Santa....

We decided to go see Santa Saturday morning with some friends. Ava and Sarah-Tate were super excited. I knew Griffin would probably not like Santa.....

Initially things seemed ok. He stood with Santa and didn't seem to mind at all. But- things changed quickly when the photographer suggested Ava stand beside Santa and place Griffin on his knee....

He was ok at first but then he looked back and saw Santa and it was all over. He quickly returned to Mommy and the girls continued with their talk!

The visit with Santa was the same when the girls were small too... funny how it doesn't change!

Happy Monday!

Yummy Christmas Food!

I love the holiday season and love entertaining! I have so many staple Christmas recipes- it was hard to figure out which ones I wanted to post! I love to make peanut butter balls, toffee, chocolate mint ritz crackers(YUM!), date nut cheese ball and sugar cookies just to name a few! I narrowed it down to these 3 favs!

Crab Ball

1 Block of cream cheese room temp
1 cup of crab meat chopped
1/3 cup ketchup
3 T of worcheshire sauce

Mix softened cream cheese and crab meat; form a ball and put on a plate. Let chill in the fridge for 30  mins or so. When ready to serve mix ketchup and worcheshire sauce together- pour over crab ball. Serve with wheat thins.

Date Nut Balls

1 egg well beaten
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
8 oz of dates chopped
1 cup of pecans chopped
2 1/2 cups rice crispies
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Cook butter, sugar, eggs and dates until gooey and thickened. Add pecans and vanilla. Then rice krispies and mix well. Cool slightly and form balls and roll in powdered sugar. Makes 50 or so small balls.



Melting Moments

1 cup of butter
1/3 c powdered sugar
3/4 c corn starch
1 cup flour

Cream butter; add sugar, corn starch and flour. Mix well. Chill 1 hr. For 36 or so irregular heaps and put on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until lightly browned. (10 -15 mins) Cool and frost. These cookies are not good without the frosting.

Frosting

2T melted butter
1 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
Enough milk to spread
Green and Red food coloring

I mix butter, sugar, vanilla and a tad of milk. Then I divide the frosting in 2 bowls. I add red to one bowl and green to the other.

These "Melting Moments" cookies are special Christmas tradition in our house. So fun to make and so delicate and delicious to eat.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Cards....

I LOVE Christmas cards! When I went to college I started sending cards to my family and friends back home. I would take pictures of my college Christmas tree or my animals. I always loved getting cards from friends and watching their kids grow! I couldn't wait until the day I had my own kids and could send out these cute cards with matching outfits! So fun!

Well, Christmas cards are such a source of stress in our house! ;) I always wants the kids to look perfect and I never get the picture I am looking for! It normally turns into a nightmare...the more stressed I get the more stressed and silly the kids get! Sad but true!

I attempted to take pictures Friday morning.... didn't turn out so well. My wonderful husband took the 3 kids to the beach on Sunday and got the cutest pics! So thankful that he can do this stuff and make it stress free!

Here are the pics.... first set I took Friday and then the beach pics!

We used the pics of the 3 kids running on the beach along with the group shot above for the card! It turned out so cute!

Every year I say I am going to start with pics for the card early and every year I am doing the pics the week after Thanksgiving or later! Let's see what happens next year! ;)

Happy Tuesday!

Thankful for so much!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! We went to my inlaws- the kids love being there! They love seeing their cousin Meagan who goes to college near my inlaws. And they enjoyed meeting her new boyfriend Ian. He was great with the kids! So cute!

We headed out of town Wednesday afternoon; we were worried traffic would be crazy! Traffic wasn't bad after all! We had a nice drive south with the kids and the dog! We arrived around 11pm. The kids always get a second wind when we arrive late! They had fun running aroung and showing all their new stuff to grandma and grandpa. Grandma made a wonderful bread pudding! YUM!

Thanksgiving Day was busy getting ready for the big meal! My mother-in-law got a new stove and hasn't fully figured it out. Well, we put the turkey in to cook and 30 minutes later I realized that the turkey wasn't cooking b/c the oven wasn't on! :( So, we started over again! Luckily, grandpa took the kids on a boat ride! That helped a lot!

We had a great dinner with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, gravy, rolls and yummy cranberries! I love Thanksgiving! I don't eat the turkey but everything else is awesome! I know... I don't eat the turkey on Thanksgiving? Strange? I am not much of a meat eater- for some reason turkey isn't my thing at all!

Friday morning I got up bright and early to go shopping. I found a few good deals. I don't think they have the deals  they used to have on Black Friday unless you are going to Best Buy or Walmart? I enjoyed getting out and into the spirit! I also found my new favorite thing! Unsweet tea from DunkinDonuts with coconut added! YUM! Love it!

After my shopping spree we headed to the G Whiz museum- so fun! Ava totally loved it! She got to hold a snake! There were so many fun things to do there!

Saturday we went to a new beach to shell hunt and have a picnic! Ava found some nice shells! We had a great time hunting and having a picnic! After we headed to Nokomis Groves! They have amazing soft serve orange, vanilla, lime, chocolate and pineapple ice cream! It is a great treat! Lime and chocolate is so, so good!

The trip was awesome! Leaving on Monday was sad as always! I love family times! Matt works a lot and is often busy- being on vacation is nice! We miss seeing him but are thankful for his job!!!

Happy Monday!

Favorite new find.....

I love Super Target! Go there way too much! :) Anyway, on one of my weekly trips I found a delicious Yellow Lentil Hummus! It is my new favorite thing! I love it w/Archer Farms Roasted Red Pepper hummus chips! So yummy! And creamy!

Last night the girls and I were watching Cupcake Wars. The girls really think we should go on the show and make some of our yummy cupcakes! Funny! Sarah-Tate informed me this morning that instead of being a Sonic girl who wears rollerskates when she grows up she wants to be on that show! I really love that show- Love all the interesting flavors! Cupcakes are so awesome! My husband isn't a cake person and keeps saying the "cupcake" bubble is going to burst sooner or later! ;)

Happy Wednesday!

Yummy fall recipes....

I made a yummy spinach lasagna Sunday! I love fall comfort food! Yum!

Spinach Lasagna

1 box of wheat lasagna noodles(uncooked)
2-3 boxes of Pacific Cream of Mushroom Soup(organic)
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 boxes of frozen Organic Chopped Spinach(thawed and drained)
2 packs of sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 container of shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup of mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a frying pain with Olive Oil Pam. Rinse and dry mushrooms, dump in pan and saute. While mushrooms are cooking drain spinach and set aside. In a larger bowl dump boxes of Cream of Mushroom soup and milk; mix until smooth. Add spinach, garlic, nutmeg and 1/2 of grated parm cheese. Mix well. When mushrooms are done add them to soup mixture.

Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Put a small amount of the soup mixture in the bottom of the pan just to cover it. then start with your first row of noodles. Alternate noodles and then soup until you run out of the soup mix. Make sure that your last layer is the soup mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 55-60 minutes. Take out and cover with shredded parm cheese and mozzarella cheese. Pop back in the over and broil until cheese is bubbly and melted!

This is so yummy! It is even better the next day!  We often eat it w/this Spinach Salad-

Spinach Salad

Spinach (rinsed and dry)
Craisins
1 apple sliced
Candied Walnuts
Poppyseed Dressing

Toss Spinach, Craisins, sliced apples and Candied Walnuts in a salad bowl. Add as much dressing as you like! Yum!

Another Fall Favorite in our house- Pumpkin Muffins!!!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 box Spiced Cake Mix
1 can Pumpkin
1/2-3/4 c Water
1/2 c walnuts (chopped)
1/4 c ground flaxseed

Mix everything together and put in muffin tins. Should make 16-24 muffins. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until done.

These are so moist and yummy!

I also make a yummy pumpkin or butternut squash pasta, that is for another day!

I love fall and wanted to document these recipes!

Happy Tuesday!

Things to remember....

I love my babies so much! I can't even believe Ava will be 7 in February! Where does time go??

We had a great family day today! We went to the Air Show at NAX Jax. It was COLD! But- we knew Griffin would love it and he did! He loves airplanes and helicopters! Doesn't matter where we are or what we are doing if he hears one he has to stop and try to find it in the sky! So cute! The girls enjoyed the show more than they thought they would! Sarah-Tate informed me that Air Shows were for boys not girls? She is such a girly-girl! She actually had fun looking at all the planes on display. Ava loved the show! She and Matt waited in line so she could sit in one of the fighter helicopters- Sarah-Tate was scared. Fun family day!

Love Saturdays like today! Not a lot going on as far as birthday parties or playdates just family stuff! These Saturdays are rare with 3 kids!

Griffin is cutting 4 molars! Poor guy! He doesn't do so well when he is cutting teeth. Tonight he woke up crying after an hr being in bed. Not like him at all! But, I am not complaining b/c I sat and held him while he fell asleep! Love those moments too. They are rare with Griffin! He is so active! He is always busy, busy! It was nice cuddling and smelling the sweet smell of my sleeping boy! Love the smell of a freshly bathed baby!

Sarah-Tate is really coming out of her shell! Last year at MMO drop off she would cry when I would leave but this year she goes right in without a fuss! She loves her teacher, Ms Biltock! She also loves having a planner and getting green days! At the end of the week she gets Treasure Box for those green days! It also makes her feel big like her sister!

Ava is doing great. She is excelling in school! Her math skills amaze me for 1st grade! She is also reading more and more! This is exciting to her! She was so proud of herself for reading "Are you my Mother?"  Her sister also thinks it is pretty cool b/c Ava can read to her! :)

Oh....how could I forget Halloween??? We had a great time! Ava dressed up like a Vampire, Sarah-Tate was a mermaid and Griffin was Charlie Brown! We got tons of candy! It is really crazy! Our wonderful neighbors Mr Mike and Mrs Sandy made each of the kids a bag. It was so nice! The girls got candy, Oreos and a cell phone/dress up stuff in their bag. Griffin got candy, Oreos and a car. We are so lucky!