Happy Holiday Recap

Merry Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve at Dave's parents by making our spirits bright with some Christmas themed beverages. 

Unfortunately his uncle wasn't able to make it due to illness, which seems like everyone has/is being affected by. Madden ran back to the bedroom he usually stays in looking for him and asked where he was. Christmas just wasn't the same and he was really missed. But that just means we get to extend the holiday celebration a bit longer when he's feeling better and travels back to visit.

Christmas morning Madden woke up to find Santa had visited!

Santa made his Christmas wish come true with a talking Buzz Lightyear, along with a play kitchen and new stocking hat. 

His attempt at playing with multiple gifts at once, giving Buzz a ride on his new bike. 

Madden was somewhat more interested in opening presents this year. He tore the paper off in small pieces which made him a bit impatient and he was more interested in playing with the things he already opened (or sword fighting with the empty wrapping paper tube) than opening up the next gift.

We spend Christmas morning with Auntie TT before she left town. 

My parents and brothers family came over for Brunch to celebrate Christmas.

Madden was so excited to see his cousins! 

He just loves baby Emery so much and is so gentle with her. He really tries to keep up with big cousin Carter and plays so well with Stella, they are just two peas in a pod.  

Proud Grandma and Papa with their 4 grand kids. 

MJ requested to hold Emmy!

We might not have gotten our White Christmas this year but we wish you a very Happy Holiday and New Year!!

Christmas Prep

Before the hustle and bustle of the Christmas festivities officially beginning tomorrow I thought I better get this past weekends wrap-up posted before I all together forget.

 

 Madden started off Friday with his Daycare Christmas Party. 

They draw names to exchanged books and came home hopped up on sugar overload, which was to be expected.

Our daycare sent me this adorable picture of MJ in front of their tree, which I'm so thankful for. She actually got him smiling at the camera which isn't an easy task at this age!

Yes, his shirt says " I Heart Presents" which one of his buddies was also twinning that day. 

 Saturday morning we woke up to a Gingerbread house delivered by Jessie the Elf brought back from the North Pole with the help of Buzz, Woody and Spiderman since it's a bit heavy. 

He absolutely loved that Jessie had helpers!!

I was very appreciative they brought us a pre-assembled gingerbread house. Just waiting for me to get the candy out of the packages and the frosting on the house was about too long for Madden to wait, I can't image how impatient he would have been if we would have had to put the thing all together too.

 Only the first 5 seconds he wanted to eat the candy then he quickly got really into putting the candy on the house. He lined up all the gumballs along the house and put the gumdrops on the roof as well as the candy canes. He was so excited about it!

And then when I thought of using a ice cream cone for a Christmas tree he squealed with delight and couldn't get those candy balls on it fast enough.

 He did such a great job with the house, I was so impressed! He never tried eating anything again until yesterday when he climbed up on the table and picked off all the hardened marshmallows that made up the lawn and marshmallow snowman.

Later than morning we picked up Grandma and headed over to the John Deere Pavilion to climb on some big ole tractors and free Christmas tree craft day. Madden really did not want to leave those tractors. I resorted to bribing him with juice and crackers out in the car to avoid a meltdown, mom win! 

 Tera and family came over later for some crafting I guess you can say. Since we both use doTerra Essential Oils she's really been wanting to make up some homemade bath salts and body scrubs with some help. We had an added helper, Madden really wanted in on the action. We made two different kinds of bath salts, a relaxing blend with Lavender and Serenity, then a decongestant blend with Breath and Eucalyptus. We also made two kinds of Citrus Brown Sugar body scrubs, one with Citrus Bliss blend and the other with Wild Orange and Lemon.  

When MJ wasn't helping us he was paying attention to his playmate, Violet, showing her how to use all his toys. They even played a game of HUGS, where they would take turns giving hugs to each other and then us. They are just the cutest!!

 

  We finished off the weekend with making some chocolate dripped pretzels with toffee bits, shredded coconut, mini chocolate chips, Christmas sprinkles, peppermint bits, and red coarse sugar.

Madden's Wish List

Here is what's on Madden's Christmas Wish List for Santa this year (besides ALL the suckers!).

1. His obsession with Disney's Toy Story continues, he loves all the character but especially  Buzz Lightyear or as he call him Buzz Likeyer.
2. Mommy's little helper sure could use this mini apron set when baking up some cookies.
3. We love reading Bear Snores On but it's the only book we have by Karma Wilson and would like to add a few more to the book collection.
4. With cold winters and mommy's wishful thinking of potty training in our future MJ could use some 2-piece warm flannel pajamas
5. These adorable Carter's monster slippers was my first Christmas purchase 1.5 months ago, can't wait for him to be running around the house in his "boots" with me.
6. A kid needs a bike and we plan on starting off with a balance bike in hopes of an easy transition later on.
7. Every little chef needs a play kitchen, this is always the first thing MJ runs to when we go to any one's house and he'll play with it all day long.    

My Christmas Wish List

Here's what's on my Christmas Wish List this year.

1. Brooks Running Shoes 

2. Workout leggings from Old Navy, preferably a color other than black
3. My boring plain white mugs at home need some spicing up, a new coffee cup would be great.
4. I'm loving these blanket scarfs that are poppin up everywhere.
5. I'm always happy to accept gift cards for a mani/pedi, to my hair salon, Target, or even Lowe's for some DIY projects.  

6. A Programmable Crock-pot, cause some meals just don't need to be in there all-day-long while at work.  

7. A new Fitbit, I've felt completely lost without mine since I lost it in the Wisconsin Dells. 

The Plan for Babe #2

Ahhhh the topic of baby number two.

I don't know how many times I've thought about or attempted to write about this topic.  

Since MJ was born, I think I've been asked well over a hundred times if and when we'll be having more kids. Or even told that Madden needs a sister (by people that aren't friends or family no less)! It's a topic of conversation I've kind of tried to avoid, given our history. I'm afraid of jinxing myself, a repeat of our past, and all the emotions that come with it. But I think I've put off talking about this topic long enough and frankly tired of not sharing or opening up, given that's what this blog is here for.  

It feels like forever ago, yet like just yesterday all at the same time since we were going through our roller coaster ride of infertility and multiple miscarriages. We have the most beautiful, energetic, cuddly, and hilarious 2 year old. I am extremely grateful for having him in my life. He was most definitely worth everything we went through.

Do we want to have more kids? Absolutely!

How many kids do we want? We both are hoping for two, or even three but we'll see as we go.

Of course Dave and I have had the conversation, multiple times. He was ready to get started trying for number two shortly after MJ turned 6 months, after the insomnia of the newborn stage slipped from memory and he was sleeping though the night. We agreed to try to wait until MJ was closer to turning one. Although I would have been perfectly okay having kids that close apart, I don't think I was ready to get pregnant that soon. 

So here we are, now with a two-year old on our hands. Yes we unofficially started trying just before MJ turned one to see what happens and would revisit things later on if nothing happened. I've actual had absolutely ZERO desire to track cycles, take temperatures, OPK, take pregnancy tests, or go back to the doctor. Once it hit a year I finally stocked up on OPK's off Amazon but still held off using them until just a few months ago. Even though I've been keeping track of when I ovulate we still are pretty casual about trying to get pregnant. 

For now I think we're going to give it a couple more months. Of course I think it will take just as long this time as it did to get pregnant with Madden. At this point I want to try a few other things before considering going back to the doctor or going on any fertility meds. I thought about giving acupuncture another try on its own. Since I did get pregnant twice within the 4 months of doing it, although I was also on and off Clomid and in-between IUI's. But I'm interested to see what results we could get alone. I also am considering doing doTerra's essential oil routine for infertility. It's a natural way to balance your body and hormones. I was introduced to the oils last October and have been learning so much about essential oils over the past year, which most recently I have really started to get into and use on a daily basis. 

Whichever path I/we decide, I will definitely be sharing from here on out.

Big Boy Status

This weekend I finally took the plunge and turned MJ's crib into a toddler bed, sad mama here:(

Last month he started climbing out of his crib so I immediately took out the bottom of the crib and put his mattress on the floor. Which has worked. However now he just started attempting to scale those walls and has bumped his chin a few times. So to avoid any other injury here we are.

Clearly he's thrilled about it!

He loves being able to climb in and out of his bed all by himself. He shows anyone who comes over his new bed and asks everyone to get in his bed with him. Plus side, now when he asks Dave or me to get in his bed with him it's much easier.

 

Yesterday was his first nap in this big boy bed. He did pretty well, got in and out of bed at least 8 times but stayed in his room. He sat with his back against the door hitting it for about a minute then ran to his bed, face-planted and was out. He took his regular 2.5 hour nap. Last night was no problem. Nap today he only got in and out of bed 4 times and took the usual 20 minutes to fall asleep and stayed in his room no problem. Hoping tonight is just as uneventful! Fingers crossed.   

Last night we had a little baking/pajama party with my best friend Tiffany who is back for Christmas from North Carolina.

We make homemade Rice Krispie Treat Christmas Trees.

Madden preferred to eat his work at first and hoard all the M&M's.  But soon got the hang of "frosting" the trees and wanted to put ALL the decorations on his trees.

The best art work is work you can eat!

Teaching Auntie Tiffy how to give horsey rides

And airplane rides

Then Aunt Tiff decided to teach Madden a new trick, the human swing. Which is quite the workout with a 30+lb toddler, thanks for that Tiffany!!

Ending the night with a little cuddling in front of the fire and hand holding in matching PJ's.

A little Disney and Santa

Not sure who was more excited for MJ's first trip to Disney on Ice, Madden himself or Dave. (Actually I do, it was definitely daddy!)

As soon as Dave found out Disney on Ice was heading to town he immediately picked up tickets. Madden has recently become OBSESSED with all things Toy Story so it turned out perfect that included in the show would be Cars, Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell and Toy Story!

Dave went a "little" overboard with the spending. He was definitely Disney's target audience because as soon as we got there he had to buy something. Madden got an snow cone in a pretty cool Woody cup, a bag of cotton candy with a Lightening McQueen hat, and a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Can we say two year old sugar high ;)

Madden did so good at the show, which was 2 full hours. He loved seeing Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Lightening McQueen. The entire second half of the show was just Toy Story and he didn't take his eyes off Woody or Buzz that entire time, completely in awe! 

Sunday we took a short trip to the North Pole (aka the mall) to visit Santa.

The last two years he could have cares less. Last year he would only stand by him and that wasn't for long before he beelined straight back to me.

Left picture: 5 months old, Right picture 17 months old

Since MJ takes a little time warming up when we go some place new and a little leery of strangers, I was fully prepared to have that kid to go nowhere near Santa or cry once I forced him to sit on his lap.  To my complete surprise it was neither!!

Before we even left I asked him if he wanted to go see Santa and he said yes. I took that a ran with it. I did my best to try to get him excited from then on by being super excited myself.

On our way to the mall I kept asking him who we were going to see and acting so pumped for him.

 We waited 15 minutes for the North Pole to open, then another 20 minutes in line for our turn so it was super hard to keep that momentum going, especially when he just wanted to go play. 

 

Once we finally got up to where we could see Santa and only had 2 or 3 kids in front of us, Madden yelled "SANTA!!!" waving and flapping his arms/legs in excitement. As soon it was out turn and I got him out of the stroller he ran straight to Santa's arms and gave him a huge hug! He sat on him lap with no problem, asked for "Buzz Likyer" for Christmas, and even said "Ho Ho Ho". He got off his lap, gave Santa a high five then told him bye. The sweetest thing!

DIY Christmas Planter Trees

Hello Holiday Season!!

 For the longest time I've wanted these pre-lit Christmas trees and for our front porch to look like this. Like fresh out of a Pottery Barn catalog or something fancy. However, I could never bring myself to spend the $40+ for each tree, and that's on sale. I can be a cheap sake at times!

I mean how beautiful is that front entrance?!? 

Well this year I've decided to get crafty!!

Enter Pinterest!

I recently found a few different ways to make my own light up trees at a fraction of the price using tomato cages. Here is my version. 

For each tree I used:

Planter - Home Depot (already had)

Tomato Cage - Lowe's $2.58

4- 9ft. Garland - Walmart $1.98/each or $7.92 for 4

100 count clear lights - Walmart $2.48

Poinsettias - Micheal's Crafts $3.60, 1/2 bunch, 50% off with 25% coupon 

Total for each tree: $16.58!!

I found my tomato cages at Lowe's. The nice young man out in the garden center hated me as they only had colored cages down on the floor and he has but the regular metal ones up in storage. He really tried talking me into the colored cages but they were 3 MORE $$ than the metal ones. He was helpful enough to take the entire pallet down. So if you're in the Quad Cities and in need of a non-painted tomato cage this holiday season, head on over to the Davenport Lowe's store, they're up front by they cash registers in the Garden Center :)

 

My cages were 42 inches in length, with the height of the planters I already had on hand I thought my trees would be way too tall for what I wanted. I found my wire cutters and was able to cut the top section of the cage off. It was also too wide of round to fit in my planters. Once I got them cut they were the perfect height and size round!

Step 1: Cover the tomato cage in your garland using plastic zip ties or twist ties to hold them in place. 

Step 2: After the garland is secure, string the tree with lights.

Step 3: Add accents, I used poinsettias but you can use ribbon, bows, ornaments, berries, etc.
I used left over twist ties to secure the stems of the poinsettias to the garland. I had just bought 1 bunch which had 10 flowers and used half for each of my trees. 

Step 4: Then set them to the planter.

I added two garden steaks to hold the tomato cages in the dirt that was already in the planter to keep them extra secure since they will be outside.

Step 5: Plug in and admire your beautiful craftsmanship :)

For less than $20 for each tree and maybe an hour of my time, I am more than happy with the outcome of my project. Take that Walmart checker for doubting my mad skills, thinking the idea was dumb and asking way too many questions about what I plan to do with the items I was buying then telling me "wouldn't it just be easier to buy some trees", "well I guess good luck with that" and "hope that works out for you".  I love them so much!!

I can't wait to actually decorate the outside of the house for Christmas and see them all lit up with the rest of the house.

And YES, I have already starting decorating in full swing the inside of our house....(like last week)!

Surprise Birthday Weekend

Last weekend I was surprised with a family weekend away to the Wisconsin Dells for my birthday by my husband!!

Granted I knew we were going somewhere and we had previously talked about going to stay at a water park in the Dells but Dave wanted to make all the plans himself and for MJ and I to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Plus he wanted to help me mark "2014 Family Trip" off my list of goals for this year.



Helping mommy open gifts

 

I took Friday off work and Dave worked a half day, which for him is till 10 so as soon as he got home and changed we were on the rode before 11:00am! We took a semi-short pit stop on the way to The House on the Rock. Neither of us had been since we were youngins, all I remembered was a giant carousel and creepy dolls. It was much bigger than I recall and we didn't even go through the entire house.  

Lovin the Giant Carousel!

How Funny Are You?
I got Hilarious and MJ got A Gas, Dave refused to play because he "doesn't need to be told how funny he is"

The carousel of dolls are still creepy by the way!

I love waking up to this beautiful boy on my birthday morning and all his cuddles!

We stayed at a wonderful resort with an indoor water park, Chula Vista Resort. The water park was perfect for MJ, it had a great sized toddler area. It included a lazy river, 4 large water slide, 3 racing, a log ride, and 3 small slides that included a play area for bigger kids as well as a large pool with basketball hoops and lilly pads. It had a lot going on!  

  Water Park Fun!

 

 

Watching this kid have the time of his life playing in the water and going down the slides was the best part of the trip. He had so much fun and his smile was completely contagious. Every time he went down the slides was the like first time he went down, flapping him arms and pointing his toes in delight!

 

He wasn't too thrilled with having to hold still for a picture with his mama. 

 Saturday night we went out to dinner and drinks at the Moose Jaw. Their Apple Ale was the best apple beer I've ever tasted (pumpkin was really good too)! Even Dave thought it was really good and got a jug of the apple to go.

 

Madden had so much fun on our trip that by time we left on Sunday, he passed out in the car in under 5 minutes. We didn't even make it to the highway and stayed asleep for almost 2 hours of the drive home.

 



 

My husband sure drives me crazy half the time but he does know how to make a girl feel special for her birthday! Memories to last a lifetime :)