Moving Out...Are You Coming? ; )

It's official....

My Boy and Me is moving!!

If you'd like to follow along in our adventures, please, pop on over to Barefoot Childood.  I think all the kinks are worked out in our new little cyber cottage.  So, come on over.

Hope to see you there!!

Cock-a-doodle-doo

Saturday morning we woke up very early and headed for a nearby open market...okay, so it would be more appropriately called a redneck market. I should have brought my camera with me. I assure you, it is quite a sight to behold. The booths are made of trash, and they sell junk and chickens...we were there for the chickens. We planned on buying a few more hens and a rooster, but we were out of luck with the hens. Only roosters and ducks were up for grabs. We did manage to snag this lovely fella'...
He is destined to be well loved...possibly too well loved...
The man we bought him from didn't know what he was, but he looks very much like an Ameraucana rooster we had and adored. We bought this one hoping his looks were a sign. I think we were right. Our hens adore him, and as you can tell so does Levi. He's also a pretty docile little thing...which is good when you've got a munchkin running around wanting to squeeze him.
Oh, and speaking of the munchkin, I have got to get his rooster imitation on video. He doesn't just say Cock-a-doodle-doo. He actually attempts to truly imitate the roosters call. It's squeezably cute.
So, done any rooster kissin' lately? ;)

Sweet Dreams: Advent Style

This is our wooden Advent calendar. To kick off Advent Levi insisted on taking a nap with it. That was after he spent a great portion of the morning carrying it around and referring to it as his "Crima" house.

Making A Move

Soon...very soon...

hopefully...

My Boy And Me will be packing up and moving to a new site with a new name. I've never been terribly in love with my blog's name, and I've finally come up with one that's worth moving for. But, here's the deal...

I'm sort of computer deficient, so I could use some help. Have any of y'all ever imported a blog. I know it's probably easy peasy. Is it really as simple as pressing the button? Is it going to take forever and a really long time? Do I need hours on end to devote to it? Are all of these questions dumb? ;)

Any and all advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks so much!

Oh...and, will y'all please come with me...you know when it's all official and everything? I'd miss you tons if you didn't! You make blogging so much fun.

Kicking Things Off

I promise. I won't torture you with every single daily Advent activity. But, since day one's activity was quite a hit with the munchkin, I thought I'd share. After Levi opened Sunday's box and looked all enthused over finding a little, round piece of paper inside...and after he spent FOREVER playing with the wooden Advent calendar, affectionately known as his "Crima" house...and after he cried when he thought he had broken it by opening a door...we finally read the little, round piece of paper.

"Trace your hand to make a wreath."

It is highly possible that the success of this activity is directly linked to Levi's love for having his hand traced (which he oh.so.cutely refers to as "chasing"). If your kiddo isn't so in love with "chasing" then just trace his hand a couple of times, and then copy it. Levi, however, wanted me to trace his hand 20 times...no lie. I'm pretty sure if he hadn't gotten distracted by his "Crima" house, we would have been "chasing" that hand of his til doomsday.

The actual assembly of the wreath is super simple. I did this part during nap time, and I wasn't feeling very good. So, it truly is simple. Once you have all your hands cut out. Take a scrap piece of thin cardboard (cereal box thickness) or poster board. Draw one large circle and a smaller circle inside of it. You can use a compass for this, or you could just pull a couple of bowls out of the cabinet and "chase" some more. This will be your wreath base. It should be between 1 1/2 and 2 inches wide. Cut it out. Begin stapling the hands to the wreath base in one direction. You'll want to overlap the hands so that the staples are hidden. When you've completed half the wreath, begin stapling the hands in the opposite direction. This should create one space at the top where the staples are exposed. Cut a bow out of paper or tie one from scrap ribbon. Glue or tape in place to hide the staples. And, you're done. I used painter's tape to attach it to a door.

You can leave yours as is, or turn it into an Advent wreath. Advent wreaths typically have four candles...one for each Sunday before Christmas. In some traditions the candles are all blue or purple. In others three of the candles are blue or purple with the fourth being pink. And, in more modern traditions there is a fifth white candle for Christmas Eve or Christmas.

Instead of candles, I opted for stars. They go along with the Christmas theme, and they just happen to be Levi's all-time favorite shape. Of course, Levi loved getting to put a "stah" sticker on his wreath yesterday.

There are still a few more blanks to be filled in on the munchkin's Advent activities list, but I think we're off to a pretty good start. Most of the activities involve baking, making gifts and reading Christmas books. Any suggestions? I'd love to hear them. What do you do to build up anticipation for Christmas? And, how do you get your kids into the spirit of the season?

And The Count Begins

Just in case you've been on the edge of your seats wondering what I decided to do about that last minute DIY Advent calendar....well, for the sake of my own sanity, I didn't stitch one up. But, I did still make one.
In the end, the paper Christmas mural above my sofa was targeted as the new Advent calendar. (Please excuse the lousy photos. I tried and tried, and this was seriously the best of the bunch...sad...I know. Where the black ring came from, I can't figure out. And, that's so not the color of my wall.)
Instead of giving Levi candies or toys each day, I opted to make small, numbered ornaments for him to decorate the mural with. Each one has a Christmas related activity written on the back. We already have a wooden Advent calendar, so I put the ornaments in their corresponding boxes. Each day he opens a box. If he's into the activity we do it...if not I'm up for something new. Afterward, I stick a bit of tape on the ornament, and he places it on one of the trees in the mural. He's totally into stickers, so this is his favorite part. Can you believe how neatly he placed that #1?!
If you're digging this idea, but you aren't so keen on cutting out an entire snowy scene, there is still hope. Just cut out a paper or cardboard tree, and attach it to a door or wall with painter's tape.
Create the ornaments by gluing together scrap paper circles and squares. Grab a marker and you're good to go on the numbers.
You don't have a wooden Advent calendar? No problem! There's more than one way to skin a cat.
~Put the ornaments in small, numbered envelopes.
~Hide them around the house and have a scavenger hunt each day.
~Place them under your child's pillow tooth fairy style.
~Or just dole them out one at a time.
The delivery methods are endless. Let me know what fabulous ideas y'all come up with.

Hope Advent is off to great start!

Let The Countdown Begin

Does anyone else feel like the holidays have just snuck up on you?

I know this happens every year. That it's a surprise every time probably says something about me. But, seriously, Thanksgiving JUST ended and...Oh. my. This Sunday...yes, that would be tomorrow...marks the beginning of Advent. Which means it's time to pull out the Advent calendars and start counting down to Christmas. As a child, I loved Advent Calendars. My mom would buy the ones with pictures and candy behind them, and my sister and I were thrilled to open them each day to see what was behind the little door.
When Levi was a wee little thing, I bought a pretty wood advent calendar at an after Christmas sale. It's beautiful and will definitely be used and loved, but the make it yourselfer in me is currently debating whether or not to make my own. I have no idea what any little boy needs with two Advent calendars, but I am so itching to stitch one up. I thought I'd share a few links to some Advent calendar inspiration...you know just in case any of you are still debating (the day before Advent begins) whether or not to make one.

:: How stinkin' adorable is this matchbox calendar from Martha Stewart. Unfortunately, Levi would have this one demolished in a nanosecond. Martha has a whole bunch more cute Advent calendars here.

:: This paper chain idea is an extra simple one that kids are sure to enjoy.

:: And, here's a not so simple chain idea that I'm seriously considering for next year. I love that it incorporates daily activities.

:: This one makes me grin super-duper big.

:: I love the knitting needle hanger on this beauty from the Purl Bee.

:: Oooo...and then there's this one from Stitch/Craft with little ornaments to stick on a felt tree. Do you think I could whip that up in one night? Hmmmm....

:: Pickles' fabric cones would be a wonderful addition to a fireplace mantle...you know if I actually had one of those.

:: And, last but not least, who could resist the recycled cuteness of Maya Made's toilet paper roll calendar?

So, how do you and your munchkins mark down the days to Christmas?