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Decorating and Santa Visit

We have been crossing things off our 2013 Holiday Bucket List left and right! I love this time of year and having a little one makes it even better.

There are so many places where Santa is making an appearance. Make sure not to miss out! I created an awesome list just for you.

We have seen Santa twice now! We first saw him at the East Village Holiday Promenade, which went okay. Monte would not sit on his lap, but gave him a high-five! Travis and I took Monte to Valley West Mall’s Winter Wonderland. I think that Valley West Mall offers the best Santa set-up. They have a train and the area is decorated beautifully!

 

Monte did great with Santa! He sat on his lap and did not get upset!

Excuse his wild hair! 🙂 Afterwards, Santa handed him a coloring book and crayons and he looked right at him and said “thanks”. It made my heart melt, I might have teared up a bit also.

Not only did Travis and I accomplished almost all of our Christmas shopping, but we also decorated the house and tree!

Monte was a BIG helper with putting the tree together!

We gave him a Disney Christmas Book which plays Christmas music and he can “play” the piano with! He loves it!

We were also fortunate enough to be given another artificial Christmas Tree. We set it up downstairs and Monte got to decorate it however he wanted. I am so happy we thought of this idea, because every night he will take some “kid-friendly” ornaments off the tree and then place them elsewhere on the tree. It keeps him busy and he is so proud of himself when he does it!

Have you taken the kiddos to visit Santa yet? Where was your favorite place to go?

2013 Holiday Bucket List

I have added all of the events in the Des Moines Metro area where Santa may be this holiday season! Let me tell you, he is going to be one busy guy! There are a lot of events this holiday season for the whole family and even a few date night opportunities. Make sure to check out my events calendar on the right hand side of the page for EVERYTHING!

I posted my DIY 2013 Holiday Planner, now I just need to share our 2013 Holiday Bucket List!

2013 Holiday Bucket List 

1. East Village Holiday Promenade

2. Visit Santa

3. Drink Hot Cocoa

4. Bake and decorate cookies

5. Decorate Christmas tree and house

6. Watch Elf

7. Donate toys

8. Make a homemade craft

9. Watch Frosty the Snowman & Rudolph

10. Make a Gingerbread house

11. Make Epping Family Toffee & Dateballs

Make sure to check out the Bucket List tab on the top of my page. This is where I will keep track of everything we accomplish!

What items are on your Holiday Bucket List? 

The Great Pumpkin!

First off … I am so excited about Midwest Mom & Wife right now! I have a Twitter account, Instagram account, Pinterest account and now a very own Facebook page. Everyone should follow along to get the latest updates on everything! You can also visit these by clicking on the icons on the right hand side of the screen

I am also excited to annouce that I will be participating in the Great Diaper Hunt with Diaper Decisions! It is such an awesome thing to be a part of and if you have not already done so, go sign up for the hunt. It’s a great way to support small businesses and bloggers, while winning prizes.

On to our laid back, fall weekend! We crossed a bunch more things off our 2013 Fall Bucket List.

1. Crockpot Applesauce 

Nothing smells better then apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and apple cider brewing in the crockpot!

I did not follow a specific recipe and making apple sauce can be done pretty much however you want.

This is what I did …

1. Cut about 10-15 apples into chunks. I did not peel my apples and the number of apples used depends on the size you are using and how much sauce you are wanting to make. We used Wills Orchard apples, which were pretty small.

2. Squeeze half a lemon on top.

3. Add about 1 – 1 1/2 cups apple cider. We used Iowa Orchards tasty cider!

4. Sprinkle nutmeg on top, approximately 2 Tablespoons

5. Add 4 cinnamon sticks

6. Put on low about 6 hours. My crockpot cooks VERY fast! So this may differ for everyone.

7. Scoop the mixture out into a glass bowl and mash it up with a masher.

2. Carved and Painted Pumpkins

Monte did such a woderful job and he took the task very seriously!

 He is such an artist 🙂

3. Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown 

Papa Tony was nice enough to buy Monte the movie on DVD so we can watch it whenever! Sunday evening was the perfect night to cuddle up and wait for the Great Pumpkin to appear!

 If you do not own It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, ABC is airing the show at 7 pm on Thursday!

Record it if you will be trick or treating, so you can watch it!

 

It’s was a PERFECT Fall weekend 🙂

What fall and/or Halloween things did you do this past weekend?