Today Could've Been Christmas

I have to tell myself often, during the Christmas season, that I need to enjoy the days leading up to Christmas because sometimes the actual holiday day can be a little disappointing. Some moments I tell myself "This is Christmas" because it just feels that way, though December 25th might be weeks away.

And today was a red letter day for me. It truly felt like Christmas.

I will give some reasons it felt like Christmas today:

• new snow
• cinnamon french toast
• morning run
• kids up early (6 AM: Miles had pooped all over his sheets, then Lucy heard me bathing him and joined in, then Finn shortly thereafter)
• King's College Choir-like music playing on Pandora all day
• pine-scented candle burning all day
• Travis played his video game and the kids watched movies intermittently
• I got a deep-sleep-type 2-hour nap
• we decorated glitter snowflakes as a family
• I made my fourth batch of pretzel rods this season
• we ate black bean soup for dinner
  

I love this time of year: most of my shopping is done, the tree is up and decorated, the Etsy-crafting season is over with, and now I can ease up and switch into vacation mode. I love days like this.

Let's Have a Peek at Breakfast Time

Lucy is testing out different types of spoons to eat her applesauce with. So far, she's tested baby spoons, plastic child spoons, measuring spoons and soup spoons.

Miles is rotating between the standing and kneeling positions in his high chair, as per usual, while eating his Teddy Grahams appetizer.

And Finn is sitting "close to the pictures" so he can get a good view of himself on the Scrimsher's Christmas card. He is having Peaches 'N Cream oatmeal, his favorite.

If you'd like to make it on our Christmas card wall, it's very easy. We take Christmas cards of all kinds: pictures, no pictures, lengthy letters, short hand-scrawled notes. We love Christmas cards!

Firmly Planted

With the temperatures dropping into the single digits here in Cleveland, it was high time I got some "Mommy boots." You know, the kind to slosh around in the sometimes-treacherous walk out to the car, then to the preschool drop-off and pick-up, then to the grocery store, maybe to the post office, you know the drill. I thought alot about the kind of boot I wanted to purchase. I don't buy cheap shoes, unless they're really trendy and I know I'll be sick of them within a year. I like to buy good shoes and then wear them out (I bought my Dansko's in 2002 and have been wearing them practically non-stop since then). I spent some time sorting through the features of this mythical Mommy boot. In-style, but not dressy. Casual, but not too rustic. Comfortable and easy-to-slip-on (how do you top the ease of slipping into a Dansko?), but not (gasp) an Ugg. I know, everyone loves Uggs, but I personally think you pay for the name and they make people look like flat-footed Eskimos. (Sorry if that offended some of you.) So, anyways, the point of this post is to show how gratifying I felt buying (in my mind) the perfect pair of boots. Unlike the disciplining of children and staying calm through tantrums, which have long-term pay-offs, the buying of boots is instantaneous. I try them on, I choose, I offer a plastic card for payment and I'm off. I put on my old Danskos and walked around the mall after buying my boots. I don't know why, but when I thought no one was looking, I sat on a bench, took out my new boots and laid my beloved old clogs in the massive boot box. I walked with a little more lilt in my step, perusing the store window displays. I felt somehow more grounded, more validated, like someone had just dipped their pen in a golden ink well and wrote, "You are correct," on my life's report card. It was empowering, in a small, but very personal way. And I hope I feel that way every time I wear them for at least the next seven years.

Virtual Goodie Plate

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas!

Our Rhombus-Shaped Christmas Bush

The story to go with our Christmas "bush" goes a little something like this: Finn wouldn't have any other tree. He picked it, and he wasn't interested in buying any other tree. At least it's a Frasier. It actually fits the space perfectly, and not having to rearrange furniture to fit a Christmas tree was a relief. It's the ugliest tree we've ever had, but there's something so charming about it. I love to sit in the glow of it at night.

The Tradition of the Evergreen Wreath

Each year our Relief Society hosts a wreathmaking night during the first part of December.

It's become a favorite activity for the sisters and their friends.

It starts with plastic-wrapped tables, huge piles of pine boughs, and a tarp-covered and taped gym floor...

...and ends with the rapport of friends, carrying wreaths of their own make, and satisfied tummies full of cinnamon rolls and milk.

Big Eye, Little Eye

This is what I looked like this afternoon when I came home from the dentist after getting 3 cavities filled. I think the anaesthesia did something to momentarily make one eye bigger than the other. At any rate, 7 hours later the numbness in my entire lower jaw has finally wore off and I can chew and talk now. Dr. Schuller doesn't mess around when he's giving shots! He gave me six practically painless shots. That is saying something coming from someone who cringes at needles.

Bright Frosting, Butter Cookies, and Pez

Slow Simmer

I'm taking it super slow today: no gym this morning, resting on the couch after getting Finn out the door to preschool, putting on the mulling spices. One of those days. I was up last night three times, dry heaving and blacking out once. The loveliness of being a woman and playing the find-the-right-BC-pill-for-you game. And though I don't enjoy these "tutorial" sessions very much, I think it's nice to slow down and reflect on the direction I'm taking. To kind of "mull over" (like my spices) the busyness and bustling in my life, the thick of thin things I am so often orchestrating for myself and the ones around me. Life is so beautiful, painful, exciting, joyful, heartbreaking, and stressful all at the same time. And though I'm not the type to rush off and plan a trip to Disneyland, I do enjoy taking days off to catch my breath.

Advent Redone

I have yet another confession: I sold the Whoville Advent calendar I made specifically for my kids. I know, my poor kids. They were really sad. We skipped several days of advent until yesterday, when we made the one we're going to use this year.

It was very simple: plain white bags, numbered, then colored, some candy thrown in them, then tied to the mantel in a garland.

Ahhh, I got that monkey off my back. And it's sorta pretty too.

Ouch

Last night, as Travis was going to put Miles in his car seat to go to our Ward Christmas party, Miles flailed his body, surely trying to avoid getting buckled into his seat. He also hit his head on the door in the process. We vascillated between taking him to the hospital or trying to bandage it up ourselves. After a few calls to physician friends we decided to take him in. The hot 30-pound pan of sweet potatoes I'd just pulled out of the oven to take to the party would never see the party. Neither would we. After 3 hours, lots of waiting and a papoose board, we are now back in business. Poor little guy. He was a champ, but I hope we don't have to make a visit like this for a long time.

Scrooge McSchuller

I have a confession: the second-to-last thing I said to Travis last night before I went to bed was that it was too hard to help other people while tending my three kids. At church we've been encouraged to do 12 nice things for other people during this holiday season, to perpetuate the spirit of Christmas. When I first heard the challenge during one of our meetings, I thought to myself, "Yeah, right. I can't even do one nice thing for my own kids, let alone TWELVE for people in the community." Then I found myself smack dab in the middle of another long afternoon (when naptime was over almost after it started) and I scrambled for an activity to occupy the better part of 3 hours. It went down like this: two batches of chocolate chip cookies, lots of throwing crayons, two homemade thank-you cards, some marshmallow stick-men thrown in the mix, and a vanload of kids on their way to meet, greet and treat the most famous of public servants. It turns out there weren't any police men available at the station, but we did get a picture with a future policeman, a member of the Police Academy, who was working at the front desk. I admit, despite the wonky stroller-pushing and steering 3 kids in the rain, it was a nice experience. My attitude was thawing out. The fire station was quite a bit more exciting: talking to a real fireman, trying on the boots and hat, seeing an ambulance light up then siren off. It was the perfect remedy for a self-pitiful me. And it was a highlight for Finn. I just "bought" myself hours of conversation about fire trucks, policemen, firemen, ambulances and "really big garage doors" (for the firetrucks).

The Cleaning Lady's House Isn't Messy Today

Explanation for post title: For the past couple years I've sewn lots and lots of advent calendars, but had yet to sew one for my own sweet peas at home. With December 1st hours away, last night I sat down and sewed one for my own family. Creation of the Whoville Advent Calendar. It made those bags under my eyes worth it to see Finn almost squeal with excitement at the sight of it. (He knows advent calendars mean candy in this house).

I'm not going to sell the original one, but I did list the calendar in the shop. Go here for a look-see.

And I finished this number after lunch today. I had finished it a couple days ago but something just didn't look right. I added that brown and white fabric and a bow and now it looks more like what I'd envisioned. Again, here's the link.

On Thanksgiving Day 2009, We:

• Made pine cone and leaf turkeys
  

• Stayed in our pajamas all day
  

• Bought rotisserie chickens and dinner fixings at 11 AM, started making dinner at 3 PM and ate at 4:30 PM.
  

• And ended the day with a slice of pumpkin pie a la mode

I made a mental list of things I'm grateful for. It included the usual and irreplacable things like family, beliefs and friends. And it also included little things like Miles' big hands and the way it felt to have a newly-swept back porch. I lack nothing, to be sure.

Gymnastic Artistry

This is what I caught the munchkins doing after bathtime, as I was trying to wrangle them into kneeling for family prayer. "Talk to the booty cause the face ain't list'nin'."

Working Away

Lucy, always the Commander in Chief, likes to perch herself on the shelf separating the toy room and my craft area, and boss me around while I sew.

And she likes to rearrange my jars of vintage toy blocks and wooden bobbins.

If you'd like your own advent calendar made by moi while being bossed by Lucy, just go here.

My Role Model

My Mom is the kind of person who asks questions when others would jump in and give advice. She has perfected the art of patience, having raised seven very strong-willed, spirited children. She would reluctantly take in pet dogs and then cry when it was time to give them to new owners. She likes sea foam candy, and incidentally, Velvet Crumble candy bars. She prefers milk over dark chocolate. She likes to wear white nightgowns to bed, with long sleeves. I remember just staring at her when I was little, after she put on her mascara, thinking she was the prettiest woman I'd ever seen (I still think that). Someone once wrote in her high school yearbook that she would be the one to "redecorate the throne of God," (or something to that effect) and I think they were spot on. She prefers pie over cake and is an avid runner and cyclist. She's the real deal, bona fide, true, pure and someone once said (I think it was my aunt Alison) that she bets my Mom insides are perfectly pink and 100% healthy (my Mom was eating a bowl of beets at the time). If I could become like anyone, I would wish to become like my Mom. Happy Birthday to you, Mother Dearest!

Sewing Ruffles How-To

This might be old news to some, but a while back I discovered how to sew instant ruffles. If you use invisible thread on the top bobbin (without adjusting the tension), and regular cotton or polyester thread on the bottom bobbin, the fabric puckers and ruffles itself as you sew.

Try it and you can jump on the ruffle bandwagon too!

Frostbitten

The frost pixies paid us a visit last night.

We woke up to plates on the wall lightly dusted in crystals of snowflakes and rounds of shiny metallic tinsel.

Outside, the air turned Spring-like to cold in one day, and the sky cast itself in grays and muddled blues.

I love the anticipation of holidays coming up, the chill in the air (it used to get me excited about downhill skiing season), and the thought of keeping warm inside at home (even if my walls are frostbitten).

T. Schuller Unplugged

This is what Travis does sometimes while he's watching T.V. It cracks me up. I will hear the T.V. show on, and then when there's a lull in the action or the show gets quiet, I will hear a soft strumming of the guitar.

I look over and see my rockstar husband picking away something, no amp, no cords, just him in his pajama bottoms and old t-shirt and his guitar.

It's quite endearing.

Just Listed

Here.