Cookies!!

 During the holidays I crave sweets more then the rest of the year. The other night after dinner I simply had a craving for something sweet. Well from that came home made sugar cookies but you can't just have a plain cookie you need some icing...

From there it turned into a cookie decorating night. 

These are Tiff's cookies. Isaac on the other hand ate his quicker then I could get the camera.

After the kids piled all the color on some cookies I thought why not try my hand at some home made icing. A little powdered sugar, milk, some butter, and vanilla extract and Viola!!!

I only made a few with this icing cause the children prefer "normal" icing (as they call it). It was a festive and long night.

Warm and Cozy

A few Christmas' ago I made some fleece blankets as gifts. I have also made some for my house. We LOVE them around our house. They are so popular with us and family that I made Michael's Step mom one this year.  I thought I would share how I make them...

What you need: 

2 yards of two different colors of fleece material (usually one printed and one solid color)

Good fabric scissors (Just Trust me) 

First I start by laying both pieces of fleece on top of each other on the floor to trim up edges and cut to the same size. Fleece fabric comes with the sides curled up so I trim that off. Once fabric is trimmed and cut to same size I cut a 4 inch square out of all four corners like the picture below.

After all four corners are cut out, I cut 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch thick strips along all four sides of blanket. Each strip is cut 4 inches long to match the four corners.

This is what takes the most time. Go along the strips tying every other one in a knot. Then I flip the blanket and finish tying the rest of the strips.

Here is a picture of the blanket finished. They are washable and VERY durable. Isaac has had one since he was born and it's still in GREAT shape.

My favorite thing to do on these wintery snowy days is curl up under my fleece blanket and watch movies. 

Snow Day

Thanks to Mother Nature my family is home today for a SNOW DAY!!! We went out early this morning to play for a little bit... Didn't last long cause it is FREEZING!! Here's a few pics of the kiddos...

Isaac is loving it!! This is him running down the big hill the big kids were sledding down

Taylor and Tiffi sledding... Tiff's face is just priceless

Michael holding the tree stump down while supervising LOL!!!

Kids stop for a few seconds to snap a group shot just before going in to warm up!! 

Hopefully later today I can get a shot of Isaac sledding :))

One for every Season...

I have been wanting one of these wreaths for a few years now, but to buy one it would cost me $80 at the least. So I decided to make one. It only cost me $25 to make it. That's a huge savings. It is seriously the Easiest/ hardest wreath to make!! Michael was a brave sport and helped last night. If he hadn't helped me I promise I would have had balls all over this house because I was ready to start throwing them at everything and everyone LOL!!! 

How To Do:

Start by hot gluing all the tops on to the balls (please do not skip this part) 

Then using a FLIMSY wire hanger slowly feed the balls onto the hanger...as seen in this picture

Simply close the ends together to make the circle. I had to hang the wreath on my door and add a few more balls and rearrange them until the wire was hidden (that's the hardest part) I am so pleased at how it turned out I'm thinking I could have a pink, yellow, and purple one for Easter and Black and orange one for Halloween etc. But I will just have the red for Christmas, for now at least....

The Tree..

So this year we went for a Pre-lit tree!! They are Great. Tiff and I had it put together and plugged in within 5 minutes (seriously) but then we noticed a string of lights was out... Now that is something I just haven't figured out yet. I have to take some time out now and figure which light bulb is out LOL!! All in all though I'm loving it!! Christmas trees are beautiful. I love laying on the couch watching TV with all the lights out except the tree. It's So Peaceful. 

I'm wanting to make my own Wreath for my front door. If y'all have any ideas I would love for you to share. I'm thinking about making one out of all glass balls?!?! 

Silly Kids!!!

I told the kids to put there hats on and say cheese, and this is what they did instead. Nothing significant about this blog  just spreading a little Christmas cheer from a few of the Watson kids. 

He's just so cute!!!

This little guy is the new addition to our Christmas decor... I have never really been a HUGE fan of blow ups, but shopping at Walmart last year on the night of Christmas we found him for $9. The kids loved him and I just couldn't turn him down at that price. 

Mike went and hooked him up last night and Isaac is loving him. This morning when he woke up he went to look at him and started crying b/c he was on the ground. LOL!! He didn't know we had to unplug him at night. I love how Christmas comes alive through a child's eye. Isaac is a huge reason why I have been filled with so much Christmas Spirit this year. 

I will post Christmas tree pictures soon!!! 

Christmas Baking

As Christmas approaches fast I start thinking about what to take to family gatherings. This year I'm responsible for desserts at my Mom's. Well I tried a few last night to see what was our favorite. This is one we all Loved!!! I thought I could share it with everyone else. It was something new for us.  

This recipe comes from one of my favorite "Nestle Classic Recipes" It has good Old Fashion cookie recipes to more complex cheese cakes. I'm not the best baker. I tend to put my goodies in the oven and forget about them. But I was successful with this one.

White Chip Island Blondies

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt ( I only use a pinch)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup (6 oz) white morsels

1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 cup toasted coconut (I'm not a huge coconut fan so I used 1/4 cup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 in square baking pan

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in medium mixing bowl. Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels, nuts, and coconut. Press into baking pan

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.