Christmastime Slice of Life: December 14th, 2018

Happy Friday! I hope this finds you well and that you’ve had a great week despite surely juggling your fair share of holiday to-dos. I can’t quite figure out how my daily list of things to buy and do seems to continue getting longer rather than shorter, but ready or not, we’re 11 days out from Christmas Day.

When I think about what we’ve been up to lately, I feel like my life has looked very stereotypical of a stay at home mom lately (a.k.a. FAR FROM EXCITING or what most would want to read about on an ‘ol blog!): daily lunch and schoolbag packing and unpacking, lots of laundry and dishes, 99% of the Christmas to-do list, running to appointments and classes, spontaneous living room playdates, watching nightly Christmas movies with the girls, shopping at Costco with girlfriends, and 8:30 p.m. bedtimes (….embarrassingly for me.)

But I somehow have a few pictures I scrounged up from my iPhone, so here’s a quick “slice of life”, if you’re interested. 🙂

Hadley’s pediatrician told me that five year olds need to be actively working on riding a bike without training wheels. Oy. Hadley is no where close! After buying her three different bikes, we finally found one this summer that she loves from Target (). It’s been getting dark here before 5 p.m. for weeks now, so our opportunities to ride feel slim right now. For now, we’re tabling this “task” as something we’ll give a more intentional effort to in the spring.

My middle/high school besties have remained some of my closest friends (something I thank God for), so being able to cruise five miles down the road for a baby shower on a Sunday afternoon is not something I take for granted. Love these dear friends of mine and watching them rock their roles as mothers and wives.

I was almost in tears a couple of weeks ago when our neighbor gave my girls a wrapped present with shirts that said “(neighborhood name) crew”. Her mom made them for a few families that have gotten to be close friends, and I just thought this was the sweetest thing (thank you Gma Weltman!) I can’t explain how badly I hoped and prayed for neighborhood community with other young families, and to have found it on our street is one of life’s current biggest blessings. Psst: Two of the young families are also from Kansas! We marvel all the time about how nuts it is that God took all of us from the same area and planted us here practically on top of each other.

We just love these friends so much!

We woke up last Saturday morning to torrential rain and knew it was going to last all day. The girls were hyper almost immediately, and rainy days at home like this sometimes aren’t my favorite because the kids get stir crazy, and I’m not one who loves to entertain all. day. long. Solution? Text the neighbors at 7:30, tell them to come eat and hang for the morning, and let the kids have a ball. One of my best friends also came over with her kids, and we had a ball lounging, snacking, and making the most of what would have otherwise been a “blah” morning.

Hadley’s favorite Christmas movie so far = Home Alone! Watching it as an adult, I wouldn’t think of it as a movie that’s crude or has bad language, but when you watch it with a five year old, you realize they say a lot of things that you might not want your kiddo to hear. Whoops! My friend Erin said it best when she said “We just cough or talk really loud during those parts!” Ha! Hadley roared (I mean roared!) with laughter throughout most of this movie, and she understood the general storyline too, exclaiming “Aw, his mom came home to him!”

Another successful Jammy Cocoa Christmas in the books! I took this idea from Shay last year and did this with our family without any of them knowing what we were up to, and both Jamie and Hadley loved it. This year, Jamie picked the night, told the girls that morning, and then texted me mid-day to let me know that Jammy Cocoa Christmas was happening that night. Ha! Didn’t have to twist my arm!

After dinner, we put on our (psst: they run big + they do 40% sales all. the. time., so don’t buy them unless you wait until their frequent sales!), grabbed drinks and cake pops from Starbucks, and then headed to the Botanical Gardens Galaxy of Lights. Super, super fun night!

Don’t feel silly doing this with your fam! The Starbucks people couldn’t care less. They didn’t say a word about it, and coffee shops usually aren’t packed with customers at 6:30 p.m. 😉 Have fun with your family, make memories with/for your kiddos, and enjoy another year to participate in silly/sweet traditions. <3

If you’re looking for one more gift for a kiddo that you love, may I suggest ?! They. Are. The. BEST! Hadley has had hers for 3 or 4 years, and Sadie got hers last year from Santa. They run around $100+, but my goodness, they are the coziest things. We travel with them, watch movies in the them, and the kids’ friends always love them.

The highlight of last weekend: Army’s win over Navy!! Can you tell what Jamie “wrote” in his Saturday morning pancake?

Beat Navy!!

We watched the game with the Huntsville West Point Society of graduates and their families, and my goodness – I couldn’t believe how many people were there! 200 maybe?! This area is so saturated with former and current military, which has made this transition to civilian life a million times easier!

And finally – Sadie Rose. This girl. She made the cutest gingerbread ornament at school that day, and I took this picture of her and her creation once we got in the car. Once we got home 10 minutes later, it was gone. In true typical Sadie fashion, she ate it. Oy. I can’t handle this chick. 😉 I don’t know if it was icing or glue that held down those candy pieces, but she’s still alive, so all is well.

And that wraps up another “Slice of Life”. <3 Have a beautiful weekend!!

Let’s chat!

When did your kids take off on a regular bike without training wheels? I’d love to know!