The Reason for the Season

So, if you aren't aware of it... December 25th, was actually a Pagan holiday once upon a time.  It was a horrible "celebration" for the Roman pagans called Saturnalia.  This was a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17 & the 25.  During this week, the Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the week long celebration.  Makes me think of the movie recently released in theaters called THE PURGE.  

In an attempt to convert masses of pagans into Christians, early Christian leaders "hijacked the holiday" and named the 25th, to be Jesus' birthday.  This allowed them to "change" the way this celebration took place.  It took a long time, but eventually the Christian population was able to CONVERT this from a pagan holiday into a mainstream worldwide holiday. Christmas trees were originally pagan traditions as well.  Pagans worshiped trees in the forest, and brought them into their homes and decorated them.  Once painted with a coat of Christianity... it become a Christmas tradition.  Even kissing under mistletoe is a "Christian veneer" twist on a Pagan tradition. The point of this little piece of knowledge, is that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, even though he wasn't born December 25th.
I am completely fine with celebrating Jesus in an attempt to keep anyone and everyone from participating and witnessing the horror that was the Pagan holiday of Saturnalia.  BUT... I think that a lot of people USE Christmas for a reason that feels pretty down right Pagan.
STICK WITH ME...
I am not Jewish, therefore I have never celebrated Hanukkah.  I wasn't given a Bat Mitzvah when I turned 13, and I do not fast on Yom Kippur.   Why would I celebrate holidays that are associated with a religion that I am not associated with??
I feel the same way about Christmas.  Christmas has become a stressful time when people put themselves into hundreds and thousands of dollars in debt to give people presents that will appease our greedy human nature.  Hard to come by toys, and exclusive electronics are sold out in stores all over the country.  Stocking are stuffed with junk that no one really needed, and already fortunate people who have more than enough, wake up to find a mountain of presents from a make believe man.
This is NOT the reason for the season.  We are supposed to be celebrating the birth of Christ.  It feels as though Christmas has been hijacked from the Christian faith, just as we hijacked it from the Pagans.  People who I know as atheists, celebrate the same holiday as I do.  The tree is in their house, the presents are everywhere, and there is no Jesus.  I go to the store and following my checkout, I am wished "Happy Holidays", because wishing someone a "Merry Christmas" could be politically incorrect or socially inappropriate.  Things have changed so much since I was a little girl, and I hate to see this change continuing.

In our house, we have a few traditions that we adhere to in order to keep the celebration about Jesus, and the gift receiving an added bonus.

1)  Stockings might have small gifts in them, but NO FILLER will be added, because breakfast goodies are the focus of the stocking gifts.  I don't need sugar highs mixed in with the chaos of Christmas morning!

2)  Santa only brings 3 presents to each of our children.  We lay out a Santa Bag on Christmas Eve for each child, and Santa puts 3 presents inside.  If the gift doesn't fit in the bag, it didn't come from Santa.  The story says that the Wise Men brought 3 gifts to Jesus, and I like the way this helps me tie Jesus back into the gift giving situation.  I didn't even take the kids to see Santa this year.  I am hating that I don't have a cute picture of my kids sitting on his lap to frame, but I also don't care!  I will take a bunch of pictures on Christmas Day. And this only encourages the idea of something that we are lying about anyway.

3)  Reading the Christmas story on Christmas Eve will ALWAYS happen.  The tradition in my house growing up was new pajamas and a family evening on the couch watching a movie.  Since my husband owns a restaurant, we don't get a family evening.  I also love the kids to wear their Christmas pajamas all month, so our "elf" brings them early in December.  We read the story of Jesus' birth, and we play with the nativity scene.  We will bake cookies tomorrow, so that we have a fun "birthday" treat to celebrate with too.  He is the reason we celebrate, and this is where our focus will stay.

5)  Family time is vital.  We travel on Thanksgiving, but we refuse to travel on Christmas.  This was a rule that my husband and I established when Abbie was born.  We decided that it was important to have our children at home and for us to spend time together.  It also makes it much easier for us to do the traditions we love.  We make sure that we are able to host any family that wants to visit.

4)  Helping those in need is very important to us.  We always participate in Operation Christmas Child, and this year we will be hosting a couple of Marines who will not be able to go home for Christmas!  It is our responsibility to share the love of Christ with those who need it most.

Traditions are different for all families, and I don't think less of anyone because they don't adhere to the one's that we have!  It is hard for our family to do tons of Christmas, because our children have birthdays in January, and in February.  We realized that we could "spoil" our kids when we celebrate their own birthday, and we can make Christmas presents minimal & keep the focus on what matters most.
My kids still get gifts on Christmas morning, and you can call me a hypocrite if that makes you feel better.  I am a bit of a contradiction, but I do enjoy seeing my children's excitement on Christmas morning.  The magic of Christmas is such a sweet experience for parents of small children & I wouldn't want to miss that!
I hope that each person who reads this blog, has a wonderful and merry Christmas.  Enjoy the time with your families, friends, and loved ones.  Make your New Years Resolutions to pay off December's credit card bill, and have a wonderful 2015!!!

Ricotta & Pear Toast

Another deliciously new healthy breakfast option!

I am really trying to branch out and stop eating the SAME thing over and over again just because I know it is a healthy choice.  I found this pin on Pinterest with 21 crazy interesting ideas to liven up your toast!  I decided to give this one a try & I really enjoyed it!

Whole Wheat Nature's Own Bread, toasted.
Spread Ricotta Cheese spread on after toasting.
Drizzle Honey all over & top with pear slices.

I enjoyed this with a small serving of Stonyfield Strawberry yogurt topped with Bear Naked Triple Berry granola, which I am addicted too!  The icing on today's "breakfast cake" was the Dunkin' Donuts Caramel Coffee Cake coffee that I enjoyed with White Chocolate Raspberry creamer.  :).
Happy Monday to you all!

Avocado Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime CauliRice

This recipe is fresh, delicious, and very healthy!

You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients
2 Cups of Shredded Chicken
2 Medium Avocados (Diced)
1/4 Cup Green Onions (Optional)
1/2 Cup Cilantro (Chopped Finely)
2 Tblspn Mayo
1 Lime
White Cauliflower

 - Shred chicken... this is much easier to do immediately after it is cooked.  Just throw it into your mixer, and in 30 secs you will have shredded chicken!  I went grocery shopping today however, so cooking chicken for tonight's meal wasn't really an option.  I used a can of chicken instead.  When I use canned chicken, I use the Valley Fresh Organic Chicken Breast in Water.

 - Dice up Avocados and add to a bowl with chopped Cilantro.   Add shredded chicken (green onions, if you used them), and mayo.  I always use the Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil.  You could however substitute with plain Greek Yogurt if Mayo is just not your favorite!  Squeeze 1/2 of the lime over this and stir, until mix consistency is chicken salad.  I also added some ground pepper while stirring.

 - In a food processor, add cauliflower florets, and top with cilantro.  Squeeze the other 1/2 of the lime over everything, and blend until mix is the consistency of rice.

 - Serve rice in the bottom of the bowl, and top with chicken salad.
 - I added 2 spoons of Garbanzo Beans to have a bit more "substance", but I actually prefer to eat this on Triscuit Thin Crisps crackers!  It is so delicious!
 - I also used Tony Chachere's MORE SPICE seasoning on top.  I use that on just about everything!!!
ENJOY!

Life So Sweet

I have been a mom for almost 5 years now.  I am far from perfect, and I often fall flat on my face while attempting to be good at my job.  This Christmas season has been hectic so far, as usual.  I was very proud to have my Christmas cards mailed out before Thanksgiving, but we still haven't made it to see Santa yet! We haven't baked a single Christmas treat, our Elf on the Shelf hasn't moved since she arrived, and we haven't read anything from the Bible about the birth of Jesus!  I could sit and beat myself up about the fact that I am not over achieving this year, or I could pat myself on the back for attempting to live in the moment.

I like to give my New Years Resolutions a test run in December!  If it is something I feel I can stick with and will benefit our family, I will openly profess my resolution, and hope that others hold me accountable.  If it is not a reality, than no one is the wiser, and I have the option of naming a much easier resolution as my goal for the new year!
This December, I am finding that my resolution attempt sounded like a MUCH bigger task than it really is.  I am finding that it is much easier to stick with this goal than I expected.  For 2015, I am keeping my resolution simple.  I WANT TO ENJOY THIS SWEET LIFE OF MINE.  That is right... the suspense must have been killing you!
It is funny how something as simple as enjoying life, can really sound completely overwhelming.
Let me Explain
I am a type A, crazy OCD, intensely high strung and high stressed individual.  I am constantly pushing myself past my abilities, and running my self sick trying to be a part of all of my commitments.  I have never been good at saying NO, and I still work hard at doing that now.
I enjoy planning of all kinds (calendars, meals, events), organizing, home schooling, scrapbooking, sewing, crafting, running my business, reading, watching junk tv, sleeping, working out, eating healthy, writing, shopping, dancing, gymnastics, working with my special needs son, date nights with my hubby, small group, girls nights out... and the list goes on and on!
It is really hard to find time for everything I enjoy when you jam the month with Christmas parties, decorating, Santa pictures, baking, Tacky Lights Tours, and Live Nativities!

I am learning that this life is blowing by far too quickly for me to waste another minute stressing out.
Ladies, have you ever experienced one of those days, where you are constantly picking up a bra strap that has slid off of your shoulder?  You do this for several weeks, and then it finally hits you... TIGHTEN THE STRAPS.  The minute you fix the straps, you are so relieved that they no longer fall down all day.  The answer and fix was so simple, yet... it took us too many days of frustration to figure out that tightening the straps would fix it all!
My resolution is to tighten my bra straps!  This means NOT over scheduling myself.  This means NOT over committing to events.  This means NOT leaving the house at the very last minute possible.  This means NOT taking the insult from someone I love, personally.
This means SPENDING TIME with those I love and treasure most.  God, my husband, my children, and my family and friends.  This means spending less time on Facebook, and more time in the MOMENT.  This means smiling more, and frowning less.  This means LIFE IS SO SWEET, so enjoy every second.

I wish the very best Christmas to you all, and may your new year bring lots of wonderful memories that you truly cherish and ENJOY!