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.

I have since bought more mystery boxes (mostly Disney-related) and I’ve been enjoying opening them with my daughter. I’ll share more another time.

Holiday Greetings

Posted on December 25, 2025 by mlenoach

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Part 2

Posted on December 24, 2025 by mlenoach

Less than an hour to go until Christmas, and I’m looking back on this amazing month celebrating with family and friends.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas Part 1

Posted on December 24, 2025 by mlenoach

I can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve. Although I’m slightly in denial, I have had a great few weeks celebrating.

Maxi turns 5

Posted on December 19, 2025 by mlenoach

I can’t believe my daughter is already 5 🥹.

Our 2025 Advent Calendars

Posted on December 4, 2025 by mlenoach

Advent calendars are my jam. I think this will be my families fifth year participating. This year I kept it simple, but still fun.

My daughter Maxine loves all things Gabby.

My cats BB and PJ are sharing treats from Country Kitchen.

My husband and I are sharing the WSJ wine advent calendar.

Time to enjoy day 4!

Seeing the balloons up close

Posted on November 26, 2025 by mlenoach

I was able to score access to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons while they were getting inflated. It was amazing!! Extra bonus, I got to share the experience with some of my family members.

My time on the Disney Wish

Posted on November 16, 2025 by mlenoach

I can’t believe it’s already the middle of November. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. I’m grateful for so much this year. In August, I went on my first Disney cruise. It was magical 💕. It was extra special because I was with some of my family members. Disney cruises are on another level.

The level of personalization and care…