{ 25 Days of Christmas---Day 13 }

Why didn't any of the 3 pigs make their house out of Gingerbread? These houses are so gosh darn hard to eat. The gingerbread walls are like cement. There is no way the big bad wolf would have blown it down. Merry 13th Day of Christmas to you!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{ 25 Days of Christmas---Day 12 }

A winter's day walk on the beach in the coat that Grandma made.

Merry 12 Day of Christmas to you!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{ Powder Room Ponders }

Inside the women's restroom earlier today: My daughter, the Queen of Fairies and Mermaids, pondered out loud, "Mom, I don't get those machines that say napkins (points to dispenser). Why would anyone pay 50 cents for napkins when you can get them free while washing your hands if you don't wanna use the hand dryer?"

 As we left the restroom, I could hear giggles from the other lady washing her hands.

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.



{ 25 Days of Christmas---Day 11 }

Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World here in Florida is sooooo beautiful at Christmas time. The Fairy Godmother "flies" down, waves her magic wand, says a few Bibbidi Bobbidi Boos and then TADA.....the castle lights up with 1,000s of lavender Christmas lights. I want a fairy godmother. Merry 11th Day of Christmas!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.



{ 25 Days of Christmas---Day 10 }

Christmas shopping ....which always has to include trying out a gabillion perfumes. Ah-ah-ah-CHOOOO!

Merry 10th Day of Christmas to you!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{ 25 Days of Christmas---Day 9 }

Reading together is our favorite thing to do. On this cold December night we read, How the Grinch Stole Christmas by the beloved Dr. Seuss. My little Queen of Fairies loves how I change my voice to match the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who. It is a Christmas favorite! I love snuggling in her bed reading together and tangling our legs up under the covers with each other. Sometimes Custard Kitty comes in and starts knocking things off the shelf with his tail and we have to stop and put him out of the room and then we get back under the covers and tangle our legs up all all over again and turn to the page where we last left off.

 Merry 9th Day of Christmas to you!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.



{ 25 Days of Christmas---Day 8 }

I think my favorite part of everyday this month has been just before dinner time when we light the candles on our Advent wreath in preparation for our Savior's birth. After dinner, my daughter blows out the candles after she says a prayer to Baby Jesus. Her prayers have been so sweet and some of them quite humorous---like this evening's prayer when she prayed for a very mischievous boy in her class---except it wasn't so much a prayer, but more of a command as she said, "Dear Baby Jesus, Please make (Boy's Name) be good instead of bad."

I like how lighting the Advent wreath brings closure to the day and reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry 8th Day of Christmas to You!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{Finding the Elf on the Shelf}

Last Year, we bought the super popular Elf on the Shelf . In case you are one of the very few who do not know about the Elf on the Shelf , let me explain. The Elf on the Shelf is a mother/daughter creation by Carol Aebersold, along with her daughter Chanda Bell. The Elf is a little visitor who arrives at you home in order to spy on children and report back to Santa at the North Pole. He sits somewhere visible in your home and when the children go to sleep, he sets off to the North Pole to tell Santa whether or not children are being naughty or nice. Then he returns back home before the children awake and finds a new spot. The biggest part of the fun is when children awake and search about the house looking for the Elf's new spot. My daughter loves waking up each morning to find where the Elf has moved during the night. He ends up in some of the most interesting places. Where will he end up next in our home?

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{25 Days of Christmas---Day 7}

"Brown paper packages tied up with strings.

These are a few of my favorite things!"

Receiving Christmas packages from family in Denmark warms my heart and makes the ocean that separates us seem smaller.

Merry 7th Day of Christmas to you!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{25 Days of Christmas---Day 6}

Is it December 6th already? Oh my! I had hoped that by stopping to capture a bit of Christmas everyday for my blog would slow it down a bit. But, it continues to zoom like a shooting star. Are you enjoying the poinsettias displayed around town? I am. I love the splash of red all about town....even though I think the white ones are my favorite. I've always thought that it would be the coolest thing if there was a Christmas lipstick that came out every year called Poinsettia Red. Isn't that a pretty name for a lipstick? If you know me, then you know I love my red lipsticks! Poinsettias remind me of my Mom. She loves them. When I was little, she always bought a few poinsettia plants at the grocery store and set them in the same spots every year throughout the house and on the brick planter in the front of the house. One might have been a gift from a neighbor or my grandfather might have given her one; usually a unique one like the white or pinkish poinsettias. She loves the beauty of  poinsettias as much today as she did when I was small. My mother and I had gone to a quilt festival a few years back and I liked how much she loved the red poinsettia quilt the most.

They also remind me of my husband's grandmother who he lovingly called, Grandma Plants, because she had a yard full of every plant and fruit bearing tree imaginable. And, in the heat of the deep valley of Texas, not far from the border, she had a small house and every inch of her yard was growing some sort of plant or tree. Not a seed ever went unplanted with Grandma Plants. So, I was amazed to one time see that she had poinsettias growing beautifully in the heat of the Texas sun.

Don't forget to stop and admire the poinsettias! Merry 6th Day of Christmas to you!

Sealed with a Poinsettia Red Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{25 Days of Christmas--Day 5}

 "Here's an easy game to play. Here's an easy thing to say.... New socks. Two socks. Whose socks? Sue's socks." Dr. Seuss Fox in Socks.

New socks to chase away the cold winter day. Cherishing the little things like seeing my daughter play about the house in polka-dotted Christmas socks. Merry 5th Day of December!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{25 Days of Christmas--Day 4}

I've got sunshine on a winter day. I woke up this morning to find Custard Kitty still asleep in a spot of sun by the window. It is cold outside. But, Jack Frost won't be nibbling at this kitty's nose. Merry 4th Day of Christmas to You!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{25 Days of Christmas-Day 3}

Oh how I love Tiffany blue! Aren't these ornaments super beautiful displayed in cake stands? What a nice idea! ....and far less fattening than cake. We were in Savannah, Georgia one weekend and I was on the other side of the street when I saw these ornaments through a shop window. Anything Tiffany blue attracts me like a June bug to a porch screen door. The shop keeper was an aging southern gentleman complete in his 3 piece suit, silver hair, and a Georgia southern accent that made me feel like saying things such as, "Oh Rhett, wherever shall I go? Whatever shall I do?" -Just like Scarlet O'Hara. The nice thing about this scenario is that he wouldn't respond with, "Frankly, my dear. I don't give a damn." Instead, he'd say, "Here Scarlet. Have a pretty Tiffany blue ornament." Merry 3rd Day of Christmas!

Sealed with a Tiffany Blue Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.



{25 Days of Christmas-Day 2}

Wreaths on the front of cars. These are a few of my favorite things (in my best Julie Andrews impersonation)! Here is  photo #2 for December 2nd as I count down to Christmas. I saw this old GMC with the wreath on the front and it looked sorta Norman Rockwell-ish to me. I think the passenger seat would be perfect for a dog--one with floppy ears that would blow in the wind as he stuck his head out the window and grinned. Merry December 2nd!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.



{December Joy}

Yay! December has arrived with her suave date, Jack Frost! Tonight is our official first freeze of the winter. The heater is on, the fireplace finally sizzled down to it's last hoorah after burning all evening. My husband is in a deep sleep as if he "Just settled down for a long winter's nap." My daughter, the Queen of Fairies and Mermaids, is snug as a bug in warm winter pajamas. My two cats are asleep on the sofa and dreaming of knocking off ornaments on the Christmas tree (their favorite winter past time). I didn't forget about the ducks. They are asleep under a neighboring weeping willow across the waterway and also under our neighbor's trampoline. They feasted on what they received from fellow neighbors and I gave them left over bagels which I scattered in pieces for them. It was a wonderful start to December as we watched The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and ate homemade margarita pizza. My daughter opened the first flap of her advent calender and delighted in the chocolate surprise. We also started our advent wreath by lighting the candle. I love this time of year. Even though I am a summer girl at heart, Christmas and winter always make me question my loyalties to summer.

In celebration of the season, I am counting down to Christmas by posting a pic a day as I capture Christmas and winter through the lens. The candy cane photo is my December 1st  photo. Enjoy! 

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.



Key Lime Christmas Cookie Bars

Florida + Christmas + Key Limes = Key Lime Christmas Bars

Source

Check out these yummo Key Lime cookie bars

from Coastal Living . The perfect mix of sweet and tart-----sort of exactly how I feel after a day of shopping for presents.

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

The Perfect Mommy

While watching an episode of Wifeswap:

"Look, Mom! That mother is terrible! Her kids are terrible!"

"I'm watching it, Honey. Oh wow. That mom IS terrible."

"I know!!! I can't believe it! I am never gonna be a mom like that. When I grow up, I am gonna be the best Mom EVER!"

"I don't want you to grow up. But, I know you'll make a great Mommy one day."

"Yup. I am gonna be the best mom because I am gonna have a mixture of goodness and meanness just like you."

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{Being Thankful}

As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself pondering my blessings and things I am thankful for a little bit more than usual.

Here is a little list of what I am thankful for today and as you will see, each one varies in degree to the grand scheme of things.



1. Today is my 14th Wedding Anniversary! I am so thankful that God chose me to marry Prince Charming!

2. I am thankful that my daughter has the week off from school. We played Monopoly yesterday and watched old ShirleyTemple movies this afternoon.

3. I am thankful that the Shirley Temple song, "Animal Crackers in my Soup" is finally out of my head this evening.

4. I am thankful for the package I received from family in Denmark.

5. I am thankful that the new lipstick I bought without even trying it on first ended up being a super fabulous color on me.

6. I am thankful for the roses my husband surprised me with this afternoon.

7. I am thankful for the kind words my younger sister shared with me today.

8. I am thankful for a wonderful evening out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. (I wore the new lipstick)

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{Learning Good Citizenship}

This is a pic of Saylor pretending to vote. My lil' citizen had already voted in private on her own in the poll booth with the curtain closed and placed her REAL vote in the ballot box. However, being the mom that I am, the type who takes lots of pics of her kid even pics of her pretending to do things she has already done in case something was missed in the original moment. Yup, that is the type of mom I am.

It's never to early to learn about good citizenship. This Fall, my daughter's class learned about the voting process, campaigning, and how our leaders are elected into office. A few kids in her class ran for Class President. They campaigned, created slogans, gave speeches, made banners and signs showing off their campaign slogans, and handed out goodies and literature encouraging their classmates to vote for them. They did everything short of kissing babies. In November, just before the Thanksgiving holiday break, the kids entered the impressively homemade poll booth to cast their vote in private and then entered their vote into the ballot box. A convention party was thrown. The kids danced to music like Born in The U.S.A by Bruce Springsteen and Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus. They had sweets and patriotic punch. They will learn who received the most votes and elected class president when they return to school after the Thanksgiving holiday.

My daughter came home everyday after school talking a mile a minute with complete excitement over the class campaigns. Bravo to their teacher for getting the kids excited over the voting process and good citizenship!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

{Patriotic Party Drinks or How To Be a Popular Mom in Your Kid's Class}

My daughter's class learned all about the voting process and how our leaders are elected into office. The class even had a convention party. How cute is that!?! I volunteered to make the drinks. I wanted a drink that was red-white-and-blue and very patriotic.

So here is what I did---

Buy clear plastic drinking cups, and just as you would when making margaritas, wet the edge of the cup with a lemon or lime slice and dip the edge in red sugar crystals. Pour in a blue beverage such as blue Hawaiian Punch. Garnish with a strawberry and American flag toothpick. Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy! The kids and the teacher loved these drinks which made me feel like the most popular mom of the day!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.