Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours

Merry Christmas from our little family to yours! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas day! 

 

 

 

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14 

Santa! I Know Him!

It has become a tradition for me to post our Santa picture on Christmas Eve. This year we only saw Santa at school, but it is the same Santa we've seen every year and it was a great picture! 

 

I've kind of felt bad that we didn't make it to see "the real Santa at the mall", but it has been so crazy around here with Christmas parties, sick Grandparents, shopping, work, and life.  I was going to take him on Monday, but he decided he didn't want to go since he "sent a letter with Ernie!"

 



Nicholas has been tracking Santa on the Santa tracker app today!  We are getting excited for him to visit tonight!  We made a list for Ernie the Elf to take back home on December 1st.

Nicholas is hoping most of his list is on board with Santa right now!  We are cooking a big batch of gumbo for dinner and settling in to watch Polar Express before bed.  Hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas Eve! 

Christmas Program 2014

Here is a little Christmas spirit for you today! 

I am so proud of Nicholas!  He is in the Pre-K class at his school and has done so well.  He writes well, he can add, he can read about 20 words, and for their Christmas program, they signed Silent Night!  I wanted to share it with everyone today!  (it is about 4 minutes in, but worth the wait!)

Thanksgiving Weekend 2014

I am hoping to post at least 3 posts today to get caught up, so keep coming back to check in!  :-)

 

We all know that I LOVE holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, but honestly, Thanksgiving is my very most favorite!  I love that it is a day of being Thankful, seeing all of our family, eating my favorite meal of the year, and in all honesty, what better way to end a holiday than to spend quality time with your Mom at the mall! :-)  Last year we decided to change our traditions up a little and host a "big old fashioned family Thanksgiving" at our house.  It worked out really well, so we did it again this year. 

While Michael smoked the turkey and I got everything ready, Nicholas finally fell in love with the Macy's parade.  It meant so much to me to pass down the tradition of pumpkin muffins and watching the parade to my child this year. 

Because we have one big meal, I set up our dining room table and a fold out table to hold everyone. (Don't worry, I reminded Michael the entire time that it is time to build again! Haha!) 

As always, Michael smoked an unbelievably tasty turkey!  

My mom and I split up the cooking. I did casseroles, she did pies, maccaroni, and dressing. I could seriously eat this meal everyday! 

When we moved my Nana, I got several of her holiday items and truly, it wasn't Thanksgiving again until I rescued this guy from storage a couple of years ago!   

We are so thankful our two families like each other and are able to share holidays. I'm so thankful for them all, especially these two turkeys...

 

After everyone left, I cleaned up and got ready to kick off the Christmas season at the mall!  Before I go on, let me say that I know it is controversial to shop on Thanskgiving, and I get that, but it is something that my mom and I have enjoyed doing together the last 3 years. 

My main goal this year was to hit the Belk $19.99 boot sale. This was the view as I came down the escalator at 9:00, 3 hours into the sale...

After finally fighting my way in, I found 2 pair for a total of $43!  j. Crew and NY and Co also had some awesome deals!  We shopped until 3:00 and I finally got into bed at 3:17.  Too bad at 3:42 I heard crying from Nicholas' room and ended up spending my 4 hours of sleep in his bed with him! Ha!  

After my little nap, we got the Christmas stuff from the attic, put the tree together to find out it had finally met its demise (at least with me. I don't string lights and I sure wasn't spending the time to find the burned out bulbs in a 9ft tree!). After a quick trip to Walmart (yes, on Black Friday, which may not have been my best idea!) we went to Steak and Shake where little man experienced his first peppermint shake. His words... "Oh Mom! This is like christmas in a cup!"  Lol! I just love him! 

We came home and finished his tree.  He is SO into Christmas this year!  He decorated his tree almost completely by himself!  All he let me do was a few special things near the top. 

I also put up 2 other trees along with my one big one, but I'll let you wait until I do a tour next week to see them! :-) 

On Saturday morning Ernie the Elf came and brought breakfast!  Ernie has been very busy at our house this year!  I'll do a post after Christmas of all of his adventures!  

 

By the time I went back to work on Monday our house was decorated, my Christmas village was displayed and I was ready to get back to a routine!

Just A Few Of My Favorite Things...Gift Ideas

Since it is LESS THAN TWO WEEKS until Christmas, I wanted to give some last minute gift ideas for anyone struggling this year.  These are 12 of my favorite things right now.

***none of these items or brands are sponsored and 100% my true opinion***

1. MomAgenda personal planner.  

This will be the second year that I've used it and couldn't be happier. It gives me a row for everything I need to keep up with. I also love that most items ship the same day! 

2.  Glitter Monogrammed shirts! 

I have found a local person that I have ordered from (Swag on Facebook) and the shirt pictured came from DDP Mongram and gifts online. I love all things glitter and monogrammed, so these shirts are a win win for me! (Swag is still taking orders!)

3.  Coton Colors Happy Everything platters and accessories

I got this platter for Mother's Day and it has been perfect for entertaining and decorating. Nicholas loves picking out new attachments and seeing them displayed in the kitchen. 

4.  Polar Heart Rate Monitor Watch 

If you like to run or workout I think this is a must have item! I have used mine since April and it makes my workouts better to be able to see my calorie counts. My sensor actually took an unfortunate trip through the washer and dryer, but after a day or two, worked like new again! 

5.  Personalized Adult Sippy Cups from ForPoshSake

(Photo from forposhsake IG account) 

I am in love with these cups and hope that I find one under my tree! (Hint hint Michael!)  They are so cute and perfect for a mom on the go! 

6. Scarves 

I haven't really ever embraced the scarf trend, but I'm loving my big, warm, scarves this year (this one is my favorite!).

7.  Scentsy Warmers and Wax 

When we had Nicholas I worried about burning candles in the house and Scentsy was a perfect solution. He has knocked hot wax on him and it cools immediately!  Highly recommended if you've never tried t! 

 

8.  Bath and Body Works

I LOVE Bath and Body Works shower gels and bubble baths!  They make awesome gifts and stocking stuffers!

 



9.  A Comfy Pair Of Slippers

I bought these leopard print sequined slippers at Target last year and love wearing them (even out in public when I want to be comfy)!  This picture was actually taken on a Saturday when I went into work for a few hours! Ha!

10.  Starbucks Gift Cards

Every woman I know would LOVE a Starbucks gift card in her stocking this year!  

11.  Crossbody Purse

I am on my third one and it is perfect for shopping and when I don't want to lug around my big bag. You can get a cross body just about anywhere purses are sold in any price range. 

 

12.  Cute notepads 

I love having fun and cute notepads to make my grocery lists, to do lists, and to take notes at work. I usually buy them anywhere from Walmart and Target to boutiques. You can find them just about anywhere and they are perfect for stocking stuffers!