Christmas Cheer Day 11

Today has been an eventful day! We had U.G.L.Y sweater day at work. I felt at least 10 years older than I really am.....not the best feeling! 

Our little Elfie decided to go out and buy a cute little skirt to wear! This elicited an interesting response from the girls because Elfie has always been a HIM! I just avoided the explanation for this....because I was at an impasse on the issue! 'She' decided to play in my make-up and get ready with us this morning. 

Yummy Cupcakes- Thanks Elfie!

A couple of nights ago, Elfie brought us the materials to make some yummy cupcakes. Tonight we finally had some family time to make those! When the girls got home from school I told them what we were going to do and they were super excited. They helped mix all of the ingredients together and put the liners in the pan. Did I leave out the part where they asked if they were done fifty times?!  When they were ready the girls got to add all kinds of cute sprinkles. After getting over 20 of these cupcakes done, we decided that it was best to spread some of this Christmas cheer with others in our neighborhood. The truth is....mom did not want all that sugar left in our house! They turned out awesome and were pretty yummy too! 

Christmas Cards

One of my favorite things about Christmas is getting cards. First of all, who doesn't like getting mail that doesn't tell you to pay something?! It makes going to the mailbox fun. I love seeing how everyone's kids change over the year. Lance's family writes these elaborate Christmas letters that they include with their cards. It is always interesting reading them....but don't count me in for that. People are welcome to read my business daily here! In the past, we had always taped the cards around doorways. Last year, I made this cute little ribbon to go over the dining room and Lance's office door in our front entry. They turned out great and made it back up for the second year in a row. 

I found the idea here and threw it together in less than an hour. You basically ModPodge holiday scrapbook paper onto clothes pins that you have spray painted red or green. Then you embellish them with cute buttons. I happened to find some cute sparkly Christmas ornament buttons to use. 

I have also seen these where you put the ribbon on the front of your kitchen cabinets. If both of our doorways fill up this year, I will head there next. Last year, I read something about saving your old holiday cards each year and putting rings on them like a little flip book. I started this last year and I am so glad that I did. When I pulled out the book this year, the girls immediately started flipping through naming people that they knew. It is amazing how much kids grow in one year looking back at the pictures! I am looking forward to doing this each year with our cards. 

I really want to go back and add our family Christmas cards to this stack so the girls can see how much they have grown up each year. I think looking at these will help me keep up with the ages of all of my friends kiddos! I want to make it a point to exchange cards with some of the girls friends so they will have them to look at as well. 

Looking for Ways to Spread Cheer....and Teach Empathy

I really want my girls to grow up and care about others. I know that they think every little kid has iPads and Uggs. That is not the way I grew up, that is for sure! I have talked about giving some of their old toys away to someone that didn't have those things. Sofie took it better than expected, and Addi was very reluctant. It kind of made me sad. I have such a huge soft spot for helping people in need. Lance was just handing money to some homeless person last week. I tend to lean towards helping people that are trying to help themselves.....not the people standing at the exit ramp! I have been looking for ways, ideas, whatever to teach my girls about giving time and treasures to others. If you have ideas that you are willing to share, I would love to hear them.