Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas, friends! This post is loaded with pics from our holiday celebrations. Let's dive right in:

The weekend before Christmas, my mother-in-law hosted a Grinch themed party for some family and friends. He party planning skills are top-notch... she really could be a professional. She had food, drinks, games and prizes for the kids, and more. She thought of it all. 

I snapped this cute pic: even Liam got to join in on a few of the games.

The kids threw heart shaped bean bags into the Grinch's heart shaped hole in the box. 

Lee is a member of a local men's group that has a pretty extensive collection of costumes that they wear to events, parades, etc. He borrowed the Grinch costume and showed up at the party. The kids were excited!

On Christmas Eve Eve we went to our church's candlelight service, which was beautiful, as always, and then went to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant with my mother in law, and 2 friends who also joined us for church. I failed to take pics of this fun. 

Christmas Eve started with a brunch celebration at my in-laws for my husband's immediate family. I didn't take many pics, but we did get this one of us 3. Since it was brunch, we wore or matching elf jammies. 

Liam is really into raising his arms as  way to show everyone that he is "sooo big!" 

That evening, we went to Lee's aunt's house for dinner with his mom's side of the family. I always enjoy this gathering because we get a chance to visit with several of Lee's cousins who live out of state. 

Lee's gma is Christmas Eve, so we sag Happy birthday to her. Many of her great-grand kids surrounded her. 

We captured this cute moment of Liam and his great-grandpa playing "drums" on the chair. 

 Lee's mom and aunt arranged a live nativity for Lee's gma (since it was her birthday). All of the 6 little kids shown are great-grand kids. Liam was too hot in his little drummer boy costume, so we stripped him down, and he really was only the drummer boy long enough to snap this pic. He was not feeling it. Notice baby Jesus? That's my 3 month old niece, and she was the BEST baby Jesus! She sat there swaddled quietly. Her big sis was The Virgin Mary, and she did great as well. Notice that I got to be one of the wise women, and believe it or not, this was my first Christmas "pageant" so I was excited to be included ;).

Christmas day started with breakfast and gifts at our house, just us 3. Liam had 3 gifts to open, and one bigger gift, and he really didn't care about much of it at all! Lee and I typically do not exchange gifts, but instead fill each other stockings. 

 

Check out the fake smile that Liam has down already! He already had the car, but Santa set it out so he could see how his new gas station worked with the car. His gifts had the "Something you want (gas toy), something you need (portable high chair seat), something you wear (hat x2 and gloves), and something you read (2 books).

After we exchanged gifts at home, we packed up and headed to IL for Christmas at my brothers with his family, and my mom. My mom had dinner ready for us all, and I brought cookies for everyone to decorate. 

I didn't take many pics at my brother's house, but I did get one of Liam, my mom, and his toy. My mom gifted Liam this adorable ice cream cart, which he has been playing with ever since.  

The next day we had a lazy morning at my brother's house, and then went to my cousin's house for a visit. She is prepping for her scheduled c-section THE NEXT DAY! We were so happy we got to visit quickly before things got too crazy for her and her family. Her youngest son and Liam are about 2 months apart, and look how cute they were together! 

Before heading home, we stopped at my grandparents' house for a quick visit. My grandma couldn't get over how HEAVY Liam was for her to hold (he weighs about 25 lb) haha. 

The Sunday after Christmas, we took a day trip to the St. Louis area to visit my other set of grandparents. We stopped at Trader Joe's along the way and picked up some goodies, and then spent a few hours with my gma and gpa. I'm so sad that I didn't take ANY pics. FAIL!! We stopped at Steak n Shake on the way home, and Lee did manage to snap this pic of Liam and I. 

Liam was tired and a little grouchy from so much time in the car, so I put on this silly hat to try to cheer him up. This boy LOVES french fries, so we opted for chicken tenders and fries to make him happy :) 

As you can tell, we had a busy, but GREAT Christmas filled with lots of love and family time. I'm so thankful for all of my family, and for that little baby born in Bethlehem who saved us all. Merry Christmas, friends! 

Leprechaun Bait

Every year, someone in my family hosts a St. Patrick's Day party. My grandma's birthday is in March, so we usually make it a joint birthday/St. Patty's day party. Who doesn't love green beer, good food, and great company?! This year, for our annual St. Patty's Day party, I decided to make Leprechaun Bait. 

This is the first time I've made this, but I've seen similar versions on both Facebook and Pinterest so I figured I'd give them a shot. This was a pretty simple recipe, and could be easily changed for any holiday! Add red & green M&M's for Reindeer Bait, pastel M&M's for Easter Bunny Bait, add Reese Pieces for a Halloween dessert, or add any color M&M's to match whatever party you're hosting! Here's how I made it: 

Ingredients

4 cups corn Chex cereal

1 cup pretzels (I used Goldfish)

1 bag microwave popcorn

1 cup M&M's

3/4 package white Almond Bark

sprinkles

Side note: You can use any type of pretzels you like, but I love using Goldfish pretzels because they don't break and get crumbly as easy as pretzel sticks or twists. 

To start, pop your popcorn according to the instructions. I used Movie Theater Butter style popcorn, and I thought this tasted really good with the white chocolate because it was a sweet & salty combo. After you pop your popcorn, then measure out and dump your Chex, pretzels, and popcorn into a large bowl and mix well. 

Next, melt your chocolate in the microwave. I have a glass Pyrex measuring cup that I used to melt my chocolate in. It has a spout on it,and made pouring the chocolate simple and mess free. Once your chocolate is melted, pour it over your mixture and stir until the all of the mixture is lightly covered in chocolate. 

Then, line two cookie sheets with wax paper and spread out your mixture to dry. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle on your M&M's, distributing them evenly between both cookie sheets, and throw on your sprinkles. 

Once your party mix is dry, break apart and store in an air tight container. 

Here is a close up of what my Leprechaun Bait looked like. Yummy!! 

I made this for my family's St. Patrick's Day party last weekend, and again on St. Patty's Day for our work food day. When I made it the second time, I ran out of almond bark, so I used half almond bark and half green melting chocolate wafers. This added more green to the mix, and it still tasted great!

This is what the mix looked like with both green and white chocolate melted on top.