Christmas Diary 2019

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to all of you!! I hope you had an amazing holiday and are excited for the new year and the new decade. I have two very special posts going up(one of which I have been working on all year) in celebration of 2020! But first I thought I’d give you a quick blow by blow of my Christmas break with my family.

Sweet Pupper kisses 😘

The break began with a bang. We went Christmas food shopping and as my sister said, “Our cart is very fun.” Not a healthy, fat free thing was to be found. Mostly butter and chocolate. All in all we had a great time. The night however ended horribly when my sister’s dog ran away… we still haven’t found her. I’ll write more on this later, because I want this post to be kinda upbeat. (I don’t want to cry right now)

The next day brought so much Christmas cookie baking. My family apparently can’t do anything half way, so we did like six or seven different kinds of cookies…

It was very exhausting.

The day after that was family picture day and a crap ton of pizza, hot chocolate bar, puzzles and the Mandalorian! Again we can’t do anything by halves.

We’re looking fly!

Mercifully Monday turned into a day of rest(I had an awful head cold my entire time home… figures) and I literally just bummed around… it was glorious.

Christmas Eve carried on our family tradition of all day junk and snack food with board games. My sister and I took my Mom on in Scrabble(her favorite game) We we were shocked when we both beat her. Were we really that good??? Yeah no. The next game she creamed us. Beating us both by a margin of 140 points… she then proceeded to tell everyone how badly she’d beaten us.

Christmas Day started with my dad’s famous French toast and bacon, then presents, more games, naps and a ham dinner. I apparently was so lazy I didn’t take any pictures… oh well!

How was your Christmas? Does your family have any Christmas traditions? What was the highlight of your holiday? Please leave and comment below and don’t forget to subscribe!

Lots of love,

Tally

Monthly Media: Christmas Edition

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas! It’s almost over… It goes by so fast. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and got to spend it with people you love. Here are my media favs for this month.

TV Shows/Series

• Merlin– So for my birthday my sister got me the complete series on Blu-ray and I watched the first three seasons already. I LOVE this show. It’s probably my top favorite TV show ever. So funny and sad and… just great! Of course it was canceled but the show runners where able to wrap up the story so at least there’s that.
• Lost in Space1&2– Another one of my all time favorite shows ever. Lost in Space (as you will know from this post) is my one of my favorite movies ever, so when Netflix announced they were making a series I was initially skeptical… But oh is this show good. I just started the second season so here’s hoping it’s even better.
• Gotham– My sister watched this show(all four seasons) in a month she liked it that much. I’ve just started the slow descent into madness and all I can think so far, “Is what have I gotten myself into.”

Movies

• Doubt– I watched this on a whim on Netflix and it turned out to be a great movie! Meryl Streep is flawless in this film and if you want a movie that causes you to pay attention and has rock-solid dialogue than look no further.
• Elf– Again it’s Christmas and I love this movie.

Music

• “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas”- So I made my own holiday playlist for the season and I figured I’d share it with since I have been listening to it on repeat. It is Christmas after all, you have to listen to those classics over and over and over again until you’re sick of them.

Books

• Unwind Series- Almost finished with the third book! Yippee!
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas- This is all my youngest charge wants to read before bedtime, so yeah I practically have it memorized but it’s still a great book.

Podcasts

• I actually haven’t had time this month to listen to any podcasts… so there’s that.

Now tell me your latest media crazes. And have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Lots of love,

Tally

Christmas Mood

Kind of like I did back in this post I created a board on Pinterest where I put my random inspiration for the season. Be fashion, food or just unique photos that got me thinking about Christmas. I hope you enjoy!

As you can tell I’m digging the green…

There you have it! Just random, randomness but pretty to look at. Have you ever tried creating a mood board? Or a mood collage with your own work? I’d love to know!

Lots of love,

Tally

No Place Like Home for the Holidays

I know my last few posts have been super short and sporadic. And then I had an accidental posting on Monday (still not sure how that happened) But I can say that my posts will definitely stay this way till after Christmas- Ha! As of today I am on my way for a seven day Christmas break and to say the least I am very excited. So I just wanted to take this time to say Merry Christmas to all of you, who read this and to my followers and friends. You guys are truly the best!

Tomorrow(not to spoil anything) you are getting a post on what I am wearing. And then hopefully next week you’ll finally get the two vlogs I promised you from over Thanksgiving, which are now almost finished(we had some technical issues) Then the week after that I am doing a big two part Christmas diary wrap up that I will be writing this coming week as I go. Yes I know all very confusing and out of order, but hay that’s life. Anyway have to run to a Christmas party. I will talk to ya guys tomorrow!

Lots of love,

Tally

Mary Poppins at Christmas

What does a nanny’s life look like during the Christmas season?

Glad you asked! Crazy. That’s what a nanny’s life looks like at Christmas time. Just like everyone else at Christmas time things get a bit… much. From holiday parties to Christmas school recitals to juggling your own holiday itinerary- things go from busy to really, really, really busy.

It never fails that all the kids’ recitals, parties and school events happen the same week, if not on the same day.(along with all of yours of course) It never fails that something always, always happens when trying to decorate the house for Christmas, so then you can’t decorate it for Christmas and are still decorating it a week out. And it’s also guaranteed that everyone is going to get sick right before Christmas… including you. These things are just a given.

The biggest stressor for me(and I hesitate to say that, since I actually do some what enjoy this) is Christmas wrapping. My room literally becomes Santa’s workshop and I his little helper. I can wrap about twenty gifts in an hour and half given no interruptions. It’s skill I never knew would become some important in my life.

During the holiday season your employers will probably be feeling the strain and so one of your chief jobs is to be as calm and collected as you can. The kids can easily pick on the stress around them, so as best as you can try not to get your feathers rustled. Go with the flow. The last thing you want to do is add stress upon the stress they already have. It’s actually your job to lessen their to-do list not lengthen it.

At Christmas time a nanny does a lot of ferrying back and further and becomes more like a chauffeur. A nanny listens to the endless Christmas songs sung by sweet voices as they practice for their recitals. You read the same Christmas stories over and over again until you can read them in the dark and backwards.

But most important, at Christmas time a nanny loves her kiddos and shares with them the true meaning of Christmas and how much God loved them to send His only Son, Jesus Christ to die for them. Yes there are many important things a nanny does at Christmas time, but this is the most important of all.

Merry Christmas!

Tally

Christmas Top Ten: Forever Young

For all those 18 and above; this one is for you! Let’s wrap up this series with a bang.(Or at least wrap it up)

• Paper Pumpkin Subscription- Give the gift of crafting made easy, because everything comes nice and orderly in one box per month. The best part is you can subscribe for a year or just two or three months, totally up to you.
• Cheese Basket- Who doesn’t love cheese? (I love living in Wisconsin… A land famous for cheese) If however you’re a crazy person and don’t like cheese make up a cookie basket or a meat basket. I don’t know get jazzy with it.
• Audible Subscription/Gift card– Following the gift that keeps on giving trend an Audible subscription is perfect for the book lover in your life.
• Twelve Exordinary Women- Our book stocking stuffer for the woman in your life.
• Twelve Ordinary Men– For the dude.
• A Night Out- Again quality time is irreplaceable. So make time count and just have fun.
• Clothes- Socks, sweaters, house shoes… You get it.
• LEGOs- EVERYONE GETS LEGOS!!!
• A Night In- A spa night, a movie night. Ah the bliss! You let them pick the flick and you bring the snacks. Easy-peasy.

And we did it! Merry Christmas everyone! Until next time…

Lots of love,

Tally

Christmas Top Ten: Eighteen&Below

Only two more of these blasted posts left! Yay!! Who’s excited? (Me) Who thought I wouldn’t get these done? (Also me)

• Hangman’s Curse & Nightmare Academy– Continuing a theme we started in our last post, books are a gateway to so many amazing things and so many hours of amazing adventure.
• Cranium– Probably the best game ever invited (my personal opinion of course) this game is loads of fun! Seriously… Seriously.
• An Angel’s Story– I present to you the Christmas book stocking stuffer for this list. A Christmas tale with a little more grip, which is enthralling from the first page. Love it!
• Clothes- From sassy graphic t-shirts to name brand threads, no teen will ever say “nah” to clothes.
• Gift Cards- Since teens can be hard to shop for skip the drama and give the gift of a shopping trip. Again they will never say “nah” to this.
• Nerf Axes– What is it with boys and twirling things/throwing things/hitting each with things? At least these are padded.
• Stationary- Put their names on it and them matching gel pens and markers and stickers and so and so and so. Just let the creative juices flow! Maybe it’s just me, who was always scribbling on loose pieces of paper(still do) but I loved getting notebooks and pens for Christmas.
• A Day Out- Something a friend of mine is getting in the tradition of giving her kids, instead of gifts are experiences. Whether it’s a weekend getaway, or a night to the theater(or movies), or a trip to a museum. They grow out of things and clothes and likes, but quality time with you is irreplaceable.
• LEGOs- Again! Cause who doesn’t like LEGOs?
• Funko POP Figures- These adorable little figures of their favorite movie, TV, and game characters are fun gifts that are highly addictive. (Why are they so sticking cute?!)

Lots of love,

Tally

The Great Chicken Rescue

So two weeks ago now I came home from church to see what I thought was a hawk of some kind creeping underneath the pine trees. I took a quick pic but then steered clear, not wanting to mess with a killer bird.

As you can tell from the picture it was a rainy, yuck day so I just thought the hawk was taking shelter. Again I didn’t want to mess with a wild animal so I walked away.

The next day after doing the school run I came back to the house to find my boss’s mom and my boss’s personal assistant outside looking at the ugliest chicken I’d ever seen, standing underneath the basketball hoop. My hawk hadn’t been a hawk after all(shocker I know). We have no idea where the the poor thing had come from as there are no farms close enough for it to just have wandered off. It was obviously half starved and cold. We fed it leftover stuffing and corn and left a box with a couple of blankets in it for shelter. We tried to corral it into the garage but to no avail. We did leave the garage door open that night for awhile, until it seemed hopeless and we had to close it in despair. We just knew our poor, stupid chicken was going to freeze to death.

The next morning brought school runs and no chicken sightings… She seemed to have vanished- When suddenly she was there again! Deep down we knew if we didn’t catch her today she would really die. Taking on the task to save chicken form her own stupidity, the two teenage boys managed to trap her in the garage and then careful grab her with a towel and put her in the cat’s cage. Yahoo! She’d been rescued.

I was given the immense pleasure of dropping her off at the Humane Society, who said they would take her. When I first brought her in they weren’t convinced she was a chicken, but of course when she started making chicken noises it was hard to dispute. They confirmed our fears that she was horribly under fed, so the first order of business was to plump her up and make sure she didn’t have any health issues, before they put her up for adoption or more likely found a nice farm for her to live out the rest of her days.

In the following days my boss tracked down what type of chicken she was, or at least her general breed; she’s a game chicken which is why she doesn’t have a crown on her head. I don’t know I am not a chicken expert I’m just glad this one didn’t die on our watch.

Lots of love, Tally… and Chicken

Christmas Top Ten: 10 yrs.&Under

You know how Christmas is, when you have all these grand plans of having everything nice and done before the actual day; but instead find yourself, if not necessarily stressing, than in a total whirlwind of activity that you barely have time to breath let alone think. Yeah I had all these plans for the blog this lovely holiday season, but instead find myself woefully behind on just my regular posts! (Please don’t be mad at me) I will try my utmost to get the ball rolling again. So without anymore gab from me here’s our second Christmas list!

• Calico Critters- What little girl doesn’t want a whole world of adorable, fuzzy creatures complete with the smallest of details? This girl does! Here are some of my favorite sets: this one, this one, and this one.
• LEGO Star Wars– Equally who doesn’t want LEGO sets? Especially LEGO Star Wars sets? (Again this girl does… seriously does one ever grow out of LEGOs?)
• Play Kitchen– The ultimate dream come true for any kid is their own kitchen complete with play food. This is something that they will play with over and over and over again. Plus playing pretend with them leads to some hilarious discussions. I have personal experience on this point.
• Play Tool Set-For the little man in your life look no further than a real tool set that he can actually use and bang away at. Perfect for the tinker and for that kid who is fascinated by light switches and doorknobs.
• Building Magnets– My top pick on this list are these babies! Providing literally hours of creativity and activity these are my go-to travel toys and rainy day hold outs. Perfect for a wide range of ages this are literally the best!
• A Bike- One of my all time favorite gifts for Christmas was a bike. It’s sure to get your little human jumping with enthusiasm.
• Play-doh Set– Nothing says fun like squishy, colorful, messy play-doh! If you’re especially creative and time savvy you could make homemade play-doh and put your own festive holiday set together. (But who has time for that?)
• Crippled Lamb– Our Christmas book, stocking stuffer for this list was featured in a post I wrote last year Nine Christmas Children Books. It’s a classic that is sure to bring a tear or two to your eye.
• Book Series(Anne of Greengable, Captain Underpants, Nancy Drew)- You get the idea. Not to sound too cliche but the gift of reading, or rather the love reading, is one of the greatest gifts you can give.
• Hot Wheels Track– I feel the need. The need for speed! I mean these things can take forever to put together but I can still remember planning for hours with my brother and his cars. Bring on the bad traffic and horrific commute times. (Is the car jokes too much? A little cheesy, right?)

See you all on our next list!

Lots of love,

Tally

Christmas Top Ten: 3yrs Old&Under

Merry gift giving season! Well I hope you all had a very nice and wonderful Thanksgiving. This is the first of four Top Ten posts of my picks for the gifts for the kiddos in your life. Hopefully I can get all of these done. Just when I think I have time, time gets busy. You know what I mean. That’s why today you will be getting two, since I meant to put one up yesterday, but alas it did not.

• LEGO Big Blocks Bucket- Because who doesn’t love LEGOs? They provide hours and hours or entertainment; simply build a really tall tower and then knock it over… Again and again and again. Hours of hilarity will follow.
• Wooden Train Set- Much like the item above a wooden train set is guaranteed to get played with a lot. Even more so if your engine is self propelled like this one.
• Stacking Pyramid– Much like the LEGOs nothing beats stacking something really tall then knocking it over. Stacking cups or star or squares are sure to get giggles from your little person. By the way this is a very cool set.
• Bath Toys- Probably my favorite entry on this list are the bath toys! No kid is exempt from taking baths so here are some great Christmas gifts to get the bubbles following and the giggles going: finger paint soap, foam bath alphabet, splash toys, and finally the shaving set.
• Big Ball- I mean this one isn’t complicated at all, but boy is it fun! Just a get them a huge red ball to bounce, sit on, roll around on. Sometimes the classics are classic for a reason.
• The Grinch Stole Christmas – Speaking of classics our Christmas book entry for this age group is the tale of a Grinch who hates Christmas. I’m pretty sure you know this beloved story and if you don’t than you need to go and purchase said book for yourself.
• Fisher Price Nativity Scene- Word to the wise if you order this months before Christmas it is significantly cheaper. This toy can be pulled out Christmas after Christmas with the same result. Plus it’s a perfect sag way into the real Christmas story.
• Crayons and Coloring Book- Again really rather simple but always one of my fav gifts to get growing up; a new coloring book and a huge box of crayons. This is something that could easily be carried over to the next age group as well. Super simple and maybe could be that extra stocking stuffer you needed.

• Giant Stuffed Animal- I mean the one above might be a little extreme(we found it Kohl’s by the way) but hay if you wanted a show stopping Christmas gift this would certainly do the trick.

That’s it I guess. I know these aren’t crazy unique gifts or anything, but from experience I know these gifts actually get loved and played with. Stay tuned later today for our second post. Until next time…

Lots of love,

Tally