Hello!!! I’m going to try and keep the exclamation points to a minimum, but man am I excited to be back. Back to blogging, back to routine, back to meal planning, back to it all!! I think the thrill to return to normalcy is a tribute to the quality of the break, and that is just what I’ve been fortunate to enjoy over the past couple of weeks.
Though wonderful overall, Christmas break started with a stumble as Hailey encountered her first stomach bug. Poor thing was up every hour on the hour through the night throwing up. I did a million loads of laundry and by her request stayed and snuggled her (the silver lining of a sick child) between trips to the bathroom. She (and I) were both pretty worn out by morning, but I’m grateful it only seemed to last 12 hours.
I held my breath waiting for the rest of us (or at least certainly me) to come down with it, but by sheer luck (or perhaps the activated charcoal we started popping right away?), the rest of us avoided it.
Still, it was a quiet week while we waited for Hailey to be symptom free and fully back on her feet. Several days later, aching with cabin fever, I took the girls into Charlotte for a day of exploring.
And explore we did! We watched the bear orchestra at Founder’s Hall, hit up Imaginon, snagged lunch at 7th Street Market, made a stop at Discovery Place, spent some time just admiring the city surroundings and perfecting the art of the self portrait.
It really was such a fun day, as I often forget how close we live to so much.
That evening, David and I even had a date night out, starting with the most delicious pizza at Novanta 90 at Langtree.
Then we followed it up with karaoke. I don’t say that casually because while I LOVE singing, I am pretty terrible so to do it in public is unheard of. We found a spot (Mona’s Lounge) that had zero people in it when we first walked in, so I took FULL advantage and performed my heart out, ensuring David never snagged my camera for photographic proof.
After that day, we were feeling full on festive, so on Christmas Eve Eve (Christmas Adam?) we began to get serious about our celebrating. First things first, we stocked our fridge.
Then we made sure to visit Santa at the North Pole to ask him which kind of cookies he likes best this year.
After confirming sugar cookies were his favorite this year, we snagged Chipotle to eat in the car and made our way to Charlotte Motor Speedway for their light display. It was our first time and I must admit driving on the racetrack was pretty amazing! The lights were well done and we all really enjoyed it, especially Kaitlyn who used her magnifying glass to get a closer view the entire time.
We spent Christmas Eve morning in the kitchen making enchiladas for Christmas Eve dinner and cookies for Santa.
That afternoon we scrubbed up for church.
My new favorite dress strikes again!
And finally made it home for enchiladas, baths, setting up for Santa’s arrival and a reading of The Night Before Christmas.
The next morning we were thrilled to see that Santa had paid us a visit!
Around 7:15 Hailey wandered out of her room and cautiously made her way downstairs then patiently waited while I went to wake Kaitlyn up. We eased into the morning. The girls loved their stockings so much they almost forgot there were presents to open until we reminded them. By the end of the morning though, Hailey fully understood the fun of gift opening.
It was a sunny and warm Christmas, which though wonderful, never really felt super Christmasy. The kids were a little cranky by late morning, so we suited up for a 4 mile family walk and the fresh air did wonders!
We let that set the tone for the rest of the day, spending the entire afternoon in the backyard by the fire.
It was a bit out of the ordinary, but the outdoor Christmas, complete with 2017 intentions discussion, ended up suiting us perfectly and is one of my favorite memories from the whole break.
The day after, I was ready for a clean slate. We packed Christmas up and spent the day cleaning. As a treat for our hard work, we visited Charlotte the following day to let Hailey test out her new ice skates, for which she had been asking Santa to bring her for the past 3 years.
I can’t begin to describe the joy that burst from her while she practiced ice skating. Before we could leave she was already asking when she could practice ice skating again. She’s hooked!
For New Year’s we headed to South Carolina for some quality time with Mema and Grandpa, Uncle Chris, Aunt Hilary and the cousins.
We played pickle ball, watched football, ate plenty of good food and overall just really enjoyed all being together, something that doesn’t happen as often as we’d all like.
The New Year’s Eve bonfire and fireworks was the highlight.
Yesterday morning we hung out, cleaned up, and snapped our traditional picture of our New Year’s meal of black eyed peas, collard greens, and tomatoes.
Now we are settled back in at home, geared up for a joyful and intentional 2017. I have so many thoughts for the year and this space that I’m giddy about and will be sharing more about soon, however I think 954 words is probably enough for today! ::wink::
Catch me up– what was your favorite memory of the past few festive weeks?
Gcroft says
Happy New Year and best wishes for 2017. Christmas was a hectic day but I am happy to report that the rest of the holiday was quiet, full of snuggles and quality time spent with my daughter. Priceless.
Brittany Dixon says
Sounds absolutely perfect <3 So glad you had some time to R&R!
John J. says
Welcome back! A great catch up blog displaying well your enthusiasm and joyful Christmas family experience. May 2017 meet your “intentions”!
Cassie says
Sounds blissful. Time with the family is always so special.
Lynn Thow says
Such sweet memories to treasure!! Happy New Year!!
sherry says
So good to have you back 😉 Love seeing all the pictures.
Maria says
We are also happy that you are back from break too! You know time off was a good idea when you come back motivated to get back into the swing of things.
Sounds like a lovely Christmas and New Year! I’m jealous of those warm temps! Virginia wasn’t that kind of us, but it did certainly feel like Christmas and this California resident go to see a little snow, so I’m not complaining!
Brittany Dixon says
Hailey is still so confused as to why she didn’t wake up to snow on Christmas- sweet thing. I’ve promised to find some for her at some point this winter. Glad you got to have a snowy (ish) Christmas!! 🙂
Tracy says
Welcome back and Happy 2017!! We’ve been doing a lot of family time & movie watching here 🙂
Loved this post… a fun catch up! Excited to see what you have in store for 2017.
Brittany Dixon says
Have you watched anything good?? I’m always looking for a good movie!
Tracy says
This was a great movie!! (Not for the girls tho…adults only) very intense! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01AIW6QKW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483399756&sr=8-1&pi=PI_PJStripe-Prime-Only-500px,TopLeft,0,0_AC_SX118_SY170_QL70&keywords=13+hours&dpPl=1&dpID=51zT61MkPML&ref=plSrch
Michelle says
Kaitlyn’s marshmallow roasting outfit is so cute! So glad you shared that with us. I was cracking up!
Have a great 2017!!
Brittany Dixon says
She is so obsessed with wearing the fluffiest skirts/dresses lately! Therefore she looks pretty snazzy everywhere she goes 😉
Emily S says
Happy new year!! I’m so curious to try the salmon parchment packets you always mention – where at Whole Foods do you get them? I briefly looked at the prepared foods today but didn’t see them. Do you have to ask for them specifically?
Thanks! 🙂
Emily
Brittany Dixon says
Happy new year! The parchment packs are in the seafood department. I’m so hooked on the Mediterranean salmon that it’s the only one I’ve tried, but they have a couple different parchment options and wood plank options too. If you try them, I’d love to hear what you think!
Emily S says
Thank you!! I will be sure to report back. 🙂
Julia @ Drops of Jules says
I’m forever calling December 23rd Christmas Adam. I’m sitting at my desk cracking up. Happy holidays and happy new year, Brittany! I absolutely love watching your family through snapchat and through the blog. Wishing the four of you all the best in 2017!
My favorite memory from these past few weeks: going for a walk with my boyfriend’s mom around her neighborhood. It lasted well over an hour and was just a fantastic conversation. I’m really starting to feel like a part of his family.. crazy how this is all happening, but I couldn’t be happier!
Laura says
It all sounds wonderful! I’m a teacher and I really appreciate the full two weeks off with my boys. Love Christmas break and doing things out of the ordinary like eating homemade chocolate mousse pie for breakfast! My favorite memory is probably taking my three year old cross country skiing for the first time Christmas day. Later, with the baby in the backpack, and my son in the middle holding our hands, we took on a hill just slightly too steep and we all screamed and laughed as we barely made it down upright. Also- watched Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on Amazon prime and loved it!
Katie @ Live Half Full says
Sounds like a perfect time! (minus the stomach flu) My favorite memory was my son’s reaction to his new play kitchen- he was SO excited!
Marie says
Can you please tell me where you got Hailey’s ice skates? I know another 5 year old that would be in heaven with those!
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Marie! Yes, we got them on Amazon (of course ;)) — https://www.amazon.com/American-Athletic-Adjustable-Figure-Skates/dp/B00DSP352O/ref=zg_bs_676776011_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PCQX8BCNJ0T3BDRG7Y7K
I don’t have a strong review besides saying they went on and off easily and Hailey loved them. I think they’d do great unless she really started wanting to whip out triple axels 😉
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
So much fun 🙂 I love reading recaps from the holidays!! We were visiting family in Indiana and I didn’t even bring my laptop (big deal for me!!!) so now I’m attempting to get back into the swing of things. My favorite thing of all about the holidays is being with family 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Haha, I totally understand the no laptop being a big deal- I did that over new year and felt CRAY! 😉 So glad you had a great break Tara!
Heather says
Sounds like a wonderful holiday break! I took ended up sick, so like Hailey I was under the weather for a while. Thankfully no one else got sick and it happened after Christmas. 😉 I loved seeing our kids (especially my son) get into Christmas this year. Our 4.5 year old was so excited about Santa and was just as excited to see everyone else open their gifts as he was to open his own. Seeing my kids get excited about giving is the best. So many pies were enjoyed and we had such a nice relaxing day at home on actual Christmas day. For the first time I also didn’t feel depressed taking down holiday decorations, so there’s that! Haha! Happy New Year!!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I’m sorry you caught a bug! It seems like so many have in the past few weeks, but I’m so glad you’re feeling better now and that it waited until after Christmas to get you so you could enjoy the day. Like you said, our kiddos are at such fun ages right now for Christmas! 🙂
Grandma Honey says
I’m excited too about your blog in this coming year. I’ve enjoyed it for years now and I’m certain that will continue. I’m way older than you are and a grandma of many, yet so much of what you write about resonates with me….perhaps because I have kids your age and it helps me to understand their world a bit better. I love the variety of topics you share here, and LOVE watching your girls grow. So sorry about Hailey’s stomach bug. I totally knew you would be the type of Mom to stay right by her all through that hard night.
Brittany Dixon says
Can I just tell you how much I smile every time you leave me a comment? You have a kind and positive presence that I can just sense through your words and I appreciate it so much. Thank you so much for reading and contributing. I have no doubt your kids and grandbabies are all so grateful for you!