Christmas Traditions, in November…

We have quite a few Christmas traditions we look forward to every year with our little family. A couple years ago, I started feeling like we cram so much into December and try to have all of these traditions, that I wondered if we were over-doing it. With both the girls’ birthday being in December, family parties, church and school performances, plus our traditions, the month is BUSY. I worried that maybe we were running here and there and everywhere and not really even enjoying everything or taking the time to focus on the true meaning of the season. I took a long look at our traditions and thought about what we could cut out.

Truth is, there was nothing I really felt like we should stop or cut out. However, I did decide this year, to get a jump start on some things to make the weeks in December seem a little less busy. It turned out to be the perfect solution.

In fact, we even started in November! As luck would have it, the only time slot available to do our Santa pictures with the photographer that we’ve used the past two years was BEFORE Thanksgiving! That felt kind of weird seeing Santa before we’d even had Thanksgiving yet, but it was kind of neat, too.

Grammy & Pop met us there and Tucker was excited to see they were there to see Santa, too!

The whole thing is precious and I wouldn’t trade it or my story board pictures for anything. They are my favorite Christmas decorations and will be priceless treasures through the years as our kids grow up, I know.

2014 & 2015

& this year’s

Another tradition and favorite of my Christmas decorations is the kids’ hand and footprint art we do every year at Do Art. This year, we continued the tradition. Typically we go during the day, so this was the first year DW went with us. We went on a Friday night in November, and Adam, Lauren, Parker & Quinn joined us. It took me forever to decide on something that would work with all three of the kids’ prints. Having DW there was a huge help, but I think he and Adam are already calling their deed done and they don’t want any part of it next year. Ha. The platter turned out great once I picked it up and I loved adding a larger piece to our collection this year.

Another favorite…(I guess the truth is they’re all my favorite) is our family date to the Hallmark store for the kids to pick out ornaments. This year AB chose Scooby Doo (she’s become obsessed with all the old cartoons), Mamie got a pink troll (her favorite movie right now), and Tucker got a piece of heavy equipment. We always pick one for Cooper too, and this year his is a wreath with shotgun shells on it.

We also had our Christmas card pictures taken in November,

and I even ordered our cards early, too! The proof of the front & back…

It felt so good to get so many things checked off before December even started and I feel like because it was all spaced out, we enjoyed it all even more than usual. I’ll definitely try to do the same next year.

~amw~

Cabinet Redo

We just finished up the third phase of our cabinet facelift. This was the biggest section, and included all the kitchen cabinets. It was A LOT of painting! These cabinets, along with coming off of helping my parents paint the exterior of their house has me ready to put away the paint brushes for a while!

We made a trip to Lowe’s for the trim pieces. Tucker loves when Daddy is with us, because that means he can ride the germ-mobile.

Here’s one side of the kitchen BEFORE & AFTER:

I can’t believe how brighter the house is now and how updated the cabinets make everything else feel…even the fab 1960’s cork floor. ;) Ha.

The last section we have to do is the bar that separates the kitchen and the living room. After we finish that, we’ll pick out some countertops and have them all match.

We have so many cabinets that I even have some that are empty. It’s great when you’re storing stuff, but the downside to that is when the time comes to replace them all, more cabinets mean MORE money. We are putting that off as long as we possibly can, but the 1960’s faux wood laminate finish was driving me crazy. It was so dark and dated.  This was such an inexpensive way to bring new life to our cabinets and DW thinks anything that keeps me from going crazy is WORTH IT. Ha. I love how they turned out and besides the whole having to paint them part, I can’t wait for the next group we do!

Thanksgiving 2016

The week of Thanksgiving was full of work for our crew.

My parents have been in the process of doing some house renovating. The contractor they hired to do the outside work and his crew finished up putting on the hardy board and we started painting the weekend before Thanksgiving. We painted for what felt like weeks, and we were thrilled to see the end. Mom & I always say we forget how bad we hate to paint until we start.

Beau & his gang came in for the long weekend and Beau was lots of help finishing up some of the high trim and other projects. And of course, these little cousins were excited to be together!

DW & I also bit the bullet and did the next phase of our cabinet redo and tackled all of the kitchen cabinets.

Thanksgiving Day we spent the morning working around our house and then headed to Weik Iva for lunch with DW’s side of the family. It was a small crowd this year, but a great time together. The kids had a great time at their great-aunt & uncles home on the creek.

After naps at home, we headed to Mom & Dad’s for Thanksgiving Round 2 for dinner.

We all said Kristy saved Thanksgiving because she ended up cooking most of it while Mom was helping the guys finish up with house renovation. It was a wonderful meal and it’s always so good to have Beau’s family here with us.

That evening, the girls headed out for some Black Friday shopping. We hit a few stores and called it quits earlier than normal. We were all BEAT.

The next day we continued on our cabinet redo and then took Beau’s crew to see the new Bass Pro. Santa was there, and we thought we’d get a picture with all the kids, too.

Mamie had her list ready to tell Santa. This surprised no one.

The countdown is on and we’re officially ready for December!

~amw~

The Pre-K Feast

Mamie was excited to have Grammy, me, her Daddy & Tucker, all come to her Thanksgiving feast at school.

We ate with the kids in the lunchroom and then went back to their classroom for dessert.

The kids got to spend the rest of the afternoon in centers, which in Pre-K, is their favorite classroom activity!

Housekeeping is always a favorite of Mames and so is her little friend Wyatt. She’s always talking about him, so it was fun to finally meet him, too.

We stuck around for a little bit and it was fun seeing her and her little friends interact and play.

~amw~

November Randoms

- Little Linus always brings his silky, paci, and blankie when he gets out of bed in the morning and up from his afternoon nap.

- We voted. It’s always important for me that our children know what a privilege and serious responsibility voting is.

- I found AB reading from her Ipad to Mamie & Tucker in my room one day. Well, Tucker & Snow White, sitting in a storage bin.

- I lost my mind and let Tucker push the little cart at Winn Dixie. NEVER.AGAIN. It was like the Supermarket Sweep 60 Second Speed dash…complete with motor noises.

- Daddy scored some big points with Tuck last week when he took us out to the limerock pits to see them blasting. Tucker hasn’t stopped yelling, “FIRE IN THE HOLE” since.

- At the very first sign of coolness in the air, we’re all planning a Sunday evening hotdog & S’mores roast at the lake. It’s a favorite of everyone!

-  I had dinner with my dear almost life-long friend, Katie last week. Afterward, we continued our conversation on the Tioga square with Starbucks. The twinkle lights and air has it feeling like the holidays are coming! I wish I could say it was coffee in my cup. I have tried to like it, but I’ve accepted that I’m just not a coffee drinker. However, my taste buds-of-a-teenager do love some hot chocolate. ;)

- Tucker insists on bringing something in the car every single day when its time to pick up the girls from school. Some days its more than one “something…”

- The Cattle Crew was working cows one morning beside our house. Tucker watched them from his bedroom window. My sentimental self loved the thought that Pappy was working cows right outside the bedroom window that used to be his and the little boy who calls that room home now is his youngest grandson. That’s just sweet.

- What’s that saying about crying over spilled milk?!?!? I guess you can’t cry over it if you pour it in your dump truck and play in it either.

Disney, FINALLY!

We FINALLY made it back to Disney this past weekend. We decided to postpone a Fall visit and wait until they’d put the Christmas decorations up, because it had been a few years since we’d been there during Christmas. We ended up going the first weekend they had everything decorated.

Grammy went with us, and we’re always so glad to have the extra set of hands.

We left early and got there before the park opened. The monorail wasn’t running, so we took the ferry boats across to the Magic Kingdom.

I always love getting there for Good Morning/Rope Drop ceremony.

We planned the trip at the last minute, so our fast pass options were very limited. The girls REALLY wanted to ride the 7D Mine Train, but the wait, even at park opening was well over 2 hours.

We hit the Peter Pan, It’s a Small World and the carousel

and then Winnie the Pooh.

After that, we did Enchanted Tales with Belle. AB and Mamie both got to play parts. Even Tucker got to go up during the dining room dance and then meet Belle.

Little Mermaid was next.

We did the Barnstormer

and then saw Goofy & Donald under the big top.

Waiting was the hardest part for Tucker. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t just run up to them.

After some lunch, we made our way to Adventureland for the Pirates of the Caribbean. I’ve never ridden it and neither had the kids. Of course a Dole Whip was also priority when in Adventureland. We love the new set up and how quickly the line moves compared to the old location.

We saw the parade in front of the castle. We waited until the last minute, and didn’t get front row spots, but everyone could see, so it worked out.

Grammy took napping Tucker to find some shade and we decided to get in line for the 7D Mine Train with the girls. It had been broken down for over an hour, and there was NOBODY in line. We decided to chance it and wait. After 30 minutes, it opened back up and we were first in line. We literally walked from the gate all the way to the loading dock. It was crazy, just walking through what is usually a backed up line, without stopping.

We hit the Tomorrowland Speedway and then the tea cups. After a train ride all the way around the park, we did the People Mover and then Buzz’s Space Spin.

It was late afternoon and we decided to call it a day. We stopped by the see Mickey on our way out of the park.

He was so fun this trip. He told the kids a joke and asked Tucker to give him a high-five.

On our way out, we saw the castle all lit up with Christmas lights. It was a beautiful ending to another fantastic day at Disney.

* for memory’s sake- the girl’s both chose the Snow White charm for their bracelets this trip, to remember our good luck we had with the 7D Mine Train.

~amw~