HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

December 30th was/is my birthday. Most people gain weight during the holidays at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas but not me. I gained weight the week of my birthday. First because of my wonderfully frugal husband I get all kinds of freebies on or near my birthday. He just signs me up for restaurants email subscriptions and each year they send me free entree coupons. Monday, December 27th two of my best friends and I went to Memphis Championship Barbecue which I LOVE and I got $20 free food there. YUM!  Tuesday I just relaxed at home with family but Wednesday, December 29th my family and I went to Fuddruckers for a free 1/3 lb. burger. Did you know they have wild boar, buffalo, elk, and even ostrich burgers? I'm not brave enough to try those but their Mushroom Swiss Melt was the bomb. One of my besties bakes cakes; she works at a bakery and has made me a cake almost ever year. This year she made me a white cake with raspberry filling and butter-creme frosting. It rocks! OK for the best meal of the year I went with my friends to Benihana located in the Hilton Hotel Casino. I get a free entree equaling $30 from there. My friends had never been so it was a real treat for us all. Before we ate we went to the movies. I got into the movies for free. For everyone who invests in those Entertainment coupon books can get in free to any Regal Cinemas on their birthday with a coupon and a valid driver's license or birth certificate. The movie was hilarious. We saw "Little Fockers". I highly recommend you see it but it isn't suited for children. (My opinion) My birthday was GREAT! To top it all off my husband gave my a bouquet of flowers. Lucky me!!!

Z is for Zero

Yes Z is for Zero, Times up!!! Time to clean the house, bake the cookies and milk the cow. Santa is on his way!!!

 Merry Christmas to you all and to all a Good Night! God Bless Us Everyone!!!

Y is for Yule Log

Or so it was going to be Y is for Yule Log but I didn't get around to making one like I'd hoped. Instead we are calling Y is for Yard Decorations. Easy enough since we've spend our entire week nights searching for the best decorated yard and light show.

These are just a couple of pictures we took along the way.

X is for X-ray

X-ray was somewhat of a stretch but I thought of the X-ray of the Grinch's heart on the all-time Christmas favorite cartoon,"How the Grinch Stole Christmas".

Lucky for me it just happen to be on TV tonight.

W is for Wreath

 I found a wreath at Desert Industries that needed a little tender loving care.

After I finished refurbishing it I found it absolutely adorable. Our Christmas tree has an apple theme this year so I had to incorporate apples on our wreath.

 It now hangs out by the front door to welcome our guests. TY

V is for Visit and/or Volunteer

I planned on going to visit some friends and deliver some of the Christmas ornaments Nathan and I painted and baked goodies that we made but decided to wait until after Christmas to do this. I have so much going on right now and it would be easier to catch everyone then as well.
Josh and I have also committed to volunteer at our local Desert Industries after the New Year. It has been a long while since I've done any volunteering and it is way over due.

U is for Under the Tree

Under the tree... What is under everyone's Christmas tree? PRESENTS. Josh is spending Christmas in Utah so the decision to do U for Under the Tree turned out to be the perfect idea for us. We decided to let Nathan open the present that Josh got for him now.

By the look on his face you can tell he loved it. SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!!

T is for Tree

I had so much fun making this craft. I found it on Disney Family.com.

Celebration Tie

You'll need:

• Template for Wayne's Celebration Tie
• Green felt
• Small pom-poms, sequins, or other embellishments
• Low temperature glue gun or fabric glue
• Pin backing (found in craft stores)

Instructions:

1. Print the template and tape it onto green felt. Follow the template to cut the tree and knot from the green felt.

2. Place the tie-knot in front of you with the wider end at the top.

3. Glue the tip of the Christmas tree at the center of the tie-knot.

4. Fold over each end of the tie-knot and secure with glue.

5. Glue on the pin and let dry.

6. When dry, flip the tie over and glue on embellishments like pom-poms or sequins.

7. Pin the tie to your shirt and celebrate the holiday season!

S is for Snowman/Santa

Snowman.... Well I had a great idea to make White Chocolate Brownie Ball Snowman. First I started out baking brownies as directed on the box. Then after they had slightly cooled I formed the brownies into three different ball shapes. Small for the head and so on.

I put the brownies into the freezer for about an hour then when I took them out I melted white chocolate chips in the microwave. I dipped them into the melted chocolate then put them together to look like Snowmen.

They didn't come out exactly like I thought but I put them into the refrigerator to cool and harden. Even if they don't look so good I can guarantee that they will taste wonderful.

There could not be S on the Christmas ABC list without including Santa. Nathan is at the stage that he loves Santa. We have visited several but only have pictures of two visits.

He got the Christmas Tiger from one Santa. If you look at the picture above it you can find the tiger laying in wait for Nathan.

R is for Rudolph/Reindeer

We had a day of Rudolph and Reindeer games. First we read the book.

Then we colored pictures featuring reindeer.

 After all the coloring and having another trip out to view Christmas lights, we returned to make Reindeer Food.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Oatmeal

1/4 cup Sugar

Sprinkles (red and/or green sugar crystals used for cake decorating)

The night before Christmas we plan to throw out our Reindeer Food so that they know where to land. FUN! FUN!

Q is for Quiet

Well tonight after we have watched "Santa Buddies" on TV I plan to sit in bed with our little guy and read Christmas books to him in a quiet setting. 

Just to name a few. We have many more but we'll see how many he can sit still for....... = D

P is for Pinwheel/Christmas Pinwheel

I found this fabulous Christmas Pinwheel Craft on DLTK's website. 

Check it out and have as much fun as we did. Nathan played with them until he broke them but they were so easy to make that it didn't matter one bit. I love to see him happy. 

I also made Pretzel Treats as well. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Bite size waffle shaped pretzels

Hershey's Kisses or Hugs

M&M candy

Heat your oven to 170 degrees. Place the pretzels on a cookie sheet with a Hershey's on top. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes or until chocolates begin to melt. Take them out of the oven and place a M&M on each Hershey's Kiss and flatten to the pretzel. Allow to cool in the refrigerator to set about 10 minutes and enjoy or bag them up for a sweet Christmas gift treat.

O is for Ornament

Nathan and I have had a ball painting ornaments. I was lucky enough to find clay rocking horse ornaments a year or two ago, but never really did anything with them until now. We have just painted them white this year. Making a new family tradition, we plan to add a new color to the ornaments each year, such as green for the holly leaves or red for the bows on the presents.

We even plan to deliver a few as gifts for family and close friends. Great Fun!!

L is for Lights M is for Manger N is for Nativity

Lights. Well Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without lights. For weeks we have driven around and sought out homes with lights. The City of Henderson has judged 20 homes decorated for Christmas and we spent the evening driving around the route. Some where exciting while others not so much. However we aren't about to end our search for the greatest home yet. If and when we find it this year I will post a pic and comment about it.

M is for Manger

For manger Nathan and I did a craft of course. We discussed the importance of the manger on that faithful night that our Savior was born. Nathan carried the baby Jesus around the house for hours after.

N is for Nativity

While driving around looking at Christmas decorations and lights, we talked about the first Christmas and was sure to point out each and every Nativity scene. There were lots of different ones to view. Next year when Nathan is older we plan to elaborate more and discuss with more detail. Hopefully we will attend the Live Nativity put on by our church as well.

K is for Kisses and Hugs

The first thing I thought of for the letter K was kissing under the mistletoe. So I found a printout craft online, printed it out and glued ribbon and pom poms onto it to symbolize the mistletoe plant. Then the family proceeded to chase one another around the house with it, giving one another kisses. I included hugs because that's Nathans' big thing right now. He walks up to us with his arms stretch out and says "HUG". It is adorable.

If I was back in my hometown in Northeast Georgia I wouldn't have to find a craft for mistletoe. I would be able to go into the woods and find it growing wild in the trees. Watching my mom climbing around in trees gathering mistletoe for my sister and I, is one of my favorite memories.

I is for Icing and J is for Jesus

My husband suggested that we wait until Christmas Day to do these. I plan on baking cupcakes, icing them with homemade icing and having a birthday celebration for Jesus. And he's right. Christmas is the day we celebrate his birth after all.

Icing Recipe

Combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk, a teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency. For colored icing tint with food coloring.

G is for Garland and H is for HO! HO! HO! and/or HUMBUG!

First combination, G and H.

G is for Garland. Candy Garland. I thought oh this craft would be fun and easy, but I was wrong. First of all I had to heat and crimp the candies together.

I got some great ribbon and tied bows into the candy.

Wasn't as easy as I predicted but they turned out very pretty.

H is for HO! HO! HO! and/or HUMBUG!

While watching "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (HUMBUG!) we signed, addressed, and stickered up our Christmas cards. And our cards say: