Christmas in St. Louis

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas! This was our first Christmas in St. Louis & we had a really nice holiday. Things have been so busy lately that I was a little behind where I'd hoped to be in terms of getting the house decorated, cookies baked & presents bought but it all came together in the end.

This year we did lots of baking! First up was Chocolate Chip Cookies which we made from a mix - I can't seem to find a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I actually like as much as the mixes you can buy at the store so I stuck with what we like!

Meighan loved helping me bake this year - here she is making cookie balls for our cookies ...


Alex came in to help for a minute but he bored of it quickly & moved on -


I really wanted to make some different cookies this year, something the kids would enjoy helping to make. So, I found a recipe for sugar cookies with frosting that looked great (you can find it HERE if you're interested) & we decided to make homemade, from scratch cookies & frosting. A first for me (I'm not much of a baker!). Here's the finished product -



Meighan enjoyed helping me with the frosting - she and Alex picked the frosting colors (pink, purple, blue and green).

And here she is decorating the cookies with sprinkles - she said it was the best part!

Meighan's cookie masterpieces -

All piled up and ready to eat!

The mess that remained & mommy had to clean up!


Then, we began to decorate our tree. We wanted to do it earlier in the month but life took over and it wasn't done until the weekend bef0re Christmas. I might leave the tree up awhile just to enjoy it! I don't have many photos of Alex in the tree trimming pictures because he insisted on taking his pants off & running around with no undies. It wasn't worth the argument so I'll keep those pictures off the web & torture him with them later when his future girlfriends visit me!

Meighan loves her Daddy!!

On Tuesday, Mom and Dave arrived for the holiday! They drove out from VA, bringing along the dogs. On Tuesday night we ate out but on Christmas Eve, I made my 'infamous' salisbury steak! The one thing that I can cook well ...


We left cookies & milk for Santa on the new plate that Meighan picked out this year ...

Meighan being her sassy self with Grandma & Grandpa!

Alex was in a mood (no napping might have accounted for the mood) & insisted on eating some of Santa's cookies. He also wouldn't put on his new Christmas Pajamas so that I could get a photo but we made the best of it!

Meighan in her Christmas Pajamas - Princesses, of course!

Mom brought a tin of her famous sugar cookies which we all enjoyed ...

Me and my girl. Boy, I really need a haircut. And I need to lose some weight.

My handsome boy!


The tree, after Santa visited ... yes, the kids got WAY more presents than they EVER needed. Between Santa, Grandma & Grandpa, and Pop Pop & Nina, they had a TON of presents to open. They are very, very lucky kiddos.

Christmas morning was pure chaos. The kids actually slept until after 9 a.m. which was a Christmas miracle in and of itself. Then, they woke us up & came running down to see if Santa had visited. Sure enough, he'd left a TON of presents for them. They were so excited that they didn't even know where to start!

Mom and Dave brought these cool buckets for each of the kids. Alex's is SpiderMan & Meighan's is princesses/fairys. Very cool.

And they also brought his Hulk pinball game which was a big hit!

One of the kids' favorite gifts was the Leapster Tag system that Pop Pop, Nina and Elizabeth sent from Virginia! They loved all their presetnts but this was definately a hit. As were the bouncy balls with Ariel & Batman on them. They've been bouncing all around the house. (We'd hoped to have them open their gifts via the web cam that Dad and Nina sent but asking two 3 year olds to wait to open presents is basically impossible. So, I took lots of pictures & we'll show Pop Pop & Nina how much they LOVE their gifts when we get the web cam hooked up (we're hoping to get it up today so we can see them later today even!).

For weeks, all Alex has talked about is these little Iron Man guys. He was so so so excited to see them arrive from Santa. He immediately began playing with them. Santa seems to know EXACTLY what these kids like. Amazing!

Meighan got a TON of new Barbies which she LOVES. This one is a Veteranarian. Santa also brought her a princess Barbie & a President Barbie.

The kids are loving their new Leapster game systems. Alex got a Batman game for his & Meighan got a Princess game. They have had a blast figuring out the different games.

Meighan has been asking for a new waterglobe/music box so Santa brought her a beautiful Princess one. Now, if we can just keep it from getting broken!

Our very own fancy Meighan, got a Fancy Nancy book!

And the present that she's been asking for over and over for months - the infamous Cupcake Maker.


And Meg's Leapster ...


And the new IronMan movie which we've seen 6 times since Christmas morning LOL

The chaos ....
The boxes - why in the world do they make it so difficult to open up one little toy. Jeez.

So much stuff that even Mommy was overwhelmed ...

Alex the Reindeer -

Alex with his IronMan men - the obsession continues ...

Meighan getting ready to go to the movies with Grandma & Grandpa - they took the twins to see that new dog movie, Bolt. They had a blast ...


And that it is for me now. I have so much to get done right now - getting the house cleaned up & the last of the cookies baked (still need to make the Chocolate Peanut Butter cookies - YUM). And batteries ... we need lots of batteries. Happy Holidays!

****By the way, my cell phone is DEAD as a doornail so if you've been trying to reach me you might want to try Paul's cell phone. Mine is not working no matter what I do now. It's been on its last legs but I've been trying to keep it alive. I'm going to have to give in and get a new cell phone on payday. I'm tired of mine not working for me.

Holiday Musings ....

Links to Share: Great Stuff I Came Across & Wanted to Share

Photo by John Althouse Cohen

As I've been visiting some of my favorite blogs, I've been keeping a list so that I could share with you some of the posts/articles/projects that I found interesting ...

1. Simplemom has a fantastic article over on her site Skimp On The Unimportant So You Can Spend On What Matters that I definitely recommend. I know our family is making a lot of changes in terms of how we spend our money and what we spend it on. This article gave me a lot to think about.
2. There is a very short but interesting article entitled What We All Want To Be When We Grow Up over at Marc & Angel Hack Life that I really enjoyed as both an individual and as a parent. A nice reminder, I thought.
3. I love this cute Fairy Light Project which is a great way to reuse something to create something unique & beautiful. I might have to try this with my daughter.
4. Since quitting smoking last week (YAY me!), I've been having some trouble staying motivated to do things which is unlike me. However, I saw this article 21 Surefire Ways to Stay Motivated which I think is an excellent resource that might help anyone struggling with motivation.
5. I love these Modern Paper Ornaments over at Design*Sponge and I just might have to make some for the kiddo's rooms - I think they're very cute & look fairly easy!
6. There is a great article over at Blissfully Domestic about Hiding Holiday Weight that I think gave some great suggestions ...
7. As I'm struggling with the fact that I'm so behind for the holidays that are coming up (I've had a crazy month at work & then I've been really sick for the last 2 weekends) and I loved this article over at The Inspired Room called Feeling Behind Before You Even Begin? Six Strategies to Make the Holidays Sane

Okay, that is it for me today ... I hope that some of these links might be of interest & help/inspire you!

Makeup Musings

I am a HUGE makeup fanatic. I love to look at it, try it on, and am always looking for the best possible products out there. I could get lost in makeup aisles almost as easily as a book store (more on that later). I thought I would share the products that I love and can't live without. I'd love to hear about your favorites and what you love about them so definitely share!

1. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - I admit that I was hesitant to believe that this product could really help me. I kept hearing people rave on and on about it but I just wasn't sure. When I had a few extra dollars, I went ahead and purchased it. WOW is all I can say. I cannot live without it anymore! It really is like no other primer that I've tried. The consistency is wonderful and my eyeshadow stays all day & into the night without any need to reapply. It also keeps my liquid eyeliner on all day which is practically a miracle! No creasing, no fading. Even in the middle of the summer, with sweat running down my face, my eyeshadow and eyeliner is PERFECT. Truly a miracle product for me.



2. Philosophy's Hope In A Jar - This is a therapeutic daily facial moisturizer for all skin types that has made such a difference for my skin. I have fairly sensitive, combination skin & have a difficult time finding a moisturizer that meets all my needs. But not anymore! I love this moisturizer. It was apparently created for the medical market originally for patients in pursuit of younger, healthier skin. I really have seen a difference in my skin - it looks healthier, breaks out less and has a glow that I wasn't getting with drug store brands. There is also a version for Sensitive Skin that I recently purchased which I love even more!

3. Benefit Cosmetics Sketching Pencils for Lips - I have a love/hate relationship with lip pencils. I buy them over and over trying to find the perfect formula & only end up with a chalky mess. Or the color is wrong. Or it disappears in 2 seconds. I splurged on this lip pencil (I chose Posh) a few months ago and I am in love. The color is intense but not obnoxious. The application is smooth and never once chalky. It stays put & makes my lipstick look better. I love it.

4. Everyday Minerals Mineral Makeup - I have fallen madly in love with this line of mineral makeup after YEARS of searching for the right foundation. I've tried it all - drugstore brands, department store brands, all the expensive mineral makeups & everything in between. But, I've never been happy. Until now. First, the final look is AMAZING (in my humble opinion). It lasts all day, has great coverage and they offer so many shades that finding the right one is easy. Secondly, they offer a free sample makeup kit which includes 3 shades of foundation, 1 blush or face color, and 1 concealer. Lastly, their prices are outstanding especially compared to the other brands on the market which don't offer half the quality of this product. After using their foundation, blushes, concealors and face colors for a couple of years, I finally decided to try out their eye shadows and I LOVE them. I love that I can get such a WIDE variety of colors for such a great price & that I can get so many different kinds of coverage with one product. It took some getting used to - doing my eyes with loose powder but it was worth it! My personal regimine of Everyday Minerals includes Buff - Fairly Light Neutral Foundation, followed by Nick Nack blush, a brush of Light Pink face color. I then do my eye shadow (my favorite shades - which I wear almost every day - are On The Phone & Shopping Spree). I also recommend In the Garden, Wild Flowers, Starry Eyed, and Rare Silk). Check them out ... you won't be disappointed!

5. Bare Escentuals Heavenly Face Brush is my favorite brush for applying foundation. I wasn't so sure about the shape (particularly the flat end) but its GREAT for applying mineral makeup. It's soft and provides great coverage. I think brushes are a matter of personal preference but this is one that I love and would recommend.


That is my Top 5 list ... what would be on your Top 5? Introduce me to some new (or tried and true) products! I'm looking forward to seeing what you love ...

Layout Musings

Here are some of my recent scrapbook pages ...

This one uses on of ChereKaye's new kits. And I just found out that Chere has decided to retire from designing. I've been on her team for some time and LOVE working with her designs. She will definitely be missed!


And I'm lucky enough to be working with lauraskathi's designs this month as a member of her Guest Creative Team. I'm so excited!!! Here is my first official page using one of her newer kits, venci, which you can find at Scraporchard.com ... by the way, this kit is AMAZING! So many unique and interesting elements ... Definately check it out!

Thanksgiving Musings

I know I'm a little late but I wanted to share some photos from our St. Louis Thanksgiving. Other than my honeymoon, this is the first Thanksgiving that I haven't spent the day with my family in Virginia. And it was my very first turkey. I think that, overall, it was very successful. Everyone said that the dinner we put together was yummy! We didn't leave the house ALL day. Me and Meighan wore pajamas ALL day. And we just enjoyed each other's company!

Here is our spread - turkey, stuffing, yams, green beans, biscuits, gravy, cranberries with Pumpkin and Banana Creme pies for dessert!

Just before we ate, we went around the table to say what we were thankful for this year. Paul and I said what you'd expect - the kids, each other, having a steady paycheck, etc. Meighan gave a longggggggg list of all the people she loves - Mommy, Daddy, Alex, Sami, Grandma, Grandpa, Nina, PopPop, Elizabeth, Mimi, Aunt Paula, Uncle Ken, Alyssa, Jenna, Stephanie, Carmen, John, Miss Kimmie, etccccccccccccc. She went on and on and on some more. Mentioning anyone and everyone she's basically ever met even people that I don't remember us meeting. So, then I turned to Alex to ask him what he was thankful for and he just looked at me very seriously and said "BARS AND APPLES, Mommy!" We almost fell out of our chairs, cracking up. He is so funny. He goes his own way and I love that about him. And, again, this demonstrates the massive differences in raising a boy and a girl. They are such different creatures that it amazes me each and every day.







I had to work the day after Thanksgiving but before bed that night, the kids and I made chocolate chip cookies (well, Alex was there for maybe 3 minutes before taking off to do something more interesting). Meighan was there until the end - she's a great helper in the kitchen! Here she is showing off her freshly baked cookies ...


And being silly, silly for the camera ...



And the final product. They were YUMMY and didn't last long!


And, last, but certainly not least - is my son, caught in the act of playing with Mommy's camera which he knows very well is not allowed. By the way, it wasn't just laying around. He climbed quite a bit to get it and bring it to his level to play with. When I pulled our Thanksgiving photos off the card, I found about 12 of these very close up and very incriminating photos ...