Attention, Shoe Police: How Do You Like These?

Chris got me a pair of Sanuks for Christmas. Man, are they comfy! He swears by them - and owns two pairs. So far, I'm liking 'em! I also got these Roxy loafers from my parents. They are COMFY + cute.

So I guess I don't need the ugly shoes, then. But I stand by them. I think they're cute!

Go Jane

Go Jane is a fun li'l Forever 21-ish online shop that I happened upon via Your Heart Out. The styles are trendy, the prices are low - right up my alley! Here are a few favorites from their cute selection of tops:

{1 2 3 4}

I'm also loving their fun collection of trendy boots. I'm thinking I need a gray pair...

Just What I've Been Looking For

I saw a girl wearing these shoes at the grocery store yesterday. Of course, I had to accost her and quiz her about them. (And then stand there chatting with her for another 20 minutes...what, you're from my home state of Tennessee? What, you live in my parents' neighborhood? What, you can buy personalized binkies where??) And in spite of the fact that the shoes don't look super cute in this photo, they are so cute on!! In fact, they're just the shoes I've been looking for. They're a little pricer than I usually go (cheeeeeapskate!) but I'm sure they'd last forever, especially considering that we don't wear real shoes for too many months out of the year in these parts. I'm going to wait and see what Santa brings me. If I'm still in need of shoes after that, I might just bite the bullet and get 'em...

Wishing For...

Saw this in the ads today and am in love...

I like this one, too.

Notes To Self From A Photo Session:

• Mason needs a hair cut. Bad. Like, yesterday.
• Screaming baby does not = happy photos.
• Dinged up noses don't look good in photos. But it's SO Mason to have a dinged up nose.
• It's probably helpful if Mom is there to supervise the action, instead of frantically showering 10 minutes before we're supposed to be at church.
• I'm happy with the outfits this year. I'm even happier with the prices. Dare I admit? Maya's dress = $15 at Ross. Mason's outfit = $10 at Walmart (with 97 cent shipping, which makes me so happy - I hate paying shipping!). Simon's outfit = $9 on clearance at Gymboree. I love a deal!
• We will be trying again next Sunday. And every Sunday after that until we get something decent.
  

Christmas Every Day

I've been really enjoying hearing about Christmas advent activities that a lot of my friends are doing with their kids on a daily basis. I was thinking that I need to get my act together and do something like that with my kids. Then I realized that without even planning it, we've been doing Christmas activities most days! So here's what we've been up to this past week:

• Monday - Family night Christmas light neighborhood tour. We stopped off at Starbucks for some hot chocolate and caramel apple cider and then drove around looking at Christmas lights. Very pretty!
• Wednesday - A visit to Austin's famous Trail of Lights exhibit.
  
• Thursday - Made chocolate peppermint marshmallows with the kids.
• Friday - Finished the marshmallows and packaged them up with the kiddos. That night we drove around delivering them. The kids thought it was very exciting to drop them off on the porches of our friends. They insisted on going all by themselves, of course.
• Saturday - Attended our church Christmas party. Maya sang a couple of songs in the program with the other kids, we chatted with friends and enjoyed a yummy turkey dinner.
• Sunday - Started a new tradition - a "fancy" Christmas Sunday breakfast. We had German pancakes, bacon, hash-brown potatoes + fruit and "bubbly" to drink (sparkling cider). I used my new Anthropologie table cloth for the first time and we ate on our pretty dishes (instead of plastic Disney-themed dishes, which are the norm...). Then the kids got decked out in their Christmas outfits and Chris attempted to get some photos by the tree (I'll show you the results in another post...). Next, it was off to church for a wonderful Christmas music program. Such a lovely day!

So there we have it! A Christmas countdown of our own, sort of! And I'm going to make a concerted effort to fill these next few days with Christmas activities, too. Tomorrow we'll be blasting the Christmas music and (hopefully) making and decorating our favorite sugar cookies. Christmas shapes, of course! Christmas trees, stars, gingerbread men...etc.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas week!

Clean Cup, Clean Cup, Move Down Move Down Move DOWN!

Everybody's seen Alice in Wonderland, right? It's one of my absolute favorites. I've felt a little like the White Rabbit lately..."Time? No time!". "Baby stuff" + adjusting to 3 kids + Christmas everything has really kept me running around - and I'm feeling like nothing ever gets done. (Can't everyone relate?!)

Last night, for example, I had planned to wrap a big ol' pile of gifts and fold a mountain of laundry. Instead, I held the baby for a loooong stretch, then wrapped just four gifts, followed by extended baby holding. The 7 loads of laundry that I'd strategically placed ON the bed (so I'd HAVE to fold them) was instead moved to the couch, where it continued to grow.

My kitchen floor has been sticky with crushed peppermint for days now. I swept it. Almost got to mopping it. Not quite.

My cousin's wife pointed out to me (again) that I'm not commenting on her blog with any frequency these days. True enough. I'm barely scanning blogs in my Google Reader - commenting doesn't even enter the picture most days. You might have noticed that I'm not even keeping up with my own blog very well most of the time.

Instead, I'm feeling like the guests at the Mad Hatter's tea party. The moment I sit down, prepared to "enjoy my cup of tea" (you know, accomplish something), someone pulls a Mad Hatter on me and snatches it away while shouting "Clean cup, clean up, move down move down move DOWN!". And then it's on to feeding the baby, changing Mason's "stinky bi-per" (the kid is almost 3, my friends...someday I'll potty train him, I promise!) etc. etc. And once I'm done with that? I can't remember what I was supposed to be doing in the first place. Clean cup! No time to enjoy! No chance of accomplishing anything!

Ah, I'm being dramatic. Because Chris wrapped the rest of the presents while I did the baby holding. And this afternoon, Simon took a great nap and I folded the laundry. Someday I might even mop the floor. It will all get done eventually. But I have to admit, I will be happy when I can sit still and enjoy my cup of tea - someday! Until then, I'll just enjoy the party. At least it's exciting, right?! And there's lots of snuggling going on.

(PS - I know a lot of you have three, four, five, SIX (!) children. To you, my hat is off. I DO NOT know how you do it!!)

Maya's Preschool Program

Maya's class sang Away in a Manger in her preschool program yesterday - how cute are they?? And how TALL is Maya?

Spin Spin Spin - Trail of Lights 2008

Trail of Lights is a must-do Austin Christmas event. Zilker Park is all lit up and decorated with fun holiday displays. Mason was excited to spot Linus in the Peanuts display. Maya loved Rudolph and Minnie Mouse. I loved the deep fried oreos, don't you know. (That is a little piece of heaven, I kid you not.) Of course, the crowning moment is going for a big spin under the Zilker tree. It really is fun - and Maya and Mason were really into it this year. Good times, great weather! I love Texas!

Dip! To Go

Did you know that the Melting Pot now offers "to go" items?! Giant platters of dipped strawberries...trays of dippers + a selection of chocolates...MMM! Yes, please!

Read all about it.

Simon Smiles

Simon has started "giving us grins", as Maya says. He's such a happy little guy most of the time! I managed to capture a little smile - sort of. How cute does he look in the "S" shirt Holly sent him? Resa Design has the cutest monogrammed baby items...

Catching Up: Neighborhood Party

Our neighborhood hosts a great Christmas party for the kids every year, and it's always a highlight of the season. The kids bring toys to donate to charity, then they get to play play play...

Mason rode the train, tackled the obstacle course, checked out the fire engine and LOVED the big slide.

Cotton candy is my FAVORITE! We also got to visit with Santa himself!

Maya's favorite thing was the petting zoo. That girl is such an animal lover, and we have no idea where she got it from. Neither Chris or I are big on animals. She also got a lovely tattoo on her forehead, her cheek painted up with a reindeer, etc. etc.

77 Kids

Did you know that American Eagle now has a kids' line called 77 Kids? They have a lot of cute casual options, but I'm partial to their fun selection of fancy girls' dresses...

December in Texas

Gotta love Texas in December. Last Wednesday it "snowed" - you know, sort of. We took some pics and five minutes later it was gone. Okay, maybe 2 hours later. The kids were pretty excited, though! Then Saturday we took a walk and Chris was wearing shorts. Lovely December weather! We walked down to the local elementary school for "Christmas Around the World", which was tons of fun! The kids went around to different stations and learned about Christmas in lots of different countries - they did crafts, played games, etc. Maya & Mason both got henna tattoos on their hands and Maya got to dress up as an Indian Princess. (India was by far her favorite, and I can see why - it's so Maya! Everything is fancy and colorful and beautiful. A very girlie culture in that way!) Mason and I liked sampling the cookies from around the world - YUM! Saturday night we were scheduled to go to 2 different Christmas parties, but ended up making it to only one. I'm going to have to learn that we are living life in the slow lane these days, but I'm still overly ambitious. Anyway, it was fun - I got to see some of my favorite people, including 2 of my best girls, Tasha & Angela. Let's see, did I cover all the pics? Nope, there's also my Mama snuggling with Mr. Simon on one of our many shopping trips over the past week. I believe that was at Target on our Icee and popcorn break. Hey, you gotta keep your energy up when you're doing the serious shopping!

Christmas Card Photos

Chris whipped out the tripod over the weekend so we could attempt to get a family photo for our Christmas cards this year. They're not perfect, but we managed...I think we'll go with this one:

Some other favorites:

I especially like the one on the top right. It was a family photo, but I didn't like how I looked in it, so I cropped us out. I think it looks kind of cool!

Fair Isle

I'm waiting for the Baby Gap Fair Isle collection to get marked down further so I can buy it up for my baby boy. So lovely!

A Visit From Grandpa & Grandma

We had a great time visiting with Chris' parents last weekend! They came over with arms full of Christmas gifts and enormous poinsettia for our house! And then adapted to our slooooow pace. We did lots of hanging out, watching the kids play, chit chatting. They went with us to our neighborhood's annual children's Christmas party and were there for Simon's blessing. We're so glad they came!

Wanted: Big Cup o' Chocolate

I will admit to being a little wistful that my dairy strike (for the sake of Simon's tummy) means that I won't be drinking any hot chocolate this winter. I could go for a big cup of it right now, but not if it means I'll be up all night with a fussy baby. So I'm saving these recipes for next year...

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

4 squares baker's chocolate
2 cups milk
2 tbsp. peanut butter
marshmallows

Break chocolate squares and melt in a saucepan with milk. Do not boil. Stir in peanut butter until mixture is smooth. Pour into mugs and garnish with marshmallows.

White Peppermint Hot Chocolate

6 hard peppermint candies, finely crushed
2/3 cup whipping cream
3 1/2 cups milk
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Beat whipping cream with crushed candies until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate for at least one hour. In the meantime, heat milk on medium low heat. Mix in chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add peppermint extract and stir thoroughly. Pour into cups and top with peppermint whipped cream mixture.

Luscious Hot Chocolate

1 cup milk
1 cup half and half
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat milk, half and half, both chocolates and sugar in a saucepan on medium-low heat until chocolates melt and sugar dissolves. Pour half of the mixture into a blender and mix until frothy. Return to the saucepan and add vanilla. Stir briefly and serve.

{From LDS Living Magazine.}

Hoop, There It Is

I love me some giant hoops. Of course, mine are the $5 buck Claire's version. Someday I'm going to invest in a nice pair, like these from Sundance.

Good Advice

LOVE this! Get it here.

Seasons

The other day I was watching a devotional talk on BYU TV as I did the usual...feeding the baby. The speaker talked about last winter. Her grandchildren came over on a snowy day and built the biggest snowman she'd ever seen - huge! And in the coming days and weeks it continued to snow and snow...and eventually, the drifts covered the snowman and it disappeared entirely. (Even I remember it was an excessively snowy winter in the West last year, and I live in Texas...) But. A few months later she was picking strawberries in her yard, right there where those massive snowdrifts had been months before. Her point? Seasons change. Whether we want them to or not, they are going to change.

My season right now seems to consist mostly of holding the baby. And I love holding the baby, don't get me wrong. And everyone knows that shirking housework and avoiding laundry and finding reasons not to cook are practially artforms for me. But eventually, the dishes have to be put away, the laundry has to be folded and it would be great to feed my kids something other than hot dogs and myself something other than toast. So I'm reminding myself. Holding the baby is wonderful. Most of the time, holding the baby is like picking strawberries, but sometimes it can feel like standing in a snowdrift. But I'm trying to appreciate it and enjoy it. I'm getting good at cleaning entire rooms by picking things up with my toes. I'm figuring out how to pay attention to my two other cutie pies while I stand and sway with the little one. And, you know, I'm not cooking. Like usual. This is a good season. A really good season.

And right around the corner? Another season. A different season. Hopefully another good season. But if not...another season will be coming along right after it. And eventually, I'll be picking strawberries...

BCS Busters

This is the second time our Alma Mater has gone to a BCS Bowl - go Utes! They have some fun Sugar Bowl items here. I love this one...

On My Wish List: Boden Sale!

Boden has a great sale going on! I love Boden, and the fact that they offer long length in most of their items. Just remember, they use UK sizing, so you have to size up one size. I'm in love with this dress...it's totally on my wish list.

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me

Did you know that you can order Hershey's Kisses with special messages? "Just Married", "Thank You", "Let's Celebrate", etc. etc. My personal favorite? The blue-wrapped "It's a Boy" kisses (there's pink "It's a Girl" kisses, too!). How fun for a shower, or to attach to a baby announcement.

Check 'em out here.

Stuck

I'm loving Jordan of Oh Happy Day's new venture: downloadable & printable labels from the Stuck website. Cute! I'll definitely be making a purchase to put on our Christmas goodie gifts to friends. Probably these. See them all here.

Simon's Baby Blessing

Today was Simon's baby blessing. It was really sweet! Daddy blessed him to be a cheerful and friendly person who reaches out to those around him. Chris' parents were able to come visit for the big day, and my parents were there too, of course.

We snapped some photos beforehand in the back yard...

Keep Calm Rug

I have no idea what the Pounds to Dollars exchange rate is, but I'm pretty sure I can't afford this lovely rug. Too bad - not only do I looooove it, I could really use that reminder a little more often. Guess I'll have to order a poster...

{Via Nesting.}

White Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Sticks

Now here's a Christmas treat I might actually be capable of - peppermint sticks dipped in white chocolate! Perfect for stirring your hot cocoa. Or just for munching on, if you're one of my kids! :) But I think I'm going to stick with my friend Andi's ingenious, simple Christmas treat - marshmallows dipped in chocolate and crushed peppermint. Yum, YUM! One of my favorite treats + super simple to make. Perfect! Especially this year, where I just can't muster much ambition, especially in the kitchen.

Get the know-how on the peppermint sticks here.

Check out all the clever homemade gift ideas here.

What a Lovely Name

The fun website What a Lovely Name will give you a little background on pretty much any name you can think of...and puts it into a lovely little logo that you can download or add to t-shirts and the like for purchase. You can even customize the background, colors and fonts. Cool, right?

Maya

This is a Spanish name of the Greek Maia, which is the name of the Greek goddess of increase.

Mason
Taken from the occupational surname originating from the 1100's. Refers to a mason, someone who builds using stone, concrete, or brick.

Simon
Simon is seen throughout the New Testament with characters including two apostles and a brother of Jesus. Famous is Simon of Cyrene who was forced to carry the cross during the procession of the cruxifiction because Jesus was not able to bear its weight. Simon is a variation of Simeon and means "he has heard." Female versions of this name include Simona and Simone.

Decking the Halls

This year's tree decorating party was the best yet - mostly due to Mason's utter enthusiasm for it all! He was so funny - loading up the "orda-mints" onto about 2 branches, dancing around in his PJs and munching down on unlimited Christmas cookies. That boy loves a party - he gets it from his Mama! Maya enjoyed herself too - intermittently. She'd be fine, then not feeling well, good enough to hang up a few ornaments, then laying on the floor groaning. Eventually, the sprinted to the bathroom and threw up - then felt well enough to put the star on top. (We had to do that twice - once for each of 'em.)

Before bed, we played with the Little Tikes nativity (best purchase ever!) and I started to really feel the Christmas spirit. Ah, I love this time of year!

Sew, Mama, Sew!

Okay, I'm a little late to the party on this, but there's still plenty of time to enter all of the awesome handcrafted giveaways in the Sew, Mama, Sew! giveaway day. I want to especially direct you to the giveaway being hosted by my friend Hannah - an awesome flower barrette/brooch. You should also take a peek at her Etsy shop if you have a moment...she makes the cutest stuff!

Tony Hawk @ Kohl's

Most everyone will agree that girls are much more fun to shop for than boys...for clothes, anyway. (I actually prefer boys toys, myself...) So I was excited to discover Tony Hawk's clothing line at Kohl's. Daddy, the would-be skater dude, most definitely approves! And the prices are reasonable, too!

For babies, little boys and big boys!

Sponge Coral + Black Onyx

Lovin' this cool ring - unique + a bargain!

Here.