Christmas Books!

I saw an idea on Pinterest about wrapping seasonal books that you already own and having the children unwrap them one a night. I thought that was a fantastic idea and set out to do it, too! We, luckily, had 24 (actually more than that) books on hand, winter/Christmas/Religious, you name it! 

 

Isn't she cute?!

 

Landon is totally loving this, by the way! We read a book every night, but this adds a little mystery to it! We missed the first night, because only have the books were wrapped and I wanted to take the above pictures before I had them start unwrapping. So on night one (Dec 2) we did two books, to catch up!

 This was her first time unwrapping a present!

I just love them!

 I really love this idea, but let me tell you, I fastly wrapped all of these books, wrapping books=not so fun!

Advent Calendar

The holidays are well among us and we are excited around here! This is my favorite time of the year! I'm trying to make it extra special for Landon, this year. Hopefully starting a new tradition, as well. We have used our advent calendar for a couple of years now, and Landon loves moving the little candy cane over every day, but this year, I decided to make it extra special by adding activities to do every day! He's loving it!

I haven't filled in everyday with events, just in case something comes up and we we are unable to do a big event. This way, I can fill it in the night before! 

On Day 1 we had "Paint Ornaments!" We made these a week or so ago, so we just finished them, that night.  This was also Emmelyn's first time painting!

 

On Day 2, we had "String popcorn and cranberries!" Landon was excited, but quickly lost interest in this activity. First of all, it was hard to string the popcorn, it would just break... so we moved on to popcorn, what sticky mess! Then we went to cereal, which was great.  

 As you can tell, he didn't even finish the strand before giving up. Oh well, we won't be doing this one again. But, at least I can say that we tried!

Day 3 was "Movie Night" because I had a Girl's Night Out I was hosting. So, Michael and the kids watched a movie upstairs. It was a great night, we did an ornament exchange and game night. Great time, great food, great conversation... you get the idea.

I made my delicious Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes which were a hit and turned out so cute! First time trying to make the frosting stripped!

 And my awesome tortilla roll ups! Everyone brought food, but this is what I made! MmMmmMmm!

 What kind of holiday traditions do you have? We have a lot and I just love it!

Taco Soup

One of my favorite things about fall is a nice bowl of hot soup! Yum! There's something so comforting about soup, isn't there? A favorite around here is Taco Soup! I made it a couple of nights ago, so I thought I'd share how I make it. What's great about this soup is that the leftovers are just as good, if not better, because the flavor is more intense!

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1.25-oz. packet taco seasoning (about 1/4 c.)
3 c. water, divided
2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
2 15-oz. cans kidney beans, drained, if you'd like.
I throw in some frozen corn, as well.

Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic in a soup pot. When brown, add the taco seasoning and 1 c. water. Add the remaining ingredients, then, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for at least 15 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.We like to do cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips, but this time I only had the chips on hand. Still great!

Slow Cooker Instructions: After browning the meat, place all the ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low for about 6-8 hours.

Freezes very well, too! This makes a lot for my family, so we usually have to freeze some and have it for lunch a few times, too.

Halloween Jars

On Saturday, Landon and I decided to do some Halloween crafts! We took out the Mod Podge and tissue paper and got to work!

He lost interest after we finished the first one and began coloring instead.

Kids...

It was a fun and easy craft!

My Favorite Pumpkin... EVER!

My beautiful little girl was so cooperative! I had to share these!

 I love that they're making the same face here, haha. 

Love them!

 

Trying out the tutu I made her! She loves it!

 It's pretty tasty!

 I really love how much they love and adore each other! I'm so lucky!

Halloween Tutu

A couple of weeks ago, when my MIL was in town, she bought Emmelyn this cute Halloween themed shirt. I loved it so much I decided to make a matching tutu for her to wear for Halloween!

This is my first tutu and I just love it! I made it on ribbon so I can tie it behind her and have a cute little bow! Also, I can add to it when she is bigger. I'm going to have her wear black leggings underneath and I plan to make her a matching bow, too! Very excited to see her in this. She's asleep at the moment. Hmm... I guess I'll wait until Halloween!

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies!

Today I tried out this two ingredient pumpkin cookie recipe I saw floating around the internet. I was a little skeptical, but I have to tell you, they are amazing!

Mine actually consisted of three ingredients since I added raisins... four if you count the frosting. 

Okay, so you'll need:

 

One box of Spice Cake

One 15 oz can of Plain Pumpkin

I added raisins 

and used cream cheese frosting for some of them.

Just mix the ingredients together and plop spoonfuls on to a baking sheet.  They will bake and be the same size and shape as what you plop on to the sheet. Bake them at 350 until done.

 

This picture really doesn't do it justice, but you should try them anyway!

Tortilla Roll-ups

Here's a delicious meal that my family just loves!

What's great about them is that you can make them any way to suit your family's tastes. 

It's fast, and I'd say fairly healthy, depending on your fillings. 

Here's what we used tonight. In the past we have used avocado in place of the cucumber and I bet bacon would be pretty tasty, as well. 

Have you tried this cooking cream stuff? I love it and use it on so many things, besides pasta!

Okay, spread your cream on the tortilla and add your meat and cheese.

Then add your veggies... I used spinach, tomato, and cucumber this time.

 Make sure you use really thin sliced toppings for easier rolling. Like I tell my husband, this is NOT a burrito!

 Cut in half then cut until you have 8 pieces.

Yum, so refreshing and tasty! 

Hope you try this out and make your own variations!