Oh friends! I'm so excited for tomorrow I can hardly stand it! It's December 1st tomorrow and with it we begin a month of fun, giving, and memory making as a family.
We do try to do these things all year round but I really love being able to specifically focus on them for this month of December.
I posted oh about a month and a half ago about our 24 advent activities and promised I'd post a complete list and links when I finally had everything worked out. And I just sat down this morning and finalized everything.
My first piece of advice for you in making out a list is to look at local activities to you. We have a community paper called "The Shoppers Guide" and the free activities are almost always listed in there each week. Facebook friends are another wealth of info on fun free or low cost local activities. Fill those in on your calendar then fill in the rest.
So here is what we ended up with and remember that a few of these are local things.
December 1st - Bethlehem Marketplace - at a church about 20 minutes away. This is our third year going and we're super excited.
December 2nd - free Magic Show in the next town over
December 3rd - make snow playdough I looked for a no cook recipe but the only one I found called for ingredients I don't have on hand.
December 4th - make Christmas cards/write Christmas letters for long distance relatives - for us this is grandfathers and a couple of aunts.
December 5th - play Christmas bingo - I printed off Christmas bingo cards and laminated them last year so we'll just pull those out but I think this is where I got them from.
December 6th - string popcorn and cranberries - we've never done this but it just seems like fun. I think we might wrap it around our porch railing for the birds and squirrels.
December 7th - Quincy Lights - a local thing
December 8th - make Christmas cookies - frosting in condiment bottles is GENIUS!
December 9th - make other fun treats for neighbor treat packages
December 10th - make dog biscuits for neighbors' dogs
December 11th - take treats to neighbors - chocolate dipped candy canes, pretzel snacks, chocolate dipped marshmallows maybe. We made the pretzel snacks last year too and they were simple and yummy. Even the youngest children can help with this one.
December 12th - a Christmas craft - I'll pick something fun and simple from pinterest
December 13th - Read Christmas books together
December 14th - make Christmas shape pizzas and have a Polar Express movie night
December 15th - Polar Express train experience sponsored by the local library
December 16th - Children's Christmas program at church
December 17th - start building lego nativity
December 18th - finish building lego nativity
December 19th - make and give gifts to awana teachers
December 20th - color nativity pages
December 21st - mini van express and put the colored nativity thank you pages in the mailboxes of houses that display the REAL reason for the season.
December 22nd - make gingerbread houses
December 23rd - Birthday cake for Jesus
December 24th - watch the Grinch Who stole Christmas (grinch floats anyone?) and visit Grammy's house for special Christmas eve present.
December 25th - a quiet day of opening gifts, playing with gifts, watching favorite Christmas movies, and just enjoying each other.
It's going to be a full month of fun! I tried to keep the busier activities balanced with simpler things on other days.
Tomorrow we will also be starting The Truth in the Tinsel devotions with the kids. I invested in the printable ornaments too - they are just pictures that the younger set can color rather than all the hands on gluing, cutting etc of the regular ornaments. I'll have the older kids make ornaments and print these for Sierra and maybe Sawyer. Super excited to have a way to include Sierra too in a way that is age appropriate for her.
AND I've been inspired by this to make one similar for Jay. I'm going to spend a bit of my afternoon today getting that put together. I want to have it hung up in our bedroom when he gets home tonight.
I'll be back next week with a list of the homemade gifts I'm making for the kiddos for our handmade holiday. Don't forget to get entered to win this week's giveaway! A gorgeous hair bow!
I'd love to read about what your family does for the holidays too so please feel free to comment and leave a link to your own blog/website so I can check it out!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Win it Wednesday: Mod Dot winner and BOW giveaway!
Welcome back friends to another Win it Wednesday! I was so excited about this past weeks giveaway as it was something that I myself would love to have won. Obviously it would be a serious conflict of interest to enter my own giveaway so I refrained but I'm happy to announce that Kelli J won the mod dot ornament! Kelli - Lisa will be contacting you shortly to get that ornament out to you!
And this weeks give away is another one I wish that I could enter to win. It's an adorable bow from Caroline's Bow Sweet Bow shop on Etsy!
Her bows are adorable. This one is a permanent top but check out her etsy shop for magnetic tops for which you can purchase a variety of bottle caps to switch out for all occasions. Seriously cute. So without further ado enter the giveaway below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And this weeks give away is another one I wish that I could enter to win. It's an adorable bow from Caroline's Bow Sweet Bow shop on Etsy!
Her bows are adorable. This one is a permanent top but check out her etsy shop for magnetic tops for which you can purchase a variety of bottle caps to switch out for all occasions. Seriously cute. So without further ado enter the giveaway below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
So much to do... only 27 days to do it
Wow! We had a marvelous Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Hope all of my readers did too! My sister in law came to visit and joined my mom and I on our black Friday shopping adventures. I think we've got her hooked. Hoping we make the whole thing a yearly tradition! So.Much.FUN! She fit right in with the two of us sleepless crazies. I mean that as a compliment (in case she reads this).
But now, now the weekend is over, KOJ is back to work, SIL is back to her home far away, FIL back to his, and it's me and the kids roaming the house. I made headway on the cleaning yesterday but it will take me all week to get the house back the way I want it. I'm just that slow and I don't want to miss out on living life with the kids in between.
This week I need to prep our advent adventures to start on Saturday. I'm actually really happy that the 1st falls on a Saturday as we're down to one car but having KOJ home with the van on Saturday will make it possible to do a family Christmas fun activity and get out and do something to Light Em UP. I think we'll stock up on candy canes to start with. So excited for the coming month of fun with the kids.
I'm also in the final three weeks of crafting for Christmas. I have to sew up the last three big capes for cousins, all four mini capes for our stuffed pets, four dresses, four or five nightgowns (Sierra might get two), three pairs of pj pants, the binding on my quilts, and Sierra's quiet book pages. Phew. What am I thinking??? Oh but first I need to cut out the dresses and nightgowns and pj pants. lol Fortunately I can do that part during the day and I shall because I'm running out of evening hours. This week I have almost zero evening hours to work on things because I'm doing something else with those hours.
I also need to have the kids draw names and then work with them one on one to craft something for a sibling. I think I'll create a pinterest board of simple projects they could make for each other and let them choose from there unless they have their own idea.
How are all of you doing on your holiday prepping??
But now, now the weekend is over, KOJ is back to work, SIL is back to her home far away, FIL back to his, and it's me and the kids roaming the house. I made headway on the cleaning yesterday but it will take me all week to get the house back the way I want it. I'm just that slow and I don't want to miss out on living life with the kids in between.
This week I need to prep our advent adventures to start on Saturday. I'm actually really happy that the 1st falls on a Saturday as we're down to one car but having KOJ home with the van on Saturday will make it possible to do a family Christmas fun activity and get out and do something to Light Em UP. I think we'll stock up on candy canes to start with. So excited for the coming month of fun with the kids.
I'm also in the final three weeks of crafting for Christmas. I have to sew up the last three big capes for cousins, all four mini capes for our stuffed pets, four dresses, four or five nightgowns (Sierra might get two), three pairs of pj pants, the binding on my quilts, and Sierra's quiet book pages. Phew. What am I thinking??? Oh but first I need to cut out the dresses and nightgowns and pj pants. lol Fortunately I can do that part during the day and I shall because I'm running out of evening hours. This week I have almost zero evening hours to work on things because I'm doing something else with those hours.
I also need to have the kids draw names and then work with them one on one to craft something for a sibling. I think I'll create a pinterest board of simple projects they could make for each other and let them choose from there unless they have their own idea.
How are all of you doing on your holiday prepping??
Sunday, November 25, 2012
What I would say to a first time mama
If I could summarize in a simple way what I think is the most valuable "advice" a first time mama of a newborn should hear it would be this:
Relax and trust yourself.
Relax and trust yourself about feeding. Right, left, two at one feeding, one at each feeding, it doesn't matter, just relax and go with your baby's flow. This one might like one at each feeding and the next might want both. You will figure it out, you will know the right thing to do.
Relax and trust yourself about sleep. Your baby will find their own rhythm and sooner than you realize you will intuit that and go with it. Sleep the baby during the day in the common areas of the house so that they can get used to sleeping through noise. Hold the baby while she sleeps if you want. Snuggle her next to you while you catch a nap too if that sounds good. And generally once she finds a pattern and sticks with it for a couple of weeks and you are finally on top of it, she will change it. But it's ok, just follow her cue and trust yourself.
Relax and trust yourself about her crying. It's so hard I know, we want to fix it all and make it all better. But sometimes even now as adults all we need is someone to hold us while we cry and sometimes that's all our baby needs too. Sing to her, tell her Jesus loves her, tell her how beautiful she is, and if all else fails, cry with her. Trust that you are meeting her needs.
Relax and trust yourself.
You are NOT going to screw up that precious baby in the first month of her life. She's never going to remember the first month of her life and it will all be a sleepy blur to you by the time she has her own babies. Follow your gut. If something is working for you then ignore any further advice about that subject. Do what works for you. Do what works for your baby. Trust yourself!
Hold her, love her, gaze at her for hours on end because it really is just too fleeting. One day she will be sassy and independent and confident in who she is. But first you should relax and trust yourself.
I remember all too well becoming a mama for the first time. My baby cried a LOT, ate more, slept only when latched on or in my arms, and drained me. I was so uptight about him getting enough sleep at the right times and not being dependent on me for a pacifier. I was so worried every minute of every day about ruining him, about permanently screwing him up. I most definitely did not trust myself to be a good mama to him. And in the end I think it was my tension that has caused him to be my most high strung and tense child. If I could go back in time and tell myself as a first time mama one thing it would be this. This post. Relax. Relax and revel and TRUST yourself! One day that child is going to be a sassy, opinionated, stubborn, seven year old who thinks he knows everything. One day that baby boy who fits in the crook of one arm will be taller than you. One day you will realize that you missed out on so much of his newborn days because you didn't simply relax and trust yourself.
So dear first time mama friends, one friendly piece of unasked for advice. Relax. Trust yourself Rest in God, rest your baby in God, and enjoy THIS moment one hour at a time. God made you this baby's mama for a reason. If you can't relax and trust yourself at least trust that.
Relax and trust yourself.
Relax and trust yourself about feeding. Right, left, two at one feeding, one at each feeding, it doesn't matter, just relax and go with your baby's flow. This one might like one at each feeding and the next might want both. You will figure it out, you will know the right thing to do.
Relax and trust yourself about sleep. Your baby will find their own rhythm and sooner than you realize you will intuit that and go with it. Sleep the baby during the day in the common areas of the house so that they can get used to sleeping through noise. Hold the baby while she sleeps if you want. Snuggle her next to you while you catch a nap too if that sounds good. And generally once she finds a pattern and sticks with it for a couple of weeks and you are finally on top of it, she will change it. But it's ok, just follow her cue and trust yourself.
Relax and trust yourself about her crying. It's so hard I know, we want to fix it all and make it all better. But sometimes even now as adults all we need is someone to hold us while we cry and sometimes that's all our baby needs too. Sing to her, tell her Jesus loves her, tell her how beautiful she is, and if all else fails, cry with her. Trust that you are meeting her needs.
Relax and trust yourself.
You are NOT going to screw up that precious baby in the first month of her life. She's never going to remember the first month of her life and it will all be a sleepy blur to you by the time she has her own babies. Follow your gut. If something is working for you then ignore any further advice about that subject. Do what works for you. Do what works for your baby. Trust yourself!
Hold her, love her, gaze at her for hours on end because it really is just too fleeting. One day she will be sassy and independent and confident in who she is. But first you should relax and trust yourself.
I remember all too well becoming a mama for the first time. My baby cried a LOT, ate more, slept only when latched on or in my arms, and drained me. I was so uptight about him getting enough sleep at the right times and not being dependent on me for a pacifier. I was so worried every minute of every day about ruining him, about permanently screwing him up. I most definitely did not trust myself to be a good mama to him. And in the end I think it was my tension that has caused him to be my most high strung and tense child. If I could go back in time and tell myself as a first time mama one thing it would be this. This post. Relax. Relax and revel and TRUST yourself! One day that child is going to be a sassy, opinionated, stubborn, seven year old who thinks he knows everything. One day that baby boy who fits in the crook of one arm will be taller than you. One day you will realize that you missed out on so much of his newborn days because you didn't simply relax and trust yourself.
So dear first time mama friends, one friendly piece of unasked for advice. Relax. Trust yourself Rest in God, rest your baby in God, and enjoy THIS moment one hour at a time. God made you this baby's mama for a reason. If you can't relax and trust yourself at least trust that.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Win it Wednesday: Diaper winner AND Ornament giveaway!
Hello friends! It's so exciting that I get to announce the winner of our diaper giveaway this morning! It's even more exciting that I get to open our next giveaway and announce the one to come next week! Exciting times on this Thanksgiving eve.
So without further ado the winner of the free diaper from Meg is: Caroline H. I will be contacting you via e-mail with Meg's info so you can pick your diaper from her.
Thanks to everyone who entered!
And now onto this weeks exciting giveaway!
Isn't it gorgeous?! I love this Mod Dot ornament. It will be personalized for the winner by the amazing Lisa from Little Painted Polka Dots. She has lots of other amazingness in her store too. Do go check it out!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Enter now and share with all of your friends! And come back next Wednesday morning to see the winner announced and our next giveaway put up.... mamas of daughters will LOVE next week's giveaway!
So without further ado the winner of the free diaper from Meg is: Caroline H. I will be contacting you via e-mail with Meg's info so you can pick your diaper from her.
Thanks to everyone who entered!
And now onto this weeks exciting giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Enter now and share with all of your friends! And come back next Wednesday morning to see the winner announced and our next giveaway put up.... mamas of daughters will LOVE next week's giveaway!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Tis the season to feel overwhelmed
Ya'll I'm so overwhelmed over here. Now usually when I feel overwhelmed I just ignore things that I meant to do, planned to do, wanted to do, sometimes even promised I'd do. I ignore them and bury my head in proverbial sand. But not this time.
Partly because one of the major overwhelming factors is my handmade holiday. I knew what I was getting into and it's not even that I've been lazy about it. I work on something at least a couple of nights a week, some weekend days locking myself in my room with a good movie. I've made some solid strides even. I've started on all but Sierra's block puzzle.
And so I shall continue to endeavor to complete these projects in plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the month of December with my kids.
Another element of feeling overwhelmed is my house. I just feel like no matter how much cleaning I do there's always more. I think this sums it up for me.
So I've got some thoughts going on for ways to deal with this issue.
Also two of my kids need bed frames and really what I'd like to do is
make these and move Kayd and Colton into a room together.
And next week is Thanksgiving. I'm so looking forward to it but at the same time I'm having a small behind the scenes breakdown (but I'm trying to do it ahead of time so that when the day actually arrives I'm all calm and collected). I host Thanksgiving. I LOVE hosting Thanksgiving. I just feel like I need to get some plans down on paper or something. I mean I've planned the food but the timeline for the food, the black Friday shopping, what to serve for breakfast where to get all the crock pots I need. Ya know, little things like that. But it will all come together and in the end we will all be thankful and have a fantabulous day together.
And so I took time out of feeling somewhat overwhelmed with my holiday gifts, my desire to move my entire house around, AGAIN, and my emotions about Thanksgiving and cleaning to write this post. I even managed pictures. This blog is just another element to the list of things I'm juggling. I think too that it doesn't help that with the latest weather shift I've again got some sinus gunk going on. I hope it stays cold this time because I hate this part of the changing season. And with this post I will be offline until next week. Tomorrow I need to dedicate to my insanity (cleaning - see picture above). Friday I have a mommy playdate in the morning and my nephews and nieces in the afternoon/evening. Saturday I'm at the craft show at our church. Don't forget that you can order through the e-show! Sunday we have church in the morning and I'm spending the afternoon at my grandma's working on the quilts. She's a master quilter. I'll have to get some pics and post them sometime. She's not online but I am sure she wouldn't mind me sharing her work with the world. Maybe I'll get her to write a guest post. Ooh... great idea.
And this ends this post. Have a great weekend people! See you on Monday! And don't forget that the giveaway will continue until 12:01am next Wednesday!
Partly because one of the major overwhelming factors is my handmade holiday. I knew what I was getting into and it's not even that I've been lazy about it. I work on something at least a couple of nights a week, some weekend days locking myself in my room with a good movie. I've made some solid strides even. I've started on all but Sierra's block puzzle.
I've got the capes 1/2 done.
 |
| one of the boys' capes and Sierra's cape. |
I've got the quilt fronts sewn together and I've begun pinning the batting and backing on.
 |
| two of the boys' quilts and Sierra's quilt |
I've got Sierra's quiet book about 3/4 of the way done. It's one last page and then minor details left to do.
 |
| just a few pages, there are twice this many. |
I've got some of the masks cut out and the spiderman mask done.
I've got so many plans rolling around in my head for jammies and dresses and nightgowns. I want to desert the projects I've been working on - the capes, the quilts, the quiet book, and run along making dresses and shirts and jammies for Sierra. But alas. I cannot. But when I can I'm going to make some super cute dresses out of this pile here:
 |
| I'm going to make ruffle layer dresses for Sierra and my nieces out of this material and I'm super excited. |
And so I shall continue to endeavor to complete these projects in plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the month of December with my kids.
Another element of feeling overwhelmed is my house. I just feel like no matter how much cleaning I do there's always more. I think this sums it up for me.
 |
| Bunk beds - free plans by Ana White |
And so I took time out of feeling somewhat overwhelmed with my holiday gifts, my desire to move my entire house around, AGAIN, and my emotions about Thanksgiving and cleaning to write this post. I even managed pictures. This blog is just another element to the list of things I'm juggling. I think too that it doesn't help that with the latest weather shift I've again got some sinus gunk going on. I hope it stays cold this time because I hate this part of the changing season. And with this post I will be offline until next week. Tomorrow I need to dedicate to my insanity (cleaning - see picture above). Friday I have a mommy playdate in the morning and my nephews and nieces in the afternoon/evening. Saturday I'm at the craft show at our church. Don't forget that you can order through the e-show! Sunday we have church in the morning and I'm spending the afternoon at my grandma's working on the quilts. She's a master quilter. I'll have to get some pics and post them sometime. She's not online but I am sure she wouldn't mind me sharing her work with the world. Maybe I'll get her to write a guest post. Ooh... great idea.
And this ends this post. Have a great weekend people! See you on Monday! And don't forget that the giveaway will continue until 12:01am next Wednesday!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Win it Wednesday! Cloth diaper
Welcome welcome friends and newcomers! Welcome to my first of three Win it Wednesdays!
Last Wednesday, I posted about supporting small businesses this holiday season. Today we're going to give away a free diaper of your choice from one of the WAHM's I mentioned last week. You can check out all the great diapers Meg makes at her page Sow Much Love.
Meg and I are so excited to have this giveaway for my readers - new and old. So fill out the rafflecopter below to enter and we'll announce a winner next Wednesday when we announce our next giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Last Wednesday, I posted about supporting small businesses this holiday season. Today we're going to give away a free diaper of your choice from one of the WAHM's I mentioned last week. You can check out all the great diapers Meg makes at her page Sow Much Love.
Meg and I are so excited to have this giveaway for my readers - new and old. So fill out the rafflecopter below to enter and we'll announce a winner next Wednesday when we announce our next giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)