Foodie Pen Pals - November

This is my second month participating in Foodie Pen Pals over at The Lean Green Bean and it was once again a huge success!! 

This month I got a package from Jenny over at It's Sweet for Certain and she really sent me the perfect box!

 Above is everything she packed in my box.  Yep, it was very full!

 Let me just tell you, I had one very excited little boy when he saw the box - he kept saying "Mom, you got a present!  It is Christmas time AND your birthday" HA!

 In the box was this fun bottle of water - it is suppose to give you energy because it has extra oxygen in it.  I'm waiting for the perfect day to drink it :-)  (Actually I just like seeing it my fridge - I love the labeling.)

 I'm not sure if she read my blog but in the box was my "new"favorite obsession from last month, The Dark Chocolate covered Blueberries YUM!  The Chocolate Cranberry Crunch is fantastic too - I've been nibbling on both of those all month long.

 This little package came right on time.  It's filled with stuff for the flu and cold season and guess what we have all had in the past week??? Geesh! 

 Then this collapsible water bottle.  This will be fabulous to use for trips to the zoo and camping.  I've seen these and wanted one but never bought one - now I don't have too!

This was what the box looked like when I opened it (noticed to little boys hands on each side of it - they were thrilled!)  There were also some Kashi bars in the box and some energy chews - I took a photo of them but somehow that photo disappeared when I was working on them.  My 4 year old loves the Kashi bars (so do I) so I think I will have to pick up a box - they would make a great snack for him and his brother.

Normally, I would now list how YOU can be a Foodie Pen Pal too but for the month of December, the Foodie Pen Pals is doing something called Foodie Pen Pals for Charity and you can be part of that as well.  Just click on the link and read all about it. 

An Advent Celebration

I know I said on Monday I wouldn't share this until next week but, decided to share it today so if you want to do this with your kids, you have time to get everything together. 
 
Last year, I came across a great advent series to do with the kids called Truth in the Tinsel.

I purchased the downloadable book (only $7.99) and put it away to use this year.  It really is the perfect thing to do with the kids becuse it is at their level.  It includes a simple ornament craft that goes along with the days short devotional.  I also like the fact that there is a master supply list AND a daily supply list so you can make sure you have everything you need before you start.  I'm really excited to walk through this study this year with the boys and, honestly, we'll probably do it at least one more year if not two more years since repetition is so good for kids (And a whole year goes by anyway!).

This week, I'm working on gathering all of the supplies for the first two weeks of devotionals so we are ready to begin on December 1st.  We'll be hanging all of their ornaments on our little dining room tree.

Another idea you could do with older kids is to do a simple study on all of the names of Jesus.  Just created simple ornaments that are just those names and each day take time to read verses and talk about that name.  That is another idea I came across a few years ago but have put it "away" until the boys are a little older.

Too Cute Not To Toot!

This week I decided to take some ideas from Pinterest because several of the blogs I usually get ideas from are not doing their "Linky Parties" this week due to the holiday. 

Some day, I will do chore charts with my kids (I need to start this soon) so when I saw this idea from A Spotted Pony I really liked it but I also liked her post too.  I love that she got her kids their own little cleaning supplies :-)

My sister-in-law recently told me how she used to make activity books to give my niece and nephew over the holiday breaks to keep them busy while she cooked :-)  Well, I came across this idea from Playing with Words 365 for not only a cute Reindeer book but also a great idea for a game to go along with the book.  I think this is simple enough I can put it together for the boys to do in December. 

I really need a new tree skirt.  Mine is small and I'm tired of it.  I love the ruffled tree skirts that I've seen posted so I wanted to share this idea from Prudent Baby.  This is not a "No-sew" version but it still seems like it is over complicated and the tutorial is pretty straight forward. 

So I came across this idea by accident - I actually went to a blog for another post and saw this idea which comes from Just Crafty Enough and uses a tray table to make an easy ironing board. Considering the fact that the only time I iron anything is for crafts - this would make a great addition to my craft space.

Here is the idea I was looking for to begin with from Southern Lovely.  These stocking holders are great and I want to make them :-) 

Here's a great gift idea or just a memory game for the kids from The Idea Room. It has actually reminded me of two other photo projects I wanted to make for my boys for Christmas!

One last idea for this week from Familiy Reunion Helper.  With holiday parties going on I thought this simple game idea would be fun.  It is a simple idea and people always enjoy playing for candy especially if you do some of the candy regular size and some as giant bars :-)

Happy Crafting :-)





 

Advent Season

Today I'm starting a new devotional through Good Morning Girls and I'm really looking forward to it. 

It starts today but you can still get the book if you subscribe to the site.  I think it is so important to stay focused on what the true meaning of Christmas is and not get lost in the schedules, planning, and lights (I love lights!). 

Next week I'll be sharing the advent study I am going to be doing with the kids too :-)

Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving was perfect.  Family, Fun, Fellowship, and Food. Who could ask for anything more?  Well, we would have loved to have my sister-in-law with us but she woke up with the stomach flu so, then I guess we really didn't want her here :-/   In her words, "This is the worst Thanksgiving ever!". 

Here is our day in photos (and some comments ;-) )

 I was really trying to get a "good" photo of the boys and Darryl and it turned into a funny face making competition.  At least we tried ;-)

 Snacks to hold us over until dinner.  Southwestern Salad Dip, Brushetta, and a relish tray with some cheese and crackers.

 The set-up!  So, here's the deal, we have a long living room and, after trying to figure out how to seat everyone I came up with an idea that actually worked.  I tore apart the classroom on Wednesday so that we could use my banquet tables.  We moved the recliners out of the way and set the tables up down the length of the living room.  This allowed us all to sit together which was great.  After we prayed, I actually dismissed the table so that everyone at the far end got food first so that we didn't really have to crawl over people to get to our spots.  It really did work out perfectly.  Once dinner was done, the guys tore it all back down.  For the record, I also chose to use paper products to eat on.  I think once you get past about 8 people, it only makes sense otherwise there are just so many dishes to deal with it isn't fun anymore :-)

 Dinner!  Turkey, Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes, Corn and Green Bean Casserole, Sauteed Cabbage and Bacon, Cranberry Sauce and Deviled Eggs.  It was so good and I'm so thankful for everyone that did most of the cooking :-)  I just did the meats, stuffing and cabbage so I had it easy!  My mother-in-law made 4 fabulous pies for dessert and my sister-in-law made a fantastic Cheesecake!

 Watching the game.  We love watching the Detroit Lions Play and this years game was actually a great game despite the fact that they lost.

 My hubby.  I make the plan and he executes it all ;-)

 My dad :-)

 My dad stole my camera and took this photo.  Figured I would share

Ok, this is my mom and my mother-in-law.  The boys convinced them to play a game but eventually, the boys quit playing and these two keep going.  My mom finally won and my mother-in-law was mad :-) hehehe  Yep, they really do get along and it is great!

Weekly Menu

Welcome back!  First up, last weeks menu that I posted?? Well, totally did not do it.  I used up food in the freezer instead.  Well, Thanksgiving dinner was the same . . I guess it was really Sunday-Wednesday that I changed up more than anything.

Here's the plan for this coming week:

Monday - Country Fried Steak, Mashed Potaotes, Gravy and Corn (we had Scalloped potatoes and ham last Saturday instead of this meal)

Tuesday - Turkey Noodle Soup and Homemade Bread

Wednesday - (Just the boys and I) - Not sure what we will have yet.  I always leave it up in the air because sometimes, we just want to go out :-)

Thursday -Swiss Chicken, Crash Potatoes and Green Beans.

Friday -Meatball Soup and Homemade bread

Saturday- Chili Dogs (baked), Baked Beans and Potato Salad

Sunday  - Darryl has a concert so we will be grabbing something on the way home.

I plan on starting some Christmas baking -  basically that means making special cookies each week.  I'm hoping to put together some trays for the neighbors later in December so I'd like to "practice" a few recipes first :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!  We are hosting 13 people today so there will be lots of food, fun, fellowship and . . well, Laughter!