I’m in love with yesterday. It was seriously such a good day! After the holiday brunch party, we came home and I had a little bit of time to relax and enjoy my Saturday. Only a little bit of time, though. I had to get in the kitchen.

Remember all of that Chobani I received? Well, I had to whip up a couple recipes to share on their site this upcoming week. I’m very pleased with my recipes. A dense, moist coffee cake and a chocolate peppermint mousse pie.

Don’t worry! I will share the link with these recipes once my post is featured on their blog for their “Featured Blogger” of the week.

During the madness in the kitchen I received some very exciting news. First, Sarah emailed me to let me know she had seen me in January’s issue of Fitness magazine. I didn’t have it on hand to look! Then, a little bit after that, Julie (who is also there!) sent out a tweet with a link to the same article online. I immediately clicked…then, of course found the magazine in the store later that night. Pretty surreal to see yourself in a magazine like Fitness. Exciting, too!

The day did not stop there, though. I continued on my happy high to dinner. For dinner, we met up with our friends at the Diner at Sugar Hill. This place was not a diner in the typical sense. They were a pretty nice joint with delicious food.

My friend Danielle & I decided to share 2 meals that sounded good – the turkey club and a chicken salad.

After seeing the meals we realized we should have just split one. We both ended up eating only the salad and a bite or two of the sandwich. Leftovers for lunch are never a bad thing, though. 😉

Once we finished dinner, we made the final stop on my exciting day – the Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier. Normally, this holiday tradition in the Atlanta area is way, way, way overpriced, but we scored a Groupon and when split between 2 families it was pretty reasonable. I’m glad we went because it was a fun evening together. Lots of pretty lights…(because Sponge Bob represents Christmas just as well as the nativity scene)…

…some s’mores roasting (despite it being too cold for the chocolate to melt) in the Santa village…

…watching our 2 little girls have some fun together…

…and hanging out with great company.

I don’t think you can beat that for a good evening. It was a great evening to such a good day!

Question of the day: Best part of your weekend? Go!

I know him! I know him!!!! SANTA!!!!!!!!

I love the movie Elf. By far my favorite holiday movie. And I think that scene is my absolute favorite part. That and when the taxi bumps him. Cracks me up every time.

Anyways, Makenzie got to visit Santa for the first time today. This morning we attended a holiday party with the Mom’s Club. I slept in again, then got little Miss M decked out in her holiday gear. How adorable is she?!!!

I can’t get over it, either. I also can’t get over how fantastic Teri’s Pumpkin Gingerbread tastes!!! It was a huge hit with everyone and with good reason.

I made sure to munch on some, along with fruit, a couple of donut holes, and an egg/ham/cheese casserole. I love breakfast food!

Once we all finished breakfast the excitement began. SANTA!!!! It’s quite humorous to watch the reactions of the kids. It’s like 50/50 of screams of joy and screams of terror. I didn’t know what to expect with Makenzie – would she cry out in fear or not want to leave his side?

Totally the latter. She LOVED Santa! She kept trying to sneak closer to him during story time or back in the line to see him again.

Then, when he passed out a present to all of the kids, she became a huge fan. I told Peter we’re in trouble because now she will expect a gift from every Santa we visit.

And little miss needs to grow a few inches before hugging Santa again. That first picture looks totally inappropriate!

I’m so thankful Peter agreed to the whole Santa thing. His family never did Santa, based on religious purposes, and I can completely understand the foundation of their decision. Christmas is not about a jolly guy in a red suit and getting lots of presents. However, the magic of Santa is so special for children. I remember the excitement of Santa and didn’t want Makenzie to miss out on it. Plus, I didn’t want her to be the kid who ruins it for the other ones.

We came to the conclusion that Santa will be a part of our Christmas traditions, but that he will also have a meaning. Santa likes to give out presents to all the children of the world because he likes to show love like Jesus and give to others. That is who Santa is in this house. He hopes for the children to show love to others too and be thankful for Jesus. We also include traditions to say “Happy Birthday Jesus” and more often talk about Jesus than Santa in this household. It’s important to me to have the meaning, but also to have the fun and magic. So, there you go. More than you likely cared to know about our stance on Santa.

• If you celebrated Santa, what is one of your best Santa memories? Or how long did you believe?
• What’s your favorite meal of the day? Breakfast, lunch, dinner?