ornamental ornaments

Since we already had the paint out and everything (and everyone) covered up, I thought we'd give THESE ornaments a try, too, on Friday.

I picked up some glass ornaments at Michael's on Thursday night, for $2.50 and we already had a stockpile of acrylic paint from when Jason painted some PICTURES for Amelia's playroom.  Amelia chose the colors that went into each ornament and then helped me squeeze a little of each color inside.  She also liked to shake and roll the ornament and watch the paint spread and mix in all the different directions.

They turned out great and we will be using 3 of them as gifts for some special family members (family members, in fact who read this blog--surprise!).  The 4th one we made will go on our Christmas tree!  

Oh, and I went to a craft fair on Saturday morning with my mom and I saw someone selling these same ornaments!  Seriously, people, my 2 year old just made the same thing!

Tag--you're it!

Amelia has been begging to paint daily for awhile now and I finally gave in on Friday.  I broke down and bought some new paint for her--paint that is washable AND not finger paint.  It was nice to see some vivid colors and I think she liked it too!

We started with just some free painting on heavy card stock. My original idea was to talk her into painting one page with just red and green and then cutting up her "abstract" art to make into gift tags.  But, when she picked up a "brush" that was actually a circular sponge on the end of a stick, I thought it might be cute to cut first and have her dot each piece.  

She like this and enjoyed mixing the red and green so that her dots contained both colors.  

Once they dried, I put "to" and "from" on each one and put them aside with our other wrapping supplies.  Should be a great addition on our gifts this year!

Time is on My Side

The time of day that is most difficult for me is that chunk between Amelia awaking from her nap and Jason getting home.  I'm usually pretty beat by this time and am trying to juggle an antsy dog, an energetic daughter, and a bunch of food that needs to be transformed into dinner.

The past couple of nights, I have come across two activities that keep Amelia occupied for a short amount of time to help make things a little easier. 

The first, bought me a good 15 minutes, but ended up with kind of a big mess of water.  Regardless, it was totally worth it!  I just put out two small bowls for Amelia, one filled with water.  Then, I showed her how to use a turkey baster to transfer the water from one bowl to the other.

The second, this puzzle activity, only bought me about 5 minutes, BUT she has asked to play with it again a couple of times, so I think it has potential.  I cut the front of the fruit snacks box off and made it into a simple puzzle.  It helped tremendously that the picture was of her beloved Belle.

Our Big News!

Have you heard the BIG news coming out of the Ward household?

I know some of you know already, but I thought I would officially announce it to the rest of the world.  Its certainly something we have been trying for for a very long time.  Something we thought would maybe never happen!  And I have to say that its still very early, so we are a little nervous. But, we are trying to stay positive that this is it!

So, without further ado.....

Drum roll please.........

AMELIA POOPED IN THE POTTY!! WOO!

Yep!  It happened last Friday (shortly after I left town if you can believe that, so Dad got all of the credit!).  It was the first time Amelia has EVER done ANYTHING on the potty.  Granted, she hasn't done it again since, but I feel like it was a breakthrough and we are moving in the right direction!  

Today, I set up a sticker chart for her (which has worked several times in the past for various behaviors we were trying to get her to do or not do).  I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are on our way to a diaper-free existence!

Advent Again

Yes, I know I have already mentioned one advent activity and how many do you really need, right?  But, I couldn't help posting about our other advent activity, as well.  One that I have been doing for the past, gulp, 29 years. 

My aunt Phyllis made this advent calendar for us when we were little and it's amazing how well it has held up.  My brother, Derek, and I used to take turns putting a new ornament on the tree each year.  It was always something I looked forward to as a child and I am lucky enough to be able to share it with Amelia now. 

We are now 5 ornaments in (the picture was taken a few days ago) and it is the first thing Amelia wants to do when she comes downstairs each morning.  The magic of the calendar is definitely still alive!

Fair Shares: Week Four

Before I get into week 4, I just want to mention that we finally used our pumpkin!  I was getting a little stressed about this (for some unknown reason), as we had planned on making it into pumpkin pie which didn't happen.

For whatever reason, I was feeling a bit ambitious today and decided to get up and put the pumpkin in the oven before Amelia got up.  While she ate her breakfast, I scooped out the soft insides and answered the question, "What you doing mommy?" about 75 times.  Then, she helped me puree the pumpkin and even requested a bite (which turned into three!).  

Later, while she napped, I prepared the rest of the ingredients to make pumpkin soup.  When Jason got home and saw the menu, he became inspired to use the rest of the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving to make some turkey salad and it was delicious!  After dinner I roasted the seeds.

The soup turned out okay, but after we ate our helpings, I went back and put what was left in the blender.  The carrots, celery, and onions were too chunky for me.  I blended it all down to more of a soup consistency (Jason called it pumpkin stew--I know, appetizing right?), added the rest of the half and half that the recipe called for (I have a horrible habit of ignoring recipes. Some people can get away with it, while I cannot), and gave it another try.  We both thought it tasted much better and I am already looking forward to some leftovers tomorrow!

In between the baking of the pumpkin and the making of the soup, Amelia and I ventured out in the nasty weather to pick up our Fair Shares goods for the week.  Here's what we got:

• Blue Heron Orchard Apple Cider
  
• Yellow Wood Farm Lettuce Mix
  
• Lee Farms Butternut Squash
  
• Mangia Whole Wheat Rigatoni
  
• Pilgrims' Acres Chicken
  
• Yellow Wood Russet Potatoes
  
• Companion Baguette
  
• Lee/Hilty Roma Tomatoes
  
• Bellews Creek Black Beans

The only thing we've tried so far is the bread and it is my favorite of the breads we've received, although all of our bread products have been delicious!  It will be perfect tomorrow with some of my pumpkin soup and maybe some of the cheese from last week. If I'm feeling crazy, I'll add a salad.

I was a little surprised by the chicken.  Silly me expected a chicken breast of some sort, but what I wound up with was an entire chicken.  I am easily intimidated, so I will be passing the job of coming up with something to do with it to Jason.  He, of course, is not the least bit concerned.

This was not the best week for using our Fair Shares items, but so far, no harm done.  I don't think we've officially wasted any food yet.  That is, with the exception of a few pea shoots we threw out.  Luckily, I made a burrito recipe last night that called for a jalapeno and the pumpkin soup recipe called for thyme.  Some of the sweet potatoes were made into a Thanksgiving dish.  Most of the things we haven't used yet have a long shelf life, like honey, PB, cheese.  But, then there are those mushrooms that aren't getting any younger..... And, we are getting quite a collection of potatoes--sweet, russet, and otherwise.

Seriously, I am staying focused for the rest of the week.  Expect to see progress next Wednesday.  Well, except maybe for that darn Chervil....

Don't Steal My Sunshine

I am already missing the sunshine, but not as much as my poor pup, Truman.  Here she is soaking up the only rays in the house.  Unfortunately for her, they were on the stairs. Now we know that she can, in fact, sleep anywhere.

The Book Collector

So I have been slowly hoarding children's books now for the last 8 months or so.  It all started one day when I was visiting my local Goodwill, looking for nothing in particular, and I came across a gold mine of children's books.  The paperbacks were marked at a mere 30 cents, while the hardback books were only 50 cents.  I immediately loaded my arms with as many books as I could carry to the counter.  Two huge bags of books for under $5.00!  I was in heaven.

Then, I went back many, many times.

As if that wasn't bad enough, garage sale season came upon me in early spring.  I am not a huge garage saler, but I do like my deals so I ventured out to a few and it was enough to wet my appetite.  I was able to score 12 books for $4.00 at a house down the street.  I was nearly in tears because that was all of the money I had on me and my ATM card was with Jason! I honestly considered coming home and robbing Amelia's piggy bank.

Then, to top it off, the school where I work offers the Scholastic book orders.  There are amazing deals in these little treasures and as you can tell, I have a very hard time turning down cheap books.

Some of the books I've given to Amelia and the rest of them have just piled up in my closet.  Some are holiday books (I'm set for Valentine's Day!) and some are classics like Corduroy and Polar Express. There is fiction and non-fiction.  I have Arthur, Elmo, Clifford, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmations among others.  There are new favorites like No David! and Harold's Purple Crayon and some I've never heard of, but thought looked like nice books.

Until 2 weeks ago, I was unsure what I was going to do with all of these books.  I assumed if I wrapped up 40 books for Amelia on Christmas she would get sick of opening them after the first 7 or 8.  I knew I could space them out among various holidays, but most of them I am eager to share with her NOW.  While talking to a co-worker a couple of weeks ago, she passed on one of her family traditions to me.

She told me how every year she would wrap 24 books up for her children and place them in a big basket.  Some of the books were winter or Christmas themed and some were regular books.  Some were the children's own books and some were new.  Starting on December 1, the children would take turns opening one book each night.  Then, they would climb on the couch with their mom and read it together.  A literary advent calendar, if you will.

This. was. perfect.

So, Sunday night, I spent a couple of hours scouring the house for all of Amelia's winter/Christmas books.  I went through my stash and pulled out the winter and Christmas books from there too.  I also pulled out enough "other" books to get enough to open one of each day in December leading up to Christmas.  Some were new and some were not.  I wrapped them all up and placed them under our mini tree.

I love this idea so much!  But, I must say that Amelia was not too impressed with it the first night.  She opened the book (which happened to be an old one of hers about snowmen) and didn't even want to read it!  The second night, however, she immediately came home from GG's house and asked about opening a book.  I told her she had to wait until Jason got home, so she picked out a package and laid it on the couch.  Then, from the kitchen, I heard the tiniest ripping noise.  I asked what she was doing and she replied, "just getting it started, mommy".  The second Jason walked through the door, she had the book out of the wrapping paper!  She was pumped about her new Elmo book. The last book she will open (wrapped a little fancier than the others) is The Night Before Christmas, which will be read on, well, the night before Christmas.

I am also looking in to donating some of my stash, too.  So, really, this is just more motivation to make my bi-weekly trips to Goodwill to scout of the latest selection.  You know, so I'll be ready for next year and everything ;)

snow day!

We woke up on Sunday morning to an inch or so of snow on the ground.  We were able to get out in it before it started to melt.  Turns out, it was the perfect snow for building!  

We, of course, built a snowman.  (Just for the record, Amelia had mittens on and was having trouble putting the pieces on to the snowman so we briefly removed them). A couple of years ago, she received a snowman building kit with all of the pieces necessary to build a snowman:  hat, scarf, carrot nose, pipe, "coal" for eyes, mouth, and buttons.  We just had to add snow!

We also built a little tunnel for her to crawl through.

And, following a pretty intense snowball fight, we headed inside.

Before we left the outdoors though, Amelia formed a snowball and insisted on bringing it inside.  She sat on a towel near the door and ate the whole snowball!

Girls' Weekend!

Our Thanksgiving was great!  We stopped at 3 houses, ate some delicious food, and visited with nearly every in town member of our family.  After watching the parade on TV in the morning and making our dishes to bring shortly thereafter, we were out the door by 11:30 am and didn't return home until nearly 10:00 pm.  It was a long day, but a good one, nonetheless.

I've found, though, that the perfect way to follow up a super busy day is to have a super relaxing one.  So that is just what I did.  On Friday morning, I said farewell to Amelia and Jason and headed down to the Lake of the Ozarks with 6 of my college friends.

Once we arrived at the Lake we had lunch and did some shopping at the outlet mall.  The mall was hopping, but, in my opinion, the deals were just so-so.  I bought a pair of shoes for myself that were regularly $72, for $27.  Other than that, I didn't find much.  When we had enough shopping, we checked into the Lodge of the Four Seasons.  After a little chillaxin' in our rooms, we ventured out to dinner at L'il Rizzo's. 

Once we got back to the Lodge, we had some drinks around the fireplace in the lobby.  The only other people enjoying the unique circular fireplace were a few older couples.  When the couple nearest us got up to leave, the gentlemen turned to us and asked why there were so many young ladies in attendance tonight.  Then, he asked if we were the Lincoln University girls' soccer team or something.  Ha!  We all got a kick out of that one!

the fireplace area at the Lodge

The Lincoln University girl's soccer team

Then, some of us decided to hit the swimming pool and hot tub for a bit.  We had the whole pool area to ourselves. We got a little crazy when I decided to dare a friend to swim underneath the partition to the outside pool area.  She went and I followed and it was surprisingly comfortable, given the frigid temperature. Obviously, the pool was heated, but no one took my dare to get out of the pool and stand on the freezing cold concrete--myself included! 

creepy wooden head statue located at the Lodge

After a little more chatting and catching up, we hit the sack so we'd be well rested for the next day.

On Saturday, we got up and had breakfast before heading to SPA SHIKI for some spa time.  I've been here once before and again really enjoyed my time hanging around at the spa.  We dipped in the whirlpool, sweated in the steam sauna, sipped on fancy teas, and relaxed in the meditation room.  I also chose to get a Japanese Stone Massage, which was incredible!  I certainly wouldn't choose this option in the summer, but there is nothing better than having hot stones rubbed on your body when it is so cold outside.  

I thoroughly enjoyed my short trip to the Lake, it was so nice to be responsible only for myself for a little bit.  I was eager to get back home to my family, but I am already dreaming about making a repeat trip.