we've had a snow day [blizzards are my faaavorite weather!], betsy & gmom had a date to see rudolph the musical at crown center [which meant eloise & i had our own special lunch date!], miss cinnamon arrived from the north pole [this is about as far as my creativity will fly this season ;)], clara's dream camp at dancing school with a special appearance by the sugarplum fairy herself & one of my very favorite holiday traditions- our family day at crown center & union station for peppermint ice cream, holiday window shopping & seeing home alone on the big screen! [which was going awesome until about an hour into the movie when eloise took a handful of betsy's popcorn & subsequently spilled water into said popcorn. a quick, haul-ass exit was made by mom & a pissed off 2 year old...]

finishing touches are being made on our master bath over the next couple of days- can't wait for alllll the tiny rocks to be vacuummed out of the carpet for good!

 this week brings lucy's kindergarten christmas program & a special visit from santa at daddy's office! happy decembering!!

xoxo, 

-ivy

merry christmas season!

taking in each day leading up to december 25- the chaos and the calm. these are the days they'll cherish.

xoxo, 

-ivy

thanksgiving 2018!

we were spoiled with a week of family, food & so much fun!

amy & family arrived in town last sunday & we were fortunate to get to spend everyday together eating, laughing, baking & being :)

lucy had grandparents' day at her school right before thanksgiving break began, and all 3 grandparents spent their morning with her- mass, a performance, breakfast & games in the classroom. she felt so special having her loved ones with her. 

lucy and her sweetest school & dance & neighbor friend eloise had a day lunching & seeing the new nutcracker movie last weekend. eloise's mom & i are taking the girls downtown to see the kansas city ballet's production of the nutcracker in a couple of weeks & they are well-prepared and tickled with excitement!

in the midst of it all, jon & i are deep in renovating our master bath. with the exception of thanksgiving, we've had workers in all day, every day [usually way past dark] for over a week tearing the bathroom to the studs & finally, rebuilding. the dust. showering in the basement bathroom to avoid waking the girls, doing my hair in lucy's bathroom, and tiptoeing to pee in eloise & betsy's jack & jill at 2am are the new norm... and we are so excited for this project to be complete! 

aaaand the day we have been waiting for! jon is so funny about not decorating for christmas pre-thanksgiving, but come black friday he had the frank sinatra christmas album blaring & was jolly as can be hanging lights on our house. today is a jammie day for the girls & we're decorating for christmas! several inches of snow are forecasted for tomorrow, and it will be just in time for all the festive feels :)

happy christmasing!

xoxo, 

-ivy

family arrives sunday & we're geared up for all of the festivities! jon's thanksgiving menu has us all so excited!

because we're nuts, master bath renovations start today. we're completely gutting top to bottom & we'll just see how my sanity is over the next few days ;) lots of holiday vino in my future! after weighing our options time & time again, we've decided to stay in our home, renovate & look to make a big move as the girls get closer to high school. if they opt to go to the girls school i attended, we want to move closer to state line. we use our 15 minute drive to school for sight words, homework, decompressing, lots of coffee for mom, and lately, all the christmas music. it's really become part of the routine, and really no big deal after the initial shock of the amount of car time we now endure daily ;)

thankful for these turkeys this upcoming holiday week, and always-

xoxo, 

-ivy

we're enjoying the calm before the holiday crazy! like everyone, we have busy weeks ahead & i'm soaking in the free days that we're gifted. 

we had our first snow this week & it was sooo beautiful- big, pretty flakes that hung on the trees like a winter wonderland. jon had taken that day off from work, and it ended up being the perfect day for chili, jammies & movies. lucy was in school & we couldn't get her home fast enough! sometimes this school thing really cramps my style ;)

lucy's dance troupe had a friday night rehearsal & pizza party, followed by packaging shoeboxes filled with hygiene products, small toys & dollies, art supplies & special handwritten letters for operation christmas child. these christmas boxes are sent all around the world to children in need, and i loved getting to see how the whole process unfolded. she got to spend the night partnered with her dance "big sis" ella, and lucy is still on cloud 9!

thanksgiving is right around the corner- it's the most wonderful time of the year & i'm making a big effort to be mindful & intentional with my "me" time, our time with loved ones & our precious family days.

xoxo, 

-ivy