The Elf on the Shelf madness has started!!

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it was wonderful!! However after Thanksgiving a very special friend comes to stay at our house for a while.... His name is Sebastian and he is our families elf. We introduced him this year with a North pole Breakfast of Junk food goodies and hot chocolate. Not your typical breakfast by any means and definitely not a healthy one, but fun none the less! I have to say I love this North Pole Breakfast idea a lot. I first saw it HERE. This ladies blog is awesome!! This was the set up when he woke up the other morning.. He walked in the kitchen and was very excited!

 His little elf was waiting for him to wake up and eat the yummy breakfast he brought from the pole :)

 This was the menu, and what told B what the breakfast was all about!

 Sebastian even wrote a letter to B introducing himself and letting him know why he is there.

 We at terrible food, cookies, Christmas tree cakes, powdered donuts and hot cocoa but it was great!!

He wanted to see the letter Sebastian wrote up close! It was really a great experience!

Then after we ate our breakfast, we read The Elf on the Shelf book, It explained to B why he cant touch his new friend, why he is around and for how long. It was a great experience and good kick off to the Holiday season! We have only been doing Elf on the Shelf for a few days now but its already a hit. Every morning B wakes up looking for his elf... Its awesome to see him so excited every morning and definitely makes it worth remembering to put the little guy in a different place everyday LOL Just wanted to share our North Pole breakfast experience. More elf on the Shelf mischief to come soon!!

What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving is next week, can  you believe it?? This year has just flown by. Thanksgiving, what does it mean? Is it time for family, time to eat turkey, maybe time for some football? What does thanksgiving mean to you?

By definition:

Definition of THANKSGIVING

1

: the act of giving thanks

2

: a prayer expressing gratitude

3

a: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

bcapitalized: thanksgiving day

 

I think that everyone makes this holiday their own. To me its just a time to be together with your loved ones and get to spend that quality time!! Having good food with great conversation to go along with it. No matter how you celebrate remember to be thankful. It is always important to really think about the blessings in  your life. I encourage you to go around the table next week with your nearest and dearest and each say something you are thankful for. I hope everyone has an amazing holiday. You will be hearing from me soon!!

 

ABC Family's 25 days of Christmas

I don't know about you guys but I just love watching the warm fuzzy Christmas specials that are on TV. I am starting to plan out how to do B's 25 days of Christmas activities bucket and thank goodness ABC Family put out their 25 days of Christmas TV schedule! For those that would like to know here it is!!

ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas begins Saturday, December 1 through Tuesday, December 25! We've got tons of merry movies and premieres for you and the whole family, including the A NEW ABC Family Original Musical The Mistle-Tones. Check out what Santa is bringing you this year below!

Saturday, December 1
7a/6c Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
8:30a/7:30c Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
10:30a/9:30c A Dennis the Menace Christmas
12:30p/11:30c Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
3/2c The Family Man
6/5c Jack Frost (1998)
8/7c & 10/9c Elf
12a/11c Snowglobe

Sunday, December 2
7a/6c Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
8:30a/7:30c Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
11a/10c I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
1/12c The Search for Santa Paws
3/2c Jack Frost (1998)
5/4c Elf
7/6c & 9:30/8:30c Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Monday, December 3
5/4c 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
5:30/4:30c Rudolph's Shiny New Year
6:30/5:30c Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
8/7c & 10/9c National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
12a/11c Holiday in Handcuffs

Tuesday, December 4
4:30/3:30c Rudolph's Shiny New Year
5:30/4:30c Mickey's Christmas Carol
6/5c Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too
6:30/5:30c Jack Frost (1979)
7:30/6:30c Frosty's Winter Wonderland
8/7c Elf
10/9c Fred Claus ABC FAMILY PREMIERE
12:30a/11:30c Frosty's Winter Wonderland
1a/12c Jack Frost (1979)

Wednesday, December 5
2:30/1:30c Fred Claus
5/4c Elf
7/6c Home Alone
9/8c The Polar Express
12a/11c Home Alone

Thursday, December 6
4/3c Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July
6/5c The Polar Express
8/7c Disney's A Christmas Carol NETWORK TELEVISION PREMIERE
10/9c & 12a/11c Elf

Friday, December 7
3/2c Elf
5/4c Disney's A Christmas Carol
7/6c The Santa Clause
9/8c The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
12a/11c 12 Dates of Christmas

Saturday, December 8
7a/6c Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
10a/9c Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
1:30/12:30c Fred Claus
4/3c The Santa Clause
6/5c The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
8/7c & 10/9c Despicable Me NETWORK TELEVISION PREMIERE
12a/11c Santa Baby

Sunday, December 9
7a/6c Rudolph's Shiny New Year
8a/7c Snow
10a/9c Snowglobe
12p/11c Santa Baby
2/1c Santa Baby 2 Christmas Maybe
4/3c 12 Dates of Christmas
6/5c Holiday in Handcuffs
8/7c & 10/9c The Mistle-Tones A NEW ABC FAMILY ORIGINAL MUSICAL

Monday, December 10
5/4c Mickey's Christmas Carol
5:30/4:30c Jack Frost (1979)
6:30/5:30c Frosty's Winter Wonderland
7/6c The Year Without a Santa Claus
8/7c Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
9/8c Home Alone
12a/11c Home Alone: The Holiday Heist


Tuesday, December 11
5/4c Home Alone
7/6c The Santa Clause
9/8c The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
12a/11c Chasing Christmas


Wednesday, December 12
5/4c The Santa Clause
7/6c The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
9/8c National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
12a/11c Christmas Do-Over


Thursday, December 13
5/4c The Mistle-Tones
7/6c National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
9/8c The Polar Express
12a/11c Christmas Every Day


Friday, December 14
5/4c Pixar Short Films
7/6c The Polar Express
9/8c Disney•Pixar's Toy Story
12a/11c Pixar Short Films


Saturday, December 15
7a/6c Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
7:30a/6:30c Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Grinches The Cat in the Hat
8a/7c The Little Drummer Boy
8:30a/7:30c The Little Drummer Boy Book II
9a/8c Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
9:30a/8:30c Pinocchio's Christmas
10:30a/9:30c A Miser Brothers' Christmas
11:30a/10:30c The Story of the First Christmas Snow
12p/11c 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
12:30p/11:30c Frosty's Winter Wonderland
1/12c Jack Frost (1979)
2/1c Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July
4/3c Disney's A Christmas Carol
6/5c Disney•Pixar's Toy Story
8/7c Disney•Pixar's Toy Story 2
10/9c Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
11/10c The Year Without a Santa Claus
12a/1c Jack Frost (1998)


Sunday, December 16
7a/6c Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
9a/8c Home Alone: The Holiday Heist
11a/10c Home Alone 4
1/12c The Year Without a Santa Claus
2/1c Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
3/2c Disney's A Christmas Carol
5/4c Disney•Pixar's Toy Story 2
7/6c & 9:30/8:30c Disney•Pixar's Toy Story 3 ABC FAMILY PREMIERE

Monday, December 17
11a/10c Sons of Mistletoe
1/12c Christmas Every Day
3/2c Christmas Do-Over
5/4c Dr. Seuss on the Loose
5:30/4:30c Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
6/5c Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
6:30/5:30c Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Grinches The Cat in the Hat
7/6c & 9:30/8:30c Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
12a/11c The Mistle-Tones


Tuesday, December 18
11a/10c The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus
12p/11c Frosty's Winter Wonderland
12:30p/11:30c Santa Who?
2:30/1:30c The Christmas List
4:30/3:30c Disney Prep & Landing
5/4c Disney Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
5:30/4:30c Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
8/7c Home Alone
10/9c The Polar Express
12a/11c Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory


Wednesday, December 19
8a/7c Christmas in Boston
10a/9c Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
12p/11c Three Days
2/1c The Family Man
5/4c Home Alone
7/6c The Polar Express
9/8c Disney's A Christmas Carol
12a/11c Three Days


Thursday, December 20
7a/6c – 11a/10c Beverly Hills, 90210 HOLIDAY MARATHON
11a/10c Christmas Caper (starring Beverly Hills, 90210's Shannen Doherty)
1/12c Secret Santa (starring Beverly Hills, 90210's Jennie Garth)
3/2c The Mistle-Tones (starring Beverly Hills, 90210's Tori Spelling)
5/4c 12 Dates of Christmas
7/6c Disney's A Christmas Carol
9/8c National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
12a/11c Santa Baby


Friday, December 21
9a/8c Christmas Cupid
11a/10c Snowglobe
1/12c Santa Baby
3/2c Santa Baby 2 Christmas Maybe
5/4c Holiday in Handcuffs
7/6c National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
9/8c The Santa Clause
12a/11c Holiday in Handcuffs


Saturday, December 22
7a/6c Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
8:30a/7:30c Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
10a/9c Disney Prep & Landing
10:30a/9:30c Disney Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
11a/10c Mickey's Christmas Carol
11:30a/10:30c Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too
12p/11c A Chipmunk Christmas
12:30p/11:30c Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
2/1c Rudolph's Shiny New Year
3/2c A Miser Brothers' Christmas
4/3c The Year Without a Santa Claus
5/4c Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
6/5c The Santa Clause
8/7c The Santa Clause 2
10/9c The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
12a/11c The Santa Clause 2


Sunday, December 23
7a/6c Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
8:30a/7:30c A Dennis the Menace Christmas
10:30a/9:30c Unaccompanied Minors
12:30p/11:30c Fred Claus
3/2c Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
5/4c The Polar Express
7/6c & 9:30/8:30c Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas


Monday, December 24
11a/10c Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
1/12c The Polar Express
3/2c The Santa Clause
5/4c The Santa Clause 2
7/6c The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
9/8c Home Alone
12a/11c National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation


Tuesday, December 25
7a/6c Disney's A Christmas Carol
9a/8c A Chipmunk Christmas
11a/10c The Santa Clause
1/12c The Santa Clause 2
3/2c The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
5/4c Disney's A Christmas Carol
7/6c Home Alone
9/8c National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
12a/11c The Santa Clause 2

Looks like we are going to be having a lot of fun family nights in with hot cocoa and classic movies!!

The gift of giving

So as I am thinking about the upcoming holiday season I cant help but be a little excited. I love the holidays. There is always the hustle and bustle of the eager shoppers with Starbucks in hand. The views and decorations are just gorgeous, and everyone just seems to have that spark! The holidays are when you get to see those family members you don't get to see everyday. You get to slow down (mostly because of the turkey) and realize what you are thankful for. The holidays mean something different for everyone. Every family has different traditions and way of doing things. For some the holidays are about religion and are celebrated in a more spiritual way. For others its the more commercial way of doing things and for some there is a balance of both! Whatever way you celebrate is awesome!

But with the holidays comes the gifts. Not necessarily receiving, but giving. Everyone (well not everyone) loves shopping for other people. I don't know about you guys but I just love seeing faces light up when they open your gift! Shopping for anyone for anything is just so much fun! Aside from being fun it can also be hard. You always want to do something that person will love, but what is that one thing they have been looking for?? Even when you know what they are looking for sometimes it just may be out of budget. Especially with children, of course you always want to find a way to give your little ones everything that they have dreamed of but sometimes that's just not realistic! What do you do in cases like this? Especially in cases with children I think you can make a holiday really memorable without all the gifts. But if little Suzy wants a play kitchen but the one at your local toy store is over $200 what do you do? I say you make it! Re-purpose an old entertainments center you find at a thrift store or get some plywood and paint. Kids are very creative and open minded a lot more than we are as adults so keep that in mind :)

There are also so many special and sentimental handmade gifts you can give. People bake, build, create, etc. Who doesn't love the special things that are made with love? Sometimes doing something like that is more time consuming but a lot easier on your pocket book. I myself do these kinds of gifts for all the grandparents from B. Everyone loves getting something that his little hands made. It is always a hit! For some people there isn't budget issues, but even still what kinds of gifts do you prefer to get? Do you want the newest and latest electronic gadget or do you like the more unique one of a kind gifts? Its hard, I mean I love my iPhone for sure, but I do love home made anything especially if its something from my little one :)

I guess this post is really to gauge what you guys think. I am having a really hard time coming up with the "perfect" gift ideas for some people in our families. So ladies and gents what do you prefer?? Please feel free to post a comment and let me know your ideas and opinions and as always have a wonderful day!

Check Check Checking things off the bucket list!!

So I'm behind... But a couple weekends ago the weather was beautiful!! AND I had Monday off of work, Thank you Christopher Columbus!! Because of that we knew we had to do something fun with the Beez :) We ended up checking something off the fall bucket list we didn't know we were going to do... AND got to go to a pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins!

We have a local park near us that is awesome. They have a petting zoo and stables. They do horseback riding lessons, have playgrounds of course and many other things. They have an annual event called Locktoberfest (Lockwood Park) and its super fun for the little ones. They have games, pony rides, wagon rides, face painting, food and many other fun activities for kids!

When we first got there we got tickets. Then B saw the ponies, man does that kid love pony rides!! So he got to ride Nutmeg! She was awesome and even let B pet her after the ride. Then we walked around for a bit until we got to the story time wagon ride.

              B riding his pony Nutmeg and all of us on the Wagon ride to Pumpkin Paradise

The wagon leads you through the forest and you here a "spooky" Halloween story, there was some interactive things to look for along the trail that coordinated with the story, so that was fun. Ultimately you get on the wagon because it leads you to a camp area where you can play games, have some hot chocolate, and even make s'mores! (That was the accidental thing we checked off the list) He had such a ball with the s'mores they were messy and delicious, just like they should be! After we had our hot cocoa and s'mores we got to go to Pumpkin Paradise!!

B roasting the marshmallow and taking his first bite of his first s'more :)

 

      The s'mores were a bit stickier than he expected them to be! So why not eat it off your hand??

In pumpkin Paradise you got to go look through a bunch of pumpkins and pick the ones that you wanted to take home! We let B pick his own. It was too cute, he got really excited!! We picked out two pumpkins to bring home and we called it a day! It was super fun and I think we will definitely be going back to Locktoberfest next year!!

B looking for the perfect pumpkin.

S looking over the patch and B trying to pick the chosen pumpkin :)

 

 

So now that the pumpkins are picked and its nearing Halloween, its seems its time to carve them! Tonight we are going to tackle that project along with roasting the seeds :) I hope you guys are having a fabulous fall and a fun time checking things off your bucket lists!! More pics coming soon!

Time to get artsy fartsy!

Well over this past week, we finally started feeling more settled in our new home. Therefore I figured what better than to get kind of messy again and get out the arts and crafts bucket for B?? He loves his art time. He likes to color, and create, glue and make things, touch things etc. I thought with it being October and all what better to do than Halloween crafts....

So after work one day while B was still napping I set up his "invitation." I like to set things up on the kitchen table to see if he will take interest in it and want to do whatever activity I chose for that day.

He took it! We put faces on pumpkins to make Jack-O-Lanterns and we even made a not so scary vampire bat from a toilet paper roll :) He just had a ball. He loves to do things like that and I think it is good to let them be creative and even get a little messy! But even better than letting them do messy fun things.. Take part in the fun as well. Be there and let them show you, bounce ideas off of you and just show off their finished work with pride.

B hard at work

 

The finished products!!

 

So as you can see we didn't do anything spectacular!! It doesn't take much to make a two year old happy :) He loved that we got to work with pumpkins and that he got to use markers and glitter glue. So on days when its a little to cold to run errands or play outside in the leaves consider doing fun inside projects! Oh and tip of the day... I have learned putting anything on a Popsicle stick instantly makes it cool to a small child ( not the Jack-O-Lanterns) Hope you have a wonderful day!

Our trip to the Apple Orchard

Well we officially checked our first thing off our fall bucket list this weekend. I don't know that we will always do things in number order but it just so happens that's how we started out! It's a family tradition since I can remember every year to go to the apple orchard. Since having a little one of my own we have definitely kept the tradition alive.

We got there and ate some lunch. We opted for the yummy baked potatoes our orchard does. We let B play, he loves the wooden train, so he played on that the majority of the time. We also took our yearly pictures in the ticket window and by the Edward's Orchard 2012 sign. We of course went through the store and picked up much anticipated apple cider donuts as well as cider!!

We didn't do everything in this trip knowing that we will go again in a few weeks when my brother in law comes to visit. He has requested to go to the orchard :) no complaints here!! Maybe we can get him to do the Pumpkin Patch as well. Hmmmmm. Anyways I just wanted to share our first thing checked off the bucket list!! Hope everyone is having fun with their own Fall Frolic!! Make it a great day!