The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are on day 4 of winter break and LOVING it! I can't remember the last time we had so much downtime and everyone reallllllly needed it. Cam and I made these cookies the other day and are sharing them over at The Land of Nod blog -- go get the scoop and get baking -- I hear Santa might love them!

A FUN Kids Table for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays! I love getting up early, having my coffee while reviewing my cooking schedule for the day, and having friends and family hang the whole day before dinner. We always have our kiddos eat with the adults, but this year I also wanted to add a kids table that focused on fun and creative activities that are also in the spirit of the holiday. Head over to Honest to Nod to see how we plan to do just that!

Valentine's Day Sparkling Fruit Punch

The rest of D.C. appears to be going to hell in a hand basket, but love is still in the air over at Chez Green. The kids are drawing up DIY valentines, writing cards to each other, and Cam voluntarily donned hot pink (gasp!) for our Sparkling Fruit Punch post. Head over to Honest to Nod for the sweet (but not sugary!) details on this holiday drink. 

Favorite Valentine's Tops

We are big fans of Valentine's Day in general and this year I feel like everyone needs some extra love! So I might just pick up more than one of these tees for the kids.

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The Friday Five!!

I don't think we've ever been both so sad and excited to have the winter break come to an end. On one hand, we had a fabulous time hosting, dining, exploring, and relaxing. On the other, we all went through various iterations of whatever flu and cold bugs had been going about town and just kind of overdid everything. So the kids happily went back to school on Tuesday and I happily started a January Whole30. We managed to still fit plenty in this week in between our readjusting to normal life. Take a look!

Cooking -- It's only day five of our Whole30, but I must say that we are slaying this round. I have known Joel for almost 15 years and he has never once taken leftovers for lunch to work until this week. We negotiated hard for who would get the leftovers of this Garlic Lover's Beef Stew.

Reading -- I just started a friend's new book: Defending Giants: The Redwood Wars and the Transformation of American Environmental Politics. Brings me back to my Seattle college days when I studied ecology and is a thought-provoking read (especially considering our country's current political climate). The kids have moved on to another Stuart Gibbs series and are on Spaced Out. I can't really remember another author and set of series that has captured both kids' attentions so well -- they insist on listening to it ALL THE TIME. They somehow both snuck in extra audiobook sessions the other night and I didn't notice until the next morning when I went in to wake them up and found the book still playing.

Making -- the kids both got a ton of maker presents for the holidays, but Cam has been loving this loom. At just over $20, it's a bargain!

Wanting -- ummm marble moto workout tights?! How do I not own these already?

Playing -- We are pretty restrictive when it comes to video games in our house, but we bought Kane the Bloxels: Build Your Own Videogame for Christmas and I'm SUCH a fan. You build your own set, storyline, and characters learning about animation, strategy, and a whole other host of great things along the way. Highly recommend!

Creative Ideas for the Kids Holiday Table

I actually loved being at the kids table for holiday meals. We got sparkling grape juice in miniature wine goblets and tried to eat as many marshmallows off the sweet potatoes without eating any actual vegetables. But maybe that's just me. Our kids like being where the action is with the grownups, but when our big table is full, they too get sent over to the kids table. So I thought I'd come up with a few fun ways to keep them entertained and happy about it. Head over to the International Arrivals blog to see what I've got cooking—including a free holiday color-in placemat to download! 

Giving Back Advent Calendar

I love, love the holiday season. But every year I feel like I spend inordinate amounts of time making sure our family focuses on the real meaning of the holidays and not just the piles of presents rolling in. We celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas in our home, so it's no small feat. The kids are always asking me for an Advent Calendar, but I've resisted. This year, I decided to try something different: a Giving Back Advent Calendar. Head over to Honest to Nod to see what I put together! 

Favorite Valentine's Tops

Our guys love to spread the love on Valentine's Day and that includes sporting something special. From hearts to holiday colors to graphic good vibes, here are our fave Valentine's tops that you can still wear long after the day passes!

For the ladies ....

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For the fellas ....

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25 Favorite Holiday Cookies

Do you make holiday cookies in your family? We typically haven't in years past, but I kind of love the idea of trying out one or two new recipes every year and building up a family cookie cookbook. Our kids love to bake and cookies are generally a pretty easy way to get them involved without risking some sort of kitchen disaster. So we're adding the activity to our Winter Bucket List (stay tuned next week for that ....) and have already started perusing the endless options. I'm thinking we'll have to figure out how to throw together a cookie exchange to prevent me from eating all. the. cookies. though. From the classic to the kooky, here are some of our favorites!

p.s. I'm also vaguely toying with the idea of all of us signing up for this. Seems like a fun activity to do over the winter break!

1/ The Best Cutout Sugar Cookies 2/ Color Dipped Gingerbread Cookies 3/ Mom's Russian Tea Cakes
4/ Holiday Crinkles Cookies5/ Stained Glass Sugar Cookies 6/ Vanilla + Chocolate Pizzelles
7/ White Chocolate + Peppermint Christmas Wreath Cookies 8/ Old Fashioned Gingerbread Men
9/ Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies 10/ Chocolate Amaretti Cookies 11/ Everything Sweet Sugar Cookies
12/ Frosted Peppermint Brownie Cookies 13/ Chocolate Swirl Meringue 14/ Gingerbread Animals
15/ Gingerbread Donut Cookies 16/ Sprinkle Cookies 17/ Coconut Snowball Cookies
18/ Christmas Tree Shortbread Cookies 19/ Pot of Gold Truffle 20/ Ginger Spiced Sugar Cookies
21/ Amaretti Cookies 22/ Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Dark Chocolate + Sea Salt
23/ Lemony Slice + Bakes 24/ Ombre Rainbow Cookies 25/ Peppermint Pattie Cookies 

Little Loving Hands: Children's Craft Kits with a Philanthropic Cause

Every year around the holidays we struggle with what feels like the purchasing of endless gifts and the desire to engage our kids in helping others. We do a fairly good job of making sure the kids volunteer at a variety of activities throughout the year, but during the holidays, the disparity feels greater and we want to involve our kids in an age-appropriate way of giving back. We always sponsor several children through the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program and our kiddos help us shop for, organize, and drop off gifts for children who otherwise wouldn't receive them. We'd just finished that activity this year when I heard from another wonderful (and local!) program called Little Loving Hands (you might have spotted it in our gift guides we posted this week!)

2016 Holiday Gift Guides for Kiddos

I know that gift guides have been making the rounds since long before Thanksgiving, but I like to put mine together after I've had a good amount of time to actually shop and with enough time left for you to still purchase items. As I did last year, I've separated my suggestions into the categories in which I'm usually perusing for my own kiddos (although many could fit in more than one category). I've rounded up fifty fabulous gifts for you -- happy shopping!

The Little Art + Crafter:

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Weekend Makes

This Sunday night kicks off of Hanukkah. I'll be traveling this weekend, but I've got everything set up for the kiddos to have a fabulous first night. We'll see if Mr. Not-So-SAHM is feeling crafty while I'm gone, but if I were around, these are what we'd have cooking!

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Salted Caramel Italian Cream Sodas

When I used to live in Seattle, Italian Cream Sodas were a regular beverage at coffee carts. I have no idea why, but they were. And I LOVED them. I don't think I've had even one since I moved to the East Coast forever ago, but I was telling the kids all about them this past summer and we decided to try and make them ourselves. I thought it would actually be a fun holiday drink for the kids to have on Thanksgiving, especially once I spotted the very fall'ish Salted Caramel syrup. Kane and I mixed up a sample yesterday and they were deeeelish! And so easy for kids to make, too. The syrup is pretty chock full of sugar, but you get a good taste using just a little. Go ahead and add the ingredients to one of your what is sure to be many grocery trips in the next few days!

Weekend Makes

I can hardly believe that Turkey Day is almost here. November has been a total blur! But if there is any holiday that calls for taking time to handmake some celebratory items, Thanksgiving is it. I also feel like we've been dealing with a lot of heavy stuff lately and trying to impress upon the kids the importance of being grateful in a serious way. So I'm looking to add a little fun back into the holiday (while still keeping the thankful spirit of course). Here's what we'll be up to this weekend in preparation for the holiday.

1 / these turkey "Mr. Potato Heads" are amazing and free! I'm definitely printing and cutting these for the kids to do next Thursday. 2 / keep the kiddos busy and get a cute decoration out of it too with this color-in banner. 3 / I still love our silly hats ideas from last year! 4 / I like that the size of the 3-D leaves on this grateful tree are just big enough to fit one word -- easy for the kids! 5 / I love this bright, mixed media art lesson on drawing a turkey. 

Gingerbread Playdough

We've been on a much slower pace than in the summer, but we're still getting after our Fall Bucket List. We tackled a new gingerbread playdough recipe yesterday that made the entire house smell deeeeelish. And the kids loved decorating "cookies" for the bulk of an afternoon -- they felt like they were getting in on the holiday cooking, but managed not to leave me with an entire plate of cookies to eat. An all around win.

Fave Travel Activities, Games + Toys

Anyone gearing up for a little holiday travel? We're staying put this year, but given how much traveling we've done recently, I've got a good handle on what to bring for the kiddos that will minimize the number of times you have to hear "are we there YET?!" Here are my favorite activities, games, and toys that travel well -- most we have or I've seen in person and are on our holiday lists. Some you might even recognize from your own youth traveling days. You've still got time to stock up before Thanksgiving hits -- happy traveling!

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Weekend Makes

I can proudly say that I held off on buying Halloween candy until just a few days ago and it's been deeply hidden away, waiting to see the light of day until tomorrow. But, between our recent move to a more residential neighborhood and the kids finally being old enough, I think we're set up for some serious trick or treating this year. Which means that I also need a plan to deal with all the candy that is going to flood in after I hand out our stash (other than me eating all of it). Thus, candy Weekend Makes. Happy Halloweening!!

1 / love this idea breaking down Wayne Thiebaud compositions -- maybe a little advanced, but I think we could try it.

2 / use a small candy box to make an instant comfort box like this! I know one little lady that would love to have something like that at school.

3 / you'll have to adjust based on your candy haul, but I love the idea of this edible cell for a good science lesson.

4 / paint with Skittles!

5 / a good science experiment for the younger set -- will the candy sink or float!?

Weekend Makes

We're continuing with more spooky makes this weekend! Last weekend's STEM projects were a hit, but we've rounded up some great art makes to keep your littles busy. Happy weekend!

1 / we loved these monster collages we made a few years ago (perfect for that deluge of catalogs that I'm sure you've been receiving this fall too!) 2 / I love these playdough monsters 3 / spooky halloween trees with blow painting 4 / our edible jack o'lanterns are still a fave of mine 5 / spiderweb resist art! 

DIY Kiddo Costumes

It's almost here!! Are you ready? We're doing another family costume this year and there was no way I was making four costumes, so we've already purchased ours. But in case you haven't or you're not finding anything you like, here's a roundup of my favorite DIYs this year. Some are more realistic than others, depending on your DIY skills. But I love each of them!

1.  Kane would love to help customize a robot costume!

2. I'm kind of obsessed with Iris Apfel (have you seen the documentary about her? It's on Netflix, do it) and I think Cam could pull this off no problem.

3. Kane is all about b-boys at the moment. He'd dig this.

4. I'm pretty sure Cam would lose her mind if I could get it together to make her a sushi costume.

5. This looks like a really wearable pineapple costume (if that's even a thing).

6. Cotton candy love.

7. Who wouldn't want to celebrate a birthday on Halloween?

8. E.T. Yesssssssss.

9. The only thing better than a DIY LEGO costume is a StarWars LEGO costume.

Weekend Makes

Our kiddos are deep into Halloween mode. We finally have a home with a front yard to decorate and they've been adding and adding to it all week long. I cut them off from purchasing any more pre-made decor, so they've been working wonders on cardboard. Needless to say, I'm in the mood for some different makes this weekend. These Halloween STEM activities should do the trick!

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