Favorite Kids' Books for Christmastime

Before my sister-in-law gave this book to one of my boys, I'd never heard of it.  It wasn't long, though, before it became one of our favorites.

Elise Primavera writes a fun story of the mysterious Auntie Claus, who lives in penthouse 25C at the Bing Cherry Hotel.  Her niece, Sophie, is curious about her eccentricities and her snooping leads her on a fantastic adventure. The illustrations are terrific and the story is fun with a twist.  It's a perfect read this time of year, but I like it so much that we keep it out all year round.

 Another favorite of ours this time of year is Santa Mouse.  Something about this simple story and sweet illustrations stuck in my head from childhood.  I remember reading this book again and again.  When my turn came to be the mom reading Christmas stories, I hunted it down.  We look forward to it every year.

 Who doesn't love a little pig with sass?  Olivia helps with Christmas is a classic!  I absolutely love this book, from Olivia's insistence that her father not build a fire in the fireplace ("DADDY!  WHAT COULD YOU BE THINKING?  DO YOU WANT TO COOK SANTA?!") to her helpful decorating, which includes "finding" a little tree.  Curiously, the top of their "real" tree is missing.  This holiday story of the privileged, sassy pig brings joy every time we read it.

Christmastime in the Windy City

For  a peek at other fun photos, visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordless Wednesday .

My Son Won't Put Down The Remote

This lament isn't uncommon among parents, and I'm always a tiny bit baffled by it.  After all, we control the remote, right?  Our kids can't use it without our permission, overt or other.

Ten years ago, we removed the television from our family room area.  We still don't have one on the main floor of our house.  Horrors, I know!  We are crazy, Amish-like even, right?  

Except, no.  Our kids love American Idol and crack up over Simon's outbursts.  They watch football on weekends and see just about every stinking movie that's made.

I don't have a problem with watching TV.  In fact, I enjoy it.  (For the record, we have two.)  But the reality is that TV takes time.  It's time my kids aren't building Legos or playing outside or reading a book.  It's time I'm not reading a book, for that matter. 

Parents ask me quite often how we manage without a daily diet of PBS and Nickelodeon.  The answer is simple.  Truly.  My kids don't know any different.

When they were little, they watched for 30 minutes every Friday afternoon because, Lord knows, I needed a little break.  When they got to school age, that time simply evaporated.  My boys don't even think about TV on a daily basis because they never have.

If this idea rubs you the wrong way, ignore it.  You are the parent and I am a firm believer that we each must parent in our own best way.  HOWEVER...

For those of you who read this idea and are intrigued, I challenge you to try it.  A new year is upon us, right?  If your kids are watching more than you'd like, try these ideas:

1.  Set a schedule.  Thirty minutes a week might seem like heresy to you (and your kids) if they're used to an hour a day.  Scale back bit by bit and let them watch their favorites WHEN IT WORKS FOR YOU.  Use your DVR or VCR, I don't care, but don't be held hostage by the time a show is actually aired.  Tape it one way or the other and use it during your planned TV time.

2.  Stick to it.  There you are, having a great week, on track and then, HEY, your kids go crazy.  Your strongest desire is to turn on the plug-in-drug and avoid conflict.  Don't do it!  Get out the play-doh, the puzzles or dump some rice in a huge bowl and let them "find" little toys in it.  Be creative and stick to your schedule.  One foot in front of the other...

3.  Introduce "Room Time."  If your kids have outgrown naps, you still need some time to get things done without them underfoot.  It's time to introduce this concept:  you work around the house, they play in their room.  By themselves.  Books on tape, puzzles, etch-a-sketch, a bazillion matchbox cars:  kids will learn to play with whatever is available.  Be warned:  if you've never done this before, start with a small amount of time, like 15 minutes.  Use a timer.  Have a fun reward at the end.  (Dare I suggest Candyland?)  Kids can do this for over an hour, I promise, but it takes time.  Give them some and you'll reap big dividends later. 

4.  Set an example. Ohhh, this one is ugly, I know, but I'm big on it.  It doesn't feel right for kids to see their mom or dad watching the Today Show all morning but deny them PBS Kids in the afternoon.  Yep, I know you love it.  Yes, the weather forecast, the gossip, the home tips, I know.  I'm just sayin'....what goes around comes around.  Try to cut down on your viewing if you want your kids to cut down on theirs.

5.  Don't go crazy!  We watch the Olympics all night every night when it's on.  We watch every Packers game that's aired where we live.  Movie night with popcorn is a family favorite.  Sure, you can completely disconnect and your kids will be fine.  (You, however, may go crazy.)  But you don't HAVE to completely disconnect in order to achieve your goals.  The whole idea is to KNOW YOUR GOALS.  When you understand WHY your desire is for your family to watch less TV you will be much more likely to make it happen.

Good luck friends!  I'm cheering for you.

Resolutions? Here's My Plan.

It's time to start thinking about those New Year's Resolutions, friends.

Lose weight!  Get organized!  Pursue purpose!

Do we make the same promises to ourselves year after year?  I know sometimes I do.

This year, some of my intentions will be the same, but I am focusing on living a true life.  We've all heard that there are so many good things to do that it's easy to say "yes" and lose ourselves along the way.  In general, this hasn't been the case for me, although I have certainly walked through overcommitted times where I felt I was doing good stuff that wasn't necessarily the right stuff for me.  All in all, though, I'm fairly good about focusing.  Sometimes, too good.

This year I have a few thoughts, rather than resolutions, that I want to pursue for 2010.

• I have 6 years until my oldest son leaves for college.  It doesn't seem possible, but there it is.  I just had him, I swear, and now he is in full teen-years mode.  This year I will focus on trying to understand the young man he's growing into, to encouraging his gifts, to supporting his faith.  Really, these goals are no different than those I've had the past 13 years, they just seem bigger now, somehow.

• In the coming months,  I plan to jettison the activities that aren't closest to my heart and focus more energy on the ones that are.  

• As I do every year, I'll spend time with good friends.  Some years are harder than others.  I'll try my best to make sure this year isn't one of them.

• Keep running.  And doing Pilates.  And, as long as my knees and hips hold out, playing basketball.  These are activities I enjoy that help my heart beat stronger. I love that.

• My husband and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage this May.  We've been blessed with a strong committment to one another through thick and tthin.  My vow for this year is to make sure he knows how glad I am that we chose one another all those years ago.  I'd choose him again in a heartbeat.

Happy, almost, 2010 everyone.  Let me know your hopes, dreams & goals for 2010--how lucky we are to see another year.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from my family to each of you...

And Unto Us...

From all of us Zany Brocks to you and yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a glorious New Year!

from Heather T...

All the best to all of you out there...in the midwest and beyond! Have a wonderful, safe, and memorable holiday season no matter where you are. Peace.

If You're Gonna Live in the Midwest,

you deserve a White Christmas!

Don't you agree?

Merry Christmas, from my family to yours.

Merry Christmas from Heather and the gang!

Hope you have a fantastic holiday season and are able to spend time with those you love.

I'm Corny

This recipe is a hit with kids and adults alike, travels well, and is great for the holidays. It's so darn easy. And it's CORN! You can't go wrong with CORN!

Corn Casserole
1 can whole corn
1 can cream corn
1 stick margarine
1 small carton sour cream
1 Jiffy muffin mix

Are you ready for how easy this is?

Seriously.

It's so stinking easy. But prepare to be celebrated for this dish.

Here we go.

Instructions are...

(drum roll, please)

Stir all together and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour in a 2 qt buttered casserole dish.

An Open Book

We're a book family. There are shelves of books in every room, books crammed in every cubby, books wedged in random pieces of furniture.

When we had Noise, one of our showers was a Book Shower-- each participant purchased and inscribed a book for our new baby. (Hello, eight copies of "Love You Forever!")

By having many books in our home, and by reading to and around our children, we have been pretty successful in cultivating in them a love of reading. They love to read, to be read to, and to just enjoy books.

Because of their love of books and reading, the world will open up for them. Information will be accessible for them to achieve their dreams. Stories beyond their own imaginations will be available for their enjoyment. Reading is a phenomenal skill that can determine the whole of a person's success.

Teaching a child to read is so, so important. And having books around is fundamental to that teaching.

But did you know that many lower-income children live in households where there are few or no books that are age appropriate?

61 percent of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for their children. While low-income children have--on average--roughly four children's books in their homes, a team of researchers recently concluded that nearly two thirds of the low-income families they studied owned no books for their children.

Studies show that when children do not have access to age-appropriate reading materials in their home, it affects their literacy.

The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school.

And when literacy is diminished, the lifelong effects can be devastating.

70% of mothers on welfare have reading skills in the lowest two proficiency levels.
One-half of all adults in federal and state correctional institutions cannot read or write at all.

Books are something that many of us, including myself, take for granted. There were books in
my home growing up, and a high value placed on reading. It never occurred to me that this was not how everyone lived.

In the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to bring to your attention two national organizations that exist to combat this problem, First Book and Reading is Fundamental. These progams take donations of time and money, and turn them into books in the hands of low-income families. It is a simple yet incredibly effective way to improve literacy-- just bringing books into homes.

If a monetary donation isn't possible for you, consider looking into local book donation programs. Your library is probably aware of the easiest way to get involved. Even something as simple as taking your spare copies of "Goodnight Moon," "Where the Sidewalk Ends," and "Cat in the Hat" to a local lower-income children's program can be a step in a great direction.

What a fantastic gift-- to contribute to someone's literacy. In the words of Eddie from National Lampoon's Christmas, "That's the gift that keeps on giving, Clark."

Let There Be Peas on Earth

And let it begin with me.

More Wordless Wednesday

A Big Thumbs Up

Recently, my daughter gave up sucking her thumb, something that I never thought she would/could do. We tried everything-- having the dentist talk to her, limiting her to her room when she sucked her thumb, putting nasty stuff on her thumb.

Nothing worked.

She liked sucking her thumb. It gave her comfort.

She had no intention of quitting.

One day, after looking through some pictures of her where her teeth were obviously askew from her habit, I tried yet another ploy: the infamous sticker chart. We'd offered a sticker chart before, but she never lasted a single day. This time, however, she was enthusiastic.

She knew just what she wanted her prize to be for a month of thumb-free living-- this atrocious Barbie horse that oozed pink. She only had one day where she did not get a sticker.

Quitting turned out to be pretty easy, but that darn horse had almost nothing to do with it. She's hardly played with it. She just decided she was ready to quit.

It was the same when my son toilet trained. After months and months of presenting big boy undies, bribing him with candy, and pleading, one day he just decided it was time.

And most of the time, this works for us. We introduce a concept we'd like the kids to work on (brushing their teeth twice a day, making their beds, giving up a bad habit) and then try to find the specific motivation to lure them toward their goal. My son is much more led by reward; doing something fun with us or receiving a prize. My daughter has to believe it is her own idea-- bribing her doesn't really work because she is intrinsically not extrinsically motivated. She's much more motivated to do something when the "reward" is a new "big girl" privilege-- like skipping a nap now and then.

By trying to figure out how out kids are motivated, and personalizing our efforts towards their preference, we've had a lot more luck getting them to grow and change.

Where Traditions Merge

My grandfather lived for Christmas. Loved it. On Christmas Eve, my mother's whole family-- her three siblings, all their kids-- would pour into my grandparents house for the yearly extravaganza. I've blogged about it before, but apparently when I did I cursed a lot so let me cut and paste...

In my family, we have a really fun tradition for Christmas eve. After dinner, Santa comes to visit our house. Now, as soon as we “hear the reindeer” we all rush to the bedroom to hide, since Santa only comes when we’re asleep. So the kids all pretend to be asleep, but they’re all peeking out the window. Then! All of the sudden, the least drunk uncle Santa comes around the house to admire our lights, and wave in the window (the year it was Hubs, my uncle made him sling the trash bag with the stinking turkey carcass over his shoulder, and Hubs had drank so much Jack by that time that we were really sure he was going to barf in front of the kids.) When we hear the the most drunk uncle shaking the heck out of some bells reindeer taking off, the kids all run out to the tree to see what Santa has left. This is usually an embarassingly ginormous pile (my grandfather used to go into 12 months of debt for this one day, and the stacks were to my chest as an eight year old.) There’s a frenzy of presents being opened, and batteries being scrounged for, and “thank you’s!!!” ringing through the air. It’s pretty awesome. The uncles mostly go back to drinking.

So, this was my history. Even after my parents divorced, this is how we spent every Christmas Eve. Eventually, of course, my grandfather passed on, and the torch was passed to my mother. It is still the same as I remember it-- a huge pile of gifts and food and chaos and love.

Hubs' Christmas is more... how should I say it... restrained. Their family gathers, a meal is eaten. There is no Santa show. Presents are opened, starting with the youngest and going in order of age, ONE AT A TIME. (My family would literally DIE if this was implemented at our Christmas.) Unfortunately, since Hubs' family has borne a lot of what he calls "God's downsizing" over the past few years, it is a small affair. My children are the only kids there, but they are adored and loved on. Quietly.

Pair family Christmas is a mesh of our childhood memories. There are still too many gifts under the tree, but Santa brings only one gift, the best one, and it is not wrapped. This was Hubs' tradition. We eat monkey bread (Hubs) and poppy seed bread (mine.) I do not force my children to eat breakfast before presents, as I was forced to as a child.

As we've come into our own as a family, we've been navigating what we will participate in at Christmas, and when. Until three years ago, we had never woken up in our own home on Christmas morning. We drove first to St. Louis on the 23rd, then to Hub's small town on Christmas day. It amounted to roughly 12 hours of driving in three days, with three Christmases thrown in. Each of us were desperate to take part in our own family traditions, and in the beginning we didn't spend much time trying to cultivate our own.

What we have now is a compromise, a work in progress. Every other year (the years my sister has custody of her kids on Christmas Eve) we are at my mom's big Christmas. We wake up at her house on Christmas morning, and Santa brings the kids their gifts there. Usually the next weekend, we go to Hub's.

On the opposite years, we go to Christmas Eve service at our own church, and wake up in our own home on Christmas morning. We drive to Hub's house (only 2 1/2 hours from us) around noon. My Mom's Christmas is rescheduled for a time when we can make it and my sister has her kids. (We did it one year without all the kids, and it just wasn't the same.)

I don't know if we'll do it this way forever. When Hubs and I start lamenting the idea of spending another Christmas morning in someone else's house, though, it is usually him who is staunchly opposed to missing my family's craziness. After all, the loudness, the cousins, the laughing, and the even the driving-- that's a part of their tradition, too.

How did you make it work melding your families for Christmas?

Yummy Crab Appetizers

A former coworker brought these to the office one time and they were so yummy that everyone was asking her for the recipe. They're easy to make as well, and you can make them up in advance and freeze them...just bake them the day you need them.

One thing they are not is low-cal!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (5-oz) jar Old English cheese spread
1 1/2 tsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 (7-oz) can crab meat
6 English muffins, split

Combine the butter, mayonnaise, cheese and seasonings. Once these are combined, stir in the crab meat.
Half the English muffins.

Spread mixture on muffin halves.

At this point you can place the muffins on a tray and freeze, repacking them in freezer bags once the mixture is solid.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

To serve, cut the muffins into 4 to 6 pieces and arrange on your serving tray.

I'd like to add a photo of the finished product but I forgot to take one! But they look mostly like the above photo, except a little browner.

Also, little note: I discovered that I was out of garlic powder so I just used garlic salt and skipped the seasoned salt. They still tasted yummy.

Goose Moon

My sister-in-law gave my kids a copy of this book because she happened to work with the illustrator. She even had him autograph the book before she gave it to us.

The story is a sweet story about a little girl missing the fun of summer and wondering when those days will return. She asks her grandfather when summer will return and he tells her it will be back when she sees the Goose Moon. As the days go by and the little girl continues to dream of summer, little by little she sees signs of Spring until one night the Goose Moon appears.

While the story is well-written and those of us here in Minnesota can certainly relate to being tired of Winter, it is the illustrations that draw me to this book. I can spend a lot of time poring over the intricate drawings that are so lifelike, yet retain the feel of a drawing.

My sister-in-law also gave us the second book illustrated by the same man, Best Little Wingman. It is a cute story about a child who rides along while her father drives a big snow plow and clears the streets during a snow storm. The illustrations are just as beautiful as well.

While looking up the links for this post, I noticed that Postier has illustrated a third book Turtle Girl I think that's next on our book list!

Coral Beauty

More Wordless Wednesday.

Our Little Helper

We have a helper around here. He arrives right after Thanksgiving, and truth be told, this is only his second year visiting us. His arrival was anxiously anticipated this year.

I forgot his name. My kids did not. According to the rules, we should not share his name with others.

He comes to our house and sits in lofty perches. He moves every night as he heads to the North Pole to submit his report and picks a new vantage point. The kids compete every morning to be the first to spot him.

We have an “official” elf. He arrived with a book that explained the rules very clearly. But I imagine there are other elves out there that don’t come with a book. You can find our version here: The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition Elf on the Shelf Gift Set


Our elf watches and reports to Santa every night. He is a welcome addition to our family every December. We miss him when he leaves us on December 23rd.

I’ve been tempted to employ another elf the other 11 months of the year. Perhaps we need a house elf like in Harry Potter books.
If you need an elf in your life here is where we adopted ours: Elf on the Shelf

One of Our Holiday Traditions

My kids are a little like the retail stores. They start thinking about Christmas just before Halloween. They daydream about the presents they will receive and plan the best things to ask Santa to bring.

I've always wanted my kids to see the magic of Christmas and dream those dreams, but I also wanted to try to keep the greed monster at least a little at bay. When M was a toddler I heard another parent explain that Santa brings her children only 3 gifts. She explained that the number three was arrived at because the wise men brought baby Jesus three gifts.

Three seemed like as good a number as any to me. So this is the number of gifts my kids ask Santa for each year. Maybe I'm a Grinch that I limit the number of things they are allowed to ask the big guy to bring, but it also makes them think more carefully about what they really want instead of simply asking for everything that looks even mildly interesting.

Because the kids only ask Santa to bring three things, Santa has (so far) been able to bring them all the items they request each year. They don't write their letters to Santa until they've carefully considered what they want to ask for and know once they've written the letters that they're committed to their decisions.

Santa still brings a few more gifts along with the requested items, and I've told them that Santa only brings one really big item per child because he has so many kids that he needs to bring presents to each year.

This has worked for our family so far. What do you do (if anything) to try to control the greed and consumerism of the holidays?

Yummy

To put it mildly, I HATE TO COOK!! I love to do hors de'ouevers for parties (with 4 kids under 5, I don't have many grown up parties)

I'm not the meal kind of making mama. Don't get me wrong, I do make meals, I just hate doing them and they are definitley not gourmet.

One thing I do love is finding a healthier version to foods my kids love, so I was excited to try chicken nuggets from this cookbook. Puree is so easy.
Find the recipe here.

I make them with broccoli but want to try sweet potato too. While mine don't look cute like the staged picture, they sure are delish! Serve with a salad, biscuits and fruit to make a wonderfully filling and nutritious dinner.

The kids love them, I love them, my husband loves them, and my parents love them. These are even more yummy as left overs.

have you ever

had the feeling there's a zamp on the lamp...
Every night, each of my older kids picks one book to read before bed. Some nights, if they are exceptionally fast at getting ready for bed, I pick a book too. Or sometimes one will ask "Mommy, which book do you want to read tonight?"

Lately, I have been loving 'There's a Wocket in my Pocket' by Dr. Seuss.

It's super silly, makes no sense, and I love how the rhyming words flow off my tongue. {But I REEEEEEALLY love that it's short and quick and into bed they go.}

The Eyes have it...

What am I gonna wear?

As a female, I can always remember having issues with "what am I gonna wear today?!" After staring into my closet for 10 minutes, I'd try on 15-20 different outfits, finally decide on one and then frantically rush to finish up because now I was running late to school, to work, to ______ you fill in the blank.

{Even now as a work at home mom, I still have this issue. Probably because my maternity clothes are too big and my other clothes are either too small, too worn, or don't fit right any longer....but that is a whole other story. Please don't get me started!}

Once my kids were born, not only did I have to get myself ready but two babies too. After maternity leave, I headed back to my corporate career while my babies stayed home with a nanny and eventually daycare. Every Sunday, I checked the extended weather report and picked out clothes for each day of the week, folded them and stacked them in a pile by day in their closet. Then each night, I'd set out the clothes for the following day. This led to a less stressful morning and me being able to get out the door on time, except on those separation anxiety days (again another story for another post.)

Fast forward 2 years, I became a work at home mom and this organization went by the wayside, we had a lot of pajama days. In September, my big kids started am preschool and that meant getting 4 kids ready and out the door.

I'm back to every Sunday night, getting their clothes picked out for the week, so come Monday morning, all I have to do is grab the pile, add socks and underwear (or diaper) and we are good to go. No extra minutes figuring out what to wear (except for me) or fighting over clothes at least for now.

I'll just enjoy this time until my two girls get older and stare into their closet and say "what am I gonna wear today?!"

What do you do to solve this morning dilema?