Character Witness

Are you ready for the Holiday Season?  Its already begun in case you haven't noticed.  My six-year-old has informed me.  Actually, she won't let me forget.  I haven't brought it up with her much, so they must be talking about it at school.  A has told me what she wants for Christmas, when Christmas is, and ALL about Santa.

It bothers me a bit.  I feel as a parent, I should be truthful with my children.  I expect them to be honest and I want to model that for them.  Santa is one of those parenting issues.  Either you believe or you don't.  What do you tell your kiddos?

Personally, I wasn't a Santa believer as a child.  I knew other kids where, but we knew gifts were from parents and relatives, not a character.  I don't feel like I missed out on anything magical.  Christmas was and still is a special time of year.

I want to be honest with A.  So I sat her down and we talked about Santa.  She told me how he comes in a sleigh, down the chimney, and has a bag of presents.  I listened and told her that is a really nice story.  

She looked at me and said "Santa is a person."

Obviously, she knows about characters and people.  We've talked about  characters in movies, books, and games.  She knew what I meant.

"No, honey, Santa is a character" I replied.

"Mommy, Santa is a person.  Mario is a character.  Princess is a character.  H (her brother) is a character." she smiled.

I have my work cut out for me.  She know's what I mean but she is choosing to believe Santa is a person instead of a character.  I can tell by her facial expressions.

So a a few days later, my hubby took the kiddos to the mall.  I was at work, per usual.  Apparently, they looked around that their favorite stores, but the kids wanted to see Santa.  My hubby tried to dissuade them, even offering to go to the arcade, but to no avail.  The line was a hundred feet long, so I heard. Amazingly enough, the kiddos waited patiently for their turn to see the fat man.  When their turn arrived, A asked for a princess doll.  H asked for a dinosaur-dragon.  Obligatory picture was obtained that looks decent!

Once I got home from work, A and H were elated to tell me about Santa.  Of course, being the realist person I am, I asked what kind of Santa they saw. "Did you see a character?"

  A looked at me and said smugly, " I saw a person Santa, Mommy."

I am thankful

This is the time of year we are more mindful of giving thanks and I am no exception.  We didn't do a traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year, as our house was on the market and I didn't want an unnecessary mess to clean up in a rush.  To Medieval Times we went!  The kiddos had a blast and I didn't have a mess.

That turned out to be an amazing decision, as we had showings every day that week, with two on Wednesday.  Wednesday night, we heard an offer was imminent.  Friday it came and Saturday we were under contract!  I am acting surprised, but I shouldn't be.  My husband and I asked God to sell it for us.  I have a job offer, but I couldn't accept and move without selling the house.  We decided to pray it in.  We asked God to have the house under contract by the end of the month.  We asked for a specific dollar amount.  We thanked God for answering us.  He is good.  The house sold in 10 days and the buyers want to close on the 29th of December, so we have lots of work to do!

So tomorrow, I discuss with my future employer the timeline of my start date.  It might be tricky with the holidays coming up.  I'll have to consider school letting out, giving my current job notice, moving four hours away, setting up a new apartment, oh and Christmas!

Next on my prayer list: job negotiations, new living arrangements, finances to fall in order, firm closing date without hiccups.  And of course, giving thanks for the goodness of God!

Picture Failure

So I tried to make Christmas Cards this year.  Or last year, rather.  We had family pictures taken.

Fail.

I didn't even buy any yet.  None I want to share of the family.  We did get a few cute ones of this kids, but out of 300+ pictures taken, maybe seven I would buy and share.  None were really spend-more-money- on-custom-Christmas-card worthy.  In fact, the best one was a photo I captured on my iphone afterwards.  But of course it is a bit blurry and too low quality to have printed.  Of course.

So I did what any normal mom would do.  I tried to bribe my hubby to help me take some of "just the kids".  I dressed them up, brought props and bribes, and took them to a photogenic place.  Maybe some unsuspecting nice person would walk by and I could get them to take our family picture.

Oh sweet failure.  We know each other so well.  Of course we would meet again so soon.

Why does Pinterest and card companies make family pictures look so effortlessly blissful?  Better yet, why do I feel so compelled to recreate my own picture of family happiness? Anyway, while I wallow in self pity for not being able to capture the sweetness of my kiddos, here are a few of the photos for you to snicker over.

Thanks to World Market for the oversized candy canes.

This might be the best one.

He's so handsome!  But no sister....

A tad bit more realistic...

So we had to move on from just candy canes to the lolly pops.... maybe the props were becoming too much of a distraction?

Totally enamored with the candy.  But at least they aren't running around.  Two kids in the same frame is the goal, right?

So we decided to lay on the sidewalk for a while...

And here is my princess.  Its hard to choose between candy and flowers.

No words.

And this is what happens when I try to get a picture with my babies.  Actually, I have about 9 pictures like this.

I'm exhausted and my kids had a sugar high.  My hubby was not amused by my idea of a photo session and we went through a whole package of baby wipes to clean up the sticky.  Isn't life wonderful?  Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, or Happy Valentine's Day, which ever holiday is closest by the time I end up posting this!  Hope you have just as much fun documenting your family as I have with mine!

Corn Casserole

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought I'd share my favorite side dish.  Now this isn't one I remember from my childhood, but it is one I have learned to savor in my young adult years.  Both my mom and my grandma from my dad's side have made it, but I'm not sure who started the tradition.  Anyway, it really doesn't matter since we all love it.  A quick Google search will find you many variations, but this is my favorite.

Corn Casserole

1 onion, diced (sweet yellow is my favorite)
1 green pepper, diced
1 stick of butter
1 can whole corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
2 beaten eggs
1 box corn muffin mix (we always use Jiffy)
1 bar of cream cheese, softened, cubed
1 c of sour cream
2c of shredded cheese (cheddar, colby, pepper jack, or any combo is good)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Saute onion, green pepper and butter in skillet over medium heat.  In large bowl, fold together beaten eggs and corn.  Add in muffin mix.  Add in onion and pepper mix, slowly.  Stir in cream cheese cubes and 1 c of shredded cheese.  Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan.  Spoon sour cream over mixture (you can swirl it in).  Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over the top.  Bake in oven for 40 minutes.

This is sooo yummy.  I made it the first week in November (or was is the end of October?) because I was craving it.  It's a fantastic side dish to many main meals, although it does speak of turkey, gravy, and cranberry to me.  Do you have a favorite dish you look forward to with holidays?  I'd love to hear about it.

Memorial Day

We took a quick trip to my parents house for Memorial Day.  With our hectic work schedules, we realized it would be a month or more before we could enjoy a whole weekend, so we decided to squeeze in a visit now.

As an impromptu visit, we didn't have much planned.  No plan often equals lazy time around the house, which usually isn't a bad thing.  We did make time to take the kiddos to a playground.  It. was. hot.  But I did get a few pictures.

Aren't these two adorable?

More flowers.

I know, I've already posted about my garden, but I'm still excited about it.  So, you'll have to forgive my while I brag and post a few more pictures.

Quite possibly the most lovely flower.  And its in my yard.

I wish you could smell this.

Hello, handsome.

Hot pink and sassy.

This one looks innocent, but she's lovely just the same.

I adore the colors in nature, these posies are perfect for putting a smile on my face!  I just hope my kiddos don't pick them all.

Goodbye 2011

This last year has been eventful.  We made several life-altering decisions for our family.  Its been quite the ride and honestly, I'm glad its over.  I don't know if I can take another action-packed year like this one just yet.  Here is a recap:

January:  Hubby and I celebrated six years of marriage

February: Started planning our move to the beach

March:  Princess turned three

April:  Got an ipad

May:  Hubby and I had our first overnight away from the kiddos...EVER.  We flew to SC and found a place to live

June:  Started our lives over at the beach

July:  Hubby turned 29

August:  Survived Hurricane Irene (my first!)

September:  Molly turned 30

October:  Princess thinks Halloween is a birthday party.  She tells the other costumed kids "happy birthday"

November:  Handsome turned two

December:  First Christmas at the beach, took a walk on the sand on Christmas Day

Like I said, we've had a lot going on this past year.  I'm incredibly thankful for the many blessings and opportunities my family has had.  I'm excited to see what 2012 will bring!

A New Christmas Tradition

We had a wonderful Christmas, did you?  I adore watching my kiddos open gifts and smile with delight.  Its now my favorite part of Christmas.

Princess had a good morning.  She woke up to this:

My dad made it.  I found the plans here.  I furnished it from Land of Nod.

Notice all the furniture on the floor?  Apparently, that's where it really goes.  She is obsessed with the mattress and pillows for the doll beds.  Its now up in her room, and she loves it.  Thanks, Dad!

Handsome gift was a bit smaller scale, but he loved it just the same. 

(its an engine house for his trains)

 

The pictures with him playing are all blurry.  He wouldn't stay still.

 

And this is my living room amidst the chaos.

So we did what anyone does when their house is a hot mess: we left.

And did this:

Is this not the cutest baby boy ever?

I am in love with this girl.

Running on the sand is an amazing stress reliever.  I think we will have to make it apart of our Christmas tradition.  Don't you agree?

Christmas Cow

A few weeks ago I tried to take pictures of our Christmas tree.  Hubby was gone, so it was just me and the kiddos.  Naturally, I tried to take pictures of my angels and experiment with different camera settings.  Most of the pictures turned out like crap.  Nevertheless, Handsome stole the show.

Yes, my living room is trashed.  Actually, the toys are picked up.  Its normally worse.  Anyway, Handsome thought it would be a great idea to put lights on Howdy the Cow.

The next logical step was to sit and bounce on Howdy, because that's what two year old's do.  And that's what Howdy is for.

Merry Christmas from Handsome, Howdy, and the rest of us!  We hope your day is full of twinkle lights, simple pleasures, family, and bouncing cows.  Well, maybe minus the bouncing cows.  

Happy Holidays!

Super Sugar Cookies

Ok, so earlier this week I posted about our Christmas cookie tradition.  We finally let the kiddos decorate a few cookies.  They both had adorable gingerbread aprons to wear (although that took a lot of encouragement). 

We had a lot of this going on.

I told Princess we were frosting cookies and she started to sing "Frosty the Snowman".  Isn't she adorable?

I had to demonstrate the plan.

Handsome was game.

He made some super sugar cookies.  Let's just say he unloaded the sprinkles.

Princess was just in it for the frosting.

So if you plan on doing this with your kiddos I recommend taping closed a few holes on the sprinkle shakers.  Yes, we learned this from experience last year.

Sugar High

Its that time of year when I like to bake.  I feel like I can go all out and give it away and no one will complain of all the sweets because its Christmas.  I kinda went overboard this year, for a few reasons.

Have I told you I finally have a permanent store to work in?  Well, I do.  I also got a promotion at the same time.  So, I'm the manager of about 17 people in my department.  And of course this happened right before Christmas.  My first Christmas in this district, so I really don't know how they handle things around here.  My last few managers were pretty generous, and I would love to be, the problem is I didn't anticipate this and haven't really budgeted for it.  However, I really want to do something.  I found a small trinket for each employee ( a slinky! doesn't everyone love a slinky?) and I decided to make sweets.  Its a bribe, so they will like me and listen to me.  I'm crossing my fingers it works.

Making sweet treats before Christmas is a festive thing to do.  I remember my momma doing it, I enjoy doing it, and it puts me in a Christmas-y mood.  Fair enough?

The blogging world is full of recipes and deceptively delicious photos.  They all make it look so easy.  So I chose a few recipes to try.

• Toffee  (found here)
• Chocolate covered pretzels
• Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles  (found here)
• Classic fudge  (found here)  ( I use milk chocolate chips)
• Sugar cookies with icing

Chocolate covered pretzels

Fudge, cookies dipped in chocolate, toffee

Cookie dough truffle

Don't they look divine?  I love it when food looks pretty and tastes yummy.  Three of these I've made before and know how they turn out.  The toffee and truffles were new to me.  I am on chocolate overload.  I can't tell you how many times I've washed my hands and STILL have chocolate under my fingernails.  I boxed up goodies in festive tins with tissue paper to take to work. 

My refrigerator is still full with the sweets that won't fit.  I wished my Hubby worked out of the home so I could send some to his work.  It looks like chocolate is for dinner this week.  Anyone else eating chocolate three meals a day?

Christmas Cookies

For the past several years, we've made Christmas cookies.  While I realize that's not an extraordinary thing to do this time of year, its a tradition Hubby and I are working on creating for our kiddos.  Now, they are still very young, so they aren't really helpful, well actually, it's quite a chore.  This year was no exception.

We like to make sugar cookies.  Generally, we use a mix.  Hubby and I agree rolling out the dough, cutting out the cookies, and decorating them is enough work that we can use a simple mix and pre-made frosting.  This year, the kiddos REALLY wanted to eat the dough while we were cutting out the cookies.  I tried to save the dough by offering up fudge, but then the cries just turned to whining for more fudge.  sigh.

The next bright idea was to turn on Christmas movies.  Princess loves the Grinch, so that's what we selected.  She giggled incessantly throughout the whole movie.  I'm sure her baby abs hurt from that much giggling.  Mine did just listening to it.  Really, though, I'm a bit concerned she gets that much pleasure from watching the green guy steal Christmas from the Whos.  Handsome didn't buy the Christmas movie ploy, he wanted to eat sugar cookie dough.  Luckily, bedtime snuck up on us.  Hubby and I ended up decorating most of the cookies while the kids were in bed.  I know, that pretty much means we failed in the cookie-tradition-goal with the kiddos.  We did save some so they can decorate later.  Aka dump sugar on the cookies.  Plus, they have cute aprons to wear and you know I need a picture of that.

So here is what Hubby and I came up with:

And one of them all:

What are your Christmas traditions?  Do you have a favorite one from being a kid?  I'd love to hear about it!

Whirlwind

This last week has been nuts.  We had a family emergency, so Hubby had to go for a few days and my momma came to stay and help with the kiddos.  I (finally) got a home store and promotion in one big job update; so I've had tons of work to do for that.  Plus, there is a major holiday around the corner and I was supposed to do my shopping last weekend.  Remember when I said I didn't want to do my holiday shopping until December?  I wanted to savor the season and stick to a budget.  Well, my planned shopping time really didn't happen, but thank the heavens for the internets.  I am nearly done with my shopping AND have stuck to our budget.  I'm so proud.  And tired.  Maybe exhausted.  I'm ready to pack up the tree and welcome January.

I haven't had time to do much housework, much less blog.  This weekend we are planning on doing some holiday baking and enjoying our family time.  Plus laundry.  I love family weekends.  What are your plans?  Are you ready for the Big Day?

Deck the Halls (or Living Room)

I have most of my Christmas decor up, but having my house clean at the same time to take pictures isn't really happening.  Just so you know, I spot cleaned.  Have you ever done that?   Just cleaned what you knew your visitor would see?  I transferred the junk to the kitchen and my bedroom.  I didn't think you'd want to see my hot mess.

Anyway, here's the living area:

I still don't have art about the couch, so I decided it would be the perfect place for the stockings....and a wreath.  My stocking was made by my grandmother when I was a girl.  I purchased the others from Lands End to keep with the needlepoint theme.  The wreath I purchased from Target a few years ago.  They are all hung on Command hooks.  I love Command hooks.  We've had these for 3 plus years now.

The tray and reindeer are also from Target.  I might keep the tray out past Christmas.  I like it.

And of course the bookshelves.  The Moravian stars and half of the mercury glass candleholders are from Target.  Noticing a theme here?  The other half are from West Elm.  Others are gifts.

Of course there is the tree.  But I've already talked about it in my Christmas tree post.

Next, we have the dining area:

My coffee bar received a make over with a silver tray, red runner, and glitter snowflake trees.  All from Target.  No, I don't own stock, but I should.

Hubby got this rosemary tree from Lowes.  I think he's adorable (both the tree and my hubby)  The snowman ornament Princess found and hung on the tree.  The red beaded charger is from Target.

So that's about as far as I got.  Only 13 more days until I have to take it all down.