Christmas Time Is Here Happiness and Cheer

    I love everything about the Christmas holiday! The beautiful lights,  yummy food and deserts,   joyful music , getting Christmas cards and pictures in the mail and updates on friends and family, sitting by the fireplace and drinking hot cocoa and enjoying the warmth that it brings , giving gifts and seeing the excitement in the children's faces when they receive them.

 

 

   Everything about this holiday I love ! For a lot of people it ends the day after Christmas. The lights and decor are put away , the Christmas music is exchanged for the regular contemporary everyday music , and people go back to their everyday normal routine just happy to be done with the crazy busy holiday.

   For me it doesn't end right away! Even after the New Year comes, you will still find my Christmas tree up, Christmas décor still in it's place, Christmas lights still on , and my music still playing the beautiful music about the real reason why we Celebrate the Christmas season! Even though many people are done celebrating, lets not forget the joy and love , (THE GIFT) that was brought to the world so many many years ago , to paraphrase Charles Dickens, may we honor Christmas in our hearts, and try to keep it all the year.

 Don't worry my Christmas lights and décor  usually comes down around the end of Jan in the New Year.  Yes , I am sure/know my neighbors must think I am crazy but it doesn't bother me! :)

Blessing to all !
                                                            GIGI
   

Christmas Tradtions

     Growing up my Mom started a tradition that I carry on today of making Christmas Goodie bags for our friends and neighbors. It is always enjoyable to do nice things for others and let them know that they are thought of . This week has been busy for me because I have been in the kitchen alot more than usual  , preparing cookies and candy for neighbors, friends , co-workers, and teachers! This is something that I look forward to doing and it's great fun having my boys come in and help me with it. They love to run to our neighbors and friends and deliver these amazing treats!
  

Yummy Snickerdoodle  and PeanutButter Blossoms

Chocolate chip mint and Turtles

 Packing up some of the goodies

Chocolate chunk ,sugar , and Peanut butter clusters

 

Yummy !!

 

What are some fun family traditions that you  have carried on into your family!

Happenings & Thoughts

   Our family has added a new addition to the household. Coco the boys new chocolate lab puppy and early Christmas gift! I have to say this little guy is keeping me busy for sure and with the potty training to boot , I feel like a Mom with a newborn baby!
 This past week I have maybe gotten a few hrs of sleep due to this new little guy , and trying to get him potty trained as well as trying to keep him in my sights as much as possible to prevent accidents
 , lets just say you can go bonkers and get paranoid every time you see him just standing there, (even though he just was out and used the potty outside )   At least with a baby they have diapers, Maybe I should buy some , hahaha!

 

 You may hear that being a Stay at home Mom is so easy, but let me tell you coming from a Mom that has worked out of the home for the past 14 yrs (until recently) it is not ! There is a never ending of things to do . Someone told me just this past week that my job in my home was so easy (since all my kids were in school now) and that I could do pretty much what I wanted, when I wanted and I didn't have to worry about anything. I had a lot of Time on my hands to relax, rest ,and chill out .

  Let me tell you I was pretty livid and upset that someone would think that my job which is 24/7 was  not important. I let them know (in the kindest way possible ) that was untrue and my job/jobs in my home were just as important as any job out in the workforce. No matter where you work ,in the home or out in the business world your job is very important !

When comparing the situations of a working mom and a stay at home mom no one is better. Both sides have their own drawbacks and advantages and both work just as hard. Ultimately it is up to the person to decide what works best for them at that time in their life. While the prospect of working for an income is enticing,( because you can actually go out more and do fun things) the choice to stay home actually has given me the opportunity to get closer to my boys/family and learn more things about them , hang out with them more and cook a lot more (which they love).

Eventually I will go back into the workforce, but for now I am a very hard working Stay at home Mom who's enjoying life, family and blogging !

 

 

 

GIGI

 

♪♫♪ It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas ♪♫♪♫

   The Christmas season is here and it's just one of my favorite holidays of the year! I love the music, all the beautiful trees and lights that are displayed everywhere you go , the feel of a warm fire as you sit close and enjoy a hot cup of cocoa, spending time with family ,all the yummy smells of the goodies you are baking ,  watching the snow fall (depending where you live) and watching your kids playing in it as you gaze at them through the window or if your outside with them . Everything about this season I love!
  This week we have put up our tree and decorated for the Christmas holidays! It's a fun time and we enjoy it a lot. The boys have made their Christmas list and Elfus our Elf has arrived and is magically appearing different places, which the younger boys are so excited to see where he is everyday !
   It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here ..........

 

~GIGI ~

Prepration for Thanksgiving

       Usually I host Thanksgiving dinner for 20+ people and it takes me a couple of days of preparation for it ,but This year I am not hosting  and so it will just be our family of six. I will miss not being with extended family this year but it will be nice just to relax and enjoy some downtime for once on a holiday !
       Of course my family still wants all the yummy things that go along with  the Thanksgiving meal , and they will all get made ,but this year I am hardly lifting a finger to help .......That's is the food prep, I have been doing some dishes today ! :)
       My second oldest son decided that he would like to try his hand out making a Thanksgiving meal , and so I relinquished the job to him, with barely any supervision and he has come through with flying colors today ! This was one proud Mama! 
      Now some of you may think "WHAT, Your letting a kid make your meal!" Yep, the nice thing is I have been letting my kids do things since they were really little! I'm preparing them to one day be able to know how to cook weather they get married or not. LOL
      Anyway  my son had a great day preparing our Thanksgiving meal for tomorrow, in fact he enlisted his 2 younger brother to peel 10 lbs of apples and 5 lbs of potatoes for him which I thought was amazing! What a blessed Mom I am and so I give Thanks for my wonderful boys on this Thanksgiving eve night!
     Our meal tomorrow will consist of
 ~ Turkey
~ Dressing
 ~ Mashed  Tators and gravy
~ Green bean casserole
~ Broccoli & rice casserole
~ Cranberry sauce
~ Rolls
~ Cheesecake (Pecan & Cherry)
~ Apple Pie
~ Pecan Pie
~ Pumpkin Pie

  So what do you do for Thanksgiving and what are some of your favorite foods and traditions? Hope you all have Blessed Thanksgiving and enjoy your time spent with family ! 


GIGI

Thankfulness~Coming Clean

        Everyone knows that November is the month of Thankfulness. You see it everywhere, people posting everyday what they are Thankful for .  So of course I should be giving Thanks !
       Surprise, I'm coming clean!  Of course as a Mom I am not always Thankful ! I  grumble and complain at my husband that we don't EVER spend time together (that is not true of course), I tell  my kids that they never help me ( not true again) and oh no, I raise my voice from time to time out of frustration  (shocking ).
    I see friends traveling , going places and doing things I want to do and once again I am being ungrateful and not Thankful! The flowers were not good enough, that wasn't the restaurant I wanted to go to,  really you got that for me etc.
     There are many things that I realize that I have done this month to display me not being Thankful,  and I am ashamed as a Mom that I have allowed my kids to see that ! Everyday is a new day for grace, and today I realized that no matter what my mistakes and how much I have been ungrateful , and not given Thanks for everything and everyone around me, I can start afresh and I don't have to carry those mistakes with me.
   I am Thankful for grace, forgiveness , my family , and the hope of a new day with my amazing  boys who make life interesting and never dull. For all the sweet hugs and "I Love you Mom's", to the pictures of art that are specifically made for me to display on my walls, and the little wildflowers/weeds that my son brings me , That and so much more .
   This month is almost gone but if you are like me and haven't been as Thankful as you should have been , It's not too late. Tomorrow is a New day!



GIGI

Fall Crafts , Projects, and , Fun

   Along with Fall and the gorgeous weather that comes with it , also comes alot of fun crafty projects , day trips with the family, & making yummy treats!.Here's just a few things I have been doing over the last weeks...

 

It's always fun to sew when I find the time , which is rare. My younger boys love to help me cook and bake , so they always end up wearing my aprons . I finally decided to make them some kids/boys aprons (since of course the best chefs are guys ) . They went and picked out the fabric and I decided to make me one to, so here are the aprons , with the boys posing for them .....

Ethan all ready to go in his football apron.

Noah happy with his turkey apron.

Mom

 Dan   lovin it ...haha

   

    Another Fun project that I did was a fall pumpkin topiary for my front porch. I have seen a lot of different topiary's for fall/halloween and decided I would like to try to make one for myself .I had most of the items already on hand from last yr and only had to go to Hobby Lobby for 1 extra pumpkin and some rod dowels. It wasn't that hard to do and I love the fall look for the front of my house now !

Fall pumpkin topiary

 

 

 

Of course baking and cooking goodies is a fun thing to do , especially when you have lots of guys around to devour them . From homemade breads (zuchinni, banana nut, cinnamon, ) to the wonderful aroma of fresh apple pie, and lots of cookies . there's never a dull moment around in this house.

Monster Cookies!. YUM

 

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed just a little bit of the happenings going on in my household , and I am sure to have alot more fun and crafty projects in store for me . Hope you all are enjoying your days as well and would sure love to hear any comments or fun things you all do as well during the Fall....

 

Until next time......

GIGI

 

Bountiful Harvest

  I love when Fall arrives and with it comes so much beauty as well as harvesting your wonderful fresh garden vegetables. This is my first year to have a garden in 12 yrs. I actually got a really late start on it after my eye surgery ,so things didn't get planted until the middle of July and into August!
   I am already reaping the benefits of the hard work we put into planting tomatoes , green beans , zucchini, peas, yellow squash. The okra, cantaloupe and watermelon are just now starting to produce and hopefully we will get to enjoy them soon as well. The pumpkins on the other hand I don't know if we will get to see them get very big before the cold weather sets in. Right now they are just starting to get a little pumpkin bud on them :)
 Today I spent time chopping , shredding , and blanching vegis to freeze for the winter. Here are a few pics of the process

Yellow Squash preparing to freeze

 

 

 

           Zuchinni 

 

 

 

 

Chopping tomatoes to freeze too !




So that sums up what I got accomplished today . Along with the windows opened it made for a beautiful Fall day . I was able to put away quite a bit and  I'm looking forward to seeing more vegis produce in my little garden!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GIGI