dksquared: December 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Christmas Project 2011

Every year, we choose a project to make for our friends and family for Christmas gifts. Some years have been better for others, but as the kids have become more involved I think that we have had some good projects. This year, we decided to decorate cloth napkins and make beaded napkin rings. This project took a lot of work for tiny hands, but they did a great job!

I saw an idea on Pinterest that used Romaine lettuce 'stems' to make rosette patterns on paper, and thought that this would be a nice idea for the napkins, especially in keeping with the food theme. Though both kids did the stamping, Kyrie was much more interested in this part of the project and did more than her share of the work in taking up Degen's slack. (Kudos to Degen who did a great job beading napkin rings, definitely doing his share!)

Here are pictures of our completed napkins. I really try to let the kids do their own thing when it comes to art projects in general, and our Christmas projects are no different. I only issued a few reminders to do their best work because these would be gifts going to our loved ones. Each of the napkins & rings had its very own design and look because they kids chose how to do the stamping and beading. I really like the variety, and I think that the napkins turned out great, especially when you consider that the work was done by a 5 year old and a 2 year old. The beaded napkin rings were the perfect 'fancy,' finishing touch for our 'fancy' folded napkins! We hope our family & friends enjoy these handmade gifts!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Yule Logs

Degen decorating his Buche de Noel. There is a tear on his face because I stopped him from eating the roll before we decorated it.

Every year at Christmastime (and for almost every homeschool unit I plan) there are more super-cute activities than we ever have time to do. I am always thinking of one more thing I would like to do with the kids. Going over Kyrie's French words for Noel, I had an idea to make buches de Noel or Yule Logs. Buches de Noel are traditional holiday desserts in France and former French colonies. They are iced and frosted sponge cakes decorated to look like logs complete with snow, candy flora & fauna. Being the simple-momma that I am I was looking for an easy way to make these and that meant a box of Swiss cake rolls, canned frosting for snow, M&M mushrooms and candy decorations. This activity was quick and easy and the kids loved it just as much or more than anything I would have done homemade. We were able to squeeze this quick & tasty treat in between activities. We will definitely have to do this one again next year!

Kyrie was very excited about her Buche de Noel.

Momma's example. The kids gobbled theirs up before I was able to get any good pictures.

Wildlights 2011

Here comes the Polar Express!

Things have been a little bit up in the air this year because Darren had sinus surgery a week and a half before Christmas. That coupled with my own on-going illness and our usual busy schedule (and a very rainy winter) left a lot of our Christmas traditions in question. Still, I tried my best to keep up with everything and that included our annual trip to Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo.

LOVE this photo!

After piano practice last Wednesday I took the kids up to the zoo, leaving Darren at home to continue his rest and recuperation. There was a break in the day's rain and fairly mild temperatures, so it looked to be a nice evening. We started off with a ride on the zoo's 'polar express.' Degen was excited to ride the train, as always! We had a lot of fun seeing the Christmas lights among the habitats of the moose and reindeer. Afterward we walked through the zoo watching the lights brighten as day turned to night.

It was nice to watch the polar bears playing!

Wanting to keep our visit simple, my goal was to ride the train, eat dinner, ride the carousel and see Santa. Train: check, Dinner : check and on to the carousel! The carousel did seem a little more magical in the dark with all the twinkling lights outside the windows. The kids were first in line for our ride and their anticipation grew watching the horses go round and round. They were all smiles when they found their horses (which were not near each other) and had a great ride!

One of my favorite photos!

After our carousel ride we were off to see Santa Claus. Right when we got to the zoo we saw him heading to his building and he gave us a big smile and wave! Later that evening, when we got to the building, I was dismayed that there was a fairly long line. I was getting very tired and sore and I knew that the kids were about ready to head home. I got them both cookies from Mrs. Claus to eat while we waited. However, after a few more minutes in line they announced that Santa was going to take a 15 minute break. Well, we talked about it for a minute and we decided that we would just head home and skip Santa this year. I was disappointed, but fatigue and illness displaced the disappointment pretty quickly. Degen fell asleep in the car on the way home and was out for the night, so he was pretty pleased with our decision, too.

So though we were missing Darren and I was not feeling as good as I would have liked, we did have a good time and I was glad that we were able to make it to this year's Wildlights- keeping the tradition going! I really enjoyed watching the kids get excited about the lights, especially Kyrie. And I am thankful for kids who didn't get too disappointed when things didn't turn out exactly as planned, too. I have high hopes for a healthy Wildlights 2012!

Mrs. Claus helping Kyrie with her cookie.

Christmas Day 2011

After spending a pleasant Christmas Eve enjoying dinner and church with friends, we had a very nice Christmas Day. Unfortunately, I was still quite sick (after weeks of being sick). Still, Santa came and left a generous pile of toys for two children who barely made it off the naughty list this year.

Santa Piles!

This firetruck was a gift from Nanny & Pop-pop and a big hit!

Degen was up as usual, and I got up when Kyrie awoke so that we could begin our Christmas fun. The kids headed straight for their piles and soon Darren & I were busy opening boxes and putting together toys. This task would keep us busy for most of the morning. One thing I really like about our Christmases is that my kids really linger over their gifts. There is very little rushing and the day stretches out in long pauses to explore new toys and play. In between the kids and I sample the Christmas chocolate Santa left.

A Christmas bouquet brightened our celebration!

After our Santa Piles we dumped our stockings to find new Christmas treasures. Darren and I hoped for some Christmas luck with some holiday scratch tickets... Alas, we counted our blessings instead of our lottery winnings! Then it was to get to the presents under the tree.

I love this photo of the boys playing with cars!

Kyrie with some of her new Lalaloopies!

We are very grateful to all our family and friends who were so generous in their gift-giving! The kids took turns opening their gifts with glee, joyous to unwrap each new treasure. As always unwrapping gifts leads to pauses for play. Both kids hate to wait to start having fun with art supplies, toys, dress up clothes, new outfits and more. It is nice for Darren & I to sit back and watch their fun... After we have opened boxes and put together pieces. And we also enjoyed opening our own gifts! This year, Darren surprised me with his & her IPads! We have spent the past few days getting acquainted with the 21st century!

Kyrie got a head start on her thank you notes with her new panda stationery.

Our Christmas fireplace wasn't lit, but still kept us warm with all the Christmas cards & photos from family & friends.

I have tried to post my favorite glimpses into our Christmas Day for you, and I hope that you and yours were able to enjoy a happy day, as well! Thanks, and love to all our friends and family who sent cards and gifts and kept us in their thoughts and hearts. We send you our love and best wishes for the happiest of new years!