6 Rounds of Christmas in 6 Days!

i am still walking around in circles…trying to recover from all the wonderfulness…..

Round #1 Christmas Eve…and our house was filled with family….wonderful family!

  and food…..i think we have eaten enough in the last week to keep us filled for the new year….wonderful, yummy food!  Even the kiddos stopped to sit and fill their bellies!our 1st annual gumdrop tower making contest….big hit! For over an hour the cousins, ranging in ages from 6 to 10 worked on their creations….next year i need to buy WAY more gumdrops and toothpicks!! reindeer dust on the front lawn

i took this picture right after saying…  “ i think i hear sleigh bells.”

the kiddos fell asleep the minute their heads hit the pillow…rob and i got to work cleaning up from the party and setting out the gifts.

one of my favorite parts of the night….clean house, lit tree with presents underneath, kiddos asleep…if i wasn’t so exhausted i would sit and enjoy one last glass of wine….but in the marathon of Christmas we are only on the first mile…..

Round #2   Christmas Morning    7am Caroline hopped into bed with us, rob headed downstairs to get breakfast ready and we woke Coop up at 7:30……

Grandparents made the early morning trip to watch the kiddos open presents, enjoy coffee and warm scones.

who knew that this $5 puppy would be the favorite!!! meet scout.

  after a wonderful, magical morning…Round#3 we headed over to Nani and Grampa’s house….which was so crazy and chaotic…i didn’t even get the camera out to take any pictures!

until we laced up the skates and hit the ice!!! for some much needed fresh air!!!

Sunday, the day after Christmas…..we headed to church for a wonderful service….came home to get ready for Round #4….cousins traveling from the Cape!!! and a winter storm!!!

again…a house filled with family…..feeling so blessed!!!

the last couple of days….shopping, cleaning, sledding, shoveling, Round#5 at my brother’s house, night out with the girls, and Round#6 with the neighbors last night!!!

now its time to hit the slopes….

just need one more cup of coffee ;)

Merry Christmas!!!

 

a few pictures that didn’t make the cut….    

this one just makes me laugh…..great jump coop!!!

  

i bribed them with skittles…don’t judge…it worked.

this one almost made it…..but Caroline wanted a picture of her jumping too….. 

my two favorites……

i will be signing off for a few days…..kids will be home and i’m going to enjoy EVERY minute with them!!!

can’t wait for Christmas morning……

I wish everyone a wonderful weekend….i hope it is filled with family, friends and Christmas magic!

Christmas Goodness

my favorite part of Christmas is making homemade goodies!!

Cinnamon Honey Butter….so yummy!! find this recipe here.

made 4 batches of spiced pecans…..so yummy and it makes the house smell like Christmas….although i think i may need to make another batch just for the kids….they keep eating them up!!

the plan for this week….make more cookies,

deliver goodies to the neighbors,

clean house,

crafts with the kiddos…love these and these

shop and get ready for Christmas Eve party

wrap gifts,

trip to the Deerfield Yankee Candle shop with the kiddos

and hopefully have time to make these.

 

Back from Baltimore

after getting the kids settled on Friday we drove 5 1/2 hours South to Baltimore for my friend’s Christmas wedding!

how nice it was to be in a car WITHOUT kids! I didn’t have to turn around in my seat once! We listened to our music! and we got to talk and talk…..or sometimes just sit and enjoy the quiet!! so nice!

We spent Saturday morning exploring the city….no agenda….we went where we wanted to go….hand in hand…..so nice!

super excited to go to my friend’s wedding…..it was beautiful, amazing and fun!!!!

wish i could spend all day going through pictures but i have a list a mile long…..re-entry into life is hitting hard this Monday morning!!!  So much to do…i am in shock that Christmas is Saturday!!!  Heading out to the dreaded grocery store…ughh.

still here

just recovering from the bug

a mean, yucky, terrible stomach bug.

i did not take one picture over the weekend….it was that crazy.

zero pictures of the kiddos in the Nutcracker.

zero pictures from our family Christmas Dinner.

i have lost 5 lbs….not in a good way.

and its FREEZING here.

and the laundry is out of control.

the laundry basket is full, the piles of clean, folded laundry is still on the couch, and the machines have been running for days……..

can someone please come over and put it all away???!!!!

and did i mention we are headed to Baltimore for the weekend for a Christmas wedding…..can. not. wait! I see the light at the end of the tunnel…..

Italian Sprinkle Cookies

time to make the cookies!!

what i love about this recipe is that i can make them ahead of time…while they are at school….and then put them to work decorating them when they get home.

wait…what are we missing here???!!

hats of course!!

my taste tester caught in action!

  yum! yum!!

this recipe makes a little over 60 cookies!!! enough to eat a bunch now and freeze the rest for later!

 

I have no idea where i got this recipe….it has always been a clipping from a newspaper that i taped into my recipe book!

this is a dry cookie, great with coffee, with a little bit of sweetness. It wouldn’t be Christmas without these!

Italian Cookies

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 sticks of margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1 Tbsp anise extract
• 4 cups of flour
• 4 tsps baking powder

Beat eggs and sugar until smooth.  Add margarine and beat again.  Add flavorings and continue beating. Add baking powder and flour gradually.  Beat until well blended.  More flour can be added in order to make dough stick together.

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  With floured hands take small amounts of dough and roll into balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (more like 12 in my oven). Cool on cookie rack.

Glaze: mix 1 1/2 cups of confectionary sugar with 4 Tbsps of milk. Dip cookie in glaze and then dip into sprinkles.

**i am linking up to Lifeingrace’s Cookie Party…check out all of the great cookies!

Oh Christmas Tree

time to trim the tree!!….but we can’t say that around here because cooper thinks its time to get the clippers out and cut the tree…learned that lesson the hard way!

last year i borrowed this idea, from a fellow blogger, of having a box of ornaments for each child…last year when i put the decorations away i separated them into 2 boxes.

Cooper’s method was to spread them all out to get a good look at all of them.

and then they dive under!

is this normal??? i always giggle when i see the bottom branches filled with ornaments…we would have it no other way!!

  i was so lucky to win a free online photography class from Kimberly’s giveaway! check out the cool pics i took of our tree!!! i love the star lights!!! 

 

have a wonderful weekend!!!