Christmas Cards!

I love Christmas Cards.  I love designing my simple photo card, writing the Christmas letter, stuffing the envelopes, sealing them with stickers and sending them out. I also love receiving cards.  I think it is so sad that so many people have let this tradition go to the wayside and even resorted to sending e-cards or just posting a link on Facebook for a Holiday Greeting.  Christmas Cards are such a neat tradition to take time to let people know you are thinking of them and that you feel like they are worth that stamp and the time it takes to fill out the envelope.   My cards went out in the mail on December 8th - I've learned to send card early because I also know that some people only send out cards to people they receive them from and since I love them so much - I want to receive them!

So, I'll get off of my soapbox now and share my Christmas Card for 2012!!

Check out more cards over at Kellys Korner

Food Friday (yes, it is still only Thursday) - Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies

Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies
adapted from Kevin & Amanda

I am always looking for a new cookie recipes and this one looked extra yummy.  I made them as mini muffins and they turned out perfectly.  

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (11.5 oz) bag milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a standard size muffin tin with cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag, and seal shut. Lay the Ziploc bag flat in the microwave, spreading out the chocolate chips in a single layer. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove bag and flip, microwaving for an additional 10-15 seconds until all the chips are softened. Set aside to cool.

2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips (1 cup) and stir to combine.

3. Using half the cookie dough, scoop 1.5-2 tbsp of dough, flatten it out a bit, and place in the bottom of the muffin tin. Repeat for a total of 10 cookies. Cut a small tip in the corner of the Ziploc bag, and gently squeeze a layer of chocolate over the cookie. Scoop and flatten the remaining dough and place on top of the chocolate layer. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just browned. As soon as they come out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to make for easy removing later. Cool completely before removing from the muffin tin, running a knife around the edge to help loosen.

These are good as mini muffins, too! Try baking at 350 for 9 mins. Enjoy!

Friends, Fun and a little Christmas Tree

A week or so ago we had a couple of days when we had visitors.  Now, we don't get visitors often so on these special occasions, it is fun!

First, our pastor's wife came over to do some scrapbooking.  She is not a scrapbook person at all but was being asked to create a few pages about their family for a book for a grandparent.  I got an e-mail with a simple message of "HELP!" (ok maybe it was worded with more words but that was the idea).  Once I set her up, I just let her work.  It was fun to watch my boys, especially Josh,  because he loved having her here.  He went into the classroom where she was working and sat on the floor most of the time playing with some stickers I had given him to put on paper.  I would hear him singing (smiggle, smiggle, wittle star) and then talking to Angie.  I always find it interesting to see how my kids act around others.  When it is just us here, they are loud, run around, and are sometimes crazy. I mean, they are boys after all.  When Angie was here, they were quiet, peaceful, and played together (and alone) perfectly.  They listened and obeyed.  Isn't that how we want our children to act?  It's a good reminder that they DO listen when I drill into them about obeying and being kind even if they don't always do it when I ask them to.  Throughout the day, after Angie left, Josh would ask periodically "Where did she go?"  He really enjoyed having her here for the morning.

Second, I babysat for a friend a week or so ago.  She had all day plans to host a Pampered Chef booth at a Bazaar where her husband works and needed someone to watch her girls.  Adding two more kids to the mix didn't seem that big of deal, I just knew it would be a little crazier and didn't plan to get a lot done.  Actually, I had two things I wanted done - our Christmas Cards ready to go in the mail and scanning in photos that belong to my sister-in-law.  Both mindless and fairly easy tasks. (As a bonus - I figured I could do more organizing in the classroom if the kids were all playing)    The kids actually all played well all day and I got the things done I wanted to get done which was really nice.  I really need to get together more with my friend Julie and let the kids hang out.  It's good for all of them to learn to play together.  I did learn one important thing having both girls and boys in my house for a day . . .. are you ready?  Girls are WAY busier than boys.  Holy Moly!!!!  Those girls never stop and the boys just look at them and are like, "Will you just sit down for a minute!" HA!  Don't get me wrong, my boys are busy during the day but they tend to sit and play one thing for awhile and THEN run through the house screaming.  Girls just never stop :-)

Third, are you ready for a fun Christmas Craft to do with your kids?  This would be an easy craft to have supplies on hand to make over Christmas Break - older kids would enjoy using more things to embellish the tree :-)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!!
Idea adapted from All Kids Network

 This craft requires just a few simple supplies - green tissue paper, torn and crumpled; small styrofoam cones; gems (for ornaments); glue - lots, and lots and lots of glue. Did I mention glue?  Oh, and some sponge brushes.

 I forgot to mention some Mocha's from McDonald's to help the parents stay sane while making this craft and playing with  . .glue.  (I just love those "free" drinks that you can earn!)

Then get busy! Paint the cones with glue.  If it is my kids, you'll need a whole bottle for each kid HA!  Once the cone is drenched and dripping in glue, add the torn green paper over top the glue while trying to keep it from becoming adheared to your fingers, the table, and the floor.  :-)   Once the cone is covered, then glue gems all over the cone.

 Nate's finished Christmas Tree. 

 Josh's finished Christmas tree.

Their little Christmas trees are sitting under our dining room tree.  The lights from the tree reflect off the gems and those little trees are so beautiful!

We really all did have fun making this little craft as a family :-)

 

Too Cute Not To Toot

Lets start right off with an idea from Education.Com for a super cute snowman craft.  I love this because it would be a great Christmas Break craft to do with the kids AND it would be great to do on a snow day in January.

Here is a two for one idea from Mommy Gaga for making some cute reindeer crafts using two of my favorite things - hands and feet.

Since we have a birthday coming up in this household, this cute cookie idea from Rose Bakes caught my attention. They would make a cute addition to any birthday party.

This next idea is one that I'm posting because it's pretty cool but also because when I saw it I said, "no way!".  The idea is another one from Education.com and uses . .. cold spaghetti noodles! 

One last idea for this week and it comes from Housing a Forest.  It's a great craft idea to do with the kids and looks pretty too!

Happy Crafting!

The Grinch and Some Tinsel

I'd just like to take a moment and express my sympathy concerning those families who lost a loved in one the tragedy in Connecticut.  I cannot imagine walking that road of grief and pray that they have people surrounding them that can lift them up throughout the coming months. 

December 8th and 9th
It was the weekend.  We actually made a fun Christmas tree craft on Saturday as a family that I'll be posting about soon.  So we did not get to our Tinsel ornament and then we were gone all day long on Sunday.  We'll be picking up tomorrow :-)

As far as our special countdown treats - we had Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes and the boys loved them HA!  Again on Sunday, we were gone so nothing happened.

December 10th
Total Fail HA!  My husband took the day off due to some nasty weather and we worked all day doing some rearranging.  It seems that when we do other things, I don't get to our Tinsel and Grinch.  I felt bad late in the afternoon though because Josh wanted to make his "omanent" :-(

December 11th
Back on track!  Today we used water colors (for the first time ever) to paint a paper doll of Mary.  We were supposed to do both Mary and Martha but they painted for about 45 minutes on just Mary ;-)  Josh got crafty the rest of the day with crayons, markers, Dot pens  . . .and a non-washable ink pad.  Oops :-/  Of course, they also loved today's treat - Hershey's Kisses.  Nate saw them and said, "Ohh, I love those so much!".

December 12th
The kids are now asking to make ornaments every day and this one did not disappoint because it included glue and marbles :-)

December 13th
I introduced Glitter glue today and yes, it was a hit :-)  Today we decorated Mary, as part of the Nativity.  To Josh loved the Glitter glue is an understatement - I don't think his ornament will ever dry ;-)

Our Grinch activity changed slightly today because the boys can now reach the story pockets so Josh actually came to get me and tell me it was time, while holding the card and our little "Grinch" puppet.  He told me he would read it so he described what he saw in the photo.  Then they pulled out their treats.  It was super cute!

December 15th
I almost was a slacker today but then they started asking to make their project today, which was Joseph.

Do you notice that only one is decorated?  Well, a certain 4 year old threw a fit over the fact that I opened the banana he wanted to eat and then decided he didn't want to do the craft.  I have a feeling he'll want to make it tomorrow. 

Today I found Josh and Nate doing the Grinch by themselves, without me.  I guess I better keep an eye on those two characters! HA!

So, I've had to altered the crafts from Tinsel - it seems this second half has a few more complicated crafts included and I knew my kids were not to that point yet.  The simple truth is we are talking about the store of Christ's birth and the ornaments are just extra fun.  The main thing is that they are hearing the story. 

Christmas Lights

On Saturday evening, December 8th, we took the boys out Christmas Light Hunting and here are a few (not so great) shots of what we found.

It was so much fun.  The boys wanted their "ninows" down (windows) so that they could see the lights.  Nate would say, "Ooohhh I like that one" to every Christmas light he saw and it was so cute.  Josh just kept asking for more and more.  They were both pretty tired by the time we headed home, considering the fact that they got up at 5:45 and never went back to sleep even though I laid in their room in bed with them until 7:30 plus they got to do this today too ---

Yep.  It was snowing this morning and the ground was covered.  At 8:30 this morning I was putting them in coats, snowpants, boots, hats and gloves to play outside.  They surprised me by playing outside until almost 10:00.

After getting home from the Christmas light adventure, it was straight to bed and they were both asleep in about 2 seconds! 

Weekly Menu

Hello!  I know this is your favorite post :-) HA!  Since I'm such a planner, I actually like this post and since this blog is a place I can track things through the year, this is still the best place for me to post this menu!  As I mentioned in last weeks post, this past week was b.u.s.y.  It got busier even after I posted the menu with a visit from in-laws and photos.  THIS is what was planned last week and below is what we actually ended up eating.
Monday - Macaroni and Cheese with Chips and Salsa.  My Father-in-law called and wanted to come over for a visit so we had to have a quick dinner before he arrived.  
Tuesday - Hot Dogs and Chips.  Since we ate tonight's dinner last night, I actually had to pick up something on Monday night that was easy for my husband to feed the boys tonight.  I left the house at 5:00 to take Nate for photos, got home at 6:30 and then went a few minutes late to ladies meeting before heading to the store to grocery shop.  Crazy.
Wednesday - Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin, Twice Baked Potatoes, Sauteed Cabbage with bacon
Thursday - Crock pot chicken, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Beans and Rolls
Friday - Pizza - I got hit with a bad cold/cough and, quite honestly, did not feel like cooking.  I'm supposed to sing twice on Sunday plus the following Sunday and just need to get well - right now, my voice is shot. 
Saturday - Lasagna and Garlic Bread YUM!!!  (I just wish it was colder out - lasagna is best enjoyed on a Snowy Day!)
Sunday - For lunch, we just had some Spaghettio's and chips after church. Then I left a Roast, Potatoes and Carrots ready for my husband to put in the oven for dinner while I headed to sing in a concert.  It sure was nice coming home to dinner! 

This is the plan for this next week.  Hard to believe we'll be butting up to Christmas with this plan!


Monday - Breaded Chicken Thighs, Parsley Potatoes, Broccoli and Rolls

Tuesday - Cabbage Rolls, Crash Potatoes and Green Beans

Wednesday -Swedish Meatballs with noodles, rolls and a veggie

Thursday - Chili, Homemade Bread

Friday - Coney Dogs (using left over chili) and Fries

Saturday - The kids have program practice so we'll eat lunch at the church before heading out to get Darryl to head to a family party.  The food is "snacks" so I'm taking Fruit Dip, Chicken Salad Roll-ups, Lit's Smokies and Cupcakes for a special little 3 year old's birthday!

Sunday -  Today we are celebrating Nate's birthday with the grandparents.  On the menu is:  Meatball Soup, Mac and Cheese (Because it is Nate's favorite - the Blue Box kind of course!), Salad, Bread.  When we walk in the door from church (the grandparents are attending the Christmas program with us) I'll have some Chips and Salsa and a pickle/cheese tray ready for nibbling so there isn't quite a rush to get dinner on the table.  Oh!  And Mountain Dew Cupcakes for Dessert with some Ice Cream of course!! 

 This will also be a week busy with making Christmas Cookies for gifts and a cookie exchange as well as some other "Food" gifts.  It will be a busy cooking week!!!