have yourself a merry little christmas

 

o come, o come emmanuel

i don't think i've ever been as excited for christmas as i am this year. it could be the real tree. it could be because i'm nesting which had me taking on a few ambitious projects. but the holiday music has not stopped in this house since the day after thanksgiving. neither has the shopping. christmas candy is in the gumball machine. a cinnamon candle has been burning all day.

as i mentioned before, our little felt dollar store tree skirt wasn't going to cut it this year. we have our first real tree in our very first home. this year deserved more. 

normally, i come up with a project and steve is the executor. he always gives me the best way to tackle something. but this time he said, "i have no idea. you're on your own." so away i went. and here's the finished product:

 

i used instructions from HERE and HERE. it took a lot longer than i was hoping and was not easy on my 7 month pregnant body, but i am so happy with how it turned out! definitely the perfect skirt for our tree!

 

remember the advent calendar the boys made last year? well, that got revamped this year, too! 

 

in each bag is a passage to read out of the Jesus Storybook Bible. i found the advent plan HERE. we also included some candy and little gifts for each day. nothing too crazy. but i am so excited about being a little more deliberate with jack this year in keeping the focus on Christ and sharing what it all means. it's fun to be celebrating and preparing for Jesus all month long!

hope your holiday season is just as exciting as ours! 

o christmas tree

and here is why i love my husband...

while crosby and i were grocery shopping yesterday morning, steve and jack were "supposed" to be setting up our fake, pre-lit, handed down Christmas tree. instead, they went and picked out our first very real, very big tree. and i am in love!!!

 (take note of our three year old dollar store tree skirt. soon to be replaced with a much bigger, fancier, do it yourself project!)

i've never had a real tree before. it smells great, it looks beautiful, and i am happy.

 (even though this isn't crosby's first christmas, it definitely feels like it.)

the nativity scene is set. christmas cards are mailed. a stash of presents hidden. holiday music downloaded. more christmas projects underway.

and i am definitely nesting...the cleaning, the projects, the shopping, the decorating. it's insane and i love it!

please forgive me

i know all moms make mistakes. heck, i was just giving my own mom a hard time today for not taking me to the dentist as a child. but big mistakes? do other moms make really big mistakes?

i made some mistakes tonight. i was angry. frustrated. yelled too quickly and too loudly. i was mean. and i know it was really bad because jack was exceptionally good once he realized just how angry i was. when it was bathtime, he went potty and got undressed without me asking. when i apologized for getting upset, he said "oh it's okay mommy." 

it was one of those nights (not the first time this has happened) where i text steve, who was at work, and say "this is really hard." and he calls and i cry and he asks if he needs to come home (bless his heart) and i say "no" but i want to say "yes and don't ever leave again."

and now i'm sitting here feeling bad, wishing i could do better, be better. and wondering if i've scarred them for life. and if i haven't today, certainly, i will sometime in the next 18 years, right?

little pieces

we have been so productive here in the carr household. the house...it's starting to get there. there meaning having a little personality and being a little more ready for baby #3. we have almost moved crosby and jack out of their room and into the bigger room upstairs. josh has moved to the playroom. the playroom moved to the closet. and besides all that...we've just been making some small changes around here that make it feel much more like home. and much more like us.

 (the wreath i made a couple weeks ago.)

the other day my mother in law asked if she could take jack for one night this weekend. how could i say no to that? so today after we dropped off jack, we hit target, home depot, stir crazy, and got to work. 

steven hung a fruit basket for me.

i finally hung a print in the boys bathroom. i've had it for months.

 and steve changed out the light fixture in our kitchen! the old one broke a couple of weeks ago. we immediately liked this one, before we even saw that it was the cheapest available. we need to shorten the wire, but it will do for now.

 (the only before picture i have of the old fixture. do you see it way back there?)

(the fruit basket & light fixture in the same picture!)

all these little changes really make a difference. and they make me happy.

oh, and after all that, i made a wreath and two loaves of pumpkin bread. can i be nesting already at only 25 weeks?!?

let it fall

 things i am not loving right now: 

crosby being very attached to me lately.
maternity clothes. gross.
heartburn. 
my achey, tired body.
most pregnancy related things.
thinking about spending the Christmas without my sisters.


things i am loving right now:

crosby being very attached to me lately. (i'm a little torn about this one.)
fall! the hoodies, electric blanket, pretty trees.
the salted caramel mocha from starbucks. holy moley, it's amazing.
our diy home projects.
how dark it is in the morning. 
lunch dates with steven.

 

dog days are over

george is gone. turns out jack and i are really bad dog owners. (steve and crosby were much better at it than us.) that's really all there is to it. it just didn't work out, wasn't a good fit for our family. maybe because he was a puppy, maybe because me and jack just really don't like dogs. heather said it best...george deserved a dog loving family and so we found that for him. and things feel a little bit calmer and more normal here now.

true story - when jack found out george was gone, he ran in the house with hands in the air and yelled, "FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!" and there was our confirmation we had done the right thing.