Day 10 - Mistletoe

I grabbed some red and white "berry" flowers and a couple of rolls of cheap ribbon and viola! Instant mistletoe.

The kids loved it! We are a big kissy family so this is right up our alley. Each kid hung their mistletoe over their bedroom doors and we have one in the hallway and one in the kitchen. I like the subtle "kiss the cook" innuendo.


A cute little, sad story today. Ciara had to come home from school early cuz she was sick. She has a fever and just general ickiness. Shawn has been battling the same thing since Sunday night. So I was cuddling with CiCi and I asked her if daddy liked her mistletoe. She said "Yes, but he wouldn't kiss me because he's sick. So now that I am sick too I am going to kiss him all day long under the mistletoe."

PS - I am blogging via text message on my phone so I cannot choose the layout of the pictures. I'll try and go on soon to fix it but I may just leave it as is. I am struggling with pictures on blogger right now. I can't seem to ever get them how I want them anyways.

Day 8 and 9

I try to get on every day, but some days I just get too busy or too tired.  And since no one is counting on my posts to live, I might wait a couple of days before posting. 

Day 8 - Christmas Legos

We pulled out our Legos and made Christmas scenes.  We tried making reindeer and snowmen, even Santa Claus but it was a bit more difficult than we thought. 

We ended up making houses with Christmas trees and lights.  It was fun!


Day 9 - Christmas Wreaths

We made wreaths using our hands and construction paper!  It was a fun, easy activity!  We ended up putting the wreaths on the tree, but I think I am going to try to talk the kids into handing them on their bedroom doors.

Day 7 - Hot Apple Pie and Hot Apple Cider

It was pretty cold outside today so it was exciting to pull out today's activity!  We made apple pie and apple cider!

It was such a nice warm treat after dinner!

We were able to play some card games and enjoy our treats after dinner!

I love my family!

Why I will not participate in Elf on the Shelf

WARNING: May contain adult concepts not suitable for children.

I have tossed the idea around for a couple of years.  Do I let this Elf into my house to terrorize me and my children in the hopes that it'll keep them good?  The answer is a clear "no" every time I even try to consider it.

And here is why:

1) My kids are older, only Ciara still does not know that her Santa presents come from her parents, although this will be the last year for that as kids around her keep telling her that the Big Man is not real.  Makes me sad.  I try and let the kids in on the magic at 8, but it looks like it's going to be 6 for my CiCi girl.

Side Note:  I like to present Santa as the Spirit of Christmas.  I explain how he was a man who lived hundreds of years ago who gave toys to young kids and his spirit comes alive at Christmastime.  He is a feeling of joy and magic that lives in your heart.  If you carry that magic of Christmas with you, then he is very much real, even when you outgrow the fairytale part of Santa Claus, that magic is something that can stay with you forever. 

2) I cannot for the life of me figure out how an Elf who is supposed to be reporting to the Man in the Big Red Suit, if the children are well behaved gets away with doing so many naughty things!  He should be fired!  Mixed messages, Santa.  We have enough double standards in the world, let's not bring you into this as well.

3) Speaking of naughty things, I have a hard time picking up after my own kids messes, why would I want to pick up after Mr Jingles too?  Um, no thanks.  You made this mess, you clean it up!

4)  I love my sleep.  I have a hard enough time staying up at night to a reasonable hour before sending my kids to bed so that I can go to bed myself.  Once that time has come, I really don't want to have to stay up even later to "set up" Elfie (I am just going to call him random names throughout the post.  Hope you don't mind.) just so that I can clean up after him later.  Yay!  That sounds like so much fun for me.  Yeah, not so much.

5)  I naturally have a dirty little mind (I know, big surprise!)  Some of the things I would want to set up Buster doing would not be kid appropriate.  I think hiding him under Barbie's bed would be HILARIOUS!  I would have a hard time resisting those sorts of temptations.  And that just opens a whole big can of worms that I really don't want to open.  I must resist those sorts of temptations.

6)  I do a lot as it is.  I sometimes think that maybe I over do the whole Christmas thing.  I enjoy the season so much, I want to cram as much Christmassy things in as possible and it can ruin the fun. 

7)  It costs money.  You can spend upwards of thirty bucks for that stupid doll!  I know it would only be a one time investment and I have spent money on stupider (yes, I just said stupider and guess what?  Spell check didn't correct it!  Has it actually become a legitimate word?) things, but this time of year, every penny counts and I just don't think Peppermint Pants is worth it.

8)  And last but not least, Fruitcake is just a tad too creepy for me.  He has got this horror movie twinkle in his eye that just doesn't sit well with me.  And the thought of him looking after my children gives me the heebee jeebies.

So there you have it, 8 solid reasons why I will not allow Buddy the Elf on my shelf.

Day 6 - Chocolate Oranges

We interrupt your daily advent calendar to say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAILEE!".

Today's "poke" reveals that we are making Christmas Oranges.

We read the story of the Christmas Orange and made our own chocolate dipped oranges!

We peeled several mandarin oranges and dipped each section in melted semi sweet chocolate.

Mmmm mmm!

Again, I forgot to take pictures!  Darn it!  But trust me, they tasted delicious!

Day 5 - Snowmen

Okay, I am loving this advent countdown. We are having so much fun!

Each day the kids can't wait to "poke the hole" to find out what fun thing we are going to be doing. They get their homework done, everyone eats whatever I make happily, and chores are being done super fast and without any arguing!

Tonight's fun activity was making snowmen out of empty milk jugs. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do it but I did some dumpster diving in my recycle bin and found 3 empty milk jugs and an empty Clorox wipes container. So I washed everything up and we made our craft.

I used the Clorox container as an example to show them some ideas on what they could do and gave them a bunch of random supplies.

The outcomes couldn't have been cuter! I love how they each had a different idea on what they wanted to do and they all used different angles of the jugs for their faces!

I love them! I wish there was a way to save them after the season, I just don't know how to do that yet, but for now, I have 3 smiling snowmen faces in my living room!

Day 4 - Paper Snowflakes

Tonight we went with a classic!  Paper snowflakes!

This is a timeless activity that we all enjoy!  Each snowflake is a one of a kind that we will tape to our windows for the season.

I say will because I can't seem to find any tape!  So they will go up on the windows and doors tomorrow!

Found the tape!!

Day 3 - Popcorn Garland

Tonight we started what I hope is going to be a new Ewell tradition!  We made our first ever popcorn garland for our tree!

I made some plain popcorn the old fashioned way with a pot and some oil.  The kids LOVED that!  They thought it was so fun!

We then began the tedious task of threading the popcorn and dried cranberries on the string.  This was much more difficult than I had originally planned.  Ciara just couldn't do it.  She kept pricking herself and Justin kept unthreading his needle, but Katie and I got into a swing and was able to make 3 small garlands to hang on our tree.

We cheated a bit but not going all the way around the tree, but it looks like we did and that is all that matters.  LOL

Even though it was frustrating at times, it was a lot of fun and the kids really did enjoy it!  I am going to try using stale popcorn next year, I hear that helps, and get some bigger needles so the kids can handle them better, but overall, Day 3 was a success!!

Advent Calendar - Day 1 and 2

I get so sick of paying money (even just a buck or two) for those stupid chocolate advent calendars at the grocery store.  The chocolate tastes like poo!  But the kids love the countdown!  A few years ago when Katie was a baby I bought this WONDERFUL advent calendar that is actually a serious of small books that can be read each day and then hung on the tree like an ornament.  I love it!  The kids love it!  But it doesn't have chocolate!  So they still want those pooalicious stupid advent calendars!  Arg!!

So this year I thought of something new!  The idea was inspired by something I think I saw on Pintrest but I never pinned it! 

The original pinner had made a 12 days of Christmas for her sweetheart using poster board and cups that hung from the doorway.  Each cup was wrapped in paper to represent an ornament could be punched.  In each cup was a small surprise gift (hat, gloves, etc).  I thought it was a super cute idea and my brain went wild!

I decided to do a 24 day countdown and instead of gifts, I would include the necessary chocolate for each day and a note saying what we would do for that day!  24 days of Christmas memories!  Yay!!


Her tree was so much cuter, I struggled even finding poster board big enough for what I needed without spending an arm and a leg.  (I am already a couple of hands short of what I need, I can't afford to lose another one just for some silly poster board.)  So I went to the dollar store, picked up 3 pieces of foam board (a bit stronger than poster), taped them together and wrapped them with brown paper!  Viola!  A board big enough for what I need!

 Then came the task of actually drawing a tree, I just couldn't do it!  I even struggled drawing the basic shape of the star!  I ask you not too look too closely if you are ever in it's presence.  The star is almost shameful.  LOL 

So this is what I ended up with!  Not too bad, not the elegant, fun, whimsical tree that I had imagined, but it is a tree nonetheless!  Shawn built me an awesome stand so that it could be freestanding and a bit more sturdy!  I just love him!

Each night (after chores, homework, and dinner) the kids take turns poking the cups and pulling out their treats!

Day 1
Decorate the tree!

Woohoo!  They had been bugging me and bugging me for at least a week!  And if it hadn't been for this calendar, I would have gave in, but I needed to hold out so we could do this for Day 1!

I wish I would have taken pictures of us actually decorating, but I failed.  I did get a picture of the Annual Tying of the Children though.  An event that we look forward to every year.  Shawn uses a rope to secure the tree in it's box so he then uses the rope to tie up the children to each other after we are done decorating.  We do this again when it is time to take down the tree.  It is always loads of fun for Shawn and I.  And the kids are always excited until they are actually tied up.

Day 2
"Grab your coat, it's cold at night!  We are going to go see Christmas lights!"

Again, no pictures.  I will try to do better with that!!

We will do this a few times throughout the month.  It is one of our favorites!  We headed up to Christmas Lane (I swear it gets smaller every year I get older) and then throughout the neighborhoods just admiring the hung lights and decorations!  Thank you for everyone who decorates!  It makes us happy!!

NOTE: I found the pin for my inspiration!  Her tree is a LOT cuter than mine! 

Happy Birthday Justin!

Justin was the lucky boy that had a Saturday birthday this year!  And even more lucky than that, both Mom and Dad had time off work to spend it with him!  Woohoo!  The stars must have been aligned!

He started off with a birthday sleepover!  Nothing too big, but Aaron, Tyler and Hailee were able to spend the night.  The boys played Legos, Wii, and had a Nerf battle pretty much the whole night.

We started the morning with his pick of breakfast; bacon and eggs.  He would have requested bacon and bacon if I allowed him.  I threw in some French toast bade from left over Thanksgiving rolls to round out the meal. 

Justin request cake balls instead of a regular birthday cake.  Works for me!  Cheap and easy are always winners on my list!  They were delicious, but it isn't easy figuring out a way to make a birthday wish with a cake ball.  I opted for the one candle approach! 

We then headed out to Trafalga with the gang of kids!  I was going to send just Shawn to spend the day with the boys but he said we should all go and everyone had a Pass of All Passes (if you don't have one yet, get on the band wagon!  It's well worth it's money!) so it wouldn't cost anything extra.  So we loaded up both vehicles and went out to Lehi for the afternoon. 

Everyone had lots of fun running around, playing laser tag, a couple of rounds of mini golf (the outdoor was a lot more fun) and even rock climbed. 

I think Ciara's favorite is the silly frogger ride.  She rode that more than doing anything else.  Over and over and over and over and over again.  But hey, when it's free, go for it!

By the time we were leaving everyone was starving!  So a quick stop of McDonalds were they could run around some more and get some food in their bellies.  At least, I think it's food.  I've seen some of those videos on what a McNugget actually is so I am still debating on the whole "food" thing.

 Then it was time to drop everyone off.  It was an eventful day full of fun and everyone was pooped by the time we came home!

Happy birthday Justin!  I can't believe you are 10!  Double digits!  Ahhh!  They are killing me!

This cracked me up!  Grandpa Ewell gave him some $$ for his
birthday but decided to challenge him by taping it up!  This is
Justin trying to get the tape off without ruining the bills.  lol