...so be good for goodness sake...

Now that I am officially a member of the mommy club, I find myself always trying make special memories for my kids whether it be a birthday, a holiday, or even just a Saturday morning pancake breakfast. I want my kids to be able to look back when they are grown up, and hopefully appreciate all the things we did as a family.

I'm so looking forward to spending Christmas together this year. This is the first Christmas in our new home and I want it to be a good one. I'm already starting my lists of presents to buy, food to cook, and decorations to hang. Everyone has special traditions that their families do around the holidays. Some may go caroling, others may bake cookies, and now ours is the Elf on the Shelf.
My sister Janell called this weekend to tell me about this neat thing she had found. After hearing her story of this thing I had to buy, I then planned a trip out to the Barnes and Noble to adopt my very own elf. When she explained it to me, I thought it would be a neat "decoration" to have for the holiday. But once I got home and started learning more about this elf, I realized that this is not just a decoration, but a potential month long holiday prank that can keep the whole family on their toes, and the kids off of Santa's naughty list.
I can not wait for the fun to start when my little pixie friend makes their first appearance. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so be sure to check back to hear of the magic that the Elf on the Shelf brings to our home this year.

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition

A BIG thank you to my sister Janell. She is absolutely, with out a doubt the most thoughtful person I know and gives the best gifts ever. This post would not have been possible with out her good eye and her love for me and my family.
Thank you Aunt Nellie for bringing this new special tradition to us...Love: the butterfly, the busy bee, and the runaway bunny.

I am not the Cake Boss

In an attempt to make a sweet memory for a six year old little girl I have pulled out all the stops. I hung streamers, blew up balloons (with the help of some great neighbors), stuffed goody bags, and somehow convinced myself that baking a cake was a much better idea than buying one.
Baking the cake really wasn't hard at all, except that I mixed up the directions on the box. Why are there two separate directions right next to each other for with whole egg and egg white only recipes?
Not really knowing what to do after I had beat 4 eggs together instead of 3...I decided "what the heck, it can't hurt anything, right?" (or I hope) 
After it was done baking, my dear friend Lia tells me to take the cake out of the pan to decorate it. I was just gonna leave it in the pan for the convenience of the clean up and storage purposes. Oh no, I had it in my head that hey I've watched enough of those cake shows on TV...how hard can it really be?

Well, it turns out that I am not going to win the next Cake Challenge, or nor will I be opening a bakery anytime soon. But the truth is that I love my little Rianna very much and did my best to throw the best Hello Kitty Birthday Party ever.