celebrating

This is the first year in a long time that we've been in one place all the way up to Christmas day.  (Our flight does leave at 7am so we're cutting it close.)  But it's the first time we can see advent all the way through.  I really wanted to find some easy ways for us to celebrate together as a family without adding a long to do list to an already busy time.  Since Thanksgiving I've been keeping a list of some fun things and the night before we just try and decide what seems easiest for that day.  I know it's shocking but I have a teeny tiny tendency to overdo things and get overwhelmed.  

Advent day 7:  Today we'll read books about the animals that were there when Jesus was born and create some treats for the animal friends in our yard.

Advent Day 8:  Today we'll have boys and girls time.  Ava and Mommy will have tea with Grandma and Ian will have a special Daddy date.  (notice her pinky up...she also informed me that we can make fart jokes in the car but as soon as we get there we need to act like ladies...just FYI)


Ava with her friend Genevieve

Advent Day 9:  Jesus is the light of the world!  Today we'll make luminaries to remind us of the true light that God sent to us.


Advent day 10:  Today we'll make gingerbread houses with our friends and maybe eat a few sweet treats!

Advent Day 11:  It's window cling day!  You can take your stickers and put them on any window in the house.

So far the pace has been relaxed and the smallest Hsieh's are beyond excited about all the twinkly festivities.  

advent intervention

I've realized for awhile now that our family was in serious need of some connect four.  Between all the comings and goings we were a little discombobulated.  By the time I knew what was happening Ben had abandoned the bedtime routine altogether and the kids were now watching One Direction videos before going to sleep. 

 But as much as we needed some family time, a solid twenty four hours with just my B was the first call to action.  So I snuck Ben away for a much needed city date.  Highlights included some amazing food, squinting through my fingers at Skyfall, twinkling lights from our hotel window, surrounding ourselves with Coke and Cheezits in bed while watching movies, Christmas shopping and a pastrami burger that you have to taste to believe.  It was glorious and far to short but with a couple of littles at home waiting for advent it was time to head back.  Here's Ben regretting his decision to go halvsies on the burger.

So a giant shout out to Ms. Kirstin T and her friend Brenda for holding down the fort at home and agreeing to be paid in nail polish.  

After we got home we opened our first advent envelope which was to tailgate with our friends for the annual firetruck Christmas toy/food drive.  It's the only toy drive I know of where Santa drives through your neighborhood strapped to his sleigh on the roof of an ambulance.  There was hot cocoa and a lot of light saber action.  Next year we'll be adding a movie component.  Stay tuned.

Ian and Willa admiring each other's "purple" and "green" hats.

Day 2 of advent was taking out our special manger (half crate bought at Michael's).  The kids get to put hay (raffia) into the manger when they honor God throughout the day.  We'll prepare our heart for Jesus' birth and then put him in the manger on Christmas morning.  This has been the best thing ever.  Ava is looking for ways that she can help out and love on her brother and Ian is so proud when I catch him in a kind act.  I also love that it is the focal point of our living room.  I really need a lot of visuals to help me remember what's important.  

Day 3 of advent read: Today we'll decorate the Christmas tree, read The Legend of The Christmas Tree and make cookies.  Here's Ian with one of my childhood ornaments.

Day 4:  It's candy cane day!  You can have a candy cane after breakfast and lunch and we'll have candy cane milkshakes after dinner.  We'll also read a book called The Legend Of The Candy Cane.  I think this day has been the winner so far.

Day 5 or 6 I can't remember:  Today we'll learn about St. Nicholas (book & veggie tales movie) and look for secret acts of kindness.  Ava made Christmas trees with candy canes and snuck them in her friends backpacks. The rest of us all failed.  

Every time we take down an envelope we replace it with something that reminds us of our day.  Totally Ben's idea and I love it.

More to come.  Happy advent season!

Warrior Princess Party

Well we are deep into our advent celebrations but this years birthday shindig for Miss A. required WAY to much time and energy for it not to receive a shout out.  It was a day of peaks and valleys but in the end you see the smile on her face and you believe in your heart that it was worth it.  She may never get another birthday party again but it was worth it.

Here she is in all her pink ninja glory.  It definitely took some creativity to throw a girly warrior party but I think we pulled it off.

She was a pink and black blur for an hour straight.

Ian was a little cautious at first but Grampa helped him find his bearings.

I LOVE Ava's friends!

Ok, let's talk about the cake.  I spent about half an hour decorating the cutest pink triangles surrounding the sides.  As we were driving to Sky High Ben took one corner and the top of the cake flew off the bottom and landed in my hands.  There was a look of fear in Ben's eyes as I was holding the cake and no one knew what to do.  Of course it was obvious to me that this was the perfect moment for a complete emotional breakdown.  So I took about fifteen minutes to simultaneously sob and laugh all while Ava kept saying, "It's ok mommy.  It's still really pretty.  Mommy I don't understand if you're crying or laughing.  It's ok, mommy, it's going to be ok."  And there it is.  It tasted great and I suppose that's all that matters.

Everyone had to go incognito with a samurai code name.

Karuka loved it.

Ben freehanded this pin the belt on the power ranger poster and designed all twelve belt buckles.  You can't tell in the picture but it was amazing in person.  I think he missed his calling as a graphic designer.

Anne helped me make these adorable trinket keepers for the goody bags.  They were a pain in the you know what but I loved how they turned out.  Don't they look like little glasses cases from JCrew?

The whole gang having some pizza

I have to say thank you to Tia for again bearing with all my shades of crazy and for filling in the mom gaps.

Of course I slave away for months and Ben goes out the night before to pick up a gift and comes home with these.  Stilts.  How is he so good at this?  I couldn't have thought up a better gift for our circus clown.  Turns out she's a stilts prodigy.  Why knew?

Next year were going out for dinner and cake with just the family.  Please hold me to it, for the sake of everyone and everything that is good and right in the world.

Ten for Tuesday

Well my blog told me I was out of space and Ben took me on a technological journey that I would rather forget, in order for me to post pictures.  But, alas I have prevailed and am bringing you a few snapshots from November.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from my Black Friday break from reality in which I busted out a twelve hour middle-of-the-night shopping spree which will forever go down in the annals of Hsieh lore.  Or from our trip to Safeway in which Ian dumped a carton of TWO dozen eggs all over our cart full of Thanksgiving groceries, breaking every single one, while we were standing in a crowded line full of people buying their last minute turkeys.  Yes, things have been crazy around these parts.  I knew our family was going in the wrong direction when I was excited to find out I had strep throat just so I could stay in bed for two days to rest.  Sigh....this adventure has many layers but I am determined to charter a new course (come one week from now after my last paper is due) for advent.  It's not going to be easy but this Mama's got a few tricks up her sleeve.  And back to the lineup.

Ms. A showing off her love of stripes.  This girl has mad coordinating skills which I am trying to embrace.

Little man is my chocolate Lover.  Don't you want to kiss those lips?

Fancy Nancy

We know how to start our mornings right with Pandora's Christmas

New Thanksgiving traditions....hot chocolate

and a lazy morning hike

this is why I don't answer the phone while I'm cooking

Some days we are best friends

Cutting down the Christmas tree

Making friends with orange bellied salamanders....aaaaannnnd then accidentally killing them by drowning them in the river.  We will miss you Sally.

Happy Tuesday!

Halloween Happenings

I wish I could say that I was the mom who, come Halloween night, said to her kiddos, "Go to the dress-up box and let's get creative!"  Hopefully there will come a time when that will be the case but for now we are on full Halloween watch for about 364 days leading up to the big night.  My kids L-O-V-E Halloween.  They talk about what they are going to wear at least once a week for the whole year.  I don't know if it's the candy or the chance to go full out incognito but whatever it is they are in it hook line and sinker.  This year Ava went power ranger on us and Ian decided to support his love for Jake and The Pirates.  It was pretty cute if I do say so myself.

"Punkin Patakes"

 "Yummy!"

 Ian and Willa cuteness

 The Gang

 Our first stop of the night.  Ian wasn't too sure about the scary mask but the kit kat convinced him otherwise.

 He insisted on carrying his "tandy bag" with his hook the entire night.  Which meant the two of us went to one house for every five of the others.  

 Oh, I love this little man.

 "Rangers together!  Samurai's forever!"

Happy Halloween!