12/30/2017 0 Comments Space RocksMy daughter came home from school with one of those Book Club flyer catalogs and poured over its contents one day with her brothers. Her reading has progressed at least 3 levels in school, so she’s very interested in finding exciting books. She circled every item in that catalog she wanted, and was crushed when we did the math and she realized we couldn’t buy all 20 things. So she had her heart set on asking Santa for the one thing she wanted most—a Space Rocks kit with a book about asteroids, meteors, and comets, and a mysterious rock you can excavate with tools and do experiments on. We finally opened it up and got to work this weekend with fun results!
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12/29/2017 0 Comments Thunder Junction ParkI can’t say enough nice things about this place. If you’re ever in St. George, Utah with kids, do yourself a favor and stop here for a couple of hours. At Thunder Junction, dinosaurs reign! It’s an all abilities park with a zip line, swings and slides and spinners of all sorts, a splash pad open during summer season, a ton of structures to climb, a working train, and most memorably... a volcano that erupts every 45 minutes with rumbling, shaking, smoke, and red glowing awesomeness. To top it all off, admission is FREE!
12/18/2017 0 Comments December RecapOne-Car FamilyJer's car broke at the worst time possible when we have neither the time nor funds to have it looked at, so we unexpectedly became a one-car family and it's been a bit of an adjustment. On days that I would like the car, the kids and I drop Daddy off at work early in the morning and come back to pick him up late after wrestling events. The most intense part of the season so far has been the overnight tournaments when he's traveling. We missed each other so much we decided to have family breakfast together at a gas station before saying goodbye, and it softened the separation.
12/18/2017 0 Comments Handmade ChristmasChristmas is only a week away! We are so excited to have family time soon since Daddy has been gone for a few weeks. I thought I'd update on some projects I've been working on even though some are still not completed. Holiday CardsMy gift to myself this year was dropping one thing this Christmas that stresses me out. I love holiday cards and receiving them from family and friends we haven't seen in a while, but this year sending cards was at the very bottom of my to do list being both time consuming and expensive for us. I pushed aside the feeling of obligation and tradition ("but we always do it every year, so and so sent you a card and it would be rude not to send one back") and reassured myself that it was unnecessary this year.
We'll be visiting with both sides of the family for the 2nd year in a row, so I only felt the need to send cards to close family we wouldn't see, which came to 4 cards. L was super excited and used her artistic talents to make these adorable one-of-a-kind creations from sketch paper and markers, and we hand-wrote messages in them and enclosed a family photo or two that had already been printed since 3 months ago. We've already received thank you calls about L's artistry and sweetness, so I think it was a hit! 12/16/2017 0 Comments Mei Tai Baby Doll Carrier InstructionsAs part of our Handmade Holidays, I made a another baby doll carrier for a cousin gift exchange between our kids. I tried to take better photos of the steps that might be unclear, and even made an instruction card to include with the gift.
12/16/2017 0 Comments The Poo DayI'm going to tell you the story of today which I've lovingly named The Poo Day. You may not believe it because it's that unbelievable, and that's okay. I have pictures to prove it, but I will spare you. Unless you want to see them at the very very end of this post, since this is something I will hold over my son's head for eternity and feel like it should come with more than just the over exaggerated imaginations of his Mom. Fair warning this is about poo so... it will be gross. I'm finding that the Mom life is quite messy and toughens you in ways some people can't stomach. If you think you can't handle it, it's okay—it's not you, it's me! Feel free to skip this one!
12/15/2017 0 Comments Gift Box IdeaThe yearly gift exchange is upon us, and I'm constantly looking for inspiration on fun ideas in our budget. Secret Santa was especially tough since we don't know the recipients as well as we'd like and of course we hope they enjoy the gift. My husband and I decided to try something this year, which is that you can't go wrong with delicious things to eat. I'm actually really jealous of this gift. What to get a foodie who loves to travel and could very well buy themselves whatever they want? A trip around the world in bite-size format of course! I also can't wait to see their reaction opening this because I hope they love how clever and delicious it is as much as I do. Sharing optional! I did get some pointers from being stealthy, and found out that a gift basket which included a cutting board and a variety of dried/sugared fruits and nuts was "too healthy" for my recipient. Hence the sweet and extra non-healthy note on these gourmet snacks. For example, rather than going plain yet benefit-of-the-doubt shortbread, I went straight up naughty butterscotch shortbread. For $20 here are the stops to enjoy:
12/9/2017 0 Comments Frozen Fever Elsa ApronHomemade gifts are the best! The kiddos are having a Christmas cousin gift exchange and one of the recipients is an Elsa fan who loves dress up. She already has an Ice Queen dress her Mom made for Halloween, so I figured I'd make a really simple and easy apron inspired by Elsa's outfit in the short film Frozen Fever. It even comes with a matching hair accessory.
12/6/2017 0 Comments Walker is 6 MonthsLittle Jumping BeanThis kid thinks he can get up and walk already! He has such strong legs and always wants to stand, bounce, and jump about. I finally decided to look for a jumper and we were so lucky to find this rainforest jumparoo! At first he just sat in it and liked to look at the lights and music, but then L taught him how to jump and now he expresses his enthusiasm often.
12/3/2017 0 Comments Today Is Your DayJust a few updates on this amazing little girl. Earlier I posted about some parenting strategies I was going to try with her to avoid potty accidents. She went over a month accident-free! When she did have an accident, she was crushed to the point of tears that she worked so hard and had to start all over. I helped clean her up without complaint, and Daddy gave her so many hugs as we encouraged her to keep going because accidents happen.
12/2/2017 0 Comments Alpine Living NativityThe Alpine Living Nativity during Christmas is one of the most highly anticipated events of the season that we've been hearing great things about for years and have always wanted to go! Tickets sell out quickly (I mean, like, good luck if it's November when you're thinking about checking), so we've never been able to attend before. This year my sister-in-law got enough tickets for the entire clan to experience it for the first time together! We had no idea how big this thing was or what to expect, so here's a few tips for next time.
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AuthorI'm Kat - designer, code monkey, teacher's wife, and maker of home. This blog is my personal and creative outlet chronicling the special moments of our family. Archives
January 2020
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