Reading poetry with kids has become an easy, quick, and rewarding part of my daily routine. Let me tell you how! 

Last year, I realized that while we may read a lot as a family, there was one huge gap in our library. Though I like poetry, I can’t say I know a lot about it or read it very often. My kids know even less about poetry.

I took a Transcendentalist class in college and that was probably the first time I’d ever really l delved into poetry. I gained a great appreciation for T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman. Since then I’ve read a lot of Mary Oliver . . . but that’s mostly it.

If you’d asked my kids a year ago what they knew about poetry, they’d have recited a funny Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky verse . . . but that’s it.

I realized we were missing something. I know that reading poetry with kids is important. So, I did a little research and added A Poem for Every Night of the Year to our library. It’s been a big hit.

We started incorporating a poem from this book into our bed time routine every night. It’s been easy to maintain because it only takes a few minutes to read a poem. Now, almost a year later, everyone looks forward to our nightly poetry reading. Our bedtime routine wouldn’t be the same without it.

A Poem for Every Night of the Year has really made our venture into the world of poetry so much easier. It’s organized by date and the poems are normally relevant to the season or holidays that they fall near. I love that each poem has a brief intro providing context. Not only does this help the kids (and me) understand the poems better, but it also gives us more to talk about.

The poems and poets chosen for this book are also very diverse. After reading this book for a year, we’ve really covered a lot of poetry ground.

Today’s poem is “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou (appropriate this week after observing MLK day). Tomorrow’s poem takes us back to the 19th century with a hopeful winter poem by Wordsworth.

Now, if you ask my kids about poetry they can say a lot more than that it’s funny. They have favorite poems and favorite poets that they’ve identified with. They’ve experienced the emotions that poetry can inspire and evoke. They know that poems don’t always rhyme. In short, they’ve gained a real appreciation for poetry. I have a year of reading this book to thank for that.

I highly recommend reading poetry with kids. It’s easy to make it a part of your bedtime routine. It doesn’t take much effort or even time commitment, but the benefits are rich.  Reading poetry with kids is so rewarding.

Also, I just noticed that the editor of this book as a new version out. If reading with your kids at night isn’t easy, try A Poem for Every Day of the Year. Maybe you can add it to your breakfast routine? But really, there aren’t any rules. You can read either one of these books whenever it works best for you!

Have you tried reading poetry with kids? What have they enjoyed? I’d love more recommendations!

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Free Printable Valentines to Color based on the super fun book, I Love You Like a Pig. 

My favorite Valentines are the ones that involve my kids in the process. It may be faster for me to buy the Valentines, but the kids don’t have nearly as much fun. I want them to be the ones that make and give the Valentines.

The best way to get my kids excited about preparing Valentines for all their friends and classmates is to include them in the design and execution.

We recently checked out this adorable book from the library: I Love You Like a Pig. It was written and illustrated by a slam dunk team! I love every book Mac Barnett has ever written and Greg Pizzoli’s illustrations have been a hit around here ever since we got a hold of his Watermelon Seed book. This book turned out to be yet another winner.

It’s a silly book (as you might have guessed from the title), but that just means my kids adore it. It had my three year old giggling on every page! Turns out, it doesn’t have to make any sense for a kid to have a good laugh. (Have you heard a 7 year old make up their own knock-knock jokes?!)

While my kids were giggling though, I was thinking that this book would make the cutest Valentine. And that was the beginning of these Free Printable Valentines to Color.

With the help and enthusiastic input of my kids, I made these fun Valentines. The best part is that the kids get to do the illustrations all by themselves. They can take a cue from Greg Pizzoli’s pictures in the book, or use their own imagination. My kids had fun doing both!

There are 4 different designs based on the book:

I Love You Like a Pig

I Like You Like a Tree

I’m Happy Like a Monster

You’re Funny Like a Fossil

The book, I Love You Like a Pig by Mac Barnett, makes an excellent Valentine gift for parents and grandparents to give. Paired with these Free Printable Valentines to Color, it’s guaranteed fun!

Add your favorite Valentine candy and you’re all set!

If you and your kids use these, I’d love to see them! Tag me @somethewiser on Facebook and Instagram. Have fun!

There are 8 Valentines on each sheet. You can download them for free here:

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A festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year and a few favorite Chinese New Year Picture Books to help kids understand the festival.

Last month we went to a Chinese New Year Festival in Albuquerque to celebrate the lunar new year. I love to take my kids to cultural celebrations like this! Not only is it fun, but as they develop a broader understanding of different cultures, they will be more tolerant and accepting. I want them to be curious and compassionate as they engage with the world around them.

This Chinese New Year Festival took place at the big Asian Market in Albuquerque.  In Chinese culture, the lion dances are part of the traditional ceremony to ward off evil spirits and invite prosperity in the coming year.

The lion dances are colorful, loud, and fun. They begin with fireworks and drums, cymbals, and gongs. Each lion has two performers, one to move the back legs and one for the front.

The lions at the Albuquerque Chinese New Year Festival were so playful and fun. As the kids put their red envelopes (traditionally filled with money) into the lions’ mouths, they were often pulled out into the center of the festivities. As you can see below, one lion attempted to eat Esme’s head, which gave everyone a good laugh. 

The highlight of the lion dances is the eating of the greens. As you can see below, a bundle of greens is tied and hung from the entrance to the market. The lions, after some bouncy footwork, “eat” the greens. This is another tradition to bring good luck.

We had such a fun time! The atmosphere was so energetic and playful that we hardly noticed how chilly and blustery it was outside.

To keep the fun alive a little longer, we also found some Chinese New Year Picture books to read at home. They have given us a better understanding of the holiday and its festivities. They’ve also inspired more lion dances at home. It’s been quite entertaining!

Here are a few that we highly recommend!

Chinese New Year Picture Books

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin 

We love her middle grade chapters books and we were so pleased to find this picture book too! This is a bright, colorful depiction of the holiday. It’s a good read even for very young kids.

Ruby’s Chinese New Year by Vicki Lee

This is a brand new book, released in December. My girls love the adorable pictures in this one. The story follows Ruby and her cute little cat on their way to deliver a special card to Grandma for the New Year. It’s very fun and sweet.

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim 

This is a retelling of the Goldie Locks story, but this one ends with the Chinese New Year. It also has a recipe for Turnip Cakes at the end of the book that my kids are actually excited to try. Three cheers for fairy tale retellings that inspire adventurous eating!

Celebrate the Chinese New Year by Carolyn Otto

This is an excellent nonfiction picture book by National Geographic Kids. With colorful photographs and easy to understand descriptions, this is a fun but entertaining look at the festival and holiday.

Happy Happy Chinese New Year by DEMI 

This picture book is for your older kids that want to know the WHY behind all of the traditions. It’s very descriptive and explains all of the rituals. My 9 and 11 year olds loved this one.

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A review of The Helper Hare: an Easter Tradition that’s easy to do, doesn’t involve candy, and inspires kind and helpful children! 

This review is not sponsored, we just wanted to share our experience with The Helper Hare. We did receive a complimentary Helper Hare, but all opinions are entirely my own. 

I am a mediocre mom when it comes to most holiday traditions. I do love holidays and seasonal traditions, and I even attempt to acknowledge most of them in some way.

But then there was Pinterest.

Suddenly, my efforts to buy a pair of green socks for everyone for Saint Patrick’s day were mediocre at best, and negligible at worst, when compared to the internet people with leprechauns leaving trails of gold and rainbows all around the house. And this is just Saint Patrick’s Day! Christmas antics have climbed to Everest heights and I don’t have the oxygen for that kind of thing. Elaborate advent calendars with treats, presents, and activities for the entire month before the big holiday, which requires a significant time and money investment of its own!? Elves that hide daily and present treats and cleverly executed tricks and hilarious messes!?

I envy all of you who can pull off this level of holiday engagement, really I do. However, my attempt at an advent calendar last year never made it past day 3 because I couldn’t get my act together.

That’s where The Helper Hare enters the scene.

When I saw The Helper Hare making its way around Instagram, my first mediocre mom instinct was to ignore it entirely. It sounded a little too much like one of those Christmas elves that only make me feel guilty. But then a few book bloggers that I really like wrote some thoughtful reviews about how helpful it was and I decided to investigate. Helpful is something that always interests this mom!

Turns out, The Helper Hare isn’t really like those Elf on the Shelf toys at all. It’s so much better! 

The Helper Hare is an Easter Tradition designed to add a little fun to the week or two before Easter, but also to make the holiday a little easier. When Helper Hare shows up, he wants to see how helpful your children can be. They can play with him during the day, but he’s always keeping on eye on things and taking notes. When the kids to bed at night, Helper Hare reports back to the Easter Bunny on what he has seen.

Unlike the elves, the hare doesn’t get up to any crazy antics. Also, he’s not expected to bring treats for all those days before the holiday. This scores him major points in my book.

The Helper Hare comes with a short picture book that explains how the Helper Hare works and what he’s watching for. It also has a page to fill out with the name you choose for your own helper hare. The kids named ours Harry!

The book itself isn’t amazing, but my kids enjoyed it. What is amazing, however, is the whole concept! I love anything that can positively motivate kids to be their best. Since Harry, our helper hare, arrived, all I have to do to remind the kids to speak kindly to each other is to pull out the hare – he gets an instant reaction!

The actual toy helper hare is excellent quality and absolutely adorable. Unlike the elf on a shelf, which I’ve heard the kids aren’t supposed to touch, the helper hare loves to play. My kids, especially the youngest two, have made the hare their play companion almost every day since he arrived. Best of all, they’ll have something other than candy to look forward to next year too!

This is an Easter Tradition that my whole family is loving! I am so happy to have a non-candy holiday treat to make the season feel a little more special. I appreciate that it doesn’t take much effort from me either. Most of all, I love that my kids are thinking of more ways to be kind and helpful with the hare in the house. This is an Easter Tradition that has my wholehearted recommendation! 

You can find out more about The Helper Hare, and get a cuddly hare of your own, here. It’s on sale right now and there’s still time to get one before Easter this year!

I’d love to hear about some of your Easter Traditions – especially the simple ones. What are you putting in Easter Baskets this year?

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I finished knitting another sweater – granny’s favorite sweater! I think this is the fourth time I’ve knit this particular pattern, Granny’s Favorite Sweater by Georgie Nicolson (see the first one I knit here). I keep thinking I should branch out, but then I remember that it’s just a perfect pattern and when you’ve found something that knits so easily and always fits just right, why not stick with it?

I did make a few small changes this time though. Instead of increasing in the body, I kept it straight and added buttons all the way down. I think I love it even more with these simple modifications! Next time, I’ll try adding pockets too.

Best of all, Eila loves this sweater. She wore it everyday the first week I made it, and at least once a week since then. Even today, when the high was in the upper 80’s, she still left the house in this sweater. This is so incredibly gratifying. I’ll knit her a hundred more if she keeps it up.

Really though, she’s just the sweetest thing. She turned 10 last month – a whole decade of Eila in my life and she’s made every day of it brighter. 

She’s always carrying around a notebook because she’s always writing a story or a book. She’s a dreamer, this one, always inventing and imagining worlds of color and light. She approaches everything she does with a fierce determination and boldness that I envy. She has a quick temper, but is always ready with a hug when it cools. She runs and climbs, excels at math, plays classical piano, and has whole volumes of Calvin & Hobbes memorized. I think of her as my very own Jo March.

What a lucky mama I am.

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I love reading all the funny things kids say! My little Rory is full of laughable quotes. Here’s a few recent favorites.

This kid turned FOUR last week! I can’t believe it’s already been four years, but I also can’t imagine life without him anymore. Rory is the life of the party, always ready with the dance moves, the jokes, and the heart melting smiles.

He holds my hand when we’re walking and he’ll reach over and kiss it, EVERY TIME. He has my whole heart, forever and ever.

Funny Things Kids Say

I’m terrible at remembering to write down all the funny things he says, but when I do, they’re gold.

Here are few that I’ve written down recently:

After church on Sunday

Grandma: What did you learn about in Primary class today?

Rory: Grandmas and Grandpas!

Grandma: What did you learn about Grandma’s and Grandpas?

Rory: That you’re old and you’re going to die.

Grandma: . . .

After picking him up from a play date with a friend

Me: Did you have fun?

Rory: Yes, and I didn’t do anything suspicious!

Me: Anything suspicious?

Rory: Oh, I mean, I didn’t do anything mischievous!

At my friend Robin’s house

Rory brings over a drawing (indecipherable scribbles) and hands it to Robin.

Rory: I drew a picture of you!

Robin: Wow!

Rory: Here’s your head. Here’s your hair.

Takes picture back and stares at it hard for a minute.

Rory: Oh! I think you’re naked.

While his sister is tickling him

Rory: Stop sneaking into my armpits!

And now, I vow to be better about writing these things down more often!

Gosh, I sure do love this kid.

If you liked this post about Funny Things Kids Say, you may also enjoy these posts:

• A Promise to My Baby
• 5 Tips for Better Mornings with Kids
• May Days

The post Life With Rory: Funny Things Kids Say appeared first on Some the Wiser.

Tried and True, Easy Boredom Busters guaranteed to end the chorus of “I’m bored” that inevitably happens when the kids are home all day long. 

I don’t mind letting my kids get bored. I think boredom leads to a lot of creativity and forces some self reflection, which is good from time to time. But sometimes, and especially in the summer, my kids need a little extra help.

When the kids get stuck in a round of “there’s nothing to do” for too long, then the squabbling starts. I do not like all the squabbling. Not at all.

So, I’ve come up with a few tried and true boredom busters. These are simple things to break the boredom cycle. They don’t require much adult intervention, and most of them don’t even require much in the way of supplies. These are just simple activities that get the kids’ creative juices flowing again.

Sometimes, my kids get into one of these things and stay occupied for hours. Honestly, hours! Sometimes they do one of these activities for 15 or 20 minutes and then remember that there actually are fun things to do – despite the chorus of “I’m bored” that they indulged in for the previous 20 minutes. Either way, these are guaranteed to end the complaining and hopefully the squabbling too.

There are variety of things on this list, all of which will spark some creativity. There is only one that involves the internet and an electronic device, but it’s such an inspiring one that you won’t mind the screen time. A few of these, depending on your kids ages, may require some adult help, but most of them you can just let the kids go.

Now, for the boredom busters! Go have some fun.

10 Boredom Busters for Kids

Art For Kids Hub 

This is the most awesome website for kids! We’ve been using this for almost a year now and it’s  been so much fun. An art loving family runs the website and they create art lesson videos with their kids. There are free videos available on the site, or you can pay (less than $3 a month) to become a member and have access to even more, plus ad free videos. We’re members and it’s well worth the money.

There is a huge variety of things to draw, and you can pick videos for different ages. There is even a variety of different styles – some more cartoon like, some more realistic. You can learn how to draw a Hibiscus Flower, or your favorite Shopkin, or a Cartoon Ice Cream Sandwich.

There’s more than just drawing too. They have videos for sculpting, origami, painting, and cut-outs.

The website is well organized and easy to use. All of the videos are well executed and easy for kids to follow. My kids like it because they always have a kid doing the drawing too, so while their drawings may not look quite as good as the adult drawings in the video, they do always look as good as the kid’s drawing.

Hours of fun here! 

Buttons

I have a big jar of buttons. My Grandmother gave me some, I picked up more a the thrift store, and I bought even more in a big bag at JoAnn’s. It is surprising how much fun these have been for my kids. They have made up games with the buttons. They have created art with the buttons. They even just like to site and sort the buttons by size, color, and shape.

This is ridiculously simple, but I swear, it works.

The Unbored Book 

Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Fun is a great boredom buster at our house. The scope of this book is so diverse! There is most definitely a great boredom buster in here for your kid. There are classic science experiments, crafts and upcycling, board game hacking, code-cracking, geocaching, skateboard repair, yarn-bombing, stop-action movie-making-plus tons of sidebars and extras, including trivia, best-of lists, and more.

Last week my 11 year old had a friend over and after an hour or so, they started asking “What can we do?” I directed them to this book and they spent the rest of the day making secret book vaults.

I’d recommend this one for kids 10 and up. However, there are certainly fun things in it for younger kids, they just might need more adult help.

And if you like this one, there are more in the series: Unbored Games  and  Unbored Adventure.

The Great Big Book of Children’s Games

We’ve had this book since 2011 and it’s saved the day hundreds of times. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a big book of games. To be precise, there are more than 450 indoor and outdoor games for kids ages 3 to 14. The book is genius and it’s only $7 on Amazon!!

We’ve used this book a million times and played so many games from it. However, four or five years ago, my kids found a game in this book called “What’s my thought like?” It’s a simple game that involves guessing what the other person is thinking and then making up funny sentences. My kids have played this game almost daily ever since. They play it in the car. They play it as they are going to sleep at night. They play it when they are bored. It’s weird and amazing how much a part of our lives this silly little game has become.

If you only use one item off this list of 10 boredom busters, make it this one! I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

365 Things To Do With Lego Bricks 

Legos are a good boredom buster on their own. However, this book is awesome for getting your kids excited and inspired with their Legos.

This is a new one to us this summer and my kids have been having a lot of fun with it. I like it because it gives generalized instructions, not step by step, so the kids can really just build on their own once they have an idea they are interested in.

A fun feature of the book is the random number generator and timer on the front. It’s fun to randomly pick a project and then do a timed build – adds another element of fun to the whole thing.

Note: if you want specific building instructions, this is not the book for you. Also, if you haven’t amassed a pretty large collection of legos (which I’ve found oddly easy to do with 4 kids) then this probably isn’t the book for you either. But, if you have a lot of legos, and don’t mind getting creative and “winging it” on some projects, then this really is a lot of fun. 

Magna Tiles

I try to stay away from broad generalizations, but I really do think every house with kids should have Magna Tiles. They are the simplest, open ended toy out there and I’ve never yet met a kid who didn’t have fun with these.

Really little kids (like 18 months old) can have fun with these right on up to your teenagers and adults. Honestly, I have fun with the magna tiles.

We recently got a set of glow in the dark Magna Tiles to add to our original set and it’s a whole new level of fun.

We play with these EVERY DAY at our house!

On Amazon, you can get a 32 piece set or a 100 piece set. There are also a lot of knock-off’s of these. I can’t speak for all of them, but the glow in the dark tiles we bought are the name brand Magna Tiles and the original 100 piece set we have are Play Mags (they sell Play Mags and Magna Tiles at Target) and I can’t tell a difference. Plus, the 100 piece set of play mags  costs the same as the 50 piece set of the original magna tiles. So, take that into consideration.

Pipe Cleaners

Just $9.99 for hours of fun. This is another super simple thing that is oddly entertaining for children.

You don’t even have to say anything. Just plop a pile of pipe cleaners down somewhere that your kids will see them and let them be. You will be surprised at how long this will keep them busy.

There were maybe 5 or 6 pipe cleaners in the Kid Lit Art box we did last week, and they kept my 4 year old entirely entertained for more than an hour! No joke!

These are also good in the car because they’re easy to clean up.

Kids Cook Books

We have a lot of kid cook books and they’ve been such great boredom busters. And while they may be the messiest boredom buster on this list and they may require the most supplies, they also can end with meals and snacks that you didn’t have to prepare!

These are our favorites:

• DK Complete Children’s Cook Book: This is our favorite! Lot’s of full color pictures, detailed instructions, quality recipes.
• Kids Cook 1-2-3: Only 3 ingredients for everything in this book. My kids have used this one over and over again. Great even for young kids.
• Pretend Soup: This is a great one for preschool and up. This was our first kid’s cookbook.

Beads

My girls got a 500 piece jar of beads as a gift a few years ago and it has been the hit toy! I can’t find the exact thing we have on Amazon, but it’s this same brand. I believe they sell the exact one we have at Target as well – I just can’t find it online.

The beads snap together and pull apart so you can mix and match. They are made to make jewelry, but my kids (Rory included) use them for all sorts of things. They become dog leashes, crowns, trains, etc. Really, really fun!

Tracing Paper 

Another ridiculously simple way for your kids to entertain themselves. Hand them a pack of tracing paper and let ’em go.

My kids have so much fun tracing pictures out of books, especially comic books and reference books. They find it so satisfying! It’s easy, but it works.

If you liked these 10 Boredom Busters for Kids, you may also enjoy these posts:

50 Fun Cheap Summer Ideas

Brain Chase : Kid’s Summer Learning Activity

Cupcake Wars for Kids 

The post 10 Boredom Busters for Kids appeared first on Some the Wiser.

We’re back home from our Cape Hatteras Family Vacation and I’m experiencing some post-vacation blues. It was such a fun and relaxing family vacation and it’s hard to come back to laundry and bills and all that real life stuff. Now Albuquerque, New Mexico feels farther away from a beach than ever before and I’m rethinking all the life decisions that brought me to this desert  state.

Since I’m missing that salty sea air and the soothing soundtrack of crashing waves, I thought I’d revisit our Cape Hatteras Family Vacation here in pictures. Come join me on the beach for a minute!

Last summer, my sister’s husband took up surfing. To feed his new passion, they went on a fun family trip to Emerald Isle in the Outer Banks. They had so much fun that they decided they wanted a beach vacation again this year. This time around they found a beach house (pictured above) on Cape Hatteras at Rodanthe beach and invited us to tag along too.

I haven’t explored all over the Outer Banks, but for what it’s worth, Rodanthe Beach is a perfect beach for a family vacation. The water was so warm, the beaches were sandy and full of sea shells, it wasn’t ever crowded – not even on the 4th of July, and it’s a charming little town.     

Before we got there, I worried that there wouldn’t be enough to do all week. I wondered what we could do if we got tired of spending all day every day at the beach.

After the first day of 8 hours on the beach, with only meal and potty breaks, I had to laugh at myself. Who gets tired of the beach? Not us!

Our daily vacation schedule went something like this: Wake up. Eat breakfast. Sunscreen the gaggle of kids. To the beach! Back to the beach house for lunch. Reapply sunscreen. To the beach again until the sun starts to set. Dinner. Crash into bed, sandy, but happy and tired.

It was perfect.

At the beach, we set up a big open tent that we left up all week so we’d have a shady place to keep our chairs, towels, and the kids’ massive sea shell collections. Our vacation rental was right on the beach, just a few yards from the shore, so it was easy to run back for snacks and bathroom breaks. But most of our days were spent in the water and sand.

The kids and adults had fun with the boogie boards my sister brought. While my brother-in-law did the real surfing, the rest of us just tried to catch waves on our bellies and ride them into shore. This alone provided hours of fun.

When we weren’t catching waves, we caught crabs (ghost crabs! hermit crabs!) and were wildly entertained by all the birds. We saw a lot of terns and a few plovers. We also got to see pelicans catching fish out on the water, which was exciting to this bird loving family!

The kids collected piles of sea shells, found horseshoe crab shells, and even a couple of mermaid purses.

One day, thanks to the tropical storm near Florida, there were so many jelly fish. But instead of being scared, the kids had fun catching them in nets, marveling over their many shapes and colors, and tossing them back in.

When it came to vacation food, we took #26 of Jenny Rosenstrach’s Rules of Vacation seriously. She says, “The minute you arrive, you must throw out the grocery shopping rule book. First thing in the cart for us: Cinnamon Pop-Tarts.” And while we didn’t have pop tarts, we had all the junk food that I’d never ever buy at home. This is a smart and realistic way to approach vacation food with 13 people (and 8 kids) in the house. Dinosaur chicken nuggets? Why not!

But there were a few good food moments. Before we arrived on the island, we stopped at a farmer’s market in NC and picked up some local fruits and veggies, including peaches and blackberries. A couple rolls of frozen puff pastry turned that fruit into a mighty tasty dessert! Also, everything tastes better when you eat it on a deck to the sound of crashing waves.

While the rest of us were swimming in the salty waves, my dad headed down to Rodanthe Pier where he had the catch of the day! He brought home his Red Drum (and some Blue Fish) and we turned it into some mighty good, fresh fish tacos.

We also enjoyed delicious sea food at Good Winds, a waterfront restaurant in Rodanthe. If you go, I highly recommend the Asian Glazed Shrimp, the Shrimp and Crab Bruschetta, the Crab Cakes, and the Fish Tacos. The staff there are so friendly too!

Mostly it was a lot of swimming, sand castles, and relaxing. I read 4 books on the beach and slept better than I ever do at home. It was a perfect Cape Hatteras Family Vacation!

On the last night there, we got a permit to have a beach fire. We roasted marshmallows and bid the beach a final farewell.

We brought home a generous amount of sand (not on purpose). We also brought home a large sea shell collection (definitely on purpose). We’ll keep these memories forever!

It was so good to spend a whole week relaxing. I feel recharged, even though I’m still sad it’s over. Till next time!

Thank you so much for reading. We love you Rodanthe Beach! xoxox

The post Cape Hatteras Family Vacation appeared first on Some the Wiser.

Visiting the Biltmore Estate is fun for the whole family! Let me tell you what to expect when visiting with kids and a few tips for getting the most out of your visit. Scroll to the end to find 2 GREAT book recommendations – read them before you go, or even if a trip isn’t in your near future. 

To get to the beach this summer, we embarked on a 30 hour road trip from Albuquerque to the Outer Banks. To make it bearable, we spread it out over 4 days and made a lot of stops. My favorite stop along the way was our day in Asheville, North Carolina where we visited the Biltmore Estate.

With 175,000 square feet and 250 rooms, visiting the Biltmore Estate is an incredible experience! It was so fun for me to take my kids to a French Renaissance Chateau without ever leaving the country.

If you are visiting the Biltmore Estate between now and October 2018, there is also an incredible art exhibit by Dale Chihuly. Chihuly’s incredible glass blown art is on display in the house and all through the gardens on the estate. The Biltmore Estate and Gardens are definitely noteworthy on their own, but the Chihuly exhibit really did make the whole experience even better.

If you have been thinking about visiting the Biltmore Estate, I highly encourage you to go before the Chihuly exhibit ends. You will thank me later.

Now, let’s talk about the estate! 

Visiting the Biltmore Estate

The Biltmore House is nestled away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. You enter the estate from an ordinary and bustling city street, but as you wind through the trees it feels like you’re entering another place in time. You can’t see the house at all until you are right in front of it and that first view is pure magic.

We knew it was big – 250 rooms! – but the size and grandeur really does take your breath away. We spent almost as much time walking around the outside of the house and examining all the details in the architecture as we did inside the house. It’s really stunning.

Tip # 1 and #2

Bring Binoculars. We didn’t, but we wished we had. There are so many details that you’ll want to see up close. My kids were so fascinated by the gargoyles!

Prepare for a lot of walking and some driving. The estate is huge! You can’t easily walk, especially with kids, from the house and gardens (I think it’s about 5 miles) to Antler Village so plan accordingly.

The interior of the house is amazing. However, it’s hard to even think of it as a “house.” The size and splendor of everything doesn’t feel very homey, but the kids had a lot of fun imagining what it would be like to wake up in 250 room house everyday. Plus, there’s a huge indoor pool in the basement and a bowling alley! A kid’s dream come true.

My favorite parts of the house tour were the servants quarters in the basement. I loved the kitchen and the pantries and the room where they store all the china. The simplicity downstairs is refreshing after all the ostentation upstairs.

Tip #3 and #4

Upgrade to the self guided tour. Seeing the house is interesting, but hearing the stories behind everything is fascinating. Plus, if you’re bringing kids, it makes the tour more fun for them too.

Give yourself plenty of time. You’ll need at least 1.5 hours to really enjoy the house and another 1.5 to 2 hours to spend in the gardens. I know it sounds like a lot of time when you’re talking about young kids, but there really is so much to see and you don’t want to feel rushed. We were only in town for the afternoon, but if you’re around for a few days, it really is worth the multi day pass.

Around the outside of the house are more stunning Chihuly pieces to admire. We weren’t there at night, but if you have a chance to go in the evening, they light all of the glass sculptures up and I can imagine that it’s breathtaking.

Look how beautiful they are:

Tip # 5

If you’re visiting during warm months, bring tons of water and some paper fans – no joke. Also, remember the humidity. You can’t do anything about it, but just be prepared. I say this for all the other desert people that feel shocked every time they get out of the car in North Carolina. Your hair will frizz up. You will melt into a sweaty, sticky puddle. There’s no getting around it. And there’s no air conditioning in that house, thus the paper fans.

On a more positive note, the fresh squeezed lemonade at the snack bar is delightful.

Tip #6

Bring your camera. This is an obvious one, I know. But really, this is the place to get your Christmas card photos and portraits for Grandma. There are so many beautiful spots to take pictures. If I lived nearby, I’d buy the annual pass for this reason alone.

If you forget your camera or just don’t feel confident in that area, they did have a professional photographer taking portraits in the house in front of the gorgeous Chihuly pieces in the second photo in this post and you can purchase prints before you go.

Visiting the Biltmore Estates was one of the big highlights of our trip. I’ve been to castles in Europe, but my kids haven’t and won’t any time soon, so this was quite an experience. And, even having traveled around Europe, I’d say this was one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever visited.

In fact, I’m just getting started. I haven’t even showed you my favorite part of the Biltmore Estate yet. In a separate post, I’ll show you the magnificent gardens, Antler village, and all my favorite Chihuly pieces. Coming soon!

And now for the most fun part of this post! The book recommendations:

Tip #7

Read these books before you go:

You know you’re a family of bookworms when you plan your road trip based on places you read about in books. Well, that’s us! Visiting the Biltmore Estate made it into our road tripping plans largely because of the middle grade book Serafina and the Black Cloak. We listened to Serafina two summers ago on a shorter road trip and the intriguing descriptions of the Biltmore House stayed with me.

Although we enjoyed listening to Serafina, we really didn’t like the ending of the book and didn’t keep reading the other books in the series. Still, I’d have to say that reading it before visiting the Biltmore Estate really made the trip more interesting. It was fun for the kids to find the places described in the book and see them come to life. It was also very easy to see how someone could live secretly in the house with its owners none the wiser. It is 175,000 square feet! We talked about this book the whole time we were there.

I didn’t discover The Last Castle until after we visited, but I’m reading it now and it’s great. It’s gripping narrative nonfiction with all the intrigue you’d hope to find in the story of this mansion – murder, suicide, betrayal, financial ruin, and triumph. It will definitely enhance your visit to read this before you go.

And if visiting the Biltmore Estate isn’t in your near future, these books are fun way to arm chair travel.

The post Visiting the Biltmore Estate and Chihuly Exhibit appeared first on Some the Wiser.

There is one stop you should make on every vacation. The Farmers Market! Let me tell you about the Best Farmers Market in Asheville, North Carolina and why visiting is about so much more than just the food.

This summer we took a cross country road trip from Albuquerque to the Outer Banks. We made a lot of fun stops and saw a lot of memorable tourist attractions. However, there is something I like to do on vacation that I think makes every vacation better:

Visit the Farmers Market

I am a big fan of my local farmers market (I wrote all about it here). I realized a while back that when I have guests in town, the farmers market here in Albuquerque is an excellent tourist destination. It’s the perfect place to see our local culture, buy souvenirs, and find something fresh and delicious to eat.

If you come to my favorite farmers market in Albuquerque right now, you can buy fresh green chile and have it roasted right in front of you. The smell alone is a revelatory experience. You can hear local musicians playing, taste spicy raspberry and green chile jam, and browse a lot of Balloon Fiesta inspired art. It feels like “New Mexico.”

So, when we were on vacation this summer, I wanted to stop at all the farmers markets. There was even a small farmers market stand on the island we stayed at in the Outer Banks! It was a lot more fun than just stopping at fast food restaurants and Walmart along the way and a lot more memorable.

One of my favorite mornings of our whole vacation was spent at the best farmers market in Asheville, NC. We weren’t even in Asheville for a full 24 hours, but the farmers market was a fun way to see what Asheville is like.

We actually went to two different farmers markets that morning. The North Asheville Tailgate Market, however, was our favorite. It’s the best farmers market in Asheville!

We bought fresh peaches and blackberries. We filled a basket with celery and cucumbers. We also bought homemade pecan sandies from the sweetest older woman who emphasized more than once that she ONLY cooks with REAL butter. And she earned her bragging rights because they were the very best pecan sandies.

There was live music, fresh flowers, and a wide selection of fruits, vegetables, and local plants. It was lovely.

There were definitely differences between the best farmers market in Asheville and my favorite farmers market here in Albuquerque. In Asheville,  I saw a lot of home canned goods and things like pickled eggs and pickled asparagus. That’s something I never see here!

But there’s something that seems to be the same at all of the farmers markets I visit wherever I go. There are always the nicest and friendliest people at farmers markets. I can’t say for sure, but I think its because the sort of people that go to and work at farmers markets are the sort of people that value community.

Whatever it is, it makes for such an enjoyable experience every single time.

Do you visit farmers markets when you travel? If you don’t, I highly recommend you try it! Not only will you likely find delicious, local things to eat, but you’ll get a good sense of the culture of the place you’re passing through.

And, should you find yourself in North Carolina, do visit the best farmers market in Asheville!

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Visiting the Biltmore Gardens and Conservatory at the Biltmore Estate with the whole family is an unforgettable family vacation! Here are the highlights. 

We had a lot of fun this summer. We spent a week at the beach in the outer banks. We visited a lot of farmers markets. And we loved our family trip to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. My favorite part of our day at the Biltmore House, however, was visiting the Biltmore Gardens and Conservatory.

The house was magnificent and I shared more here about why we enjoyed it so much, as well as our tips to get the most out of your visit. But the Biltmore Gardens really stole my heart.

Visiting the Biltmore Gardens and Conservatory was an absolutely magical experience.

Right now, both the Biltmore House and Gardens feature an extensive display of Dale Chihuly’s glass blown sculptures. I loved seeing them at the big house, but they were the most magnificent and breathtaking in the gardens. Chihuly’s artistic vision combined with the best mother nature has to offer makes for a lot of beauty in one place.

The Chihuly exhibit is only at the Biltmore until October 7, 2018. So, if you’ve been on the fence, now is the time to consider visiting the Biltmore Gardens. You don’t want to miss this!

But, if you can’t go yourself, here are some of our family’s favorite parts of visiting the Biltmore Gardens and Conservatory this summer.

The outdoor gardens are tidy and well planned. I loved the organized rows and coordinated colors. It felt like walking the pages of a storybook. But inside the conservatory, I fell in love with the wild feel of all the exotic plants.

The conservatory is home to the most interesting collection of flowers and plants I’ve ever seen in one place. There are flowers bigger than your head. Leaves with polka dots, stripes, and rainbows. I’ve never seen so many incredible orchids in my life. The kids even spotted a bunch of bananas growing in there!

Mingled all through the gardens and paths are stunning Chihuly pieces that often mimic the plants around them. I just can’t say it enough – it’s really breathtaking!

But here, I’ll let you see for yourself:

I love the way Chihuly’s pieces are designed to fit into their surroundings while also commanding the whole space. The photo above and below are perfect examples of this level of mastery.

Wow, right?

Hats off to the gardeners at the Biltmore! They’ve really outdone themselves.

If you’re planning a visit to the Biltmore House, don’t skip the gardens! They were my favorite part of the trip.

My only regret is that we didn’t have enough time for the Azalea Gardens or to see the Chihuly sculptures all lit up in the dark. See my original post for more information about how much time to plan for your visit (I’d say at least 4 hours). Next time I’ll follow my own advice.

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We’ve been picking apples, which means we’re pulling out all our Favorite Apple Recipes! Scroll down for everything apple.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it a few hundred times here lately, but I’m not the biggest fan of October. After all of summer’s sunshine and warm days and adventures, October always feels like a slap in the face. All of the sudden it’s cold and it’s dark and school eats up so much of our time.

I’m really an October grump.

But I’m an October grump that’s trying to reform. So we’ve been visiting pumpkin patches and picking apples and baking delicious things like Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon Rolls. I’d still trade all of this in for another month of June, but I have to admit, it’s definitely helping.

And while all my kids do enjoy a good climb up an apple tree, it really is better if you climb it with cousins. (Especially cousins who love their pink cowboy boots!)

Now, we have loads of golden delicious apples (and a few other varieties too). Many have already been turned into applesauce, but I’m ready to experiment so get ready for a whole batch of new apple recipes here! (Here’s my guide for How to Can Applesauce)

For some favorite apple recipes from the past, keep reading. 

Favorite Apple Recipes

I love to cook with apples. They add a natural sweetness and a delicious juicy flavor to so many recipes, both sweet and savory. Here are few of my favorite apple recipes from the past here on the blog. Check them out!

The post Picking Apples and a Few Favorite Apple Recipes appeared first on Some the Wiser.

Our unpaid Revolution Math Review – a supplemental, interactive online math program for kids that we’ve been using.

Back in August, Everyday Reading wrote a post with Revolution Math. I signed up for a mostly free (it cost me $1) month long trial for my fifth grade daughter. We’ve been using it weekly ever since. Here’s our Revolution Math Review. This post is not sponsored and these are our real experiences and honest opinions.

All three of my girls love math. How this happened is a mystery to me, but a very beautiful and happy mystery.

Math was never my forte. And my math education growing up did little to help the situation. Instead of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc., the high school I attended had what they called Integrated Math. In theory it combined all the types of math to help students make connections between the different types of math.

What integrated math actually meant for me, however, is that I never really understood what was what, even if I did figure out how to pass the tests. It wasn’t until I took Statistics in college that I actually felt like I had a grip on something mathematical. But while I aced Statistics, it’s really nothing like the other branches of math so it didn’t help me out with algebra at all.

As an adult now, I try to avoid math wherever I can. So when my kids began to really excel in math at school, I was one proud mama. Now, my oldest is taking advanced math at school and even though she’s only a 7th grader, she’ll be finished with the 8th grade math curriculum by the end of this school year.

This is hugely exciting to me because she’s the one that helps the younger two with their math homework.

Eila, my fifth grader, is the kid who will tell you that math is her favorite subject. (This blows my mind!) She’s also the kid that begs for more homework in her free time. Unfortunately, all the fourth grade teachers at my child’s school this year got together and decided that the fourth grade will not have any homework. That’s where Revolution Math comes in.

What is Revolution Math?

Revolution Math is an online after school math program designed for 2nd to 5th grade.

The classes are an hour long, once a week. They are taught by a live tutor via video chat on the computer/ipad.

The program is designed to teach fundamental math concepts using a story based curriculum.

Here’s what this actually looks like:

Revolution Math Tutors

It’s the same tutor every week, which it made it easy for Eila to get comfortable in the class quickly. Her tutor, Sarah, is so great! She has an engineering background, so she really knows her math. She’s also fantastic with the kids, both fun and patient.

She walks the kids through the story (more about that below) and then helps them work out the math problems, teaching concepts in more than one way so they really get it.

Every week after class, Sarah sends me a detailed email describing what they learned, where Eila excelled, and where she needs more work. She also offers resources for more practice during the week, like a specific website or game for the math concept they are working on.

I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the instruction and the tutor-student interaction.

How the Classes Work

Depending on the time slot you sign up for, there can be up to 4 kids in a class. The first week of Revolution Math, Eila was the only student. But every week since then, there have been two other students joining her.

It’s the same students each week and Eila likes working as a group to get through the story. However, when they are working on math problems, they do it individually and the tutor is great at working with each of the kids. They’re learning from each other in the group setting, but still benefiting from individual attention from the tutor.

Something I really love about these classes is that they work a few weeks ahead of the school curriculum. What that means is that by the time a concept is introduced at school for Eila, she’s already been working on it with her Revolution Math tutor and she feels really confident about it in the classroom.

Story Based Math Curriculum

The story based curriculum is what makes Revolution Math feel like a fun after school activity for Eila and not just work. She honestly does think of it as play and gets excited every Wednesday for class.

The kids in the class are a team and each week they go on a digital adventure together. They pick characters that they read for and there’s a video game aspect to it online. They have to solve math problems as they move through the story to solve mysteries and challenges and keep the story going.

Eila says it feels like being part of a fun graphic novel. It’s really quite genius!

As they move through the story and math concepts each week, they have opportunities to earn gems. Revolution Math has an online rewards store where you can trade in your gems for real prizes, like an origami set, or a science kit, or Legos. Eila finds this very motivating!

This is nothing like handing your kid a workbook or worksheet. It’s such an engaging, interactive way to learn math.

Our Revolution Math Review, the Good and the Bad

Honestly, we love Revolution Math! It’s improved Eila’s confidence in the classroom and definitely improved her math skills. And even though Eila isn’t getting any homework from school this year, I know that she’s getting this supplemental math instruction each week so I don’t have to worry about her progress in math.

I’m so impressed with how well the program is run, from the tutors right on up to the administrative side of things. While working out our transfer from a trial account, everyone I talked to was so kind and helpful. They’ve kept in touch with me via text, which is very convenient, and they’ve been so easy to work with on everything.

The program itself is great, but the people who run Revolution Math deserve a gold star of their own for excellent customer service.

The only downside is that they are expensive. I don’t think they’re overcharging; it’s definitely worth every penny. However, I’m a single mother raising four kids and I don’t have much in the way of “extra” income. But after trying this out and seeing the results, I’ve worked out a way to make this happen right now.

I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep this going because my income each month varies, but I’m hoping to make it happen for Eila through the rest of her fifth grade school year. I’d really love to add my youngest daughter to it in the future as well. We’ve really seen the value in it.

If you’re looking for an at home math supplement, I give Revolution Math my highest recommendation.

Get More Information

Watch some demo videos 

Sign up for a trial – you’ll also receive the fun learning kit with your trial

Check out their FAQ page

Check out their Blog

And if you have any questions for me about Revolution Math, just leave a comment on this post

If you enjoyed this Revolution Math Review, you may also enjoy:

• My Best Parenting Trick
• Brain Chase : A Supplemental Summer Learning Activity
• Back to School Writing Prompts

The post Revolution Math Review appeared first on Some the Wiser.

The Family Games that I don’t hate playing!

I don’t love to play games.

That’s pretty much blasphemy in my family. We grew up playing family games all the time. My siblings all LOVE games and they married people who enjoy games too. My kids even love playing games – little traitors.

I don’t hate playing games. It’s just not ever at the top of my list of things I’d like to be doing. But since I’m surrounded by people who are always saying, “Let’s play a game!” I’ve had to learn to love games a little more than I would if left to my own devices.

What we have here are family games that I don’t mind playing. I like some of them more than others, but none of these games make me want to run and hide – and there are many games that have that effect on me (Candy Land, I’m looking at you!). There are even games on this list that I will actually suggest playing of my own accord, and that’s saying something.

These are not really preschool/toddler friendly games. I will write a separate post with the games I play with my littles. I play these games with my 12 year old, 10 year old, and 8 year old. A lot of these games we’ve been playing since they were about 6. When we play these games, we either do it when the four year old is otherwise occupied, or we have him buddy up with someone who will let him roll the dice, or draw the cards, so that he can feel included.

We’ve acquired most of these games at Christmas or Birthdays over the years. Games make great gifts!

And, if you’re shopping for gifts right now, most of the games on this list are under $20, and there are many here that are under $10! 

20 Favorite Family Games

Sleeping Queens

This is probably the most played game of all the family games in our house right now. A friend gifted it to my girls for their birthday a few years ago and they have played it over and over again. They can play this one on their own, but it’s also one I don’t ever mind joining them in. It’s a quick card game in which you try to wake up sleeping queen cards while stealing other people’s queens or putting them back to sleep.

Dragonwood

I really enjoy this one and have been known to suggest playing it without provocation. There are creatures in the woods to capture and, ultimately, two dragons that must be defeated to win the game. You defeat them by rolling the dice, but you have to collect cards to earn dice rolls. It’s a mix of strategy and luck. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to play a game and is great fun for both kids and adults – I promise!

Rat-A-Tat Cat

This is another quick card game that is easy to say yes to. Cats are good cards (worth less points), Rats are not (worth more points). The goal is to go out with the lowest score, but it’s tricky because you can’t look at your cards. It involves some strategy, some memory, and some luck.

Labyrinth

I actually do love this game. It’s more like a puzzle than a game to me and it’s so fun! My parents have Labyrinth Ocean at their house and it’s just as fun too. The board is a maze that you have to make your way through, but it’s tricky because the passageways keep moving.

Sushi Go

This is a fun one because we can fit in 3 rounds in less than 20 minutes, which makes it a great “let’s play a game before bed real quick” kind of card game. Plus, the sushi illustrations are too cute! The goal is to collect sushi cards and make sushi combos to earn points.

Dutch Blitz

I got this for the kids for Christmas last year and it’s been great fun. It’s another fast paced card game, in which you try to place your cards in sequence faster than everybody else. It’s a great large group game too and you can buy expansion packs.

The Oregon Trail Card Game

This is another Christmas gift from last year and it’s way more fun than I could have imagined. Did you grow up playing The Oregon Trail Game on the computer in the 80’s/90’s? It’s certainly not a requirement for enjoying the game, but you’ll appreciate it that much more if you did. This is a Target exclusive game, so you can’t order it from Amazon, but it’s worth a trip into the store. It’s a cooperative game in which you just try to survive. And honestly, just like the computer game, most of the time we all die, but that makes the rare victory that much sweeter.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? 

This is another Target exclusive and a throwback to my 90’s childhood. Just like the old tv show/computer game, you’re trying to find Carmen Sandiego and the priceless artifact she’s stolen. It’s a game of deduction and it’s really quite fun!

Love Letter

This is another that I have been known to suggest of my own volition. It’s really fun! The Princess of Tempest has many suitors, but she has locked herself in the palace. The goal is to get a love letter to her while deflecting letters from competing suitors. A game of deduction, luck, and risk. It’s also super quick to play (are you sensing a theme here?)

Dixit

This is one of the longer family games on this list (about 30 minutes play time), but it’s a really fun storytelling game. I love that this game is different every time you play and it’s fun for a wide range of ages.

Phase 10

I know this one seems kind of boring, but it’s the only game on this list that I will ALWAYS say yes to playing. It’s probably my favorite game, which I’m sure says something about me. But, my kids like it too, even if it’s not their favorite. It’s a rummy-type card game and as far as card games go, it’s really quite fun and just the right amount of challenging.

Exploding Kittens 

My kids LOVE this game. My siblings LOVE this game. I’m just lukewarm about it. But, the majority rules around here when it comes to games. I will say this though, you are guaranteed to laugh a lot while playing this game. The package says this is a game for “people who are into kittens and explosions and laser beams and sometimes goats,” if that helps.

Deer in the Headlights

Another fun card/dice game that I don’t mind saying yes to. You’re trying to get rid of your hand of cards first and it’s fun and fast.

Blockus

This is a recent favorite at our house. It’s a strategy game that I actually enjoy too! Each player has 21 pieces that they’re trying to put on the board, but every piece has to touch a piece of the same color, but only at the corners. It’s tricky but very satisfying. Even my 4 year old enjoys this one.

Sequence

We enjoy both Sequence and Sequence for Kids (which is a letter game). The cards in your hand correspond to spaces on the board. You play a card and place a chip on the corresponding space on the board. When you have 5 in a row, you have a sequence.

Qwixx

Kind of like Yahtzee, but better. I really like this one! And last month, both of my brothers were visiting and they brought Qwixx Deluxe, which they talked everyone into playing at least 15 times in over the course of three days. Super fun!

Code Names

This one is better for older kids/teens and adults. It’s a social word game – and I do love word games. It’s a great party game!

Timeline

These are some of my kids most favorite games. We have the history ones and inventions (I’m having a hard time finding the exact ones we have on Amazon, so I’m just linking to similar sets). You have to place the cards in order of when they occurred or were invented without looking at the dates. It involves some amount of guesswork and deduction, but it’s amazing how much better you get at placing things in history the more often you play this game. It’s another super quick one.

Headbanz

This game exasperates me and is the only one I don’t really play with the kids. That being said, they LOVE playing this one on their own. It’s a guessing game and it has them dissolving in giggles the whole time.

Telestrations

This is like the old telephone game where you whisper a secret through a chain of people and the original message gets so garbled by the end that everyone will laugh. It’s like that, but with drawings. You WILL laugh a lot when you play this game. It’s a great party game as well as one of the more fun family games.

What are your favorite family games? I’m always looking for more!

The post Our Favorite Family Games appeared first on Some the Wiser.

21 of our Favorite Christmas Traditions for making memories with your family all season long!

I’m a firm believer in traditions. When I look back on my own childhood, so many of my brightest memories revolve around family traditions, especially holiday traditions.

Since having children of my own, I’ve tried to carry on all of my favorite Christmas traditions from my own childhood. We’ve also added a few new ones over the years that have stuck.

A lot of these favorite Christmas traditions are simple. Some of that simplicity is intentional, and some of it is by necessity. I’ve never been very crafty, I don’t have a lot of money to spend, and I’m terrible at following through with elaborate advent calendars, daily Elf on the Shelf antics, and planned daily activity calendars.

I’ve learned that I’d rather keep things simple and be happy in December than plan 25 days of crafts and sledding and gifts and feel stressed and grumpy all month.

These are my Favorite Christmas Traditions. They make the holiday feel magical and special all month long so that the Christmas season feels like more than just Santa and presents one day of the month.

Some years we see the full ballet, but other years we just see the Nutcracker Ballet preview at Popejoy, which is only 1 hour long. I first did this because I could get $3 tickets, but then I realized that 1 hour of ballet for young kids is actually more enjoyable than 2.

Ornaments

Every year the kids either make or buy a new ornament. Honestly, most years we buy them. It’s a fun tradition to go the store and let everyone pick out a favorite ornament. I catalog these ornaments – who picked them, the year, and their significance (like the first year Esme started playing the violin, she picked a violin ornament).

I imagine someday gifting all of these ornaments to my grown up children for their own trees.

December 1st Box

I love to kick off the season with something extra special. I pick a few small Christmasy gifts and treats and wrap them up in a box that we open on December 1st. In this year’s box, I’ve included a pair of holiday socks for everyone (from the $1 bins at Target), Christmas stickers, some fancy flavored hot chocolate, our traditional box of white fudge covered Oreos, and this Lego advent calendar (that’s really the only kind of advent calendar I can manage).

Decorating the tree

We do this the day after Thanksgiving and it’s a family affair. We turn on the Christmas music and everyone helps. Unwrapping all of the ornaments and talking about where they came from is one of my favorite parts of the entire season!

Christmas Dresses

I always buy or make matching winter dresses for the girls that they wear in December, and then a tie or sweater that matches for Rory. This is getting harder to keep up now that my girls are getting older and Esme isn’t wearing kid’s sizes anymore. I’m still going to try though.

Winter Solstice

We always like to acknowledge winter solstice, though this looks different every year. On the winter solstice we normally take a hike and get out in nature. We almost always have a bonfire to light the darkest day of the year and a special candle light dinner.

In the past we’ve also made edible ornaments for the birds, read solstice stories, and written down our hopes for the year ahead.

Service project

This is different every year but we like to find a giving tree or toy drive to contribute to, a shelter to donate to, or volunteer work. We find great service projects at JustServe.org

Christmas Cards

This is one of my favorite traditions. I LOVE to send Christmas cards. We take our own pictures with a tripod every year and I normally design the card myself in Photoshop. Then, I enlist all the kids in the stuffing, stamping, and decorating of envelopes.

I love tracing the last 12 years of parenting through our annual holiday cards. And I love receiving holiday cards in the mail all month long.

The Elf

I don’t do Elf on a Shelf. That’s way too much for me. But when my mom was a kid, her grandparents had a little elf ornament that would hide around the house. Whenever the kids would go over to their grandparents’ house, they’d have so much fun looking for the elf and returning him to the Christmas tree.

We didn’t do this when I was a kid, but a few years ago my mom found an elf ornament at the store that looked just like the one her grandparents had when she was a kid. She bought one for her house and one for our house. This is now one of my kids’ favorite Christmas traditions. It’s so simple, but they really get so excited to wake up in the morning and look for the elf. The only rule is that the elf has to be visible when he hides – he can’t be hidden under or in something.

Family Read Aloud

I love to have a seasonal family read aloud during the month of December. Last year we read aloud The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and it was so fun. This year we’re going to read Nancy and Plum.

New Book on Christmas Eve

When I was a kid, we opened one present on Christmas Eve. I’ve altered that tradition just a bit and now on Christmas Eve everyone gets a new book. It’s hard to go to bed on such an exciting night, so a new book to take to bed and read always helps. Plus, I’m always looking for a reason to give my kids books.

Christmas Eve Dinner

We don’t do a big meal on Christmas Eve, but we do live in New Mexico so we’ve made Christmas Eve tamales a tradition.

Breakfast

Since we don’t do a big Christmas Eve meal, we go all out for Christmas morning breakfast. We always have Orange Rolls, a Ham, and Baked Eggs. There will be both eggnog and hot chocolate, along with fruit so we don’t feel too badly about ourselves.

Treats

The other treats that ALWAYS happen in December are:

• Biscochitos – New Mexico’s state cookie and a beloved local tradition
• We always bake Ginger Cookies and Chocolate Orange Crinkle Cookies to share
• Homemade Caramel Popcorn is a tradition passed down from my parents and a must have Christmas treat
• A package of White Fudge Dipped Oreos
• Peppermint Bark
• A flavored popcorn tin (Cheese, Caramel, and Butter)
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Christmas Trees in our Christmas stockings – this is a carryover from my own childhood

The Christmas Story

On Christmas Eve we always read the Christmas story in the Bible.

Christmas Lights

When I was a kid, we’d drive and find the neighborhoods with the best Christmas lights on Christmas Eve and then go home and drink hot chocolate before bed. This is a tradition I’ve kept with my own kids too.

Santa Claus

At our house, Santa only brings one present per kid. We don’t go crazy with presents – less stuff, more adventure (as Miranda is always saying) is definitely my motto – so one Santa present is just right. Plus, the best presents always come from me because I don’t love Santa enough to let him get all the credit for the great gifts.

Opening Presents

We open presents one at a time so that it doesn’t get too crazy and everyone gets individual attention as they open their present. I like Christmas morning to feel slow and relaxed.

What are your holiday traditions, Christmas or otherwise? I love hearing about other people’s family traditions!

The post Our Favorite Christmas Traditions appeared first on Some the Wiser.

This Potion Making Kit for Kids from Moon & Moth Magic is one of the best gifts I’ve ever purchased for my kids! It is hours of magical fun. 

For Adelaide’s birthday earlier this year, I purchased this potion making kit for kids from Moon & Moth Magic. It’s been one of the very best gifts I’ve ever given!

I was looking for a gift that wouldn’t add more “stuff” to our already small house, or be just one more unused toy shoved in a basket somewhere. When I came across Moon & Moth Magic, a small family company based just outside of Seattle, I was completely captivated.

It’s so much more than an online store! The Shepard family has created something so imaginative, so magical, so perfectly enchanting that it feels like a fairy tale dream come true. Just look at their home apothecary where all the potion making kits for kids are created:

Photo Credit: Moon Moth Magic

I am absolutely smitten!

The kits themselves are handmade with careful attention to detail. They are beautiful heirloom quality kits made with food-quality ingredients and supplies that you can trust. They come in gorgeous secret compartment book boxes made with a wood frame (for durability) and lined with velour flocking (so fancy!). 

Adelaide’s potion making kit for kids came with a ceramic mortar and pestle, a potion bottle necklace, a peacock feather, a crystal spoon, a variety of different vials and bottles for potion mixing, as well as all the enchanted ingredients corked and labeled so charmingly.

We have shimmering Nessie Scales (ostensibly from the Loch Ness Monster), a bubbly pink and white container of Flotsam and Jetsam, dropper bottles of Unicorn Tears, Syrup of Stars, Kelp Extract, and Mermaid Breath, as well as Thistle Down, and Fairy Slippers (the cutest little seeds), and SO MUCH MORE!

Photo Credit: Moon Moth Magic

While you can certainly make your own potions, the kit also comes with recipe cards for guided potion making.

We have 2 sets of cards, Mystical Mermaid Potions, as well as Pixie Potion Cards. They include recipes for things like Overcoming a Fear of Water (Bathophobia Brew – you’ll need a dash of seawater, a feather, a bit of ash). There’s also a potion to Nix Nightmares, which requires sunshine syrup, a sprinkle of fuzzy snow, and 1 teaspoon of milk.

One of my personal favorites is the Shimmer-not-Dimmer recipe, which is a potion for a positive attitude. For that one you’ll need the leaves of a fragrant flower or herb, salt, kelp extract. You’ll also want to stir it clockwise with a wooden spoon.

The thing is, if you don’t believe in magic, you will after you bring one of these potion making kits for kids into your home. I’ve seen the magic potions actually calm my child’s fears, lighten her mood, and inspire her to play for hours.

When I was a kid I was absolutely certain that fairies and gnomes were real, that there was true magic in nature, and that wonderful things would happen to those that looked beyond the ordinary. I’m so grateful to the Shepard family for giving me the tools to share that magic with my own kids.

And even though I’m all grown up, I still believe in magic.

There are a variety of different potion kits in the Moon & Moth Magic shop, as well as stocking stuffer potions, extra supplies, and even refills. I went ahead and bought the larger kit, the Master’s Kit, because I knew just by looking at it that my kids were going to fall in love.

This was the most perfect gift for my 8 year old, but my 10 year old, 12 year old, and 4 year old have been awfully enchanted by it too. I predict more potion kits in our future!

If you’re still looking for the PERFECT GIFT for your kids this year, I give Moon & Moth Magic my highest recommendation. If you have any questions about our potion making kit for kids, please leave them in the comments below.

The post Potion Making Kit For Kids: Moon & Moth Magic appeared first on Some the Wiser.

These are my favorite uplifting podcasts to listen to when I need motivation, inspiration, or even a few minutes of quick therapy. 

I love podcasts! Not only do they make everyday chores like washing dishes and folding laundry so much more enjoyable, but I also find them really helpful. Most of the podcast episodes are less than 30 minutes, so it’s a quick and free way to boost my mood every week.

I’ve been listening to podcasts long enough now that they have become a part of my normal everyday routine. More recently though, I’ve noticed that not all of the podcasts I enjoy are mood boosters. I still want to listen to The Daily every day for a quick dose of news, but news first thing in the morning isn’t always a good idea.

So, I’ve been making a conscious effort to start my day off with more uplifting podcasts and save heavier podcasts for later in the day.

These are the 5 Uplifting Podcasts that I’ve been enjoying starting my day with. They inspire me and and motivate me to be a better person, a better mother, and to take better care of myself.  

My 5 Favorite Uplifting Podcasts

How and Where To Listen to Podcasts

You can listen to any of these podcasts online. Just click on the links I provided above.

However, I like to listen through an app on my phone so I can have it when I’m out driving or doing chores around the house and yard. If you use an iphone, the podcast app comes installed on your phone. Just search for these podcasts and subscribe to keep up with the new episodes each week.

I switched from an Apple phone to an Android earlier this year and since then I’ve tried several different podcasting apps. I’ve finally settled on Stitcher (at least for now) to subscribe to podcasts.

I make sure to download the new episodes to my phone each week (there are settings in the Stitcher App to do this automatically) so that I’m not using wi-fi when I’m out.

If you have any questions or any GREAT uplifting podcasts that I’ve missed here, leave them in the comments!

The post 5 Uplifting Podcasts Worth Listening To appeared first on Some the Wiser.

These Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze are a favorite holiday treat. Rolled in sugar, spiced with ginger and black pepper, and topped with a simple lemon glaze. 

Do you have a signature recipe? I love the idea of signature things -a  signature color, a signature recipe, a signature perfume, so many possibilities! I think it was Gretchen Rubin that first got me thinking about this when she recommended picking a signature color on her podcast.

I have a friend whose signature color is purple. Everyone who knows her figures this out pretty quickly. She has a purple phone, a purple ipad, a purple purse, purple accessories – if you can buy it in purple, she probably has it. I love this because whenever I see purple things, I think of her. And last year, when I came across a beautiful purple plant at the nursery, I knew just what to get her for her birthday. Signature colors are fun!

Likewise, I’ve recently been re-watching episodes of Desperate Housewives (I know, I know) and Bree Van de Kamp has her signature recipe: Lemon Meringue Pie. She has perfected the recipe and it’s what she always brings to every gathering. Everyone that knows her knows about her Lemon Meringue Pie. This got me thinking about signature recipes.

It feels like a big decision to commit to a signature color and especially a signature recipe. To be honest, I might be a little too indecisive to ever pick just one. But, when it comes to a signature Holiday Recipe, I knew right away that I’d pick these Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze.

I make these Ginger cookies every year in December. If you invite me to a holiday potluck, a cookie exchange, or any other festive gathering, you can bet I’ll have a platter of these Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze. I package them up and deliver them to friends every year and while I’m no Bree Van de Kamp, I’d like to think that the people who know me look forward to my signature Ginger Cookies.

And when it comes to Ginger Cookies, these really are the very best! 

A good portion of the credit here goes to the inimitable Dorie Greenspan (whose cookbooks really are my most favorite for baking). Five years ago I tried the Molasses Spice Cookies from Baking: From My Home to Yours and they’ve been on the December menu, in one form or another, ever since.

Over the years and hundreds of cookies later, I’ve changed and tweaked the recipe until the cookies come out just the way I like them. When I added the Lemon Glaze, they immediately became my very favorite cookie. I’ll be making them like this every December until the day I die. They are that good!

About These Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze

As far as holiday baking goes, these cookies are the best of the best. They are the perfect combination of crunchy and chewy. I don’t like a completely crispy cookie – I need at least a little bit of chew. These are crispy as you bite into them, a perfect crunch, then softer on the inside. Delicious!

A generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper gives these cookies just enough kick to keep ’em interesting. It really emphasizes the ginger and adds that “spice” that makes them sparkle.

And speaking of sparkle, I like to roll them in a coarse, large crystal sugar so they do in fact sparkle when they come out of the oven. These are big cookies, just over 3.5 inches wide, so they really are show stoppers.

You can certainly make them without the lemon glaze. I did for years and thoroughly enjoyed them. Then I was drinking a cup of lemon ginger tea one day and remembered how much I love ginger and lemon combined. The rest is history and the lemon glaze with that ginger spice is phenomenal!

Make these Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze Perfect for Gifting

If you just want to make a batch of delicious Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze to enjoy with an after dinner bowl of ice cream, then don’t worry a bit about what I say next. However, if you want to have the prettiest cookies on the table, or make something stunning to gift your neighbors, read on.

In order to make these cookies look “perfect” I get a little finicky. But they are my signature cookie (wink), so it’s worth the trouble to me.

Here are my finicky tips for perfect cookies:

• Weigh the dough and divide it evenly
• Weigh each individual ball of dough so the cookies are the exact same size (I make them exactly 1 ounce balls)
• Keep the dough that you aren’t working with in the fridge. After the first hour of refrigeration, I make all the 1 oz dough balls and then stick them all back in the fridge except for the 6 I’m rolling for the pan.
• Roll them in a coarse, large crystal sugar (like Muscovado or Demerara)
• Use a glass dipped in regular white granulated sugar to press the cookie dough balls down
• Don’t put them on the pan until you’re ready to stick them in the oven – they cook better if they stay chilled.
• Only cook 6 cookies at a time so there’s no danger of them crowding into each other on the pan
• Use a silpat
• Don’t glaze the entire cookie. Dip just half or drizzle glaze over the top so you can still enjoy that gorgeous sugared, crackly cookie top.

And now you’re all ready to bake my signature holiday cookie. I hope you enjoy these Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze as much as I do!

Spiced Ginger Cookies with Lemon Glaze

 

Print

Prep time

1 hour 15 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

Serves: 24 cookies (3.5 inch)

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• a generous pinch (or two) of freshly ground black pepper
• 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• Approximately ½ cup coarse sugar (like Muscovado or Demerara ) for rolling, and another ⅓ to ½ cup granulated white sugar for pressing

For the Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 to 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the egg and beat for another minute.
3. With the electric mixer on low, slowly add the flour into the butter mixture. Be very careful not to over mix and when the dough starts to get thick, turn off the mixer and finish with a wooden spoon.
4. Divide the dough into 2 even pieces. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet (or more than one) with a silpat.
6. Put the coarse sugar in a bowl, and the granulated sugar in a separate bowl.
7. Working with half the dough at a time, roll the dough into 12 even balls (1 oz each). Roll the balls in the coarse sugar and place on the pan. (I like to cook them 6 at a time so they don't crowd each other on the pan.)
8. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into the granulated sugar and use it to gently press the cookies down until they are about ½ inch thick.
9. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until the cookies look set. Remove from oven and transfer gently to a wire baking rack to cool.
10. Repeat for the remaining dough. You should have 24 cookies (if you don't eat the dough along the way, ha!)

For the Glaze

1. Whisk together the lemon juice and powdered sugar until completely smooth. I like mine thick so I only use about 3 teaspoons of lemon juice. Dip or drizzle the cookies and then let them sit for a few minutes for the glaze to harden.

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