here are a few of my favorite things-

Here is a list of my Top 3 favorite items purchases in 2010!
okay, so I don't have pictures of my top three picks of household items, so I'll try to explain them to the best of my ability! =)

#1 - Steam Mop!

I purchased my Shark steam mop at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon. I love my Shark and I would highly recommend it to those who are looking to clean their floors w/out harsh chemicals and the bonus is the mop is so easy to use! The cloths are machine washable, you just fill the mop with water, plug it in, and wallah clean floors!

#2 -Snow Feet mat by Aqua Pruff.

This item is a must have for those who live in a cold climate location with children and husbands. Actually, this product is a must have for anyone, you definitely don't have to live in a cold climate or have children. We live in the South and last year it snowed and snowed. My living room floor was covered with unattractive towels trying to keep the water off my beautiful hard wood floors. This year it's already snowed once and I'm thinking we'll have another harsh winter so it's a SNOW FEET mat for us. It looks great and the kids know to put their boots on it and wallah my hard woods stay dry. The mat is also dryer safe, so when it's wet you just throw it in the dryer for a few minutes and out it comes ready for another round of wet boots. I purchases mine at a boutique for $5!!!! What a steal! I'm sure they can be purchased online.

#3- Flameless Candles.

Okay this is the very best invention if you have children or pets. I usually only light candles in the kitchen away from little hands. But now, I can have candles all over my house that look (and smell) great. The set I have actually has timers! YES, can you believe that!? They go on at 5pm everyday and go off after 4 hrs...you can't beat that! How fun to walk into my living room when it's getting dark and wallah all my candles come on. Just like magic, brings a smile to my face every time. I got mine at Krogers...can you believe that, I found them in a food store? A set of 3 vanilla scented flameless candles for less then $15!! WOW, what a deal, I've been searching for these candles and this was the best price I found.

I really enjoyed thinking of my favorite purchases from 2010. And I'm looking forward to see what great things I find in 2011! (do you like how I was able to add wallah in each write up?)
What were some of your favorite things from this past year?

the most wonderful time of the year

Christmas has come to our house! The kids were so excited to put the tree up and decorate it. It seems that there is a recurring theme in other blogs this year which is "less is more". Well we've jumped on the band wagon. With classes not ending till mid Dec I felt that decorating the whole house was way to much work. So I had the hubs grab all the red and green bins from the attic and I went to town...or through the bins. I left out a lot this year and only decorated the living room/dining room area of the house. Which means I only used 2 bins worth of decorations and one tree got left in the attic. I thought I would miss all the extra decorations, but I don't. It seems that less really is more! Who woulda thought!?

*the only thing I do miss and lament about all the time is my whole Willow Tree nativity and creche. With rearranging my furniture I just don't have the table space for it. So we only have out Mary, Joseph and "the reason for our season" Baby Jesus.  Next year the whole thing will return, even if that means I need to buy a new piece of furniture for it!

Life

My days are full of loving my kids and tending to my home. Trying to teach them even when they aren't in the mood to learn keeps me very busy.  (All you moms know what that's like) I have never ending piles of laundry, a house that's never clean and dinner that needs to be cooked.  Wait- did I say I was a stay-at-home-mom or a housekeeper and short order cook? Hhmmmm. Anyway, through all the craziness I try to find joy in the little things, like a daughter playing with her baby brother or a son pretending to be a basketball player (in the house!).  I know I only get this one life to live and I only get one chance to raise my kids to love Jesus and each other, so I'm doing my best and hoping the laundry folds itself!
P.S. While trying to find a picture to add with this post I came across tons of pictures that I didn't take..oops...guess a 4 year old got hold of the camera!