Celebrating Our December Birthdays

This was the first year that we celebrated everyone's December birthday on their actual birthdays, plus a small family party, complete with hot cocoa bar, one of our favorite things about cold-weather birthdays. And it was fun, but it was also kind of rough. On me anyway. I think I'm going back to spacing things out a bit. Plus, I really dislike how certain family members are getting too comfortable in omitting their birthday celebrations and gifts and instead "lumping them altogether" on Christmas. I know gifts are not the most important things, of course, but it's the idea that they aren't worth the trouble of celebrating just because their birthdays fall close to Christmas. Birthdays are for celebrating!

Things never get wild or loud at our house. No, never. ;)

With a big snow storm, the first of several since then!, in the forecast, and basketball practices and work, we opted to do Caleb's cocoa pajama lights drive a little early. This was a great year in terms of pretty decorations. It seemed like everyone was in the spirit to make Christmas even more magical. That said, it was probably one of my least favorite rides through town. Now that they're all older, I'm thinking this is one tradition that has run its course. The hard part of parenting, for sure, giving up those things we've held dear for so many years.

Tradition is that Dad carries you out to the warm car so your feet don't get cold touching the ground. Levi is the last one, and possibly the only one we can actually carry anymore. 

And another Snow Day for his birthday! We had lots of fun sledding and playing in the snow all morning long.

My parents surprised us with donuts!

That night we celebrated fifteen years with ice cream cake...well... someone thought that our three season room would double as a freezer while someone else thought that that someone had simply put the darn thing outside. You know, in the actual freezing cold. So there really was nothing to salvage for cake. It will probably be a funny memory one day, but I don't think it's funny yet.

Then, on Friday, we had fancy birthday pancakes for Isabelle!

It was a balmy 6 degrees, way warmer than the -20 it's been all week now. We brought in homemade lollipops like usual for her class.

That night, we had a few of her friends over for pizza and a movie. Boys are loud, but girls are LOUDER. :)

Levi didn't quite know what to do when he wasn't Isabelle's usual center of the universe, so I let him help me with snacks. His pant legs and tippy toes kill me.

He kept grabbing the veggies and taking bites out of them, then putting them back. HA He held onto half a cucumber like a microphone and kept gnawing on it. It was pretty funny.

And now I'm getting everything ready for NYE. It's been a crummy day, my attitude is poor, and I'm really not in the mood for any festivities. Praying for a renewed spirit to salvage this day and the hope of a brand new year. Happy New Year to you!

Christmas Day and Other December Highlights

If you've been reading for any length of time, then you know that we have two December birthdays within thirteen days of Christmas. Yes, it can be a little stressful, but mostly it's just magical and so much fun. I love celebrating my kids, but there is something truly special about having your birthday in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Here are some random pictures which highlight our month:

My Mom and I spent the morning together and brought Levi to meet Santa. I can't say I'm surprised by his reaction, but it did break my heart a little when he acted so distraught, like I had betrayed him. Poor baby. It took a long while for him to calm down, but when he did, we had a great time.

You can see it all over his face here: he isn't ready to trust me yet and has no intention of being fooled. Sorry, baby.

Twas the night before Christmas...

Levi was up early but I was able to coax him back to sleep, and then of course I couldn't sleep. So I did what I always do: go downstairs and light our favorite candles, turn on some music, and snap some pictures in the stillness of the morning. I've got to say, these colorful lights on our back porch made me smile all month long. Especially when they were covered with snow, which was a lot! It even snowed on Christmas day for us, making everything even more wonderful and merry. It sounds cliche, but it's true.

This was the only thing Levi tore into, after much coaxing. He was more interested in handing out the gifts, ha.

I'll be totally honest here. It's been a hard week. Lots of different personalities and natures to deal with in our home, and sometimes it certainly is not all sunshine and roses. Parenting is hard, no matter how you dice it. It can be discouraging, too, not that I'm trying to be a downer here, just honest. But we really did have a lovely Christmas, and I hope you did, too. :)

Our New England Christmas Home

It has been so hard to try to blog lately! Here is a quick look at some Christmas cheer in our home this year. I'm quite smitten with this new shelf/ mug rack. I ordered it from Target- it was just over twenty bucks and it was exactly what I'd been looking for (and not finding!), so I'm thrilled.

I wrote on instagram recently that I've gotten used to cooking and eating by the glow of twinkling lights, I'm really going to miss it. And Christmas decor does not linger in our house, so its days are limited for sure, ha.

I finally added the mirrors I'd had for, umm, only seven or eight months. And made this fun plaid pillow cover for an easy nod to cozy, Christmas cheer in our room. Nothing major, but it's nice to have a little something.

We still don't have a mantel because we can't agree, ha ha, but the moving decoration on the hearth is just right. ;)

Even Sophie likes to relax by the lights. They're magic! :)

I've got to go and help the hubby finish a biiiiiig Christmas surprise for one of our little cherubs.... I'll post about it soon! Have the Merriest Christmas!

Ten on Ten :: December 2017 (A Whole Year!!!)

One whole year of taking ordinary pictures of our ordinary moments on the tenth of each month!

Yesterday was a jam-packed one, and now here we are at the beginning of Birthday Week for Caleb and Isabelle!

Our first real snow of the season arrived Saturday, and since none of us has been feeling very well (and our nights are awful again, whyyyyyyy), we stayed home from church and enjoyed a low key morning. Daddy made us cinnamon rolls and eggs and piping hot coffee. Yum!

Levi found this old, ready to be tossed trial sized toothpaste and fell madly in love. We couldn't get it away from him. Here he pointing out a jingle bell from the tree. Note the left hand, and he's clutching the cap in his right hand there, ha ha ha

Isabelle had been reading in bed and when she finally came down, I made her an orange juice spritzer and told her that I was taking her out for a date that afternoon. :)

We decorated these Saturday night, and obviously they were part of my breakfast feast. Obviously. ;)

More playing. And I've been trying to get a cute picture of them in their Christmas pajamas, ones that I made. Isabelle and I have matching nightgowns, and I'm thinking of selling a few Mother-Daughter sets in the shop. Any interest in that?

 I love his raised little foot here. Before this scene, he'd completely emptied out sister's mitten box and was trying to hard to get her gloves on his hand. He likes the snow, so far anyway!

My throat was really hurting and I felt kind of dizzy/nauseous, so I enjoyed watching them from the inside. They had so much fun!

All dressed up for... the Nutcracker! It was beautiful.

This boy was missing his Mama, so I played with him for a long while after I got back. He loves holding onto the edge of a blanket or sheet and playing parachute. So cute!

After dinner, we headed out for our annual cocoa and lights drive that we do every year on Caleb's birthday. This year, Tuesday would not work because of basketball and Ethan's job, so we did it a little early. I can't believe how grown up Caleb looks here. Almost fifteen! Where does the time go?

 Daddy used to carry them all to the van so their feet wouldn't get cold, and it became a thing. So many years, so many memories. Now Levi is the only one to carry.

Here is the one truly decked out house near our neighborhood. It's impressive! This is a photo from the video I took, so it doesn't do it justice. I think I posted it on my stories on IG - I'm @bethanyliv_s life if you want to see the whole thing.

Now I'm off to go cook some oatmeal for my crew. Hope you have a great start to your week!