The kids have officially been on Christmas break for almost four days and boy, oh boy have we been busy.  I thought they would just want to be lazy and hang out but I was wrong, they have been going at 110% since they got home on Friday.  We have made Christmas cookies, Christmas decorations, and DIY Christmas gifts.  They always surprise me with all of their ambition and creative ideas.

The first thing Hannah and Liam wanted to do on Saturday when they got up was make Christmas cookies.  I have been busy keeping up with them and work I hadn’t had time to make all the cookies I wanted to so it worked out perfectly.  We made traditional sugar cookies and Hannah and Liam decorated them, cranberry and almond shortbread, and Christmas wreaths.

Cranberry and almond shortbread-

Ingredients-
•    1 cup softened butter
•    2/3 cup white sugar
•    ½ tsp. almond extract
•    2 cups flour
•    ½ cup cranberry jam
•    ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
•    ¾ tsp. almond extract
•    1 tsp. milk

Instructions-
•    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
•    Mix the butter and white sugar together in a medium bowl and then mix in the ½ tsp. almond extract and flour until the dough is formed.  Make about 1 ½ in balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Use your thumb to form small indentation and fill with cranberry jam.  Bake for about 15-18 minutes and let cool.
•    In a bowl mix the confectioners’ sugar, ¾ tsp. almond extract, and milk until smooth and drizzle over the warm cookies.



Christmas Wreaths


Ingredients-
•    ½ cup butter
•    30 large marshmallows
•    1 ½ tsp. green food coloring
•    1 tsp. vanilla extract
•    4 cups cornflakes cereal
•    2 tbsp. cinnamon red hot candies, or red M&M’s, or other red candies

Instructions
•    In a large saucepan over low heat melt the butter.  Add the marshmallows, constantly stir until melted.  Remove from heat, immediately add the food coloring, vanilla, and cornflakes and mix.
•    Drop heaping tablespoons of mixture on wax paper and form into a wreath shape.  Immediately decorate with red candies and allows to cool before removing.

On Monday while my husband was at work the kids made homemade gifts for their grandparents and dad.  They painted wooden trays with chalkboard paint and glued photos on them for the grandma’s, painted coffee mugs for the grandpa’s, and made Lego cuff links for dad.  All their gifts turned out beautiful.  I believe that homemade gifts are the best and mean the most; I know everyone is going to love them.
  
I can tell already this is going to be a great Christmas break for the kids.  I hope they start getting worn out and want to take it easy.  :)

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

With Christmas right around the corner I decided to go out this morning to find some fresh winter plants and crafts for the kids to do while they are home for Christmas break.  While I was at the floral shop I was pleased to see they had a deal on poinsettias, the most Christmas plant of them all. 
 
When I was checking out the nice woman wished me a “Happy National Poinsettia Day!”  Such a coincidence I was in search for holiday plants, and I am certainly not complaining about the deals I got on them either.



After I got home I was interested in learning about the plant that is so iconic to the Christmas season.

Little did I know that there was such a story behind this red plant.  According to the Mexican folklore it is a story about a little poor girl who had nothing to bring to her church on Christmas.  While she was walking she picked some plants along the road and as she entered the church the tips of the leaves turned into a bright and beautiful red flower, the poinsettia.

I had no idea that there was a folklore story behind poinsettia’s or how they became so popular in the US.  National Poinsettia Day was officially declared in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett who was the first Ambassador to Mexico.  He brought this plant to his home in the US and gave them as Christmas gifts to his friends.  Since then the poinsettia has become one of the most popular Christmas plants.

There is no doubt that the sight of a poinsettia brings the Christmas spirit into the air.  I love how just a simple plant can bring so much life and spirit to a room.  After learning the story behind poinsettias, I went back and bought a few more plants to decorate the restaurant with. 

What a great way to bring the Christmas spirit into a home.  You still have time to go out and get your poinsettias for National Poinsettia Day! 

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie

Everyone knows how the holidays can wear you out and leave you exhausted.

This year was no exception for me and my family.  From traveling hours to spend time with my family and my husband’s, being referee to the kids on the car rides, and making so much food….it was really delicious, the whole family is exhausted.

Today while my kids are on their playdates and my husband is working at the office, I am dedicating today to myself and relaxing and distressing.



My husband got me a new book for Christmas so I plan on reading it all morning, sipping my tea, and indulging myself in a hot bath.  This afternoon I even scheduled a massage.  I haven’t had one in ages, I can’t even remember when the last time I had one was.

Even though Christmas was exhausting it was so worth it.  We had an incredible couple of days.  We went to the annual Christmas parade with a few of our family friends.  The kids had so much fun catching candy and seeing all the floats.  And we got to catch up with a few old friends while sipping hot chocolate.

On Christmas Eve we went to my husband’s family’s house for dinner.  It was great seeing everyone and watching the kids play with all of their cousins.  On Christmas day we went to my parents’ house for dinner.  I was so proud of my mom, she made an almost entirely vegetarian dinner.  It makes me so happy seeing my family embrace my lifestyle and incorporate it into their lives as well.  It was delicious, she even used some of my recipes.

Santa Claus came to our house on Christmas Eve and the kids had so much fun opening all their gifts on Christmas morning.  Hannah got EVERYTHING she wanted….her exact words. :)  Liam was so excited he got a new bike.  He wanted to ride it in the house when he first opened it…Santa wasn’t feeling that generous though.  He ended up spending all afternoon riding it up and down our street.



It was a great Christmas full of fun with our families and friends, so today is a much deserved day of relaxation for me.  Between the kid’s schedules, running around and spending as much time with them as I could, working at the restaurant, and keeping my house in order, I definitely deserve this.

Hope you had a great Christmas and take some time to relax.

Go Green and Stay Keen,


Julie

My two kids have just began winter break from school and I am so excited to spend some time with them and do some Christmas activities.  I was able to get quite a few days off from the restaurant so I can spend lots of time with them while they have a break from school.  Hannah and Liam have been looking forward to sleeping in and having fun with Mommy and Daddy.

We have a few fun things planned as a family to do with the kids off from school.  We are going to go ice skating, make our annual ornaments, making and building ginger bread houses, and going to the local Christmas parade.  It is going to be a fun filled couple weeks.

This morning I am surprised the kids with snowman pancakes to decorate.  They are really simple, I just shape the pancakes like a snowman and the kids add chocolate chips, raisins, powder sugar, and whipped cream.  It was a great way to start off the day in a fun delicious way.



We are going to go shopping for the supplies to make the Christmas ornaments this afternoon and starting to make them.  I found a bunch of good ideas on Pinterest, we will see if Liam or Hannah need some inspiration…probably not though, they always have a bunch of silly ideas to make their ornaments special. :)

It is going to be a good couple weeks full of Christmas fun and activities.  Here are some pictures of our crafts from last year.  The Popsicle stick snowmen were really easy and fun! Hannah’s ornament masterpiece was the clear bulb filled with beads, and Liam’s melted snowman was his; they were so cute.  The glitter reindeer was really easy too, just very messy.



Happy Holidays!

Go Green and Stay Keen,

Julie