The children have gone mad. We are two days out from sweet festive freedom and I hope to survive until that final bell on Friday at 2:00. Pray for me. To distract myself from this, let's walk through Christmas Eve Day in my life. I've talked about tradition in the past 19 days, so I wanted to show you how it's incorporated into my favorite day of the year! For me, Christmas is about the build up of the season in its entirety. I love Christmas Day, but it also can feel melancholy as everyth[...]
I love lists. All lists: to-do, check, grocery, clothing, planning, etc. I thrive on them and crossing things off is a feeling of success, even for the smallest task. Every year, I keep a Google Sheet for gift ideas, purchases, if they're wrapped, and cards; however, I tend to look at planning for this in November. NO MORE. I'm creating a new plan. I've mentioned before that giving gifts is my love language and I love to shop during the holiday season, BUT I often don't appropriately budget an[...]
I love to sleep. It's one of my absolute very favorite activities. I can literally never bore of it or get enough. I love naps in the daylight on the couch, late mornings in bed, and long stretches of uninterrupted REM snooze time. According to Mama Deb, it's always been this way. She had to wean me from naps so I could do a full day of school. When Caleigh was born, those first weeks of day and night being one in the same nearly made me regret becoming a parent. Three years later and I still fi[...]
As a parent, I am certain you look forward to the dreaded winter cold/flu/stomach bug as much as I do. Are you sensing my sarcasm? Good. If there is one thing that can throw my anxiety over the edge of somewhat-manageable to insane, it's my child having a fever. I don't know why these set off every alarm in my body, but they just do. I can't sleep or even relax when she's sick. I anticipate being up all night, so I stay up all night. Y'all, I am 100% aware of how crazy this sounds and is, but it[...]
For a handful of years, my family has heightened the holiday season with a casual Cookie Exchange Party. It's a fairly simple premise (she, who doesn't host it, says). Each participating family makes a dozen or so cookies of their choice and you leave with the same amount; however, the theory is you've exchanged your own with everyone else's options. My sister-in-law hosts this and she also includes feeding us lunch, no small task for 10+ people. This year, we added an ugly sweater component. O[...]
On the twelve day of Christmas, my elf gave to me, a list of festive activities! Today I bring to you twelve things you can and should do in the next two weeks before the big day arrives: On the first day of Christmas, we make real and delicious hot chocolate to savor by the tree. I don't mean Swiss Miss (I mean I love it, but let's get legit here.) I mean combinations of taste and complexity. Crack out your favorite holiday mug and the whipped cream! On the second day of Christmas, we s[...]
As Caleigh and I sit to watch Olaf's Frozen Adventure for minimally the 13th night in a row, I'm noticing that dang I smell delicious. While you may have seen this title and clicked out immediately, I love to know what other people buy for themselves: skin care, makeup, shower products, clothes, kitchenware, decor... be still my heart! I'm nosy. When these things collide with seasonal festive scents?! I'm going to share with you some of the things I'm loving that will wrap you in a Christ[...]
I almost missed today. I put Caleigh to bed and thought I am going to make popcorn and watch The Mistletones. As I was taking my bra off, I remembered I haven't blogged yet! So, here we are, friend. This post is between me and Tiana Mowry's angelic voice. Something that keeps popping up in movie motifs is the meaning of Christmas. Sure, this is cliche and sentimental, but I do think it holds different connotations for each of us. In my life, Christmas has meant the bringing together of fami[...]
This is my first ever attempt at doing daily writing for public consumption. I've written in journals before and for classes in college, but never consistently EVERY single day and absolutely not for other people to read. I tend to do things whole hog and likely too intensely, but as someone who loves creative expression, I thought daily blogging about my favorite time of year would come easily. I'm almost halfway in and I've come to a screeching halt. I found myself Googling and Pinterest sear[...]
Photo by Jill Heyer on Unsplash Welcome to Day 10 of December & Blogmas! As we're getting closer to the Eve and Day of Christmas, I want to share my planned menus for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Marc and I host both the night before Christmas and the dinner on the day of. For a control freak, this is a dream come true, but it is an undertaking. We have semi-high numbers (15 and 12) and not a huge space. Planning is key. I'm also not a cook who likes to repeat a main dish, so e[...]