Month: December 2016

  • Christmas

    Christmas is pretty much my favorite…ever. The outfits, the lights, the chilly weather, the anticipation, the gift wrapping. Ok, so gift wrapping it totally not my favorite, but you get the idea! Unfortunately, come November, everyone on my instagram feed was Christmas-ready with trees lit and cookies baking and I was over here trying to remember how to to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. (And I wound up accidentally cooking it upside down. Don’t ask. I don’t cook.)

    Anyways, it took me a little longer to get in the “holiday groove” this year. While everyone else was blasting Mariah Carey’s Christmas station on pandora, we were singing along to the Moana sound track 24/7. I’m totally blaming my laziness on being pregnant and tired, and on my lack of caffeine and alcohol. But hey, we got there eventually…

    untitled-1It started with our yearly visit to see “The Big Guy”. This is the girls’ (and my) favorite thing to do each year. My sweet friend runs these adorable mini-sessions out on a farm and she is always kind enough to allow me to crash and take photos. The girls brought their very specific Christmas lists and boom…Christmas Card pictures done! Check that one off the list! 😉

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    And in case you were wondering…yes, he really is the REAL Santa!

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    My girl and I were then off to see the Nutcracker. Not my personal fav but she had been begging all year- so off we went. She left with my similar sentiments about the show (“It would have been better if they were talking and singing, Mom.” Can’t say I blame her.) but she also came away with an unbridled love for nutcrackers. So there ya go. Worth every penny…?

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    When you don’t live near a tree farm, it’s Whole Foods to the rescue. You’d be surprised at the quality photos you can get from a grocery store  tree lot! 😉

    One of our favorite new traditions this year was decorating their teepee together. I let the girls take the lead and set it up however they wanted. We strung up lights, put antlers on the unicorn and filled it with their fav Christmas books. It was so much fun and they really enjoyed playing in it all month. Something I think we’ll definitely do again next year!

    A Charlie Brown Christmas, the Musical at our local children’s theater was a hit. Cubs was obsessed with Snoopy and asked if we could keep him!


    Kelly’s Kids


    Mommy’s dress from when she was two!

    Matching dolly jammies from Dressie Jessie Smocking

    We baked, we snuggled, we decorated, and we wrote copious amounts of letters to Santa. With the wish lists changing and expanding each time. I eventually had to tell them that Santa’s mailbox was FULL, because seriously…Amazon Prime can only do so much. (I refuse to shop in stores during the Holidays because, people.)

    Decorating these tiny trees for their rooms is another favorite tradition of ours. We’ve been doing it since Q was a baby and the girls LOVE collecting tiny ornaments and getting to decorate them “However I want, right Mom? I don’t even need to leave spaces!” Plus they serve as like the cutest night lights ever…and come with a timer which means I don’t need to hike my lazy butt up the stairs every night to turn them off. Win-Win!

    (Nutcracker obsession continues…)

    Our good old elves Starfish and Sparkles (who usually don’t appear until mid-month but HAD to appear earlier this year because- “ALLLL my friends’ elves came already. Why won’t ours?”- got old real quick.) We had a few “touching” mishaps, (ahem, Cubby) and lots of tears and finger pointing (::cough:: Q!) but all in all, these little guys really were magical and we were all sad to see them go on Christmas Eve. Fly away, home elves…see ya next year and not a day earlier!!! So so sad.


    Shooting the cutest collab from The Emry Shop and Zozu Baby


    Reindeer food making is another tradition we absolutely love.

    I did a separate blog post all about it HERE.

    reindeer food tossing


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    Until next year, Christmas. You were pretty good to us this year.

    But really though…I need a nap!

  • Reindeer Food

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    This is a tradition that dates waaay back to when I was a little girl. I believe one of my grade school teachers gave us a baggie labeled “Reindeer Food” as our favor at a class Christmas party. I remember excitedly toting this mysterious bag home and explaining the attached directions/poem to my parents. Then on Christmas Eve, out I went to the front lawn with my sister and brother to scatter our bag of oats, in hopes that Santa’s reindeer would stop for a snack. I’m pretty sure we made Reindeer Food a few times after that, but it wasn’t until I became a teacher in my 20s that I brought the tradition back. I started by giving out baggies of pre-made Reindeer Food with the cute little poem attached to my students and then eventually started making it in class with the kids during the Holidays. It was something that had such a magical impact on the children and I knew I one day wanted to hold on to the idea for my own future family.  In the years between, I made this little craft with cousins, family friends, kids that I babysat, basically anyone who let me….and now I get to do it with my own girls!  What started as a simple baggie of oats has developed quite a bit over the years as the girls have helped add ingredients to the list. I love the ever-evolving ingredient list and hearing the girls’ reasoning behind why things like “sprinkles” and “rice krispies” are a necessity. I may eat my words, but I think the concoction we currently have is a winner! For this year, anyways. 🙂
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    Magical Reindeer Food
    Sprinkle this on the lawn at night,
    The moon will make it sparkle bright.
    As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam
    This will lead them to your home!
    Our Ingredients:
    Oats (“Cause dats what dem reindeers eat.” -A)
    Nuts (this year it was sliced almonds)
    Cereal (cheeries, rice krispies, granola, or whatever is currently on hand usually goes in!)
    Sprinkles  (“to make the boring oatmeal taste yummier” -Q)
    Brown Sugar (because, sugar. duh)
    Large Glitter Flakes (“To make our grass sparkle so the reindeers can see it up from the sky and know there is food down there. It prolly doesn’t taste very good, but how else will they know it’s there?” -Q)
    Pixie Dust (aka extra fine white glitter. We got a vial of said “pixie dust” at a performance of Peter Pan a few years back and Q has saved it and sprinkles a dash into our reindeer food every year. You know, “In case they get tired from all that flying.” Think of it as a deer version of a Grande Americano with an extra shot!)
    Anything Else in your Pantry (The sky is the limit with this one. Which is of course what makes it so fun!)

    Cutest nightgowns by Shop Plain Jane !