I'm a blogger with the best Top 10 list ever!

All around the interwebs "Top 10 of 2009" lists are popping up. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are downright weird. My favorite lists have come from Mama Pop. Mama Pop rocks the celebrity/current events world all year long, but each contributor has put together some great "Top 10 of 2009" lists. My favorite of those lists has been the one Katie (aka motherbumper) just posted. My Top Ten Celebrity Memory Making Moments of 2009 made me smile, made me laugh, and made me cry (mostly from the laughing). Check it out along with the other Mama Pop Best of 2009 lists.

I'm a Mom wishing you Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas! Thanks to all of you that still read my blog, whether you comment or not. I'm going to try to post a little more often, even if they are short posts. Christmas pics (and possibly video!) coming soon! Now it's time to get ready for a day filled with relatives. *sigh*

I'm a little bit of a braggart too.

Just a quick tidbit about Lilly. She is loving, loving school and has recently learned her "ABC's" (only the song) and sings it on a very regular basis. Our 22 year old nephew came for a visit this afternoon and Lilly decided to show off. She sang her ABC's for him, in a very cute way, and instead of singing "L-M-N-O-P" she said "Elmo-Pee". I loved it! She is so silly when she sings it, and tries so hard to sing it correctly. What makes this so funny, at least to me, is that when my nephew used to sing his "ABC's", he used to say "And the men all pee" during the same point in the song! Anyone else have a funny tidbit about their kids or nieces or nephews and the "ABC's"?

I'm a Mom spending more time making Christmas "treats" for her kids.

This Christmas season I've been trying to spend more time making treats for and with my kids. Yes, I've taken shortcuts on a few of the treats, but the kids have loved them just the same. I don't know if I will make my Spritz cookies this year, but I am going to try to make a few new things to make up for it. In fact, I made something I've never made for my kids before. Caramel Corn. My Mom used to make it for us, or for neighbors for Christmas gifts. It would take her a long time to make it the way her Mom used to. She'd pop the popcorn, make the caramel, mix the two together and bake. She'd bake for like 15 minutes, then stir the caramel corn. Then she'd bake for 15 more minutes and stir again. That would go on for an hour or so, and in between breaking up fights between us kids, and trying to do other things around the house, it would take a lot of time. Time I just don't have right now. Time that would take away from the time I have been trying to spend on my son. Luckily I have a great friend that has an easy peasy way to make caramel corn (Thanks Holly!). She sent me the recipe, and it has taken me days to get the chance to make it. So I'm sharing the recipe with you, so you can make some easy yummy caramel corn for your kids, or maybe for just for you! Microwave Caramel Popcorn 1/2 C. Margarine 1 C. Brown Sugar 1/3 C. light Karo Syrup Dash of Salt 1 C. un-popped Popcorn 1 tsp. baking soda Air Pop popcorn into a large bowl. Cut margarine into 1 qt. microwave proof dish. Add brown sugar, Karo syrup, and salt. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Mixture will boil. Remove from microwave and stir in soda. The mixture will expand when the soda is added, so make sure you don't go for a tiny bowl. Pour mixture over plain air-popped popcorn. Stir until popcorn is evenly coated. I also like to add cashews and drizzle with melted chocolate if I'm feeling fancy. :) It was so easy to make this, and I was even really tempted to add a cup or so of M&M's to the popcorn for a little bit of a chocolate kick! Can't wait for my kids to try some!

I'm a Mom that is not alone in her feeling of "drowning".

A fellow blogger wrote a post today about the stress she feels as she looks at or thinks about her "To Do List" for Christmas. I could have written the post myself. (Read Mommy Mo' s post "Stiff" here) Every time I check something off my list of things to do before Christmas, I usually add something else. So every time I look at or think about my list, I feel like I am drowning in "to do's". AND these last few days have been so cold, I haven't wanted to leave the house to do errands, or purchase gifts, so I was behind (I have since caught up!) A few drinks, or shots of vanilla Vodka (yum) have helped me de-stress and re prioritize. I've taken things off my list (things that are "extra") and I've changed the way I've wanted to do things (for instance, instead of baking homemade sugar cookies, and using cookie cutters to make shapes, I used a mix and just baked round ones). The kids enjoyed decorating them just as much as if I had stressed out over baking them. And I enjoyed letting them. So I guess I challenge you to take some things off of your lists, change things around a little, have a glass of wine (or a shot of vodka) and enjoy this Christmas season the best you can! Oh, and Thanks Mommy Mo' for the offer to share a couple bottles of wine, I wish I lived closer to you!

I'm a Mom vowing to slow down this Christmas season.

Some people like the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. I don't. I don't handle stress very well. I like things to work smoothly, and I have a hard time "going with the flow". I'm better than I used to be, but I'm not as laid back as other people I know. I probably never will be. This Christmas season I've vowed to get my shopping done early so I am able to spend more time enjoying the season with my kids. I want to help them write letters to Santa. I want to make and decorate sugar cookies. I want them to help make the treats for our neighbors. We just received a pre cut out Gingerbread house to decorate. I'd like to read a Christmas story or book every evening, to spend some quiet time as a family. So far the story/book idea hasn't worked, but that isn't my fault (the kids have been a bit wound up at night and they have been sent to bed early to get more sleep) and I haven't even baked pull apart cookies. But it will happen, we WILL slow down and spend more time as a family enjoying the quiet as the snow falls, or taking a drive to see the Christmas lights. That is my goal for this Christmas.