Family Traditions | Holiday Baking

I can't believe Christmas is just twelve days away!!  I just had a mild panic attack as I typed those words : )   It's been slightly hectic and crazy at work but I am trying to carve out time to do things with the girls.  One of the activities on our Advent Calendar was to Bake a Holiday Treat and the holiday treat we decided on was the Peppermint Pretzel Marshmallow Fudge from Joy the Baker.

The girls love peppermint, marshmallows, and chocolate.  Having all of it in one treat was a dream come true for them.  They had a blast crushing the pretzels and the peppermint candy and spreading all the treats in the pan.  I'm sure a bunch of it was gobbled when I wasn't looking.

peppermint, marshmallows, pretzels

then the chocolate mixture poured over it all

finishing touch - add more pretzels, marshmallows and peppermint

They had so much fun making this.  I think the hard part is always the wait for it to cool and set.  Since we made it at night, I just popped it into the fridge to set overnight.  Of course, the next morning, the first questions out of their mouths was "is it ready?" and "can we have one for a treat for lunch?" : )

What are your favorite holiday baking recipes?  Do you have one that your family makes every year or do you try to find a new family fave each time?

Family Fun | Creative Holiday Wraps

Pom Pom Presents:  Foxs Lane

Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, it's time to get wrapping.  I am always on the lookout for different yet easy ways to give our wrapping a special touch.  Here are some ideas to get the creative juices flowing ...

Reindeer Prints from Splash of Something

The House That Lars Built

I love using simple brown craft paper as the base and then getting creative from there.  Click on the links for detailed instructions.  Check out ZoLi Wraps  our Pinterest board for even more ideas. 

Family Fun | Twist on Holiday Photo Cards

Photo cards are always great and I love how creative people have been getting with their photos but with our overexposed, picture-sharing world, it might be nice to change things up a bit. 

Etsy Shop:  BisforBrown

 

 

Etsy Shop:  HeadHandHeart

Family Fun | Holiday Photo Cards

Source:  PopSugar

It's that time of year to start thinking about holiday cards.   There was a time when I used to make my own cards, but now it's all about choosing the right photo to use.  If you're like me and haven't taken your photo yet, here are some ideas for inspiration ...

cute idea if you have a large family

don some santa hats and head outdoors - source:  red tricycle

source:  yeowzers

Think it's time for me to grab some props and take the girls for a DIY photo shoot.

Family Fun | Cardboard Beds

Photo credit:  Hellobee

What kid wouldn't love a bed for their favorite stuffed animal or doll?  With two girls, our AG doll collection seems to growing every year and I'm sure they will be needing a bed or two.  This will be a fun weekend activity with your little crafters.  Click here for a super easy tutorial from Hellobee.

Family Fun | Wrapping Birthday Presents

A Subtle Revelry

Such a fun idea for wrapping gifts.  All you need is white wrapping paper - white butcher paper works great.  Go to A Subtle Revelry for templates or get just have your kiddos draw a face with black marker.

Back to School | Routines & Schedules

image from Simple As That Blog

Back-to-school time typically means a new routine for us.  This year is no different.  We are trying out a new system to help keep us organized and stay on top of daily tasks and chores.  For it to work, we knew it had to be simple for it to stick.  The gist of the system is that each girl will get their own chart of daily responsibilities broken up into morning and evening tasks.  Morning tasks are meant to be done before school starts - we limit the morning tasks to only four to streamline getting out the door.  The evening tasks can be spread out and done when they get home from school and/or before bed.  The goal is to complete all tasks. 

The incentive / reward will be their weekly allowance.  In order for them to get their weekly allowance, they will have to complete all tasks.  If they miss a task, they will get the opportunity to choose from a list of makeup activities but it must be done by Saturday for them to get their allowance on Sunday.

School started last week so we implemented this system at the same time.  So far, so good.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this sticks. What are some of the systems that you use to keep your family organized and kids on task?

Summer Fun | Tire Swing

photo from Grams:  We're a Swingin' Group

Painted tire swings ... the possibilities are endless.  Doesn't this make you think of summer?

Family Fun | Colorful Wooden Blocks

There is just something about wooden blocks ...   love these colorful sets from Brinca Dada.  Made from beechwood and non-toxic, lead free paints. Perfect gift for your little one.

Family Fun | Easter Egg Inspirations

Embroidery thread eggs from Craftberry Bush

Rubber band dyed eggs from Inkspired Musings

Polka dot eggs from La Receta de la Felicidad

Happy almost Easter.  In case you're still looking for some last minute egg decorating inspirations, above are some ideas I found looking around the web.  We haven't done our egg decorating yet so I think we will be getting our craft on tonight and trying the rubber band method.

Family Fun | Bird Feeder Eggs

What to do with all those plastic eggs after this Sunday?  Check out this fun craft from Victoria Hudgins @ A Subtle Revelry.  Re-purposing plastic eggs and bringing in Spring - love it.  I think I'm going to have to do this with my girls.

Plastic egg bird feeder instructions can be found here.

Family Fun | Valentine's Day Craft

With valentine's day coming up, it is time to get your craft on.  The girls usually like to make something to pass out in class so this year, after searching around on the web, we decided to make heart dough magnets and heart necklaces.  Our project is based on the one we found on Amazing Mae's blog.

Basic salt dough recipe:
1 cup salt
1 cup lukewarm water
2 cups flour
- Mix ingredients and knead until the dough is a nice smooth consistency.

Then the girls rolled out the dough and cut out hearts with a small cookie cutter.  For the magnets, we left as is and for the heart necklaces, we poked a hole with a straw before baking in oven at 200 degrees until it hardens (approximately 2 hours).

After they dried the girls went to town with some acrylic paints.  To finish them off, we added pretty ribbons to make the heart necklaces and for the magnets, we hot glued the magnets (round discs purchased from Michael's) to the back.

Girls were excited with the finished product and can't wait to pass them out in class.

Traditions | Chinese New Year

We typically don't celebrate Chinese New Year since my parents are usually not in town this time of year.  However, this year, they extended their stay so this past weekend, we were fortunate enough to enjoy some of the traditions of Chinese New Year.

Festivities included a big family feast with traditional Chinese dishes. Food is such an integral part of the Chinese culture, that it is no wonder many of the types of foods eaten holds a special meaning.  Below are some of the dishes and what they symbolize:

• Fish is typically served since it symbolizes prosperity.  Consuming it durng this time means that it will help you achieve what you want in the coming year.
• Chicken is popular during Chinese New Year since it symbolizes a happy household.
• Tangerines, Oranges, and/or Pomelos represent luck, wealth, and abundance
• Sticky Rice Cake (nian gao) is a very traditional dessert during this time of year because the round shape represents family togetherness, height and layers symbolizes continued abundance, and the sweet flavor stands for a rich and sweet life.
• Other dishes eaten during this time are noodles for longevity and chinese dumpling to represent continued prosperity (dumplings are believed to look like silver ingots).

Z and L also got to enjoy the tradition of "hong bao" - which are red envelopes filled with money.  They really enjoyed the celebrations but it got me thinking ... I need to do a better job incorporating our cultural heritage into their lives.

Family Fun | Countdown Calendar

Stacking Cans Calendar | Shelterness

My girls love the tradition of Advent Calendars for the holidays.  Usually we purchase a ready-made one, but this year, I decided to attempt to make our own.  Pinterest had so many great ideas for inspiration so I thought I would share images and links to some of my favorites.

Chalkboard Advent Calendar | Oh Happy Day

Branch Advent Calendar | Sugar Lander

Bundle of Bags | Martha Stewart

In the past, the ones I purchased were typically filled with candy. This year, I wanted to incorporate the activities we usually do into our countdown calendar, so I was looking for something that was not only EASY but could accommodate a trinket or treat along with a note for an activity.   Below are some of the activities that will be included: 

• Watch a Christmas Movie
• Go Ice Skating
• Decorate a Gingerbread House
• Make Homemade Ornaments
• Go see Christmas Lights
• Listen to Christmas Music
• Make Christmas Cookies

What about you ... did you make an advent calendar this year?   How will you be counting down the days until Christmas?

Family Fun | Those little moments ...

It was Mother's Day celebration at L's preschool today.   It was just one of those moments where it made me so happy to be her mom.  Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing moms!!

Family Fun | Kids Room Inspiration

image from Architect House Designs

I love the idea of a sliding door between the rooms and the bubble chair swings.   Hmmm ... maybe something we can do for the girls at home.  Z & L love having their own rooms but also enjoy sleeping together.  This would allow them to have the best of both worlds.

Family Fun | Personalities

one on the right was made by Z and the left was made L

Two ceramic mushrooms.  Each done by my daughters at the exact same age (4.5 yrs old) with significantly different results.  I look at this and it represents each of their personalities perfectly.   Two girls from the same family ... very much alike yet so, so different.

Family Fun | Valentine's Day

Love is ... a happy childhood. 

Isn't it funny how Valentine's Day brings on a whole new meaning once you have kids?  We had spent the weekend making these cute valentine bookmarks for both Z's and L's classmates.  Today started at the crack of dawn when they both greeted us with a loud chorus of "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY" ... all caps to represent the volume at 6:00 AM : ).  We surprised them with a special shirt / outfit + a little gift which they both loved.  Then we all got dressed and headed out for a special breakfast outing before dropping them off at school.  And tonight a nice dinner at home ...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

Family | Soup on my mind

Cold weather usually means soup for dinner in my family.  It is my go-to comfort food and is a staple in my meal rotation during winter months.  It usually shows up at least once if not twice a week.  Lucky for me, my family loves soups.  I love that they are simple to prepare and fits well with a healthy eating plan.  It's also a great way for me to get my girls to eat more servings of a variety of vegetables.

So for winter months, here are some of my family's favorites:

Spinach & Broccoli Soup - great way to get more greens into your diet.

Butternut Squash Apple Soup - hearty goodness and perfect with crusty french bread.

Minestrone Soup - loaded with veggies but you can also mix it up and use what vegetables you have on hand.

Chili - not a soup but a cold weather favorite.  I play around with this recipe by loading it up with more meat - italian sausage and beef sirloin.  The girls then dress it up with their own favorite additions - cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc ... This is usually served with a side of corn bread. 

PS.  I'm not big into buying kitchen gadgets and usually will make what I have work but last year I broke down and purchased an immersion blender and WOW ... making soups just got a whole lot easier.  So now, instead of doing batches in my blender, I pull out my immersion blender and puree right in the pot.  Makes clean up a whole lot simpler as well.

Family Fun | Soccer Mayhem

Let the craziness begin.  This past weekend was kind of a milestone for the Shaw-Hong family - our youngest is now in U5 division for soccer.  So now, it's double the fun.  The girls all just look too cute in their ten sizes too big uniforms and going after that ball beehive style : )

As for my older daughter ... for some reason, it's "clicked" for her this year.  She's definitely engaged and enjoying it much more this season.

It's going to be a fun, crazy soccer season for both my girls.