25 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Day 1: The tree is up and it’s officially Christmas time. The minute Julia began to see Christmas lights on the streets and in the trees she was joyfully cheering “its Christmas time guys!” Julia was so excited to put up the tree, but Jon and I are not feeling the holiday spirit yet. There are too many things on the to-do list and not enough time and energy to get it all done. I’m glad to be taking moments like these to document them when I can, because otherwise the season would just fly right by me and I’d have missed it. In order to get the tree in its place in the house we had to completely rearrange the furniture and take out half the seating to different areas of the house. Once the tree was up and ready to be turned on and lighted, Julia, Chewy, and me sat there for the grand display! Then it was off to decorate! Julia pleaded to do them all, but it was already past bedtime, so we did the special ornament box and put up the wooden Merry Christmas Train. By the end I was feeling rather impatient and irritated with just about everything, a sign that says it’s way past everyone’s bedtime.

25 Days of Christmas in 2011

Last year I did 30 days of Christmas, and this year I haven't even planned out an album. So, it's going to be 25 days - on the blog, and then I'll create it!

December plans already made:

December 2nd: My mom's birthday!
Dec 3rd, 10th, 17t, and 24th I work in the morning at the Gym daycare!
Dec 4th : Jon's company Christmas Dinner party at benihana's
Dec 7 & 8th: Devin''s Wedding - Jon's the best man!
Dec 10th: Women's bible study group
Dec 11th: Heart Family Christmas Party
Dec 19th: Mother-in-law's Birthday
Dec 24th: Christmas Eve!
Dec 25th: CHRISTMAS! & Church events!

It's going to a very crazy Holiday season for sure! Other events not yet on the calendar...

- putting up the Christmas Tree & decorating
- Peacock Lane
- Visiting Santa
- Family Holiday Pictures
- More Christmas shopping
- Snow play!

I do not have an album created or even planned out. I'm flying by the seat of my pants this year...I have many personal trials ahead of me as well, and I think I will find time to add the personal (internal) notes to the book this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Easter Part 2

There’s a certain process you go through with a 2 and half year old when it comes to Easter egg hunts, especially when you make your own eggs.

1st you show them the chemistry of dying eggs… oooh, pretty colors and stickers!

2nd you convince them that once the eggs are colored Mommy sends them to the Easter Bunny… because of course he’s too busy to make all his eggs!

3rd you hide the eggs before they are ever awake… in the event of rain you hide them on your covered front porch.

4th you make sure you wake them early enough that their mind is fuzzy enough not to remember those are their eggs hidden out there… she won’t even recognize them!

5th hunt for eggs in your pajamas before church …. No need to get that pretty dress dirty!

6th open up the basket of stuff!

Easter Part 1

I'm remembering the little moments this year....

Remembering how amazing it is to watch so many little girls love each other just because they are cousins. They will forever be a close nit bunch!

Remembering that Julia has to have a hat on now whenever the other girls do or it’s rainy, windy, or cold outside. Time to invest in hat making!

Remembering the joy of Easter Egg hunting and running from egg to egg.

Remembering small gifts are more significant then candy!

Remembering Paige walking Julia over to find a gift with her name on it and then helping pull it down!

Remembering Julia not wanting to touch dirty eggs in the dirt, but ok with grabbing them in trees.

Remembering how great it is Julia has strong lungs to blow so much noise out of a plastic recorder!

Turkey Leftovers

So, since Friendsgiving is over and done with I have a fridge packed full of leftovers. A large portion of turkey, most of my green bean casserole, half of my stuffing, and a few other things. My plan for my budget this next 2 weeks was to make leftovers from all the wonderful foods left over. I made a list of my favorite meals and substituted turkey into them and also found some amazing leftover recipes on the food network site.

Here's your Menu:
Here's a list of the dinner menu I created for the next 2 weeks. I bought many items in bulk at Costco, and we will also be receiving a free turkey from Jon's work that we will cook to add to our leftovers. Yes, we will be turkeyed out by December!

1. Pork Chops & Stove top
2. turkey enchiladas
3. Turkey soup w/ dumplings
4. turkey pot pie
5. turkey sandwiches w/ cranberry sauce
6. green bean casserole w/ Baked Chicken
7. Roasted chicken w/ cranberry sauce & cauliflower
8. Round 2 roasted chicken Slow cooked chili
9. Turkey& Stuffing casserole
10. Mushroom & Ground turkey spaghetti
11. Thanksgiving Dinner
12. Turkey Burritos with Spanish rice

A review of a few:
So far I have made turkey pot pie & turkey stuffing casserole (and of course sandwiches). The potpie was just like chicken, so I was not surprised at how good it was. I did add extra vegetables I had left over into it giving it some extra textures. Last night I went about making the casserole. Now, this was an experiment for me. The recipe called for uncooked stuffing, but I had a Rubbermaid container filled with cooked stove top, so I went with it.

Ingredients:
-1 can of cream of mushroom soup
-1 cup of milk
-salt & pepper to taste
-small bag of frozen broccoli
-2 cups of cubed turkey
-left over stuffing (enough to cover the top of your casserole)
-2 cups of shredded cheese

Preparation:
Mix soup, milk, spices in sprayed medium casserole dish. Stir in broccoli and turkey. Cover with leftover stuffing. Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (or until filling is bubbling). Top with shredded cheese and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve with a side salad and some rolls.
Sorry, there's no pictures - we ate it all to fast!