Catching up from the weekend? Here are some things you may have missed…

• an updated belly picture
• super cute M’s first visit to Santa
• a fabulous day including cooking, Christmas lights, and finding out I’m in January’s issue of Fitness magazine!

Without a doubt this year has been the best Christmas. I think viewing the excitement of the season through a child’s eyes adds a whole new level to my holiday spirit. I have loved every moment of attending little events like we did this weekend.

Yesterday, at church, our pastor discussed how sometimes we may resent the holiday season for various reasons (resentment, guilt, grief, stress, awkwardness, anger, etc). I know I have felt resentment, stress, and anger with the holidays. That was when Christmas was all about needing things to appear perfect with gifts, family, how I felt about myself, etc. I would always end up distressed because in reality things were not perfect. Now, I focus on enjoying things with family and friends, as well as thanking God for what the season truly brings. The other stuff? It falls into place. Plus, nights like we had last night are way more special when you aren’t tabulating gift lists in your head.

We visited Stone Mountain Park for their Christmas celebration.

It’s the one we drove out to last weekend only to find it cancelled because of our “wintery weather”? Well, last night made up for that annoyance. It was certainly worth it and I foresee it becoming another annual tradition with our family.

Upon arriving, we had a little bit of time to kill before the main events like a parade & Santa. What to do? Venture around a glass-blowing shop. I love these glass-blowing places. They seriously look like little pieces of art.

We also stopped at a gingerbread house to hear some tales from Mrs. Claus.

M was not amused. Mrs. Claus was pretty boring. Makenzie kept asking “Parade? Parade? Santa? Parade?” So that’s where we headed. To stake out our spot. At the perfect time too. We picked a spot right down in front for the parade.

And after the parade finished, we were able to turn around and hop right in line for a very good spot to wait to see Santa. Once again, Makenzie oohed and awed over the old dude.

Then, it was time to eat! A pretty pitiful sandwich and kettle cooked chips…which I thought I had taken a picture, but I guess not. Oh well. It was not pretty food.

Following dinner, we finished up the night with a few shows.

A kiddie musical…

…the Polar Express 4-D experience…

…and a sing-along ride on the train, that stopped for a special message about Baby Jesus being the best gift of all. So glad they included that!!!

It was pretty funny because after the show, we were ready to head out and decided to skip the special “Snow Angel Appearance & Fireworks” part of the night. Until we walked right into it. There was a huge crowd we had to push through. I played the pregnancy card – grabbed my belly, made a face, and scrambled through the quickly parting crowds who didn’t want a woman’s water breaking on them. 😉 And amidst all of that we still got to see the “Snow Angel” fly right over our heads and catch the fireworks on our way out to the car.

That’s how it’s done! I would feel bad, but missing a ton of traffic and getting home to my warm bed kind of trumped that.

• Question of the day – Do you ever NOT enjoy this time of year? Why?

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!