Christmas Tree Waffles

We are less than 2 weeks away from Christmas. If you're struggling to get into the holiday spirit, these Christmas Tree Waffles will be just the thing to kick-start your day and bring some holiday cheer to your morning. 

Christmas Tree Waffles

Making holiday-themed food is always so fun for me. These Christmas Tree Waffles are a great breakfast to enjoy this Christmas season. These semi-homemade waffles are simple enough to make on school mornings or let the kids help make and decorate their Christmas Tree Waffles on the weekend.

The best part is that they are made with spinach (not food dye), so you get lots of good vitamins. They don’t taste like spinach either. My kids love them, and even request them!

I’ve made spinach waffles from scratch before, but these Bisquick spinach waffles are just as good, and much easier! I just follow the recipe on the back of the box of Bisquick for waffles, but add spinach and adjust the milk a little.

First, to incorporate the spinach into the waffles, mix the spinach and milk together in a blender until smooth.

Easy Christmas Tree Waffles with Spinach

• 2 cups original Bisquick mix
• 1 large container of fresh baby spinach – about 16 oz
• 1 1/2 cups milk + spinach blended (note: the original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup but I increased it just a little.)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg

Whisk together your ingredients until smooth.

Pour the waffle batter into your waffle maker and cook. I use this flip Belgian Waffle maker.

Then turn them into Christmas Tree Waffles by cutting apart your waffle triangles and arranging them into a tree shape on your plate in a tree shape.

Top with holiday M&M’s to look like ornaments and add a squirt of whipped cream at the top as a star!

Serve and enjoy! My kids love them with hot cocoa in cute Santa mugs!

To be extra fancy, try drizzling them with chocolate syrup or by adding sprinkles!

<iframe sandbox="allow-popups allow-scripts allow-modals allow-forms allow-same-origin" style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=kidkin-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B007T4IYBW&asins=B007T4IYBW&linkId=6653fcaacc024ea9eb9090efccbda81f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

Please Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and buy something we may receive small compensation and that helps us buy coffee and support our families. This is not a sponsored post. Thank you!

17 must-read books becoming movies in 2017

I'm an admitted book worm. Always have been. When I was a child I would stay up late after "lights out", reading by the light of my fish tank so my mom wouldn't catch me. I didn't read very much last year, but this year I vow to do better. I need to make time this year to escape into some good books.

Here are 17 must-read books that are becoming movies in 2017. I hope I can read some if not all of them before watching the movies.

1. Hidden Figures - Release date: Jan 6, 2017

The true story of black female mathematicians and their quiet, unsung achievements for NASA in the 1960's.

2. Fifty Shades Darker - Release date: Feb. 10, 2017

Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele deepen their  relationship in the the Fifty Shades of Grey sequel.

3. Before I Fall - Release date: Mar 3, 2017

Highschooler Samantha relieves the day of her death over and over to untangle mysteries of her life and death

4. The Zookeeper's Wife - Release date: March 31, 2017

Follow the story of the brave zookeepers who hide refugees in zoo during World War II.  Check out my other favorite WWII books.

5. Wonder - Release date: April 7, 2017

Auggie is born with a face deformity. Read through different perspectives as Auggie attends mainstream school for the first time. We are all rooting for Auggie through friendship, compassion and empathy.

6. The Lost City of Z - Release date: April 21, 2017

British explorer Percy gets lost searching for the fabled civilization in the Amazon.

7. The Circle - Release date: April 28, 2017

Mae takes a job at a powerful internet company. Suspense builds as she climbs the corporate ladder and questions start arising about power, democracy and privacy.

8. Everything, Everything - Release date: May 19, 2017

Teenage Maddy has a rare immunodeficiency disorder which makes her allergic to the outside world. When Olly, a boy, moves next door, Maddy falls in love and is willing to take a big risk.

9. My Cousin Rachel - Release date: July 14, 2017

A man named Philip inherits his cousin's fortune and estate after his mysterious death. His cousin's beautiful widow, Rachel may be guilty of killing his family.

10. The Dark Tower - Release date: July 28, 2017

A trilogy series in which a gunslinger searches a magical world for a dark tower to set the world right in a journey of good and evil.

11. The Mountain Between Us - Release date: Oct 20, 2017

During a storm, two strangers charter a plane together. The unthinkable happens and they crash into wilderness. They now have to learn to depend on each other to survive.

12. Let it Snow - Release date: Nov 2017

Three interconnected love stories for the holidays.

13. Murder on the Orient Express - Release date : Nov 22, 2017

A train is stopped on the tracks during a snowstorm. During the night a millionaire is murdered and the detective must figure out who the killer is.

14. Annihilation - Release date: TBD

Area X has seen it's share of explorers all which have had mysterious happenings. Follow the 12th expedition into this uncivilized terrain.

15. The House of Tomorrow - Release date: TBD

A coming of age tale of Sebastian who has been homeschooled by his eccentric grandmother. When he meets Jared, a rebel 16 year old. Sebastian has to decide which path he wants to take.

16. The Nightingale - Release date: TBD

The Nazi's have invaded France during WWII. The Nightingale tells the tale of 2 sisters fighting on either side of the war.  Check out my other favorite WWII novels.

17. Thank You For Your Service - Release date - TBD

A non-fiction book that follows the lives of soldiers who have come back from war. See what life is like for these heroes as they cope with PTSD, life back home and their most painful and intimate moments.

Back in 2012 I challenged myself to read 25 books and I ended up reading 30 books in 2012! You can also read my reviews of some of the books I read in 2013.

Have you read any of these books? Do you plan on seeing the movies this year?

This post may contain affiliate links. All opinions are our own.

Hello Again

Hello again!

To start off the new year, I'm jumping back into this blogging space. When we moved from Germany, this blog took a backseat in my busy life. But, I'm ready to revive it.

Stay tuned for a new post to see how much the kids have grown since my last post . I'll be back soon with new fun finds, more recipes, creative crafts and of course some stateside travel posts!

Until then, happy new year everyone!

Seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland

February 16-20 we took a trip with our friends Michelle, Glenn and their daughter Emme (who is in Ariana's class). We traveled to Iceland. My main mission was to see the Northern Lights, and it happened!! It was glorious and magical! It's hard to explain and even photos don't do it justice, but it was beautiful and I tucked those special memories away in my heart. Here is a rundown of our trip.

Judah on his first flight! Iceland Air!

We stayed at the Northern Lights Inn in Grindavik. It was pretty far away from the main city of Reykjavik. And by pretty far I mean we had to take a shuttle 5 mins to the Blue Lagoon, and then a 45 minute bus ride into the city. It was great being away from the city lights though. Perfect for viewing the Northern Lights! We were very lucky and saw the Aurora Borealis every night that we were there!

 The Northern Lights over our hotel.

Above: A rainbow of colors!

Below: My favorite shot of the Aurora Borealis!

Below: The Imagine Peace (tribute to John Lennon shining up through the clouds and into the Aurora Borealis. 

 One of the days we took a trip to Rejavik and took a boat ride out to go whale watching (didn't happen). It was SOOO cold that they gave us special waterproof coveralls to wear to protect us from the wind and any spray. 

Judah was not a fan of the cold winds on the boat. He stayed in the cabin the whole time.

The best known food in Iceland is Baejarins Beztu Pylsur, a hotdog stand. Of course we had to try them. I thought they were okay.

Judah all bundled up in the Ergo and me with my faux fur hat on.

Ariana and Emme learning the basics of chess in our hotel thanks to the help of the Dads.

It was a long day of sight seeing, Judah passed out on the couch by the fire in the lounge in our hotel.

Ponies and mountains.

We went to see the Geyser in Iceland.

We also went to the divide between the 2 tectonic plates, American and European (above), and the Gullfoss waterfall (below).

We spent an hour or so at the Blue Lagoon on our last day. This geothermal spa was only a short drive from our hotel. It is a manmade lagoon with naturally heated water 98–102 °F that flow from a lava flow nearby. It's warm water is rich in minerals such as silica and sulphur and it's supposed to be very good for your skin. Unfortunaly the day we went the winds were too strong and even though the water was warm your face was freezing in the whipping winds. Michelle came away with icicles in her hair!

Michelle found a great craft for the girls to make Northern Lights pictures using black construction paper and chalk!

Our hotel was surrounded by lava fields. It took hundreds of years for anything to grow there because of the volcanic rock that was everywhere. I found a heart shaped bit of moss growing at my feet. Ariana's beloved "hole bunny" came too!

It was a very fun trip with our friends. Here is all of us at the last dinner of our trip.