Monthly Archives: December 2017

As we are entering a New Year I can’t help but feel so incredibly blessed for all of the wonderful events that took place in 2017. We added a new baby girl to our family, our two boys are growing and developing into such unique individuals, milestones are being met with all three of our kiddos and we are taking notice! I try to remind myself to cherish every minute with my family. The days can be so long, but the years are flying by and I wish I could hit the pause button. I created this movie below with our family highlights from 2017. It’s a bit lengthy because I had a hard time deciding so I basically added everything! I tear up every time I watch it because life is so precious and going way to quickly.

I love New Year’s because well it is a New Year and new means a fresh start, new goals, new aspirations and dreams! I have so many goals I would love to accomplish or challenge myself with. I want to be the best wife and mother I can be. I hope to show my husband how much I appreciate him. I want to laugh and play more with my kiddos. I want to start a consistent workout plan and eat healthier. I want to do more acts of kindness. I want to read more. I want to take a cooking course or photography class something that puts me slightly out of my comfort zone. I want to take more walks and get outdoors a bit more. I know realistically that all of these wants will not happen over night, but I’m going to hold myself accountable as much as possible. Writing things down and staying organized are huge in achieving my goals. A good planner is a must!

Our New Year’s Eve plans consist of eating yummy food, playing games, and trying to stay up as late as possible. We have so much to look forward to heading into 2018.

I hope you all have a blessed, fun filled, and safe New Year’s, Cheers!!!!

Christmas was magical this year for our family. The kiddos enjoyed every minute and we wish we could hit the rewind button and do it all over. Jonathan couldn’t sleep on Christmas Eve and kept asking if he could go downstairs to get something to eat at 10:30 pm (to see if Santa came or not). Santa definitely arrived! The boys were up at 5:00 am, but we didn’t start opening presents until 5:45 am. The kiddos were so grateful for all of their presents. We had a fun filled morning of taking toys out of their packages, finding batteries, and then the cleanup of course!

Jonathan got tons of little legos (which he is currently obsessed with), Jordan a play vacuum and race car track set, and Jasmine teethers and the cutest, softest baby doll from her Mimi. Another gift that was a hit is play costumes. This year the boys got firefighter costumes and played in them all day!

We had ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, and rolls for Christmas dinner. My hard working husband had to work Christmas Day so we waited for his arrival and enjoyed a beautiful meal together. Gathering around the dinner table and enjoying one another’s company are things I love most about the Holidays.

We plan on savoring the next few days and leaving our Christmas tree on all day before we head into the New Year. I hope your Christmas was pure magic and joy!

Christmas Eve is finally here!!! We are beyond excited. We started our morning with a little workout per the boys request. Jonathan ran on the treadmill and Jordan and I did jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups. We worked up such an appetite that I made some festive pancakes. Jasmine worked up an appetite by watching all the activity around her!

Growing up my sister and I would plan our entire day out on Christmas Eve. It looked something like this…

7:00 am- Wake up

7:30 am- Eat Breakfast

8:00 am – Watch Cartoons

8:30 am – Brush our teeth

8:35 am- Get dressed

8:45 am- Pick up our bedroom

8:55 am – Workout

You get the picture, we had a very detailed itinerary! Childhood memories like this is what makes Christmas time so magical and now experiencing Christmas with my children I hope they can create their own special Christmas traditions among themselves.

We ended our day by making Santa some cookies and reading The Christmas Story pop-up book that their Mimi (Grandma) got them. They were in aw of this special book and it will be read many times!

Merry Christmas Eve from my family to yours!

It’s Christmas Eve, Eve and we are feeling all the Christmas vibes! The boys are so excited that we have only two more sleeps and Santa will arrive. We plan on staying as busy as we can to make the time go by, but I am soaking up all the magic. I love the anticipation of seeing the kiddos little faces light up on Christmas morning, but will be so sad once it’s time to put all the pretty lights away as Jordan calls them.

I love fresh greenery during Christmas and it makes the house smell so good. We don’t get a real tree so substituting a real wreath does the trick.

We are going to make homemade chicken noodle soup and lounge around watching Christmas movies, making crafts, and yummy treats for the rest of the afternoon.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve, Eve!

The kiddos love updating their bookshelves as the seasons and Holidays change. It gives us a chance to read books that we may have forgotten about and keeps us in the spirit of the current Holiday. Christmas books are my favorite. There is nothing better than grabbing a few books, snuggling by the Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate and reading! Here are the books that are currently on our shelves.

Top Ledge – Book 1 / Book 2 / Book 3

Bottom Ledge – Book 1 / Book 2

On Christmas Eve we love to read ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas and we will be adding The Christmas Story this year. I love making such special traditions and memories with the kiddos using just a few classic books.

What are some of your favorite Christmas books?

We had the best weekend. We lounged in our pajamas, baked sugar cookies, and watched Holiday movies. The boys decorated their gingerbread house on Friday evening and they did such a fantastic job. They definitely used some great teamwork. Jonathan’s favorite part was tasting the icing.

Saturday morning we wasted no time and jumped right into baking sugar cookies. Baking and eating homemade cookies will always be one of my favorite things about the Holidays. We used my Grandma Joyce’s sugar cookie recipe and the boys loved frosting the cookies.

Sunday morning consisted of more lounging and eating cookies! We needed all the rest today as Jonathan has such a busy week at school before he has three weeks off for Winter Break.

Also, baby Jasmine is 5 months old today.

I hope you had a great weekend!

So thankful it’s Friday! The weekdays are filled with chores, school work, to-do lists, and it seems like not enough time to just cozy up by the Christmas tree. However, this weekend we will be doing plenty of that. I love to do our grocery shopping for the next week on Friday’s so that we can spend as much time with one another doing things we enjoy opposed to running errands.

We plan on making sugar cookies. Lots of sugar cookies! The boys will build a gingerbread house together. Jordan’s new favorite word is teamwork so I am hoping he can apply it while working with his older brother 😉 (not holding my breath though) and all while listening to Christmas music.

Another way to get me motivated and ready for the weekend is a beautiful Holiday smell throughout our home. I made this stovetop scent while putting groceries away and prepping for the weekend. It’s so easy just add water, cranberries, sliced oranges, and whole cloves (I would have added cinnamon sticks, but didn’t have any on hand). Put on the stove on a low heat and your entire home will smell delicious! You can add what ingredients you prefer and I’m sure Pinterest has a ton of great recipes as well.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and if you try any stovetop scents I would love to hear what you liked best!

The Holidays are such a joyous time of the year. I get very nostalgic at this time, but quickly snap out of it with the busyness of Jonathan’s school, Holiday shopping, and the daily needs of my family. The kiddos have been so excited for Christmas and all of the fun festivities. We decorated right after Thanksgiving and Jordan was the most excited. He says every morning “I love Christmas momma!” He loves to stare at the Christmas tree and thinks it’s so pretty.

Our Elf on the Shelf, Max returned as well. The Boys were so excited to see him again. They run down each morning to see where he has moved. Jonathan insists we can NOT touch him or else he will lose his magic. I love all the traditions that we get to start and look forward to year after year. Our December to do list consists of Holiday baking (sugar cookies and possibly fudge), driving around to look at Christmas lights in our neighborhood, building gingerbread houses, watching all the classic Holiday movies, and just enjoying each other’s company while surrounding our Christmas Tree.

I would love to hear what fun festive activities you do with your kiddos.

I love Thanksgiving! We had a great time with loved ones, ate way to much, and reflected on all of our wonderful blessings. My mother and Grandma always come up and spend a few days with us. My mother and I split the cooking. We try to prep and make the pies the day before Thanksgiving so that the cooking will be a tad less Thanksgiving Day.

I always look forward to spending the day in the kitchen with my mother while we tag team the kiddos and my Grandmother. We have a traditional Thanksgiving meal (turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato pie, peas, cranberry sauce), however I tried a new side dish (black rice and butternut squash, recipe called for acorn squash, but I used butternut). Overall, the new side dish was a pleasant addition to our menu, but next time I would plan to use more of the ingredients and less black rice.

My husband had to work Thanksgiving Day so we waited for him to get home to enjoy our wonderful meal together.

We have so much to be thankful for and so blessed to have another Thanksgiving in the books with our loved ones.