Christmas and letters to Santa

Jay and Logan decorating the Christmas tree
We took the boys the the Grove and they loved
the Christmas tree .

Letters to Santa, they were so excited to write them and

deliver them. They wrote their own name on the envelopes and

put them in the mail box at the post office. They were so upset

because they needed to call Santa and tell him the letters were on

their way so Andy dialed up a friend and he play Santa. Jay and

Logan were so excited they just kept talking and talking. Santa

wrote back and sent reindeer food and glitter dust to put on

the lawn so he can see our house and the reindeer can smell

the oats. I don't know what they are more excited about putting

out the lawn food and Santa or the fact that they get toys.

Holiday Cheer

The Holidays are one of my favorite times of year. Halloween was an absolute blast, Thanksgiving was wonderful and Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye. There are so many things about the Holidays that make me happy. We all feel so blessed throughout the year but for some reason I always feel so grateful at this time of year. I am so thankful for my family who brighten my day. My husband is my rock and I couldn't be more proud of him. He is an amazing husband and father. I am very grateful to be a mother to two fabulous boys who keep me on my toes and always put a smile on my face. We have been so blessed this year and feel so happy to have such an amazing support system. One of my favorites things about this time of year is all the holiday decorations. I love to see all the lights and holiday decorations as I pass by homes and I all the stores. I love to see the look on the boys face as we go by all the houses and they are just gleaming with joy. We are trying to teach them the true meaning of Christmas and also getting them excited about Santa. They have their lists made and ready to be sent to the North Pole. Are stockings are getting ready to be hung and I am trying to explain to Jay and Logan how Santa comes down the Chimney and leaves all the fun stuff for them. They have so many questions. It is so cute. Holiday TV is also so much fun, I love all the Christmas movies and Old Holidays Classics. Rudolph, White Christmas, Frosty, etc. One of my all time favorites is Santa and the three Bears. It brings back the best memories from my childhood and I hope to pass on that tradition to me kids. And last but not least the holiday food. So many different goodies and wonderful treats, I love to bake and give all my yummy creations to our neighbors and friends. I hope that this time of year brings all of you so many wonderful memories and that we can remember all the great things about the holidays.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9558393568

Watch our fun elf video

Yummy recipe

So as most of you know I have started weight watchers. I have been doing it for about two weeks and enjoying it. I have to keep finding recipes that are good and filling because this is something that I am doing for life. Ok anyway. This is a good recipe that my cousin Tiff shared with me. So here goes.

You can do either muffins or cookies

1 yellow cake mix
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 heaping Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
Chocolate chips ( optional)

Bake at 350 for 15 mins. for muffins and 8 minutes for cookies

Mix all ingredients together and use in muffin tin or cookie sheet.
I also put in 2 Tbsp of fiber such as Fiber Sure
I also put in 2 Tbsp of Flaxseed Meal
Both optional. I just like the vitamins and extra fiber

Cooking is fun again

I am totally loving the kitchen again. I am not a great cook but I like to

try. I really try to get my kids to eat lots of good food, but as we all know it is hard. I am so excited to start doing my purees and cooking. I have to start stocking my kitchen with all the necessary essentials. I am also so excited because I calculated some of the recipes in the book to do my weight watchers and they are low in points, so now we can all enjoy this fun yummy food while getting lots of good fruits and veggies. I will keep you updated on my adventures in the kitchen.

I

sweet moments

We decided to take the boys down to the beach with my mom and dad a couple of weekends ago. Jay and Logan love the beach, we love to walk around and play in the sand. The boys were playing at this little playground that we found and Logan ran up to me and wanted to climb up on the fence to give me a kiss. I was more than happy to accommodate him. He always grabs my face to kiss me. Andy caught this moment at just the right time with the camera. This is one of my all time favorite pictures and I just wanted to share it with you.

Pillow Fairy

The last couple of weeks have consisted of Jay and Logan climbing into our bed at about 2 or 3 a.m. and making themselves quite comfortable. Now, Jay and Logan are relatively good sleepers, they still take a 2 or 3 hour naps and really don't give me any problems going to bed. The problem now seems to be waking in the middle of the night. I don't mind waking up early but waking up at 2 or 3 seems to put a wrench in my nightly dreams. Due to the fact that Andy and I are very tired of waking up with achy necks, arms, and very sore backs we have taken action. We tried picking them up and putting them back in bed as quite as possible but they seem to wake up and cry and cry a lot. I don't know about any of you but I don't want to hear screaming so early in the morning. They would be so upset and so out of it that I would cave and just let them back in our bed or I would put one in our bed and Andy or I would sleep on the floor of their room with the other child. I couldn't take it anymore, I don't function very well without at least 7 hours of solid sleep. So in my search to find some answers I came across ideas as I was looking at some blogs. The one we have found to work is the pillow fairy. I had a talk with Jay and Logan and explained to them that if they stayed in there own bed all night that the pillow fairy would leave something under there pillow. Now I don't like to bribe, but at this point I don't care. I thought it was a fabulous idea and it works. We have had some great nights of sleep and everyone seems to be in much better moods. Jay and Logan love to see what is under there pillows and I think it makes them feel special to know how proud I am of them. Jay and Logan love hearing positive praise and it makes me smile to see the twinkle in their eyes when I tell them how proud I am. So now hopefully it remains to work and we can have many great nights of sleep and no more achy backs and necks.