Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, Let your Hearts be Light!!

Somehow I think singing these Christmas songs will make the world a better place, imagine everyone in the whole world singing in unison oh holy night, or the first noel or silent night and then have yourself a merry little christmas! So this past weekend the dreaded packing began, why do I dislike packing you may ask? Well it is a love hate relationship, I love it because it means we leave in 2 days, but I hate it because I can NEVER fit everything I want, and when flying you have to be so picky about what you take because otherwise you could end up paying the same amount on baggage as on your ticket!! It is absolutely pathetic...so 95% of the packing is done and the suitcases are about to rip they are stuffed so full! Last night we did our little "Christmas" since we will be in Michigan, so callie(3) woke from her nap to discover a small pile of presents underneath a santa hat(because he moves so quick he left it behind ;)...charlotte(1) woke up soon after and they were entertained for the rest of the night with their new things. I must say I am completely impressed with the Melissa and Doug brand of toys, they are wooden which is spectacular and the girls love them! We have been so blessed this Christmas season and it isn't even over yet, you can just feel it in your heart, it really does make it seem that "next year all our troubles will be out of sight".

Oh the Weather outside is Frightful....

I must say as much as I am disliking this extremely cold front that has come to the Sunshine State, it almost makes me get into more of the Christmas spirit. I grew up in Michigan so this is my first December with no snow and weather above freezing! But cold weather makes for a great time for staying inside and enjoying Christmas songs, baking, snuggling up to classic Christmas movie, etc. So today is a wonderful day, my darling little 3 yr old, Callie, and I are going to be doing some Christmas baking(my 1 yr old Charlotte will be the taste tester ;)...think puppy chow(or muddy buddies), sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and whatever else we can find time for!! I really want my daughters to grow up cherishing these times where she loves helping out her mommy baking. It really is the most adorable thing when Callie comes up to me in her little apron and her own little oven mitt and says "the cookies are done!" I am feeling so blessed this CHRISTmas, leave it to a child to remind us of what it's really about. The other day Callie was on the phone with her Grandma and she was asking Callie what she asked santa for this Christmas, she said a bike. Grandma asked anything else? Callie responded, I want a little gift for Trent*(name has been changed, one of her friends) and he can come over and we can share a present. I loved this, because we all could use the reminder that even though it is okay to want things for yourself, it is so much more rewarding to give and share with others!! I saw this amusing quote the other day and thought you might enjoy it...
"When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?" ~G.K. Chesterton

Tis the season to be jolly!!

Tis the season to be jolly!  Today was just a nice and relaxing saturday so I thought it would be fun to catch up on my dvr list.  Somehow this show, the HALO awards show was recorded so I watched it where I learned this devastating fact about human trafficking(child slaves).  Now I have been aware of this discusting "business" for a while, but I guess I never realized how big it really is.  I can't remember the exact number but we're talking this is billions of dollars made every year(think more than Google and Starbucks COMBINED) on these poor children forced into slavery.  It showed pictures of some of the poor children who hardly have any clothes and are being made into child prostitutes and slaves.  This got me thinking....here we are stressing out about things that just look small and petty compared to this when we should be happy and grateful for the things that we do have!  It's amazing how little things can just turn your day and mind set right around!  So this holiday season if you find yourself thinking, I wish I had more money, more this and that...Please think about this and be appreciative you have a nice warm home, food, clothing, family, friends and LOVE because some of these children may never live to experience having any of the above!  Tis the season to be jolly for all the wonderful people/things/etc you have in your life!

Baby it's cold outside!

Okay so I'm addicted to listening to Christmas songs..sue me! So this past week has been freezing for south florida, we had a frost and wind chill advisory for today and tomorrow! Maybe its time we move further south, bahamas anyone?! ;) Well we are officially going(DRIVING) to Michigan for Christmas to be with family/friends and have a wonderful time! I was all excited and wanted to start packing immediately even though we don't leave for another 2 1/2 weeks, but turns out I can't even start packing because we need all our cold weather clothes because it is frigid here! Anyways, I'm sure I have mentioned my love for Christmas and when I thought I couldn't love it anymore I recently discovered something that made me appreciate this time of year even more...Christmas for my daughter Callie equals most importantly Jesus's Birthday but also equals Santa Clause and presents. Let me bring in a Christmas song for this...Santa Claus is coming to town :) haha. So every time Callie decides to act up, there is a new way to end it immediately...You better not pout you better not cry Santa Clause is coming to town! Oh i know your probably thinking how could a mother do this to her daughter, its evil and blackmail and totally against the Christmas spirit...well until you have a little 3 year old who is having little spunk fests on a regular basis then you have no room to judge besides whats a little blackmail when the end result is a happy mother and daughter! :D My daughter Charlotte however is too young for this idea(unfortunately), and lately I wish she could understand because she has turned into the queen of drama, example..I am on the phone with my mom and Charlotte wants to not only talk to her but hold the phone as well, and when I don't let her(because of chewing on the phone and whipping it across the room) she starts this crying screaming fit until I give in and let her have the phone. Immediately she quits crying and says "hi"! happily to my mom :P So here's to hoping for a festive drive up to Michigan(29 hours..anyone want in?) with as little drama as possible, and that goes for me and the hubby too ;)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Christmas...Absolutely my favorite holiday!! What other holiday can you get thousands of songs just about that holiday? Plus an excuse to totally pig out on the most amazing bakery and food before you have to start making New Year's resolutions, I really wonder if the person who officially started New Year's resolutions was in one of those week-long bloat fests from eating too much on Christmas and was like I'm not going to eat like that for a whole year?! I am on cloud nine right now...my favorite thing to do all year, baking Christmas cookies/other bakery items while listening to Christmas music and then eating that bakery while watching Christmas movies, It's a Wonderful Life anyone?! My daughter loves baking with me so yesterday we made some sugar cookies as a start to my holiday baking, heres the recipe if you feel like trying them....
Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract(or almond extract works too!)
Red and Green sprinkles

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Combine red and green sprinkles on a plate/bowl and roll cookie dough balls to cover and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Sit down with one(or two or five who cares its the holidays?!) with some delicious hot cocoa/coffee and you'll be in the holiday spirit in no time!!