ABC's 25 day's of Christmas Schedule

This is always a nice little schedule to have on hand for the holidays. They have a great line up this year. For a printable schedule, go here.

Tuesday, 12/1
8pm/7c Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Wednesday, 12/2
7pm/6c Pixar Short Films

Thursday, 12/3
8:30pm/7:30c The Polar Express

Friday, 12/4
7pm/6c Frosty’s Winter Wonderland
7:30pm/6:30c Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Saturday, 12/5
4pm/3c Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
8pm/7c Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Sunday, 12/6
7:30pm/6:30c Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Monday, 12/7
7:30pm/6:30c Cranberry Christmas
8pm/7c Unaccompanied Minors
10pm/9c Jack Frost

Tuesday, 12/8
7pm/6c Mickey’s Christmas Carol
7:30pm/6:30c Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too
8pm/7c The Year Without a Santa Claus
9pm/8c A Miser Brothers’ Christmas

Wednesday, 12/9
7pm/6c Rudolph’s Shiny New Year
8pm/7c Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town
9pm/8c Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
1 0:30pm/9:30c ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Thursday, 12/10
8pm/7c Holiday in Handcuffs
10pm/9c A Flintstone Christmas

Friday, 12/11
8pm/7c Santa Clause 2

Saturday, 12/12
All Day Holiday Classics Marathon

Sunday, 12/13
6pm/5c Santa Baby
8pm/7c Santa Baby 2 Christmas Maybe
A New ABC Family Original Movie

Monday, 12/14
7pm/6c Winnie the Pooh and
the Blustery Day
7:30pm/6:30c Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too
8pm/7c Mary Poppins

Tuesday, 12/15
8:30pm/7:30c Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Wednesday, 12/16
8pm/7c Happy Feet

Thursday, 12/17
8pm/7c Jack Frost
10pm/9c Jingle All the Way

Friday, 12/18
7:30pm/6:30c Disney/Pixar’s Cars

Saturday, 12/19
8pm/7c Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille

Sunday, 12/20
8:30pm/7:30c Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles

Monday, 12/21
All Day Holiday Movie Marathon

Tuesday, 12/22
7pm/6c Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat
7:30pm/6:30c Dr. Seuss on the Loose
8pm/7c Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch
Grinches The Cat inthe Hat
8:30pm/7:30c Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Wednesday, 12/23
All Day Holiday Movie Marathon

Thursday, 12/24
All Day Holiday Classics Marathon

Friday, 12/25
4pm/3c Miracle on 34th Street
8:30pm/7 :30c Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles

Man Cold (hilarious)

I laughed and laughed until I about peed my pants. Isn't this just like a man?? Heaven forbid men ever had to have babies! A little bit of comic relief for your holiday weekend. Enjoy!

Styrofoam Cup Turkeys

My daughter and I made these last night for her teacher. She had to also make one for her teacher from last year too. :) They were pretty easy and turned out super cute. We may make these as place settings for the big turkey dinner....if I have time to go to the dollar store for smaller cups. :)
First we painted the cups brown. While those dried we painted little strokes of yellow, orange, and brown on white paper. After that dried we cut them into feather shapes (I traced her hand and then just cut around it bigger). Glued the feathers to the cup. Used a pom pom for the head, Googlie eyes, and foam for the mouth. :) Easy Peasy!!

Turkey Toes & Turkey Poop

Oh so cute! I went for simple this year for the preschool party. The lids have cute little signs that say Turkey Toes and Turkey Poop! I used chocolate covered raisins for the turkey poop. You could use Crunch Bites, whoppers, or even chocolate chips. You could easily do this today and have it for a cute center piece on the kids table!

The cute turkey images, came from here.

Air Popped Popcorn in a Paper bag

Popcorn is a food group at our house. My kids eat it every day. We like air popped popcorn with fresh melted butter and sea salt! YUMMY! We have an old fashioned air popper that is older than dirt, but it's well loved. I saw this idea on a blog somewhere a while ago, and I can't remember where, but she did an experiment with her kids to see if popcorn would pop in a brown paper bag.

It does! My kids were so excited that it worked.

All we did was add 1/4 cup kernels into a brown paper bag. We folded the top over a few times and then tossed it in the microwave. We just hit the popcorn setting and we ended up with a bag full of yummy popcorn. There was only a few kernels that didn't pop. Give it a try, your kids will think it's a lot of fun! Microwave popcorn without the added preservatives and yucky stuff!

You have to buy gifts, anyway........

So why not help out some children in need. What a sweet little family.

Benson and Claire are part of the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA). This premier non-profit charity helps children in need of life-saving transplants by organizing volunteers to raise funds for transplant-related expenses. With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, and related lifetime anti-rejection medical expenses, transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure.

With a purchase of Shelf Reliance's THRIVE Fudge Brownies, you can help save the lives of children like Benson and Claire. 100% of your purchase will be donated to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association.

To learn more about Benson and Claire, go here. If your interested in purchasing Thrive Brownies, go here.

No Fuss Fabulous

WHAT AN AMAZING FIND!!

I stumbled across this sight and I think I am in Love!

Check out just a few of the great things you will find on No Fuss Fabulous.

How cute for Thanksgiving day centerpieces or treat bags for the kiddo's! You can find it here.

Host a Harvest Soup Party. A little late in the season, but what a great neighborhood gift.

Simple and easy. A jar of Apple Cider and your done! To download, go here.

A plate full of chocolate chip cookies and your done! Go and visit No Fuss Fabulous Gifts to download this cutie and more!

Five Little Turkey's

Kids. especially preschool and kindergarten age love to rhyme and sing. I found this little rhyme and had to pass it along. Five Little Monkey's is a favorite at our house, so why not adapt it for Thanksgiving??

Five Little Turkeys ~ Author Unknown

Five little turkeys
Went outside to play.
Mother said, "Be careful!
It's Thanksgiving Day!"

The first little turkey
Didn't even see
The Indian who was hiding
Behind the maple tree.

The second little turkey
Decided she'd better scoot
When she heard the sound
Of the little pilgrim's boots.

The third little turkey
Went to climb a tree.
He climbed too high
And fell and skinned his knee.

The fourth little turkey
Didn't have a care.
She went running in the woods
And saw a pilgrim there.

The fifth little turkey
Was left all alone.
He started to cry
And ran all the way home.

Pink Salad

Jello Salad

1 12 oz. carton Cool-Whip, thawed

1 4-serving pkg. jello, * This was orange*

1 lg. carton cottage cheese

1 pkg. mini marshamallows

2 large cans pineapple

2 large cans mandarine oranges

Mix Jello with Cool-whip until completely dissolved. Add cottage cheese and stir until blended. Ad marshmallowsand drained fruit, stir well and chill.

We usually do strawberry jello, but using orange makes it taste like a orange dreamsicle! It's my go-to salad, for most potlucks and family dinners.

I Heart Junie B Jones

Junie B. Jones is my daughters latest favorite book. I must say this series makes me laugh and I look forward to reading it with Bay every night before bed. The Author is Barbara Park and she is such a creative writer and brings this little girl Junie B. to life. I think I really like it because I have a daughter in the second grade and the things Junie B. says....she says. It is about a little girl that is going through elementary school facing everything that we all face. From school lunches, bullying, and boys to friends, gossiping, and.....well.....boys. I love that we can laugh with Junie and understand exactly what she is going through. The way Barbara writes it is PERFECT, she uses language that a young elementary girl would use, she uses topics that the reader will relate to as well. I am hoping that we will always be Junie B. Jones fans! Precious moments I want to hold onto forever.

What are some series you enjoy reading with your kids?

Zumba

If you haven't tried Zumba, your missing out. This is my new addiction. Every morning my alarm goes off at 5:20 in the morning so that I can get up and go to Zumba at 5:50. I love it! It's the best way to start my day off.

Basically it's choreographed routines set to Latin and merengue music. In recent years many different types of music have been added, but the base of the routines is set in Latin and merengue and a little bit of rock n' roll. It's a lot of fun! You can buy dvd's and do Zumba at home, but I am much more motivated to get up and go somewhere to do it. It's a lot of fun because I have lot's of friends who go and do it every morning with me and that motivates me to get out of bed and shake my booty! Oh and there is lot's of shaking going on when you do Zumba. There are belly dancing routines and routines that require you to shimmy!! Oh my!!

It really is a a great way to work out. I was so uncomfortable when I first started going and way self-conscious, but now I don't care. I just go to have a good time. It took me awhile to realize that everyone was not looking at me, because they were to busy concentrating on what they were doing to notice what I was doing. Your kind of in your own little bubble when you do it.

As you all know, Mandee and I are involved with PTO, and we recently started Zumba Kids at our school two days a week. Our oldest, who are both 7 completely love it. It is so much fun for the kids.

You should definitely looked for a Zumba class in your area. You'll love it, I promise

That's What I Call A Quick Dinner

Quick and easy dinner we have at our house from time to time.
Ready for this??
Fritos, cheese, chili, and Tortillas!
Heat up the chili, put it all on a flour tortilla. Wrap it up...and WALA! You are ready for dinner!

Holiday Dilemma

Is anyone else having a hard time refraining themselves from hanging up the Christmas decorations? I can't begin to tell you badly I want to skip Thanksgiving decor and jump right into the Christmas holiday. This is so unlike me. Each year I just think that the stores push Thanksgiving right out the door and go right to the Holidays. It usually makes me so sad and sometimes mad. I have even told managers before that I think it is ridiculous (most of them actually agree and blame it on corporate).

But this year I have been sucked into the craziness of it all. I want to start playing Christmas music, I want to finish my holiday shopping, I want to bake goodies for my neighbors and serve them on Christmas plates. I want to pull out all of my nativities and place them in each room. I am hoping I am not alone in this...... The good thing is I haven't fully succumed, I just haven't decorated for Thanksgiving!

Turkey Cookies

One year ago to the day, we posted these fun cookies. Today I decided to randomly pull something from the archives and this was what I picked. I looked at the dates and realized it was the same date. Weird, huh?

Anyway, a great idea. Simple & easy. Make up a batch of sugar cookies and give it a try. To see our previous post, click here. These are a hit with preschoolers! Atleast, they were last year.

Honey Wheat Bread

I've posted other bread recipes, see here & here, but this is way better than either of those. Way better! I can't believe how good this was. My husband loved it and I have to admit, the man is picky. I was super excited to ty it because she used honey powder and I have been looking for a way to use some of it. I have quite a few cans of it in my food storage. I don't think I will ever use another recipe for bread!

I got this at My Crazy Life. She has a great sight. I love her recipes and have posted some of them before. They have turned into some of our family favorites. Check out her recipes, here!
Sherelle's Honey Wheat Bread

-4 c. warm water
-1/3 c. sugar
-3/4 c. honey powder (You can also use honey, but the powder is much easier to work with)
-1 Tbs. gluten **I used 2 Tbsp. of dough enhancer instead**
-3 Tbs. yeast
-3 tsp. salt
-1/2 c oil (I use Canola)
-6 c. white flour
-5 1/2 c. freshly groud whole wheat

Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Add other ingredients. Mix well. Place in a large greased bowl. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place. Allow to rise 1 hour. Punch and knead. Divide into 4 greased bread pans and return to warm place. Allow to rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (20-25 minutes if using a dark pan). Cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from pans onto a cooling rack. Grease the top of loaves with butter.

Photo Session Giveaway - Southern Utah Area

Okay, so I know that a lot of you don't live in Southern Utah, but I also know that we have quite a few readers who are our neighbors here in Dixie!! This gal has a darling photography blog and is just getting started and needs to get her name out there. She is doing a giveaway for a free photo sessions! Just in time for Christmas. Go check it out here to get entered!

Pumpkin Brownies

Got this recipe from Crystal over at Everyday Food Storage. They are more like pumpkin cake than brownies, I think, but they were really good! Give them a try!

Pumpkin Brownies

1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin

4 eggs (1/4 C. dry egg powder + 1/2 C. water)

3/4 C. vegetable oil (or 3/4 C. white bean puree)

2 t. vanilla

2 C. whole wheat flour

2 C. sugar

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

2 t. ground cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

Mix wet ingredients (including the water needed for your powdered eggs but not the dry egg powder…remember you DON’T need to mix these before adding to your recipes) Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Pour into 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool and frost with cream cheese frosting or dollup cinnamon whipped topping.

My New Job: TupperWare Consultant

I have taken the plunge and have decided to add one more thing to my overflowing plate. I am now a Tupperware Consultant! I am so excited for this journey and the opportunity it will give me to get out of debt. That is my sole goal for this. I am anxious to see where it takes me. I know that the turnover is great and people are in and out home businesses like these but I really am striving to make it work and be a successful distributor! I have five parties lined up and hopefully I can get more parties lined up in the very near future.
If you are looking for Tupperware and aren't sure where to look, I have my own little webpage that you can order from here and it will be delivered to your home! Feel free to do so. Also, you can do a catalog party from this site and earn free Tupperware for Christmas gifts. Let me know if this is something you would like to do and I can help you with it. There are so many new items and so many items always on sale. The great thing about Tupperware is that the warranty is for life and they also keep some of the "vintage" products around.
Here is to a great opportunity that will hopefully be a success!

Downloadable Chore Chart

How cute is this? I have been looking for a chore chart that will work for my kiddo's and I think I may have just found the one. You need Adobe to print, and you can customize it to your family! Go here to check it out! I love talented people who share!!

Peanut Butter Carmel Popcorn

This is my VERY favorite thing to make! I mean that too. That is why it only gets made 2 maybe 3 times a year. I got this recipe from a coworker years ago and it has become a family favorite. I put different candies in it for different holiday's. Carmel Corn for Halloween, red & green M&M's at Christmas. It is so versatile. Just be careful not to eat the whole bowl!!
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Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn

1 bag microwave popcorn, poped with kernels removed

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup Karo Syrup

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine sugar and Karo syrup in a heavy saucepan. Stirring constantly bring to a full boil and allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir in peanut butter until smooth. Pour over Carmel and stir to coat.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

This is a tradition I started for my family last year and they loved it so much that I figured I would do it again and post it on the blog. I got this recipe from my awesome friend Mindy. She is such a super mom and I love her to pieces. Thanks so much Mindy for letting me put this on here! You totally rock!

Ingredients:
1 (10-12 inch) pumpkin
3 c. cooked rice
1 lb. browned hamburger
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4-1/2 c. brown sugar
1 can of mushrooms (we use fresh but whatever you prefer)
1 can cream soup (chicken, celery, or mushroom whatever you prefer)
1 1/2 c. chopped celery
1 Tbsp. butter
1 c. onion (chopped)
(we also add a can of corn but that is optional)

Brown hamburger. Cook rice according to pkg. directions. Saute celery and onion in butter. Stir all ingredients together and place in cleaned pumpkin. Put pumpkin 'lid' on top. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours. When serving, scrape cooked pumpkin off sides to eat, too. I like to top it with cheese and Mindy tops hers with Sour Cream.