I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. A couple of weeks into December, and I realized I hadn’t really written a holiday-ish post.
I always stop my Instagram “scroll” when I see Enneagram posts.
I’ve shared @mirabellecreation graphics in previous posts. I haven’t taken the Enneagram assessment in quite some time, but as far as I know, I’m a 5w6.
Here’s a little holiday Enneagram break down:
Enneagram 5:
Learning the history behind holiday traditions:I do love to know the history behind traditions. I’m glad to have a few traditions in my family. It makes the holidays even more meaningful.
Making Christmas snacks:Oh! I love Christmas snacks…especially homemade Chex mix.
Hosting small family events:We don’t host many events these days, but I enjoy going to a few holiday parties.
Sitting by a fire:Yes! We haven’t turned our fire place on just yet, but I can’t wait for the first fire of the season.
Staying in bed a little longer:Yes, ma’am!
Making homemade decor:I’ve made a few things through the years which is fun to do.
Enneagram 6:
Watching family open thoughtful personal gifts: I wrapped quite a few gifts yesterday, and there are certain ones I can’t wait for the kids to open.
Checking off all the traditions:I love our traditions like going to see the Christmas lights in the Horse Park and baking cookies.
Cozy festive clothes or pjs:Yes! I have two favorite pairs of plaid flannel pjs that I keep in the pj rotation.
Ice skating with friends:Well, I don’t know about that…I might break a hip! That being said, Hadley and friends usually end up going to the rink downtown at some point in the winter months.
Cuddling & watching movies:I can’t wait to have some time to watch some of my favorite movies over break.
Crafting with friends:I love to craft, but haven’t really done so in a while.
Probably ten years ago, I made this burlap tree, and I made a few as gifts. It’s one of my favorite decorations to put out. Also, for quite a few years, I had the kids make ornaments at Christmas time, and then we’d give them to family as gifts. Of course, I had them make an extra one for our tree.
More Festive Enneagram Fun:
All of these “favorites” are me! A few thoughts: It means so much to me (more than the kids realize) that we take twenty minutes to decorate the tree with favorite ornaments. This year, when Travis and I hung up our wedding ornament, that’s almost twenty years old, I asked him if he remembered how our first Christmas we hardly had any ornaments for our tree…and now we have three containers full!
I love watching others open gifts, and naps on repeat during the holidays are a must!
A few thoughts: I bake cookies with the kids every year, and the years we go to KC for Christmas, we usually make a few with my mom and Gma. This weekend, we’re baking cookies with my brother’s family, and I’m looking forward to that. As a family, we watch Home Alone at some point, and then on Christmas Day, we always watch A Christmas Story. Hadley turned on the Christmas music November 1st!
It’s already Wednesday which is hard to believe…even harder to believe is that it’s already the second Wednesday of the month! Wasn’t Thanksgiving just last week?!
I’m linking up with Shay and Erika for the last Let’sLook of 2024.
This month’s topic is…how we unwind during the holidays.
Unwind? Do we do that during the holidays? haha
We’re still pretty busy for most of break, especially the years we go to KC for Christmas. That being said, whenever I have time at home, I love to read…
bake cookies…
…catch up on TV shows that I’ve fallen behind on watching…and I definitely love watching movies over break.
I always watch Home Alone, The Holiday, and A Christmas Story during the holiday season.
For whatever reason, over break, I always watch While You Were Sleeping, and often times, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Sleepless in Seattle, and Serendipity.
It’s just so nice to wake up without setting an alarm and being able to ease into the day.
Over break, there’s at least a couple of days where I actually don’t leave the house. I take the time to just hang out, read, watch shows, and tidy up from the holiday hustle.
I still loves these scents of perfume. Travis (with Hadley’s help) picked these out for me last Christmas.
I love the smell of coffee in the morning.
I tend to like certain scents during certain times of the year.
I like berry, vanilla, and gingerbread during the winter months. This “Home from the Holidays” candle from Antique Candle Co his some spruce in it, and I like a touch of that scent.
Spring and summer are similar in that I like “lighter” scents. Citrus, berries, and floral scents are my “go to,” during those months.
In the fall, I still love vanilla, but I like apple and cinnamon scents more.
I have a whole shelf in my hall closet (it’s a small shelf) filled with candles that I use throughout the year. It’s fun to pull out the various scents each season.
2025:
We’re continuing the Share Our Lives fun in 2025. Grab our graphic below, and we’d love to see you like up with us in January if you have a blog.
I feel like this week flew by! Only two more weeks until winter break!
As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites from the week:
Last week, we traveled to Charlotte, NC for Hayden’s race. It’s such a cute city!
Hayden finished the season with a medal the Foot Locker South Region race.
With December, comes some fun graphics:
While on the drive to Charlotte, I made my December book trackers. They are saved to a highlight on my Instagram account. Feel free to use them and tag me 🙂
Sunday night, we took a few minutes to put ornaments on the tree in the living room. It’s always a stroll down memory lane.
I added some new personalized ornaments to the bedroom tree.
I ordered a couple of Antique Candle Co. candles, and they arrived this week. I actually ordered a couple more candles from them yesterday because their Black Friday sale was extended.
I hit the holiday trifecta at Trader Joe’s on Sunday. I got my favorite “mini Gingerbread People” cookies and my favorite “Step Up to the Bar” snack mix. I did pick up a tin of Jingle Jangle as the kids really like it. At $9 a tin, I think it will be the only one I pick up this season!
My school does “gratitude feathers” before Thanksgiving. The students can write on these feathers and then a teacher collects them and puts them in teacher mailboxes. My envelope was put in the wrong box, so I received my feathers yesterday! (Last week, when I saw my empty mailbox, I was afraid no students like me…haha!)
One of my feathers was from Hadley:
So sweet!
Last night, we went to the Kentucky volleyball game. I hadn’t made it to a game yet this season in the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum. It’s legit!
They played Cleveland St. in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and it was fun to watch. They won in 3 sets.
Favorite Mom Meme:
If I can’t find the scissor and tape, how am I going to wrap their presents?!
We have our last Share Our Lives link up of 2024 on Monday, and we’d love for you to join us by linking up or reading the posts. This month’s topic is favorite scents.
This is one of my favorite posts to share as I love seeing how others decorate their homes for the holidays, so it’s a fun post to write.
Just like with my fall decorations, I didn’t buy but a few new things to decorate for Christmas.
Two weekends ago, I took about an hour to put up all of my festive fun.
So, my house pretty much looks the same as last year, but I’ve added a couple of things here and there.
In the morning, I tend to turn on the colored Christmas tree lights. This mug is still one of my faves and very “on brand” for me.
Then at night, I love the white lights on the tree! Last Sunday, we took a few minutes to put the ornaments on the living room tree.
{Side note: those “gifts” under the tree are Amazon boxes that I wrapped years ago, and they are a perfect holding spot until I get my act together and wrap actual gifts!)
This year, I did a good job picking up ornaments to capture trips we went on. I got this Washington, DC ornament as a nod to our trip on spring break.
I’ve decided for the next few years, I’m going to make a point to get both the kids an ornament as one of their birthday presents. They’ve received tons of ornaments through the years, but not any from us. This year, I got Hayden the Oregon ornament to remember our trip to the Olympic Trials this past summer.
I found this Dr. Pepper ornament on Etsy, and Hadley laughed when she opened it. She loves a Dr. Pepper!
Hadley’s tree has a lot of fun ornaments, and the tree looks so pretty in her room.
The tree in our bedroom has a few meaningful ornaments I’ve been given through the years. Including this Betty White ornament from my friend a few years ago.
Most of the other ornaments on this tree are the ones I ordered on Shutterfly last year.
Last year, I ordered ornaments that included pictures of the kids at Christmas time through the years. Most of them are front back with two different years, and some are front back with pictures for the same year. I just have so many great memories of the kids at Christmas with Santa or dressed in their green and red outfits.
Shutterfly always runs a good deal around the holidays, but their regular shipping is still expensive. So, the past two years, I’ve ordered the ornaments when I order my Christmas cards.
2019: This was the first year that we had Homer, and the kids really wanted him in the pictures. That was harder than I thought it would be. haha
2020: Apparently, they had the same request for 2020!
I didn’t realize it did, but this next ornament is another 2020 pic with Santa…and then…
2021 – We stumbled upon Santa at Union Station in KC when we were then for Thanksgiving. This was the first year I was pretty sure I didn’t have “believers” anymore, so I love the pic with Santa.
2022- I loved our 30A beach pic so the kids and family pic is on each side.
2023- The Christmas card pic last year was of the kids dressed up for the December cotillion. The other side was went we went to the “Magic Tree” in KC when we were there for Thanksgiving.
2024- I always love our front yard tree, and snapped this pic of the kids. Then, another family beach pic to capture our time in 30A again this year.
As for a few new decorations:
When I went to Kirkland’s a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t resist these cute felt reindeer!
I also thought this festive ceramic house was cute. I love the jingle bells and ornaments.
On one of my many trips to Micheal’s, I got this bell to hang on the front door knob. It’s just a slight jingle, and nothing annoying. The one I’ve had for years was showing its wear and tear.
I thought I’d use this wreath elsewhere, but ended up tying it to the arches I have on front hall table.
Just a few touches here and there. I will enjoy all the sparkle and shine of the Christmas decorations, and then it always feels nice to have a fresh start with everything put away in the new year.
I treat this blog as a journal of sorts, and I like to capture the big and little moments in our family.
Like he did in middle school, once high school cross country season wrapped up, Hayden started his club season. He continued training and ran two races in November.
LW Memorial Distance Festival:
Hayden’s club puts on the Lloyd White Memorial Distance Festival in honor of Trav’s dad. The club director is our nephew who is a professional runner and trains runners throughout Kentucky.
This was the fourth year for this race, and there were 150 more runners than last year’s race. It’s been fun to see this race grow through the years.
There have been years where it was frigid, but this evening was pretty nice.
All the fam waiting for Hayden’s race.
I’m proud of Hayden as he asked to be put in a faster heat to be pushed a bit. This was his first 3200 as a high schooler.
My action pictures aren’t the best. Usually we watch from the stands, but we were down on the field by the track to take a family picture after Hayden’s race.
Thankfully, there was a professional photographer on site!
Hayden ran an amazing race. He ran :56 seconds faster than his last 3200 as an 8th grader. He was really happy with his run!
We snapped a quick whole family pic right as the girl’s race started. It turned out really nice. I know Trav’s dad is proud of all of his kids are grandkids!
Since Hayden was in a good mood after his race, we got some pictures. haha
…with his cousin/coach, Trav, and Mamaw!
Our tradition after the race is to eat at Boombozz pizza near campus and then head back to Lex.
Once we were home, I got a pic of Hayden in his Lloyd White race shirt. He was a tired but happy kid!
Foot Locker South Regional Race:
There are four regional Foot Locker races, and this year, Hayden ran in the south region race in Charlotte, NC.
Due to Hurricane Helene, the highway that’s the more direct route to Charlotte was inaccessible, so we had to go a different route. Since the goal was for him to run the course on Friday for a workout and to get familiar with the course, we left on Thursday after Thanksgiving in Louisville in order to be there with time to spare..
We left our house around 6:00 and drove to Beckley, WV. We arrived at our hotel around 9:00 and settled in for the night.
The next morning, we headed out around 9:00, and drove the rest of the way to Charlotte.
After we got settled in our hotel, Travis and Hayden went to the course. Hadley saw the mall next door, and wanted to use her Sephora gift card that was burning a hole in her pocket!
We walked around the outdoor shopping center before making our way to the mall.
Shew! It was busy (obviously!), but we walked around, stopped in a few stores, and then Hadley used her gift card. We took one look at the massive amount of people in the food court, and decided to eat at the Mexican restaurant by our hotel.
The walk to the restaurant was festive!
We shared this taco plate and watched the Chiefs game that had just started.
Then, we headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Once Travis and Hayden got back from the course, they went to the same restaurant…for the same reasons…they were hungry and the Chiefs game was on!
While Hadley hung in the hotel room, I met them and enjoyed a marg…and a Chiefs win!
Then, we had some downtime in the hotel for a bit. After that, of course, Hayden needed to “carb load” before his race the next day. We drove to “Little Mama’s,” and it did not disappoint!
Hayden got chicken Alfredo, Travis and I split this pasta…
…while Hadley reached her protein goal for the day with one meatball!! Travis helped her eat some of her spaghetti. The meatball was really good!
We headed back to the hotel to hang out and go to bed at a decent time before our early 6 am wake up call.
Once we got to the course, Hadley and I sat in the car for a bit since it was 40 degrees outside. Hayden’s race was a 8:30, so it was early and cold.
Travis told me he put my chair to the right of the Foot Locker guy. Well, that was easy to spot!
Ready to run!
My spot during the race was right by this pretty lake. This was a tough course with lots of running happening in the woods. Hadley and Travis went to a few spots to see him. I saw him run by around the halfway point and this was also at the finish.
I could tell when he came by the first time, that he was hanging in there but discouraged.
Hadley sent me a couple of pics…
…and then we were all at the finish to cheer him on.
You just never know how a race will go. Even with all the preparation, sometimes a race doesn’t go your way. (Or so they say…I don’t run. haha!) Hayden was disappointed with his performance and time, but this race includes the best runners in the region. The top 36 received medals, and that ended up putting a smile on his face and some peace with how he ended the season.
Charlotte is such a cute city! I guess this might be a yearly race, so maybe we’ll be there sooner rather than later.
This memory of Hayden running an AAU race two years ago popped up in my Facebook memories. He’s still running…and doing what he loves to do.
I know I share a lot about Hayden’s times and achievements, but as you’d expect, Travis and I are most impressed with his dedication to his training and that he is a good teammate.
He’s been running six days a week for quite some time. He wakes up early on the weekend and on vacations when most teens would be sleeping in. He stretches and foam rolls. I joke that he he has more appointments than any of us as he goes to physical therapy, takes ice baths, and even does compression therapy to increase his blood circulation and for recovery.
I wondered how his freshman season would go. I truly didn’t know he’d run varsity…and I definitely didn’t know how intense varsity races are. Obviously, he’s running a longer distance (3.1 miles) than in middle school, upperclassmen are bigger and stronger and there are more runners in the races. He’s been pushed and spiked in races, but he doesn’t give up even when a race isn’t going according to plan.
He accomplished quite a bit this season, but I know he has goals for next year too. As a freshman, I’m sure he had some nerves for most races, so hopefully he will continue to settle in next year.
On another note –Hadley started track workouts this week, and she’s sore! Hayden’s giving his legs a rest after running over 1,100 miles in 2024! He will join Hadley in the track workouts soon enough.
Hello and happy Monday!…except now that it’s Monday, that means Thanksgiving break is over, and it’s time to head back to school. That’s ok because I actually like December at school. I feel like the weeks usually fly by as we wrap up first semester.
Speaking of “flying by,” how is it December?! I’m linking up with Tanya to share my recent Amazon purchases.
This month’s post has quite a few purchases thanks to the kids’ birthday and prepping for Christmas.
I needed file folders for school, so I bought this pack. So much of what we do is digital, but I still have plenty of hard copies to keep up with in my filing cabinet.
I loved my fall “Cozy Girl” coloring book so much that I purchased the Christmas version. It’s just as cute as the fall one.
Bummer! BOTH pencil trees that I have (but have had for four – five years) needed some help in the light department. I bought two packs of these hundred bulb strands to use on mine and Hadley’s bedroom trees. They worked perfectly for what we needed.
I’ve had these remote controlled outlets for quite a few years, and I purchased another pack because Hadley wanted one for her room. I’ll use the other two for our outside lights.
This set of three is truly so handy. From my original set, I use one for the Christmas tree in the living room, one for the set of trees on the chest in the living room, and then the last one for the tree in the bedroom. I just use the remote to click them on/off in the morning and then before bed at night.
Well, my life changed forever when this label maker arrived! I actually had it on my list as a suggestion for Christmas, but once I got out all my Christmas decor, and I have quite a few remote controls (like for the set above), that I wanted to get organized. I use the app on my phone and then it prints! I’ve been a labeling fool since it arrived!
Hadley requested these slides for her birthday. They are a great price and all the rage for teens!
Hadley also had this cute little cotton bag on her birthday list. The price is less than $9 and such good quality. I filled it with cosmetic things she uses which was a good refill for what she needed.
One of the things I put in her bag was this blush stick by e.l.f.
One of Hayden’s requests was this brush to clean his golf clubs. He’s really into golfing this year!
‘Tis the season for shopping…and finding good deals! I’ve purchased a few things via Amazon, but they are Christmas gifts. I never know who reads my blog, so I don’t want to give anything away!
It’s Cyber Monday, so I’m sure Amazon will have some great deals!
In case you missed my last “gratitude” post on Saturday, here it is.
Happy shopping,
{This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my blog.}
Well, it’s the last day of November…how is that even possible? It’s time to wrap up this gratitude challenge.
Day 29: 3 of your favorite foods
Only 3?!
Off the top of my head, I’d have to say:
chips and queso
sushi
a warm chocolate chip cookie from Starbucks
Day 30: 3 things you love about your family
Listen, there are plenty of days where I seek the peace and solace of my quiet bedroom to get away from the crazy. That being said, I’m part of the crazy too haha! I’m very grateful for my family or four.
To keep it simple, I’ll share what I’m grateful for in regards to my three faves:
Trav: He takes care of all of us. He knows when I’m feeling overwhelmed and will take something off my plate. Listen, I’m an independent woman…until I don’t want to leave the house one more time 😂He takes care of the things that I have no desire to take care of…for example, bills that need to be paid. He’s just the best. I remember when we first started dating, I got the flu. He brought me medicine and a People magazine. He’s been taking care of me since day 1. He’s the best role model for the kids, and he’s always there for anything they need too.
Hadley has the best smile and gives the best hugs. She brightens anyone’s day!
Hayden will tell me he loves me out of nowhere. (Don’t tell him I told you! haha) Listen, no one prepares you for raising a teenage boy, but he’s maturing right before my very eyes. I appreciate his love when he’s willing to give it to me 😉
This challenge was a great way to keep up with my blogging and share things that I’m grateful for in my life…including my blog readers 🙂
As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Just a few favorites this week as we didn’t have a ton going on which was obviously a favorite.
Saturday was a pretty dreary day, and with a Saturday with some extra time on my hands, I put up the Christmas decorations. I don’t dread putting them up, but I know that it takes some time. Well, this year, I was finished in about an hour. I still decorated pretty fully, but I just followed last year’s blog post and also edited what I didn’t want to use a long the way.
Then, I decided to knock a couple of gifts off my list. This started because I had Old Navy cash that expired the next day. Anyway, I braved Old Navy, and then I went to Kirklands for a few decorations. After that, I went to an outdoor shopping area and went to a couple of stores to get gifts for Hadley.
The area had their tree up, and it looked pretty on the dreary day.
I was gone a few hours, and came home to relax for a bit. Then, who are we?!? That afternoon, a group of us decided to go out to a new pizza place for dinner. Everyone was available on a Saturday night. The group is the same couples we go on fall break with, and it was so nice to get together for a couple of hours.
I’m not a big beer drinker, but if I do drink a beer it’s because we’re having pizza.
When we came home, it was lovely to see the glow of the Christmas lights.
On Sunday, I went to Trader Joe’s and spotted peonies, so of course I had to buy some. I don’t recall seeing peonies in the winter at Trader Joe’s. They are my favorite.
Sunday afternoon, Hadley got back home from her Young Life weekend. She had lots of fun with her friends…
…and even saw baby goats. She filled us in on her weekend, and I was so happy to have her home.
Random picture, but Hadley sent me this at school on Monday….haha.
I started yesterday morning off watching the parade before we headed to Louisville for Thanksgiving lunch.
Favorite Mom Meme:
Works every time…haha!
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:
This pic popped up in my Facebook memories. In preschool, the kids made little Indian costumes. I don’t remember how they got their “names,” but funny that Hadley’s starts with “princess” and Hayden’s starts with “running.”
I can’t believe my November gratitude challenge is almost over. I only have a few days left.
Picking up where I left off…
Day 27: holiday traditions you are grateful for…I’m grateful for many traditions. Of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas typically have quite a few traditions. For us, Thanksgiving looks different year to year. Some years, we stay home (but have to travel to E-town or Louisville for Thanksgiving), and other years we are in KC.
On Thanksgiving, a tradition I have no matter where I am is to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
As for Christmas, we always bake cookies at some point during the holiday season. We also go to the Horse Park to drive through their lights display.
One of my favorite traditions is letting the kids pick out a gift for each other to open, usually on Christmas Eve if we are home. It’s always fun seeing what they pick out for each other.
Day 28: something that made you smile today…
Thanksgiving always makes me smile. It’s my favorite holiday…great food, time with family, and no stress of buying gifts!
Gobble til you wobble! If you need a way to use up your leftover turkey, this recipe is a day after Thanksgiving tradition in our family.
If you need me, I will be sipping my coffee and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade this morning.
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