Santa's Elf - Our Christmas Tradition

I love Christmas and the holiday season in its entirety. Now that I have children the magic and the excitement of believing is overwhelming. At 3 years old Sophie is in awe of the beauty and miraculous happenings that come with the season.

I get a certain tingly feeling everytime Sophie's eyes light up in amazement. So for my own indulgent reasons I decided to begin a new Christmas tradition to ensure that those bright eyes would grace our home every single day without fail. I am an avid Pinterest pinner and have come across several pins about the Elf on the Shelf. One can purchase the whole kit and caboodle somewhere, but instead of spending money I decided to adopt the general idea and run with it.

I started by purchasing this little figurine from my local dollar store for $1.50. 

With the addition of some craft felt, hot glue, a couple of gems, and my handy sewing machine the little diva was transformed into Trixie, one of Santa's elves from the North Pole.

The Story

On the night of November 30th this sparkly gold package arrived on our front step.

Attached to it was a very important letter to Sophie from Santa Claus.

Dear Sophie,

It was very nice seeing you at the Zoo Lights on Monday and I’ll see if I can put a Spiderman under the tree for you this year. You’re getting so big. That’s why I’ve sent this special gift for you. In this box is someone very important and I would like you to take good care of her.

Her name is Trixie. She is one of my elves. She will need to stay with you until Christmas Day. I am counting on you to look after her. Trixie has a job to do while she’s staying with you too. When you go to bed each night she will come back to the North Pole and tell me how good you’ve been. When you wake up in the morning Trixie will be back at your house.

Trixie, like all elves, can be a bit mischievous. When you find her in the morning she might be doing something silly. I hope she doesn’t cause too much trouble for you.

Remember to be a good girl and take care of Trixie for me.

Love Santa 

As you can see, it was love at first sight. Unlike the original Elf on the Shelf, Trixie doesn't lose her magic when someone touches her so Sophie is free to play with our little visitor to her hearts content.

And without fail each and every morning Trixie is up to something silly and Sophie's eyes light up in amazement every time.

A snack with a new friend.

An early breakfast.

Kisses from the salt & pepper Claus's.

A pony ride.

Stocking acrobatics.

A drawing for Sophie.

Story time with the fairies.

I'll post more pictures of Trixie's antics as the days go by and Christmas approaches.

Make It Monday: Cardboard Tube Pumpkins

These sweet little pumpkins are simple and inexpensive to make. A great fall craft for preschoolers.

What you'll need:

Makes two pumpkins

Empty toilet paper roll

Scissors

Hole punch

Orange paint

Paint brush

Green pipe cleaner

Directions:

Step 1. Cut the toilet paper roll into 6 equal rounds. Punch one hole in each round. Paint the rounds orange and allow to dry completely.

Step 2. Cut the pipe cleaner into two 2" pieces (stems) and two 3" pieces (leaves). Curl the end of each 2" piece up like a snail (See picture above).

Step 3. Insert 2 cardboard rounds into one other one so the punched holes line up. Insert one 2" curled pipe cleaner through the holes from the inside out, forming the stem (See picture above).

Step 4. Wrap one 3" length of pipe cleaner around the stem to form two leaves. Repeat steps 3 & 4 with the remaining cardboard rounds and pipe cleaner pieces.

 

These can be displayed in a vase as a fun table centrepiece or strung up as festive garland on a mantle or in a window.

Happy Monday!

Make It Monday: Paper Bag Puppet Puppy

One for the kids! A classic paper bag puppet. At Sophie's request this one's a pink puppy named Sophie of course.

What you'll need:

Paper bag
Construction paper
Pencil
Scissors
Glue stick

Directions:

Step 1. Using construction paper, draw and cut out ears, eyes, a nose, tongue, belly and tail.

Step 2. Position and glue your cut outs onto the flap side of the paper bag. You're done! It's that simple. 

Put on a show.

Happy Monday!

Making the Most of Your Mat Leave

As my year of maternity leave comes to a close and Willow's first birthday approaches I find myself reflecting on the events of the past year.

I've accomplished everything and much more than I ever expected. Endless fun with my girls, an updated home, a new blog, a conquered reading list and incredible family time. With this particular post I offer myself reflection and other new mom's inspiration. So in my humble opinion these few things are key to making the most of your mat leave.
 

Sleep and Routines

Don't Underestimate the Importance of Sleep

Babies sleep a lot. Don't be fooled into thinking that you need to keep your baby or toddler awake all day so they sleep longer at night. In fact, more sleep during the day means more sleep at night. Over tiredness can lead to restlessness and interrupted sleep.

Young babies need 11 or 12 hours of sleep at night plus 5 or 6 hours of daytime sleep. Naps should carry on until age 3 or 4. Now I am no expert, but Kitty Raymond is and I fully embrace and endorse her workshops on sleep. As far as I'm concerned without Kitty I wouldn't be the best mom I could be.

Routine, routine, routine

Yes, three times was necessary. Routine is not just for school age children, it's for everybody, babies included. Once again, I attribute my success in this department to Kitty Raymond Parenting, where I learned that babies thrive off of routine. My girls sleep 12 hrs through the night, nap for 1.5 - 3 hr stretches during the day, eat 3 square meals a day and 1 or 2 small snacks, play well together, play independently and are so very happy. And let me tell you happy children make happy parents.

The basic principle of routines for children is Eat, Play, Sleep. And then, you do it all over again. This simple routine was started with our youngest daughter when she was just a couple of weeks old.

To Clean or Not to Clean

A Messy Home is a Fun Home

Don't get me wrong, I love a clean house and so do my children. However, it is sometimes necessary to ignore the untidyness, step outside and enjoy the day. If you focus too much on a spotless home when you're raising young children you'll quickly find that cleaning and tidying is an all consuming and never-ending task.

Naptime is Your Time

Don't make the mistake of using nap time for cooking, cleaning and other chores. Before you know it you're children will be up, ready to play and you'll be exhausted. Plan for 30 minutes of chores and an hour of time doing something you enjoy (reading, crafting, taking a nap, write a blog post, etc). When you're children wake up you'll feel ready to embrace motherhood once again.

Independent Play = Chore Time

After reading that nap time is not for chores you may be wondering when they get tackled. Children need to be given the opportunity for independent play from an early age. Although parent involvement in play is very important it doesn't need to be and shouldn't be all of the time. Set your child up with an age appropriate activity that can be supervised from a short distance away, leaving you with an opportunity to wash dishes, fold laundry, sweep floors or other chores. Independent play will also build confidence in your child.

Create Helpful Children

Tidying isn't just for the parents. Encourage children to tidy up their toys when switching to a new activity or before nap time. Children will learn responsibility and you'll be able to focus on other household tasks and time for yourself when nap time eventually comes along. Simple storage solutions like baskets will make tidying a cinch for young ones.

Live Your Life

Be Social

Adult interaction doesn't have to go by the wayside when raising little ones. Maintain relationships or create them with other mom's or dad's in your neighbourhood. Set up play dates where children can safely play alongside each other and parents can socialize.

Do What You Love

There's no need to eliminate your pre-baby activities from your life. You'll be much happier and avoid resentment if you take steps to involve your children in your favourite activities. As they grow older they may just learn to love them as much as you.

And there you have it. In a nutshell that is how I enjoyed every moment of maternity leave and how I will continue to enjoy every moment with my children as they learn and grow.

Make It Monday: Wooden Bracelets

I was inspired to make these sweet little bracelets after stumbling across a similar project on Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom. Her designs used a wide Popsicle stick and showcased her intricate artwork abilities.

What you'll need:

Wooden coffee stir sticks

Water

Drinking glass or other cylinder - in your desired size

Acrylic paint or markers

Directions:

Step 1. Simmer stir sticks in a large skillet of boiling water for 30 minutes. Allow to cool to touch.

Step 2. Curve stir stick into a drinking glass or other cylinder. Note: to make the kids bracelets I used an empty paper towel tube.

Step 3. Place the glass or tube in the sun, allow to dry completely before removing.

Alternate Step 3. If you're impatient like me you can bake the glass in a 200 degree F oven for about 30 minutes until dry. Make sure you use an oven safe glass if you do it this way. A shot glass may be an alternative if you want to make small bracelets.

Step 4. Be creative and decorate to your hearts content with acrylic paint or markers or whatever medium you decide. Be aware that if you coat the entire bracelet in paint it may soak into the wood and cause it to release it's shape slightly. If you plan on coating it completely it may be a good idea to make your bracelet smaller than you want it.

I made matching bracelets for the girls.

Sophie also got a ladybug bracelet at her request. The little girl can't seem to get ladybugs off her mind since her birthday party.

Happy Monday!

Make It Monday: Clothespin Zoo Animals

If you bought a whole whack of clothespins to make last weeks Modern Note Clipboard, you can use up some spare ones to make this fun craft with your preschooler. On a rainy day last week, Sophie and I decided to create our own at home zoo experience.

What you'll need:

Clothespins

Markers

Cardstock

Scissors

Glue

Tape

Pipe cleaners

Googly eyes

Feathers

Directions:

Step 1. Cut body and head shapes out of the cardstock for the various zoo animals.

Step 2. Colour and design the clothespins and cardstock bodies and heads for each animal

Step 3. Affix the clothespins, heads, googly eyes, pipe cleaner tails and mane to the cardstock body using glue and tape. You're done.

If you're so inclined, use an old cereal box to make the zoo and pen up those wild animals.

Happy Monday!

Make It Monday: Ladybug Cake Pops

These cake pops were a big hit for the Ladybug Birthday Party celebrating Sophie's 3rd birthday!

What you'll need:

1/2 of a 9 x 13 cake, cooled

2 1/4 cups of prepared frosting

1 12 oz package of red Candy Melts

24 lolly pop sticks

Cake pop stand - Craft foam works nicely

24 brown M & M's

1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

White and red candy sprinkles

Toothpick

Tweezers

Directions:

Step 1. Crumble the cake in a large bowl and mix in the frosting until well blended. Place the mixture in the fridge for about 25 minutes until it's nice and cold. This step is extra easy if you use an electric mixer for crumbling and blending.

Step 2. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Roll the cooled cake mixture in 1 1/2" balls and place on the baking sheet. Refrigerate the balls for 1 hour until firm or 10 minutes in the freezer if you're in a hurry.

Step 3. Melt the candy melts according to the package directions, dip the lolly pop sticks 1/2" into the candy coating and insert into the cake balls. Return the baking sheet to the fridge to allow the cake pops to firm up again.

Step 4. Remove one cake pop at a time from the fridge, dip it into the candy coating and stand upright in your cake pop stand. Place one M & M on the front of the cake pop and hold gently until it is slightly set and doesn't slide around. Continue with the rest of the cake pops.

Step 5. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals until smooth. Fill a sandwich bag or piping bag with the melted chocolate and trim the tip to a suitable size for detailing the ladybugs with spots and stripes. Pipe one stripe down the middle of the cake pop starting at the M & M head. Pipe small dots on either side of the stripe.

Step 6. Squeeze the remaining melted chocolate into a small bowl. Working with one cake pop at a time, use a toothpick to place three dots of melted chocolate on the M & M. Using tweezers place two white sprinkles on the melted chocolate dots to form eyes and one red sprinkle on the remaining chocolate dot to form a nose. Using the toothpick add a dot of chocolate into the centre of each white sprinkle to form a pupil. Ah yes, if the tweezers in the directions didn't scare you off and you made it this far I apologize ;) On a positive note after you finish this step you'll be practiced up for a competitive game of Operation.

Note: You can also add chocolate sprinkles as antennae for the ladybugs. I only did one because I found it tricky to make them point upright.

Cake Pop Storage
Once you've finished making your cake pops, do NOT return them to the fridge as it will cause the candy coating to sweat when you take them out. The candy coating and chocolate will harden at room temperature.

Cake Pop Stand
If you don't want to purchase a stand or expensive craft foam, find a handyman like my husband to make a simple stand like this one. He used 2 x 6 lumber and drilled holes 2" apart and about 2/3 of the way down into the wood. I covered it in tissue paper and glued on some fake leaves for added decoration.

 This dirt cake is a simple two layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting covered in Oreo cookie crumbs.

Happy Monday!

DIY Play Kitchen

If you came here after reading my Ladybug Birthday Party blog post, then SURPRISE! Here's the big present created by a handyman Dad and an artsy fartsy Mom.

Yup, that's right, Jonas and I combined our skills to make the coolest kitchen a little girl could ever want. I'm a lucky girl to have such a super husband that listens to my hair brained ideas and makes my dreams, I mean Sophie's dreams, come true.

Here's the before and after shot.

We started off with this old TV stand I acquired off of Kijiji. Jonas used his amazing carpentry skills to turn it into a kitchen.

If you really want to know...

Here's what he did:

- Removed the top shelf and backing entirely

- Removed the lower shelf and trimmed the sides down to the height of the cabinet doors

- Switched the hinge on the left cabinet door so it opened downward
- Cut out a window for the oven door

- Added new wood to the back and top to create the backsplash and counter

- Used a router to shape the edges of the counter and backsplash

- Cut a hole for the sink and faucet in the counter

- Added a divider inside the cabinet to create two equal spaces

- Cut down the inside roll out tray to fit just one side of the cabinet

- Added grooved wood inside the left cabinet to fit the oven tray

- Attached a wooden spoon to the left cabinet door as an oven handle

- Cut down to size and attached the utensil holder on the side of the cabinet

- Screwed wooden thread spools to the stove as stove knobs

- Attached a stainless steel faucet to the counter

Here's what I did:

- Painted the oven door, baseboard and stove top with white gloss paint

- Painted the oven interior and burner plates with black gloss paint

- Spray painted the wooden spoon handle and thread spools (stove knobs) with gloss black paint

- Painted the countertop with leftover Giani Granite Countertop Paint from my kitchen redo

- Painted the sides, back and backsplash with red interior paint (the same colour as my kitchen walls)

- Painted the inside of the cupboard door with chalkboard paint
- Glued a fog plexi glass window to the inside of the oven door

- Attached mirror decals to the inside of the oven and the rooster mirror on the side of the oven

- Attached a push button light to the interior of the oven

- Attached a fancy new handle to the cabinet door

- Affixed adhesive tile to the backsplash

- Added small triangle stickers to the stove knobs

As anticipated Sophie was ecstatic with her brand new kitchen. That looks just like Mommy's.

 No doubt her BFF Ava will be even more excited to come over for play dates now.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sophie!