This past weekend was filled with bits of Christmas cheer. I would say that the weekend before Christmas is always the busiest for us, but by far one of the most fun!

On Friday night Justin went out to see the new Star Wars movie with some friends, so I used that time to ice cupcakes and finish up my Christmas wrapping. Me, Friday night TV, a glass of red, and a pile of presents...not a bad Friday night if you ask me.

Saturday morning we had our annual Breakfast with Santa with Justin's side of the family. All 12 of us go for breakfast and then we all have our picture made with Santa.  With the kids getting older, breakfast is getting harder, but of course, more entertaining!

After breakfast I made my run to the grocery store to grab last minute items for the Christmas cocktail that we hosted on Saturday night.  Before we knew it, 6:00 rolled around and friends and family came over to eat, drink, and be merry (Christmas)! We had such a fun time catching up with everyone. It amazes me how much this party has changed over the years. I started having a cocktail where everyone could dress up when I was in college and now we have our kids playing and running around. My how times have changed, but WE LOVE IT!

On Sunday morning I had my second day teaching the two year old's at church. We read the Nativity Story and made angels for them to take to their parents for Christmas. They loved having something to give their parents for Christmas.

When I got home, Justin and I picked up a bit and then my family came over for our annual cookie baking day.  We each made cookies to share and they all turned out delicious!  We also watched the Panthers take home their 14th win for an undefeated season so far, and then watched some of our favorite Christmas movies. These times with family are priceless memories for the adults and kids alike! We are so blessed.

Here was the cookie line up:

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Biscotti
Christmas Crack

Caramel filled Snicker doodles
Black Bottoms

....and my mom made thumbprint cookies and kiffel at her house that we will indulge in on Christmas!

By the time everyone left on Sunday night, Justin and I barely made it to bed before we crashed, but every moment of the weekend was so worth it!

Now its only three days until Christmas!! It comes faster and faster every year! Merry merry, y'all!

Linked up here and here!

rainy day dinner: chicken noodle soup casserole and almond cookies

It is finally starting to feel like Fall! Putting up Christmas lights in our t-shirts and blowing the A/C in the car while listening to Christmas music was starting to feel funny.  Yesterday the temperature dropped 20 degrees... good ole North Carolina.  It was a great day to spend the morning in the kitchen.
Ty LOVES baking with me. Cooking, in general, really.  He loves stirring ingredients together and hopping up on the chair to see what's on the counter.
Tonight is the annual Cookie Swap I have with some of my girlfriends.  We are having it early this year because my girlfriend, Breck, is due anyday now with her first little baby.  And there was no way we would make her miss out on cookies--especially being days from her due date!
I usually make Lemon Ricotta cookies for this, but decided to change it up this year. Trust me, though. The Lemon Ricotta cookies will happen later in December.
My sister makes Almond cookies every year and I love them!  So I decided to try my hand at it. I used this recipe:

Almond Sugar Cookies from Taste of Home

These were the perfect cookies to bake with Ty because he could eat the batter (NO EGGS!) and he could roll the batter into balls for me.  The dough was a play-do like consistency so it worked out well. And to top it off, he got to smash them with the bottom of a glass.  He loved it. 

Here are the treats for tonight! Each girl brings three cookies to share and we sit around the table tasting each cookie with a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. It is the BEST!  I have Christmas music blaring in the background and the lights all lit up. It really puts me in the spirit! 

For supper, I wanted to make something perfect for the Fall weather.  I usually do chili, but we already had that on Sunday, so I went with Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole. It was so easy and gave the feel of Chicken Noodle Soup, but much easier for my kids to eat.  I adapted Life in the Lofthouse's Chicken Noodle Casserole recipe.  YUM! Definitely a new meal for our weeknight rotation!

all ready for the oven

Adapted from: Life in the Lofthouse's Chicken Noodle Casserole

Grocery List

2 lbs. cooked chicken breast, chopped

2 cups uncooked egg noodles

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup frozen peas

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup corn

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

seasoned salt to taste

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Cook egg noodles according to package instructions.  Drain. Mix all other ingredients in a big mixing bowl.  Add egg noodles to mixture. Prepare 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.  Pour chicken and noodle mixture evenly in dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Uncover and top with italian bread crumbs.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes without foil. Enjoy!

Honestly, we dug into this so fast that I didn't have a change to finish it. It was perfect for our family. Even Elena gobbled it up!

Have a fantastic December FIRST! Only 30 more days of 2015. It is unreal!

sleigh rides and cider

Dear Ty,
It has been a VERY busy month! We have done so many things to get into the Christmas spirit this year. Earlier this month, Uncle Chip came to NC and everyone came over to our house to spend the day baking Christmas cookies and hanging out! All of your aunts and Mamang (and me) make all types of Christmas cookies-- lemon ricotta, peanut butter buckeyes, oreo balls, almond butter, black bottoms, just to name a few!  It was so much fun being together while you and Elle played.

That night we went to Sleigh Rides and Cider at Historic Oakview Park. When we got there they told us sleigh rides were canceled, but we were still able to go to the petting zoo and it was your second time seeing Santa.  Also, there were some Christmas carolers caroling.  Ninang Di wanted to be in the caroler group!

You and Elle got to take a picture with Santa together and you did NOT like it! We all thought you were so cute, but I know you were really not happy!

It was such a fun memory with your aunts, Uncle Chip, grandparents, and cousin!
I love you babaloo













,
Mommy