Behind the Scenes: November, 2012

It took me a week longer than I would have hoped to get into the holiday spirit.  But after a weekend filled with Christmas!  Christmas!  Christmas! it seems like November was a looonnnnng time ago already.

Here's a look back at our life in November:

We visited Nana, Pop, Auntie Carol, and Uncle Kevin in Connecticut...

We ate ice cream sundaes...

 We saw fish that could have swallowed Madeline up at the Mystic Aquarium...

 We lounged in giant beds...

The doctor fished a googly eye out of Madeline's ear...

 We went trick or treating for the first time with the world's cutest lawn gnome...

 I got majorly stressed over the election...

 Eric introduced Maddie Bear to the world of video games...

 We enjoyed the last beautiful fall days...

 We started potty training....it's going well for Olaf at least...

 We saw a rainbow...

 And beautiful sunsets...

 We practiced our ABC's...

 Wrestled with Dada...

 Rode in an apple...

 And practiced ballet...

 I bid farewell to Twilight...

 Madeline took the first of many Tuba lessons...

We watched parades...

 And celebrated Thanksgiving with Mimi and Bob...

 We bundled up at the beach...

 Traveled to Boston for Tuba Christmas...

 Braved the cold at the Festival of Lights Parade...for about fifteen minutes...

 We took lots of self-portraits...

 Met Curious George...

And rediscovered last year's Halloween costume...

 Goodbye November, 2012.  You'll be missed.  Bring on the Christmas magic, December.

Advent Calendar Printables

I'm running a little late on this, but I finally finished Madeline's Advent Calendar on Friday night....just in the St. Nick of time!

 Although I haven't quite finished sticking all the numbers on.  Shhh...close enough.

 In each pocket, I placed a card with a different Christmas activity for us to enjoy.  Some pockets will also have little presents such as candy or stickers.  After all, as exciting as driving around to view Christmas lights may be to me...Madeline might not get too jazzed up for that at the tender age of two.

I thought I'd put the activity cards I created on here to share.  I printed them on card stock and cut them out.  I also created a background for each card.  After one side printed, I placed the paper through a second time to get the red pattern on the back side.  Spoiler alert.  It eats up a lot of ink.

My cards fit in the pockets on our advent calendar great, but I thought one could use them for a lot of different advent calendars.  Maybe something like this...You could put numbers on the clothespins.

If you're interested in printing any of the cards, click the link below each image and then right click to save.

Let me know if you end up using them.  I'd like to see!

One

Two

Three

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Five

Curious George

We're big fans of PBS Kids in this house.  As part of our daily morning ritual, Madeline eats her bowl of dry Cheerios and watches cartoons.  While Eric and I dash around like mad tornadoes trying to get ready for the day, Madeline is watching shows we trust like Sid the Science Kid, Martha Speaks, and Sesame Street.

So, when we were invited to an advance screening of the Seventh Season premiere of Curious George at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, I was like, "Heck yes!  Roll out the red banana-colored carpet!"

WGBH bases its Curious George series on the books by Margret and H.A. Rey.  The program features George, the curious monkey, as he tries to problem-solve and explore the world around him.

In the Seventh Season premiere, "Monkey Down Under," George and his Man in the Yellow Hat travel to Australia for an Outback Adventure.  On his journey, George meets Bindi Irwin, observes some wild dingos, and finds a mysterious set of animal tracks belonging to a baby kangaroo.

Madeline loved the show.  This was only her second time in a movie theatre, so she was a little apprehensive at first.  She held on to Mimi's hand pretty tightly.  But when the familiar theme song for the show started, she let out a squeal of delight.  She sat still and paid attention to both fifteen minute segments of the show.

Best part?  When it was over, Madeline got to meet Curious George himself.  Her first celebrity encounter.

The season premiere will air on PBS Kids on Monday, December 3.   There will also be two more brand-new episodes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The upcoming season will focus on George's encounters with animals in nature.  If you check out the PBS Parents website, there's a whole range of online activities for parents to help their little ones explore and discover for themselves.

There's also a new study that found that the Curious George series helps preschoolers learn math and science even at such a young age.  For information on that study, watch the YouTube video below.

On Fathers and Daughters

I was never what one would refer to as a "daddy's girl."  I've always been my mother's daughter.  I have a great stepfather, and I suppose my actual father was a great dad at one point too, but that was long before I can remember.

Therefore, I think I sometimes underestimate the role Eric plays in Madeline's life.  I easily forget that he's my partner in this strange trip called parenthood.  As much as I am Madeline's protector, caregiver, and guide, so is he.  I don't get to claim that job for myself.

 I didn't mean to write any of this tonight.  I was just going to post some pictures from the beach. Yet, when I looked back through the photographs, I couldn't help thinking about how lucky Madeline is to have such a great dad who obviously worships the ground the she walks on.  He will always, always be there for her.

And Eric is lucky in the same way I am.  We get the amazing privilege of watching the incredible life we created become a person.

And I get the added benefit of being able to witness my daughter becoming a daddy's girl.

Unfinished Buisiness

From where I sit, I can see the beginnings of a yarn-wrapped wreath perched atop our bookshelf.  I started that project when we still lived in our old apartment...over an entire year ago.  Then Eric told me it looked like a hemorrhoid donut.  In fairness, it totally does.  There it still sits...waiting for the day that some poor hemorrhoid-ridden soul turns to it for comfort.

This is just one example of the myriad of unfinished projects that clutter up my life.  In spite of my inherent laziness and propensity for letting laundry pile up until I run out of clean underwear, I have a hard time sitting around doing nothing.  Alas, this does not mean I fill up my hours with useful household chores and paper-grading.  Instead, I busy myself with the kind of silly projects that keeps Martha Stewart rich and allows Pinterest to take over the Internet.

The problem is that I have a hard time finishing a lot of the projects I begin.

Take the charming, pink, homemade teepee...darling of the Internet....that I created for Madeline last winter.  I was so inspired by that project that I finished it in a single evening.  At least I thought it was finished.  I was thrilled with the outcome until the entire thing collapsed upon itself about fifteen minutes after setting it up.

To this day, I have not figured out the mystery of getting homemade teepees to stay upright.  Either Pinterest is lying to me, or I'll be the first to be eaten during the zombie apocalypse because while everyone else takes shelter in their homemade teepees, I will be exposed to the elements.  Meanwhile, the teepee lives rolled up in the corner of Madeline's bedroom until I find a solution...someday.  

When I decided to stencil the office this past summer, poor Eric thought he'd be living in a disaster zone for the rest of his natural life.  While I'm pleased to report that I did finish stenciling, the room itself is far from finished.  I need to retouch the ceiling.  I need to hang shelves.  I need to finish organizing our filing cabinet.  I'll get to it....eventually.

During Hurricane Sandy, I spontaneously decided to make Madeline a quilt out of her old baby blankets.  I made solid progress, but packed the scraps away last week  in order to turn my attention to a more urgent project...Madeline's advent calendar.

It seems advent calenders are the new hot trend in Pinterest land this Christmas.  I've been bombarded with adorable, simple calendars made from boxes, envelopes and clothespins. 

Unfortunately, I was not acquainted with the magical time-suck that is Pinterest, when I began lovingly piecing together Madeline's advent calendar the fall I was home on maternity leave.  While my project is still pretty adorable, it's also been a lot more work than the equally adorable clothespin version I saw online this morning.

I did not finish it in time for Christmas 2010.  Nor did I finish it in time for Christmas last year.

This year?  This year, my friends, I will finish the advent calendar.  As God is my witness.  After all, Madeline is finally old enough to enjoy it.

I've only got a few days left!  Better get stitchin'!