Play Date, Measuring Spoons and Gingerbread 2015

Hello! Happy December! It's been a while.

We are having some issues with our internet. It happens once in a while. I live in an old neighborhood and our wiring sucks. As is there's nothing they can do about it if they do come out. It's infuriating at times. But our city is just now getting the permits to zone a fiber network and though I am hazy on the details of how that will all go down of course, it will much improve my internet experience.

So I haven't been writing, reading or commenting much because without WiFi I started to eat through my data real fast on the phone and had to exercise some discipline.

In the past week I hosted a fun play date. C has been taking a quality time art class on Fridays with a couple of friends. It's great, the teacher sets up different craft stations and we all rotate through. But last week she had to miss class. I really look forward to the adult interaction so I invited the boys over to our house! I set up our water table filled with popcorn like at class for C a few weeks ago and I set it out with more fresh popcorn, set out play-doh and tools. Both the sensory table and play-doh are the boy's favorite station at class. Then I bought some juice boxes and the stuff to make these:

It was a super fun play date with good conversation. I love it when that can happen! Then on Friday afternoon we headed over to dog sit for the weekend. We had to pack a bunch of kitchen stuff to drive across town because it was the previously scheduled Gingerbread Weekend 2015. 

This was our fourth year making a gingerbread house. See previous year's here. This year we got it together. We had a planning meeting about a week before to set up a game plan. (This was the third year Kathryn was able to join us.) We made all the dough and templates Friday night. A note for next year, we are going to design the templates even further ahead and do them on the computer for more accuracy. Also, the dough stays workable for about 20 hours. At the 24 hour mark it gets very crumbly and hard to roll out. 

On Saturday during the day we baked, and also assembled C's house. Which was a lesson we learned from last year. Saturday night we decorated and built. We decorated the walls prior to assembly but did the roof as it was standing. Due to our design this was a good decision. However we had for the first time, some structural problems. 

I brought over the stand mixer, piping bags, our perfectly sized pot, ingredients pre-measured in ziplocs, all the other ingredients needed and decorating materials and our board/trays. What I should have brought were measuring spoons. We were stuck with these as choices: 

It did not go well. The metal ones had such a shallow bowl that it was impossible to level off and make sure you were doing it right. The adjustable pampered chef ones were equally horrible. The only time you could be sure it was accurate is if it was on the smallest setting. Get the Tupperware spoons people. They are wonderful. And they sit flat on a counter so you can fill them and set them down until needed as little mini prep bowls. 

These. Get these. 

Anyway, the inaccuracy in our teaspoon measurement really made our royal icing cement weaker and led to some problems. But we prevailed. C got to do his own little house this year again, and because 3 batches of dough was slightly overkill we made him a tree too. Which was cool because it was interlocking and self standing. (Thank you Great British Baking Show!)

I made him a snowman after he went to sleep. He really did a nice job. Husband piped on the icing where he asked for it and he stuck the things he wanted where he wanted them. He must have good design in his genes because I think it is very tasteful. 

He of course wanted to eat it Saturday night and all day yesterday. We needed to get back to our house for our annual picture. They traveled well and survived until now without having been eaten so now it's anyone's guess how long it lasts. 

Our 2015 gingerbread house:

Our notes for next year include: buying a bigger cutting board for our house to live on. We may not necessarily make a bigger house but more room to work would be GREAT! Also next year may be the year we go to full out whimsy and full color. Or maybe not. We've got time. 

There you go. Happy Monday friends!

7QT: Always Late to the Party

one. The tradition continues! Last night we went to our annual viewing of Disney on Ice! It was their Treasure Trove show and it was really great. Much much improved from last year. They managed to pack a whole lot into the show. It was a harder experience for us because we were in the lower bowl (with our same $12 tickets) So we were by ALL.THE.PEOPLE and M really started to lose it at the end because it was way past her bed time.

The best family selfie we took. Oh well, we know we were there. 

two. The show really was good though. Except for the Lion King excerpt. They do Lion King/Toy Story and Little Mermaid a little bit every year. So I consider myself pretty much an expert at this point. (Hey Disney on Ice people? We are ALL sick of Sebastian making us go "Clams on the half shell, two bits!") Anyway they picked "Be prepared" and Mufasa's death complete with the herd of wildebeests as the major plot point. It wasn't completely as tragic as the movie, Scar didn't let Mufasa die by letting go in the same way, but it was still pretty intense for an ice skating show. There were definitely kids crying. Thankfully not mine. But totally worth it this year! We'll go back next year.

three. I am the LATEST to the party on this one but I am obsessed with The Great British Baking Show.

It is perfection. There is nothing I don't like about this show. Maybe that the season "1" on Amazon is the same as season "5" on Netflix. So I can't watch more. That I don't love. Everything else? I am sold. The tent? The bakes? The hosts? The judges? I am obsessed. And I am clearly the latest to the party because all the Mary Berry books are sold out on Amazon. So much for that last minute addition to the Christmas list!

It's just the best. I really wish we got PBS. (Don't even get me started that we can't get it over the air and would have to get cable or something.) 

four. I am late to this version which has apparently been making the rounds since 2010 but we did sing this song at summer camp. I mean, it was a little faster and not quite so wonderfully crazy but we are currently obsessed with the Avocado Song by Dr. Jean.

The first time you see it, you think she's certifiable. Then you find yourself singing the song as you go about your day and you come back for more. Soon you're dancing along and everyone loves it. Don't say I didn't warn you.

five. Do you know this song? "Eve's great anywhere she goes. Dress her up from her head to her toes. At the park, at the mall Eve loves high fashion! After dark in the club she'll spend the whole night dancing..."

Yeah, probably I am the only one. But apparently they are making a Life Size 2. And I am sure it will be horrible and wonderful all at the same time. I am also sure if they don't have the Eve song in the movie it won't even be worth it. I am sharing this news with you all in case you also loved Disney Channel Original movies and don't want to be late to the party on this one.

six. We just got back from art class and we had a really great time. I am so glad we signed up for it!

seven. Tomorrow we are going to see Junie B. Jones Jingle Bells Batman Smells and a Children's Christmas party. We have lots of friends going too so I am really excited. It's going to almost be like a reunion!

Happy Weekend!

All About Scentsy: From a Fan

So let's talk about Scentsy. Colleen mentioned she'd like to hear more about it so okay then. As long as I can remember, I have loved scents. I have always had a serious aversion to odors and finding things that I think smell good. I had heard of Scentsy for a long time but never quite pulled the trigger because it seemed kind of overwhelming. I really wanted to smell before I bought but I didn't know a consultant.

Well, one of Husband's Facebook friends IS a consultant and posts things a lot. In September 2014 the warmer of the month was just adorable and it matched our bedroom. I was finally going to take the plunge.

Then it sold out in like 2 days or something ridiculous. I took that as a sign and didn't think anything of it. But then a few weeks later, still in September, Scentsy decided since the warmer "Chasing Fireflies" was the most popular ever they would make more. But because it would take so long to make, they were offering to send you a warmer in the meantime. So they were going to send me 2 warmers for $35? Okay then. I added Clean Breeze and Newborn Nursery Bars because I knew without even smelling them that I would like those. Cotton Laundry and Baby Powder? Yep.

They came. I liked it and I have slowly gained warmers in about every room. My house smells great!

The warmers are porcelain and come in LOTS of different styles. They use a light bulb between 15 to 25 watts to heat and melt the wax. This keeps the wax at the perfect temperature and not a hazard. It is melted and warm but trust me when I say even curious children who dip fingers in it don't seem to think it's too hot. Scentsy wax is also food grade and non-toxic. While no one is recommending you eating it for a snack a call to poison control is not necessary if someone samples it.

Scentsy has a lot of scents of wax. I still don't have a local consultant so occasionally I still buy a bar that I do not like, but there are a few scents that I love and are very popular.

1. Luna: "White florals--jasmine, sweet pea and freesia--juicy berries, and sadalwood shimmer like moon light." This one is my go to. It smells absolutely lovely and while guests cannot place the exact smell ever, I get many many compliments on this one. 
2. Just Breathe: "Breathe deeply as soothing eucalyptus, zesty lemon, and a medley of mints comfort and rejuvenate." This is one that smells a little different when it's warmed up vs. it's solid form. This is a staple though. It's a light scents that not only helps stuffy noses breathe easier but people have also accused me of freshly deep cleaning my kitchen. Because that's what is smells like, a nice clean kitchen, a spa and clear nasal passages. Husband even has this in his office warmer because it just smells fresh and clean but not overpowering. 
3. Christmas Cottage: "A cozy blend of Valencia oranges, raspberries, cloves and spices." This is one that I just adore. It's the perfect Christmas scent and I love it. It is a little heavy to use in the summer but I still do sometimes because it's warm and inviting and does actually make me feel cozy. 

The official Scentsy line is that each cube of wax in a bar gives you 10 hours of scent, so each bar gives you 80 hours total. I leave some warmers on 24/7 (the bathroom one) and I change the wax once every day or sometimes 2. Other warmers I have on just periodically when the stinkies sneak in. I find the easiest way to change the wax is by throwing a cotton ball in the warming tray. It sucks up almost everything and then I use a second cotton ball to wipe out the tray before adding another.

Wax is Scentsy's big thing, each scent also has room spray, hanging scent circles, scents paks, (for drawers and their line of stuffed animals) and car bars. But they also have laundry products, hand soap, counter clean, (I love the Luna, it works so well to clean my counters and smells SO great!) bath products for men, roll on perfume and lotions for ladies, kids bath stuff, stuffed animals, essential oils and diffusers.

I do love Scentsy but it's not all rosy. (Nothing ever is.) I still don't have a local consultant and so I have definitely fallen victim to buying scents with good names and what I think are bad smells. I'm looking at you Davenport, Apple S'mores, Fresh Cut Daisies, My Only Sunshine and Crumb Top. Scent is so specific to the individual I have found I don't love the floral smells like at all. (Except Luna which they say is floral but somehow isn't flowery.)

It can get expensive, the bars are $5. Or 6 for $25. They do have sales occasionally, like TODAY! (December 2) They also have a subscribe and save program, which I am starting to look into. But my mom, has only a warmer in her kitchen and uses it just occasionally so it doesn't have to be a constant expense. They have spring/summer scents and fall/winter scents that rotate and they always have a warmer and scent of the month offered at a 10% discount. These are nice and a great sales tactic but sometimes require self-control.

So cute. I love it. But $75 for a warmer to have out for maybe 2 months a year is nuts!

They do have a sale section which both the warmer in my kitchen and bathroom came from. It happens they match the best anyhow and they were cheaper. I have not gotten into rotating warmers for holidays and I have no plans to buy a warmer anytime soon, if at all.

But that's Scentsy in a nutshell. If you have any questions let me know. I have considered joining just to get the money back on my own orders but I haven't actually done that. I am a Scentsy fan however!

2016 Edit: I did join and if you want to check it out you can do so here!

Amazon and Mockingjay

Please someone tell me that I am not the only person in the world that has trouble distinguishing "home." Every time we pack up to head to MN I think to myself, "I am going home." But then when we pack up and head back, I think "I am going home." Apparently I have two homes. 

My love for Amazon has no bounds. We have all been in the midst of a cold. It slowly made it's way through the ranks. Then just as we were pretty recovered, with only touch of acute bronchitis left in two of us, BAM! Another hit. Now everyone is pretty recovered from that except me. I am currently without sense of smell or taste. Super fun. 

But anyway, Amazon. We needed new accessories for our Baby Comfy Nose. (Which I like so much more than nosefrida because you can clean it so much easier and it is just a better angle for wiggly babies.) But we were headed to MN so I just one day shipped to me there. No big deal. 

But on the way I realized we left C's potty seat at home. Now, it's not essential to the process but it does make it easier. Plus we are going to be there in December. And April. And M hasn't potty trained yet. And probably at some point my brothers will get married and have kids and they will potty train. It was probably okay for my parents to just have one at their house. And they are available on Amazon Prime Now. 

Life changer my friends. I ordered the potty seat and some lotion (that I was legitimately going to go to Walgreens for anyway) and some stacking cups to kick me over the $20 minimum. Then I got a notification that Safiya was on my way with my order. I got a tracking dot, and watched her make her way towards my location. One hour and fifteen minutes later, my delivery arrived. 

All of the feels. I already loved Amazon but this was fun on a whole new level. It is a good thing I don't live there because I could see it being addicting. The prices on the items were the exact same prices they would have been on "normal" Amazon. (Some things are well priced, some are not.) There was no additional delivery fee other than an optional tip to the driver. Drivers cannot accept cash and you have the potential to change the tip amount for 2 days after the delivery. In case, you know, the driver was exceptionally great or horrible.

But it was a relief to have a potty seat for the long weekend, and one to just leave there so I never have to worry about it again. It also cracked me up, that as we were waiting for my Prime Now package, my Prime 1-Day showed up. My parents didn't get any packages but I got two in the span of an hour. 

So Thanksgiving was just fine. Low key and whatever. 

Friday night, Husband and I went on a date. An actual date! No kids and something fun! We went to see Mockingjay part 2 at the fancy, all leather reclining seat theater. Oh my. If those were an option I would only ever see a movie in those seats. The theater was packed and because of the half walls and the reclining it was like we were the only people there. 

The movie itself was pretty good. I should have gone in with the fact it was essentially going to be a war movie in my head. I don't usually like big action movies. So I was really nervous. I found myself talking myself through parts of it. "There is going to be tar soon." "There are going to be mutts. Because this movie is also shown in 3D it will leap out at me." (This 3D movie trend can end anytime now. I don't like seeing 3D and it just seems excessive when you watch it normal.) 

I overall liked it. There were things that were different from the books. Joanna and Katniss training quite hard to be able to go to war didn't happen. Which is a shame, because Joanna is such a great character and Jenna Malone really is excellent. It was the most disappointing part of the whole movie really. 

The journey through the Capitol was intense, exhilarating and sad, which is kind of exactly how I felt reading the book so kudos to them. The books were all written with so much Katniss and her internal monologues, that obviously they couldn't do that well in movie format but I thought the love triangle was done just fine. In the book she says that she doesn't need the fire and anger that Gale brings her, but she needs the person she is when she is with Peeta. The movie couldn't completely come out and say that of course, but it matters not because they show that. 

We had a good time. 

So we can sum up my Thanksgiving weekend with: 

1. Amazon Prime and Prime Now = Good.
2. Mockingjay 2 in leather reclining theater seats = Good.
3. Colds that lose you the ability to smell and taste = Not Good. 

Happy Monday everyone. 

A Week in My Life: Sunday

Well I made it. A whole week about my life. Almost. Thursday is was my downfall. But never mind.

Today can be summed up with two things:

1. The Packers beat the Vikings. Boo. I like it best when the Vikings win and the Packers lose, so losing to the Packers is a double sting. 
2. My fantasy football team DID win however so I will at least stay a contender for the playoffs. Yay!

Have a great start to the week!

A Week in My Life: Saturday

It was a snow day! Or it would have been if it wasn't Saturday. But it was still a home snow day. My day started early, much earlier than my normal Saturday which is usually my day to sleep in. But I heard the troops on the 3 season porch gearing up for outside and I didn't want to miss it.

I got downstairs just in time to see M sobbing on the porch because the boys had left her inside. Really, Husband was just trying to shovel the steps and some of the sidewalk before getting her and she got to go out soon. But it was still snowing. The wind was whipping. It was cold. She put in maybe five minutes before she quit. The boys lasted a little longer.

After everyone was inside and warm... I went back to bed. Well first I snuggled M and got her down for her morning rest and then I went back to bed. Sleep is my love language.

When I rejoined the group, I talked down my crankypants C from his "NO!" phase. He opted for a PBJ lunch and it only took a little convincing for him to actually eat it. He did not take a nap yesterday. We paid the price today.

After he was down for a rest I headed out to shovel. Let's just sum it up by saying #alliwantforchristmasisasnowblower 5-9 inches of wet heavy snow and boy am I feeling it. Husband joined me after M went down for her afternoon rest and we tag teamed the rest of our parking area and the front steps and sidewalk.

We shoveled into the alley, because right behind our house the alley turns into a hill and if it gets icy it's pretty hazardous. When we were out front on the sidewalk, I shoveled half of our neighbor's sidewalk because it's always good to put into the bank of snow karma. As we came back around the house they were just plowing our alley.

Well we headed right back there to get the windrow of snow that was left at the bottom of our parking area. Best to get those before they freeze into ice chunks. The driver of the truck did a really good job, making several passes, especially on the hill. He was smiley and waved to us and we waved back. We were just thrilled we could get rid of the snow right away and that we had minimized the amount earlier. But the driver came through again and took a giant bit of the windrow with him. He absolutely needn't have done that but we are SO glad that he did.

I wrote an email to the city with his truck number commending him. It is so nice that he took the time to do his job well, and even going above and beyond his duty to be friendly and help us out.

Post-nap time the boys went back outside. But it had gotten colder, and the really good snowman snow turned not so good. Kind of a bummer. But they fashioned a snowman as best they could. Snow angels and playing in the little house made for more fun and then my little guy was cold and had enough. He had a cold relapse and when he's well I imagine he will spend all day out there, but today, short spurts were enough.

Besides the delicious chicken Parmesan we had for dinner, this basically sums up our day. So that is our Saturday. :) 

A Week in My Life: Friday (with a Thursday Recap) in 7QT

Coming back at you from Friday night for another edition of A Week in My Life 2015 in 7QT Style. Okay, so I skipped Thursday. Let's just go back quick here and let take number one be all about Thursday.

one. Let's do Thursday in Haiku. Yes?

Thanksgiving Party.

Both kids to Walgreens for milk. 

T'was crazy windy. 

two. So now that we've covered yesterday let's move on to today! Husband took the day off so I got to sleep in a little! Holla!

three. C and I went to art class today. I am really bad at taking pictures in the moment but here are some of the projects that we did today. 

A Native American hat. A turkey dinner with mashed potatoes. A turkey hand print. We never got around to the leaf wreath. We spent a great deal of time at the play-dough table and the sensory table. It was candy corn this week. We also got to make pilgrim hat snacks using fudge stripe cookies, a mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, frosting and a M&M. 

It was super cute, as he was leaving, he told me that "Mason would like an apple." So he brought his friends an apple each and he did really like to pass them out at the end of class. He is a really thoughtful kid. Bonus: no tears this week!! 

four. A super duper snow storm is happening to us right now, so after art Husband and C went to the grocery store to stock us up with everything. He loves his weekly trip to the store with Daddy and I love that they won't have to go anywhere tomorrow. 

five. In good news for Husband, one of his employees resigned today. This person was in a disciplinary process and the resignation is a big sigh of relief for him. The attitude of his department is going to vastly improve that's for sure!! 

six. I gathered all the snow supplies for the outdoor fun that is sure to happen tomorrow. One of the things C made sure to get at the store was carrot sticks for a snowman nose. 

seven. And just one more to let you in on today: here's the snow. 

Happy Friday!!