Christmas at the Dollhouse

The dollhouse is decked our for Christmas! Big Girl and I decorated it the other night. As we were going through our decorations, we realized we need a new tree for the living room, so our little house is lacking a bit of Christmas cheer. The tree was just a bottle brush-style tree that you use in those holiday villages; most of them have snow on them, but this one didn't so we used it inside. I had strung a set of mini lights, also from those tiny village accessories on it, but both the tree and the lights have seen better days. I need to scope out a new one.

Here's the front door. The little sled by the front is an LL Bean ornament. Ornaments can be the perfect little things for dollhouses! This year, we have a new addition to the decor:

The little red wagon with presents inside is actually an ornament from the Sandra Lee line at Kmart. It's really a perfect little addition to the yard, don't you think?

Check out this, however:

Yes, that's a Leg Lamp in the living room window. Be careful, it's fra-gi-ley! (We just love "A Christmas Story," don't you? So retro, so cute.) The leg lamp was a stocking stuffer to my husband last year, who jokes that he wants one for our real living room window. Sure, it would be funny, but I can't get past my love of sweet, country Christmas stuff to actually put something like that my window. So we just got this for the dollhouse! It's actually a little porcelein hinged box. It's the perfect size, however. I only wish it would light up!

Have a merry "little" Christmas!

Gingerbread Village

Every year a little church near our house displays a giant Gingerbread Village. The church members spend months planning and creating elaborate houses. The houses are on display for one week only, during which visitors can purchase a house and pick it up at the end of the week-long event.

Big Girl always has a half-day of school during the week the village is on display, and this year was no exception. Bunny Twin joined our excursion this year; Buddy Twin was sleeping so we left him home with my mom. It was definitely a bit of a challenge to contain a toddler in the crowded gingerbread room, but we managed to leave unscathed!

The village is always so inspiring! This was my favorite house:

I love the little pretzel fence on this one, and the sheep are so cute!

Another adorable house -- love the windows!

A sweet barn:

It's always fun to check out all the different creations and see what they come up with each year. And believe it or not, admission to this event is free! They take donations, and the houses are, of course, for sale, with some sold for hundreds of dollars. The church also has a holiday bazaar and lunches available during the event. It's very popular; when we arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, there were three senior citizen buses in the parking lot. 

Do you have a gingerbread display in your area? 

TWINS TUESDAYS: "Little Bear" Birthday Fun

The twins' birthday is Saturday, so we had a little family party this weekend. Just immediate family -- grandparents, two aunts and uncles, and first cousins. Big Girl's birthday is in the summer, so in the past we always had elaborate picnics, with great aunts and great uncles and second cousins, but I've learned that bigger isn't always better.

Right now, simpler is better. Simpler means smaller. Simpler is less expensive. And this year, I decided to have the twins' birthday party on a Sunday morning, as a brunch. Easy-peasy, right? Morning means not needing beer or wine, or appetizers for that matter. I decided to make a large breakfast casserole, with shredded hashbrowns, eggs, peppers and onions, bacon and sausage. It was a modified version of this:

Source: bettycrocker.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I didn't follow the directions exactly. I used the recipe as a guideline; added sausage to the peppers-and-onions layer and the eggs poured on top; and made it twice as big. It came out pretty good, and everyone seemed to like it. I kept the buffet options light -- the casserole, some fresh bread, and a giant fruit salad prepared by my mom. Juices and coffee with assorted flavored creamers completed the beverage menu. For dessert, it was simple Funfetti cupcakes, with icing and sprinkles.

The kids love the television show "Little Bear" (as do I!) but since it is old, there is basically no merchandising to be found for this theme. Ebay has some items that are rather pricey, and that is not an option. So what's a mom to do? Make your own!

I created a half-dozen little cupcake picks with wooden skewers, scrapbook paper, and an image printed on the computer:

With the festive icing, and chocolate Teddy Grahams -- a stand-in for our favorite "Little Bear" -- and it was just enough of a theme to carry the day. A few other images printed on cardstock were hung in the kitchen.

Luckily, I was able to cull enough festive paper items, including napkins and plates, from my party goods storage, so there was no need to shell out money for those. I used plain red plates, with yellow "Happy Birthday" napkins. It all went well together. My one regret, but not a big one, is that I didn't get some party hats. I would love to have had little bear ears for the kids to wear.

If you are looking for more "Little Bear" party ideas, there are not many which I could find either by Googling it or searching Pinterest. However, these links might help:

• LittleToons.com has some great "Little Bear" free coloring printables that would make a great activity or a way to create decorations. There even a great "Little Bear" mask printable that would make a great party activity; print it on cardstock to make it sturdier before the kids color it!
• Nick Jr.'s website also has free coloring pages, as well as a Thank You note that you can easily print out.
• Peppers & Pollywogs has some good ideas in this post.
• I love this party post about making Birthday Soup, just like in the "Little Bear" story. The ideas of using honey bears as favors is also so cute!
• Using the "honey bear" idea, it would be great to find empty honey bear bottles and fill them with Teddy Grahams or gummy bears or something like that, wouldn't it?

If the twins were older, and had little friends to invite, I would love to use some of the ideas above. Who knows? Maybe there will be another "Little Bear" party in our future.

I am just happy that I was able to put together a very sweet little birthday brunch for my little twinkies on a budget. Twin Moms need that, don't they? Especially with December twins!

A Whole New World

There she is, Miss America...

I have entered the world of the smart phone. And I have a love/hate relationship with this whole thing.

My husband upgraded our cell phones and I am now the owner of an iPhone 4S. In some ways, it's great. And in some ways, I hate it. I am very ambivalent about this whole device. My friends all have them, of course, but I was definitely a hold out and likely would not have gotten this if it was not gifted to me by my husband as an early Christmas gift. But, alas, it's now here, and I admit that I do like some features (and I love my Otterbox case -- only $25 on Amazon.com!). But I resist conformity in many ways, and this is just one of them.

So here are a pros and cons list of why I love/hate my iPhone.

Why it's great:

Convenience. I like being able to look up something when I'm not on my laptop or not at home;

Texting. It's definitely easier on this device than my old phone, not that I do it much. But it is good to get an answer quickly when necessary.

The camera! Frankly this is my favorite thing about it. It really takes pretty good photos and I love that part of it.

The games. I'll admit it. I'm a big fan of Spider Solitaire and I like having it on my phone.

The Nook app. I can read my book if I have time. That's awesome.

Being up-to-date. In a few years, Big Girl will likely have a cell phone and be texting and I need to keep current to communicate with her.

Why it's not great:

Being connected 24/7. Is it REALLY necessary to be so connected to the world all the time? I can't stand being out socializing and watching people with their phones in their hands, or staring at their phones, or checking their phones. Or watching people in the mall walking and looking at their phones. Put the phone down, people!

Texting. Don't do it much. Yes, it's convenient, but again, I don't feel the need to be so connected to everyone at every moment.

It's a crutch. It's such a crutch. When you don't want to talk, you look at your phone. When you feel left out of something, you look at your phone. I will not to be the person who is always looking at their phone because that is not the person I want to be.

Tracking. I don't need people to know where I am 24/7. I don't check in, or put my location on things.

The expense. It costs money to have a smart phone. And is it necessary? Absolutely not. A cell phone might be good for safety reasons, but all the extras of a smart phone are just a "want," not a "need."

I'm in the race now. Eventually this thing will need to be upgraded. And that means I'm on the hamster wheel.

Do you have a smart phone? Can you live without it?

Creating Fun for Girl Scouts

Big Girl with her toasted marshmallows for s'mores.

Earlier this year at our Girl Scout Camporee, another leader and I were discussing how there was not an event for the Junior level scouts in our service unit. Daisies had a Teddy Bear Picnic; Brownies have Yule Log; but Juniors did not have anything, and they seemed to miss the fun gathering of the Yule Log event.

As a result, we decided to pull together a special event just for the Junior Girl Scouts in our town. The event was held at our local Girl Scout camp, and featured fire skills and safety, s'mores making, and singing.

The fire safety idea came from our Camporee, where there was a session on how to build a campfire. It was so helpful and insightful that it was recreated just for this event. Several of the girls had missed this at camp due to soccer schedules, so it was nice to give them a chance to learn how to make a fire. They used matches, learned different ways to start a fire, and learned how to "feed" a fire and keep it going, as well as fire safety tips.

Once the fires were blazing, the girls made s'mores, drank hot chocolate, and we had an old-fashioned sing-a-long of holiday and Girl Scout songs.

There were about five troops who attended, and the girls enjoyed seeing their peers outside of their own troops. It was also great to concentrate on just this age level. 

My troop will not be Juniors next year, but hopefully this is a tradition the service unit will continue.

TWINS TUESDAYS: Traditions

Waiting to decorate gingerbread houses!

Last weekend, we ventured to my parents' house to make gingerbread houses. It's a tradition for Big Girl to make one with my mom every year, but this year we decided to pump it up and expand the tradition to the twins and their cousins.

The best kit to use is the one they sell at Costco by Make-A-Treat. It's so easy. We buy extra candy to decorate the houses. This year, my mom got two of those kits -- one for Big Girl and one for the oldest cousin -- and then she purchased a Wilton kit that had the pieces for several small houses. The twins decorated the tinier houses, since that was just their speed.

The twins' tiny houses.

It was definitely less calm than just Big Girl with her Grammy. The twins wanted to eat the candy once they realized there was so much in front of them.

Move over, Willy Wonka!

But we persevered and they turned out cute. It was fun to put a new twist on this tradition and expand it to the cousins as well. With two toddlers, it can be hard to do certain traditions, but don't be discouraged to try things out and twist their to suit your family. Eventually, the little ones get older and will be able to handle everything a little better, but they will always remember these fun times of their childhood!

Bunny Twin with her gingerbread creation.
Buddy Twin barely stopped moving so it was hard to capture him on film!

Another tradition of ours is driving around to see crazy holiday light displays. That's easy with twins, since you just strap them in car seats! We also watch many holiday movies, which have been introducing as well. I'm always looking for fun new traditions which don't break the bank and create fun memories. 

What traditions does your family celebrate each holiday season?

O Christmas Tree

The tree is up!

Finally. It only took four days.

Life has been the usual crazy, but trying to decorate with two little ones is definitely a challenge. Couple that with the fact that I haven't been feeling great and there's no time at all. While I might normally do this task after the kids are in bed, I've been going to bed earlier myself, which leave little time for "extra" tasks like this!

I took the tree out Wednesday afternoon, when Big Girl was at her religion class and the twins were at my parents. I only had about an hour to get it out, figure out where to put it (I was hoping for a different spot this year, but alas, there was not enough room), and get it working. This is our second year with a faux tree, and I actually really like it. Don't get me wrong, I love real trees -- or shall I say I loved the process of going to get the real tree -- but after that moment of cutting down the tree, not so much. I don't like watering and the needles and the sap and the uncontrollable mess and my allergies. I do like the smell, however. I actually thinking of getting something pine-scented to put in the house right now just to please my husband who is the most upset that we don't have a real tree.

I think our fake tree looks pretty real -- it's the entire reason I chose it. Well that, and the fact it has 1,000 lights on it. I like lights, and I wasn't skimping if possible. Our fake tree is made by GE and I found it last year at Home Depot. If we use it for 5 years, it will pay for itself when I compare to what we paid each year for a real tree.

Bunny Twin in front of the mostly-undecorated tree last week.
She is my little firecracker!
(And see those branches? I swear they look pretty real.)

The tree was up and undecorated until the weekend. I started pulling out our holiday bins, and bit by bit, sifted quickly through them and pulled out the least breakable things I could find. My pretty, beloved glass ornament collection will remain in storage this year. I can't trust the twins to keep their hands off the tree this year, no matter how many reminders I give them. So I pulled every ornament I could find that would survive the Wonder Twins -- ornaments from our playroom tree, which will also remain in storage this year; ornaments that are made of felt, plastic, wood... Amazingly I was able to find enough to fill our tree adequately. (Which tells me one thing: I have WAY too many ornaments :) Instead of my beaded glass garlands -- which would definitely attract little hands! -- I sifted through the wrapping bin for some polka dot wired ribbon.

All in all, it's a more homespun look this year, with lots of red and white, but I actually really like it. And I'm not afraid that toddlers will destroy it.

Our holiday decorations are scaled down this year, but it's OK. It still looks festive here!