It's that time of year again--time to pretend we've been good for 11 months and pray to God that Santa Grandma didn't see it! The babes are getting one large combined present from all their grandparents, and I know they are going to love it. It's this play table that is multipurpose and will function as a train table and an art table. It's extra cool because it has different leg lengths and can grow with the kids, even becoming a desk later on. We're adding the clear acrylic topper and the large storage bins, which will make it so functional and extra kid-friendly. Bobby has been asking for a train table for weeks, so I know he's going to be excited when he sees it on Christmas morning!

We've decided to scale back a little this Christmas and implement the "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read" idea, at least from us. There's no stopping grandparents, and who am I to argue with my elders ;) 

These are a few ideas I have for each tot (they definitely aren't getting all of them). Bobby is almost three, and he's especially into trains, airplanes, Star Wars, and going outdoors. Vivi is 18 months, and she's into blocks, stacking anything/everything, counting, ABC's, and the Bubble Guppies. I've got a solid idea for every category, although I think the term "need" is relative when you're a toddler. The kids definitely aren't left needing for much, but we parents NEED Bobby to sleep in until 7am, so that toddler alarm clock is really for us. 

Lincoln Logs // Star Wars nesting dolls // Bubble Guppies school set // Tobbles

Toddler alarm clock // Balance bike // Growth chart // ABC puzzle

grey Toms // rose gold Toms

Truck book // CG book // Goodnight Mr. Darcy // Emma book

My list is small and probably a long shot, and--if we are being totally honest--should be a two-item list bearing the words "Diet Pills" and "Botox." But I'll keep it classy and hope for a FitBit. Isn't the Tory Burch FitBit bracelet awesome? So is this gold one. But I need the actual FitBit first, so that may have to wait and be a birthday present. I also need some new rainboots, as my previous pair never returned from Japan. I collect cake stands, so that rustic wood one has been on my love list for months. Probably not a necessary item, but I do love. And I may have already purchased myself the shirt, because I AM the Mother of Dragons :)

wood cake stand // fit bit // Tory Burch fitbit bracelet cover // baseball shirt // short Hunter boots // book

Now I will be spending the rest of the month trying to come up with one thing to get my husband. Why are men the hardest creatures in the world to shop for??

Have a great week!

XO

Friday and Stuff

I haven't spent much time online--or doing much of anything--lately. The terrorist attacks in Paris last week coupled with the drama going on domestically and the pictures of the Syrian refugee kids blasted in my face every time I pick up my computer have been bumming me out. I certainly don't have the answers; I can only thank God that I was born on the side that I'm on and pray that He keeps my family and country safe. But man, it's had me in a sobered mood this week. Add a tornado in the neighborhood to that, and this week has been kind of a bummer all the way around. Three hours curled up in a tiny space in my hall closet is not the way I planned on spending the allotted "free time" I get every week. 

But I decided today to stop dwelling on the things I cannot change and to be thankful for my blessings. At least the tornado didn't actually hit my house, right? There will always be terrible things going on in the world, but I can't dwell on those things or else I will drive myself crazy. So I started decorating for Christmas, because if that won't perk up your mood, then nothing will. I lit cozy candles. I listened to jazzy Christmas tunes. I even took a shower, for the love of God. I am as perky as I can get at this point. 

This last week hasn't been a complete waste; we spent some time with my parents in Georgia, and the kids had a blast, as always. They have a massive yard and farm for the beasties to run wild in, and they were in hog heaven, especially when the Grandparents weaponized them with gardening tools. Both of my parents love gardening, and they always encourage eating playing in the dirt. As I am more of an indoor girl, that is something I would never do; most of my life's efforts are spent in vain trying to get my kids out of the dirt. That must be why they love the farm so much. It's funny to watch them explore and see what they naturally gravitate to on their own. Vivi pretty much stuck to gardening, while Bob became utterly intrigued with the water fountain..and the doggy door, but I didn't get a picture of that. 

Along with my change-in-attitude today, we have some exciting things going on this weekend. We are meeting friends tonight for a Christmas parade and to welcome Santa to Destin. Bobby finally understands the concept of Santa Claus this year, so I'm really excited to see his excitement! Alex returns to us tomorrow, just in time to watch football. Little does he know that I am going to enlist his help decorating the front of the house :)

And then we have family pictures on Sunday. Can't decide if that is going to be fun or torturous, but we shall see. 

Here are some things on my radar this weekend:

1) This white felt garland is my one of my fave decor items ever. I love it for Christmas, of course, but it's great for adding a little festive-ness to the fireplace or a chalkboard year round! 

2) I've started lighting my favorite winter candle lately: B&B Fireside. It's a little off-putting at first sniff if you are more of a floral gal, but trust me--it gets so much better once you light it. It smells literally exactly like a fire, which makes me feel so cozy and nostalgic for falls and winters past. WoodWick also makes a great fireside candle, but my favorite is still the good ol' Bath & Body Works one. 

3) Speaking of fireside, there is nothing more I would love than to curl up by the side of a fire with this stunning fringe blanket. Isn't it so pretty? If you need a gift for a loved one who appreciates fun home decor, this may be the ticket.

4) This tunic is one of my favorite buys this fall. I've come to terms with the fact that I am pear shaped and that's never going to change, but one of the biggest downsides to that is that it's really difficult to find tunic-length tops that don't get too tight around the hips. This shirt eliminates that problem. It's inexpensive and super soft, but my favorite part is that it has slits on the sides, which accommodates a more robust hip/bottom region. It's great with leggings or jeans, and I wear it a lot it underneath a thin vest.

4) I love dressing the kiddos in traditional Christmas colors most of the time, but I also love going with the fun, technicolor designs, too. I snagged this colorful sweater dress for V, and can't wait to pair it with some tights and boots.

5) I can't leave out Bobcat when it comes to holiday finery, so I recently picked him up a couple of festive t-shirts, including this holla-day shirt and this reindeer games shirt.  My favorite one is this Elf shirt. It just describes his mischievous nature down to a tee. I also love this Yeti sweater from J.Crew; it would be so cute for a little boy to wear for Christmas ;)

6) The Southern Living Christmas issue. I mean, this is a given every year. But everything in this is perfection, especially this recipe for gnocchi mac-and-cheese. That's going to be a must-try this Christmas! 

7) Watch this and smile. You're welcome. You're also smiling, aren't you?

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Friday Faves

The differences between children in a family never fails to amaze me. 

We went to the hospital on Tuesday to get Vivi's shots up to date, and I decided that we might as well all get our flu shots then, too. This was an experiment in terror. And it was also a testament to how poor planning can really screw up an otherwise lovely afternoon. 

 Vivi got four shots + the flu shot. I got one flu shot. Bobby got one flu shot. 

I didn't even notice that they had given me my shot because I was so distracted wrangling my beasties into submission, and I ended up having to chase Bobby out through the lobby with my bra exposed. Once we got back to the shot booth, we prepped Vivi for her shots, and she took all five of her shots like a champ and cried for about 20 seconds before forgetting about it. 

Bobby got his one shot and cried for about 20 minutes before having to be hushed with a lollipop that a poor stranger from across the hospital came and gave him. 

I don't understand how two kids who came from the same two people in less than two years can be so different. I'm beginning to realize that to an extent, people are just born the way that they are. I'm not sure what to do with that except to just love them and try to roll with it. And laugh a lot. 

On an unrelated note, here are some goodies:

1) It's time for Christmas jammies! I don't think I love anything more than putting my kiddos in festive pjs. I have yet to figure out why they're infinitely cuter than daytime clothing, but tots in pajamas just do it for me. Gap has rolled out some cute sets this season. I love these Christmas tree cars for Bobby, since he gets excited about anything with horsepower. And I've been eyeing these multicolored deer for Viv, which I especially love because they're appropriate for all Winter and not just limited to Christmas. Not that that's ever stopped me from letting my kids wear snowmen jammies in June. 

2) I love swapping out throw pillows for every season, and these Thanksgiving pillows from West Elm are adorable. Thankful for naps? DITTO.

3) This video is the funniest thing I've seen all week. I've already told you how I angry clean (is there any other way?), but this is exactly how I am on the day of a party I am hosting. It's spot on. And I'm pretty sure I learned it from my mama. 

4) I rarely buy much clothing for myself these days, but I've been wanting a fur-lined olive green parka for winter. I've been scoping out the scene for a while and really loved this one, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to commit to the price tag. I'm not that much of a parka girl. So I went with this one from Forever 21 that is almost identical for a fraction of the cost. Yay for savings! 

4) Is this not the sweetest little deer sweater? The whole deer motif works from November-February, and I like being able to get some mileage out of kids' holiday wear. Cost-benefit analysis, baby ;)

5) And, continuing in cost-benefit mode, I am adore these wood chargers. I would decorate with these year round; they would transition from Fall to Christmas seamlessly. Then again, I'm a sucker for anything with the reclaimed wood vibe. Like this wood and marble cake stand. How perfect would that be adorned with a crusty pecan pie? Be still, my heart. 

6) Speaking of pecan pie, I'm already thinking about my favorite recipe, complete with a homemade butter pie crust. Try skipping the Crisco this year and going for straight buttah. It'll blow your mind. 

Thoughts on a Thursday

It's been a little quiet over here lately, and that's because we all almost died over this last week. Some recent thoughts:

1) I hope everyone had a happy Veteran's Day. Or, as was the case in our house, a happy "The last kid woke up with the stomach flu, other kid still has diarrhea, you have an antibiotic resistant UTI, and your husband is leaving in the morning for 10 days" Day. 

Yes, yesterday was a hot mess. The past week has been rough, but yesterday was the final straw. I've been in more pain than usual with a bladder infection that didn't want to quit for the last week, and the stomach flu has also been picking us off one-by-one lately. First Alex, then me, then Bobby. Vivi seemed to have an immune system of steel and didn't show even the slightest symptom, so we have been going to great lengths attempting to sequester her from everybody else for days. All seemed to be going well in that arena until yesterday, when the shit hit the fan. Pun intended. Never have I changed so much bedding in my life. First Bobby's. Then Vivi's. Then, as I was changing V's sheets, Bobby came and knocked my Theraflu tea all over my Tempurpedic mattress. So then my bedding had to go, too. At this point, I started getting body aches and chills and came down with a low-grade fever. Everybody kind of lost it for a little while, and then my fever broke, and I started angry-cleaning the house top to bottom in a vain attempt at disinfecting. And Bobby climbed in the bathtub while it was full of bleach. He didn't die, so we are assuming he's okay. Cleaning can kill, guys. Luckily, we woke up feeling SO much better this morning, and everybody is still alive with all their body parts intact. Poor Alex had to leave in the middle of the night, just in time to miss us waking up recovered and acting like civilized humans semi-pleasant.

2) To make myself feel a little bit better, we made a Target run this morning. There isn't much that makes me happier than Target during Christmas. Well...going to Target alone during Christmas. But that's not going to happen anytime soon. They have some gooood stuff out. I have my eyes on these flannel sheets in plaid (because you always need a spare set, right?) and these bottle brush Christmas trees. The pink and mint green would be so perfect in Viv's room! Bobby needed a few cool-weather items, so I snagged him this adorable deer antler sweater. Isn't it so cute? It's on point for Thanksgiving! 

3) Bobby has been speaking with a British accent lately. Yeah. A slightly Southern/slightly British little boy accent. After perplexedly listening to him talk like this for the better part of a week, I finally have deduced that he is getting the accent from watching Peppa Pig. He says our names like a tiny little British boy, with a questioning inflection toward the end of the word. "Dad-dy?" "Mum-ma?" And it is the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life. Until you hear it fifty-'leven times. "Mum-ma? Mum-ma? Mum-ma? Mum-ma?" All day long. And then he doesn't even want anything after he calls my name 10 times in a row in a voice usually reserved for the angels.

 "Mum-ma? Mum-ma? Mum-ma? Mum-ma?" 

"Yes, darling?" 

"Mum-ma? Mum-ma?" 

"What, Bobby?" 

"Mum-ma? Mum-ma?" 

"Oh, God, WHAT?" 

"Hi!" 

4) I have been listening to Christmas music round-the-clock, yet the Halloween spiderwebs are still hanging from my kitchen chandeliers. And I have no excuses for this except {see #1}. That and I'm lazy. 

5) I am finally getting around to watching Modern Family. I know, I'm like seven years behind the times, but I lived on an island in Japan for three of those years. And it's like a time capsule from the 1960s over there, so I'm blaming half of it on that. Anyhow, after hearing about a billion rave reviews on it, I finally started watching the show during the unfortunate plague last week, and I have been dying. It is so darn funny. I've been searching since 2004 for a show that brings me some clever, comforting laughs and takes the place of Friends re-runs. Modern Family nails it. I'm so glad I finally gave into the hype, even if I am the better part of a decade late to the party. 

6) Maybe I'm alone here, but Daylight Saving's Time is the bomb this year. My kids must be the only kids in North America who were affected positively by the change, and, while I do hate that it gets dark at 4:30 over here, I kind of like that it makes me feel like it's almost bed time when the evening news airs. 

7) Speaking of air, Florida weather is killing me. It rained for a week straight, then one day we had Summer levels of humidity, the next day it was in the sixties, and today it was 80. But tomorrow it's supposed to get cold again. I put a jacket on Bobby this week (the one day it was cool), and he looked at it and asked, "what's that?" Big sigh. 

I know, bud. It's a head scratcher.

Here's to smooth sailing for the rest of the week! It's almost the weekend!!

XO

Halloween Hangover

At what point did hangovers become a three day affair? 

I don't drink too often due to pain from my bladder disease, so when I do drink, I do it up right.

Case in point.

 Thursday night seemed like the perfect setting to go all out in a blaze of glory, as it was the evening of the annual Witches Brew Cocktail that I host with some friends. The concept was begun by a fabulous, Halloween-obsessed military wifey back in Japan, and now people have taken the idea all over the world to their new bases. Now it seems like all of our friends at every base have one of these witch parties, and it's so fun to see the pictures. The only requirement is that you bring a hat and a broom; the rest of the costume is up to you. It's really neat to see what different people come up with. This year we had sexy witches, scary witches, business witches, party witches, housewife witches, Hocus Pocus witches, Harry Potter witches/wizards, and a Stevie Nicks-esque zombie witch (ahem, that would be me). 

The food was amazing, and the booze was flowing. Multiple Shots were taken. And then--out of nowhere--I ended up in a bar in Destin with a fellow witch friend, thinking man-oh-man, I'm going to regret this in the morning. And man-oh-man, I did. I regretted it the next morning. The next afternoon. The next evening. The morning after that. To save you time, I'll just tell you that I was hungover for about three and a half days. Luckily the kiddos were at my parents' house having a blast, so I could nurse my hangover in peace. But wow, I forgot just how bad being hungover is, and I have once again promised God that I will not drink heavily for another 10-12 months if He would just make it go away.

And that.

The kids returned home on Halloween morning, just in time for us to carve our family pumpkin. I think we may have skipped this tradition last year, since they were really too little to participate, but we decided to give it a try this year. People always say they miss having little babies and that they hate when their kids grow up (and if you have toddlers, that's a valid complaint), but I actually love that my kiddos are getting to the age where can now begin to take part in family activities. They had the best time helping with the pumpkin. Bobby would have played in the pumpkin guts all afternoon if we had let him. And then there was nothing else in the world like the big grins on their faces once they saw the jack-o-lantern completely carved. Bobby was so proud of it. 

I'm not even going to talk about the football shitshow that was the Cocktail Party this year, but tears may have been shed. We actually just turned off the television after half-time, put our costumes on, and headed out trick-or-treating. 

Here's the thing I don't love about trick-or-treating where we live: we are in the central time zone, so around Halloween-time, it literally starts getting dark around 4:45 in the afternoon. Now, maybe I'm doing this whole trick-or-treating thing wrong, and please correct me if I am, but I grew up going in the evening. And by "evening," I mean not three o'clock in the damn afternoon. This year we headed out the door around 5:30/6pm, which I do not consider to be late at all for trick-or-treating. That seems like a reasonable time to me. But it's pitch black here at 6pm, which makes it difficult to see, and freaking impossible to get good pictures. I don't love using a flash on my camera, but there's no other way to take pics when it's so dark outside. I need to have a better strategy next year, so I'm actually curious to know what y'all all do. Do y'all go early in the daylight? If so, do people even give out candy then? Or do y'all wait till dark and just say screw it?

Anyhow, it was dark, so we just went around the loop in our neighborhood. But the beasties LOVED it. Bobby really "got" it this year. He understood the concept of knocking on the doors, saying "trick-or-treat," and "Happy Halloween!" And he also understood the concept of keeping his candy on lockdown. I'll be damned if he was going to share any of that candy with anybody. Vivi, on the other hand, also enjoyed going door-to-door begging, but she was content to eat candy bars with the wrapper still on. 

Afterward, we laid around all day Sunday nursing our sugar hangovers and watching the rain fall. And now I have removed all of my Halloween decor, ushered in the Thanksgiving goodies, and am getting so excited for the next set of holidays! Have a great week!