Cookie Swap

The Tuesday before Christmas I hosted a cookie swap at my house. This was my eighth year to host one. There were several things that did not get done this year due to returning to work( Christmas cards were one of those things. Sorry!) but I was determined to have my swap. I wanted to have it earlier in the month but there was not enough time to get my house ready so I waited until school was out.

A picture of all the cookies before we got our hands on them.

We enjoyed food, games and COOKIES!

After everyone left, I took all the cookies out of their bag and placed them on a cookie plate.

This is what they looked like before I took a bite out of each kind. My favorite part! Occasionally, I have to slap a few hands that try to get in my way. Once I am over my uncontrollable selfishness, I let the rest of the family try them.

These are what I made this year. They are very delicious!

Caramel Chip Bars

I know! I am very lazy! If you cannot read the directions and would like the recipe I will gladly type it out for you. WARNING!  These can be very addictive!

Merry Christmas!

We hope that you all have a wonderful day today!

Merry Christmas!

The Weeds

Christmas party at my granny's

Last Saturday, we headed to North Ga to my aunts house. We eat, mingle, and play dirty Santa.

Ella was excited to get her present. She loves to draw, color and be crafty just like her momma.

Laney has been wanting to scrapbook for a while now but never had the materials. Her mom is to stingy with her supplies to share.

My sister wants to be just like me. She wore practically the same thing I did. It is so hard to compete with perfection!

I was going to post more pictures from this day but I was just told that my storage is full and I need to purchase more. Whatever??????

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Ella the goat

Ella was in a play at school last week and she was a goat. You know how hard it is to find a goat costume in the middle of December. I ended up just creating something on my own.

Crafts kids can make

 Christmas will be here in just a couple of days, so if you need any last minute gifts for the kids to make for grandparents,daddy or just for fun here are a few ideas.

Snowman ornaments

Rudolph ornament

Glitter popsicle ornament

Cheerios wreath ornament

Christmas tree ornament

Painted candy cane

Painted peppermint candy plate wrapped in saran wrap.

Painted wreath plate with bow

Bell sun catcher 

made by ironing crayon shavings in between 2 pieces of wax paper.

Snowman gift bag

Redneck Barbie House

How many of you have girls?

How many of them have/are/will ask for one of those huge barbie houses?

Well, my daughter did a few years ago. I could not see paying $200 for a house she had nowhere to put(Don't feel to bad for her! We already had a kitchen, dollhouse, crib, stroller, etc). I'm sorry but barbie was not going to take over any  part of my house. I thought I would share with you the compromise barbie and I had.

So here is an idea for all my redneck frugal friends out there.

The top floor is the homeschooling room. Created with furniture she already had.

The next room is the nursery/kids/toy room. I covered the floor with carpet remnants from our house. I used fabric leftover from Laney's room to make curtains.

The next to bottom floor is the master bedroom and bath. I used contact paper I already had to cover the walls and to make the wood floor. I had craft pieces that I used to create framed flowers.

The bottom floor is the kitchen and living room. I used the same contact paper for this floor as I used in the bedroom. I used leftover fabric for the curtains and magazine pictures for artwork.

Now did you notice how Ken is sitting in his chair waiting on dinner?

Barbie doesn't mind because if you look a little closer........

she has her purse and is ready to go shopping.

After all she did save a lot of money, when she decided to purchase the remodeled foreclosure home.



Sometimes mom has just as much fun playing with it as the girls do!

Christmas party at the Elberta Nursing Home

Each year our church has a Christmas party for a local nursing home. Each member is able to choose a name from the nursing home and buy a few items they have on their list. The night of the party we bring cookies, punch, the presents and sing. Santa comes to visit the elderly and of course, he can't forget the children.

Daddy was out of town this week so he is not pictured.

The kids were able to pass out the gifts to the men and women. I think I should have explained to Ella what she may see. She was a little scared. She has been to a nursing home before but it was to see someone she knew. I think she was a little overwhelmed because they were all together.

Laney passed out her present to a sweet lady who thought  Ella and her were her grandchildren. She kept calling Laney "Cindy" and Ella "Bailey".  Both girls smiled with confusing looks on their faces. At one point, Laney was helping the lady open her presents. I think the lady thought Laney was going to take off with her tissue paper. She kept telling Laney to put her tissue paper back in the bag.

This was Laney and Ella waiting to get the presents from Santa.

This was the Lady Laney gave her gift too.

The lady wanted to give Ella a hug but as you can see Ella was not going to get that close. 

When we showed up for the party, one of the girl's friend  had on the same shirt they did.

Griffin and a couple of his buddies.

Visiting the nursing home is definitely something that we need to do year round. All of the elderly were very grateful  for their gifts but I think they enjoyed the company more!

Feelings of guilt = plenty of spoiling!

Last week was my birthday, I think my husband felt really bad that he was not here to be with me. He certainly made up for it! When the kids and I  returned home from church, this is what I saw...

My birthday was on a Tuesday but he left  presents for everyday he was going to be gone along with sweet notes.

I know you are just dying to see what I got....

Day 1

Sports bra....which I desperately needed! 

Day 2

shorts

Day 3

another pair of shorts

Day 4

and another pair of shorts

Day 5

workout pants

Day 6

A pink top to go with my pants from the previous day. If you are wondering what that is on Ella's face, a clown came to school for a child's birthday and painted the kids faces. She chose a butterfly.

Carmel came home this day so he saved the best for last.....

I'm so excited! I can't wait to use it.

I have a very smart man. He included a bread machine cookbook.

YES...my wonderful husband spoiled me for the week!

YES.....he got me exactly what I wanted!

YES........I love him very much for being so thoughtful!

YES.....he was rewarded!

He got to put his children to bed!