Disney World Christmas 2012

We just got back from Disney and it was by far, the best family vacation ever.  The kids had an amazing time, it was not crowded, and the Christmas decorations were unbelievable!  The first day, we went to the Magic Kingdom.  The kids weren't a huge fan of the rides, but they loved meeting the characters.  We saw every Princess (except Mulan) and of course, we met Mickey and his pals. 

 

Jasmine and Mia.  Pax and Aladdin pose together. 

 

 

Princess Tiana and Naveen. 

 

Mia loved Repunzal the most.

 

Ariel's new ride was awesome and she was a lot of fun to meet.

 

Tinkerbell spent a lot of time with the kids.  She was sweet

 

Seriously...Merida was hot.  Her accent was really cute too

 

Snow White was sweet

 

Sleeping Beauty is always fun to meet

 

We all love Mickey of course

 

Periwinkle, the new fairy was there too!  So excited!

 

Paxton LOVES Goofy

 

Pluto was so cute and fun

 

Cinderella was sweet and Paxton loved her.  In fact, he loved all of the Princesses

 

Daisy is one of Mia's favorites too. 

 

 

The Christmas lights were beautiful!!

 

The kids were exhausted and so were we

 

My little man had an amazing time.

 

 

If you have never been to Disney near Christmas, I highly recommend it.  The longest wait we had was 20 minutes (for Merida) and it was just amazing. 

Mia singing...I love that girl!

Our Favorite Christmas Books

I did a post a while ago about our favorite books.  With the holidays coming up, I thought it might be fun to list a few of our favorite Christmas books.

1.  The Sweet Smell of Christmas.  This was my all time favorite as a kid and now my kids love it too. 

2.  Elf on the Shelf.  I've mentioned it before, but it is a favorite year round in our house. 

3.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Who doesn't love the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who?

4.  The Story of Christmas.  We read bible stories year round, but especially at Christmas.  We want our kids to know what Christmas is truly about. 

5.  Twas the Night Before Christmas.  All all-time classic.

Random Acts of Christmas Kindness

It is so important to me to teach my kids that Christmas is more about giving then receiving.  It's great to get excited about Santa, but wouldn't it be even better to get excited about helping others?  I saw an idea on Pinterest called Random Acts of Christmas Kindness and I knew I had to do it!   I love the idea of doing something small that could potentially make someones day just a little better.  Since we are going on vacation in early December, we plan to start tomorrow, December7th and continue through Christmas Eve.  You can download RACKED CARDS on this site.  I got my inspiration from her!  She has a ton of great ideas!

I had to choose activities that I could do together with my kids so this is the list I came up with.  I can't wait to post pictures! 

November 26th.  Donated food- collected by Mia and Paxton's nursery school.  The kid's signed up for what they wanted to bring in (with a little help of course).

November 27th.  Donate toys to the Theodore Roosevelt Ship, which is sponsored by my work.
November 28th- Donate toys from each kid to the hospital where Pax had feeding therapy.

December 7-  Tape quarters to vending machines
December 8-   Plug parking meters for shoppers
December 9-  Tape Candy Canes to the cars at church
December 10-  Bake cookies and take them to the daycare teachers at school
December 11-  Get the kids to help me purge my closet and donate to local homeless shelter
December 12-  Put together shoe box gifts for church to send to kids in need
December 13-  Pay for someone's meal behind us in the drive thru
December 14-  Leave candy cane and note in shopping carts for the next person
December 15-  Buy a toy for a child in need and donate it to toys for tots
December 16-  Bring donuts for the nursery room and music staff at church
December 17-  Donate hats and gloves to local shelter
December 18-  Take policemen a note of Thanks and cupcakes or cookies
December 19-  Donate books from the kid's personal stash to the school library
December 20-  Drop off donuts and thank you note to firehouse
December 21-  Buy hot chocolate for Salvation Army bell ringers
December 22-  Drop off donuts and thank you note to firehouse
December 23-  Donate craft supplies to kid's school
December 24-  Bring a plate of cookies to our pastor to say Thank you for being so involved with the kids at church.

I hope this inspires you to do the same!  I will do a review of our RACK attempts after Christmas :). 

No we really don’t want to do that………Guest Post by my Husband

I’m sure you say the same things to your husbands or you hear it from your wives:

                I was thinking we would go…………

What do you think about doing ……….

Can we stop at ………..   while we are here.

Would you mind ……………..

There are million other ways I get asked, so Karen here is my response:

No I really don’t want to _________

-          get the Christmas decorations out.

-          put up the tree and lights before Thanksgiving

-          write guest posts for your Blog

-          rub your feet, hands, arms or ears

-          play with your hair

-          go to the mall with you and the kids or shopping of any kind

-          drive everywhere we go

-          stop at those 3-4 other places you didn’t tell me about

-          go to Disney with your mother and Aunt for a week

-          cook dinner, feed the kids, or clean the dishes

-          make out like high schoolers in the middle of day or while driving

-          dress alike as family and get our pictures taken

-          help you with your craft project

-          give the kids a bath

-          change the sheets on kid’s beds at 2am

-          change a diaper at 2am

-          do anything at 2am  (well there are 2 things I would like to do and they both start with S)

There is so much more that I get asked “Do you want to???” that list could go on.

The reality is, I WILL do them…  Because I Love her and we are Team.

So to all the women reading this:

If you ask your man these similar questions, try asking us something we would really like to do.  Here are a few ideas.

Yes, we would really like to ________

-          go to happy hour after work

-          have our favorite meal for dinner

-          go on a guy’s weekend

-          go fishing

-          go off roading

-          play in the garage

-          have S. E. X. 

-          sleep in on Saturday and Sunday

-          watch football without interruptions

Book Club: The Next Thing on my List

I'm linking up with Sharee and Lindsay again for the blog friends book club.  In November, we read

The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski

This is the summary I found on amazon:

June Parker's life is meandering along until a freak car accident leaves Marissa, her 24-year-old passenger, dead and June wracked with guilt. June discovers a list Marissa had been keeping of 25 things she wanted to do by the time she turned 25. After a run-in with Marissa's brother, June resolves to complete the list. Kissing a total stranger and throwing away her scale prove far easier than pitching an idea at work or changing someone's life. But June approaches the list with aplomb, daring to speak up about being passed over for a manager position, and becoming a Big Sister to a quiet, studious Latina teen named DeeDee. But when June uncovers a secret of DeeDee's, she realizes changing someone else's life might involve changing her own as well. Clever and winning, Smolinski's novel will have readers rooting for June as they eagerly turn the pages to keep up with her progress on the list.
I LOVED everything about this book.  It was a fast easy read.  I couldn't put it down.  I thought the love story had a great twist that I didn't really see coming.  I loved how the main character developed throughout the story.  I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a new book to read.

60+ Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Men

I love Christmas and I really enjoy Christmas shopping, but I am always looking for new ideas for my husband's Christmas stocking.  So, in my search for stuff for Chris, I decided to help you out as well.  Here are 60+ ideas for your man. 

1. Wallet

2. Golf Tees
3. Golf Towel
4. Chapstick

5. Tire gauge
6. Tire Patch Kit
7. Tape Measure
8. Digital Laser Level
9. Hand Tools

10. Bungee Cords
11. Toothbrush

12. Floss

13. Razors

14. Snacks/Candy

15. Small framed picture of kids

16. Business card holder
17. Batteries

18. Gift cards to favorite breakfast and lunch spots

19. Socks

20. Cologne

21. Manicure set
22. Calendar

23. Ice Scraper
24. De-icer
25. Shaving Cream

26. Scratch off tickets

27. Key Chain

28. Boxers

29. Cell phone Charger

30. Work gloves

31. Flashlight

32. knife

33. Mints

34. Cell phone cover

35. USB Flash Drive

36. Magazines

37. Travel Sewing Kit
38. Coffee Packs

39. Beanie/hat

40. Money Clip

41. Belt

42. Mini lego kit

43. Ear Buds

44. Deck of Cards

45. Hands free headset

46. Shot Glass

47. Book

48. Cuff-Links

49. Tie

50. Car Air Freshener

51. Sports team stickers or decals

52. Sports team car flag

53. DVD

54. CD or iTunes gift card

55. Back Scratcher
56. Collar Stays
57. Hair products (gel, shampoo, etc)

58. Watch

59. Flask

60. T-Shirt

61. Video/Wii Game