Merry Christmas {2016}

The 25 Days of Christmas - How We Have Fun At Christmas Without Santa

Before Elise was born, we made the decision that we would not "do" Santa. While it is magical for children, to us, it just felt dishonest. And we knew that one day Elise would figure out that Santa was not real and that we had lied to her. We didn't want to break her trust or give her any cause to doubt our word. (There is a whole other theological discussion that we could have here, but not today.)

Now, let me stop here...I'm not judging you if you do Santa at your house, just as I don't want you to judge me for not doing it at my house. We all have to make our own parenting decisions and whatever works for individual families is totally OK with me.

That being said, people who know this about us always have 1 question - "Don't you think that Elise will miss the magic?" The answer, "Nope." We still have fun, she visits with Santa at school (we aren't anti-Santa, he just doesn't get the credit for bringing the gifts at our house!), we plan plenty of intentional activities that make the month of December as magical for her as any other child.

We have a set of 25 drawers that I decorated last year when she was old enough for us to begin the tradition and each day holds a surprise. She has literally been asking about the drawers since October! Some days hold a small treat, others something fun that we can do as a family. She looks forward to opening that drawer as much as, if not more than, I have seen kids look forward to sitting on Santa's lap and giving their Christmas list.

In Elise's mind, Santa is a character just like Minnie Mouse or a Disney princess, and because every year at school he passes out candy canes, if you ask her what Santa is bringing her, she will tell you a candy cane. We have talked with her this year about what others believe and how we don't spoil what they believe, we just keep it a secret.

Here is what the 25 Days of Christmas look like for us this year: (pictures of what we have done so far are included!)

·       Let’s deck the halls outside!

·       Make a gingerbread village.

·       It’s time for the Christmas Parade!

·       Christmas Party at the Hefner’s.

·       Yummy! A sweet treat!

·       Decorate the refrigerator and windows.

·       Who wants to make Christmas Rice Krispy Treats?

·       Let’s go on a Candy Cane hunt!

·       Let’s snuggle with Christmas movies and cocoa.

·       Buy cookies to bake with Ms. Caitlin.

·       See Mimi sing in the Messiah.  See the Christmas lights!

·       Special breakfast is waiting. And Santa is coming to school!

·       Let’s bake Chocolate Crinkle cookies to take to school.

·       It’s Christmas Party Day at school!  Don’t forget the cookies!

·       Hang a new ornament on the tree.

·       Let’s decorate a tree and wreath for Elise’s room.

·       Let’s make ornaments to give to family and friends.

·       Party at our house tomorrow night! Let’s decorate!

·       Who wants a big girl room?

·       Yummy! A sweet treat!

·       Christmas Party at Church. Let’s give gifts to our friends!

·       Read a new Christmas book.

·       Let’s play the Saran Wrap Ball game!

·       Put out your stocking so we can fill it up!

·       Merry Christmas! Read Luke 2.

 

MeeMaw, Mimi, and MaMaw

 

I had a "MeeMaw," and Elise has a "Mimi" and a "MaMaw." My "Mom" called her mother "Mama," and my aunt did too, but she spelled it "Momma." Do you know what they all have in common (besides being family)? You cannot find a greeting card with any of those names on them in the store. As a gal who has a name that is never spelled correctly on the cutesy stuff in the store, this irks me.

When I received an email from Cardstore and realized that you can personalize many of their Mother's Day cards with any of those, I was so excited! I always felt so weird buying a card that said "Grandmother" or "Mother," they just didn't fit.

You can even add your own photos to many cards and their prices are often lower than cards that you have to settle for in the store. And as always with Cardstore, you have the option of having them mail the card directly to your Mom or Mimi for you!

Hurry, you have to place your order by May 2nd to get it to your special lady in time!

P.S. What do you call your mother and grandmother?

Easter 2016 Recap in Photos

 

Under The Big Top

In an effort to give Elise experiences rather than things, we opted not to do little Valentine's gifts this year and instead take her to the circus for the 1st time. The Rev has fond memories of his Dad taking him and buying him outrageously expensive toys and cotton candy and wanted to get to share that memory with Elise. We kept it a total surprise and didn't tell her what we were doing until we arrived at the circus.

She had a blast! The animals were definitely her favorite part. And Daddy and I had a pretty good time, too---even if she didn't get the cheaply made light up toy that the Rev was hoping for and instead opted for a stuffed Elephant with a blue cape. And even if she opted for the $15 shaved ice instead of the $12 cotton candy that Daddy had memories of!

Now, let's not talk about the car breaking down on the way home and leaving us in a ditch...in the snow...for 3 hours...definitely a memory filled Valentine's Day that we won't forget!

Love Is In The Air

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching, so we have been working on class Valentine cards and teacher Valentine cards and I thought that I would share.

Elise is giving her Preschool and Church friends these Super Hero themed cards and bracelets. The cards are a free printable from It's Always Autumn and the bracelets were only $6 for 24 (with free shipping if you are a Prime member!) from Amazon.

And because Elise is a fuzzy sock fanatic, she is giving fuzzy sock slippers and chocolates to her Preschool and Church teachers. We paired them up with a free printable from Made To Be A Momma.

Inexpensive and easy for the win!

P.S. Elise's teacher sent home a note that they are making a Valentine's holder at school for all of their cards. Anybody else remember making those? I loved them!

Long Weekend Love

We played in a snow shower,

made Cinnamon Sugar Snowflakes,

ate crazy Noodle Hot Dogs,

 



bowled with friends, and had a Tea Party marathon with Minnie.

No luck getting Scarlett to drink tea, though....

I love long weekends!

Back At It...

Two weeks of days with Elise, travel, Christmas and New Year's excitement, more food than anyone should consume, Netflix binge watching (have you seen Making a Murderer? Thoughts? We finished that and have moved on to Parenthood) and staying up till all hours...came to a halt on Tuesday when break was over and it was time to get back at it. I figure it will take us through the middle of next week to really feel like we are back in our regularly scheduled groove.

Christmas stuff is all put away, we are back to our healthy eating and workout goals (as well as weekly weigh ins!), and I feel a January purge-all-the-things and end-all-the-clutter binge coming on! I don't really set resolutions, since I fail miserably at them, but some home organization is definitely in order.

What is on your New Year To Do list?

Merry Christmas {2015}

Great Gifts from the Target Dollar Spot

My love for Target is well documented and the Dollar Spot there sure did come through this year for cute, affordable Christmas gifts!

These cute car books (only $1) will go to the boys in Elise's Sunday School class.

And this spray chalk, which can be used on sidewalks or on snow (again only $1 each), is what she is giving to her preschool classmates.

These super cute mini Pillow Pets Dream Lites were on clearance ($1.48 each) and will make the girls in her Sunday School class super happy!

I snagged one of these Stackable Crayons to go in Elise's stocking, but you could pair it with a coloring book (they have those in the Dollar Spot, too!) for an inexpensive gift for a little one.

P.S. Target paid me nothing for this little gem of a love-fest, but if they want to, I am totally open and will take payment in Target gift cards!

When It Hits...

Am I the only one who thinks that I have a really good handle on all of the Christmas stuff only to get to 2 weeks out and have the huge panic hit? I keep adding to the To Do and the To Buy list, if it weren't for Amazon Prime, I would seriously be going nuts! I am further along than normal, but it just always seems like next week is the busiest week, trying to get work, church, and school gifts bought, wrapped, passed out before I leave work and Elise finishes school on Friday. I know it will all get done and I just need to take a deep breath, but man it is a nightmare for us list makers and check it off-ers! Don't even remind me that I still have Christmas cards to address...

On a side note - Elise has a Christmas Countdown Calendar again this year and it has been so awesome to watch her sheer joy at opening her drawer for that day and finding a sweet treat or a fun activity to do. We are making Christmas ornaments and seeing the lights this weekend, so we will leave all of the stress behind and focus on fun as a family...that is what really matters anyway.

Second side note - Anybody have a great under $15 gift (not food or bath stuff) for co-workers who are friends but not really hang out friends, just work friends?

What's Up This Weekend?

Here's what's up this weekend at our house:

• Christmas Parade! One of Elise's favorite Christmas activities.
• A buttload of present wrapping and Hallmark movie watching (y'all know I loathe wrapping presents so I have to be armed with a good distraction from the task!)
• Deciding which picture will go on this year's Christmas card (family photos turned out great!)
• Select fabrics for Elise's Christmas outfit...yep, it's still on the list. I was all settled on gingerbread houses and then she developed a fascination with nutcrackers, wants to play with them in every store display, so I may use the nutcracker fabric. Thoughts?

• Groceries and laundry...EVERY.SINGLE.WEEKEND. Why must they expect food and clothing?

What's up with you this weekend?

Sweet Potato Casserole: The Best One

If you were fortunate enough to know my MeeMaw, you know that she had a love for all things sweet. This Sweet Potato Casserole, which she made for every Thanksgiving and every Christmas, is my absolute favorite for the holidays. It is my not-a-holiday-without-it recipe. You will eat it and not be quite sure if it is a side dish or a dessert, and after about 3 bites, you will just give up trying to figure it out and EAT it! My guess is that she loved it so much because it was really a vegetable disguised as a dessert!

A funny story: One of the last Thanksgivings that she was with us, she asked me to make it and bring to our dinner. She handed me a recipe card, I took it and followed it exactly. I remember when I was making it that something seemed odd - the recipe called for crushed cereal in the topping and I didn't remember ever noticing that when I ate it. It looked right, so I took it on over to dinner and mentioned that the cereal confused me. That was when we realized that she gave me the wrong recipe card, she had saved the recipe for the "best one" in a different part of her crammed full recipe box and overlooked it!

I'm excited to get to make it for our family meal tomorrow, it won't be as good as hers, because she added a special kind of love. If you try it, let me know what you think!

What's Up This Weekend?

Here's what's up this weekend at our house:

• Finish the Christmas decorating (yes, I know it isn't even Thanksgiving, but with travel it is so busy over Thanksgiving break, so I am getting it done now so that I can enjoy it.) We set up Elise a little tree when I was off of work on Wednesday and you would think that we gave her a million dollars...she is already so excited for Christmas!
• Set the DVR up to record all of the Christmas specials that will start next week. I love some Hallmark movies over the holidays!
• Pick out clothes and accessories for family photos (they are next week - please say a prayer that the threenager cooperates...)
• Select fabrics for Elise's Christmas outfit...time to start sewing!
• Take a stab at making my own almond flour - that stuff is crazy expensive!
• Groceries and laundry...ugh...
• Start planning Elise's Advent activities.
• Cheat meal tonight...pasta, mmmm!

What's up with you this weekend?

I Have Seen The Future...

and it looks like this...

#nophotosplease
#threenager
#pardontheattitude
#motherplease
#ipromiseshehadfun

Pumpkin Plans

I have had so much fun planning Elise's 3rd birthday party. We are having a pumpkin painting party and hayride. There will be girly doilies (even the piñata!), Elise's own pumpkin patch to share with her friends, and glitzy gold details (my girl loves sparkles!). I can't wait!