The January Wrap Up

January was filled with worry and waiting, so I'm glad it's behind us! There were good moments, but life last month was very overwhelming. Thankfully, it ended well, which is the only thing that matters!

I headed into 2021, hoping to recap each week on the blog, like I used to do before life became too busy. I started the year strong, but a a week later, I gave up! So here I am, wrapping up 3 weeks in one post. Maybe I'll get back on track one day...

So here's to January. Lots of worry, lots of waiting, a surgery, a recovery, weekday runs, cold days, cute puppies, back to school, and a whole bunch of snow! It really does help to look back on the month, and see all the good that could be found in each day!

Life With Four Littles: Weekly Recap

Life with four littles - or rather, a teen, a tween, and two littles - is always interesting. There is never a dull moment, and in just a few weeks, we'll be adding a newborn to the mix! It seems like baby boy is taking after his brothers, and wants to join the family early. Although our 5th and final baby isn't due until March 14th, I think he's going to be joining us in February...especially after the events of the past few days!

Although it's true that there's never a dull moment, this was a calmer than usual week for us. A pulled abdominal muscle and pregnancy progression forced us - or at least ME - to slow down for a few days. Because of that, this just might be our most boring week yet, which is evidenced by the lack of pictures that I took!

Here's a glimpse at life with four littles last week...

Big Family Life Lately

Happy Monday! Another January week flew by in our usual whirlwind of chaos and busyness. It's hard to believe we're rapidly approaching the end of the first month of 2019!

We're currently enjoying our second three day weekend in a row. I could REALLY get used to these! I had high hopes to post more to the blog this week, but four kids, pregnancy, and a cold took up most of my time and energy. I have a drafts folder full of almost finished posts, so I hope to get those posted this week. I also hope to pull out my real camera more often this week, because I only took a few pictures over the past week. I'm beginning to think that the constant busyness of my family just isn't going to change!

Here's a glimpse of life over the past week...

The Chaos Crew's Weekly Recap

Happy Monday! It actually IS a happy Monday, because my kids are off of school today, and my husband is off of work. I would love to say that we're having a relaxing day off, but Dylan has a date with his girlfriend (hold me), and I have a date with the grocery store. BUT...we get to sleep in, and that's a wonderful thing!

The second week of 2019 flew by in a whirlwind of busyness! Germs hit our home this week, too. Stomach cramps hit Lexie on Monday, and Lily on Tuesday. Thankfully, it only lasted a few hours for both of them, and didn't turn into anything else! On Wednesday night, I felt body aches and cold symptoms coming on, and I'm still fighting cold germs. Because I'm pregnant, it's hitting me hard, but it doesn't slow me down one bit! Then again, there's no time to slow down with 4 kids!

Here's a glimpse at our week... 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! I can hardly believe it's the last weekend before Christmas!

I wish I had all kinds of exciting things planned for this weekend, but I'm going to be spending it Christmas shopping. And wrapping. And panicking because we have to fit in a million activities into 4 days next week. And kicking myself for not starting sooner. But in all fairness, there is literally NO extra time when you have four kids who are in school and activities.  That's the reason why I don't sleep and why I do all my blogging at 3 AM!

I'm switching things up a bit for my Friday Favorites this week. Instead of mostly sharing products I currently love, I'm going to keep things simple and mostly share the moments that made this week so special!

{ONE} 

The joy we feel when the Steelers win a game and Sunday afternoons spent with family!

{TWO}

Phase Two (AKA Lily and Liam) cuddling and reading books on a sunny afternoon. We're going to miss Lily so much when she stays at school all day next year!

{THREE}

An early Christmas gift!  Strider Bikes sent Liam a balance bike to review over on Pittsburgh Moms Blog. You can read all about it and why it's such a great gift for kids of ALL abilities HERE. The Strider Balance Bike is an amazing gift. Liam absolutely loves it and I can tell it's going to get a lot of use!

{FOUR} 

Afternoons spent together as a family. Nothing makes me happier than when all four of my kids are home and getting along well!

{FIVE} 

The joy over a snowfall! We got a few inches of snow this week and the kids were so excited! Well, 3 of my 4. Liam wasn't allowed to go outside because he had a little cold. I'm sure we'll get more snow this winter that he will be able to enjoy!

 

{SIX}

How I do snow and cold weather: In 5 minute intervals with LOTS of layers. As in a pair of tights, a pair of fleece lined leggings, a pair of socks, a pair of boot socks, a tank top, two thermal shirts, a sweater and scarf. It's how I roll! Hidden coat (later found stuffed under Liam's crib) and all my others stored away in the attic above the Christmas present-covered steps meant that I had to get creative!

A photo posted by Stefanie (@lexieloolilyliamdylantoo) on Dec 14, 2016 at 5:20pm PST

{SEVEN}

The wish list chalkboard from the Target Dollar Spot that some of my crew stares longingly at each day. The wishes never changed this year! 

I've got two of the four covered, but I don't think I'm going to have much luck finding that second Hatchimal. We got lucky with the first one. My friend's mom had it on layaway since the Spring and my friend's son didn't want it so it was ours. Now we have to decide if the girls will share it (my husband says no) or just Lily gets it (then I'll feel bad for Lexie). Such an important decision to make over an overpriced toy that only hatches once!

Dylan, Lexie and Lily's wish lists are very small this year so finishing up our shopping should be easy!

A photo posted by Stefanie (@lexieloolilyliamdylantoo) on Dec 12, 2016 at 10:20am PST

{EIGHT} 

Liam's joy over reading gets me every time! He's currently loving his books from Join the Story Box, which is a monthly subscription service for young readers. We opted for the Board Books package this month since he's in toddler tornado mode!

{NINE} 

Dylan had his choir, orchestra and band concert last night and we are so proud of him! The 6th graders did such an amazing job. 

Chorus is mandatory for the entire grade, but next year it's an elective and Dylan will not be continuing. He said it isn't his thing! He opted to play trumpet in band for the second year and he just started playing violin in orchestra. He told us he's going to continue with band and orchestra next year, but I'm not so sure. He only decided to do it this year because his girlfriend (Yes, he has a girlfriend. OMG.) plays trumpet and violin, too. And, well, if that ends...

Whether or not he decides to continue, this experience was a great one! We're encouraging his musical ability and we love watching how he's able to play more songs on his guitar and on our piano just from being a part of band and orchestra. We're so glad he joined this year!

That's a wrap for our busy week! I'm heading to bed at 4 AM and feeling incredibly grateful that we can sleep until 9:30 AM thanks to our second 2 hour delay, due to cold weather, in a row! After that, I'm going to spend the weekend spending LOTS of money and preparing myself for all the Christmas events we have planned next week! I hope you all have an amazing weekend!

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Favorite Things: December

Happy Friday! Can you believe it's already December and the countdown to Christmas has  begun? I certainly can't! This year FLEW by!

Yesterday was a quite a day (to put it nicely) and it kicked the Christmas spirit right out of me. I'm hoping this roundup of my current Christmas favorites does the trick!

SNOW!!!

Okay, so I don't actually love snow. It's pretty to look at, but I hate driving in it and I hate the cold that comes with it! But it is fun for, oh, five minutes!

We had our first snowfall of the year a few days before Thanksgiving, then it went back to 60+ degree weather. The colder weather returned today and snow flurries are in the forecast. It SHOULD snow in December, but after Christmas it can disappear until next year!!!

CHRISTMAS GOODIES FROM TARGET DOLLAR SPOT

Who else is addicted to the Target Dollar Spot? Can't stop, won't stop! They have the BEST holiday items! I can't make it past this section without spending $20. Well played, Target, well played.

HOLIDAY CHEER

This sweet boy of mine is loving all the holiday decor! We're not even a quarter of the way done with our decorating so he's in for a big surprise. Christmas is so much fun when you have little ones around. They just take in everything with so much wonder and joy!

 PERSONALIZED ORNAMENTS

We get a new personalized Christmas ornament for our tree each year. I love adding to our collection! This year we got an adorable family ornament from Personal Creations! They have so many cute choices and I love how you can build a family and personalize it. I think this is our new go to for our family ornament and I love the padded storage bag that it arrives in. It's such a great addition to our collection of ornaments on our Christmas Tree!

Personal Creations sent me this ornament to help add some holiday cheer to this post!  ( Last name removed for security purposes.)

CHRISTMAS MUGS

One of the few things that I collect is coffee mugs and tea cups. My collection is a bit out of control so I have to pack away the seasonal mugs after each holiday.  I love pulling out my Christmas mugs each year and I always add one or two new ones to my collection!

How sweet is that gift basket that I received from French Toast for National French Toast Day on Monday?!? I collaborated with them in September and I was so surprised when this basket of goodies arrived in the mail! Of course, we celebrated by consuming way too much french toast!

LITTLE COSMETICS

Lily received the sweetest mess-free, no transfer pretend makeup set from Little Cosmetics! She absolutely loves it and has been carrying it around for days. You can purchase the makeup individually or purchase the products in gift sets. This set is great for OT, has lots of textures for kids who love sensory play and is the ultimate pretend play toy for a little girl!

DISCLOSURE: Lily is loving this set gifted from Little Cosmetics and we are sharing our love for the product with a blog feature!

WIN SOME NETFLIX!!!

I absolutely loved Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life and I'm ready to watch it again! Did you enter my Netflix subscription giveaway? HURRY...it ends this weekend!  

ELF ON THE SHELF

Our elf arrived for the very first time today and Lily was SO excited! He brought the kids a North Pole Breakfast complete with little gifts. But that elf, whom she lovingly named Christopher, has some serious competition this year...

 

What are YOU currently loving right now? I hope you all have a fun and festive December weekend! 

Let's Be Friends!

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Linking up for Friday Favorites  //  Oh Hey Friday  //  High Five For FRIDAY 

Snow Much Fun!

Winter is in full swing in Pittsburgh, and the snow is falling!

We had a snowy January, and on several occasions, there was quite a bit of accumulation.  The kids were so excited to go outside to play in the snow!

On January 7th, Liam got to experience his first real snowfall.  He was too little to take outside last winter, so he only caught glimpses of it through the window or from his car seat as we ran errands.  We finally had enough accumulation, so I bundled him up, and sat him in the snow.  He reacted exactly how I expected!









He is so happy and content!  I just love his sweet personality!

A few weeks later, Dylan and Lexie had the day off from school.  It was a great day to be off, because it ended up snowing a lot!  It was the first chance we all had to go outside together.  Our dog, Bailey, ran around with the kids, and Liam went sledding for the first time!  We had so much fun!












 




Last week, the kids had another snow day!  Liam napped while I took Dylan, Lexie, and Lily outside.  We were only out for a few minutes, because it was freezing and the snow was coming down hard!






We got even more snow since then, but we haven't had a chance to go outside since the last snow day.  The way this winter is going, I'm sure we'll have many more opportunities!