sharing christmas

WELCOME TO OUR HOME!

We hope that you enjoy your time here and we wish you all a Merry Christmas & a Wonderful New Year!

This is my first year (and Christmas) posting and I've been really excited to participate in my friend Megan's Sharing Christmas. The point of "Sharing Christmas" is to be able to actually view other people's house all decorated for the holidays without stepping outside of yours. It's really fun to hear about other people's holiday traditions, collect great recipes, and see how they enjoy spending the holidays. So please #1 read my "Sharing Christmas" blog, #2 leave a comment, and #3 go to Megan's blog and check out her home and all of her friends and others who have participated:-)

As you walk inside our kitchen door, this is what our house looks like all dressed up for the holidays...

Brady picked out the silver and red votive holders from Bath & Body Works this year and it's added a nice touch to the picture window.

This is our dining table...and no...Brady and I do not sit on opposite ends of the table:-) The table runner, napkins and great jingle bell napkin holders (which B loves to play with all the time) are only for Christmas. The wreath on the wall is pretty blah...but I've added some red berries which of course you can't see and I plan on spraying it with the gold shimmer to spruce it up a little.

And this is our tree....

When I was growing up, the exciting thing about Christmas for me was the advent calendar. I'll post a pic of the advent calendar I made in grade school, but this is Brady's advent calendar. My friend and I purchased them on ebay a few years ago, and it's the greatest excitement for a kid every day to open up a box and find a special present. Brady loves it this year and daily reminds me (which I often forget!) to put stuff in the box. He even keeps track of the date, which I can't even remember!

This is Brady's gingerbread house that we made a few weeks ago. I fixed it up a little and added the pond/ice skating rink and the candycane path! Next to it is our Christmas Cookie Plate. It reads, "Dear Santa, I've been very, very, very, very, very, very, very GOOD! (Most of the time) Merry Christmas" It's our tradition to bake cookies and place them on our "Santa plate" every year!

These are our Christmas stockings and our beautiful (and VERY heavy) stocking holders. One year, B was playing with them and it dropped on his foot! It wasn't pretty and his toenail was black for months!!!

This is what we listen to over the holidays. We had a much bigger selection, but they all went missing somehow. B's favorite is Alvin and the Chipmunks and my all-time favorite Christmas music is Harry Connick Jr. However, Celine Dion's song "The Prayer" with Andrea Bocelli is the most beautiful song ever! I saw Andrea Bocelli in concert years ago and he is such a talented and amazing individual.



This is my special ornament. Brady made this last year in his preschool class and it's my pride and joy. I take more care of this adorned pinecone than any of my other posessions!






Last year, B made these ornaments with his pic and he decorated his little mini tree with these.





This is our "Santa display" that was given to Brady by his grandmother.

This is Brady's first Christmas snow globe.

And this is our hallway where I display all of Brady's Christmas pictures.

This is B at 2 months old

At 14 months old

2 years old

3 years old

5 years old

I didn't display his 4 yr. old pic because they came out sooooo bad, but I'm adding it in here!

This is our pretty wreath...I love love all the balls and garland and I'm kicking myself for only getting one...

Leaving the kitchen as my devilish cat watches me (aren't those eyes scary?)...

Our kitchen door with the wreath that I adorned with decorations, but now realized that I could have done a better job at it....oh well...

The outside lights hanging over our carport

Here's a pic of our tree with my digital camera which I'm not too thrilled about because the flash made it seem like daytime when in fact all the lights are out. All the other pics were with my cell phone and I apologize about the quality of the pics, but hopefully next year Santa will bring that great NEW digital camera:-)

My Christmas Recipes

Peppermint-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
1 (16.5 ounce) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Decorating suggestion: crushed candy canes or peppermint candies; white, red and green sprinkles; or red and green decorating sugar

Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, and a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, knead together the cookie dough and 1/4 cup flour until smooth.

Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick.

Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough.

Knead together any scraps of dough and roll out again.

Continue to cut out pastry circles until there are 24 pieces in total.

Place the dough circles on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges, about 10 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Reserve 1 parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Combine 1 cup of chocolate chips and the cream in a small bowl.

Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Whisk in the peppermint extract and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour.

Using a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure, place the chocolate mixture in the center of the flat side of 12 of the cookies.

Place the remaining cookies on top and gently squeeze to distribute the filling evenly.

Pace on a baking sheet and freeze until the filling has set, about 25 minutes.

Combine the remaining chocolate chips and the vegetable oil in a small bowl.

Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate and return to the baking sheet.

Sprinkle the tops with crushed candy canes or peppermint candies.

Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight plastic container.

Chocolate Toffee Trifle

1 box chocolate cake mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)

1/2 cup coffee liqueur

2 cups fudge sauce, recipe follows, or 1 (16-ounce) jar fudge sauce

3 chocolate covered toffee candy bars, broken into pieces

1 1/2 cups heavy cream whipped and sweetened with 1/3 cup sugar

Prepare the cake according to the package directions for a 9 by 13-inch cake. Cool thoroughly.
Prick the entire top of the cake with a fork.

Pour coffee liqueur over the cake and allow it to soak in.

Wrap the cake with plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Slice the cake into 1-inch thick pieces.

Line the bottom of a large glass bowl with a single layer of cake.

Pour 1/4 of the fudge sauce over the cake, top with 1/4 of the candy bar-bits then 1/3 of the whipped cream.

Repeat layering 2 more times ending with fudge sauce and candy bits.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Assemble the trifle shortly before serving or it will get soggy.

Hot Fudge Sauce: 1 (4-ounce) bar German chocolate 1/2-ounce unsweetened chocolate 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter 3 cups powdered sugar 1 2/3 cups evaporated milk 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
To make the sauce: Melt the German chocolate with the butter in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir in the powdered sugar, alternating with evaporated milk and blending well. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, about 8 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.

***This recipe calls for Kahula, but the both times I've made this dessert I haven't used Kahlua. My thoughts are that the cake WOULD get way too soggy with it (even though I am tempted to add the alcohol:-), but it's great even without it. Also, if you just use chocolate syrup and heat it up in the microwave, that works too! Above is a pic of the trifle that I made today for my work party!

This is Brady decorating his cookies for Santa. His eyes look a little strange because he has pink eye, but is getting better! Sorry my kitchen is such a mess, but I once heard, the messier the kitchen, the better the food:-)

Thank you all for stopping by and visiting our

home! Happy Holidays:-)

manhattan in december

The Tree at Rockefeller Center

Breakfast with Santa

FAO Schwartz LEGO display

There are many things that I've always said I wanted to do, but just haven't gotten around to doing them, so this year I finally got around to planning a trip to NY at Christmastime. Brady had never been to Manhattan before and the beauty of the city all lit up...the tree at Rockefeller...the Christmas music...the smells and sights...I decided that this was the year that I HAD to take him.

A few times when I was growing up, my mom would do this "Breakfast with Santa" at Rockefeller Center. I loved going and we would wake up before sunrise, bundle up in layers and drive down to the city. We went ice skating at the rink and I even skated with Santa once...and I pulled him down once...but it was great fun. I had mentioned it to my mom that I wanted to do it with Brady (start my own traditions), so she joined in and we set our reservation.

We left our house at 5:00 a.m. (Brady kept asking why it was still dark out:-) and it was so hard to stay awake on the drive down, but we made it in 2 hours!!! The earlier the better because I hit NO traffic and we were lucky at the Lincoln Tunnel because it started to get backed up, but we made it. Our breakfast reservation was for 7:00, so we met my parents on 48th St. and we walked to the Rock Center Cafe. My dad ended up joining us (for free! yey!) and we had a great breakfast. The elves first came around to every table, bringing a bag of gifts for every kid! Brady loved it and then Santa made his appearance.

On a side note...every night we've been reading a page in this book, Santa Claus and we just LOVE it! If you're looking for a last minute Christmas gift for someone who still believes, then this is a great present. (Barnes and Noble also carries it!) So, now we know ALL about Santa and I told Brady that he was going to see Santa, but we had to look really closely because it could be the REAL Santa, not just one of his helpers. The REAL Santa has that magical spark in his eye, so I told Brady to look out for it.

Later after Santa left our breakfast table, Brady turned to me and said it was the real Santa because he saw the spark! Here are some pics of B with Santa...oh and get this...the whole entire time Santa was talking to him...Brady wouldn't stop eating!!! It was a riot!!!

After breakfast, my mom and I went out on the rink. Brady was adnament about not skating, but I guess when he saw how much fun I was having (and I was having a tun of fun!) he decided to join in. He did sooo good...well mommy did good basically pulling him along, but we went around the rink 3 times and he didn't fall once. He ended up falling while he was holding on to the railing, but it was nothing! It was great for Brady, but I forgot how much I enjoyed going it! Growing up, my mom would take us every winter, but I haven't been in 5 years, and after a few laps it all came back to me and I felt like I skated better that ever!

Overall NY was great...we saw the Christmas display at Saks, went into St. Peter's Cathedral, walked up to FAO Schwartz, and then took a cab to Times Square to see the Toys R Us store. By the time we got there it was so crowded that you couldn't even move, so we weren't there for long and we didn't make it on the ride, but there will be more trips!

So, would I suggest going to the city in December??? Only if you leave at 5:00 a.m. and get there early! By 10:00 the city was packed. At every street corner it was like an ocean of people crossing...streets were closed down...there were lines around the blocks to see the Saks display and more lines to get into stores. It was great for the Breakfast and Ice Skating, but other than that, way too crowded.

Our next trip to the city is at the end of January. Disney on Broadway was doing a promotion...buy one adult ticket, get a child's ticket for free...so we got tickets to see the LION KING!!! It's been my dream to bring Brady and at least he's going for free, so just in case he doesn't make it through the whole show, I've summed up my mom to be on call to pick him up so I can at least watch and enjoy the show:-)

***Please check out my friend Megan's blog about the whole "Sharing Christmas." It's a great way to see everyone's house and be able to share your home for the holidays.

getting ready for christmas

I wanted to post this earlier, but we finally got our Christmas tree up the first weekend of December. We had a whirlwind of a weekend...well week actually, but it was so much fun! We went over to our friend's house for her daughter's birthday dinner & dessert and the kids got to play together, which is always great. On Friday, my friends and I had our annual "Gingerbread House Party".

This was the third year that we've done this and every year it gets bigger and bigger, with about 26 people at my friend's house! Last year it was at my house...and for all you who have been in my house...there is NO way that I could have fit 26 people!!! So it worked out great, everyone had a great time, the kids made a disaster of everything, and that royal icing was everywhere!!!! I wish I had taken some more pics of our holiday party, but some friends (ahem) didn't want me to publish them on my blog...but I'll get one up of Brady's Gingerbread House soon!

Then on Saturday, I cleaned the house like a mad woman in the morning just so we would be prepared for the tree. And boy did we get a great tree!!! I wanted us to make a day of getting the tree...to enjoy the whole experience....get hot chocolate...ride on a wagon...cut our own tree down...the works. However, things changed once we realized how COLD it was outside, and I do have to admit that I am a big baby when it comes to the cold. Give me 95 degree weather and I'll soak it up and enjoy every minute of it, but when it 55 degrees and I feel like my fingers are falling off, that when the enjoyment ends. So we went to Yeager's Farm and within 5 min. we had our tree picked out, predrilled and tied up...allowing us to go inside and warm up after spending that looong amount of time outside:-) And my poor son is starting to act just like me...who would have thought!

So after we got our FABULOUS tree it was time to stop off at Produce Junction. We got a great wreath for $5, 300 icicle lights for $8, and Brady got a light-up reindeer for $5. What a great deal!!! I really recommend going there to get fresh garland, wreaths, etc. Their prices are the best and the quality is very good. Oh and their trees are only $27...something I found out after I paid a nice little penny for mine...but that's alright because ours is perfect!

I got the tree up all by myself...it's only 6'7" and I was going great until Brady did a flip off the couch and almost landed on top of it. So if you can imagine...here am I, on the floor, trying to hold up this nicely large-sized tree with one hand and with the other "free" hand I'm hanging onto the kid praying that I'm strong enough to hold both at the same time! So much excitement! So from then on, Brady had to stay at a distance and tell me if the tree was straight or crooked. Needless to say, we got it done! I let Mr. Tree sit for a while while we went outside and finished setting up the lights on the carport roof. And then it magically started to snow!

Later on that evening we decorated the tree and had a great time listening to Christmas music...Brady's favorite is the Chipmunks Christmas album...which we listened to about 4 times straight that night. I've heard the album SO many times that their voices don't bother me anymore and I've accepted it, especially when he insisted listening to it in June:-)

More pics to come of our tree to come...

our thanksgiving

This year we have so much to be greatful for...our health, my job, Brady's school, our family, our friends and our home. Thanksgiving was great this year. We went back to NY to stay with my parents for a nice long weekend and we had a great time. I was able to catch up with old high school friends and Brady was able to be entertained by my father, the entire time we were there. It's always a great feeling going back "home" for the holidays. We arrived on Wed. night and I helped my mom cook some new recipes, which we managed to burn and destroy, but it was fun. After that, I left the kitchen...I'm not the cooking type, but I do love to make some great desserts:-)

On Thursday, my dad, Brady and I all went to volunteer for the Thanksgiving dinner the Knights of Columbus put on every year for anyone- those who have no place to go, the elderly and the homeless. We arrived at 8:00, way too early, so we fueled up on coffee and I went back around noon to help out. It was an amazing experience. Every year I always mention that I'd like to do something on Thanksgiving...but it's just one of those things that I never get around to doing. Can you tell I'm trying to turn over a new leaf this year?! :-)

I made it back in time for our family Thanksgiving dinner and my mom did a great job. The entire table was filled to its capacity and the food was good (we chucked the burnt dish!). Brady's Thanksgiving dinner consisted of a ham sandwich and grapes. Nice, huh? Oh and he did eat a raw pepper, so that was something at least. But the best part was the desserts! As a kid, I vividly remember my mom baking all the time. She'd make homemade pies and crusts from scratch (not me at all...I prefer the Giant frozen pie crust!), and this year she made Caramel cheesecake, Sweet Potato Pie, Cranberry Chocolate Torte, and something else that I can't remember, but it all was good!

Other than relaxing, I helped my dad rake the leaves and Brady had a blast jumping in the pile. Here's a few pics of him...I don't have any Thanksgiving pics yet...but I'll add them in once I get my hands on them!

p.s. look at the ingenious way we used to collect leaves...the kitchen garbage can...but it worked:-)

as the holidays draw near...

Is anyone else in shock that this is the last week of November and Christmas is right around the corner? It seems to me that every year, the Christmas decorations are getting displayed earlier and earlier. I even saw some things out before Halloween!?! We're in such a rush to "get to Christmas" that we forget what the holidays are about and the true meaning is lost amidst all the decorations, decadent sweets, and overindulgent human nature. I'm sorry...but yes...I believe that we are in fact an overindulgent society.

Right now I'm dealing with how to portray to a 5 yr. old that he CAN'T get everything he wants. I feel like the Grinch sometimes telling him that's he's acting spoiled, he's got the "gimmies" (read the Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies...great book!) or he's being the "green-eyed monster" (another BB book!). I desperately want him to learn how to share and give to others without expecting something in return. And don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful kid with a big heart and I'm so proud of him, but I'm afraid that since he's an only child that he will end up being more spoiled because of that.

So...this year, I've decided to do something instead of just talking. We participated in Operation Christmas Child, an organization through Samaritan's Purse run by Franklin Graham (name sound familiar...he's the son of Billy Graham). We made 2 shoeboxes, one for a girl and one for a boy, and filled them with everything from socks and sneaks, to dolls, candy, toys, coloring books, crayons, etc. Last Sunday we dropped them off at church and as we brought them up to the front, I couldn't stop smiling and feeling that inner joy. It was so great to get involved and do something for a change, but also instill in Brady the importance of giving.

However, I didn't want things to end there with just the shoeboxes. I had this mixture of feeling to want, have, and need to do more with myself, my time and my resources. I look around at everything that I have, all the the things I own, and I try to picture myself without anything. It's a scary thought, but it makes me think of my priorities in life--what things are necessary and what things aren't.

In the fall of 2001, I was presented with an full-time internship opportunity from my prof, Bob Thomas (R.I.P) to work at a homeless shelter in Norristown. I took on the internship, a little hesitant about working with homeless people, but at the time I had no other options. In the end, it was the best 3 months of my life and one the most fulfilling decisions I've ever made. The shelter is called Norristown Ministries Hospitality Center and it's a daytime homeless shelter for individuals who are homeless. They do not provide any overnight housing, but they have a great ministry in place through the distribution of breakfast on a daily basis, resume help, shelter and housing placements, food and clothing distribution, and even assistance paying utility bills. They are a marvelous organization and survive through charitable donations only.

I worked there for 3 months on a Business internship, but after a while my focus changed and I started doing client intake evaluations. Every new person (client) that walked into the center was interviewed and through that process, I heard dozens of stories about failure, tragedy and turmoil. It was sad, but it enlightened me to think differently about the homeless. Instead of viewing them as lazy because they didn't WANT to work, my understanding grew tremendously. These people not only had everything working against them, but so many times they are plagued with mental disorders, uncontrollable addictions, and the inability to hold down anything secure in life. They loose their jobs, then their homes, then their families and through all that loss, many times they fall into a deep depression and can't pick themselves up again. It's a tragic cycle and with this economy, things are getting worse and worse.

So, to do "more" this year really took a lot of will to get me out of my sluggish procrastination slump and to get back to the Center. It's been 7 years since I last stepped foot into those doors, but this past Saturday, Brady and I took a little trip back to Norristown to begin the journey of giving of myself, my time, and our love to help others in need. And it was just as wonderful as it was 7 years ago. Some things don't change and that 's a GOOD thing!

The director, Jo Ann Engard was still there and I almost started crying when I saw her face. We sat down in her office and I got caught up with the ongoings of the Center. She told me that everyone's facing hard times, there's no overnight shelter for these people and they are living everywhere and anywhere...abandoned homes, cars, on the streets. A new shelter opened up in Norristown a few months back, and they have 300 beds--they were all filled in a matter of days and there are waiting lists of people for the next year. It's hard to believe, but to see it in real-life is even harder to grasp. And just by going back there for a day, I'm not an expert in any sense, but it was great to open up my eyes and see things for what they really are. In the end, we donated toiletry packets on Sat., and we went back this morning to donate a Thanksgiving meal for a needy family to have for Thanksgiving.

Since that happy euphoria feeling has overcome me, I want to continue on helping out, but I don't want to do it to make myself look better or to only focus on teaching Brady to share...I want to do it because one person CAN make a difference! So I urge you all this holiday season, think of the small ways that you can make a difference in someone else's life!

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
Here are some pics of Brady this weekend with his friends & with my parents 2 wks ago.

a white thanksgiving...

I can't believe it, but it's snowing right now. It's been flurrying for the past few days, but this morning when I woke up the ground was covered with a soft white blanket. It's amazing that it's not even Thanksgiving and it's snowing already. Yesterday when it first started to flurry, Brady was so excited and couldn't stop saying "it's Christmas Eve!" I thought that was the cutest thing, but I had to explain to him that there's over 30 days before Christmas. I think he got the concept because when I dropped him off at school this morning, one of his best friends kept on exclaiming..."It's Christmas"...and my son (the brilliant kid he is:-) had to tell him the truth! It was a cute moment...

So...where to pick up from the last blog (by the way...I'm loving this!!!). A little more about Brady...he's five and he just started Kindergarten this year. He actually missed the cut-off date for the public school, which was a total bummer because I was SO looking forward to decreasing the exorbitant tuition cost, but I keep telling myself only one more year! So he loves it and 2 days ago I just had my FIRST parent-teacher conference! I was so excited and really interested to see how he was progressing in class. So far so good!!!

A little more about our lives...Brady just turned 5 this past September and I really do love this age. We can have great conversations together, play games, read books and have a lot of fun. In 2004, when Brady was 13 months old, he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It's not a terminal illness, but it's not curable either. For the first year he took multiple insulin injections on a daily basis, and about 3 years ago this month, he started on the insulin pump!!! Whooo-hoo!!! Can you tell we love the pump?!?! It's been one of the greatest gifts and such a lifesaver for both of us. So every summer, for the past 3 years, we've taken our vacation to Orlando to participate in the Children With Diabetes (CWD), Friends for Life (FFL) Conference. The first year we received a full scholarship for the trip, all inclusive with food, hotel, conference, park tickets...basically everything except for airfare. It was such a blessing, and so now in the middle of winter, I thought that it would be nice to post some of our fondest memories of our past 3 years at FFL!

FFL 2006: Above is us with Gary Hall Jr., an Olympic swimmer who was diagnosed with diabetes in 1999, and he went on to win the 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze metal in Sydney (2000) and 1 gold and 1 bronze medal in Athens (2004). We've met other great athletes along the way, and I hope to be able to post their pictures and stories to show what an inspiration they are to diabetic kids (and parents too) all over the world.

The pic on the right is Brady's first visit to Sea World. I think that he was more interested in drinking and playing in the water fountain compared to anything else in the park.

FFL 2007: There are quite a few pics here, but his is our hotel, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort.

The pic below is of us signing the 2007 quilt panel for the "Quilt for Life" (more on that to come...stay tuned!)



I'll add this year's FFL conference pics to the next blog, plus an update from our trip to D.C.