Free Printable! {Christmas Story Advent Calendar}

I can't believe that December is just a few days away!

A few weeks ago, I started thinking about what we were going to do for an Advent calendar this year.  (In addition to our Lego Advent calendar of course!)  I knew I wanted it to have something to do with the Christmas story, & found this one from OneDogWoof that I thought would be fun to put my own little "modern" spin on.  I didn't really intend to share it, but after several requests from family & friends, I thought, why not?!

I hung ours with washi tape, baker's twine, & mini clothes pins in our kitchen window.  It's the perfect way to remind us throughout holidays what the true meaning of the Christmas season is.

They're set up to print as 3x5 cards with 4 per page.  I used a round corner punch for a little added flair.  My friend Angie plans to put hers on a key ring for her kids to flip through & also printed a few extra sets for gifts!

Just click here to download & print!

Download here!

Have a safe & happy Thanksgiving!!!

Attic Update 12: Sheetrock {continued...}

Just a quick update on the attic - we're slowly making progress!  As of last night, we have the ceiling done (aside from one piece by the window), & have both closets & the doorway rocked.  All that's left are the two end walls (the ones with the windows on them) & the knee walls (the short ones along the sides).  The closets were full of angled cuts & the on the ceiling we had to deal with rafters that weren't spaced evenly...at all.  It was slow moving when you had to measure multiple angles, go up & down stairs to the garage to make cuts, haul the sheets through the house & up the stairs, then make any adjustments once up there.  The end & knee walls will be simple in comparison - one cut on each sheet - woohoo!

Now for a couple of Before/After Last Week/This Week pictures...

The same view from the top of the stairs looking into the bedroom:

Then from the bedroom looking toward the landing:

We've still got a long way to go, but what a difference a few days can make, am I right?!

Attic Checklist:
insulation: between rafters, loose in walls, foamboard on ceiling
frame up walls & closets
level out ceiling & jack up sagging roof
new electrical throughout attic
new window
planks in bunk & on upper portion of end walls
move vent from closet to bedroom
drywall (hang, tape, mud, sand)
build, paint, hang French doors
prime, paint (one more coat), stain, varnish steps
remove door to attic & open up
prime & paint walls & ceiling
spray, make, & hang lights
finish floors (stain, paint, just varnish?)
paint & install stair railings
paint & install baseboard trim
paint & install board & batten trim
closet systems
storage doors for under eave access

This weekend I'm off to the windy city (not Chicago...they have nothing on Marshall, MN) to help my BFF Angie decorate her house for a Christmas tour.  I'm hoping the boys hang some Sheetrock while I'm away.  Wouldn't it be nice to come home & have it all done?!

Attic Update 11: Sheetrock!

Well...we didn't quite finish up the ceiling sheetrock this weekend...but we got close!

With the ceilings going up, I've been getting more & more anxious to get to the fun stuff...the finishing!  I couldn't resist snapping a quick photo of what the attic looks like now, & Photoshopping it a little bit...just to get a glimpse of what it'll potentially look like in a couple of months.  :)

So, since a pretty picture is a lot more fun to look at than stud walls & sheetrock...

I...cannot...wait...!

Oh, & just in case you're curious...here's a quick graphic showing where we're at on the ceiling...

Yeah, my arms are still burning from holding all of those sheets above my head while dad screwed them in.  4 days later.

Here's hoping we can get the ceilings finished & a few walls done this week & weekend!

Guess what's happening this weekend...

Drywall is getting hung!  We're a few weeks behind due to some unforeseen family things coming up.  Hopefully we can get this train back on track again!

If you look at the ceiling above the drywall, you can see that we taped the seams in the foam board insulation with some black Gorilla tape.  (We also had to use a spray adhesive to get the tape to stisck to the insulation.  It was super fun.)  This will help create a vapor barrier & will also keep any air from getting through.  We also ran into a couple of wires on an end wall that were spliced together behind some insulation.  They were a fire hazard, so we had to put a new box in that spot to contain & mark them.  Unfortunately it's in the middle of a wall, but the good news is that it'll be covered by curtains.  Whew!

We actually {finally} got a few sheets hung last weekend, but we're hoping to finish up the ceiling this weekend.  It already looks different with just a few sheets up.  I can't wait to see what it looks like with the whole thing covered.  :)  The intersection where the sloped ceiling meets the flat ceiling is going to be interesting to try to get straight.  Hopefully by Monday I'll have an update on how it went.

Halloween...Lone Ranger Style!

If you remember from my post a few weeks ago, Grady decided to be the Lone Ranger for Halloween.  (The recent Disney movie version.)  It was a blast putting together this costume & he LOVED it.  After picking him up early from daycare & taking a few photos at a maritime museum downtown, we headed out to do a little trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  It was chilly & drizzly, but that didn't slow this little guy down at all!

We've taken a picture by the same lamp post every year we've gone trick-or-treating!  I feel like next year he might be as tall as me!

We didn't stray too far from the mood board I created.  (You can click back to this post for details.)

1. Instead of ordering the "official" hat from the Disney Store, I stumbled across a white cowboy hat at a local thrift store for a buck.  Score!

2. For the mask, I bought a sheet of felt at Ben Franklin for something like 45 cents, cut out the mask shape, & sewed an elastic strap on the back.  We had a red bandanna at home to use, & for the Texas Rangers badge, we actually had a random vending machine necklace that was the same shape, so we sprayed it silver & wrote "Texas Rangers" on it in black Sharpie.

3. We did purchase the gun/holster set off Amazon.  It was the "splurge" of the costume for a whopping $17 (free shipping with Amazon Prime).  The gun was heavy duty & looked just like the picture...Grady was convinced it was real.  The holster/belt combo, not so much.  It was fine for the price though. 

4. We found a suede vest & white shirt at Goodwill.  He had a pair of black pants already.  I couldn't find a black suit coat in Grady's size anywhere, so I ended up buying a women's coat, took it apart, cut it down, & put it back together again...this time smaller.  It was an experiment & I wasn't sure it would actually work, but it did!  I almost made it too small, actually.  I rubbed brown chalk on it to give it a trail-worn look as opposed to 90's librarian.  :)  We borrowed the boots from a friend...they were a tad on the big side, but we were able to fit wool socks inside them on a chilly night!

Hope you all had as great a time as we did!

Grady already has his costumes planned out for the next couple of years...a fox next year & Batman the year after that.  :)