One thing I’m feeling extra grateful for right now is a visit from my parents. My mom and dad really wanted to make a trip up here to see the boys and do some holiday things together before Christmas and when they said they wanted to come in town for the weekend, we were all for it! We are also hoping to head back down to Florida the day after Christmas to celebrate Christmas 2.0 with my sister and her family and my parents but when they arrived in town yesterday afternoon for a little pre-Christmas visit, the boys were so excited!
Even Rhett gave Mae and Pop some of his best little baby grins!
We don’t have anything big on our agenda for the weekend other than some cookie decorating and piling into the car to see Christmas lights, but I’m looking forward to unplugging and enjoying family time.
And now it’s Things I’m Loving Friday tiiiime!
Things I’m Loving Friday
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Family Photos + Holiday Cards
Late last month, we got some family photos done and loved them so much we used them for our holiday cards this year! I used the same photographer we used the last time we had family pics taken (the talented Katie of Tripp Photography) in 2018 and she managed to capture photos of the boys I will treasure forever.
As for our holiday cards, I was excited to partner with Minted this year, as we’ve ordered our cards from Minted ever since we started doing family holiday cards the year Chase was born. The quality is fantastic and I love they way they partner with independent artists to create stunning designs for so many of their holiday cards. This year, I selected the Christmas Eucalyptus Foil-Pressed Cards and love the way they played off the moody colors in the family photos we had taken at a local park.
And I can never resist adding a few words to the back of our cards every year! Love them! Now I just need to get my act together and actually send them out. I’m a weirdo and really like holiday stamps on my holiday cards and haven’t had any luck finding them at the post office (sold out!), Publix, UPS, Walgreens, Office Depot or CVS. I’ve been told Costco has them so I may have to check there next!
I love the look of painted nails but I rarely paint my nails because they take for-ev-er to dry and the likelihood of a kid or baby not needing me for the time it takes my nails to dry isn’t worth the risk and effort of painting them. I’ve mostly been using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail polish since it dries so fast but I hated feeling like so many of my favorite nail polish colors were sitting in a closet untouched. On a quick trip to CVS earlier this week, I saw Essie’s Quick-E Drying Drops and it instantly caught my eye. I brought it home and gave it a try with one of my favorite sparkly holiday nail polish colors and it blew me away! Adding a couple of drops on top of each freshly-painted nail made the polish dry in a flash. I am so darn excited about this purchase because I feel like I just got a bunch of my favorite nail polish colors back since this will allow me to do more super-speedy manicures in the future.
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Annual Ornaments for the Boys
Ryan and I are hoping to begin a tradition where we gift the boys an ornament every Christmas that reminds us of them each year. Ryder and Rhett’s are still on their way but Chase’s arrived extremely fast and I love the way it turned out! (I ordered it from the CustomGiftsNow store on Etsy.) Of course Chase’s ornament had to pay tribute to Creature Man, as he was all about creatures this year. I cannot count the number of hours we spent searching for butterflies, toads, ladybugs, slugs, worms and more, and Chase’s passion for finding and learning about creatures is something I know I’ll never forget.
When I shared a picture of Chase’s ornament on Instagram Stories, I received quite a few DMs from people whose parents or grandparents did this for them every year and then, once they were adults and living on their own, they had a whole little collection of ornaments to use on their own tree. I love thinking of my boys one day hanging these special ornaments on their Christmas tree, should they become something special they cherish, too!
Making these deliciously sweet and salty holiday pretzel treats is a tradition around here during the holiday season and I whipped up several batches with the boys earlier this week as neighbor gifts and add-on teacher gifts. (We went the gift card + a few extra small things route for the boys’ main teacher gifts this year.) I am not sure what it is about these pretzels, but they’re so darn good and so addicting. I am 99 percent sure we’ll be making another batch or two before this holiday season is over.
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Friday Flashbacks
Slow Cooker Holiday Mulled Wine (The perfect festive drink for the holidays! The best part? It’s very easy to make and super hands-off so you don’t have to worry about it and can just enjoy!)
Peppermint Oreo Desserts
Because I’m a huge sucker for anything peppermint + Oreo this time of year, here are a few of my favorite peppermint + Oreo desserts to keep on your radar before the holiday season is over:
- Oreo Peppermint Icebox Cake (If you loved whipped cream + Oreos, this is a must-try)
- Peppermint Cookies ‘n’ Cream Ice Cream (A new favorite this year)
- Oreo Peppermint Ice Cream Dessert (Only 3 ingredients!)
Question of the Day
- What is one thing you are smiling about this week?
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Beautiful holiday photos, I love them! Also, those holiday pretzel treats are the best and so simple! I remember many years ago, I actually learned them from you on one of your blog posts and I’ve loved them ever since! They always turn out great!
Love that!! So good!
Immediately heading to the pharmacy store to buy that quick-dry nail polish setter…game changer!
Ha! Seriously though! 🙂
It’s already in my Amazon cart lol! I definitely need this product!
Love the family photos! Beautiful family!!!
Thank you for sharing!
The tradition of doing a special ornament for each kid is a great one!!! I have been doing it for many years now and love that one day they will have a special collection of ornaments to put on their trees one day!!!
Have a Merry Christmas!!!
♡
Thank you!! Hope you have a wonderful Christmas, too, Vera! Always love reading your comments <3
I have been doing the special ornament for my son as well! We have everything from Sponge Bob, Star Wars and legos from when he was little to skiing and fishing now. I wish I would have put the dates on all of them.
Love that!! And good idea to include dates on them! I’ll try to remember to do that moving forward as well if the dates are not included.
Your photos are absolutely beautiful!!! I love your cards too. I have an Essie clear top coat that is meant for gel or to make polish last longer, but I wish I had these drops instead! I hope you all have a wonderful time with family!
Yesss the drops are SO awesome! I also used to have a fast-drying top coat but this is even easier!
Enjoy your weekend with your parents. Special memories will be made for sure. Your family photos turned out beautiful. As you look at the photos of Rhett then and the photo of your mom holding him you can see how much he has grown!
My mom gives my children a special ornament each year and they cherish those so much and will always be able to as they grow and have their own houses and trees.
Absolutely gorgeous family photos! That photo of your two big boys is absolute perfection! The brother bond is so special! And I love your card! Beautiful photo of your mom and Rhett too! Enjoy the family time both before and after Christmas!
Thank you so much, Sara <3
Merry Christmas Julie. The family photos are spectacular. Enjoy all of the special times spent with family!
Julie, quick question… I cannot seem to find peppermint ice cream anywhere. What kind do you normally buy?!
Hi! I can almost always find peppermint ice cream at Publix — not sure if you have that grocery store near you but Publix makes a Publix-brand peppermint ice cream that’s great.
Thank you!!
Same thing I thought. We are in a country where cases are pretty low and even with that, we are not seing anyone inside our house since March. Pandemic happens with that kind of behaviours. You say you are not judging, I am. It is not individual decisions at this point, people are dying and hospitals are full. Just stay home.
Aren’t the COVID cases spiking like crazy in Florida right now? I know, I know, the COVID police are no fun but please be safe!
Honestly, I was thinking the same thing… it’s been over a year since my children have visited family (we have to drive to a different state for all of them) and while the guilt is overwhelming we have to be mindful of the age of our parents and be as safe as possible. I know judging isn’t good but it’s hard to explain being careful to our kids when others make different choices. We had a step-grandparent pass from COVID so it’s pretty close to home for us.
Susan, I am so sorry for your loss. Just wanted to share for explaining things to kids and not being able to see grandparents because of the pandemic, I found two Instagram accounts to be very helpful and based in psychology: @drbeckyathome and @biglittlefeelings. Wishing you all the best!! <3
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for these recommendations! I have been scrolling through and getting some great ideas.
I honestly read the part about travel 3 or 4 times because I was sure I must be misunderstanding, I just didn’t expect to see traveling to another state to see people in the middle of a pandemic mentioned so lightly. I’m not judging, I’m surprised because is in direct opposition of public health advice at a time when covid cases are at an all time high and many hospitals are rapidly approaching capacity. I would be curious to hear more about this decision.
Hi Alyssa! I absolutely didn’t mean for our decision to come across as flippantly as it did and totally see why it may seem that way when, in fact, it was a decision we made with a lot of consideration. We are absolutely taking Covid seriously over here and I just wanted to respond your comment to let you know I answered Kit’s similar inquiry above and didn’t want you to think I ignored your question.
I don’t want to sound harsh but this actually exemplifies NOT taking Covid seriously. There is a reason cases are out of control in your country- and to be frank it is people who somehow feel safety precautions (like sticking to your own household and limiting travel to essential only) do not apply to them. No amount of justifying your decision changes the fact that you are traveling out of state, gathering with elderly family members, with a newborn- all of which fly in the face of basic public health advice.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Susan. I’m also glad you’re doing what’s right for your family and please know we absolutely take Covid seriously over here. I also understand that communicating with children when everyone is handling things differently is complicated. Our boys don’t understand why we can’t go to certain indoor facilities their friends are going to right now and didn’t get why they couldn’t play on playgrounds when other kids were when playgrounds were closed this summer, but we’re trying to explain to them that families are making the rules that work best for their families and trying to do the best they can and that might look different for different people. It’s all hard and we’re trying to make choices that work for our family. For us, driving to Florida where we’ll only stop once (we will pack a potty for the kids) and will be staying with my parents and only doing outside activities solely with my parents and sister’s family is a decision we’ve made that feels okay to us, as we’ve all been very cautious and taking Covid seriously in our everyday lives.
I was wondering the same thing! Julie, I absolutely love you and your blog and think that you and Ryan are amazing parents so please trust that I mean NO judgment at all! I know that you shared a lot in the early stages of quarantine and the pandemic about how you were navigating things, so I would love to know how you are currently coping with Covid in the holidays, especially with a newborn. Thanks so much for sharing your life with us!
Thank you for asking in such a respectful way, Kit. To answer your question, we opted to all stay home for Thanksgiving and, as a family, have all been taking Covid seriously and decided to get together for Christmas in a way that feels safe for us. This looks driving to Florida (and only stopping once + packing a potty for Chase) and, once we’re in Florida, we will be staying with my parents and limiting all of our activities with my parents and sister’s family to outdoor activities. As for how we handle day-to-day life right now, we basically only do outdoor activities as a family (other than keeping Chase and Ryder in preschool — a decision you may read more about in this blog post if you’d like: https://www.pbfingers.com/a-peek-into-our-tuesday/) and have not had any childcare for Rhett (or the boys beyond preschool). It’s all complicated and something we’re regularly evaluating and discussing.
I live in the least populated province in Canada and we have low covid cases compared to the US. We aren’t allowed to have anyone over for Christmas with one exception, you can have one single person over if it doesn’t make your household total go over five people. The fine is $2,800. My 11 year old son and I will be spending Christmas alone. As we did for thanksgiving. It amazes me how much more careful we have to be in Canada. I guess it’s keeping our numbers down. We aren’t allowed to share homemade treats either.
I’m Canadian too and we’re in the same boat. I find it wild that people are traveling in the US while we’re in lockdown. I think that the numbers speak for themselves, though. The United States’ mismanagement of the pandemic is astonishing and horrifying. One thing that I keep noticing is that people (not necessarily you, Julie) are making decisions based on local guidelines, even when local guidelines are beyond flawed. Is common sense not a thing? Is over 318k deaths not enough to convince people to just stop?! Regardless, I’m grateful that the border is closed.
Canadian here also. And I agree with everything you say. Sad sad to see this.
My parents did the same thing for my brother and I growing up – we received a special new ornament each Christmas. Many of them were hand embroidered by my Mom. I so appreciated them when I moved out on my own a few years ago and could bring a box of ornaments with me to decorate my first Christmas tree in my new apartment. I’m sure Chase, Ryder, and Rhett will cherish them and all the memories you make together as well. Merry Christmas!
Love hearing this!!
Julie – in case you are still looking for a cute gift for Chase (or even in the future) search Timex Gecko Teaching Toolkit on Amazon. We have had this watch for years and it’s still going strong. It’s a watch with elastic watch band and for kids and I thought of your little creature man right when my son put it on this morning. It’s sold on Amazon and still could arrive by Dec 24th or I’m sure would make a great surprise even from the Easter Bunny in the spring. Just wanted to pass the idea along because it is a great watch to learn also to tell time with.
For the Essie nail polish, do you add it to the entire bottle or just on top of your nails once painted?
Your photos are beautiful! Merry Christmas!
Just to the top of your nails immediately after painting!
Julie, I was just reading through all of the comments and just wanted to take a moment to share my perspective. I think, like you said, getting together with family since March 12th has been a very personal decision with many factors that go into the thought process. I have been very impressed with how you and Ryan have followed all of your state guidelines, and there’s no doubt in my mind that your family members did as well. I am glad that you all decided that you would continue to see each other, while still taking the time to discuss and plan the safest way to do so. I am absolutely devastated for anyone who has lost a family member or friend to covid.
I know so many friends who are making personal decisions for their health and safety, particularly around the holidays. I have one friend who has not had a friend or family member in her home since March 12th. She is also had her boys in daycare full-time since the pandemic started, which may have impacted her decision to try to keep her extended family as safe as possible. I have another friend who only sees her sister, her sister’s family, and her parents. In fact, she moved states to live closer to them during this time. For me personally, I did not see my parents or any other family members for the first two months for different reasons. Since then, I have seen my parents regularly (about twice a month) and will see them and my younger brother for the holidays. All of us make sure that we are always following whatever rules our governor sets, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Julie’s family is the same way. In Virginia, you cannot have more than 10 people in a home together for a gathering, a holiday, etc. I don’t know what the rules are in Florida, but Julie and her family would be able to all be together in Virginia and they would still be following the law. We have only seen one of my brothers and his family once, for about 10 minutes, since mid-march. They are much more nervous about everything and I completely understand their perspective and respect that. we have also not seen my mother-in-law too often for the same reasons, and again I completely understand and respect how she feels. I really think it is such a personal decision as to what to do, as long as you are following your state’s guidelines. We have family we have only seen once since March and they are too nervous to see us for more than about half an hour at an outdoor playground for Christmas. We completely understand and will of course do whatever makes them feel the most comfortable. I strongly feel that as long as people are following their state guidelines, seeing family becomes a personal decision. I’m wishing all of you – Julie, her family, and all of her readers and their families, a very safe holiday.
I do the ornament thing each year for my little guy too!
1- 1st year
2- a teddy bear
3- guitar
4- Olaf
5- this year I might do a pandemic one but cant decide. I am heading to Target to look today!
I have to say, something about your Christmas photo–it is my favorite Ive ever seen I think!!! A lot of it is the location and that hat!
Why is it so necessary to travel during a pandemic? I’m not talking about sticking to the current state or federal regulations; we know that not everything that is legal is advisable. You are also talking about repeated travel to and from a state that has no mask mandate. You are an influencer; maybe you don’t think of yourself that way, but you are hired to advertise for companies because you have the ability to influence your followers. If you can influence people to buy products – and we know you can, otherwise companies wouldn’t hire you for this purpose – then you can also influence people to travel during a pandemic, even if the latter influence is unintentional. You are helping to normalize an action that we know puts many people at harm. (And yes – I didn’t see my family at Thanksgiving and I won’t be seeing them at Christmas. It sucks. But ask any reputable public health expert what they are doing and what you should be doing as well.)