Disasterous Christmas Cards....

Christmas came WAY too fast this year. I remember last year...9 months preggy and I daydreamed about our first Christmas card. With two photographers in one household, you would figure that we would send out a bangin' Christmas card....Well, I am afraid that won't be the case. We have put off doing them for weeks now and then *BAM* this freezing weather hits and there goes our pretty outdoor ideas.

Yesterday I attempted to put Amelia in her Christmas dresses and take some pictures (I already gave up on having all three of us in one). That little toot wanted NOTHING to do with the camera, in fact I am almost positive that she was acting this way on purpose (long are the days of successful photo shoots)! If she wasn't eating the ornaments or throwing a fit on the floor, she was laying down on any and every surface she could find or grabbing at my camera. Since these were the literally the best photos I got and there is no way in hell I will use them, might as well share them right?? After all, it took me almost 10 minutes to get her in those tights....

So I gave up and let her play with some magnets (her new favorite toy!) I made a few days ago.

Look at that hair! It is reaaally coming in thick now and curly! That is the only thing I could possibly ask for this Christmas hahah!

This year, my spoiled daughter got TWO Christmas dresses. I spent a few days shopping for Christmas dresses and after seeing so many red and green ones the last thing I wanted to spend $40 on (which I still can't fathom) was a freaking red Christmas dress like every other child will be wearing. So I found this one at Gymborree and fell in love. It was so different from everything I had seen and it still felt Christmas-y to me...it reminded me of a snowflake almost like an ice princess. I searched and searched for silver shoes, I guess they are out of season?? 

And then I made this hair piece to add some fun flare that pulled together the snowflakey theme I was going for...too bad she refuses to keep it in her hair!

And then Travis' mom-who is an amazing seamstress and craft-lover herself- made Amelia this dress and cape! I fell in love all over again!!! She really outdid herself and I can't wait to see Amelia in it and am so sad our shoot didn't last long enough to get some photos of it. This picture does NOT do it justice!

 

My parents and brother came into town in the weee hours this morning for my sisterfriends wedding this weekend! I LOVE having them in town and appreciate their presence so much more now that I don't see them that often. Now that my mom is in town, I think I am going to con her into helping me with the next shoot so we can whip out some last minute cards :) poor GiGi...Here are some snap shots from today...

 Amelia sure loves her single uncle Nuno!!! Look at that cheeseeeeeeee!! LOVE IT! 

Holiday Reminder: My brother is single, sweet, good looking and loves kids. Who thankfully never reads my blog so he will never know I am secretly looking for him a wifey. 

What are YOUR plans this weekend!?

CHRISTmas time and an N.T.C!!!

Travis and I FINALLY decorated our home for Christmas two days ago. As much as I REALLY wanted to go all out this year on decorations, with all the unexpected expenses from earlier this year we just decided that we are going to go all out next year. We convinced ourselves that Amelia really isn't ready for a tree...or maybe we're not ready for her to be breaking all the ornaments yet. So, we whipped out our 4ft. $20 Christmas tree that we have had for 5 years (perfect for apartment living!) and it only took us about 20 minutes (kind of sad actually) to decorate our entire house. When it comes to Christmas time, I am all about tradition from dinner to decorations. Reds, greens, golds and winter white are all welcome in my home, and while the new funky colors are fun, they just don't remind me of the same warmth that I felt growing up.

I bought these stockings from Big Lots a few days ago because I like the traditional pizzaz they have but more importantly, they were only $2 and thought they would be PERFECT for my next craft!!

 

N.T.C: STOCKING BLING!  

Materials:

-Ribbons

-Bling (of course!)

-Feathers

-Felt

-Hot glue gun/glue stick

-Scissors

 

I used ribbon I already had and obviously wanted to go with Christmas colors. I liked the fact they were different patterns, I thought they looked fun! Although I mentioned I like the traditional colors, I LOVE variations of the greens and reds and using bright colors and patterns modernizes the decor. I wanted the stocking decorations to be similar but all different!

First, I put hot glue directly on the rhinestone and started layering feathers until I was happy with the look. It literally took me MAYBE half a minute. 

Next, I cut the ribbon into 3 in. angled pieces and used the same technique with the feathers; just directly gluing them to a rhinestone. I added some little feathers in between later..

 

Next, I wanted to try something different and wanted to make holly out of ribbon and felt. I layered and glued the ribbon, added a feather and some bling. It turned out so cute and almost wish I did all three this way!

 

Over all, I think they turned out super cute and added some cuteness to the fireplace!

 

With all the left over materials, I had an idea to make an "ornament" out of Amelia's art work! Just a little felt and artwork make these the perfect sentimental addition to your tree!

 

Here are the other decorations we have around the house! Trust me, I know they are nothing special; remember, I am going all out next year ;)

 

Here are some ornaments that we have on the tree that are my favs! Trust me, I know our tree is way too small to have these ornaments on it but I know we will have a grown up tree...someday :)

I LOVE this one! You can find them at Targets "$1 Hot Spot"

My mom bought this for Amelia MONTHS ago! I LOVE it.

 

I took glass ornaments (Big Lots, $3 for a box of 6!) and stuffed them with feathers and they turned out SO precious. I couldn't get a picture that would do them justice but they are so cute! The possibilities are endless with glass ornaments!

These are the colors that Amelia is obsessed with! She LOVES them and they are made particularly for toddlers hands. Thanks Crayola and my sweet Baja for buying them for her!

 

HAPPY CRAFTING!

Nina Tank

One is silver and the other gold...

Ahhhh, Christmas time :) (please refrain from making fun of my pathetic little shrub. We will "go big or go home" next year!)

This time of year seems impossible to be in a bad mood but lately I have been so disappointed with people in my life. I remember making certain transitions in my life, elementary school to middle school or middle school to high school, where I found myself losing touch with my once "Bff's". Becoming a wife and mother is also one of those transitions where I find that I no longer have much in common (if at all) with a lot of people in my life. I know that sounds so obnoxious, particularly because I remember giving a huge "eye roll" when people would say something similar, but it's so true. It hit me like a ton of bricks a few months back when I was out to lunch with a few girls and they spent a good 10 minutes talking about whose pool they were going to lay out at, and I just remember thinking "this is what their problems are? I am wondering if I have enough formula in my bag for another bottle and calculating the hours until it spoils so I can go grocery shopping and THIS is what they are talking about?! I'm at the wrong table." The moment was just as crude as when I walked into Charlotte Russe with a stroller two weeks ago and felt so out of place and old I FLEW out of there.

Becoming a mother is by far best thing that has ever happened to me. But right up there with positive emotions is loneliness, especially because I am a stay at home mom. I use to be a private nanny to a family for over a year (the children were ages 3,2 and newborn) and I remember always thinking "why would a mother who can obviously afford to stay home, rather be at work than raising her children?" and now I realize it was not that AT ALL. She was merely keeping from going insane, hah! I would do anything to have a little something for myself because most days I feel like I am reliving the movie "Groundhog Day." Every day the same...Yoga pants and sweat shirt, bottle#1, yogurt for breakfast, walk to park after nap #1,  Yo gabba gabba, vegetables for lunch, check the mail...the same routine just about every single day which honestly makes going to the grocery store a vacation! I also thought because I was a nanny that I was soooooo prepared for motherhood. I knew what to do as far as feedings, diaper changing, schedules but there are two MAJOR things that separate motherhood from nannyhood: You don't get paid and you don't go home. No job or advice can ever prepare you for becoming a mommy.

I say all of this because I think it's important for everyone, especially friends of mothers, to understand how much mommies DO need friends, even if they don't realize or admit it. 90% of my "friends" nearly dropped off the face of the earth once I gave birth and that was from the people who stopped talking to me after I got married. I am not sure if they figure "oh she's busy now" or "she can't go, she has Amelia" but it is SO refreshing when visitors come over or calls. You give up so much of yourself emotionally and physically to become a mom and having to completely lose your social life seems like a harsh punishment, but it happens. If you have stay at home mommy friends, please make the effort to visit them, you will never know (until you know) how much your presence is a breath of fresh air!

This is totally seeming like a Debby Downer post so I will lift its spirits with my adorable dollface!

As miserable as I might sound, I think I am just having one of those days and am pretty much mourning a 12 year friendship because I finally realized we are in totally different places and we're holding onto a friendship that existed 6 years ago that just doesn't make sense today.

I am actually the happiest I have ever been thanks to this little toot. She makes my world go round, turns my frown upside down...the whole nine yards :) 

I would like to thank Chelsea, Anna, Rebekah, Elizabeth and Amanda for truly caring about me and Amelia and being more than the "convenient" friend. And thank you mom for letting me vent 239472304 times a day and completely understanding because at my age, you already had a 5 and 3 year old and I will never understand how you did it. I love you all!!!