Favorite Holiday Memory

I'm linking up today with MJ @ teaching in heels and Kit @ A Step into My Life for this fun blog challenge.  Check it out!

Day 2: Favorite Holiday Memory

Wow, it's hard to choose because I have so many.  I really enjoyed taking Abby to see The Nutcracker, just the two of us.

This was our second year to go together.  It is such a nice mother/daughter time, and she just loves it! 

Here is the ornament we chose to commerate this year's show.  We chose a ballet slipper last year, but Abby was set on an ice skate. :-)

I also loved that we adopted our elf Charlie this year.  {We tried to do the traditional Elf on the Shelf but my kids were scared of him, so our family got a really special elf instead! ;-)}

I had no idea how much joy this little guy would bring to our holiday season.  My kids, especially Abby, loved waking up every morning to find him.  Abby was so sad when he left...she cried and my heart was a little broken.  He did leave her a note assuring us that he would be back next year. 

This was truly our best Christmas ever, so we made so many memories that I'll cherish forever, but nothing can compare to seeing the look on my children's faces on Christmas morning!  Christmas is just magicial when you have little kids.

Christmas: The Recap

We had a GREAT Christmas this year!  I truly feel like this has been the best Christmas we've ever had.  Not just with gifts, but just soaking up everything the season has to offer.  We have done so many fun, holiday things this year and the Christmas spirit just enveloped our home!  I'm a little sad that it's over, but I'm looking forward to the new year (and another week of Christmas break!).
I didn't get a ton of pictures from Christmas Eve or Christmas Day because my hubby filmed most of it.  Here's a short recap of the weekend.

Christmas Eve was wonderful!  See my post  about our day for a full run-down.

We woke up to find our elf Charlie sitting between the gifts that my kids got to open on Christmas Eve (one each). 

Part of the spread from our Christmas Eve appetizer party.  It's amazing how stuffed you can get eating snack-y type foods!

Wyatt being Wyatt.  I'm not sure!

Cookies for Santa!  We also left a tall glass of chocolate milk, some carrots for the reindeer, and a picture that Abby drew, but somehow I failed to take a picture of it.

Christmas Day was great too!  The only problem was that the kids got up WAY, WAY too early.  We tried (in vain) to make them go back to bed several times, but we ended up opening gifts at 5:00AM.  (No naps during the day either)

SANTA CAME!!!

For Abby....

and for Wyatt!

Again, I didn't get a lot of pics since Casey was filming.  I don't want to post the video since I was not looking my finest. ;)

We enjoyed a yummy breakfast casserole and fruit salad after the gift opening.  Since it was just our little family on Christmas Day, we were able to really relax and enjoy the day.  I made a roast with all the fixins for lunch and an apple pie for dessert. 

Here are some of the gifts we each got.  I know gifts are definitely not the most important thing, but it's always fun to see what others got. :)  (This was actually not everything we got, especially the kids, but I wanted to showcase some of the favorites...all this would have been more than enough though.)

Abby:  a few of her favorite gifts.  She really wanted a Nintendo DS, but we just didn't feel like she was completely ready for such an expensive electronic yet.  We got her a VTech game system last year and she didn't take very good care of it.  I could see her leaving the DS lying around and Wyatt scribbling all over it with a black Sharpie.  Or throwing it in the toilet.  Maybe for her birthday this summer. 

Wyatt:  I think his absolute favorite gift is the Wonder Pets Schoolhouse.  He has not put it down since he got it!

My stuff.  I love everything I got! 

Hubby's stuff:  We both got memberships to Planet Fitness, so we are ready to get in shape!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!

Christmas Eve 2010

I can't believe that Christmas Day is tomorrow.  It's flown by!  I thought I would post one more post before I take a short break from blogging. 

I love Christmas Eve at our house!  It is such a fun, relaxing time with just our little family filled with so many traditions.  We start out the morning allowing the kids to open one gift.  We save the rest of the gifts for Christmas morning. 

Here they are opening their gifts this morning:

After the gift opening, I always have breakfast prepared.  This year it's homemade cinnamon rolls.

We always have an appetizer/snack party for dinner.  I'll be busy today getting the food ready for this evening.  Here is this year's menu:
*Sausage Balls
*Pinwheels
*Artichoke Spinach Bites
*Lil Smokies in BBQ sauce
*Chips & Dips
*Relish Tray
*Cheese, Summer Sausages, & Crackers
*Lemon Bars
*Christmas Punch

Of course we have Christmas music blasting in the background.  We also make "Magic Reindeer Dust".  This will help illuminate the path for Santa's reindeer to land! ;)  There are tons of different recipes online for this, but here is the one we use.

Magic Reindeer Dust
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup sugar
Red & Green sprinkles or edible glitter

Mix together and sprinkle on your lawn before going to bed on Christmas Eve! 

(Note: Some recipes call for actual craft glitter, but since it can be harmful to animals, I stick with edible glitter or sprinkles.)


We made our cookies for Santa yesterday.  We switch up which kind we make each year and this year we made this recipe (it is an adaptation of a recipe from Bakerella.  I made a few of these jars for small gifts this year, so I thought it only made sense to make one for us to use as well.


Before:

After:

I think Santa will like these! 

After the kids have their bath, they get into their Christmas pajamas and we read "The Night Before Christmas" in front of the tree.  I have a feeling Wyatt will be running around like a maniac instead of sitting quietly and listening to the story, but I'll still read it anyway.  :)

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We try and have family Bible studies often (my goal for 2011 is every evening), and we will have one this evening as well.   At Christmas, we explain to our children that the Bible does not tell us when Jesus was born, and in fact, is silent about instruction in observing the birth of Christ.  However, this is the time when most people reflect on His birth, and we pray that a seed will be planted in the hearts of those whom are seeking.  More importantly, we talk to them about how it was His death on the cross that saves us.  Hallelujah!  We celebrate Jesus EVERYDAY in this house.  God is good everyday of the year!

Finally, before going to bed, we have to track Santa!  Our local news stations track him during the weather segment.  We also visit this website for a more detailed, global view of Santa's journey.  It's amazing how fast the kids (well, Abby) go to sleep after seeing this!

Wonderful times and precious memories!  I'm going to be a little sad when my kids stop believing.  I have a feeling Abby will be catching on soon.  Until then, we try and make it magical!

Wishing each one of you a peaceful, joyous Christmas with your families and a healthy, prosperous new year!

See you in a few days!

A Sweet Surprise!

Earlier today I got the happy news that I won a giveaway hosted by Megan at in this wonderful life.  I'm so excited!

Here is what I won:

(Photo taken from Megan's blog)

Clockwise from top left: Nice & Naughty kitchen towels; crystal mistletoe arrangement; ornament place card holders; cute Christmas socks

It is such a nice surprise to win all of these festive things right before Christmas.  Thanks so much Megan!

If you haven't seen her blog already, go check it out!  She is such an inspirational person.  Plus, she has the cutest little Boston Terrier named Elton! 

Homemade Gifts & Goodies

I have been on a quest the past couple of weeks to find a great gift for Abby's teacher, Mrs. Kepley.  We adore Mrs. Kepley!  She is a sweet, hardworking lady, and I really wanted to put some thought into her gift.  When I couldn't find what I wanted, I decided to make her something.  (Warning: picture heavy post!)

Mrs. Kepley usually doesn't leave the school until after 6:00PM.  She stays late to prepare for the next day.  I decided to make her a basket full of meals in a jar to helpfully make dinnertime a little easier on her.

The basket full of jars.  I'm going to add a pretty bow and a tag to finish it off. 

Cookies for Santa mix found HERE.  These will be great for Mrs. Kepley and her husband to share!

Texas Two-Step Soup.  We are in Texas so I thought this would make a great dinner on a cold winter evening.  I bought THIS recipe book a few years ago at Country Clutter and it has all kinds of great recipes.

Another recipe found from the book listed above.  This one is for Goulash, one of my favorites!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa mix.  I found the recipe HERE.  This picture was obviously taken before I embellished the jar and added a label.  This would be great to have with the cookies!


I also made Mrs. Kepley a little sign for her classroom.  She is a new teacher, so I don't think she has accumulated many handmade gifts yet.

I bought the unfinished chalkboard at Michael's and embellished it with ribbon and little wooden cutouts.  I used a paint pen to look like chalk.  I searched all over the place for a little tiny eraser and chalk to add to the bottom.  I thought I might find something made out of polymer clay or something similiar, but it was a no-go. 

Abby signed the back to make it extra special!

I also picked up a cute monogrammed ornament for her and might swing by the local teacher supply store to pick up a gift certificate.  Teachers spend so much money out of their own pockets for their classrooms.  (I have already begun stocking up on supplies, books, and other necessities so that I'll be a little ahead of the game when I have my own classroom!)

Abby's class Christmas party is coming up on Thursday, and I am in charge of bringing a "sweet snack".  I gone back and forth between decorated sugar cookies and cupcakes and have finally decided on the cupcakes.  I found some cute liners and picks.  I can't wait to make them tomorrow!

I wanted to make something special for her classmates so I decided on inexpensive snowflake ornaments. I found the kit at Hobby Lobby (50% off!) and finished them last night.  They are supposed to be picture frame ornaments, but I decided to just write each child's name and the year in the spot meant for a picture.

Pink for the girls...



and blue for the boys!

In addition to all this (I've been pretty busy!), I made my holiday treats today that I will be delivering to my neighbors and friends tomorrow.  Here's what I made...

Peppermint bark.  Sometimes I add the dark chocolate layer on bottom and sometimes I don't.  This year, I did!

Pretzel bites(?).  Not sure what these are called.  They are just square pretzels with a Hersey's Kiss or Hug (I made both)  melted on top with an M&M in the center.  Super easy and yummy!

Fudge.  Need I say more?

"Turtles".  These are my absolute favorite.  I had to package them up right away so I wouldn't eat them!

I'm still working on these next two items (I had to stop and blog!), so I haven't taken pictures yet. 

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Holiday Popcorn Balls.  I love popcorn balls, especially if they have M&Ms in them. :-)



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My friend Bre made homemade marshmallows recently, and they were SO good!  I'm currently making peppermint marshmallows and am even going to dip some in chocolate.  Bliss!

One of the goodie baskets (less the popcorn balls and marshmallows).  I hope my sweet friends and neighbors enjoy them!

I'm completely worn out after today and still have to take my final for a graduate class I'm taking.  Ugh.  I might need to snack on some sweet treats to keep me going!

The Nutcracker 2010

Abby and I had the pleasure of seeing The Nutcracker together again this year. What a great time we had! Our local dance academy, Lone Star Ballet, does a wonderful job with this production every year. 

My gorgeous girl showing off the tickets before the show.

Abby got a fancy new dress for the occasion.  Doesn't she look cute?

One of the few pictures I was able to get at the show.  Abby kept refusing to take pictures!  I wanted to get one of us together but it was a no-go.  I was lucky to get this one!

Mama and Abby after the show.  I forced her to take this one!

The ornament we (Abby) chose from the sales booth.  I wanted to get a nutcracker, but it was just too chaotic to even be able to get down the line to look at them.  Next year we are going to get there really early so we have more time to browse.

Another view of the ornament.  {Please ignore my chipped manicure! ;-)}  I tried to get Abby to choose a little ballerina ornament to match the ballet slippers ornament we got last year, but this is what she wanted.  We are not the ice skating type so I'm not sure why.  Casey calls ice skating "standing on blades" and refuses to even try it!  I've been once and didn't really enjoy it.

A free "fanny" poster we got from the show. 

Abby is now getting ready to put on her own rendition of The Nutcracker for us, so I get to see two shows today!  Good times and great memories.

Some Holiday Happenings...

Another random Christmas post.  Sorry, but I am in full Christmas mode right now!  Last night after church, we decided to take the kids to look at a few Christmas lights.  Now, we aren't doing our big light trip until Dec. 17, but we thought we would hit the area close to our house for a few minutes.

We have an anesthesiologist here in Amarillo who goes all out with Christmas lights.  (Think Clark Griswold x100!)  He has several Christmas songs set to coordinate with the lights!  He doesn't live very far from us, so we thought we would swing by so the kids could see the display. You can read about his light show here and here.

Here is a youtube video of his show.  This one is a few years old, so I can attest to the fact that his display is even more magnificient now and especially in person! 



I also wanted to share a recipe for a simmering Christmas potpourri my sweet mama used to make when I was growing up.  It smells so wonderful- I make sure have a pot simmering on the stove throughout the season, but especially on Christmas day.  It brings back such good memories!  I'm including a link for a recipe with actual measurements since I never measure but rather just eyeball and throw things in until I like it!  Recipe link

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Christmas Simmering Potpourri
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
Cinnamon sticks, 3 or 4
Whole cloves (I use a handful because I love the smell of cloves!)
Bay leaves, 3 or 4
Ground cloves, a tsp or so

Combine all the above ingredients in a medium saucepan and fill with water.  Simmer on low heat, and add more water as needed.  Enjoy the wonderful aroma of Christmas!

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Another easy Christmas craft that looks festive and smells wonderful are pomander balls.  I made these as a little girl and now make them with my little girl.  Stock up on whole cloves and oranges!  There isn't much to it...just stick the cloves in the oranges, but you can click on the link above for adding ribbons and other variations.

Don't hesitate to try these today!