My Week In Instagrams

Just a peek into my week through Instagram...

What a full + busy but good week.
I have admittedly struggled during this Holiday season but I am finished with everything
and not stressed out and
 there are so many little things that have filled me right up and brought me peace and happiness.
I am definitely counting my blessings this today.

Making my lists and checking them twice.

I did much better shopping ahead of time than I have in along time.... Maybe ever.

Less holiday stress is what I need and this year was much better for me in that way for sure.

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Surrounded.

Yes I copied this and I am totally okay with that.

The kids thought it was pretty funny.

It's so, so hard to drag myself out of bed on these super dreary no-sunshine days.

So hard. 

I am so very proud of this girl these last couple of weeks.

She took it upon herself to make presents for everyone and wrap them all herself, without any help.

Last count I think she had made and wrapped 16 presents.

THIS makes my heart so happy.

I found Boggle at the thrift store for a dollar last week and snatched it up fast.

I am all for playing games with the kids that do NOT take an hour. Yes, please.

We had a lot of fun with this.

The Christmas school program is my favorite.

See my girl?

{In the middle, next to the boy with the red tie}

I loved getting to see Wyatt play his violin on stage for the first time.

Wrapping and packaging presents with cute supplies makes it just a little bit more fun I think.

Last minute shopping with my boy.

I got to do this with each of them this week and it was fun.

One-on-one time with the kids is fun and is important to me, I try to make it a priority.

Busy week at work... but I have a few days off and couldn't be 

h  a  p  p  i  e  r.

Plus I got the best Christmas present from my boss... I will share that next week.

I'm so excited about it! 

Stuffed paper animals Charlotte made for my cousin's baby she is due to have in March.

How cute are these?

I tried to suggest sewing them instead of using staples but this girl wants to do everything herself...

 and...

Let's just say she doesn't always love my suggestions.

Oh I do love the lights and sitting in the dark with the tree all lit up.

It's one of my most favorite things about this time of year.

Making homemade snow globes.

They didn't turn out great but we are still working on them...

I don't think Martha Stewart's look like these.

I wish I could walk around with this lighting and my face/skin looked like it does through 

my phone lens... :)

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.
Thank you for stopping by here, for reading and sharing and for your encouragement.
It really means so much to me.
XO

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Twinkly Lights All The Year Through

If I were to give anyone advice on creating a cozy, relaxing corner at home, I think my number one suggestion would be to put up
twinkly lights somewhere and leave them up all year long.
I mean- not that anyone is actually asking me for advice... but you know. 
These are not Christmas lights folks, these are lights to be put up and left up until they burn out.
All the way out.

I always have lights up on my fireplace mantle, I'm sure we have been through at least four sets
since we have lived in this house.
I always have a string of lights up in my tiny little office and I always  couple of strands in the backyard hanging across the fence, too.
I think I need some hanging in my bedroom and in Charlotte's bedroom, too but I just haven't gotten around to it just yet.
One day.

The twinkly lights give off the perfect amount of light during the day and night.
When I am sitting in the living room at night after the kids go to bed, watching tv or reading in peace and quiet... just perfect.
So calm and relaxing and happy.
Sometimes it really is the simplest of things that bring us the tiniest bit of happiness and I'll take that.

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So tonight I will be sitting here in my living room with my twinkly lights, watching Elf-- and I'm sure it  won't be the last time I
will see this before Christmas, either.
We love Elf.
I just realized that this time next week, Christmas will be over. Over. Wow.

I'm trying hard to enjoy this last week, it sure has flown by!
Have a great weekend, everyone.

Feeling A Little Christmasy

See... I'm not a total Grinch, I am writing a Christmasy post this morning.
I thought I would share a few of my favorite Christmasy things around the house today, and really just a few
because I didn't go all kinds of crazy with getting all of my decorations out this year...
There is a lot I didn't bother to unpack because we got our tree later than usual this year.
There's always next year though, right? And yeah, I do pretty much say that every year. Ha!

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That's Kringle the elf taking pictures out the front window.
Yes, we do the whole Elf on The Shelf(a pretty laid back version) and no, I am not losing sleep
over it and no, I don't think I am ruining my kids over it either.
There are many, many other ways I am quite sure I am ruining my kids though.  ;)
He's not the most creative Elf but he gets the job done for the most part-- we are not winning any awards for his adventures
though, that's for damn sure.

The holly/mistletoe mug was my grandma's and so was one of the Santa mugs, 

the rest were thrift store/antique store finds.

The green polka dot napkins that match an adorable vintagey flowered

 tablecloth and were all made by Eric's grandma.

I love using my vintage glass ornaments on the tree, in bowls and jars and they look 

extra pretty with the white twinkly lights around them I think. 

I have had some of these glass ornaments passed down to me and one year I scored about

 5 boxes for dirt cheap at a rummage sale. True story. 

I am talking like twenty-five cents and fifty cents per box.

We love our little light up churches and buildings that sit on top of the piano.

One year these were like 75% off at Target after Christmas and my mom bought

 them all for me and saved them as a birthday present for my birthday the next August.

I think they ended up being $5 each.

Handmade glittery pine cone ornament made by Wyatt.

All of the boxes I got from the rummage sale and are in their original boxes.

Love that! 

Ignore all the things the kids crammed under our tree, below. 

This is the thinnest tree we have ever had, ours are usually much more round and full,

but it's kinda pretty and it smells good I think. 

We really didn't take a whole lot of time choosing this year, if you wanna know the truth.

I have to say that even during the years when I am not super into Christmas I love

 seeing ornaments form years passed, favorite Christmas books from my own childhood and

 all of the handmade ornaments from my own kids.

That can't help but get ya a little bit more in the Christmas mood, huh?

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Happy Wednesday, friends. 

Good Lord. Christmas Eve is exactly ONE WEEK from today, you guys.
Eeeeek!

Hard Days

So... I am going to be honest and just put it all out there.
These days here lately have felt so hard.
Just hard... For a lot of different, little reasons and for no reason at all.
It's the Holiday season where things are supposed to be oh-so-happy, right?
All I feel is stress and anxiety and dread.
In the last week I have somehow became the person that fantasizes about being on a beach at Christmas time,
my kids waking up and opening their presents in a hotel, with no Christmas tree and all of their extended family across the country.
I used to think that would be the saddest, most pathetic thing ever.
Now it sounds like a relief.

I don't know what's wrong with me, or how I got here some days.
No one wants to be around a Debbie Downer who doesn't love Christmas, right?
The funny thing is, I don't even want to be around that person.
To me, regular stress and anxiety is magnified 1,000 times during this season.
And really, some days and weeks and seasons of our lives are hard enough when it's not the holiday season.

It sucks when you can't get out of your own head and you can't just flip a switch like you wish you could.
Sometimes it's harder than that.
These days will pass, and there will be new ones and they will be easier.
I know this.
Until then I will just keep plugging along, just like everyone else.
And you know what?
It's okay to admit that these days, that some days, are just hard.


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Trying To Make Myself Get There.

The calendar says that today is the 5th of December and to me that is total and complete craziness.
I'm still dreaming of leaves and campfires and pumpkin spice lattes... but that's over for this year I hear.
Really?
Because it's totally November 5th to me.
But it's not and I am in total denial that the Christmas season is really here.

Every year I have a super tough time getting into the Christmas spirit... I can't just turn it on automatically on December 1 like
I feel most everyone else can. I really, really wish I could though.
This is one time when I really wish I was like everyone else.
Not that this is my total excuse because like I said, this is just me, but this year especially with my dad's stroke and hospital stay
pretty much being the entire focus for the month of November it is just extra tough making myself get into the "spirit".

My goal for this weekend(for Sunday because Saturday is full) is to get a little Christmas tree and get out the decorations.
I'm doing it.
I have to do it because there's only 2 more weekends after this weekend until Christmas.
Ouch.
So this Sunday I will do it.
I will put on the holiday music and make hot cocoa and get out all some of our Christmas decorations and I will do it.
We will get a tree but it probably won't be a huge expensive tree because it won't be up too long anyway at this point-- BUT --
we will get one and I will force myself to feel as Christmasy as I can.

And then I will promise myself that next year will be different and I won't feel this way next year and next year I will be a
completely different person...
And I don't really believe that, but a girl can dream. Right?



///  Happy Weekend, friends.  ///