6th Annual Cookie Exchange Party

Sunday I hosted my Sixth Annual Cookie Exchange.

Most of the girls have been apart of it since the beginning.

They all get so competitive and really whip up some delicious cookies.

This year was pretty laid back on my part.

I didn't go crazy with the appetizers, prizes, or decor. 

I had 3 other little things keeping me plenty busy enough.

(1)

I did Facebook event invites this year.

Keeping it classy. Let me tell you.

It felt really badly because I wasn't able to invite everyone who had come in the past.  I invited 14 girls who usually come and who have been over and in contact with me the last few months. And they all RSVPed yes. So I wasn't able to invite more. 15 of us makes for a heck of a lot of cookies to bake!

(2)

I had each of the girls claim their cookie. First come , first serve. There were to be no repeat cookies from previous years. Once they decided on their cookie, they were to bake 5 dozen of them. (1 dozen for the tasting table and 4 dozen to be split among the guests). 

(3)

We always do 2 prizes - best tasting cookie and best looking cookie

I got Starbucks gift cards for the prizes this year- easy and I figured who doesn't love Starbucks?

Here are some pictures from the day.

holiday punch

voting station and prizes

something besides cookies to munch on

the table for take-home cookies  - mine are on the far left

friends catching up

 the table full of cookies ready to taste

Lisa and Holly with Hudson

Kate, Cori, and Lisa with my babies and Kelli's baby

Holly and Reagan

taking cookies to sample

Our two winners Cori and Megan

Cori won best tasting cookie with these from above.

Megan won best looking cookie with these from above.

It was a great success and I'm already totally pigging out on all of these cookies!

If you want to read more about my past cookie exchanges- 

2011

2010

2009

And just because , I have to throw in a few pictures of my little ones from after the party.

Our Festive Friday

Friday morning my mom came over to watch the babies so I could go help out at Reagan's class Christmas party.  The kids had fun eating holiday snacks and visiting with Santa.

I love seeing Reagan interacting with his friends at school.

Reagan was so funny when Santa came in.

He leaned over and whispered to me, "That's not the right Santa. That's not the same one we saw last week."  Oops. I acted dumb and said, "Yes. Yes it is!"

When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas Reagan told him a microphone.

After the party I took Reagan and we ran to Walmart for some shopping.

We grabbed Chick-fil-A for lunch (and Amber, I tried that shake- you are right- to die for!)

We headed home and spent the afternoon playing, taking care of babies, and making cookies for my cookie exchange. It was a whirlwind of an afternoon!

That night when Nick came home we started our "green night".

We all put on green pajamas and made Reagan green milk and green macaroni and cheese.

I read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and we watched the movie.

For dessert I made us "Grinch Floats". (Sprite, Lime sherbert ice-cream, and green sprinkles).

It was so fun.

Until Reagan spilled his float all over himself and the rug in the living room. 

Such a mess. I had to throw Reagan into the bath while Nick started working on the rug.

Best laid plans, right?

Our Adventures with Buddy- Week 2

If you missed our adventures with our Elf on the Shelf Buddy, you can find them here.

Saturday

If you follow me on InstaGram you might remember that Reagan was hell on wheels Friday night after our evening at "Follow the Star".  So Buddy did not come out that night.  He left Reagan a note instead.

Reagan woke up and was a little bummed not to have Buddy, but it didn't really have the effect I was hoping it would! 

Sunday

Sunday morning Buddy returned. 

Yes, Reagan was acting slightly better, but mostly I had things planned! 

Buddy was found building a house out of blocks.

He also left Reagan a gingerbread house kit to work on that afternoon.

He had way more fun decorating it this year. Although it really was like- one candy on the house, two in his mouth.  And don't even get me started on the icing.  He was straight up shooting it into his mouth from the container. Talk about a sugar high.

Monday

Monday morning Reagan woke up to find Buddy hanging from our Christmas tree.  His note said that we would work on our family ornaments that night. (If you remember from my tree post, we gift a photo ornament to our immediate family members each year for their tree.)

Tuesday

Tuesday morning Reagan woke up to find Buddy with some goodies in the kitchen.

Buddy left us the ingredients to make Christmas tree cones.

Reagan could have cared less about decorating these cones. 

All he wanted to do was eat the icing. This project was a total bust.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning Reagan woke up to find Buddy playing teacher in the playroom.

He had made a nice and naughty list the white board.

I was so tempted to put Reagan's name on the naughty... but decided against it.

That night we got Reagan's teacher's Christmas gifts together.

My favorite thing- Reagan loves the cook Ms. Susie at his school. He talks about her all the time.  So he wanted to include her and get her a Christmas present. We gave her the gift today and she was so shocked. I'm sure the school lunch lady never gets a gift! Bless her heart. My son loves her to pieces.

Thursday

Thursday morning Reagan woke up to find that Buddy had tp-ed his tree. (Looking at this picture, I really did a bad job of it! But it was hard in the dark, middle of the night! I was so afraid to wake him up!)

Buddy left us a hand print wreath craft to do together.

Friday

This morning Reagan woke up to find Buddy in the fridge drinking green milk.

His note hinted to a "green night" which we had tonight.

I will write more about that tomorrow!

Hope you all are still having fun with your little elves!

I've loved seeing some of your awesome ideas.

And thank goodness for Pinterest right?

I wish I was creative enough to think of these myself!

Advent Activities at Our House

Each December we have multiple advent activities going on at our house.

(1)

You've seen our "Counting Down to Christmas with Books" here.

(2)

We also do the cotton balls on Santa's Beard (Found from Pinterest here).

(3)

We love doing our advent tree that Nick's Mom made many years ago.

(4)

But my favorite is our advent house.

(one of my favorite pics ever- last year)

I got this house from Pottery Barn a few years ago.

I found the idea of a doing an advent with ornaments from a blog (I can't recall which one- it's been so long ago). I searched online and through the Bible for verses I thought would be good ones for each door. I typed them up and bought little ornaments that would match the verse.  Each night Reagan gets to open a door.  I read the verse to him and we talk about it.  He then gets to add the ornament to the tree. It takes a bit of prep work getting all the ornaments initially, but once you've done it- you're good.

In case you want to add this advent activity to your house,

I thought I'd save you a few steps by giving you the verses we use! 

1. Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given. (Baby Jesus ornament)

2. Matthew 5 : 14-16 You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Christmas light ornaments)

3.Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (Peace ornament)

4.Psalm 126:3 The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. (Joy ornament)

5. Psalm 150:3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre. (Trumpet and Harp ornaments)

6.Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. ( Candy cane ornaments)

7. Psalm 147:4 He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. ( Star ornaments)

8. Psalm 150:4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute. (Musical instrument ornaments)

9. Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord is good. It is he who made us, and we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Sheep ornament)

10.Psalm 122:1 Let us go to the house of the Lord. (Gingerbread house)

11. Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Believe ornament) 

12. Deuteronomy 15: 10 Give generously to him and without a grudging heart then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. (heart ornament)

13. Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. (candy cane ornament)

14. Philippians 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, in which you shine like stars. (star ornaments)

15. Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (key ornament)

16. Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn away from it. (train ornament)

17. Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Hope ornament)

18. Mark 9:23 Everything is possible for him who believes. (Faith ornament)

19. Matthew 2:2 We saw the star in the East and we have come to worship him. (Star tree topper)

20. Matthew 2:11 When they saw the star they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, and they bowed down and worshiped him (3 Wise Men ornaments)

21. Matthew 2:11 Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, and incense and of myrrh. (treasure chest ornament)

22. 1 John 4:7-12 Let us love one another, for love comes from God.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Since God loved us, we also out to love one another. (Love ornament)

23. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (present ornaments)

24. Luke 2:9-10 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.  And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people". (angel ornament)

25.Luke 2:11-12 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph ornament)

2012 Christmas Card

I just LOVE giving and getting Christmas cards each yet!

Here is a picture of our Christmas card from Shutterfly this year.

You wouldn't believe how many pictures we took and this was the closest to perfect we could get.  Between Reagan's odd smiles, my hair in my face, Hudson's and Nick's eyes closed, and Harper staring off into outer space - this was our best.

Hope you enjoy it!

Merry Christmas to you and yours

Thank you! A Post for you.

I just wanted to write a post today about how much all of your sweet and kind words have meant to me! I started this blog a couple of years ago to document what was going on in our lives for family and friends. But I have made such wonderful friends and gained such a support system! 

It is so much more than I thought it would be.

I  try and post about the good and the bad and you all continue to lift me up when I'm feeling overwhelmed. I so appreciate you all.  

Reagan has been going through such a rough patch. Ever since the babies were born he has taken his tantrums and behaviors to a new level. I am trying my best to be a great mom to all three kiddos but it's hard when he is sucking so much out of me! Those of you who follow me on InstaGram know of our bumps in the road this past week and how Buddy our Elf didn't return for a day.  He left Reagan a note saying how disappointed he was in him, etc. Did that scare Reagan into acting correctly? Nope. I am embarrassed to say I actually told him if he didn't start acting right I would call the police and put him in jail with all of the bad guys.  To which he responded, "well, I will fight them and win". To which I responded (wow- stooping down to a 3 year old's level here) "no, they are all the bad guys and they will fight YOU and win". Really Mandy? I also may or may not have told him I was going to trade him in for the neighbor girl who is always nice. 

Anyways. Our new plan is to 1) focus on the positives. I'm trying a behavior chart like I did in my classroom. When I catch him being good he gets a sticker on it.  When the chart is full he gets a reward. 2) The second he throws a tantrum a toy gets taken away. I will keep you posted.

But anyway- back to you!

When I'm feeling like a totally sucky mom, you manage to lift my spirits.  I have received the nicest comments, emails, Facebook messages, etc. and I really appreciate them all.

So thank you!

~ a blog comment ~

"I would like to tell you how much I LOVE your blog. I have been reading for over a year and I have over 250 blogs to read in my reader but I always check yours first! I am amazed at how good you are at keeping up blogging with twins & Reagan! I have a hard time blogging and I only have one! Thanks for keeping it real!!"

~ a Facebook note ~

"2 newborns, a 3 yr old and you already have your Christmas cards out?! You are amazing!! The card is darling, you have created a beautiful family :)"

~ a twitter tweet ~

"if you are doing elf on the shelf, this girl has got it downtickledpinkmandy.blogspot.com/2012/12/our-ad… @tickledpinkmlgand did i mention she has twin newborns and a toddler.. super mom right heretickledpinkmandy.blogspot.com/2012/12/our-ad… @tickledpinkmlg"

~ a blog comment ~

"I really enjoy reading your blog! You inspired me to start my own blog this summer. So far I only have one sad post. Haha! I need to work on it more. It's a great way to document the everyday things. =) Like you, I am a first grade teacher staying home with the kids this year. I will be returning to the classroom next year. I promise to start commenting more. Have a great day! "

~a Facebook note ~

"Hey!! Just want to tell u, I love reading ur blog in the middle of night while I am feeding :) u are so creative and a wonderful mommy!! When I think I have my hands full, u make me realize I don't have it so bad :) keep blogging cause u help make my night feedings much more entertaining :)"

It is awesome what a little note or comment can do. You all have inspired me to comment more and tell others how much I enjoy them!

So thank you for the love and support!! 

I seriously have the best readers!!

Our Weekend

Our weekend was full of holiday family traditions (as well as raging toddler tantrums- but more on that in another post. Thanks to all of you who have reached out with support and Mama advice!)

 Here's a little recap of what we did with some pictures!

Friday night we went to our church's live nativity program called "Follow The Star".

The kids before we left.

The twins- 10 weeks old!

My family waiting to follow the star.

The 3 Wise Men

Mary and Jesus

Reagan was soooo excited for it. All afternoon he kept talking about Baby Jesus. He said at one point, "I don't know who I'm more excited to see- Baby Jesus or the Wise Men". I could have melted.  It was so precious to me that this little man of ours was just as excited to see Jesus as he was to see Santa. 

We met my parents, sister Meg, and Charlotte there.  We sat by the fires, sang carols, had cookies, and did a craft while we waited for our "tour". The whole time Reagan kept asking "Where's Mary? Where's Jesus?" He couldn't wait.

Reagan has a crazy good memory and really pays attention to details. So he was pretty bummed out about the lack of animals. "Where are the Wise Men's camels?" "Where are the donkeys?" "There are supposed to be animals by Baby Jesus!" Lordy. His poor teachers in the future!

Saturday during the day my parents took Reagan to an Arizona State basketball game.

(Not holiday related- but thought it was such a cute picture!

 Reagan and my dad watching the game so seriously!)

Saturday night we met my family at the Phoenix Zoo for Zoo Lights.

We love going every year and seeing all the beautiful lights. 

Our family of 5. 

We look so silly with these baby carriers! 

Reagan loves his cousins!

I'm so glad that even with the 2 new additions to our family we are continuing with our family holiday traditions. Thank goodness for the Baby Bjorns!