Our Christmas!!

Ethan with my mom on Christmas Eve

Ethan as a Sheep on Christmas Eve

After a bit of a break from my blog for the Christmas holiday, I am back and have made my 2012 goal to throw in a couple more blog posts per week! My family and I had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to the new year. We spend our Christmas very laid back, we attend Christmas Eve service at church and Ethan participates in the service, this year he was a sheep in the service. Then we look at some Christmas lights on our way home. Once we are home, it is time to put out the cookies, milk and carrots (the reindeer need their energy) and head to bed. The next morning Ethan came bouncing into our room at 7:30 (yes we are blessed not to have an early bird) and yelled at us "Santa Came!!" Since we live in an apartment, there is not much space between our room and the living room with the tree. He kept running back and forth giving a grand description of what Santa had left and kept saying....."come on guys, get up!!" The couple moments it took  us to get up and come out of our room must have seemed like an eternity to him!! Once we are up, he can then open gifts from Santa and rummage around in his stocking. Like I said, we have a very laid back day on Christmas and my mom comes over in her jammies and we all stay in our jammies all day! Once my mom is here and we all have a little coffee and breakfast is in the oven we can begin the gift opening marathon. My son had such a wonderful Christmas and we are all so blessed by wonderful family and friends!! I hope each of you had a wonderful Holiday (whichever you celebrate) and you all have a fabulous 2012!!

Ethan with his buddy Ezekiel as sheep together

Y3W: Making Santa Cookies

Today I am linking up with Jenni from the Blog for her Y3W (Your Three Words)

Yesterday Ethan and I made cookies for Santa (and others). We made cutout sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies. We had so much fun just hanging out in the kitchen, listening to Christmas music, dancing and making yummy goodies! This is such a magical time of year for kids and I am so glad I took some time off of work to spend some very special time with him!!

Ethan was so proud of his decorating

Hard at work

My Favorite Things Friday

These have been my favorite thing for a few weeks now. They are SO yummy!! They satisfy my craving for a sweet and crunchy snack. 

They are not the easiest nuts to find since they are only a seasonal item. Next I want to try baking with them and see how it turns out!

Today I am linking up with

Never a Dull Moment 
and

Sippy Cup Chronicles 

For their Favorite Things Friday Link-Up. Check them out!!

Tell me about your favorite thing from this week!!!

Have You Entered??!!

Have you entered The Ultimate Christmas Giveaway yet?? NO?? What are you waiting for?!? Click on the button below to win a Wilton Ultimate Decorating Set valued at $199.99!

McFatty Monday

 

So this week we were introduced to PointsPlus 2012 at our Weight Watchers meeting. There is not that much different from the program I began with. The main difference is they have made it even more flexible than ever before. The thing I like the most about this is, I am a control freak and this puts me in more control. 

 

I have had such a hard time the last few weeks. I would loose then gain then loose. Part of the reason I have been in this cycle is because I made the choice to throw myself a pity party when I gained weight. unfortunately I was the only person invited to my pity party and I ate all the snacks at the party. This did not help me with this horrible cycle. 

 

This weekend I made a decision, I will no longer host this pity party. The only person who can make me lose weight is myself. I have had a very unhealthy relationship with food for a long time now and I am going to break off that relationship. I am ready to start a new relationship with food. Like all new relationships, I am going to find it much more comfortable to go back to my old one, I am going slip up from time to time. I may even call my old relationship just to see how they are doing without me. In the end, I am making the choice to be with my new love.

 

If you are also in an unhealthy relationship with food and want to start a new love check out Weight Watchers to see what it is all about.  Let me know if  you are currently on the WW program or plan to join, I would love to send and receive your support!

 

Have a Happy and Healthy week!!! 

SWH4T$

Today I am linking up with Sweet Stella's and Baby Shmizz for their SWH4T$ link up. Please take a moment to check out their wonderful blogs.

This week's money saving idea is for holiday gifts you can make. Anytime you make your own gifts, you are going to save money. You are also going to save a little sanity, no malls = sanity!!

First off is Hot Cocoa Mix in a Jar. I have to credit Domestic Charm Blog for this great idea!! I have made these cocoa mixes in the past and given them as gifts but the packing on the ones below are just so cute!! The fun part is you can add your favorite goodies to the mix, candy cane pieces, marshmallows, chocolate pieces....the possibilities are endless! You can tie them up with the fun paper straws like below but my favorite is to tie a candy cane on there. Be sure to make a very cute tag with the directions. Perfect for teachers, hair dressers, mail carriers, this list is also endless!!

The next idea is for a fabric covered journal. This gift is so simple and so much fun to make. You can find the full instructions here. This is such a great way to use up some fabric you have been holding on to. Again this project has so many possibilities with embellishments and endless possibilities for recipients. 

I hope these two ideas will help you out with some of the gifts you need to give this holiday season! I know there will be some friends and teaches receiving these from our family!

Be sure to enter the Ultimate Christmas Giveaway here!

 

The Ultimate Christmas Giveaway!!!!!

Welcome to The Ultimate Christmas Giveaway Event!

 

You have a chance to win the Wilton Ultimate Decorating Set worth $199.99!

If bought separately, the items in the kit would cost $250!

The Ultimate Decorating Set contains the following: 9-inch & 11-inch Straight Black Handle Spatulas, 9-inch & 13-inch Angled Black Handle Spatulas, 10-inch Featherweight Bags - 2 Pack, 12-inch Disposable Bags - 50 Pack, Practice Board with Patterns 4 - Standard Couplers, 6 Pc Forming Cups, Large Lily Nail, - 2 Pack 15-inch Parchment, Triangles Round Tips: #1, #3, #5, #12 Star Tips: #14, #16, #18, #21, #1M Petal Tips: #59s, #101, #104 Leaf Tips: #352 and #366 Bismarck Tip #230 Drop Flower Tip #2D Multi Opening Tip #233 Thin and Thick Foams Flower Nail Templates Brush Set, Gold Foil Cut, & Press Button Flower Pansy Cutter, Wave Flower Former, 2 Pack 2 Pc Mum Cutter Set, Calla Lily Cutter, Calla Lily Former, Scallop Ruffle Cutter, Lily Stamen Set Tip, Dishwasher Pouch, Dusting Pouch, Green Ball Tool, Green Veining Tool, Fondant Smoother Ribbon Cutter/Embosser, 12-inch Dowel Rods, Round Cut Out Set, Rose Cutter Set, 5 pc 8-inch Cake Circle, Silicone Tip Covers, 9-inch Rolling Pin Thin, and Thick Modeling Sticks, 4 Pc Decorating Nail Set, & The Ultimate Tool Caddy!
There are 28 blogs participating in this event. To not make the Rafflecopter entry list too long - all entries are MANDATORY (worth 5 entries each) with JUST ONE optional entry (to Tweet about the giveaway - worth 5 points as well)! Going through 28 blogs to win a $199.99 prize is not hard to do at all! I went through the list myself & didn't run into any problems - I was done in less than half an hour. :) The giveaway is December 7 till the 14th (ending at 11:59PM EST on 12/14) but the winners will not be announced until December 16, 2011 so we can make sure that everyone who entered followed all the rules. I know Google Friend Connect widgets can do disappearing acts so please give all of the pages time to fully load or refresh a page to see if the widget shows up. This giveaway is open to U.S. & Canada readers only – we wish we could include international readers as well but we hope you guys understand. (If you're in Canada, please check our Giveaway Policy to make sure you qualify to enter You may be asked to answer a question if you win.) Must be 18 years old & older to enter. Winner will be chosen using Random.org. Winner will be e-mailed & will have 48 hrs. to reply or we have no choice but to pick another winner. Below are the following blogs participating in this giveaway along with the Rafflecopter! It’s only 28 blogs total so not a lot of work on your part! We all have the same Rafflecopter code so just as long as you enter in one blog, it’s okay – as long as you make sure to visit each blog to follow them according to the Rafflecopter form below (we check for duplicate entries)! Happy linking & Good Luck! 1) Life According to Damaris 2) Building Our Story 3) Force Family Journey 4) Gumdrop Pass 5) Our Crazy Bunch 6) Little Miss Nerd Girl 7) It's a Vol 8) The Mommyhood Chronicles 9) Mama Luvs Books 10) Frugal Plus 11) Our Life is a Jungle 12) Ever Changing 13) The Mama Pirate 14) Banana Hammocks & Tutus 15) Little Free Radical 16) Tidbits from a Mom 17) Keenly Kristin 18) Another Day in Paradise 19) Domestically Unemployed 20) Healthy Mom on the Run 21) Our Pregnancy Roadtrip & Beyond 22) Sweet Peas & Bumblees 23) Thrifty Frugal Living 24) My Messmerized Life 25) Ethereal Influence 26) Mamalou's Gems 27) Africa's Blog 28) Why We Love Green

(Make sure you have Javascript enabled to see this giveaway!)

Holiday Season

 

 The holiday season is such a magical time of the year. There are a lot of lights, yummy goodies, extra time spent with family and hearts filled with joy. This time of the year was made so much better when our son was born 6 years ago. There is nothing quite like the holiday season when you have a kiddo around. It seems that every little thing gets him more excited for this season. He loved hearing all the stories about the Christmas ornaments. 

 This year he was able to write a letter to Santa without much help, only some spelling help. We mailed his letter at Macy's and yet he was still very excited to sit on Santa's lap to tell him just what he wanted this year. He received a very cool card from the North Pole Elves, thank you Tiny Prints, letting him know that he is indeed on the nice list this year. 

We know in Denver that the holiday season has officially begun when we brave the cold weather to see the Parade of Lights. This parade is full of beautiful floats, marching bands and balloons all decorated with lights. Santa comes to make a special guest appearance at the end of the parade and put the best smiles on the faces of all the believers watching the parade. 

I hope this holiday season is bringing joy to all of my readers! Tell me about some of the traditions you hold dear during this time of the year.

I'm Back

You may have noticed that I did not blog last week, I had to take an unplanned break from blogging. I had a terrible tooth ache on Saturday and made it through the rest of the weekend. On Monday I was able to call the dentist and get some antibiotics and make an appointment for a root canal I have been putting off for some time. Dental work is something I tend to put off a lot, even though I really should make it a priority. I was able to make it through the days at work and try my best to be a decent mom at night. I know I don't have the patience I need as a parent when I am not feeling well. Blogging was not a priority because of this dental issue. I missed writing and reading any comments. I am glad to be back and I hope you are all ready to read more of my blog posts! Have a great week!!