Our December

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season so far! I still can't believe Christmas is THREE days away!! I did end up skipping the Elf on the shelf, we will probably join in on all the fun next year. I could just see the fights breaking out to hold the little thing all day, every day! Better luck next year... And to be honest I simply can not imagine adding one more thing to the to-do list this month.

As you can see I have unplugged and been preoccupied with so much past few months. I apologize for the absence but I'm looking forward to relaunching the blog and getting back to a regular schedule of posting in the New Year!

 I thought I would share what we have been up to through some snapshots...

^^ Christmas Festival

 ^^Disney On Ice

^^ Christmas Walk And Shopping

^^ Christmas Dance Recital

^^ Christmas Party At Sports World

^^ Birthday Parties

We have been decorating and adding little decor here and there all month long to the point I feel like we just moved in all over again. Here is a little glimpse of our family room.

^^Holiday Bar Cart 

We have already attended a handful of events & parties along with a list of things to do for the remainder of the month. The kids have loved every bit of decorating and getting ready for the holidays!

I swear I spent a week straight taking all the "pre-lit" lights off our tree since they were all burnt out, talk about salvaging. I never recommend this to anyone. I didn't want to go out and buy a new tree if I could help it. So a week or so into December we finally had our tree all lit up and decorated.

If I let them, the Holidays can easily get the best of me by amplifying everything from my split with their Dad to the overwhelming moments of being a single mom. I find comfort in family and remembering what Christmas is truly all about. Our Savior's birth is the best thing we could ever celebrate. I try to put great emphases on that to my children and all we have to be grateful for! We truly are so blessed.

I am almost done with wrapping presents and looking forward to Christmas morning with my babes.  I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

God Bless!!
-Holly

Holiday Gift Ideas For The Littles

^^ My little Elf On The Shelf

Although there is much more to the meaning of Christmas than receiving gifts, it's still a very fun way of celebrating! I can remember back as a kid or even adult how extremely spoiled we were by our parents Santa, I thought about Christmas all year long because of it. It's such a fun holiday to celebrate.

It didn't hurt that our Uncle disguised as Santa Claus came to our house Christmas eve, stomped on our roof leading us to believe all the reindeer just landed. Our parents would come get us out of bed so we could peak around the corner to watch him in his gorgeous Santa suit, lay out gifts under the tree. Then eat our cookies and milk while writing us a sweet note about our behavior that year. We were convinced!! When my Mama finally decided to tell me Santa wasn't real, I cried my eyes out!

So now I am so excited to keep the spirit of Santa going and see my very own children's eyes light up each year and look forward to celebrating our Savior's birth in the most exciting ways possible. As much as I loved being spoiled I'm trying to be a bit more practical, at least while they are young!

I had a client of mine tell me the best gifting idea to live by; something they want and something they need, something to wear and something to read! So this year I am actually sticking to it. I thought I would share what they will be opening if you are looking for any gift ideas for toddlers!

Each of them will be getting these matching robes and slippers (Deacon got these slippers) for the item they "need." We go through so many towels around here and they still always seem to fight over the same one so this is such a perfect gift they can snuggle up in all year long after baths or just to stay warm.

I got them each a book,  this one was a recommendation to make our night time routine go a little more smoothly.  The girls picked out twin dolls and since Deacon is obsessed with music and singing he will be getting this! Something to wear I decided on shoes because I simply couldn't pass up Freshly Picked black Tuesday sale! Deacon got a pair of boots from Old Navy.  Last but not least Santa Claus will be bringing the kids a teepee to add to the kid's corner in our family room.

It feels good to already be finished at least with all the kids, and not scrambling around last minute for gifts.  Stockings I haven't finished yet but I plan on grabbing some fun little things between now and Christmas!

I hope everyone has the happiest Thanksgiving tomorrow spending time with family and reflecting on everything you're thankful for! I am so grateful for my family, life wouldn't make sense without them!

^^Throwing it back to last year on Christmas! After tomorrow the tree goes up!!

If your a black Friday shopper, have a safe and fun weekend snagging up all those great deals! 

xo

-Holly

Accident-Prone

^^ The calm before the storm...

Being a parent is sometimes equivalent to a constant state of fear, a full head of grey hair, and a giant cup of coffee to keep pushing through! In so many scriptures Jesus warns us of being fearful and tells us to stray from worrying. I'm a type A person, so unfortunately worrying and being in control just goes hand in hand with my personality. I obviously struggle with letting Jesus take the wheel. But I promise friends, he's a way better driver!! 

If I could bubble wrap my kids through out the toddler years without it being frowned upon I probably would have done it by now! Ha. Seriously though why are kids so accident prone!? If they only knew the trouble they could save us ALL by just sitting still or listening when we tell them not to do something. 

Minor injuries happened to be apart of our daily routine lately. Starting with a shopping cart incident a few weeks back. That one took "me" some time to recuperate from. One of my biggest fears realized. Then as if that wasn't enough Deacon turned around the next week and split his lip open.

Deac has gotten more difficult to lay down for nap or bedtime. He used to be so easy- lay him down, walk away and within minutes he was sleeping without letting out a peep unless he happily sang himself to sleep! Now he refuses to be put down and clings to me as tight as he can and instantly screams and stands up for as long as I can stand it. (Because then I head back in, he wins every time.) 

So the other night I went to go lay him down and he stood up throwing a tantrum and smacked his face right on the edge of his crib?! I flipped on the light and blood was everywhere. Terrifying. Mouths bleed so much so it took some time before I even knew where it was coming from. Thank God the blood was way worse than the actual cut but it did leave him with a fat little lip. :( 

Then last but not least, the day my four year old mangles her finger in a piece of exercising equipment. This was actually with the sitter who was standing right next to Livy when she decided to discreetly stick her hand in the elliptical while Brooklyn was on it. 

Again, so much blood hard to see the actual wound!! I was right up the street so I rushed there as quickly as I could aging every minute of the way! Ahhh. It was pretty bad but we spoke with her Grandpa who is a doctor thank God and gives us great advice so we skipped out on the hour long wait in an ER and took care of her at home. 

She was such a champ through it all! Aloe Vera worked wonders but changing out bandages was slightly challenging with her. Thankfully she is okay and doing much better!! 

I'm praying for no more incidents like these (however that's nearly impossible with three rambunctious children) I am just glad they are all okay. I thank God it wasn't worse. I think when your child gets hurt the most important thing is to be calm. They feed off our energy and the more calm and patient we are the more calm they become.

Well that, and have some wine at the end of the day! It's needed during times like these. The best part is God made children resilient for a reason, and they sure bounce back quick!! Cheers to that!

xo

-Holly

Kicking Off The Holiday Season

Last week we attended our first holiday party aka Green Thumbers Annual Holiday kick off! They offer 20% off all their new holiday decor, it's a festive atmosphere with drinks and appetizers plus a surprise visit from Santa! 

Meemaw went with the kids and I, which always makes things more fun. I plan on decorating the house with the traditional Christmas colors and lots of Merry Holly Berries so I got some things to add to our holiday decor this year.  I can't wait to actually start decorating.

The kids got to have a quick meet and greet with Santa and take some pics. He gave them all their own candy canes to take home which was probably the highlight of their night. The kids are so excited for Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus this year, as am I. They have been telling me things on their list for quite some time now.

Cant wait to see everyone's holiday decor and Christmas spirits over the next month!!

Hope y'all have a Merry and Bright Blessed Day!!

xo
-Holly

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Cozied In For The Season

It's been such perfect fall weather!! Last year at this time we already had a few inches of snow on the ground. However, today they are predicting quite the storm. Eek.  It couldn't have been better timing to replace my electric fireplace. The kids and I love to snuggle around it in the mornings.

^^A post soon to come on how to paint a fireplace, along with a full reveal of our family room.... which I am so excited with the turn out! Redecorating has been a lot of fun but some what challenging with everything else we have going on.

Livy and Brooklyn have been begging for me to get out all our Christmas decorations (which I don't typically do until Thanksgiving) and staying true to tradition I compromised and let them have out their favorite abominable snowman pillow pet ahead of time and saving the rest for later!

I love summer but I am all about the cozy months of fall and winter. Sweatshirts, wine, and movies... Yes please! Since I swapped out my closet and clothes rack in my room back in September I've actually been looking forward to it cooling down so I can wear all my cozy over sized sweaters, with this one being one of my new favorites. It's so warm and such a great layering piece.

After Halloween was over I realized the twins don't have a lot of clothes that fit them still for this season at least without bats and pumpkins on them so I went on a little shopping spree and got the cutest things. This sweatshirt I wish came in my size, along with these adorable tulle skirts from Old Navy. 

We are busy as ever and looking forward to the Holidays, I am still on the fence if I have any brain space left for the famous "Elf On The Shelf" I know the kids would love it BUT it's just one more thing I have to add to my list. I can hardly keep up as it is.

We were fortunate to get out last night for, what might have been one last wagon ride of the season if we start getting all the cold weather like they are predicting we might be staying in for awhile!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their November!

xo
-Holly

Trick-Or-Treat And Halloween Recap

We started the weekend off with pumpkin carving which has never been a favorite of mine. Apparently the kids aren't huge fans either. They liked the finished product but none of us enjoyed gutting the pumpkins to get there. It's always such a mess and I'm not the most artistic person to begin with when it comes to carving.

The girls requested a "mean guy" and "kitty cat" which both came out interesting. Deacon's, I carved his initials and called it a day. We can't keep pumpkins outside on our steps because the squirrels demolish them and basically plant a pumpkin patch in our flower garden over night so we only put them outside on Halloween night. 

We traveled this year to go stay with friends so the kids got to go out trick-or-treating in a small town instead of the city. The girls couldn't wait to wear their costumes I think they asked me to put them on that morning 100000 times! The kids were the three little pigs and I was the big bad wolf - which the girls insisted on.

I saw the knitted hats on etsy and liked the fact they could reuse and wear them again. Later I ordered Deacon's from our local farmer's market. The girls tulle skirts were repurposed from their first birthday high chair decor! Costumes tend to be so costly and since you only wear them once, the past two years I have opted for outfits they can reuse that are a tad more practical.

It rained the entire day but it stopped just in time to go trick or treating. I can't complain, the hawks were on TV while we were cooped up inside snacking all day long on the delicious food our friends made! 

 The girls stepped in quite a few mud puddles during the course of the evening but it didn't phase them. I was shocked at how many houses had their lights off! It's not that the kids need a lot of candy but it makes for a much better experience to go door to door. Need less to say, the kids enjoyed themselves and that's all that matters. 

They made sure to say "trick or treat please and happy Halloween" to almost every house while Deacon just tagged along making his way up to each door and taking as many pieces of candy out of the bowls that they would allow! It was so cute seeing him go up to the doors all by himself this year.

As fun as it was, I'm glad it's all over... for some reason this year was extra exhausting. I think we are all still trying to catch up on some sleep. Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

Seven more Mondays until Christmas.... Say what?!?!?!

xo
-Holly

Halloween Week

Happy almost Halloween!! How has October flown by so fast!? So many exciting things happening around here. Again, I apologize for the lack of updates but life is just so busy these days (in a good way) just doesn't leave a whole lot of room for blogging.

This week has been no exception. Every day we have something going on! I feel so fortunate for all the opportunities we have had and couldn't be more pleased with the way home school is going thus far. The girls received an organic water color paint set they have loved utilizing for preschool.

The girls get to dress up in their Halloween costumes for dance class this week! We decided to go with something practical and fun which will make it easy to dance in. They're all so excited they've been asking to carry around their trick-or-treat bags since September! Stay tuned to see them in their costumes- so stinking cute!

This year were switching it up a bit and decided on a theme for the whole family (including me) we're going to a friends for trick or treating/Hawkeye game on Saturday. Looking forward to all the festive pumpkin food beer and bags full of candy! 

^^ Are these dresses not the most adorable thing!?

Hope everyone is having a fun and festive Month of October !

xo
-Holly