Our Holiday Week

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and with a new little addition with us at our dinner table,not was extra special. 

The boys woke up Thanksgiving morning in their Santa Jammie's and monkey bread in the oven. I love that I didn't actually host dinner this year so We were able to have a relaxing day baking goodies and cuddling on the couch watching the parade. {or the friends marathon because let's be honest that's what thanksgiving is all about} 

After a long hard day of stuffing our faces surrounded by family we came home and decked the halls! I'm pretty sure this is the first year that I actually waited until Thanksgiving to put up our tree. I deserve an award! And for some reason I thought Elf on The Shelf returns the day after Thanksgiving but apparently it's December 1st?! So now I get a few extra days in elf hell.  

It's been snowing, the Christmas tree is glowing and I can see the magic of the season in my kids eyes. Welcome back my favorite time of year!!

Christmas Traditions

With the Holiday season here it's also time our family traditions begin. As our kids get older they are really starting to enjoy our traditions and we even love starting new ones as we go along each year. As a kid our Christmas traditions were my most favorite thing about the Holiday season and now doing them with our kids makes it really special. This is also Finley's first Christmas and since she is our last baby this will be our last first Christmas that we ever celebrate. {insert ugly cry face here} Talk about an extra special holiday!

Here are just a few of our favorite traditions and I'd love to hear what your family's traditions are!

Christmas Eve Pajama's: Every year on Christmas Eve our kids get to open one present and in that present is a pair of matching Christmas Jammies. I did this when I was little and I love waking up Christmas morning and seeing them running around with their new toys in festive jammies.

Driving around to look at Christmas Lights: Does anyone else do this?? We love loading up the Family and taking a drive around town looking at everyone's Christmas lights. Our favorite houses are the ones who sync their lights to music. Thank you to all those extra festive neighbors who go the extra mile to entertain us all!

Yearly Picture Christmas Ornament: Our little Elf named Leland brings us a new Personalized Christmas Ornament  to hang on the Tree the day after Thanksgiving. It has our new Family picture on it with the year. It is so fun to look at past years ornaments as we hang them on the tree and seeing how fast our little family grows.

  

Donate to Charities: Every year we like to take all the kids to go Christmas shopping for a family in need or a new Charity of our choice. Picking out a few toys, warm clothes and some food to help others in need is such a great learning experience for the kids.

Sending and receiving Christmas Cards: With good old fashioned snail mail getting to be a thing of the past, this has got to be my most favorite tradition of all. I love seeing our friends and family's cards and how they have grown the past year, especially those we don't get to see very often. The boys love helping me address them and even like to sneak in a few hand drawn pictures. Myself on the other hand, I love picking the actual card out! Coordinating color schemes and Design is my jam.  This year I went with this gorgeous gold foil stamped Holly Branches from Tiny Prints.  A dark grey background with a pop of Gold color coordinated beautifully with our family pictures. With plenty of choices in Christmas Cards  you are sure to find something that fits your style.

You better believe that addressing every last one of these cards with love is one of my favorite things to do this season.

Thanksgiving Week

Happy Thanksgiving week friends! I swear I can smell the Turkey already. With lots of fun stuff happening over the next few days I thought I'd share a few favorites I'm loving for the Holiday week....

 

 

This year we aren't hosting Thanksgiving dinner but instead going to join our family. So I've been planning a fun breakfast for us to enjoy that will include some Monkey Bread and Apple Cider Mimosa's.  We're also going to make some Pumpkin Caramel Cream Cheese Cake to eat after we put up our Christmas Tree.

 

I just bought an AirMoji and I am absolutely loving the holiday scents! If you don't know what an AirMoji is it's a scent device that makes your house smell amazing. Much better than candles, scentsy etc. The Christmas morning scent has been my favorite the past two days, it smells like apple cider and is perfect for Thanksgiving.

 

These Prep Bowls are perfect for whipping up all sorts of goodies this week.

 

 

Matching Christmas Jammies for running around in after dinner, while putting up the tree.

 

 

We really don't get too dressed up for Thanksgiving. Comfortable and laid back but cute is usually our style.  These Lace Up Boots and a Soft and Cozy Sweater are on my list for the Holiday. {For those of you who were asking about my boots on my Insta story @whitrichins these are the boots!}

 

 

And I'll leave you with a million pictures of my little monsters since the past week has been a whirlwind and its been a while since I've done an update. We had some Christmas pictures taken, Ryder was throwing up, Gage has croup, Tyson had the man cold, we had our first snow of the season, I hung up our very first Christmas decorations and Finley has just been looking cute a long for the ride. Hope you all have lots of fun stuff planned for this week! The Friends marathon is at the top of my list! :)

 

xo

 

 

Finley June's Birth Story

Finley is now 3 months old and like I did with my other two kids I like to share their birth stories, especially while it is fresh on my mind. I feel like you either love to read birth stories or you don't. So if it isn't your thing that is okay. But if you love to read and share the experience of child birth, I hope you enjoy!

{The last picture of my pregnant belly, the day before I gave birth.}

I woke up early on a rainy Sunday morning, 5 am to be exact, to use the bathroom. I stood up and heard a weird sound in my belly followed by a gush of water. My water had broken. If you have never have had your water break I am here to tell you it is probably the weirdest and most uncomfortable feeling ever. I yelled for Tyson to wake up and ran to the bathroom, he shot out of bed as nervous as I was because I was only 36 weeks along. He kept asking "are you sure it broke??" Which only made me mad because YES IT DEFINITELY BROKE I AM GUSHING WATER EVERYWHERE. So as he called for a babysitter I wrapped up in a towel and went into our boys rooms and sat there and sobbed while they slept. I don't know why, but I did. I was scared for her health, nervous that the boys had no idea what was going on and terrified for labor and delivery. We loaded up and headed to the hospital. We entered Labor and Delivery and even though I apologized to everyone we passed by about my gushing water situation, Tyson still kept asking me if I was sure my water broke. I got changed into my gown, IV's were started {even though it took 5 tries to get a vein. FIVE.} and I was given a steroid shot to help Finley's lungs develop since she wasn't full term. At this time I was also told that since my water had broken that I would have to use a bed pan to use the restroom for the remainder of my labor. Hours of labor plus being pumped full of fluids made for a very long labor and I'll just say that it was probably the most embarrassing thing that I've ever had to do in my entire life and leave it at that. I was put on Pitocin at 7 AM after two hours of slow labor. This wasn't my first rodeo and I knew how my body is. I knew once I hit 5 cm dilated, I would progress super fast like always. So I tried to time my epidural just right so I would be very comfortable pushing. At 4cm Dilated I called for the anesthesiologist. While waiting for the anesthesiologist I FaceTimed Ryder and Gage since I knew they were probably awake by this time. I was so full of emotion and cried so hard when I saw their little faces. Gage was happy to see me and said he was excited to meet his baby sister but when it was Ryder's turn to talk to me he just cried and cried, which in turn made me bawl like a baby. He said he didn't know why he was crying but I think he was scared to see me in the hospital and I think he could tell I was in pain. It broke my heart but I knew he was in good hands. Shortly after that the anesthesiologist came into the room with a student who I assumed would just be watching. It wasn't until I was mid epidural and my right leg got a shooting pain that I realized the STUDENT was doing the epidural and the anesthesiologist was instructing her how to fix what she had done. You guys, I freaked. I had a full blown panic attack. My heart rate sky rocketed, my blood pressure dropped and I was trying my best to breath and sit still while a student had a huge needle in my spine. The Nurse and the anesthesiologist tried to calm me down so I wouldn't pass out and after a few minutes the pain subsided in my leg and the student was done. When she started to finish I could feel the right side of my body go numb but not the left side, so they rolled me on my left side and told me to give it a few minutes. After a few minutes not only did my left side not get numb but my right side was no longer numb either. I felt every contraction. They came fast and I could feel my hips being spread apart, I knew I was in active labor and would deliver very quickly. I told the nurse to page the anesthesiologist and I was told he just went into a surgery and would come as soon as he could. Even though I was in so much pain I was actually very calm. I cried quietly with every contraction which actually seemed to help and Tyson calmly stood next me and held my hand, but you could tell by the look on his face that he was very nervous. Finally the anesthesiologist came in the room and said they could either try to adjust the epidural or re do it. I knew I didn't have much time left and agreed to try to adjust it. They sat me up which was so so SO painful since I was in active labor and I continued to quietly sob during the whole thing. They adjusted the epidural, laid me down and said to wait a few minutes. But nothing happened and I felt a lot of pressure so I told the nurse to check me. I was in so much pain, but surprisingly calm. All I can say is I am woman, here me roar. I went from being dilated to 5cm to 10cm in 15 minutes. She paged the doctor and I looked at Tyson and said "This is what I was afraid would happen, no epidural for the pushing part." The doctor came in the room and asked if I was comfortable and with tears in my eyes I said "No, but I'm ready." The adrenaline kicked in and I was now more nervous for Finley's safe arrival over my own pain. Before I started pushing the Anesthesiologist ran into the room and asked if I wanted a big dose of medicine into my epidural to try to help ease the pain during pushing and I agreed. I felt my body go a little numb which gave me a lot more energy to push. Tyson was very nervous and he sat down on the couch next to me, looking a little pale a nurse sat next to him ready to help in any way she could. I pushed once and her head was out,  I pushed once more to get her shoulders out and at 4:16 pm on Sunday August 7th, Finley June was born at 36 weeks gestation after 10 hours of labor. She only weighed 6lbs 3.8oz {we rounded it up to 4 oz} and 19 1/2 inches long. And that very sweet nurse sitting next to my very nervous husband's side made sure he watched every second of her birth. After cleaning her off, checking and double checking her stats, she was laid on my chest. We did 2 hours of skin to skin and breastfeeding and other than having low blood sugar and not passing her hearing test {which she later passed} Finley was completely healthy despite being 4 weeks early.

In just a few short minutes our little family was changed forever. My heart grew a million sizes and my husband's got softened by his first and only daughter all while her brother's were so proud.

"All of the sudden, oh it seemed so strange to me, how we went from something's missing.. to a family"

The Mommylogues Series

Hey friends! This post is a day late due to sick kids, but yesterday I took over my friend Whitney's blog; Work It Mommy Blog and was talking about Tips on being an organized and happy Stay at Home Mom.as a part of her Mommylogues Series. Head on over and check it out! And a big welcome to Whitney's readers who are stopping by the blog! I'm so happy you're here! 

Beauty Favorites

If you follow me on Instagram { @whitrichins } you know that I did a major change to my hair. I went from blonde to a silver-purple and I am absolutely loving it! As some of you know I am also a hairstylist and I do post beauty related topics on the blog quiet often but it's been a while since I've shared some of my favorite skin care, makeup and hair products. So in honor of the new hair I've rounded up a few to share with you! I must warn you though, I am pretty obsessed and have a lot of favorites. I'll try to keep the list short and sweet but I'm not making any promises! 

HAIR: Being a hairstylist I have a million favorite hair product and obviously with hair products it kind of depends on what type of hair you have and what your needs are. But here is what I am loving lately..


Shampoo & Conditioner: Pureology Hydrate - Pureology is my favorite and definitely worth the money. They have other shampoo's for different types of hair depending on your needs.
I also use Shimmer Lights Violet Shampoo to keep my blonde from going brassy and I still use it on my silver hair.

Brazilian Blowout Smoothing Serum. I put this in my hair when it is wet before blow drying. This stuff is AMAZING. It smoothes, protects from heat and is good for colored hair.

Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo for Light Tones. If there is anything you ever splurge on for your hair it needs to be this dry shampoo! It is the best dry shampoo I have ever used and lets be honest, if you are a mom dry shampoo is a must. They also have it for dark toned hair.


MAKEUP: So recently I stumbled upon Younique makeup and I am loving them. Right now I am hosting a Virtual Party until 11/16 so I thought I would share a few of my favorites in case anyone is interested in ordering.

Moonstruck Addiction Shadow Pallet Pallet #2 - it has cool black and silver shades or Pallet #3 with cool shades of pink and purple. They obviously have other pallets with other shades but cool colors are my jam. These last FOREVER too.

Touch Mineral Liquid Foundation they call this liquid gold. Medium but buildable coverage that dries to a powdery matte finish. LOVE! Check out the whole face line for amazing primers, powders, blushes and bronzers.

Beach Front Self Tanning Spray Use this on your face, neck and chest a couple times a week before bed for a year round glow!

I also want to try Maskcara Cosmetic's HAC Foundation that everyone raves about. It's on my Christmas list this year!

Hi my name is Whitney and I am obsessed with lipsense. Yep...it's my new favorite product! I am sure you have all heard about it so I'll spare you too many details but I love that it doesn't smear and is good for your lips. My favorites right now are "heartbreaker" and "apple cider" with the "glossy gloss." To order or check out colors head to Bright Eyes, Perfect Pout.

Urban Decay Optical Blurring Brush does just what it says, blurs imperfections. Use with your favorite foundation for a flawless look.

Check out my Younique Virtual Party for more goodies!

SKINCARE: Okay guys I am kind of obsessed with skin care so I will try to keep this as short as possible. I think it is SO important to take care of your skin and it is worth every penny.

Younique has a new Royalty Skin Care line that is amazing. It has everything you would ever need to take care of your skin like cleansers, toners, anti aging serums, makeup removers, masks etc. I need them all!! {Guys...the mask is love!!}

I am also still obsessed with my Purity Facial Cleanser. I buy one big bottle every December and it lasts the whole year.

Caress Evenly Gorgeous Body Scrub I use this every time I shower to exfoliate my skin. It has a little shimmer to it that I love and it is pretty cheap which is always a plus.

So those are my favorites in a nut shell! If anyone has any questions or needs recommendations on some products feel free to shoot me an email and don't forget to checkout my Online Beauty Bash. Happy shopping mama's!

Finley at 3 Months Old

I can't believe this cute girl is 3 months old already! She has changed our lives in ways you couldn't imagine. I waited a long time for this little baby doll, and she was so worth the wait! 

Out of all my babies, Fin has been my easiest. Maybe it's because by now I'm used to all this baby stuff or something but she has made transitioning to a third kid a breeze. 

Sleep: Finley is such a great sleeper! Although I know all too well about the 4 month sleep regression that lies ahead. She still sleeps most of the day and she naps in her mamaroo. This month I'm going to try to start transitioning her into her crib for naps during the day since She's getting to that age where noises wake her up. I'm on the hunt for a good sound machine and baby monitor if anyone has suggestions! Fin sleeps great at night! Atleast compared to my other two babies she sleeps at night. She gets up at 3am to eat then goes right back to sleep. She wakes up again around 7 for a feeding then again falls right back asleep until 8:30ish. She is still sleeping in her bassinet that is in our room, we will probably keep her there for a few more months. 

Eating: So the last time I think I updated on Finley's feedings was just when she was a month old and  a lot has changed since then. At one month old she had lost weight and only weighed 6lbs 10oz. We were advised to start supplementing and to see a lactation consultant. The doctor was very concerned with her health especially with being preterm and losing weight. Long story short- fast forward to today and Fin is strictly bottle fed. Baby is happy, mama is happy and more importantly she was up to 9lbs 10oz at 2 months old. That's all that matters. She eats around every 3-4 hours and loves her como tomo and Nuby bottles. On a side note: it's been over two years since I wasn't pregnant or nursing and this mama is stoked to have her body back!!

Milestones: 3 months old is my absolute favorite age for milestones! Guys...she has learned to smile. Just when you think it can't get any better, they learn to smile! She rocks tummy time and goes from tummy to her back every time. When she's on her back she rolls to her side and is trying to learn to go back on her tummy. She also can sit in her bumbo for short amount of time. She still has her witching hour around dinner time before bed but other than that she is the happiest baby you've ever seen. You will only hear this girl fuss when she's tired or hungry and she is basically all smiles when she is awake. Such a content little thing. 

The boys LOVE their baby sister. Ryder is always watching out for her making sure you do the correct amount of scoops of formula in her bottle or making sure no one steps on her when she's on the floor. Gage is always making sure she has her lovie and binky and asks if Fin is awake before playing with loud toys. You guys, my heart is so full!

We love you Finley girl! 

And now on to a million pictures of her because I just can't get enough.....