Happy New Year!

Wishing

Everyone

A

Happy New Year!

May 2012 Bring

Many Blessings and Happiness.

Much Love,

XOXO

Instead of Resolutions

I'm a type of person who doesn't like

to make resolutions based on the fact

that I can't never keep them.

So, instead of resolutions,

here's what I want more

this new coming year:

MORE SLEEP

MORE MUSIC

MORE TEA

MORE BOOKS

MORE SUNSETS

MORE CREATING

MORE SEWING

MORE WALKS

MORE LAUGHS

MORE HUGS

MORE KISSES

MORE I LOVE YOUs

MORE DREAMS

MORE VACATIONS

MORE ROAD TRIPS

MORE FUN

MORE HAPPINESS

MORE BLESSINGS

MORE KINDNESS
MORE LOVE
MORE JOY
MORE TIME WITH FAMILY

MORE OF EVERYTHING THAT'S GOOD

MORE OF ABSOLUTELY,

POSITIVELY,

EVERYTHING!

How about you?
What do you want more of?

♥

My Year in Review (and Thank You)...

Blog
When I first began blogging I had
 no idea what I was doing.
It took a little while for me to finally find a
comfortable place and be happy with my posts,
I didn't know anything about blog hops or
even how to create a button.
I finally have some sense of what I want my blog to be.
I want it to be honest, sincere and interesting. After all,
I want you to read it and be inspired as well.

Readers

I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone

that has become a follower of the blog.

When I first started a barely had a follower,

to be completely honest - I had no followers!

Now, I can't believe that I have reached over 100.
I love reading comments from all of you,
 it always makes my day!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!


Family Life
I can't believe that 2011 is almost over!
All I can say is that it was truly a great year.
Filled with tons of laughter, memories, happiness
and surprises.
I'm looking forward to 2012 and what may bring,
I know it's going to be amazing.
Our family is going to start the New Year with
a bundle of joy, our baby boy should arrived
on the second week of January.
I'm so looking forward to exciting new experiences
for me and my family.
(you can also check this post I did in August: My Year So Far...)

To All
My God bless you and your New Year!
May it bring many happiness.
A Happy New Year to all.

♥

Christmas Recap

I had a fabulous Christmas eve

 and Christmas day, I hope you had it too.

I spend my Christmas eve doing most of

the cooking and preparing for the dinner

that we served at our home for family and friends.

I had fun dressing up Sophia with the cutest

dress and coat that my mom gave her for the

special occasion. My sister created a little personalized

video with a special message from Santa to Sophia using

the Portable North Pole. It was really cute!

Dinner was great, a beautiful evening filled family,

friends and plenty of laughter. The food was

delicious, dessert was even better and there was

plenty of boxes of chocolates. Yay!

Later in the evening, my husband decided

to play Santa and started handing out

gifts, but the gifts were practical jokes to

our friends. It was a fun time.

And this year, we decided to play secret Santa

with our family instead of buying gifts for everyone

and also it was our attempt trying to
keep a secret.

Sophia got to open some of her gifts before

going to bed. She got plenty of books and toys

to keep her busy for a while now, she loved the little

pink tea party set.

On Christmas day we really rested. We had the

opportunity to sleep in, had a late breakfast, ate

leftovers for lunch, enjoyed some TV and more

quality time with the family.

Later in the evening we attended the Christmas

service at our church. It was a very

blessed and peaceful Christmas.

I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas,

how about you?

♥ ♥ ♥



Merry Christmas!

                Source: flickr.com via Caroline on Pinterest

Wishing

Everyone

A

Happy, 

Jolly,

Blessed,

 Merry Christmas!

♥ ♥ ♥

Eclair Cake

I was looking for a quick and simple

dessert recipe for our Christmas Eve dinner.

I found this by Paula Deen and I thought it

would be nice to share with all of you

if you're still looking for a quick dessert

just like me. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Cake

1 (1-pound) box graham crackers

2 (3 1/4-ounce) boxes instant French vanilla pudding

3 1/2 cups milk

1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Frosting

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Butter the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan. Line with whole graham crackers. In bowl of an electric mixer, mix pudding with milk; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Pour half the pudding mixture over graham crackers. Place another layer of whole graham crackers on top of pudding layer. Pour over remaining half of pudding mixture and cover with another layer of graham crackers.

For frosting, blend together sugar and cocoa. Add butter and milk, mixing well. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Stir until creamy. Cover cake with frosting and refrigerate for 24 hours.

*tip*: I made this recipe this very morning to serve at dinner, the recipe says to refrigerate for 24 hours. To make sure the crackers don't get hard, I dipped them in milk while I was assembling the cake. Also, I added some chocolate sprinkles on top just to look extra pretty.

Our Christmas Portraits

On Tuesday we decided to take some

Christmas portraits for our Christmas cards.

Here's a sneak peek of just a few of my favorites.

Things didn't exactly ran as smoothly as I had

hoped. Sophia started fussing and wouldn't smile;

I started getting tired of sitting on floor with my

burgeoning belly but the few shots we got I think

 really looked great.

I decided to make them black & white just

to look more classic and uniform.

Take a look:

All the pictures were taken by my sister Carine.

True Meaning of Christmas

For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulders;

and his name shall be called Wonderful,

Counselor, The Mighty GOD, The Everlasting Father,

The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

This season remember the true meaning and
why we celebrate CHRISTmas.
Remember Jesus was the biggest present
given to all of us.

♥

Our Little Trip To See Santa

Yesterday, I took Sophia to take

her picture with Santa.

Let's just say that she wasn't thrilled

and wouldn't sit on Santa's lap.

In order for her to take the photo

I had to hold her but still she wouldn't even smile.

My only consolation is that she didn't cry at all.
I guess she had more fun playing with the kids
in the waiting line than with Santa.

Afterwards, we walked a little bit around in

the mall and she loves seeing people. She was

smiling and laughing at everyone that we passed by,

 it was really cute.

And as usual, I always buy a pretzel for her and she always

eats the whole thing!

Winner...My Memories Suite v3 Software Giveaway

And the winner is Latanya!

I'll send an email in the next couple

of days with all the information.

Congratulations and thanks for entering

the giveaway.

For anyone interesting in purchasing the

My Memories Suite v3,  here's a $10 off coupon!

Just use the my code: STMMMS78381 and save $10.



Oh, Christmas Tree

I just realized that I didn't post any pictures

of our Christmas tree. I love seeing post from

bloggers showing their trees and decorations,

I thought I would share mine as well.

We kept the decorations throughout the house

to a minimum and focused more on our tree.

The color scheme for our tree are gold and silver,

I think is quite simple but the overall look is great.

Take a look:

Our tree is in our dining room since our living room

doesn't have enough space for it.

I just love this Nativity set! It's so adorable.

The candle holders and deer are following in the same pattern

as our tree, gold and silver.

I just added a simple gold tree and candle to our coffee table.

I love nutcrackers, if it was up to me I would have a whole

collection but my husband thinks that's a bit too much.

But they're cute in my opinion!

Looking Forward To Christmas

(Sophia looking closely at the Christmas tree at Grandma's)

I'm so looking forward to Christmas.

This will be the first year that I get

to do stuff with Sophia since last year

she was just about 4 months old.

I'm looking forward to see her face expression

when I take her to see Santa.

I'm looking forward to making gingerbread

house with her.

I'm looking forward to Christmas morning and

let her open her presents.

I'm looking forward to see her play with the

wrapping paper and her new toys.

I'm looking forward  because I get to live

and experience these things with her and

that makes Christmas even more special to me.

* P.S.: Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Check it out! *

Giveaway: My Memories Suite v3 Software

My Memories is an award winning digital scrapbook software

that is extremely easy and fun to use. My Memories Suite is rated #1

by Amazon and TopTen Reviews. Anyone can

create digital scrapbooks, photobooks, cards, calendars and gifts

without having to buy expensive and complicated software programs.

I had the pleasure of receiving this great software,

the My Memories Suite v3. There's no mystery, it's super easy to use.
The program comes with premade pages where you can just add your pictures
and create your albums or pages for your scrapbooks.
If you prefer you can also make pages from scratch, just use your imagination.
Have some fun and create little movies too!

So, one lucky winner will receive My Memories Suite v3.
Here's how you enter to WIN:
(leave a separate comment for each item you complete)

1. Must visit My Memories site and leave a comment here telling me
which is your favorite item.
2. Must be a follower of Sweet Caroline through GFC.

for extra entries and more chances to win:

1. “Like” Sweet Caroline Page on Facebook .

2. Follow Sweet Caroline tweets.
3. "Like" My Memories Page on Facebook.
4. Follow My Memories tweets.

WINNER will be announced December 17th, 2011

Hello Monday!

Hello, Monday!

Hello to a busy week.

Hello to Christmas decorations.

Hello to Christmas movies.

Hello to Christmas shopping and hectic, chaotic and busy stores.

Hello to secret Santa, playing with the family this year.

Hello to my 36 weeks of being pregnant.

Hello to a new crib, new bedroom decoration and preparations.

Hello to baby book of names, still haven't decided what to name our baby boy!
Lord, please help me!

Hello to cozy and warm socks.

Hello to hot chocolate and tiny marshmallows.

Hello to another birthday.
I can't believe I'm turning 28 this year.

Hello to another blessed week to all!

I'm linking up this post at the Lisa Leonard blog for Hello Monday!
Be sure to check it out!

It's "OK" Thursday

 I'm linking up with Brunch with Amber and A Complete Waste of Makeup.   It's OK...

...that my Christmas tree and all the rest of the decorations are finally up. ...that I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet. ...that I love to watch Christmas movies during this time,even though I've seem them a bunch of times.I love Home Alone!  ...that I don't like Christmas songs as much as everybody else.Don't get me wrong, I like a couple of songs but not everything. ...that we finally bought the crib and the crib bedding set for our baby boy.We finally getting the bedroom ready. ...that I've to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes because mybladder is quite really, really tiny at this point in my pregnancy.  So, what are you ok with this Thursday?Love to hear from you!

My Winter Bucket List

I love making bucket lists and during Winter

I always have one.

Here's my list of things to do during this cold season:

1. Visit Santa.

2. Make a gingerbread house.

3. Decorate the Christmas tree as a family.

4. Watch favorite holiday movies.

5. Look at Christmas lights.

6. Decorate some sugar cookies or cupcakes.

7. Drink hot cocoa with marshmallows.

8. Make Christmas card with family photos.

9. Make cookies for Santa.

10. Enjoy plenty of time with the family.


(I love this picture! it's from last year when we were
doing our Christmas portraits for our cards. I love the
look on Sophia's face. Adorable!)

What's on your list?

Top 115 Parenting Blogs Award by eCollegeFinder

How exciting!

Sweet Caroline was selected as one of the winners

of Top 115 Parenting Blogs Award by eCollegeFinder!

The Top Parenting Blogs Award was created to provide

students with a collection of helpful and encouraging blogs from other parents.

My little blog stood out amongst stiff competition and is now featured

 on  their site as a recommended parenting resource for their readers.

Stop by their site and see the other winners as well.

Online Colleges

Mixbook Custom Flat Holiday Party Invitations (Review)

Every year, we celebrate Christmas as a family

and everyone comes to our home during Christmas Eve.

A lot goes into the preparation; cooking,

drinks, decorations and invitations.

I was fortunate enough to receive a fabulous package from Mixbook.

Mixbook is a leading photo products company that helps people create

custom photo books, cards, and calendars. Whether starting from scratch, or using one

of our thousands of professionally designed templates, every Mixbook product is

100% customizable.

Mixbook sent me custom 5x7 flat holiday party invitations, a set of 30 invitations.

Mixbook uses only the highest-quality, heavy-weight papers that are ethically

sourced from sustainable forests and certified by

the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance.

Take a look at the party invitations. I love them!

The invitations and envelopes came wrapped in plastic and

it arrived exactly three business days after I made the order.
If you have a chance stop by the following pages and check it out the products,

you won't regret it.

Mixbook Facebook page

Mixbook Twitter

Mixbook Christmas cards page

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Liebster Blog Award

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming

bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Liebster is a German word meaning 'dear, sweet, kind, nice, good,

beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome'.

My friend Kerry from It's the Little Things
was so kind as to pass this on to me.
Thank you, Kerry! I really appreciate you passing this award to me,
it means the world to me!

To keep this award going (by passing along to other new deserving blogs),
the recipent must now recognize five other bloggers with less than 200 followers
that have really stood out in the crowd.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Thank the person who gave the award and link back to their blog.

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know!

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog post.

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too! 

So, here are my choices to receive this award...
1. Sew Technicolor
2. Knitting Adventures
3. Brittany Dawn
4. Life as a Mrs.
5. Inspire Me, Beautiful

So, hop to see the blogs and the lovely people behind them!