The day after...

Christmas brings with it all the anticipation and excitement that only that day can bring.

Then the day after brings a Christmas hangover from all the sugar and present opening.

Kids are tired and overwhelmed by their goodies.

The parents are exhausted and just wondering where all this new stuff will be going.

If you are like me, you are aching to take down all the Christmas decorations. I take that back I would love to put off taking everything down, but in our little shoe box we need the space back.

It is all down, but oh the toys that Chick 3 has gotten. Her play area is the living room and we are now overloaded with newer and bigger toys. The space we needed is now gone.

Till next year when all the anticipation and excitement comes again!

A Rooster tradition

In our house the only music playing in our coop is Christmas music. This is a tradition I have had to learn to love. It started with Rooster's mom and it stuck with him.

Oh it took some banging my head against the wall and also some sneaking out by myself to listen to "real music".

For me to get through the Christmas holidays without being Ms. Scrooge and all ba-humbug I have searched and scoured for the songs that will keep me in the spirit of the holidays. It was a must because it is a whole month of nothing else.

Here our the favorites we can't live without.

Rooster: His favorite is Carol of the Bells. The only version he says does the song justice is the Home Alone version.



Chick 1: I would have to say that I am in love with Josh Groban's Christmas cd. It gets me in the spirit of the holidays. My most favorite song is his version of Drummer Boy.



Chick 2: Alvin and the Chipmunks are a holiday staple in the world of Chick 2. We listen to them every day. Her favorite is their version of Silver Bells.



Chick 3: Yes Chick 3 has a favorite. Well I call it her favorite because she will rock out to "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. It is a new song for the family this year, and a favorite for the baby.



This holiday tradition has been brought down from Rooster's family and will now be forever in ours!

You Can Make This gift giveaway! *CLOSED*

** GIVEAWAY OPEN FOR ONE MORE DAY!*** WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW! DECEMBER 23rd***

Every holiday season I am always looking for that special homemade gift, especially for the grandparents.

The wonderful people over at youcanmakethis.com thought it would be fun to showcase some quick and easy gift ideas you can give to friends, neighbors, co-workers, and oh yes... even your family! You can enter to win eBooks from www.YouCanMakeThis.com and learn some fun new techniques, tips, and ideas not only for the people on your list, but also creative ways to decorate your home.

You Can Make This has created a free download for some fun gift tags. Each of them coordinate with ideas found as part of the DIY Gift Giving Series videos that can be found at www.youcanmakethis.com/blog, as well as designs and patterns found at www.SWAKembroidery.com and www.YouCanMakeThis.com.

You can also enter to win hundreds of dollars in gift certificates just for watching the videos that are part of the DIY Gift Giving Series and answering a question on the You Can Make This blog!

Now it is time for a giveaway!

You Can Make This is giving away a bundle to TWO lucky readers that will include instructions on Men's Ties, Festive Vests, Women's Wrap Skirt, Precious Dress, and the Tween/Teen Flared Skirt. Between all of those, items can be made for both boys, girls, men and women. This is a perfect way to dress the whole family for the Holidays.

Here is an overview of the bundle:
Men's Ties
Festive Vests
Women's Wrap Skirt
Precious Dress
Tween/Teen Flared Skirt

Main Entry:
Go to the You Can Make This blog and tell me what gift giving video you liked most. Please include your email (the giveaway prize will be emailed to the winner)

Extra Entries
Follow my blog-2 entries
Blog about this giveaway-5 entries
Follow me on Twitter-2 entries
Tweet about this giveaway-1 entry per tweet per day.

The giveaway will end December 21st. I will announce the winner the morning of December 22nd. Since all I need are names and email addresses I will email that you have won. The company will email the winners their prize as soon as they get my email.

Hellman's Giveaway Winner!

First off I want to thank you all who entered for a chance at a $25 American Express gift card!

Now onto the winner.....

Do you really want to know?

Really?

Okay okay here is the lucky winner!

The winning random.org winner is #35

Aimee aka Nelsby, who said

"* Tweet *
http://twitter.com/Nelsby/status/6616310283
Thanks!"

The winner has been emailed! If I don't get a reply in 48 hours I will again use random.org to get me a new one on Wednesday!

Small Talk Six: Love/Hate about Holidays and Relatives

MomDot is hosting the Saturday meme of Small Talk Six. Click on the button above to learn more.

Today’s topic is “6 things you love or hate about spending time with your or your significant other’s relatives.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . .

Hmm this topic could be dangerous if I did have things I hate. Honestly the holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year.

1. Love: Seeing faces that you don't see often.

2. Love: Having your family all together at one time!

3. Love: Hearing the laughter of people enjoying themselves.

4. Hate: Well not hate (too strong of a word), but sometimes dislike the constant "Is it time to open presents?" "Can we open them now" "I want to open presents" If it were one child I could handle it, but when they come at you one after the other it gets a little old.

5. Hate: Again really dislike having to fit in so many parties into 2 days. I wish we could just have just one great big party where everyone is invited. It really does make this time of year go by with a blur.

Okay I lied there are things I hate.

Why baby proof?

This is not a post about how to baby proof a house. Don't get me wrong I think it is very important to make sure little chicks and little roosters are safe always, but these little guys or should I say monkeys are way too smart for their own good!

Case in point:

I did a lot of reorganizing and baby proofing when Chick 3 was mobile (Chick 2 is now 9 so not much of a worry there). We have baby gates up, danger zones became safe, and outlet covers have been put in place.

Chick 3 has shown how these can be avoided and still do what every parent tries to stop.

Baby gate:

At the bottom of the stairs we have a baby gate. Phew no climbing up stairs, so Chick 3 should be safe right? WRONG!

She has learned to go to the side of the stairs and climb through the railing. My only hope now is for her to grow quickly and be too big to fit.

Will the baby gate companies please come up with something to fix this problem please? If there is an answer to this please enlighten me! I am all ears!!

Outlet covers:

Every outlet in use has furniture strategically placed so Chick 3 will not get tempted to play. The only outlet in plain sight has those nifty outlet covers. Great, right? WRONG again!

The other day Chick 3 was so proud with her new find and came to Rooster to have him share in her treasure.

What is her treasure you ask? Yep, you guessed it... outlet covers.

So now we will have to make sure we get those nifty screwed on outlet covers. At least this is an easy and hopefully not too expensive fix.

I have a feeling this child will be every baby proofing products nightmare. If these companies ever need someone to test their product just call, because this little Chick of mine will surely prove them wrong or prove them right and make this mommy a happy one!

Hellmann's Real Holiday Helpings and a Giveaway!*CLOSED*

Hellmann's Real Holiday Helpings

This chick is one amateur cook, so when I was asked by Hellmann's Mayonnaise to take part in their Real Helpings Holiday Program I jumped at the chance. I am new to the holiday cooking scene and thought why not give this website a look and see what would benefit not only me, but my readers as well.

Hellmann's Mayonnaise and celebrity chef Bobby Flay have teamed up to give their viewers some special holiday recipes. Some are recipes we see every year and they have also added a new spin to our old favorites.

One recipe I plan on making is their stuffing muffins. Stuffing is a holiday staple at our holiday parties, so I thought this would be a great new way to incorporate stuffing into the holiday mix!

Stuffing Muffins

Makes: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 10 minute(s)
Cook Time: 40 minute(s)

Ingredients:
1 can (14.5 oz. ) Chicken Broth
1 cup Hellmans® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
6 cups unseasoned cube stuffing mix
1/8 tsp. dried sage leaves and thyme leaves crushed
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley, optional

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Combine broth with Hellmann's® or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise®.
3. Toss Mayonnaise mixture with stuffing mix in large bowl, until liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Evenly divide mixture into prepared pan, pressing firmly and mounding slightly.
4. Bake 40 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Bobby Flay has also added his own holiday recipes to the site. The newbie in me thought I could never follow a big-time chef's recipe. Bobby Flay and Hellmann's have added some how-to videos showing the step by step process with real people making the dish with Mr. Flay himself. He even shows how easy it is to have your child make these special holiday dishes right along with you. What more could a parent ask for than sharing the holiday cooking magic with their child.

A few extras they have included are a coupon for $1 off of Hellmann's Mayonnaise products, and a chance to win groceries for a whole year!

Make sure you stop by Hellmann's Real Holiday Helpings site to learn more about the great recipes, tips, and videos. Be sure to enter for free groceries! What family couldn't use free groceries?

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Along with taking part with Hellmann's Real Holiday Helping Program I get to host my first giveaway! My awesome readers have the chance to win a $25 American Express gift card!

Main Entry:

To enter all you need to do is head over to Hellmann's Real Holiday Helpings site and tell me what recipe you would love to try this holiday season. Make sure to add your email to the main entry.

Extra Entries:

Follow my blog- 2 entries

Blog about this giveaway- 5 entries

Follow me on Twitter- 2 entries

Tweet daily (leave your tweet link)- 1 entry per tweet

*This contest will run until December 13th at midnight. The winner will be announced December 14th and you will have 48 hours to email me your information so I can send you the prize!

Small Talk Six: For the Love of Disney

MomDot is hosting the Saturday meme of Small Talk Six. Click on the button above to learn more.

Today’s topic is “6 Disney characters you’ve found to be most interesting.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . .

When you have kids, or in my case girls Disney becomes a staple. Chick 2 had her princess obsession and Chick 3... well she is not in to the girly stuff just yet.

1. Snow White: She is my most favorite princess and part of my most favorite movie. I have a box of collectibles and just waiting to be able to showcase them when the girls are older and don't see them as play things. Maybe I just like the fact that she was the first... I tend to think she is the one that is most forgotten at times.

2. Cinderella: Cinderella has a soft spot, since this was and I think still is Chick 2's absolute favorite. She battled a lot of diversity and put up with the crappiest family life there is. Her family was the definition of dysfunctional.

3. Mickey Mouse: I am in awe that this mouse has the power to stop my youngest chick from what she is doing and will become a couch potato. She could care less about the others, but Mickey is her man, or well mouse!

4. Elizabeth Swann: Wow is all I can say about her. She is hot and oh so fierce! This is one woman that can hold her own without letting fear getting in the way. She really is my role model.

5. Timon: Oh this little meerkat is one hilarious character. He really did shine in all his hilarity in Lion King 1 1/2.

6. Belle: I love the strength of this woman. She always stood tall and exuded self-confidence. She never cared what other people thought of her or her father. Best of all she is a bookworm just like me. I know we would be the best of friends if she weren't just an animated character.

Giving Back

This is the time of year where consumerism is on the rise. We all want to give the perfect gift to everyone we know. I know I am guilty.

However I also know that these are not the best times for all. Those without jobs are on the rise as well as those without a home. The weather is changing from nice and sunny to very cold. I live in Southern California so I can only imagine how cold it gets elsewhere.

Instead of only thinking about my friends and family I plan on giving back. We have done toys for tots, but I want new ideas.

A friend is making fleece blankets for the homeless. I think I may take this idea as well. Chick 2 would love to help me.

Chick 2's school sent home a list of things to collect so they can send it to troops overseas. This is something we also will do.

What are things you do during the holiday season? Please share, because I would love new ideas!

The One With an Obsession

On my old blog I tended to write posts about my all time favorite show. Can you guess what it is by the title? (For you non fans it is Friends.) I am not one of your small time fans, I am a complete and utter fanatic.

Let's count the ways.

I have all 10 seasons.

I watch every night (not ALL the episodes, come on now I do have some of a life).

I can relate everything in my life to an episode.

No one wants to play the Scene-It Friends edition, because well would you if you lost every time?

I use quotes often, "Get out of the bitter barn and play in the hay." "I never go commando in another mans fatigues" "No paper no tushy" "No uterus, no opinion"

Matthew Perry is on my list... yes that kind of list.

I fell in love with a name on the show and used it in real life.

With a brain like mine that never stops I use my obsession for good. Really I do. This obsession helps me clear my head. This means I can sleep. The anxiety goes away and the never ending thinking stops. Using TV land to escape from reality is my happy drug.

Stay tuned, this show may be used in future posts.