Thursday, December 29, 2016
Resolutions: January
I feel like making a new years resolution can become such a dreaded, expected and failed exercise we feel guilted into every year. So many people, including myself, choose resolutions that will impress others and not so much ourselves.
I didn't want to pick a resolution that I know will be too difficult to keep up with in our busy day to day chaos. Earlier this year a friend shared how she focuses on one good habit each month. In order to perfect a habit it usually takes about three weeks. It makes sense, I know for me, when I begin a new workout series it takes me until the third week to actually feel like I’m not getting my butt kicked and the exercise is enjoyable.
This year I’m going to try just that. Start with one good habit and with each new month choose a new habit to improve while keeping up with the previous months’ habits. For starters Mike and I decided we need to be better about dating each other. We are terrible about carving out time each week for one another. It’s busy with three babes and everything else we’re involved in, so we’re starting January with dating. Setting up a date, one day, every week. We’ll swap every other week so we both have to take the initiative and it can’t include a house project...Lord help us!
This is going to be fun and creative! I’m excited to share our dates on here as well, but I’d love to hear some of your favorite dates ideas...Share them in the comments below!
xo
\\ Photos by Marla Lynna Photography \\
This year I’m going to try just that. Start with one good habit and with each new month choose a new habit to improve while keeping up with the previous months’ habits. For starters Mike and I decided we need to be better about dating each other. We are terrible about carving out time each week for one another. It’s busy with three babes and everything else we’re involved in, so we’re starting January with dating. Setting up a date, one day, every week. We’ll swap every other week so we both have to take the initiative and it can’t include a house project...Lord help us!
This is going to be fun and creative! I’m excited to share our dates on here as well, but I’d love to hear some of your favorite dates ideas...Share them in the comments below!
xo
\\ Photos by Marla Lynna Photography \\
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Christmas 2016
We had one of our best Christmases to date! We were fortunate to be able to stay home this holiday season instead of driving back to Nebraska. We definitely missed family, but it was so relaxing to just stay home, lounge in our pajamas all day and do our own thing.
Our church had a Christmas service earlier in the week which left Christmas Eve wide open for us. We snacked on cheese and crackers for lunch and had some friends over in the evening for fettuccine and soup. All the kids played into the night and when everyone went home, the babes and I cuddled on the sofa reading Christmas books together before bed. Kensi was so sweet and chose to sing 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' before saying goodnight. I got it on video and it’s something we’ll cherish forever!
Kensi told us she was going to wake up super early and wanted to be the first one up just so she could run and wake us up. She wasn’t kidding. Mike set his alarm early to sneak downstairs and place her baby doll crib from Santa under the tree after drying in the garage all night from being painted. Minutes after he came back up she was running down the hall. Whew!
The best part of Christmas morning was watching Kensi’s and Finn’s excitement. They crawled down the stairs and when their eyes met the gifts under the tree their faces just lit up! Finn was so excited about his lion rocker and Kensi immediately ran to her doll crib. They adored their gifts so much! We let them open their stockings first. Finn received dinosaurs, Little People cars for his track and a play tape measure; which was the biggest hit. Kensi got nail polish, slippers and Little People Princesses. They would have been perfectly happy with just their stockings.
We went ahead and made breakfast before opening the rest of the gifts which worked out great. They had time to play with some new toys and we could all enjoy eating breakfast together. Kensi was constantly asking how much longer breakfast would take because he little heart was so excited to see what we gave her.
When we were ready, we sorted everyone’s gifts and had Kensi and Finn take turns opening each one. Kensi’s latest craze is Disney’s Little Kingdom princess sets. They have interchangeable outfits and accessories a.k.a a bazillion little pieces. They really are cute and remind me of the original Polly Pocket. Finn opened a basketball hoop and we couldn’t get it put together quick enough for him. We’ve all been playing since Sunday in the living room, it’s been so much fun!
The kids spent the rest of the afternoon snacking and playing while Mike and I prepared dinner. Mike and I started making bets for when we thought Finn would crash out. We didn’t enforce naps and he played hard. He finally crashed around four o’clock on the playroom floor. Luckily he woke up in time for dinner, which by the way, that beef tenderloin recipe I shared for our Christmas menu was ABSOLUTELY DIVNE and will be made again, and again, and again.
To wrap our night up we shared bowls of Cinnamon Caramel Bread Pudding, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had a campout in the living room watching movies. The entire day was filled with magic that I wish I could have captured in a bottle. Luckily, I caught a lot of it on video! We hope you all had the Merriest of Christmases!
Kensi told us she was going to wake up super early and wanted to be the first one up just so she could run and wake us up. She wasn’t kidding. Mike set his alarm early to sneak downstairs and place her baby doll crib from Santa under the tree after drying in the garage all night from being painted. Minutes after he came back up she was running down the hall. Whew!
The best part of Christmas morning was watching Kensi’s and Finn’s excitement. They crawled down the stairs and when their eyes met the gifts under the tree their faces just lit up! Finn was so excited about his lion rocker and Kensi immediately ran to her doll crib. They adored their gifts so much! We let them open their stockings first. Finn received dinosaurs, Little People cars for his track and a play tape measure; which was the biggest hit. Kensi got nail polish, slippers and Little People Princesses. They would have been perfectly happy with just their stockings.
We went ahead and made breakfast before opening the rest of the gifts which worked out great. They had time to play with some new toys and we could all enjoy eating breakfast together. Kensi was constantly asking how much longer breakfast would take because he little heart was so excited to see what we gave her.
When we were ready, we sorted everyone’s gifts and had Kensi and Finn take turns opening each one. Kensi’s latest craze is Disney’s Little Kingdom princess sets. They have interchangeable outfits and accessories a.k.a a bazillion little pieces. They really are cute and remind me of the original Polly Pocket. Finn opened a basketball hoop and we couldn’t get it put together quick enough for him. We’ve all been playing since Sunday in the living room, it’s been so much fun!
To wrap our night up we shared bowls of Cinnamon Caramel Bread Pudding, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had a campout in the living room watching movies. The entire day was filled with magic that I wish I could have captured in a bottle. Luckily, I caught a lot of it on video! We hope you all had the Merriest of Christmases!
Saturday, December 24, 2016
cookies + making messes
We've been baking up different cookies the last couple days. We've definitely made a fun mess in the kitchen with flour, powdered sugar and sprinkles. I know I'll be finding sprinkles throughout the house for the next six months, but it's all worth it to make these fun memories with Kensi and Finn.
If you follow me on instagram you may have seen some of our fun on the instastories. Baking together may look stressful, but it's absolutely hilarious. Kensi can be so serious and a little Grinch-y when Finn is screaming at the top of his little lungs trying to help by placing cookie cutters all over the freshly rolled out dough and hogging all the room. I look forward to adding Olivia to our beautiful mess in the kitchen!
Kids are so truthfully blunt and honest by the way. I experienced much of their honesty when I taught preschool, but it's so different when it's your own kids. I tried explaining to Kensi the significance of our Cinnamon Star recipe. That her Great-Great-Grandma Mary is the one who made these special cookies and she taught Grandma Walz and Grandma taught me and now I'm teaching Kensi. She's only four and I know she won't completely understand, but the poor girl is confused by the thought of having more than one great-grandmother, which both are named Mary. Long story short, Kensi refers to her Great-Great-Grandma as the one who died, not the one who lives in Iowa. So sorry Grandma! I'm guessing she's probably laughing on my struggle trying to explain her to Kensi.
We vacuumed up so many sprinkles it sounded like beads trapped in the canister spinning around. I really don’t care about the mess, Kensi and Finn have so much fun playing and learning in the kitchen. We all had so much fun. Mike actually got really into his decorating, I think I may have to invest in some swankier decorating tools for him next year!
Friday, December 23, 2016
Christmas Menu + Table Decor
Over the weekend I made up our meal plan for the next two weeks and I'm so excited to plan Christmas weekend! Aside from indulging in the dozens and dozens of cookies we're baking, we actually have some healthier fair planned to enjoy. Alright, there are some pretty incredible desserts coming too.
When it comes to Christmas Eve we are totally basic and follow suit to The Holiday. We make Christmas Fettuccine and to go with it we also make italian wedding soup. Mike and I started making it together on Christmas Eve in 2006 which so happened to be the night he proposed. It's very special to us and has been a part of our Christmas tradition each year. Of course we binge watch Christmas movies all afternoon and into the night while we wrap and put together the last few gifts for the babes.
This is our first year to celebrate Christmas completely on our own. We’ve always traveled back to Nebraska or had family come visit. We’re actually very excited since we don’t have to travel anywhere and we can have our first Christmas with just our little family. We love our family and friends back home, but we also need to be able to start and create our own little family traditions.
Growing up our families did things differently. Mike grew up opening gifts first thing in the morning. At my house we were only allowed to open stockings in the morning and had to wait until mid afternoon once everyone arrived to open the gifts under the tree. Personally I prefer waiting a little bit to open gifts because it drags out the anticipation. Once everything happens first thing in the morning, it’s all of a sudden...over. It makes me a little sad. So we’re trying to come up with a balance and compromise.
One thing we definitely don’t need to compromise on is food. We love trying new recipes for holidays and although we try to stay on track with traditional food, we enjoy mixing things up a bit. We always have some kind of red meat for Christmas dinner. This year Mike came across a beef tenderloin recipe he called dibs on. For sides, we have to work around the babes. Kensi currently doesn’t like mashed potatoes, but loves rice. Finn loves mashed potatoes and broccoli. I’m always the one trying to get spinach on the table and Mike has learned to eat whatever, which wasn’t always the case, he’s come such a long way! Our final menu plan will include something everyone will love and I can’t wait for us to make it!
Main Course
Sides
Creamed Winter Greens
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Wild Rice Pilaf
Roasted Carrots + Broccoli
Buttered Rosemary Dinner Rolls
Buttered Rosemary Dinner Rolls
Desserts
Choice of the dozens of Cookies
As for our table decor, I like to keep it very simple with fresh flowers. Trader Joe’s is my usual go to store not only because they carry gorgeous blooms year round, but they are very affordable and last around two weeks. For Christmas I chose to mix white roses with winter greenery. For a little more texture I also added a few pinecones.
A few years ago I purchased the red chargers after Christmas and scored big. I paid $0.50 per charger! It definitely pays to stop by the big box stores for items like these in the days leading up to Christmas because everything begins to get marked down. I’ll also add my favorite acrylic hobnail drinkware I found from the Pottery Barn Outlet over the summer ( I also used them at Thanksgiving). Kensi gets so excited when she gets to set them out for dinner because she thinks they’re fancy.
Our table isn’t over the top for Christmas. It’s simple, but elegant and it creates a magical place for our family at Christmas.
\\ Sources \\
Runner - Target (two years ago, but similar HERE)
Chargers - Target (last year)
Dinner Plates - Pottery Barn
Flowers + Greenery - Trader Joe’s Grocery
A few years ago I purchased the red chargers after Christmas and scored big. I paid $0.50 per charger! It definitely pays to stop by the big box stores for items like these in the days leading up to Christmas because everything begins to get marked down. I’ll also add my favorite acrylic hobnail drinkware I found from the Pottery Barn Outlet over the summer ( I also used them at Thanksgiving). Kensi gets so excited when she gets to set them out for dinner because she thinks they’re fancy.
Our table isn’t over the top for Christmas. It’s simple, but elegant and it creates a magical place for our family at Christmas.
\\ Sources \\
Runner - Target (two years ago, but similar HERE)
Chargers - Target (last year)
Dinner Plates - Pottery Barn
Flowers + Greenery - Trader Joe’s Grocery
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