Soph's #1 gift...a Fairy Dora.

They both got a Rapunzel Tower (to share, of course).

Christmas

Emma's #1 toy...a Rapunzel doll.



Stocking stuffers

Dinner...crock pot recipe from Pinterest. I'll let you know how it turns out.
This is my favorite tea right now. It's great for chilly afternoons when I'm feeling tired and in need of coffee. This tricks my brain to wake up without the caffeine.
Her crazy hair after a sink bath.
"Uh-oh, I think I just called someone!"

This girl is phone obsessed! She has "baby dialed" Poppy and Daddy a few times. If you're a speed dial number, more than likely you'll get a call. My phone is my pinch hitter when I am desperate to occupy her with something.

I think she likes it mostly because my wall photo is a pic of one of the three cutest babies we've ever seen :)

What I like...

The most interesting thing I've discovered in this big purge is finding out the things I really like. As I've gone through each space and grouped stuff together I found a lot of "likes."

-striped long sleeved shirts

-small bottles of hand sanitizer

-fleece! Best fabric ever invented! I did thin out my stash, though.

-toothbrushes

-gray or cream colored clothes. They must be my "go-to" colors.

-purse sized kleenex packs

-travel coffee mugs and sippee cups

-stationery

60 day update

So, I feel like I've done a pretty good job so far going through this list. The biggest challenge lately was our closet. It hasn't had a good clean out in 7 years! I think everything came out of it (not at the same time) but in sections. I am now hanging more clothes and utilizing the empty space at the top with some small shelves I bought.

Last weekend I took 5 totes and 10+ trash bags full of clothes to my mom's church where her friend will divvy it all up and send it to the place where it will best used. It felt like a true "win-win."

My goal would be to get the playroom stuff thinned out before Christmas. That's tricky with the girls being home. I'll see what I get done.

1. Steph bathroom vanity
2. Steph bathroom closet
3. Tim hanging clothes
4. Tim socks, t-shirts
5. Tim casual shirts and sweatshirt
6. Steph pants,
7. Steph hanging shirts
8. Steph socks, undies,
9. Steph t shirts on chrome shelf
10. Steph shirts on wooden shelf
11. Steph pjs
12. Tim vanity
13. Toy shelf in living room
14. Pantry
15. bookshelf, buffet, tea cabinet
16. our dresser, desk in bedroom
17. night stands
18. cabinet with coffee cups, bottles
19. cabinet with coffee, teas
20. cabinet with spices (make room for cable box in the future)
21. bread cabinet
22. junk, utensil
23. under the kitchen sink
24. hall coat closet top
25. hall coat closet bottom
26. kitchen cups & dishes
27. above fridge cabinet
28. towels/bibs drawer
29. Girls nightstand and dresser: DONE!!
30. Emma closet: DONE!!
31. Soph closet: DONE!!
32. Girls bathroom (E&S side)
33. Lily dresser, bookshelf and toys
34. Lily closet
35. Playroom books
36. Playroom bin and baskets
37. Dress up clothes
38. basement toy bins
39. basement right shelf
40. basement left shelf
41. garage closet
42. garage shelf
43. christmas stuff
44. basement storage area
45. baby totes in attic
46. stuffed animals
47. barbie stuff
48. American Girl stuff
49. dollhouse stuff
50. playroom, my crafts on table
51. file drawer upstairs
52. my bags
53. my wallets
54. my shoes
55. 3t stuff in attic
56. 5t stuff in attic
57. Halloween decor
58. girls shoes in attic

A message from the "big guy."

Yesterday, I had a bit of a tantrum/meltdown myself. I asked the girls to clean up their room and the playroom (something that should have been done the night before). I showed them their clock and said when the long hand reaches the 12 I'm taking stuff away. It was 20+ time frame. Plenty of time to do it. I was working on sewing stuff and they were just dilly dallying picking up a few things here and there. I gave them a few reminders to look at the clock. Well, sure enough on the hour I got a basket and started gathering and then had two little chicks freaking out! I was so mad that I threatened to give that stuff to kids that would appreciate it and put it away and then ranted (I'm sure too much) about how they were acting ungrateful for the nice things they had.

After about 10 minutes of the stuff disappearing into the basement, it was all but forgotten. This upset me even more because I thought, "How can they not care about losing that stuff?!" There was a favorite baby in there and Soph's Marie. It made me realize that there is just too much of it! I have been doing a lot of work purging things in the house, but it's really time for me to hit the playroom!

The elves who witnessed our fits, must have told the big guy on their trip up north last night and he sent back a message with them. The girls found this small note rolled up in their advent calendar. We'll see if Santa can get through to them!

December

Our Advent Calendar is a big hit around here. So far, the girls have gotten Pez, Squinkies and candy.
We have the stocking up and the tree has been up without the ornaments...yet. We hope to do that this Friday during a family movie night.
We go to The Nutcracker Ballet at Butler every year. This was Soph's second time to go. Last year we went to the 2pm show, but this year we chose the 8pm show. You can see how that worked for Soph. She fell asleep in my lap soon after the second Act started.
We did have a nice dinner with Nana, Uncle Gary and Deb at Binkley's in Broad Ripple beforehand. Excuse the overflash!
A test pic for Christmas cards.

December

Lily was helping me put together some shelves for our closet. She was testing out the weight limit I guess.
Every morning I put Lily in her walker and give her a pile of Cheerios. It keeps her occupied for quite a while...and Tank, too!

Helping me with the laundry.
The first day of December meant our first visit from the Elves (Snowflake & Holly). They fly up to the North Pole every night to report to Santa if the girls have been good or not. In the morning they are someplace new in the house. Fun for the girls to find them each morning.

Thanksgiving

We loaded up the car (and I mean LOADED) and headed up to Michigan to spend the Thanksgiving weekend at Tim's grandparents. All of his siblings and their kids were there. We had a great time. Stayed up late playing cards and games, great food and the ladies, as always, made out like bandits at the Christmas Bazaar. I am feeling really bad that I didn't take ANY pics at the house or dinner or the family. The only time I got my camera out was at the Anniversary party at the church. Shameful, I know! These kids ran and played and ran and played. They were wiped out at night.
Olivia, Emma, Soph & Abby. Soph & Abby are the same age and will be in school together. They are quite the pair. They loved and fought like sisters over the weekend.

This one was a handful at the party. She just wanted to crawl around and chase the bigger kids. She was obsessed with trying to crawl into the bathroom. I guess it looked like an exciting place.

Our Thanksgiving

Our Anniversary gift from all of us was a thumbprint family tree. I wish I would have gotten a close up of it. It have everyone's thumb print with their name next to it. This poster traveled between Indiana, Tennessee and Michigan to get completed! Grandma said if anyone gets in trouble she'd have our prints for proof! :)
I wish I would have gotten some pics at the house. This pretty much sums up what the girls did all weekend...played with their cousins. They had a blast! I was proud of how well the older cousins did with the younger ones. They did a great job!
All the kids singing, "Happy Anniversary."

Happy 65th Anniversary, Grandma & Grandpa Somers!