Christmas Gift Overload

I read the article by Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom too late to make any changes this year, but next year there will be a new attitude for Christmas gifts. She talks about the 3 gifts: something to read, something to wear and something they need! What a great idea and, as a good Catholic mom, I can remind the kids of the 3 gift Jesus received at his birth. All the nuns at Epiphany would be so proud of me!!

My sister asked me during the 5th Christmas gathering if the kids got everything on their list. It only took me a moment to realize the answer was YES! OMG! Isn't there suppose to be a recession?! Does this make me a bad mom OR a great mom? I think neither, but I was still embarrassed by the fact that they were so overindulged. Now...not all the things on their list were brought by Santa or given by me and hubby. The grandparents and aunts/uncles chose from the list also. But still...everything on their lists!

So next year will be different. No more adding up money spent and number of gifts under the tree. Instead, a more practical approach to gift giving...3 for everyone!

I do have to share a proud mommy moment. L wanted a 2 wheeled scooter more than anything. It was not under the tree on Christmas Eve morning. She recognized that it was not there and simply said she would just ask for it again next year. I was SO proud! Maybe I am doing something right. (She got the scooter 2 days later from Grandpa Hof!)


*Santa made his deliveries a day early because my crazy job required me to work 24 hours on Christmas this year. The kids didn't seem to mind!

A Gift with Heart

This was not an easy Christmas for my family. After losing mom in January, I dreaded the holidays. She made Christmas SOOO unbelievable with her parties, cooking and gifting. She never left anyone out!
I decided in November that this would not be a Christmas of tears because that would be contrary to everything that my mom was about. So my focus turned to my kids and family. It actually made the holidays easy to get through. I have lots of distractions with 5 year old twins and a 2 year old that finally understood the concept of Santa. Who could be sad surrounded by so much love?
Then I received a special gift from my LONG time friend, Jenni Hunstad. She gave me a book of mom's recipes. Most pages had pictures of mom and recipes in her handwriting. How special and what a surprise! The tears did come but they didn't last long. There were memories of meals we had with these recipes and that brought smiles. I can't thank Jenni enough. It must have taken a lot of time for her to gather the photos and recipes behind my back, organize them and then have the book published. Thanks!


This is her lasagna recipe. It was always what I chose for my birthday dinner!
Check out the hair!

This photo is of mom in Hawaii. She really LOVED the sun! Funny thing is...this recipe is mine. I guess she wrote it down when I gave it to her. It is for cucumber salad that was almost like Grandma Torlina's.

Thanks, Jenni, for always being one of my strongest supporters and shoulder to cry on! I love you!

Getting Ready for the BIG Night

I do my best to include the kids when I cook. I have to admit that there is a lot of prayer and forced smiles to get through it. My mom always pushed us out of the kitchen saying she could get done faster by herself. I know it would be faster but I have lots of working mom guilt so I try to include them whenever I can.

I have never done sugar cookies before and I'll think again before doing them next year. What a mess!!

Oops! The secret is out! Let's face it...anything to save some time and aggravation! Plus, they taste good.

We did make the chocolate chip cookies from scratch. It was my first chance to use my new KitchenAid mixer! Yeah for early Christmas presents!

Finally, all ready for Santa. We opened Christmas presents a day early. I have to work on Christmas, so Santa made a special trip just for us!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Open House

Just wanted to give a brief look around the house for the holidays. It was hard to decorate the new house. The tree now seems too small and there doesn't seem to be enough of anything. It's OK with me...it will be a project that I can add to over the years. Rome wasn't built in a day!


The yellow butterfly ornament was made by Grandma Hof. I don't know what grade I was in but the great hair was already there! HA!HA! The star was made by Sandy for the boy's first Christmas. She is wonderful about carrying on the traditions started by Grandma Hof. Thanks, Sandy!

Another ornament hand painted by Grandma Hof dated 1976. (I really need a better camera!)

I started collecting Nativity Scenes a few years after getting married. This one is from my trip to Europe with mom. I bought it in Prague. It is made out of corn husks. Mom would often bring nativities home for me after a trip.

Stocking sewn by Grandma Hof. Sandy has also continued this tradition for all of the kids.

A pretty tree with cardinals and a nest hidden inside. This was mom's and I always loved it. It sits in the middle of the great room and reminds me of her everyday!

A simple collection of snowmen.

Susie Harris, I have big pine cones too!

This sled was Grandma Torlina's. I have always used it to hold my Christmas cards. I think she did the same.

Another dollar store snowflake. I seemed to have found many places to put them!

When I look at the photos I chose to include, most dealt with family and holiday memories. Family is what the season is all about. Hubby and I have tried really hard this year to have love of family and the Lord be the main focus in our home. I hope that my children will have many memories to cherish of their time with me at the holidays. My home is filled the memories of the women who taught me the importance of family and tradition. Thank you for the lessons learned.

Christmas Card

If you were not on my card list, here is the card I sent out. SO CUTE!! As you can see, the boy refused to cooperate with getting his picture taken. There was a lot of bribery and begging, but the answer remained "No, mommy! I not get picture!" Too bad you can't see his baby blues! The girls, of course, were ready to pose...too ready! That is the most natural picture I could get out of the supermodels.
The card idea came to me but I have no computer skills to create this on my own. So...to Google I went. I googled "Naughty or nice Christmas card" and this is what I found. Yeah for Google!!
Amanda is the owner of an Etsy shop called PaperRamma. In less than 24 hours she created this custom card for me with the colors and wording I requested. The original card in her shop was pink and brown with 3 photos. She even helped me get the photos printed at my local Walgreens!! Now that is customer service!
Go over and look through her store. She has wonderful ideas and is so creative. I have already have ideas for next year...like "Favorite Things." "Unwrapped" would be perfect for any new parent.
Like the old saying says, "When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade!"