Let It Snow

One of the things I was most excited for when I moved from Southern California to Kentucky was the seasons. Specifically snow. I CAN. NOT. WAIT. for it to snow.... I know we won't get much, and I know it won't stick for long.... but it does snow here.... enough to sled and have snowball fights, I'm told. I am such a child for looking forward to those things, but I just can't help myself!

For awhile each morning in November we awoke to a sight like this, and my heart leapt each time.... and then I'd look closer and realize it's just frost.

This icy stuff sure is pretty but why can't it snow already?! PU-leeeeeeeze! It's supposed to actually happen on Monday or Tuesday morning.... I HOPE so! And wouldn't it be cool to have a white Christmas our first year in our new home in a new state? A girl can dream....................

December Daily Then and Now

While unpacking my Christmas decor I stumbled upon last years December daily. Until last year I had never even heard of this project... but I was totally eager to jump on board. Sadly, between a full time job and being a Mom, December flew by at the speed of light. So I failed to put one together. That didn't stop me from making one though. So what if it was done in January? So what if it wasn't a traditional version?

I kept picturing one made out of a classic Christmas book and so that's what I did....

I just threw in whatever photos and embellies I felt like at the time....

Not paying much attention to making it too fancy or putting things in order. Instead I focused on using up some of my supplies that had been sitting around, keeping in mind that I wanted it to stay nice and thin....

This December I figured I would do it again... of course this time I would have time to make one as things were actually happening... you know, because I'm just sitting around being a stay at home Mom now...... hahahahaahahahaha. It's laughable that I actually thought I could crowbar this project in!

Well, at least I got as far as pulling supplies together......

I even purchased a kit from October Afternoon.

Here's everything I'm planning on working with....

 
Since I failed to prep anything beforehand (which I'm now realizing is key to actually pulling this daily feat off) I will make something fabulous in January, I'm sure. :) Maybe that's just the way it needs to happen for me, job or not.... and maybe in February I'll show you how it turns out! hehe.

For now I guess I'll just focus on making memories worth including.... 

Scrapbooking Babies & Toddlers

Awhile back I submitted a layout to Creating Keepsakes for their special Babies & Toddlers edition. After almost a year (sometimes it takes forever people!) it finally arrived on my doorstep....

you can pick it up here

It's worth the wait!

It's a really cool magazine full of beautiful ideas and inspiration. If you are scrapping any babies or toddlers I recommend picking up a copy... very cool stuff in there!

Here's mine.... "Toddler Talk"

I think I might make another version of this for the things she mispronounces now that she's older... it's more like full sentences she gets wrong. Like saying, "I carry you?" when she wants to be carried. I find it seriously adorable. Not too long ago it took me about two weeks to figure out when she said, "dooby-dooby," she meant Sleeping Beauty. (duh Mom, it's so obvious!)

Belly Laughs

One thing I love to do in life is laugh. I throw my head back in wild abandon and chuckle with the best of them... usually very loudly.... (unless you really get me going and then you won't hear a sound... instead you'll just see my face twisting and contorting as I gasp for air and weez... I've dubbed this the Grandpa laugh....my belly always hurts afterwards... and I've probably peed my pants (kidding)(mostly) :)) I don't care that I'm the loudest laugher in the room, I do nothing to stifle or hold back.... I'm not ashamed that I almost can't contain my giggle before I manage to force the next joke out of my mouth...

We love to laugh around here... we do it easily and as often as possible.

In our family giggles are contagious.... 

 Even Mister Dezmond has caught the bug.

That's the thing about a good laugh. It cures what ails you... even if sometimes it's only temporary relief. No matter what curve balls life throws, or how many things I might have to be sad about, there is always a smile and a laugh around the next corner.... life is too short to be sad and so I choose to be happy as much as I possible... and maybe that will be contagious too.

Serenity Now

If any of you are Seinfeld fans you can imagine exactly how I sound walking around all day yelling, "serenity now!" a la George Castanza..... Ev has been a total handful lately. So I'm snatching this opportunity to remind myself to take the bad with the good.... even though she has been kicking my @$$ with her toddler-geddon ways.... she still has her cute & sweet moments.... sometimes. ;)

Obviously I scrapped this on a "good" day....ha! Good thing I have this to look back on.

Seriously.... keeping it real.... as I was typing this she spilled a full cup of orange juice on the stairs and then declared she needed lemonin (lemonade)..... while wearing the cutest elf hat on the planet. ugh. I'm beginning to understand why they say sugar and spice. It toggles randomly between the sweetest and most frustrating moments all day long.... 

Like when she did this....

Yes, it's cute. She used her naptime as a chance to evaluate her wardrobe and don every single pair of pajama pants she owns. (9, if you're wondering.) But it's also frustrating because- a.)she typically refuses to wear pants, even to bed (but will wear 9 pairs simultaneously during "nap time"?!) b.)she has destroyed her room (now you see what I refer to as toddler-geddon) c.)notice the photo is snapped through a hole where the doorknob should be? I had to take it off because she locked herself in and then yelled, "I have to go potty Mommy!" in a frantic voice.... she didn't have to go, btw.... (I swear she does this stuff just to mess with me.)

I don't remember any of these challenges with my son. Did I block them out? Was I too busy working to be annoyed with his antics? Are boys just easier than girls? Not sure what it is... but I'm really hoping it's a phase.... or she may have some explaining to do when she sees Santa!

Falling

With December knocking on our door I realized that I have neglected to mention something. I LOVE FALL! After living in SoCal for the past 10 years I had forgotten what fall really felt like. The crisp air. The stunning change of the leaves. Crunching with every step. (I have a silly obsession with crunching leaves.... the only way I can describe how it makes me feel is to say that it makes my soul smile.... strange, but true.) I had every intention of making a couple of layouts to profess my love for my new old love, fall. It just hasn't happened yet. 

Luckily I took photos, so I will share those with you now....

Now almost every last leaf has fallen and we wake up to the spectacular white sparkle of frost on every inch of our yard... a sign that winter is upon us. I say bring on the snow, I can hardly wait. This seasons thing is kind of amazing.

Turkey Coma

Thanksgiving was a huge success. I was a teensie bit nervous about ruining everyone's turkey day with burned gravy, frozen green bean casserole, or the biggest tragedy of all.... not enough food. ;) Thankfully (pun intended) it went off without a hitch. Even when we realized Hottie's turkey was done two hours earlier than expected (this was our first big bird) I reacted seamlessly by sliding the side dishes in the oven. (Because in a stroke of pure genius I had prepped them ahead of time. GENIUS I tell you.) The food was a hit, and even though mine was cold (too busy giving Dez his own kind of feast) I too felt it really was delicious.

It was also my niece Cambry's first birthday. Warmed my heart to see so much family gathered around to witness her dipping her toes in the cake... felt good to be together for her special day.

We've had some fun times together... black friday shopping "together" (on all of our electronic devices while sitting around the table for a day and a half), ping pong tournament (turns out I am a pretty decent ping pong player, who knew?), firework show, Christmas light extravaganza... (almost all of which I was too busy to take photos of)...

I don't have a single complaint about this Thanksgiving weekend. It made me really happy to be surrounded by so much family.... even if it is a lot of mouths to feed. (and there were things I didn't think about ahead of time... like so many cups on the counter!) So glad that we were able to make these kinds of memories for our first holiday in our new home. I will never forget it, and am grateful that we had family willing to travel so far to make it special.

There is something I love about being in charge of the planning, and trying to make everyone happy and comfortable.... especially if it all works out. It's just so satisfying to my soul. Hopefully there will be a lot more big happy holidays to host in my future. I can finally fully grasp what Hottie is picturing when he talks about having lots of kids and a full house for the holidays... and I am totally on board.