First Snow

Madison was way to small last year to remember the snow. This year she's trying to figure out what it is. It's been in the single digits this week and way to cold for the kids to actually play in it. I did however let her go outside for a couple of minutes to touch the ice. She had the weirdest look on her face. It was cute. (I didn't have her all bundled up like I should because she was just outside to touch the snow, not play just in case your wondering :)

Here is her first snow pic's.







The yard looks pretty covered in white sparkles. This is Maddie's tiny playhouse that sits covered in snow right now.



Our driveway....



The road to our house....



All covered in a blanket of fresh white powder. So pretty, but also soooo cold! We are staying busy indoors for now. :)

Signs of Christmas

You know it's almost Christmas at our house when you start seeing....

Our Christmas Stocking hanging on the fireplace,



Christmas wrapping paper ready to go,



Craft projects. This year we are painting our very own Christmas village.



Jared wanted this snowflake bead kit he saw in his book order from school. I didn't think he would want something like this, but I ordered it anyways. He's been making the prettiest Christmas ornaments. You just wouldn't believe a nine year old boy is making them. ha!



I've got a few presents for family ready to go. My shopping is almost done. That's such a good feeling.



Thats what it looks like here. It's such a fun time of year.

Making Christmas Cookies

We LOVE decorating sugar cookies at Christmas time! It's been cold around here so what better way to warm up then baking. All the kids helped me prepare this batch. They all come running when it involves sugar! ha! Even though the cookies may not be the best looking, they were so yummy. Making memories is what it's all about

Christmas in the Kitchen

It's starting to look more like Christmas around here. (I'm going out of town for Thanksgiving dinner so I don't have to worry about cooking at my house.) I can start to begin making candy treats for family/friends. It's never to early since my days ahead are jam packed full of other holiday activities, works and school. Any chance I can get to get a jump on my homemade gifts saves me a lot of stress.

Treat bags of muddy buddy mix. They are great anytime of the year, but we made them for Christmas this time.



Pretzel Hugs ready to be a gift for someone.



In the candy dish, more holiday favorites.



And if the sugar treats don't keep up my energy, a Gingerbread Latte from Starbucks will! Yum!



What homemade treats do you make around the holidays?

A Tree is Up

Our new white Christmas tree is up and we are starting to decorate. It's still pretty bare, but I love how it's looking already. I'm using all new colors this year and Madison is enjoying all the lights.





It's still a work in progress but I just had to post something Christmas today. It's not even Thanksgiving officially yet but we are already in full Christmas mode. Is anyone else got their tree up?

Under the Bathroom Sink

I just wanted to share with everyone how I organize in my bathroom to keep clutter at bay. Under my bathroom sink I have four rubbermaid storage containers that keep stuff like our health and beauty supplies tucked away. I don't have a medicine cabinet and I don't like them on the counter. Less is more and keeps my bathroom counter looking clean. I label everything too so everyone else knows what's inside.

Here is what I do to create more storage and organization under the bathroom sink.











There you have it! It works for me. Simple and keeps little toddler hands from getting into unsafe items. I would love to see how others organize under there sinks.

Rolling Your Towels

This week I'm organizing my bathrooms even though I'm suppose to wait till the end of the month to do this. I'm following Clutterbug's calendar for daily cleaning and organizing tips. (Scroll down below to see my post on her calendar.) We are suppose to be organizing our kitchen's this week, but I decided my bathroom needed more work then the kitchen. Her calendar is a great source of motivation to get these things done.

She suggest to roll your towels. It not only fits more but looks nicer when you store them. Just like a spa wouldn't you say?



I've got my towels rolled in a small shelf I put in my bathroom. It fit's nicely in a space next to our laundry hamper. I now have a basket for handtowels, wash cloths on the top shelf. The larger bath size towels fit snug in the spaces below.



It's a start! With so many kids needing a clean towel all the time, here is a perfect solution. I have always kept my clean towels in the bathroom instead of a linen closet. That way I don't have to go far searching for an additional towel. Now they are nice and neat! How do you store your towels?

Birthday Party at the Movies

We just celebrated my Son's 9th birthday party at our local movie theater. It's the perfect party for any kid. Especially when Dreamworks puts out another great 3D movie like Megamind. All the kids loved the film and said they would want to go back the next day to see it. I'm so glad it came out to the theaters just in time for Jared's birthday party.



Can't you just smell the popcorn from here? As an added bonus, each child and adult got a small popcorn, small coke for being apart of the party. Wow!

The party room! Plenty of space for kids and adults. I set out food on the first table, the middle was where I set up the cake, and the last table I put the presents on.



He requested a Halo cake like the video game. Well I had to get creative there because they don't make halo cakes around here. At least they don't have a kit or pan to make it from. I decided to order the Batman cake at the bakery and had them leave off the batman toy. I bought some new small Halo toys and added it to the top like they were fighting each other. I printed out a Halo picture, laminated it and stuck it in the cake so everyone knew the toys were halo. Us old folks can't always tell what the kids are into these days. :)

He got the X-box game he's been wanting for awhile. He was so happy!

Kids so cool, they had to wear their shades!

Madison played in the arcade during the movie. A one year-old of course can't sit still long enough for a movie such as this, but I managed to find other things for her to do.

After the party, Jared gave me a big thank you hug for such a fun day! The other Mom's said they might have their kids parties at the movie theater next. I think I've started something now. Ha! If you haven't thrown a birthday party at a movie theater before, look into it for your kids. They will love you for it.