Advent Activities {Week 1}

Monday kicked off our Advent house tradition and the return of some of our family's Christmas favorites.

The littles and Hubby decorated our gingerbread house. I have nearly 90 pictures of the decorating process so plans are to give the event its own write up, but for now it is safe to say that each and every year the little get more and more into this activity.

Our traditional Friday night pizza took a festive turn: Christmas trees with accompanying wreath salad. Peanut has turned into quite the helper as has requested that he be called "little elf" while working around the house.

We celebrated St. Nicholas on December 6th with clementines, chocolate coins and the return of Christmas Cocoa.

I'm quite certain a festive straw and sprinkles can cure any ailment in this house (at least for now). And FYI, we use 1/2 chocolate almond milk & 1/2 coconut milk frothed for a yummy, not so naughty treat.

And in the spirit of the season, the sprinkles and whipped cream made their way onto a pancake or two during our weekly Saturday morning family meeting.

We had a few more holly and jolly events not featured in our Advent house this week. Little M and I accompanied YiaYia and Bopi to a wonderful Christmas luncheon at the University. Sadly the live carolers were a bit much for M, so we ended up sitting far away from them and the festive decor, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. 

The boys wanted to help me bake a few goodies...the picture says it all.



And this weekend is both picture day and dress rehearsal for Nutcracker. I grabbed a few covert shots, one of the perks of being a volunteer. Fear not, we also ordered the official shots to frame and reminisce over during Christmases to come.

With that I am off to bed. Tomorrow holds one of the greatest Advent treats of all...brunch with the big Elf himself & the littles don't have a clue! Fingers crossed we don't have a repeat of last year. 

Thanksgiving Part 2

I had all intentions on posting our Turkey Day part 2 yesterday, but instead I spent the day at a downtown hospital awaiting the arrival of Baby P who turned out to be a HE!!! It has been nearly 2 years since an itty bitty has been in the family and I can not wait to love on this little bundle of joy.

Now back to Turkey 2014. After 2 long hours of primping and prepping, we all arrived at YiaYia and Bopi's in our Fall Fashions: monogrammed bow ties for the boys & faux fur for Belle. And from that point forward the day turned into a never ending feast. 

This year, YiaYia and Bopi challenged us all to a Turkey Building competition. The B family's turkey tied for 2nd place with Theo N & Thea L claiming the grand prize.

Every year we are lucky enough to celebrate the day twice with round 2 at YiaYia Terry and Papou Yiannis' in the evening. And every year I vow to grab more pictures of their dinner. Truth is that when we arrive the littles scramble to play with their cousins, Hubby carves out his place on the couch to watch the games & I pour myself a glass of wine & settle in to chatter with the girls. Perhaps 2015 will be the year I get my act together and document the evening properly.

With November behind us, on with the Merry Making!!!

Thanksgiving Part One {Thanksgiving Prep}

 Growing up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was more important than Thanksgiving. It was during those hours of cooking, baking, prepping & primping that we bonded and celebrated the joys of family. Now that the littles are a bit older, they are ready to join in the family tradition. 

Early afternoon we gathered at YiaYia and Bopi's with Christmas apron's in hand ready to get to work. 

We took a few breaks for necessities like photo ops and dancing. 

By dinner time we had turned out an array of pies, cupcakes, cookies & raspberry shortbread bars. Thankfully reinforcements & pizza arrived around the same time. After a much needed break, food prep continued through out the night.

     

November Recap {Circus & Celebrating}

As November draws to a close, I can't help but think that the month just began. To kick things off I chaperoned Peanut's class trip to the arboretum. He requested that we share the "jumper seat" in the very back of the bus & this easily car sick momma didn't have the heart to say no. 

Later that same week the littles came home on a Friday afternoon to learn that we were headed to the circus. It was our first time taking them and to say they loved it would be quite an understatement. Bestie B & H's families joined us and we all enjoyed the evening out.

The unseasonably cool temps found us spending quite a few hours in the basement playroom. Finley was introduced to the magic of the bounce house.

And much more to his liking.....SNOW!

November also brought the celebration of our sweet M's Name Day. This year his feast fell on a Sunday so after Liturgy we took the littles and Grandparents out for lunch.

Hubby & I had the chance to leave the littles at home and enjoy some adult conversation at his colleague's wedding. It has been ages since we've attended a wedding sans kiddos!

The week of Thanksgiving the boys brought home countless turkey projects (3rd graders are too busy learning to produce cute keepsakes**tears**).

And finally, we are still awaiting the arrival of Baby P. This picture was snapped a few weeks ago at Mastro's when we were lucky enough to steal a night out pre-baby. All signs point to a December birthday for this little bundle.