Lies I’ve Told My Kid This Week

Life

In case you don’t know me, I am not above telling little white lies to my kids to make life easier. I’m not entirely sure how anyone can survive parenthood without letting a few slip out!

Here are the lies I have found myself telling my kid this week:

I DID put maple syrup on the bottom pancake, it has just already soaked in so you can’t see it.
Chuck E. Cheese’s is closed today.
The candy corn is all gone.
I am going to bed right now too.
I can’t get your music to play on the car radio, so we will just have to listen to my podcast.
The car windows don’t roll down when the car is going this fast.
I don’t know where your markers are.
Chick-Fil-A is closed today.
I don’t know who ate your Halloween candy.
That toy must have fallen in the trash.
We are only buying three things at Target today.
Santa Claus is watching you!

Things To Do Now To Get Ready For Christmas

Life

I am one of “those” people. Christmas People. I love Christmastime and plan and dream about Christmas festivities for months ahead of time. You will hear Christmas music from November until New Years at my house. It is my goal to get the perfect gift for everyone on my list. I try to coordinate plenty of Christmas activities for the whole family. And I ~~usually~~ always end up going overboard on everything.

I know we are barely into November, but I have already started a few things to get ready for the holidays. We have Claire’s birthday next week, Vivian’s in December, and Thanksgiving squeezed in between. Not to mention multiple branches of family to celebrate with across three different cities. So it is very helpful to get a huge chunk of to-dos completed before the holiday rush. That way I can enjoy my favorite time of year!

Here are a few things I do early every year:

SHOP!

I make an effort to shop for holiday gifts throughout the year. If I see something small that someone on my list would like, I go ahead and grab it. If I notice a large gift on sale, and I think that is going to be the best deal between now and Christmas, I go ahead and purchase it. I keep an inventory on my phone of what I already have, so that I don’t end up getting too much for one person.

Budget

Once Christmas is getting close, I make a budget. I make a list of what I have already bought and what I need to buy. I list all the people for whom we purchase gifts and about how much we usually spend on them. Then I list all the other little things that add up like gift wrap, cards and postage, new ornaments or decorations, Christmas pajamas, food for parties or get-togethers, and activities. Travel expenses or airfare may need to be added to the budget for those who travel long distances over the holidays.

List

Next up is my favorite part! I make a list of gift ideas for each person or family we exchange gifts with. It is so fun coming up with presents that people will love. Like I said, some of these are purchased ahead of time to avoid feeling rushed the week before Christmas.

Cards

Buying your Christmas cards is another easy thing to check off your to-do list early. Many places have sales or deals as early as September! And this way you can address a few cards to a time and it doesn’t seem like as much of a chore. I have also written out addresses on labels ahead of time if I wasn’t able to order the cards early. (This comes in handy if you don’t take your pictures until later in the year.) Then I could just stick the labels on and be done with it.

Cookies

I tend to do a lot of baking around the holidays, so I try to remember to whip up some cookie dough to stick in the freezer in October or November. That way we can spend more time decorating (and eating!) the cookies in December. It helps to have part of it already done if you bake a lot. This gingerbread dough, this butter cookie dough for spritz cookies, and this chocolate crinkle cookie dough all freeze well and are favorites around here.

Food

I also double a few meals throughout October so that I can freeze them. This way we have something easy on hand for busy December nights.

If we are hosting any parties or get-togethers around the holidays, I plan out everything food-wise ahead of time. I make a menu and a shopping list for that menu, then make sure I have enough serving dishes and decide whether I can use everyday dishes, break out the china, or need to use disposable dinnerware.

Planning

With so many Christmas parties and activities and so many family members to visit around the holidays, it is best to plan out your December calendar ahead of time. It is a nightmare to realize you overbooked yourself or forgot about an activity all together. I make sure to write down any Christmas parties, school activities, get-togethers with friends, and community events we attend in my calendar. We usually travel to visit family and/or have family travel to visit us, so that requires planning and coordinating ahead to time as well.

Wrapping

I have made the mistake of leaving our present-wrapping until the last minute in years past. Never again. That is just not something I want to stress about a day or two before Christmas. Since we buy gifts early, we now have the tradition of setting aside one night in early to mid December to wrap gifts. Joey and I make an appetizer plate for dinner (my favorite kind of dinner) and have drinks and watch a couple of Christmas movies to make it like a “wrapping party.”

What are your tips and tricks to make Christmas easier?

Lively Bright Links (part one)

Life Uncategorized

Sometimes I find links that are too great not to share.

(one) 39 movies that are, in fact, better than the book.

(two) What happens when you judge wine by its label.

(three) This gives me so many feels.

(four) I definitely need to try out this DIY sea salt texturizing spray.

(five) Little people are by far the most played with toy in our house, so I found this interesting.

(six) 17 times the Beatles were actually hilarious.

(seven) I’ve been wondering how much the houses in Big Little Lies would actually cost.

(eight) Matt LeBlanc sings songs from Friends. (♥♥)

(nine) I need this pink grapefruit sorbet in my life!

Favorite Podcasts

Life

My love of podcasts was born way back in 2011, when Joey and I were working in two different cities and splitting our time between Nashville and Chattanooga. Between my 45 minute commute to work 4-5 days a week and the 2-hours-each-way commute to Chattanooga once a week, I found myself spending plenty of quality time with my car’s radio. I quickly got bored with my very meager CD collection and began listening to NPR more and more. Right about the time that I became irritated with fading radio station signals between cities, I stumbled across the This American Life app.

Wow! Thanks to these amazing stories, I actually looked forward to my time in the car rather than dreading it. (I mean, let’s be honest, it still sucked, but considerably less.) It became a relaxing little ritual to enjoy my coffee/breakfast/junk food/soda in my little 2-door Civic as I zipped down the highway. I continued my habit of either NPR or podcast listening even when my commute shrank, and my love for both grew.

Then my commute eventually disappeared as I became a stay-at-home mom. The impressionable little ears that are a now constant presence in my crumb-and-toy-filled Pilot leave little room (or attention!) for compelling stories and the unraveling of mysteries. So while the podcast love is still strong, my car rides are more likely filled with either Trolls or Frozen soundtracks. I’m not able to listen as often as I’d like, but being forced to carve out time for them may even make me enjoy podcasts even more!

Please note: This post contains affiliate links.

Here are some of my favorites in case you are searching for something new to stream for yourself!

(one) S Town

S town immediately sucked me in. It begins with a man from Alabama contacting the journalist narrator about a murder and the corrupt police in his small town. But it unravels into stories from an impoverished town and of an eccentric, hedge maze curating, antique clock restoring, liberal man who feels obligated to continue living in said town despite his hostility toward it and everything it represents to him. If it sounds a little strange, well, it is. You’ll love it.

(two) Young House Love Has a Podcast

Young House Love is the first blog I followed and loved. It is also what inspired me to begin DIY projects and home decor updates in our houses. So I obviously have a soft spot for John and Sherry. The podcast is filled with decorating advice, DIY stories, a game, a “what’s new” portion, and a “we’re digging” segment, along with interviews of other bloggers, designers, TV personalities and more. (P.S. Their books, Young House Love and Lovable Livable Home are favorites as well.)

(three) Invisibilia

On their website, NPR describes Invisibilia as being “about the invisible forces that control human behavior – ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions. Co-hosted by Lulu Miller, Hanna Rosin and Alix Spiegel, Invisibilia interweaves narrative storytelling with scientific research that will ultimately make you see your own life differently.”

(four) Serial

Serial is the truly addicting true crime podcast investigating the Baltimore homicide case of popular high-school senior Hae Min Lee in 1999. Her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for her murder, but he maintains his innocence, although he can’t seem to remember what he was doing that January afternoon. That’s all I’m going to give away, because if you haven’t listened yet, do it!

(five) Best of Friends

Best Of Friends is a weekly podcast in which Erin Mallory Long and Jamie Woodham hilariously guide you through every episode of FRIENDS from beginning to end. I am a HUGE Friends fan. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched the series all the way through, I can nearly recite every line, I can relate most situations to a Friends story line, and my sense of humor was shaped by Friends jokes. It is my “comfort show,” in the same way that pizza is my comfort food. So naturally I enjoy listening to other Friends fans on a Friends podcast talking about episodes of Friends. (How many times can I fit the word Friends into a paragraph?) Friends.

(six) Mystery show

Mystery show is basically just the host, Starlee Kine, investigating a new mystery case each episode. The cases range from fascinatingly mundane to extremely bizarre, but are always entertaining.

(seven) Happier

Gretchen Rubin is the author of New York Times bestsellers Better Than Before, The Happiness Project, and Happier at Home. On the Happier podcast, she and her sister discuss good habits and happiness. They offer advice for solving life’s little problems, changing a negative mindset, accepting differences, and understanding ourselves and others. If you have not taken Gretchen’s Four Tendencies Quiz, check it out! It was eye-opening to learn that I am a questioner and it helped me learn better strategies to manage my habits.

(eight) This American Life

Where it all began! This American Life is a weekly, hour-long radio program that began airing in 1995. It is a fascinating, thought-provoking documentary series. Each episode explores a different theme, presented in several acts. The show addresses current events as well as random interesting stories. With over 20 years worth of episodes, it will take you a while to run out! If you are wondering where to start, check out the 11 best episodes according to host Ira Glass.

(nine) Ask Me Another

NPR’s website explains it best: “Ask Me Another brings the lively spirit and healthy competition of your favorite trivia night right to your ears. With a rotating cast of funny people, puzzle writers and VIP guests, it features the wit of host Ophira Eisenberg, the music of house musician Jonathan Coulton, and rambunctious trivia games, all played in front of a live audience.”

runners up

Limetown

Mom and Dad Are Fighting

How I Built This

What are your favorite podcasts??

Summer Bucket List

Life

Summer was always my favorite season growing up. We went to the pool and the lake and spent countless hours running through the sprinkler, playing flashlight tag, and catching lighting bugs. And there was usually a beach vacation, too!

Summer is a little different as an adult though. It is no longer fun to stay outside in the hot southern sun all day; it’s more sweaty and sticky and frizz-inducing. Now I am the hauler of all the million things necessary to have a successful day at the lake or the pool. I am the sunscreen applier, the boo-boo kisser, and the activity organizer.

But it’s all worth it because now I get to experience all those favorite things through the eyes of my children!

(And the summer beers and margaritas and watermelon help too, of course.)

This season will always have a special place in my heart and serve as the origin of many of my happiest memories. I am hoping to create memories and traditions this summer with my girls as well. This is totally sappy, but I can’t help thinking that I only have so many summers with them before they’ll be doing their own things in June, July, and August.