Busy Weekend Slow Down

Well this was going to be our busy weekend this season besides of course Christmas weekend. Yesterday morning started with a breakfast with Santa Claus at my church. I was helping organize and run it, so I went early and Steve brought Hazel later. Hazel is afraid of Santa so she didn't want to go near him, but she loved the crafts and shopping part of it. She got tired and Steve brought her home early though she did not nap for him. Yesterday late afternoon we took Hazel to her grandmother's so Steve and I could go to her school for The Shepherd's Play. We, of course, had no idea what The Shepherd's Play was and hadn't heard of it before, but we knew it was a nativity play put on by the teachers and parents of the school. It is a play that is traditionally performed at Waldorf Schools. They have two showings at Cape Ann Waldorf School. It is a heartwarming and humorous version of the Christmas story. The second showing they also perform The Paradise Play. We will save that for another year to see. Next year we will bring Hazel to The Shepherd's Play.

We went to pick up Hazel and she had been telling her grandmother that her mouth hurt. Hmmm....interesting. We took the scenic way home to see some Christmas lights and pick up some take out for dinner for me and Steve. Since Hazel had not napped she was tired and we knew she would fall asleep in the car. I noticed while Steve was getting dinner that her nose was a bit runny, but nothing to worry about. After all she is really tired. We got her to bed and ate dinner. This morning our plan was church for Hazel and I while Steve went to the gym and then a Christmas party in the afternoon. Unfortunately this morning it was very obvious that Hazel was not feeling well. Her nose is very runny and she complained about her mouth to both of us (which I realized was probably her throat) and she feels warm. So we put a stop to our plans for the day. I still went to church and Steve is going to the gym now that Hazel is napping and I'm home. However Hazel is staying home and hopefully getting better.

But I wanted to share a few crafts with you. Hazel has been working on these pine cone Christmas trees for awhile. I got the idea from a book, but have since seen it on line as well. I spray painted them green and a bit gold and then we put them in pots. She has been decorating by gluing things on and with glitter glue. We were suppose to paint the pots as well, but I'm liking them plain so they don't take away from the trees. These are the first ones I have declared to be done. She still has a few more to finish. I have to keep turning them for her so she gets all sides.

She also made some crafts at the Breakfast with Santa. She only did two of the four crafts, but she made a Rudolph ornament and a Christmas tree. Now I'm off to rest and work on some Christmas gifts for her teachers. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Rudolph

Stained glass tree from Oriental Trading

Sharing Saturday #9

Wow, what wonderful ideas were shared last week. It looks like so many people are doing such fun things with their children. I love it!! Here is a recap of a few of the more popular ones.

Christmas cards and Christmas gifts

Last night I stayed up late to finish a no sew fleece blanket for my mother-in-law. My mother had bought the fleece because her Crafty Chicks group was making the no-sew fleece blankets. (Members take turns teaching a craft and give a supply list ahead of time.) Well after picking the fabrics she found or I found I guess, the perfect fabric for a friend's baby shower so my mother made that one at the group and decided she didn't want to make another one. She gave me the fleece to figure out something to do with it.

It has a similar green as my mother-in-law's living room, so I asked my husband to show it to her and see if she would like me to make her a blanket. She did, so great one of the harder people to get gifts for is off our list. Well then I had to make it. Lately I've seen on Pinterest the braided look instead of tied. And then I saw on one of my favorite blogs Helping Little Hands, a wonderful tutorial to make a double layered no-sew braided fleece blanket. It was so easy (once you get through all the cutting and prep work). I used the paper clip as my tool instead of looking for a big enough crochet hook. It worked perfectly. Now I have one gift down! I'm only making two more and then I can get making things for Hazel's birthday party. I want to knit some owls for Hazel's teacher and teacher's assistant (plus I promised Hazel I would make her some). And I want to knit a gift for my mother's birthday, but that is in January, so I can put it off for a bit longer.

This week I also finished our Christmas cards. After printing out 100 of them (yes I print them myself) I realized our overly Christian cards were not appropriate to mail to our handful of Jewish friends, so I revised it for them. Do you do that? Or am I the only crazy one?

Hazel and I started on a craft this morning but then we had to run to church to help get ready for the Breakfast with Santa tomorrow. She fell asleep when we went out to run errands, but I woke her and now of course she won't go back to sleep. Ugh!! Why did I wake her?

Oh, well. Remember to stop by later for Sharing Saturday! Have a wonderful weekend!

Busy Thursday

Today we have school and it is a special day for us, because Steve is going with us. He always takes a Thursday off in December and today is the day. Since he has never been to the actual class, it is the perfect opportunity to do so. I'm also working later, so we will probably not have much time to craft today. I will share a craft we did awhile ago. They have been hanging in my front window along with  the window candles.

Toddler "Gingerbread" House

This morning (before I went to the dentist) Hazel and I made a "gingerbread" house out of graham crackers. I learned this technique from a friend who is a preschool teacher. What you need is an empty and cleaned milk carton--cup or pint size work best for toddlers, graham crackers, frosting, and candy or things to decorate with.

The milk carton is the form of the house and gives it stability. You put frosting right on it and stick the graham crackers on it. Hazel loved putting the frosting on the milk carton.

Once you have the graham crackers (you may need to help with the roof and the triangular shape up to the roof--I just broke the corners and hid any holes with frosting), you spread frosting on it to decorate. We started with the roof. hazel loved putting the candies on. Since M&M's are her favorite she kept telling me she wanted to save them to eat later.

Then we decided the lollipops could be people, so we put them on the front of the house and one on the back. Hazel tried to use the flavors she doesn't like very much for the house.

We spent about 30-45 minutes doing this. It was a lot of fun. We bought a kit to do a gingerbread train. We'll see how it turns out.

Have a sweet day!!