Not a real entry

This really doesn't count as a blog entry. I'm mostly doing this to serve as a holding place. JillyBean hasn't shown signs of climbing out of her crib just yet but that hasn't stopped me from looking at "big girl" bedding. There are two sets that I've had my eye on for some time and they're both on sale right now. I'm thinking of getting one and holding on to it for when we make the transition.

This is from Pottery Barn Kids. I love the bright pink and the cute monkey pattern really says a lot for her personality:
I also really love this from Land of Nod. It's so pretty and very girlie:
I know that it's two different looks but I can't decide which one I like best. The Land of Nod is so beautiful, but the PBK bedding is so cute.

I'll be back soon to do a Christmas update. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a fabulous New Year.

Top 5

JillyBean and I drove to Richmond yesterday to finalize our Christmas shopping. That meant the drive up and back allowed us to listen to nearly four hours of Christmas music thanks to the three holiday music stations on XM radio. Needless to say I had some time to think of my favorite Christmas songs and here are my Top 5.

5. Merry Christmas From the Family by Robert Earl Keen

4. All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey

3. Little Drummer Boy sung by Josh Groban

2. Hallelujah Chorus sung by Mormon Tabernacle

1. O Come All Ye Faithful/Oh Holy Night sung by Sandi Patty (no one, and I mean NO ONE does this better)

Feel free to share your favorite Christmas tunes.

Hanna

Hanna Andersson has been having the most awesome sale for a couple of weeks and it just keeps getting better. I snagged a cute snowsuit for Jilly for $28 and a cute all-weather jacket for $16. Both are a size smaller than I wanted (would have preferred the next size up so I could be sure that it will work next year), but even if she only gets one year out of them it's a great deal. Unless she goes through a bigger growth spurt than she did last year they should be OK but it would have been nice to have had some wiggle room.

Ten Things

This blog post was inspired by Amanda Soule and is a great way for me to recap the month.

Ten things I'm loving these days:
1. The last bit of princess cake leftover from my birthday. Even though it's terribly stale and has only a hint of the sweetness I tasted in my first bite, it makes me happy and brings back the memory of a wonderful family celebration.

2. The Advent devotional that my mother-in-law sent. It has reminded me how important it is to be still, especially during this hectic time of the year.

3. The excitement that JillyBean displays each morning she comes downstairs to see that the Christmas tree is still there.

4. That my mother is still filled with the Christmas spirit in spite of the bah humbug-ness displayed by some of our family members this year.

5. Josh Groban's rendition of Little Drummer Boy and how JillyBean sings along with the ba rum ba bum bum portion, using her legs for a drum.

6. Josh Groban's rendition of I'll Be Home For Christmas even though it makes me cry every time I hear the voices of the service men and women who won't be home for Christmas. On the same note, it makes me happy thinking of a good friend whose husband is coming home for Christmas.

7. Baking Christmas treats and the wonderful memories that flood my mind of doing the same with my Grandmother.

8. The nightly ritual of finding a new place to put the Elf.

9. Allowing JillyBean to believe in Santa Claus as an easy-to-grasp lesson in goodness and having faith in something that you can't always see.

10. A husband who I want to find something special for, but who I know will be happy with new boxers and a book.

A Little Cheer

Auntie April was here after Thanksgiving to take JillyBean's Christmas pictures. They turned out fabulous. We had some shot near Monticello and a few at the Rotunda at UVA. These are my favorites from each location:

She really needs her hair cut because she looks like a little sheepdog with those bangs hanging in her eyes. We're going tomorrow to make her a bit more presentable for Christmas. I really love the way little Suri Cruise has her hair cut so I'm trying to get Jilly's to go in that direction.

Still, I think that she looks adorable. Auntie likes photos where she's smiling a bit more but I told her that supermodels don't smile and Jilly is getting an early start on a lucrative career.

We used three photos from the shoot in our Christmas cards this year and I think that they're really great.

On that note, I have to say that I'm so disappointed in the lack of cards that we have received this year. I'm hoping everyone got a late start and that I'll get a mailbox full of them in the next couple of days. I LOVE getting Christmas cards and find it hard to throw them away each year. I keep all of the photo cards in a hat box and love looking back to see how the kids have grown over the years.

'Tis the Season to be Popping

Beanie Dad and I put together our little gifts to his directors tonight: Party Popcorn.

I had planned to make this for his staff just to give them a break from all of the cookies and candy you typically get during the holidays. I did a trial run for our mom's club cookie exchange last week since the cookies I planned to make were a bust (the recipe said it would make 52 and I only got 32 and I had to make 6 dozen).

I found the cute popcorn containers in Target's dollar section, which I think makes a super cute presentation.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup of popcorn
2 tablespoons of oil for popping
1/2 stick of butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt

Pop your popcorn on the stove top.
Melt butter and spices
Pour butter mixture over popcorn
Place popcorn in a brown paper bag and shake
Enjoy!

Whew!

So today we mailed out 65 Christmas cards, wrapped nearly every gift that we've purchased, and prepared gifts to be mailed tomorrow to Okie City and New Mexico.

I feel very accomplished.

Pardon the Interruption

I know that it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and it's not that there's been nothing exciting to share. Things have been busy thanks to the Christmas rush and my taking on a writing assignment. However, I have been keeping notes (aka: traditional written journal) and will return later this week to put it all here (probably Thursday since Beanie Dad will be working).

In the meantime, I would like to share the newest addition to my holiday cookie collection. I made these this afternoon and they are absolutely fabulous. I got it from my coveted December issue of Real Simple magazine: Ginger Chocolate-Chip Bars. They are simply divine, super easy to make and the ginger puts a fun twist on traditional chocolate chip bars. I tried four new recipes this year and this is the only one that will make it through to next year and beyond.

Ho Ho Ho!

JillyBean got to meet Santa this weekend. She wasn't too sure what to think of him, but she wasn't scared. I expected her to cry and not want to sit on his lap but she was OK with it. She didn't tell him what she wants for Christmas, but I think that he knows...