Crayon Hearts

We were planning on making this craft for a while now and today is the day! I got a silicon muffin pan from the dollar section at Target ($2.50) and Red went through her crayon box to find little stubs and pieces. They went into the muffin pan and from there into the preheated oven until they melted.

Since some of us couldn't wait for the hearts to cool, I put the muffin pan into the freezer. They were ready quickly and Red took them out of the form, admiring (and then drawing with) each one. Fun!

If you don't care for hearts you could also make them into little crayon cakes.

This might be a nice Valentine's project for my class to share with their buddies. It is very quick and the results are just way cute!

Advent calendar

Ah, the good old tradition of the Advent calendar, counting down the days to Christmas ... in the past years I was only a day ot two ahead with the fillings, which was kind of stressful. But this year I have the calendar up and ready one day before December 1st, hooray!

My husband's calendar was trickier to get together since he doesn't play with Playmobil anymore. Foods (and drinks!) are always a good option.

I wrapped everything in Trader Joe's paper bags, taped it shut with recycled tape and hung it with sturdy string. Quite environmentally friendly, if I may say so myself, and nice colors - I like the combination of red and white on kraft paper. Other than my daughter's calendar (which will be filled once she is in bed) this one doesn't have numbers and will get shorter with days gone by.

Do you make Advent calendars?

DIY Advent wreath

 In Germany we celebrate the four Sundays before Christmas as the time of Advent. Each Sunday we light a candle and sing a song to remind us of the coming of Christ - not that we are super religious, but I love this tradition and it helps me to be more rooted in the present.

The first Advent Sunday was two days ago (ahem) and I'd like to show you how we do our Advent wreath - it is pretty easy and makes a nice centerpiece for your table, even if you don't celebrate Advent as we do.

You need:

:: needle branches - we get ours from Home Depot, where they are left over from the Christmas tree trimming and free!

:: a straw wreath (e.g. from Michaels)

:: florist greening pins (e.g. from Michaels, in the florist section)

:: scissors and a little saw just in case

:: optional: gold tread and candle holders

Step 1: Cut the branches and pin them into the inside of the wreath. I like the ends and tips to overlap slightly and then pin them in place (no picture).

Step 2: Pin the outside, then the top.

Step 3: Have your little helper cut more green branches and stick them into any 'bald' spots.

Step 4: Now pin any wayward branches in place and loop gold thread around (I was out of pins, so that worked just fine!)

 Step 5: Position the candle holders and stick the candles on. Ours were a little loose so we glued them onto the holders with hot glue.

Step 6: Decorate your wreath with ribbon, cookies, nuts, ornaments, ...

Step 7: Have a cookie while enjoying your work!

 

 Sophia loves cracking nuts, so she saved some for eating ;)

 

The little leftover branches were stuck into our grapevine wreath on the front door. Pretty, no?

Last year we made a forest out of the leftover twigs by sticking them into blocks of air dry clay. Great for playing! What do you use needle branches for?

fall leaf garland

When we came home from the park the other day I carried lots and lots of leaves in my purse. I put them under the sewing machine and out came this easy and quick garland. We used it for an impromptu Thanksgiving decoration (yes, this post comes a little late...).

Giving thanks

:: for our first little harvest

:: for a cheerful, creative child

:: for bear hugs

:: for having everything cleaned and ready for the pie baking this morning

:: for shared coffee with a little Silk Nog

:: for the love of my life

:: for little girl's hair

:: for staying connected through oceans apart

:: for the scent of fresh pies baking

:: for a roof over our head and good food in our bellies

:: for pillows, stuffy toys, and play clay

 

What are giving thanks for this very moment?

Almost famous ...

 We've mysteriously made it into the Bay Area Parent Education & Enrichment Guide (page 10-13) - thank you, Cecilia, for discovering the article! It is about raising bilingual children and who is giving good advice to all the parents out there? Kevin! I had no idea (and neither had he - funny, no?).

November musings

 The other day Sophia came home with a new book from the school library (right, not the public library - now try to keep those books seperated). She has always had a strong interest in the creepy stuff, so the book she brought was not a suprise. When we read it, though, it suddenly struck me: that was me, right there:

The book is Monster Mama by Liz Rosenberg. Now I'm not saying I'm a monster (usually), but I often do feel somewhat odd when it comes to parenting here in the States. Being from a different country ("Nah, my mommy is out of Germany!") and culture I tend to do things differently. Mostly not on purpose, but hey, some things, yes. We walk to school instead of driving. My kindergartener doesn't need a huge backpack AND lunch tote for the Wednesday folder. I don't think it's a problem that she can't write her numbers from 0 to 10. I do think kids should not be fed candy at school on non-birthday days. They shouldn't be pressured into selling stuff to collect money for the school either. I don't entertain her at the playground, because that's not what a playground full of kids is for. And no, we don't have a TV and she picks movies from the library.

When it comes to taking part in school life, my husband usually drops hint like "In American culture, it is expected that you ..." Write Thank You-cards. Call back immediately and offer to help. Purr over it and then toss it later. Why this is very helpful, it does remind me that I am far from knowing how to be in this culture.

Having a child I can't just step back and do things my way. I need to be out there, need to be involved and know how to work with what we got here (here I might differ from Monster Mama - she always stays hidden). This sometimes gets exhausting, but I know it's not for me, it's for Sophia who I will love no matter what - because I am her mother, even if I am a monster/German/...