Snowman Donuts

If you are keeping up with what happened last night, this is the breakfast that Buddy was supposed to have set up for us last night. 

Instead, we did it together and Jack and I loved it. It is also a little easier when you don't have to wake up super early to finish last minute details when it is supposed to be a little elf setting it up. The snowman donuts I have seen everywhere so I don't have a specific credit. I used jellied orange slices and just cut them to look like a nose. The pieces of  "coal" are chocolate chips. This was really easy and something I would probably do for students when I go back to teaching because of the low cost of ingredients, ease, and how well received it was!

Mommy, send back Buddy the Elf to Santa...tonight...I mean now!!!!!!

Our version of Elf on a Shelf was a flop! I mean, get that elf, the hell outta here! 

It was quite magical when our package arrived today from the North Pole. (I meant to take a picture of it, but under the current circumstances, it was best that it was removed from the premises.) While Jack was at school, a package was sent from the North Pole with our "Christmas Cheer Elf, Buddy" in it along with a package of candy canes and a Santa Pez dispenser. Jack was hugely pleased that Santa sent him such a nice early present. I thought this was just great! 

Anyhow, I wrote a letter posing as "Bernard, the head elf." It explained that this elf was here for the next week to spread Christmas cheer, and so on...  It also said that Buddy the Elf, will become magic just at night... Big mistake.... That part creeped the hell out of Jack!!!! (But only did that feeling surface at bedtime.) Below, is the letter he received.

Dear Jack and Henry,

I am writing to you from the North Pole. I am Bernard, the head elf, in Santa’s workshop. Santa Claus thinks you and your brother Henry are two very good boys. He wants to send you someone special to help spread the Christmas cheer! He is a Christmas elf and he lives in the North Pole. He must go back home after Christmas, but he will stay with you for a couple of weeks. His name is Buddy. Jack and Henry, you must be very careful with him. He is a magical elf, but he only does his magic while you are asleep. He doesn’t like to be played with during the day while he rests. Since he is a magic elf, he may get into a little elfish mischief. If he doesn’t get back to his resting place by the morning, please take care of Buddy and put him back to rest. I hope you enjoy having Buddy the Christmas Elf spend time with your family.

                                   

Here is Buddy the Elf and the bed that Jack very happily made him, during daylight hours. Cute, huh? He gave him a slipper for a pillow, a receiving blanket, and a little book for him to read. No problem! 

Buddy-the-Elf: I know, he is frightening.

When it was bedtime, Jack expressed concern over the fact that the elf would become "magic" at night. I assured him he was not a naughty elf and that Santa Claus sent him to be a nice, friendly elf who would have fun with us for this week. One of the reasons we didn't want to do the Elf-on-the-Shelf, was because I didn't like the scare tactics and that the elf was spying on children to report to Santa. Well, as bedtime continued, I could sense the ever increasing anxiety over the elf. I told Jack that I would whisper to Buddy and tell him not to be magic. That seemed to satisfy him. After a few minutes had passed by, I heard Jack yell for me in his room. He was clearly distressed as he was all sweaty and crazy eyed. (Geez, now I may be on Santa's naughty list for starting this....) Anyway, I asked Jack if it would be okay if I wrote Santa a thank-you note so we weren't rude and just send Buddy back to the North Pole in his box. Jack said that would be great! He said it with cheerful gusto! Whew! Crisis averted! As I was closing the door, Jack said he felt much, much, much, much better! Wow! Unexpected results. Maybe we'll try next year. Maybe....

Here is the letter I sent back to Santa Claus. ;) 

How to be an Awesome Mom!

This will be a very brief blog as the secret to being the best mom in the world is this: Do not destroy your children when they lie right to your face while you both stare at the evidence of the lie right there in the sink. The end. Letting your child survive to see the next day is good enough.

Pinterest Christmas Crafts I Tried

Have you seen these floating around Pinterest? Well, I actually tried them out and they mostly turned out pretty good. Here's a sampling of the crafts we have done.

Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer Re-purposed for Children's Advent Calendar Countdown 

I just used check sized white office envelopes and wrote out the numbers using green and red markers. To give it a little extra "Christmas Flare" I added a bit of garland from the Dollar Tree. Jack approves. Especially since it looks extra flashy next to the boys' doors to their rooms. The original idea came from A Girl and a Glue Gun, here. I loved her Grinch Themed advent Calendar, but I surely did not have that time to put into it.  That would be cute another year, if I did a little at a time while drinking a glass of wine after the kiddos are tucked into bed. The best part of this calendar, is that you can change it to whatever theme you want. My theme was, "Make it in 1 Hour or Less!" I still love it! 

(It's pretty snazzy, isn't it? Think "Grinchlicious" ;) 

Anyway, here are a couple examples of the envelopes.

 Here is Jack opening up the first envelope. You can put whatever you want inside. I put a list of suggestions on a past post. The bonus feature... since this was originally a shoe organizer, you can also put in small gifts. Ideas: small candies, little dollar store toys, mittens, hot cocoa packet, etc.

This was one of the strips of paper inside an envelope. We will go see the decorated tree in our Historic district.

You've seen this one, right? The Handprint Christmas Tree! I love it!!!!

These are Jack's Handprints Christmas 2012.

                                                      The original pinned idea came from here.

Jack's Rudolph handprint Christmas 2012. 

It is from the idea pinned from Kindergarten Cupcake Crumbs

These are Henry's mistletoes. I got the idea from Pinterest. 

Drumroll, please.............
I saved the best for last!

Haha, just kidding. This wreath is not mine. It is the lovely one you see all over Pinterest. Please see credits, here, at The Color Happy.  Scroll down to see my lovely craft fail! Jack thinks it is pretty, so I hung it with a command strip in his room. 

Wah Wah Wahhhhh

I actually think it has potential to work if I had about a million more Christmas balls and more time and patience. since all that had run out, this is the Merry Crap-mas wreath that I got instead. LOL 

How to Make Homemade Baby Food for less Money and No Hassle

Due to popular request and for general how-to information, this is a detailed "how-to" guide to making your own delicious baby food. I have, in my opinion, simplified and perfected how to make it since I started a couple of years ago when Jack needed baby food. It is an extremely easy task and one that I don't find to be bothersome at all. I have friends who don't seem to believe me when I tell them how easy and inexpensive it is. Trust me, you will save a lot of money and this won't take you forever. (Before you roll your eyes and say to yourself, well she isn't working, of course she has time...I made the baby food for Jack while I was working!) Ok, here I go. (I even took pictures to make sure it all makes sense.)

First, pick out what fruit or vegetable you are going to prepare. Remember that when you first start, you should only make single fruits or veggies so if there is an allergic reaction, you can pin point the offending food! There are also different fruits and veggies that can cause more gas, etc, so skip the peas and broccoli until the little tike is a bit older. 

I used pears for this example.

Step 1: Chop up the fruit or veggie. These pears were already ripe, so I didn't cut them into tiny pieces. I also left the skin on because that is where a lot of vitamins are and it is going to get pureed anyway. (And, it takes less time!) If, I were making sweet potatoes, I would take off the skin because it is papery. Just use your judgement. 

Step 2: Put all of the fruit or veggies into a pot with a steaming basket. They make some out of silicone too if you need a non-stick one. You should try to always steam when you can, because it leaves more of the nutrients in the fruit or veggie. (There is about 1-11/2 in of water under the steam basket.)

Step 3: Let the fruit or veggie steam. It depends upon the food and your range as to how long it takes to steam. For instance, pears don't take long at all. Maybe 5-10 minutes. Carrots, which I did before the pears, take much longer, 20-25 minutes. Just take the lid off, and pierce the fruit to test for tenderness. It needs to be tender enough to easily puree. (Don't throw away cooking liquid!)

Step 4: Take the fruit and put it into what you got! I have a blender, food processor, and this magic bullet. I happen to prefer the magic bullet. Use what you have. You don't need to buy something special. Puree!!! (You may need to add a little liquid. Use the liquid from the cooking process. It has more vitamins from the food than using tap water.) The older your baby gets, the less finely pureed it needs to be. This is part of what is nice about this process. You can custom make the babyfood based on your baby's growth and development. 

Step 5: Put the pureed food into a strainer of some sort. I use a fine wire mesh basket. Use a spatula or ladle to push the food through into a bowl underneath. Use spatula to scrape underneath the strainer.

PS: You don't need too much space. See! 

Step 6: Yuck! Look at all the extra peel, etc. that is left behind. That is why straining it, is an important step in the cooking process. Babies who are still very texture sensitive will not like any of that. They will gag! 

Step 7: This is the gorgeous, velvety pureed pears that you have lovingly, and thankfully easily and economically made for your baby!

Step 8: This is all the mess left over besides my big cooking pot. See, not too bad at all. Clean it up.

Step 9: Feed it to your baby! Henry likes his with a little formula and oatmeal mixed into it. (You can thicken it with oatmeal or rice cereal or thin it with formula or pumped breast milk.) That by the way, is a boon spoon. It is super handy for one handed feeding. 

Step 10: You will make lots! Put the pureed food into some containers like this. Mine are found here.

Again, it doesn't really matter what brand. I found mine at a consignment sale for a couple of bucks for both of them, so that is what I use! I love them and wish I had two more. 

 Step 11: Put them in the freezer for a couple of hours and go play with your baby for a while!

Step 12: Pull them out of the freezer. If they don't pop right out, run them under the water for a few seconds and that should loosen them right up.

This is what you should have! Gorgeous little fruit or veggie ice cubes! Pop them into a freezer bag. Label them and date them and you are good to go. They should last for a couple of months in the cold part of the freezer, but I usually go through them before I need to even worry about them going bad. In my freezer, I have carrots, butternut squash, pears, and carrots. I want Henry to have a little variety. :) 

So, how much did it cost to make all of this????? $1.99 for a bag of organic pears! You can't beat that. How long did it take me to chop and cook? It took about 20 minutes from start to finish. After I pop the frozen cubes out, I put the rest in and repeat.