Holly-Days!

This lil' old blog has been quiet for a while.  But that just means we've been having lots of fun! Well, mostly.  Brian had surgery three days before Christmas but he's recovering well and already back to work.

The girls had a fantastic Christmas and now we are working to put things away (toys, laundry, Christmas decorations, etc.).  I haven't run in WAY too long and I'm starting to feel the effects, so I'm starting that back up again soon too! I don't know what it is about post-Christmas, but it always makes me want to purge, organize, clean, and decorate.  You can bet there will be plenty of that going on here as well.  Meanwhile we're enjoying the rain (and we've had plenty!!) and just staying inside.

I've been trying to jot down a few of the funny things the girls have said so I can revive the Friday Funnies, (look for a new year's edition soon)!

I can tell you all we've been up to, but I know you'd much rather see it!

 Reagan's classroom Christmas party:

 Mom's birthday a few days before Christmas (and a delicious chocolate cake made by my sis-in-law):

Walking "Christmas Card Lane" (and a rare family pic):

Delivering cookies to daddy's office:

Reagan and my nephew Dylan (best buddies). He was teaching her all about something called a "Nintendo DS" :)

 Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's house:

Christmas morning at our house. The girls all got a giant dollhouse to share.  Love Reagan's face (and the fact that she's throwing paper in her baby sister's face). :)

 Reagan REALLY wanted a globe for Christmas (something that's easy to find for cheap in August.  In December, not so much).  Thank you Craigslist!!

Skylar with her new Princess bike (complete with a baby seat on back)!

Skylar and Bailey wearing the slings that Reagan made for them!

Mom opening the quilt I made.  She's going to hate this picture, but I just love it!

The girls playing with their new dollhouse:

Matching Christmas jammies!

Our tree on Christmas night.  We have some crazy LED lights!

 

We hope your Christmas was blessed and your home is filled with warm memories! We are gearing up for a busy January (with every week/weekend already booked!), my return to teaching, and squeezing in some playtime too! :) 

Happy New Year!!

Holiday Happenings

You know it's been a while when my own husband says "you certainly aren't updating the blog very much." I know....I sound like a broken record.  We've been busy.  I've always said that I would not let the blog be a stressful thing for me, so when things get busy, it's the first thing to go.  So, here's a brief update of our holiday happenings!

A family picture taken on Thanksgiving at my brother and sister in laws house.

The next day was Brian's birthday so we took him out to dinner (and ice cream)!

Then, the Christmas festivities started! We picked out a tree...

Our dental office had a Christmas festival with a petting zoo so the girls had a blast petting the 3 week old baby pig.  

The girls decorated the tree...

This picture just makes me smile.  Bailey dressed herself and asked me to take a picture :)

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season as much as we are!! Reagan's last day of school before break is today so we're looking forward to 3 weeks of making cookies, watching movies, looking at lights, and staying in our pjs! 

Little Mamas

Today I'm linking up with my dear friend Liz! She has a countdown to Christmas and if you need any ideas for Christmas crafts, go check it out.



The girls have been so sweet this year when it comes to gifts.  They have asked if they could give gifts to their sisters for Christmas.  I love that they want to give and they aren't just thinking of their own lists.  Reagan really really wanted to sew something so I found a pattern for something that she could do pretty easily (and that her sisters would love).

Both Bailey and Skylar adore their baby dolls.  They tote them everywhere.  Literally, everywhere.  I've used scarves in the past to tie their babies to them so they can "wear" them like I did when they were babies.  But, nothing beats a "real" sling for a baby doll!

One yard of fabric makes TWO slings.  Plus, Reagan and I had them cranked out in less than 30 minutes (and for less than 5 dollars).

Start by cutting your one yard of fabric in half lengthwise.  That leaves about 18 inches in width (for me, the fabric was 55 inches wide so my length was 55 inches by 18 inches).  If your girls are littler, you can trim it a bit more, but I wanted a larger sling. I've heard you can also measure your child from hip to shoulder and then double it and add 2 inches.  That's too much math for me.  I just winged it.

Then, just hem both long edges.

You may also want to iron your fabric unless your allergic to ironing like I am.

After both long edges are hemmed,
Fold it in half with wrong side facing out.

Sew a curve on the OPEN end. Then trim. You can see how this is an exact science, right? My curve was lopsided so I actually sewed it again and made it a little less curvy.  That seemed to work better.

Fold it right side out and then in half and you're ready to go!

Hope you enjoy making a baby sling for your little mamas!

(for littler girls, you can make the fabric closer to 12 inches in width and probably 40 inches or less in length.  you can also line it with another fabric to make it heavier.  the options are endless.)

Here's your sign

Tonight Skylar said, "You know what I would love to do more than anything tonight? I want to have the fireplace on, put a blanket on the floor, put a Christmas movie on, and drink hot chocolate.  With whipped cream.  Peppermint whipped cream."

We're raising that girl right.

him

I'm thankful for so much.

My family.

My home.

My God.

I could go on and on about each and every one.  But today I'm thankful for him.

He is my rock.

My better half.  

My heart. 

He knows how to make me laugh, how to make me feel important, and loved.  

He is *adored* by our three blessings. 

He's an amazing dad! 

You won't find someone more honest or harder working.  

He also happens to be incredibly intelligent, rational, and level-headed.  

He makes sacrifices and plans ahead so I can live my dream of being a stay at home mom. 

He's introverted and quiet around people he doesn't know well.

That makes us a good team. :)

He leads our home spiritually and I am secure knowing that his relationship with the Lord is solid. 

He prays with me and for our girls each and every day.    

It's just a bonus that he's so handsome and his gaze still makes my heart race.  

He also happens to know exactly how I take my coffee.  

I am so thankful for him.

Happy Birthday Honey! Each day with you is a gift!

*smile*

I'm trying desperately to be more organized this year.  I had a goal of having almost all my shopping done by Thanksgiving.  I'm not going to make it.  I've been waiting for a wonderfully warm but overcast day to take our Christmas card pictures.  I realized (after checking weather.com), that wasn't going to happen either.  So we headed out this week to capture what we could.

It was cold.  And windy. 

And sunshiny....hence the squinting.

Lots of squinting. So we changed directions.

And the wind was blowing in a different direction 

(Reagan's hair was in Baileys face for about 15 pictures).

Then Bailey started doing her "underbite" grin.  She's part bulldog apparently.

Then I would get two smiling.....and one not.  (and there's still squinting).

So I decided to work with the squinting and just go with sillyness! They loved making kissy faces!

So much so, that they just couldn't stop.

Then all sorts of sillyness ensued....

oy. 

We finally got *one* decent picture.  Decent, not perfect.  

I even took a few indoors.

Sometimes I think I need to have lower expectations.  I'm not a professional.  I don't have a professional camera.  My girls are not trained models.  Sometimes, you just have to take what you have and smile.  What I do have is 3 healthy, beautiful girls.  Girls that have tender hearts of gold.  Girls that indulge my need to take 150 pictures (or more) just to find a good one.  Girls that bring me so much joy! 

I pray that your home is filled with joy during this season too!

Confession

I'm a snob.  Well, a grammar snob at least.  Call me a rule follower, but I prefer to use words the way they were intended.  Yes, I'm one of those moms.  I correct my children when they say "Can I have some water please?" I usually say "Yes, you MAY have water."

I'm not sure why folks forget that there are two "r's" in the word "library."  I cringe when I hear teenagers say "fo sho" (that's "for sure" if you aren't hip to the lingo).  It's even more bothersome when I hear 9 year old kids saying it.  They might as well be pulling their fingernails across a chalkboard.  It's almost as frustrating as the boys that insist on wearing their pants below their bottoms and showing off their boxers.  But that's a whole other post.

I don't know when the word "supposedly" was replaced with "supposably" (not an actual word by the way).  At some point it became acceptable to use text speak in an email.  FYI: If I have to break out my teeenage text decoder book just to read your email, I'm probably going to delete it.  It also became acceptable at some point to use the incomplete sentence for dramatic effect.  I know I have done it before, but I know folks that do it.  All.  The.  Time.  I don't use it often.  Only when. Absolutely. Necessary.  :)

There: the opposite of here.  "Please put your shoes over there."
Their: the possessive pronoun form. "Their shoes were all wet after walking in the rain."
They're: Can be used synonymously with "They are." If "they are" does not work in your sentence, "they're" is not the proper word.  "They're going to the store after the movie."
My second grader knows the difference between these words.  There's no excuse for adults.

This morning I was taking Reagan to school and a Suburban pulled out in front of me with writing on the back window.  It said "Go VIPers." Now, granted, I did not get to finish my coffee so I was operating at half caff.  I went into an entire discussion (in my head of course) as to how ridiculous it is to have a football team named the VIP'ers.  Eventually I did realize that she meant "Vipers" but somehow she must have figured that standard rules of capitalization did not apply to car windows.

I saw a t-shirt at the store the other day that said, "Don't worry, I'm just correcting your grammar in my head while you speak."  I may have to purchase it for myself.

just....

I'm just sitting here and trying to sort out my thoughts.
I'm listening to my precious girls playing restaurant and giggling while they make french fry pizza.  Some days I want to pack everything up and move to a remote location where the world can't influence their innocence.  I don't ever want them to know that there are bad things that happen in the world.  I'm tired of hearing people swear in public.  I'm tired of averting my children's eyes because someone is dressed inappropriately.  I'm annoyed by the people that insist on being negative....all the time.  I can't believe the commercials that play on children's channels.  It almost feels like a losing battle.

At the grocery store two days ago there was a lady in front of me that used to work there.  The cashier asked where she was working now and she said, "I stay home now."  His response was, "Oh, so you're just a mom now?" Just a mom.  Just one of the most important jobs in the world.  Just shaping the future generation of leaders.  Just protecting our children from others.  Just teaching them right from wrong.  Just sharing the love of Christ with them so they can know His grace too.  Just teaching them to pray.  Just trying to balance life with love.  Just shepherding our children's hearts.  Just teaching...by example.  I could go on and on.

The truth is, it can be overwhelming.  I can't put my girls in a bubble.  They will know hurt and sadness.  That's why it's even more important for us to teach them about our eternal hope (and why we obey our parents, and how to speak with kindness, and how to be thankful).

It's not easy, but not impossible.  I'm just sayin.

Friday Funnies

Welcome to Friday Funnies!



Bailey has been a total crack up lately but not necessarily with WHAT she says, but HOW she says it.  I'm thinking a "video friday funnies" is going to be in our near future (if I can get a video to load). 
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A conversation in the van the other day:
Reagan: Mommy, Christmas is where we celebrate Jesus's birth and Easter is where we celebrate His death, right?
Me: Well, we don't really celebrate his death.  Easter is a celebration of his resurrection from the tomb.
Reagan: Then, what in the world does that have to do with eggs??
Me: Hmmm, I'm not sure how eggs got thrown in the mix.
Reagan: Maybe the tomb was in the shape of an egg. 
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Skylar wanted to play hide n seek the other night but daddy had just got home from a long day at work.  This is how that conversation went.
Skylar: Daddy, can you play hide n seek with me?
Brian: Can I do it from here on the couch?
Skylar: Sure! You sit here and I will go count and then I'll come find you.  ok?
Brian: (confused) ok....
Then we heard Skylar go in the other room, count to ten and come back into the family room.  She saw Brian sitting on the couch and shouted "I found you!"
We all busted up laughing and then Skylar said, "Ok, mommy, your turn.  I'll go count...." ha!!
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Sometimes when Bailey asks for something she can't have, I will say "awww, you're so cute, but the answer is still no." The other day she asked for chocolate milk and I said, "No baby, you can't have chocolate milk." She replied, "But I so cute!"

Have a blessed weekend!

The most wonderful time of the year!

I {heart} the holidays.  Everything about them just fills me to the brim with excitement and joy.  I'm so thankful that my girls seem to share in my Christmas enthusiasm.  We've been watching Christmas movies since August, listening to Christmas music for at least a month now, making Christmas lists, planning where the tree will go, and as soon as the temperature dipped to "slightly chilly" the girls were begging for the fireplace to go on.  I, of course, obliged.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I start planning our Christmas cards....in July.  What are the girls going to wear? Will they match? or just coordinate? Will we do pics of just kiddos or the whole fam? (Let's face it, most folks just want to see the kids anyway right??) Where will we take the pictures? Then I get to start looking at Christmas cards and planning which one I want.  There used to be so few options available.  Now, it's nearly overwhelming.  There's also the cost factor involved.

My sweet friend Liz reminded me about Shutterfly's awesome Christmas cards! And they are truly on the affordable side.  The options are pretty endless too.  I browsed through their site and kept saying "ooh, I like that one. Ooh, no I like that one better!"

They have the fun 5x5 size

They have true "cards" where you can write on the inside (and they're great because they sit up for display!). You may notice I have a thing for the cards with three pictures.  It makes it so easy when you have three kids to get just ONE good picture of each of them instead of one good picture with all three.  Believe me.  

Of course they have options for just one picture (or two, or four, or eight...whatever you prefer).  

I loved the inside of this one (also named "the most wonderful time of the year, appropriately).  You can actually do a group shot on the outside of the card and then include a small pic of each family member with an update on them on the inside.  

(a pic of the inside)

They cover every saying, whether you prefer "Happy Holidays", "Merry Christmas", or even "Bah Humbug." Ok, I was joking about that one. Just making sure you were still paying attention.  I personally like the Religious cards.  Afterall, Jesus IS the reason for the season.  And I agree with this card.  Every good gift does come from above.  Especially my three gifts.

We are using Shutterfly for our family calendars this year 

(they happen to do invitations, gift tags, and photo books too!). 

The best part is that by being a blogger, I was able to get 50 free cards just for lovin' Shutterfly! 

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, follow the arrow à here :) You're welcome. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shoppin' to do....and I need to figure out what the girls are going to wear!