Nothing to wear!

Ok, I know I can't be the only girl guilty of wanting to buy a new outfit everytime we have any kind of out of the ordinary event going on. I am horrible about this. Well, with two kids this Christmas and trying to hold to one of our New Years Resolutions (saving more money) early. When the hub's Christmas party came a couple of weeks ago I really had an itch to go buy something new. Even though I knew it was ridiculous. Even though my closet is packed to the gills already. So my solution this year was to revamp something I already had.
What I did have was...

a plain white satin dress. I bought this on clearance at Target a couple of years ago for like $10. I forgot to get a picture of it, but it came with a wide matching belt/bow. Cute enough but very plain. And lets be honest a white dress is just not easy to pull off on its own!!

So I also had this... 

a plain red cardigan. It had some kind of blingy buttons on it so I changed them to these little pearly ones. Then I took the belt and cut it into pieces to add a big bow to the cardi. I have seen a lot of bows out there lately and wanted to try to put my own spin on it.

This is what I came up with...



Ok, I am normally not that camera shy, but every picture with my face in it was crazy scary. We don't know eachother that well yet!! :)

 I also made a headband with the belt but didn't wear it that night. It just seemed like too much. I will wear it sometime though.

All in all, not my favorite outfit ever, but a satisfying experience no less. It is sort of fun to try to make something new from what you already have. Feel free to share your opinions. I worried a little that it looked kind of old lady, but it didn't cost anything but my time...so...

I like Christmas... but I LOVE Christmas eve!!

Does anyone else feel like this? As with most things it seems the anticipation is more fun than the realization. And Christmas Eve is the peak of a month or even more anticipation. Not just for the kids, but even for me.With Christmas morning comes chaos and flying paper and sleep deprivation and last minute meal preparation etc.... But on Christmas Eve, the kids are extra sweet because "Santa is watching"! They help make cookies and clean up so Santa is welcome and then they even go to bed without a fight! We had a great Christmas this year. It was fun and everyone got something they loved. But we had the BEST Christmas eve. As I looked back at the pictures we took of that day I couldn't stop smiling and I had an even harder time trying to narrow down which of those pictures to share. We had some snow... just enough for the boys to get out and toss a couple of snow balls. We visited some good friends. We decorated a gingerbread house and left cookies and milk for Santa. It was a beautiful day!!!

Special super hero costume I made him!

No really... the presents are for the kids!!

Anyone notice the theme of our Christmas... black spiderman, red spiderman, superman, ironman button and buzz lightyear computer. My kids might have a super hero obsession!!

Crazy times!!

Ok, I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I posted. I can give a long list of excuses about how busy things are around here, but I know everyone else is in the same boat! Just a brief update. Smooth Talker turned 4 this month!!! Can't believe he is that old and can't believe I am blessed enough to have this precious boy in my life! We went to visit my parents to celebrate my Dad's retirement coming up in January. He has been working for the same company for 39 years!! I think that is amazing. It was so wonderful to go to the party and hear people talk about all they ways he has touched their lives over those 39 years! He is an amazing man!! Then of course we are making our Christmas preparations!! I can't believe it will be here in less than a week! Remember when you were a kid and Christmas felt like an eternity away???? Why is it that it feels exactly opposite as adults?? Anyway, I will leave you with just a couple of pictures of birtdays and Santa visits. I hope you are all feeling as blessed or more so this holiday season as I am! Best of wishes to you all and I hope to be more consistant with posting after the new year! (Fingers crossed!)

Spider man cake of course!

I even got to sneak in one of these! This is what the holiday season does to me these days!!

I take A LOT of pictures. Like, a ridiculous number of pictures. I love the click click sound of the shutter and the immediate gratification that comes with the digital age of cameras. I relentlessly follow my children around the house snapping away at their simple every day activites. I LOVE documenting who they are right now, in this moment... what are their favorite toys, their favorite movies. I am terrified of forgetting these little details about them. Anyone who has children is undoubtadly familiar with the simultaneous joy and heartbreak of watching your children grow and change constantly. Of course we want them to grow. We obsess about doing the things that will best help them to do so. But it becomes so difficult to remember what they were like two months ago, let alone two years ago. So I stand behind my camera and snap away! But sometimes I am so busy taking pictures I forget to take part in their play. So on our second day home, I did just that. I handed the camera over to the hubs and jumped around in a pile of leaves like a kid again! I am not going to lie, it was not as charming as I remember it being. I had leaves everywhere.... and I mean everywhere..... let that mental image simmer a little. ;) But it was so nice to be a part of one of those moments rather than just capturing it from a distance. It was such a good reminder to me that it is not just important to have reminders later, but to also LIVE in that moment now.

So here are a few shots of the little moments filled with big blessings!!!

Old school Superman via netflix.... I have to admit I liked this almost as much as the boys!



Motorcycle in the backyard through the leaves?? Why not!



Really, could he even look cooler???



Destructor doesn't know how to use the reverse button yet. This is his solution to get it back in our yard!







Ok, lets talk about why we don't do this as an adult. That pile of leaves is not as soft a landing for my 1** lbs as opposed to the 30 of my kids. Think before you leap people!!




Throwing the leaves in the air however as fun now as it was as a kid. Seriously, go outside and toss some lovely crunchy leaves around and try not to smile!!!



Hubby chooses to throw our children instead. They don't seem to mind.

Love this beautiful, smooth talking boy with every fiber of my being!!!

PS I promise I will not spend every post on this blog gushing about my kids and posting tons of pictures of them! We are living a slightly skewed reality right now in vacation mode. I am actualy hoping to give you all a couple of before and afters from some of my crafty endeavors soon. In the mean time, gush with me while I am in gushing mode. I PROMISE I will not always be here!!!