All I want for Christmas...

"...is presents." 

I took the boys on an impromptu trip to the mall last week and we decided last minute to see Santa.  Boy was Jackson excited!  Thankfully we were the only ones there so we rolled right in to Santa's workshop.  J was so excited when he saw Santa and crawled out of the stroller & ran right up to him and said, "Hi Santa!"  Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he said, "Presents!", quickly followed by "shoes".  (He must take after his Opa) 

After chatting it up with Santa, we added Weston to the mix & he was surprisingly pretty chill.  He didn't exactly smile a ton, but after about a dozen snaps, we finally got a pic where both boys were looking at the camera & relatively happy. 

I hate Ben wasn't there for the photo shoot but I figured we may as well check this off our list while it was so convenient. 

Pin-spiration

Recently, I've been pretty much addicted to Pinterest.  For those of you unfamiliar with this nifty new app (or website, actually), its a virtual pin board where you can pin any web-based image that inspires you.  You can organize your images on different boards and then clicking on any images links directly to the site where it originated.  My friend Sally & I both have 3-ring binders full of tear sheets from magazines, print-outs and anything else that is home-decor inspiring.  Pinterest is essentially the virtual version of this.  Not to mention that it also catalogs the boards of your friends so you can shop their inspiration too.  Definitely will suck you in. 

I recently read how Pinterest if counter-intuitive to creativity because its encourages one to be inspired...but that's as far as you get.  Rather than creating or doing, you tend to continue finding newer & better ideas without ever producing.  This is so true.  I'm a serial pinner, but rarely have I actually gone back and turned an inspiration into reality.  Until last week.

Project #1: Reindeer Footprints

I'm always on the lookout for cute and low-mess holiday crafts for the kids.  I like to avoid glitter, lots of paint & liquid glue...I know, I'm a party pooper.  And our version didn't turn out exactly as I wanted thanks to a smeared footprint due to an independent toddler...which is case-in-point why I avoid the above mentioned items =)

Pinspiration:                                                       My Creation:

Project #2:  Shutter Christmas Card Display

I saw this a while back & loved it.  I found a set of wood shutters at Habitat ReStore for $5.  I sanded, primed, painted & distressed one of them and LOVE how it turned out.  I wish I had done both of them but I was worried that it may not turn out...and I wanted to have a back-up. 

Pin-spiration:                                                                                 My Creation:



Felf on the Shelf

Everyone has heard of Fuggs (fake Uggs) and the ever so common Folex (fake Rolex), but the concept of the fake Elf on the Shelf is a little less conventional.  Inspired by a shortage of the real deal here in Greenville (not to mention the $30 price tag) along with the creative nudge from a friend, I created the Talbert version of Elf on the Shelf last night.  Yes, he's a little ghetto.  Yes, he could use longer arms & "real" legs, but hey, even card stock elves can fly back to the North Pole every night, right?

Tomorrow morning is when our new buddy will arrive straight from Santa's workshop.  I'm sure my 2 year old won't discriminate =)

Thanksgiving...Talbert-style!

We headed down to Brunswick to spend the holiday weekend with Ben's parents & brother. Oma & Opa are serial movers, and had relocated since our visit last November.  Albeit, they just moved across the neighborhood...but still, we had not yet been down to visit since they have been in their new house.

We arrived around 1:30am on Thursday morning (after a 5-hour drive with no stops!) and managed to smoothly unpack & put the kids down by 2 am.  Thursday was full of food, football & family.  It was so much fun to see the boys interacting with their grandparents who they don't see nearly often enough.  We were lucky enough to overlap a day with Ben's half-brother William & his family.  Jackson loves his cousin Cora & had so much fun playing with her. 

We spent Friday afternoon on St. Simons and finished off the day with a low country boil  with Lill's entire family.  Saturday, the boys we spent most of the day on the couch watching several awesome football games.  Epic win for NC State!  Jackson & Uncle Jon were buddies all weekend; its amazing how Jon can be "mean" to Jackson & call him a baby enough for him to willingly give up his paci.  (Whereas, I couldn't bribe him out of it.)

Oma & Opa's new house is right on the water & has the most gorgeous view out back.  It was like a painting!  We took lots of pictures & actually managed to get a semi-decent one for our Christmas card.  No worries, I'm not going to reveal it on here =)

And true to form, we only got 1 (yes, ONE) picture of Oma.  Unbelievable.  But its hard to be in the pictures when you are in the kitchen cooking up yummy food all weekend.

Thanks Ben!

This little surprise made this rainy day a little brighter!

The price of contentment

Baby Joey stuffed animal that comfortably fits in your shirt: $.25
Chameleon snap bracelet that was a party favor: free
Like-new Go Fish game from a yardsale: $3
An hour and a half of entertainment for a two-year-old: PRICELESS

Paci, Paci everywhere!

I am breeding a second paci-loving child.  Something about popping a stopper in a screaming mouth is so alluring.  I have purposely diverted Weston away from Jackson's beloved Nuk to avoid confusion.  However, the Soothies that Weston is hooked are a pain.  Being round, they roll at least 5 feet away if they are dropped -- which is all the time.  Meaning that we have lost upwards of 8 pacis in the past 3 months.  So, I took matters into my own hands & whipped up some paci clips. 

Cute, yes.  Funtional, yes.  Does baby use the ribbon to accidentally pull the paci out of his own mouth? Yes.  Did Mommy get up 8 times last night to reinsert the paci? YES!  I can so clearly see how I am yet again becoming a slave to that dang paci!

The weaning process is beginning for Jackson & his pappy.  I am planning a "Bye-Bye Pappy" party...but am kinda dragging my feet about actually committing to it.  We limit the paci to bed & carseat but he's nearly 2 1/2 so the time is coming to drop it completely.  We've been collecting coins for the Rice Bowl charity which fund orphanages in Africa so we've had lots of conversations & looked at lots of You Tube videos about the "poor children".  I plan to piggy-back on this & tie each of Jackson's 14+ pacis to helium balloons and send them away to the poor children who need pacis.  However, I know that once we take the leap, there's no going back.  I can't keep a spare in my purse "just in case".  I have to commit 100%.  But with the upcoming holiday travel, its seems so daunting to intentionally give up our mute button. 

I guess the paci is as much for me as it is for him.  I'm giving him a crutch & I know it.  I just need to do it.  Suggestions or advice?

(On a side note, look how Jackson is sweetly holding Weston's hand in the top picture.  He loves to reach over & hold Baby Boy's hand in the car.  I can't stand how sweet he is to his little brother.)