Customizable Mommy Necklaces

From LilyEllen Designs

From Bella Button Designs

From Lisa Leonard Designs.

Getting into the Holiday Spirit.

Well, I was getting into the holiday spirit, until my boss turned on "The Christmas Shoes" today and dampened my spirit a bit.

But seriously. What do you do to get into the holiday spirit?

When we were growing up, I remember after Thanksgiving how my mom would pull out all of her favorite Christmas music (which is still her favorite Christmas music) and it would play in our house constantly. Amy Grant Christmas was her absolute favorite.

We also had these VHS tapes that my parents had recorded the classic Christmas specials on. We would watch them over and over, Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch, Sesame Street Christmas, the one where the Muppets, Fragile Rock and Sesame Street casts spend Christmas together (Christopher: "Gob-le gob-le gob-le turrr-key!" Who said it?), and for some reason at the end of one of those tapes was Pete's Dragon. And of course, you can't forget about the Charlie Brown Christmas.

How do you find your holiday spirit?

Twilite Moon

If I had the money, here's where I would shop.

I had Thanksgiving dinner today...

and it's November 12. Yes, I had Thanksgiving dinner today with our senior meals program (run by these folks), and as I'm eating it, I'm thinking about this.

Our meal center serves between 15 and 25 seniors a hot, nutritious lunch everyday for a very low cost, many eat free. For all of these seniors, it's the one thing they have to look forward to everyday, and for some of them it's the only meal they have each day. For Meals on Wheels recipients, their delivery driver is the only person they see in a day, and it's the only thing they have to eat besides a cup of coffee.

What's wrong with this picture?

Christmas is coming!!

I'm really excited for Christmas this year. Here's why:

1. Aiden. Self explanatory.
2. My mom. We will not be entering the Christmas season this year with the knowledge that she has cancer, and will instead celebrate that she is healing and feeling wonderful!
3. Cookies. I'm already in the mood to make Christmas cookies, which is odd for me because I usually don't want to make them at all.

Here's what I'm planning on making thus far. We'll see if this actually happens or not.

Grandma Nell's Cutout Cookies
This recipe has been in our family for years. I'll let my cousin share it with you.

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of putting candy canes in my hot cocoa. This sounds like it would be a good time! (Recipe from The Pioneer Woman)

Oreo Truffles
Okay, not a cookie, but still awesome. I've made these before, and I assure you that they are a crowd favorite!

I'm also planning to look through Food Blogga's collection of Christmas Cookie recipes to see if anything else strikes me.

What about you? What are your favorite holiday recipes (cookie or not)?

26 Weeks

26 Week Stats:

Me
Weight: 170 lbs
Fundal Height: 26 in.
Cravings: Burger King Whopper. All the time.
Aversions: Teriyaki anything.
Aches and Pains: Yes. Mostly sciatic nerve and some round ligament pulling, but only because Mr. Dizzy makes me laugh too hard.

Baby
Sex: Female
Name: _____ Grace Price. We're still working on the first name (I like Natalie and Leah. What do you think?)
Movement: She's definitely a kicker. Aiden liked to roll around, while she is definitely more kicks and jabs.

Baked Acorn Squash

I was successful last night with this recipe for Baked Acorn Squash from The Pioneer Woman. My mom used to make squash when Christopher and I were kids. I was always a big fan of squash, but he would curl up his nose and make gagging noises (that was actually something that happened with almost every meal when we were growing up). Anyway, I highly recommend that you give it a try!!