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Holiday Traditions
I’m sure everyone has their own little holiday traditions and things that they do to make it a special time for the kids, but for us it doesn’t even begin to feel like the holidays until we go get our tree! We always struggled as a couple trying to switch off Christmas Eve between the in-laws until we had kids. It’s just not fun trying to spread yourselves so far that you don’t really have time to enjoy any of it. Then when we did have kids driving the five hours or so at like midnight with the babies just seems like a cruel joke on Christmas! So we finally…
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Thanksgiving Leftovers
If you’re anything like my family you’re starting to get sick of the thanksgiving leftovers by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. We all love it and are so lucky to have all this food but it gets a little boring after a few days. Instead of wasting all of it though we are sharing some recipes that we’re using to use up some of the leftover-leftovers! First up is… Spicy Turkey Pasta I used two bags of pasta (we’ve got a lot of people to feed over here) but just make enough pasta to feed your crew – the extra sauce will only add to the flavor. While the…
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Laundry Secrets
As we start to get ready for our first thanksgiving with three babies, I’m pulling out all the stops. We’ve got turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes the list goes on and on. We’ve got more family than I can count coming over, turkey napkin rings and of course a lovely turkey candle for the table (thanks mom!) so I’ve been thinking back to our last thanksgiving and how much the babies have grown since then and how much our lives have changed. As I brought out the napkins and placemats though I’m astonished by one thing. I can’t tell which one we poured a whole bottle of red wine on last…
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The Turkeys Are Coming!
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just a week away! Does anyone else feel like Halloween was yesterday? I mean really we’ve still got Halloween candy! At least the kids and I have been talking a lot about Turkeys because we’ve had a lot of them around the neighborhood lately, but we just finally got around to doing some of the Turkey crafts I’d set up for them as they’ve just escaped us due to one appointment or another. We’ve done a few of your obvious hand turkeys – and this year I’m actually turning it into a little game along with our table name cards – which if I do…
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Babies & Snow Days
This winter I’ve been couped up in the house for several snow days. While going out in the snow with your kids is basically a built in playground – I’ve got non-walkers and who wants to lug babies around or just literally lay out in the snow?? So instead of bundling them up and trying to drag them outside I brought the snow to them. They have never had so much fun! First thing I did was gather up a few plastic spoons from our recent take out orders as well as some play kitchen tools we had lying around (I’m sure regular silverware or kid friendly cookware…
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Baby-Proofing The Fireplace
When we moved into our new place we had an amazing fireplace in our playroom. While we thought this was a great feature for the long term as our kids are so little now we didn’t want it to be a place where they crawled into and got all covered in soot. So we knew right away we wanted to cover it up at least temporarily. We thought about a simple baby gate but decided that would just invite a lot of throwing toys in and climbing over it as they reached toddlerhood. What we ended up doing was an awesome kid friendly centerpiece with a chalkboard and magnets! It…
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Corn Three Ways
We had so much fun husking corn during our Fall activities that I thought creating our own corn would make a fun thanksgiving project! I just couldn’t decide which would be the best way to do it so we tried corn three different ways! The first one was definitely the best for my youngest little one. I cut out contact paper and added the husks (or leaves) then let the kids use our yellow pompoms to make the corn kernels simply sticking them to the contact paper! Great fine motor practice as we needed to use those pincer grasps but all around just a fun project they could all…
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Going Out To Eat With Three Babies
No one wants to be the loudest table in the restaurant and no one wants to be the family that leaves the place trashed (trust me we’ve been there). But we’ve been able to take our kids successfully to some pretty nice restaurants. Below is my strategy of some success – useful for anyone whether dining out with one or three infants. First things first practice if you can before going somewhere more formal – go to the local pizza joint or whatever restaurant seems the most kid friendly in your area. (If you’re in the Boston region check out Full Moon in Cambridge which actually caters to kids and has…
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Unconventional Adoption Books
Most of these books were not written to be adoption books and are well loved by children of any family. But they are all ones that I find express something meaningful or open up the doors to talk about some part of adoption. What can I say? I like my books to be a little subtle and have some hidden meaning! Plus, I like that they aren’t specific to any one situation. You’re Here For A Reason By Nancy Tillman If the title isn’t clear enough for you this book lends a lot of credence to the idea that you never know how things are going to turn out…
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31 Days of Halloween Fun
Join us here everyday as we share a new halloween activity for the whole month of October! While my three under two will be testing all the activities I’ll also share on how to adjust them from tummy time all the way through elementary school (and maybe beyond if you are young at heart) so the whole family can get involved! Halloween You made it! Halloween is all about seeing friends, dressing up, handing out candy and going trick or treating! We do some fun Halloween themed snacks and try to relax and enjoy the day! Go to a Halloween Party, watch a spooky movie, read one of…
