Monday, December 16, 2013

Christmas Chalk Board


I want to share with you readers one of my new favourite pass times!  Yes chalk board art :)  I got this little chalk from my dad to go along with the desk that he made for him and after reading this awesome tutorial I have really been enjoying changing it for the seasons. 

This is the one I did yesterday for the Christmas season. 


I think I will get some coloured chalk and start incorporating that into my designs but for now I will enjoy my simple black and white. 




Sunday, December 15, 2013

December Photo Challenge

Here is my part 2 of the December photo challenge.  I am very impressed that this week I was able to capture all the moments in the challenge!



December
 9th: Decorated
10th: Stripes (candy cane on mug)
11th: On the shelf
12: Sweet (Ebens cookie or the whip cream on his lips)
13th: Tis the season (our school room chalk board)
14th: Black and white (ornaments I made
15th: Something Yum (chocolate covered pretzels) 


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas Cookies

Every year our family enjoys making Christmas cookies together.  This is usually an all day process starting with mama mixing the dough, letting it chill out in the fridge, daddy rolling out the dough when he gets home from work,  the kids cutting out the shapes, decorating them and of course eating them!!!  

This year with the kids getting older and with their love for helping out in the kitchen we did a BIG chunk of the work yesterday morning...but we saved some for daddy to do when he got home from work as well. 

This year I bought the kids new Christmas aprons to wear in the kitchen with me while they did some Christmas baking. 


The first thing they did was mix the dough.  I love the kitchen aid for baking with kids.  Seriously just add the ingredients and turn it on. 

Peterson Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

1.  Beat first 5 ingredients together until creamy.
2. Blend together the dry ingredients and add to mixer. 
3. With hands form the dough into two dough balls, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
4. Roll the dough out on a well floured surface. 
5. Cut with cookie cutters.
6. Bake in pre heated oven (350) for 7-8 minutes.
7.  Let cool on a cooling rack before decorating. 

Of course baking with kids (or anyone who LOVES eating cookie dough) can be a challenge but we have a rule when we are baking if they keep their hands away from their mouths they will always be rewarded for it at the end with a little bit of the dough.  

When we finished making our dough into balls for the fridge I caught lady J getting her little sample. 


As we waited for the dough to chill in the fridge I thought it was a great opportunity to have a cookies and milk party with them.  They each got to choose a Christmas treat to enjoy with their chocolate milk. 





I love how they think they are so funny!


Next was time to roll out the dough and bake some cookies. 


Eben was brave enough to learn how to put the cookie pans into the oven and take them out all by himself.  Here they are happy with the out come of their cookies. 


After work when daddy got home it was time to decorate.  This year I decided to try out Royal Icing.  I am not sure that I am fan of it or not yet.  Maybe I will need to try different recipes to find one that I really like. 

We let each of the kids decorate 5 cookies...cause really who can eat cookies with that much icing and sprinkles??? 





Abraham really wanted to get in on the action so we let him have his own container of icing and just one cookie to decorate.  He was so happy to be at the table with his siblings taking part in what we were doing almost as much as he enjoyed eating the goods. 
 







Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Christmas playdough

Last week we had a blast playing with this great Christmas playdough!  The kids played for a long time using my rolling pin and all our Christmas cookie cutters.


The recipe was so easy to make and the playdough is staying fresh in the zip lock bags we have stored them in.  I only scented the red one (peppermint) but I don't think I used enough of the extract cause it doesn't smell anymore.  

What kind of fun things have you been doing with the kids this holiday season? 



Monday, December 9, 2013

December Photo Challenge

This December I want to be sure to take lots of great pictures of our family traditions so I decided to keep me accountable that I would take part in a December photo challenge.

I found this challenge on pinterest and decided to give it a try.


The first week I did great I just missed one day; but other than that here is my first week of pictures. 


1. Me
2. Elf
3. What we are reading (lots of Christmas stories)
4. No picture
5. Someone I love (yeah that handsome man is my favorite!!!) 
6. Burst of red (photo booth props)
7. The view from here...the kids laughing their heads off at daddy.
8.  Shopping (Christmas tree shopping) 


Sunday, December 1, 2013

DIY Christmas card

Every year I try to find a new template to use for our family Christmas card.  This year I really wanted to have a news letter card after seeing some pretty cool looking ones like this on pinterest.

I happen to come across this awesome template (which can be downloaded here). Now all I needed was a friend with photoshop; which I happen to have so I headed over there one afternoon to create our 2013 Year End Review Christmas Card.



This card was so much fun to do.  We asked each other what were some of our favorite memories from the year to come up with our "awesome things" and we asked them where they loved visiting to come up with our "memorable trips".  We had a lot of fun looking back at our year.  Also the two older kids got to tell me what they really loved right now and then we all laughed as we knew what to write for Abraham. 

In school the kids have been learning and memorizing scripture.  We love the verse from Ephesians 2:8 ~ For it is by grace you have been saved through faith~  and feel this is a good verse for our family and the season we are in right now. 

The pictures along the bottom are from some our trips, adventures and moments at home.   

So for all you great readers Merry Christmas from the Peterson Gang!!!  




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