Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Praying you have a great day! 

Wade is enjoying his first Christmas and Mozzy says Merry Christmas too! Remember why we celebrate and give thanks! ❤️💚❤️💚

Fire Starters

My Aunt Bonnie and Charlotte use to make fire starters all the time to use in the fire place at their cabin in Rochford, SD. I really wanted to try to make some as well and decided to enlist their help and the help of others on Pinterest.

First, I purchased soy wax on Amazon. Most pinners  recommend using essential oils like lavender or eucalyptus to scent the wax. I decided to purchase a delicious smelling wax from a local shop called "Christmas Tree".  

My Aunt made her's using saw dust and melted wax. They would mix together and form balls, wrap in fabric squares then tie another thin scrap of fabric around the ball to create the wick. I tied my fabric wick in a bow. 

 

The next method I tried was lining a muffin tin with cupcake liners, placing small pine cones and filling the cups with wax. I also put some fabric in the bottom to act as a wick. I put these in the oven at 200F for 20 min. I checked on these a lot because I had to add wax in the liners several times to cover the cones. 

My last fire starter was probably my favorite.  I took a large pinecone and tied a piece of fabric around it to double as a handle and wick and then dipped it in the melted wax several times until it was coated. It got easier once the wax started to cool and it actually stuck to the pinecone. These turned out probably the prettiest and they burn really well too. 

I think I'm going to try to make these again next year and give them as gifts for more people because I really think they're going to smell good burning in the fireplace. 

Merry Christmas! 

Wade Meets Santa

We took Wade to meet Santa this weekend. Santa and Mrs. Clause came to Yankton for a visit and we didn't want to miss the opportunity to have Wade get a little positive face recognition with the big guy. Of course, Wade fell asleep in the car en route to visit Santa! But we still did a little photo op to document his first meeting! We even got a hint that Wade was for sure on the nice list since he is such a good little boy! 

Believe

One of my favorite memories is my mom stringing together Christmas bells to create "believe bells" like the one in the movie Polar Express. When my mom watched Wade the other week, they did a little NaNa craft to give to me. Do you love it as much as I do? PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! ❤️❤️❤️

My little Believe baby is so cute! 

Christmas Decor DIY

My friend, Ashleigh Lingo, put together a little Christmas Decor DIY for us to enjoy! Ashleigh is so good at picking out cute projects on Pinterest and actually doing them exactly how they show you how to do it. I regularly creep on her boards and steal her recipes and crafts. This makes her the perfect choice for my first SSS guest blogger! 

All you need for this DIY is tree garland (special tip: buy more than you think!) a tomato cage, scissors, tape and inexpensive pot for the base. Christmas ornaments and lights optional. 

Pinch the top of the tomato cage together and tape in place so that you make a Christmas tree shape cone. Tape the tree garland to the top of your tree and begin wrapping around the perimeter. If you want, you can add some support by using pipe cleaners or zip ties in camouflaged spots to make sure your garland won't sag. Once you have wrapped all the way around, tape the garland in place at the base. Insert your tree in your decorative pot and viola! Perfect Christmas tree decor. You can even add lights or Christmas ornaments to give you front stoop even more curb appeal! 

Thanks for the great Project Ashleigh! 

Office treats🎄

Every Christmas the gals at work share small gifts with each other. I always try to give something clever. This year, I tossed around the idea of fit sugar scrubs and bath bombs but settled on pretzel cookies and these cute jingle-y Christmas tree pens. 

I put the treats in a mini mason jar and wrapped them up in a treat bag and curling ribbon   

I think the ladies will like their gifts! 

Merry Christmas 🎄💚❤️🎄🎉❤️

12 Days of Fitness

We are looking to get back into the swing of things and saw this workout schedule called The Twelve Days of Fitness. We started a little early to make sure we had some days to miss in case we just weren't able to with our new schedule. The workouts seemed pretty easy, honestly. Just what we needed to kickstart our workouts back into action for the new year. 

For day one we even added a few in between exercises and a short yoga routine to finish off. It felt great. But all day today- I can't even laugh without my abs hurting!! I know before baby I could do this workout no problem. But now without any abs I am STRUGGLING! I would recommend to anyone to try out and I'll try to post our workouts each day 🎄

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a program where you fill shoeboxes up with presents such as toys, toiletries, school supplies and prayers and send to a kid who may never have the chance to get a Christmas gift. Kyle and I usually have every intention on participating but usually miss the drop off time, but this year we wanted Wade to participate and we filled shoeboxes up for a boy age 2-4 and a girl age 2-4. To read more about the program visit http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/?utm_source=OCC-Redirect&utm_medium=direct&utm_content=OCC-Redirect

Kyle and Wade shipping for gifts together. 

Wade with the two empty boxes. 

Wade showing off the box for another little boy he helped pack. 

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great time in Pierrewith my family for Thanksgiving. My dad made a delicious roasted turkey and stuck to the traditional sides. Wade helped out and helped make some of the sides while he was sitting in his Bumbo. We have a lot to be thankful for in 2015--family,health and happiness.

Two Months Old

Two months flew by and Wade is already pushing 12 weeks old. This means my maternity leave is coming to a close so Wade and I are snuggling extra hard this week and enjoying every last diaper change and nap together. He is full of smiles and kisses. He is growing up fast but every day is more fun than the last! 

DIY Month Decals

For Wade's Monthly Photos, I made my own Month Decals to apply to Wade's onsie. Instead of sewing the decals onto the onsie, I made an illusion decal by stitching around my fabric decals and then attaching them to the onsie using a safe adhesive. This way, I can reuse the decals if I want to in the future (or sew them into a quilt eventually).


You will need fabric markers, fabric pieces--I used Moda Honeycombs in color patterns and a basic white print, contrasting thread and then pinking shears. I stenciled numbers using fabric markers on the basic white honeycomb piece and then traced it onto the color piece. I sewed the color piece and a white piece together for extra support and stitched around with the contrasting thread on a 1/2" seam. Then I went around the finished honeycomb with pinking shears to give the perimeter of the decal a little flare.

 

Hula Man

Wade isn't old enough to trick or treat for candy but I couldn't help but dress him up for Halloween! Since we all went to Hawaii this past February, I thought it was fitting to dress Wade up in a hula man outfit. Of course, since we are in South Dakota, it was freezing so he didn't last in the costume very long. But he was still cute! 

Wade got a Nuk instead of candy in his basket and NaNa gave him a gift! 

Hula belly and puca shells 

He also made a very cute bear in boots 

Breakfast with NaNa

I have so many fun memories of breakfast time growing up. My mom made pancakes almost every morning growing up. Sometimes our pancakes would be Mickey Mouse shaped sometimes little "mints". She also made fresh whip cream for adornment. 

We also had rice crispies with cream smile faces and bananas for hair- that was one of my personal favorites. Other mornings, we would get brownies or cake! 

Well, this morning, my mom, now NaNa, made me her famous cinnamon toast and hot chocolate. I told Wade one day NaNa will spoil him with her famous breakfast options and he will more than likely be running around the kitchen singing, "NaNa is great! She feeds us chocolate cake!" Truth son. She rules. 

Baby Knit Hat

We went to Minneapolis area this weekend to visit Kyle's family. The temperatures were forecasted in the 40s/50s so I knitted Wade a cute baby knit hat complete with Pom Pom on top. It took a couple trials to finally figure out the pattern I liked that would fit my baby's head, but I think I finally got one figured out and as Wade grows I can adjust my cast on length to adjust for his head diameter. I used a thick gauge yarn from Walmart and bigger needles. Of course if you have small needles and small gauge yarn-this pattern is not for you. 

Cast on 28

K2 P2 (4rows) 

Start stockinette stitch (K one row, P one row)

On knit row: Every 4th stitch K2 together 

Complete 6 rows

K, K, K2, K2, K2, K, K

K, K2, K2, K2, K 

Cast off

Use needle to stitch two sides together 

Make Pom for top

New Phone!

I just got an iPhone 6s. It is literally the best phone I've ever had because now I can blog from my phone using voice control as I'm doing right now! And guess what here's a live pic of Wade! How neat is that?! (Emoji Emoji Emoji) 😍🎉❤️

Paddle Fishing as a Family

Kyle and I drew paddle fish tags this year.  Kyle loves fishing and I have very limited experience. Paddle fishing isn't normal fishing but rather "snagging." Snagging meaning you use a weight and a treble hook to try to snag the fish along any part of its body since a paddle fish doesn't really have teeth to bite bait like a normal fish would. 

Paddle fish season is very popular along the Missouri River where we live and the season goes from the whole month of October. In order to keep a paddle fish it must be <35" or >45" this way the population can stay up. 

Kyle spent a lot more time fishing but one saturdaybwe had some friends come watch our son so that I could partake in the experience. Casting and snagging is hard work! I definitely wasn't a pro but I had a lot of fun doing it! 

The last Tuesday we could fish we both snagged our fishes. Kyle got a nice fat 31" fish and I got a skinny 34" one. 

I couldn't hold my fish because it was still breathing and Kyle was not amused.  

Kyle with our keepers! 

Kyle with one of the many Paddle Fish he caught, but couldn't keep

Kyle Fishing 

Doing my best

Our friends, Brad and Sara, came to help so that Wade could watch (or sleep...)

Festive Oreo Dipped Treats

I saw this idea on Lauren Conrad's website and these oreo dipped treats looked too good to not try to
make! Plus, they were super simple. If I can make them with Wade in the Baby Bjorn, anyone can make them. I adjusted the recipe a bit opting to use Vanilla Almond Bark in lieu of White Chocolate so that we could also make our puppy a version of these treats too.

 Melt the Almond Bark and use some food dye to color the bark and then dip the Oreos half way in the melted bark. Lay the cookie on a sheet of parchment paper. While the bark is still wet, sprinkle colorful jimmies on top for that festive touch. I used Brownie Oreos, but I wasn't a huge fan of that flavor so I would recommend using normal DOUBLE STUFFED Oreos if you can!

Isn't my food model adorable? He is wearing his bear costume to amp up the festivities.

Fall in Love with Wade

My mom and sisters threw Wade and I a baby shower, inviting friends and family to meet and "fall in love" with Wade. The theme was pumpkin and the brunch spread was everything pumpkin. They made mini-pumpkin pies, pumpkin shaped sugar cookies, pumpkin bread and pumpkin cheesecakes. The decorations rivaled any Pinterest post with pretty pennants displaying pictures of my little pumpkin to tissue flower puffs hanging above the pretty plates of goodies. It was gorgeous and so much fun to show my baby off and we were completely showered with love.

Party People!