Let's Talk: Christmas Traditions

Today I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for their Let’s Talk series.  Christmas Traditions take center stage today, and here’s ours!

As I’m sitting in my dining room this morning, getting started with my work day, I have a prime time view of the street I live on.  One by one, the cars pass by my house taking their drivers to work once again.  The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is over, and it’s back to reality for most of us.  I, for one, got way too used to not using my alarm clock and had a rude awakening at 5:40 this morning. But, alas, here I am sitting at a table and writing on a laptop. 

Yesterday afternoon, we decorated our home for Christmas.  We don’t go wild and crazy, but I can say that the outside of our house is more decorated this year than any year prior in our 7 years of marriage thus far. 

Our Christmas traditions are still evolving since our little ones are just now reaching the age when they get super excited about Christmas. 

Last night, both boys helped me decorate our tree, and I plan to leave all ornaments exactly where they placed them! :)  I hung our fancier ornaments on the top part of the tree, and I made sure to hang the “playable” and unbreakable ornaments on the bottom part.  The boys really got into it and decorated most of the bottom half of the tree themselves.

We have a fabric Christmas Advent calendar with Velcro shepherds, a dog, cows, donkeys, wise men, gifts, camels, angels, a dove, a star, and the Baby Jesus.  The boys know that we get to put up the first character-- a shepherd-- on Thursday. 

We plan to read the Christmas story while the boys act it out with their plastic nativity-- of which the spare Baby Jesus is safely tucked away in the box just in case the current one gets lost during play.

I’m also hoping that we get to attend the town tree lighting tonight.  We attended the tree lighting ceremony last year in our tiny little town, and we’ve moved since then to a bigger town and I’d like to attend the Christmas tree lighting here.  The parade is not until Friday night, and it starts pretty late, so I’d like to take the boys to the festivities tonight just in case we miss the parade on Friday night.

I’d really like to find a Christmas Eve service to attend.  Those are my absolute favorites—with the candles and the Christmas music, and the overall sense of joy.  We’ll have church service on Christmas morning at our church, but we’re not having a Christmas Eve service, so I’d like to find a local one to attend.

Making roll-out-dough Christmas cookies is also something we all look forward to.  And, driving around to check out Christmas lights is on our list for this month, too.

This is such a magical time of year and I’m really enjoying watching my boys find the joy of the season.  My 4-year-old is really grasping it.  My 2-year-old doesn’t quite understand yet, but he likes all of the lights and decorations. 

I’ll be sharing our Christmas décor next Tuesday, so be sure to tune in for that!

Until Next Time,

Much Love, Reba

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you have the happiest Thanksgiving today filled with family, friends, and warmth.

Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

Want, Need, Wear, Read

I missed Show & Tell Tuesday at Momfessionals yesterday, but I figured I'd write the post anyway.

So..... it's a lot of work to think about fitting "wants" into the actual categories of "want, need, wear, read" because, in all honesty, I don't need anymore things or clothes or books.   But, just for fun:

Want

Pre-lit Porch Trees

Since moving into our new house in April, I've wanted some small topiaries, or bushes, or trees to flank our front door and this pair is on sale!

Need

Now that fall temperatures have arrived in the South, we're stuck in this weird space-time-contiuum where it's too warm to turn on the heater, and too chilly to wear shorts to bed.  So, I'm thinking a new pair of long sleeve pajamas might be in order!  I saw these three sets as I was browsing online:

Heart Flannel Pajama Set

White Tree Flannel Pajamas

Coffee Print Pajamas

Wear 

I do love a cozy sweatshirt, and considering that I have none, I think this sparkly one could be fun!

Fleece Ballet Neck Sweater

Read

It's really important to me as a mom, to make a cozy home for my family.  That's why this book is really appealing to me and would make a fun thing to read! 

The Year of Cozy

These days when it gets darker earlier and there's a chill in the air are my absolute favorite nights of the year!  Tomorrow, we are hosting Thanksgiving here in our home and I'm super excited about it!  I love having family over, and Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday!  The parade, the food, the family, the undeniable chaos that will happen at some point-- everything.  It's all the little pieces that make it such a great day. 

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Until Next Time, 

Much love, Reba

Meals for the Week!

This week, as we undergo the first rounds of holiday eating, we decided to keep things simple at home for our "non-holiday" suppers.  Also, we're nearing the end of the gas tank supply, and we want to make sure that we have enough gas for Thanksgiving cooking!  So, the crock pot is getting a workout this week.  

Last night, we had Beef and Broccoli.

Recipe

Tonight is our church's Thanksgiving fellowship-- fortunately it's at a house just up the street from us, so the commute is easy!  We're bringing deviled eggs and coconut cream pie. 

Tomorrow, we're having one of our favorite crock pot meals-- Chicken Italiano!  We discovered this recipe when I was prepping freezer meals in the last few weeks of my pregnancy with Noah.  This one has remained a favorite since!  We usually pair ours with penne. 

Recipe

On Thursday, we'll be hosting Thanksgiving at our home, and we'll be making deep fried turkey, green bean casserole, and pumpkin cups.  Our other family members will bring other items and we'll make a feast of it!

On Friday, we'll be trying out this recipe for Cashew Chicken.  This recipe choice is partly due to my hubby's purchase of a Costco size container of cashews. :)  Gotta use them somehow. 

Recipe

What are your easy recipes for holiday weeks?


Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba

Heal Our Land

Short post today because it's Election Day!  And if we're not at work, then we should be in line voting!  And if we're not in line waiting to vote, then we should be giving ourselves a pat on the back for voting!

This song is one I remember from days long ago, and it's so relevant for today!

Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba

Ab-solution??? Absolutely!

Ok, I have a new favorite brand of jeans. Wit & Wisdom from Nordstrom.  Now, I don't have a Nordstrom nearby, so I order online.  Free shipping, free returns-- can't be beat!

Upon a random browse of the Nordstrom site, I noticed that the Wit & Wisdom "Ab-solution" jeans were on sale.  They are typically $68 and they were marked down 40%.  I read reviews, and I do particularly like the reviews on this site.  First of all, Nordstrom tells you under the "Fit & Details" drop down menu, whether the article of clothing is True to Size (TTS) or they'll suggest that you size up or size down, etc.  Very helpful.  Next, I read the reviews from actual customers.  They usually line up with what Nordstrom has said-- as far as fit goes.  I then choose the size I think will fit best.

Once these jeans arrived, I tried them on really fast before I washed them.  Oh my goodness. They were so comfortable!  The "ab-solution" jeans are equipped with an elastic band on the inside of the jean waistline.  They are also made with some stretchy material, which aids in all the bending down and sitting and walking that any woman has to do-- especially moms and those who work at desks.  On the inside of the jeans, right where the front pockets are, two panels of elastic banding are sewn in, which help keep the "mommy pudge" in it's place.

I washed these and wore them the next day and TOOK A NAP IN THEM because they were that comfortable!

I keep stalking the Nordstrom site looking to see these restocked, and I'm even debating paying full price for them.  They are so worth it.

The Ab-solution style comes in straight leg, like the one I got in their indigo color, and they also have straight leg black jeans and "itty bitty bootcut" options as well.


Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba