Advent/ Elf Day 5

Merry was up  to no good while we were sleeping last night! She  stole the dry- erase markers made us all reindeer! So easy and one of my favorites.

Our Advent Activity today was to go see Santa at the mall. Luckily, we have been able to see the  same Santa EVERY Christmas which makes for some nice photo comparisons over the years. He is an amazing Santa and spends time with the kids. I thought for sure Brayden was going to scream but he was really into Santa!

Advent/ Elf Day 4

Day 4 Merry snuck into the craft cabinet and got into the Play- Doh.

Our Advent Activity was to set up the Little People Nativity Set. This was a garage sale find of my Mother-in-Law a few years ago. Both kids have loved playing with it. It plays music and gives us the opportunity to talk about the birth of baby Jesus. It can be found for around $30 new and I highly recommend it! Pardon Charlotte, she refuses to smile for pictures lately...hello threenager!

Advent/ Elf Day 3

When Charlotte was at school Friday I was able to run to Walmart to pick up some goodies. So nice to shop without a nosey toddler.


One of the things I picked up at Walmart was spray snow. Merry somehow got into it when we were sleeping ;)

Our Day 3 Advent activity was "Breakfast in Bethlehem". This is also something we have gone to for three years now. It is at a local church and its a great family event. They keep the food simple and they have various activities like making bracelets, a petting zoo, and pottery. Charlotte saw the guard and asked me " Mama, is that God"? :)

Advent/ Elf Day 2

Charlotte is LOVING the Elf this year. First thing she said when she woke up was " Look at the silly Merry".


Day 2 Merry set up a "Santa Cam" in the playroom to keep a closer eye on the sharing, which can be a challenge with a 1 and 3 year old! I purchased the camera ornament from a local mom who was making them.

Here is a close-up of what the letter said.

For our Advent Activity, We attended Family Movie Night at our church. We brought Brayden with us which was probably a mistake! I let the kids wear the jammies and while it was exhausting chasing around the 1 year old, they had a great time.

Advent/ Elf Day 1

Two years ago, I made this Advent Tree for Charlotte. I was actually pregnant with Brayden at the time and Charlotte was young but we had a different Christmas activity to do with her each day. This is now our third year doing this. I keep some of the activities the same each year but also switch some up.

This year, we are also doing Elf on the Shelf. I am going to try to update everyday to share our activities for both the Advent tree and our Elf, who is named Merry. God knows I can always use new ideas too!


Traditionally, The Elf on the Shelf is supposed to arrive the day after Thanksgiving. Our Elf was still in the attic so we decided to start both the Advent activities and the Elf on December 1st. 


Day 1 this year was pretty simple: Merry arrived and our "activity" was to read the Elf on the Shelf Book.

DIY Essential Oil Storage Cabinet

When I first got my Essential Oil Starter Kit, I stored my oils in their original packaging in a storage bucket in our hall linen closet. It was fine in the beginning but as I began to use the oils more, I wanted to be able to access them more easily. I was looking on Pinterest and found this idea from Barefoot in Bluejeans who adapted a project from Ana-white.com to work as a nail polish cabinet. I thought it would be PERFECT to adapt the measurements to work as a storage cabinet for my oils.

The Ana- White website gives the plans to make a jewelry cabinet. She provides a shopping list and all. We followed her technique with regard to the assembly, the only thing we changed were the measurements. I had a small bathroom wall that I wanted to use the cabinet on. I am always at a loss on what type of "decorations" to hang in a bathroom- so normally function wins out!

We purchased the wood, handle and hinges. I already has all the other materials at the house. Our local Lowes, only sold the type of hinges we needed in gold. So I simply sprayed everything with some Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray paint before assembling.

My overall measurements are 15.5w by 20 H. I added 4 small shelves inside to fit both my oil bottles and roller bottles. To get these measurements for the overall size we used the following dimensions for our cuts:

Door- 2- 18.25 inch and 2- 9 inch
Cabinet- 2- 20 inch and 2- 14 inch
Shelves- 1.5 inch deep by 13.75.

I sanded everything down. I recommend sanding and painting or staining the back BEFORE attaching it. Once everything was dry, we used a staple gun to attach the chicken wire to the front of the door. Then we attached the door with the hinges and added the handle.

PERFECT storage for my oils! 

Brayden: Month 11

+ He wasn't too happy about these pictures, hence the goldfish in his mouth! 

+ Still loves to eat.

+ Walks everywhere and has really picked up his pace.

+Has a temper when he doesn't get his way.

+Still only has 2 teeth. 

+ Is mesmerized by Baby Sign Time. 

+He is currently in a stage of fighting sleep which is just as fun as it sounds. 


Can't believe my little tater tot will be 1 next month!!