Oh dear blog....

Oh dear blog.... I'm so sorry I forgot about you. All the Christmas chaos and fun, sorry dear blog, I simply.... forgot. Oops. And I also forgot to post the 12th Day of Christmas. The story of my life: start a project and don't finish it completely. Oh well, I'm sure no one will miss it. We'll just set that as a new year's resolution: finish projects I start. I am a rarity, I actually do new year's resolutions and for the most part, I stick to them. I think I achieve them because they're usually lame resolutions like "Read a book for grown ups." No kidding! For 2008 I made a resolution for every month. Here it was in a layout:I got the calendar tags from Elle's etsy shop. There's a slit in the page (orange paper) and if you pull it up, it gives details on how I'll accomplish this goal. I'm a nerd... I know! But this really worked for me and its satisfying to see all I accomplished this year. I think I'll try something like this again.

Nonetheless, I'm sad to see 2008 end. It was such a great year! We are so blessed, sometimes I think, "How can it get better?" We have a happy marriage, a stable home, 2 beautiful kids, another year with my amazing Mom who has been battling cancer for 12 years now, new babies in our lives, terrific friends, planning wonderful weddings.... so many joys! Asking for much more would be sinful.

Another sin.... not posting some favorite shots from December. Sammy turned 3 on the 23rd and this kid just cracks me up. He is such a fun, happy, silly little guy. I love his sense of humor and his style!
And all of our precious moments we have with Sam is because of this special lady: his birthmom. For those of you who don't know, we adopted both kids through open adoptions. We are still in contact with both birthfamilies--- thankfully! We had a wonderful visit with her over Christmas and we're so sad that she lives so far away. Then, the week before Christmas it rained like cats and dogs in San Diego. Which means.... snow in our local mountains. We went up there and had so much fun playing. I can't say that I miss the cold winters but I do miss the fun of sledding and building snowmen.

Sammy at his Christmas concert:

Maddie all dressed up when we went to see the Nutcracker Ballet.

Oh...and can't forget about the fun of seeing Sammy's birth-grandparents and his uncle Chris. They live near by so we see them quite a bit but its always something we all look forward to. Such great people! Baking cookies. I love to see Maddie in my Grandma's apron.

Then the excitement of Christmas morning. I can hardly believe I'm showing you a picture of me just rolled out of bed but the look on Maddie's face says it all. And we hadn't even started opening presents yet! Here's our puppy, Luna, enjoying and destroying her gifts. Thanks for checking in after my long absence. I've got to start cleaning up for our New Year's Party tonight. People will be here in.... yikes! 2 hours! I hope you have a safe, and Happy New Year! Cheers!

Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 11

I think one of my favorite parts of being a parent at Christmas is playing Santa. This will be a fun and exciting night in many people's homes. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and want to leave you with a few ideas (from www.celebrations.com) to leave evidence that Santa was really there. Because, isn't the whole idea to get the kids to believe in the magic of Christmas?

And of course, don't forget to track Santa on the Norad site! So fun!

1. Of course, eat the Santa cookies. Leave plenty of crumbs!
2. Take a bite out of Rudolph's carrot.
3. Make Santa's boot prints with soot from the fireplace.
4. Make reindeer hoof prints on the driveway or pathway with dirt.
5. Leave a North Pole snowball in the freezer.
6. Leave special cookies or homemade fudge from Mrs. Claus, in place of the cookies that were left for Santa.
7. Tear off a piece of Santa's "Naughty or Nice List" with your child's name in the "Nice" column.
8. Drop an elf's business card on the floor with an appropriate toyshop job description.
9. Leave a personalized letter from Santa under the Christmas tree.
10. Drop a small pouch with lumps of coal by the fireplace. Attach a tag with a child's name on it. Don't put your child's name on it. Say, "Santa must have dropped this for another kid. I guess he does leave lumps of coal for the naughty ones!"

Merry Christmas! And don't forget the reason for the season.
Cheers!
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 10

Belgian Cookies Recipe
I had a blessed childhood. I grew up in a wonderful family with both my sets of Grandparents close-by. Christmas was a magical time of year and was never complete without my Grandma's Belgian Cookies. My Grandma was born in Belgium and was proud to carry on the tradition of making these cookies. She passed away in 1994 but my Mom still makes the cookies and this year, I made the cookies for the first time. (Thanks for the cookie iron Mom!)

Today, I'll share our family recipe and its a good one!I'm not going to lie.... these cookies are not easy to make. They're not cheap. They're not healthy. BUT THEY ARE TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Here's our family's recipe:
5 Large Eggs
1 pound of butter, melted and cooled
2 Cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
7 cups Flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup Apricot BrandyMix up the dough and let it set overnight in the fridge. It'll be thick but not stiff.
Roll all the dough into 1" balls, keeping the dough chilled as you work.

Cook in the iron, 4 at a time, for about 1 minute. The cookie iron I have is a traditional, high-end waffle iron with special cookie grates. They're hard to find but there's a guy named Dan Verkinderin in Ghent, MN who can sell you one.

By the way, did I mention that this recipe makes 12 dozen cookies? Yep, that's 144 cookies! Another gift idea or you could just halve the recipe. Enjoy!
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 9

Easy Ornament
I know... your kids are out of school and they wake up and ask, "Mom, what are we doing today?" If you and your kids are crafters, or into scrapbooking, here's an easy and elegant ornament you and they can make. If you're a scrapbook supply "collector" like me, you probably have the supplies on hand to make this. It's a great ornament to mass produce too.

Here's what you'll need:
Acrylic shapes (chipboard would work ok too)
Stickles (the Platinum color looks fabulous!)
Crop-a-dile
Ribbon

Don't worry if you don't have acrylic in a Christmas shape. Your LSS may sell 12" by 12" acrylic sheets that are easily cutable. Apply one or many colors of Stickles glitter glue and let it dry. (A heat gun or hairdryer can speed this process if you're in a hurry.) Punch a hole in the ornament with your crop-a-dile or other heavy-duty punch. String a ribbon through for hanging. Ta....Da!
These make pretty tie-ons for gifts too. And how pretty would these be on a Valentine? Always thinking ahead.... Have fun!
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8

Cinnamon Rolls....yum!
If your house is anything like mine on Christmas morning, you will not want to think about making a big breakfast in between gift openings and toy assembly. You might miss something! But then again, I don't want to have the same old bowl of Cheerios on Christmas morning. I also am NOT running to the store AGAIN!!! The answer is planning ahead. ...and now you're thinking, "Sure, but I don't have time to make anything now either!" Relax... this will only take 5 minutes. I promise. We'll be "cheating" the semi-homemade way.

Here's what you need:
One loaf thawed bread dough
4 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup nuts or raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
Vanilla frosting

The directions for these Cinnamon Rolls are on the back of the Bridgeford frozen bread package or right here. First, start with a pound of white bread dough. You find this in the freezer section and its already pre-made. Earlier in the day, or the night before, thaw out a loaf. Make it up according to the directions and put it in the freezer. Christmas Eve morning move it to the fridge. By Christmas morning it should have thawed and risen. Then bake them according to the package. It also has frosting directions on it but please.... just do yourself a favor and buy some. Then enjoy your Christmas morning with one less thing to worry about. Oh, by athe way... these also make great gifts!
Cheers!
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 7

What do you know... today's post involves a drink! And, boy, do I deserve one! Sorry for my delay in posting the days of Christmas. Technical difficulties. It turns out that a computer can actually stop functioning when memory is full of 20,000+ pictures. huh. But we're back in the game now and onto posting...
So, its the week of Christmas, and if you're lucky, you have a party to go to this week or next. With any party, you should bring a hostess gift. I usually opt for a bottle of wine because most of our friends are lushes like me. Today, I'll show you a creative way to wrap up your bottle which is actually 2 gifts in one. Its not too unique but it must be good because Martha copied this idea on her show last week. Nonetheless, I like to do it so here it is.
Supplies:
Wine
A New Kitchen Towel
Ribbon
A tag

Wrap the wine in the new kitchen towel.
Leave the bottom of the wine bottle on the edge of the towel. This helps the bottle stand stable. Wrap the ribbon around the neck of the bottle. Tie a tag on and you're done. Cute, simple, yet creative. Your hostess will love it!
Cheers,
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6

I have no idea what happened to my day yesterday. It was so busy! From the moment I got up I was running (literally) and doing, watching Christmas concerts, wrapping and shopping, baking and crafting.... whew! I'll show you what I was crafting later this week, after I've given the final project to my friends. Anyways... so I missed posting Day 6 of our 12 Days of Christmas so here it is... If your kids are on Christmas break now, here's a good craft to get them involved in. Its one of those projects that Grandma would just love!

What you need:
A basket
pine cones
Gold spray paint, or spray glitter
Ribbon
Miscellaneous Christmas Picks or decorations (they're 70% off at Michael's right now!)
Small string of white lightsFirst, send the kids outside to gather pine cones (or you can buy them at a craft store). A variety of sizes is best but my basket simply shows the competition of who could find the biggest pine cone. But seriously, smaller pine cones add more interest to the basket. Arrange the pine cones in the basket and weave the lights through and under them. Paint them with the glitter spraypaint. Really give them a good coating. After they're dry, add the Christmas picks and a bow onto the front of the basket and you're done. This should be fine for either indoors or outdoors.

Enjoy! I'll be back later to post Day 7. Depending on my day, it just may be another drink!
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5

Today is about quick and easy! Nothing is easier (or makes any teenager happier) than a gift card. But it's a little cheesy just to hand it to someone and say, "Ummm...Merry Christmas, or whatever." So even if you didn't put a lot of thought or time into the gift, we're going to make it look like you did by making a quick and easy gift card holder.

Here's what you'll need:

• one 12" by 12" two-sided piece of sturdy scrapbook paper
• one sheet of coordinating cardstock (for inside the pocket)
• 12" by 2" strip of scrap paper that coordinates (patterned or cardstock--your choice)
• 12" trim - the bolder the better. Here, I used maribou.
• Adhesive, preferably a strong dry adhesive
• ribbon scraps
• a stapler
• scissors or paper trimmer

Here's how you do it.
1. Fold a two-sided, 12 by 12 inch paper and leave about 2" showing.2. Cut 2 pieces from this, 4 1/2 inches wide. These 2 pieces will be your gift card pockets. The other 3" wide piece will be perfect for a cash gift.3. Glue the right and left edges of the pocket. Use a tough glue like glue lines, glue dots, ATG gun, etc... or you can stitch it with a sewing machine. But I didn't do that to this one--its all about quick and easy today.
4. Trim the top 1/4" of the pocket with a scalloped edge scissors.
5. Adhere white maribou (or the trim that goes best with your papers) to the top edge of the pocket. I used a hot glue gun to make this quick and easy. If you're using a wet adhesive, be careful not to glue your pocket shut!**If you're in a big hurry, stop here. Shove the gift card or cash in the pocket and run out the door. **
But if you have a little time to add an extra step, make a tag to hold the gift card. Here's how:
1. Begin by cutting 2 pieces of coordinating cardstock, to 5" by 3 1/2". If you want to make one for that smaller pocket, it should be 2/1/2 inches wide by 5" tall.
2. Round the 2 top corners.
3. Find 2 pieces of coordinating scrap paper measuring 3 1/2" by 2". ( We all have those scraps laying around, use them!)
4. Adhere the left and right edges AND the bottom too.
5. Staple a ribbon onto the top of the tag and put it in the pocket, leaving a little hanging out.

And... tada!That's all for today. I hope you're enjoying the holidays!
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4

I don't know about you but with only 8 days left before Christmas, the stress is sneaking up on me. I think its a perfect day...... for a cocktail!
If you're like me, you're buzzing around too fast that you don't have time to be lounging around and drinking all night. I usually only have time for one and I just need something to sip on as I walk by. A little something sweet to take the edge off the day.... Something strong, but tasty.... Sounds like a Martini to me! Yeah! Here are a some favorite Christmas Martini recipes complements of www.martinilovers.com

Candy Cane Martini Recipe

1 tablespoon (or so) crushed candy canes
1.5 ounces vanilla vodka
1.5 ounces vodka
1 miniature candy cane

Wet the rim of a martini glass. Place candy cane bits onto a saucer and dip martini glass rim into the crushed candy canes. Add vanilla vodka and vodka into a martini shaker over ice. Shake well. Strain martini into the candy cane rimmed martini glass. Garnish with the miniature candy cane.

Frosty The Snowman Martini Recipe

1 part vodka
1 part chocolate liquor
1 part Irish cream liquor
Splash of cream
1 Hershey's Kiss candy

Add chocolate liquor, Irish cream, and cream over ice into a martini shaker. Shake. Strain into a chilled martini glass rimmed with sugar. Garnish with the Hershey kiss.

Mistletoe Martini Recipe

2 oz vodka
1/2 oz. melon liquor
Splash of grenadine

Add vodka and melon liquor into a martini shaker. Strain into a martini glass. Add grenadine, and watch as it floats to the bottom to make a red and green martini. world! **And because I am a HUGE Rudolph fan, I had to include this one too. (Plus I already have Frangelica hazelnut liquor in the fridge)

Rudolph Martini Recipe
2 parts vodka
1 part hazelnut liquor
1 part rum
splash of cream
2 cinnamon sticks per martini
1 cherry per martini

Add vodka, hazelnut liquor and rum along with ice into a martini shaker. Shake. Strain contents into martini glass. Garnish martini with the 2 cinnamon sticks for Rudolph’s antlers and the cherry for his nose.

Yum!!! So, if you had to choose, I LOVE the Frosty the Snowman Martini. But... really... don't you just want to try them all?
Cheers! Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3

Ok ladies, enough time in the kitchen. We'll be there enough next week. Lets make something fun! No matter how much I plan, I always forget a gift for someone. Here's a perfect gift for a teacher, neighbor, friend, babysitter, or that hard-to-buy for relative. Its not a super quick project but it IS easy and cheap. Its also easy to break into stages and work on for 10 minutes at a time. You can also customize it to what you have on hand. I'll try to give you all my sources along the way though.
Supplies:
Wooden frame from Michaels $1
Gold metallic acrylic paint $1
Vintage sheet music (or scrapbook paper that looks like it)
A Christmas card with a vintage looking picture (or you can download an image from Lunagirl)
A christmas stamp or rub-on
Ribbon
Silk flowers
Stickles or another glitter glue
Adhesives

First paint all the edges and back with the gold acrylic paint. Next trace the frame onto the sheet music, cut out the paper and adhere it onto the frame. I use a gel medium as an adhesive but something like modge podge or Yes paste will work too. Stamp the greeting onto the upper right corner. Use your trim or ribbon and adhere it along the bottom portion of the frame. I used hot glue to adhere mine. Cut out your image and adhere it onto the frame using popdots or a foam adhesive. Lastly, accent your Santa with Stickles or another glitter glue.

I like to think this frame idea is easy to alter and make your own. Send me a picture of your frame, I'd love to see what you do with yours.

Cheers,
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2

Here's a dessert that people will think you slaved over. But, it'll only take about 10 minutes prep time and about 35 minutes baking time. And now you'll use the rest of that large can of pureed pumpkin we used in yesterday's body scrub.

Pumpkin-Spice Cake
One box of Spice Cake mix
3 large eggs
The rest of the can of pumpkin (it'll be a little over a cup)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Mix it all together with a hand mixer and put it into a greased bundt pan. It'll be a little thicker than regular cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until you dip a toothpick in and it comes out clean. Take it out, let it cool on a cake plate.

For the frosting, heat a can of store-bought cream cheese frosting in a medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, heat it until it melts into a glaze. Here, you can add a Tablespoon of cinnamon if you want. Drizzle the frosting over the cake and let it ooze over the sides. Let it cool and that's it!

Enjoy! Come visit the blog tomorrow for day 3.

Cheers,
Christy

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

What are the 12 Days of Christmas really? I know its more than a song but...I really don't know when or what the 12 days of Christmas are but it sounds fun, doesn't it? Who cares what the real version is, here's MY version. And it will be fun! As my gift to all my blog buddies, I'm going to share 12 of my favorite things with you for the 12 days before Christmas. Check back every day for a new recipe, gift idea, or craft.

Here's Day 1:

Pumpkin Pie Body Scrub
This is a dreamy, homemade body scrub made from common, edible ingredients from your kitchen. Go on, pamper yourself. There's enough here for you and a friend. Or double the batch and give some as gifts. Just a warning: make sure you rinse the shower when you're done. The oatmeal is a real pain to chip off when its dried.

2 pounds Brown Sugar
1/3 can of the large can of pureed pumpkin (we'll use the rest of the can in tomorrow's recipe)
2 teaspons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil
1 Cup Oatmeal - more if you prefer a grittier texture

Simply mix it all up and divide it into containers for gift giving. I try to use plastic containers since a glass jar could get broken in the shower. While you are in the shower, in case you're wondering, yes, it is edible. But I probably wouldn't eat if after its been in there more than a day. It is perishable so it should be used within 10 days or so.

I hope you'll try this. Come back tomorrow and we'll use the rest of that can of pumpkin.
Cheers!
Christy

A good laugh!

Today, for our "Fun Friday" activity we went to the mall to visit Santa. I knew I'd get ripped off and get some cheesey print with the fake background. What I didn't know was how Sam was going to react to Santa. He's almost 3 years old and the past 2 years, he has been terrified of Santa. This year he wasn't terrified but.... well, look at this picture. You decide.
I seriously can't stop laughing at this picture. I LOVE IT! It is so very much like Sam. As you can see, I was holding him there and he clearly did NOT want to participate. Maybe next year he'll like the big guy.

Madeleine loved Santa . She brought her letter and told him how good she was this year. And Santa was great too! He said stuff like, "I see you got a haircut this year." And he picked up their names as I was talking to them. Afterwards, Maddie said, "He really knew my name!" which allowed me to play that Santa card and say, "I told you! Santa knows everything. He sees all the good and bad things you do so you better be good!" I've been playing the Santa card since just after Halloween so I hope it comes to fruition soon.

The decorations in the mall were so nice, I'll leave you with a couple more good shots. Come back to the blog tomorrow because I'm starting my 12 Days of Christmas and I've got a ton of great gifts, recipes, and crafts to share.
Thanks for stopping by!

Oh Christmas Tree...

We went to get a Christmas tree today. This usually, is not my favorite Christmas task. You know the ordeal... crabby kids, pine sap, the husband grumbling about me evaluating yet another tree. But today was different. It was...dare I say... fun! Yep, we had an incident were Sam was in time out in the middle of the tree lot but... what can you expect with a 3 and a 4 year old? No long lines, a happy husband, and we found a great tree. The bonus was that I got a ton of great pictures of the day.

Sammy really wanted us to get a tree that was his size. But that was before he saw the big trees. Maddie preferred to "supervise" and shout out her opinion when she deemed necessary.

And we have a winner! (I'm not talking about my drama queen who is posing AGAIN!) And a little something special for Mom: a picture of my two cuties that's worthy enough for a Christmas card.


Cheers,
Christy

Bling

Since my husband put a a diamond on my left hand, I've become a big fan of bling. The older I get, the more attracted to bling I get (Hint! Honey, our 10 year anniversary is coming up... Hint!) Sparkly, glittery, wonderful bling. So, when Papertales, a LSS of mine was offering a glitter house class, I signed up right away. Here is the result:

Isn't it dreamy? And surprisingly easy. The base is a paper mache box covered in vintage sheet music. The top also begins with covering it with the sheet music but then you add a crepe paper circle, your house, lots of glitter and embellishments. The house is just made from Bazzill cardstock and then covered in glitter. You can find the pattern for the house here on Memory Makers Magazine. I'm sure you can enlarge it too, I just haven't tried that yet. Oh and the fabulous "ice" effect on the roof is simply hot glue with fine glitter sprinkled over it before it dries.

And because once I make one thing I love, I have to improve on it and make another. Now, I'm not sure this is an improvement because I made it so differently but I still think it's brilliant and full of sparkle and bling.I started this one with a pre-made paper mache box. I mounted it on a mirror to amplify the bling and the roof of this box comes off. It looks stunning with a battery-operated candle inside.My favorite accent, and the king of this castle: Mr. Bling. Hee... hee...

I hope you enjoy and will make one for yourself. Thanks for checking in! Please come back next week because I'll be starting my 12 days of Christmas posts.