Feeling Advent-urous

I saw this adorable advent calendar idea at the Crafty Crow blog, and decided it was perfect for this years big advent calendar. The fish were a little fiddly to begin with, but once I figured it out I was an origami fish making machine. Sienna helped with the eyes. The kids still have those chocolate store brought ones, but I like to have one of these too. Each of them will take turns opening one of the little origami fish, starting from youngest to oldest.  In each little fish is a chocolate heart or Santa, a joke or activity for the day, and a $2 coin. Needless to say, the girls cannot wait until December 1!

Techno

Roger will tell you, and he's not lying, that technology hates me. I'm not a big fan of it, either. Basically I want a phone that I can text on and a computer I can waste time on. That's it. When I'm not breaking something, I'm seeking help on how to use it, often from my kids, who have adapted to each and every new device with an ease that leaves me full of envy and wonder. Recently Roger brought a tablet, and the conversation is filled with this 'app' or that 'app.' The kids pass it between them, easily negotiating the touchscreen controls which leave me baffled, and laugh, discuss and encourage each other. I'm constantly amazed by them, the world is a far different one from my own childhood, pre-internet. I can't even imagine what is to come, but I have an idea that what ever it is, my girls will embrace it fully.

You Can't Catch Me....

For a while now, Sienna has been talking about making gingerbread people. So today the two of us mixed up a batch of dough, and she patiently waited while it rested in the fridge for 1/2 an hour. Then she got busy cutting out the people. 

And sticking eyes on some. Others she left blank, to put 'icing eyes' on.

Ten minutes in the oven, a few minutes to cool, and it was time to get decorating. Miraculously, some extra helpers appeared.

(Kyla made this Santa one. She's always so creative and precise in her ideas.)

They were declared way better than shop brought ones. Tasty and fun. 

Dear...

The girls often decide to play letter writing. Today they spent well over an hour writing, cutting, 'posting' and receiving letters backwards and forth. Of course they were all written as Glee characters....do you sense a theme there?

Things I find on my camera.....

The girls took off to the room with my camera yesterday, to take family portraits. If you are a Glee fan, these won't need much explaining, if not, well, you should be!

(Sam and Annaliese - Sienna picked him a new girlfriend, and their child).

(Mercedes and Shane and children)

(Kurt and Stacey - Sienna has a crush on Kurt, so he wasn't allowed to marry Blaine, he had to marry the character she 'plays'.)

(Tina and Mike Chang (the panda) and their baby).

(Brittany and Santana and their adopted baby)

(Jessie and his two children - solo dad, no woman could put up with him).

(Rachel and Finn and baby).

(Quinn and Puck (the horse), and Beth).

Halloween 2011

Ah Halloween.
 The girls were so excited about the arrival of this day. We crafted and decorated and planned and costumed. Sadly the girls learned that expectation doesn't always match reality when only one house on our street gave out treats. The rest refused to open their doors, or yelled that they had nothing. Wow, way to go neighbours.
I guess that put people off trick or treating too, as only one group made it up our end of the street. At least they were very impressed with our decorations and treats.
Poor little Sienna was crushed, and cried herself out, clutching her one lonely chocolate treat. I made her a 'boonilla' shake and she was able to dig into our leftover candy, so the smile was back on her face by nights end. Here's some pics from the last few days, I can't figure how to turn them the right way, so sorry for the crick in your neck!
(PS, I made the Red Riding Hood cape, clever me, yes?)
(PPS, I am aware of the irony of the Big Bad Wolf wearing a vegetarian hoodie, but it's my fave, okay?)