Top Toys

Ok so this is list of top toys that have made it through 4 kids and still come out favorites year after year. It's a mom's list so if you ask my kids they'd tell you something different but they tend to go in phases.

For Boys
1. Simple 2X4 blocks. (We've never bought blocks just used scraps & sanded them and my boys still play with them.)
2. Little People Farm and Castle (We bought the castle when it was gray for our boys, but girls love it too.Boys have these changed over the years!)
3. Plastic animals and dinosaurs. (The bigger the better with these.)
4. Cars and Car Mat (We splurged and bought a rug mat from Home Depot one year. It looks great and stays down.)
5. Bikes (What would we ever do without bikes!!)

For Girls
1. Squishy baby doll - These I got at Walmart and they look like cabbage patch dolls but they're like 5 bucks - They don't make them the same anymore. Their clothes don't come off :(
2. Little People House and Castle
3. Doll stroller. I don't know how many of these we've been through, but my girls love them.
4. Snap & Style Dolls, Pets and Babies - Perfect for little hands to dress dolls, cuz they just snap on.
5. Stuffed animals - my boys like these too!

The Nutcracker

(This is not a picture the ballet we went to.)

This past weekend Afton, my mom and I went to a Children's ballet production of The Nutcracker. I thought it would be so much fun to share this with Afton. She loves the story and I though it would be neat since she started ballet last year. We all had so much fun and really enjoyed it. It was perfect for a 5 year old. Afton's favorite were the Snowflakes because their costumes were so pretty. I think this is such a fun tradition that I hope we can carry on.

My First Nativity Set

My whole married life I have wanted to get a Nativity set to display at Christmas time. Now that I have kids I've been a little leery about getting anything too fragile though. A couple years ago my mother in law bought a Little People Nativity set that is just adorable, and a big plus the kids can play with it! I've been looking all over for a set for our house but they have just been so expensive. This year I noticed that my not so favorite store, Malwart, had them on sale. So being the savvy shopper that I am, I looked around and found that this was an amazing deal. Even my very favorite spot Amazon had them listed for an outrageous $75+. So I went to the local store and.. . . to my great disappointment found out that the store only bought 30 of them and they sold out the first day. (See, my not so favorite store.) I was a little disappointed. Well last weekend I was visiting my mom and what was at her local store . . . 3 of them for the same price!! (No I didn't get all three.) Wahoo!!! I was so excited! Now we finally have something to display. It's just so cute! I love setting it up and the kids have been playing with it a lot. Fun times!!!

Least Favorite Things

1. Natalie Cole
Nothing against her personally just don't really care for her singing, and it just kind of annoys me when I hear her singing Christmas songs. I like Nat Cole though.

2. Divinity
Hate the taste and texture and hate making it even more. I just get so frustrated. I've attempted it a couple times for the sake of the members in my family who like it, but I fail more than I succeed with it and have just taken to asking the in-laws to make it for Dennis and Jacob.

3. Holiday Shopping
The past couple years I've been a cyber shopper simply becuase I hate the gimics, long lines and gimmie-gimmie attitudes in the stores. I like to stick to my list, buy online if I can and enjoy the season.

Few of My Favorite Things

1. Little Cuties
I don't know why I haven't discovered the sheer pleasure of clementines until this year, but I am totally addicted! I love these tasty little treats. I think we've gone through like 5 bags in the last couple weeks. I just can't get enough. They are so sweet and so easy to peal it's just a win, win!!






2. Hot Chocolate
Can't beat sitting on the couch reading a book sipping a cup of hot cocoa! Chocolate in liquid form is lovely.








3. Cinnamon Pine Cones
I love walking down the isle in the stores and smelling these before I even see them. Cinnamon is a seasonal smell to me. And what's better than combining them with pine cones!








4. White Christmas
I'm a sucker for old Christmas movies. I usually watch a couple of them every year. White Christmas, The Lemon Drop Kid, The Holiday Inn and some version of a Christmas Carol. I just love old movies!





5. Snowflakes
I mean if it's going to be cold outside there might as well be snow. I love soft winter snowfalls. You know the kind. The quiet snow with the big snowflakes that you can follow down to the ground. I love the peace that settles over the house when it's snowing outside.It just mutes out all the noise and hustle and bustle and slows things down enough to just sit and enjoy. I love the excitement a night time snowstorm brings. The kids just get so excited to wake up to a clean white world outside.

It Makes Me Grin

It's probably because it's Christmas time and that warm fuzzy feeling is settling over me but I just can't help think of those little things that make me grin. For instance.. . right now Isaac is playing me Christmas songs on the piano. It makes me grin when I hear him click his tongue to keep time. It makes me grin when Khora eats yogurt and then runs to look at her mustache in the mirror. It makes me grin when I see Jacob sitting on the couch reading a book like he so often does. It makes me grin when the girls are playing in their bedroom and I hear Afton directing Khora to "be the baby puppy and I'll be the princess." It makes me grin when Dennis calls me from work just to check in and see how I'm doing.

(Me grinning!)

Busy Weekend

This weekend Dennis and I found that we had almost two days with just us and Khora. So what did we do? I dragged Dennis around shopping and to see the New Moon movie. (He was so good to sit through all the cat calling and whistling going on around us, crazy girls!! :)

And now, we have almost all our Christmas shopping done!! Whaaaahoo!!! And it's not even Thanksgiving. I'm hoping that it will leave me more space in my brain to focus on other fun activities instead of worrying about getting gifts done.