Tis the Season

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us....the Christmas season is in full swing, even though it seems like it has been here for months.

We have decorated the house and will get the tree on Saturday. We have been watching holiday movies and enjoying the holiday spirit.

We are looking forward this weekend to a Christmas parade, tree shopping, decorating the tree and possibly visiting Santa (don't want to wait till last minute like last year and have to wait 1 1/2 hours).

We are making our list and checking it twice and hoping for a season of family, love, laughter and joy.

Thankful for...

*For my HOME that provides warmth, comfort and protection. A place where my children will grow up and create memories they will remember forever.

*For our jobs. Sean and I are very lucky to have very good jobs. We both work with such wonderful people that are like our extended family.

*For our friends. The ones me met in years past that have helped shape who we are, our current friends and those that we will hopefully re-connect with (thanks to FaceBook).

*For my Husband...by best friend, the father of my girls, my protector and my HERO. He makes me smile, he makes me laugh, he makes me feel safe and he melts my heart.

*For my GIRLS. They remind me on a daily basis of the importance of life and love. They make me laugh and make me feel like a kid again. They teach me patience and show me the world through their innocent and believing eyes.

*For my Family. For my Mom and Dad that raised and nurtured me into the person I am today, for my brother that I am very proud of and for all my extended family...aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws.

I have so many blessings in my life and I am thankful for each and every one of them.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Thanksgiving cookies and.....

Today the girls made Pilgrim hat cookies. These are super easy. I showed the girls one time and they made rest.

We took Fudge Striped cookies turned them upside down, took a Reese's cup and dipped it in vanilla icing (added a few drops of yellow food coloring) then added a orange Tic Tac. I changed it up a little and tried to make one look like a turkey by adding candy corn.

Super easy, Super fun.

P.S. Yesterday I made ham and bean soup with DUMPLINGS. It was the first time I ever made Dumplings and they turned out. I have many memories of my Mom making dumplings. Many times they turned out but many times they didn't. These things are pretty temperamental. I was soooo excited that they turned out, especially on my first try. All turned out YUMMY!!!

P.S.S.

Emma lost her first tooth on Friday (it had been loose since September). The Tooth Fairy stopped by and left $5, a certificate, and sprinkled some fairy dust on her pillow but the Tooth Fairy must of forgotten her fairy dust because Emma found it on my vanity...OOOPPS!!! Emma then said she thought the Tooth Fairy left it because she saw the scrapbook room and thought we could use it.!!!! Whewwwww!!! Hopefully the Tooth Fairy takes all her belongings with her next time!!!

Countdown Calendar

Last year as an easy and fun way for the girls to countdown the 25 days leading up to Christmas I made this.

I used a muffin tin then covered magnets with scrapbook paper. Everyday under the magnet is a treat or something fun to do. Here are some of the goodies I have planned for this year:

*watch Polar Express

*drive around and look at Christmas lights

*go visit Santa

*go ice skating

*bake cookies

*I bought reindeer pens and a snowman puzzle for other treats.

*decorate the Christmas tree

*watch a movie in Mommy and Daddy's bed

I've been planning out the schedule for the month. I then write the treat or surprise on a piece of paper, fold it up and put it under the magnet. The girls loved it last year and I look forward to the excitement and fun again this year.

(If you are one of my wonderful dedicated BLOG followers you might have seen this on my old BLOG.)

BIG Savings

I love it when I SAVE MONEY and that I definitely did today. Of course it took some work: I planned our weekly dinner menu, perused the grocery store circulars, made my list, and pulled out coupons.

My first stop was Safeway. My total came to $76.28. I saved $23.28 with my Club Card and an additional $8.60 with my coupons. I spent $40.40.

Next I went to Superfresh (my usual place to grocery shop). My total came to $188.22. I saved $63.75 with my Club Card and an additional $20.65 in coupons. I spent $103.79.

So this week I saved $196.28 (this includes the $80 I saved at Toys r Us on Wednesday...see previous post). I also got $35 in gift cards as an added bonus (Toys R Us and Sears) and will get another $12 back in mail-in-rebates.

Not too bad for a weeks worth of shopping.

Countdown to Christmas

* I started my Christmas shopping yesterday and got lots accomplished.

* Went to Toys r Us and saved $80 (all items were on sale), got $25 in gift cards to use later and will get $12 back in mail-in-rebates....not too bad.

* Local radio station WLIF will start their Christmas music in 13 days.

* Printed out ABC Family's November and December Holiday show schedule and the 2009 Holiday Specials Television Schedule (for all the channels).

***I guess I really need to focus on Thanksgiving, it will be here before we know it.

50 days til Christmas

Have you started shopping, have you planned your menus, have you made you gift list, have you planned any parties, have you made your Christmas wish list?????

If you haven't...better get with it. The stores have already sent out the Wish Books, Christmas music will be heard on the radio soon and Santa will be arriving at the malls in just a week or so. Crazy how every year the Christmas Season starts earlier and earlier. October thru December is my favorite time of year and the busiest.

About a month ago I made something to help me stay organized. It will hold ALL MY LISTS in one place and it is small enough to fit in my purse.

In this planner I will keep my Christmas gift list for my family and friends, family Christmas party info, receipts (in the envelope), Christmas to do list, Christmas traditions/memories, misc. Christmas shopping list and our fun stuff to do list. I can't take full credit for this idea. I did see something very similar on another BLOG but do not remember which one (if I did I would definitely post the link and give them credit). I did however make some changes so that it worked for me.

So WELCOME the the Christmas Season. Will keep you up to date on our Christmas adventures.

Halloween Happenings

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. We certainly did. It was a busy day of carving, parading, partying and trick or treating.

Emma's class had a Book Character Parade on Friday (Fancy way of saying we don't celebrate Halloween) and Emma dressed up like Fancy Nancy.