This weekend we took our stash of Christmas books out and oh my word… Was Miss G ever excited. She’s been asking to take them out for ages now, so as soon as we did, she got straight to sorting, organizing, and reading them. {Gosh, I love her.}
Author: Jen
Baking Soda Clay Baby Footprint Keepsake
It’s hard to believe, but we’re already amidst December, and in our house, December 1st means that all things Christmas are fair game. We’re doing a very low key Christmas this year {like really low key}, but low key doesn’t mean without tradition. Our fun little traditions are much too special anticipated to let go of, so this year we’ll simply pare down a little bit when needed. Like instead of 10 different types of homemade Christmas ornaments, maybe one or two will do…
Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar Notes
My goodness. How on earth is it already the end of November?? Seriously though. I feel like it was just Halloween and now we’re already gearing up for Christmas holidays. This year, after the rollercoaster that was last year’s Christmas, we’re keeping things simple. Like super simple. We’re going away to a cozy little cabin just the four of us, we’re skipping actual presents and doing stockings only, and we’re not doing much of anything – we’re just going to soak up our first Christmas as a family of four with both of our babies at home with us. I can’t wait.
10 Ways to Support Preemie Parents While Their Baby is in the NICU
If you’ve been around for any amount of time, you probably know that our sweet Sam was born last November when I was just 27 weeks pregnant. After a textbook pregnancy with Miss G and an uneventful first two trimesters with Sam, it was a shock to say the very least. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d arrive at the hospital that night and have my baby exactly an hour later. In fact, I was quite set on not going to the hospital at all as we’d already been two nights previous and I’d been sent home after some IV fluids and a slew of tests. {Because who wants to be that foolish woman who goes to the hospital in extreme pain thinking she’s in labour only to be hooked up to machines that show no contractions again? Not this girl.} Needless to say, I’m so thankful my husband pushed the issue and we went when we did. It was one of the most terrifying nights of my life and my eyes still flood with hot, stingy tears the moment I begin replaying it all in my head. I don’t think there’s anything that makes you feel more helpless or vulnerable or scared than having to depend on the expertise of others to keep your child – the baby you’ve desperately wanted for so long – alive. My goodness. We only realized a couple of weeks later when I felt like absolute death that my appendix had ruptured that first night we went to the hospital and that Sam’s early birth was caused by my body knowing that it was no longer a safe place to grow a baby.
DIY Sensory Blocks for Baby
Goodness… I’m pretty sure I put making these simple little sensory blocks on my to do list about 3 months ago. It’s ridiculous that it’s taken me this long to get to them given the fact that the entire project took about 10 minutes start to finish, but feel like that’s just my current state of life. Non-priority tasks aren’t happening as quickly as I’d like them to, but it is what it is. Either way, they’re made now, and I’m so happy with how they turned out! Sam loves them too, which is exactly what I’d hoped for. They’re sort of like a combination of a miniature sensory bottle {making them perfect for little hands} and these really fun little sensory blocks that I was highly considering buying online late one night {making them perfect for stacking and crashing}. They’re also part musical instrument, so multi-purpose indeed {hah – have I sold you on making a set for your bub yet??}
Practicing Sight Words With a Salt Tray
Now that Miss G is in First Grade {first grade!!} she’s given a new list of sight words to take home each week. At the moment, the expectation is that she’s able to read them aloud, but since she’s already quite advanced with her reading, we’ve been practicing spelling them too. She loves sitting down with mama to do her ‘homework’, but it goes without saying that we keep it lighthearted, hands-on, and FUN. One of our very favourite ways to do so? Practicing sight words with a salt tray!
Cardboard Cake
Oh my goodness, did Miss G ever have fun creating this colourful, sequinned, drippy cardboard cake! Perfect timing too, as her baby brother’s first birthday is just over a week away and she’s absolutely vibrating with excitement.
5 Easy Lunch Ideas for Mamas Who Don’t Have Time for Lunch
You’d think that with Miss G in school full days and Sam being the happy little thing that he is, I’d have all kinds of time on my hands this year…
Hah. Yeah right.
Sweet and Simple Fall Leaf Crowns
Fall has officially arrived here in Vancouver and it is absolutely beautiful. So today when Miss G suggested finishing off our day by going for a walk and park visit after school, she certainly didn’t have to convince me.
Play Dough Apple Tree Life Cycle
If you know us well, you know we loooove play dough. We almost always have 3 or 4 play dough kits on hand and for the past several years, they’ve been something Miss G has regularly taken out and played with. That being said, we’ve sort of been on a play dough break recently… Miss G has other things she’s super passionate about at the moment {mainly ‘inventing’ and reading – always reading} and with her being in school full days this year, I honestly just find that there’s not a lot of extra time in our days {*insert sad face here*}. That being said, we’ve recently been all about apples and apple trees, and when Miss G asked about when the different stages of an apple tree’s life cycle occur, I figured it would be fun to explore the different seasons with some play dough and simple play dough mats.
5 Natural Ways to Avoid Back-to-School Sicknesses
I hate to even say it for fear of ruining everything, but my goodness – we’ve made it all the way through September and the first week of October without getting the dreaded back-to-school sickness. {Thank goodness!} Several of Miss G’s friends have already fallen victim to the beginning of the year bug and I’m fairly certain that by this time last year, Miss G had been home sick twice {ugh}. Well, lesson learned. I’m smarter now. And this year I’m being much more proactive about helping Miss G {and the rest of our family} stay happy and healthy this fall.
Here are 5 natural ways to avoid back-to-school sicknesses that we’ve been using on the regular…
Printable Thanksgiving Placemats
Thanksgiving weekend is almost here and I couldn’t be more excited! Back in Kuwait, we always hosted a huge potluck feast for our Canadian friends {I think we had about 35 people in our apartment last time around, hence why Miss G wore her noise cancelling headphones} and when in Canada, we’ve usually gone home to the Okanagan to celebrate there.
10 Months of Sam
Welp. Sam is officially 11 months old in two days, so it’s fitting that we only got around to taking his 10 month photos today {ugh}. Seriously though… Miss G is in school from 9 until 3 and you’d think I’d be able to get all sorts of things done during the day, but honestly, most days it feels like I spend the bulk of my time between school runs, attempting to get our bubba to nap, nursing, and preparing meals for our family. Anything outside of that is a bonus. Hence the photos being a month overdue…
School Lunches Made Easy
All school year long, I hear fellow mamas commiserate about one of daily tasks that comes with being a parent of a school-aged child… Packing school lunches. Complaints range from not knowing what to pack, to it adding to the morning rush, to kids not eating the lunches they’re packed and it therefore being a completely thankless task. I get it. I do. …But truth be told? I actually enjoy packing school lunches. Like quite a lot. {Insane, right?} In fact, when Miss G was just starting Kindergarten, I think it was the one thing about school that I was actually looking forward to – hah!
{Baby Play} Exploring Hot and Cold
Oh goodness… Have this little guy and I ever been having fun lately! When Miss G was this same age, we were in a major state of transition {hello packing up an entire life overseas, moving home to Canada, staying with family for several months, and then resettling in a different city} and doing fun little activities probably wasn’t at the very top of my priority list. But this time around, things are different… We’re a year into being back in Canada {for the second time}, Miss G is now in school full days {*gasp*}, and I get to spend my days with our sweet little preemie babe who seems to be curious about almost everything.
Today’s fun? Exploring hot and cold – a very simple activity inspired by the curious little hands wanting to investigate my cup of morning coffee. ☺