Merry Christmas Eve

Things I'm looking forward to :

Spending time with my huge family at Aunt Bonnie's house tonight.

Singing Christmas songs on the player piano.

Eating WAY too many tamales, enchiladas and Christmas goodies.

Sipping cider by the fire with my man and billions of cousins.

Giving presents, hugs n kisses

and

Celebrating the birth of Christ!

Warm, cozy wishes to you and all your loved ones.

Pictures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Elf On A Shelf

My nanny family has a cute Christmas tradition...Elf on a Shelf.

I like to find new ideas for the elf to do each night! These are some fun ideas that I want to do when I have kiddies of my own.

 A Note From The North Pole:

Have you ever wondered how Santa knows who is naughty and who is nice? Elf on a Shelf -- A very special Elf that helps Santa know who to put on the Naughty and Nice list.

Excellent listeners and even better observers, these scout elves are the eyes and ears of Santa Claus. Although they cannot be touched, or else they may lose their magic, the elf will always listen and relay messages back to Santa. Taking in all the day-to-day activities around the house, no good deed goes unnoticed; these scout elves take their job seriously.

Each night, after the family goes to bed, the scout elf uses its magical Christmas powers to fly back to the North Pole. Once there, the elf will make his or her daily report to Santa.

Before the family awakes each morning, their special scout elf will fly back to their home from the North Pole. However, since these elves like to play games, don’t expect to find them in the same spot! 

Pictures:1

Thanksgiving Decor, Entertaining and Recipie's

Thanksgiving is only a day or so away! Here is your one-stop-and-grocery-shop planner for a classic Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

(Click on the titles)

*****Decor*****

 

 

*****Entertaining*****

How to Set a Proper Table

Print and Frame

*****Classic Recipe's*****

Best Turkey Recipe Ever

Voted Best Turkey of 2011 by Los Angeles Times

 5 Star Stuffing Recipe

The Best Creamed Corn Recipe

15 Minute Cranberry Sauce

French's Green Beans

Candied Yams

Creamy Buttery Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Fresh Rolls

Pears en Papillote with Chocolate and Vanilla Bean

Pumpkin Pie

Good luck my friends!

P.S. I am THANKFUL for you!

Update On Our 1920's House

Here are some recent pictures of the progress on our house!

Our 1920's remodel

Danny and Doug added a dormer.

I'll have to update the photoshop image of our finished house. The dormer wasn't in our original plans, but no sweat...I think is looks goooood.

Cleared out the backyard!

Dan ran all the electrical wires throughout the house.

Danny and Doug painted the cupola! We hoisted it onto the roof and the three of us walked out into the street to get a better view. We basked in the glory of our faux brick cupola! It's pretty classy stuff.

I'm so proud of these guys. They are an excellent Father/Son team.

What Really Matters?

“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken away from you.” -Oscar Wilde

What is most important to you -- what are your real riches? Are you spending too much time on things that that don't matter in the long run? How can you manage your time to serve the people and activates that you love most?

Hmmmm? Let's think about this together. What really matters in life?

Picture: (No Info) I'll be happy to edit if you have a source

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

I made some chalk paint for Billy(7) and Boadie(5) today! They loved it! The boys pretended to be battling wizards and splattered this magic (chalk) all over the street with their wands (paint brushes).
Happy kids.

1/4 cup cornstarch + 1/4 cup water + 5 drops food coloring = Sidewalk Chalk Paint

                  

Picture: Shareandremember

Funday Sunday

Today was a glorious Sunday -- church, an ice cream truck, a ninja lego birthday party, and a fabulous family dinner. Ya couldn't ask for a better day!

We thought it would be fun to relive our childhood.

Our friends son was having his 6th birthday party. The theme was Ninja Lego! Too funny.

This cracked me up. Zeke's Birthday schedule.

Shanny and me helping with the pinata bags.

Danny maken-it-rain

 Jason leading Ninja moves.

Dan volunteered to participate in "Lego Head"- which involved shaving cream and cheese balls. The kids competed to see which team could stick the most cheese balls to their volunteer!

I really loved the custom hats that Jason and Malia made for the party -- A picture of Zeke with sunglasses and Lego Ninja written on the side. I'm going to wear my hat everywhere! P.S. looken  good Danny

Dinner with the family. Beer can chicken, strawberry salad, garlic bread and BBQ beans. So good. For dessert we had white chocolate bread pudding (I need to post that recipe)!

Here we are watching Grandpa and Bette's video from their trip to Germany. I loved seeing all the little towns they visited and to hear Grandpa speak German. It was nice to see where he grew up and listen to him reminisce about his family and life as a child. 

Thankful for a wonderful weekend. Thankful for my family and friends.