What I'm Loving Wednesday - Christmas Style

I decided to take a little break from my regular "What I'm Loving Wednesday" and instead share some Christmas music with you.

 First up is "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant.  I sang this song years ago at a Christmas Eve Service and have loved it from the first moment that I heard it.  Someday, I will sing it again :-)

The Second song for today is "Joseph's Song" by Michael Card.  I also heard this one years ago at a Christmas Eve service when my cousin-in-law sang it.  It gave me the chills and still does to this day.

I hope you enjoy these special Christmas songs today!

Too Cute Not To Toot!

I feel like I have posted one of these in awhile - between missing a week due to no Internet and not finding a lot of ideas . . .well, I'm hoping that this one is brimming with ideas! 

I've seen this ebook shared on so many blogs and 1+1+1=1 gives the link to get your own copy as well as photos from there first few days.  (I'm sure that she will share more throughout the month too).  I did get my own copy of "Truth in the Tinsel" and plan on using it in the future.  I think it will be the perfect thing to use as the boys get older.

Another idea from 1+1+1=1 is a Playdough busy box.  I really love this idea and, as she suggests, it would actually make a great gift idea.

Another idea from 1+1+1=1 is her 12 Days of Christmas Printables.  I plan on printing these to add to my December binder to use next year.

One last idea from 1+1+1=1 is her Nativity Printable Set.  This is another great set of activities to do with your kids throughout the month.

This idea from Rockabye Butterfly is such a great craft idea using glue.  It is super easy and, most likely, you have most of the supplies in your home already.

As you well may know, I love handprint/footprint crafts.  This idea from Classified Mom turns a handprint into an elf.  The picture doesn't do it justice so click on the link and see the full tutorial.

This idea for making snowmen out of socks from I heart Crafty Things is so adorable plus I love that she recommends a book to read to go along with the craft.  I am bookmarking this idea (obviously) to use in future Book Advents. 

Here's another Snowman idea from Sew Blessed uses the Coke bottles that are shaped like ornaments - I might need to pick some up this year to use for this craft; it would also be a fun one for the boys to make in the future.

Musings of Me is doing a book advent again this year (She was one of my inspirations from last year) but this year she is focusing on the Alphabet and I really love her ideas.  This link is to her "C is for Cookies and Candy" but you can also find the rest of the ideas on her site throughout the entire month.

This is an idea that a friend actually shared with me a year ago but I couldn't find the clear bulbs to use to make them - Confessions of a Homeschooler gives an easy tutorial to use.

Also from Confessions of a Homeschooler is a great idea for storing your kids creations.  I already planned on doing something that I had seen on another blog but I love the printables that she created to use for each year and plan on printing them out this week.

One last item from Confessions of a Homeschooler - she has two great printable tot packs.  A Christmas Theme as well as a Nativity Theme as well.

Counting Cocounts shares a simple but great idea - "Car Boxes" are boxes filled with things we always need in the car.  Whether it be activities and snacks for the kids to diapers/wipes/ change of clothes for those unexpected accidents kids always have, these really are great. 

This is one of many countdown ideas that I've seen that I like - this one from GlueSticks uses the magnetic tin boxes.  It would fit perfectly on the side of a fridge and she also gives ideas for what she put inside each of the small tins.

Also from Gluesticks is this fairly simple Scalloped Stocking Idea.  If you wanted all of your stockings to match, this would be perfect and you could, obviously, pick out any fabric that you wanted to fit your theme.

I created a Christmas Journal a year ago but I've seen this idea all over the web and I'm actually considering converting mine to something this cute.  You can get lots of printables/ideas from eighteen25.

Yes, I realize Thanksgiving is past but I wanted to save this idea for next year - you can get the printable by going to Making Memories.  I will be printing these off this week too!  (I have lots of printing to do!)

One of the blogs I follow, A Better Mom, posted an ornament craft that would be great for older kids - another idea for my December binder of fun!

A little learning for 2 shares a simple Christmas Tree Craft - I feel like maybe I've shared this before but I can't remember if I did or if I just have seen this idea before.  Either way, I'll share it here, even if for a 2nd time!

This is a countdown activity I saw at one of my favorite blogs, Superchikk, and I think it is probably the one I like the most for doing just a countdown.  It is simple and doesn't take up a lot of space and yes, it is on the list to make before next December.

I mentioned, after making the boys Thanksgiving shirts, that I wanted to make their Christmas shirts and guess what?  I found a great idea (actualy two ideas - one tutorial) over at Vixon Made.  Yeah!

Vixon Made also shares a whole bunch of links to get free printable subway art.  I plan on printing all of them to use next year as decor - I like to replace photos on my walls with Christmas pictures and these are perfect. Here is just one example.

That's a much better line-up of items this week!  (Finally!) 

I usually post a Pinterest Challenge on Tuesdays too but, I don't have one today.  I've been busy working on some holiday things and just haven't gotten to items on my list!  Maybe next week I'll have more to share :-)

 

Christmas Tradations

A year ago, give or take a little, I posted about Holiday Traditions that I wanted to work on this year.  I'm so thankful that I did that post because, even though I had the ideas in the back of my mind,  I had forgotten the "in's and out's" of some of the ideas. 

What are we doing this year? 

1)  Elf on the Shelf - I LOVED this idea last year and wanted to do it this year.  First, I went looking for the "Elf", which I found on Amazon but, well, he is pretty popular and thus, a little pricey.  I let go of my perfectionism and went looking for a stuffed elf that would work.  I figured that the fun of this was the kids finding him in funny places - they would not care what he looked like (only I would HA!) 

2) Book of the day/Christmas Countdown - One of the ideas I loved last year was having a book we read each day.  There were various ideas including wrapping all of the books. . .I feel like wrapping the books is a LOT of work so I tied the book into our Christmas Countdown.  IF I would have looked at these ideas in the summer, I would have remembered that I wanted to make advent bags . . .well that didn't happen HA!  So, instead, I made a simple countdown board from this idea in Pinterest with a clue inside.  Then, at the base of the "tree" is a box - inside the box is the book and activity for the day.  The box is left empty until it is time to pick the card, then I sneak the activity in and let the boys pull the card and open the box.  Before I ordered anything - I went through all of our books and found some fun, adorable Christmas stories.  Once I had those, I just filled in the blanks with some other book ideas I had saved from last year.  Then, I used craft/activity ideas from several sites and figured out how to tie them in with each of the books. 

3) Santa's beard - we tried this last year but the boys didn't get it.  I made two this year - one for each boy, and we did this as part of our countdown.

4) Our Jesus Tree - I took this idea from using the names of Jesus (which I will save for later) to using a Christmas Devotional that I had saved from somewhere.  I'll show how I made it all a little later.  We put an ornament on our tree each night at dinner and also read the scripture that goes with the day.  I plan on doing this version for quite a few years; once the boys are older, I'll switch to the names of Jesus and that will carry us through for years as we can get more in depth as the years go by.

5) Family Traditions:  We still have our family traditions - cutting down our tree, going in search of lights, getting photos with Santa, making cookies.  Lots and Lots of fun!

6) A few other things I'm doing this year that you will see as we go along - a Felt Tree for the Kids to use, I Spy Ornaments, and the Little People Nativity Set.

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!