The Santa visit and other "things to do"

I started the month with good blogging intentions. I really did. And I got exactly this far:

That is day one of Walter's advent calendar. I filled each pouch with a Hershey's Kiss and a "thing to do." I was planning to post a few of our activities, but here it is, day 16...
The lack of posts is simply because I've been having fun doing rather than documenting. And we've been doing all sorts of good Christmas-y stuff. Making paper snowflakes, stringing popcorn, decorating cookies, shopping for gifts, making donations, looking at lights, and so much more. Day 14 was "Visit Santa." I couldn't let that one go undocumented. 


Walter made some verbal requests, then stopped to write it all down as well. Best to cover all the bases.


I know the holiday season is already full of "things to do," but we've really been enjoying having a little something each day to do together that puts us in the Christmas spirit. I hope you've been able to enjoy some holiday "things to do" as well. 

Halloween 2013

For a few years now I've made, or at least pieced together, Walter's Halloween costumes. And it's been a really fun thing to do. But when he told me he wanted to be Optimus Prime, I backed out of the costume-making business. Because, for starters, who/what is Optimus Prime???

It's a Transformer. I'm so out of touch. 

And secondly, once I figured out who (or is it what?) Optimus Prime is, there was no way I was attempting to create that costume. So we went shopping. Easy peasy. 

Here's Optimus. (We're on a first-name basis now.) 

He's smiling under that mask, I swear. 

It was a rainy night so Optimus wore his raincoat to go trick-or-treating. He's such a good little Transformer. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm a day late here, but really, is it ever too late to spread the love? We spent a quiet night at home, just me and the boys. I made chocolate-covered Oreos for my Oreo-loving Valentines. And I made them cute – for me. :)

And a little gift for me from the boys – Walter agreed to get his picture taken and Nate agreed to work the camera. Yay!

(I know, the art table behind us is messy, but we've been busy making valentines! There are paper hearts all over this place...)

A visit with Santa

Walter really wanted to go to the North Pole to see Santa, but he settled for the mall. He spoke so quietly, I'm not sure Santa could hear his requests. Good thing he wrote a letter as a backup.

Polite little cookie

It's amazing how a project like decorating Christmas cookies can turn our (sometimes) demanding, rude, loud, little boy into the sweetest, most polite little darling you can imagine.
"Can I use the red frosting, please, Mama?"
"Your reindeer is so cute!"
"Will you put sprinkles on this one, please?"
"I'm making this snowflake for you."
I love working in the kitchen with Walter. It's a good place to be.

Ahoy, Matey!

And Happy Halloween!

Happy Easter!

(Thanks for the wind-up toys, Gramma and Grampa!)

Color, naturally

We did a little kitchen experimenting and cooked up some natural egg dyes. We used supplies we had on hand – beets, turmeric, yellow onion skins, and frozen blackberries.



I'm really impressed with the rich orange and yellow, but I was hoping for a brighter result from the beets. Those things stain my hands in an instant – why not eggs? The berries gave us a dingy gray. Blah. But overall, a fun little experiment. 

A google search for natural egg dyes will get you tons of recipes, but I found the best variety on this site.

My Valentines

Oh, these boys! Nothing is cuter than having your 3-year-old bring you a handmade card and a bouquet of flowers at work. Nicely done, fellas! In return, I cooked them up a big steak dinner and we ate by candlelight. A little party in our kitchen, with heart-shaped cookies for dessert. Best Valentine's Day ever!

(Me and my little Valentine.)

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

'Tis the season

We had ourselves a little tree-trimming party tonight. Treats and Christmas music set the mood. We missed out on decorating last year because of the move, so it was extra fun to get all the ornaments out this year. And Walter was a big help. I love that he's old enough to really participate now. It's going to be a fun Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

Oh yes. He's an engineer (or "train driver" if you ask him.) Did we expect anything else from this train-loving boy?


We aren't exactly in a good trick-or-treat sort of neighborhood out here, so we borrowed the Lee family's 'hood for the night. The kids had fun until their buckets got too heavy to carry and we had to call it a night. 

Can you believe in that big pile of candy, there was not one Swedish Fish? Good thing my sister bought the good stuff and I could fill my pockets before heading home. 
Head over to Flickr for a few more photos including cousins in costumes. 

The new family photographer

Walter wanted to carve the pumpkin. Nate was nowhere to be found. This exciting event just HAD to be photographed, obviously. But what to do? Hand the sharp knife over to Walter so I could take photos? Of course not. I found our old point and shoot camera and put Walter to work. I snapped a few before my hands got messy, but Walter gets the credit for telling the photographic story of our 2011 pumpkin carving.





And I had to include us taking photos of us taking photos. :)

The pumpkin patch

We had a long day of driving, watching Nate run the Prairie State Half Marathon, and driving some more. So we were super excited to come home to an invite to the pumpkin patch with the Lee family. Walter needed some time to run around outside after that long car ride. And his cousins wore him out! 







(Nate finished the half in 1:48! Click here for race results and photos. I had to sit this one out, but my ankles are feeling a LOT better and I hope to be back at it soon.)

Easter bunnies

Lookie what we found hiding in our daylilies this morning!

Cute little baby bunnies! (Cute until they get into my garden, that is.)
Here are a few more shots from the morning. Happy Easter, everyone!