Christmas Magic

Christmas with a little one is extra special and we jam packed as much of it into our season as we could. We had plans to travel for the week of Christmas and so we decided before leaving that we’d do our own little family Christmas at home just the three of us. No need to lug all the bigger gifts with us and it also gave us a time to enjoy the holiday season as our own little family outside of the craziness. 

We stuffed James’ stocking and he wore Christmas jammies to bed and we brought him downstairs in the light of the Christmas tree to see what Santa and mommy and daddy had brought him. He also got to open some family gifts and hubby and I opened our gifts from one another as well. Our main gift to little man was this super sweet radio flyer push wagon. Eventually he’ll be using it as he learns to walk and as he gets older to cart around his favorite things but for now we’ll pull him around in it while he laughs and adorably holds onto the sides. 

He was of course a big fan of all the wrapping and mostly wanted to play with the paper and bows. So we enjoyed a slow and sweet “Christmas” morning watching him crinkle paper and chew on his new toys and loved every minute! 

The next stop on our Christmas tour was my in-laws. We headed there mid week before Christmas to spend a few days. There were more gifts, more wrapping to crinkle, old friends to visit and an aunt and uncle to finally meet!  Hubby’s parents had also refinished his rocking horse from his own childhood for JB and that was a special present. He enjoyed it for a few brief moments before the tears started but we know it will be well loved as he gets older. 

The final stop was my parents’ house where we spent a few days with them as well as my sister’s family. This included plenty of cousin time! We got to finally meet the newest member of the family who is the sweetest little thing and I am so excited for JB to have a. Cousin so close in age to grow up with. He also thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend time with his older cousins who he finds positively hilarious and the best entertainment. 

I took exactly one picture of JB on Christmas morning…mom fail. But I was too busy enjoying the morning, and keeping him from eating the wrapping paper. 

It was extra special to have my nephews there because Christmas is more fun with little ones who believe in all the magic. My mom did snap this photo of my sister and I with our kiddos on Christmas Eve in their matching jammies and it makes my heart so happy! 

This year will always be one of the sweetest Christmases for us and I’m glad we were able to stretch it out and make it last! 

Christmas Magic

A few weeks ago, we got to take JB to see Santa for the first time. Obviously he is completely unaware of all things Christas but I love getting to experience all of these firsts with him. Hubby and I often comment that even though he won’t remember this, we will. And that’s just as important. So I booked a 5 minute time slot at a local boutique that was doing Santa photos. And let me tell you, I think this man may well be the real Santa because he was a good one! 

We put him in a red sweater onesie and he looked like a very cozy Christmas baby. As we were headed in, they let us know that they find with the little ones it’s actually best to bring them in backwards so they don’t see Santa before they’re on his lap. Supposedly it keeps them from crying on the spot and at least means you’ll get one or two tear free photos. It definitely made me giggle as we reversed JB onto Santa’s lap but it turned out to be pretty good advice! 

We managed to get a few darling shots of him being extra curious about Santa’s fluffy sleeves and looking up  at hubby and I. 

Things started taking a turn when he looked behind him and realized who was holding him and he was none too sure about him. We did have some brief tears. Which honestly, he’s still adorable even when a bit upset.

He made a pretty good recovery though with his dad making silly faces and noises at him for some distraction. So overall I would say it was a huge success! 

We’ve had a delightful time putting up all the Christmas decorations, getting presents under the tree and showing JB all of the Christmas magic. 

 

Nothing makes me happier than my sweet little guy in his Christmas pjs (a hand me down from his older cousins) sitting (his favorite new skill) in the beautiful Christmas tree morning light! 

Final Hodgepodge of 2021

We had a great visit to my sister's last weekend that I want to recap but the Christmas shopping and wrapping and baking has me running around like crazy this week so stay tuned for that, hopefully before this weekend rolls around. But I didn't want to miss the last hodgepodge of the year, so I'm taking a pause from baking to answer today's questions. Join in at my mom's blog! 

1. How young is young? In the past, according to various organizations who decide these things, age 60 was the 'border age' to old. The World Health Organization has done new research recently and divided up the categories as-0-17 (underage), 18-65 (youth or young people), 66-79 (middle-aged), 80-99 (elderly senior), 100+ (long-lived elderly). Your thoughts on this particular breakdown, and also your thoughts as to where you land?

I think based on the people I know in their 60's this new breakdown makes so much sense! I know some spry and wonderfully fun people who fall at the end of the "young people" or beginning on the "middle-aged" and I would never describe them as old. I also like that it places me firmly in the young people category. And while I know I thought 31 seemed SOO old when I was a kid, it certainly doesn't feel that way now. Well except when I want to get in bed at 8:30 on a Friday night. 

2. TIME magazine has declared Elon Musk person of the year in 2021. What say you? If you want to know more about how they choose you'll find that info in the link here. If you were choosing, who would be your person of the year? 

I don't usually pay a lot of attention to the this announcement but I have heard a lot about Elon Musk this year. And while, I wouldn't say I've always been impressed with him or seen the huge appeal, he's definitely had some influence this year. The most interesting thing related to Elon Musk, I viewed this year was a docu series on Netflix called "Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space". While it doesn't center around Musk himself, SpaceX is his company so he obviously played an important role and I found the whole series very interesting. I recommend it if you're looking or a end of year show- just 4 or 5 episodes on Netflix. 

If  I were selecting the person of the year, I'm inclined to say teachers, or nurses or both. I would have said this same thing last year as well as these groups of people have continued to step up in challenging situations. 

3. I read here ten habits of extremely likable people which include-they greet the world with a smile on their face, they ask questions, they're consistent, they put the phone away, they remember names and use them, they keep an open mind and don't pass judgement, they're authentic, they're kind and generous, accountable for their mistakes, and they send thank you notes.  

So, are you likable-lol? Which one of these habits could use some further developing in your own life? What is one habit/quality you'd add to the list? 

Well I like to think I'm likable and I would say many of these qualities on this list are things I work to possess in myself. But there are definitely some areas that need improvement. If I'm picking one, it's putting my phone away. I definitely need to limit that time. I think I would add being punctual to that list. I love people who are punctual. 

4. One non-holiday related task/job/goal/dream on your to-do list that you hope/plan to make happen before the new year rolls in? 

Finish hanging pictures in our home...there's only 3 more. Does it count as being on my to do list but really my husband will be the one to do it? 

5. Share with us some of your holiday plans. 

Hubby and I will be visiting both sides of our family this holiday season, a few days at each. We sure would love if everyone could be together since neither of our siblings will be making it home this year but nevertheless we're looking forward to time with family celebrating the joy of the season. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Since I mentioned I've been doing some baking I thought I'd share what's on my baking list with a link to the recipe I'm using if you need any inspiration. 

Gingerbread cookies, Peppermint Snowball Cookies, Chocolate Cherry Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Martha Stewarts (ok this isn't what these are called, but it's what I've always called them- I use a recipe card from my Mema, but I've found the link I think).

I also made this delicious white chocolate peppermint bark. I found this idea last year from a girl I follow on instagram and I've linked her blog post about it here for you. She even includes a little card that you could add to yours if you're giving it as a gift. So definitely check that out.  This is SO SO easy, takes hardly any time and makes the best neighbor gift or personal holiday snack- whichever you prefer.

1. You start by crushing a bunch of candy canes. You can use the large or small but I think the small are easier to crush and since I also crush candy canes for my peppermint snowballs, I'm all about making it easy. 

2. After crushing them, you want to sift them so there isn't as much peppermint dust in the mixture. You just want the chunks. 

3. Melt white chocolate. I'm sure you're supposed to use a double boiler but I don't have a bowl I can use for that so I microwave it and it does just fine. I do 1 minute, sitr, then 15 sec, stir then 15 sec and stir one more time- done! After its melted you'll add in some of the crushed peppermint- not too much but enough to distribute it through the chocolate.

4. Spread the mixture on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and sprinkle the top with more crushed peppermint. 

5. Let it set- it would set fine on the counter I'm sure but I do it in the fridge to save time. Takes just a few minutes.

6. After it's set break it apart and store in an airtight container till your ready to eat! 

Normal Routine? Is That You?

 Nope, not yet. But we're trying! I had anticipated that since the move south meant I wouldn't be working right away I would have so much more time to blog. Hah! As it turns out, there is so much to do when you're moving that any extra time you do have, you are too exhausted to do anything else. But I do finally feel like this week, we're moving towards a semblance of normal over here. We officially moved into our home on the 17th- woohoo!! But let me back up just a couple of days. And yes, I know it's December 1st and I'm talking to you about mid November but that's where we are. 

In the few days before we closed on our home, I headed to my sister's home to visit with her family to give myself a break from hotel living and have something to do while hubby was traveling for work. It was so wonderful to eat some home cooked food after a week of nothing but restaurants and sister and I had some much overdue sister time. It's so exciting to only be a short drive away from her now. Now short is a relative term in my book because she was living on the other side of the world and then upon their return  I was still 11 hours of driving north of her. So it's not like they live down the street, but a quick 3 hours seems like a breeze! 

We talked and shopped and got lunch at the cutest cafe with an attached warehouse style store full of different booths of items to peruse. And I can't forget that sister time also equals nephew time! We snuggled and read 1,000 books and built towers so that we could knock them down and I soaked up every minute. 

It was a quick trip but just the refresh I needed to push me into the rest of my busy week. I left her house and headed straight to our house closing. After all the million papers were signed (seriously, why is it so many?) we started trekking around to get all of the utilities set up. I do not understand why things like the water and electric company are not smack dab in a central location. In theory, everyone needs to go there at some point, so why are they out in the boondocks? And not near one another? Electricity and water secured, we ran a bunch more errands to be ready for move in before grabbing dinner to celebrate our new home and prepare for one last night of hotel living before finally getting to move in.

The movers came the next day, oh and the internet company, and we had a bed delivered. So it was basically chaos but those movers really moved! Things were unloaded and out of boxes in about 6 hours. But let me not mislead you, when I say they were out of boxes, I did not say they were neatly put away. Merely out of a box and on a flat surface. Or in a big pile... 

So Thursday night was spent getting the kitchen counters cleared before ordering takeout pizza. You don't realize how much stuff you actually own until is all sitting on every surface in your home. Hubby and I both determined after this, we may need to pare down a bit. But while we are wanting to pare down, we also bought some new things - whoops! But we needed a new rug for our living room and found this beauty that I just love! 

We have since rearranged some of the furniture here, but the rug is still my favorite :) 

We spent the weekend putting things away, getting a few more things delivered, and trying to make our house look more like home. We had to be prepared for turkey day obviously! Wait, you didn't think that because we moved in the week before Thanksgiving that meant we wouldn't be hosting people at our house all the following week did you? On Tuesday my aunt and uncle brought my grandmother over to spend the week with us and Wednesday brought my in-laws for a few days, followed by my own parents arrival on Friday. Why have a new home if you can't fill it with people? 

It sounds like a lot and well it also kind of felt like a lot but mostly it felt joyful and warm and made me extra thankful we have so many people who love us. There was some seriously puzzling being done, games played, and of course too much food consumed! Hubby smoked two turkey breasts... one of which was wrapped in bacon! Plus we had all the fixings, my favorite is always the stuffing. It's really dressing I guess because I don't stuff it in the turkey but I always call it stuffing anyways. 

The last of our company pulled away on Sunday morning. And as one holiday ends, a new one gets going. We got a tree on Monday and I sure do love a lit tree in the evenings. I don't have a picture of it with ornaments on it but you get the idea. We had to get on top of things and at least get the tree up because boy our new neighborhood is full of Christmas spirit. They're going to think we're scrooges if I don't get my wreath on the door or some lights on the porch. Two weeks of my life, wrapped up in one post. But now that things are finally settling down...she says hopefully...I fully intend to be keeping you in the loop on a much more regular basis. 

And for those of you that weighed in on our zoo/aquarium decision...we went zoo! I took no pictures as proof but we made a good choice. The aquarium and about 100 other things are still on our list though!