It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Or I'm trying to make it feel like that anyway.. I'm in for a rough Holiday season with my mom being sick, and we're pinching our pennies harder than we were last year. but I am determined to make this Christmas special for my girls.

Thanksgiving weekend the tree is going up, to be decorated the following weekend. Hopefully soon after that the girls and I will be having the grandmas over for cookie baking. That turned out to be better than expected last year considering it was Moira and I of course then DHs Grandma, and my mom. I think it helped that it was ladies only and not the entire slew of in-laws GGma is always more relaxed without the rest of the house there.

Last year we even got matching jammies, I really want to do that again this year not having much luck so far, but with 3 ladies and a picky daddy we can be had to coordinate sometimes

For more traditions head on over to Candid Carrie

While I'm Thinking About It......

This was taken at the zoo this summer. Hubby picked the picture out.. Not one of my best photography wise.. but the subjects sure are cute!!

For more phriday phun visit Candid Carrie

Fro' Me To You

I'm missing summer I was supposed to get the day off today so we could take the ladies to the Zoo for what would probably be the last time of the season.. but as luck would have it I had to work.. So I'll pretend..

Moira and I love the birds

And the transparent monkeys..

Our Zoo has a beautiful garden

But Sadly one look to the skies tells me it's November..

  

Time to hang my head.. and hibernate..

Fo' Mo' Fros' Check out We Are That Family

How We Stayed Frugal Last Christmas

Looks like I'm not the only one starting to get ready for Christmas, other than the stores of course.. I think the Christmas tree at target went up November 1st. Last year we were really looking for a way to stretch our Christmas budget, and what better way to do that than to make Christmas presents. Plus come on, I love any excuse to be crafty..  so last year we printed out Christmas coloring pages from various online sources, (Goggle it you'll come up with dozens)

For both my dad, and my fil I bought baskets on sale at Michael's during Black Friday.. I might have paid 5$ for both baskets. I lined those with Christmasy fabric and filled them with homemade cookies. then rolled up a coloring page for each of them and tied it with a pretty ribbon.

My Mom, Great Aunt (Read Grandma), and DH's Grandparents got a coloring page that a long with some good pictures of Moira were framed. The frames we also got at Michael's on Black Friday they were $5 each after all of the coupons/discounts

His grandparents also got a box that I painted Christmasy filled with cookies. I can't reveal what I'm doing this year because I might be comming out of the bloggy closet soon, therefore don't want to reveal any major secrets..

Phriday Phun

Phanks to Candid Carrie And this is a picture Moira and I decorating our Christmas tree last year... Christmas already you say? Yes, because Christmas dinner is at my house this year for the first time EVER, 2 families, several food restrictions, and a Granny freshly out of the hospital.

"I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me"

On a brighter note, I want to hear y'all families traditions, What did you eat? What did you do?

If You Give A Girl A Cookie

 

Yep my 2.5 year old did that, well she counted the chocolate chips, and then we talked about the parts of a mouse, and she then pasted the word that I handed her on the correct mouse part.

Disclosure: Yes I know that most homeschoolers discourage projects like this at such a young age, but know that she had fun doing it, and this kid loves to recite numbers, so focused counting was a good thing for her. and she did one activity a day, the first 2 days we worked on this we read The Best Mouse Cookie, which is the toddler version of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Today we read the "big kid" version of the story, and she insisted on wearing her Mouse Dress. Tomorrow we bake cookies