Christmas Fun

This past weekend we had big plans.  Plans that had been on the calendar for months and months.  It was the weekend of Nate - the weekend to celebrate his birthday which is the 22nd.  But, we live where it snows and snow it did.  Friday night into Saturday followed by some freezing rain and well, all of our plans changed!

I had enough warning though that on Thursday night (So much time to plan HA!) I picked up the supplies to make some simple gingerbread houses and the supplies to make Christmas cookies.

 I found a great video tutorial on Facebook from The Penny Hoarder that showed how to make a gingerbread house for less than $5.00.  It was pretty close.  The base is a box of Gold Fish crackers (like a milk carton we all used to get in school) and then use Graham Crackers and Frosting to build the house.  I got most of the supplies at the dollar store so it was really in expensive.

For first timers, their houses turned out great.  I learned a few things this year and I think next year will be even better.

We also had fun watching some movies.  I had recorded Frozen when it aired on one of the channels a few weeks ago so we watched that and then we watched Elf.  The boys laughed and, quite honestly, are so enthralled with Santa right now that they loved the whole premise.

Finally, the boys cut out and decorated cookies today.  This was also a first.  I did take photos but, considering that both boys were in underwear while doing it (they are crazy) I decided not to share HA!

So, even though our plans have been delayed - we still ended up with a great weekend with lots of Christmas fun.

Ironically, just this past week I was feeling like we've been too busy this year with other things to really enjoy the fun Christmas things.  Last year I really worked hard to "protect" our Christmas and made sure we enjoyed the season, this year I felt like we were pushing to get through the basics and that was it.  So this weekend was really a great, unexpected thing and it reminded me of the importance of stopping and just enjoying life as a family.

On a side note, Nate will still get his day - we will be celebrate this coming week :-)

Christmas Is Coming

Christmas is coming.  Can you believe it?  

Isn't that pretty?  Nope, not my house . .. but it is beautiful!

I finished up the last of the shopping on Thursday night.  Most of the gift buying was done but I still needed to get the odds and ends like batteries, bows, and balloons for the birthday boy! 

So now, it's time to wrap, gather and pack.  I have my list and I keep checking it (twice, three times and more!) trying not to forget any detail.  (If only I could find that extra set of keys that I put somewhere that I could easily find but haven't seen them in two months!) 

Another snow storm is supposed to drop another 6-10 inches this weekend.  I love a good snow storm.  I picked up the supplies to make some simple "gingerbread" houses with graham crackers and supplies to decorate Christmas cookies.  

I don't have a menu to share - it's pretty simple the rest of the weekend and then, I don't have to cook for awhile.  We have wrapped up school and are on break already (well, I said . ."I'm done!" so we are on break HA!  We do have a few odds and ends to wrap up - hopefully tomorrow!) 

So, Christmas is coming.  Family time will be a-plenty and we are all looking forward to just that, for sure.  

Now, if only my 6 (almost 7) year old would STOP changing his Christmas list . . .. every five minutes! HA! 

Weekly Menu - It's been awhile

We've been busy.  That's all.  With the holiday, Christmas things kicking into gear and planning for the holidays, I've been hoppin'!  Plus we've been pushing hard with school to finish a little earlier than planned for Christmas break meaning I have less time to get stuff done during the day since I'm spending more time on school.  I finally took time today, Friday, to plan out our menu from now until we leave for Christmas so I thought I'd share it.

Friday (Today) - Chicken and Dumplings.  My kids are not fans of Chicken and Dumplings (the tradgedy!) so the kids get Chicken Nuggets and Fries.

Saturday: We are going to finish up all Christmas shopping Saturday afternoon with the boys and then grab something to eat in town.

Sunday: After church will be a quick meal of Chicken Noodle Soup (I always use the leftovers from Chicken and Dumplings to make my Chicken Noodle Soup!) and French Bread.  Later in the evening, everyone can choose from the fridge/freezer for dinner.

Monday: I'm going to try a new recipe - One Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies.  I'll serve it over some pasta with garlic bread.

Tuesday: Creamy Chicken Burritos, Rice, Beans, and Chips and Cheese

Wednesday:  Darryl has practice and, quite honestly, I don't like cooking when he isn't here HA! The boys and I have been grabbing a pizza from Little Ceasers the past few Wednesdays.  It's cheap and we all like it!

Thursday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Corn and Biscuits

Friday: Tonight we are meeting my mom to celebrate Nate's birthday with her.

Saturday:  And today we get to eat out at Nate's choice of resturant to celebrate his birthday!

Sunday: I have a concert and Darryl is working - the boys are going to my Mother-In-Laws after church and will eat lunch with her; I'll grab lunch on the go.  A busy day!

Monday:  - It's time for vacation :-)  Yeah!  No cooking for me for over a week!