Celebrating Three Kings

Posted on January 6, 2026 by mlenoach

It’s been a fun couple of days celebrating Three Kings.

Building a tow truck at Home Depot

Posted on January 3, 2026 by mlenoach

We are starting the new year by trying new things and learning! Every first Saturday of the month, Home Depot holds a free workshop for kids. This month, the workshop focused on building a tow truck. Staff provide you with everything you need to make it, including all the tools.

I wasn’t sure if my daughter would enjoy this activity, but she absolutely loved it. The instructions are easy to follow, and upon completion, they leave you with a sense of accomplishment. Each packet also includes a certificate of achievement and a pin to collect. The activity goes from 9 am – 12 pm while supplies last. I arrived around 9:10 am, and the area was already packed.

Next month, the project will be making a penguin mailbox.

The Calendar Kids Recipes Part 2

Posted on December 31, 2025 by mlenoach

Here are the recipes I made from July to December from ‘The Calendar Kids’ series.

The recipe is actually for watermelon popsicles, but we like our watermelon the old-fashioned way, especially in the summer.

The recipe was for a pencil waffle to celebrate the start of school. I incorporated the idea for winter, so this is our winter version. Complete with snowflake, Christmas tree, snowman, and candy canes.

The recipe was for applesauce. My daughter loved mashing this lol.

The recipe this month was pumpkin muffins. These were delicious.

The recipe this month was a Thanksgiving handprint on your favorite pie.

Last but not least, December’s recipe was for reindeer cookies, using your favorite cookie recipe. They turned out so cute! We loved this.

Overall, the book series was very cute and the recipes were a lot of fun.

Fun at Great Wolf Lodge

Posted on December 30, 2025 by mlenoach

Speaking of looking back, in November, we visited the Great Wolf Lodge in PA. It was a fun, quick getaway.

Loving Disney World

Posted on December 30, 2025 by mlenoach

It’s absolutely frigid in New York today, the perfect time for me to look back on my trip (and warmth) to Disney World in October for my birthday.

I wanted to attend and enjoy the Food and Wine Festival.

The Calendar Kids Recipes Part 1

Posted on December 28, 2025 by mlenoach

It’s that time of year when I like to take an inventory of all the fun stuff I did. A few things I enjoyed were reading and cooking with my daughter. In ‘The Calendar Kids’ series, I got to do both. There are 12 books, one for each month, and each book focuses on one kid (named after the month) as they explore seasons, holidays, and memorable moments with friends and family. Each book has a cooking recipe that is tied to the story, and it’s been fun reading the book each month and trying all the recipes.

The recipe was actually a snowman pancake recipe, but we made hearts instead.

February was chocolate-covered strawberries. I admit it’s not our finest work lol, but it was yummy.

This month, the recipe was a rainbow donut. We did munchkins instead.

April we did dirt pudding! It was so good.

May’s recipe was a Cinco de Mayo salsa. Which was yummy.

June’s recipe was Dad’s famous burger recipe. I made them mini burgers to make it easier for my daughter to eat.

More to come in part two.

My new obsession… pins!

Posted on December 26, 2025 by mlenoach

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m currently curled up on the couch with my favorite people and reminiscing about the past year.

I picked up a new hobby this year, collecting pins. It all started during my birthday trip to Disney World (more on that next week).

I bought pins after riding Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios and Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. I don’t know what compelled me to start buying them, but these stores had a great selection of pins, and I just picked the ones that spoke to me. I did not choose the Ursula pin, though. I actually hate her, but my husband and daughter decided it would be a hoot to buy it for me as a surprise.

I also randomly got three mystery pin boxes, Up, The Incredibles, and I picked up a Star Wars one in another shop. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of my pin journey.