Our Annual Gingerbread House

At our house we have a few sacred traditions at Christmas time. Every year since C was born we have gone to see Disney on Ice and we build gingerbread houses. For C's first Christmas he was just six months old and even though he slept in the swing for most of the gingerbread house building experience, I love that he doesn't know any differently.

So both of these things just mean so much to me and really put me in the Christmas spirit.

This weekend was gingerbread weekend and oh, I am so thrilled with how it went. Because M is two now she got her own house to decorate and she loved that. C got his first house at age two as well.

We always bake our gingerbread from scratch and make sure that everything on our house is edible. Even though we never eat them. (Though, I will be honest, it is highly likely that the kid houses will be nibbled on in the not so distant future. I am kind of shocked they've lasted the twelve hours.) It seems like such an effort to do this, and part way through rolling out dough Husband declared that he wished he would have just let me buy the kit five years ago! But it is all worth it at the end and it makes the house smell so good.

C had some big ideas for his house. He told me exactly where he wanted the frosting and even helped squeeze the piping bag. He did some patterns with the M&Ms and also just random. He told me hours before we even began baking, that he wanted a Hershey Kiss chimney and after he was done with the rest he asked for his kiss and he put it on so proudly. 

M pretty much just wanted to eat M&Ms, which is about what you'd expect. Her house kind of collapsed due to a mishap with a chair being pushed in while she was decorating but it turned out okay. She did better with the regular sized candy over the minis. 

After they went to bed in a royal icing/candy stupor, we got to work. 

And there it is. Our whimsical 2016 gingerbread house. We did decorate the sides before building it this year which worked extremely well. We saved all our our templates so at the very least we won't have to reinvent the wheels on the kid houses next year. 

Other things we learned this year was that meringue powder makes for much stiffer royal icing. I wasn't a fan so I will make sure we get powdered egg whites for next year. I didn't hear my phone ring when I was at the grocery store, so I didn't get parchment paper which wasn't the best. Also next year we hope to do cut out windows and maybe try our hands at making glass. 

We didn't work too late on the house this year. We were done with the whole thing by 12:30!! That's like a new record. But then we still stayed up late because of the sugar and adrenaline. 

I love our traditions and time spent as family. It makes my heart full. 

St. Nicholas Day!

Well... Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Last night we set our shoes out. It was a harrowing journey because both kids thought they were putting their shoes on and they were tired... it was kind of a mess. But we prevailed. The shoes were set out, we read the story of St. Nicholas as our bedtime story and the kids went to sleep.

Immediately upon coming back downstairs I set out the stuff because I didn't want to forget.

Typically St. Nicholas brings a book and something little to share. This year he brought each kid a L.L. Bean Adventure Small Duffle  and the Kids in Motion/Kids in Action CDs I bought back in October. Well and a clementine. 

We have been doing this thing since C was a baby where, when we go somewhere, all the stuff goes into the same bag. Well it's not super practical, especially when you have to take everything out to find the tiny little sock ball for the toddler. So even though these are technically the "big" present this year, they got them today. Because they are exciting but not like a toy exciting, and also because then when we pack for Christmas, they already have them. 

It's selfish really. But, L.L. Bean lasts forever. I am still using my yellow Adventure Duffles from college, I have an XLarge and Medium and I love them. I figure the kids can use them as duffles for a good long time and then maybe as gym bags when they're older. 

I hope you are having a wonderful St. Nicholas Day! 

When 1-3 Becomes 7-10

My super not impressed face has been on today.

It snowed. I know. I know that it is December. In Iowa. And this is really just normal. But I don't think I have ever been quite so bothered by snow as I am today.

The forecast said 1-3 inches. Fine. That's not really that much. Maybe the forecast would be wrong and it would barely snow at all. I could handle that. I was not expecting that the forecast would be wrong, but in the opposite direction. When I woke up this morning to already more than 4 inches of snow. And it was still falling.

But the kids loved it!

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We were outside for a good long while and it was actually really fun. The snow was really coming down. We shoveled and got the first 5 inches off the driveway and sidewalks but it was quicker than us. At a certain point we admitted defeat and to wait until it was done snowing. 

So we went in and had a brunch lunch. 

We got out some of the frozen strawberries from June and made some strawberry topping, then we made waffles, eggs and bacon. We kept it educational with our placemats. (We also have the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Map and Learn about Money.) 

It was a great filling meal after hard work and outside play. Plus it warmed us up. C decided a long time ago that he was always going to use bacon to warm up after coming inside. He doesn't care for hot chocolate and I guess bacon was a suitable alternative?! 

Later on we went back out to finish the shoveling job. It was even wetter and sloppier in the afternoon so I am glad we had a good chunk of the snow shoveled already. All told we wound up with about 8.5 inches of snow. At least it's pretty right?! 

Hello December!

Last night we kicked December off with a bang! We went to our 5th annual Disney on Ice! It always comes to town about this time. It's such a fun tradition for us. I find it incredibly hard to believe my guy was just a little tiny smush and only 6 months old when we first went. Now both kids can sit and watch and be entertained? That's pretty great. 

We are doing the Little People Advent Calendar this year and even though we are only on day two I am loving it. 

We are deep into Little People and playing with them at our house right now. It's really fun to see what they do, so adding some Christmas and winter characters into the mix feels right. Husband and I are taking turns opening the doors every day. Since if we went every other day poor M would get the lame things. Yesterday was the little boy, today was his snowboard. Etc. 

And that's really all I know. No big plans for the weekend which is just the very best kind of weekend. Hope your December is also off to a good start! 

End of November

Holy Shamoly. Today is the last day of November?! What the what?

So let's take a little journey back to Thanksgiving yeah?

It was good. I made monkey bread as I always do. And that was spectacularly good this year! We watched the parade. Apparently every year I comment how I thought the parade started early, but coverage doesn't begin until 9:00 and the parade doesn't even get there until like 10:00.

She didn't like it at all. 

Anyway. We had a mostly normal stay home day and cooked at normal dinner time. Our food was tasty. Which is what we were going for obviously. We decorated our table so fancy with... a candle.

Our triple layer chocolate mousse cake was really good! 

And at bedtime we all went to sleep. The kids somehow slept until the "Fall" portion of Gilmore. And for a few sleepy minutes C even just sat with us and watched. It was wonderful. A perfect moment. 

The rest of my Friday was spent selling Scentsy. And it was a lot of fun and I had a lot of purchases. So that's always great when that happens! 

The rest of the weekend was a blur of regular weekend fun and spending time as a family. We decorated for Christmas on Saturday. Which gives me heart eye emojis. It's my favorite. 

No one was particularly excited for Monday to arrive. But it did. As it always does. C went to school. Husband went to work. M and I did not go to music class because I just wasn't feeling it and I'm the one who drives the minivan. 

But then on Monday night, something extraordinary happened. My Lauren Graham book downloaded at like, 11:30. Normally, when you preorder anything from Amazon, it doesn't hit until Pacific Time Zone midnight. What's a girl to do? Read. 

That's what. I got a good chunk under my belt, then fell asleep. Then yesterday was busy but I was able to get it mostly read during rest time and finished while the kids played. So so so good. Well, if you like Lauren Graham and Gilmore Girls. If you don't, you probably don't want to read it honestly. 

Today is Wednesday, which is our stay home day! I really love Wednesdays. 

Also in note worthy achievements, we have lit our advent candle every night so far! (Three nights, definitely horn toot worthy!) I am going with the LOW standards this advent so I am pretty impressed. 

And now tomorrow is December which brings all the traditions! I am so thankful it has not snowed yet. I am secretly Scrooging it and hoping/praying that global warming makes it so we have an ultra mild winter with little to no snowfall. I can handle the cold but I am not even a little excited for snow. 

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Review

This is my review/post about Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. It almost certainly includes spoilers, so if you haven’t watched yet, and you want to, please stop reading now.

It has been WELL established that I am a fan of not just Gilmore Girls but also Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator/writer/director extraordinaire. Gilmore Girls is my thing. It’s my show. Everyone has one. This is mine. I have said this to Husband a thousand times in the past week, but I don’t know if Amy Sherman-Palladino and I are just actually very similar, or if I have listened and reused her words so many times that I have developed her sensibilities myself. She is my spirit animal.

We didn’t go anywhere for Thanksgiving and were in bed by 8:00. My alarm was set for 1:45, giving us time to wake up, gather necessary supplies and be ready for 2:00 AM. We hit play as soon as it was possible and I was losing my mind with excitement.

And you know what? It did not disappoint. At all. Winter started and it just felt like home Ezekiel. We were back where we belonged. Sure season seven is the pariah, because it wasn’t Amy Sherman-Palladino. So to have her back was everything. It was wonderful. (And Daniel too. I am not discounting you Daniel!)

The references were there and better than ever, they seamlessly brought back things from their show, pop culture and life and it was great. We are in the midst of rewatching and I am just getting even more out of it than the first time. It’s wonderful, the attention to detail, the subtext and the foreshadowing.

There are a lot of critics who dislike Stars Hallow the Musical. But, my friends, you are missing out the brilliance of it. From a straight up musical theater point of view, Sutton Foster, formerly of Amy’s “Bunheads,” is a Tony award winning actor who was named Violet (one of her most recent roles) singing songs written by Jeanine Tesori (who wrote Violet among other things) is just all the levels of genius. Plus Christian Borle. Also a really big name in the musical theater world. So it was amazing.

But it also serves a major plot device. Stars Hallow is known for ridiculous festivals and events, so the musical played right into that sensibility. But more than that, there was an obvious parallel to be drawn to the Stars Hallow Museum Dioramas. Including, that back in season five, as they are leaving, Sookie exclaims “And only three bucks! That crappy Abba show costs a hundred dollars!” Only for Stars Hallow The Musical to have an Abba curtain call. What’s changed is Lorelai. She loved the diorama for it’s absurdness and she is unable to enjoy the musical. She just doesn't realize how damaged and depressed she is until the bonus song, where Sutton and her lyrics hit home. That convention wouldn’t have made sense without the musical there in the first place.

For Lorelai's story to come back around with “Reflecting Light” as the soundtrack, I cried and smiled. It was perfection. I am happy that she is happy. And they are happy. We all deserved that as fans and they deserved it as characters. Lorelai is going to build her own empire and I bet it's going to be successful.

Ultimately Emily showed the most growth. Moving on, mourning Richard, healing her relationship with Lorelai. In obvious growth, she kept the same maid the entire year and allowed her to bring in her family. It gave Emily some more people to care about. I love who she became and I am loving her new role in Nantucket. It feels right. She learned to be who she was and I am proud of her. All the love for Emily.

When we look at Rory, there are a lot of critics. I am not one. Who would expect this girl to know what she was doing in the world? She is the center of the universe and a perfect example of a Millennial! No wonder she failed. Obviously no one has quite figured out that Mitchum was right and journalism wasn't actually her thing. Writing, maybe. Journalism? Not so much. So The Stars Hallow Gazette makes sense for her. Truly.

For once, it was very clear which boyfriend team the Palladinos believed in. And for that I am thankful. Once and for all, Jess realizes he made a big mistake and it isn’t ever going to happen. Jess, could be argued, is Rory’s muse, but he is hardly the love of her life. They have never quite fit. And it has to fit.

*I know there's a school of thought that someday they will eventually get together the way Luke and Lorelai did but I am not buying it. First, Rory is not Lorelai. She has always wanted different things than her mother. Plus, she's had nine years to find her way back to Jess if that's really how that was going to go down. She hasn't shown any romantic interest in him since she was 18. She didn't start that kiss in season six, he did. She pulled away because she loved Logan. And let's be real, now they are step cousins and that's weird. But I guess the ending is open ended enough that if you want to believe Team Jess goes on, go for it.*

She just can’t quit Logan. And, it appears she won’t ever be able to. Cue the last four words. I knew way ahead of time because of all the foreshadowing. From the conversation she had with her father, I think she will make a different choice. For as much as she is like her mother, I fully believe she will let him in, not push him away and let him be in her life forever. Whether they are together or not, I don’t know. What I do know is he fits her better than anyone else. I think he was waiting around for Rory to ask him to leave Odette. Rory is just so afraid of commitment and love. She hasn't grown one bit since season one in that regard.

On some level, I love that this is 32 year old Rory in this situation instead of 21 year old Rory, had Amy been there to end it the way she wanted in 2007. It’s more interesting. (Since when we first meet Lorelai, she was 32.) Because of where she was going, this whole time, Rory couldn’t be too rooted in one thing, which does make her seem like one of the thirty-something gang. But I think Rory has finally figured it out. And I think it’s all going to be okay. In my head, Logan and Rory get together and become the new Emily and Richard. Coming even more full circle than a Rory/Lorelai circle. (And Odette will always be the Pennilyn Lot.)

Ultimately, I hope this is the true end. Sure I have questions. Sure I’ll always wonder. It's very Soprano-esque. But I think that is better than exploring the next stage of their lives, I don’t know that anyone really wants to see that. Plus, they’ve used up their allotment of Amy hats in Fall so, where can they go from here? I feel a little empty to live in a world where Gilmore Girls is truly over; there was always that small glimmer they may come back before. But to end it right? That’s worth it to me.

In order of preference: Fall, Summer, Spring, Winter. (Which, BTW is just the best Carole King Easter Egg ever.)

Also: If Netflix wants to go ahead and bring back Bunheads or Amy wants to create a new world for me, I will follow her to the edge of the desert. (Or where she leads, I will follow.) Obviously if they do make more Gilmore, I will of course watch that too. In Amy I trust.

Being Thankful

It's today! A huge day in our family! I have wanted to share this big news with you for a long time. And today, I finally get to.  Dear readers of my blog, today, at long last, Penguins: Spy in the Huddle became available on Netflix.

I know. This is epic epic news. It isn't even 8:00 AM and not only have we had to vacuum up the crumbled Styrofoam "snow" that was all over my living room, but we have already hit play on episode one. There's three whole episodes.

BBC Earth Spycam documentaries have long been a favorite in this house. (I can sing the Bears: Spy in the Woods song without thinking.) But up until this point, the Penguins documentary has been restricted to the few clips we could find on YouTube.

If you could see the excitement that is flooding from my guy, you'd be excited too. Thank you Netflix!

It is the perfect kick off to our Thanksgiving break and celebrations. 

Tomorrow morning brings monkey bread and the parade. We are going to have an Italian feast for dinner: Caesar salad, Chicken Alfredo, garlic bread and chocolate cake. Because I am the most contrary. And the "traditional Thanksgiving fare" just doesn't do it for me. It's just not food I get excited about. But the menu doesn't matter I am told. As long as we're thankful, and I am.

Friday morning at 2:00 AM Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life hits Netflix. And I cannot wait. We are going to sleep with the kids so we can wake up and watch at least two of the episodes right away. (Depending on how agreeable our children are, we may get through all of them but we will see. But I took the 4 Words Pledge so no spoilers here!) 

I am actually part of a vendor open house on Friday so I will take another nap after, then head out to hopefully sell some Scentsy! I am going to offer some great specials and I promise if you order from afar to include you in that! 

So that is my plan for the next three days! I am incredibly thankful for this little corner of the internet where I get to sort my stuff and share my heart with you all. I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!