Our Haven

Because December wasn't quite busy enough, Brad and I decided to undertake a major project: completely redoing our bedroom. Our bedroom has always been a bit cobbled together--hand me down furniture, utilitarian accessories, space for sleeping but not much else. We decided it was time for an upgrade!

First stop, IKEA:

 We are now in love with IKEA. So much so that we made a stop at one in Ohio to pick up a couple more pieces. We managed to find everything we needed there, and Brad couldn't believe how well everything assembled:

 I did all the painting. He did all the assembling. And the finished project makes us want to move it and never leave!

The one wall holds my apothecary (more on that in another post) and some of Brad's books and such:

 We finally have matching night stands (instead of mismatched end tables) and lamps:

 And we created this little seating area:

 And even managed to get the old prints from Grandma's basement on the walls:

It's a perfect haven, and we may never leave.

A Very Merry Christmas!

The kids are back in school today after what might have been the best Christmas break ever. It will take a series of posts,  but it seems appropriate to start with the official Christmas recap.

As is our style, we had a series of many Christmases over many days. We started right here in NC with Aunt Shannon and Nana, and of course every picture I have is thanks to my wonderful sister:

 Evan was just a little excited to open the first gifts of the season:

 We blinked and had a teenage fashionista this year:

 But even Evan was willing to do a show with shirts as cool as this one:

 And Daddy was a little too excited to try on his ninja sweatshirt:

 There was much laughter:

 And it was a great way to kick-off Christmas week!

 Bright and early the next morning, we hopped in the van and headed North. We had to make a slight detour to IKEA in Ohio (more on that later), and the kids invested some Christmas money in some new friends:

 Our next stop was Upper to see Papa Don and Grandma Nancy, where of course I took no pictures. We did have a lovely visit, though, and he made the kids the coolest treasure boxes, complete with locks and a set of state quarters he has been collecting for them for years. The kids could hardly wait to get home and fill them with their most important things.

From there, we headed further North to Napoleon where we spent a quiet Christmas Eve at Tyler's. The theme this year was the Grinch, and Aunt Shannon found us all the perfect pajamas to celebrate:

 Please ignore my blinky-ness:

 We ordered hibachi and spent the evening snuggled in watching White Christmas:

 The kids left the most hysterical note for Santa, and we all snuggled in so he could visit:

 And he did! Evan is quite convinced he heard reindeer hooves on the roof:

 Santa filled our stockings, and Evan is still puzzled by Dos instead of Uno:

 And Issa looked even more the teenager:

 Santa brought Evan two more ships to go with the Starlink game he brought earlier:

 He also brought Issa some new pillows for her cozy corner in her room:

 This year, our extended Napoleon family decided to do a Christmas movie themed Christmas, and our crew chose to do the Grinch:

 Becca even joined us as Max:

 Katie's crew did A Christmas Story:

 And Molly's crew did Charlie Brown:

 It was so fun...and so hot...and we will probably never do it again. We have already decided next year will be the Polar Express: everyone wear your jammies and we will set up a hot cocoa bar!

On the 26th, we headed to Tiffin to see Grandma Pat and Grandpa Kevin, where the highlight was definitely the new puppy, Ginger:

 She's a seven week old Rottweiler, and I'm shocked the kids didn't try to sneak her in their bags:

 We headed home on the 27th, and this about sums it up:

It was a fabulous Christmas in Ohio, but we were exhausted. It was lovely to come home with a couple of days to unpack, settle back in, and rest.

We Had Some Snow

Starting last Saturday night/Sunday evening we got a little bit of snow--like 14 inches of snow. The kids were in heaven. Evan attempted sledding:

 And Issa discovered cartwheeling in boots is tricky:

 We cleared the driveway:

 And enjoyed Christmas lights in the snow:

 And measured before we built snowmen and had an epic family snowball fight:

 And Evan ate his weight in snow after making a snow angel:

 It was lovely to play in the snow as a family, and we enjoyed plenty of family time inside, too.

Somehow I blinked and I have a teenager who bakes brownies all by herself:

 And we made teacher gifts:

 We actually made these drawings on candles. You color on tissue paper, and then melt them into the candles. Each teacher is getting a unique candle just for them!

And the best Aunt Shannon sent Grinch jammies for my favorite Grinches:

We watching Christmas movies and wrapped gifts and snuggled under blankets. It was lovely.

The kids finally went back to school today on a three-hour delay, but I could get very used to this whole idea of  some snow days before Christmas.

Miniature Fun

Saturday, we had the Minis over for a Christmas party/crafting extravaganza. They wanted to make custom t-shirts for each teacher with their favorite sayings. They worked together to decide on the quote and the design, and they came out so well:

They did a very fun gift exchange, and then they participated in the studio's Suess hair challenge:

I have never heard so much giggling, and I'm so grateful Issa gets to hang out with such a sweet, thoughtful group of girls!

This Dog

Buddy is our very special snowflake. After dinner last night, Issa pushed back her chair and this happened:

He just stepped right up into her lap for a snuggle. You can see how terribly upset she was by this. He may be the dumbest dog I've ever met, but he also may be the sweetest.

Because My Family Hates Me

This is on my tree:

For those of you who don't watch Dr. Who, it is a weeping angel. I hate weeping angels. They are creepy. The whole premise is that they are not nice and they move closer to you when you are not watching. You blink they move. I don't like them.

So...the other three decided we needed one on the tree. And not only does it hang on the tree, but it freaking moves when you are not watching. As in, they take turns finding and moving the thing. Which means I can be minding my own business doing the dishes and look up to see it right in front of me on the tree. I don't like.

The Best Cancelled Plans

I love all the holiday hoopla, but I am also a hard-core introvert, which can make December a bit of a mine field for me. Sunday morning, I woke up feeling a bit tapped out, and we had big plans to go watch the local parade. Issa is usually in it, but she had asked to skip a year so she could actually see her band friends in it. Done and done.

It was a gloomy day, and we really wanted to decorate the tree and bake cookies. Issa had homework to finish. I had mountains of laundry. Something had to give. Then the radar blipped, and the band cancelled. And just like that, our afternoon opened up!

We made the BEST gluten-free chai sugar cookies. I may never make any other kind of cookie again. The boys did a wonderful job engineering the boxes that we took to our neighbors:

 And our tree is finished:

I love hanging all of our memories every year.

The quiet afternoon was just the respite we needed, and now we are ready for another busy week!