I have such mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day.  I love boxes of candy.  I love roses.  I love the pink and red combo.  I love cards.  I love cute, homemade stuff.  I love my kids.  I love my husband.  I should love Valentine’s Day, right?  Well, I do.  Really, I do.  But, I don’t really love the thought of giving more toys, right after Christmas.  I’m kinda over that…so, I usually give the kids a new book.  And, I’m out of gift ideas for the husband, I used every one of them for Christmas, and his birthday that’s just four days before.  Rough life, I know.  See what I mean about mixed feelings?  It’s like, “oooh, fun!” and “ugh” all jumbled together.

Hey, remember when kids used to secretly leave Valentines at your door?  They would ring the door bell and run away, remember??  That was awesome.  What happened to that??  Or, is it still around, and I just haven’t clued into the fact that I’m the only one not getting secret Valentines?  Maybe y’all have piles and piles of love notes covering your door steps.  Sad.

Anyhoo, something else that I love is traditions.  So far, on Valentine’s, the kids will have a treasure hunt, with clues written on hearts that lead them all around the house, until at last they find their new book and a little treat.  We also write a card/love note to each one of them, to include with their Valentine. (I blogged about it, here.) It’s way fun, but that’s pretty much the extent of our festivities…so, I decided that I would come up with a new tradition, to prolong the whole love theme, so it lasts the rest of the day.   After that, they’re back to being called “little terd-butts,” until Valentine’s Day rolls around again.  Just kidding.  Juuuuuuust kidding.

So, here’s what I’m thinking we’ll do this year…

I’m going to type up a paper, as follows:

For breakfast, I love…

For lunch, I love…

For dinner, I love…

For snack, I love…

To drink, I love…

To read, I love…

To watch, I love…

To play, I love…

I’ll cut them into little wordstrips, and put them in a bag.  A couple days before Valentine’s Day, I will have every kid draw out two papers, without showing anyone else.  I’ll probably add a couple duplicates of “to read” and “to play,” since I have a plethora of children.  The kids will then need to fill in the blanks, and give them back to me, so I can start planning our Valentine’s Day.  I want to fill the whole day, doing things that are LOVED, by different family members.

So, for all I know we could be eating Cookie Crisp for breakfast, Cookie Crisp for lunch, and McDonalds for dinner.  Snack might be beef jerky, and Bug Juice to drink.  We’ll probably read something like ‘Go Away’ Big Green Monster, play bowling on the Kinect, and watch iCarly.  But, I don’t care.  It will be awesome, because everyone will get a couple things that they love.  And, Valentine’s is about love, right?  Or, was it chocolate?  I get mixed up.

To jazz it up, I’m thinking of not telling who picked the designated food or activity, and having everyone take a guess.  Maybe whomever gets the most guesses right, will win an extra little Valentine.  Or, maybe just a love tap.  And, of course we’ll still do our traditional Valentine’s treasure hunt.

I’m excited.

Do you have any fun Valentine’s traditions??

It used to be that every Christmas, we spent more time away from home, than at home.  The minute we were done opening presents, we rushed off to visit family.  Soon enough, we were off to visit even more family.  Finally, at the end of the day, we would come home, crash, moan about how Christmas is a lot of work, and how the house is such a mess.  It was always fun, but exhausting.

Then, we did something CRAZY.  We told everyone that we weren’t leaving our home until Christmas night, to be with family for Christmas dinner.  We were having our own Christmas Eve party at home (with just us), and spending all of Christmas day at home.  Ahhh…home.  We felt like we were disappointing lots of extended family, but something amazing happened, Christmas went from fun to REALLY special.  And, a special Christmas is always fun!

It was the first time that we got to start our own Christmas traditions.  And, we have several traditions, that we’ve done for a couple years now, that we LOVE!  So, I thought I would share them with you.

Christmas Tree

I used to decorate my tree with all these cute rustic country ornaments.  But, then we decided to shake things up and make our tree more fun and meaningful.  Every year, I take the kids on an outing to pick a new ornament.  The catch is that the ornament has to have something to do with them that year…things they like to do, hobbies they have, sport teams they like, whatever.  When we bring them home, I take a magic marker and write really small on the bottom of the ornaments, their initials and how old they are.  I even pick one for myself and the hubs!  So, our tree is decorated with random ornaments:  Star Wars, The Office, Barbie, an elk, a camera, a golfer, Where the Wild Things Are, a corvette, Survivor, and so on.  When I pull out  the ones from years past, the kids love to see them again and remember the things that they used to like (or still do.)

Christmas Books

I bought 24 children’s Christmas books, one for each day leading up to Christmas.  (Don’t worry,  you use the same ones every year.)  I re-wrap each one of them and put them under the tree.  Every day, in December, the child whose turn it is to take the candy from the advent calendar, also gets to unwrap a book from under the tree.  I keep the books packed away throughout the year, so the kids are always excited to unwrap the books and see them again.  Then we will pile on the couch and read our Christmas story.

Christmas Eve Party

Like I said earlier, this is just a ‘Dad, Mom, and the Kids’ party.  We begin the night by having candlelight dinner at the table.  We always have potato/bacon soup, rolls, and sparkling cider, served in plastic party goblets.  I bought some fun reindeer plates from Pottery Barn Kids, that my kids LOVE.  They get so excited to pick which reindeer plate they are going to sit at.  Small pleasures. :)

After dinner, we start the fun and games.  The kids like to play ‘Santa Says,’ and another game where they guess what they are feeling in the stocking.  Their very favorite game is where I set a lit candle on a stool, in the middle of the room.  One person is blindfolded, and spun around.  They get just one blow to try and extinguish the candle.  It’s hilarious to see them blow really hard, 5 feet across the room, facing the other direction.  We play games until everyone has earned a small prize.

When we’re pooped, we gather around the fire while Dad reads the Christmas story, from the Bible.  Afterwards, the kids hustle to the tree.  We allow the kids to give the presents they bought to their siblings.  But, before anyone can get their sibling presents, everyone has to say something kind about that person.  This is my favorite part!  It is so awesome to hear my kids say nice things about each other…melts a mommy’s heart.  The other part I like about this, is that the sibling gifts are extra appreciated because they aren’t lost in the chaos of Christmas morning.  We give everyone a chance to play with their new gifts and call it a night!  The kids all sleep in the same room with Mom and Dad shouting death threats to them, every time they try to come out.  Because, everyone knows that Santa doesn’t come until you’re sleeping…

So, IF your Christmas feels chaotic and exhausting, I SO encourage you to bring it in, make it more intimate and peaceful.  Plan the big shin-digs for before Christmas and Christmas Eve.  Or, maybe just say “Sorry, we won’t be there this time.”  Maybe just save Christmas dinner for the big groups, like we do, or invite grandparents over for Christmas breakfast.  Really.  Toning-it-down is one of the best Christmas presents we could have given our family.

The end.

Oh, wait!  I wanted to tell you about some fun things going on over at “Or so she says…” (my blog)…

First, if you’re into awesome giveaways, I have one that ends this Saturday, with over $750 bucks in prizes (and lots of discounts!)  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on that post (Christmas Giveaway).

Second, if you need gift ideas for Christmas, you MUST stop by!  I have a bazillion gift ideas on the blog AND Tuesday kicked off ‘Mariel’s Picks 2011,” where every day for a couple weeks I will be sharing great gift ideas for all categories (men, women, babies, neighbors, kids, stocking stuffers, and so on.)

Enjoy the season!

Another Thanksgiving is upon us, a time to reflect on all the things we’re thankful for. Here’s my little list of being thankful. What are you thankful for today?

• my husband, Jordan, even with his crazy Movember moustache
• my kids and their sweetness, creativity, and energy
• my blog, I’m thankful to all you readers who keep coming back
• my book, it’s been such a blessing to have published the book I’ve always wanted
• my family, who have always been so supportive me
• my friends, especially my sweet friend Kami and her darling family (send prayers her way)
• to live in Seattle, such a beautiful place to live (with a fabulous library system!)

*For a few ideas for the kiddos today, head over to Babycenter’s Momformation for list of Thanksgiving ideas for kids!

Thanksgiving is just a week away. And while the holidays often seem choc full of consumerism and wastefulness, Turkey Day is one holiday with plenty of easy and accessible ways to Go Green. I know it sounds crazy – the gluttony, the consumption (oh my the consumption!); but the traditional Thanksgiving meal is in itself a culinary cacophony of seasonal delights: from sweet potatoes and yams, to mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

And then, once we’ve indulged and over-indulged in the bounties of the season, there’s the blessed leftovers. When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, the leftovers are one of my favorite parts. Turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce and a side of leftover stuffing is a pleasure my taste-buds look forward to long after the third Thursday of November hits.  And when I learned eating leftovers was good for the planet, suddenly that turkey sandwich tasted even better.

Planet Green explains that “Leftovers are a great way to save food, reduce your carbon footprint, save money, and save time.”

Yes, you read that right—eating leftovers are a great way to reduce your carbon footprint! And according to the New York Times best selling “The Green Book,”

“If you could reduce the amount of food wasted in your household by just twenty-five grams per day (about the weight of a slice of bread), you’d save twenty pounds of food annually – roughly enough to make sixteen meals. If all U.S. households reduced their food waste by this amount, the savings would be enough to provide three meals pre day for a while year to each of the 1.35 million children in the United States who are homeless.”

If you know the leftover portion will be as easy as (indulging in pumpkin) pie, I challenge you to check out these three sites for some more great ideas on how to Green your Thanksgiving and find a few options to implement at this year’s Day of Thanks:

•  For 8 Easy Green Thanksgiving Tips check out Earth911.com
• “Earth First” has 10 Tips for a Green Thanksgiving
• Treehugger.com has a plethora of ideas for going green on Turkey Day

So it begs the question, what sustainable practices are part of your Thanksgiving Day traditions, or what are you trying new this year?

Photo Credit:  GreenBaby.com

I’ve come up with a fun way to display what my family is thankful for with this zig-zag thankful book. We sat down as a family and talked about what we are thankful for. I love how Thanksgiving helps give us a time to talk about what things we are really thankful for. And I love to hear what my kids have to say.

Supplies for Zig-Zag Thankful Book:

• decorative paper
• scissors or paper slicer
• glue
• letter stickers
• pen or markers

1. Slice your paper into 4 inch wide strips. It doesn’t really matter how long your paper is, as you can always glue more pieces on. My paper is a 12×12 paper and I cut it into 4×12 strips. I will only use 2 of the strips, as I only have 5 people in my family. You may need only one or even three.

You could also use your paper scraps to make this book, gluing different styles of paper together to make one long strip.

2. Fold your strips into 3 or 4 folds, making a zig-zag. Press the creases down well.

3. Glue your strips together if you need to lengthen your book. Add glue to one square and glue it to the back of one of the other strips. Make sure they are glued on the right way, with matching paper if your paper is two-sided.

4. Add stickers to the front of the zig-zag book, acting as the cover. We created the words: We are thankful for…

5. Using a pen or marker, write down what each person is thankful for, each getting their own square. You can write them or the kids can write them. We only did 5 each, but you could fill up your page.

Now it’s ready to display for everyone to see. We might even keep this up year round, to help us remember to be thankful!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered. Congrats to #85 Carrie. You are going to be crossing of something fun on your bucket list!

Jordan and I, along with our kids, have started to talk more about our “bucket list” and what things we want to do during our life. We’ve been talking to our kids about making goals and working to achieve them, and making a family bucket list seemed appropriate. I think it’s good to start this now and involve our kids, making goals and striving to accomplish them when we write them down. It’s also good to have something to work towards and look forward to.

I was thrilled about the opportunity to work with Just Ask, a company who wants us all to stay around for a good long while so we can all cross activities and achievements off that bucket list. That’s why they’ve developed a test that could save lives—the BRACAnalysis test—by warning about chances of getting breast or ovarian cancer.

Here’s the fun part from Just Ask… share your bucket list and you have a shot of winning a trip of a lifetime.  The grand prizes are:

• A family vacation of a lifetime to Universal Orlando^® Resort.
• A Las Olas Surf Camp Safari
• Ski Lessons and stay at Park City Mountain Resort

Here’s my family’s “bucket list”, in no particular order of family member. Although you’ll probably know which one came from a child :)

• Go on a Disney Cruise
• Sleep in Cinderella’s Castle
• Run the Disney half marathon (yes, a bit of a Disney theme going on here)
• Travel to India
• Learn to surf
• Be a secret agent
• Make 2 new friends this year
• Try out for the local Roller Derby Team
• Do a triathlon
• Kayak through the San Juan Islands
• Ski the Alps
• Travel to New Zealand
• Be a karate kid
• Speak Spanish
• Live in China like Kai-Lan

To get the full details on how you can share your own bucket list and enter to win those Grand Prize vacation packages, head over to Todays Mama.

But wait, there’s more. Extra Prizes! I get to help you cross something off of YOUR bucket list too!

Simply leave a comment here sharing an item from your bucket list. One random winner will win $500 to go cross an item off your list! Wahoo!

______________________________________________________________

Giveaway Entries: For your chance to win one bucket list prize of $500, leave a comment on this post by Thursday November 10th @ midnight. I’ll announce the winner chosen from random on Friday morning November 11th. Good Luck!

Extra Entry – Like Just Ask on Facebook and be sure to come back and leave a extra comment letting me know you did.

Happy Halloween from Thor, a bumble bee, and a ladybug!

*Check out how I made my a few last minute trick-or-treat bags over at Babble’s New Home Ec.

We’ve been on a writing-kick lately, for homeschool.  Remember my A Fun Way to Encourage Handwriting post??  I’ve also raved about how great journals are for kids.  Yep, I’m still on one.  And, with Halloween coming up, my thoughts turned grim…well, gruesome.  My kids LOVE scary stories.  I think they’ve inherited my twisted mind.  So, I put all of our creepy thoughts to good use…we started a book.  Not the kind fancy kind of book that we want published, oh no.  Just the kind where we will pull it out, in a year from now, and crack up at our silly, scary stories.

I picked up a small notebook at Target, and gathered the kids in the craft room.  We decided that we would each write just one page, and then pass it to the next person.  We could only read just the page before ours, before we continued writing.  Not knowing the complete story was part of what made it so silly, in the end.  So, I went first, “Once upon a time, there was a girl who was asked to babysit three children, for a whole week.  The parents were going away on vacation…”  Then, I passed it on to Shane.  He wrote something about a stranger calling and being a total creep-face.

(There’s no Michael-Jackson-thing going on here…he’s just camera shy.)

The book was then passed on to Caden.

Caden wrote a little something about the babysitter and kids being all scared, like a bunch of sissies.  Then, I wrote about how one of the kids randomly became possessed and had blood squirting out their eyes.  (I mean, really.  If we’re going to be scary, let’s do it right.)

Whoever wasn’t writing, was creating monsters with play dough.

There was terror in the street, attacks in the dark, and zombies taking over the world.  The book took giant leaps, it was hilarious.

They gave the story a name, and we left plenty of room in the notebook for additional stories.

They fashioned a book cover…

And, here it is!  A fun, spooky/silly book that we can add to and keep for memories…plus, it was another great way to practice handwriting and encourage creative thinking.  Fun for Halloween time, or really any time of the year.

Remember the ‘cool house’ that gave out full-size candy bars on Hallow’s Eve? I do, and once I got married I was determined to be “that house.” My husband thought it was ridiculous we were spending so much money on Trick-or-Treaters, but I hit up Costco and rationalized it was only one time a year. 

Fast forward a few years later. Now I’ve got my own little one (see our own version of “The Great Pumpkin” to your right), and for the most part we kept him candy-free until he turned two.  So how did I justify dolling out double serving sizes of chocolate covered goodness to other people’s children, when I was trying to teach my little one that raisins and fruit leather were a special treat?

Last year I thought I had found a decent compromise – candy bars and organic vegan fruit & nut bars that were packaged so delightfully, I think a few of the kiddos took them just based on looks. Not sure what happened to the bird-food after they got home to verify their spoils and discovered my mischievousness.

But this year I’m looking for something different, especially when you consider:

• This generation of kids has a life expectancy that is shorter than their parents.
• The EPA considers that 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides and 30% of all insecticides found in non-organically grown foods are carcinogenic.
• Over 6,000 synthetic chemicals are used in the processed-food industry.
• A 2004 study found that children’s behavior measurably improved after a one week diet without preservatives and artificial colors and dramatically worsened on the weeks they were given preservatives and artificial colors.
• Coco beans used for chocolate that are grown in full sun (as opposed to shade) are susceptible to disease and therefore require heavy doses of toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
• The chocolate industry has engaged in the use of child slaves and other unethical treatments of growers.
• Store-bought costumes, makeup and accessories may contain phthalates, cadmium, lead and other toxins.

-From “Green Halloween FAQ’s”

So I’ve been trying to find ways to make this year a less sugar crazed, more eco-friendly day (and month) of festivities. Fortunately I found it at Green Halloween – “a non-profit, grassroots community initiative to create healthier and more Earth-friendly holidays, starting with Halloween.” There are loads of ideas for making the holiday greener: from costume swaps and crafts, to ideas for neighborhood parties and ideas for ‘trick-or-treaters’ (yes,they mention tooth-brushes).

So in my search to still be a Cool Kid, I’m asking for your help, and offering up this month’s challenge. I’m not planning on overhauling our entire Halloween this year, but I do think a step in the right direction for our family starts at our doorstep. So what creative & GREEN treat ideas do you have for the little witches, ghosts and ghouls that visit us on the 31^st?

**And if I may be so bold as to offer a “ps” since I won’t be seeing you until next month: It’s a good time to start thinking about, locating and ordering your heritage or locally raised turkeys for Thanksgiving!**

One of the many subjects my kids do for homeschool is Handwriting, a class that my husband clearly slept through in his elementary years.  I have to tease him about it all the time.  But, then when we’re put in situations where we’re signing documents/checks/whatever, and it takes him 1 second to scribble his “name” and me 5 minutes to sign mine…I start to feel jealous.  “Why can’t I write that sloppy?  It’s not fair!”  I just can’t do it.  Nothing in me can bring myself to scribble a bunch of junk and call it my name.  But, just THINK about all the time I’ve spent in my life, if you add it up, signing my long name…maybe a couple days??  You know what I could do with a couple days??  Um, how about 10 loads of laundry, 4 dishwasher cycles, 20 dirty diaper changes…I could go on and on.  Yea, that’s right.  I’m wasting my life with this neat handwriting crap.

So, since misery loves company, why not teach my kids to have nice, legible handwriting?  We have a handwriting curriculum that is somewhat cool, I guess.  But, I’m always looking for anything that would be more fun, thus resulting in less complaints.  Ahhh….don’t you love the sound of no complaints??  I savor every moment of it that I can get.

While bumming around in my office, I noticed a silly book that I bought a long time ago, when I obviously had more free time.  It’s called “Idiot Letters” by Paul Rosa.  As far as I can tell, you can only buy it used now.  Anyway, I remember reading these hilarious letters that this dude would send to different companies.  He would write the goofiest things, just to see if he could get the company to write back.   He would keep writing until he got a response.  Often, he would get responses back (some serious, others humorous) and lots of free stuff!  The book is a publication of his best letters.  One time he wrote to The Guiness Book of  World Records, telling them that he had never put his cat down for a whole year.  He showered with it, ate with it, and held it away from his body while it pooped.  Could he earn a world record for that??  He wrote to the Denver Broncos asking if they could possibly look into changing the NFL to flag football because he was concerned about all the injuries.  M&M’s got a letter from him asking them to change their slogan from “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” to “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands…if you have any.”  Due to the fact that he was in a brutal grizzly bear attack and considered the slogan discriminatory.  Hilarious.

Anyway, remembering that book was making me think how my kiddos would probably love to hear a few of the letters, and perhaps be inspired to write a few letters themselves.  We cuddled on the couch while laughing together at Paul Rosa’s nonsense.  Then…dah, dah, dah…their assignment came.  They had no idea what they were in for.   I told them that for handwriting practice they had to pick any company they wanted, and write a letter to them.  It didn’t have to be super long.  It didn’t have to be funny.  But, it DID have to be nice and neat because “what company is going to respond to or even read a letter that is a mess?”  Plus, maybe…just maybe…”they might send you something.”  That was all they needed to hear!

Caden decided to write to P&G, the company who makes Pringles.

Shane wanted to write to his favorite Indian food restaurant, Taste of India (Layton, UT).  I know, he needs a hair cut.  It’s on my list.

Meanwhile, I got on the internet and found their addresses…pretty simple.  Their letters were adorable!  Check ‘em out:

Caden’s…

Dear P&G,

My name is Caden.  I am nine years old.  And I love your pringles.  My favorites are sour cream & onion, original, and cheedar cheese.  one time my dad and his friend were out fishing when my Dad’s Dad said they could eat anything they wanted.  and they went strait for the pringles.  and they ate so many they barfed.

P.S. do you have any thing you could send me if so here is my address…(address)

Thanks,

Caden

And, Shanes…

Dear tast of indeia,

i am Shane.  i am 7.  i rily like your food my whole familey liks it you are the best my dad ditint go yet maybe coud you send us a coupan.  haer is my address…(address)

Shane

How could you resist that cuteness??  I’m fully expecting free Pringles and Indian food, for life.  I may have to convince them to write a few letters on my behalf (…J.Crew, Olive Garden, Nikon, Zappos…).

Anyway, maybe they will get a response, maybe they won’t.  But, they’re excited to write more letter, hoping to up their chances.  And, that’s fine with me.  Write, write, write.

Next subject?  Spelling.