Happy Easter!!!

Malachi and I have been enjoying the Easter Holy Week. I wanted to be a bit more intentional about talking about the Easter story with him this year and it just happened to be half days all week at school, so it was the perfect opportunity to do some Easter projects.

On Monday we made Restoration Eggs. This is something I just happened to come across on Pinterest and thought it would be a great way to remind us to talk about the Easter story each day. You are supposed to start 12 days before Easter, but since we just made them the Monday before, we've been doubling up and doing two eggs each day.

The idea behind the eggs is that each of the 12 eggs is filled with a symbol from an event of Holy Week. Each day we open an egg (or two) and then talk about that symbol and read a passage from our Bible.

Malachi helped me collect all the symbols for the eggs and then we have been enjoying reading all the passages each day. I think it has given him a better understanding of the sacrifice Jesus made for us at Easter.

(We used a couple examples from different people on Pinterest, but here was one of the examples we pulled from.)

We've also made several trips to the library this week for some good Easter reading. Some fun and some religious. I really enjoyed The Story of Easter by Aileen Fisher which explains how our current Easter has come from a combination of old Spring Festival holidays and the Christian story of Jesus.

We also really enjoyed The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt and a book I bought off Amazon Benjamin's Box by Melody Carlson which ties in with our restoration eggs.

Of course, Zach has enjoyed Max's Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells and A Tale of Easter by Tasha Tudor.

We also decorated Easter eggs this week... because that's the thing Malachi wanted to do the most obviously. He also had apparently forgotten how good egg salad sandwiches are and so I had to re-introduce that to him. =)

And our final project of the week was making Resurrection Rolls. This is something I've seen around for a few years and keep meaning to do with the boys... but... I just never do. Oops. So I made sure I did it this year.

Crescent rolls (the tomb), marshmallows (Jesus' body), spices and butter (oil and spices) all wrapped up in a cocoon and baked for 12 minutes (3 days) was a great illustration for the resurrection when they came up hollow inside... and really yummy too!
(Here is a link to the recipe we used for our Resurrection Rolls)

I hope your week was great and you and your family have a wonderful Easter celebrating Jesus' resurrection tomorrow. =)

Merry Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas with our families. Busy, of course. But good. 

The weekend before Christmas we spent with my in-laws. Malachi loves it because he can have a sleepover in the living room with his teenage cousins and spend the whole weekend playing with them. I like it because that means I don't have to drive there on the actual holiday. Win-win.

On Christmas Eve we did our traditional Christmas Eve service at church. That is always an interesting service because all the kids are in there. Mine almost don't know what to do with themselves - whether to be awed or frustrated.

Then we come home to dinner and our Christmas Eve tradition of new jammies, eggnogg and hot cocoa and watching The Polar Express. This was Zachary's first year staying up with us to watch the movie and he was so cute! He loved it! Here was a picture I tried to take of the two boys enthralled with the movie.....

Only to be given this look which says to me, "Mom! Why are you disturbing my first viewing EVER of this train movie??" LOL

Christmas day was spent opening our gifts at home, assembling lots of toys (why do they make things SO HARD to get out of the packaging??) and then heading over to my parents for opening more gifts and Christmas dinner! My mom very nicely didn't get the boys gifts needing assembly - unless you count Legos. We had enough of those at home already. =)

So now the toys are scattered everywhere, Zouff the Elf has returned to the North Pole, we have WAY too much candy in the house and I'm trying not to think about taking everything down next week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas is Coming!

It is the first week of December and I'm finally packing up my Fall decorations and dragging out the Christmas ones. I always find this a very exciting process.... I'm not sure why! Obviously I know everything I have, but it's always fun to dust off the items and start deciding where I'm going to put them this year!

I had a bit of excitement the night before December 1st. I have my Elf on the Shelf calendar prepped with most of the days already planned out. I was having Zouff, our elf, deliver the new Lego Advent Calendar to Malachi and Zachary on his first day here. Suddenly I realized I had no idea where I put Zouff last year when I packed up the Christmas decorations!

My husband is on an extended hunting trip, so I was on my own for finding the wayward elf. Then I realized he had moved a bunch of stuff around in the garage this summer.... uh oh. First I checked the couple small boxes I have in a closet in the house.... nope. Then I looked around the garage floor ... nope. Then I started panicking. I called my husband and we tried to remember where he had put the Christmas bins... nope. I climbed up the rickety ladder to the garage attic (in my pajamas in below freezing weather I might add)... nope. Finally I discovered the bins behind a bunch of other stuff (log splitter, elk head, bins of kids clothes)... and Zouff was laying at the top of the closest bin. Success!!!

This photo is a bit dark (it was a bit late by the time I got this set up!)

Zouff left a special note for the boys:

Dear Malachi and Zachary,

It's so good to be visiting you boys again this year! I am excited for all the fun we'll have together. I have brought you this new Lego Advent calendar to count down the days to Christmas because I know it was your favorite last year! Have fun!  ~Zouff

Malachi was SO excited about the return of Zouff and the calendar. =) He had told my mom a few weeks ago that he didn't know if Zouff was coming back this year (I have no idea why he thought that). Zachary is also old enough to think it's exciting. =)

Today we found Zouff hanging upside down from a swing in the doorway to the playroom. Silly elf.

I know some people think the elf is weird and creepy, but the kids seriously get so much fun out of it. To be honest... it's a lot of fun for us adults too. =)

 

Fall Fun

We are full speed into Fall and it's been busy around here! Malachi is loving school (even though I'm still not too sure about the crazy teacher and even crazier school) and Zach and I are enjoying our solo time together. =)

Zach and I spent a day together with our MOPS group at the local pumpkin patch. So fun to run around with this little man. I feel so blessed that he is finally running around like he should be. I can't even get too mad when he's running away from me!

This particular pumpkin patch has a lot of fun activities for kids. A huge sandbox in the barn is a big hit and so is the water trough and pump. We also saw some little bitty kittens that Zachary was super excited about. We went on a hayride, bought a few tiny pumpkins and went through a hay bale maze in the barn.

Definitely fun to spend time with friends and with Zach!

Malachi was disappointed that we weren't going to go to the pumpkin patch as a family, so Shaun and I decided to take the boys out all together to the other patch in town.

This was Zach's first day with boots and he was excited about that. =) Malachi had a great time walking around and "measuring" pumpkins for the right size (middle picture above). He finally found the one he thought was perfect.

Malachi and I carved his pumpkin a little too early.... it was rotting by the time Halloween arrived.... but we had fun doing it.

Malachi also went to the pumpkin patch with his school and his dad. Unfortunately, his dad broke his phone and he doesn't have the pictures from that day, but we DO have a good one of the giant pumpkin they carved together.

And last but not least - Halloween! My boys went as a cowboy and a pirate this year. Zach wore Malachi's old pirate costume. My mom made  both the costumes.

Malachi had a terrible runny nose, but he was super excited. I had to work, so all my pictures are secondhand from my mom and husband. Love these silly boys. =)

More Outdoor Fun

This past Saturday, my husband was out of town and I decided the boys and I needed to do something fun. Another gal at work had asked me to switch weekends with her, so I ended up with a long stretch of days off - hooray!!

We had a busy few days: 
Thursday - the 4th of July. Spent with with my family. We went to my parents to light some little fireworks and have dinner and then headed out to the local fireworks show. Both boys LOVED it - even Zach! I wasn't sure how he'd do since it was SO long after bedtime, but he smiled and laughed through the whole show!

Friday - painting. My mom came over and we spent the day painting Zach's room a pretty sky blue.  It coordinates with a blue in the art work I bought WAY back at our last house. I'm finally getting around to putting a nursery together for him.... it's way past due. I am really happy with the result and I'll post some pictures when I get it all back together and art on the walls.

Saturday - the park! Somewhere along the way one of my summer goals was to visit a bunch of places we've never been (including me who has lived here my whole life!). So far this year we've visited the Mclane Creek Nature Trail and Nisqually Wildlife Reserve. I found an interesting looking place a little north of us in Tacoma for us to go this week. It was called the Tacoma Nature Center and it was sure fun!

The best part about this particular place was something called the Discovery Pond. It was basically a large playground. It was nice because it was enclosed but very spread out, so lots of kids could be there, but not on top of one another.

They also have nature trails with some nice loops - long and short. The 5 of us took one of the short loops and then later my Dad, Malachi and I took a longer trail, while my Mom stayed back with Zach while he napped. We had a picnic lunch at the Discovery Pond and it was a very fun day!

We've been blessed with some very nice weather around here lately. It's been warm and not much rain! Perfect for getting out and discovering new places!

Mother's Day and Container Gardening

My mom watched my boys for me this past Saturday while I was at work. She attempted a brave Mother's Day project for me with them. Something she saw on Pinterest - and I love it!

My mom and Malachi painted this terracotta pot blue and then came the brave part - painting their feet and pressing them onto the pot to make the butterflies. Zach apparently hated it and Malachi has such a high arch that she kind of had to fill in the gap, but I thought it turned out wonderful. Now I just need to take a sharpie and write the year on the bottom. =)

Next comes my little container garden. For my birthday gift, I said I wanted to take a trip to the local Farmer's Market and pick out some plants. I don't have super high expectations this year, but I thought I'd attempt a few veggies in pots this year. I'm pretty pleased with how it's looking so far.....

Left to Right: Carrots, Tomato, Cucumber, Zucchini, Green Onions & Salad Mix

Also, not shown are two more tomato plants hanging in TopseyTurvy planters and a bowl of spinach. Hopefully this will at least keep us in salad fixin's through the summer!

Happy Easter!!

2012 Goals: End-of-Year Wrap Up

My original 2012 Goals post.

2012 Goals totally completed:

3. Take my son to the zoo

5. Take my son to the Hands-On Children’s Museum

7. Read 50 books

9. Read a Jane Austen novel I’ve never read

Goals partially met:

6. Go camping at least once. Well, I did not go camping, but my husband did take Malachi one night together.

14. Attempt to can something besides jam this summer. Technically I think I could count this one because I DID can some Apple Pie Filling, but it’s so similar that I can’t really count this one as totally completed.

17. Make monthly freezer meals. I didn’t make freezer meals every month, but I did get a great stock up before baby came and then did more when my mom and I bought all that Zaycon chicken.

8. Attempt a craft every month with my son. I think we did okay here. We probably didn’t do something every month, but we did some on-going projects like The Thankful Tree as well as some Mommy School projects and we baked some things together also.

18. Do a monthly Mommy School unit with my son. We did pretty good on this - even got a few in after Zach was born. Jan | Feb | Mar | May | Sept | Oct

Didn't complete:

1. Go on 12 dates with my husband. I knew this would be ambitious, especially with the baby this year, but I fell miserably short on this one. I am not really sure how many real dates we went on, but probably six or less. Fail.

4. We did not go to NW Trek, but I think I’m going to try to get there this next year for sure.

2. We didn't make it to the Drive-In. Grr… I am getting there one of these days.

10. Go fishing. Fail – didn't even get Shaun to take Malachi this year.

11. Attend a performance of the Seattle Symphony. I was kind a hoping we’d have the money to attend a Christmastime performance, but we just didn't this year.

12. Go through a corn maze. Honestly, we discussed doing this and it kinda freaks me out. I’m afraid we’d lose the boy. Maybe next year. Malachi and Shaun did a little maze at the Cider Mill though.

13. Grow a vegetable garden. Nope – lived all summer in a house with no yard. Couldn't use the sprinkler, let alone have a garden. Next year.

15. Sew something for myself. The sad part about this one is that I was going to sew some PJ pants for our Christmas Eve Box, but I didn't get to it, so my mom made them for me.

16. Keep a prayer journal. Epic fail. Didn't even remember this was a goal. =)

Happy Christmas!

I decided to stay away from the blog yesterday, since it was Christmas, so Merry Christmas a day late!! =)

We had a fun Christmas, I thought I'd start out with our final Zouff the Elf pictures. 

Day 19 - Zouff visited the nativity and is holding Baby Jesus | Day 20 - I made a snowman out of marshmallows and he sat on the mantle, but I forgot to take a picture (oops!) | Day 21 - Zouff left Malachi a special note and a bag of magic seeds | Day 22 - Malachi planted the magic seeds in a bowl of sugar (per the instructions) and candy canes sprouted the next day! | Day 23 - We were at my in-laws and I got distracted from taking a picture, but he was sitting in the chandelier and was eating a cupcake. | Day 24 - Zouff got into Malachi's underwear drawer again and hung them (and himself) from the living room ceiling!

I was a little sad, and a little relived, to pack Zouff away until next year. I think I'm going to plan his days out beforehand next year.

We had a fun Christmas. We spent Saturday and Sunday at my in-laws for an overnighter (we didn't get much sleep, but it was still pretty fun). Then on Monday we were free to stay home all day! Hooray! We only went out to attend our church's Christmas Eve service. 

When we got home we opened this box:

Inside is a new pair of pajama pants for everyone, 3 mugs, 3 hot chocolate truffle balls, 3 peppermint marshmallow sticks, popcorn, a book of the Christmas story and a picture of The Polar Express. We then made our hot chocolate, popped our popcorn, put on our pajamas and read the Christmas story together. Then we turned on Netflix and watched The Polar Express. It was Malachi's first time watching it and he was totally enchanted. =)

Christmas morning found us at home with a fun time opening gifts.

Then we went to my parents house for dinner and more gifts. It was a very nice Christmas all around and we are all very blessed! Happy Christmas!

Holiday Fun

Zouff the Elf has been busy in our house.  Here are his antics from the last 4 days:

Day 15 - Hanging from the ceiling in Malachi's fire truck (we think he might have flown it to the North Pole) | Day 16 - We found him hanging out above the kitchen cupboards in a basket... maybe we needed some more decorations in there? | Day 17 - Somehow Zouff decided to go swimming in the water pitcher! | Day 18 - Zouff decided it was time for a shave!

Malachi and I decorated some sugar cookies the other day. Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but we have bells, angels, stockings, gingerbread men and .... cars. Apparently you can't have Christmas cookies without a few (or a lot) cars thrown in. We took this plate with us to Malachi's first Christmas party - put on by his bestest little friend from church.

Here's my proud little party-goer. =) It was a fun little party for the boys. They played some games, listened to the Christmas story and did a Secret Santa gift exchange. Very age appropriate for 3- and 4-year-olds. Malachi did very well, unless we were not engaged in some kind of structured activity.... then the hitting emerged. This has been a battle we've been working on lately... very frustrating and kind of ruined the party for me although it only happened a couple times. Does that sweet face look like it could hit anyone? =)

There is less than a week until Christmas! I am slowing finishing up all my projects with only a few things left to do. I'd still like to do some Christmas PJs for our Christmas Eve box and need to buy some mugs for my presents and a couple gift cards for the nieces and nephew, but other than that I think I'm done! Whoohoo!

A Homemade Christmas

In an effort to have a more cost-effective Christmas, I've opted to make many of our presents this year. Extended family members, gift exchanges and friends are receiving these gifts - although I think they are pretty great! I can't exactly say what these projects are because several people reading this blog might be receiving them.

My mom has come over two different days. One day we worked on sewing projects. We each had our own sewing project that we were working on, but it was way easier to do together (plus - she helped me a ton by cutting all mine out, so I could just focus on pinning and sewing!) This is super helpful to me because I don't get as distracted by the boys as I normally would by myself.

I'm have about half of this particular project done.

Today she came over again and we shopped and then assembled the other portion of our gifts. 

Mmmm... looks yummy right? These are about 1/2 done also. Now I have to finish them up and then find a way to wrap up these crazy gifts! Hmm.... 

Zouff the Elf

As promised, a run-down of our Elf on the Shelf - Zouff! Proudly named by Malachi. =) I must say that my husband is much better at picking out places for Zouff to perch himself for the day than I am, but this has definitely been a lot of fun - for Malachi and for Mommy and Daddy.

 Day 1 - Zouff made his appearance in Malachi's stocking. | Day 2 - We found Zouff hanging from the living room curtain with a pair of Malachi's underwear before church that day. | Day 3 - Zouff is hanging out with the newly hung Advent calendar. | Day 4 - He tried to make himself a bowl of oatmeal... but made quite a mess in the process. | Day 5 - Borrowing Malachi's toothbrush | Day 6 - Riding the dinosaur.

Day 7 - Somehow Zouff ended up inside a canning jar. | Day 8 - Forgot to take a picture, but he had gotten into the gift bows. | Day 9 - He showed up at  Grandma's house since Malachi spent the night. | Day 10 - Hanging out on Malachi's deer rack in his room. | Day 11 - Helping with the tree. | Day 12 - Zouff got into the cookie jar. | Day 13 - He's helping Mommy finish her Christmas projects. | Day 14 - Uh oh... he got tangled up in the decorations on Malachi's rocking chair.

More Zouff mischief to come.... =)

Christmas is Coming!

Finally I am sitting down to write a post to catch up on everything we've been doing lately!! I feel like we've been so busy, but I supposed that is typical for this time of the year.

So what HAVE we been up too?

Well, we having been getting together weekly with some other moms and their boys and watching a video series of Dr. James Dobson's Bringing Up Boys. It's been a great series and fun to get together with other moms. I've been bringing them home one DVD at a time to watch with my husband at home also. I like the series a lot and although I may not always agree with everything, I feel like any good parenting advice you can glean is worth it!

Everyday we've been on the lookout for Zouff the Elf coming to visit us!! I will have to re-create a couple days because I forgot to take pictures, but it's been lots of fun and Malachi has been so excited to find him every morning.

Malachi and I made his first every gingerbread house today! He was so proud and excited! 

Yesterday we went to pick out our Christmas tree and Malachi helped me decorate it. This is the first year since we've been married that our tree wasn't about 9 ft tall. It was kinda nice to be able to decorate without a ladder this year. I'm a little picking about my ornament placements, but my helper did a great job and we only lost two ornaments.... one being my fault.

Lastly, my mom came over one day and we had a Christmas crafting day! She brought her projects over with her sewing machine and helped me cut out my projects so that we could stream-line the process. Of course, we were so industrious that we forgot to take pictures!! But, I feel like I'm actually going to finish mine, so I'm extremely grateful for the help and motivation! I was afraid that I would never get them done (even as simple as they are...) with two little boys demanding my attention.

I still have the boys Christmas presents to buy and my mom and I will have to have another crafting day to finish up our homemade gifts. I will have another post with our Zouff the Elf pictures!!

A Christmas Update

I'm just writing a quick little note since I've not been here lately. We've been busy and sick! Yuck! I've gotten to a couple projects though. 

This is my Falling Leaves Advent Calender. Taken from a Pinterest idea, I've spent a good deal of time cutting out, sewing and stuffing these stars. Malachi is having a great time opening them everyday, but I ran out of paper (even after taking down the Thankful Tree and using the paper from the trunk!) I am going to have to make a decision on what to use (get more shipping paper or use grocery sacks) in the next week, because I only have stars through the 19th!

My mom and I made a trip to JoAnn's tonight to pick up fabric for our Christmas projects. I'm making almost all my gifts this year and I've been a little worried that I'm going to leave them all to the last minute. I've convinced my mom to take a day off work so we can work on some of our projects together. Yay!

See our Elf above? We've got an Elf on the Shelf in our house! I'm super excited about the elf. Malachi has named him Zouff - I'm not really sure where he came up with that, but that is his name. He appeared on December 1st in Malachi's Christmas stocking. Malachi rushes out each day to find Zouff. Yesterday he was hanging upside down from the curtains holding a pair of Malachi's underwear. All we heard from the living room was, "Come here guys!!! Come here!!" and then, "He got my underwear! He's so silly!" =)

Zachary has his first bad cold and I'm very sad about it. He is so miserable and doesn't understand. I'm hoping he gets over it quickly and hopefully I'll have some more time to post soon. Here's a picture of my cute boys. =)