In our house, we celebrate Halloween and the month of October with "Scary Movie Month". All month long we watch a variety of scary (and some not so scary, kid friendly spooky) movies and Halloween classics. Stay tuned as I talk more in depth about all of the fun things we do this month.

What is your favorite time of the year? Leave your comments about your favorite time of the year and what you do to celebrate.