Mommy Style Monday | Christmas Traditions

I could go on for at least an hour on Christmas traditions and all the different ones that my family had and that I loved growing up, then maybe another hour on the traditions that I have in my own little family now. Traditions are a part of what make Christmas so special and fun for me because traditions typically involve people you've known and loved for many many years, and who have I known and loved for that long? My family, which is what Christmas is all about, right?

So! To spare you all an EXTREMELY long post, I'll just share my favorite part of Christmas, the stockings!

My mother makes everyone in the family their own, hand-crocheted stocking, and they are absolutely priceless to me.

dress | shein

On Christmas morning, no one is allowed out of bed until 7:00 AM. We'd all set our clocks fast because we were sneaky like that, then we'd race up the stairs to see what was in our stockings! We always had one gift (like a little toy or DVD), chocolate gold coins, Swedish Fish, an orange, and a candy cane or some other little treat.

When I married into Andrew's family, we added to the stocking haul! His family had the tradition of IBC Root Beer and Nutella. They had a few other things, but those were the two that I liked best!

Then, last year, Andrew and I decided to start our own Family Stocking Tradition. In addition to all those yummy treats and the chocolate golden coins, we also include one real Silver Coin.

Joining families and traditions is one of the funnest parts of being married! And then, as your family grows and  you add children to the mix, Christmases somehow become even MORE fun than when you were a kid.

What is one of your favorite Christmas traditions? Comment below!

Here are a few other moms who shared theirs!

Kiana | Glitter & Donuts

Madeline | CaseyLand

Erica | Good Job Momma

Cayli | Nightchayde

Britt | My Little Sunshine

Juli | Enjoying the Journey

Chelsea | Naturally Chels

If you'd like to participate in the next Mommy Style Monday collaboration, click here.

Whatever your Christmas traditions, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and that this season has been one where you can say you've felt your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

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Mommy Style Monday | Hobbies for Mom

Mommy Style Monday is a series begun by Kiana from Glitter and Donuts and Madeline from Caseyland so that moms could share their styles with each other on their blogs. If you would like to participate in the next series, click here.

When Andrew and I graduated from college, it was really, REALLY hard to go from being busy all the time to being... not busy. Plus, I was pregnant with my first baby and waiting is NOT a fun game. Imagine that you've missed about 5 Christmases in a row so tomorrow will be the first Christmas you've had in five years. Yeah, that's kind of what it feels like to wait for your baby. But probably a bit more uncomfortable and a bit more impatient.

Anyway, to pass the time, I started learning how to sew and now, 5-years later, it remains my number one hobby. The thrill I get from creating something out of my own imagination, completely from scratch is pretty amazing.

maternity shoot | click here

That feeling of satisfaction and pure creation is such a good one and comes as a result of doing something that you really love. Something that makes you feel special. It's so important for you to have that especially as a mom, since most of your life is filled with meeting the demands of the little ones climbing all over you (and each other!)

beanie tutorial | click here

My hobby is sewing, and I worked hard to get where I am today. Your hobby might be sewing, photography, calligraphy, water color, wood cutting, refinishing furniture, blogging, reading, writing... The options really are endless. The trick is finding the one that charms you enough to push through all the mistakes you're going to make learning it! If I had a dime for every time I picked stitches out of my sewing projects, I'm sure I'd have at least $100 by now.

mountain curtains (nursery reveal) | click here

(click here)

pom pom swaddle blanket | click here

walter the whale | click here

birthday dress | click here

So find that thing that speaks to you, and will yourself to learn!

GOOD LUCK MAMAS!
and don't forget to visit these other lovely mama's blogs for more styles!

Kiana | Glitter & Donuts

Madeline | CaseyLand

Britt | My Little Sunshine

Juli | Enjoying the Journey

Chelsea | Tessa Marie

Monica | It's All About

 tutorial coming soon!

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Tips for your Bedtime Routine | Mommy Style Monday

One year, when I was in high school, my gift on my dad's birthday was to get completely ready for bed and go to sleep at a decent hour. My dad asked me why the heck I took so long getting ready for bed more than once, so I'm pretty sure that was the best gift I ever gave him! ;)

Now I have kids of my own and I understand my dad's frustration! Some days I'm just really, REALLY ready for bedtime, and if you're kiddos aren't, that can kinda... drive ya crazy. Haha!

We used to really struggle with Chelsea and tantrums at bedtime, but as time went on, Andrew and I discovered the things that Chelsea simply HAD to have before she went to bed, and the things she just really wanted. As soon as we figured those things out, bedtime got A LOT easier!

Here are some of the things we've done to eliminate bedtime tantrums (for the most part.)

STORY TELLING
The first thing we discovered that really changed the "bedtime game" was that Chelsea LOVED it when I made up stories to tell her at night time! Sometimes they were silly, other times, they were adventurous or even a little romantic (her favorites were the ones where she was the princess and she ended up with the prince, they grew up and she had lots of babies. haha!) It was fun for her to become one of the characters in the story, and it was fun for me to get creative with a new story. every. single. night.

TIME
We used story telling as motivation to get her to do the necessities (get in your jammies, brush your hair, brush your teeth). We'd explain to her that we only had X amount of minutes before bedtime so if she took too long doing the other things, there wouldn't be enough time for the story. Natural consequences, right?

CHOICES
As she grew, Chelsea became more and more interested in books, too, and also liked to sing a song, talk with us, and play, but of course we don't have time for all of that, so we give her a choice now. She can choose a story, a book (or two depending on the length of the book), for one of us to lie down with her, a song, or to stay up a little later to play.

LIGHT
The most recent struggle with our girls is Chelsea getting out of bed and turning on the light so that she and Alexa can play. She used to just use the night from her nightlight to play with her toys (I secretly loved finding her toys and books surrounding the little light on the wall!) but she was waking up grouchy in the morning because she didn't get enough, so, we took it away. No more night light. But then she just started turning on the regular light. So guess what? Now I take the ceiling light out! That one works basically every time because you can't really play without a light, can you?

STRETCHING
Sometimes when my kids seem especially riled up, I'll do stretches with them. Just something simple for them to follow and slow their heart-rates a little. It gets them to hold still for two seconds at least! 


PRAY
Prayer is a necessity before bed! Not only does it give me a chance to hear about the kid's days, but it gives me an insight into what is really important to them (when they stop acting silly for long enough to say a really sincere prayer.) It's also a good transition from being a little crazy to lying down and going to bed. I love listening to their little voices talking to their Heavenly Father.

What has worked for you and your little one(s)? I'd love to hear your tips and ideas! Also, I didn't say much about Alexa and Barrett's routines because Alexa just follow Chelsea's suit and Barrett just eats and sleeps. I used to have to rock Chelsea to sleep, and sing to Alexa until she was out cold. Interestingly enough, those things still work for them. I guess they do carry some of their babyhood with them.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you visit these lovely mamas and read up on their Mommy styles! If you're interested in participating in the next Mommy Style Collaborative Post, click here or visit Kiana's and Madeline's blogs!

Kiana at Glitter & Donuts

Madeline at CaseyLand
Juli at Journey of J^3

Beverly at What a Day
Erica at Good Job Momma

Monica at It's All About

And hey! Are you considering bunking in your kids together? I have a post for that!

click here.  

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Toys | Our favorites + Mommy Style Monday

As a mom, I feel like I'm stuck in the middle of one of those big ball pits they used to have at McDonalds, but instead of balls, it's toys. If you're a mom, I'm sure you can relate.

Why my kiddos need so many toys, I don't know, and how we keep accumulating toys when I regularly go through and throw out or giveaway the ones we don't use anymore, is a total mystery. In fact, poor Alexa didn't even get any real toys for her birthday because we are practically swimming in them (she got a book and some homemade sock puppets instead #momoftheyear).

Anyway, when it comes to toys and interests, I feel like my kids have A MILLION! And they go through phases, although there are a few that hold true like coloring, painting, playing pretend with beanie babies, and the doll house that was mine when I was a kid. But the best toys are the ones that mom and dad have an interest in playing with, too, because when it comes to play time, most kid's favorite toys are their parents.

So here are a few of our favorite toys to play with together:

DUPLO LEGOS | MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - we like to create farms, make towns, towers, sort colors, etc. and who doesn't want to be a part of a band?

MARBLE RUNNER - seriously. so fun.

BOOKS - my kids love a good story and this 5 minute star wars story book is definitely one that I don't mind reading often!

PAINTING | ART - we like to paint with water colors, or just color with crayons. it's especially fun when we draw pictures for other people!

BLOCK TRAIN - Barrett loves sucking on all the different shape, color, and size blocks and it's fun for the older girls to switch up the blocks and wheel it around, too!

SNAPCHAT - duh.

ACTION FIGURES | BEANIE BABIES - i love listening to their imaginations and different voices as they play with + speak for their little characters and be honest... you still have your beanie babies, don't you?

One thing that CAN NOT be denied is how much fun it is to watch your kids play and to have a good time, but that "good time" part doesn't always apply, as was apparent this weekend at Chelsea's first soccer game.

This pic seriously CRACKS ME UP! You never know how your kiddo's going to react to a new situation! It wasn't too long ago that this reaction to the game that Andrew and I both love more than any other would have got me down, but that's a post for another day. Let's just say, my expectations aren't set to "perfect" anymore, and that's been good for me and my daughter.

As for the "Mommy Style" part of this post, I'd say the best style you can sport when playing with your kids is your bright-eyed smile (or goofy face), because kids don't care what you're wearing. All they care about is that you're present and that you're making time for them exclusively. They grow so quickly, and someday, they're not going to want to play with Legos or marble runners anymore. Don't look at playtime as an inconvenience or an interruption of the projects you want to get done. Appreciate those moments and make them happen. I know I'm going to try harder to do that this week, and I invite you to join in with me!

I do have to say that these overalls are def one of my staple pieces and perfect for playtime with all those pockets! I'm a fan.

Now before you get all choked up and teary-eyed and rush to your kid's room to demand that they play with you RIGHT NOW, stop by these other lovely mama's blogs and see what they have to say about their kiddos and toys!

Kiana | Glitter & Donuts

Madeline | CaseyLand

Jessica | Mason Jars and Lemon Bars

Britt | My Little Sunshine

Juli | Journey of J^3

Chelsea | Tessa Marie

Monica | It's All About

Melissa | The Frolics of Mama Llama

And if you want to join in on the collaboration next time, be sure to stop by Kiana or Madeline's blogs to signup! It's really fun. You should do it.

Good luck this week! Hopefully it's full of fun and quality time with your family because put those two things together, and you've got Heaven.

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Mommy Style Monday: Girl's Day Out

 

Remember the Donut Party at CrEATe last week that I told you about? It was SO GREAT you guys. Seriously. There was such a good turnout and I met so many awesome women (and their kids!) not to mention the donuts and gelato were SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

 Reeses. Mmmmmmm...

This work of art was created by yours truly! Bar donut + Nutella Mousse mixed with whipped cream filling + Maple and Vanilla Glaze + Oreo topping. It. Was. Heaven.

I'll have to tell you more about it another time. Anyway, one of said awesome women was Kiana who runs a linkup with my friend Madeline called Mommy Style Monday. She's in the middle and Madeline is just over her right shoulder.

Photo c/o Madeline Casey's iPhone and mad iPhone photo editing skills!
Huge cheesy smile on the left c/o a very enthusiastic donut party planner!

I thought it would be really fun to join up, plus I had this photo of all these women showing off their Girl's Day Out swag!

Let's be honest here. This CrEATe donut party was totally legit and the perfect definition of "Girl's Day Out," but normally, "Girl's Day Out" actually means I'm out running errands with my daughters (+ baby boy!) and stopping briefly at a park or duck pond.

That's why I chose the overalls as my "Girl's Day Out" style. I mean, the convenience of all the pockets is irrefutable!!!

The thing I love most about hats is, well, the reason why everyone loves hats... Because sometimes there just really isn't time for a shower!

And let us not forget the converse! Because comfort is key.

outfit details:
hat // forever 21 (similar)
necklace // made by mary 
shirt // GAP (only $7.99!)
overalls // ross (similar) 
shoes // converse (purchased mine here)

Do you have a pair of overalls? What do you think? Like them? Hate them? Leave a comment!

And make sure you stop by these other ladies and say hi!

Kiana // Glitter & Donuts

Madeline // CaseyLand

Bekah // These Are The Days

Monica // It's All About

Amy // Harris Inc.

Melissa // The Frolics of Mama Llama

Rose // Babies & Bluejeans

Beverly // What a Day

Juli // Journey of J^3

Anndee // Anndee Between the Lines

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Susan is a birth photographer/videographer serving Chandler, Arizona and surrounding cities. Considering a photographer for your birth? Contact Susan for EDD availability.

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