Christmas Tree Tradition

On Saturday, we made the long trek and cut down our Christmas Tree.  Yes, we are one of those traditionalists - we cut down a live tree and enjoy it for the entire season.  It is something that both my husband and I did growing up and we have always enjoyed doing it with our family - first, just the two of us and now with our kids.  Our day was a little unsure at first - both boys have been ill this week and this morning, Josh was still running a fever of 102.  We gave him some more Motrin and finally, 30 minutes later, his temp was back to normal after more then 24 hours.  Poor little guy!  Plus Nate is recovering from Bronchitis and a Sinus Infection but seems to be improving as well.  It wasn't getting the tree that was our concern but rather, the boys have been very excited to go to Papa and Nana's today and we did not want to disappoint.  Once we knew the fever was finally under control, we loaded up and headed out to Uncle Charlie's Tree Farm - the same place we've gone for years.  The great thing is that there was even snow at the tree farm so it make it seem more like Christmas (we do not have snow but there was almost a foot of snow 40 minutes away!) It was also pretty muddy - the boys didn't mind the snow or the mud!

 Josh wanted to help his dad pull the tree wagon.  He loved being able to walk around and look for the tree and he loved the snow!

 Darryl, Josh, and Nate looking for the perfect ree, stomping through the snow. 

 The boys - deciding if this is the perfect tree for us!!

 Don't you just love that giant smile - so glad he was feeling better!!!

 Nate didn't want to stand still - he loved his independence and just wanted to walk around.

 Cutting down the perfect tree - the boys enjoyed watching and were very interested in what their dad was doing.

 My man and the tree!!! :-)

 Darryl, Josh and Nate standing by our freshly cut tree.

 Josh, Nate and Me (Mommy!) standing by . . .a random tree because Josh wanted to stand by that tree HA!


After loading up the tree, we met my parents and they took the kids home for the weekend.  Darryl and I then heading to a great restaurant called "Duke's".  It is a Local Cajun restaurant and we love ordering 3 different appetizers (and Darryl gets a bowl of Gumbo!) This is something we've been doing for years!!  After getting home, Darryl set the tree up and worked on getting the lights on so we could decorate it.  I really love the tree (granted we both thought it was taller when we picked it . . .).  My mom had some extra decorations that she isn't using this year, including some fantastic white snowflake lights and they add so much to tree.  Plus she had some red and white bulbs that we used too.  We have lots of special ornaments that we use but I like having a central theme (red and white this year) to kinda ground the tree.  Finally, while we decorate, we also watch the movie "Home Alone" and enjoy lots of snacks!

Such a fun day!!  We had one minor issue . . .China, our dog, got a hold of a toothpick (we had bacon wrapped sausages . . and apparently she found a toothpick on the floor) and it snapped off in her mouth.  We thought she was choking or was having a seizure or something but then I found that broken toothpick.  We called our Vet, but he is out of town and the doctor covering for him wasn't super helpful but by the time I got off the phone, it looked like she was settling down so maybe that piece worked it's way out.  One "plus" - she already had a Vet appointment scheduled on Monday morning so I'm sure the vet will check it out :-)

We still have to decorate outside - it was raining all afternoon so we didn't get it done on Saturday so we hope to get it done today.  I'd love to have TONS of lights and decorations - we'll see what I can get done and then can build it up over the next few years :-)

Merry Christmas!

Our Weekly Menu - December 3

Once again this month, I did plan my December monthly meal calendar and it is already helping me keep planning easy.  I can tell you that I am not following my original plan perfectly but it is helping me keep things organized better.  My meal plan depends a lot on what meat is on sale so sometimes that is what changes it weekly. 

This is what we are planning on eating this week!

Saturday  - We are heading out to get our Christmas tree (Hopefully - if everyone is healthy!) so we have a few traditions.  One, we go to a local restaurant and get a late lunch.  Darryl and I have done this for years and we just really enjoy this little stop.  Then, after decorating the tree, we enjoy snacks.  This year, we plan on Shrimp Cocktail, Chili Cheese Dip, Cheese Ball with Crackers, Bacon Wrapped Sausages, Sin Dip and . . Sin Dessert (Wow we are having lots of sin HA!) 

Sunday - It is just Darryl and I; he has a concert Sunday morning so we are going to grab something quick to bring home so we can relax and enjoy some football.  I imagine we will enjoy left overs from Saturday too.

Monday- This is a rare day . . ..I am completely alone.  No husband and no kids.  I'm actually heading out to go Christmas shopping all day so I'll be treating myself to a few of my favorite places.

Tuesday: Honey Onion Chicken, Asparagus, 3BC , and Puff Pastry Sticks (This is a new bread recipe - I hope they are as good as they look . . .and as easy . . .)

Wednesday: Ham and Cheese Quiche and Country Cinnamon Bread

Thursday: Mongolian Beef, Peas and Rice  (We've had this before and it is SOOO good - If it turns out as good the second time, I promise to share the recipe!)

Friday: Root Beer Pulled Pork and Creamy Cole Slaw with Rolls

Our Christmas Advent - week 1!

This year, I planned an "Advent" around books, crafts, and various activities.  I wanted to do something non-food related but that would be something that each of the boys could look forward to and I feel like this was the perfect thing for this year.  I'm the first one to admit, it can get overwhelming when you start looking at ideas to do for an advent or countdown so you have to just pick one idea and make it work.  I came across this idea last year over at Oopsey Daisy and also at Musings of Me.  Both are also doing this same advent this year but are also giving some new ideas. 

Each Saturday over the next few weeks I'll post our ideas, books and some photos.  Obviously we started on Thursday, December 1st and completed one on Friday.  Today, Saturday, we are actually cutting down our Christmas tree so that is our activity for the day!

This is our advent chart.  I have slips of paper that slide into pocket but I can't leave them in the pockets or the boys pull them out!  I just slip one in each day and let one of the boys pull it out.  We are also attempting to Hide the Elf (Elf on the shelf) but my boys are really not so interested in it so I am glad that I just bought a $2.00 elf at the store.  :-)  I also picked up a decorated box that is the perfect size to hold our activities. 

Day 1 -

 I place everything inside our activity box for the day  Our book on Day 1 was "Merry Christmas Splat" and I just LOVE this book!  It is so fun and Splat is adorable. 

 We also colored our own pictures of Splat and added google eyes (the boys liked the google eyes so Splat has about 10 eyes!! LOL)  The original plan was to blow black paint with a straw but I decided that wasn't such a bright idea and got out black markers instead! 

Once we finished coloring, we watched "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" and ate a special treat - Puppy Chow! 
The boys enjoyed this so much that they wanted to do more and were a little upset when I told them they had to wait. 

Day 2 -

Our second book is Morimer's Christmas Manger - it tells the story of a little mouse who learns who the baby in the manger really is.  So a great story - I just loved it!

We had a few activities that we did with this book.  I had some candy cane ornaments that we used to play with and Josh loved them.  I also found a great Toddler Resource having to do with the Nativity at Totally Tots that went along perfectly with the book.  I printed off various worksheets that I thought the boys would enjoy and they did.  Josh loved matching the letters of the word "Jesus" on a word mat. 

On this second day, Josh was pretty sick so I was surprised he even remembered to ask for the box.  He did though - in the morning - so we got it done and played!

I've already learned that my ideas and what the boys want may not match and that is ok; the main goal is for them to have fun.  They are most interested in the activities this year, which surprised me.  Nate loves books but the books are not attracting his attention as much as I expected. 

I look forward to sharing with you next week what we do throughout this coming week!

Food Friday - Tortellini Soup

This is a new soup recipe that I made at the end of October and it was so good!  Even the boys liked it, which says a lot. 

Tortellini Soup
adapted from Confessions of a Homeschooler

The Cheese Stuffed Tortellini really add a lot of flavor to this soup.  We also loved the sweet sausage - something so different from the typical beef or chicken in a soup. I did not use the German sausage - only the Sweet Italian Sausage - and the soup had plenty of meat. I also left out the kidney beans - we aren't huge fans :-)  I actually made this soup for the kids and I one night and, since there was so much left, I threw it in the crock pot later in the week on low for just a couple of hours (it was while we were out at the Harvest Fest) and it was perfect when we had it for dinner.  Also, recently, I made it again and used a can of green beans instead of zucchini and also used egg noodles instead of the Tortellini (Tortellini are expensive and don't always fit the budget!).  It was JUST as good! (And my kids still liked it!) I served this with a loaf of homemade bread from the bread machine.

6 links Sweet Italian Sausage
4 links German Sausage
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 T olive oil (for browning onion/garlic)
2 cans beef broth plus 2 cans water (fill broth cans with water after pouring in broth)
1 16oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 t Italian Seasoning
2 c sliced zucchini (I just use 2 small zucchini’s)
1 6oz can sliced black olives (drained)
1 pkg Cheese Tortellini (I use Buitoni in the refrigerator section)
1 c carrots diced (optional)
1 can kidney beans (optional, I don’t use these)
Grated Parmesan Cheese
In large sauce pan, heat oil on medium heat and brown sausage links whole.Add garlic and onion. After onion is tender and sausage are cooked, drain grease and slice sausage. In Sauce pan (I just use the same pan) add beef broth, water, sliced sausage, garlic/onion mixture, tomatoes (drained), Italian seasoning, carrots, zucchini and beans. Let simmer for 20 min or until 10 minutes before you are ready to eat. 10 prior to dinnertime add tortellini and olives. Cook until tortellini are tender, approx 8-10 min.

This is a great soup as the snow starts to fly! 

What I'm Reading!

It's been a few weeks since I've shared what I've been reading.  I'm not going to back track but just share what I'm reading this week.

This week, I read the book Longing by Karen Kingsubry - it is the latest book in the Bailey Flannigan Series.  I was more impressed with this book then I was the first two in the series - the one seemed to have some deeper meaning/lessons in it and actually kept me interested throughout every page.  I will say that I find it slightly annoying, though, that Bailey and Cody have such chemistry but yet the have never found their way back to each other.  Now, I'm waiting for the next book to come out mostly because I'm still expecting them to get together (and if they don't, I might actually be mad at the author HA!)

I've mentioned this fantastic series before and, once again, Thomas Kinkade did not disappoint - he provided a new book for this holiday season.  Christmas Treasures picked up the Cape Light Series and focuses more on Pastor Ben, the well-loved local pastor.  I just started this book today and am already engrossed in it - can't wait to read the whole thing! 

Yep, I finally got this book!!  I am really enjoying it and find myself already focusing on how to have happier responses and choices. I really wanted to get this book read before the end of the year so that I could actually create my own Happiness Project Goals for next year and, yes, I do already have January written (but I won't share it until the end of the month!) 

That's what I'm reading right now!  I'm not finding as much time to read as I did this summer - probably because it isn't so hot that the only thing I wanted to do was sit in the chair and read!  Now I have other things to get done :-) 

What are you reading?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving . . . that my mom was able to stay the night on Tuesday night due to the weather :-) (that's for YOU mom!)  Actually, she came over on Tuesday so I could go scrapbooking - none of us realized that there was a winter storm watch out until she got here!  She was stranded here but it worked out since I had to take Nate to the doctor -she was able to stay home with Josh and the munchkin so I didn't have to take them all!

I'm loving . . . that I have internet back.  Enough Said.

I'm loving . . ..  that I did get to go scrapbooking on Tuesday for the whole day.  I got a lot done and enjoyed a day with friends, fellowship and good food!

I'm loving . . .that my kids love the Christmas decorations as much as I do - they keep pointing to things and saying "More Tissmas, More Tissmas"

I'm loving . ..  this song I heard today on the radio.  It's by a group called " Straight No Chasers" and I have no idea what any of their other music is like but their version (from 1998) of The 12 Days of Christmas is now one of my all time favorites so . . enjoy!

Simplify Update - Scrapbooking Goals

This is the perfect time to post an update because I just spent yesterday at a 12 hour crop!  I had a very specific goal - to complete 6 months digitally in 12 hours.  I even set a timer for 2 hour increments so I could stay focused. Well, lets just say I was over zealous HA!  I only got 2 months done, almost.  So it took about 6 hours to do one month!  Crazy!   You can read my other Simplify updates HERE.

Previous Month Updates
September - I finished 2010 on Saturday, the 19th of November.  I went to an unexpected crop which allowed me to finish up the last few days in December and start January 2011.   I still have to finish updating our Family Album

October - I finished March 2010 on November 28th; I still have to finish updating Josh and Nate's books.

Current Month Update

November 2011

1.      Do April-October 2011 Digitally (12 hour crop plus working evenings) At the crop on Tuesday, I made it through Apil and May.  I'm hopeful that over this coming week/weekend I can continue working and finish up through July by the end of the weekend (high hopes, I know)

2.      Order pages every two weeks I'm not ordering pages - we've decided to earmark some money from our tax return to order as many pages as possible, if not all of them.  This means I need to have all of my digital stuff done before tax time :-)
3.      Red Pet Album Project – pull this project and finish it up with the pictures included. I'll pick up this project as soon as I'm current on the digital pages.  I'm hopeful that I can finish up this little album by year end.
4.      Alive album – Decide what to do with this album – either finish it up or discard it (thinking the second) I'm going to "undo" what little I did in this album.  When I started it, it was a good idea but then I realized that every page would look the same - Darryl playing his guitar with the group HA!  Instead, I just scrapbook the concerts I take photos at in our regular album. 

December's Goals and Plans

December 2011

1.      Do November 2011 traditionally Well, I made a change - I decided to finish up 2011 digitally instead of having a month or two of traditional.  I will start with January 2012 traditional with a few digital pages to keep me current as needed.  So my goal becomes - finish 2011 digitally by year end.  I think that as long as I take time in the evenings (instead of just mindlessly surfing the Internet) that I can finish all of 2011 by December 31st, 2011! 
2.      Order pages every two weeks Same as Novembers goal - will wait for tax time.
3.      Update Christmas Album  through 2010 and do pages for 2011 as the month progresses so it is current by month end I believe I have to do 2010 and then 2011 Christmas pages.  (Possibly 2009 - I can't remember!)  I do want to update the Christmas album by year end so that next year we can enjoy looking back at past years.  I'm thinking about possibly doing Christmas books each year instead of a scrapbook - not sure yet - I'll decide by next year :-)

I have a few other goals by year end - and that is to finish up the Family album and the Boys' albums.  I just want them current and ready to start with 2012. 

I'm really looking forward to one, being current and being able to enjoy our albums now and two, being able to finish up some lose projects that have been "hanging over my head" for years.