HOW I DECORATE MY CHRISTMAS TREE

December 2, 2018 • ,

It is so hard to choose my favorite part of the Christmas season.  I love the fact that it brings my extended family together under one roof.  I love watching the magic of everything through my girls' eyes.  Also at the top of that list is how much I love all the Christmas decor.  I am a product of my raising.  My grandmother owned her own florist.  She also owned a Christmas store in the second half of her building.  So my passion and knowledge come from watching my grandmother and my mother create the most beautiful trees, garland, and wreaths every Christmas for 30 years.  I am no expert on decorating.  I'm just a girl who grew up watching women whose art was holiday décor.
I like to go with a more formal and traditional tree in my living room.  I try to coordinate my trees with the rooms' existing decor to create a cohesive look.  Consequently I use more whimsical and fun decor throughout the rest of my house- like the girls' bedrooms and playroom.  But this post will revolve around my traditional tree.  First I recommend picking a Christmas tree that's no more than 1-1.5ft shorter than your ceilings.  I have 9ft ceilings and a 7.5ft tree.  
Decide on a color scheme and choose your ribbon first.  The ribbon takes up the most room on my tree.  So I revolve the ornaments and picks around my ribbon.  Pick two or three different textures or prints that are cohesive, but not matchy matchy.  I went with a simple neutral color palette for my tree, so it was easy to find cohesive ribbon.  If you are going to go with two very opposite colors I would suggest you find a third pattern that includes a little of both colors to tie them all together.  I also like to choose ribbon that stands out - typically that means glitter for me.  The shimmer glows beautifully against the lights.  You also want thick wired ribbon, especially if you have a larger tree.  Thin ribbon (similar to what you would put bows on presents with) will look odd against a large tree.  I would guess my thickest ribbon is about 4" thick.  

Ribbon will be the first thing you put on your tree.  I cut my ribbon into 12-18" sections and loop them in my tree in a zig zag pattern.  Place them all in a vertical-ish direction adjusting the placements ever so slightly.  Once I've finished off one roll, I switch colors and alternate my zig zag placements in the opposite way of the first roll.  I used approximately five rolls of ribbon on my tree.

Ornaments are next- if you have a good sized tree, you're going to need good sized ornaments to balance it out.  I have 13 extra large ornaments, and I could probably use a few more.  Again, choose ornaments in about two-three different colors.  But choose several different shapes, textures and patterns to mix it up and also use ornaments that incorporate both colors to tie them together.  I place my largest ornaments in a zig zag pattern and take them about 2/3 of the way up my tree.

Medium and small ornaments can be sprinkled throughout the tree, concentrating the small ornaments towards the top half of the tree.  The medium sized ornaments can be used across the entire tree.  Once you have all your ornaments placed you should have very little holes at this point.  I remember helping my mom decorate her trees growing up and getting so frustrated that I could not find a spot for ALL the ornaments she wanted me to put on her trees.  When you get to this point - you've made it.  
Finally, I always like to use picks to fill in the holes through out my tree, again placing them in a zig zag pattern.  I also like to use picks as my tree topper.  I like the larger statement they make.  I have about eight picks in my tree topper and another dozen or so throughout my tree.

 I hope this was helpful! I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas.  Happy decorating!
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WAYS TO MAKE YOUR TODDLER MORE INDEPENDENT

November 19, 2018 •

I don't like talking about it, because I will make myself cry if I think about it hard enough.  But we are getting closer and closer to kindergarten over here.  And my girls are about to walk into a world their mother does not micromanage.  So with that in mind, I've been mindful of trying to teach my girls more responsibility and self reliance.  I've noticed a significant change in Everly these past few months.  So I thought it might be helpful to other moms if I shared some changes we've made that I think has made the biggest difference in her independence.

 PICKING UP AFTER THEMSELVES
Enforce cleaning up after themselves with easy storage solutions like ottomans and baskets.  This makes picking up toys much easier for both my girls and myself.  It's easy for them to throw toys into a basket.  And I don't have expectations of it looking a certain way, like I do the items openly displayed on bookshelves or dressers.  I think this is key.  If I am going to enforce my toddler to pick up after herself, it's not fair of me to criticize her efforts if things aren't displayed perfectly.  We have some sort of basket or ottoman in every single room in the house for this reason.  It's much easier to get Everly to comply with putting her toys into a basket in the same room as opposed to carrying her toys upstairs to the playroom.

Picking up after herself is not a "chore" for my four year old.  It is an expectation.  She is not rewarded for it.  I try to teach her that if she is willing to make the mess, she has to be willing to clean it up.  Otherwise, don't get it out.  If she throws a fit about having to pick up her toys, she isn't allowed to get in the ottoman the next day after school.  It's the same expectation for dinner time.  Anyone who sits at the table and eats has to throw their own paper plate in the trash and cup in the sink.  I even put paper towels in an easy to reach location and make my four year old clean up her spilled milk.  Of course the process takes FOREVER, and she goes through half a roll of paper towels to clean up the tiniest spill.  But eventually this became habit for Everly and she cleans up her spilled messes without me even knowing.  Sometimes I'll find half the role of paper towels in the trash can, only to find out later Everly cleaned up water she had spilled.

Even my 20 month old has to help clean up after herself.  Of course with toddlers that young you have to set realistic expectations.  Addison takes her own plate to the trash.  But if she dumps 57 cheerios on the floor, it can be overwhelming for her to have to pick up every single one.  So I encourage her by getting down there myself and helping her.  However I always make sure to leave 10 cheerios on the floor for her to pick up and throw away herself.  Later on I will create some sort of "chore chart" that will allow them to get rewards for performing extra help around the house.  But picking up after themselves will not be on that list.

 This may seem obvious and so simple.  But I am always surprised at how many birthday parties we attend where Everly is one of the few toddlers throwing her own plate away before she runs off to play.  Plus it makes the next day so much easier when the shoes are easy to find and the living room isn't cluttered.

GETTING READY FOR THE DAY
An easy morning for us starts the night before.  Everly and I recently started getting together Sunday night to go through her closet and pick out five agreed upon outfits that she will wear for the week.  She has really enjoyed this new process.  Since she prefers "work out clothes" all day every day, we compromise.  I pick out an outfit, then she picks out an outfit.  We alternate back and forth until all five outfits are put together.  We put those five outfits on the lower shelf in her closet separate from the rest of her wardrobe.  Then every morning once she finishes her breakfast and watches ten minutes of television, all I have to do is ask her to go get dressed.  And she knows exactly what to do.  There's no fuss, no arguing, no me running around trying to find her clean panties (most of the time).  She feels independent and more confident.  Almost always we walk out the door with shoes on the wrong feet.  But that's okay.  Girlfriend did it, and she did it all by herself.  

Speaking of walking out the door, teach your toddler how to turn off the TV.  The small things are sometimes the greatest help when we are running late and I'm across the room trying to get Addison's shoes on.

Now that Everly is in preschool, I'm trying to teach her to be mindful of what she needs to bring to school the next day, and be responsible enough to remember them herself.  Designate a noticeable spot for your toddler to put things they have to bring with them the next day.  For us, it's the kitchen table right next to the door.  If she has dance class the next day, I remind her that she needs to put her ballet shoes next to the door so she doesn't forget them.  If she has to turn in homework the next day, put it next to the door.  If she wants to bring a blanket to school for nap time, put it next to the door.  If your toddlers carry backpacks to school everyday, work with your toddler to fill up their backpack for the next day and have them hang it on the door you walk out of.  

Now here's the hard part- let them forget it if they don't grab what's next to the door.  There are days that Everly dances barefoot or takes naps without a blanket.  Of course you have to pick and choose items you will let them forget.  I'll typically grab the homework if she has forgotten it.  I'll ask her about it as we are driving to school to make her realize what she forgot.  Then I'll surprise her with it as we walk into preschool.  If she has a dress rehearsal, I'm not going to let her forget her dance shoes.  But I'll never grab a blanket for her.  

SNACK DRAWER
This has been a game changer.  Do you ever tire of hearing "Momma I'm hungry"? Or it's the middle of the morning work day madness and suddenly your toddler wants something to eat? Put together a "snack drawer" or a reachable "snack shelf".  I cleaned out one of the drawers in our kitchen and filled it with baskets full of her favorite snacks- fruit cups, pretzels, snack bars, peanut butter to-go cups.  Now anytime Everly professes her hunger at 3:00 in the afternoon, I'll tell her to head for the snack drawer (only if she ate her lunch adequately).  I don't let her in the snack drawer if she refused to eat a proper meal earlier that day.  Or if I ask her to pack her backpack for church or Nana's house, she can easily pack it herself with her favorite toys and snacks.  Now Momma can't be blamed for packing the wrong snack or the wrong color cup.  Keep a little stool in the kitchen for your older toddlers to get in the fridge, reach the paper towels, or grab fruit off the counter.  Everly loves eating her snacks at the island standing on the stool.

 These tips are so simple.  But they have made the biggest difference in empowering Everly to be more independent.  She loves to participate in grocery shopping and decide what to fill her snack drawer with.  And she even loves helping Addison get dressed in the mornings once she is ready.  

 I'd love to hear any tips you have for your older toddlers.  Please share them in the comments below.
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EVERLY TURNS FOUR

August 23, 2018 • ,

My big girl is FOUR y'all! Where did the time go? This girlfriend had the best week in the history of four year olds ever.  Her actual birthday was on a Tuesday.  Momma and Daddy took the day off work and did ALL THE THINGS.  Here's how Everly's birthday WEEK went.  Because no princess celebrates her birthday with just one day.
tissue tassel garland, seashell banner
Tuesday morning we woke Everly up to surprise her with a brand new big girl bicycle.  After giving it a few test runs in the driveway we headed to town to get our nails done.  Everly didn't just get any typical pedicure, as soon as the nail tech heard it was her birthday and that we were preparing to have a mermaid themed birthday party, she decorated her little piggies with the prettiest mermaid art and all the sparkles.  Once we were all glammed up we headed to the movies.  Everly's choice- Incredibles 2.  We spent more on snacks and drinks than actual movie tickets.  She got to pick out her favorite candy, bag of popcorn, AND a coke.  Talk about four year old heaven.  Half way through the movie she crashed.  But at least Mom and Dad got to enjoy it.  It was actually a really cute movie for any of you other moms out there with four year old's who watch movies better than my kid.

Afterwards, we headed to Target so Everly could pick out a toy of her own choosing.  She made sure to explain that we didn't need a popcorn and Diet Coke this time around since we just had some at the movies.  It's the secret way I've trained my daughters to love Target as much as me- give them popcorn and Diet Coke.  They'll request Target every time.  


We burned off the candy and popcorn with a trip to Elite Air.  We practically had the place to ourselves and it was a ball.  Everly even got to witness her Momma beat Daddy in a good ole obstacle course race.  I bruised my tail bone flying over the finishing slide.  But victory is all that matters when it comes to a challenge from Chad.

It was finally time to pick up baby sister and head to dinner as a family.  Nana, Grandma Patsy and Grandad Jim even joined us for dinner as the finale to Everly's birthday.  Since it was Tuesday it had to be Beef O'Brady's.  
desserts, cake stands
Fast forward to Saturday and we hosted more three and four year old's than our house has ever seen.  It was beautiful chaos.  Everly squealed with excitement as each friend walked through the door.  She even got a visit from Princess Ariel.   
Happy Birthday my sweet Everly.  We love you more than you can imagine.

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EASTER 2018

April 9, 2018 •

It was an eventful Easter to say the least.  A weekend full of sickness and excitement.  Everly spoke about Easter and the bunny for DAYS leading up to the holiday.  I'm beginning to think Easter might be her new favorite holiday over Christmas.  She had 21 questions about how the Easter Bunny makes it in the house.  Does he come down the chimney like Santa? What happens if he gets the house all wet? Will he wake us up in our room? Will he turn the lights on? Why doesn't the Easter Bunny talk? Will he make a mess? I've said it before, but I just love reliving the magic of the holidays through my daughter's eyes.  
We went to visit the Easter bunny a few days before, and Addison was in love.  She immediately reached right for him and giggled the entire time.  Everly on the other hand was nervous at first.  But after watching baby sister for a few minutes she decided it was a good idea to say hi.
To kick-start Easter morning Everly awoke us with the sound of her puking and choking at 1:30am.  It was probably the first time I've ever been thankful she sleeps on our bedroom floor since I was able to respond so quickly.  I've never jumped out of bed that fast at 1:30 in the morning.  Poor thing was COVERED in vomit.  We gave her a bath, drink of water, watched Peppa Pig for a few minutes and she was back asleep.  Thankfully that was the last of it for her.  So we thought it may have just been a fluke.  She felt better by sunrise and wanted to go to church.  So we got up and walked in the living room.  She walked right past the basket of goodies sitting on the coffee table into the kitchen without even noticing them.  We finally had to tell her to go sit on the couch while we fixed breakfast.  When she saw the baskets her mind was completely blown.  "Momma! Look!" I asked her if the Easter Bunny came she gave the sweetest and most excited "YEAH!" And started dancing.  You may have caught it on my Instagram stories if you follow me.  I will cherish that video forever.  It took everything I had to keep her from running and waking up her sister to tell her the good news.
Unfortunately the weather was unusually cold and we couldn't do much egg hunting.  So after digging into the baskets, we headed to church.  While in the middle of communion, and dead silence, Addison projectile vomited EVERYWHERE.  Bless the amazing couple who helped my husband and mom clean it up while I washed Addison in the bathroom.  You know you attend an amazing church when strangers will help you clean up your kid's vomit.  Thank goodness I took a couple of pictures of the girls before church.  Because this is what the before and the best of the after looked like...
 Poor baby smelled SO bad.  And you could tell she was miserable.  So was Daddy.  He couldn't hardly stand to smile for that picture.
 
After that we knew the vomit wasn't a fluke.  But my family braved the germs anyway and everyone came over to our house for lunch.  We had ham, broccoli, potatoes and rolls.  After lunch my sister frosted some cupcakes she had baked for us and we hid a handful of eggs outside for Everly to hunt real quick.  I am looking forward to a few years from now when our egg hunts get a little bit more competitive.  It's one of my favorite family holiday memories from my childhood.  Those will never get old.
 
We lovingly handed off our germs to my mother and grandmother who were sick a couple days following.  Although the holiday didn't exactly go as planned, we were all together.  And that's all I really wanted.  That and to see the smiles on my girls' faces.  I hope your Easter was just as blessed, but maybe a little less eventful than ours. 
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ADDISON TURNS ONE!

March 26, 2018 • ,

This post is a month old at this point.  But the day was too special not to share.  We celebrated our ONE year old princess with a small party surrounded by close friends and family.  It was the perfect day for our perfect little girl.
invitation, crown, shirt, tutu
I decided not to do a theme for this party.  I wanted an elegant and simple setting with pink flowers and balloons.  And as always our cake, cookies and cake pops were made by Dalishas Bakery.  They were just as delicious as they were pretty.
cake topper, number balloons
Addison didn't know what to do with herself and all the attention she received.  When everyone sang to her you could tell it was a bit overwhelming.  But she LOVED her cake.  Although she didn't want to get her hands dirty and didn't put on much of a show for us.  She kept requesting to be fed by fork.  Little Miss Priss.
Look at her little crossed feet sitting just like a little lady.  My heart.
By far Addison's favorite part was the presents.  She squealed for every toy and animal we pulled out of the bag.
It was such a fun day.  And it was clear Addison really enjoyed herself.  Thank you so much to everyone who came and helped make our little girl feel special. 

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDISON

February 22, 2018 •

Our second princess will be one next week ya'll. ONE! I can't believe it.  I think back on the last year and I feel like time just slipped right through my fingers.  It went by so fast I'm worried I'll forget (or already have forgotten) the small moments, the tiny details of baby Addison.  Our life is such a whirlwind with two kids and a daddy who travels out of town for work.  I always consciously make an effort to give each girl a special moment of just her and I at the end of the day before bedtime, even if it's just a small one.  Time is moving faster and faster on me and I don't want to forget these days or look back and wish I had appreciated the beauty amongst the madness.
Addison is our solemn baby.  Which makes it extra special when she laughs.  She smiles with her eyes.  Sometimes she smiles so big she gets this tiny dimple under her right eye.  Instead of laughing, she shows her happiness and excitement with her body language.  She kicks her legs, waves her hands, squeals and smiles the biggest smile when something or someone gets her going.  She is WAY more attached to her momma than Everly ever was.  And I love it. 
 
She still hates food.  Bottle is life.  You CANNOT pull out a bottle in front of her.  If it's time to prepare a bottle, you must do it in secret.  Or she will spit her paci out and immediately start a meltdown.  When she gets sleepy and fussy, the quickest way to calm her down is to give her the tag of a blanket.  She loves to shove the tag down into her mouth (strategically without removing her paci) and suck on both at the same time.  Puts her right to sleep.  And she almost always wakes up in the best mood.
 
She loves music.  She will sway side to side dancing the moment a good beat drops.  She's not ticklish.  At all.  And no one can make her laugh the way Everly can.  Addison adores her big sister.  All Everly does is look at her, and she laughs the sweetest belly laugh.  She has four teeth.  But you'd never know it unless you went looking because she brings her lips in covering her teeth constantly.  She's always sucking on her bottom lip.
 
This baby girl instantly fit so perfectly into our family.  She stole Everly's heart (and all of our's) immediately.  It's almost like she's always been here.  Yet at the same time we can't believe she's turning one! 
 Happy birthday Addison Elaine.  Words cannot describe how much we love you.  You took our hearts by storm from the moment we laid eyes on you.  You are solemn yet so sweet.  And when you do show excitement, it's with your whole body.  Your smile lights up the entire room.  And you will never turn down a chance to be held.  We cannot wait to celebrate you and your very first birthday sweet girl.
 
Now I shall spend the rest of the day holding my baby girl while burying my face in her baby cheeks.  Because now I am fully aware her babyness will quickly begin to fade.
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FAREWELL 2017

January 5, 2018

2017 was one for the books y'all! And by far the best year I think we've had.  Here's what happened...
 
We started the year by moving into our new house.
Best of all- baby Addison was born, making us a family of four.  And all of our hearts doubled in size.
Momma spent seven weeks at home getting to know her.

 We enjoyed many weekends in the Spring downtown taking advantage of the park and the cupcakes and ice cream.

Everly far exceeded our expectations and turned out to be the best big sister we could have ever hoped for.
Addison learned to smile and melted our hearts away.
Everly got her first haircut.
Nana got a boat!
We spent lots of time outside enjoying the summer in our new neighborhood with our new neighbors.
Went strawberry pickin'.
Did a lot of sisterly bonding.
Addison's personality began to show.
Everly turned 3.  And still talks about her donut party to this day.
And then she started preschool.
We vacationed in Florida.
And took several trips to Nashville.
Introduced Addison to food.  And she hated it.
Daddy had surgery.
Then three days later Addison did too.
Frequented the orchard all year long.
Daddy got a new job in a new city.  So we went to check it out.
We dressed up for Halloween.
Mommy went to a conference in Orlando and took Daddy along with her,
 while the girls spent some quality time with Aunt Coco.
Everly danced in her very first recital.
We celebrated baby's first Christmas.
Took a trip to Gatlinburg and made it home just in time to ring in the New Year.
Happy New Year everyone! I cannot believe another year has come and gone.  But we are excited to see what 2018 has in store for us.  Life seems to continue to get better and better.
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