#301, Merry Christmas

It's over.

Not put away, but it's over.
Today was relaxing and I welcomed that.

We spent the weekend enjoying time with each other and our extended families.
It was just the way we like Christmas to be.
The girls loved every minute of it.

Here's proof:Usually, I would be planning how to rearrange the house and put it all away.
But, this year is different!
Gonna be a fun week...

Living Room Decor

With more space this year we had to make some adjustments to the Christmas decor. The girls took over the family room with all the toys, books, and even a new train around the tree.
So I set up in the living room. Here is the "ice" (kids named it) tree with the new curtains as the backdrop. I made four panels for this bay window area, but only have them open in the center in this picture. I used the same print as in the family room but I love the black and white here. We have really fun vintage yellow chairs that claim this spot when the tree isn't up.
Someday we will add a rug and couch, but for now I had plenty of room for an in-home piano recital. We brought in about 30 chairs and the kids got to play for all their friends and family...it was a great set-up.
We are so thankful this year for our new home and all the fun new memories we have made and will make. We've made so many friends and it's great to be able to accommodate gatherings this season.

These Two

Inseparable.
Regan and Josh love being at the same school. I am fairly certain they will never be in the same class because it is common knowledge that they are related. And adore each other! The kindergarten Christmas program was fantastic and it was so fun to be able to see them do it together.
The music teacher at the school is dedicated. She put together the whole thing with a "Beary Merry Christmas" theme. All the kids sang fun songs with hilarious actions. I love the bear ears on the santa hats.

Lights

The cul de sac in my parent's neighborhood? Lovely.
Zoolights? Awesome...bigger and better this year.

On a Roll

Before going on a sewing hiatus-I have become slightly addicted- for the holiday season I decided to whip up some gifts for the girls teachers. We really like them because I don't imagine that I would do this for just anyone. They turned out pretty cute, but let's stay clear of zooming in because I'm no expert.

Just Breath

...And now he can!

I love my husband too much to put any other pictures of this day, but he was ok with me blogging about it. Brady has always had a hard time breathing out of his nose. He doesn't remember ever breaking it but it's been an issue for as long as I have known him. I always said to go to a doctor and address the problem, but...he has resisted. He must have gotten tired of me waking him up to stop snoring throughout the night because he went to an ENT recently. Funniest doctor e v e r. He walked in and talked to us for a minute and then checked out Brady's nose and said, "Oh yeah, you have to be miserable. It's a mess. You don't remember ever breaking it? Really?" He couldn't believe Brady had 'suffered' this long with it. He said that it was barley visible from the outside but inside needed to be worked on. Brady scheduled the surgery the next day because he was so excited when the doctor said, "You have no idea how this is going to change your life...you will feel 100% better immediately." yay! A few weeks later we went in for the outpatient surgery that took almost 2 hours. I was starting to get worried after the 90 minute mark that I was told would be the max. Just as I got up to pace the floor I was taken back to see him. His doctor said it was a lot more severe than he even realized from the initial visit. He told me to expect a rough recovery but life-changing results.
I have heard so many nightmare stories of the recovery, but Brady was tough! A few tough days, but still not near as bad as we thought. Full recovery will take a year, but he's breathing perfectly and not snoring at all! Amazing what great doctors can do. Much (much) to my dismay he was playing in a football in a work tournament 2 weeks later.

Sentimental Moment

My mom made me a blanket when I was a baby that I loved. Literally to pieces. It is tucked away safely now because I can't part with it. I made one for Emma when she was a baby that is identical to mine. So when I found out I was having Regan I found the same fabrics in purple. Um...I am a bit behind getting it done, but was reminded that it's ok because she still fits under it! And it was a new thing to teach the girls to tie a quilt, so it was worth it.
I saw the same rosebud print flannel in red and yellow long before I had Lyla, but now I can't find it...help!

Another First This Month

It was time for Lyla's first haircut. I have been waiting to do the bob that Regan had at that age for a while and my SIL Hayley finally gave us the green light. Brady tried to hold her but she wasn't having that! So...Hayley is amazing and cut Lyla's hair while she wiggled and gave her dirty looks. Gross that I let her have a sucker?? Kind of...but it was for the sake of cute hair. When we got her out of the bath that night she looked in the mirror and said, "Cute!"

After School

You would think after a long day at school that kids would want to lay on the couch, but not these kids...we have been having fun playing in the backyard. They even managed to scrape up a small pile of leaves and it was entertainment for hours. Fall in December...love it.

My Baby

Lyla and I have quite a morning routine going. A berry, spinach, flax seed, and oj smoothie with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Her baby doll joins us too. She is talking more and more these days... and loving her new found skills. She shows them off every chance she gets and I can't get enough. We read books like crazy and sing all her favorite songs about 100 times a day. This is for sure my favorite age.

A Project

I finally finished a project that was much bigger than I realized. I thought, "I'll just make some floor-to-ceiling curtains." then I decided to line them, then I decided I didn't want a middle bracket on the rod so that the curtains would be more versatile, opening in two or sliding all to one side since we will use the door often. It was convenient to have no couch in the living room so we could lay the huge panels on the floor to cut and pin. And it's always nice to have a Mom who is an expert and gave me the confidence to take it all on.
The walls in the kitchen and family room are light gray and the trim and doors in the house are a slate gray so I am loving the apple green curtains. I wanted a happy but relaxing color for this part of the house and it turned out just how I pictured it.

Two-a-Days

Only until I get caught up on this blog.

A 5 Year Old Loses a Tooth

Yep, Regan lost her first tooth! She was elated to finally get a visit from the tooth fairy! She wiggled it back and forth for days until she finally let me pull it out. I cried. She laughed.
It was a moment.

Getting Things Done

That's whats been going on here.
Lots of things.
But first, my Black Friday results.
It was fun!!
Good thing it's a one day deal because after staying up most of the night and getting fun things on great sales I was about to turn into a BF junkie.
I even went back to Target that afternoon just to make sure I got everything I wanted.
3 of the things I wanted were presents and the rest was just stuff we had been thinking about for a while.

It all started around 8:45pm with a stop at QT for hot chocolate. And pretzels. and a snickers. I was with my BIL, Brent and being the Boy Scout that he is was prepared with chairs and blankets. We got in line and started the wait. My sister's bf, Michele and Brent's sisters joined us for the fun too. I'm not gonna lie, I was skeptical...but if ever I was going to wait for 3 hours to get great deals you know I would only do it for Target!
When it was time to stand up and we started making our game plan I was nervous. What if I got trampled? What if someone was confrontational about the last gray chenille blanket? What if I got lost?
Should I have brought a whistle...like that episode of Friends where Rachel ends up curled in ball under a rack of dresses with her eyes closed blowing her whistle in scared desperation waiting for someone to rescue her. Phoebe and Monica save her...who would save me?
I panicked a little more when Brent said, "They let a few go in every 15 seconds." What? ok...When it's my turn I need to stay focused and get my cart and head to housewares. That was my assignment cause I was a rookie. I didn't feel confident enough to take on electronics. I made it with only a couple dirty looks...but that could be a result of my frazzled hair and bloodshot eyes.
When I went back later in the day it was a blur...had I really been to Target at 2am? People and red carts swarming around me? It felt like some weird dream. I liked it.
Thanks Brent, for a good initiation.