A Christmas Eve activity for excited kiddos!

If your kiddos are anything like mine, they are super wound up and crazy very excited on Christmas Eve. So much to look forward to, and so hard to wait!
To help your littles deal with the anticipation, it's a good idea to have a few fun activities lined up. Enter the Peppermint Whipped Cream Painting.
If you don't mind a little mess (we don't!) then this is a great sensory activity to do with your children.
I took some of the "whipped topping" that we had still in the freezer from Thanksgiving, added a few drops of peppermint extract to it, and then colored it red and green. The kids had a blast! Their sense of smell is stimulated with the peppermint, their hands are covered in creamy, smooth "paint", and their visual senses are taking in the lovely artwork. And technically, the sense of taste could be stimulated as well with this fun project! Our artwork even continued to smell after it dried.

*********************************************************************
 Have you "liked" me on Facebook yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Get over there! 
Are you following My {Not So} Glamorous Life via Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin'? 
Don't miss any of the fun! All you have to do is click "follow" on that button over there on the sidebar. Or Follow my blog with Bloglovin. Just click here!! C'mon, you know you wanna! 
I can also be found on Twitter under the handle @MyNotSoGlamLife

A Christmas Tradition That I Love

This morning I sent out the invitations for my 4th Annual Gingerbread Party. This is an event that I started in 2009 where the women and children of the family come together to have a fun and festive afternoon of gingerbread decorating and a warm lunch of creamy potato soup and french bread. (I mean, men could come too, if they wanted. But they're all at work.)
The Gingerbread Party is one of my favorite events leading up to Christmas. It's so fun, and so full of cheer.

Some snapshots for the 1st annual event. 2009.

Over the years, we've had several new additions to the family, and many variations of gingerbread. We've seen houses, men, trees, trains.
We usually oooohhhh and ahhhh at each others creations.
And sometimes laugh at them.
But we always have a wonderful time. It fills my heart with joy.
Do you have any Christmas traditions like this one?
*********************************************************************************
Have you "liked" me on Facebook yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Get over there!
Are you following My {Not So} Glamorous Life via Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin'? Don't miss any of the fun! All you have to do is click "follow" on that button over there on the sidebar. Or Follow my blog with Bloglovin. Just click here!! C'mon, you know you wanna!
I can also be found on Twitter under the handle @MyNotSoGlamLife    

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the first link up in the December Kindness Challenge hosted by Danette at All My Love for All My Days and myself!!! Even if you don't have a blog, you can list your kind acts in the comments section for all of us to read! And if you haven't started participating yet, it's never too late!

My Mom Celebrated Her 1st Birthday Yesterday

Yep. You read the title correctly. Nope, it wasn't a typo. Yesterday was a day to celebrate a life. That's what a birthday is, right?
Well, yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the day that my mom was given life. She was given life for the 2nd time at UCLA's Jonsson Comphrehensive Cancer Center, when she received the Stem Cell Transplant that saved her life. What a blessing we've been given! (You can read the story of my mom here and here, and here).
This gigantic deal, this huge event, that marked my mom's "New Birthday", all happened in a few moments. It seems like something that would take longer than 10-20 minutes. And really, it did, as there was a lot of time spent preparing for it, and recovering from it. But the actual procedure, it was short and sweet. 
Following the transplant, the hospital brought her a birthday cake and sang happy birthday. It was so joyful!

I was able to snap this photo on my phone while we were singing Happy Birthday to her after the transplant. The quality of the photo isn't fabulous, but the image itself... well, it speaks volumes.
So yesterday, I was very happy to celebrate the blessing of my mom, and the procedure that gave her new life.
Happy Birthday Mom!!!

*********************************************************************************
Have you "liked" me on Facebook yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Get over there!
Are you following My {Not So} Glamorous Life via Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin'? Don't miss any of the fun! All you have to do is click "follow" on that button over there on the sidebar. Or Follow my blog with Bloglovin. Just click here!! C'mon, you know you wanna!
I can also be found on Twitter under the handle @MyNotSoGlamLife  

Four Generations of Pumpkin Carving & LOVELY SPONSORS!

Hello friends! I hope that this day finds you well. Can you believe that tomorrow is Halloween already?
I'd like to start this post by mentioning that my prayers are with all of the people who are on the East Coast right now, and being affected by Hurricane Sandy. This is such a scary thing...
Now, moving on from that note, I'm excited to be hosting today my 5th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party. This is a fabulous little gathering that I host at my home ever year, where FOUR GENERATIONS of pumpkin carvers join together for a hot bowl of chili, some treats and desserts, and some pumpkin fun! One of my favorite days of the year, for sure! Last year the party was pretty much a dud, because my sister and her kids were sick, and my mom was undergoing cancer treatments. I'm hoping to make up for it this year!

Here's a photo of our 2009 party that shows four generations. Can you tell why I love this party so much?

Ok, now that I gave my party some honorable mention, I want to share with you today my lovely sponsors for the month of October.

I'm very happy to have Leslie from Violet Imperfection on my sidebar this month. Have you seen her blog yet? Oh, my! She has got some seriously cute crafts and projects on there. AND she co-hosts a great weekly link up called Raising Imperfection, check it out and link up!

So, what are you waiting for?! If you're not following Violet Imperfection yet, you are missing out! Go!

Find her on Pinterest ~~Find her on Twitter ~~Find her on Facebook

My next lovely sponsor is Laura from Storybook Reality. Laura has a sweet blog that chronicles her life as a wife and mother of two. Being a mom isn't always straight from the pages of a fairy tale, but she's making her own Storybook Reality out of it! If you're hungry for food, funny or family, then go pay Laura a visit!

Find her on Pinterest ~~ Find her on Twitter ~~ Find her on Facebook

Now I'm off to get the kids off to school, spend a few hours working in a preschool classroom, and then home to carve some pumpkins! Have a lovely day my friends!

*********************************************************************************
Have you "liked" me on Facebook yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Get over there!
Are you following My {Not So} Glamorous Life via Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin'? Don't miss any of the fun! All you have to do is click "follow" on that button over there on the sidebar. Or Follow my blog with Bloglovin. Just click here!! C'mon, you know you wanna!
I can also be found on Twitter under the handle @MyNotSoGlamLife  

100+ GFC Followers. Let's Celebrate!!

I am so excited that over the weekend my little bloggy reached and surpassed 100 followers via GFC (Google Friend Connect)!! This is quite a milestone for me!
To celebrate with us, Amanda from [amanda catherine] designs has offered to share a promotion code to my readers!

Amanda's art is already beautiful AND affordable, and now you can get it at 15% off by entering the code GLAMOROUS15 when you check out!! How sweet is she?
As if that's not enough, [amanda catherine] designs is a proud partner of Love146, an organization dedicated to end child sex slavery and exploitation. Proceeds from every purchase made will go to fund Love146 and the meaningful work they do.
Now the hard part is going to be deciding which print(s) to order!!
Which one do you love best?

(images were used with permission from the shop owner)
*********************************************************************************
Have you "liked" me on Facebook yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Get over there!
Are you following My {Not So} Glamorous Life via Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin'? Don't miss any of the fun! All you have to do is click "follow" on that button over there on the sidebar. Or Follow my blog with Bloglovin. Just click here!! C'mon, you know you wanna!
I can also be found on Twitter under the handle @MyNotSoGlamLife