Merry Christmas!!

We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday!

Christmas Eve's Eve Fun

Chad bought the kids some Christmas pj's and wanted to give them to the kids last night. They were super excited. Marlee is on cloud 9 waiting for Santa to stop by her house. Last night she had all her stuffed animals in the laundry basket dragging them around and passing them out as presents. She was Santa and Cooper was her Elf. One of the kids favorite games is to pull all the cushions off the couch and throw them in a pile on the floor. They run laps through the kitchen, dining room, and down the hall to go flying into the pillows. Chad got some really cute shots of them in action!

We hope you and your family have a Very Merry Christmas!!

Photo Fix Friday

"Whatever Santa doesn't bring me, Grandma will!"

Too Good Not to Share

Over Thanksgiving, I was going through my Mom's cookbooks looking for great holiday recipes. She received the neatest cookie cookbook last year as a gift. I spent a good hour going through it looking for different and easy recipes. Boy, did I hit the jackpot! Now granted, I've only made one set of cookies, but I do plan on making more in the future. So I wanted to share the cookie recipe I made with you. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry right now.



Cake Mix Cut-Out Cookies

18 1/2 oz package yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, beaten



frosting for garnish



Combine all ingredients except frosting; mix until smooth. Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thick (I did use a ruler). Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until tops are lightly golden and edges are done. Cool and frost as desired.



Yield: 3 doz



Now, I don't know if my cookie cutters are extra large, but I barely got a dozen out of this. Also, with the cake batter, I think you could roll them out to 1/8 in thickness and they would be fine. I would just decrease the cook time if you did that. The were so yummy and tasted delicious! My Mom and I were talking about variations of the recipe. How good would chocolate cake mix with hazelnut extract taste? There are so many different routes you could take with it! I hope you enjoy!

Marlee helped me sprinkle on the toppings!

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Card Rejects

Rudy

Meet Rudy the Elf. He's an Elf on the Shelf. He was suppose to come right after Thanksgiving, but he was running late. He's going on his second week here with us. Marlee has really enjoyed looking for his new hiding spot each day. She frequently goes to him during the day to check that he's still there and tries to guess where he will hide next. Cooper is just along for the ride. He will go and find him and shout "RUDY!" and take off running. We talk to him each morning and ask how his trip to the North Pole went. I look forward to many years making memories with Rudy.

Holiday House

Here's another collage of Holiday goodies sitting around the house.

It finally happened

The one BIG advantage to me staying home this past year is that the kids haven't been sick at all! There was maybe a runny nose or two during the spring, but that was it. Well the sickness has arrived in full force. Coughs, fevers, and runny noses are all over our house right now. At least the kids don't seem too bogged down by it all. They haven't slowed down a bit! In fact, I have to ask them to not play so hard! LOL I used a whole can of Lysol and 2 boxes of Kleenex last week. I have sprayed and wiped down every toy in this house at least half a dozen times, if not more. My poor hands are so dry and cracked from constantly washing or sanitizing them. I told Chad I am so thankful that I don't have to worry about juggling work and sick kids. I just get to put all my focus and energy into getting them well. I pray I don't get sick and that the kids' sickness clears up in time for Christmas.

Boy, doesn't that feel good?

Cooper is finally getting his revenge for all the times Marlee has been mean to him.

> He hits and says, "Stop it, Sissy!" all at the same time.

Chad called attention to the smirk on his face in this picture!!

He had just socked her in the head here!

Holiday Fun

With the cold and rainy weekend we decided to stay in and played around the house. We made a gingerbread train. The kids really enjoyed placing the candy on it, and they even sampled a few pieces when I wasn't looking.

Today we made snowmen. They do such a great job with the stencils I create. Plus, it leaves the art pretty neat.




Then they colored holiday pictures. Cooper spent more time taking the tops off the markers than really coloring. Whatever makes him happy, makes me happy!

Christmas

I love decorating for Christmas! I've told Chad that I should get a job at A Christmas Place because it makes me so happy to see the sights and hear the sounds of the Holidays. Here are some pictures from our house for the holidays.

These are some of my favorite ornaments on our tree downstairs.

Here are some of the holiday goodies sitting around the house.

I haven't taken pictures of our trees to amount to anything. I'll have to work on the lighting and try again this week. I'll try and post them this weekend.

Brrrr....It's Cold Outside!!

Saturday we had plans to go see the Canton Christmas Parade, but it was like 35 degrees and the wind chill was too much for me to handle. We headed down to the Arts Center because they were having crafts for kids, light refreshments, and pictures with Santa. Marlee was very excited to go, but once we got there she changed her mind. She stayed close to Chad while Cooper and I ventured to see Santa. Cooper gave him the wrinkled look and wouldn't really have anything to do with him. Then I got Marlee, and she buried her head on my shoulder and wouldn't look at him. Oh, well. Maybe next year. So we spent some time making ornaments and eating cookies.

Rudolph

Marlee and Cooper in bed each reading a Rudolph book during the middle of the day! Gotta love it!!

Paint is Great!

Marlee asks to paint almost daily. I have to mentally prepare myself for it! It's messy and stressful for me. Marlee does fine, but Cooper tends to try and "taste" the paint. But the Holiday season offers so many fun and crafty things to do.

After a rainy Wednesday, we tried to play outside this morning, but it was in the mid 40s at our house. So that didn't last long. I decided to venture into the paint and glitter. The kids had a great time!!! Usually I let Marlee go crazy after we do a project. I haven't let Cooper go hog wild until today.

Here's some of the fun we had.

Wordless Wednesday