Christmas Excitement

Christmas morning is always a wonderful time in our house.  I love the tradition of watching the girls going straight to their stocking to see what surprises Santa left and B looking to see if Santa ate her cookies and shared carrots with the reindeer.  After all the presents are opened, we gather for breakfast strata - a tradition that we've managed to keep up for every Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We definitely have a lot to be grateful for.

Visiting Santa

Love this picture of B with Santa.  What’s better than sharing your Christmas list with Santa, then enjoying an ice cream at Mitchell’s?!

I wonder what they're talking about?

The Wonders of the Season

Bridget snuggled under the tree to enjoy the lights. But after a long day of playing with all that Santa brought her, she fell asleep under the tree. So sweet.

Yesterday, we also enjoyed a nice afternoon with my family. Even managed to snap another picture under the Easton Christmas tree. Another wonderful holiday season this year!

What a Wonderful Day

We had the BEST Christmas so far in our little family. We slept till about 8:00 a.m. (a luxury around here!), woke Bridget up to see if Santa had visited, gave Meg a cup of coffee to get through such an early morning hour, then we each took turns opening gifts from Santa and from each other. We sat in a little drum circle, if you will, just enjoying the peace and quiet and the morning with each other. It was truly wonderfuly.

Bridget got her big item of an Easy Bake Oven, a right of passage for every little girl. Seriously, didn't you have one? She also opened up a Justin Bieber DVD, a One Direction book and an American Girl Doll (the one from Target - shhh!). We laughed that I loved Donny Osmond and Shawn Cassady in kindergarten, Meg loved the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync, and now Bridget is into JB and One Direction. Funny how times change, yet they stay the same.

Megan enjoyed a Michael Kors watch that she had really been loving and hoping Santa would bring to her. She also wrapped herself up in a faux fur vest and pink flamingo slippers - yep, Project Runway here folks!

Greg loved his Moscow Mule started kit, new luggage with a weekend trip (yay!), and a snowglobe from Bridget from the school Christmas fair. It was perfect.

I felt truly blessed. I had my amazing family around me and even received something from my favorite designer - yes, Under Armour! Greg got me the cutest hot pink thermal hoodie. Best of all, all of us, including the dogs, enjoyed a nice little hike today to burn off a small fraction of the calories we've ingested. Christmas Ale, cookies, and holiday baking can seriously damage a girl's willpower!

Hope your Christmas or holiday celebration was surrounded by family and friends.

24 Days of Christmas

Since Megan was very little, I have always done various versions of the 24 Days of Christmas. During the lean years, most days included free activities and one or two Hershey kisses and mini Reese cups. Along the way, I've added little ticket items like a find-a-word puzzle book, magazine, and other little dollar store finds. The first year I included Bridget in the mix, she received a mini Reese cup on day 2 and, from that point forward, she thought Reese cups were called "2s". And each year, I've made sure that we open each day's little gift or activity together as a family or it included a family activity or charitable event.

This year was the most challenging since Megan is away at college. Thank goodness for technology. The deal I made between the girls is that each day they could only open each item if they opened their items together while on FaceTime or Skype. Wow, it's been so much fun. We log on around dinner time. The girls can talk to each other and open their day's activity or gift while I'm fixing dinner. It really is like we're all together.

So here's how the first week has played out:

Day 1 - A mini polar bear that, when put in water, expands up to 600% over 10 days.
Day 2 - One Reese christmas tree.
Day 3 - A washcloth that pops up full-size while in the bathtub.
Day 4 - Make hot chocolate with each other.
Day 5 - Santa bubble gum tape (Meg's all-time favorite)
Day 6 - Make paper snowflakes together.

Tonight's activity was so much fun watching my two wonderful daughters making snowflakes. One is 19 and one is 5 and yet they couldn't seem closer. Love my girls.

I hope your December is just as magical and filled with close friends and family.

DIY Christmas Gifts

It's that time of the year to start planning for Christmas gifts. If you're wanting to save money, spend time at home, and make some neat Christmas gifts, here's a few good ideas for you!

Paint a wooden picture frame, glue on initial.

Epsom salt, twine and rustic ornament.

Source - Great site for more ideas!

Glass vase, print photos on vellum, and modge podge to vase, add votice candle. Nice personalized gift!

Wishing you a wonderful December!

Cookbooks: Do You Have a Favorite?

I have such an affection for cookbooks. I've acquired a nice collection and am always finding myself in the cooking section at Barnes & Noble. My newest obsession has been to find a vegetarian cookbook to provide inspiration for replacing the same-old, same-old pasta, rice and potatoes.

Three on my "wishlist" include:

Megan and I first came across this cookbook during one of my B&N browsing sessions. I loved how the recipes included ingredients I might actually own!

I have a habit of taking my daughters to Trader Joe's and wasting many a Sunday there. Bridget enjoys the fresh fruits and vegetables and I love stocking up on the frozen veggies. Meg just comes along to have the coffee and walk aimlessly up and down the aisles. Who doesn't love an afternoon at Trader Joe's?!

What a wonderful movement encouraged by Paul and his daughters! I had the opportunity to flip through this cookbook and have to admit that the pictures are as pleasing as the recipes. Another cookbook definitely on my wishlist.

So what's your favorite cookbook? Are you asking Santa for good old fashioned recipes?

Merry Christmas!

I know, right?! Who doesn't want this under their tree?! I'm pretty sure Meg wrote to Santa and asked for this very thing!

May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

The Last of the 24 Days of Christmas

Alternate title: How I Wore Myself Out Over Christmas!

Seriously, this was so much fun, but I did learn that it's ok to have a super simple activity like coloring in a coloring book. A few projects took too much time and it was difficult to plan around the trips that I had scheduled on the fly. But we had fun and I will definitely do this again next year - with modifications, since Meg will be on college (cue the tears!).

December 22: Make a gift for the squirrels and hang it outside. We found pinecones, tied a string at one end, coated the pinecone in peanut butter, then rolled it in bird seed. Very easy project.

December 23: Have a candlelight dinner with family and name one thing you love best about each person. Today was also 11 years since my first date with the hubs. The date last 11 hours - 5 of those hours being spent in an Irish pub :)

December 24: Wrap all the presents and put them under the tree. Off to bed so Santa can visit!

24 Days of Christmas: Week 3

This has been so much fun enjoying a different activity each day with my girls.

December 15: Sing Christmas carols in the car and drive around. I must polish up on the lyrics next time!

December 16: Bake Cookies. We made sugar cookies and gingerbreak cookies. Now don't think I've gone all Martha Stewart over here. They were prepared mixes which required adding 2 ingredients and they were shaped into circles. Yep, couldn't find the cookie cutters.

December 17: Christmas Scavenger Hunt. So much fun! The hunt started with a story of how Santa needed Bridget and Megan's help to find Rudolph. Both girls had to solve a series of clues, leading them to Rudolph (a stuffed animal that plays music). I'm not sure which one had more fun!

December 18: Bridget and Megan made a beautiful gingerbread house (scroll down to see how wonderful it turned out!).

December 19: Make a Christmas drawing using glitter pens to make the picture twinkle with instructions to hang the pictures up for me to see when I got home from my race. I came home to pictures of a snowman and a Christmas tree that were absolutely perfect masterpieces!

December 20: Dance class recital, then ice cream with family. We were lucky enough that Grandma, Aunt Kim, Uncle George, Ben, Maeve and Quinn were able to join us and see ballerina Bridget. Meg had a swim meet and had a great performance!

December 21: We made ornaments out of pre-made Crayola clay. I couldn't believe how much fun.

24 Days of Christmas: Week 2

The girls and I have enjoyed doing this little project. Every morning Bridget gets excited to open the day's activity before going to school and then repeats it to me on the drive home. I was clearly a bit too ambitious when I started this project as I didn't factor in how tired I might be after a long day at work! So I've had to substitute a couple of days with silly, little things. Oh well, it's still been a blast!

December 8: We were supposed to make an ornament, but instead we just colored in a coloring book. I forgot to buy supplies and this one sneaked up on me way too fast! Thank goodness, substitutions are allowed.

December 9: Write your letter to Santa and mail it to the North Pole. I used parchment paper and let Bridget stamp Santa's picture on the top of card, then write inside. Easy project!

December 10: This was a travel day to see my brother and his family, so the girls just received a small piece of candy.

December 11: Spend time doing a family activity. We visited the Children's Museum with my brother's family and had a great day. Check out the fun photos!

December 12: Make snowflakes and hang them up. Thanks, Aunt Char, for the wonderful craft project! I even had a blast making snowflakes.

December 13: Movie night! Make popcorn and watch a movie with family. We watched Beauty and the Beast Christmas. What's not to love about Belle!

24 Days of Christmas

A few years ago I bought a new Advent Calendar for the girls. It's a giant stocking with 24 little pockets for treats or notes. This year, I decided to mix it up with fun stuff (treats/jokes), family activities and giving/spreading goodwill. Below is from our first week:

December 1: decorate the Christmas tree.

December 2: go to the town gathering for the lighting of the tree and meet Santa afterwards.

December 3: what do Santa's elves learn at the North Pole school? The ELFabet! Reese's trees as a treat for each daughter.

December 4: what do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite! Small Activity/coloring book for Bridget and Vogue magazine for Megan.

December 5: what do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes! Santa bubble gum tape (both my girls love it!).

December 6: drive around enjoying the Christmas lights while enjoying Mitchell's ice cream. Mmmm!

December 7: gather two used toys and two good books to donate to a shelter.

So far the first week has been so much fun! Love the holidays and I love my girls!

Christmas in the Desert

Phew - what a whirlwind of a trip! We landed in Vegas in the middle of the night...and would you believe, we got a room upgrade! Of course, when we're completely exhausted. But we rallied! Come on, it's Vegas, Baby! We stayed at Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower and Bellagio fountain. Vegas lit up at night really is quite spectacular.


Rise and shine so we could belly up to the buffet. Megan can't pass up a Vegas buffet. After tackling a buffet, what else would make sense than to head out for our long 5-hour drive to Phoenix. Hoover Dam and Lake Mead were pretty cool and must-sees. Stopped for the obligatory Del Tacos. I wouldn't step foot in a Taco Bell (sober), but Del Taco takes cheap taco making to a whole new level. Love the fish tacos - they could be made up of Mrs. Paul's fishsticks for all I know, but I love them.

Christmas Eve morning began with a Zumba class with Sharon and Megan while the kids went to one of those bouncy places. I couldn't believe how awesome and energetic this class was. I had been putting off getting on the Zumba bandwagon, but how can you pass up latin dance music with hot instructors. One of the Zumba instructors was dressed in a white running skirt with knee-hi red/white stripe socks with fur at the top of the socks. I will be stealing this outfit idea for Christmas 2011 races.


Christmas Eve also included a mondo gift wrapping session while visiting with the family. Santa came Christmas morning with Bridget getting "just what she wanted" and Megan loving her new Ugg boots.





Enjoying the newest addition, Quinn.

Breakfast strata, too many cookies, and a Shiner Bock every time I turned around resulted in a definite need for a Christmas Day run (an annual gift to myself). In 68 degree weather and a sleeveless tank, I tackled an exhausting 4.5 miles. How did I get so out of shape? And how did 4.5 miles become a long run?! Whatevs, it was the best present ever :)


Christmas Night we enjoyed a nice evening walk around the Phoenix Zoo for Zoo lights. The kids loved it and the adults enjoyed the peace and quiet. And a nice walk helped burn off the additional Shiner Bock (hello, my new favorite friend, Shiner Bock).



Next morning the girls went for a little light shopping at Nordstrom Rack while the guys took the kids to a bar to watch the Browns game. Progressive parenting, eh? Win-win situation for everyone.

Next up, Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon!