The Nutcracker

I took my sweet baby girl to "The Nutcracker" this year. Jeremy got a hold of some free tickets through his work, which was awesome, because I really wanted to take her, but we didn't have the money to do it. Yay God! Anyway, Jeremy told me about the freebies and then I was super stoked. I had a feeling Natalee would love it. She will be three on the 29th of this month, so I was a little nervous that she wouldn't sit through the whole thing. Boy was I wrong! She was sad when it was over! I loved the date that I got to take with the cutest girl on the planet! She picked out a pink glittered ballerina ornament for our tree, with a little help from mommy. She originally was pointing to a ballerina ornament that had on a blue dress (like Cinderella), but when mommy saw the price tag on it, I quickly picked up the pink ballerina ($4) and spun the string she was hanging on around and told Natalee, "Look! This one dances!" She fell in love. Tricky, right? This was my first trip to The Nutcracker...or any ballet for that matter! We got dressed up in our Sunday best to start our fun mommy/daughter date. When we first arrived, there were TONS of ornaments sitting out on huge display tables. There were ballerinas, king mice, nutcrackers, swans...and the list could go on. The ballet lasted about three hours, I think, and my little ballerina loved every minute of it. She sat on my lap and watched in wonder as the girls danced around. She yelled to them, "Watch out, there's the King Mouse!" and we got several giggles from the rows ahead of us. She talked about the ballet for three days straight! She plays with the ornament she picked out (it's plastic). It is one of her favorite things for the moment. She tells everyone, "You must be very careful. She's breakable. You have to be responsible." I guess she has heard those words a time or two. I loved having this moment in time with her. I hope to be able to take her every year as a special mommy/daughter tradition.

Standing in front of one of the many Christmas tree displays.

All ready and about to leave!

She's such a doll!

Natalee standing with the Nutcrackers. I couldn't make all of it fit together!

I hope you all are enjoying some fun Christmas traditions of your own!

Krystole

Thanksgiving

   Another Thanksgiving has come and gone! I can't believe it...as the same every year. Thanksgiving is really my favorite holiday. I love how big and ridiculous our Hammett family Thanksgiving is. We only had a small crowd of 36 (I think) this year. We have had 58 before. Do you know how I know this? We have to sign in on a roster before we can eat. I think this was the third year we have done this and I stinkin' love it. It is so fun to look back and see who attended. We know have several family members who have passed away, and to see their own hand-writing and remember the Thanksgivings we did share with them is so special. We did our usual....cooked....ate....ate....ate...napped....ate....played games....ate....wondered why we hurt so much....ate it off.

   With the good cooks we have in our family, you really can't help but over-eat.

I made Natalee a quick little dress and I absolutely LOVed it! It was just a t-shirt that I embroidered the word "gobble" on and then I added two ruffles to the bottom of the shirt. The best part, she can wear it again next year...and I can always just add another ruffle if it is too short. This whole dress probably took me about an hour and a half! Easy-peasy!

See, isn't it cute?!

 

   My little turkeys were SO adorable this year. I am so sad that I didn't get a picture of the three of them together. :( I am still getting used to this whole "3 kid thing."

 

 Aiden

Barrett

(Aiden & Barrett)

   I can't get over how cute their little turkey butts looked!

Barrett's shirt said, "Mommy's Little Turkey" and Aiden's shirt said, "Gobble Gobble Gobble." I love that they matched...but not really. :)

 

   I made little treats for Natalee's friends at Boys Ranch. I found this idea on pinterest and loved how easy it was to make! A bag of bugels and a couple boxes of runts completed these "spilt cornucopias!" Thank you pinterest for another success.

SO fun and easy!

 

   Natalee colored this picture for Thanksgiving. She loves to color and really does a great job! She even colored in the border! Not too bad for a 2 3/4 year old. I loved how she chose different colors to color the feathers with. Yes, I am writing a paragraph on how cute my daughter colors. I love her.

 

   I usually take tons of pictures on Thanksgiving and well, frankly, all the time, but this year I didn't. I guess feeding the twins and keeping up with Natalee was all I had time for this year. I have so much to be thankful for again this year. I know that I am truly blessed.

Krystole

Highlight Reels

Do you know how easy it is to get caught up in every one's highlight reels?! You know, the awesome pinterest projects that you see other moms posting. The home-made snacks (organic, of course) that their kids are eating. The fabulous vacations with perfect pictures they upload. The cutest turquoise/owls/gray/chevron/bird rooms in their house, beds made and freshly vacuumed floors. The perfectly mowed lawn, with all the gorgeous flowers. The date nights (that they go on once a week) with perfect hair, lip gloss and cute clothes. The pictures of their car, fresh out of the car wash, smelling as clean as a new baby. You know about these things, right?
Do I post about these things? Well, of course. This is what our society tells us we need to post about. These are the things that make us an "American." These are the things that every perfect family does on a regular basis, right? Wrong.
Let me let you in on a little something. It is called "reality." This perfect world does not exist. I know this, in my heart, but my head is always telling me something a little different. Such as; "Wow, how does she keep her house that clean?" "How can she fit another thing into her schedule?" "What can't that woman do?!" "She has three kids and look how put together she looks!" Do you know what these questions do to a "worn-out-mommy-of-three-who-struggles-just-to-stay-a-float-on-some-days?" It causes me to doubt my abilities as a mother.
Satan wins. Why do I let him get into my head like that?
When I stop and really think, I realize that my house is not always a wreck. I realize that I make fun things for my children to eat and to play with. We go on vacations. We have a beautiful house that is never occasionally vacuumed. We go on dates and I even own lip gloss! We have a car. We have all of these things that I am constantly looking at and comparing myself to.
I know that there are SO many improvements that I need to make, to be the mommy I really want to be. I know that less time on facebook would be good for my soul. I know that instead of sitting down and watching a bit of tv, I should fold the laundry. I know what I should do, but sometimes, I just want a break. I know that some of you will think to yourselves, "She has a break, she just stays at home." But when you are thrown in to having three children (even more so, when they are 2 and under), there is a lot of work that goes into just simply functioning each day. Just meeting their basics needs is all I can do some of the time. And you know what, that is ok. That is exactly what they need. They don't need glow-in-the-dark play dough or cute finger painted pictures or home-made fruit snacks each day. They need me. Their mommy. To love them. To feed them. To protect them. And to teach them. I am learning a few things about being a  mommy of three.
One thing I definitely need to work on is comparing myself. Comparing myself will not change the fact that my closet is disorganized. Comparing myself will not make me skinnier or run faster (or at all). Comparing myself will not make me a gourmet chef. I am who God made me to be. A mommy who gets tired. A mommy who gets stressed. A mommy who is not organized enough. A mommy who checks out on facebook. A mommy who may not always have dinner ready. But I am also a mommy who loves her children. A mommy who is married to the greatest guy. A mommy who gets the privilege of raising our children. A mommy who wouldn't take back any of it.
We all have our ups and downs. The ups are obviously the more fun of the two to talk about and to post about. There is nothing wrong with that. But, let's be real. Every day, every moment does not look that easy, perfect or clean. I am living in a beautiful mess. And, just in case, you really do have it all put together, all the time, feel free to stop on by anytime you'd like. There are plenty of babies to feed, dishes to wash, laundry to fold, floors to mop and on and on and on. I love the highlight reels, but here's to remembering that it is just that...a highlight of your life, not the day-to-day.
-Krystole 

Fall Festival

Last night was our church's fall festival. We had so much fun! I look forward to this event every year. I love seeing all the kiddos in their costumes, and dressing my own up as well. This year, Natalee is a mermaid...and the boys are pirates (go figure!). I love how the costumes turned out, but I love the kids inside them more. :) Here are some pictures...you know you wanted to see!

Natalee was SO excited to get "princess mermaid hair." This was the first time I have ever used a curling iron to make ringlets in her hair...it looked amazing and I am pretty jealous of it!

She also got to put on make up for the first time. A little purple on the eyelids and some blush. She was beyond happy. She is so beautiful. I will probably never curl her hair or put make up on her again because she looked so grown up!
We really lucked out in the costume department this year. My bestie, Mary, had the mermaid costume from one of her daughter's ballet recitals...hence the glamour and sparkle. The pirate costumes I bought online before the boys were even born at 60% off and used a gift card. I made the seashell headband and added the flowers to her arms and to her pants....for a grand total of $2. Yep, that makes me one happy stay at home mom. I love cheap. I love cute. I love it when it's cheap AND cute.
Natalee had a blast playing games this year. The games that you were supposed to toss a bean bag into the hole...she would just walk up, toss it in and clap for herself. She also got to decorate a cookie.

It is fun now that she is understanding the concept of the 'holidays.' She can't wait to go trick-or-treating in Dalhart on Halloween. She keeps saying that we will go to Grammie and Grumpie's house, to Aunt Norma's house and to Papa's house...I guess she has the list made AND knows who gives out the best candy. She is such a joy to my heart. I love my "matching kiddos," it makes my OCD heart happy.

One last picture of Snow White and The Little Mermaid. Love these girls...and they love each other!
Krystole

Clayton Lake

As some of you may have read in another post, we bought a pop up camper! It's a 1988 model, yes, we are cool like that. We are in the process of re-doing the inside to update it. We are in LOVE and can't wait to take it on vacation next year! Here is what we have gotten done thus far!

The curtains are getting a much more updated look! I have only gotten one done so far, only NINE more to go! Oh boy...but man, they look cute!

The 1980's country blue striped cushion got a new cover! My favorite color is green and the bedding I bought for the camper has this same color in some of the print!

A little before and after of the cabinets. Nothing says new and updated like fresh and clean white. It really brightens the camper up a lot! I also spray painted the brass knobs to a nice chocolate brown, but forgot to take a picture of that part. :)

A before and after of the cushion. Yay for new! It's amazing what a $7 tablecloth can do! I love buying shower curtains and tablecloths as fabrics for large projects. SO much cheaper! This was my first time to sew a bench seat. I am very proud of the finished project. :)

Another shot of all the cabinets and dresser drawers being painted.

Even though our camper isn't completely updated and ready to go just yet, we wanted to take it out one time before it got too cold. We went with my parents to Clayton Lake in New Mexico. As a kid, we would go to Clayton Lake all the time. We loved it there. The lake is so low now, but it is still one of my favorite little spots. We had a great time. Natalee was SUPER excited to sleep in her "new tamper, with her baby brudders." Quite frankly, mommy and daddy were just as excited! My parents have a fifth wheel, so we knew this would be the perfect opportunity to take our camper out, and have a back up just in case something went wrong. We are glad they were there. The heater would not work. We couldn't get the pilot light to light, and then when it finally did, it wasn't tall enough to reach the gas (or something like that). The man we bought it from also failed to mention that there was no hot water heater, so we had no hot water either. A trip to town and one electric heater later, we were able to sleep in our own camper and stay nice and toasty. My dad said that a new water heater shouldn't be much money, so we are still very happy about our purchase. We really enjoyed the weekend, and didn't want to go home.

Daddy and Natalee (with her princess crown on backwards) flying kites.

Barrett decided he wanted in on the kite flying.

Our family. I know that I look horrid amazing, don't be jealous. ;)

My sweet duck babies on their first camping trip and first out of state trip....almost 3 months old.

Fishing with Grams and Grumps.

Big smiles for camping cupcakes!

Daddy and Natalee on one of our hikes.

We took Natalee to see the dinosaur tracks. She wasn't impressed, and wanted to know where the "real dinosaurs" were. LOL

Natalee and Grumps. I am pretty sure there is this exact picture somewhere of my daddy and I. :)

Smore Smiles...who wouldn't smile...I said SMORES!

Roasting our marshmellows...and jumbo kind!

We love camping. We love the outdoors. We love our God who created it all. We can't wait to go on more trips. Happy campers, all around!

Krystole



Maxwells Pumpkin Farm

We went to the Pumpkin Patch today! This is our second time to go out to Maxwells, and we really enjoy it. It was more fun this year because Natalee was able to "do" stuff. The last time we were out, it was for a birthday party and Natalee was only 10 months old, although it made for a perfect photo shoot!

Be still my beating heart.

What's a pumpkin?

I made this outfit...it was my first ever!

Can I eat this?

How is it that my baby girl still isn't this big? I love her...like bad. Anyway, our church planned a day to go to the pumpkin patch this year. We weren't sure how it would work with the boys, but we didn't let that stop us! They did great...minus a few pictures, they stayed in the stroller the whole time...with no crying! Sweet little pumpkins. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this years pumpkin patch visit. I can't wait to go again next year!

I love this little girl.

Love her crooked little ornery smile.

This makes me laugh so hard.

Cutest pumpkins in the patch.

Mommy and her lil' pumpkins!

Candy Corn Cuties....I made their matching shirts. :)

The Glover's. Dontcha just love the boys' candy corn hats?!

Fake smile...real pumpkins.

She was so excited!!

The winner!

I love fall. Maxwells makes me happy.
Krystole