Merry Christmas!!

 (*New family photo secret: Put on great Christmas cartoons, set up camera with timer, and go!)

From Our House To Yours, Have a Wonderful Holiday!

XO

Looking For A Touch Of Christmas Around The World

When we are travelling, we try to keep our packs as light as possible, but of course want to bring home the odd memorable souvenir. An incredibly light and easy collection is Christmas ornaments. The best thing about this is that each year after being tucked away and out of mind for 10 or 11 months they are unpacked and a whole pile of memories are gone back over at a time of year when good memories seem to be most appreciated.


Some of our ornaments are not quite as seasonal as others. Some were just last minute desperate purchases - usually keychains that we turned into ornaments but somehow, for us, they fit in.
One of my favourites is a small wooden door, hand carved at our request by a gentleman in Zanzibar, Tanzania - very indicative of this island's beautiful and ornate architectural style.

Collecting Christmas ornaments on your trips is a fun challenge, and one you can appreciate anew every year as you decorate and enjoy your tree!

xo

Homemade Play Dough

This has been on my list of things to do for just about forever. Now that I finally made some homemade play dough, I see that I was silly to not do it before. It took less than 5 minutes to make 2 yummy smelling colours of dough.

Owen was eager to taste it, though I continuously told him that it would not taste good. He finally licked it, and then continued to do so several times, all the while thinking he was being hilarious, and I think deciding that it was, in fact, delicious. I'm sure he's already planned a full on taste test for his next go at the dough...

Levi was completely engrossed in his creating for a long time.
Being that it is totally edible, you can easily use all your cookie cutters, and cooking utensils as play tools for the dough. I put out all our Christmas cookie cutters for them to use.

I cannot find the site I used anywhere! It was a site showing recipes for all kinds of play dough. Well, there are hundreds of 'em online so I think it would be okay to share the one I used anyway...

1-2 cups of flour (1 cup was sufficient for me)
1/2 cup salt
3 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1 packet kool-aid (the packets that would otherwise make up a full pitcher - not the single serve's)
1 cup boiling water

Put flour, salt, and kool-aid in a bowl.
Add boiling water and mix thoroughly.
Once it has cooled slightly and is mostly mixed, it works well to blend it with your hands.
(The recipe said to start with 1 cup flour, and after the boiling water was added to add more if necessary.  Our dough was just peachy with 1 cup of flour.)
Store it in the fridge. I have our's in snap lock containers.
So simple!

 Just look at that concentration!

Favourite Children's Christmas Books

Just thought I'd share a few of our favourite reads this Christmas season:

 

"As dry leaves, that before the wild hurricane fly, 

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew

With a sleigh full of toys, and St.Nicholas, too."

~ Clement C. Moore

I LOVE those first two lines.

 I have been hearing those lines, this story, every Christmas Eve for my entire life. My brother's and I would cosy up next to my Dad while he would first read to us from the Bible about the very first Christmas, and then The Night Before Christmas. Our family copy of The Night Before Christmas was identical to the one above, only I picked up my copy at a thrift store. 

This Christmas Eve tradition is definitely one my husband and I will carry on with our kids. 

On that note, 1 week until Christmas Eve!

I hope you're able to take things slow, and just enjoy. 

XO

{This Moment}

{This moment} is inspired by Soulemama, and beautifully done by so many. It reveals a moment from our week that is special enough to stand alone, without need for expression, or explanation.

Moving

With a number of life changing events in our very near future, saying things feel busy is an understatement. My "nesting" instinct is in overdrive, and my anxiety rivals my excitement in equal anticipation of all that is to come.

This week we found ourselves on a mini-break to introduce our little boys to what will become their new hometown. You could say it's preemptive damage control. I have no idea how much this move will upset their busy little minds, so we are doing our best to prepare them. 

I sought out children's books on the subject recently, but for their young ages there was nothing I could find that worked, and two I read brought up a series of fears that I don't even think are on their radar. I don't want to introduce an upsetting idea that hasn't even crossed their minds, so goodbye to that plan! 

We will be about a five hours drive from where we currently live, so it's not too crazy. Weekend visits are completely within our reach, and the boys do travel well (thank goodness).

Our first couple months in the new house will zip by in a flash between visiting family, exploring, new baby, and of course (!) general exhaustion. Time will only tell, when it comes to how we all feel about our new home once the dust has settled... 

XO