The Story of Two Boys . . .and Lunch.

This morning, I was working around the house doing all of those things someone who is an "Unworking" mom does when I noticed a couple of things. 

First I noticed this:

 Than I noticed this:

So what exactly am I seeing?  It is the tale of two boys.  See, the first set of pictures shows the "Trail of Nate".  You always know where Nate has been because there are piles of toys behind him!!  The second set of pictures shows what Josh does with his toys. Notice that the cows are placed side by side and the cars are all lined up?  Two totally different personalities LOL

And than I wanted to share a couple of lunches we had this week.  I shared this POST recently about the kids and making better lunches for them so I decided to just jump in with both feet.

 First, on Monday, we had our Muffin Tin Monday - Josh was impressed.  He only ate the yogurt and some gold fish (And I think the dog got the roll-up)  (We had yogurt, apple slices, Turkey and Cheese roll-up, Gold Fish, Broccoli, and Cantaloupe.  Broccoli was knew - he laughed when he touched it LOL  (Nate had cantaloupe, goldfish, and yogurt - which he likes to feed himself!)

Than on Tuesday we tried something else fun.  I made a gingerbread man grilled cheese with olive eyes and nose and apple buttons.  Plus apple slices, carrots with ranch dip and cantaloupe.  Now, I thought the gingerbread man was kinda cute in a scary freaky way (hahaha) but Josh DID NOT like it.  I had to cut his arms and legs off and into pieces so his was like his brothers.(Nate had grilled cheese and cantaloupe!)   Oh well, we'll keep trying!

Weekly Song - Joseph's Song

When trying to pick a song for this week I really was stumped.  So many of my favorite Christmas Songs are so popular.  Not that it should matter but I wanted to pick one that maybe isn't as well known that people would actually take time to listen too.  I had given up and was going to post a link to "Mary Did You Know", knowing that 90% of you can probably sing it yourself when this song popped into my head.  It is by Michal Card, I believe and the first time I heard it was at a Christmas Eve Service years ago when my Cousin (in-law), Donn Deboer sang it.  Donn has an awesome voice anyway and he just brought this song to life.  Even tonight as I listened to while I wrote this post, it was such a balm to my soul.  I mentioned in a post I did on my Good Morning Girls blog that this time of year, a large part of my time with God is listening to Christmas Music - not the fun, cute little songs (which I love) but the true Christmas Songs.  I heard Steven Curtis Chapman sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" today - wow, he truly paints a picture with his voice or Sandi Patty singing "O Holy Night" - is there anything better?  It helps me put the true meaning of Christmas into Perspective - music speaks to me in so many ways and is such a great way to worship.  So this week, we'll focus on Joseph.

I tried to embed the video into this post but it didn't work well so just scroll to the bottom to play it - and while there, make sure to mute the regular player so you can enjoy it better :-)

Christmas Decorations

When I was first posting about the Holiday Journal, I wanted to give pictures each week along with the posts of my decorating but that didn't happen!  Well, I finally finished up with the little touches I wanted to do and now have some pictures to share!  Normally I do "Too Cute Not to "Toot"" on Tuesday's but, quite honestly, I have not had any time to search other blogs for great ideas over the past week so this fits right in!  I didn't get to post anything yesterday due to being super busy and going to that awesome "Life on Purpose" seminar.  I can't wait to share some of the great things I learned for planning 2011!  Hopefully I can post the first step tomorrow :-)   But for now - here are those decorations!

We'll start with the boys rooms!

Looking into Josh's room - I hung up a few little things on the wall and we hung some things from the ceiling, which Josh loves.

His tree and special things on his dresser.

His wreath :-)

He loves this - it plays jingle bells - an obnoxious version.

And my helper :-)

Nate's tree and ornaments from the ceiling.

His shelf with some special things..

My helper who refused to open his eyes for any pictures!

Now on to the Living Room, Dining Room, and Bathroom :-)

I posted about the dining room before but Josh and I worked together today and hung the snowflakes, which is why it looks like a blizzard hit.  He wanted ALL the snowflakes up LOL

This is the little project I did on my Picture wall.  I went through Google Images and found a bunch of Christmas pictures that I liked - some funny, some just "Christmasy".  I than figured out how many 5x7, and 8x10's I needed and ordered them through Snapfish.  Once I received them, I just taped them onto the frames and changed up the wall!

The Bathroom!  A few years ago, I found this Shower Curtain at Kohl's in their after Christmas Sales and just love it.  And yes, I wrap the big picture in here too!

My snowmen :-)

I had to show this LOL  Darryl and I picked this up a few years ago and find it funny - Josh laughs every time he sees it.

And the living room - I love snowmen :- )

Our Stockings

My "Mantle" - the TV Cabinet.  I love the ornaments above it and all the special things.  I'll share those two items hanging on the side later this week.

And our Christmas Tree :-)  Notice Donald Duck too!  We picked him up several years ago on a trip to Frankenmuth.  This year, we needed to keep the tree away from little hands so we got creative, we decided to put it behind the couch.  THAN we got smart :-)  Instead of paying for a 7 foot tree where half of it would be hit, we put it up on a table so we only got a 4 foot tree - what you see is what it is LOL!!  I actually love it where it is and how it looks. 

One last picture that just made me laugh out loud this morning.

Yep, that is Nate with his Pj's wrapped about his neck, just waking up in the morning.  Obviously, the snapping PJ's are no longer the best option for him.  LOLOL

So there are our decorations.  I have visions of total Christmas makeovers in my home but that never happens.  This years goal was to do everything without buying anything which is hard for a spender.  I did well - I had to buy one strand of lights and 1 set of two bows.  I am making a  list of things for next year so I can hit the after Christmas sales and see what I can pick up for 75% off!!!

This and That

We are slowly digging out from under the lovely stomach bug Darryl and I both suffered through; we are slowly figuring out a plan for the next several months now that Darryl's job of 8 years is gone; we recovered from my losing control on the expressway when I hit black ice (but thankfully God protected the kids and I and kept us from hitting anything!); we are slowly regrouping from a vacation that threw us some curve balls - but isn't that all part of life?  I'd actually really like to go somewhere like this :

But I don't think that will be happening anytime soon :-)

I don't have a great blog to post tonight but I thought I would give you a little lead in to what is coming up over the next week or so.  I tried a new recipe today for a great Holiday Pound Cake - it is sooo good! Not to mention a cookie recipe that turned out and .. one that didn't but you might like it anyway!  I'll be sharing those recipes later this week.  I put together some cute Christmas activities for my kids that we will be working on this week that I will share too!  Plus I finished all of the books I wanted to read by the end of the year so I'll finish reviewing those, let you know what else I've been reading and let you know what books I plan to conquer for the 1st quarter of 2011!!  Something I'm SOOO excited about is a "Mini-Solutions" workshop I'm attending tomorrow that teachings how to have "Life on Purpose".  I promise to share all of the ideas I get plus the lists I've been working on that you can use to plan things for the upcoming year!  Just so many great things I want to share with all of you :-)  Not to mention I still have some Christmas Decorations to show you, my front porch to "show off" (it really is quit simple this year), a 1st birthday party coming up, and a couple final steps in that Holiday Control Journal that I didn't touch on previously (such as making lists for next year, changes I plan to make to my plan from this year, and the "undecorating" plan as well!)  I had better get my camera and my fingers busy this week (I like to write multiple posts at night but our schedule has recently changed so I'm having to figure out how to fit things back in!) and speaking of cameras, I've noticed that the Canon Rebel seems to be a camera that many people love . . . I think I need to save my money, I really need a better camera!  OOOOHHH And I ordered my Christmas Cards from Shutterfly that I got for free for blogging . . . I can't WAIT to see them.  I promise to share the final product once I actually get them mailed :-)

That is my randomness for tonight as I wait for my husband to get off the phone so that we can finish watching Amazing Race . .. but it is already past our bedtime (4:00 comes very early!) so . .. we'll see!

Good night :-)

Fantasy Football

Are there any other fantasy football fans out there?  I really enjoy having my own team!  Last year I didn't do so well but this year, I am in first place and have locked in my place in the championship!  Darryl and I each have a team and we play for points.  Last year, I beat him but this year it is pretty close!

My key player is this guy:

Yep, that is Drew Brees :-)  I had him last year too and he got me a lot of points!!  I usually have Jason Hanson too but he's out hurt :-( 

So . .this is just a random post.  We are tired and fighting the flu . .. . not really creative at the moment :-(

Traditions and Crafts

One of the best things about the Holidays are the traditions you can plan with your family.  Yes, I said "plan" - traditions don't just happen, you have to make them happen.  Blog land has been busy with Advent ideas and yes, I got overwhelmed with them all trying to figure out what to do and how to make it happen.  I finally decided instead of trying to do it this year, I'll plan it for next year - get everything made and ready to go so that on Dec. 1, 2011, I can be ready to enjoy that part of the season with my boys.  I think Josh will enjoy it a little more next year anyway.  So what do I plan on doing with my boys?  A few different things!

1) 25 days of Books.  I saw this idea on several sites that all led me back to The Picky Apple

The concept is easy, gather up children's book (the goal is to have 24 so you can start on December 1st) and read one book each day with your child.  If you have less than 24 books to start with, just start later in the month.  Once you gather the books, wrap them all individually and put them in a basket.  You can either let your child chose randomly OR put a number tag on them to do a countdown.  I like the tag idea so I can pick which books belong to which day.  (And put "The Night Before Christmas" as # 24!)  I've been scouring blogs looking for ideas for Children's book to start adding to my collection.  Obviously, as they kids get older the books will change some but it is something that we can do for years!  So yes, we will be adding this to our Christmas Countdown next year.

2) Christmas Countdown Lessons.  I follow two different blogs that are using books to do activities for the Christmas Countdowns. First, one of my new favorite sites, Musings of Me, not only is posting her daily Advent ideas but also tons of teaching ideas too.  The link will take her to her sight, not a specific post just keep scrolling down and back to see all of the ideas.  I know that besides the books she uses and ideas she gives I will be picking up one of these :

A Little People's Nativity Set to use with our Advent.  Musing's of Me often focuses on the Christian aspect of teaching which I love!!  She is also doing something called "Elf on the Shelf" - I had read a lot about this on Blogs and find it fun - I plan on getting the set and using it next year as well.
Than, Oopsey Daisy, another favorite of mine is doing this:

A book advent (to you sense the theme I'm following?).  She also uses books and activities that go with the book each day. She always has such cute, easy crafts to do too.  One of her posts is for a countdown Santa - it is SOOO cute.  The kids glue cotton balls on for Santa's beard - one for each day until Christmas.  I might try to whip that one up this weekend at least and do it for fun.  Josh likes to glue things - like his lips, his tongue, his fingers and his brothers head LOLOLOLOL

Another I really like that incorporates Christ into our Daily countdown is from Life at Sonic Speed and is called "The Jesus Tree.

The idea is to have a tree where each day you place an ornament with a name of Jesus on it.  As you can see from the picture, she chose clear bulbs, filled them with that red packing confetti and just put in a printed name.  On another blog which you can reach from her post I saw this idea too - just with scrapbook paper

My goal has always been to have some sort of tree in each room of our home.  So, I think I might check the day after Christmas and see if I can get a nice, small tree for our dining room and we'll make that our Jesus Tree.  That way, each night at dinner, we can pull a bulb and have some conversation around that name of Jesus. 

One last thought I have is packing two shoe boxes next year as a family - teaching my boys about giving back to others.  My church does them but I think it would be nice for them to learn about this concept at home too. 

There are a few other ideas that I've posted in my Too Cute Not To Toot posts on Tuesdays.  The advent bags with an activity in it for each day along with a small treat and/or some other countdown blocks.  I've already decided that next year, instead of designing Christmas "lessons" like we do the rest of the year - we will focus on our Book Advents, Elf on the Shelf, and Countdown bags/activities.  That way, we can all count down to a great Christmas :-)  We will incorporate making cookies, hopefully taking some to the neighbors unless we eat them all, going on Light Hunts and sending thank yous for the best displays we find.  And of course, teach the reason for Christmas - Jesus Christ Himself.  Musings of Me also has an activity book based on the Christmas story that I plan on using as well.  We will be busy next December!!

I'm working on my Craft/Lesson plan calendar now.  Deciding what crafts I need to focus on each month so that I can accomplish the ones that I want and need to do.  Now that I have the basic calendar laid out, I'm going to be going through all of the saved craft ideas I  have and picking out the ones I truly want to make first and go from there.  I could make a craft every day all year long, I think, but obviously, that isn't possible :-)

On a separate note - I've really enjoyed decorating my porch for the seasons lately so I have a new past time - keeping it decorated.  Not 100% sure what I will do Jan-March yet due to all of the snow that tends to pile up around here - I may try to pick up some white lights at those after Christmas sales again and maybe just do something with white lights this year.  It sure is nice to have that welcoming entry way though!  Be watching soon, there is a "show us your front door" post coming - I need to finish mine up!!

One last note for my loyal readers who make it this far in a post, (and I know there are a few of you!) My husband lost his job yesterday.  We are very thankful for the second job he has held all year as he has been able to go full time doing that - it is not the permanent solution at this point, not that it couldn't be but being self-employed has pros and cons - but we know that this is God's plan; we had actually been praying specifically about his job and what better answer than to not have it?  We knew that he would lose it eventually but did not expect it to happen yesterday.  And yes, we were on "vacation" this week (at home though).

We hope you are enjoying the true Christmas season and making time for family!

"Cup of Joe" cookies

Don't those look yummy?? They are :-)

Here's a recipe for you!

INGREDIENTS

1roll (16.5 oz) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1/3 cup Hershey’s® baking cocoa

1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso coffee powder or granules

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup Hershey’s® mini chips semi-sweet chocolate

DIRECTIONS

1  Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F.
2  In large bowl, mix cocoa, espresso powder and cream with wooden spoon until well blended. Crumble cookie dough into cocoa mixture; stir until well blended.
3 Shape dough into 30 balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten balls into 1 1/2-inch rounds. Press thumb into center of each round to make indentation. Fill each indention with 1/2 teaspoon of the chocolate chips.
4  Bake 9 to 13 minutes or until edges of cookies are set. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes; remove to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes
 
These were very tasty!
 
A couple of things I learned when making these, though.
 
1) I refrigerated the dough once I had it mixed up - it was REALLY sticky.  It was much easier to work with cold.
2.) Don't press the cookies too thin, they still spread some and will get REALLY thin.
3.) I dipped the glass and my thumb in sugar so the dough didn't stick when I was pressing into it.
4) You won't eat just one :-) LOL