Saturday, December 22nd

* Nathan spent his first morning off getting up at 4:00 in the morning to go hunting. I still don't understand this but I have just decided that I don't need to understand but just let him do it:) So, I slept until 7:30 then took the girls to the Y,  met Courtney and Dad at the trail, and went for a run! We are training for our half marathon in March. It was freezing and cold but we survived and it felt good afterwards. ( I guess Nathan doesn't really understand why I would want to go run in the cold either, but that's beside the point:)

* Kimmy and Sergio had just arrived in town so they came over for lunch and spent the afternoon with us playing games and hanging out. The girls loved spending time with them!

* Nathan got home and the girls played the Wii with him while I prepared for church the next morning. All the girls were wearing their Christmas dresses!

* Bath, Story time, Bed

* laundry.....and more laundry.....and saved some for the next day:)

Friday, December 21st

* I got up a little bit before the girls, had some quiet time with Jesus then did some laundry, had some coffee and waited to hear that first little cry of a little girl waking up. I heard Alyssia then went upstairs to discover that Julianna was in the crib with her and attempting to change her diaper...yes and she didn't like that!

* Once all the girls were up we did some Christmas baking. We made some chocolate crinkle cookies. Needless to say, we made a mess! Lydia was there too but was more interested that morning in doing her hair and coming up with a fashion show so she didn't make the pictures:)

* Nathan got home soon after lunch for the start of his Christmas break, which was nice! He entertained the girls while I tried to clean up our big mess.

* We just hung out at home and played some games before dinner, bath and bed.

Thursday, December 20th

* We left for Yankee Candle Factory at 9:00 and picked up Abby Poole on the way.( actually it was 9:10...everything was going smoothly and we were on time until I opened the fridge to get Alyssia's sippy cup and it fell on the floor, cracked and splattered everywhere with milk all in it. I had new swade boots on and they got ruined then I even somehow spilled gas on them while pumping gas on the way).

* We made it to the factory though and met Courtney, Tori and the boys there! I had Bekah with me so we had plenty of help! All the kids dipped candles, we had lunch and picked out some candy bags for all of them:) It was fun!

* Alyssia fell asleep on the way home but only stayed asleep for like 20 minutes so it ruined her nap and Julianna never did fall asleep so I knew I was in for it the rest of the afternoon.

* We got home and played outside then came in and had a short "rest time." 

* Nathan watched the younger two girls and put them to bed while I took the older two girls to Windsor gymnastics center. They were getting evaluated to see what level class they should be in for classes starting in January. They were pumped all day about going and did a great job! They both ended up being able to be in the same class along with a friend who lives in Smithfield. Yea, that means we will be able to carpool!

* It took the girls awhile to settle down after they got home and showed daddy all of their gymnastics moves. Another late night.....but that is what Christmas break is for I guess! 

* It was movie night for Nathan and I!

Wednesday, December 19th

* I took the girls to the Y and went running on the trail.

* Karla came and picked up Natalee, Lydia and Julianna to spend the afternoon at her house doing Christmas crafts.

* I dropped off Alyssia at my mom's house while I went to meet with Cindy at Starbucks. She helped me with my blog!

* I picked Alyssia up and brought Bekah home with me to spend the night.

* Nathan took Natalee and Lydia to church while I stayed home with the little ones. It was a long day for them so it was dinner, bath and bed.

* I stayed up with Bekah making caramel popcorn for the first time for Nathan's co-workers. It turned out really good!

* Natalee and Lydia came home all wound up after their Christmas parties from church:) So they didn't get in the bed until 10:00.

* I prepared for leaving the house the next morning by 9 for Yankee Candle Factory.

* Nathan and I went to read in bed:)

Tuesday, December 18th

 I'm going to attempt to recap our activities over Christmas! This year was our first year with Nathan actually having some time off over Christmas. Since we have been married, he has been working for UPS and only had Christmas day off. This year he had off 11 days, which has been soooo nice! In years past it has been stressful on Christmas day just trying to fit everything in but this year was quite different!

The girls had off starting the 18th of December so that's when our Christmas break started!

Tuesday, December 18th: 

* All the girls slept in which was a nice start to the day! We spent most of the day cleaning and doing some crafts.
* Josh and Jenna came over for dinner. We had Chicken parmigiana with salad and bread. Josh did the wii dance with the girls and was made to dance to songs that they picked:) Jenna did it too and Josh had to do a song by himself but he was a good sport! They stayed and hung out after the girls went to bed. We had a good time!

Homemade Baked Chicken Nuggets

These chicken nuggets were a hit with the girls and Nathan thought they were much better then the regular store bought chicken nuggets. They are really good served with mashed potatoes and a fresh salad!

Baked Chicken Nuggets ( from All Recipes)

Ingredients

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter in a bowl or dish for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Mexican White Sauce

This recipe is very similar to the sauce used at Plaza Azteca. I found it on YouTube, wrote it down and now every time that we have Mexican, Nathan wants me to make it. It is the perfect combination of spice and sweet together for a dip.

Mexican White Sauce

8 oz. miracle whip

1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. Mexican oregano (or plain oregano)

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Mixture looks soupy when you are first mixing it together but then thickens up as you keep mixing it. Serve warm or cold with tortilla chips.