Right before visions of sugar plums danced in their heads....

I love Christmas.

I love the magic, the mystery, the fun, the suspense, the traditions. Childhood seems so short now. I try to make Christmas as magical as possible for my kids while they are young. They believe in Santa. We have things we do. I want them to have traditions so that they are their uncles and my age, they can reminisce. Tonight, we set out the reindeer feed for Santa's crew. It's birdseed and glitter. We sprinkled it out in the yard. They loved it, though the Astronaut felt it necessary to give it a taste test-yuck! Then the real fun began.

The kids decorated cookies and a gingerbread house. They did a great job. The first time, we decorated, then baked. Didn't go so well. The kids piled on the sugar and sprinkles and all of the sugar carmelized-then burned. Plus the kiddies handled the dough so much it got really thin and hot. So the second batch, we adults made the cookies, then baked. Then I whipped up some quick frosting (powdered sugar, plus milk and a dash of vanilla extract) and the kids decorated them. This turned out much better and we had Santa-worthy cookies.

The Squirrel and her fractured gingerbread man

The Princess and her snowman

The Astronaut and his snowman

Then we decorated a gingerbread house. It was fun. Then everyone got washed up and went to bed without many complaints.

I have to go move the gifts downstairs. I only have a few hours until they are back up. They'll be up with the sun and I have to make breakfast, then start on dinner. I hope all of you are having a wonderful Christmas too.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

All I want for Christmas is...[stuff I like]

That's right. I finally decided what I want-a crockpot! I picked up a new crockpot cookbook while shopping for presents. It would make my life so much easier!

That picture I used in one of my favorites. It's Lettuce and I out on the town. With four kids and one income, we don't get out much. That's what made the night so special. Every time I see this pic I smile.

I uploaded this pic to the Sit on Santa's Lap at Ceiva. Isn't this awesome! I thought it was so cool. Then, I did it with each of my kids and they loved it! The pictures uploaded quickly and they loved hearing Santa say their names. What more could I ask for?

I would also love to get a Ceiva digital photo frame. I've never seen anything like this. I could upload all my favorite pictures of my kids and give it to one of their grandmas-it's truly a gift that keeps giving. The Cevia digi photo frame rocks because it is wireless! You plug it into a phone jack. You can even upload pictures from your camera phone. How cool is that? That means I could send pics all the time. Granny could enjoy her grandbabies all the time even though she doesn't live nearby. This is a great gift for anyone who lives far a way.


By the way, don't forget to visit Ceiva yourself and enter got a wish to win $500. One entry is selected randomly every day! Tell Santa that Gina sent you.

Christmas Dinner

I think that there will be around 18 people at my house this year, more than I have ever cooked for before. I am working on my menu because I need to do my shopping sometime between now and Monday. Here's what I have:

Appetizers:
Shrimp and cheese dip with chips
Veggie tray with ranch

Soup:
Butternut squash soup

Main Course:
Turkey
Ham

Collards
Green bean casserole by Smoo

Macaroni and cheese
Rice
Dressing
Candied yams

Bread:
Yeast rolls
Crescent rolls-thanks to Pink Lemonade and Pillsbury
Cornbread
Buttermilk biscuits


Beverages:
Apple cider
Grape juice
Sodas
Egg nog
Hot cocoa

Dessert:
Apple pie
Blackberry cobbler
Red velvet cake-can you make that too, Smoo?
Cookies that the kids decorated on Christmas eve

Have I left anything out?

Oh, and a gingerbread house, of course!

Stuff I want for the kids

Christmas is rapidly approaching. I have been eying some things online for the bunnies. Here ares somethings I heart:


A stainless steel water bottle for each kid. I worry about stuff like BPA. The panda is $15 at Amazon. Bigger bottles are $18 to $20, depending on size.








The entire "Magic Tree House" series, by Mary Pope Osborne. My son absolutely loves these books. He learns without knowing that he is learning. Does it get any better? They are about $4 each on Books-a-Million.




A Putumayo Kids collection! I pretty much want every single cd they make. Right now, they are running a buy two get one free special so my top three are Brazillian, Latin and Animal Playgrounds. We already have the Sesame Street Playground (courtesy of Megret at Muse Reviews) and the kids love it.Pretty much any set of blocks by HABA. Oompa has tons, ranging from about $25 on up. This set, the Fantasy blocks, is $37
The Oak Leaf Layered Puzzle from LivingPlaying which is only $16.99.
The Star music wand. It makes music when you tap it on things. Perfect for a princess at only $9.95 from Natural Pod.

What are you getting your little people?