Hustle and Bustle of Christmas Eve

My frozen roll dough is thawing on the stove. All the fixins for my egg casserole for Christmas morning brunch and the chicken tortilla soup for Christmas Eve at the in-laws are sitting on the countertop. Shawn is vacuuming. The boys are helping clean up the downstairs. I've already been to Hy-Vee for groceries and surprise doughnuts for my helpers. All the presents are wrapped. The cats' stockings are filled. Buddy the Elf on the Shelf is about to be retired for the year.

It's Christmas Eve on Arthur Avenue!

Already had a great chat with Aunt Cindy this morning as I filled my cart at the grocery store. Talked to Mom on my way out. Dropped my last few dollar bills in the Salvation Army bucket and talked to the woman who was ringing the bell. She was in a wheelchair and had some special needs and I was so impressed that she was out and about early in the morning with a big smile on her face to help others. I love those buckets. Such a simple, easy way to make you feel good about your day.

OK, sneak peek at some of today's recipes:

I fell in love with these Flower Petal rolls the moment I saw them! Perhaps not Christmasy, but they look delicious and are really very simple to make. At least I hope so!

Bacon and hashbrown egg bake -- yum, yum, yum. Mixing it up today so it will be ready to pop in the oven tomorrow morning.

And tonight's Chicken Tortilla Soup for Christmas with Shawn's family. Super simple recipe. Light, savory and dairy-free.

Well time to get back at it! Love and hugs to all of you! And a shout out to dear Jane in Door County for YOUR wonderful gifts that arrived yesterday! The boys are being such good helpers because I bribed them with your presents!! They will get to open them once the downstairs is ready for Santa tonight!

Miss you all and hope you have a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL Christmas this weekend!!!

11:51 a.m. update:
The boys LOVE their gifts from Jane!! Holy cow, this woman is good. She hasn't seen either of them in nearly 2 years but she picked gifts that are totally up each boy's alley. Bo opened a super cool Melissa & Doug wooden recycling truck that he has been driving around for the last 30 minutes. He is our recycler in the house so he recognized the truck right away! And Mazy got a really cool Melissa & Doug (one of my all-time favorite kid brands) make-it-artwork kit with tons of bling and dinosaurs!! Seriously, he loves it and it will keep him busy for a couple hours at least. He already picked a spot on his bedroom wall where he wants to hang it. Thank you, Jane!!! You're so sweet to think of us. Love you!

The boys helped us clean for two hours! Way to go, guys! Now you can open your gifts from Jane!

 This is so cool -- the little stickers under his hand are shiny jewels, a favorite of Mazy's! You place them on the wooden frame and it will eventually make a really cool dinosaur picture!

And Bo's new recycling truck!! If you ever need great gift ideas for boys or girls, look for Melissa & Doug brand! They make the coolest, most durable wooden toys. We have lots of their puzzles, which the boys have both loved as well.