Cheers to the Weekend, It's Christmas Time!!! Edition

You know how, last week and the week before, I only managed one blog post each week? Well, let's just say this chock-full post will make up for what was lacking. Whew. It.Has.Been.A.Week. But honestly? As packed full as it was? I LOVED it. Because I absolutely love the holiday season. In fact, I love that my birthday is in December because the lights and the joy and the merriment and the cheer and the kindness that abounds just makes it that much better. 

Anywho. It was a busy week but a really, really good one. Here's what went down as we celebrated this last week before Christmas arrives in just a few short days: 

Elementary school holiday luncheon. Last Friday, my hub and I attended our big two's second annual holiday luncheon at our beloved elementary school. Although Harrison was in preschool during the time of the festivities, Bella was able to join, and we had a crazy, chaotic, loud, big ol' time! 

BLOMPSmas. We wish you a Merry BLOMPSmas...Last weekend, we headed to Columbia, South Carolina, where my parents live, to celebrate BLOMPSmas (aka Christmas with my "side" of the fam). This translates into 13 adults and 14 kiddos, all piled under one roof. It was as nutso as you can imagine, and I loved every.single.minute. <3

Nutcracker. This was the firth year in a row for Raleigh and I to take in the magic that is The Nutcracker. The four years prior, we had attended with both of her grandmas joining us - so special!! This year, we were sad our Nana wasn't able to make it but happy to have four aunts, three cousins, and Bammy there to take it all in. I just love it so, so much. Definitely one of my most favorite Christmas traditions. AND I really think Bels will be ready to join us next year, and I am just giddy thinking about it! 

My birthday. Last weekend was also my birthday, and I had a lovely day with my Lu Crew. I was treated to breakfast in bed and got to lounge and do whatever my heart desired before we headed to church. We then picked up a yummy lunch at Panera and came home, where I was able to spend some time blogging while my hub took care of everything - feeding the kids, getting them down for naps, etc. Next, I headed out for some "me time" that turned into "friend time" when I ran into a sweet friend during my (once annual -  ha!) mani/pedi and then another during barre class. I came home, changed, and we were back out the door...for our second annual trip to Winterfest at Carowinds. We went last year during it's inaugural year and LOVED it. They do they best job and the park transformation is incredible - they think of every detail and the lights are spectacular! Finally, we came home to enjoy the homemade carrot cake my hub always makes me on my birthday -  it's my mama's recipe and it's my favorite! Alright, 38 - let's do this thing!  

Panthers game. The next night, we headed to Bank of America Stadium with some of our favorite friends to take in a little Monday Night Football, a la Panther's style. We had the absolute BEST time, and even though our Panthers lost, the 1:00 am bedtime was totally worth it. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! So much fun with people we love so very much!

Birthday breakfast. Despite the super-duper-late bedtime (on a school night - gasp!), I was so excited to enjoy a birthday breakfast with some dear friends I just adore the next morning. Girl time is some of my favorite time, and it was such a lovely way to kick off a busy Tuesday and week!

Dance observation day. The following day was the Christmas Dance Observation Day for our Rals. <3 You guys...she amazed me. She really did. She is so ridiculously flexible and was so confident up there, rocking her holiday dance and nailing the choreography. We were so proud of her! 

White Elephant, 3rd grade edition. Meanwhile, Banks was at a White Elephant Christmas party with a group of his 3rd grade buddies, hosted by an awesome (and brave! -  a house full of wild and crazy 3rd grade boys?! God speed, LL!) momma friend. THEN, he had his last basketball game of December that night. It was a real nail-biter, but they brought home the W, making them 3-1 on the season so far. Go Knights! 

Holiday school activities galore. Did I mention there have been a host of school activities for all four of my kiddos this week? Let's see...there was Polar Express Day, a school Christmas party, and a music program for Harrison (he was a Wise Man and did so great!, just like his big bro four years ago, in the same role!); there was pajama day/Christmas party day for Bella; there was Grinch Day for Raleigh yesterday and as of this morning, I am helping with her class gingerbread party; and there was a Christmas/pajama party for Banks, too. All photo evidence as follows:  ;) 

Christmas cookie dough. And finally, I have cranked out 82 orders of my homemade, non-spreadable cookie dough OVER THE LAST WEEK. Lord Almighty. I am done! :) 

And now, a mere half-day for my big two is all that separates us from two glorious weeks of Christmas break. Tonight, my hub and I have our annual Christmas dinner with two of our favorite couples, a night that has become a tradition over the last several years. We have an evening of boat caroling on Sunday. And lots of rest and family time to recover from the madness that was this week in between, as we excitedly anticipate Christmas' arrival! I will have one final post on Monday before Christmas but until then, have a GREAT holiday-esque weekend friends! See you on Monday! :) 

40 Before 40

Today, I turn the big 3-8, which means I am inching closer and closer to 40. I was in the middle of a barre class last week when it hit me: I want to come up with a bucket list of 40 things to do/try/accomplish before I turn 40. And since I am now exactly two years away, I thought now would be a good time to start generating the list so that I can start tackling these items, challenging myself, and having some almost-40-year-old FUN! 

But can I be so bold as to make a birthday request from each of you? I need more suggestions to add to my list! As you can see below, I haven't yet brainstormed 40 - I am only halfway there; so, I would LOVE if you could pass along any ideas or suggestions, either by commenting right here on the blog or under the Facebook link for this post. Pretty please with a birthday cake and cherry on top?! I need 20 more ideas! 

They don't all have to be over-the-top or elaborate or outside-the-box. As you can see below, some are as simple as going to a movie by myself and others are more elaborate, like going for a hot air balloon ride. The thing is, they just all need to be things I have never done before. This mid-30s momma...okay almost-40 momma...needs a good challenge before I take on the next decade. And I've got two years to get 'er done. So. What say you? Help a momma out, please! 

Here's what I've got so far: 

• Try out for something new.
• Go on a hot air balloon ride.
• Master the InstaPot.
• Keep a plant alive for three months.
• Learn how to do contouring and highlighting.
• Go to a movie by myself.
• Needlepoint something. 
• Take a surf lesson.
• Go on a social media fast for one month.
• Transform a piece of furniture.
• Go to wine country.
• Make a new cake recipe.
• Play a round of golf with my hub.
• Read a book in two days.
• Go snow tubing.
• Try a new food.
• Read the Old Testament in it's entirety.
• Start a women's Bible Study.
• Go white water rafting.
• Try a new haircut/color.

Thank you, friends! Now, off to celebrate with the ones I love. <3

Cheers to the Weekend, One-Post-Wonder Yet Again

Well, another December Friday has arrived and turns out, this was another one of those one-post weeks. The funny thing is, I actually feel so much less holiday stressed this year and as though I have more time. Whether that be because we had that extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, or because one of our extended family Christmas celebrations is going down the weekend after Christmas this year (thus leaving us an extra, travel-free weekend pre-Christmas this year), or because last December, we were gone three weekends in a row, or a combination of all of the above, I don't know. But I do feel less stressed, more on top of things, and more able to enjoy the specialness of this season. 

But I still only managed one post this week. Go figure. 

Maybe a glimpse at some of the things we're saying CHEERS to this weekend will help explain it...

Snow...err....Ice Days. Well, we got a sprinkling of snow over the weekend last weekend...and I do mean a teeny tiny sprinkling...but lots of rain and freezing temps leading to lots of icy roads leading to no school on Monday and a 2-hour delay on Tuesday! And I got to spend allllll day Monday with two additional cuties in the form of my niece and nephew. You see, my sister is a hard working orthodontist and the practice was still open on Monday, yet her kiddos' school was closed and her hubby was out of town. Enter: Aunt Lu! We sure had fun! We cake popped and cookie decorated and board gamed and ran wild all the live-long day. :) 

Christmas traditions. I actually have a half-written post about this I'll be sharing soon, but for now, I'll just say we've been having fun completing some of our favorite Christmas traditions, including painting pottery as a family (during which I create a piece to add to the dinnerware we eat off of for our Christmas dinner each year). 

We also visited the jolly ol' soul earlier this week, and aside from Raleigh suddenly and very unexpectedly asking for a complete random gift out of the blue (which is not happening; my Christmas shopping is DONE), it was a great visit! Oh, and Santa informed Rals that he is fresh out of "real wheelchairs that I can play with" in the workshop this year, but that the calling watch she also wanted is, in fact, in stock. Thanks, Santa! ;) 

And then, our Daddy spontaneously suggested a trip to Dave & Busters for dinner/fun. It was a unanimous YES!!!

Baking Days. Y'all know I love, love, love to bake but hardly have the time, time, time to do it (see also: two weeks in a row of one-post-wonders #wheredoesthetimego). Well, I got do bake and decorate some special cookies for some special therapists and teachers during our ice days, and I loved every minute of it. AND for the second year in a row, the sales of my non-spreadable cookie dough are well underway. There are 26 orders being picked up today, and there will be another 48 orders I'll be making and selling next week. Whew! The Lu Crew kitchen is a' hoppin'! 

And that's it for now, friends! We have a packed full, memory-makin' next few days, starting tonight and ending with a special breakfast on Tuesday. Then, there will be school parties and Christmas programs and surprise plans and a partridge in a pear tree. Be back soon to share it all! Have a GREAT weekend, y'all!! :) 

Cheers to the Weekend, Season's in Full Swing Edition

'Tis the season to squeeze in blog posts wherever I can! And sadly, there was only room for one lonely post this week thanks to a couple extra appointments for our Bella and some extra errands that needed to be completed. But alas, Friday is here and with it, my weekly CHEERS post! Here's what we're saying CHEERS to as we welcome in the (possibly snowy?!?) weekend: 

Winter sports. Whelp, winter sports are in full swing. Banks and Rals are playing basketball, Raleigh is continuing dance, and Banks is playing in a neighborhood flag football league. Harrison is taking the season off to rest up for his spring endeavors, and Bels is rounding things out with her three hours of home therapies each week. ;) 

ACC Championship. Go Tigers! Last Saturday, our Clemson Tigers played in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte, about 20 minutes from our home. A thoughtful friend ended up gifting us with some really awesome (covered, aka dry in all the rain!) seats on Friday night; so, we found a last minute sitter and headed to the game Saturday night. It was a blast! And our Tigers are ACC Champs again! We will be thrilled to be cheering them on in the Cotton Bowl for the College Football Playoffs and will be crossing our fingers and toes they win so that our friends and us can use the hotel rooms we booked a year ago for the National Championship game in California! Come on, Tigers!!! 

Cheering on Nana. Also last weekend, we got to support someone else we love...Nana! We drove to Aiken late Sunday afternoon so that we could make it to her 6:00 pm performance of "The Living Christmas Tree," which took place in the church my hub grew up going to. It was so, so special seeing her on that stage and rooting her on. She had six VERY proud grandchildren (as well as a proud husband, son, daughter, and son and daughter "in law") there to take in the beauty and meaning of the program. It was just so special. And I was SO proud of my kiddos (and niece and nephew!) who were all so well-behaved, despite the program ending after 8:00 pm. They just sat in awe and waved as hard as they could to their Nana. So, so sweet. <3

Laughing at Mom Fails. Hi, my name is Lindsay and I mom failed last weekend. #oops Apparently, there is a class bear in Harrison's pre-k class, named "Hero." And also apparently, each weekend, Hero comes home with a classmate so that the two of them can have all kinds of adventures together, each of which is supposed to be documented and then displayed in the class notebook that accompanies Hero home. Harrison was SO excited when I picked him up last Friday: it was HIS TURN TO BRING HERO HOME!!! YAY!!! Only, we accidentally left Hero in the car at noon on Friday and totally forgot about him until we got back in my car for church on Sunday. Did I mention we were supposed to have been (photo) documenting all the lovely adventures Hero had been having with our family? My bad. Luckily, I talked my way into scoring one extra day with Hero, and were able to squeeze in a whole weekend o' fun into approximately eight hours. I'm guessing Hero won't be visiting Case de Lu anytime again soon. :) 

 Hey look! Hero joined us for church (after being discovered in my car moments before. Oops.)

 Who says having breakfast isn't an adventure? I mean, clearly Bella is THRILLED about it. 

 Hero did help us handout Christmas cards...

...and decorate our Gingerbread house. Hope you had fun, Hero! ;) 

Supportive sibs. Speaking of school, please excuse me...I am going to mom brag for a moment. Feel free to scroll down to the next topic or gag as you read along. ;) I found two thoughtful things my big two did at school last week that made my heart so proud: First, Banks independently contacted his old 1st grade teacher (who just so happens to be Raleigh's current 1st grade teacher) and asked if HE could be the mystery reader for her class that Friday. The "mystery reader" is a job that different parents volunteer for each week...but Banks wanted to surprise his sister; so, he took the initiative to arrange it and show up to read. And then our beloved Mrs. Blackwell took this pic and my heart just about melted when I saw it and heard what he had done:

And then my sweet Raleigh decided she wanted to pay it forward and asked her former kindergarten teacher if SHE could read to her current kindergarten class. And sweet Ms. Feneis took pictures and videos of it all and sent it my way. 

We have plenty of tough moments during our days, and we are all a work in progress, but moments like these are worth all the blood, sweat, and tears....and prayers and love and presence and hard work...my hub and I work so hard to pour into our kiddos. <3

Successful appointments. Bella saw two new health professionals this week: one was our pediatric dentist. It was her first ever dental appointment and she did great and came out cavity free! Friends, this is such a blessing. So many children who are adopted from large Chinese orphanages end up having significant tooth decay, requiring teeth extractions and/or multiple filled cavities. We are so thankful that her teeth look healthy to this point! 

And yesterday, I took her to see a pediatric cardiologist as we work to sort out some remaining question marks. I could not have been more impressed with the cardiologist - he was so kind and so thorough and so reassuring. AND after undergoing an EKG, Echo, and ultrasound of the heart, and having her blood pressure and oxygen levels assessed, he informed us that she has a perfectly strong and healthy heart and vascular system. Praise God! Thank you, Jesus!!!

And that's it for this week, y'all. I am going to try hard to post more than once next week, BUT next week is also the first of two weeks that I will be using alllllll my spare minutes to  complete 73 orders of my homemade, non-spreadable cookie dough. Check out this cute princess chick who accompanied me to Costco earlier this week to pick up some supplies: 

So, my kitchen will be buzzin', Goldy will still be up to his hijinx, my wrapping will begin, and we'll sneak in a few fun Christmas activities, too. Whew! And I love it all! Happy Holiday Friday, friends! Be back soon!