Christmas Cookies

Cookies for Santa

A holiday tradition that I have taken to heart and am continuing to do with my boys is to bake and decorate cookies. I LOVE to bake and do so throughout the year but there is something special about baking cookies for the holidays with your kids. So we cut out sugar cookies and then when they were cool decorated them with icing (all homemade of course!). The boys had a blast (ok, ok, I had a blast too) and they came out SUPER yummy. Santa was very happy with his tasty plate of treats here at the Carter house!

cutting out shapes

lots of sprinkles!

spread that frosting Wyatt!

CJ is very focused on his cookie decorating

Finished products

What Jameson did during cookie decorating... rolling all over the house

::le sigh::

RaNdOm TiP #3

Keep on keepin' on!

If you get behind on a day don't get upset or frustrated and say "oh well, I'll try again next week"! 

Keep up on your schedule so you don't get any farther behind! The tasks you missed will be ok to wait till next week or maybe you'll find some spare time to do a quick catch up... either way it's easier to keep on with your schedule that to call it quits and try to start all over again. Take it from me, I keep doing this and will want to just forget it for the rest of the week and it does NOT end up working out that way. Keep on going and in the end you'll see the pay off when there is just 1 extra chore to do and not 6!

Happy Holidays!

I suppose it's a good thing that I haven't posted in a while. That means I've been busy cleaning, right? Well, perhaps not as much as I would like BUT it is the holiday's and things have been BUSY! We've had a Chanukah celebration with family and then at home and today we went out to look at Christmas lights with the boys. Then of course there is wrapping presents and keeping them UNOPENED under the tree! (the boys have actually been doing really well!) Add to that getting invitations ready for Logan's birthday party, taking them to his class to hand them out, holiday baking, and trying to plan for Jameson's 1st birthday party next month too! It feels like things are just unending. Oh! And I have to get my hair cut, the boys too, and schedule our family pictures for this year... and still register for my teacher certification exam (I am scared to take it so I keep putting off even signing up! lol)

So here I am at the end of another day and the house is not as clean as I'd like it but who wants to clean anymore? Hubby is playing a video game and Jameson is playing upstairs while the 3 older boys are asleep so I guess it's that time for me again... cleaning, cleaning, cleaning....

Keeping up

Here we are at the end of my first week back on track of my quest and I'm feeling really good about myself! My house is by NO means immaculate but every time I walk in I feel good about the state of things. The hubby has even noticed how much nicer the house has been looking. Heck, even the boys rooms and the upstairs toy room has stayed in a pretty good state of cleanliness - a pretty amazing feat actually! I still haven't gotten my schedule totally worked out, the days are still crazy with trying to squeeze in observations and hubby going to school but hopefully by the end of next week I can have a basic schedule worked out (for now I have a rough draft on the dry erase calendar).

The boys have been doing really well with the schedule we have been on too and I've been really good staying off the computer (well, I still check in but I haven't been just sitting on my butt online). The TV is off most of the day and I think things are going really great right now and I couldn't be happier! I really hope I can keep it up for the long haul.

RaNDoM Tip #2

Take things upstairs every time you go up.

If you don't have stairs take something to be put away every time you go from one room to another.

TIMBER!!!!

So the whole cleaning thing was on hold a bit yesterday because we went to go get our Christmas tree! I had done some observations in the morning and then made lunch and when the boys were napping I went to pick Logan up a little early from school. We sang Christmas songs and the boys were so excited when we got to the tree farm and couldn't wait to get out of the car. The boys ran around as we picked out the perfect tree and then they each took turns helping daddy cut it down (well all of them except Jameson)

Wyatt

CJ

Logan

Jameson just being cute as his big brothers help daddy

When we got home the tree went up and got decorated. As usual the boys helped me pick out the perfect tree and we had a great time in the crisp cold air picking our the beautiful tree that will decorate our living room for the next few weeks of the wonderful holiday season.

Then today (another day spent doing observations) I cleaned up a bit, I got the boys bathroom scrubbed down and the laundry got folded and put away, diapers too. Then before clean up time Justin went upstairs to help Logan make a robot that he drew out. It came out pretty awesome and Logan did most of it on his own!

Monday Mission....

COMPLETED!

What a great day for my new start on my quest! I was up first thing in the morning and got ready for the day. Justin was going to take Logan to school with all the little boys but they were are out cold so we let them sleep and I dropped Logan on my way to my meeting (which was short and I was home around 8am). When I got back home I fed the boys and go started! I did a few loads of laundry (::sigh:: but i still have lots to fold) I organized my pantry (I should have taken a before picture because it was REALLY bad). I did dishes, cleaned the kitchen and eating area, swept and mopped the floors, cleaned both downstairs bathrooms and even wrapped some presents and ran to walmart with all 4 boys :)

I already have one friend who is following on this quest and I would love to invite everyone else to join us too! Feel free to respond to my blog and let me know how your quest is going! Leave helpful hints and tips that work for you and check back often for tips from me and others!!!

RaNDoM TIP #1

Pick things up or clean things up as you see them

Reflection

3 boys tucked sound in their beds
as memories of torturing Mommy dance fresh in their heads

1 baby boy as cranky as can be
staying up late to occupy me

hours and minutes and seconds tick by
all as I watch and ask why, oh why?

so much to do before I can rest
being a mom is the ultimate test

cooking and cleaning and tenderly giving care
at times it can be so much to bare

alas it is truly a blessing, indeed
to provide all the love and care these little ones need

the payment something of pure perfection,
unconditional love and affection

Cookies!

Given the choice between making gingerbread houses and baking cookies today the boys chose to bake cookies! I found a recipe for come chocolate cookies and made a few different variations and they were super tasty! Of course the boys have 2 favorite parts to baking cookies... of course the end product, eating the cookies and then their other favorite part...

EATING COOKIE BATTER!

But who doesn't love that part? I think the best ones were with chocolate chips and some peppermint extract added in, maybe could even have added more extract! 

Then after dinner and some cookies I loaded the boys up to get the mail (it hadn't come earlier when we had walked to the mailboxes) and we took a quick trip around part of the neighborhood to check out some lights! It was a nice way to get out of the house for a bit but not really do anything or spend any money hehe

SuperMommy....

Eh, not so much. I've had numerous people refer to me as such and I hate to disappoint but I am far from super. More and more so lately I feel quite the opposite actually. Yes, I have 4 boys and manage to stay fairly sane. They are fed regularly and are in a general state of overall good health but that just makes me a mommy, nothing super about that. I used to be so much better at this, back when it was just me and 1 or 2 boys. Having so many little ones running around make it nearly impossible to complete even the simplest of tasks leaving me in a near constant state of frustration. Add to that the fact that I am lazy.

Yes, I can and do admit it. I am lazy and I can't seem to break myself from it. I suppose it's to be expected, I've always been this way. As much as it hurts when I cook for family and they are so shocked and surprised by how tasty it is (I have aquired a little knack for cooking) I can't say that it is surprising either. Growing up my mom always called me a JAP, that is Jewish American Princess, and went on and on over how I would have to marry a very rich man to take care of me and have a maid and a personal chef... sounds almost mean but I suppose it was true, at the time at least. I didn't cook anything aside from making a bowl of cereal and brownies from a package until I was almost 20. I still hate to clean but have found a passion for cooking and baking, but even then I can't seem to get my lazy butt up to do it most of the time.

Add to all this the consistent mess I call a home. As hard as I may try it is a futile effort to keep anything clean and I always seem to come to a point where I just give up. One day I swept the floor, mopped it, swept it again and by the time I put the broom away it was a disaster again! --- and NO I am NOT exaggerating

I have friends with just as many kids as I do and they seem to have so much together and even finding the time to make things from scratch or sew or something fantastical that I can only dream of doing. The baby has become an excuse but even that is my own lazy fault. I find it so much easier to just calm him and nurse him or  carry him around, but that limits other things that I can be doing.

Here I am now, standing on my soap box speaking only to a mirror... I have been sick this week (the "real kind of sick" as my husband calls it, with strep throat) but come Monday morning things are going to change. The TV is staying off (it's been off a lot as it is but I have to restate this to myself to remind myself that I am serious)!
Facebook is going to be a reward when I have completed tasks (sorry to my mama's that I going to miss by this minor fast, but I know you will understand).
I will stick to the schedule I wrote out this week and have posted on the fridge!
As this week progresses I will create a chore schedule and print and post it as well and then FOLLOW IT!
My home will remain in a state where a surprise visitor will not leave me embarrassed as they step through the door.
And finally, I will spend more time doing projects, playing, reading, and just overall spending time with my boys!