Gingerbread House Adventures

We've been making gingerbread houses each year with the kids for a while now, and it is always something we look forward to. We like to put them together on Thanksgiving day if we can because then we have the entire month of December to enjoy snacking on them!

Typically we buy the premade house kit, but since the candies are all kind of yuck with the kits, we buy lots of better candy to fill it up with. Last year was a bit different. I decided to make a gingerbread train like the one we saw in a magazine the year prior. It was my first experience making my own gingerbread--tons of work, but it was so much fun! Everyone enjoyed being able to decorate their own piece of the train.

The kids have been looking forward to making another train this year, but I keep putting it off. I finally decided I'd better get on board and make something for my kids to decorate before I traumatize them for life...but this year I thought it would be fun to make a gingerbread village and have all the kids decorate their own house.

The making of the houses took over my week, leaving other messes everywhere, but I just kept telling myself it was worth! I mad 3 batches of dough on Monday and then spent Tuesday rolling and cutting and baking and cooling and "gluing" 5 houses for my kids.

It was lots of fun, the kids of course loved it. Dad was there to help decorate, which was a special treat because work has kept him more than busy these past few weeks. Grandma Jane was able to come and help too, so we had plenty of helping hands to get the job done! I should have made the houses smaller so that they really could have sat around together in a "village". I didn't really realize how big I was making the pattern! The kids don't care, they are just glad to have made them finally.


Giving a few rules and ideas before the candifying begins












Bedtime for Evie


The finished products

For fun, here are our last few gingerbread creations! The train really was my favorite, I think we will go back to that next year...maybe.


2007


2006


2005

Sisters

Alexis and Lily shared a room when we first moved to Vacaville. When Evie was old enough to sleep through the night well, we gave Alexis her own room and now Evie and Lily are in a room together.

Every now and then Lily and Alexis start to miss each other and I will let them have a slumber party in Alexis's room, but only on the weekends. The past couple of nights Evie has had a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep, so Lily has been doing her night reading in Alexis's room. Last night when I went to get Lily into her room, the girls begged for a sleep over and I caved. I was actually surprised has quickly they fell asleep--it went far better than I had expected!

Tonight was similar, but when I went to get Lily for bed, they were all cozy and nearing sleep, so I let them be. Of course, when I went to officially say good night to them, they were totally hot--they had 3 or 4 small blankets on them, plus both of the girls down comforters on!

It is not every day that they get along so well, so I am deciding to encourage it in any positive way these days!

Funny Evie

It is always fun to watch little kids as they grown and imitate those around them. Evelyn has been so fun these past few weeks, she is doing more, saying more, and just developing a fun personality.

Evelyn doesn't like her high chair. It is a battle to get her in it, so I reserve it for times when her meals will be messier. She especially LOVES to sit with the kids and eat a bowl of cereal. The other morning she was quite involved in her Honey Nut Cheerios while pretending to listen to some music.


Evie loves clothes, or at least the putting on of clothes. The other day I was running errands and the kids were home with Ez. Evie kept bringing Ez clothes she wanted to wear, and her just kept piling them on her! She was in heaven. Of course, she wasn't thrilled when it was finally time to take a few of the layers off.


Every day is like a new adventure...

Different, but the same

We started letting the kids make their own advent calendars for Christmas about 4 years ago, when it was only Alexis and David that needed them. It has always been something the kids look forward to.

Typically we take a length of wide ribbon and hot glue wrapped candies onto them, then hang them in the house. The older the kids got and the more we had participating in this project, the more difficult it has been to keep this a simple activity! Not everyone likes the same candies. Buying enough ribbon to hold all that candy gets pricey, and who really wants 4 or 5 candy ribbons hanging on the wall in their house?

I had to come up with a better plan this year. We picked two candies the kids could be happy with. I gave them each an empty soup can (clean, of course), and we hot glued the candies on in their own design! Then I taught Alexis, David, and Lily how to curl ribbon, and we just curled ribbon and kind of decorated the cans a bit more.

I took over Evie and Joe's since we were smart enough to wait until they were asleep one night. The cans are probably not the best idea I have had, but they do just sit on the counter, kind of out of the way. The kids had fun, and that is really all that matters anyway, right?

Too sleepy

Every now and then one of the kids wakes up wide awake far too early in the morning, for no reason at all. The problem is that it seems to just mess everything up for about 3 days! Not my favorite thing.

Last week Joe woke up at 4:30 a.m. and climbed into bed with me. Luckily I know that if I just turn on the TV, he will rest quietly and let me get more sleep. I had it on CNN hoping it would lull him back to sleep, but when I got up a couple hours later, he was wide awake just watching the news!

Most moms would just make sure their early riser got a nap in the day somewhere, but not me! If Joe naps during the day, he is up until 11:00 or so! I find if I can just keep him up until about 5:30 that he'll sleep all night and be better rested and have a better schedule the next day.

The kids got home from school and were snacking on Ramen Noodles, so we made some for Joe too. About halfway through his snack, I noticed him eating with his eyes closed. A few moments later, his head was on the table and he was out--at 4:15 in the afternoon!

Guess what!? He slept until 6:30 the next morning. It was a fantastic gift for me after a long and grumpy day.

Going...Going...


Gone!

Decking the halls

We put our beautifully artificial, pre-lit Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving this year. We don't usually get it up that early, but Ez was still on vacation and so we knew it was our best opportunity.

I bought some shatter proof decorations this year since Joe broke a number of glass ones two years ago! While I sat putting hooks on the ornaments, the kids and Grandma Jane decorated the tree. When all the ornaments were on I realized we had forgotten to put on the beads first. In my head I was making plans to undecorate the tree later that night, string on the beads, and redecorate the tree. Then reality hit. No way do I want to spend my time doing that! Really, I believe our tree will survive a year without beads.

We have been thoroughly been enjoying the kids handy work, and the occasional readjustment of the ornaments by Evie and Joe.


Best buds


David trying hard to get that tree put together



Evie is making sure the boys are getting everything set under the tree


Evie was swinging the beads everywhere--which is why they got set aside and forgotten about


The decorating starts






Joe thought the big "socks" were great to walk around in


The finished product

Our Happy Thanksgiving

We had a rather fun Thanksgiving celebration this year! It all started the night before with a rather wonderful and fun get together...we hosted our first Pie Night! I took the idea from my sister, Jolie, who borrowed the idea from a friend, that sort of thing. The idea behind Pie Night is to have a fun get together the night before Thanksgiving and eat pie, since we are all typically so full from a big meal on Thanksgiving to give our delicious pies the compliments and respect that they so rightfully deserve.

We had a great group of friends (and their pies). Our pie selection was fantastic: apple pie, warm caramel apple pie, key lime, coconut creme, chocolate cream, chocolate silk, cherry, chocolate-peanut butter, and banana pies! We all laughed that we managed to have no pumpkin, but I am sure it's because we all assumed someone else was going to bring it!

Ez and David got up Thanksgiving morning and played some football with the other dads and sons from church. The rest of us watched the parade on TV, got food ready, and just relaxed. Grandma Jane came and spent the day with us. We played games and ate far too much food, but it was all so good! We had a few fun games of Scrabble and Cranium, then played a rather relaxing version of Disney DVD Pictionary.

At Family Night earlier in the week, we had taken the time to each write down a list of things we were thankful for. After dinner we all took turns reading them. I really enjoyed hearing what each of them had thought of. The greatest part was when Ez was reading his list and he read that he was thankful for rib-eye steaks. The kids thought it was hilarious, but Ez does love those rib-eye steaks...


Evelyn started out the day trying to feast on Red Vines, but it got nixed as soon as she was found taking a bite out of a red vine and then putting it back in the bucket!


Evie, Joe, and a very giggly game of ring-a-round-the-rosie


Making sure all the tangles were out before the big meal...


Ez and David watching football, and playing a little on the PSP too


Lily, Evie, and Ez munching on the cheese ball, 2nd time around


It's good just family was eating with us. There was some serious double dipping going on!


Hungry and ready for dinner


Alexis, Jane, and David Scrabble-ing it up


Keri helping Joe with his turn at Cranium


Full, tired, and playing a mellow version of Pictionary