Happy Friday!

My goodness has this seemed like a long week. Iowa got hit with a blizzard on Sunday and our kids were pretty pumped to have a snow day on Monday. Who wouldn’t enjoy an unexpected 6-day Thanksgiving break? So basically, any chance they have gotten to be doing this:

they have been. And there are forever tiny puddles of snow everywhere in my house. Which I then step in when I’m wearing socks.

Love that.

Wet socks aside, I’m here today linking up with  Erika, Narci and Andrea for a really good batch of favorites!

Officially, Advent starts this Sunday and we are more than ready for it in my house. If you are looking for a way to keep your Christmas preparation Christ centered with your family, check out this new addition to my Etsy shop.

I’m all about a good Santa focused Christmas movie or story, but it’s so important to me that our children understand and live the true meaning of our Christmas prep and celebration. My Nativity Advent Calendar Cards have 25 days of Scripture verses from December 1 through Christmas Day that tell the story of Jesus’ birth. Each card has an adorable Nativity character and a verse for the day. It comes with an optional file to print the verses on the back or you can choose to list daily activities or something else of your choice on the back.

It’s a $5 instant download in my shop. Ready to print and cut at home!

And – if you are looking for a great Advent Devotional, I loved this one last year. The reflections are short and they list optional readings you can do if you are looking for a little more each day.

I chose this one for this year. I love Max Lucado and am hoping I love this one too!

A few months ago while experiencing a lack of judgment, I promised my best friend that I would train for and run a 7 mile race this summer with her. Before babies, I loved to run and would run 7 miles on a Saturday for a good time. That was 4 children ago. But I love her. So I will run (or at least attempt to).

I’ve started running low mileages on the treadmill but needed something to help me get back into shape on my off days. One of my friends told me about fitnessblender.com and I LOVE it. They have a ton of free workouts on their website that you can filter by time, intensity, etc. and have everything from strength training to kickboxing to yoga. I’m obsessed. If you’ve been looking for an easy way to exercise in these winter months, this is an amazing option!

This was one of my favorites last year at this time and it still is! A few years ago, I found this amazing free gift app called Santa’s Bag. We typically buy for our families, teachers, etc. every year plus our older boys have birthdays right around Christmas. I struggle to keep track of what gives we have yet to plan and purchase.

This app lets you enter a budget and divide it among the people you are buying for. I even include everything for the season like birthday and Christmas gifts, Christmas cards, stocking stuffers, gifts for charities at the boy’s school, etc. You add in the gifts, cost, and what stores you plan to purchase at so you can sort your master list by any of those categories. You can even mark the status of each gift: need to buy, purchase, and wrapped and sort that by list too! The app is free (with an optional choice to upgrade to save all gifts from year to year) and I have not found a better way to track gifts! I just love it!

This weekend during our snowstorm, I was trying to encourage our second grader to spend some time reading. He sat down with his book and I grabbed One Beautiful Dream off my waiting to read stack to sit with him. We read for 20 minutes and then I could not stop. I haven’t finished a book in only two days since the last Harry Potter book way back in the day. (That brings you back doesn’t it?) It was amazing. You know those books that just speak to your soul? This one did for me. Hands down the best book I have read this year.

I highly recommend for those of you who are trying to balance motherhood and all the rest you dream about for yourself- especially if it doesn’t look the way you thought it would. It was SO SO good. Anyone else a Jennifer Fulwiler fan?

Finally, Josh and I watched the newest Netflix Christmas movie this weekend and loved it. It had really cute story and Kurt Russell as Santa was perfect! If you haven’t seen it yet, you should!

Full disclosure: you may want to preview it yourself before watching with young kids. We started watching it with the boys and I ended up stopping it after a few minutes and choosing another movie. There was a bunch of Santa belief talk at the beginning (and some slight language throughout) that our kids weren’t ready for. It probably depends on the age/nature of your kiddos!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

It’s Friday!

We have had a great week around here! Everyone in my house is PUMPED that starting next week, the Halloween costumes get to officially come out. I have been asked approximately 7,865 times since we bought them if they can start wearing them around. Since September. They are excited to finally wear them. I am excited to not have to hear the whining about it anymore. Everybody wins. 😉

I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea with a random list of Friday Favorites this week – which if you ask me – is the best kind of Friday Favorites anyway. 

So last week right as I was working on my Friday Favorites post actually, this happened to my computer.

I was not pleased. Mostly because my computer is only four MONTHS old. After it cycled through this during the entire afternoon and evening, I had to wipe my computer completely clean to get it to boot.

Now. I’m one of those annoying people who this has happened to before and I’ve lost my mind because I don’t back up my files. When I opened up my Etsy shop, my husband convinced me that we needed to get an automatic backup software. And you guys, this past week IDrive saved my life. This HAD to be one of my favorites this week because I didn’t lose a single file when I had to unexpectedly wipe my computer clean. It had run every night for the past few months, saved all my files and I didn’t even have to tell it to back up. 

They have a deal going right now that your first year of back up is only $6.95 and clearly ours has already been more than worth it. Even if you just have family pictures or pictures of the kids you don’t want to lose? Check this out! (NOT affiliate!)

My favorite Etsy store listing this week is this cute transportation set!

Perfect for any car, plane or boat loving little boy (or girl!). We may have a few of those in my house. Available in physical or digital prints and a variety of colors! Like my page on Facebook for sales and coupon codes!

My oldest is in second grade this year and he’s having a hard time adjusting to the focus being more on school work than on fun. He’s a creative, artsy kid and there aren’t as many opportunities for that this year as there were in first grade and kindergarten. It’s been a challenge to motivate him to read to us (as his homework) after a long school day and I was struggling to find something that he was excited about reading! He was choosing books that were beyond his difficulty level and getting understandably frustrated.

We found these Magic Treehouse books and they have been amazing for him. The series follows a boy and a girl who travel to different points in time on secret library missions. The books are 10 chapters and each one deals with a different historical event. We are reading one right now about the Titanic and just finished one about the Ancient Olympics. He is loving them. They would even be great as a beginning chapter book to read to younger kids too. Plus there are 50 of them so we have a ton of material to work our way through! Love, love Magic Treehouse! If you have a kiddo around this age, I bet they will love them too!

We have a very thin wall in our entryway that I have never been able to figure out what to do with. I was at Hobby Lobby the other day, saw these letters and loved this idea!

I love that you can see it from the outside when our front door is open! It’s a perfect fit for this space.

Also… tell me I’m not the only one who does this at Hobby Lobby? Haha!

It’s no secret on here that Josh and I are huge Survivor fans. Season 37 started a few weeks ago and it does NOT disappoint. If you haven’t seen Survivor before, you need to. All seasons are available on CBS All Access and a bunch are available to stream on Amazon Prime. Clearly it’s a great show if they are on their 37th season! Settle in for some binge watching because once you start, it’s hard to stop!

Where are all my fellow Survivor fans?

Also, we have 2 weekends left for Halloween fun and if you are looking for some crafts to do with your kiddos – check out this post I wrote for Twiniversity. Four super simple crafts with things you probably already have at home. Plus, you’ll see some familiar faces in the photos!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! When I was looking through pictures to include on this post, I saw a few pictures from the Super Bowl and thought that’s so weird that I haven’t taken any pictures in two weeks! And then I realized the Super Bowl was just 5 days ago. This week has been the longest week ever!

We had a great time watching the Super Bowl together as a family and the boys and I rocked out to Justin Timberlake. (Obviously.)

And then we woke up Monday morning with our oldest in tears saying he didn’t feel good. Low grade fever – no other symptoms. No big deal. Tuesday however, brought a temp of 104 and a diagnosis of strep AND influenza A.

Thankfully, he’s finally feeling better today and no one else has gotten sick as of yet. This was all of them the day before the flu diagnosis, so the odds may not be in our favor? I’m not sure I know any families not dealing with some sort of sickness right now. This winter has been so bad with germs. I’m keeping all these sick kiddos in my prayers.

So on to better news. I’m happy it’s Friday! I’m happy to be sharing a bunch of random favorites with you today because these are always the most fun posts to read!

one

Last week, I shared my January Book Review full of some really good books. I started 2018 off with a goal to create better self-care habits and reading more is one of them. I’m enjoying it so much, I only wish I had done it a long time ago! If you are looking for new recommendations, check this post out. I read 5 books in January and 3 of them I absolutely loved. I’m happy with those odds for my first month!

two

Over the summer, I talked about my favorite shows to binge watch with my husband and I have a new one to add. Lately, Josh and I have been rewatching The Good Wife on Amazon prime. I had completely forgotten how amazing (and addicting!) that show is. It’s got major drama, romance, amazing actors, really great writing, humor, etc. It’s the best. Plus, Matt Czuchry has a leading role. Enough said. #TeamLoganforever

three

These two have to be in my favorites this week. I’ve mentioned before that they are Daddy’s biggest fans. Every day this week these sweet boys have dressed themselves up in their big brother’s shoes, gloves and hats, packed up their backpacks full of toys and told me they were going to go visit Daddy at work.

They come to give me a hug and kiss, say “Bye Mom!”, grab a pretend set of keys, walk in a circle around the house and do it all over again. It’s hysterical. The bond between those two is the sweetest I’ve ever seen.

four

I’m sure this is on a lot of people’s favorites this week but the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics is tonight! Will you be watching? We definitely will be. The older boys have been looking forward to the snowboarding and skiing for weeks and really I’m excited about all of it. I love the fun, the competition and the news coverage. It’s something to look forward to when we can’t spend much time outside in freezing cold Iowa lately!

five

The start of Lent is next Wednesday (which actually falls on Valentine’s Day this year). If you are looking for something to do for Lent this year, it’s not too late to sign up for Best Lent Ever with Dynamic Catholic. I have done it the last couple of years and I’ve just loved it. They email you a link everyday with short 2 or 3 minute videos and a short reflection. I find them incredibly encouraging and inspiring and they help me focus my heart during this Lenten season. If you have any interest, I highly encourage you to sign up. (It’s completely free!)

Also, if you are still looking for classroom Valentines for your kids to take to school next week – check out my Etsy store! They are all instant download and you can print them at home. If you would like me to personalize them for you with your child’s name – just put that in ‘notes to seller’ on your order! I have 12 listed in my shop, click here to see them all.

Those are my favorites for this week. Our weather forecast for the Midwest this weekend is full of piles of snow so I foresee a lot of playing in the snow, hot chocolate and Olympics watching for us. 😉 Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday!!  This week definitely made us work for it! This is pretty much how I’m feeling right now too.

I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for Friday Favorites!

one

I added a bunch of adorable Valentine’s to my Etsy shop this week. They are all $5 Instant Downloads that you can print at home yourself!

All of these new designs are available either as treat bag toppers OR as 4 x 4 Valentine card tags that you can use alone or even attach to candy or another treat. Plus you can spare yourself the annoying picked over Valentine section at the store.

I love the treat bag toppers because I can buy a big bag of whatever the kids want to give out (like M&Ms, goldfish, etc.) and they can split it into snack size baggies instead of buying all the individually wrapped packages of things.

You can click any of the pictures to be taken to the listing. Or you can click here to see all the Valentine’s in my shop. Keep me in mind when you are looking for easy Valentine’s for your kiddos to take to school or daycare!

two

It’s just been one of those weeks! Josh has been working long hours in a busy season at work. The little boys are sick with colds so they are crabby and not sleeping well. The house is a straight up disaster that I feel like I’m always picking up but it’s not making a difference. I’m totally testing the limits of my dry shampoo. And I’m just tired and weary. We’ve all been there.

I love when I stumble upon a Bible passage that just speaks to me, even when I’m not looking for it. I saw this passage and just felt that it was meant for me. I so need some ‘strength in my soul’. When I looked it up in my Bible, it is from the ‘Hymn of a Grateful Heart’ which is even more perfect.

three

I posted Part 2 of my step-by-step guide to making birthday cakes this week. I’ve been making my kid’s birthday and special occasion cakes for 7 years and I’ve learned SO much. If you have ever wanted to make birthday cakes for your kiddos but didn’t think you could- go read this. I promise you can. Part 1 is about the baking and Part 2 is about the decorating.

four

My mom works in academic support and recommended this Mathopolis app to me to help Caleb with his ‘math facts’. They’ve been working on addition and subtraction and they are working on getting basic repetition down (4 + 4, 6 + 5, etc). He loves the app because as you answer questions correctly within the time limit, you help put out the fire. It’s so much more fun than flash cards! 😉 They have all 4 operations and different levels for each. It’s perfect for adding a little fun into homework which is ALWAYS a favorite here.

five

I’m putting this book in my book review next week so I almost didn’t add this to my favorites. And then I just had to. When I made a goal for myself to start a habit of making time to read this year, Josh jumped on board too. He grabbed The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen at the library last week and I have never seen him read a book so fast. Truly. And we’ve been together for over 13 years.

Josh and I don’t usualy read the same kind of book. I’m more light and fluffy stories and he likes the thriller/suspense which usually isn’t my scene. I was cuddling on the couch with Luke and Reid the other day when they weren’t feeling well and picked up the book out of curiosity. And then I couldn’t stop. It was SO good, you guys. It’s super suspenseful and an action thriller without being gory or too intense. I really loved it. If you are looking for a good book to get wrapped up in (even if you don’t usually read this genre) – check this one out!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

It’s my favorite time of the week! Happy Friday!

Our week was spent pretty much boycotting all bed times so it was a rough one. At around 8:00 each night in our house, my energy level is at 2.4% and my boys are at 120%. I don’t even know how this happens. My kiddos had another short week at school and have Monday off next week. I’m not sure if we will make it when it comes time for a full week of school again!

Like always, I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for a fun list of Friday Favs. These are my favorite posts to read and put together!

one

After I killed my second giant Big Bubba water jug by dropping it (from the top of the car as we drove away and knocked off the counter by tiny hands), I knew I needed a different choice. I notice a huge difference in the way I feel when I’m dehydrated so I always keep a giant water bottle with me all the time. I got this stainless steel Liquid Savvy one for Christmas and I think I’m in love. It does a really good job at keeping my water cold and it came with 3 different lids to choose from. It has already been knocked on the floor a few times and there isn’t even a scratch on it! I do miss the huge straw that my Bubba had but on the plus side, this one never spills when it gets knocked over like that one did. I chose the 32 ounce bottle which is big enough to hold a good amount of water and small enough to fit in my cupholder in the car. I also love it because it’s only $20 unlike some of the other brands of stainless steel water bottles. It’s always a goal of mine to drink more water, and if that is you too – this one is my new favorite.

two

This week I posted my 2018 goals and one of them was to work on my terrible habit of worrying too much. My small group Bible study just chose a book by Max Lucado to read together called Anxious for Nothing. It arrived this week and I’m so looking forward to reading it. Just looking at the inside cover talking about how to overcome everyday worry spoke to me like I could have written those specific worries down myself. This book covers several of my 2018 goals- limiting worry, further developing my faith and prayer life and making more time reading as a self-care goal! (I’m quietly high fiving myself.)

three

My older boys both had birthdays in the last couple of weeks and we have had so much fun celebrating. We had a little birthday party last weekend for them with my family instead of a doing a big party like we usually do. The boys had a great time and we ordered pizza so there was zero stress for me. That’s my kind of party! I still made their choice of cake of course, because what’s a party without cake. 😉  Caleb chose a Yoda cake….

and Eli chose a Paw Patrol cake.

Instead of a doing a big party with friends, they chose to take a little trip as a family to celebrate. We’ve never stayed in a hotel all together since our twins were born so it should be a fun adventure. With lots of coffee….

four

The last couple of years, Caleb has decided that he wants to be an artist. He has always had an artistic eye like his Daddy so that never surprised me at all. He has an amazing art teacher at school that encourages him so much and I love seeing him in his element! My mom got him these two books for his birthday about creativity and art and they really are amazing. He loves The Dot more and I love Ish more, but they are both great. If you have a budding artist in your house, you should check these two Peter Reynolds books out!

five

Finally, I got these Fila yoga pants at Kohl’s and I love them so much they are all I have been wearing lately. They are super comfy and they have back pockets! Maybe it’s because of the pockets or maybe it’s the material but they look like real pants which makes me feel like I can wear them all the time. 😉 I have them in black but I’m definitely going back and finding them in gray!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you all have the best weekend!

I feel like I’m sort of cheating this week because we only had a two day week! That doesn’t make me any less excited for the weekend though. I think I’ll take it.

It’s birthday busy season in my house and we will have a brand new SEVEN year old on Monday. He’s kind of bummed out that his birthday is on a Monday this year but we plan to spend our weekend celebrating his last days of 6!

Today, I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for the first Friday Favorites of the new year!

one

All you fellow Gilmore girls out there are going to love this. For Christmas, my sister gave me this coffee. And I was pumped because obviously I love coffee. She had to stop and explain that this was no ordinary coffee! Scott Patterson (who plays Luke, the diner owner and pourer of the coffee in Gilmore Girls) came out with his own line. So, in other words. I’m drinking Luke’s coffee. 😉

Such a genius idea. Plus, it’s actually smells and tastes amazing. I loved this gift! (Luke image – not mine! I only wish. Found on Pinterest.)

two

On a random whim on Black Friday, we bought our older boys a 4-in-1 game table. It has Foosball, Slide Hockey, Ping Pong and Pool. It was kind of a spur of the moment gift that I found on major sale. Turns out, it has been their very favorite gift this year. Our boys are (almost) 5 and 7 and they play with it non-stop.

Even the little ones play with the hockey part if we bring over chairs for them and they LOVE to watch their brothers play foosball. We’ve had many a tournament that went late into the night over Christmas break this year. (Excuse the background, I’m working on refinishing a desk for my new work space.)

It has been so much fun! This is the table we bought from Walmart but I do have to say: we had trouble with the shipping from them. We ordered on Black Friday, had it shipped to store for us to pick up and still had not received it mid-December. They assured us it would be fine, that it was on it’s way but the tracking information showed it never moved. We finally had to call and insist they cancel our order. They wouldn’t reorder it themselves so we had to place another order and hope it showed up on time. Thankfully, this time it did. We loved the brand of the table though and I found the same one on Amazon but just the foosball part (which truthfully is the favorite anyway!).

three

In my confessions post this week, I explained why I have a serious obsession with jigsaw puzzles. If you are a puzzle lover like me, you should check it out. They are my happy place! My post also talks about my latest obsession that may even replace my puzzles on the table. 😉 Maybe.

four

Last weekend we got some serious snow in Iowa. It came at the beginning of a windchill warning, so the kids and I sat inside all day playing and watching the snow.  I just thought it was way too cold to take all of them out by myself. (By the time I got on boots, hats, snow pants, mittens, etc x 4 they would all want to come in!)

Then, Daddy got off work early before the holiday weekend and surprised us all. He is wayyy more fun than I am and insisted we all head outside. We seriously had the very best time. We barely got any snow last year so this was really Reid and Luke’s first time playing in it.

We stayed outside way past the point of being frozen, but they could have cared less. Thank goodness for Daddy. 😉

five

Finally, these are some of the brand new calendar designs I have up in my Etsy shop for the new year. We have ours printed 24 x 36 in our kitchen and I write everything on it! Even the kids love to come look and see what is going on for the week or count the number of days until something special.

Print + frame = instant dry erase! You can use code NEWYEAR18 for 18% off your order now through January 10th. And as always, any calendar can have custom color requests or additional fields/phrases added.

Click on the picture below to be taken to that calendar listing or click here to be taken to the shop where there are even more listed!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you have the best weekend and if you are anywhere near the Midwest – I hope you stay warm!

Keep up with us on Instagram here!

Happy last Friday of the year everyone! We are over halfway through Christmas break and I think I speak for everyone in my house when I say we are NOT ready to go back. We’ve been enjoying some lazy pajama mornings, sleeping in later than usual, and playing like crazy with our new Christmas toys. The temperature in Iowa this weekend is not supposed to even reach zero so I sense a lot more of this in our future. 😉

As always, I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for the last Friday Favorites of the year!  I decided to highlight the ‘most read’ favorite posts of 2017. Maybe you saw all of these or are seeing them for the first time but it’s fun for me that some of your favorites were some of mine too!

#5 – Confessions Episode 1

In the first ever Confessions link up, I shared my super embarrassing addiction. It’s so bad for me and a terrible habit that I cannot seem to break. Turns out from the comments that I’m not the only one. 😉  I love that link up to find other souls that understand me. Haha!

#4 Friday Favorites – Birthday Edition

During my birthday week in September, I filled my Friday Favorites with fun birthday gifts I was loving. Super cute boots, an apple watch, cardigans and more! So many readers shared my love, especially with this double hooded sweatshirt from Mindy Mae’s Market that I’m still keeping my eye on.

#3 How to live life with newborn twins

This Twin Tuesday post on how to survive the first months with newborn twins was a favorite of mine too. When we found out we were expecting twins, the lack of resources on literally just ‘how to survive the day to day’ stressed me out! I hope that by sharing what worked for us, other mommas expecting twins will find encouragement and practical tips.

#2 Two Year Old Gift Guide

I put together this gift guide before my twins turned two based on what my two older boys loved at that age. Anything on this list was perfect for them this year. It was one of my most fun posts to put together!

#1 10 favorite meals to bring to new moms

Hands down, this was my most popular post of 2017. All of these are tried and true easy meals to bring to new mommas who just had babies or for any reason you may want to bring someone a meal. I’ve gone back and looked at it so many times since I posted it when I needed a meal to bring!

Those are my favorites this week! Thank you for following along and being a part of my first year of blogging. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting and for your encouragement! And THANK YOU for your business in my Etsy shop.I love this community.

I have some exciting things planned for 2018 and I hope you will join me. You can follow me on Instagram here and on Pinterest here.

I hope you have a wonderful New Years celebration and enjoy a long weekend with your family!

As I sit here writing this post, this is what my Santa’s Bag app is showing me.

10 days until Christmas! I have all the gifts purchased and hidden away in our closet but I’ve only wrapped five. FIVE. I think Josh and I are signing up for some Christmas movies and hot chocolate wrapping dates this weekend!

I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for Friday Favorites! I’ve got a random bunch of fun favorites this week because that’s what you do 10 days before Christmas. 😉

one

This has to be the first one this week because there isn’t much I love more than festive Christmas snacks. This Caramel Christmas Treat Mix was a huge favorite in our house. The cinnamon caramel Chex mix is amazing by itself but adding in caramel m&ms and these fun ‘Santa hats’ puts it over the top. It’s perfect for family Christmas movie night, bringing along in the car to look at lights or to bring to your holiday parties! Plus, it’s so simple that my kids made most of it themselves!

Also, if you missed my Twin Tuesday post this week on my tips to make it through your newborn’s NICU stay you can find it here. Those families unexpectedly spending the holidays with their new babies in the hospital are in my prayers this season.

two

After every single one of my boys were born, our family and friends would always immediately say each of them looked like Josh. Every time. I obviously carry them for nine months, birth them and they come out looking nothing like me. I found a picture of myself once that looked just like Luke and excitedly sent it to my Mom, who then told me it was actually a picture of my sister. Sigh.

BUT. There is hope for me yet. I took this sweet pictures of these two cuties Wednesday night and saw my smile in Luke’s.

My mom sent me a picture of this Christmas ornament of me close to the same age and I absolutely see it. Right? It’s proof my genes are somewhere in there after all.

three

Our neighbors have the very best light display show every year. The weather has been so nice lately that we’ve been outside watching the shows constantly. When we aren’t outside, our boys are at the front window watching all the shows and all the people that come to see. I don’t know how you see all those beautiful twinkling lights and not feel the Christmas spirit!

four

Josh’s aunt always sends the best creative gifts every year. This year she sent us this sweet welcome mat for our entryway from Personalcreations.com. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what our four boys look like every meal time! It’s perfect for Christmas time but also all winter long since it’s not holiday themed! It’s a favorite for sure!

five

Finally, if you are looking for a last minute Christmas gift – don’t go out to the crazy, crowded stores in the cold! Order a digital print from my Etsy shop with code NOTTOOLATE20 for 20% off through Christmas Eve. Also, if you need something quickly add my NEW Christmas Rush option to your cart with your item. For only $3 extra, have your proof sent to you for approval the same day you order (for all orders placed before 9pm CST). Once you receive your print, send it to a local 1-hour photo (like Walgreens) grab a frame and you’re done!

Those are my favorites this week! We are spending our weekend making Christmas cookies, seeing lights and preparing for the last few days of school before my kids are on Christmas break! Happy weekend!

Happy Friday! In case you have been lacking in the Christmas spirit department, you’re in the right place! 😉

I’m linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for a whole post full of fun Christmas Friday favorites this week!

one

Every year, I wait for this Groupon from Staples to order our Christmas cards. You get 100 double sided Christmas cards (and envelopes) for $25! We’ve ordered from Staples for at least the last 4 years and I have never been disappointed with the quality of the card. They are ready for next-day pick up if ordered by 2pm so you don’t have to wait for them to ship. I’ve been tempted to skip it the last couple of years with the popularity of social media but I’m always so glad I don’t! I love sending and receiving Christmas cards every year and seeing our cards change as our kids grow every year.

* This is in NO way sponsored – just a PSA to take advantage of this great Groupon!

two

Another money saving favorite! I made my annual trip to the Dollar Store this week to stock up on all my supplies for wrapping gifts. They have a surprisingly large selection of wrapping paper and the price allows me to buy a bunch of different kinds (because it’s fun! ;)). I bought everything in this picture for $16!

I buy tissue paper, boxes, gift bags for teacher gifts, bows, TAPE etc all at the Dollar Store but I never buy gift tags. I love me some cute gift tags so I always make them myself. This week I posted free printable gift tags AND these gift tags from Santa too! Go and download them or pin them for later when it’s time to wrap!

three

My older boys and I made this quick Advent wreath out of random stuff we had at home last weekend. We’ve never had an Advent wreath at home but now that our kids are getting older, we thought this was the perfect year to start! I went out Saturday to gather up the traditional pink and purple candles but couldn’t find them anywhere because I was such a procrastinator. So Sunday we did our best with what we had! We glued pink and purple ribbon to regular white tapers to make our candles, glued them to flower pot saucers and found a small Christmas wreath to go around them. It’s not perfect but it works for us this year! Next year, I’ll be more on top of the ball. 😉

four

This week, I linked up with This Inspired Chick for her monthly Confessions post. I posted a holiday Q & A and answered questions about yay or nay on egg nog, real or artificial trees, favorite Christmas memories, movies and other fun stuff. I also talked about the fate of our Christmas tree with two year old twins. (Spoiler alert: we’ve lost more ornaments this year than ever before.)

five

One of my very Christmas movies ever is 12 Dates of Christmas. Usually, I have to stalk Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas for the one or two times it’s on during the season but this year it’s on Netflix! It has Amy Smart and Mark Paul Gosselaar and it’s a ‘Groundhog Day’ type story where she wakes up every day on Christmas Eve. It’s the sweetest little movie and always puts me in the Christmas mood. If you haven’t seen it and are looking for a feel good movie – this one is for you!

Those are my favorites for this week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend with some of your favorites!

Keep up with us on Instagram here!

Happy happy Friday everyone! It’s been quiet around here while our house has been battling our first cold of the season. We started off our week thinking that Caleb had strep again so we are all pretty excited it was just a bad cold – even when it spread to the rest of us.

We had the best long Thanksgiving weekend off together with some beautiful weather! It was so warm we got out to hang up all our Christmas lights immediately after Thanksgiving and hung out outside together all day.

The boys kind of went crazy running around in the fresh air.

Josh and I got to go out for an evening over break to hang out with my friends from high school. It seems crazy after all this time but there is a group of us that has gotten together around Thanksgiving for the past 13 years when we would come home to visit our parents for the holidays. It’s one of my very favorite traditions. I love these people so much!

We hit up a local holiday festival and waited in line for what seemed like ever to see Santa. Eventually everyone completely lost interest and we had moved about 5 feet in line, so we gave up and played some games instead. 😉

Like every Friday, I’m linking up with Erika, Andrea and Narci for Friday Favorites! This week I thought I’d do a little something different and list all my very favorite Etsy stores and gift ideas for your holiday shopping! I’m all about getting a good deal on Black Friday but I also love to support small businesses especially those owned by fellow moms working to support their families. #Momssupportingmoms Read on and find an amazing gift for someone on your list or a brand new Etsy shop to favorite!

one

These adorable burp cloths from Sew Simply Stork on Etsy are the perfect gift choice for anyone with a brand new baby or with one on the way. The shop owner is one of my real life friends and let me tell you that she makes running a small business and being a full time momma to her littles look easy. #goals

She has a bunch of different burp clothes in adorable patterns plus how cute are these Christmas themed “stocking stuffers’ for baby!

She also has something for a new Daddy too. I love these beer burp cloths!

You can find Sew Simply Stork on Etsy here or on facebook here!

two

We got this necklace for my mom and Josh’s mom for Christmas last year from Pockets of Mischief on Etsy. The necklaces turned out great and they both loved them! She has so many things in her shop that are perfect for moms or grandmas!

three

I am in love with everything from That Inspired Chick on Etsy. Seriously. Every new thing she comes out with, I feel like I need to have. Also, if you don’t follow Amanda’s blog, you should! It’s one of my favorites!

four

I saw this door mat on Pinterest the other day and I couldn’t decide whether to laugh hysterically or buy it right then. This is definitely me around this time of year! Kay Belle Designs on Etsy has a bunch of other cute door mats and more!

five

I love these holiday pillows from Mother Bliss Creations on Etsy! I love the sweet deer family for the holidays. She has a bunch of beautiful holiday ornaments too! As soon as my twins stop pulling ornaments off our tree and trying to step on them (seriously) I will be first in line for one of those!

And if you are looking for a gift for the person on your list who ‘has everything’ check out my Personalized Family Tree Printable in my Etsy Shop!

Those are my favorites this week! I hope you have the very best weekend!