Annual Gingerbread House Party

While I can’t take credit for this gem of a party, I can give props to my friend Nicole for knowing how to organize! She “began” this tradition last year (I’m hoping it continues!) and I was looking forward to it this year since Cooper is slowly getting to an age where he will enjoy it for himself. Here he was last year…mommy attempted to decorate while holding little Cooper in her lap. =) Now, before I show you an even more enjoyable party pic from this year, let me explain some tips to hosting a successful gingerbread decorating party…

Tip #1: Cover the tables! Note that the tables have throw away plastic table cloths on them.

Tip #2: Provide a stable structure! There are 2 key elements to this part. One, provide a cardboard base for the house. We had cake rounds, but really, any sturdy cardboard surface will do. But it does need to be sturdy. I attended another one where we had paper plates. Yeah….didn’t cut it! The second element – pre-assemble the houses themselves! Bless Nicole’s foresight! She had the graham cracker houses assembled and dried, ready to decorate. No more tears or frustration while trying to hold the structure together while the icing stiffens, AND you have an antsy little decorator ready to slap on some candy.

Tip #3: Get your icing under control! Have plenty of icing on hand, and be sure it is at the correct consistency. If it’s too thick, it’s difficult to work with, if it’s too thin, the candy won’t stick. Nicole’s got a fantastic blend! Just add water or more powdered sugar to get it just right. Also, have it in a form that’s easy for the kids to work with. We had little sandwich bags with the frosting in them already. Just cut a corner and you’re ready to decorate!

Tip #4: Provide plenty of candy! And utilize your guests to do so! Each guest brought candy to share. Usually the host provides some gingerbread men to help adorn the houses. What’s a gingerbread house without a gingerbread man, right? Here’s a list of other fun candies to suggest:

• Peppermints
• Mini candy canes
• Gum drops
• Marshmallows (for those cute little snowmen!)
• Mini chocolate chips
• Mini M&M’s (they stick better than the regular size)
• Red hots/Hot tamales
• Hershey kisses
• Nilla wafers
• Cotton candy (smoke for a chimney perhaps?)
• Ice cream cones (to create Christmas trees)
• Pretzels
• Peach rings

Tip #5: Provide other snacks too! Little kiddos (and adults like myself without self control for that matter) on sugar highs do not make for a fun party. Having other healthy or varying snacks available MAY cut down on such a vast sugar intake. MAY I say…but it’s worth having around to help!

One final tip for attending with your child? Just let them eat candy!! I mean, obviously watch the amount, because they will make themselves sick, but let them partake more than normal. Can you blame their desire? Check out this series of pictures with my son’s temptation…

Picture #1: Say Cheese!

Picture #2: Beginning to eye the candy…

Picture #3: “Please mom, let me just have ONE more??”  Thanks Nicole for hosting a great party! What a success! Here are some remaining kids hanging out while we cleaned up…

Train Tables!

Oh toddler boys and their love for trains! Isn’t it funny how they just become obsessed with certain toys/genres? My son is absolutely in love with Thomas! Many mornings I will open his door to greet him and the first words out of his mouth will be, “Play trains with me?”

Anyhow, we were super lucky to inherit daddy’s old Brio train table, wooden trains and all. However, the only disappointing thing about this was that the Thomas trains would not fit through the tunnels or under the overhead tracks, creating toddler trauma! So, for Christmas, we decided to use all the old pieces of track, but design a new track that did fit the Thomas trains. The in-laws had very graciously purchased us some train table legs (otherwise, we would’ve crafted our own for much cheaper, but are blessed with fun Thomas table legs, which Cooper loves!).

After totaling up how many pieces of each type of track we had, I visited our local Hobby Town* to figure out a new track layout. (For example, I wrote down 15-small curved track, 10-4” straight track, etc.) The gal working there referred me to 3 different websites that helped tremendously! Squirrel Tracks, Wooden Tracks, and Wooden Railway Adventures.  They have sample layouts with an itemized list of all the track pieces needed to create it. While I didn’t stick exactly with one of their layouts, it gave me the basic idea to get me going. We started putting it together Dec. 17th. We couldn’t start too early, because Cooper plays with it all the time. Here’s what we started with after purchasing a new sheet of plywood and prying the track from the original wood sheet:From here, I traced the track design so we could paint the plywood. My adorable husband did the painting and shellacking, because he didn’t want his pregnant wife around the fumes. The shellacking I COMPLETELY agree with! Pee-yew! At first he mocked me for being such a perfectionist, but I explained, if we’re gonna do something, we might as well do it right!

He did, check it out: While this was cheaper than purchasing an entire set, train tracks and accessories are not cheap! We purchased the railroad crossing, the tunnel (which was worth every penny, Cooper is in love with it!), extra track pieces, and a new Thomas train (shown wrapped from Santa). It’s definitely a hit. So, my little “life lesson” from this? DIY people! Do It Yourself. So much cheaper and customizable (yes, it’s a real word, I checked). Also, we kept the leftover track pieces that Cooper uses to design his own layout on the carpet. The only thing we’re still deciding is whether or not to glue down the track layout above. We haven’t yet, and it’s still in tact. We’ll see when little Allie gets old enough to want to play. By then, Cooper may be over trains, though. *Hobby Town – By the way, this is a great place to visit now and again! Our local store has a train table and play area set up in the middle of the store. It’s a great place to go if your child is in need of a little distraction to help you get through the day. He loves it!

So long, Diaper Bag!

It’s been awhile since I have used my son’s diaper bag, and while I will be needing a new one come March, I’m pretty sure this one has served is purpose and is more than ready to retire. I didn’t think terribly long and hard about the purchase of a diaper bag, just knew I needed one. Thankfully, I found a good fit for me! I like to have lots of pockets and places to tuck different items, and this particular bag came with a changing pad (which I WILL be keeping), stroller attachments (also will keep) and a pacifier pod. I ended up keeping the following in my diaper bag almost all the time:

• Diapers/Wipes (Duh!)
• Burp cloths (my son went through many!)
• Change of clothes (for the occasional blow-out or really bad spit up)
• Pacifiers (again, multiples for when they fell to the floor)
• Scented bags (for those poopy diaps that may need to sit in the car until you find a trash can)
• Bottles (hence the milk stains along the sides of the bags, yum!)
• 1-2 cherished toys and/or books (see below)
• Snacks (Gerber puffs were always a favorite)
• Dining Mat
• Bibs

I'm going to be starting a group of posts called "Tricks of the Trade", this will be post #1! Hey, being an organized mommy with the right items on hand is definitely a trick of the trade, am I right?

Here are some specific items that we cherished. Now, they’re tucked away awaiting the arrival of baby Allison. How bizarre to think they will come in handy again so soon!
Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes:

Lamaze Freddie the Firefly:

Bright Starts Sunshine Carrier Toy Bar:

Jittery Jungle Pals:

Summer Infant Tiny Diner:

Nativity Ring & Run

Here are pdf images of the 12 poems/stories to accompany the nativity pieces to be delivered for the Nativity Ring & Run Tradition, posted on my blog here. Pdf was the easiest way I could figure to share them with you. Hope it works! Sorry it’s sooo long. Here goes, hope you enjoy the tradition as much as we did!:

Day #1: Mary

Day #2: Joseph

 Day #3: Angel

Day #4: Donkey

Day #5: Stable

Day #6: Camel

 Day #7: Lamb

Day #8: Shepherd

Day #9: Wiseman 1

Day #10: Wiseman 2

 Day #11: Wiseman 3

Day #12: Baby Jesus

Extra: Cow

12 Days of Christmas

My son is just getting old enough where I started contemplating family traditions this year for Christmas. I wanted something fun, but also something that tied in with what my husband and I believe Christmas is all about – the birth of Christ. I came across this fun idea at 2cleverblog.com:

Nativity Ring and Run

1. Purchase a 12-piece nativity (preferably one where Baby Jesus is separate – if you can’t find a 12 piece, get something close to that)

2. Choose a family/neighbor that you will anonymously deliver each piece to for the 12 nights before Christmas.

I was wavering on whether Cooper would understand this and/or enjoy doing it when I came across this adorable little nativity set at my local grocery store for only $7.99! I know it’s not the cutest in the world, but it’s also small, which is great for the people receiving it:I purchased 2 so I already have one ready to go for next year.  I found another blog that had the idea of attaching fun poems/stories to go with each nativity piece. So, I created my own. Some are a little lengthy, but they are so fun and really bring the story to life! Check them out here on another post on my blog.

I read the stories/poems with Cooper each night before we delivered the piece. He looked forward to it more than I would’ve imagined! Each night he was excited to try and sneak over to our neighbors. I let him choose between two neighbors across the street, knowing with such an early bedtime, we weren’t going to realistically travel far each night. NOTE: Sneaking with a 2 year old – NOT the easiest. I think we made it maybe 3 nights before we were unofficially discovered. Then, maybe on the 5th or 6th night, the 2nd grade girl opened the door as we were crossing the street! We hadn’t even made it to the door yet. I think their dog helped give us away. =) It was just as fun, though, as they anticipated our delivery each night. Another fun outcome of this tradition? Our neighbors are going to use the same nativity to pass on the tradition to someone else next year. They even kept all the poems/stories to deliver with them.

One final note…our nativity set only had 11 pieces, and the tradition called for 12 nights. So, we still delivered the story, but instead of a nativity piece, we delivered a plate of cookies. Who wouldn’t love that? ;)

I know Cooper will look forward to this tradition next year, now the trick will be to keep it a secret from the mysterious house! Here’s Cooper with the tiny package, ready to deliver to our neighbors:

Happy Traditions!

Christmas Sweater Christmas Party

I almost don’t even need to provide any words with this picture…and yet…I do! We attended a “Christmas sweater” party, much to my husband’s chagrin. I must say, I was quite proud of our finds! Let me break it down for you:

Ryan’s tie – mega sale at Kohl’s! AND…as much as he’d hate to admit it, he actually wears holiday ties to work. This particular one even sings. Cooper loved that!

Ryan’s sweater – this is where the “crafty” part comes in. They don’t so much make men’s holiday sweaters, so I bought a decent red sweater (which he may be able to wear again), and a super cheap, cute snowman placemat. I cut the placement into squares and used embroidery floss to sew them to the sweater. After the party, snip the floss and you’ve got a plain red sweater ready for wear! Glee!

My vest – good ‘ol Good Will!

My necklaces – hooray for retired kindergarten teachers! My neighbor’s mom had one of those adorable hand-painted reindeer and Santa wooden necklaces from her teaching days. And for an added touch? A blinky light up Christmas light necklace….ahhhh yeeeahhh..

Did we rock it or not?!