Workin' it Wednesday | Holiday Sanity

 Linking up with Shay & Erika for...

Today is about keeping sane during the holidays!

Honestly, no matter what I do the holidays stress me out.
However, there are a few things that help keep the stress down a little bit for me.


Make a list

I write down everyone I need or would like to give a gift to on a piece of paper.
I then write ideas for each of them next to their name.
I check mark off what I bought, and again check it off when the package arrives.
I keep my list in my planner, so it is always with me :)


Order gifts online

As much as I love to walk through the stores during the holidays checking out all the decorations, hearing Christmas music, etc. it just doesn't work well with my schedule.
To be efficient with my time, I order all the gifts I can online.
Including gift cards.


Workout

This is honestly the number thing that helps me get through the holidays...or any time of year really.
A good workout immediately calms me down and puts me in a better mood :)


Let it go

Is my house spotless? No
Is there laundry to be done? Yes
This year I am really trying to focus on just enjoying the extra moments we get around the twinkling lights.
If that means I put off loading the dishwasher, or have to rewash a load of laundry so be it.
I know I will never have these days back again, so I am really trying to just be in the moment more.

Workin' It Wednesday | Planning For The Holidays

Linking up with Shay & Erika for...

I absolutely love the holidays, but boy oh boy can they be stressful!
While I still haven't mastered the perfect, relaxing holiday season I have figured out a few things that work well for me to make things a little easier.

Decorating

We typically decorate our entire house and trees during the first couple of weekends in November.
Mic and I started doing this in 2011 when I was pregnant with Xavier.
I was due December 3rd, but I had no idea if he would come early or late so we wanted to be prepared.
And it was wonderful!
We were able to enjoy our trees, the twinkling lights, and such for almost 2 months!
We don't ever have anyone over for Thanksgiving so that helps too.
Plus, as a kid I loved having the tree up and house decorated for my December birthday.
Well now, X likes it too!


Shopping

This one honestly depends on how busy our work schedule is.
Some years Mic and I have been able to take a weekend in October and get quite a bit of our shopping done.
In recent years not so much :(
The one time of year I enjoy going to the stores and shopping is at the holidays.
I actually like chaos! lol!
I really enjoy hearing the Christmas music playing, kids visiting and having their picture taken with Santa, all the stores have trees decorated.
It is just magical!
But over the last couple of years we have ordered more things online.
That really is a lifesaver when you can't get away from work (or your child).
I do ask all of the people I am giving gifts to for ideas, but I also keep a running list in my phone or my planner to help out.

Time spent with family and friends
The hardest part of the holidays for me is figuring out when we are going where!
I am a sucker for tradition.
Specifically, my traditions.
Add in the fact that my family lives about an hour and half away, and my parents are divorced.
And that Mic is an only child.
Oh, and ever since X was born Mic wants us to wake up in our own home on Christmas morning.
Every year I want to cry when it gets close.
At the end of the day we end up doing almost the same thing every year since X was born.

Depending on what days Christmas Eve/Christmas Day fall we do the following...
This year we will spend Saturday the 23rd with my mom and step dad for late lunch/dinner,
spend the night at my dad's house and then celebrate Christmas on the 24th and have breakfast/lunch,
drive home and go to church,

wake up Christmas morning in our house,

head to my in-laws house for a late lunch/dinner.

If have the day after Christmas off instead of days before we flip flop the days we head north.

Thankfully getting together with friends around the holidays is a little easier, but we still have to schedule around multiple birthdays and such.


How do you prepare for the holidays?
Any tips for me on making it less stressful?

Workin' It Wednesday | Summer to Fall Wardrobe

Linking up with Shay & Erika for...

Transitioning from Summer to Fall Wardrobe

Honestly, there isn't a whole lot of transitioning when you live in Ohio.
Because you can experience multiple seasons in one day (no joke) you tend to keep all items of your wardrobe accessible.

However, I do start wearing more plaid scarves, puffer vests and boots in the Fall.

BP Plaid Oblong Scarf

BP Plaid Infinity Scarf
Both of these scarves are under $25 a piece!
You can't beat that!

The solid and patterned Old Navy Quilted Vests never go out of style.

And how cute is this Old Navy Frost Free Camo Vest?
I think I need to order it immediately to add to my collection!

I have had these Hunter Original Boots for a few years now and I love them!

They go with everything, and are well worth the investment.

I have been eyeing these Sole Society Natasha Boots for a little while now and I think I need to just hit submit on my order.
What do you think?
Do you have any Sole Society boots?


So what pieces do you bring out in the Fall?

Workin' It Wednesday | Back to School

Linking up with Shay & Erika for...

Today is all about getting ready to go back to school!

X is officially starting Kindergarten two weeks from today!

I can't wait!

Neither can he!

I love that he enjoys school, and I truly hope he continues to love it!

He likes to learn, but at this age he is all about getting to see his friends again :)
#lifeofanonlychild

He did go to preschool for the last two years, but we are really excited for his first day of "real" school as he calls it.

Here is how we are getting ready for the school year to start...

New Backpack

We found this backpack at Target when we went shopping a few weeks ago and X loved it!

He even passed up all the character ones for it!

Target was having a huge sale on supplies too, so we grabbed everything on the list so we wouldn't have to worry about it at the last minute!

Speaking of Target, did you know that some schools have the supply lists linked on the website?
It's called School List Assist.

You can put in your zip code and find your school and the list will automatically load the best match the store has to the list!

Since this was our first year for supplies, I decided to get them in person but I will definitely keep that option in mind for the future!

New Clothes

X and I took advantage of the Tax Free weekend on Saturday and grabbed some new tees, sweatshirts, and jeans for him from Old Navy and Target.

He scored 9 new graphic tees alone!

#helovesagoodgraphictee #justlikehismommy

Most of them were $3 each at Old Navy!

New Kicks

We are currently on the hunt for some new gym shoes.

That kid has some big feet for a 5 year old and they just keep growing!

I think X would love these because of the "X' and the red on the bottom!

And I think he is getting these whether he likes them or not!

#whydonttheycomeinmysize!!!!

Getting that bedtime back to normal

The summer has been crazy busy with work, soccer, t-ball, etc. so we have really let the bedtime go.

We started this weekend going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night to get back to a normal bedtime when school starts.

I am not too worried, because all that learning and playing with his friends again will probably wear him down a bit when things first start.

And soccer starts the week after so we (fingers crossed) will be doing better :)

I found this sleep calculator for kids to help us out too!

And squeezing in some last minute fun!

We are heading to the zoo,

last minute camping,

and maybe hitting up the local batting cages and race track before school starts!

And I am trying to plan a last minute back to school pizza party too! :)

How do you get you and your kids ready for back to school?

Workin' it Wednesday | A Weekend in my life

Linking up with Shay & Erika for...

Today I am recapping our weekend.
It is honestly the most I have taken pictures since we went to Disney World at the beginning of May!
But it did me good!

So without further ado, here is a weekend in my life...

I left work around 4 pm on Friday and headed to the trophy shop to pick up my order for the T-ball party last night.

Then I was off to pick up my favorite little guy!
I surprised him with some cinnamon twists from Taco Bell to start the weekend!

About 6 pm I started making dinner - super simple.
Smoked Sausage and mac-n-cheese.

When I picked up X from the babysitter she mentioned they watched a couple episodes of The Magic School bus and X loved it!
So after dinner he asked to watch more of it.
In fact, that is the only show he watched all weekend!

Around 7:30 pm I got X's bath water ready...

And about 7:50pm he actually got in the tub :/
With his new "tattoos".

Once bath time and all the drama of not wanting to get in/not wanting to get out goes down,
X had a snack and it was time to brush his teeth and lay down.

Which then meant at 9:38 pm it was finally time for me to get to workout for the day and go to bed.

I love sleeping in on the weekends, and I love Saturday morning snuggles just as much!

Around 8 am X and I headed downstairs so he could play and I could have my morning coffee and my supplements.

Since it was Saturday, I decided to get my workout out of the way around 10 am.

Around noon we headed out to run a few errands and grab some lunch.

A few more samples of flooring to add to the mix.

Our final errand was one of X's favorite places...

We intended on buying a bike that day, but he had something else in mind....

The rest of the day was a blur, but I did finish it in bed with my favorite nighttime treat around 10 pm :)

Another morning around 8:30 am, another cup of coffee!

While X played quietly, I caught up on my reading, enjoyed my coffee, and got my grocery list in order.

About 11 am X and Mic headed to my in-laws and I headed to Target and Kroger's solo!
#andallthemomssaidamen

About 3 pm Mic and I started cleaning the house up.
I despise cleaning!

But since we were doing it, I added my makeup brushes to the list as well.

About 5:30 pm I enjoyed an adult beverage while I made dinner - My unstuffed cabbage rolls that were on the blog yesterday.

So good!

Around 7:30 pm I got X's bath ready once again, but this time I added a fun surprise to the mix!
He loved it!

I did a quick 30 minutes of pilates, showered, and then enjoyed my nighttime skincare ritual :)

After watching a little TV and playing on my phone, I finally called it a weekend at...

And that was it!
I could have taken more pictures, but I did try to still enjoy the moment :)

What did you do this weekend?

And if you are interested in learning more about Advocare or Rodan & Fields shoot me an email at leota6@gmail.com :)