Sugar Rush

We had a perfectly festive weekend that included Santa sightings and so many cookies!

On Friday night my sister watched the boys so Dennis  and I could go to an ugly sweater party. We ate really delicious food, drank Moscow mules that were a little too delicious and had a really great time with our friends.

We went to the Coyote basketball game on Saturday to visit Santa.  Duke is obsessed with 'boball' and 'arlie'- basketball and Charlie the mascot- so we have been loving the games and couldn't pass up our 3rd Santa visit this month.  Got to make sure we made the nice list! Duke said he was going to give Santa a high five but he did not want to sit on his lap.  When we got up to the concourse, Santa AND Mrs. Claus were prepped with candy canes and ready for pictures.  Duke managed to give Santa a high five and stood near him for a quick photo op.  Theo was a champion and sat on Santa's lap while making eyes at his lady friend. Always a charmer. 

A week or so ago I saw a video on Facebook with adorable Christmas cookie ideas and within an hour my sister texted my mom and I and asked if we wanted to have a cookie baking party over the weekend.  Yessss! She loaded up on ingredients at the store and we all brought extra mixing bowls and baking sheets over to my mom's house around lunch on Sunday.  I had high hopes that my baking skills would be on point, which is ridiculous because I'm probably the worst cookie baker on the planet.  We tried out some fun and festive ideas that were a bit of a flop but ended up with dozens of beautifully decorated sugar cookies! By beautiful, I mean most of them had candy eyes, loads of sprinkles, and a spotty frosting job.  But we had fun and that's what counts, right?! :) 

My mom bought a giant Rice Krispie treat sheet with the hopes that the kids would all help decorate it.  After a few globs of frosting were added, both Duke and Ashlan decided to start eating their pieces and to their dismay we had to pry the giant marshmallow treats out of their hands after awhile.

The big kids decorated ginger bread houses and my dad even stepped into to help dip caramel covered pretzels in chocolate and taste test our creations.  All the while, Dennis was out of town Christmas shopping and Theo was either napping or rolling around on the floor.  The day was awesome and we left with a  Tupperware full of treats for each of our houses plus plenty to save for all of our Christmas festivities next weekend.

The weather has been unseasonably warm this week but we are due for a brutal cold front at the end of the week.  Think we'll have a white Christmas?!  I can't wait to be off work for a few days and see my sister, brother in law and niece from Colorado.  I have a few more last minute gifts arriving in the mail this week and we'll be ready!

Happy Tuesday friends! I hope you're all enjoying this holiday season and eating more than your fair share of cookies.

-T-

Christmas Vibes

Today was one of those off days where nothing seemed to go exactly as I'd planned.  Duke was feeling sick with a cold so he was needing loads of extra attention and snuggles.  Theo is just starting to enter the world of separation anxiety and cries the saddest tears whenever I leave the room.  Each time I cleaned one room, I'd enter another to find it littered with toys, dishes, or socks.  Yes, socks.  Why are they're so many socks in my house?! Anyway, I want to focus on the fun, festive activities we've done this month, and cap this day off with some Ben & Jerry's before climbing into bed.  In no particular order, here's a glimpse into how we've been enjoying this season!

One thing that put me in an excellent mood this morning, was wrapping up some of the presents we've purchased so far and stacking them up under the tree.  So far...*knock on wood* Duke hasn't paid much attention to them.  It's been 6 hours, so I'm considering this a small victory. 

I've been buying way too many pairs of Christmas outfits and PJ's to celebrate my favorite season and justifying it because the boys will wear them as long as they fit AND anything I buy for Duke, Theo will get to use when he gets bigger.  Regardless, there just isn't anything cuter than babes in Christmas gear!

I want a pillow with this pattern...I love it! So simple, so perfectly festive. 

I have been dying over the 'On this Day' Facebook reminders lately.  This will be Duke's 3rd Christmas and I love seeing how much he's grown and changed over these 2 short years! 

We've had 2 Santa visits so far this month.  Duke was not a fan of either one.  Theo didn't really care either way, but thoroughly enjoyed attempting to pull Santa's beard off when he wasn't paying attention.  My niece had a dance performance at the W. H. Over museum in town and they setup local vendors all throughout the museum for people to shop, plus Santa ready for pictures.  He gave it a good shot and tried to encourage Duke with crayons and cars but he was not falling for it.  The other visit was at our local bank and Santa managed to get a high five from Duke...I credit a plate full of Oreo's for this success.  

The weather has been pretty mild so far this year, so we took advantage of a particular nice afternoon last weekend to get our lights up outside and decorate our tree.  I absolutely love seeing our lights on when I drive to pick the boys up after work.  I need to remember to snap some pictures of other decor we have around the house...our collection is growing and I love being able to incorporate little touches of holiday cheer throughout the house.  

We made an attempt at a family picture once our tree was completely decorated and completely failed.  Duke was being absolutely adorable and kept trying to snap his fingers and get Theo to look at the camera.  He copies pretty much every thing we do and has clearly taken notice of our tactics to get Theo to look and smile.  I'm all about beautifully smiling faces in a good family picture, but this one truly captures our crazy lives right now.  And I love it. 

My mom, sister and I went downtown last Thursday for an annual Sip and Shop event a lot of our local stores participate in.  We stopped into half a dozen stores to snack on treats, sip on wine, and buy gifts for family, friends, and maybe ourselves :)  It was an awesome evening and another example {of so many!} that make me so happy we live here.  This week I have a white elephant Christmas book club party with friends and a holiday mix and mingle.  'Tis the season!  I hope you're all enjoying this holiday season and soaking up quality time with the people you love the most. 

Have an awesome week!

-T-