Wild Lights 2011

For the past several winters we have made visiting the Wild Lights at The Living Desert (zoo and botanical gardens) a yearly tradition. To see the grounds, including its G scale model train all lit up with thousands of strands of lights can put just about anyone in the Christmas spirit. Throw in the opportunity to roast marshmallows, sip hot cocoa, visit Santa and listen to carolers and it adds up to a perfect evening of holiday fun.

Except this year, I realized on our drive down, I forgot the camera. To me, this was almost pure devastation. But I took a deep breath, shook it off and resolved not to let it ruin our fun. In fact, I decided it might be a good idea to take the night off and not be trying to capture every moment with the perfect picture.

We met our good friends Cruz and Tara for dinner at Outback before heading over and thankfully, they had their camera and well my phone DOES have a camera too. So all was not lost and you know what? I had the most fun I can remember from recent visits. I was relaxed and just taking it all in, reveling in the kids boundless energy and frequent giggling. It was a night that truly lived up to my expectations. And I can't ask for anything more.

Family in the tunnel of lights:



The kids in the tunnel:



A view of the lights along the walkway:



Example of one of the displays:



Jake riding the carosuel:



Jadyn on the carousel:



Playing on the hay castle/maze (Joe said he should have just bought a bunch of hay bales instead of a play structure for the yard):





Big smiles and rosy cheeks:



Riding the trackless train:

School Notes

1. Joe. He is done! He completed all his requirements for his bachelor's degree in Information Technology. Conferral will be in February. He has been working full-time and sometimes going to school full-time for longer than I can remember. I am so proud of all the work he has put into achieving this accomplishment.

2. Jake. After getting a low mark in reading at the beginning of the year because of his comprehension skills, he managed to raise his score and earn the Star Reading Award for the 1st trimester. This means he is reading at or above grade level. His teacher was very impressed at how much he improved in such a short amount of time. This has been a good lesson for me as a parent to make sure my kids are not only reading the words but understanding what they are reading. Jake is currently reading the Bad Kitty series to Jadyn and I at night and it has been hilarious. He actually begs to read extra chapters to see what is going to happen. Here he is with his award. Not the best picture but it does the job of capturing the moment I suppose:



As for holiday activities in class, not as much as they get older sadly but he did write a cute letter to Santa and make a beautiful poinsetta flower. They were going to be doing a reindeer craft and make reindeer sandwiches for their class holiday party today.

3. Jadyn - finally got her award for student of the month in academics for her achievement in reading. We will be heading to Carrow's for her free breakfast over the break.

Her kindy teacher is amazing and had tons of super cute holiday activities for the kids this week. On Tuesday, which is my regular day to volunteer, she had me help the kids decorate gingerbread cookies and she read them the story of the gingerbread man. Well, while the kids were at lunch, her teacher hid the decorated gingerbread cookies in another room and put up footprints and signs around the school. When the kids returned to class and saw the table empty, I had two students personally accuse ME of eating all 24 cookies, which was pretty funny. The class followed the footprints and read the signs, "No! No! I won't come back. I'd rather run than be your snack" until we eventually found them and brought them back to class to enjoy.



Today, they had a Polar Express breakfast and the kids were allowed to wear their PJs and bring their favorite stuffed animals and blankets to school. After eating, they all got to snuggle up and watch the movie with hot cocoa of course, ending the day before break with a literary exchange. Jadyn with some classmates. Apparently lady bug pillow pets are a HOT item right now:



Finally both kids got to pass out the snowman soup kits we made for all their classmates, especially fitting for Jadyn's class since they had just enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa in class.




So now the kids are out of school for 2 weeks. We have a lot planned for next week leading up to Christmas. I have so much spirit this year, I don't know who is more excited, me or the kids!

Giving

As a secular family, we celebrate Christmas as a cultural holiday. For me Christmas is a time when we really focus on spending quality time with family and friends, letting them know how much they mean to us and how grateful we are for all that we have in our lives. It also means reaching out to those that are less fortunate and giving to them as well, making the bleak days of winter a little brighter. It is also a time to celebrate the innocence of childhood, the magic and joy of a season that would otherwise be filled with cold dreary days and longer (and even colder) nights. It is a time to carry on traditions as well as make new ones, ones that will be carried on through the years and bring back fond memories.

I do not dismiss that Christmas is an important religious holiday to Christians. And to that end, I do explain that to my children and teach them about it. I want them to be exposed to all different religions, particularly Christianity since it is so prominent in our society. I want to be respectful of other beliefs and teach my kids to do the same. But I personally don't feel that celebrating Christmas in a secular fashion is disrespectful and if anyone disagrees with me, then I'm sorry but they are not being very respectful of my beliefs in return for the same courtesy.

But that was not the point of this post. The point was that the Advent calendar has done a remarkable job of keeping me accountable and as a family, we were able to do quite a few acts of service over the last few weeks and I hope that I taught my kids that the best part of Christmas is not the gifts Santa leaves for them but the ones that they can give to others, both those we know and also and maybe even more importantly, those we don't.

Last week we focused on those we don't know. We donated blankets and towels to the animal shelter to keep the dogs and cats warm during the winter, we picked out toys and dropped them off at the toy drive at the fire station, we left canned food out for the mail carrier to distribute to those in need and purchased more non-perishables to drop off at TLC's Stuff the Bus for local families who might not otherwise get to have a a nice dinner this holiday. Lastly, we treated ourselves to Starbucks and just because, we paid for the order of the person behind us.

This week we focused on those we do know. The kids helped me stuff, seal and affix labels for holiday cards, made crafty gifts and cards for their teachers, bus drivers and grandparents, helped put together "snowman soup" kits for all their classmates and picked out gifts for good friends. They also helped wrap gifts for family members and each picked out a Christmas/birthday gift for the dog. Next week we will finish things off with a day of baking, taking plates of goodies to some of the neighbors.

I am not writing about all this to give myself a pat on the back or brag about all the great things I did with my kids the last few weeks. In fact I am rather embarrassed. Because although I have thought about donating and volunteering and instilling that in the kids many times, it is quite rare for me to make a concerted effort to make it a regular part of our lives. Why should it only happen around the holidays?

I don't want to dismiss the things I have done because I do volunteer quite a bit of my time for the organizations my children are involved in - school, sports, ballet. And we do frequently donate items, money and when we can, time to the local animal shelter. But that is not good enough for me. Not anymore.

Because I think the greatest gift I have gotten this Christmas is a deeper understanding of the values that I want to teach my children, of the person I want to be. And while to some's disappointment that may include a further cemented decision to remain a secular family, I don't think anyone can be disappointed with my decision that I want to give more and teach my kids to do the same, not only at Christmas but all year long.

My Jewel

I was so good last spring, not posting any pictures of Jadyn in her ballet costume until after the recital. Well, this time around? I just can't find that kind of self-restraint. The recital is entitled "Jewels in Winter" and each performance is representing a different gem or jewel. Jadyn's class got amethyst, which just happens to be my birthstone and one of my very favorite colors, purple.

So here she is at her studio dress rehearsal last Thursday. We still have the stage dress rehearsal and photo shoot on Thursday and then the recital on Saturday. I was just thankful I remembered how to get her hair in a ballet bun!

A peek into life with a Scout Elf

Most of the antics that Jelfie has been up to are total rip-offs from Laura's Mommy Journal but since she got most of her ideas off the internet, she is just basically saving me the work of researching ideas. And, the kids have pretty much loved it. The first thing they do when they wake up is look for Jelfie.

I try to tie Jelfie's hiding spot each day with the note in the Advent calendar. Somedays, there is just not a way to do it and other days, it's easy-peasy.

Jelfie got caught playing Xbox and eating Cheez-its (note for the day was an extra 30 minutes of video game time after dinner):

Then there was the day the kids got 2011 Keepsake nutcrackers. Jelfie decided to snuggle under a blanket with them:

Jelfie also took a marshmallow bath and left the kids some color tablets for their bath that day (they shower during the week for time's sake but get to take a bath once on the weekends):

This was a day I couldn't think of anything related so Jelfie was playing with Jake's toy dinosaur and got a little scared:

And what appears to be an obligatory elf snow angel, this one with sugar. You have NO idea how hard it was to leave this mess in my kitchen overnight (just kidding, well a little anyway):

Then there was the day that we were watching the Niles kids and their youngest Sariah is only 2.5. Jadyn was afraid she wouldn't understand that she couldn't touch Jelfie or he would lose his magic so she asked Jelfie that night to hide somewhere he couldn't be reached. It was so cute listening to her talk to him and explain herself:

Today the kids are going to top/decorate their own ice cream sundaes and guess who was missing the North Pole and decided to hide in the freezer? Jelife of course!:

So we are enjoying having Jelfie around. Only 13 more days until Christmas! Can you believe it?

So why all this holiday cheer?

We sure have been cramming in an awful lot in a short amount of time and there is a reason for it.

The kids have winter break to include the week before and after Christmas. We usually have two weeks to enjoy the holiday and participate in plenty of winter activities. This year, however, is different.

Two days after Christmas I am going in for surgery. I won't go into details on my blog (anyone is free to email me privately for more information) but I will just say that it is gynecological in nature and does not involve anything life-threatening. It will require 6 weeks of recovery though and the first 2 weeks are going to require a lot of downtime on my part. We chose a time when the kids had the least amount on their schedule and both Joe and I would be slow at work, making it easier to take time off. I will only be in the hospital 1 or 2 days and then home to recuperate. While I am nervous, I am also eager to have it taken care of. I am also really bummed that I won't be able to walk or run for awhile and the running may take much longer to get back to.

So if you suddenly find me blogging. tweeting and facebooking less, you will know why. But I don't expect to be out of the loop for long. In the meantime, I am really making the most of Christmas and everything that comes with it because I don't think we will be doing much come New Year's Eve (not that we are huge party types anyway). Your thoughts are appreciated.

Kitty, its cold outside.

And apparently its pretty cold inside too.

You know its cold when your cat uses the tree skirt for a blanket and yes her body is underneath the tree skirt. She wedged her way in between buttons along the back closure:

Now that's more like it

Remember this? Jake's Fall school picture:

And remember how I had him retake it, you know on "make-up" day?

Well here is the second go around. Much more what I like to see. My handsome little man.

Getting into the holiday spirit

This weekend was jam-packed with activities geared toward the holiday spirit. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and went to the Home Depot Kids Workshop to make gifts for the grandparents.

We then drove to Upland to visit Grandpa and Grandma Funny Nose as I had a hair appointment (I have been getting my hair done by the same gal for as long as Joe and I have been together, 15 years now!). Finally, since we were nearby, we decided to check out the Winter Wonderland event at Bass Pro. We love going to Bass Pro anytime of year but the fact that they had a special area set up with holiday activities just gave us all the more reason.

And then we arrived at 4:30pm to be offered a pass to see Santa at 7 p.m.! Frankly there wasn't enough to see and do that was going to keep us busy for 2 1/2 hours but the kids were excited to check out some of the offerings and of course, they wanted to see Santa too. And so we made the best of it. We raced slot cars around a track, shot laser guns and soft foam archery, rode on a wildlife carousel, completed a coloring page, ate popcorn and cookies and browsed the entire store several times. I have some complaints about how things were run but it would seem petty to complain about a free event. Just don't count on us making it an annual thing. I do have to say, we got to see Santa 15 minutes earlier than our allotted time. We were in and out with our photo fairly quickly and the kids ultimately left happy.

We ended our long day with dinner at well else but Ruby's and called it a day.

Sunday was much more relaxed, in fact the kids never got out of their PJs but we still had plenty of holiday activities to accomplish. The kids painted their projects from the Home Depot. We discovered Jelfie in the kids bathroom where he had sweetly attempted to wrap a gingerbread kit with toilet paper and so later that day we decorated the gingerbread house, which has become a yearly tradition. The kids kept eating the "frost" as they called it. I don't know where their sweet tooth comes from (I say innocently as I divert my eyes and look away). I think the house gets better and better looking every year if I do say so myself.

Was the weekend perfect? Of course not. But it was filled with fun holiday activities and I know that in the end, that is what we will all remember.

Taking accountability to a new level

I mentioned that putting notes in the Advent calendar was going to keep me accountable for all the fun holiday activities I wanted to do with the kids and that was never more true than on Thursday, the very FIRST day of the calendar.

The kids had been asking for me to either buy ice cream at the store or take them for frozen yogurt quite a bit recently. I tried to explain to them that it wasn't really a regular cold-weather treat as it may have been during the warmer summer (and for us) fall months. So I got the brilliant idea to treat them to frozen yogurt as dessert on the first day of the Advent calendar.

What I didn't count on was that Thursday would be the exact day we would go from mild weather in the 60's to cold, windy and rainy weather - they were actually predicting the possibility of snow (we saw some flurries that day but nothing stuck). That night after dinner, I left it up to them and surprise, surprise - they still wanted to go out for frozen yogurt. So here they are enjoying their fro-yo in the freezing, rainy, windy weather while I ran into the Starbucks next store for a more normal winter treat - my new favorite holiday drink - a caramel brulee latte.

The next morning they found Jelfie in our candy basket, having eaten part of a peppermint patty.

This has turned out to be so much fun. They giggled, they talked to him about how funny he was and they were super extra careful not to touch him when it was time to get their own treat (to pack in their school lunches). While they were at school Jelfie moved to a more central location, inside Daddy's stocking. I am wondering for you Elf on the Shelf veterans what you do with your elf after the kids have seen his antics for the day? Do you keep him where he is or move him because we read the book and the kids know they can't touch him or he will lose his magic so I have to be careful that if I do move him, it is not in their presence.

I won't be posting pics of Jelfie's antics daily, maybe only the ones that are really clever (which means not many as I am not known to be clever, LOL!). Until then I remain, faithfully accountable.

The newest tradition

I have a lot of friends who have done the Elf on the Shelf over the last several years. I thought it was a cute idea but I just never did it. I can't pinpoint exactly why. I just didn't. But recently it has come to my attention that this special magical scout elf sent to help Santa keep tabs on all the naughty and nice things the kids do right before the holiday can be known to get into a bit of mischief himself. And that sold me as it seemed like something the kids would really get a kick out of.

So, Wednesday night, the last day in November, I read the accompanying book that comes with the Elf on the Shelf to the kids. They were super excited. We had some arguments over naming him - Jadyn wanted to name him Mr. Elf. Jake wanted to name him Mike. I pointed out that since all of our names started with J, maybe his should too and the next thing you know we had Jerfie Jelf the elf, although it has already been shortened to Jelfie.

When the kids woke up on Thursday morning, the first day of December, I thought they wouldn't know what to do first - look in the #1 door of the Advent calendar? Search for Jelfie? But no, instead they immediately started watching Daddy who had made it to some special level on Harry Potter Legos Years 5-7 for Xbox. So much for that.

But with a little prompting, they remembered what was special about this particular morning. They found their chocolate coins and note for the day in the calender and then found Jelfie chilling on the shelf above in front of the poinsettia. The first thing Jadyn said, "He looks like a toy!".


Leave it to Daddy to save the day explaining that Jelfie was like Buzz or Woody in Toy Story. He may look like a toy when we are around but he comes to life when no one is looking. This seemed to work. The rest of the morning both kids giggled on several occasions at the thought of being secretly watched by their own personal scout elf.

Jelfie also brought with him a letter from Santa. It explained that he had sent Jelfie to help him, that he was impressed and proud of the kids behavior so far this year, that he had sent a list of ideas for the notes in the calendar to help mom and dad out and to remind the kids that he would be bringing them exactly four presents this year - something they want, something they need, something they wear and something they read. The kids were quite intriqued that Santa had taken the time to write them a note reiterating what Mommy, Daddy and the Elf book had already been telling them.

So now for the next 24 days, Jelfie will be found each morning in a unique location, sometimes getting himself into mischief. Let the antics begin!

Holiday Traditions, Funny Nose Style

Every year as the kids get older we build on holiday family traditions. Of course the kids are going to be excited about Santa visiting and getting presents. This is only natural. But what I really want them to take away from the holiday season is that it is also about spending quality time with family and friends, doing things together that are unique to the season and giving to others, both those we know and love and also those less fortunate than us.

Last year I purchased a super cute gingerbread house Advent calendar.


I loved the concept of counting down to Christmas Day with little tokens and treats. The problem is the doors on this particular Advent calendar (and I think most for that matter) are so small, it is really hard to find things to fit in the tiny spaces. I scoured the internet for ideas and the best one I found was to leave little notes in the spaces. So, each day the kids will open the door to find a note. The note will include something fun and special we will do that day AND something that can also be fun and special but directly benefits someone other than themselves. The best thing about this is that most of the items are things we have done or were going to do anyway. This just keeps me super accountable. Here are some of the items so far. I still have about 6 days where I have to come up with something. I also managed to include a small candy, coin or sticker to include with each note.

Day 1: Help Mommy get holiday cards ready to go out (i.e. stuff envelopes, affix labels and stamps, seal closed). Going out for frozen yogurt dessert after dinner.

Day 2: Gather non-perishable items to leave out for our mail carrier Saturday morning to give to those in need. As a special treat, they get to sleep in Mom and Dad's bed that night.

Day 3: Going to Home Depot Workshop to make gifts for the grandparents. Afterward we are going to Bass Pro's Winter Wonderland.

Day 4: Drop off old blankets and towels to the animal shelter for the dogs and cats who will need them over the colder winter months. Later that day, we will make our yearly gingerbread house.

Other fun items include days where each child gets to choose a holiday movie for family movie night, their choice of board game on family game night, an extra half hour of video game time and their choice of holiday book at bedtime. I also have holiday crafts planned for two additional days and included outings like our annual visit to the Wild Lights at the zoo.

Other fun items benefiting others include baking cookies to give to the neighbors, making Snowman Soup to give out to classmates before the school break, making handmade cards for their teachers to give with their gifts, dropping off toys for the Toys for Tots drive, dropping off food for the TLC Christmas dinner program, dropping off items from the wish list for the local humane society (different from town animal shelter) and going to spend time and cuddle with the cats at the third animal shelter in our area.

Finally, around the halfway point of the calendar (I think I put it on the 10th), the kids' note will include a map to a small gift for each of them.

I think this is all going to be the start of a fun tradition. Tomorrow I am going to introduce you to another new tradition for us. His name is Jerfie Jelf the Elf, or Jelfie for short. You need only visit Laura's Mommy Journal to guess what this new tradition will be and while you are there, read her post about taking the stuff out of Christmas. Because although my words may not have been quite so eloquent, my goal is the same.

Really decking the halls

It has become tradition to spend the long 3 day weekend after Thanksgiving prepping the house for Christmas. Friday I took down all of the boxes and this is the one of the best parts of the whole experience, going through all of our decorations, sentimental mementos and crafts from years past, some things long forgotten since last year, and marveling over them as newly discovered treasures.

The first thing Jadyn wanted was for Jake to read her a Christmas themed book, which of course he obliged:

We then decided to introduce Kuma to the holidays by torturing him with reindeer antlers. Never fear however; that is as far as I will go when it comes to "dressing up" my pets for the holidays:

I spent most of Friday setting out all the indoor decorations. We usually leave the tree for last. It usually gets its' own special day. Looking at the blog from last year, I realized that I posted fall decorations but not any of my Christmas ones, except of course for our THREE trees, a tradition that will remain in effect this year.

Here is our mantel:

My favorite area to decorate, the entryway console table:

And the dining room:

And I know this may seem silly, to show you a picture of Kuma's kennel but this special stocking has been passed down to him from Utah, who received it as a gift from the vet staff after his first knee surgery:

Saturday we put both the kids trees up and that night our family tree while watching our favorite holiday movie, The Polar Express. It was a great way to start off the holiday season.

One of our family traditions is of course that the kids have their own trees with special ornaments. But we have some new traditions we are expanding on from last year and starting this year. But that will just have to wait for another post.

A week to give thanks for

We had a great Thanksgiving break. It's kind of hard to believe that it is already over and now it's going to be December! The kids are back to school for 3 more weeks and then it's Winter break. Before we know it, Christmas will be upon us. But before I jump ahead to holiday preparations, let me give Thanksgiving its deserved moment in the spotlight.

Last Monday we had a wonderful play date with the Davis family and the kids got to make foam glittery turkey crafts. Tuesday we had the Beyer family over for a visit and Rose helped me make the stuffing that was such a huge hit at last year's Thanksgiving dinner. Wednesday Joe and the kids made cookies to bring along. In between all that, we watched some movies, played some board games (we recently added the old classic Sorry to our collection) and video games. We borrowed Just Dance 3 and FINALLY there is a video game I love and can play with the kids and actually beat them. It's a hoot. One day I will bravely post a video of me and the kids dancing. I say brave because I feel like I should look much better dancing than I actually do. I mean I spent 2 years on dance team in high school. At any rate, it's a lot of fun.

Thanksgiving Thursday was a very pleasant day - filled with good food with lots of family and plenty to give thanks for. Here is the requisite family picture and another one of just the kids:

What I love about Thanksgiving is the focus on being thankful for what you have and last year I introduced the kids to the thankful tree. This year I challenged them to not only include items from last year but to try and think of other things to be thankful for that we may not have included last year. Some of the items on the tree included being alive, earth, friends, family, pets, nature, our home, a nice-sized yard to play in, Dad's job, our health along with the Xbox and Wii (guess who's contribution that was?)

The rest of the weekend was spent mostly preparing for the holidays - setting up the decorations and tree(s). But I will save the details of that for another post. We did take a break Saturday to go see Puss in Boots, which was good. I think Joe and the kids liked it more than I did but it was still a fun outing. I snapped this picture of the kids with the Chipmunks because yes, apparently they are coming out with yet another movie.

Thanksgiving break was a good combination of fun, relaxation and productivity. Now bring on Christmas. I am really looking forward to to it.