See Ya' Next Year!

 Hey, friends!  I was planning on putting up a "year in review" type of post today/tomorrow but things have escalated QUICKLY at our house with some kids room projects and I'm just flat out of time ;)  I'll be back here on Monday and in the meantime you can see what we're up to over on my instagram page.  Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

Christmas 2021

Christmas this year was pure magic!  We had a wonderful few days and are so grateful for time with family and all the sunshine. 

Before everyone arrived I snapped these pictures of G - but she'd like the record to show that she didn't ACTUALLY ask for her two front teeth - hahaha

Christmas Fun

Happy Monday, friends!  I seriously can't believe Christmas has come and gone! Today I'm going to share some of the fun we had last week leading up to Christmas because there was A LOT!

Last Saturday night Mason and I had an impromptu date night to go see the Gift of Christmas at Prestonwood.  We've been several times and missed out on buying tickets for our entire family this year because we waited too long (BOO!) so when I was able to grab two AMAZING seats literally 24 hours before the show he and I were SUPER PUMPED!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve

 Merry Christmas Eve Eve, friends!

I'll be back here on the blog on Monday but wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  May it be one that you find yourself in awe of just who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for you and this world.

Twelve Games of Christmas

 

Today I thought I'd share some "minute to win it" style games that we've played at various parties over the years in case you're looking for some ideas to spice up your Christmas celebrations with your family.  These are all tried and true and would be fun with kids or adults!  Make a game night out of 12 or pick two to do every night for 6 nights - tons of fun options and hilarious memories to be made :)

FREE Printable Christmas Stationary

  Sharing today's post from my "archives" because who doesn't need some FREE list-making pages this week :)

Today I'm sharing some printable Christmas "stationary" pages for you to print and enjoy!  I love to doodle and as I was drawing some Christmas lights around my to-do-list last week I had the thought to make a few "blanks" and share them with y'all! 

 

Favorite Christmas Recipes

Today I'm sharing a handful of our favorite recipes.  I could really go on and on with favorites but I'm highlighting a few that will probably be made at our house this week.  If you're looking for a particular recipe or recipe for an occasion leave me a comment and I'll get back to you with a recommendation :) 

 I make  these nanaimo bars every Christmas.  They're a Canadian treat that is a must try!

Friday Favorites

  Happy Friday, friends!!!    Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us and if you're linking up with us make sure you grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.

Today I'm sharing what is possibly the MOST FESTIVE Friday Favorites EVER ;)  So much Christmas fun has been happening around here and I can't wait to share!

Last Saturday night was one of our very FAVORITE nights of the year - the downtown McKinney parade of lights!

Christmas Craft Ideas

Christmas break officially starts TOMORROW at noon for us and I'm so excited to slow things down a bit and get to spend a bunch of time together as a family.  Now that my kids are older and much more self-sufficient the days aren't nearly as long as they were when they were toddlers - so today, in case you're trying to figure out how you're going to fill your days this coming week, I'm sharing a few fun (and easy) craft ideas that you can prep now and have on hand for when kids are home.

 Last year I created these nativity printables that you can download  HERE for free!  Cut them out and hang them as ornaments, add magnets to the back and create a set for your fridge, blow them up and make coloring pages, etc.

Last-Minute Women's Gift Guide

The only gift guide I haven't done (up until today) is for women!  Moms, sisters, friends, YOU... today I'm sharing lots of my personal FAVORITE things that would make a great gift for lots of the ladies on your lists.

First up - Colleen Rothschild products!  I've used her skincare daily for over 3 years and couldn't love it more.  I have suuuuper sensitive skin and her products do what they say they're going to do and NEVER irritate my face which is rare.  

The Discovery Kit is on sale today and would be a PERFECT gift for anyone who hasn't tried Colleen Rothschild before or travels often.  The kit includes 6 of her best products as well as a muslin cloth and really pretty cosmetic bag.

Magic Popcorn: Christmas Edition

Christmas break starts in a few days and I can't wait for LAZY days at home and late nights playing games and watching movies.  Today I'm sharing our Christmas version of "magic popcorn" which would be the perfect treat for a movie/game night, Christmas eve or to bring to a friends house when you're hanging out.

Christmas Decor

Happy Monday, friends! Today I'm inviting you in for a peek at our Christmas decor.  I'm all about sentimental and special pieces and mixed in with twinkle lights I really wish I could leave my decor up all year long!

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday, friends!!!    Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us and if you're linking up with us make sure you grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.

First up is CHRISTMAS DECOR!!! I've been working on snapping pics for y'all but seriously - the twinkle lights are my FAVORITE!!!

Under $20 Gift Ideas/Stocking Stuffers

The first few years of doing stockings for our kids I feel like we made "rookie mistakes".  I hit up the dollar store and felt like I got a lot of bang for my buck, but most of it ended up in the trash within the first few days.  Since then, we put a little more "quality" rather than "quantity" and fill it up with some essentials that the kids need along with fun things for them as well.

With our kids, we leave their stockings outside of their doors and they go through them until they can come downstairs and then we all hang out and go through our stockings together before opening each of their Santa presents and then presents from us.

After the Santa gifts the kids each get three gifts from me and Dave and those are typically smaller gifts than their Santa presents.  There are SO MANY PRESENTS over various celebrations and between us, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. we feel like three (plus stockings and their Santa present) are plenty.

Here are some quick stocking stuffer ideas if you're working on filling those for your kids, spouse, etc.  

Santa is bringing me  these meme stickers and I CAN'T WAIT!!! I love putting stickers on student papers and these are going to be a huge hit ;)

Christmas in my Classroom - FREE printable ornaments

Hey, friends!  Today I'm sharing a fun project I did with my students that doubled as Christmas decorations...  LOOK HOW FUN!!!

North Pole Breakfast 2021

Buddy the Elf returned this past weekend and brought his annual North Pole Breakfast.   This was our TENTH breakfast and they just keep getting sweeter :) 

 

Weekend Happies

 I wasn't planning on writing a weekend post but then this weekend had  to go be all fun full of good stuff and here we are :) 

Friday was our anniversary and our plans got changed last minute so we loaded up the kids and headed downtown.  It ended up being the sweetest night and fun since we actually got married down here 16 years ago on another unseasonably warm December day.  

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday, friends!!!    Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us and if you're linking up with us make sure you grab our graphic, link back to one (or all!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.

First up is our newest family member - OSCAR!

Gift Guide: Teachers

Happy Thursday, friends! Today I'm sharing a few of my favorite things to give (and receive!) as a teacher.

- PRETTY NOTEBOOK -

Maybe it's just me but I go through notebooks like CRAZY. I'm constantly taking notes, making lists, etc. and a pretty one like this would be such a great gift.

- STANLEY MUG-

If you have a teacher who enjoys a cup of coffee (or tea!) this mug has amazing reviews and would be great alone or with a package of k-cups, coffee shop gift card, etc.

- STICKERS -

I LOVE giving out stickers and am constantly on the lookout for new fun ones. This roll of smileys is SUPER cute!

- LOLLIA HAND CREAM -

This is my favorite hand cream of all time and with all of the hand washing that's been going on I think it would be a much appreciated gift. The smell is SO GOOD but not over powering and it's a shea butter cream so it lasts a long time without feeling greasy.

- FLAIR PENS -

These are hands down the BEST pens out there and I can't think of a single teacher who wouldn't love to receive a package of these :)

- NOTE/GIFT CARD -

My favorite teacher gift to give and receive. $5 to Sonic or Starbucks... A Baskin Robins gift card to take their kids out for ice cream or a Cinemark card to check out a movie with their kids over break. Write a note, pop the card in the envelope and call it a day! I know gift cards get a bad wrap for being impersonal but I think if you pick a place that you know a teacher loves or write a note about enjoying a meal with their family it can make it super personal and special.

If you have a middle or high school student, want to get their teachers a gift but are overwhelmed with your student having a LOT of teachers you could always find a few other parents who want to go in together and gift each teacher a card.

- S'MORES KIT -

A s'mores kit, bag of candy/popcorn for movie night, board game, etc. would be so fun for a teacher with kids. 

A couple of things that I forgot about while making my graphic...

- HEATED SHOULDER MASSAGER -

I feel like the description is enough said :) With SO MUCH TIME being spent on the computer I can't think of a single teacher who wouldn't love a heated shoulder and neck massage - myself included!

- INSIDE OUT UMBRELLA -

I included this in my guide from last year as well because it's seriously one of my favorite things ever. Our campus is outdoors so when it rains it can be a huge pain in the butt but this umbrella makes life so much easier! It's essentially "inside out" so when you collapse it the water stays "inside" the umbrella instead of getting all over you, your car, the floor, etc.

HAPPY gifting, friends!!!

PS - this post contained affiliate links - thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

Pizza Bread

Today I'm sharing one of my kids VERY FAVORITE recipes - pizza bread!  This is a fun and easy alternative to regular pizza night and would be an awesome appetizer to preslice and serve at a party.