Advent Part 2

Here are the other 12 ideas.  Some we did. Some we changed. Some we didn't do. Etc, Etc.

Food Bank Donation (We gave toys to the Interfaith Food Center instead, and Garrett gave a dollar to the Salvation army bell ringer.)
Christmas craft (We pulled out all the supplies, but we're going to make them of Christmas Eve instead, maybe)
Boat ride and light parade (done)
Waffle Breakfast (didn't do)
Have dinner at Rick's Drive-in (done)
Visit Senior center (done)
Christmas Caroling (done...combined with Senior Center trip)
Make neighbor gifts (done)
Deliver neighbor gifts (mostly done... a lot of these treats are going to my nephew's nurses in the NICU in St. George the day after Christmas, and we went to deliver to our favorite neighbor and realized we missed them by a day.  They left for vacation.  But we did a couple.)
Shop for each other (done...3 or 4 times)
Christmas Box surprise- Christmas Book (The book is wrapped, we'll do that tomorrow)
Christmas Eve dinner here with family (we'll do on the 24th)

We rented a boat and cruised around Naples Island to see all the big homes and lights.  It was super fun and Garrett totally loved it.

We had a friend from Utah (who now lives in Texas) here on business and he stayed with us for a couple of days.

 Addie is an out of control climber.  Her strength and speed blows my mind several times a day.

 Rick's Drive-in is this fun little local place right by our house and they totally deck it all out for Christmas, and Garrett loves driving and walking by there, so we added that to our list.

 Looking at the lights out the window and then playing outside.  My kids were sharing a healthy (haha) grilled cheese, and then an employee brought them free ice cream, and that was the end of the sandwich.

Garrett helped me do a lot of baking.  And when he got sick of standing on the stool and assisting me, he got  on the floor and blew everything I was spilling on to the carpet.  He's such a great helper!

We went with a big group of friends to two senior care centers and gave out socks and sang carols.  It was a great experience for our family, but I'll probably tell more about that another time.

We finally had our Christmas movie and popcorn night.

But instead of popcorn, we had these.

One of the shopping trips was with Grandma White to Downtown Disney.  (Addie and I met her and Garrett there after they went on their weekly trip to Disneyland.) The kids got each other clothes (Thanks Grandma) and we had lunch at the Rain Forrest Cafe (again, thanks Grandma).

Another shopping trip for Christmas eve dinner food.  We love Trader Joe's.

Family Fun Day #1

Paul works one Saturday a month, and during the week that he works Saturday he gets a day off, and that day was today. We decided that we need a family fun day every month on that day off. We have fun doing things on the weekends but it's so much more fun on weekdays because there are about a bajillion less people out during the week.

We went to Naples Island and walked through the darling neighborhoods and dreamed about being millionaires and living in one of those homes on the water.Garrett splashed and ran around a fountain at a park.We found a super cute little outdoor cafe right on the beach and had lunch. I think Garrett loved eating outside. He was so happy and goofy, even though he was well overdue for a nap. (Although you can't see his happiness in the pictures. He's become even more of a camera hater the older he gets.)After lunch we walked over to Seal Beach and went to the end of the pier for ice cream at Ruby's. Both kids were zonked out before we even walked out of the cafe parking lot, and they stayed asleep until we got back from the pier and loaded them in the car.I always get cold by the water so I fail to think about sun screen. I really need to start remembering. Paul got the worst. Fortunately Addie was covered almost the whole time, but Garrett and I got a little sun kissed, too.

It was such a good day. And it ended with both kids bathed, in bed, and asleep before 8. Great day!

Easter Weekend

We had a full weekend. Busy, but fun.

Friday night after the kids were in bed I hid eggs and little gifts all over our living room. Paul pulled out a huge basket for Garrett to throw the eggs in because I didn't buy him one.

Saturday morning when we were all up and going we headed to the living room for the hunt. Garrett totally caught on so quick and spotted almost all the eggs on his own, and would carry them one by one to the huge basket and proudly toss them in. (55 eggs was too many. Not for Garrett, but I got a little bored.) Each egg only had one jelly bean in it, but they could have been empty and it would have been just as fun for him. He was so focused on finding the eggs that he couldn't care less about the extra little gifts. We got each kid a pee wee pillow pet, a couple books, and Garrett got a mini splash pool and some water toys. Even when there was an egg right by a gift and we'd say, "Garrett, look! A new book!" He'd grab the egg and leave the gift. But the 'grand prize' that was hidden in the guest room finally got his attention. We wanted to get him this for Christmas, but when we went back to buy it they were sold out and they finally got them back in a couple weeks ago so we grabbed one. (Costco) I swear the kid got more for Easter than he did for Christmas, and it won't be like this every year, but we just got a little carried away.Saturday night we had Paul's family over for a barbecue and an egg dying party. It was a success! We did silk transfer eggs with old ties and shirts, glitter polka dots, and kool aid eggs. I hate smelling vinegar and I didn't want Garrett to lick his fingers so we did the popular pinterest version this year. About 2/3 cup warm or cold water and a packet of kool aid. It's worked better than vinegar and food coloring! And it smelled fruity and delish! And I made cupcakes that were supposed to look like eggs.Yesterday morning we had breakfast and read the Resurrection story from the Bible. Later on we headed to Paul's parent's house for more festivities. There was an adult hunt with a cash prize for the first person to return with the basket with their name on it. (I found every one's but my own.) The kids got baskets full of books, toys, clothes and treats. And Garrett had his own little egg hunt.After nap time (which Garrett took part in and Addison did not, that girl didn't nap 5 minutes all day long, but she was happy all day long too, so I guess I can't complain) we had lunch. And Paul and his dad (and Addie) watched the Masters.Later when we got home we had some skype time with Grandma and Grandpa Greenhalgh and then put the kids to bed.

But just before putting Garrett down I had my little Easter victory that came after was too much candy and snacking- I had a bowl of salad to help myself come down from a sugar high and Garrett wanted a bite. I thought it would be two seconds of chewing and end with him picking pieces off his tongue and handing it to me. But we shared 2 bowls of salad together! He ate tons of cucumbers and some cabbage. If you don't know what a picky eater Garrett is you won't see this as much of a victory, but believe you me- I even did a victory lap after I put him to bed.

I had big plans of getting all kinds of darling pictures of the kids all cute and Eastery, but Garrett got wet in the pool and Addie peed all over herself before any fun pictures were taken. So Garrett looks like a hobo and Addie spent most of the day naked. And I just remind myself that they are 18 months and 5 months, and that not every moment will be picture perfect, but we still have fun, and I get over it.

St. Patrick's Day

I was going to let this holiday slide by unnoticed. Friday was quite possibly one of the most randomly crappy days I've had in a very long time. No reason. Just crappy. So much so, that Paul took the day off at the last minute, just so I could work on getting out from under the dark cloud. By Friday evening I decided to try and think of something fun to do on Saturday to help me snap out of it. Paul had to work all weekend, so it was just me and the kids.

I'd pinned a few ideas on Pinterest. Which, Pinterest, by the way, made the news here in LA a few days ago and the reporter doing the story called it, "Pin-interest", and said it's "Facebook's new social media threat." Ok, not quite.

Anyway, Garrett and I had green french toast and green milk for breakfast. I think he was scared of the milk. I gave him syrup for the first time. For some reason syrup can put me in a sugar induced coma faster than anything, so I only gave Garrett a few drops. But he LOVED it. He (literally) licked his plate clean.
After his morning nap we frosted sugar cookies. (Note to self: Next time, eat lunch before you pull out the cookies.) Syrup for breakfast + frosting for lunch = mother of the year.

I made Irish Stew for dinner, minus the irish. It was so yummy and so easy, and partially made up. Here's what I did if you want an easy crock pot dinner.About a pound of steak (or stew meat) cubed and browned in a couple tbs. oil
4 med potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 med carrots, peeled and sliced
1 lg onion diced
A little diced celery...I don't love cooked celery, but I had some, and my mom always puts it in her stew so I added a little.
2 cans of Cream Of whatever soup. I had one chicken and one celery so I used those.
2 cans of tomato sauce
About 1 tbs minced garlic
About 2 tbs chili powder
About 1/4 cup ketchup

Mix it all in a crock pot, I added about a cup of water. I salted and peppered it a little and let it cook for a few hours. Yummy. Oh and I think if you want it to be Irish, just add some Guinness instead of water.

Poppy had worked with Paul all day so we invited him up to join us. For dessert I made Irish dirt cake. Also, minus the irish. Very easy as well and pretty good. I got the recipe from tablespoon.com via Pinterest.I also dressed my kids festively and took pictures of them being cute. And during nap time I made a handkerchief dress for Addison. I wish I could find smaller handkerchiefs because when I finished this I tried it on Garrett and I bet it won't fit Addie for a couple more years, but if I cut it down I'd lose the pattern in the fabric. Anyway, it took like 15 minutes, I'm going to try it with regular fabric too though, so I can make them any size I want. Total cost, less that $5.00!And when the fun was over and all the messes were cleaned up, I went to find my family because it had been pretty quiet for a while, and this is what I found in our bedroom.Perfect way to end the day.