An Advent Calendar + An Auction

I few weeks ago I was contacted by Ekubo Ministries to donate an item for their holiday auction from my Etsy shop. I knew exactly what I wanted to donate! 

You see, some moms in my area have been working hard at making felt Jesse tree ornaments for a holiday advent calendar. My creative juices started flowing and I stayed up way too late for a few nights creating some printables to go along with the ornaments for these lovely mommas. I am not selling them in my Etsy shop, but you can get one theough the Ekubo Ministries Holiday Auction - here!

Hurry! The auction ends on Sunday!

Happy Birthday, America

I'm taking the day off to celebrate this great country and spend time with family. I hope all of my US friends are doing the same and all of my international friends, at least, enjoys the little extra cuteness of Winsley's weekly photo below - see all of her weekly photos here.  

Have a very happy and safe Independence Day!

A Wedding Anniversary

It feels like John and I have been together for decades and we kind of have, well, one decade. This year will mark 12 years since we started dating. But, today we will be celebrating 4 years since we said 'I do'. 

I'm still crazy in love with that boy that I fell in love with in high school and absolutely adore the man he has become. Here's to many many more years of wedded chaos!

Korean 100 Day Ceebration

We not only celebrated Father's Day this weekend, but we got together to celebrate Winsley's 100th day. It sounds funny to celebrate less than 4 months here on earth, but it was a big deal back in the day in South Korea. You see, back in the day, the survival rate for children was very low and mothers would keep their newborns indoors to prevent any illnesses and increase the baby's chance of survival. On the 100th day after the child's birth, the mother would finally take her child outdoors and finally meet the neighbors, friends, and relatives. 

Traditionally, rice cake would be served to 100 people - a little superstition thought to help protect the child's life. We celebrated with rice cake, but we certainly didn't share it with 100 people. Hmmm. Maybe that's why Winsley is starting to catch a cold that I was sure was out of everyone's system last week. Back to the rice cake - I'm not a fan. It's literally cake. . . made out of rice. Rice flour, sugar, and salt. That's it. Where's the icing?! And I am certain that there is only a dash of sugar. My husband claims it is sweet, but I just taste bland rice. On the other hand, all of our Korean relatives aren't big fans of American desserts - they think they are too sweet. :)

Father's Day Ideas

Didn't we just celebrate Mother's Day? Sometimes I feel like we are celebrating a holiday every week! However, this is one of the holidays that really deserves to be celebrated. Father's Day is just around the corner (June 16th). Whether you're thanking your dad for not disowning you during those rough teenage years or giving your hubby a pat on the back for being a such a great dad to your little ones, here are two great ideas for Father's Day gifts from some very cute etsy shops:

I wrote about this incredibly adorable Etsy shop when I was hinting to my husband what to get me for Mother's Day. Rain from Cheeky Kumquat makes the most hilarious cards that I have seen in a while. Go check out her shop, you will not be disappointed!

I have seen a lot of these road shirts on Pinterest and you could certainly DIY your own, but look at what a great job they did on this one! The Blue Basket Shop did a fantastic job on this shirt. In fact, this is the ONLY item listed in the shop. I would say 'go check them out,' but this is pretty much it. If you want to get a t-shirt for the dad on your list that doubles as an activity for the kids and a back massage for dad, go buy this one now. I'm thinking I should get one for myself now. :)

Yeah, so I could only come up with two good ideas. It's hard to find a guy a good gift. 

Hope you find the perfect gift for your father / grandfather / husband / brother / uncle or whoever you are celebrating on Father's Day! :)

Bless Your Momma this Mother's Day

Mother's day is right around the corner (Sunday the 12th to be exact), so what better way to show mom how much you love her than buying her a sweet gift. Okay, so maybe a better way would be to spend the day with her, but those of you who don't have the luxury of living close by can send an awesome gift to their incredible momma!  These prints were just added to the etsy shop and would make perfect Mother's Day gifts:

If prints or scripture don't do it for your momma, may I suggest a few products that I'm lovin' on etsy right now (take note hubby):

For the chef mom, this incredible custom cutting board from Wood Ink. Since I'm not quite the chef mom, I would probably hang it on the wall. The perfect art piece for a barely used kitchen. :)

Get this funny card from Cheeky Kumquat to make your momma giggle. You should also check out the other cards from this seller - like this one and this one and since I'm currently potty training my 2 year old, this one!  Hilarious!

If your momma prefers jewelry, this nest necklace from Uqfashion is perfect! There are many shops making these cute nest necklaces & rings, but I'm in love with this particular one because you can add the initials of each child (or egg). Love it!

What did you get your sweet momma for Mother's Day?  or did I just remind you that it was next week and you're now on etsy searching for the perfect gift? :)

Hippity Hoppity Easter!

Hope everyone had a fun and family-filled Easter celebration!  We traveled to Charlotte once again to visit family. It was Winsley's first trip to Charlotte and our first trip with 2 kids. It's funny how two little tiny humans require so much stuff. Hopefully, the car will become less crowded as they grow older. 

Thanks to lots of hand-me-downs and some very generous gift givers, we are overrun with toys in this house and a no-napping toddler certainly does not need any candy to help her get through the day.  So, I have made the executive decision to fill our Easter baskets with things we already have around the house this year.  John was a little disappointed that he couldn't steal candy out of the girl's baskets, but he will have plenty of chances to do that in the coming years. Winsley's basket (on the right) just had some stuffed animals and a book. It was more of a see-we-got-you-SOMETHING kind of thing since she wouldn't be opening anything and certainly wouldn't remember anything from her first Easter. Ellington's basket had some of her favorite things: Play-Doh, Chalk, ChapStick, Bubbles, and a few other extras that my mom had around her house.

Ellington immediately wanted to go outside and 'write' with her chalk but she also insisted on keeping her egg shaped 'lip stuff' close by. This led to her trying to use the egg shaped chalk as chap stick by accident. After plenty of chalk writing and bubble blowing, it was time for the Easter egg hunt!

She loved filling her basket up with eggs. I see lots of competitive Easter egg hunts in our future as Winsley joins in on the fun. You may notice in some of the pictures that her basket says "Quinn". That's because it is really my Easter basket handmade by my very crafty momma. She plans on making Ellington and Winsley baskets of their own, but didn't have the supplies or the time this year to make it happen.

And what did we put in the eggs?  Not Candy!  Ellington didn't question us at all when we told her to find plastic eggs and put them in her basket, but she did become very curious about what was in these mysterious eggs about half way through the hunt.

MONEY!  The eggs were filled with coins for her piggie bank. Currently, Ellington is a bit obsessed with money. She constantly asks 'where my money go?' meaning she wants her piggie bank or she wants to find her faux credit card and pretend to go buy a Coke. No, I don't let her drink soda... This must mean that I need to go to Diet Coke rehab. Hey, at least she doesn't pretend to buy Pepsi. That would be a sin in our house and would certainly require a timeout!  :)

While Ellington was busy with gifts and playing with CiCi's dog (Birdie), Winsley met Boss (or Aunt Malone) for the first time. Winsley slept or ate most of the time, so quality time with other family members was limited this visit. Maybe next time she will be a little less attached to me and more willing to let others hold her for more than 5 minutes.

We also took a little time to introduce Winsley to her great-grandmother.  This was one of many more visits to come. :)

Happy Easter!!

Did St. Patrick's Day already happen?

To quote my husband 'This was the lamest St. Patrick's day ever!'... and he was totally right.  While pregnant, I had already planned our day.  It was to include a green-themed breakfast and a trip to Raleigh to see the parade.  The weather was perfect for watching a parade too!  Unfortunately, taking a 1 week old out in a big crowd is not the best thing to do, so we stayed home instead.

I feel like this holiday snuck up on us a bit anyway as I jumped out of bed to try to find something green in my closet that fit me right now.  The girls and I wore green all day and that's about as festive as we got.  Since I have not been to the grocery store in weeks, there was nothing green on our breakfast plates and sleep deprivation meant that my mind couldn't even come up with a St. Patrick's day craft.

Oh well.  There's always next year! :)

Valentine's Day & A Free Printable

Holidays like this one have always been a favorite of mine.  No, it's not because girls are usually the receivers of all of the gifts (although that doesn't hurt).  It's because you can get so creative with activities and food.  I love a good DIY project!  Our plans for tomorrow are in the works and I couldn't be more excited to start new Valentine's Day traditions with my little one.

If all goes as planned, our morning will start with heart-shaped pancakes (dyed pink) and strawberries along with pink milk.  Lunch will be a date with Daddy at a local cafe and dinner isn't quite planned out yet.  We also plan on making these awesome fruit snacks (strawberry, of course).  A little tip for the fruit snacks... Target has just-the-right-size trays for this project in their dollar section right now, so go pick up a few and make this yummy snack!  Any other food suggestions?  I promise this day isn't totally planned around food.  I am one very pregnant lady (11 days to go!), so food is often the first thing on my mind.

Later today, we are headed to our local dollar store to pick up a few crafts.  On the craft agenda for tomorrow include a heart garland (like this one), a homemade card for Daddy (here are some super cute ideas), some heart shaped hats (like this one), and lots of pink and red and purple - everywhere!

A Free Printable for You!  Just Copy & Paste or Print :)

In honor of this fun day, I've made up a little printable that you can copy and do with what you like... maybe turn it into a card or a little Valentine's Day decoration.  Happy Valentine's Day!

What are your plans?

UPDATE:  A no-napping two year old meant we didn't get a lot of things on our to-do list checked off, but we did have fun with the food portion of the day and we even attempted a little photoshoot with our new heart garland... with mixed results.  Hope your Valentine's Day was a success!

This Guy :)

Happy Birthday to one amazing guy!  Your birthday gift this year is another little girl to love you as much as Ellington and I do... although, delivery of this gift will be a little late. :)  Love You John!

New Year's Celebration

Our new year has had a great start.  We have moved into our very own home in Durham and we are slowly in the process of unpacking all of these boxes.

We didn't quite make it to midnight on New Year's Eve, but we made up for it by celebrating with John's family on New Year's day.  We had a very delicious meal at a little Korean restaurant in Durham and then Ellington put on her 'pretty dress' or hanbok to bow to her grandparents.

Ellington loves her 'pretty dress' and would wear it everyday if I let her.  She also loved all of the attention she got from bowing in the middle of the living room.

Maybe we will make it to midnight next year... or maybe sleep is more important when you have kids. :)

Christmas Morning Traditions

Christmas is really one of my favorite holidays and not just because you get to give and receive tons of gifts.  I love all of the traditions that each family adopts over the years.  One of my favorite traditions is our family's Christmas morning breakfast... does it really surprise you that a pregnant woman's favorite tradition involves food?  We always have delicious sausage pinwheels, cheese grits, Moravian sugar cake, eggs, and -of course- bacon.  The conclusion of breakfast always leads to the opening of presents and more time spent with family.

We also have a tradition of opening two gifts on Christmas Eve; matching pajamas to wear the next morning and a Christmas story to read that night before bed.  

One of my favorite gifts was a matching t-shirt set for Ellington and her new baby sister.  I cannot wait to get  my two girls dressed in these adorable shirts for a little photoshoot.

One of Ellington's favorite gifts was her new kitchen!  It has not made the trip to Durham yet, but she talks about it often and I know she will just be thrilled when it finally arrives in it's own special place at the new house.

And a Christmas post could not be complete without Ellington's reaction to the gift that Santa brought her.  Here is last year's video... I cannot believe how much she has grown in just one year!

A Very Merry Christmas Eve

We started our Christmas Eve with a visit to John's parents' store.  Harabujee asked if Ellington wanted any candy and she decided that meant that she could go on a candy shopping-spree.  Don't worry.  She didn't keep all of it... I think we maybe just let her have a few m&ms when all was said and done.

Next, it was off to Mommo's house to spend time with my side of the family.  Ellington loved opening gifts this year and even 'helped' open a few gifts that weren't hers.

One of her favorite parts about the day, was handing gifts off to each person.  She really liked when Birdie (the dog) got a gift.  I think Birdie was trying to sleep, but Ellington kept waking her up with more gifts.

Ellington has really enjoyed her new plates and cups.  Each morning or evening or really just whenever she gets a chance, she'll offer me coffee or tea in her tiny cups.  It's a good thing they're tiny too because she will keep 'pouring' refills until we leave the house.

 This was one great Christmas Eve celebration and I know that Ellington really enjoyed all of the excitement this year!

Santa Baby

Is it January already?  I feel like Christmas just flew by... I have found that visits and holidays always go by a lot quicker with little ones around.  We moved over the Christmas holiday, so our visit to Charlotte was cut short a little.  I almost didn't think we would have time to make it to see Santa this year, but we drove down the weekend before Christmas to see him.

**Sorry for lack of a Santa photo.  The scanner is on the third floor of our new house and my pregnant self just hasn't made it up there yet**

Santa was an hour late (he must've been busy making last minute toys for good little girls and boys), so we waited in line forever.  Entertainment included taking Ellington to her favorite store, Pottery Barn.  She would live in Pottery Barn if they would allow that sort of thing. Once we finally got to the front of the line, Ellington waved at Santa and shouted 'Hi. HI. Hi, Santa!' trying to get his attention.  Unfortunately, this enthusiasm did not last long.  As soon as we had our chance to meet the big man, Ellington froze up and wanted to move back behind the gate.  No crying was involved, but I did have to make a cameo in the Santa picture this year.

Our trip to see Santa may not have been a success this year, but decorating Ellington's very own Christmas tree at Mommo's house was a HUGE success!

She very patiently and carefully put each ornament on the tree and even gave the angel her own purse to carry.  What girl doesn't need a good purse?  Even an angel. :)

We also took a nice walk with Mommo.  The weather wasn't really cold enough for Ellington's faux fur coat, but she insisted on wearing it and it does look awfully cute on her.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

California Dreamin'

Our big trip to California started with a very early wake up call to get to the airport in time for Ellington's first airplane ride.  I was so excited to see her reaction to take-off / landing, but she seemed very unimpressed with the whole thing.  We stared out the airplane window as we took off and I said 'Ellington, look!  We are leaving the ground.'  Her response: 'Truck'  She saw a much more interesting truck driving around on the tarmac and then she turned to me to grab my phone and started taking the first of 100 photos.  Her new favorite activity is taking pictures and saying 'cheese' with each photo... Does this me I might be a bit of a momarazzi?  

After taking photos, reading a few books, singing, playing with painter's tape (a great tip from my mom's friends), and a brief crying episode, Ellington slept like - well, like a baby for the rest of the flight.  Later that day, we ate a very yummy Thanksgiving dinner with the Yi's and the Kim's (my sister-in-laws boyfriend and his family).

Day#2 brought us to the Chinese Theater for a little tourist action... Not really something I plan on doing again.  The creepy characters roaming around outside were a bit too much for this protective momma.

Is was a bit fun to see all of the footprints / handprints from famous people, but the crowds were horrendous.  I think this might just be a once in a lifetime visit for the Yi family.

We had planned a closer visit to the Hollywood sign, but decided it would look the same from a distance.  And I got a great shot of our tour guide (Momo's boyfriend) and Momo (what Elli calls my sister-in-law).  This was taken right before I discovered that I had failed to charge my camera. Whoops. The next batch of photos might not be the best quality because they are iPhone photos, but that's not really what matters right?

We ended our day at the Santa Monica pier.  It was a little chilly and very foggy. 

Due to Ellington's fear on our local carousel, we decided to skip the rides at the amusement park.  Besides, we weren't prepared for the cold weather, so we quickly walked down the pier for a photo op and then through the park before heading back to the car.

 Poor little Ellington was freezing and a bit confused as to why we woke her up to take more pictures.

She definitely perked up when Momo and Brian won her a monkey at the amusement park.  As you can see, several of us tried before the monkey was actually won.  In the end, it was a combined effort. :)  We had a great second day, but I couldn't wait to climb into bed and get a good nights sleep!