Birthday Calendar and Important Dates Binder

Our ward's January Additional Relief Society Meeting was wonderfully simple and a lot of fun. 

We made Annual Birthday Calendars and Date Organizers. 

Prior to the activity we purchased a printable from mycomputerismycavas.com and permission to use the printable in a group setting. The printable set included a title page and a monthly page for recording important dates and occasions. The idea is to put the sheets in a page protector and use the back side or separate pocket dividers to store cards for each upcoming month's occasions.

We asked each sister to bring her own binder, and then provided the printed page for each month, page protectors, pens to fill in important dates and treats to fuel the chatter. 

We also encouraged sisters to store stamps and a spreadsheet of addresses in the binder so it could be a 'one stop shop' for sending a card, so to speak. I've already stashed some '90 percent off' Christmas cards from Target in my binder this week. 

I received a similar binder several years ago when I got married and am excited that so many sisters attended the evening. Even in today's digital age, I love getting a card in the mail and hope my new (organized) binder will help me do a better job of keeping in touch. 

 

Morning o' Sledding

Updating after a 2-month absence is going to come slow and will probably be motivated by the posts I am least overwhelmed to write. :)

Christmas break gave Crew and I a few days home just the two of us. And I must say the time has been just as magical, busy and tiring as I had ever imagined "stay at home" mommyhood to be. 

On one such day, we ventured out to one of our favorite near-by parks for some sledding. Crew got a sled for Christmas; and had had an evening adventure with it at Grandma's house. So basically, we were pros. 

Crew stayed warm and an excellent sport. He was also bound and determined to climb, slide and generally, fend for himself. I watched him with mostly pride as he made his way up and down, loving every minute of what I thought would be an exhausting trek for him.

Only the tiniest part of me was sad at how little he needed my help. 

And of course, what is a morning of sledding without a cup of coco to top things off?

Our "Spooky" Halloween

Crew was such a blast this year. He totally caught on to the concept of Halloween. Every pumpkin, ghost or skeleton he saw was met with squeals of excitement and comments to the effect of "Spooky Halloween, right, Mommy?"

The new found understanding created a minor catastrophe when the week before Halloween he got it in his mind that he did not, in fact, want to be a train conductor. Nope, he was heck bent on being a pumpkin. As in the costume you put on your infant because they are unpredictably chubby, can't walk and frankly, can't refuse in favor of something cooler. 

Luckily, a visit to the party store for a train whistle = crisis averted. 

I had fun taking photos of him during a church Halloween party, on his way to a daycare party and then of course, the big night.  

Crew rocked the Trunk or Treat Halloween games. There was no foolin' this kid with fake eyeballs and veins. He immediately yelled, "It's noodles, Daddy!"

Finally made the connection between Trick or Treat and getting free candy.

Sporting his loot from the party

On his way to his DayCare party with a belly full of ghoulish treats

Hurricane Sandy had Dad working from home on Halloween so we got an early start with the fun!

Ready to Go!

And for your viewing pleasure, Crew at his first door.

IMG 0753 from Maura Lansford on Vimeo.

Autumn Wonderland

 

 We made the trek south to Thanksgivings Point's Cornbelly's festivities this weekend and had such a blast. We had never been and honestly, weren't sure what to expect. Verdict-We loved it!

 We convinced Aunt Baylee to join us, elating Crew to no end.

I had to hold myself back from taking photos of every attraction. Am I the only mom who needs help remembering to step back and enjoying things instead of stressing about documenting everything? 

Crew is exploring a range of facial expressions lately and I tried to capture a few of the ones that made me smile that day.

Turned around to find brother and sister in a rousing game. I love this family and how much they love to hang with each other!

These wooden play toys were incredible. Crew loved the train, dump truck and Noah's Ark.

Fighting the fire!

I spent my birthday away from my boys on a work trip and to help make up for it, Cole surprised me with a plan to spend a late birthday weekend in the Big Apple. He was there the week prior for work so I was able to join him on the tale end of his trip. Yeah!

For any of you on Instagram, some of these photos will be repeats, but here we go!

After taking the red eye flight out, I spent a few hours resting in Cole's hotel and then hit the financial district for some quick shopping. My mission was to nab half priced Broadway tickets at the seaside TKTS booth. 100 percent success! No line and tickets for my most desired show!

Traveling essentials for the red eye flight out

Mary Poppins (amazing!) and a late night dinner at the Times Square Shake Shack.

Amazing display in a little print shop I visited in the financial district.

On Saturday, we were ready to hit up Central Park and some shopping like it was nobody's business. But what is shopping without some essential carbs and calories?

Stuffed pillows/wall display. I was in awe.

We sampled the vanilla bean with strawberry filling, coconut cream and the famous raspberry.  So yummy but wished we had opted for the oatmeal instead of the raspberry.

New York offered us gloomy skies but the perfect fall temperatures for a spin through the park.

Then on to SOHO for a busy day of shopping and of course, more food. 

Brazilian Corn...hmmm. I could eat these weekly I am sure!

Bam!

Every statement necklace a girl could ask for. 

On Sunday we took a few hours to visit the 9/11 memorial site. The grounds are beautiful and the area is reverent with people reflecting on everything that happened there. 

Survivor Tree: Love this Story!

The memorials where the towers formerly stood.

Freedom Tower

After having our tickets checked at 4 different checkpoints.

Such a wonderful way to end the weekend!