Gold E. Locks, Year 6

To elf or not to elf, that is the question. For us, we elf, and we elf HARD! ;) Our fun-loving, mischevious little Gold E. Locks, aka Goldy, joined our family six years ago, and the kiddos continue to get SO excited to find him and discover his latest shenanigans each morning. And as of this year, we still have four kiddos who believe in the magic. I worry that a certain 8-year-old is starting to catch on, but as far as we know, Goldy, and his jolly ol' boss, continue to be the magic makers. Here, a look at all the fun Goldy performed around our home over the last 24 days:

Day 1. Goldy arrived and dropped off an Advent calendar and a candy message.

Day 2.  Goldy was ready to cheer on the Clemson Tigers to victory in the ACC playoff game, donning his favorite Clemson sweater for the occasion.

Day 3.  Goldy left a fun craft so that the kids could help create some festive friends.

Day 4.  Goldy left all four kids high marks on their Official Elf Report Cards, thank goodness!

Day 5.  Goldy wanted to help the kiddos focus on the reason for the season, leaving a gingerbread Nativity for them to decorate this year. 

Day 6.  Goldy clearly had fun while the rest of us were sleeping, setting up his own Elf Photo Booth, complete with props.

Day 7.  The day had come: Goldy let us know we'd be visiting Santa that night to fill the 2017 frame!

Day 8.  Goldy packed himself up in a jar so the kiddos could safely transport him to Nana and Pop's without touching him - which meant no elf magic was lost in the travel!

Day 9.  Goldy had a wild and crazy game night with his elf cousins while at Nana and Pop's house. Those elves are just so FUN!

Day 10.  Goldy and his elf cousins were ready for the human cousins to join in the gaming fun, hiding 36 candy canes all around Nana and Pop's house for them to find!

Day 11.  Goldy made it safely back home and clearly had candy cane wishes and gumball dreams.

Day 12.  Goldy clearly has connections! He spoke to the jolly ol' soul himself, who sent each of the kids their very own personalized video messages.

Day 13. Goldy knew Momma's oven would be rockin' and rollin',with 70 cookie dough orders to fulfill, and he was ready to get to work as the official EBO (Elf Baking Assistant). 

Day 14.  Woohoo! Goldy let us know it was our annual pottery painting day. Time to add more Christmasware to our collection, per tradition. 

Day 15.  It was time to spread kindness all around! Goldy left eight kindness tasks for the kids to complete before Christmas arrived. 

Day 16. Goldy knew it was Momma's birthday and brought his own elf-sized cake to help celebrate.

Day 17. School night, shmool night. Goldy left candy-caned marshmallows, hot cocoa, mugs, and popcorn, inspiring an impromptu Christmas movie night.

Day 18.  Sweet Goldy brought a snowman back from the North Pole! Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate the difference in temperatures between the North Pole and South Carolina. Oops!

Day 19. Surprise! Goldy gifted the kids with an early Christmas present: season passes for Carowinds, including entry to Winterfest for that night. 

 

Day 20.  Goldy brought the kids official 2017 Christmas jammies, just in time for Raleigh and Banks' Polar Express jammie days at school!

Day 21.  Goldy left scavenger hunt clues for the kids, leading them to a 100-piece holiday puzzle. He must have realized that their Christmas break was mere hours away!  

Day 22. Goldy left donuts for the kids as well as elfin-sized donuts for himself. Thanks for making breakfast so easy that day, Goldy!

Day 23. It was time to make some reindeer food for Santa's transporters. Some oats here, a little glitter there, and Santa's traveling crew is sure to be well fed and well lead, straight to our home! 

Day 24.  Goldy bid the kids farewell with a goodbye letter and all the components needed to decorate Christmas cookies for Santa.

And that's a wrap on all our fun with Goldy in 2017. Thanks for the memories, thanks for the laughs, thanks for the fun, Goldy! We'll see you in 2018!

Cheers to the Weekend, Christmas Eve Eve Eve Edition

Merry, Merry, friends! It's the Friday before Christmas and we are SO excited over here! Today is the first day of our Christmas break, and we have big plans of no plans over the weekend as we anticipate Christmas's arrival. We have been so busy this month that we are really looking forward to keeping things very low key this weekend, just spending time together as a family. <3 Here, are few things that have been keeping us CHEERfully busy over the last week (some of the amazing things; trust me there have been plenty in the other direction ;) - see my last blog post if this makes no sense whatsoever)  : 

Amazing therapists. I know I've said it before, and I will continue to sing their praises, but we are SO THANKFUL for Bella's amazing therapists. They are helping our girl achieve goals she was so far from when she first came home, and we just love them so much. This week, our occupational and speech therapy sessions overlapped, and it was so fun to watch them both work with her together and to see the adorable holiday (and simultaneously therapeutic!) crafts they helped her complete. <3

Preschool program. There are few things cuter in this world than seeing a room full of precious preschoolers singing their hearts out about their love for Jesus and the Christmas season. Harrison had his program on Monday, and he did SUCH a great job! He sang and danced and smiled and waved and melted this momma's heart on the spot. <3 

After his (kids-only) Christmas party on Wednesday, his break officially began! 

Dance observation. The same day, we attended parent observation day at Raleigh's dance studio. Per studio policy, I'm not permitted to share any videos to protect all dancers' privacy, but I can assure you, seeing a room full of beautiful little girls dancing to Let It Snow was just the sweetest thing. Rals did great, and we were so proud of our dancer. 

Girl time. That same evening, I was able to enjoy a super fun dinner out with some of my most favorite girls (including one of my sisters <3) as a belated birthday celebration. Girl time just fills my cup, and it was one of those nights that was good for the soul. We missed those who couldn't make it but enjoyed lots of laughs with those who could. Love you girls!

Winterfest. Earlier this week, our elf, Goldy (who will be sharing all of his shenanigans in a post later this weekend), gifted the kids with an early Christmas present: season passes to Carowinds! It was perfect timing because, for the first year ever, Carowinds is hosting an event called "Winterfest." So, on Tuesday night, we loaded up and took the kids there to enjoy all the festive fun! It was a BLAST!!! We went on rides, we danced in the "snow," we went to the North Pole Post Office, where we met real elves and were able to write, stamp, and mail our letters to Santa!, and we enjoyed all of the beautiful lights! The weather was lovely that night (in the 60s!), and we didn't wait in a single line. It was great! Local friends, I highly recommend it, and I know it is open all next week, too!

Polar Express Days. Both Banks and Raleigh got to enjoy Polar Express Day in their classrooms this week. And I'll tell you what - this momma loves any excuse for a school pajama day! :) 

Kindergarten program. Yesterday, Raleigh had her kindergarten Christmas program. It was just adorable seeing all those bright and cheery faces singing along to some Christmas carol classics! After it was over, I checked her out early so she could get a headstart on Christmas break. Then, my hub picked up Banks right as school ended so they could go and watch the latest Star Wars film at the movies. Win-win for all!

Third Annual. Last night, we attended a special triple dinner date we have every year for the past three years with two of our favorite couples. It was fun, fun, fun! And that's all I'll say about that! ;) 

Cookie dough. As of the end of day today, all 70 of my cookie dough orders will be complete! It has been so fun to see all of the beautiful cookies my neighbors have created with the dough. :)

And THAT is a wrap on this Christmas Eve Eve Eve post! I hope everyone is staying sane out there amid the craziness. ;) I'll be back on Sunday with one last post before taking a few days off to enjoy time with my family. Cheers, y'all!

An Awful and Amazing Life

Sometimes you end up in a public restroom, minutes before your preschooler's Christmas program begins, standing at the baby changing station (positioned squarely in view of any and everyone in the facilities at the time), catching your daughter's runny poop in your hand. Repeatedly. And then trying to wipe it off her cute, holiday-esque, bright red overalls while she continues to let it loose faster than a faucet.

What? You didn't see my photo of that on social media? Bet you saw this one: 

Or how about the sheer terror that suddenly erupts from 1/2 of your four children's mouths as a loud roller coaster suddenly whizzes by overheard, scaring the bejeezus out of the little unsuspecting spectators. 

Missed that one, too? But you saw this pic shared publicly, right?:

How about the lecture that was required right there in the middle of the parking lot, as dozens of happy families joyfully walked by, because your son needed a reminder of how lucky he was to even be able to attend Winterfest, thankyouverymuch, and didn't need to blame his parents for his own fear and subsequent refusal to ride a rollercoaster (of course, deciding he was finally ready to ride said coaster, which just so happened to be situated at the very back of the amusement park, as the fam o' six made it out to the parking lot)? 

No public record of that conversation? 

Oh, I know, I know: how about the multiple cups of flour that erupted from a bowl and covered the kitchen in a flour-y snow as a certain momma stood cursing nearby, trying to figure out how to use the newly borrowed stand mixer to produce batch after batch (after batch after batch after batch) of cookie dough to make a little extra money to buy her husband a Christmas surprise without him knowing about it (except, by the way, he ended up finding out about the surprise)? 

Hmmm....I guess the flour was already cleaned up and only pics of the cute packaged bundles of dough were displayed for all to see? Imagine that. 

I read this quote out of an awesome book my LifeGroup girls and I are studying right now. I think it's pretty suitable for this exact juncture:

Life is amazing. And then it's awful. And then it's amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful, it's ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That's just living, heart-breaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it's breathtakingly beautiful. L.R. Knost

_________________________________

 

My takeaway? 

Sometimes life looks like tear-inducing preschool programs, twinkling Christmas lights, squeals of joy, grateful children, and perfectly decorated cookies.

And sometimes it looks like a momma who is covered in poop one day, flour the next; one who  may or may not yell at her children to BE KIND OR BE QUIET (ironic, dontyathink?). Sometimes life looks like children who complain, mommas who are so much nicer and more patient in the morning, and dads who simply skim emails from their wives ("Didn't you see the date of parent observation day?! I emailed it to you!"). We don't often see these moments shared for the world to see. But they are there, and often, moreso than the bright, shiny, happy moments that ARE shared for the world to see.

Life can be both amazing and awful - there are ever-changing, unpredictable seasons, ones that ebb and flow. But to me? Life is all about the ordinary moments in between - the spaces where memories are made.

As Christmas approaches, may your ordinary moments feel extraordinary for what they are: your one wild and precious life.

Cheers to the Week, Post-Birthday, Pre-Christmas Edition

Want to hear a little fun fact? When my mom was pregnant with me, she was due the day after Christmas and she seriously considered naming me...Noel. Yes, you read that right. Thank you, Mama, for (1) coming to your naming senses, and (2) having me 10 days early. :)

This weekend, I celebrated the big 3-7 and had such a wonderful day, all thanks to my hub. That, and a few more things I'm saying CHEERS to on this day, just ONE WEEK before Christmas:  

Birthday fun. I love, love, love holidays and love, love, love birthdays, and my hub made me feel so extra special on mine this year. On Friday night, we went to dinner with two other couples we love and had so much fun! We went to this beautiful, cozy restaurant in Charlotte called Dogwood Southern Table, and ohmydearLord, it was SO good! I will be dreaming about my scallops and boar for weeks on end! We had plenty of laughs and plenty of fun, and it was such a great birthday eve. :) 

On Saturday (my actual birthday), my hub and kiddos spoiled me rotten. I had the perfect mix of me time and family time and loved every minute! They started my day with breakfast in bed before welcoming me to the kitchen to open my gifts (my favorite of which was an enlarged, framed photo of my babies). <3
 
I then got to enjoy a Barre3 class, sweating it out with two other girlfriends who were there as well, and then walked right across the street to get the mani and pedi my hub had scheduled for me, which I NEVER do! After returning home (to a spotless house with all laundry and dishes done!!!) and getting showered and ready, my hub and kiddos took me to lunch. 

We then dropped the littlest three back home with a sitter and were able to watch Banks' basketball game in peace :). My parents joined us at his game and then came back to our house so we could all hang out, exchange Christmas gifts, and enjoy the homemade carrot cake my hub made me (as he does each year, using my mom's recipe - my favorite!).

I then snuck away to spend some birthday gift cards at my favorite clothing boutique before returning home for dinner and more family time with my Lu Crew. It was just such a wonderful day. One of my favorite birthdays ever spent with my peeps. <3 I'll finish out the celebrating tonight with dinner with girlfriends and will continue to be so thankful for another year on this earth with the people I love. Thank you ALL for the birthday love and well-wishes. Thirty-six was a year full of beautiful change, and I have high hopes that this next year will be a joyful, memorable one as well. <3

School feasts. Enough about me. It was so fun attending Banks and Raleigh's holiday feasts at their school on Friday. It was loud and crazy and chaotic and fun in that cafeteria! And while Harrison had to miss out on the festivities since he had preschool that morning, Bella was able to partake in the elementary school shenanigans. We have three full days and one half day before our Christmas break begins, and this week is chock-full of school events that we are so excited for but...I can't wait for our break to begin! 

Pottery painting. We also had fun as a family when the six of us went to paint pottery last week, something we do every year for good reason: each year, for the last six years, I have created a new Christmas plate for us to pull out and use for our Christmas dinner. All of the plates have the kids handprints of footprints or thumbprints on them, and it is so fun to pull them out and use them each year! And as of this year, we now have all six of the plates we will need! Next year, I'll have to move on to glassware or something... Anywho, we also let each kiddo choose their own figurine to paint while I am working on the plate. It takes a week to get them back, all glazed and fired and ready, and I cannot wait to see our creations when I pick them up later this week! 

 (Bella and Daddy were there, too. I just forgot to snap their pic. Oops!) 

This year's plate, pre-glazing/firing. The berries are the kids' fingerprints :)

Diligent friends. We have been trying to get a clear understanding on what's going on with Bella's hearing for several months now. This has entailed four audiology visits, appointments with two different ENTS, and multiple rounds of hearing evaluations. Our latest attempt to assess her hearing happened last week. Because we have had to sedate her twice in four months for her neuroimaging and spinal surgery, we were hoping to avoid doing it again in order to complete the hearing test she now needs. So, last week, she and I spent two hours at our (awesome!!!) audiologist's office, as I tried, over and over, for nearly two hours, to get the child to nap. Bella is an excellent sleeper but also, I now know: a very light sleeper. So, she would fall asleep, and then wake up at the slightest sound. Because the test we were trying to complete requires that a child be completely still and completely silent, we needed her to sleep. Well, it was a big fat FAIL - not as in, she failed the test. A fail as in we were never able to get her still or quiet long enough to complete it. So, we are now in the process of scheduling sedated testing. :( Although we tried so hard to avoid this route, it's really the only thing we can do at this point to get a clear picture of what's going on so we can address it as needed. So, please keep her in your prayers as we continue down this road. <3

Electrodes were on. And she was asleep!....well, asleep for approximately 5 minutes and then refused to nap for the remainder of the appointment. Siiiiiigh.

Cookie dough. If you were around these parts at all last year, you know that I made and decorated well over a thousand cookies as a fundraiser for our adoption. And while I LOVED it and miss the baking, it is a very time-consuming hobby, mainly because I am a perfectionist. ;) I haven't had time to dive back in to the cookie world since we've brought Bella home given our full therapy schedule, BUT last year, one of my girlfriends requested to purchase a batch of my cookie dough so that she could cut, bake, and decorate her own cookies with her kids for Christmas. Why my dough? Well, here's the thing: because of the specific recipe that I use, my dough does.not.spread. when baked. So, instead of simply getting store-bought dough, cutting it with festive cookie cutters and then baking it only to end up with blobs that kinda-sorta-maybe-remotely resemble the original cookie cutter shape, the cookies with my dough do.not.spread. at all. They produce cookies that are the exact shape in which they were cut (snowmen! reindeer! trees! stockings! houses! ugly sweaters! Santas! all things festive!). So, this year, because I don't have time to bake, decorate, and sell the Christmas cookie bundles like I did last year, I decided to simply sell my dough so families could cut, bake, and decorate it with their kiddos! I put the offer out there on my neighborhood Facebook page and had a great response - 70 orders to be precise! I completed 1/3 of the orders this past Friday and will finish up the remaining 2/3 this Friday. Whew! It is really fun to be baking again, even if I'm not the one getting to do all the decorating. :) Also, I cannot tell y'all how amazing it feels to be baking again while having Bella here with us! All that baking last year - all for her - and now, she's here to assist. The thought of that makes me cry. <3

And that's it for today! Have a GREAT week, and I'll be back at least two more times before Christmas with a couple festive posts. Happy Monday, friends!