Advent String

I wanted to create an Advent calendar with the kids, and have been tossing around ideas and checking them out on pinterest.

But I've been getting more and more persnickity (is that a word, or is it just my Mom's word?) about what I wanted.  

Here's the criteria:

* inexpensive

* the kids can make it

* it can hang in our dining room and not be too gaudy

* its fun

* it makes us mindful each day of Jesus and his birth

* no crappy trinkets and daily prizes (I'll save that soapbox for another day.  You're welcome.)

So here's what we came up with yesterday afternoon....

(For TWO DOLLARS!!)

 

Eva wrote all the numbers - correctly and in the correct order.  I didn't know she could do that!

I asked the kids to think of things we could do that would honor who Jesus was and what he taught us...Eva first suggested we could give someone a centipede. Um....(I think she may have thought that would bring someone great joy?!)  Then after I tried to focus her a bit more on reality, she suggested we give someone a boat ride.  Um...More talking about how we don't have a boat and the water around here will freeze soon.

Creating it ended up being a great exercise in understanding my kids and their view of Jesus.

They suggested that we are kind even when its hard, 

that we drink 5 glasses of water a day to take care of our bodies, 

that we pray for children without families,

that we read a Christmas story to cousin Malachi...

I've learned more about being a Jesus-follower already, and the countdown hasn't even started yet.

Thank you, my kiddos!

Da-na-na-na

After a brief hiatus, nightly dance parties are back.

Thank you, Pink and Adele, for making our evenings even more fun, 

and letting us all burn some steam before bedtime.

She steals the show with her jump-dance moves every time.

He plays a mean guitar.

And thank goodness for our tuba player to complete the set!

Chili

Ah.....chili season.

I've never tasted this (because it has beef...gross), but it always gets very rave reviews.  

And a good pot of chili is harder to come by than you might think.

Brown:

1 lb. ground beef and 1 small chopped onion

Stir in:

2 cans of chili beans

1 can of red beans

1 can of black beans

3 cans of diced tomatoes with garlic and oregano

1 cup of corn

2 potatoes with skins on, cubed

half of a red pepper

half of a green pepper

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. garlic

1 tsp. oregano

Simmer for anywhere from an hour to 5 hours.

Your chili will taste best if you find one of these little cuties to help you...

Cabin therapy

Just got home from a truly great time at the cabin near Breckenridge with the cousins.  We are all still in our pjs and trying to get unpacked.  Trying is the key word there.

Laying low at the cabin was exactly the therapy I needed...

a hot tub
snow
cousins to keep the kiddos occupied
a black light dance party
mustaches
Mixmaster Clay
bacon instead of turkey, and black olives out of the can for dinner...

More pics to come, but here's a few to get us started:

Apparently, eating snow runs in the family.

Sage McCage's first glimpse of snow.  She's a fan even though she doesn't show it!

This IS Mo-Vember, isn't it!?

Can't do a post without food pics, it seems.  This salsa is amazing...

Toss together: 1 mango, 1 small red onion, a bunch of cilantro, and 2 squeezed limes.

Our parents used to take pics of us like this.  

Can you believe we were in a cabin together for 3 days and there wasn't a single tantrum thrown?!  

They really do love each other! (And there may or may not have been plenty of bribing with candy, movies, and hot tub trips.)

River brought us home safely with frequent check-ins on his plastic radio.  

I'm thankful.  

Really really thankful for the chance to get away for a few days!

peace

"Peace...
It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."

Ryan is gone to Chicago for 5 days.  Around here, there is trouble.  There is hard work.  And let me tell you, there is noise.  But so far, there is a reasonable level of peace.  The kids seem to feel calm.  I can tell that Eva is trying her hardest to not start fights with River, despite his pestering.  Sage is well again.  

Ryan is having an incredible time.  He visited a school in the "hood" of Chicago, similar to where he teaches, and says its like he found the Acropolis.  He set this whole trip up for himself and a few other teachers.  After years of soul-searching and job-searching for just the right fit, I can't describe what it does for my soul to see him so happy and effective.

Perhaps the peace on the homefront is because we ate every last bit of the left-over Halloween candy in one sitting.  Or maybe its because JoJo and Tiffany helped the last two nights with bedtime.  Or maybe its because I'm going on day #3 in the same pair of yoga pants.  (I wash them every night, I swear it!)

No, I bet its because in only 5 days we are headed to the cabin in Breckenridge with some of my favorite rockstars.  Yes, I do believe that's it!!

Peace - to you and yours!

Three

The big man is three.  

We had a low-key birthday celebration.  Per his request, everything was orange.  Everything.  

carrots, mac n cheese, jello, and oranges

I was just going to do orange cupcakes.  But then a few hours before the party, I wondered if maybe cupcakes are too girly for a boy?  Seriously...are they?  What is the coolness factor on boy cupcakes?  Bettycrocker.com saved the day with this turtle idea.  

May it hereby be proclaimed:  

Any cake for my children's birthdays from here on out will be made out of cupcakes.  It is the easiest thing ever.  This took me maybe 15 minutes.  Its a tradition for us to have cupcakes for family birthday celebrations.  Now we can have our cake and eat it too.

The middle finger no longer stands alone.

JoJo and River made these using coffee filters and paint in bingo bottles.  I think they're fantastic!  So festive.  So easy.  And such a cool way for River to decorate for his own party.

I can believe that he's three.  It doesn't feel like he was just born yesterday.  

Time hasn't flown by.

It seems that life is moving at just the right pace for us.  

It makes sense in my soul that he's three.

I've spent nearly 24/7 of his life with him.  It seems that each milestone...crawling, eating with a fork, saying his name, asking to be excused from the table, moving to a big boy bed, catching a ball, riding a trike...has all come easily for him and in his own time.  

Buzz, when you turned three, you licked icing from a bowl in your birthday suit.  

There will be years where you are more restrained.  More self-consious.  

But may you always be as big and free in your soul as this moment!

winner winner

The winner of the dry erase board is Vanessa.  

Because she was the most enthusiastic!  

You didn't really think I would do something as lame as a random drawing, did you?

I'll get it to you soon, Vanessa!

Absolutely everything in our garden is dead...

not quiet true...

one thing is still alive and vibrant and stretching to the sun and just plain gorgeous.

.............

Of course its Sage.

Reason #5 I love fall!!!

Dry Erase

I am suddenly madly in love with dry erase boards.

I think there are multiple reasons...
You can change your mind about what they should say as many times in a day as you want.  You can wipe them clean and start again when you mess up.  You can be sloppy or super neat.  Really, they are a pretty poetic metaphor for what would be the ideal life.  Oh, and I miiiiiiight like the way the markers smell.

***********SPOILER ALERT*******************
If you think you might be getting a Christmas gift from me and you don't want to know what it is, stop reading this.  I have no problem with you knowing ahead of time.  In fact, I took Mom upstairs and gave her a grand tour of the gifts I've already made for this season because I couldn't help myself.  I can keep other people's secrets, I promise.  But am totally and completely incapable of keeping my own.

So you've been warned.

I've made 17 dry erase boards....for countdowns, quote collections, menu planning, listing, just whatever.  Some are tiny and some are huge (kind of like...well, nevermind).  I'm addicted.  And only 45 bucks spent on frames, paper, spray paint, and flowers.  (Thanks to PlaneJaneDesigns for the felt flowers!)

 

My Rockstar friend SJP does give-aways on her blog.  

And I've always wanted to be as cool as her.  So what the heck, let's try it...

Post a comment and you just could be the lucky winner of one!  

Contest closes Monday.

Ooooooooh...this should be fun!

Three

I didn't teach him to do this.  I swear it.

He is quite proud of his new trick though.

He's turning THREE in 2 days.  

I watched him yesterday and wondered what he will remember about his first 3 years of life. 

Will he remember the roadtrips we took?Or maybe our camping   trips?  Will he remember the Winfield tornado we survived?  Or when we dedicated him to God and the church?  That his favorite joke was a nonsense one about a chicken?  Or that he had dirt cake on his 2nd birthday?  Or when Sage was born?

I hope he will remember that he was cuddled often.  That he frequently cracks us all up.  That he is so deeply loved and respected.

Here's his joke for you...

Knock knock.

(Who's there?)

Chicken.

(Chicken who?)

Knock knock a chicken bop.

Pizza and Patient(ce!)

Happy Friday!  

We always have pizza either Friday or Saturday night.  

(Well, except the weekend came early last night...for more than one reason.)

Here's our two favorite recipes in case you're in the mood:

Pizza Dough (courtesy of Cindy Williams):

1 Tbsp. yeast
3 c. flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. Italian spice (or a few dashes each of oregano, garlic, and parsley)
1/2 tsp. salt
Combine.  Add:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. salad oil
1 c. warm water
Mix well and knead.  Let rise for an hour-ish and then flatten into dough.  Bake your pizza for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.  We use it for any pizza...usually veggie or taco.  Makes great breadsticks too.

Easy crispy thin crust pizzas:

Spread pesto on a whole wheat tortilla (see my pesto recipe).
Top with feta, dried roasted tomatoes, Mediterranean olives, or really pretty much any topping you have handy.
Bake it on a greased cookie sheet for 8 minutes at 425 degrees.
Pair it with a cheap bottle of red wine (try Naked merlot).
Good night guaranteed.

And as I have eluded before, the Chachi Band is exasperating me to no end lately. 

 She is precocious, smart, funny, dramatic, and basically just plain brilliant.  

But she has not been blessed with the gift of patience.  

She is perhaps the least patient 6 year old I know. 

 So it was my own private joke that she dressed up as a "Patient" for Halloween.  

Thank you, Auntie Lisa for the green eyelashes.
No Halloween is complete without fake eyelashes.

She's seen me as a patient in the hospital 3 times, and I think it holds a certain charm for her.

I just have to say that the gaping gown added the most authentic touch.  

And my joy at seeing her pretend to be "a patient" and "patient" was quite equal.

And Si Fry.....well, this kid is just so darn cool.  He assembled this costume all by himself.

I'm sticking this picture on my wall to remind me of the joy of authentically clowning around.

Happy Weekend To You and Yours!