Getting ready for Christmas

This little elf may look cute but he sure caused a lot more work at the Appeldorn Household this year. Sevea had been begging for an elf to come to her house. She got the other kids begging for one too. I really wasn’t interested in having to remember to move the elf and I know it wouldn’t have been a simple task for me. I would want to get creative and the whole thing would be a ton of work. So instead we got Countdown to Christmas (as Cohen calls it).

We got this advent calendar thinking it would be less work and yet still make the kids happy all while getting around the question of “When is Christmas?” We really liked that the little drawers were big enough to for a little toy or piece of candy. That was the extent of what we first thought we’d do with this calendar. Maybe we should have went with the Elf the kids wanted. Somehow almost everyday became a scavenger hunt for the kids to do. Troy took on this task and did an amazing job. I often gave him the item or the event or the surprise for the day but he made up the hunt each day. Although the work was more than we both anticipated the kids REALLY loved it. They were excited everyday to do Countdown to Christmas.

 

The first morning the kids were not all awake and ready before Sevea had to go to school so once there was a free moment in the afternoon at daycare they jumped at the chance to do the first day. Which ended up being a really great thing because all their big daycare friends helped them in the hunt. The kids started out the season remembering that giving is just as nice as receiving since they shared the candy they got with everyone.

 

 

Since Sevea is the only one who can read she was the leader each day. However each kid took turns opening the drawer for the first clue. She was also very good at getting them involved when she could. Brynna just followed the two around and most often didn’t really care about it until the final clue. Cohen loved it and tried really hard to help solve the clues even though Sevea often beat him to the punch. It was fun though to listen to the ideas he had to solve the clues. Little did we know we were helping them academically with this calendar.

Besides getting lots of sweets the calendar was great for adding more fun into our holiday season. We watched Christmas movies together, had a pizza picnic night in the living room, a Monster truck show for Cohen/Troy and Little Mermaid play for Sevea/Brynna/Amy, played Christmas bingo, etc. The kids all loved Christmas Bingo. We played many games and Sevea and Cohen even enjoyed being the call person instead of having to play. The game was such a hit that we needed to buy more Christmas candy after the game pieces started disappearing into the players mouths…mine included.

The calendar wasn’t just for sweets or new experiences, we used it to enjoy things that we’ve done before as well. One of our favorite traditions of the year is breakfast with Santa. It was our fourth year doing it and every year we hope they continue the tradition. This year we had extra company along as Andy, Crystal, and Brayden were able to join us before they flew back home the next day.

We wondered how this year would go. Cohen was finally a fan of Santa last year. Sevea always loved Santa. But Brynna isn’t a fan of any new person. It takes her time to warm up to pretty much anyone, even people she sees frequently. We talked about Santa and showed her pictures. We walked in and she sees him and wants nothing to do with him. Told me she wanted the candy cane but doesn’t want to tell him what she wants for Christmas. We sit down and have breakfast. Santa comes by and tells us to stop by anytime.

Thankfully she warmed up after some scrambled eggs, sausage, hashbrown, and apple cider donuts. She was the first to run up to him and gladly sat on his lap, especially when he let her hold the sleigh bells. Every year this is the Santa we get to see and it is very much apart of the fun. This year he thought us girls were really good too and we needed to tell Santa what we wanted. But useful things were falling on deaf ears, it needed to be rings or necklaces or anything with a diamond.

Good thing Santa doesn’t buy all the gifts, this mom likes useful more than jewels :) Santa was given the lists. All the extra fun was had and now it was time for the main event.

Happy Halloween 2016

This Halloween I spent less time behind the camera and more time enjoying the event itself. I may have less pictures but it doesn’t mean the holiday was any less fun. From my perspective maybe a little more fun since I wasn’t worried about getting certain pictures. Good reminder to just enjoy the moment versus always having to capture everything. That’s not to say I didn’t get the necessary pictures! We attended the second annual Witzel/Rotell Halloween party the Saturday before Halloween so the whole family dressed up again this year. Troy and I along with Carissa and Andrew went with a Price is Right Theme. Troy being the new host Drew Carrey. I was one of the beauties (term used loosely, haha). Carissa and Andrew were contestants in which Carissa was the showcase winner (what do you expect when she makes the costume!) (Her shirt says…All This Can Be Yours If The Price Is Right…ahahaha!)

Sevea’s was a Lippy Lips Shopkin. Cohen was Optimus Prime Transformer. And Brynna picked out an adorable witch costume. Pretty fitting I guess since she can be pretty cute but also very scary. I still should have made the sour patch kid costume happen but I’ve given up my control on choosing their costumes. If it makes them happy, it makes me happy (all within my limits still of course!)

No pictures of them trick or treating. They’ve got the walking/running to each house down. No other pictures of the party. They had a great time as well as the adults. I did say I took less pictures right ;) There smiles in these few pictures sum up the holiday for sure!

Sevea’s Day Spa

I really have come to love combining all three kids birthday’s into one celebration in the summer. Less hassle and fuss but they still get to feel special that one day. Friends and family come to remind them that not only are they a year older but they have been loved one year more. With each birthday celebration means each kid gets a year older and this means they are becoming more independent. Making friends on their own. So for the second year I gave Sevea the choice to also have a friend’s party for those kids we don’t invite to the big party. Of course she didn’t turn this down. We ended up landing on a spa theme and it turned out great. In the end we just wished we had more time (or maybe I should have enlisted more assistants…thanks again Carissa for the help!)

Each girl received their own “robe” (it was a men’s shirt cut down the middle with the bottom hem cut off for the tie). They also received their own foot soaking tub with nail polish, a fun towel, loofa, body wash, and a bath bomb.

From left to right: Grace (daycare friend), Kalli (neighborhood friend she met through Grace), Eloise (daycare friend), Breanna (daycare friend), Ady (friend from school), and Kylie (friend from school).

We had a few different stations set up for the girls. There was a design your robe station. Make your own lip gloss station. The girls thought this one was gross at first. You use petroleum jelly and kool-aid mixed together. It creates a pretty colored lip gloss that is yummy flavored. Once they tried it they were pretty surprised by it. We also had a oatmeal yogurt facial. And of course a pedicure station.

The girls were great at being patient for their turn to get their nails done. They enjoyed just sitting there soaking their toes and relaxing. For some of the girls I could see this being something they would do regularly. We certainly wished we had more time to enjoy this part of the party but we had to hurry up and open presents, eat food and enjoy some cake and ice cream.

You know the party was a success when you hear many girls saying to their parents as they leave, “This was the best party ever!”

Lucky 13

The number 13 is often associated with being unlucky…hello Friday the 13th. That was definitely not the case for Troy and I when we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary in August.

Troy was nice enough to plan a whole day for us to enjoy together. We started with a Chinese food picnic at a waterfront park including dessert and champagne. It was a great start to the day reminiscing about the Chinese meals we’ve shared many times in our relationship including the times we fell in love, to our engagement, and even the pregnancy announcement of our first child. I hope we continue to share many more Chinese meals together creating many more memories.

The love for Chinese has always been mutual but the destinations up next were something that over time we’ve both learned to love. Troy was a big fan of craft beer before it became popular and the love has only deepened and also rubbed off on me. Since breweries have become so popular there is a list a mile long of places we’d love to try. A kid free day was the best opportunity to cross off some of those. Our first stop was Schram Vineyards that has beer and wine. A quick pit stop next at Enki Brewing where I fell in love again. Probably with Troy but most definitely with a Hefeweizen they had on tap. One more stop before dinner at Excelsior Brewery.

We’d been to this tap room before and by its location Troy thought for sure I had caught on to where we would be going next. Maybe it was the beer or more likely just not having a care in the world, but I didn’t think ahead, I didn’t try to ruin the surprise. I just enjoyed my time with him. He had made dinner reservations at Maynard’s on Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior that we’ve always wanted to try when we were in the area. Being in the area still did not make me think about our final event. A play at the Old Log Theatre. Both dinner and the play did not disappoint.

The day couldn’t have been better. Truly the best part of the day for me besides spending it with Troy was that he planned everything. It was the best gift ever. My head is always so full of planning this or that for the kids, the family, or just us two. To have one day like this was so nice. It didn’t matter to me that we didn’t do anything extravagant or all that different. I think every woman totally needs a day like this once a year.

Especially when you end it on the couch with some snacks with an incredibly cute husband. Anniversary #13 was one to remember!