Friday, December 12, 2014

Deck The Halls!

I had wanted to share my Christmas decorations with y'all last week, but time got away- doesn't it always? So, here we are today, sharing how I decorated my house this year!

I just love decorating for Christmas! I typically decorate in November during the last away football game of the season. That way, DJ is gone and he doesn't have to endure the mess! The girls and I have a pajama day and we get it all done.

So, come on in, and enjoy taking a peek around our home. 
I decorate with an old-world style in my entry way. My mom gave me these Santa's and I have loved pulling them out every year. I have a mini chalkboard, and a few pictures of the girls from Christmas.
This is in our 2nd little entry area. The tall cabinets hold the girls shoes, socks, and gloves. Above are their newborn pictures, and on the top of the cabinets, I placed a little metal snowman that Gretchen's first babysitter gave us, "Snow" figures, and then Adalyn's mistletoes that she made us last year at daycare.
Next stop is the girls' bathroom. I put their little Christmas tree in here. and then I decorated the shelves above the potty.
I use to keep their tree in the playroom, but once Adalyn arrived, the playroom became Gretchen's bedroom, so now their bathroom is their only shared space.

I kept their bathroom happy and playful. I put Santa pictures from previous years on the shelves, a plush snowman, and some fun metal signs, and Christmas towels.

Next stop, the dining room.
I use to overdecorate my table. Now, I like to keep it as simple as possible so it makes clean up a breeze.
I placed greenery in a red urn that I had, and then added stems of berries. 
The girls also have a fun little sideboard in the kitchen. That's where I put their advent, gingerbread plates, a gingerbread plush, a fun little metal elf, a few decks of cards, and crayons.
Above the kid table is this metal gingerbread.
On the other side of the dining room, I hung pictures we made last year with their hand and foot prints. We'll be making more this year!

And, on to the kitchen:
Most of my kitchen is decorated with Spode, with a few other pieces thrown in. 
The Spode Christmas pattern is my favorite. I love how it's a classic design. 

I had a Christmas themed wedding shower before we got married, and many of my Christmas decorations came from my wedding shower. I also have Spode dishes and glasses, that I love getting to use this time of year!
I decorated the ledge behind my kitchen sink with greenery, silver pinecone candlestick holders, and added lots of red sparkles in my stands and in a glass urn. 
The greenery with the fruit was used at our wedding. Many of the fruit pieces are beginning to fade, but I love looking and remember the memory of that day.
I kept the decorations minimal in the living room, except for the fireplace. I just love an overly decorated mantle at Christmas time!

I used holly bushes, sparkly ornaments, berries, and red feathers. 
On our end table, I put pictures from the girls First Christmas'. 
I decorated the banister with greenery and deco-mesh.

I love deco mesh, and feel like it makes a huge statement and it is so easy! I use floral wire, and just tie it into place!

And, our Christmas tree this year:
I used the same red and lime green mesh to decorate the tree, and I bought a new lime green and red tree skirt for us. 

Gretchen has been making letters and drawing pictures to give as Christmas gifts, so she's been putting them under our tree. 

Every year, I tell DJ that we are going to get a new tree, and for the past 9 years, we've used the same one that we bought for our first Christmas together. 
Our tree holds a hodge lodge of ornaments. I love that it doesn't have a theme, but that it has memories. Isn't that what it's all about anyway?
My mom buys the girls an ornament every year. Last year, they all received a princess. We also have hand painted ornaments from each of the universities DJ has worked for. 
We have Fontini's and Radko's mixed in with handmade ornaments from the kids!
My tree topper is nothing more than floral pics. I have everything from a holly bush, sparkling green twirly things, sparkling holly, red feathers, and more red sparkles. After our tree is decorated, I add just shove everything into the top in a hodge podge manner, and it always looks fabulous. 
I decided to put our nativity in our master bedroom. I honestly didn't have the tablespace for it this year, and I was afraid if it was too low, that Adalyn would get into it. I actually love having it in my bedroom, and may decide to put it here every year. My mom gave us our nativity as a wedding present. 
I think it's beautiful because all of the figures have sparkles and shimmer. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed your Christmas tour!

Have a great weekend!
XOXO


Wednesday, December 10, 2014

#Weltegram2014 November 20-December 7

To say that this post is long over due is probably the understatement of the century! I have been meaning to sit down and add these pictures for the past few weeks, but other blog posts, being out of town, and just plain not having the time have gotten in the way. Nevertheless, this post is getting published and I can give myself a pat on the back for finally getting it posted! Yay me!

To keep up with me every day: follow @ewelte on Instagram.
November 20- Happy (preschool) Turkey day!

The girls have an annual Thanksgiving meal at preschool and their parents are able to go and eat lunch with the kiddos. I wasn't able to get off, but DJ went and I dressed Megan and Adalyn in their turkey day dresses.
November 21- Movie night with my girls!

DJ was out of town for the last away football game of the year (whoopee!) so the girls and I rented Mr. Peabody and Sherman.
November 22- Mani/pedi night!
November 23- Picnic time so we can watch the new Sofia the First episode AND so I don't have to sweep my kitchen floors again.

Y'all, I'm telling you living room picnics are THE BEST! I just put down our picnic blanket, let the girls sit and eat (put their drinks in something non-spillable) and when we're done, everything gets picked up, I throw the blanket in the washing machine and I may have to run my vacuum cleaner, but it is MUCH easier than sweeping my kitchen floors and the girls think it's tons of fun!
November 24- Getting some homework done before heading home!

It is much easier for Gretchen and I to do her homework before we leave school so we aren't interrupted by her little sisters!
November 25- Nothing says "Road Trip" like dinner at McDonald's!
November 26-These cousins are going to be best friends.

Funny little story- Amelia, my niece, was at Sunday school and had to draw a family picture. She drew a picture of herself, her mom, and her dad, and then added two other little girls- her "sisters" which happened to be Gretchen and Megan. 
November 27- Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We were hungry and sleepy, and this is the best I was getting in the moment! 
November 28- Our first Branson day and getting spoiled by their Gee. She let them each pick out a Build-a-Bear and they all chose the same pink bear!
November 29- The best shopping buddy ever!
November 30- We threw all the girls in a shopping buggy in order to keep them confined while we waited to visit Santa!
December 1- The girls are so excited to have daddy home for dinner!

Seriously, this is maybe the 4th dinner we've had together as a family since July! Thank you football season.
December 2- Filling up the advent!
December 3- Watching Santa Clause 3!!!! I just love this time of year!
December 4- A late night Santa run!
December 5- Decorating the Christmas tree!

Gretchen's pajamas available through my shop.
December 6- Watching Maleficent on a lazy Saturday pajama day!
December 7- Watching daddy put the lights on the house!

Woohoo! Thanks for hanging with me through a super long catch up of our #Weltegram2014s!!!!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Our Last Branson Day & Our Elf Returns

The Sunday after Thanksgiving was our last Branson day. You can read about Day 1 of our Branson trip here and day 2 here. 

We typically only stay in Branson for 3 days. We arrive Friday around 1, and then we get up Sunday morning, pack up, clean the condo/house and then we do any last minute shopping and we all head home. 

This year, we decided to wait and save our Santa visit for Sunday morning. My mom and sis-in-law had to head out to The Landings anyway, and visiting Santa at The Bass Pro Shop is the best because they give you a free picture. We dressed all of the girls in their matching outfits, and we arrived around 10. Unfortunately, Santa doesn't arrive until noon. I guess he likes to sleep in a bit. 

Since we had to wait, we went down to Kirklands for my mom and sis-in-law to buy new lamps. We figured we would go eat afterwards, but by the time they were finished, we only had about an hour to kill so we stayed at The Landings. 
I didn't realize we'd be there all morning, so I put Addy in the Ergo and left the stroller in the car. Gretchen took this picture of us.

Unfortunately, Adalyn had another huge blow out and I was left washing and drying the poop off her pants in the bathroom. All because we wanted the girls to be "matching" for their Santa pics. I think she pooped three times before we saw Santa, and the poop ended up on her or me. It was lovely.

We let the girls walk around while we wasted time. I guess we could've shopped some more, but we really didn't have anything else that we needed to buy. And obviously, these little houligan's would've been pretty wild in a store.

Three little messes.

That's my niece with the big girls. Addy was on my back.
I'm pretty sure these sister-cousins are going to get in lots of trouble down the road!

When it was finally time to go see Santa, the line was crazy long! I guess we should've gone down there sooner, but I had no idea that it would be as crowded as it was.
We threw all the girls in a basket in order to keep them confined. Best idea ever.  And, yes, I even changed another poopy diaper on our wait. Maybe I should've titled this post, "The Day Adalyn Did Nothing But Poop." 

After 20 minutes, we finally saw Santa and did our round of Santa pictures. My three girls, one of all the girls, and then one of just my niece, A. 

After Santa, we decided to eat lunch and then the girls and I would head back to Oklahoma, while my mom, sister in law, grandma, and niece headed back to Arkansas. 
This pretty much sums up how Gretchen and I felt about our Branson trip being over. 
When we got home, our elf had arrived and brought the girls a Gingerbread House to make! He even spelled out "Build Me A Home" with lifesaver gummies, because for some reason, he couldn't find the Christmas candy at the store. 

The girls and I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, and our Branson trip always puts us in the mood for Christmas!