christmas 2011

what a great day to celebrate the birth of our lord and savior.  started with opening presents, playing in the front yard with mark's the girls' new remote control car (ha ha), breakfast, and then off to church!  so much fun to watch the girls open their presents.

just LOVE the fake long hair...

this is little boo wearing her new jacket from g'ma and g'pa smith, her fake hair (dad picked that one out), and new camera...i just love looking at this picture...it makes me laugh so hard!

playing with the new remote control car...who do you think is having more fun with it?

the new "princess" dress

umm...apparently we do not have any good pics of miss B-I-G...they were all blurry!  sorry, babe!

christmas decorations

christmas is my second favorite time to decorate the house (behind fall).  

the pictures are bad (took them at night-oops), but here is a glimpse into our decorations. 

the nativity scene 

(i heart the wise men sign-found a great one online, but they wanted 

$5 for the pdf file...decided to just make one myself).  i put one of those push lights in the nativity scene, it fell, so it doesn't light up very well..boo hoo)

the wall that i can change out for the seasons.  those are turquoise blue ball ornaments in a glass container on the table.  surrounding it are scrap pieces cut from the bottom of the christmas tree.

 addison's snowman art

 these are just snowflake tree ornaments hung from a frame with no glass in it.

the christmas tree...this is the top of it.  

i went for the silver and light blue look, with mostly ball ornaments and a light blue ribbon woven around.  i also added some starfish in it to give it a beachy feel...

nice little saving tip:  we bought the 5-6 foot tree for $20 and placed it on a stepping stool to raise it about a foot...i put some green burlap and a tree skirt at the bottom and the girls decorated with some of their dolls and stuffed animals.  anyway, it saved us $10 on the tree and it looks great.

the mantle

i wanted to go for the natural look, so i used twig balls, white lights, white candles with twine, and some white/gold/silver sprigs of eucalyptus (plastic ones from michaels). 

and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

 to hang the stockings i used the removable hooks from 3M and bought these little frames at michaels last year-put each family member's picture in one.  

sad this year not putting kona's stocking up-RIP :(

 the advent calendar

these are made from envelopes cut in half.  each has a number on it that corresponds to the dates in december.  the envelopes are filled with a couple of verses telling the story of jesus' birth (taken from luke 2), along with an activity for the family (read a story, color a picutre, watch a christmas movie, etc).  i blogged about it last year, but i can't find it right now

merry christmas!

christmas treats

the girls and i were home sick on sunday, so i decided to get some baking in 

(promise i didn't cough onto any of these goodies).  

PEPPERMINT BARK

(unfortunately, i didn't get an after picture before i bagged it up to give away.

it was delicious...though, take my word for it!)

step 1:  melt 2 cups of milk chocolate chips and spread on parchment paper on a flat service (cookie tray works well).  place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

 step 2:  let ladybug daughter lick the spoon before cleaning it

 step 3:  use about 10-12 big size or 24 small size candy canes-place in ziplock bag and hammer to break apart (easy enough for a ladybug to do).

CHOCOLATE FUDGE

 step 1:  grease an 8x8 pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray 

step 2:  melt 2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk.  stir constantly until melted and smooth.  then add 1 tsp of vanilla and continue to stir until mixed.  spread in the pan and place in the fridge for about an hour (or until it is solid).  potentially makes about 64 small pieces.  yummy!

 PUMPKIN CRANBERRY BREAD

this is a delicious and easy treat.  perfect for the holidays with a cup o' joe!

preset oven to 350 degrees

in a small bowl combine the following by mixing well:

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of pumpkin

1/2 cup of oil

2 slightly beaten eggs

in another bowl combine:

2 1/4 cups of flour

1/2 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pumpkin spice

1 tsp of baking soda

create a well in the dry bowl and pour the wet mix into the dry mix and combine.

add 1 cup of cranberries (cut in half).

pour into 2 loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans

bake for 1 hour.

**i like to sprinkle a little sugar on top before i put it in the oven

christmas crafts with kids

these are not mind blowing activities do with the kids, but they are cute and fun.  i cut out all the pieces for the snowman picture and then let the girls glue everything on.  this is addison's picture.  i have a hole punch in the shape of stars, so i punched some star shaped snow.  i LOVE this frame...got it for $1 at a garage sale and i just rotate pictures the kids make throughout different seasons.

the girls decorated their trees with ornament and light stickers.  i love how addison's are all neatly aligned, while august's are just everywhere...that matches their personalities.  these are currently adorning the fridge.

talking to santa

ok...this is hilarious!  no matter how much prepping, she still freaked out

umm....i want a kitchen for christmas, santa

this picture is priceless for me...sad too, that she is growing up

christmas breakfast

the day before christmas addison saw a commercial with cinnamon rolls and asked if i would make them for christmas.  how could i resist?  so, i found a recipe online.  oh, the story with this one is a doozy.  i usually read all of the reviews that go along with the recipe BEFORE i make it, but with this one i didn't.  i made the rolls and popped them in the oven...then read the reviews.  out of 5 of them, 4 were negative!  they all complained about how bad they were and how the kids wouldn't even touch them and they had to throw them away.  i was pretty bummed they might not turn out.  but, i waited, and 20 minutes later they came out...boy, they were DELICIOUS!!!!  i don't know what those supposed "professional cooks" were thinking.  they were so good, i made them two days later.  i forgot the after shot, but at least got them before putting into the oven.

CHRISTMAS

words are not even really needed here (but if you know me, well, i always have words)

...what a fun day!

found this my little pony at a garage sale for $.25-what a steal and she loved it!

the only time i could get them to stand still

the aftermath

"the kitchen"-awe...they are in heaven-we left it on the porch and had them find it after they opened up everything else for the morning.  they were so excited, because they had both asked for it when they saw santa

the awesome wagon from grandma and grandpa go-kart (mark's parents)

christmas eve bike ride

this is pretty much why we live in southern california...bike rides to the beach on christmas eve (so blessed!)...it was such a nice day, after 6 days of straight rain (nearly unheard of here).  so we took advantage and went for a great ride.

christmas cookies with grandma

we finally (re)started the new annual cookie tradition this year with the girls.  i have always made them and the girls attempted to "help" (clearing of the throat)...this year they were actually really able to help, so we invited grandma.  they were delicious: snowball cookies (pure delicious and melted in your mouth), sugar cookies with royal icing 

and fondant icing, and fudge.

Christmas fudge

**this recipe is so good and so easy.  enjoy!

Microwave Fudge Recipe

2 c Miniature marshmallows
14 oz Can condensed milk
1 ds Salt
12 oz Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c Milk chocolate chips
1/2 c Nuts
1 1/2 ts Vanilla
In 2 qt. glass measure, combine marshmallows, milk, and salt. Microcook on HIGH 3-4 minutes. Stir until marshmallows melt and mixture is smooth. Add chips and stir until melted. Stir in nuts (may use up to 1 cup) and vanilla.
Line 8 or 9 inch square pan with wax paper. Spread fudge evenly in pan. Chill 2 hours, until firm. Turn on to cutting board, peel off paper and cut into squares.
Serves 32

the advent pictures

as promised (because i am sure you were on pins and needles...all 4 of you)-pictures of the advent set up i made.  i wish i could really take credit, but i did get the idea from someone else.  see an earlier post for the link and description.