{homemade yummies}

Aah. The stunning smell of fresh tortilla's in the oven. Mmm. Nothing like it. I have started to 'try' to make my meals from scratch. As much as possible. So I bought flour tortilla shells at my local market and came home, cut them into pieces, splashed on some olive oil, sea salt, and cracked pepper. Oh my goodness! They were delicious! Last night I made eggplant parmesan too - from scratch. I even made home-made marinara. *winks and pats self on back* If you knew me - you would know I am a t.v. dinner kind of gal - and this stuff for me is a miracle in the making. Ha ha. So, I do feel pretty proud of myself these days. lol. Tonight I am making home-made Gnocci. I will be using fresh ingredients, of course... I have also been shopping alot in the 'specialty' section of my local market. Which is where the imported foods are. I picked up some things from the 'British Isles', 'German', 'France', and 'Italy' sections. I have noticed that these foods are WAY lower in fat than our foods here in America, AND they are only a few cents more than what I usually buy anyway. And here all along, I thought this stuff was a fortune! Boy - was I wrong! I even thought that buying fresh produce was more expensive...well it isn't. Now 'adays it is about the same...and you get FRESH product - without all of the preservatives, corn syrup, and junk that goes in it! Tomorrow's menu? Split Pea Soup. I'm excited. *smiles*

******

{dear santa}

'Tis that time of year again. It is officially December. And what a day it was. I woke up to the snow pouring down outside - and of course I couldn't sit at home and enjoy it from my warm living room - I had to venture out and go grocery shopping & go to the doctor for my 8 week check-up. Of course. lol. Well - my entire household is sick. Well - I am better, a little. My husband is doing better...a little. ha. Our kiddos are still sick though. So I had to get vapo-steam, nasal spray, tissues, etc...at the pharmacy.

On a happier note - we all sat down as a family this evening - and our oldest (3 1/2 yrs) wrote a letter to Santa telling him exactly what he wants for Christmas. :) I absolutely love this tradition. I will scrapbook a copy for his baby book - and take the other one to the post office where they will send it off to 'Santa' for him. I love the holidays!

I am also proud of my new 'meal plan' that I have already started - didn't even wait for the new year. I am going to attempt to make more 'home-made' meals. Tonight was 'Eggplant Parmesan'. And it was wonderful - my hubby loved it too! Tomorrow is Italian Gnocci with homemade marinara. Sounds delish, if you ask me. *winks*

I have to go - my 8 week old is fussing up a storm - he has the cold bug too. Poor little guy. Watching "Scrooged" on AMC. Nighty night blogging world.

******

{giving & receiving}

Isn't giving just way better than receiving? I think so. The morning church service/message was based on just that. Exactly. I am so happy that my hubby and I have decided this year to only get our kiddo's a couple of gifts. (a toy from Santa and something from mommy and daddy) We have decided to help out a client of ours who is about to have his family's utilities shut off due to him being cut from his job. (all because the company wanted a younger person in his place) So sad. Anyway - we felt called to help - and we are. I just love the holidays.

Lord - I thank you for blessing us so that we may help others.

Amen.

*****

.Thanksgiving.

Wow. I somehow find it hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be here in less than a week! Luckily this year we don't have to travel far away to visit relatives. Not that I mind visiting relatives and enjoying their wonderful feast - but having a newborn and a 3 year old in the car for more than an hour is very interesting. ha ha. I sort of like...okay, I love the idea of just being home with my little family. Our plans are to make dinner the day of, watch the Macy's Parade, holiday movies, and after dinner we plan to decorate our townhouse for Christmas. I am so excited! We have a fake Christmas tree - but we are thinking about going to town and picking a real one up. Since it is only $20 dollars for a 6-7' tree. We just need to find a base somewhere.

My sweet little E.J. officially turned 6 weeks old on Wednesday. I can't believe it. Gosh - they grow up fast, don't they? Before I know it my boys will be coming home to tell me they have a girlfriend - then they will graduate college (or whatever the pursue in life) - they will come home and tell me they want to introduce me to the women they want to share the rest of their life with - okay - I need to stop. I am sooooo gonna be in tears here in a second. *sigh* I am savoring every waking hour with these boys. I have realized in the past I took alot of things for granted - including family. With my best friend losing her husband to a car accident almost 2 months ago - I have truly put some things into perspective. I have been digging more and more into the word of God - daily devotions have turned from 10 minutes into hours of reading and studying, and taking notes. I truly want to be more spiritual and have a better, and closer walk with God. I have been a Christian since 1999. I have come in and out of 'peaks' with my spiritual walk. I have never felt more closer to God than I have now - at this stage in my life.

I feel so blessed to have what I have. A loving family, a roof over my head, a car to drive, clothes on my back, and food on my table. What more could I honestly ask of God? Absolutely nothing.

This year - for us - we are celebrating the TRUE meaning of Christmas. That Jesus Christ our Lord was born on Christmas day. We celebrate HIS birthday. We are still decorating for Christmas and truly celebrating like usual - but with more enthusiasm - because now I feel like I'm not a kid anymore. I don't have to have a ton of gifts...not even one for that matter, to make me feel like it is Christmas. Because that is NOT why we celebrate. We aren't getting anyone in our family gifts this year, except for our children, and my best friend and her 2 girls (the one that lost her husband). We will however, give every family member a 'treat bag'. It will include a candy cane, an orange with cloves popped in, and some homemade cookies, and a lovely card. We will be getting our boys 3 or 4 gifts. Our 3 year old will be getting one gift from Santa (which is going to be Olivia's play house set (he reminds us that he wants Santa to bring it to him each time the commercial comes on. ha ha.) My hubby and I plan on getting him a few books from the local bookstore (Richard Scarry, Dr. Seuss, and Olivia...and maybe an Eric Carle). We will fill his stocking with a peppermint stick, an orange, and some little sweeties. Edward, however, is still very young. So we plan to get him a plush toy and a couple of outfits.

Honestly, children these days (in my opinion - no offense to any parents out there, seriously) get too much. Especially at Christmas. The past two years my first born has received enough gifts at Christmas to give 20+ children who are in need a gift of their own. So that is just something we are doing this year. I plan to give my husband one gift - a new coffee maker. He needs one bad. I plan to get him that Keurig one - it is on sale at our local department store. ;) I believe I will be getting bath towels - that is a definite necessity around here! ha ha.

What are some of your favorite traditions? What are you doing different this year? Any NEW traditions being implemented?

{relaxation}

*****

Today has perhaps, been the best day I have had in a long time. My children didn't wake me up until 8 a.m. . I am usually up around 6:30 or 7 all on my own. So this was a treat. *smiles* I started to do my daily/normal routine when all of a sudden I thought - "Why don't I do something different today. Be crazy and lazy. Don't worry about FB, email, or my blog. Forget the chores for a while. Why not?"

So - first things first. Shower. (literally a 3 minute shower considering my newborn was crying his eyes out because he was hungry and I still had to sanitize all of his bottles. *sigh*) Dry hair. Change E.J.'s diaper, clothes, and sanitize/fix bottle. Get R.A. changed and breakfast. Bring it upstairs so we can chill up there for a while. Finish watching "The Duchess" while feeding E.J. . Fold 2 baskets of laundry. Put folded laundry away. Clean out t.v. stand. (what a mess. uggh.) Sort through all Gerber Graduate items and stock 'em away in closet. (all were on sale at my Market this past week. Puffs, Crunchies, Teething biscuits, and Arrowroot cookies each only $1.00!!) If you are a mom of a sitting baby/toddler you know how much these cost regular price!! Figured I'd get a jump on things since they are good till 2013!! *winks*) Mopped bathroom floor. Took out bathroom trash. Straightened hair. (did all of these while E.J. was napping after his bottle. *wink*) Popped in "Toy Story III" and "Veggie Tales Jonah" for R.A. while mommy did all of this. Sorted dirty clothes. Made the beds. Played with E.J. and his baby toys, it is amazing how responsive he is already! He loves looking at each item I pull out and he really acts like he is listening. *grins*

{moves downstairs}

Wash bottles. Sanitize bottles. Clean countertops. (E.J. is in his bouncer at this point. R.A. is listening to Christmas music in the LR.) Fix lunch. Today was lean cuisine lasagna and salad for mommy - a ham and cheese lunchable for R.A.. Pop laundry in the washer. Check FB. Check email. Pop laundry in the dryer - put another in the wash. Take out trash to dumpster. Check blog. Oh wait - here we are at this very second! ;) I just love my days with my boys. I have found that if I simply put them first at all times - I get soooo much more done that way. *winks* I think now my days are going to be upstairs first half - and downstairs second half. It makes it easier on mommy at night - that way when I head upstairs at bedtime, I'm not stuck with folding, sorting, and putting away a ton of launry, cleaning, and showering. *whew*

What a relaxing day. Today truly is a great day. Thank you Lord for your many blessings.

Amen.

*****

drip drip drop

Normally, I don't like the rain. However, today seemed like the perfect day for rain. Not that I was having a bad morning or anything. I woke up in a great mood and the kids were and are behaving wonderfully. It just seems like a 'rainy' sort of day - ya know? First thing on the agenda today was get to the hospital for E.J.'s one month appointment.

{E.J.}

5 weeks 5 days old

10 lbs 5 oz

Appointment went well - doc says E.J. is a perfect, healthy, happy baby boy. *smiles big* Now we are home, listening to Christmas music and enjoying our day. Indoors. Soaking up the toasty heat. I love cuddling with my boys on the couch - with the throw pillows and a nice fuzzy blanket. Or a big handmade quilt from Grandma's collection. It may be tattered and worn...but it serves its purpose quite well, thank you. *giggles* Getting ready to make us some lunch and watch our 1 1/2 hours of television. We are on week 2 of only watching 1 - 1 1/2 hours of television per day. It has been the best thing I've done for me and my family. My husband has even taken all his shows off of the DVR and no longer watches t.v. at night. Instead - he spends quality time with me and the boys. We read, do devotions, color, play with blocks, puzzles, and toys, and just enjoy our family. It has opened my eyes so much. Taking time away from our cell phones, laptops, and iPods. It is just amazing. I would recommend anyone doing it if you have a famiily - try it out just for a day even. It makes a HUGE difference. *winks*

Happy Monday everyone!

{praise & worship}

Isn't it amazing how you can feel so down and out and then your friends, church family, and even your fellow bloggers pull together and save the day? I also enjoyed today's praise and worship/message. It was just the right thing I needed to hear today. *smiles* I am so blessed to have you all in my life. God's grace is enough for me - I am learning that. For sure. Thank you all for your kindness and prayers.

*****

This week:

E.J.'s 1 month check-up.

Women's devotional night.

Family night.

pretty good week I'd say.