Tis' The Season!

Last year we didn't deliver goodies to family and friends for Christmas. I blamed it on moving halfway across the country a few months prior, but I think it was really just laziness. So I decided this year I had better make up for last year and get something delivered to those nearby family and friends! This is what I came up with:

I absolutely love chocolate covered pretzels and they were surprisingly easy to make. The thing that took the longest was melting the chocolate, but once it was melted it was a quick process.

I had my daughter help out as well. This is how hers turned out (I think we'll just let her eat them!):

Christmas Countdown

We made a paper chain to countdown to Christmas. The days are written on one side of the chain and a fun activity is written on the other side. Like so:

Some of the activities are things we'll do as a family, others are things my daughter and I will do during the day. Some of them are family traditions as well. Here are a few of the things we'll be doing:

December 3rd - decorate tree
" 5th - make gingerbread houses
" 6th - make Christmas placemats
" 12th - sing carols as a family
" 14th - deliver goodies to family/friends
" 17th - buy presents for Daddy
" 19th - family movie night (watch a Christmas movie)
" 20th - go see the lights at Temple Square

What are some of your family traditions and how do you countdown to Christmas?

I'm In Love!

With this:

Today has been a rough day because I've thrown up about 7 times (yes, I'm pregnant). My sister-in-law was kind enough to bring me two grocery sacks of things she thought might help, and Fuze was one of those things. I just have to say, I love it! I have a hard time drinking liquids when I'm pregnant because water and sugar both make me sick. Fuze, however, has enough flavor that it's not water and only 1g of sugar, so it has been a great find for me. Pregnant or not, I think you'll like it!

Decorating Idea

I love doorways. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because a door is the first thing about a home that you see. Anyway, after I realized we were going to be moving quite a bit I decided that I want a picture of all the front doors of the homes we live in. Whether it's one home or ten I think it makes for a great decorating idea.

Here are two of my favorites (the same door) from all our moving!

Product Review

This is one of my new loves, Organic Cold Milled Flax. Here's why:

I feel like we eat pretty healthy. We eat whole wheat breads, cereals, etc. and other high fiber foods, we eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, but our daughter still has digestive issues every once in awhile. Normally, we are also pretty active. But unfortunately she gets it from her father and there are times she has to sit for long periods of time (which she did recently because we were looking for a new place to live) which makes it worse.

So we bought some flax at Costco and I have started adding it to anything I can (which is a lot of things). The great thing about it is that it is ground so fine and is tasteless that even though my daughter knows it's in her food, she doesn't care.

I think it's a great thing to have in any pantry, so buy some, try it, and see what you think!

Artwork

We are curious how you display your child's artwork. Send us a picture and we'll put post it!

Displaying Artwork

Our daughter, like most kids I'm sure, loves crafts and artwork. I wanted to display the things she had done without the clutter on the fridge (that and she liked to pull it all down anyway and even more than I hate a cluttered fridge I hate papers on the floor). So, I came up with this idea to display some of the things she's done.

It was simple to do. I bought and painted some clothes pins and found some cute buttons to glue on the front Then I glue gunned ribbon to the sides of the doors (I tested an inconspicuous spot first to make sure the paint wouldn't peel - ours didn't) and voila! Our boring old doors became a way to display our daughters artwork.

The Letter 'C'

I've started doing a day where our food and activities revolve around a letter. We've already done A and B and today we learned all about the letter C. Victoria spent the first part of the day at her cousins so we really didn't really start until lunch time.

We had this for lunch:

Chicken noodle soup
Cheese sandwich
Carrots
Ham (which doesn't start with C but she loves)
and Chocolate milk (which was especially exciting because she very rarely gets it).



we colored these:










we had this for a snack:

Chips
and Cranberries








we talked about all of the many wonderful things that start with C (like Canada, which is where we're going for Christmas and I'm very excited!)

and to end the day, we made these:

Chocolate cupcakes








All in all, our day learning about the letter C was great!

Chocolate Confetti

Growing up my favourite dessert was chocolate confetti. I don't know where the recipe or name comes from, but it is addicting (in a good way, right). Here is the recipe:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup chocolate chips

8 oz mini marshmallows

In a pot melt the butter and peanut butter. Add the chocolate chips and stir until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and add marshmallows. Stir gently until marshmallows are coated. Pour into a wax paper lined baking dish and then place in the freezer to set. Eat and enjoy!

The other night we doubled the recipe and added nuts in half. Mmm... it was just as addicting with nuts. We took it to share with family and I think everyone had at least two pieces (some of us had three).

This is quick and easy to make and kids (of all ages) love it!

Book Review

I love libraries! I think they are perfect for finding out what books you want to add to your collection. We checked Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose book out of the library not too long ago and our daughter wanted to read it before her nap, before bed and in between. She loved it! The illustrations are great and really add character to the nursery rhymes.

One day we were at a book store and I told her that if we could find an inexpensive book we could buy it for her. When we found this on sale for $2.50 we were both excited.

See Canada Up There By Costco?

I had a conversation with my grandma not too long ago about Lilly Gaskin, a 26-month old girl, who was on Oprah's World's Smartest Kids episode. My grandma was adamant that the girl was a genius. While I don't want to take away from how smart this little girl is (because no doubt she is), I think that given time, repetition, and creative parents, most kids are capable of such feats of memory.

Determined to prove my point I bought a state map and a country map and hung both on our kitchen wall.


Within minutes our daughter, who was 26 months at the time, could point to the state she was born in, the state we currently live in, and several surrounding states for each. Now she can say the names of the same states when we point at them. She also knows several countries (Canada, Mexico, China, Brazil, and Singapore) that are meaningful to us for one reason or another.

I have to admit that I haven't actively continued teaching her the rest of the states and countries. We have found other fun uses for the maps, we'll save that for another day... But, it did reinforce the idea to me that I should actively be involved in teaching my daughter the good things that I want her to learn. A little time, repetition, and creativity will help along the way.

So what is it you are teaching your kids? And how do you do it?

* The title of the post is the description our daughter gave one of her uncles when he asked her to show him where Canada was on the map.

Dinner

Yes, these are from our garden, and yes, I am excited. I have big plans for them. The tomato is for Grant because I'm not a big fan, but the rest of it is going to help make this for dinner. I add the jalapeno for a little extra kick and it is delicious!

Introduction

We are Grant and Kelly, a twenty-something married couple. We love to learn and travel, and we are passionate about all things pertaining to family. Our 2-year-old daughter has given us a new perspective on life and she really is our greatest accomplishment and joy.

We are committed to maintaining a website where all people, regardless of background, race, culture or circumstance can find inspiration and ideas to strengthen their families and their homes.