DIY Monday: Ugly sweater Christmas party

J and I were invited to an ugly sweater party/baby shower for a college friend who is expecting.

I didn't want something that everyone has and the ones I found at Wal-Mart were going for between $22 & $30. No way I was going to pay that amount for it so I decided on an easy DIY one.

I stopped by our local Goodwill store and scored 2 sweaters for $13. Next, I stopped by the dollar store and got some supplies that I knew I could work with.

Then I came home and did a mock up and just stitched the items strategically to the sweater to ensure that the sweaters would be usable again later.

It took me less than 30-minutes to complete both sweaters.

And then it was time to head out. My mother in law took the only picture of me in my outfit. I forgot to get one of just me at the party. I should mention that I had to forgo a lot of the stuff I planned for mine because I knew I'd be holding JAE and didn't want to have her putting it in her mouth.

Me and my girls. Love them so much!

My mother in law also captured this picture of J in his sweater! I think he looks quite dashing in his :-). I told him next year, I'll get some LED lights for his sweater. Did I mention that his tie had a button you can push to hear a Christmas song? WICKED! And yes, check out JAE wanting to get picked up by her dad.

At the party. It was so warm out that we had to take off JAE's pants. It is the middle of December and we're enjoying 60 degree weather. Talk about unusual! Oh and ignore JAE's look. She wanted me to hold her and I wanted to get a picture so clearly, she wasn't going to smile for me. That's my strong willed child.

We had a fabulous time at the party and we are so happy for the soon to be parents. They are going to make awesome parents and we look forward to celebrating with them as they welcome TWIN girls!!!

Check out their announcement video here. How CUTE are they? They're going to make awesome parents. 

I was also invited to a ladies brunch Pretty Sweater party next week and plan on wearing my sweater again. Only this time, I'll be embellishing it with a brooch. Stay tuned...

Have a fabulously blessed week!

Photo Dump Wednesday: Holiday Cards

This week has been so busy. So much so that by 10am on Monday, I was already saying "is it Friday yet?" 

We finally finished our outdoor Chrismas decorations. I am happy with the way things turned out and like I told J, each year we will add something different until the outside looks like the North Pole...well, maybe not quite but I do love seeing the different decorations outside. It makes me happy :-).

I forgot to post this one below from our morning room. It is so festive!

There is a story behind this one. When I ordered the wreaths back in early November, I was looking for ones that were pre-lit and battery operated (do they have those?). Anyways, somehow, I managed to read that these wreaths had them AND they were on sale. SCORE! I ordered enough to go in the middle of all the windows on the right side and then 3 for the ones on the left side. 
1. When they arrived, turns out they have to be plugged in. Fail #1. We didn't want to try to figure out the connection outdoors because that is the reason why we decided not to do the candy canes again this year. 

2. The hook I ordered for the wreaths were too wide to go in the center panels. So instead, we decided to put them on the windows themselves. I was going to order 4 more wreaths to go on the windows downstairs BUT they were now back to their original price which is $9 more per wreath. No way I was going to spend another $40 extra so I decided we will get the additional ones next year or after the holidays when the seller is getting rid of their inventory. 

For blank window upstairs has a tree displayed there which is why there is no wreath. We hadn't plugged it in yet which is why it looks bare.

Anyways, in addition to finishing up the outside, we also decided to do the pictures for our holiday cards last weekend. I never truly appreciated all the work that goes into that perfect shot where you have multiple kids in the same frame until last weekend. My word!!! Now I know why photographers charge what they do especially when working with kids. It was quite an experience!

We figured first we'd do JOE and then JAE. Check out the many faces of JOE while we tried to get a useable shot.

At this point, we had lost her attention so I figured we'd just use one of the  pictures from earlier on. 

Now on to JAE. The queen of facial expressions. First she pulled the trains off the tracks and proceeded to be upset about it.

Then she decided that she had had enough and didn't want to sit there anymore since the trains weren't doing her bidding.

But since JOE has a way of making JAE happy, I decided to do their joint pics instead. This was the best shot I could get of them together.

Then JAE was done. 

JOE tried to hold her back but she wasn't having any of it. 

JOE really tried. So I figured at this point I'd go with the first picture I have of both of them.

Then I decided to go back to JAE again. This time, I got the best shot I'd be able to use on the first try.

And then she was done!

After all was said and done, I had to get a pic in with my #1.

This picture was just so precious. Everyone together watching the trains go. I let JOE's hair down for the pictures. It looks cute but we spent the entire time trying to keep JAE's hands out of her hair and JOE's toys out of her hair. Too much work. I rather like it braided!

And a picture with my #2. She can be so serious sometimes. 

But for her sister, she'll give you a good smile. She was looking at JOE.

Anyways, after all of that, I am sure you can understand this next picture.

Until next year!!! A good friend of mine says it gets easier...we'll see :-).

Photo Dump Wednesday: Tis the season

I love this time of year. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Not only is it a reminder of the precious gift we received in the form of Jesus Christ but it is also a reminder of childhood memories, time with loved ones and showing love to those around us. 

While I am a Christian, I often find that even those who don't believe in God often like to celebrate the holidays. There's just something about the positivity around this time that is contagious.

As I get older, making memories for our family to treasure over time has become more important to me. 

I haven't had a chance to do a mommy/daughter selfie in a while so here's some for you. 

I love that JAE now smiles when I say "selfie time!" Truth be told, I think she likes to see herself on the screen when I'm taking a picture :-D.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, we once again embarked on our family annual tradition to go see the lights at a local park. It was so nice. The kids were both asleep when we got there but JAE and JOE woke up about 1/2 way through so they were able to enjoy the lights as well. 

I love this one of Glenda from Wizard of Oz.

Can you tell who these characters are?

I was so glad JOE especially was able to see this one because every week when I take down the braid in her hair, she walks around shaking it and says "mom, look! I am sapunzel!" She means Rapunzel but you catch my drift. :-)
On a side note though, I don't know how I feel about her calling me "mom." I had gotten used to "momma." 

Every year, the owner of this house puts up A TON of lights in their front yard. I love driving by to see what they have set up. This year, they even added Elsa! I mean, these folks are spending a small fortune on the lights and the electricity bill but it brings me joy to go see it so I count it as their way of blessing others :-).

We decided to tackle our decorations. It took forever to get this tree completed as well as to put the train around it. We had a train when I was growing up and this year, J and I both agreed to get one. JOE was able to help us with the decorations at the bottom of the tree and JAE helped us by ensuring we stayed busy :-D. It was a team effort.

Because JAE can now go up the stairs, I didn't want to do the same thing I did last year. So this year, I wanted something that would not impede her and/or scratch her as she continues to explore.

This Christmas village was a new addition to our collection and I love it. The nutcrackers use to be set up in front of our fireplace but with JAE moving around, we had to put it up. I actually like it better here.

Last year, I had the ornaments hanging directly from the chandelier. This year, I wanted something a little different so I added a garland and hung the ornaments from them instead. 

Even our clock got a bow :-).

There was also a tree lighting ceremony at our local shopping center. J and I decided to take the girls to go see it and it was fun. Until JOE decided she was done and JAE kept trying to get the free hot chocolate we got. 

J and his girls. JOE didn't want to take a picture so she turned around. And JAE was not happy that I wouldn't let her have any hot chocolate hence the face. These girls just have so much personality!

She finally turned around but said she won't smile. 

They did a count down and lite the tree. It was very cool. They gave everyone 3D glasses. After the lite, you could see special characters on the tree with the aid of the glasses.

I made this wreath while JAE slept and J was putting up some decorations outside. Our outside decor isn't complete yet so I'll wait to post those pictures next week. 

I have primarily been wearing buns in my hair for the last couple of weeks. Its just so much easier for me. 
Loving the big smiles in the next few pictures. 

Like I said earlier, I love this time of year and am looking forward to making more memories with our little ones. 

How are you spending your holiday season? Do you go all out and decorate both inside and outside your home or do you limit it to just inside or avoid decorating altogether?