Christmas 2011

So after all the hard work its is over....it was a fabulous Christmas and Alex was so excited!!! Not only did Santa bring awesome gifts, for once I do not recall any arguments at family gatherings ( i know everyone wants to be happy and jolly during the holidays but it is rare in my family). I am so thankful and blessed that I have an awesome son who is appreciative and giving, who also loves to open presents. Here are some pics from this years festivities....

 

Yummy Cupcakes by Christine and Alex

Transformers + Cars...Awesome Combo

Milk and Cookies for Santa and Reindeer Food for the Reindeer

Santa has come....

Thanks Santa!

Red Velvet Pancakes for Breakfast :)

Me Like Cookies - Cookie Monster

Every Christmas we make cookies and while it is so yummy and delicious, it can be quite tiring. Each year a new cookie is made and if it is delicious it is added to the cookie roster! This year's game plan; chocolate chip, chocolate chip with walnut, tuxedos, peanut butter with Reese's, sugar cookies, and drum roll, the new addition is Nutella cookies!!!!! I have a confession; I am addicted to Nutella, and the Nutella icing for Alex's birthday was a success, so hopefully the cookies will be too.


 Inspiration for Nutella Cookies 


 http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/nutella-cookies/


Can't wait to see wait my little sous chef (Alex) whips up this year <3

Holidays

The holidays are my favorite time of the year; yummy baking, presents, family time, the look on my son's face Christmas morning, and so many other wonderful things. These times can also be difficult for many families, especially financially. This year to alleviate some of the financial stress, I shopped all throughout the year. There were definite pros and cons; saving money yay!, possible over shopping due to spaced out timeline (not so yay!). Today, while doing some Christmas shopping for others, I had to remind my son to stay with me; as I was sternly letting him know this, a lady came over to us. I thought for sure she was going to say something not so nice about me correcting my son, instead she came over to give us a free $10.00 gift card to JcPenney, such a small gesture really did brighten my day! Overall, everyone was in a nice mood; if only everyone was as nice as they are during the holidays all year long! This really is the time to think of those less fortunate and remind our children while presents are great, they are not the most important part of the holidays. We usually donate toys to the Toys for Tots program and I would like to volunteer at a soup kitchen when my son is a little older. I am so grateful for everything my family has and hope everyone else has a nice holdiday <3

Me Time!!!

With a much needed break from school, I feel such relief! More time to focus on my son, as well as me time. Funny, that I chose to read a book (like I didn't have enough of that with school). I read
It was so good and made me grateful that I do not live in those times. Now I can watch the movie, even though I am sure the book is better (they usually are). I do love Emma Stone though, so we will see. Now back to the holiday festivities/decorating and quality time with my little monkey :)

Sundays

I love Sundays! Today is definitely not a lazy Sunday. I have rearranged and moved furniture, mountains of laundry, and overall cleaning in preparation for the holidays. Best part of the day, putting puzzles together with Alex. Lately, Alex has become very inquisitive and argumentative (wonder where he gets that!).It is funny how much he will argue with me about something so simple, such as it is not cold outside. Time for the good teaching moment of the day; no shoes outside on a cold day is a bad thing. Hopefully after freezing feet, he realized one of the major differences between summer and winter. Well break time is up and back to the cleaning I go.