a life beyond running shoes.

day 17: ornament craft someone had to make the girl for sweet pea. day 18: paper mache! fun with drippy glue and tissue paper! in my attempt at hand-made gifts.....mommy's sewing time. sneak peak..... won't reveal until after christmas.

peanut: i'm going to eat you up. little bit: no, you can't. p: yes, i can.... yum. i'm eating you. lb: NO .... i won't know when to put on my jammies if i'm inside your tummy. p: but i'm going to eat you. lb: NO .... jammies are for the outside. i dont' want to be in your tummy. p: but i'm going to eat you. lb: MOM ... i don't want to get eat... for real. i'm not sure i understand the logic about the jammies but it made sense to him) day 10: just playing with glitter glue. little bit had a cold and was less than enthusiastic. day 11: make snack for party. YUM!!!we call it puppy chow but i have seen it called muddy buddies. day 12: bake cookies. day 13: decorate and eat cookies with out neighbors.... our annual block cookie decorating party. (an attempt to get to know our neighbors) ps. my computer is on the fritz. it would not even start up on sunday.... argh!!! so... limited creative posting ability. :(

advent project: nothing says i love you like paint! genius friend (AP) found this art project. love it! peanut was totally into it. little bit was into it for about half the canvas. it took work to get him to finish. the third canvas was a joint effort.

day 7: project with daddy. christmas tree cones decorated with pom poms. easy as pie as long as daddy can find the glue! mommy's advent activity: having lunch & shopping in the city with friends. most certainly a favorite advent activity of mine. my run today (day 7 that is) was 32 degrees but sunny. in case you were wondering. day 8: glitter glue. does it matter what was made? not really. we actually made cards..... sort of. these are supposed to be on card stock... but i left it in the car and was already in my jammies and didn't want to have to go out in the cold, unlock the gate, get car open, get supplies, lock gate, come back inside. i know.... what a whiner i am! we'll have to see if all that glue actually dries. using cookie cutter shapes, we had lots of fun. it was in our hair, on clothes, under nails. i think i actually saw some in my dinner..... lots of fun!

day 3.... paper chain. failure. peanut loved cutting the strips but got frustrating at having to link the chain pieces together with the glue. he didn't realize that you have to let the glue dry just a wee bit before you try and pull it apart. we got three links done. little bit loved cutting.... just not following lines. his project was renamed "confetti." (guess which one of my children likes rules?) day 4.... peanut butter bars. success! yeah, team "get your hands messy to make a snack for mommy's book club and call it an advent activity" - we rock! and they are always yummy. also, we had 9 month check-up and (almost) three-year-old check up. collectively, 5 shots, one finger poke, a TB test, hearing test, and vision test. RESULTS: sweet pea - 17 pounds 13 ounces. little bit - 28 pounds 2 ounces. peanut - 32 pounds 2 ounces. mommy - not going to talk about my weight....argh!

it is all things snowmen around here. craft time took far less time than i had hoped. of course, sweet pea wants in on the fun! we are having fun so far. it is fun to make garland with the fine motor skills of a two & four year old. ps. shout out - thanks for a great run today. my running partner (aka - stef OR MAP - most awesome partner) it was a great run this morning. 3.3 miles went fast.... i think we are getting faster. amazing how we didn't really have to hit pause on the hill. some days we just rock. weather: 42 degrees. not bad for a december morning. and by the way.... i was a bit teary just before the hill. i love this journey with you. even the hard parts.

we are in advent. but tomorrow is the first day of december. in an attempt to help make this more about time together and others, i have tried to come up with a craft for each day until the 25th. some will be gifts (spoiler alert), some will be for decoration for the house, and some are just to be doing something with our hands. let me share the joy of the psalmist who said, "i was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the lord." may every opportunity offered to worship you in your house find me eager to join in hearing your word, in singing your praise, in lifting my heart to you in prayer. (prayer book)

making homemade fried donuts (aka beignets). making hand turkeys. lots of togetherness from colds, the holiday, and vacation. thanks for some fun days, daddy! (when does everyone go back to work & school) getting ready for advent!