Blogmas: Surviving Christmas Morning Photos

Merry Christmas Eve!! Mackenzie this morning was telling everyone "Happy Birthday." I am not sure if she meant Baby Jesus but hopefully she was. Currently I am swamped in wrapping paper. I got all of the gifts for the family wrapped last night and today will be wrapping the remainder of Mackenzie's presents. We will be leaving right after her nap time for Christmas Eve festivities and won't be arriving home until later tonight. I am hoping to set up Mackenzie's presents before we leave so I can get to bed early. I still am not sleeping great. I am dealing with hip pain, so the earlier I get to bed the better.

Max's First Christmas

Christmas morning the inevitable will happen and the chances double when you have kids that pictures will be taken! In today's age they will be downloaded instantly to the interweb. So here are a few of my tips to surviving the dreaded first thing in the morning photo shoot.

1. Hold the family off for a minute. Okay maybe 10 to 15. Give yourself sometime to compose yourself. These pictures will be shown at your kids wedding, lets get some good ones.

2. Do a 5 min hairstyle. If need be sleep with your hair in a bun or braids the night before, in the morning you will have insta-waves. Try a top knot or fishtail braid. Tame that unruly hair, if you have a lot of fly-a-ways. A little bit of baby oil can help tame it.

3. Do a 5 min face. I love tinted moisturizer! Use some of that concealer, mascara, and maybe a little blush. Much better!

4. Put on some cute jammies. My family buys new jammies each year. If you don't do that, make sure you have something better on then your holey t shirt. If need be, leggings and a hoodie are a good backup.

5. Get some coffee or hot cocoa. Something to help wake you up.

6. Smile! If you want while you are doing your makeup put on some lip gloss. Also, try to remember these are family members taking the photos. There are going to be some funky ones.

Have fun and enjoy the moment!

Max Christmas Eve last year

Now what you really came here to find out. Who won the legging giveaway? 

First of all I want to thank Kathy from LuLaRoe for sponsoring this giveaway.

Also, I want to thank everyone for entering! You made this giveaway a success. I hope to do more in the future.

And the winner is.........

Vanessa Reiter

I will be sending out your leggings soon!

Congratulations!

Have a Merry Christmas!

After Christmas I will be returning to my regular blogging schedule.

Blogmas: Pregnancy Update

Activity: Deliver drink to Grandpa

Scripture: Matthew 2:9-12

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

How far along: 37 weeks.

Gender: Girl!! Ainsley! World's cutest thing is Mackenzie saying baby sister's name!

Weight gain: 37 lbs, I am still 8 lbs under my birth weight with Max. Hopefully, I can keep it that way.

Maternity clothes: Yes and sometimes Mondo's. I definitely need the length of the maternity tees. She sits so low and sticks out so much, I am carrying her all in front and even tunic shirts are borderline too short. 

Stretch marks: yes bleh. Still need to try those oils

Belly button in or out: I think it is as "out" or flat as it can get. 

Sleep: Not good. Rolling over is a whole body movement. I have to sit up in bed to accomplish it! Since my hips hurt from the added weight I roll over a lot.

Best moment this week: Getting signed out of work. That's right I am on maternity leave. Home for the holidays!!

Miss anything: Honestly flexibility. Mackenzie wants me to play with her on the floor, which I love to do, getting up off the floor has it's challenges.

Cravings: Lately soda, and it's not the taste it's the carbonation.   

Queasy or sick: No

Looking forward to: Christmas being over. I am really excited for Christmas but, I haven't been able to plan or pack for baby because I apparently can't focus on the 2 things. This makes me nervous. I did get a couple of things washed though.

This is officially the longest I have ever been pregnant. Mackenzie came 17 days early and right now I am 17 days away from due date. I am willing and want to wait, the further from the holidays the better. The rest of this adventure is uncharted territory. To help with the patience I remind myself that this is the easy part, the hard part is when I have to pack her around, pack her stuff, tot around a toddler, feed baby, sleep, and people will start to look at me funny when I eat 2 cupcakes. 

See you tomorrow with the winner of the leggings!!

Blogmas: Our weekend in Review

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!!

Here are the 2 links, number 1, number 2.

Okay back to our regularly scheduled blogmas!

Advent Activity: Wrap presents

Advent scriptures: Matthew 2:7-8

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Our weekend in Review

Friday started off the weekend fun, I went with my bestie to her work Christmas party! They had us play a game where you had to blow up 8 balloons, stick them in a nylon stocking, then someone on the team had to stick the nylon stocking on their head and sing "Jingle bells." Right when we got started I told my team don't blow up the balloons too big, because of that tip, we won!!! YAY!!! There was also a white elephant gift exchange done with a poem, and some yummy food. Overall it was a fun party!! We also decorated our Gingerbread house. 

Saturday my family and I planned Christmas dinner, that evening the Charger's played the 49ers. We went to a restaurant for food and to watch the game. Chargers barely squeaked one by. This day was nice because it was also filled with napping!!!

Sunday was a festive day, we went to church where max and I wore our Christmas outfits. It was pretty much the same thing I wore to the party on Friday and since I forgot to take a picture that night I took a picture on Sunday. It was while we were at Target Mackenzie was dancing in the 3 way mirror, so I took a few shots of us. We also stopped at friend's house to exchange gifts, they got Max a Elsa barbie doll. She is in love and will not let it go. Then that evening was Mondo's work party. Which I wore a festive ugly sweater.

Overall our weekend was busy, relaxing, and altogether fun. I can't believe Christmas is only 3 sleeps away!! Tomorrow I will do a pregnancy update and Wednesday I will announce the legging winner!!!

Blogmas: Friday Favorites

Can you believe, 6 days!?!? I am so excited. Monday ends the legging giveaway here is the link to enter, and here is the link to add an extra entry. 

This weekend I am attending 2 Christmas parties, so I thought Friday favorites should be Christmas party edition. But first,

Activity: Bake cookies (I plan on making our favorite sugar cookies)

Scripture: Micah 5:2-5

2 

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

    though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah,

out of you will come for me

    one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

    from ancient times.”

3 

Therefore Israel will be abandoned

    until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,

and the rest of his brothers return

    to join the Israelites.

4 

He will stand and shepherd his flock

    in the strength of the Lord,

    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they will live securely, for then his greatness

    will reach to the ends of the earth.

5 

And he will be our peace

    when the Assyrians invade our land

    and march through our fortresses.

We will raise against them seven shepherds,

    even eight commanders,

Pinterest

Gift Exchange Poem: We used this poem at our book study group, it was so fun!!

Pinterest

Maternity Outfit: I was on the hunt for a lace dress like the one pictured. The closest I found was this lace shirt. I didn't get it instead opting for a pretty gold sweater. Tune back in Monday to see that!!

etsy

Ugly Sweater: Mondo's work party is an ugly sweater one. A girl at work made an awesome one, I should have posted a picture of that. I actually really like this sweatshirt and would rock it, ugly sweater party or not. I have a better one up my sleeve see it on Monday's weekend recap.

pinterest

Toddler Christmas Party: I said this about Halloween and I will say it about Christmas, and maybe even New Years? I want to do a Kid's Christmas Party next year, here is my inspiration.

Christmas card: I like Tori Spellings card but I like Tiffany's family pose!! I know these aren't really Christmas party but, you can use the cards as your invites!!

Party type: I have two favorites, sock and ornament. When Mondo was youth pastor we always did a ornament exchange. To be played as white elephant/ dirty santa. Every year my girlfriends and I got together to play the same game but with fuzzy socks. Both are my favorite gifts to give/get.

What are some of your party favorites?

Here are the weekends Activities and Scriptures.

Saturday: Take pictures for gift tags and address Christmas card envelopes

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2

Sunday: Horse ride downtown

Scripture: Matthew 2:3-6

See you Monday,

Dorinda

Blogmas: Silent Night

Activity: Decorate a snowman

Scripture: Luke 2:19-20

19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I started an advent devotional through the youversion bible app. 

There is a devotional by Kim Walker-Smith for her new Christmas CD. My bestie loves Kim Walker-Smith so I thought I would check it out. This is the perfect rise and nine. I read the devo, read the scriptures, then find the song on youtube to worship a little, it's my favorite worshiping to Christmas carols, then I spend some time in prayer. I really liked today's devotional and wanted to share, the devotional is called "Christmas Overflow"

pinterest

Silent Night

I absolutely love that in Luke 2, the Bible makes mention of Mary taking a moment to ponder all that was happening. She took the time to store up every precious moment as a treasure in her heart. My favorite line in the song "Silent Night" is "Christ our Savior is born!" in the moment Jesus entered this world, everything changed. From this point on, there was no going back. Jesus came into this world to save us all. Mary and Joseph must have felt the power of the moment and the stirring of overwhelming joy inside of them; nothing would ever be the same again.

In all of the hustle and bustle of the busy holiday season, it is so important for us to stop and just take a moment. Ponder in your heart the miracle that is Jesus and the beauty of what His birth meant for us. Take the time to let your heart feel the excitement and anticipation of what Jesus is doing in your life.

Scriptures: Luke 2:17-20 

Kinda funny that the scriptures of the devotional and the the advent scriptures go together. I love when God works like that. 

Don't forget to get an extra entry for the leggings in yesterday's blog, or just enter in the legging giveaway in blogmas day 1.

Blogmas: Pregnant Lady Wishlist

Activity: Watch a Christmas movie (or turn on ABC family!! haha)

Scripture: Luke 2:15-18

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

My family kept asking me what I wanted for Christmas and my typical response is usually clothing but, this year I really don't want clothes. I either a. have to wait a month or 2 to wear it or b. can only wear it for a month. Neither sounds appealing. So I thought I would come up with this wishlist to help them out, and maybe you if you need to buy for a momma to be or momma, or have a baby shower to attend soon. 

1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6

1. Nursing Tank: I did not have one while I was pregnant with Mackenzie but, I now understand the necessity of one and need one for baby number 2.

2. Scarf (Nursing scarf): This is a go to baby shower gift for me anyways!! Mommas always spill, get spilled on, have a mess or stain that needs to be hidden. It's inevitable, so here comes a scarf to save the day!!

3. Diaper bag sorter: You can either use this or even get her a few stylish bags. Turn any purse into a diaper bag. I think I am going with the bunch of stylish little bags in my purse. 

4. Chatbooks: I just saw these this week and I instantly fell in love. Turn her insta's into a cute book!! At $6 each you can't beat that!!

5. Teething Jewelry: I love that it's stylish and functional! When baby teeths you don't have to worry about what jewelry you are wearing. 

6. Gift Certificate for a massage: This was my "push" present after Mackenzie. I have already requested one for after baby number 2. Nothing felt better!!!

Those are my top 6 requested gifts this holiday season. Anything you would add?

Another reminder to enter to win a free pair of leggings. Just for fun, if you comment on this post one gift you want for Christmas, I will enter you in the drawing, if you have already entered I will add you for another chance to win!!

Blogmas: Pregnancy Update

Advent Activity: Christmas Craft

Scripture: Luke 2:13-14

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

I think today we will finish our coffee filter snowflakes. This was a simple art project, take a coffee filter spray it down with water then drop food coloring on it. Give your toddler a paintbrush to "paint" in the food coloring. Set aside to dry, cut out snowflakes. Mackenzie loves to paint so this was a great activity for her. 

Here is a pregnancy update, along with how my NST's are going.

How far along: 36 weeks.

Gender: Girl!! Ainsley!

Weight gain: 35 lbs, food is my enemy this week.

Maternity clothes: Yes, I found 50 cent maternity shorts, I could not pass them up. If you read yesterday's post you already know I am quite proud of this find. 

Stretch marks: yes bleh. Still need to try those oils

Belly button in or out: neither. I don't have a belly button anymore.

Sleep: Not good. I think because it is getting colder, my hips hurt.

Best moment this week: Reduced hours at work have been super nice!!

Miss anything: Getting up easily. I take Max to the library every week and they have a play time, on the floor. Moving station to station is challenging. 

Cravings: Nothing in particular, I am seriously always hungry though.  

Queasy or sick: No

Looking forward to: I don't even know, lots of things. I am trying to just enjoy the moments. 

So as you know my first NST (non stress test) did not go very good. I have found since then the best way to get Ainsley to move is to play her music and the wiggles come out. Specifically "Alive" and "Brighter" from Hillsong Young and Free. Well, this past visit she got stubborn, she has to be Mondo's girl. They strap a heart monitor to my belly to record the baby's heart, to pass the test she needs to kick and have a raised heart rate. This time she decided to kick the heart monitor and at one point completely push against the monitor so it could not record her heartbeat. OMG! Silly girl, we went in to get a ultrasound and since I didn't have a great recorded heartbeat they checked her breathing and she did good. So at least this test did not take as long and went over really well. Now I need to figure out how to keep her away from the monitor. HAHA!!

Although I am done with these tests and really am looking forward to enjoying my baby, she can keep on cooking. I know she is easier to take care of in the belly then out!

Don't forget to enter to win the leggings, I will even ship to whoever wins. So out of towners enter!!

Tomorrow I am posting my mommy to be wish list!!

See you then!

Blogmas day 15: Our weekend in review with pictures

Happy Monday!! Christmas is only 10 days away!! Mondo and I plan on finishing up our shopping tonight, then it's time to wrap, wrap, WRAP!!

Here were the advent activities for the weekend

Friday: Bake goodies

Scripture: Luke 1:46-56

Saturday: Visit Santa!!

Scripture: Luke 2:1-5

Sunday: Decorate Tree

Scripture: Luke 2: 6-7

Monday: Deliver Christmas drink to Aunty Amy

Scripture: Luke 2:8-12

 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Friday Night we made gluten free cookies, we still have to decorate them. They didn't turn out so great, very dry and I think it's because I had to add coconut flour to roll them out. So the hunt is still on for a yummy gluten free cookie recipe. That was pretty much it for that day.

Saturday after naps we decided to head downtown and see SANTA!! We get there to see a super long line, after 20 min of waiting we moved 5 feet. This wasn't going to work. So we opted to head to dinner instead, heart crushed!!

After dinner we met with my mom and gramma to ride a horse drawn carriage through the park to look at lights they set up.

After that we went back to see Santa, the line wasn't as long so I took Max to the bathroom to get changed (I put her in warm clothes for the park). Mondo stood in line. Mackenzie was ok with talking to Santa and even excited but, when we put her in his lap for a picture, that was a big H-E double hockey sticks NO!!

After dinner we went to Old Navy to do some shopping and I scored a pair of maternity shorts for 50 cents!!! More on that in a later blog post. Yes, I think they are worthy of their own blog post!!

Sunday we went to church, Costco for lunch, home to watch the Chargers lose (come on chargers get your act together). After dinner we decorated the Christmas tree, 1/2 way through I started having Braxton Hicks contractions so we stopped. No pics of the tree since it's not done. 

And that was our weekend. I hope you had a great weekend!

Don't forget to enter the drawing for a free pair of leggings. Here is the link again. I will announce the winner on Christmas Eve, drawing ends next week!!

Until tomorrow,

Dorinda