sometimes excess is necessary

We like to have a good appetizer night at this house. There are so many good options to choose from now that Costco is so close by. The possibilities are endless! 

This morning started with a good cry-it-out movie. That led to, "Can I have cheese sticks for breakfast?" Because when we cry, we need comfort foods, right? The cheese sticks turned into an appetizer platter and we waited for the movie to end and called it brunch. Voila. 

It's not healthy, but it's delicious. It's also fun. Thanks to the air fryer and toaster oven it is easy. This means that she can do it herself with light supervision. I win. 

Notice the complete absence of fruits and (real) vegetables. Not even worried about it. Rumor has it that we will be playing in the snow later and when we come in all cold from the snow we will need a nutritious snack. Enter fruit slices with peanut butter! If starting our day with meatballs at 11am and tears in our eyes makes us happy, then so be it! Happy snow day everybody!

do-it-yourself is one of the best themes ever!

Despite Covid, we were still able to throw together a super fun Birthday weekend for the big 10! Two nights of fun featuring do-it-yourself activities each night. This also included a do-it-yourself invitation that was cut into puzzle pieces for you to assemble. Each guest came separate nights to make it safe and easy for everyone to enjoy. We managed do-it-yourself everything so meal creation, cake decoration, and craft creating became a you touch it, you take it experience. I was unsure of how it would go, but it was safe and fun and the girls had a blast.

To top it all off, we were able to do a birthday Zoom with family and play Hangman. Did I ever forsee a cross country game night in our birthday plans? It is amazing to me how much technology has been able to make us feel connected even when we can't physically be together. For that, I am eternally grateful. We couldn't do a birthday parade, so a birthday Zoom was a warmer option. 

The theme of this whole year has been, "Be flexible, be patient, just go with it!" Our little one has been gracious and patient with just about everything and I worried endlessly that she wouldn't feel like she got the true Birthday experience. After a weekend of giggles, crafts, Zooms, and lots of cupcakes, I would say we nailed it. The theme changed last minute from Dance party to Do-It-Yourself and it was our best theme yet. 

The really fun part was watching her check the mail for a week to collect birthday cards, Birthday gifts, and other birthday wishes. I am hoping we don't have to have an adjusted mini party next year. However, if we do, I know she will be okay with it. She will be grateful. She will have fun. And I know it will be okay ;)

you might be a girl mom if...

Being a boy mom was pretty much what I expected. Underoos, gross jokes, and super heroes consumed our lives for a solid 8 years. We always carried bandaids and knew that real pain equaled stepping on the occasional Lego. We spent a week wearing only a Batman costume once. Nerf guns were an essential toy at every event.

Being a girl mom is equally as fun and equally as messy. Instead of buffing scratches out of the counters from matchbox cars, we now scrape nail polish off the table. Pink covers every surface. We know the name of every beanie boo and sprinkles are in everything we make. We love glitter and frills topped with Converse and overalls.

I cleaned the house today. I found something pink on the tile of my bathroom (nail polish? Hair dye?), something pink by the front door (leftover from painting the fort?), pink paint on the windowsill (definitely from last week's paint session), and pink on the kitchen table (manicures). I can't even get mad. I expect it. "Don't spill! Be careful! Wipe that up!" This is followed with, "I know! I got it! I did!"

We had a spa day the other day. Spa days get a bit excessive at our house. She had asked for pink hair for Christmas and since she didn't ask for much, pink hair she got! We decided to touch it up at the "spa". (More pink stains in the sink!) 

Even though she is ten now, I still got to snuggle during the movie afterwards! There is nothing more soothing than playing with your little one's hair after it just got washed. With all the hot pink, I was making crazy designs and taking pictures for her to see. The pink is on all the surfaces, but I wouldn't trade this for anything. My little punk rocker diva still wants to play, she still decorates in pink, and if we make a mess, then a mess we make. Messes equal memories on spa days!

the Easy Bake oven still exists!

Does anyone remember having an Easy Bake oven this adorable? Nope. Didn't think so. Mine was brown and yellow. I am only mildly jealous that kid's toys are cuter these days. I never had glitter on my stuff- definitely born in the wrong era :)

Someone I know saved and bought this over summer break. Every time we think of it, we buy a bake kit and she makes tiny little snacks. Geez, they went up in price! She is so happy when she can cook and bake safely and without assistance, though. Who doesn't want to spend all that time making tiny little cookies? 

I am glad that our toys have come full circle. A lot of things she plays with now are ones that we all used as kids. We got THREE whole toys for Christmas this year. Only 3. How amazing is that? All the gifts were centered on drawing, crafting, baking, or activities. 

This kid won't get bored until summer break, for sure. She will refine her culinary skills and it will be like a mini iron chef. Maybe she will learn to bake full meals and desserts and I won't have to do that ever again! Well, not really. But in the meantime it is fun to watch her mix and create. She doesn't even realize it, but she's still learning math, fractions and strengthening her reading skills. Bwahaha. I win. Mini cookies AND learning. A great combo!

the angel window

This is the angel window. I made the mistake of trying to rearrange some stuff and I was told no. Okay. No problem. And what is the window for? "It's for all my God stuff to keep me safe." 

Well those are loaded words for a now 10 year old! I love it. Whatever she needs to keep herself happy, loved and feeling safe is fine by me. She can even tell me where all the items came from and what they mean to her. I love the sentimentality of it from such a small human.

We discussed purpose and gratitude a LOT over break. What are you grateful for? Why? If we insist on keeping this stuff/these toys/these items, fine. But do they have purpose? Sure, it was a big conversation to have but helping her understand that we live with purpose and make sure our stuff has purpose had an impact. 

We cleaned up the bedrooms and closets to make room for all the new stuff and the things that never changed were the beanie boos, all the art/drawing stuff, and the angel window. We now have more stuff in the donation box. We gave some stuff away. Now we have new stuff or a new arrangement for the old stuff and we can go into the new year with gratitude and purpose and less clutter.

And the angel window will remain unchanged. Apparently 2021 started out with a bang. The angels will help her feel safe. We will be okay holed up in our house just a little bit longer to quarantine, stay safe, and enjoy being a family. Today we thank all the real life angels who keep us safe (nurses, doctors, police etc) and the ones up above watching over us.

the game you will love to play

So there's this game that our aunt taught us how to play. It's called Tenzi. It's one of those games you either love or hate. Well, we love it! All it has is dice. Easy enough.

There are four different colored sets of dice. There are 10 dice per color. Roll the dice all one number and stack all ten dice. First one to stack them all wins. No thought, no set up, no time commitment. 

After a year of playing it the same way, we decided to crack the instructions manual. There are variations. Lots of them. We spent New Year's Eve playing Stealzi, Splitzi, and Tenzi tower. Along with snacks, Sequence, and music, I would say it made for a family fun evening. 

We haven't gone out for a New Year's eve in 4 years and no one seems sad or upset about it. Why dress up when you can hang out with your kid and play mindless games and eat excessive amounts of pigs in a blanket?! If you need a fast game or something easy, this is your game. No one needs to be able to count or read. FUN! 

the time of year for transitioning

The time between Christmas and going back to school is a transition period for us. Typically we go to the Wisconsin Dells for an overnight, but this year we are hunkering down at home the whole time. This means lots of transitions and because we have over a week to make it happen, it's pretty painless. We transitioned from Christmas decor to winter decor. We transitioned from holiday fun to birthday preparations. We transitioned from old to new!

Putting away presents becomes an experience. We play with the toy or use the new item, then put it where it now belongs. Along the way, you can get rid of old or used stuff and declutter, too. Each day we make a small pile. It is mixed with new stuff and old stuff, then we try to play with it all in the one day. 

Yesterday was pj/mother-daughter day. We donned our matching pjs and spent most of the day in my room. Rules? What rules? Fun is the name of the game. Hot chocolate and a sweet treat for breakfast along with a cheesey girly movie always gets pj day started. Then we transition to some older toys mixed with newer toys. We did madlibs, bracelet making, crocheting, shrinky dinks, yoga, and video chats with friends.

Today we will pop out for lunch, have spa day at home, play with some old science kits and do a Yahtzee virtual playdate. I love transition time! Sometimes we forget what games and fun we have, so it's nice to reminisce and play stuff that hasn't been used in awhile. I take a laundry basket around the house and fill it with anything old, extra, done for, broken, or unloved. It takes 20 minutes and it's an easy declutter and a great way to transition out the old without arguing about an item.

Another must during this time is flipping the hangers around. All the hooks of the hangers get flipped to face the front of the closet. When you do laundry and use a hanger, you flip the hook to the BACK of the closet. When summer break starts, you get rid of anything on a hanger that is still facing the front, aka something you never wore or used. It's easy. It takes no time. It prevents arguments. Either you wore an item or you didn't. Just check the hanger :) Because I am not that lame of a mom, I do this one while peanut sleeps in. 

I hope everyone enjoys their own transition periods. Whether you're transitioning to back to work time or something else, enjoy it. Throw in a pj day for extra laziness and fun. Fill a basket with old stuff and donate it to declutter. Play with some old stuff that makes you smile and reminisce. Go play in the snow that is finally arriving! Happy transition! :)

that's a wrap, folks!

Christmas is officially put away. It's over! I had it down by lunchtime yesterday. It's time to start new and fresh, plus this week we switch to birthday mode AND back to school time, so it just made sense. We now have winter decor up until the next holiday approaches.

Snowmen theme in the guest bathroom. Snow themed mantle and wreath on the door. Done. We decorate minimally around here and we are okay with it! We just need something bright and cheery to get us through the next two months when it gets cold, snowy and sometimes dreary. 

These next 2 months are cookie season (yay for girl scouts fun!). They are also a time to overthink, overanalyze and go deep down into the dark places of our brains where sorrow and regret hide. I work very hard to keep the winter blues away and living minimally gives me less stuff to fuss over, clean around and worry about. We will play with all the new stuff and spend lots of time with games, puzzles, books and movies to enjoy each other before the quarantine life ends and we go back to normal (whatever that means!). Having an almost 10 year old means I am always in fun mom mode, so there is little time for the winter blues or sadness.

I hope everyone transitions from holiday time to winter time safely. I hope the winter blues stay away. I will cherish this time while I have it. I can only go so many places, go so far, and do so much, so I may as well enjoy what I have while I have it. I will appreciate the winter time fun that we make here at home while my kid still thinks I am fun :) Now we just need snow!

all the lights!

Buddy the elf said the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. Not today, Buddy! It's the lights. I don't care how old I get. Driving around for a good lights display is mandatory. We know all the local spots to go to.

There is one particular block in Roscoe that has over 35 trees. The house down from them has almost 40 Snoopys. There are whole subdivisions in Rockton that have lights, sounds and bring all the "Awww!" out. Last night we drove a little further for the lighted fun. We went into Loves Park. 

First, you go through the lights at the Woodward drive through. Those lights have been up since I was a kid. It brings back so many memories. We bypassed the Festival of Lights drive through to go to Sinnissippi Park. The walk through lights there are my favorite. We were able to see the Christmas star and enjoy that as well.

They have signs and arrows directing foot traffic and there were more roped off areas this year, BUT the lights still dazzled. They sparkled. We "oohed" and "aahed". We walked around and didn't freeze to death. Yes, masks stayed on, but that's what the signs said so that's what we did.

I hope everyone finds their moment of joy this holiday season. Whether it's finding the perfect lights display or baking the perfect cookie. I personally know that streaming church live in my living room with my kids and hearing the true story of Christmas will be on my favorites list. I will find joy in all the moments big or small and remember to be grateful for everything this year from sparkling lights to family to our health.

the elf spreadsheet

It only took 6 years, but I finally got smart. I did my research. I planned ahead. I made a checklist, a spreadsheet if you will. I prepared for the darn elf on a shelf! Today PeeWee threw her laundry on the landing over the living room so no one could reach. Silly elf!

Someone I know was noticing that PeeWee was in the same spots and had done some of the same things in the last few years. She can't remember to shut the back door, but she can remember that our elf got stuck in a 20 oz pop bottle two years in a row... HOW?!? I googled funny elf on a shelf ideas and scrolled for the funniest and easiest. Numbered the list 1-25 and started writing. It took all of 20 minutes. 

Fortunately, our elf comes well after Thanksgiving. He typically arrives by December 1st. This year he has rotated between messy shenanigans, hiding in odd places and trying to do the everyday things that we do. I have only forgotten to move him one time (not too shabby!). Yes, it is a pain sometimes, but it's fun. It will only last so long!

Here's to all the elves out there. We know you're planning fun and shenanigans. We know you're tip toeing around for the squeals and giggles in the morning instead of reading or enjoying the last sips of hot tea. We see you. We appreciate you! And just remember that the elf reports back all the nice things he sees to Santa. We are ALL on that list!

tis the season for some baking

When the weather gets cold and you have some time with your favorite little baker, you pull out the recipes from the family cookbook. Shortly after I got married, I asked family members to give me some recipes they love. I was able to get recipes all 4 sides of the family and put them in a little recipe box. We don't use the recipes often, but it's fun to see the names at the tops. We love to make recipes that make us think of our family.

Fast forward to now. We pulled oatmeal chocolate chip cookies out of the box. It is so nice being able to share a hobby with my little lady. This hobby is tasty and doesn't require much money or effort. It teaches patience and paying attention.

Little does everyone else realize, baking teaches math. A lot of math! We worked through the recipe and cut it in half, so there were lots of fractions. So you get bonding, hobbies, family nostalgia, and math. I win!

If we make small batches at a time, we can have freshly baked goods on the counter daily. Do we need them? Nope. Do we care? Nope! Here's three cheers to cookies, families, and memories!