mommypalooza™ ~ a daily dose of mommy mayhem.

Yes, we ARE eating dinner this week!

This past weekend I took a hiatus from doing a "Serve It Up Sunday" post.  Unfortunately, I did not take a hiatus from actually attempting plan meals though.....so I still have to cook this week.  The GOOD news is that since it's my birthday week (my actual birthday is on Friday the 10th, but I celebreate all week and month long), I won't be doing too much cooking.  Plus, because of some great perks with some local peeps, I've gotten a hold of some cool tickets to a couple of events going on this weekend that the kids are going to be SO excited about! More on that later.

But, yes, we are actually eating dinner this week.  Here's what's on tap:

Monday:  Spaghetti

Tuesday:  Crock pot BBQ Pork Ribs, chips, slaw or salad

Wednesday:  Rosemary chicken tenders, rice, veggie

Thursday:  Tacos, rice

Friday:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!  The kids are out of school but have jam packed schedules.  They are both going to birthday parties that day and night (one is a sleepover), so not sure where I'll pick to eat at.  We do plan on celebrating all weekend long though so it should be fun!

Saturday:  More fun

Sunday:  More fun

Have a great week, everyone!

Hello February: Valentine Fruit Kabobs

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So the other day I picked up a bag of those pink heart-shaped marshmallows in the Valentine's section at my other home Target.  I wasn't sure what exactly I would use them for but knew I'd have to come up with something.  Couple that with the fact that the produce (namely pineapple and strawberries) have been amazingly good at Aldi lately, and I had myself the perfect afterschool treat for the kids.

 

Can I just tell you how Mom-of-the-year-esque this treat is?  My kids were beeeeyond giddy!  What I love is that you can use whatever you have on hand!  I almost threw grapes onto the skewers but thought that might be a little overkill.  What I truly did love about this little yummy project was that it gave me an excuse to bake some brownies.  Um, yes, please!

Hope you enjoy these!

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Chinese New Year: Year of the Dragon

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 Happy Chinese New Year!  The kids are starting to love this tradition more and more, and well -- you can probably see why!

My inlaws came by to drop off their traditional red envelopes filled with cash.  And in usual Chinese New Year tradition, I did manage to clean the floors and get all the laundry done and Jacob even got a haircut just in time to celebrate the Year of the Dragon!

My oldest asked me "Mom, does everyone get to celebrate Chinese New Year?"  I kindly told him that anyone could celebrate but there are lots of people who don't, and that's okay. 

I know how silly it is that I will actually keep their red envelopes but I just LOVE having that treasured writing on them that was put their by my mother-in-law.  I know it will be fun to look back at once the boys are older.  I think I may have saved a few of the red envelopes that even the hubs and I received before we had kids.  The hubs can't read or write Chinese but I simply just love the idea of my boys having these in their little-boy-books to look back one one day.

Family traditions are the bomb-diggity!  Happy new year!

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Who's YOUR #1 at Christmastime?

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A friend of mine recently posted the following on his Facebook page:

It is official that Christ is now #3 behind Santa (#2) and Elf on the Shelf (#1) as the reason for the season. To counter this "trending" effect, please post a picture of something in your house that symbolizes the real reason for the season and see if we can reverse this trend.

I then stopped and asked myself if what I am doing in my own home to make sure that Christ IS #1 during this time of year is actually enough.  I know that daily my kids come downstairs and look for Eggbert (our Elf) to see where he is hanging out next and that we've talked about Santa and our visit with him. 

And yes, we DO talk about Christ and the meaning of this very holy and joyous season.  The following is a peek at the daily reminders in our home.

This is a nativity scene I gifted to the kids a few years ago but when doing my holiday decorating this year I decided to put it in a place where they could see it more often each day instead of having them keep it in their room.  This sweet scene is what you'll see front and center as you enter into our home.  I love it!

This is one of my favorite projects brought home by the Kindergarteners at my kids' school.  I still have my oldest's from just two short years ago and now my middle son has his sitting in our front room next to the Christmas tree.  Each day he comes down to move the star closer and closer to the nativity scene and on Christmas day the star will appear just above the manger!  It is hands-down one of my favorite holiday decorations that the kids bring home.

And of course, our Advent Jesse Tree.  This has been an annual tradition for too many years for me to remember!  It is something my kids look forward to every night before bedtime.  New this season, my oldest is actually doing the readings from the book that accompanies this tradition and I get to sit and reflect on his reading.  It is truly magical! 

This sweet little homemade nativity scene is something my son came home with from preschool last year.  I love its simplicity and the warmth it brings displayed in our family room.  It's a sweet reminder of what the season truly is about. 

I am loving all of the traditions that I've continued on with my kids whether it's the Elf or Santa or something more, but it's clear in our home the meaning of what we're really celebrating. 

Do you have ways of celebrating the true meaning of the season in your home? I'd love for you to link up your post below about how you're keeping Christ #1 at Christmastime!

 

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Holiday merriment with friends

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com

We're inching closer and closer to the holidays and all the festivities.  I feel like I can hardly sit for a moment and catch my breath!  Good thing I'm hosting a fun evening with a few friends later this week so we can all catch up and bid our farewells until after the holiday season. 

There are few things a mom has to look forward to (NOT including her kids) than a night out (or in) with girlfriends.  I am no exception.  This year, I've imposed a "Jingle with the Girls" theme and everyone's bringing an appetizer and a gift for a gift exchange.  I'm excited to be serving these:

and I'll have a chocolate fountain along with lots of dippers!  I think we'll just sit around chatting, sipping on our martinis (or wine) while eating lots of yummy appetizers and having our way with chocolate!

Do you make it a point to have a girls night out (or in) every once in a while?  What's your favorite way to wind down with your friends?

Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

Making it Christmas.

The kids finally headed back to school today after a nice, enjoyable Thanksgiving break and all we could talk about last night is counting down to Christmas break!  I've enjoyed having them home and we've done tons of decorating, eating, football watching, movies, and spending time together.

We have so many Christmas and Advent traditions in our home that the kids are busting at the seams with all that they are anticpating coming up.  Our tree has been up for a couple of weeks now and our holiday decor has been up for even longer and I don't foresee anyone tiring of it anytime soon!  In fact, the only thing I am not looking forward to is the weather getting colder.  But I've treated myself to a couple of pair of new boots recently to help me cope.

Here's just a glimpse of what Christmas looks like around our home.

I absolutely LOVE this candle holder trio I bought several years back.  It is so versatile and has served me well!  Remember my post about using it in my Halloween decor?  Well, I simply took out the orange tissue paper and filled the glasses with holiday mints ($2.49/bag at Target) and I really like the way it turned out!  And, yes the kids DO want to eat from it, but thankfully I bought them their own bag to eat out of!  They know these are off limits!

This is part of our entryway table decor.  I loathe decorating my entryway.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's because we NEVER come into our house from our front door....always the garage.  Anyway, I've had this table FUH-orever and it floats from upstairs to downstairs, depending on the time of year.  I decided I wanted to display the kids' nativity scene downstairs this year and then next to it I just put one of my hurricane glasses, filled it with pinecones and a strand of lights, then set it in the middle of this wreath that has these ice-like little crystals that I just LOVE!  By the way, I am getting a new wreath for my front door this year...just waiting on it to be delievered!  It's homemade (not by ME, silly!) and LOVELY!  I can't wait to share it with you!  So, I am loving how this table looks, especially at night....so bright and festive!  Plus our stair banister has lit garland throughout too so it's really a "lit-up" entryway at night!

Now, this is one fun countdown tradition the kids can't wait to start!  In addition to checking their Christmas Countdown Socks, they love taking turns moving the candy cane in and out of the correct day each morning!  This is just hung on the backside of our entryway door and the kids see it right as they come downstairs.

Our mantle.  Or mantel.  Whatever.  I prefer the first spelling.  Anyway, it's back!  This year I added a strand of white lights and it is a stunner at night!  Love having it on in the evenings.  Can't wait till we start our fireplace up soon!  In case you can't tell, I am a minimalist and prefer a modern feel and look.  I didn't buy anything new this year except the one strand of lights ($2.29 at Target).  The little faux-filled snowmen on either side of the stockings are from my favorite home store, CB2, and just about everything else is from Target or Michael's - including the stockings and crystal monograms pins on each.

And our trusty elf, Eggbert, is back for more of our shenanigans again this year.  This morning he was found on our tree, hamming it up with our BEVO ornament.  Gosh, Eggbert sure does know the right team to root for!  SO glad Santa sent us a smart, Texas-loving elf! 

There is a lot more going on in our home right now but this will suffice for one post.  Plus, I've got to stick something in the slow cooker for dinner tonight.  :)  So, how are your holiday decorations shaping up?  I'd love to see your goodies!  Feel free to share links in the comments.  Happy holidays!

 

It's almost time for Christmas cards!

We officially finished setting up our Christmas tree today and I'm SO in the mood to start thinking about images to use for our Christmas cards this year.  Thankfully, we are making our traditional yearly event - a kids' Nutcracker Tea Party - in just a couple of weeks.  There are some amazingly good photo opps during this fun event that's become an annual tradition for my boys and me!  This year we're headed there with our wonderful friends and their Auntie (shhhh!  It's a surprise!) and I know we'll have a fab time!  Check out just one of the cutest photos I was able to capture during the 2010 Nutcracker Tea Party.

I can hardly believe those are my two oldest boys!  They've changed so much in the past year!  They love having their photo taken in front of the giant Christmas tree that greets us each year as we enter the event!

So, this year I've been looking at several designs online to help get my creative juices flowing for what I want our holiday cards to look like.  I think I've finally settled on one:

Is that not AHHH-DORABLE??!! It's the Christmas Flourish design from TinyPrints.com and I just love the tri-fold feature!  I love it not only because of the number of photos that it can feature but also because of the different size and layout options!  I think it's just what I need!  Totally.

In years past, I've always been able to include a photo of our entire family even without hiring a photographer to take our picture.  How, you ask?  Well, that's easy!  One year I had all of us squished on top of an oversized ottoman in our living room that was placed in front of our Christmas tree.  Then I setup my digital camera on a stepstool far enough away so that the photo was zoomed perfectly just on us.  And last, I set the 10 second timer feature on my camera and after just a few clicks, we had the perfect family photo in front of our Christmas tree!  I'll have to see what we decide to do this year. 

So, what are your favorite holiday photo tips??  And do you typically send out Christmas cards to your family and friends? What are you most looking forward to about sending them out this year?  If you're still shopping around, I would encourage you to have a look at TinyPrints for some fabulous ideas and deals! 

Tiny Prints provides simple, modern, and unique stationery from Christmas cards, New Years cards, party invitations, and address labels to thank you cards.  Once the holidays have come and gone, Tiny Prints will still be here to fill your stationery needs with their exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers.  All year round, you’ll find business cards, birth announcements and even custom wedding invitations.  Come try the easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality for yourself.  With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch!

 

 

 

{Disclosure:  I have been compensated for this post, however all opinions, thoughts, and ideas are my own.  No one is the boss of me!}

3 boys, 3 very different Halloween costumes

We had a fab Halloween!  Just realized I didn't post pics, so alas, here they are!

 

 

Halloween around our house

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Next to Valentine's Day, Halloween is undoubtedly my favorite holiday.  I mean, what's not to love?  Black and orange decor (two of my favorite colors), candy corn and M&Ms scattered about in candy dishes around the house, and kids giddy over piles and piles of candy they collected while dressed up as their favorite superhero!

It's the one holiday that's commercialized that actually should be commercialized!  Not like Christmas.  Which is what makes Halloween one of my top two holidays.  I also don't care for winter so that automatically puts Thanksgiving and Christmas down at the bottom of the list.

Truth be told, I am not a fan of Fall decorating, but I DO love to decorate for Halloween!  My decorating style is definitely modern, clean lines and simple, uncluttered looks.  I don't do shabby chic, home-painted furniture or anything of the sort.  It's just not my style.  In fact, if I could have my pick from any of the home decor stores and catalogs out there, I am certain I could find all I need from CB2 + Crate & Barrel.  And I am a HUGE fan of symmetry! Here's our mantel pre-Halloween:

See?  Simple, clean, uncluttered.  Like!

So, with the help of the kids last week, here's a taste of what Halloween is looking like at our house.  I was actually wanting to go more goth (as in, scary!) with my mantel but finally settled on this:

I absolutely LOVE the black roses and just took out the grasses I had in the clear vases before.  And that's just black spider web-like stuffing that came in a package from Michael's.  I then stuck the roses in the vases and arranged them till I was satisfied.

The little light-up ghosts are from Target, several years back.  I'd actually forgotten we even had those so I was happy to discover them while going through our bins again!

The glass candle holder trio is from a few years back as well.  I love how versatile it is.  Each glass can be filled with whatever material you like -- candy, rocks, potpurri, confetti -- then the little tealight holders sit right on top!  So fun and functional! I knew that I wanted some sort of bright orange in the holders but wasn't sure just what.  Then I decided I'd try and wad up some gift tissue in bright orange and see how it would look.  I love it!  It gives just the right pop of color I was looking for.

And my three pumpkins went perfectly displayed on this floor lamp we have.  Now if I can just make sure Jacob keeps his mitts off!

And these bright and friendly guys will greet you as you come through out front door:

The kids are also loving the fun little decorations in our main level bathroom -- fun hand towels and candleholders.  And of course there are the candy dishes all around the kitchen! 

So how about you?  What does Halloween look like in your home?

 

 

 

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One decade ago . . .

We were eating cake!  Happy Anniversary to my husband!  We're pretty proud of a LOT of things, one of which being that a decade later, we are still featured on the Grand Wailea weddings photo gallery here.  Yes, that's us pictured on our wedding day with the gorgeous Maui sunset in the background!