OK, so I'm trying to kick the sugar addiction too, so my Rocky Road Fudge recipe is NOT intended to be made and eaten immediately. (Unless you cave in to the temptation and do so)

It can't hurt to look at the delicious-ness and drool over the load of sweet stuff in the photos, can it? 

I hope my post here isn't tempting anyone. 

If so, I'm sorry.  That's not my intention. :)

This recipe was made by my Mom when we were growing up and it's a family favorite.  I made some batches of it over Christmas, along with the pretzel treats and "Bua" bark, to give to neighbors, family and friends.  It's always a hit and a little bite goes a long way!  (It's rich in taste and maybe some calories too!) ;-)


So just save the recipe for later by pinning it or printing it.   Or come back to my blog and get the recipe again and maybe the second go around you will be able to drool and make it at the same time! :)    This is super simple and so, so sweeeet and so, so yummy!


Ingredients:
12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 oz. package Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 TBSP butter
2 cups dry roasted salted peanuts
10 oz. package miniature marshmallows

1. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chips with sweetened condensed milk and butter
2. Remove from heat
3. In large bowl, combine nuts and marshmallows
4. Fold in chocolate mixture
5. Spread in wax paper/Press-N-Seal lined 13 X 9 in. pan
6. Chill 2 hr. until firm
7. Remove from pan and peel off wax paper/Press-N-Seal
8. Cut into squares
9. Cover and store in fridge. 

Enjoy!


I'm linking this post to Try a New Recipe Tuesday at Home to 4 Kiddos

WOW, what a crazy week it's been!  We had some festivities and fever over Christmas, but man oh man, this fever stuff is like the Energizer bunny...it keeps going and going and going (through most of the members in our family of 7!)

While our family deals with fever and coughs and sleepless nights, we've been mostly focused on trying to get better during this Christmas season.

We didn't get to go to Mass as a family (only my husband and son were well enough to attend) on January 1 for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, which is a bummer because I always love going to Mass together on the first day of the new year to honor Our Blessed Mother and start the year off right, but as mentioned, sickness took over our household.

But, I'm trying to start the new year off on the right foot by focusing more on the blessings and being jolly, even when life throws us for a loop.  So that got me thinking about creating a new tradition for 2015 for our family...



Each family member jots down some things that made them "jolly" or happy during the day in 2015 and each night at dinner they put their jolly notes in the jar.  The jar is so simple to make, but thinking of the positive moments in my days is not always so simple for me.

Confession time:  I will be the first one to admit that as a homeschool mom, I need this Jolly Jar tradition to help me from getting so discouraged during the busy and challenging days. So I created this idea for my family, but also to hold me accountable to try to focus on the happy moments vs.  being down in the dumps when life gets challenging.

So I thought I would put this Jolly Jar idea to the test and blog 7 reasons I've been jolly over this Christmas break even when tending to sick ones 24/7.

Before our 17 month old got sick, we were able to go outside and enjoy the beautiful, warm December weather.  She loved her wagon ride and pulling the wagon herself.

It's that time of year again where we look back on the year and ponder and reflect about the fun memories, blessings and maybe tears too!

It was so fun last year to post Blog in a Blink: Best 13 of '13 and My "Most" Posts of 2013 that I thought I would post something similar looking back at my 2014 posts.

Here I list my favorite posts in each month of 2014 and jot down why each post was my favorite.   Maybe they are your favorites too!


January 2014
My favorite post was What I Like/Don't Like About Homeschooling published on 1/24/14 

Why was this my favorite January post? This post was my attempt to put into words what I struggle with daily as a homeschool mom.  I loved that I could use my blog as a platform to  hopefully inspire others on their homeschool journey or maybe even their parenthood journey.  

February 2014 
My favorite post was Ash Wednesday, Lenten Traditions, and Link-Up All in 7 Quick Takes published on 2/28/14

Why was this my favorite February post? I enjoyed linking up our Lenten traditions that prepare our hearts for Easter in tangible ways for our family and it gave me a chance to peek into how others prepare for Easter through their Lenten traditions.

March 2014  
My favorite post was "Couch Catechism" Family Devotions published on 3/13/14
 

Why was this my favorite March post?  As a homeschool mom, I feel like I have to work on consistency in alot of areas!  But, one thing that we do manage to do consistently each morning is have our "couch catechism" prayer time before our homeschool day.  I enjoyed blogging what this time looks like and what resources we use.    

April 2014   
My favorite post was A Symbolic Lunch for Good Friday published on 4/18/14
 

Why was this my favorite April post?  I remember this Good Friday afternoon with my family as being very relaxing and fun (even though we were remembering a somber Good Friday).  Relaxing is not necessarily a word I use to describe all our family's afternoons, but this was the case during this one and my husband was able to eat with us before Good Friday service. 

May 2014  
My favorite post was Our Goddaughter's First Holy Communion Mass published on 5/20/14
 

Why was this my favorite May post?  It is such a joy and blessing that our Goddaughter lives locally so that we can celebrate her sacraments with her.  It seems like yesterday she was an infant and we were at her baptism.  It was so fun to document her special First Communion day by writing the post. 

June 2014  
My favorite post was 10 Things I Learned Going to Disney with My Family of 7 published on 6/3/14
Why was this my favorite June post?  Going to Disney for the first time as a family at the end of May/beginning of June was definitely a highlight of 2014.  This post was my favorite because it was the beginning of a series of posts that I wrote about our fun and memorable week!   

July 2014  
My favorite post was 17 Years Ago We Said "I Do" and 17 Wedding Mementos in our Home published on 7/12/14


Why was this my favorite July post?  I always love when July rolls around each year since it's the month my husband and I wed.  This post was fun to write because I documented all the wedding "stuff" that is around our house to remember our special day!  

August 2014  
My favorite post was 2014-2015 Homeschool Classroom and Curriculum published on 8/10/14
 
Why was this my favorite August post?  I enjoy looking at others' learning spaces and I like sharing where and how we homeschool.  I look at this post to motivate me to get cleaning again because our learning space rarely stays this clean!    

September 2014
My favorite post was Family Photo Shoot of our Blessed Beach Week published on 9/29/14


Why was this my favorite September post?  This was such a special week with my family, parents, and my siblings and their families.  It was so fun to blog about some of the highlights of our family reunion that doesn't happen very often.    

October 2014
My favorite post was FirePit Party Cake and Cupcakes published on 10/26/14 


Why was this my favorite October post?  It's always fun to try to create fun themed birthday cakes for my Cupcakes (as time and energy allows!)  This was a fun and fairly easy cake to make and it was fun to celebrate our son's 13th birthday this way!   

November 2014  
My favorite post was Family Fun Bucket for Christmas {Free Printables} published on 11/13/14
 

Why was this my favorite November post? The Family Fun Bucket is one of our family's favorite Advent/Christmas traditions so it was a pleasure to share this on my blog and it was also my first post in which I was able to successfully make free printables for my readers! Yay!  I also enjoyed being a guest blogger with this post.    

December 2014
My favorite post was Why Celebrating Christmas as a Season Makes Sense published on 12/30/14
 

Why was this my favorite December post?  I've been pondering a lot lately of why celebrating Christmas as a season vs. just one day makes sense.  This post was my humble attempt to try to explain why Christmas decorations in our home are still up well past Christmas Day. 

So there you have it, my 12 favorite posts from 2014!  Were any of these your favorite?  

If this is your first visit (and hopefully not your last) to my blog or you are a regular visitor, thank you for stopping by my corner of blog land!  I love savoring and sharing my faith, family and homeschooling journey with anyone willing to listen, say thank you for your visits, comments and emails!  

 
May you have a blessed and happy New Year and a wonderful 2015! 


 

 

So after the festivities and fun (and sometimes fever) surrounding Christmas Day, what's next?  Does Christmas end on December 25, after all it's been celebrated since before Thanksgiving for many families and stores?  According to the radio channels, Christmas must be over since there are no more carols being heard and stores no longer play the cheerful tunes. (And my family misses hearing the carols AFTER Christmas Day!) Now stores are rushing to set up for the next holiday, Saint Valentine's Day. 

All families have their Christmas traditions and have good reasons for them.  So if you have already packed up the decorations and thrown your tree to the curb, that's fine, but I invite you to keep reading.  I hope what I say here may give you greater insight on why you may see others keeping Christmas decorations set up and lit up well past Christmas Day.  I've been pondering a lot lately of why celebrating Christmas as a season vs. just one day makes sense.
 
 
Lacy at Catholic Icing has a great post about thinking about Advent (preparation before Christmas) as a time of nesting to prepare our hearts and homes for Jesus.   I loved her analogies and examples in the post of how preparing for the birth of Baby Jesus is similar to nesting for a baby.

After I read Lacy's post and have seen and heard how others take down decorations soon after Christmas Day, you could say I had an epiphany myself: celebrating Christmas as a season is very much like celebrating the birth of child for a family.

But how you may ask?

* Each year on Christmas Day, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus / Each year on a baby's birthday families celebrate the birth of their child.

* We greet others with "Merry Christmas!" past Christmas Day to join in the celebration of our newborn King / We tell families "Congratulations" past their baby's birth date to join in the celebration of their newborn.  

* The 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days after Christmas Day, which is a time of rejoicing and celebrating about Jesus' birth / the days/weeks following the birth of child into a family is certainly a time of rejoicing, celebrating and welcoming the new child into this world. 

* Christmas lights and decorations stay lit and up several days past Christmas Day since we celebrate a season and not just a day / parents' homes are decorated with "Welcome Home" signs, balloons, flowers and beautiful nurseries not just on the baby's birth day, but for many days following the joyous birth.

*Christmas cards are still being sent and delivered past December 25 (because rejoicing about Jesus' birth lasts beyond Christmas Day)  / Family and friends send cards of congratulations to the family (because rejoicing about a baby's birth lasts beyond the baby's birth day)  

* 12 days after Christmas Day is the Epiphany, where the 3 Wise Men bring gifts to Baby Jesus / friends and family bring gifts to a new baby 12 minutes, 12 hours, 12 days, and maybe even 12 weeks after a baby is born.  

* On Sunday, December 28 in the Catholic liturgical calendar, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family and the Holy Family had its challenges, difficulties, tense moments and opportunities for misunderstandings. / When a baby is born into their loving family, there is much celebrating and feasting, yet at the same time a baby comes into a family that has plenty of trials and triumphs too!   

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  Did you know that Christmas has just begun? But, sadly our radio stations have stopped playing the Christmas songs and people are slowly taking down their decorations. :(   But, the Christmas season lasts at least 12 days from Christmas Day to the Epiphany.  Our Wandering Wise Men continue their journey until the Epiphany so keep saying "Merry Christmas!" because this is a joyous season and not just one day! 


The song "The 12 Days of Christmas" is widely known and to be full of great meaning.  I enjoyed reading this post that has new words to the song that has the tenets of our Catholic faith. 


If you are looking for fun books to go along with the 12 days of Christmas theme and that teach geography of the United States, be sure to visit my post HERE.

And if you are looking for great ways to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas go check out my friend, Tara's, post HERE at Blessings in Brelinskyville.  She lists 12 strategies for making the most of the 12 Days of Christmas.

So how did our family celebrate Christmas 2014?  (in case you cared to know)  It started out with fun festivities, but then things changed with a not so fun fever for my 7 year old daughter :(

First, the fun!

Our children added on one more handprint for 2014 to our Handy Tree Skirt. We first started making this tree skirt in 2008 and each child puts one handprint on it each Christmas to make a decorative and meaningful tree skirt.  Most of our children like having paint on their hands.  Our 16 month old wasn't one of them :( 
Then Christmas Eve came and my 7 year old daughter had a fever that day and the day prior so this is where the no fun part comes in.  Our family couldn't attend Christmas Eve Mass at 4:00 PM together :( My husband (who wasn't feeling well either) stayed home with the baby and our sick daughter, while I went to Mass with my older 3 children.  Our girls sang in the choir (and my daughter who was sick was disappointed she couldn't sing).  Then after Mass we went to my in-laws house while my husband and my sick daughter stayed home.  It's always no fun when there are sick children during Christmas, but I kept telling myself it's really no big deal compared to how much sorrow people experience during this holiday.