2016 | Year in Review

I must be feeling oddly nostalgic because it feels like every other post I've written this month is some kind of year-end recap. First, I wrote about my favorite bloggers. Second, I wrote about my favorite reads. Yesterday, I wrote about my most popular and my personal favorite blog posts for the year.

However, I feel like I can't let the year end without taking some time to reflect on life in 2016. 

JANUARY

We found out we were expecting Baby #2! Though we weren't not trying, we weren't expecting to get pregnant so it was a bit of a shock. I had pretty bad morning sickness, so I didn't do much but rest and try not to throw up this month.

FEBRUARY

Charlie's cousin twin, Lucie (they were born 6 weeks apart) turned 1! We had our first doctor's appointment to confirm our pregnancy and made the official announcement the day before Valentine's Day (because I just couldn't wait any longer!). I hosted a Galentine's Day brunch and managed to take zero pictures of our awesome lady gathering. I also did something I've always wanted to do- met a blogger friend in real life! Jenn and I took our boys (who are only 2 days apart in age) out for breakfast. 

MARCH

March was another month plagued by morning sickness, so not much worth noting occurred. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the Ohio primaries and we celebrated Charlie's second Easter with family.

APRIL

Jenn and I got our boys together for a play date. We found out Baby #2's gender! After months of speculating that we were having a girl, we discovered I was about to become a #boymom times two! Chuck celebrated a birthday (though for some reason I have no photographic evidence of the surprise family brunch I planned) and I turned 28 a week later. We drove up to New York to spend a long weekend with my family and had a Mommy/Daddy date night.

MAY

In May, we started trying out Blue Apron deliveries and grew to love them. I drove to NY again for my sister's graduate school graduation. It was the longest amount of time I'd ever spent away from Charlie and though my sister and I had an awesome time together, I was ready to come home to my baby boy! On the drive back, I managed to meet up with my high school best friend who was also in NY for her sister's wedding. We had a much too short breakfast together before we had to go our separate ways, but it was such a blessing getting to see her at all since we now live 4 states apart. 

JUNE

I was pretty much on the road 24/7 doing site visits and trainings for work. I made my first East Coast-road trip in what felt like decades to meet up with my college besties for a girls' weekend. I ate pizza, stopped by Wawa and spent a day on the Jersey shore. It was everything my newly Midwestern heart could have asked for. My sister moved in with us while she was job hunting to be a live-in Nanny for Charlie. My Mom came into town the last weekend and managed to pull off a surprise baby shower. 

JULY

We spent a weekend with Chuck's aunt and uncle and started getting the house ready for the new baby. I joined the Dayton Moms Blog team as a Contributor. I was fat and hot so that was pretty much it.

AUGUST

We prepared for baby to be born at the end of the month. I took my maternity leave a week early so I could spend some quality time with Charlie. 

SEPTEMBER

Crosby decided to be born 8 days after his due date. While we waited, Chuck and I went on two date nights to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. My Mom stayed with us for a week to help. She wound up barely getting to see our newborn grandson before she had to return home. After Chuck returned to work, and our family members departed, I was on my own with two baby boys! At the end of the month, we attended our friends' wedding and had a few hours away from the boys. 

OCTOBER

My sister came into town to meet her new nephew and we got matching sister tattoos together. On a whim, I decided to take advantage of the time left I had on maternity leave to drive to North Carolina by myself with a 22-month old and 6-week old to visit my high school bestie. A 25-hour round trip drive with babies was not ideal, but I figured I could go crazy at home by myself, or go crazy and be with my best friend whom I never get to see for a few days. I coordinated our family's adorable costumes and we went trick-or-treating downtown, followed by passing out candy at our friends' house who live two doors down. I made the impossible decision to quit my job and submitted my letter of resignation. 

NOVEMBER

We started regularly attending our local Friends' meeting (aka: a Quaker church). I cried for 48 hours straight after the Presidential election and then got side-swiped while driving on the highway. My Mom came to visit for a weekend. I returned to work for 3 weeks to tie up loose ends before saying by tearful goodbye. My sister spent Thanksgiving weekend with us. Charlie was sick the entire weekend so we stayed in and watched Friends while Chuck brought us leftovers from his family's Thanksgiving. My Dad was hospitalized after a mild heart attack.

DECEMBER

I hosted a ladies' book and Christmas cookie exchange (and once again, took no pictures). I got to see The Nutcracker as part of a Dayton Moms Blog sponsored post. We had an early Christmas with Chuck's family and then attended our friends' annual themed birthday party. Chuck got rear-ended two days before we were set to leave (boo!). We traveled up to New York once again for Christmas with my family. where my Dad (who was home from the hospital) and step-dad got to meet Crosby for the first time. Charlie celebrated his second birthday with bounce houses, balloons, and eating his cake like a little piglet! 

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I get why people are ragging on 2016- it was rough on all of us. There were some definite low points for me, but overall, I got to spend a ton of time with loved ones and welcomed a beautiful, little boy into the world, so I'm not ready to write off 2016 just yet. 

As the New Year approaches, I will be praying for new opportunities for growth and professional development. For opportunities to pay down debt and become more financially secure. For blessed time spent with friends and family. But most of all, for the health and happiness of my little family- they are my most (bee)autiful blessing.

Two Years as Mommy

Two years ago, after 24 hours of labor all through Christmas Day, a sweet 6 lb 7 oz baby boy joined our family and this Mommy has never been the same. I don't know that I will ever fully comprehend how one person can change you so much, in such a short period of time. But Charlie Davis has changed me in a million and one of the best ways possible. If I am able to make it through this post without bursting into hysterical sobs, it will be a Christmas miracle.

THE STATS

At two years old, Charlie is still a peanut (22 lbs!) He only recently eats what feels like a normal amount for his age (his appetite has always seemed very small). Not to mention, I'm pretty sure he burns off everything he eats from running around like a crazy person! I know every Mom thinks their kid is the sweetest and the smartest, but Charlie totally is (#babygenius!). His vocabulary constantly astounds me, he's terrific at remembering names and identifying people, and he just recently started to be able to pronounce three-syllable words (his first was "bicycle" and to hear him say it is the cutest thing ever!). We're actively working on our letters and numbers. He can pronounce all of them, but doesn't yet have them memorized to recite them on his own. He can count to ten with Mommy and Daddy's help and up to three on his own. 

BIG BROTHER

Up until recently, with the exception of the occasional good night kiss, Charlie hasn't shown much interest in Crosby. However, in the last few weeks he wants to give him more snugs and say "Hi baby!" as soon as he sees him in the morning. They both seem really fond of each other. Charlie is terrific at being "gentle" with the baby, and in turn, Crosby seems to really love his attention.

Out of ten tries, this was literally the best I could get. 🙄 #toddlerproblems #boymom #stuckertbabies #twoundertwo #charliedavis #crosbyloren #mommyblogger

A photo posted by Kaity | (Bee)autiful Blessings (@beeautifulblessings) on Dec 21, 2016 at 7:43am PST

POTTY TRAINING

I didn't want to start until after the holidays, lest he digress from all of the change in his routine. He has started to show interest in his potty seat and has sat on it a few times, but hasn't actually gone. He's a pretty quick learner so I'm feeling cautiously optimistic that he'll catch on and be using the potty in no time!

LIFE

Since quitting my job to stay home, Charlie has seemed so much happier and just generally more himself. He's an easygoing kid and is fairly good at going with the flow and being in new places, but he would come home in the evening so grumpy and off that the limited time I had with him after work was not really enjoyable. Now that we're together all day, we have grown much closer and I don't think my husband would disagree that Mommy is pretty much his favorite person in the world right now. He always raises his arms and asks for a "hug" which is his way of asking to be picked up, so that he can help me cook, or do chores around the house.

If Stevie Wonder and Ross Gellar had a lovechild... 😂 #charliedavis #23months #oldmanstuckertsfamilyband

A video posted by Kaity | (Bee)autiful Blessings (@beeautifulblessings) on Dec 1, 2016 at 5:50am PST

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Charlie knows no stranger. Everyone is his friend and people in the the grocery store will comment on how friendly he is. We can't go anywhere without him saying "Hi!" and "Bye bye!" to everyone he comes into contact with. Outside of our immediate family, his favorite people are probably his Aunt Kelly (they're pretty much obsessed with each other) and our family friend, Dale. Dale comes over every once in awhile to fix something at our house, loan a tool, or give me guidance on how to fix something myself and Charlie loves those visits. He loves watching Dale use his tools and is content to just sit and watch for hours on end. He received his very own toolbox for Christmas so he goes around the house hammering things, and anytime he sees a white truck or anyone who remotely resembles him out in public he always points and shouts, "Dale! Dale!" (which is not embarrassing at all for Mommy! Haha).

As for Mommy...

I just can't say enough about this sweet boy. Not all days are easy as he navigates his newfound toddler independence, but all days are more joy-filled than I could have imagined before becoming his Mommy. Charlie Davis, I love you more than words could possibly express. Thank you for being the sweet, silly, and lovable boy that you are. I hope you never change.

10 Best Reads in 2016

I'm fairly certain that every other post I've written this year has been book-related. It's a wonder that anyone reads this blog at all. But alas, I know what I'm about. So presented without fanfare, here are my Top 10 Favorite Reads from my 2016 Book Challenge:

10. Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat by Chrissy Teigen
Some may argue that this doesn't count because it's a cookbook, but to those I say- this is my list and I can do what I want! Also, this cookbook may be my favorite of all time. Seriously. My expectations were low because how good can a supermodel's cooking be, right? But holy moly- I've made several of Chrissy's recipes and each one has been ridiculously delicious. I can't recommend this cookbook enough!

9. A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
This book was like the feminist version of A.J. Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically, which I also enjoyed. I loved that Evans took on the challenge of literally interpreting women's roles in the Bible and the conclusions (some surprising) she came to at its conclusion.

8. Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
Although this won't actually be published until January 3, I received it through NetGalley and I'm so thankful I got to read it. I am not a short story girl, but this book blew my freaking mind. To say this woman can write would be a gross understatement. This was my first of Gay's, but Bad Feminist is now topping my list of upcoming to-reads!

7. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
This book was recommended to me as a good audio-book to listen to. I loved it- the perfect combination of spooky, clever, and fun. My only criticism is that the ending felt a little drawn out, but the rest of the book was so wonderful and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the perfectly fitting music that aided in transitioning between chapters was actually Bela Fleck. Super fun audio-book read.

6. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
This was another NetGalley request and thank goodness because the waiting list at my library was unbearably long! Like most people, I was familiar with Trevor Noah as host of The Daily Show. I've long thought he was incredibly insightful, intelligent, articulate and funny so I assumed his memoir would be the same. It was all of those things, but admittedly, it was not very humorous. I don't know how you tell a story of growing up "born a crime" in post-apartheid South Africa, or as a survivor of domestic violence and make it funny. So Noah didn't and it was amazing just the same. I felt that this book and his musings on race were especially timely given the current political climate in the U.S.

5. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon
I was pleasantly surprised to find this book full of depth and terrific content. It delved into RBG's most "notorious" opinions and dissents, including notes in the margins providing background, insight into why Ginsburg's words were so significant and translating constitutional law into layman's terms. This book had the potential to be really superficial, or boring and text-heavy. It was neither. The story behind RBG's legacy was approachable and well-written. Highly recommend!

4. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer performs the ultimate beautiful balancing act of tackling serious issues like sexual assault, domestic abuse, gun violence and her Dad's debilitating medical condition with laugh-out-loud hilarious sexcapades and experiences as a stand-up comic. She is candid, honest, heartfelt and her book is so full of girl power, self-love and positivity that I wanted to burst with love and admiration for her.

3. The Royal We by Heather Cocks
Although I really had no interest in the British royal family, this book made me feel like I knew them personally. It was a total guilty pleasure read, but I absolutely loved it and I know most everyone else who's read it feels the same!

2. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
It probably has something to do with the fact that this book was based in Cincinnati and hello- how many books are ever set within driving distance of my podunk little town? I loved this re-telling of Pride and Prejudice.

1. Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
Since reading this book, I have pretty much made all my friends and family read it, as well. I knew I would love this book because I love virtually every thought that comes out of Glennon's mind. But I was completely unprepared for how this book would wreck me, convict me, and cast light on the dark, scary, vulnerable parts of myself and my marriage. Glennon's struggle with intimacy particularly resonated with me and as she wrote about how she and her husband learned how to drop their shame-filled ideas of what sex is supposed to be and re-learn how to love each other, tears streamed down my face. I devoured this book and if I could give it six stars, I would. This book needs to be read by every woman, every married couple, every person who has ever felt like no one understands their pain. I can't begin to overstate the beauty, vulnerability, courage, and honesty that is wrapped up in this book.

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What were your favorite books this year?

Mommy Brain: How Being Tired Can Make You Do Really Stupid Shit

Today we're going to take a short break from the usual schedule of baby milestones and bookworminess to address a very serious issue.

THE FACT THAT I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN MONTHS.

To all the Moms who've come before me, I apologize. My first baby slept through the night at eight weeks. And I got cocky. Shame on me because Baby #2? Wakes up approximately every 2 hours to nurse. For anyone who has not experienced this level of sleep deprivation, it is impossible to convey how truly fucking stupid you become when you haven't gotten a full night of sleep in over a year. Because, oh yeah, it's not like I was getting any sleep waking up to pee every hour while I was pregnant!

Allow me to demonstrate.

Once upon a time (as in yesterday), upon opening the mail, I received a letter from the auto loan company that financed my vehicle. This letter was sent on December 13 and stated that if I didn't make the necessary payment, collective action could be taken on my car. The deadline for said payment was December 19. December 19 was TODAY. I promptly began freaking out about how I was going to pay this unexpected expense off. Since we have begun operating on a zero-based budget, the only money we had in our checking account was what we planned to use to fund our trip up North to visit my family for Christmas.

I loaded up the kiddos (and replaced Crosby's binky approximately 14 times before departing) and headed to the bank where we have our savings account. I withdrew a small amount to apply to the payment and then drove to our main bank to deposit it. I realized that even with the additional deposit, there was no way that I would be able to make the payment without dipping into our allocated trip dollars. The only thing I could think to do was to use that money and depart a day later than we had planned so that we would be leaving on Chuck's pay day and would have the necessary funds available then. I called Chuck in a panic and then called my Mom to deliver the news that we would be arriving later than planned.

I then proceeded to call the loan company to make our payment (split between two different cards. Embarrassing). When the customer service rep asked how much I wanted to put on the first card, he paused confusedly when I reported the amount. He asked again how much I wanted to put on the first card, and I repeated. He then asked me how much I thought I owed to which I told him the amount on the letter I had received. To best display what happened next here's a timeline:

December 13- Loan company sends letter
December 14- I drive to my local credit union to make payment
December 19- Receive letter; Completely fucking forget that you already paid this bill and freak the fuck out

Upon realizing my mistake and feeling like a complete buffoon, I paid next month's bill and hung up the phone embarrassed. I then proceeded to call Chuck and my Mom again to let them know "Hey, just kidding about that whole postponing our trip thing. As it turns out, my car is not going to get repossessed because I'm a fucking moron." It was during said phone calls that I then realized my debit card was not in my wallet, nor in my car, nor anywhere at all to be found. Because yeah, I left it in the FUCKING ATM. I then drove to my bank and proceeded to ask the teller if anyone had found a debit card in the ATM with my head hung in shame. After presenting my ID, I got my card back with no harm done (except the massive bruise to my ego).

The babies and I returned home, ordered pizza, and watched Elf for the rest of the night while I waved the white flag of surrender.

Moral of the story: Sleep deprivation sucks. And also, it makes you really fucking stupid.

What I Never Expected About Being a Boy Mom

I am not someone who has a natural rapport with kids. I've never known what to do with them and my interactions always feel awkward and fake. When I found out I was pregnant with our first baby, it was difficult to envision myself as a parent. I naturally assumed we would have a girl because well, I'm a girl. I figured that because I grew up a girl and partook in girly things, that it would be easier to relate to a little girl. You can probably imagine where I'm going with this...

...keep reading at Dayton Moms Blog!

Frisch's Presents The Nutcracker: An Ohio Christmas Tradition

There is something so special about creating Christmas traditions with your children: hanging stockings, building gingerbread houses, and if you live in Dayton, a trip to Cincinnati to watch the Cincinnati Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.

...read more at Dayton Moms Blog!

10 Bloggers to Read in 2017

Almost every year (when I'm not busy giving birth), I highlight my absolute favorite bloggers of the year. Because it's the Christmas season, and who couldn't do with some blogger love? Some are big, some are small; but all of them write authentically and I simply can't get enough.

This year, these 10 ladies (yes, they're all ladies. I guess I'm a sexist), are the bloggers who you should absolutely not miss!

10. The girl who loved to write
Favorites: 10 Things People Told Me About Having a Baby That Were Lies and Today I Learned I Will Never Be Exceptional (And It's Only 5:00AM)

9. musicalpoem
Favorites: What I Think About When I Think About Money and I'm Not Giving Up and Neither Should You

8. Tyler Lucille
Favorites: Firsts + Lasts and I Don't Care About the Presidency

7. All the Joys
Favorites: My Daughters Aren't Beautiful and A Reintroduction

6. Carolina Charm
Favorites: 5 Years and A Day in the Working Mama Life

5. Hippie at Heart
Favorites: Honey, I'm Home and Rainbows

4. Momastery
Favorites: I need to tell you something and Please Tell Me if there is Anything More Brutiful Than This

3. Love, Fun, and Football
Favorites: The Birth Story and Blog Posts I Haven't Hit Publish On

2. The Lady Okie
Favorites: We Still Do and On Prayer

1. the florkens
Favorites: Don't Worry Van Jones, We Got You and A Realized Obligation

BONUS: Dayton Moms Blog (I mean c'mon, I had to do some shameless self-promotion)
Favorites: Why I (Honestly) Chose a Natural Birth and Why We Chose Not to Share Our Baby's Name

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I'm always looking for new bloggers to follow, so who are your must-reads?

Book Challenge by Erin 6.0: Preliminary List

If you're a stranger around these parts, you may not know that I am an addict of the nerdiest variety. So allow me to introduce myself- My name is Kaity, and I'm addicted to book challenges. 

Although I am still in the midst of Megan's Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge, I have all the heart eye-emojis for Erin's Book Challenges and am planning to participate in hers as well beginning January 1. These are the books I've selected for Book Challenge by Erin 6.0 (* indicates a book that fits the category for both challenges):

5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages. | TBD

10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “W” | Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson

10 points: Read a book with six words in the title. | Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham*

15 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) green cover. | One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

20 points: Read a book with a homonym in the title | After You by Jojo Moyes

20 points: Read a book by your favorite author. | Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey

25 points: Read a book set in the city/town/state/territory/county/province where you live | Beloved by Toni Morrison (Ohio)

30 points: Read a “Rory Gilmore” book. | Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood*

30 points: Read a book from a genre that you’ve never read (or rarely read) | Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

35 points: Read a book with time travel | Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

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What books are you snuggling up with this winter?

CROSBY | 3 Months

Today is my baby boy's 3-month birthday! Aaaand I managed to post his monthly update on the same day. Mommy win!

MATERNITY LEAVE STAY-AT-HOME MOTHERHOOD

In case you missed it, apparently I'm a stay-at-home Mom now. I say "apparently" because it still feels ill-fitting and uncomfortable. I have worked from the time I was a kid answering phones for my Grandma's company. I have never not been employed and it's really tripping me up. I never in a millions years envisioned myself as anything other than a working mom and I'm having a kind of identity crisis at the moment, so bear with me.

BREASTFEEDING

Still going so well! This is one of the things I'm choosing to focus on during this major life transition- the fact that I don't have to worry about the logistics of pumping and can just feed my baby when he's hungry! Hooray! Crosby still wakes up 3-4 times/night to eat which is a bummer for someone who requires a full 8 hours to function in life. However, the fact that he's gaining like a champ (unlike his older brother) is a fair trade-off.

BABY FAT

My sister-in-law has been on a major weight loss journey for the last year- she's already lost 56 lbs, looks great, feels great, and so decided that she no longer needed her Fitbit and bestowed it upon me. I love this thing! It really pushes me to be more active and get more steps in each day. I think it's a big reason why I weigh the least I have in 5 or 6 years! Hooray! I still have a lot of work to do to tone up, but I'm feeling confident that my hubby and I can tackle this weight loss challenge together.

As for Crosby...

LIFE

Despite the fact that he prefers not to sleep at night (not that I'm bitter or anything), Crosby really is the sweetest, smiliest baby. Chuck and I joke that he's kind of needy and has FOMO, just like his Daddy, because he doesn't like being left by himself. However, if he's being held or at least within seeing distance of someone, he's happy as a clam.

MILESTONES

Obviously, he's still in the somewhat boring newborn stage, but he now smiles all the time and it's just about the greatest thing ever. He constantly wants to see what's going on so neck strength is great and he does really well during tummy time.

STATS

His next appointment isn't until after the holidays so I weighed him again at home with our bathroom scale. It seems like his weight gain has slowed a little, but he's still a plumpy little guy weighing in at 13 lbs. He's wearing 3-month clothing, and we're still squeezing him into the remaining Size 1 diapers we have stashed away, but this kid is movin' on up!

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We love you, Crosby Loren! I'm so blessed to be your Mommy and can't wait to continue watching who you become.



Our Family Christmas Traditions

In case you don't follow me on Instagram and it hasn't been made clear through this blog yet, I'm just going to put this out there- I am a freak about Christmas. I own it. I get serious hate from the "not until after Thanksgiving" folks, but here's my rationale: Thanksgiving is like pre-gaming for Christmas. It's spending time with loved ones, it's eating massive quantities of deliciously unhealthy food, but mostly it's just preparation for the real holiday celebrations.

I have only my mother to blame because she made a huge deal out of just about every holiday as kids. Seriously, she even hid little pots of gold for us to find on St. Patrick's Day. Even when it was just little things, she made every holiday so full of magic and fun. I want to make every holiday just as exciting and magical as she did for us. So now that Chuck and I have become our own little family and especially now that we're parents, these are a few little Christmas traditions that we keep in our home:

CHRISTMAS MOVIES
The very first tradition we keep always kicks off our holiday celebrating. Every Halloween night after Trick-or-Treat has come to an end, we turn off the porch lights, settle down on the sofa and watch our first Christmas movie of the season. We have a growing collection, but our three favorites are Elf, Love Actually, and The Santa Clause. We pop a bowl of popcorn or grab a pint of ice cream and we obnoxiously quote along with the entire movie. It is one of my absolute favorite "couple" things that we share together.

DECORATING
As soon as the Halloween decorations get put away, the Christmas decorations come out! Now that we're homeowners we really need to work on our arsenal of Christmas decor, because admittedly, it's pretty pitiful. I still have the same fake tree that I bought with my roommate in college and we have zero lights hung on the outside of our house. Because we're in a season of our lives where we are practicing frugality and sticking to a strict budget, we're not allowing ourselves to splurge on decor. Instead, we slowly accumulate a few more things year after year in hopes that one day, we'll be the most festive house on the block.

STOCKINGS
The one exception to our anti-splurge rule? Stockings. I haaaaad to get my boys their own personalized stockings. And if you want to know the honest to goodness truth about where to get the cutest personalized stockings- Pottery Barn. More specifically, we got ours from the PB Teen collection. Last year, we got Charlie a Peanuts stocking because duh- Charlie Brown. And then this year, we figured we'd just keep the Peanuts theme going and got Crosby his own Woodstock-adorned stocking. Chuck and I are still using our childhood Christmas stockings, but I may just cave and buy us some as well so that the whole family can match.

(Just pretend they say Charlie and Crosby)

WRAPPING PAPER
I am not a "stuff" person. I detest clutter and knick knacks and live very simply. I think hoarders are crazy and people with extensive collections of things need something better to do with their time (and money!). There is, however, one area where I do veer slightly to the "crazy hoarder" side- wrapping paper. Don't ask me why, but I am obsessed with gift wrap and wrapping presents. I have very strong feelings toward people who use gift bags (lazy!) and will merrily volunteer to wrap other people's presents because I love it that much. At the end of every holiday season, I stock up on my favorite designs so that by the time next Christmas rolls around, I'm ready to go!

CHRISTMAS CARDS
I take back what I said about gift wrap being my "thing." As I turns out, I actually have two weird hoarder things. The second being greeting cards. I have literally kept every single birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, etc. card I've received since I was in sixth grade. It means a lot to me that people take the time to send a card and show they care, so I always try to do the same. This year, I couldn't decide which print I liked better, so I ordered one from Shutterfly and one from TinyPrints:



CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Obviously, Christmas cookies are a must. The actual event of baking cookies seems to differ every year- some years I've invited a friend over to bake, other years it's been a huge gathering with my in-laws, and some years I just blast the Christmas music and bake solo. This year, I'm super excited because I'm hosting my group of ladies for a Christmas cookie and book exchange! Books and sweets? It doesn't get much better than that! I'm actually not a huge fan of traditional sugar cookies, so I always make two of the same family recipes that were passed down from my mom- Bourbon Balls and Thumbprint Cookies. My own family recipes are a little different, but those recipes come close.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
Church and me have always been a little hit or miss, but I've never not gone to a Christmas Eve service. It always humbles me and reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas when I've done a tailspin into full-on crazy, gift-wrap-lady mode. When the congregation collectively holds their candles and sings "Silent Night,", it is the most beautiful and spiritual experience.

SANTA CLAUS
Santa didn't visit our house last year. We told him that since Charlie was so young, that he could pass over our house and come back the following year. This year, however, we decided to invite Santa to pay us a visit. Rumor has it that he's picked out custom ornaments that reflect this time in our boys' lives and even has custom gift wrap with their names on it. What wonders he can pull off at the North Pole!

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What are your must-do Christmas traditions?



Book Challenge Check-In [October-November]

October was not a super great reading month for me, as I expect the next several months won't be either, so I decided it wasn't worth devoting an entire post to a measly two books. It wasn't a total loss, however, because I managed to complete Erin's fifth Book Challenge by Erin! That makes it my second book challenge win after I finished Megan's a couple months ago. Look at me go!

Here is what I did manage to read in October:

30 points: Read a historical fiction book. | The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (440 pages, ★★★★)

I spent nearly the entirety of this book feeling anxious and sick, and then heartbroken and despairing at its conclusion. A testament to the story and the writing that brought it to life. I can see why so many friends recommended it to me.

BONUS | 10 points: Read a book with five words in the title. | You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein (291 pages, ★★★)

I think I was expecting more since I knew Klein was one of the writers of Inside Amy Schumer. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. Entertaining, but not by any means, laugh-out-loud funny.

PREVIOUS POINTS: 170

FINAL POINTS: 210 (I won!)

November kicked off Megan's Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge, so I set my standards low, but managed to check a few books off my list for her challenge, as well:

10 points: Read a 2016 finalist (long list or shortlist) for one of the following literary prizes: National Book Award, Man Booker or Man Booker International. | The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie (430 pages, ★★)

If I was rating solely based on the strength of the writing, it would be a 5. However, the story tumbled past quirky and became downright weird very quickly. Perhaps it was over my head, but I really struggled to get through it. 

20 points: Read a modern retelling of a classic | Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (237 pages, ★★)

Perhaps it was because I never read the story this book was based on, or I may have appreciated it more. It just didn't do anything for me. I was "meh" about it until the ending. The last few pages pushed me over the fence of ambivalence to actual dislike. (c/o NetGalley)

40 points: Read two books: one by an author whose first name is the same as the last name of the author of the other book. | Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (224 pages, ★★★★★) and Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (This one is a two-fer so I don't get the 40 points yet)

Like most people, I was familiar with Trevor Noah as host of The Daily Show. I've long thought he was incredibly insightful, intelligent, articulate and funny so I assumed his memoir would be the same. It was all of those things, but admittedly, it was not very humorous. I don't know how you tell a story of growing up "born a crime" in post-apartheid South Africa, or as a survivor of domestic violence and make it funny. So Noah didn't and it was amazing just the same. 

The entirety of this book I was so thankful that someone with Noah's celebrity status shared his story and in turn, gave a voice to many voiceless South Africans who don't share his star power. This book was touching, horrifying, melancholy, with a dash of hope and it was phenomenal. Definitely a must-read! (c/o NetGalley)

PREVIOUS POINTS: 0

TOTAL POINTS: 30