It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!

The boys and I have been hard at work the last few days. We have been doing all our prep-work for the holidays. Our holiday punch list is gettin' done!

Biscottis- A family holiday tradition started by my great-grandmother (Nana), Sadie Tronco. We made our 1st of 3 batches Wednesday night. Muzzy joined us to help "knit" the dough (as Nana would say in her Italian accent). The boys rolled, twisted, and shaped their biscotti creations...like pros! As usual, they turned out beautifully and very tasty.

The Candy Cottage- We do gingerbread houses every year, but this year... we have THE CANDY COTTAGE! It's the plastic concept of a gingerbread house, only this one you can wash it off after decorating and use it over and over again. You can even use it for other seasons. To me this all makes perfect sense because let's admit it...the best part of eating a gingerbread house is the candy! A PLUS was that Boppa came over to help!

Teacher Gifts- Because the Biscottis get rave reviews every year, that is what the teachers received from the boys again this year. They're also getting a delicious bag of the Christmas Blend coffee from the Fresh Market to enjoy with their cookies. Having been a teacher in both a very wealthy private school and a very rural public school, I have to say my favorite gifts were the homemade goodies. I know they were prepared specifically with the receiver in mind and they also came in handy when having holiday visitors drop by. I always had something yummy to offer them. So, I choose to do the same and share a little of our family tradition with our wonderful teachers.

Christmas Play- The boys have been so precious running around singing their songs to practice for their school play. We were so excited to go see our boys in action last night. I loved it! In addition to the adorable story line and cute songs, there was another very special twist to the play. My friend blogged a sweet story about the play...you should read it.

Christmas Cards- CHRISTMAS CAAAAAAAAAAAAAARDS! It's that time of year. My busiest season for Letter Bugz. I think because I design cards and I look at thousands Christmas Cards each year, our personal family cards get put on the back burner. By the time I get to ours my creative juices have somewhat dwindled. I feel so much pressure to make mine look good and I frequently think they're the worst. I get emails, texts, and facebook messages from friends saying... "I can't wait to see what you come up with" and "I know you'll have the cutest card." Uhhhhhhg! NO! I don't...for several reasons. 1) Facebook has stolen the thunder from it because I post all our good pics. So, that leads me to having to take one in front of the tree...which truly makes me want to fall on a sharp object. Trying to get 3 BOYS to sit still and pose is a nightmare. 2) I use all my good ideas on my customers...especially the special orders and theme related cards. 3) I'm always racing to do it at the last minute and I don't take my time. I have sent out cards with errors in previous years...because I didn't proof my own card!!! But any who... 150 cards will be sent out today, cute or not. Buuuuuut. I'm still taking last minute orders until TOMORROW, December 18th. I'm hoping to get all current orders out the door by then too.

And better late than never...the boys officially wrote their letters to Santa!

Reading Christmas stories aren't officially on our "punch list" but I thought this was cute!

So I'm feeling a tad accomplished today, knowing all of that is D.O.N.E! (Still have more biscottis to make but that's ok. so put in your request now, 'cause I'm headed to da sto).