Rein-Beer

I saw this on Lauren Conrad's blog, and I thought it was the cutest idea! David and I went to a holiday party this evening, so I brought Rein-beer as my hostess gift. I bought Snow Day which is a spicy pale ale made by the same company that does Fat Tire. You can get any seasonal beer if you want to be festive, or it would work well with plain Rootbeer if you want a non-alcoholic version.

Happy Birthday David

What do you get a guy who has everything?


Colin and I had fun singing to David at breakfast this morning, and Colin even helped blow out the candle. We love you!!!

Children's Art Wall

This is something I've been wanting to do forever! It was a super-easy project, and it had such a big, personal impact on our space. All I did was "shop the house" for black and white frames to make a collage. Luckily I had a several different frames in a variety of shapes and sizes (mostly from Aaron Brothers.) Then I scoured the clutter piles in our house for Colin's old artwork (I had to get him to make a few more pieces bc I like having current hand/foot prints.)

Colin is so proud to have his artwork displayed - I already have plans to grow the collage to the full length of the wall. The best part is that once the frames are hung, all you have to do to update the collage is pop out the old pictures and insert new ones (as your young artists grows up.)

As I child, my mom always framed and displayed my art projects. I remember being so excited to bring home a frame-worthy painting to see if she would add it to the wall. Now I think displaying your children's art is one of the coolest things you can do to make your kids feel like they've been included in "decorating" your home.

Intruder

I can still feel the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing straight up. David just discovered this in the garage...


Luckily we got him out without too much hissing (on the part of the possum.) Note to readers: Promptly close your garage doors after taking out the trash to avoid "an intruder" of your very own.

Three Little Words - Spoken!

I had to blog document this because I don't want to ever forget it! Yesterday Colin said "Love you Mama" for the first time. It was so sweet and made me smile all day.

We were all sitting on the couch, and I was giving Monster a big hug and I said, "I love you Monster." Then Colin leaned over and hugged me and said "Love you Mama." I heard it. David heard it. Even Monster heard it. Made my day! :)

5 Highly Inappropriate Elf On The Shelf Ideas

This blog post makes me positively giddy for starting the Elf on a Shelf. Because David and I are really awesome and creative parents, I'm sure we are going to have some fun with this too! These are a few of my favorite inappropriate elf ideas...
Elf on a Bender

Hangover Elf

Crime Scene Elf

Toe Tag Elf

Closet Crossdresser Elf

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I could not wait to put our Christmas decorations up this year. After all, I haven't seen them in two whole years! Last year I made the difficult decision NOT to decorate in order to protect Colin (and my ornaments) from total destruction. But this year, I was chomping at the bit to bring all the holiday decorations down from the attic. After all, I missed seeing my reindeer statues, snowy villages and those handsome nutcrackers!
To be honest, taking out my decorations, was like opening presents on Christmas morning. As I unwrapped each ornament, I smiled. I had almost forgotten how beautiful they all were and how happy and festive it makes the house feel.

Colin (now 27 months) can distinguish between "toys" and "decorations." And he only needs a gentle reminder 1-2 times a day not to touch (or climb) the Christmas tree. Despite his new found "maturity," I decided it would be best to decorate the house during nap time. And when Colin woke up, he saw our Christmas tree for the first time and said "Awwww, it's boot-e-full"(melts my heart!) Then we spent over 30 minutes inspecting every corner of the house for more new decorations.
It didn't take long for him to find the remote controlled Polar Express Train Set, a gift from his aunt Ducky on his first Christmas. Between the Polar Express and my Snowy Village Train, I think I can safely say that we have delighted sweet Colin with the joy of Christmas (Santa + trains = Colin's heaven on Earth)

And if that weren't enough, I think this is the year to start using the Elf on a Shelf. The premise behind the book and the elf doll is that Santa sends one of his elfs to watch the children during the day. Then the elf reports back to Santa every night on who was "naughty or nice." How cute and clever is that? I'll try anything that encourages good behavior, and if it works, the elf might stick around way into 2012. haha

So it's Christmas time again at the Peden's house!!! And I have a feeling this year might be our best holiday ever. Because what's more special than seeing your child's excitement on Christmas morning? Baking cookies for Santa? Reading Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Going to the children's service at church? Having kids is kinda like being a kid again. Does that make sense? It's been a long time since someone believed in Santa around our house. Let's hope it lasts! ;)