Christmas Traditions

I'm linking up this week with Becky for her Christmas link up.  This week is all about Christmas traditions.

Our Christmas traditions start the weekend after Thanksgiving when we go and find our Christmas tree.  We bring the tree home and set it up and while we decorate it we drink hot chocolate, well the twins had regular milk (but next year).  We pull out all of our decorations and set them up around the house and talk to the twins about baby Jesus and Christmas. 

We do all things Christmas, bake cookies, watch Christmas movies, listen to Christmas music all of December.  This year we also decided to make the salt dough ornaments that I have been seeing every year.

Now every year hubby's family heads up to Whistler, BC to enjoy Christmas.  So we pack everything (Christmas presents included), pack a huge trailer and head out.  This will be my 7th year going.  Hub's family has been going for like 15 years.  This means we ALWAYS have a white Christmas and we get to ski, shop and play in the snow. 

Seriously look at where we get to celebrate Christmas!

2008

2008

2009 (12 weeks preg with the twins)

2010

bundled up

yummy dinners

Now that we have the twins we are going to do our best to come home/leave late every other year to be fair to everyone, but hopefully we can just have my family up there too at some point.

We spend 1 glorious week up there before coming home.  This year I am hauling every single one of the twins presents up to Whistler (including their kitchen) because well just because we aren't home doesn't mean Santa can't visit the condo. 

Santa Baby... A Christmas List

Becky is hosting some awesome link ups during the month of December that are all things Christmas.  This week is "Show me your Christmas List". 

Now Santa I have been a good girl all year long so I expect at least one of these under my tree.

1. Nikon D3100

I would love to get my hands on a beginner DSLR, I bought an Olympus Pen last year and while I like that it has DSLR features it's just not a DSLR.  Lets all face it, I NEED to take awesome pictures of my kids!!

2. A maid service

Hear that hubs, I want someone to clean my house 2 x a month all year long...sounds fair right...ok good..

3. Tory Burch flats, I have always loved them and just never purchased a pair.  I live in my flats, it's really all I wear to work because I will break my ankle if I try to wear a heel so I just live in flats and I love them.  My  hubby will say that I already have a pair of black shoes so I don't need another...what does he know! 

4.  A spa day for mama.  I would love a day to just get pampered, I think I deserve it.  I would love a facial, massage, mani/pedi, the whole thing!

5. Last but not least, a Coach Madison leather lindsey satchel.  I am a Coach girl, I love it, I will use my purses for years and my last one I have had for four years now, it is still a great bag but I would just love a new one, and this one would hold everything.  Especially since I lost my Coach diaper bag a couple of months ago.  It can do the job of both!

Ok I think thats enough to get Santa started, but really I have been a good girl Santa. If you want to link up your Christmas list head over to Becky's blog and show us all what you want for Christmas this year!

My Favorite Holiday Things

It's no secret that I LOVE the holidays.  The hustle and bustle out shopping, the smell of a Christmas tree, Santa, baking, and the list could really go on and on.  These are just a few of my favorite things this Christmas season.

1. Scentsy-  I love Scentsy, I learned about Scentsy about 3 years ago when my MIL hosted a party, I have used it ever since.  I recently learned that Ashley sells it, and I love supporting businesses of the people I know (even if I have never met them IRL), Ashley offered me a great deal on some new Scentsy products and I LOVE them all, I am never dissapointed by Scentsy, the shipping is fast and the smells are amazing.  The main thing I love about Scentsy is that I don't have to remember to blow out a candle, like the other day when I decided to burn my Yankee Christmas candle only to get in a rush doing something else when a bag caught on fire.  My twin mommy brain just can't handle candles any longer.

Right now I am burning my scents in this awesome new burner.

These are a few of my all time favorite smells.

Head over to Ashley's Blog to contact her about getting some for yourself or a family member for Christmas!

2. My Grandma's Carmel Corn

Here is the recipe, you will not be sorry if you make it

Carmel Corn
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup regular sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 sticks butter

Bring all ingredients to a boil for 5 min.  Remove from heat and add:
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t cream of tarter
1/4 t salt

Stir and pour over 2 gallons popped popcorn, stir in pan to coat all popcorn
Bake for 1 hour at 200*
Remove from over, stir and let cool........ENJOY!

3. My Christmas Tree

Ok you caught me, this isn't what my tree truly looks like this year, I decorated it like I always would to see if what the twins would do, well my two 18 (almost 19) month toddlers started to remove every. single.  decoration.  in their arm reach.  So I moved it all up so that can't reach anything and they are doing alright with it.  I still love the smell of a real tree but I think at the end of the year I am going to find a good deal on a realistic fake one.

4.  The Twin's own Christmas Tree

I bought and decorated in soft foam decorations for them to play with and remove and put back on the tree.  They love it.

5.  Holiday Decorations

I purchased this from Lauren whom I met via twitter.  Isn't is GORGEOUS! I love it!

6. SNOW!

Ok so we don't have any snow at my house yet, but I took this coming home from my Grandma's and it was just so pretty!

7.  And LAST but certainly not least

These two precious toddlers!! Because really I went many Christmas' wondering if I would ever get to celebrate with my own children and now I can't belive we will be celebrating their 2nd Christmas!

The One Where I Tell YOU About AWESOME Christmas Cards and a GIVEAWAY

Make sure you make it to the bottom of this post for an EXCITING GIVEAWAY!!

Every year about this time we are bombarded with everything Christmas, if you are like me you soak up every minute of the holiday season! I love everything about the holidays, the lights, the colors, the warm fuzzy feeling buying gifts for those you love just knowing that it is the perfect item for them!!

Then there are the goodies!  The cookies and egg nog and wonderfully made Christmas dinners that consists of all of your favorites that are reserved for Christmas time even though they could be made throughout the year!  Every year I make these really amazing Cherry Chocolate kiss cookies that I only make during the holiday season! We also always head up to Whistler for a family vacation full of skiing and family fun and now with the twins the holidays have only gotten better!

And don't even get me started on Christmas cards, O how I love Christmas cards! The time where my fridge plays host to all of my family and friends and pictures of their families!  I love displaying Christmas cards throughout my home, I read every card and letter that come in the mail come Christmas time! They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside seeing everyone I love in my home, albeit in photos!

When I discovered that Tiny Prints was going to be offering a Christmas card deal for bloggers I got very excited! I sat down at my computer and started browsing their collections, just imagining every card with my babies faces smiling on them.  Would I chose a single family picture card or a card where I could put 3,4 or even more pictures on it since we all know I love photos of my kids!

Like this one with bright happy colors!



or this more traditional card

this one is really fun to me

or you can showcase your furbaby

Right now I think the top one if the front runner for my top pick! I can put a picture of Landon and Ava and then a family picture as well! But with sooooo many to choose from it's hard to make up my mind!

Now those are only a few of the 100's they have available HERE!

If you are a blogger and you too are interested in taking part of Tiny Prints 50 free Christmas or Holiday cards head right over HERE and sign up to take part in the fun!!

Also if you do sign up leave me a comment letting me know you did, so I can hopefully get a few amazing address labels this year too!

Also if you have kids, Tiny Prints is offering a one day only promotion on November 9th where you can receive a FREE card to your kids from Santa! Visit the Tiny Prints Facebook page to find out how to personalize one of the following greeting cards FREE:Checking It Twice or Santa’s Scroll. Hurry! This offer ends 11/9/11 at 11:59 pm (PT).

Tiny Prints would also like to offer the chance for one of my readers to win 50 Tiny Print Christmas cards of their own! So you too can choose a wonderful card from their site!

To enter this giveaway:
(Leave one comment for each entry)

Required:
- You must be a public follower of my blog and let me know by leaving a comment (1 entry)
- Visit Tiny Prints and tell me what Christmas card you would choose if you won (1 entry)

Extra Chance:
- Tweet about this giveaway "I entered @mama2twinsies @Tinyprints Christmas card giveaway and you can too http://theecholsfour.blogspot.com/2011/11/one-where-i-tell-you-about-awesome.html"(1 entry)

I will draw the winner and announce them on Monday November 14th!!
*In exchange for this post Tiny Prints is offering me 50 free Christmas/holiday cards.  All opinions are my own and I have purchased from Tiny Prints in the past and have been extremely pleased with their quality and style.

Bullet Points

So I have seen some blogs do a bullet point format for a quick update...here we go.

- The twins are almost 8 months old (HOLY COW 8 MONTHS OLD) time to start party planning
-We accomplished traveling in the car for 7 hours for our annual vacation to Whistler for Christmas
-Traveling with twins is....HARD
- Landon is about 21 lbs and Ava about 16.5
-They are crazy cute and funny all day long...They are such HAPPY babies
- I have been making my own baby food (post being planned on it)
- Christmas was amazing with babies in our lives!
-Christmas also brought the need to organize my family room (que JcPenney storage solutions)
-I may have possibly gone overboard on Christmas present...oops
-The twins can roll everywhere they want and I have a feeling crawling is not too far off

Ok well I feel bad for not posting like ever so I think maybe one of my new year resolutions will be to be better about that!

I hope everyone's Christmas/New Year and Holiday season was AWESOME!!!