Holiday Flashback

Ok, we're going to rewind a bit over here because it seems like I'm working a little backwards with how I shared our holiday season. I know this time of year can be so busy for many of us with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, winter break for most of our kids, getting back into a routine after they headed back to school, and focusing on our priorities and initiatives for the new year. 

I shared recently about some of my favorites from the past decade and what my thoughts are for the new year. I thought it would be fun to look back on our time together as a family and share more about what our Christmas and New Year's celebrations looked like. 

I think starting right before Christmas is a good beginning point since the fun kicked off when A went on winter break that Friday before and my brother in-law came in from Cali. My boys have the best time with Uncle Chris and can't wait to see him again. We have a trip set for next month to go visit him and escape one of the harshest months of winter on the northeast. It's so cute because the boys have a little countdown going on on their calendar. Eric and I were able to meet him and his girlfriend and one of our other good friends in NYC for the night. As much as I would have loved to see the tree and do all of the touristy things, I think everyone else had other plans in mind and wanted to head to Brooklyn to get more of an urban experience. I was onboard with that because it's never a dull moment with this crew. We hit up this really cool Korean restaurant, stopped off at a tiki bar for some mai tias, and then headed to a rooftop spot (which unfortunately the rooftop was closed). We got an Airbnb for the night and then made our way back home the next day. It was so nice to enjoy our time together and I didn't bother taking any pictures. Sometimes you don't need to #documentallthethings.

I had every intention of keeping it low-key when we got home, but my sister called me and asked me if we sold our Sixers tickets for the night. She twisted my arm to go (it really didn't take any effort for that) and before I knew it I was getting changed and on my way to Philly. What I love about where we live is that I can be in either NYC or Philly within an hour. It ended up being such a good game! They won, which is always a plus, and we got on the jumbotron.

The next day we headed back to Philly (I know what happened to keeping it low-key?) with some friends for the Christmas market. We didn't get a chance to go last year since C was so tiny, but we made it a point to check it out this year, and I'm so glad we did. They added a lot more and there were so many parts that felt magical. The boys got to ride the carousel, enjoy hot chocolate, and admired the light show.

The next day we all relaxed for awhile before heading back into Philly (I know, we sound nuts) for the Flyers game. This was my first time at a professional hockey game and it was great to see them win. It was a lot of fun and I would definitely go again.

The next day was Christmas eve and my brother in-law was heading back to Cali to spend Christmas with his girlfriend's family. Eric, the boys and I, headed out to walk around our neighborhood and deliver our Christmas card and some baked goodies to our neighbors. I don't want to jinx anything, but it has been a mild winter here and it was almost 60 degrees on Christmas eve and Christmas. If you caught my stories you might have seen A riding around on his skateboard with his santa hat playing his guitar. He was seriously adorable! He even sung some Christmas songs when we got to the neighbors houses.

That night we headed to our candlelight service at church, which in my opinion, taking time out from all of the busy things around us to reflect and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas is what its all about. My mom and Dad both met us for service so it was nice to have all of us together. We packed the boys pjs with us and got them changed for the car ride home so we could also drive around and look at all the Christmas lights. It was the perfect way to end the night before setting out milk, cookies, and carrots for santa and his reindeers. The funny part with that was, we usually sneak over after they go to bed to take some bites and drink the milk, but wouldn't you know, Coaty (our dog) got to the cookies and carrots before we could. He of course left the milk untouched so we helped out with that. Unfortunately Eric started to come down with something and wasn't feeling the best. We got all of our gifts down from the attic (our hiding spot) and placed them under the tree. Then it was, Mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled down for a long winter's nap. Ha! Not exactly. More like some nyquil, a box of tissues, and Christmas pjs in hopes that the kids wouldn't wake up too early. 

The next morning was of course, Christmas! The boys let us sleep in until 8am and then everyone was up with excitement. The baby started coughing over night and didn't seem himself so that was a little bit of a bummer. He was still adorable and got into the presents that interested him. We have kept with a family tradition that my parents did with us, which is reading Luke chapter 2 around the Christmas tree before any of the gifts are open. After that, we say a family prayer and then let the fun begin. We hosted dinner and decided to have it a little later this year. Since my sister and other family members have multiple houses to visit it was easier if we started dinner around 6pm. It ended up working out really well so we might stick to that in the years to come. We had a lot of fun catching up with family and getting to celebrate together. My brother and cousin hung around after telling stories and getting caught up with each other. I unfortunately started to not feel well and ended up falling asleep on the couch as we were all talking. Both Eric and I were down for the count after that. We had nasty head colds, congestion, fevers, yeah it wasn't fun. Both little nugget and C weren't feeling well either, so it was a mess in our home. A was the only one that didn't get sick. I think since it got a lot warmer the germs just went haywire and there was no stopping it.

The next day we had the baby's post-op appointment and were so happy to hear his surgeon is so pleased with results. We got the ok to take his no-nos off and he could go back to eating regular food. Hopefully if all goes well we should be in the clear with not needing any surgeries for another few years. The next few days consisted of us hanging out on the couch, watching a ton of movies, and trying to make it by. Lysol was our bff and since it was so nice we also opened some windows to try and get the germs out. The boys started to feel better and were anxious to get out of the house. Eric and I were still struggling a bit. Ugh, nothing feels worse then when you don't feel well and you still have to parent. #nodaysoff. I finally started to feel more like myself after a few days, minus the congestion (you might have seen my stories and the shenanigans with the baby nosefrida). We were a mess.

The boys had been asking to see Frozen2 for the longest time so I decided we needed to do something fun and ventured out. When we got to the movies they told us there was only one seat left (go figure). That wasn't going to work because we needed three. The next showing wasn't scheduled until 2 hours later which would have been past the price of the early showings (yes, I'm all about a deal). I asked the ticket guy if there was any way the seat was big enough to have the boys sit on my lap, and he told me to hang tight for a minute and that he was going to talk with his manager. He came back and said a 10:45am showing had just opened up and that he could get us into that. I was confused for a minute because I know there was no showing time originally listed for that and then it finally kicked in what he did for us. You guys, they opened a whole theater up just for us! It was amazing and seriously one of the nicest things, ever. The boys were sooo excited! We got to pick whatever seats we wanted and pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. They even made an extra sale because another family did come in right when the movie started and got to enjoy it as well.

Thankfully by new year's eve we were all feeling a lot better. We were able to do our 12pm kids countdown which we've been doing for the past few years now. It's always fun to celebrate with the boys when they aren't tired and cranky. We have a little milk and cookies toast to celebrate and enjoy lots of confetti and noise makers.

My older boys went to my mom's house for the night and we put the baby to bed as some of our close friends came over for a little dinner party. It was 20s themed and we all had fun dressing up and getting fancy for the night. I had fun with the decorations and putting together the tablescape. You all know me and my love for parties. It was so nice to relax at home, enjoy good company, light some sparklers, play some games, and get into comfy clothes and enjoy a fresh pizza for a little extra late night fun. I think this is something we want to try and keep up with for the years to come.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that your new year is already off to a good start!

Happy New Year & 2020 Vision (Get It ;)

Happy New Year, friends! I know I already made that grand statement when I shared more about my favorites from the decade, but it didn't feel right not to have a dedicated post to welcome in the new year and share my thoughts, word(s) for the year, and 2020 vision. Ha! I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. 20/20 vision—get it?!? 

If you've been a reader of mine for awhile (always a huge thank you) then you might remember we do a 12pm kids countdown every year with our little guys to celebrate with them. It works out great because they aren't half falling asleep, cranky or tired, and still full of energy to celebrate. Confetti has been our thing for years now, followed by a milk and cookies toast, which always creates some fun moments. After we saw some glistening specks of confetti still floating around in our flowerbeds during the summer, we learned that putting a sheet down to collect all the remnants is the best idea. Total cleanup saver.

I've never really been one to go all out with trying to narrow down new year's resolutions. Mainly because they can be a lot to remember and I usually lose focus after the first few weeks. The past few years I jumped on the trend of picking a word for the year, which I love, because it's easy to remember and something you can strive for throughout the year. But this year, when I was thinking about my word, I really had some struggles with it.

If I'm being completely honest, my word for last year was fearless, and if I truly look back on the year and all that it entailed, I think that was an ambitious word to choose. I remember in that moment it felt so right to focus on that word, and I felt really hopeful. I also stand firm in knowing that the scripture tells us not to be fearful and to cast our cares upon Him. I think we did an ok job of that throughout the year, but there definitely were times where fearful moments would make their way back in. I'm not going to beat myself up over not being completely fearless (because in reality is that actually possible?), but it did put things in perspective when I reflected on how I want to approach this year. 

I had a moment where I got so caught up on trying to narrow down this one word for the year that I started to frustrate myself. So many things that felt typical popped into my head, being intentional, healthier, more self-care, but for me that felt forced and not relatable at the moment. That wasn't what this was supposed to be about. It's supposed to be a time of reflection and really thinking about what I want to strive for in the start of this new decade, not to try and impress everyone with this perfect word to live up to. So you know what? I'm not picking a word this year. Instead, I'm picking word(s) and areas that I would like to focus on that feel relevant in the moment, to help me to better myself as a person, and for the people around me. Maybe if I did a mid-year look-back this all might be different, but for now, this is where I'm at. 

At first I contemplated on having my word be organization. Plain and simple. But, there are a few other things I want to focus on this year aside from just that. Organization is already kicking off to be a huge part and focus for us this year, which I'm proud of. If you've been keeping up with my insta stories then you've seen that we already started tackling some projects, like revamping our playroom. I like to think I'm an organized person, but when it comes down to it, there are so many areas I can improve on with this. I want my house to have purpose, order, and feel at peace. A lot of that comes with having organization.

Another area I want to concentration on this year is prioritizing my time. It's been a bit of a struggle for me having my days feel structured and productive since I've been home now with C. One would think that you can get a lot done while your kids are off at school, but when you try to fit in so much that sometimes it's too much, before you know it it's dinner time and everyone is hungry. There are days where I have high hopes for getting a lot done but then the baby will be extra needy, or not cooperate for his naps, and everything I thought I would get done gets pushed down my list. I know these things will only be temporary, but I do feel like there are little things I can adjust to help prioritize my days better. I also want to focus on prioritizing my relation with God even more. I want to be more diligent about my devotionals, making time for prayer, and continuing to seek and draw closer to Him. I want others around me to feel God's love shinning through me and make it more of a priority to lift others up in need.

I also want to prioritize this little space of mine a bit better. While I love sharing our family adventures and using this as a way to look back on our memories (which I will still do), I also see those moments where I post about what's on my heart are where we can connect even further as a community. Those posts where you like getting party ideas, hearing more about blogging resources, or our home renovation projects, are what open up conversations that allow us to learn even more about each other. I also truly appreciate any feedback you send my way that helps me to have a better understanding of what draws you to want to visit and read more on Beautifully Candid.

Something else that has been heavy on my heart is responding more in love. What do I mean by that? Well, there are moments when my sweet little boy crew isn't exactly the sweetest and can certainly get under my skin. I've fallen victim to raising my voice, chasing after them when they don't listen, respond with open ended threats (if you don't knock it off there's no tv for the week). I don't want to be that person. I don't. I think my kids have learned that they can push the limits and now we need to curb that. I also know that if I want them to respond to me in a loving manner, I also need to be the example of that. Now, before you think I run around my house all day screaming, that's certainly not the case. But there are moments where if I took a deep breath and focused more on wanting God's love to shine through me, I know that I could respond differently.

So while this might not be a ground breaking revelation of how to tackle 2020, it's what I'd like to do for me. What I feel would help to make my focus attainable and areas where I can continue to strive for improvements. Here's to organization, prioritizing, and responding in love. 

I'd love to hear more about some areas you want to focus on in 2020! 

Merry Christmas From Us To You

It's here, the final countdown to Christmas. I know we're all thinking it (and have probably mentioned it), but I am always baffled at how quickly this time of year flies by. We enjoyed a lot of festive fun this weekend, and I realized I'm not really ready to let this season go just yet. While I'm excited about entering into a new decade and see what 2020 has in store. there's something very humbling, magical, and a strong sense of togetherness that this time of year brings.

I wanted to share some pictures from our first family photo shoot with a professional photographer. I have a lot of great pictures with my boys, and some amazing family moments captured, but it was so nice to let someone else get behind the camera, edit the images, and essentially take care of everything for us.

I will say, the boys were very well behaved for her (which I appreciated), and made it super easy for us to get some great shots. She did some fun things with us to get them to smile and laugh, and I really like how beautiful her images came out. I think the boys favorite part was when she told all of us that she was going to ask us a question and then wanted us to look at the person that we thought was the answer. She then asked, who's the stinkiest in the family? We all started laughing and immediately shouted out, little nugget.

I think what I loved most about all of this is how we have lasting memories to cherish and look back on. It made it extra special that these pictures were taken around our Christmas trees and will come with a story to tell as the years go on.

Eric and I finally got to do some of our wrapping over the weekend and I had a moment where I felt like what I had gotten for others wasn't enough. That maybe the boys would be disappointed on Christmas morning because there wasn't going to be a flood of presents sprawled out around the floor. It's not for any real reason that we didn't go over the top with gifts, I just think that we have taken a different approach and have been focusing on more realistic and practical things. The boys have so much (and in all honesty, don't use half of what they have), we have so many family members that have everything they need, so we are focusing on experience gifts instead. The more I thought about all of this, I realized how silly my quick moment of insecurities sounded. I explain to my boys all the time that Christmas is about celebrating Jesus' birth, it's about being together with friends and family, it's about sharing joy and kindness, that it's not all about the gifts, and here I was, worrying about the one thing I have constantly reminded them about.

Charlie Brown might have said it the best, it's not what's under the tree that matters. It's who's around it. And in our case, when we look out at these trees, we can take it literally. Sometimes I appreciate those moments of, maybe we can say—weakness. It's in those moments, even though we already know we don't need to feel this way, that we have the opportunity to take negative feelings and turn them into moments of reflections.

I think it's important to end this time of year with focusing on family and continuing to make memories together. So we'll be doing just that. As the Christmas season is drawing close to an end, I want to wish you and your families a wonderful time together, a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14