Our DIY Advent Countdown

Yesterday we started our countdown to Christmas.  In typical me fashion we had to do two days to get caught up but it worked out.  If you are like me and are late, you can rest assured that it's not too late to get started with a countdown. 

And I'll show you how. 

A little history of our countdown calendar: 

When Emma was two and Calvin was one Nick lost his job.  It was hard and tough and horrid.  We had $200 in our savings account.  Fun times were had by all. 

Not. 

One thing we vowed was that the kids wouldn't know what was going on.  We didn't want them to not have a Christmas or to notice that they had less.  

So I came up with this countdown during that time.  

That first year I took string, tacked up some socks and mittens I found and put things in them that were around the house...a couple of stickers, dimes, candy canes, whatever.  I put them in before I would go to work at 4 IN THE MORNING! And then they had that day's sock or mitten waiting for them when they woke up with Daddy.  

And they still ask for this every single year!  My kids are all about traditions.  In fact, Nick and I even purchased them Playmobil advent sets because they had been BEGGING for them but in the end when I asked which they wanted to do, Playmobil parts or surprises every day they chose our old fashioned surprises method.  So the Playmobil's are going back I guess :/. 

The thing I love is you can really make this as simple or as elaborate as you want. It doesn't have to cost a lot but if you want it to, you can.  It's all up to you! 

Okay, so I'm going to walk you through what you need to do the countdown how I did it this year: 

Supplies You'll Need:

-String, twine, ribbon. I've used all of them through the years.  This year I am going with twine for a rustic look. 

-2 Nails or Hooks to hang the string on.

-Socks, mittens, little stockings.  I have a mixture of these.  Truth be told a lot of these are ones that were cute but we had lost their mate.  So I kept them.  I also love to see how little their tiny hands and feet were when they were babies so I used a lot of their infant-wear :) See how cheap this is by using what you already have?

-Clothespins, Binder Clips, Safety Pins, or Paper Clips to secure socks to string. 

-Numbers. In previous years (I think you can see some from last year on the socks in the previous picture) I printed numbers out.  I've used just plain stickers.  This year I found these cool gold stickers that were for 25 days.  Perfect!  They were a little pricey ($4.99!, I know, I'm pathetically a cheapskate) but I had a 40% coupon so it worked out.  Emma loved the stickers.  I got them at Hobby Lobby if you are looking for them.  They are super thick and super sticky so I'm hoping the numbers will last more than one year.  But again, use anything!  I've used post-it notes before.  

-Optional: A Honking Bag of Junk to use. I bought all of this stuff for 90% off last year after Christmas.  If you don't have your own honkin' big bag of stuff, it's okay, you can just put in there whatever you would like! 

How to Set Up Your Advent Calendar

Hang your wire, string, ribbon, whatever.  I just used two nails and tied it on there.  I tried to make it as tight as I could because the weight of everything will make it sag a bit.  The above picture is what mine looks like before I hung everything.  I then went and scrubbed my wall as you can see dirty clay fingerprints from us making ming bowls for our history lesson. 

Then hang your socks, mittens whatever.  I use some of the kids smaller socks, their baby mittens, and some of those little stockings people give you every.single.christmas.  Now you have something to do with them all! 

After I took this picture I went and peeled off that piece of tape that is on the wall.  This is real life people! I use small clothespins from Hobby Lobby to hang our socks but you can use anything you want.

This is the finished layout I have.  I tend to hang them all up and them move them around so I don't have all mittens clumped together or 4 red socks side by side.  Make it look how you want, whatevs. 

I then put the numbers on.  You can o this however you want.  I put 25 on one side and then 24 on the other side and then work my way towards the middle.  So odds are on one side and evens are on the other.  This works great because then I don't end up with one side of the advent calendar empty and the other side sagging from everything in the socks.  This is from trial and error that I've figured it out.  Also because we have two kids and they like to take turns opening the advent sock, one basically ends up with the odds and one with the even days and so they know which side to go to when it's their day. 

Here is another thing I think I do weird but I'll share it with you.  I make a column of the days and then next to it I figure out how many days there are till Christmas.  Then we open that corresponding day.  I know a lot of people do it the other way where if it's December 10 then they open 10 but we open 10 on the 15th when there is 10 days left until Christmas.  Get it?  Are you confused?  You can set it up like me and then have a mini panic attack every day when your kids open it and you're thinking "what?  only 21 days until Christmas?  Yikes!" but to your kids you can be all "yeah!  Only 21 days left!" because that's what cool moms do. 

Okay so you saw my weird list, I then start to fill it in with what I'm going to use every day.  I started doing this because the first year I kind of ran out of ideas so we had a million days of candy canes towards the end.  Lame.  Don't get me wrong we have plenty of candy cane days but I try to space them out.  

So I write down what events I know we are doing and what we will be up to so if there are things I can tie into that I can plan.  One night we are going to a local Holiday event where they always want to buy something so I will put a little bit of money in the sock for them to each be able to shop for a souvenir. 

Another idea is I will figure out when we can watch Polar Express at home and I'll put "train" tickets in their sock so they know we are watching the moving and it will be special. 

After I've written down events that I know we are doing and things I can coordinate to those I fill in the dates left.  This is where I pull out my honkin' bag and see what I have to give them.  Again these are all things I got super cheap, for real: 

I wait until Target has 90% off and then I buy whatever I can find.  So this kit was $0.20!  Seriously, I can handle 20 cents.  And it makes them work together and it gives them something to do for a while.  

I try to space out events, candy, a toy, money, and craft days.  

As you can see here, Day 25 they got candy canes!  And they were super excited.  It's the little things around here! 

Day 24 I had puzzles to give them but they wouldn't fit in the sock so I wrote this note and stuck it in the sock. They love the little hunts and running to see what they will find. 

By spending a little bit of time putting this together I have peace and quiet in the house.  They worked on these puzzles for about an hour.  They helped each other, we helped them and it was so much fun!  

So I hope that gives you an idea of something you could thrown together and have lots of fun with your kids.  There's nothing really special about "here have another candy cane"  but the act of putting it in a sock or mitten in the countdown makes my kiddos so super excited.  Weird, I know, but it works.  

And remember you can make it as basic or fancy as you would like!  A couple of dimes makes kiddos super excited.  Or put Bible verses in each sock.  Or candy.  Or an event like "drive to see christmas lights".  

I know you'll do awesome! Let me know about your fun advent countdowns and remember,it's not too late to start making memories and traditions! 

---

2016 Update:

The kids are getting older (shocking I know!) so I was a little leary about using this again.  After all I started doing this when Calvin was a year old and Nick had been laid off...this was cheap!  But the kids are insisting we do it again this year.  When they were younger it was easier to stick small things in the socks and mittens...coins, candy, stickers, etc.  But as they've gotten older it's been so fun to incorporate clues and crafts into the socks. 

Have fun with it! 

Gift Ideas All Kids Will Love

One of my readers wrote me and requested a holiday gift guide for a boy who isn’t into the traditional boy items…no legos, no super heros, etc.

So I put my thinking cap on and came up with a few items that our our families faves. These are items our son loves to play with. Here we go:

Qba Maze

Seriously the coolest maze, hours of fun and there are so many add on pieces and kits.

Calico Critters

Both my son and daughter have loved to play with these through the years so I can attest that these are popular! They are so detailed and fun that your family will have years of enjoyment with these cuties.

Cooking Set

Nothing gives kids confidence more than having tools that were made for them in sizes that are easy for them to use. We love these kits from Williams Sonoma because they are durable and fun!

Weaving Loom

Both Emma and Cal love using our Weaving Loom. It’s a great item for when we are reading as it is quiet and something they can do to keep their hands occupied.

Gem Kit

These dig kits are so fun and they can be educational when paired with a gem book or a fossil kit paired with a dinosaur book.

Magic Kit

This is something that is so fun and can spark a curiosity that can last for years. A starter kit is a great place to begin and then trickier tricks can be added in.

If you don’t want to purchase a physical gift, a gift of an experience is always a hit! We love our membership to the Western North Carolina Nature Center because we have reciprocity to the ASTC and AZA centers…that’s over 450 zoos, aquariums, and science centers nationwide that are included. We love our membership and know you would love one too!

---

So those are my suggestions, do you have any to add? I’d love for you to list them in the comments!

Sweet Gifts for Kids who Like to Bake

I love baking with our kiddos. I always have. Ever since they were little we would bake together and it has always been a very special time that we all enjoy.

Now that we have a tween and a teen I am finding them starting to bake on their own, expressing their creativity (and hello? math skills!) through making sweet treats for the fam, which is totally a-ok with me.

If you are buying for some kiddos (or a family, or just mom) who like to bake, these would make some pretty sweet gifts:

Color Gel

For super vibrant colors in frostings, you are going to want to switch from liquid food coloring to gel. This will really make your cookie decorating fun!

American Girl Baking

This is Emma’s favorite baking cookbook of all time. And I have to admit that we have enjoyed every recipe out of it that she has made us out of it. Great recipes, easy to follow, and overall fun, this is a book that will be perfect for your little girl!

Cake Decorating Set

This set has a lot of equipment in it for an amazing price! This would be an amazing gift for someone who loves cake decorating or for someone who has a 4-h cake project coming up in the next year.

Matching Aprons

Emma and I have fallen in love with matching aprons and these are amazing with their vintage cuteness! If you like baking with your daughter, there is just something about donning matching aprons that takes the fun up a notch!

Kid Chef Book

Our kids have LOVED using the Kid Chef books. There are several of them to choose from. They are fun books and have easy to use instructions for cooking. This baking cookbook would be great!

As we get closer and closer to Christmas (can you even believe it is almost here?) it sometimes gets harder and harder to think straight without the chaos and the pressure of the season taking over your good senses. So if you are in need of a gift one of these items would be great. Or you could group a few of these things together to make a gift basket for someone…even if they don’t like to bake (yet!) you never know but you might be sparking a new love for a hobby they will love for years to come!

Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village

Each Christmas we visit Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan for what is arguably the best holiday experience ever…Holiday Nights.

Last year, of course, was no exception. 

We could write so many posts about our experience there.  The weaving, the glass makers, the carolers, the model T rides, the food, the entire experience?  All worthy to write about.

Ringing in the Yuletide while walking along streets lined with greenery and lights is magical.  Add that the street is within a handcrafted village made of original historic homes and it is absolute heaven.

Upon our arrival we were greeted with free hot cocoa to enjoy in the line and a map of where to go once we were through the gates.  Once the event was open and we were through the admission gate we made our way to the Model-T rides.  Authentic Model T rides through the village are such a fun experience and it is such an amazing way to see the village bustling with holiday excitement.

After our amazing ride we walked along the streets to take in the sights and smells. Chestnuts actually roasting over an open fire piqued our noses.  Next to the vendor they were selling hot cocoa and hot apple cider in the cutest souvenir mugs in all the land (still using mine daily for my coffee!). 

And then we went ice skating!  That’s right, real life, ice skating!  It was amazing and fun and silly.  A huge bonus is the skates they have for you to borrow, for free!  It is so nice to go ice skating without having to lug around skates or to pay extra money to borrow a pair of blades.

After our ice skating experience (the only picture I got was the one above!) we went and got some food. After all, as much fun as we have ice skating, we’re kind of like a hot mess. Hats traded, gloves lost, who knows where Nick went. At least the kids had fun and we all had some laughs. And we earned that food! They have so many yummy choices to eat. Each year we’ve gotten a roast beef sandwich but this year we decided to mix things up and we got a ham sandwich! The roast beef and ham are cooked on a spit over an open fire and when you order it they cut the meat to order. It is so much fun. They also had a huge cauldron and we could not pass up the smell so we got a bowl of their chicken dumpling soup. It was amazing!

One of our family’s favorite areas is the Liberty Craftworks area. We were able to watch a lady weaving on a giant loom, watch glass blowing, and tin works. It is so fun to watch!

The whole night was cloaked in nostalgia as we passed groups of carolers singing while warming themselves around bonfires.  Each turn was another holiday moment we each talked about storing up for days when you feel blue.  So many things to be seen around each corner…like Santa reading from his nice list at Robert Frost’s home!

My favorite moment was touring Noah Webster’s home, decorated to celebrate New Years Eve!  It was so festive and fun to see how they lived back then.

The evening ends with a group of carolers leading a procession across the green up to the town hall with lanterns.  When they come to the town hall you realize that every single caroler is in traditional nineteenth century clothing.  All at once you are transported back to a place in time where everyone in a town knew one another and would gather for fun and memory making.  As songs are led and letters to Santa are read a camaraderie develops, not only with the carolers leading the event but with the strangers around you. It is a precious moment, fragile and fun, a time that you don’t want to see end, despite the cold..  The evening ends with Santa coming to say farewell and fireworks start from afar to show the reindeer where to land.  It all is magical and festive. 

To end the night with thousands of strangers singing “silent night” in harmony is a feeling that brings such wonder and honor to the Christmas season. 

We know you will love Holiday Nights as much as we do!

Our Wonder Collective’s Summary

---

Pros

This is the most family friendly event. Despite thousands of tickets being sold for each evening there is never any drama... No skiving, yelling, or rudeness. Everyone is kind and friendly.  

This is an educational event as well as festive. Listening to Thomas Edison's original wax recordings on his own phonograph in his workshop and seeing the desk where the Wright brothers worked out their calculations is very wonder filled.  If you are homeschooling this can totally be counted as a field trip.

Cons

The Weather-there is nothing that can be done about this but this is an outdoors activity and it is Michigan.  It can be bitterly cold so make sure you come prepared!

There is a lot of walking. Although we see lots of people with their kids in strollers we have encouraged our extended friends and family to wait until your kids are a bit older before coming. To each his own but that is our opinion.

Additional Suggestions

• If you are going on a model-T ride we highly suggest you get in line when you first arrive.  The line seems to become progressively longer as the evening goes on. 

• Bundle up! I feel like I cannot say that to you enough. This year it was in the 40’s and we still bundled up. Don’t be deceived by warmer temps…standing outside in the middle of winter is still standing outside in the middle of winter no matter how warm it may seem when you are sitting in your hotel room.

• Budget extra money: Please be aware that food is not included in the admission ticket. If you are going to want to eat or drink while you are there then make sure you plan on extra money for the event. All vendors take credit cards/debit cards so you don’t have to bring cash. There are other things to purchase as well. One of our favorite purchases are the lanterns they sell at an open air tent just down the street from the Wright Brothers shop.

---

We know you will love Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village! If you’ve gone, please comment below with what is your favorite thing about the event.

A Very Merry Christmas

As our family celebrates the 12 days of Christmas, I don't feel it is too late to wish you a very, merry Christmas!  After all, it is only the 4th day of Christmas. 

Today was Nick's first day back to work in two weeks and we sure do miss having our guy around :(  It's hard to get back to real life. 

But this is what we are doing today...just chillin'.  It is so nice to have these days of no where to be and nothing to do.  To stay in our pjs or sweats all day and have some really deep relaxation.  I am trying to soak all of this in since we start school Monday and will be on the run again before we know it!

This Christmas was so magical!  My cousin, Andy, stayed with us and it was so nice having him around and having lots of family pop over to just hang out.  That is what Christmas is made for!

This photo is from our ugly sweater party!  It was a small group this year but we had so much fun laughing, snacking, and watching our traditional movie of Christmas Vacation.  Memories!

Christmas morning I woke up before the children to make some coffee and get myself prepared for the mental anguish of the wrapping paper blizzard that would ensue. 

I know you know what I am talking about here ;)

Check out our Christmas tree!  Santa came!!!

The kids were so gracious about their gifts and it was so fun to watch them open everything they got from us and then from Santa.  They loved all of their toys and since have been having a blast playing with everything!

Here's Calvin with his lego bible.  It is so fun!

Here's Emma with her weaving loom!  She asked Santa for it and has played with it every single day!

After the kids opened their gifts I insisted we take some family photos.  This year the kids had REALLY wanted us to all have matching pjs.  Let me tell you, that is easier said than done.  Has anyone else endured this nightmare? After 3 pairs of pjs we landed on matching pjs from Burt Bee's Organic Cotton collection and we LOVE them! 

Of course we had to take some silly photos after we FINALLY got a good one!

I think this one is adequately silly, don't you? 

Nick and I got one another some pretty great gifts too!  Nick got me an Erin Condren planner (I've wanted one FOREVER!!!), he also got me some le creuset kitchen items, a ton of wool socks, and spent way, WAY too much Shearling slippers for me.  When I scolded him he said "you're always here doing so much for all of us.  You deserve warm feet."  He is just the sweetest man!

I got Nick a big tv for our bedroom...he's wanted one FOREVER and I was so excited to actually surprise him with it...I've had it hidden in my dressing room for months!  I thought for sure he had discovered it but he hadn't and I was so tickled to surprise him.  I also got him some cubs memorabilia from their big win!!!  this year.  And I got him the book The Secret Garage, about praying for your family. 

We've had the best holiday, not to mention all of the wonderful gifts our families gave us!  We received some amazing gifts...my camel for my nativity, awesome travel mugs, and more! 

We hope you and yours are having a very merry Christmas season and that your days are merry and bright! 

Merry Christmas!

The "Fun" of Christmas with Autism

This isn't one of those posts where I'm all like "Christmas with an Autistic Child is like a dream come true..." because it just stinks.

The case of the stinks starts pretty much right after Thanksgiving. Or rather on Thanksgiving.

Christmas tree getting leads to over load.  Decorating leads to overload.  Cookies lead to overload.  Church performances lead to overload.  Shopping leads to overload.  Everything leads to overload.

And a lot of times people don't see it unless you are in the house with an Autistic child.  THEN I'm sure you see it. 

Our son, Calvin, will fall asleep when he's overloaded.  People say "oh, the poor thing's had a busy day." 

Nope, he just can't take anyone or anything, anymore.

Which is a great coping mechanism until it's 2 am and he's raring to go while punching me in the face to watch this one commercial with him.  Over and over and over and over.

Oh the Christmas joy.

Then there are the times when he doesn't even try to hide his overloaded-ness from anyone.

Take last Sunday in church for example...

Our cute, adorable Emma (who I always seems to describe like Grover) sang in church with some other girls. Nick pulls out his phone to video tape it. 

So here is the next 2 minutes of Calvin, full volume, in church with a somewhat Veruca Salt tone in his voice:

"I knew you had your phone. 

Why can't I play games on your phone?

No cell phones in church!

No cell phones in church!

Let me play games on your phone!

Why not?

No cell phones in church!

No cell phones in church!

You never let me play games in church!"

Oh.sweet.baby.Jesus.

If you seeing me saying this to my son it's not because I don't love him but rather because I am tired of whisper arguing in church after 3 sleepless nights.

Anyway, this is one of those Autism Mom Public Service Announcements to say, if you know someone who has an Autistic child, please cut them a little slack.  We all have a lot on our plates this time of year but for those of us with a child from Autism it takes everything to a completely whole new level. 

Just imagine we're trying to pacify one child so they won't completely fly off the handle at an event or at home and we are trying to make sure the children who don't have autism aren't feeling like the autistic child is spoiled and everything is focused on them and we are trying to plan for every little thing...is aunt so and so wears her strong perfume and they are going to complain loudly about how bad she smells what are you going to do? Or if that dog that they hate is there what are you going to do? Or if other kids want a turn with the toys at Grandma's and they don't' understand, what are you going to to?  We have 18 backup plans with 2 more to have as backup plans to our backup plans.  All that coupled with remembering green bean casserole and wrapping gifts and everything can just feel chaotic and overwhelming.

So if you know a Momma (or a Daddy!) who's little one has Autism, a hug and a starbucks giftcard can go a long way towards making us feel like we're not in this alone.  That you get it.  That you're here for us. 

And if you are celebrating Christmas with a little one on the spectrum please don't be freaked out.  Be understanding but don't treat them with kid gloves.  They will be able to sense it and that alone will feel weird and foreign.  Just be you to them and loving and understanding if they need to back away.  Look for those signs.  The child isn't trying to be defiant or naughty by not wanting to participate or do something but rather that may be their way of shutting down as a coping mechanism to try to avoid overload. We sure love our little ones don't we?  Christmas is so special for them and even if they aren't participating or are struggling, they're still here doing it with us.  They know everything around them and they get it on a deep level, trust me. 

All that being said...

Merry Christmas!  I have a feeling it will definitely not be a Silent Night.

This Year's Christmas For Real

So this is a behind the scenes I'm going to be honest post. 

This holiday season is not going as planned.

Picture me, early November, all curled up on the couch dreaming of how the holiday would be after Thanksgiving:

I'd get my decorations out before Thanksgiving to have time to mull over what I wanted to use, what I didn't want to, yada, yada.

Everything would be decorated and the bins would be put away by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.

From there, every day we would make a magical recipe and would store them away to give for gifts or in anticipation of the big day.

I would tidily wrap 5 gifts a day and would be done by the week before Christmas so I didn't have to bother with last minute things.

All of this was just a big, fat wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Wrong. Wrong.

And wait for it...

wrong.

So here has been the reality.  The week before Thanksgiving my grandmother passed away, which I wrote about here. She had been sick, she's in a better place, but somehow there has just been this fog.  I know you can't rush grief or getting over someone being gone but it just feels hard.  And foggy.  Some days I just want to stay home. And what should seemily have taken me no time (in my mind) and been done by now is still languishing around.

Further more from a working/website perspective this has made it so I have nothing to say. No fun Christmas tutorials over here. No house tours ready from this gal.  Unless you want "today I put on jeans and not leggings, and you can too" then yesterday I totally nailed that.

But the sad truth is that as I was wallowing.  Because that's what it's been, wallowing, I realized that maybe I'm not the only one wallowing.  And maybe that's the beauty from ashes that God pulls out of all of this and wants to use. 

This isn't our first Christmas that things haven't gone as planned.  It's not always happiness and sunshine over here folks.  There have been Christmas' where the tree fell over. Where we had no money when it certainly seemed we should. When there was no work and we had no money and it made sense we had no money.

But somehow God works through those tough times.

And I know He will work through this.

Everything will come together in His time.  I just have to give myself the grief and time.  To cry over the Christmas card I got from Grandma last year I found that sent me to grief all over again.  And the crying when I unwrapped the Christmas ornaments from her. It's all there.  All under the surface.  And I just need the time.

So I apologize to you readers.  I had a really great "Christmas countdown" series planned with games and strippers and rides and fun.  Well only one of those things was included but I digress...

Instead I am here with real life, living real, feeling real, hurting real, healing real.  And it's going to be okay. 

I hope that whatever you are going through this Christmas, your hurts, your pains, your money issues, the betrayals that you've been hurt with, the shocking news you just can't bounce back from; that that is the message of hope that I can share with you:

"It's going to be okay."

Forgive me for being absent.  Love you all.

Christmas Tree 2015

Last year we had a great time getting our Christmas tree.  You can read all about it here. 

Our old c7 bulbs died and we had to buy new LED bulbs.  Don't get me wrong, I love them and they're pretty but they just aren't the same.  Here's our picture of the tree last year. 

I had the hardest time trying to explain this to people but while the lights were almost annoyingly bright the tree was dark. Do ya know what I mean?

 So this year this is our tree.  

It pretty much looks the same except this year it's a little glowier.  What's my trick?  Those cheap white twinkle lights.  We took 2 strands of white twinkly lights (100 bulbs per strand) and wrapped them around the trunk of the tree.  Our tree is 9 feet tall and the 2 strands worked great.  So we kept those strictly on the inside of the tree and then on the outside we put our fancy dancy LED lights. 

And this is the result.  I'm loving it!  

Our tree decorating and chopping has been a bit weird this year.  We always go the day after Thanksgiving.  But this year it was rainy and gross so we didn't go until Sunday. So we shopped Friday, decorated the house Saturday, and Sunday we were ready to get the tree.  

Most of us were ready.  This guy was just sleepy or sick or off or something.  He just was not feeling it.  

Here he's standing next to our fire pit.  My in-laws rent us a fire pit every year and we have a tailgating type party with food and drinks and good times. This year friends stopped by and we saw lots of people we know, it was so much fun! 

These kiddos have my whole big heart. Here we are on the tractor tram ride thing. Off to get our tree! 

After searching and searching an searching we found our tree!  It took lots of looking and walking and hunting and backtracking and grumbling but we found it!  And this was the best picture we found because Nick's parents were off looking for their tree, Emma wanted to be with them, so it was the three of us hunting for the perfect tree.  I've gotta tell you though, it was super weird and cray having a picture of just the three of us.  

This adorable guy has the biggest heart and decided that this year it was his year to cut down the tree!  He was so careful with the saw and was all business about it.  

He was trying so hard but it wasn't long before he asked for his Daddy to help.  These guys are so cute together!  

This is a picture of Cal getting to push the tree over.  He yelled "Timber!".  There are some days when I forget that he has Autism.  These days remind me that Autism is something like being left handed. It doesn't define him, it is just part of who he is.  We're not dragging it behind us like some type of cumbersome burden but rather it's just him, pushing a tree over and laughing.  

And just as easy as that we are ready to go!  

These cute guys are all throughout the forest and the kids love spotting them as we ride through on the tractor ride to the trees and then back to the firepit.  

And then it was time to eat and warm up by the fire!  By the way Cal here is eating a gluten free cupcake from the King Arthur Flour brand.  They are so super yummy and moist!  

There's my PSA, go buy this cake mix if you are gluten free.  Yum! 

After lots of snacking we came home and got to decorating!  Who doesn't love to decorate the tree? It was so much fun!  We got all of the decorations down before so the kids weren't sitting around waiting for us to find the decorations. 

So there was our Christmas tree experience this year!  

And our 25 day countdown to Christmas started yesterday!  Did y'all get started on a countdown or an advent calendar?  Let me know in the comments, I love all of your ideas!!!  

Letting It Go: Re-prioritizing to Enjoy the Gift of Christmas

Way back in say, September, when I start to go a little crazy and just can't wait for Christmas, I started envisioning sugar plums and everything fabulous I would do to decorate our house for Christmas.  

It involved something like

this

...

 I found it on Pinterest.  By the way you can check out my pinterest boards

here.

  Vastly exciting, I know.  Anyway, so I purchased giant Christmas ornaments, mesh, springing glittered things, festive picks, you name it.  I was a regular shopping Ninja, watching for the 50% off at Hobby Lobby to occur...able to get in and get out to check it out and then when it happened, out of nowhere I pounced :)

So as I was saying back in September I decided on this and in October I bought all of the supplies.  I was ready.

 But here the ornaments sit today...on a bench in our foyer.  Ready to be hung, already.  Hello?

And here is only ONE of the bags of mesh and supplies from Hobby Lobby, still just waiting to be dragged out of the closet and hung up.  Still waiting...

And so here it is the 15th of December and I've made a decision.  There are only 10 days left until Christmas, folks.  And with gifts to wrap, a guest room to ready, menus to plan, and children to love on by the light of the tree, I am saying enough already.

Because whether I've realized it or not the stress of a to-do list still needing to be to-done is hanging over  my head like an albatross.  So no more.  Tonight I am returning all of the materials.  I could keep them, yes, but I am really trying to minimize the amount of crap I have laying around for projects I may one day get around to. And so, quite frankly, I just don't need it hanging around or over my head for another year.

I encourage you to do the same.  Maybe you don't have all of the Christmas decorations up yet.  Maybe you have this and that and that and this to do before the big day.

Let. it. go.

Go snuggle with your children.

Pour yourself a glass of milk chocolate coconut milk (available at Whole Foods and AMAZING!!) and address some cards to loved ones.

But cut yourself some slack, remember the true meaning of Christmas and try to simply enjoy the moments while you can.

You have my permission to blow it off.  Until next year :)

Oh, Christmas Tree!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and kickoff to the Christmas season.  I hope you did too!  As has been our tradition for the past 10 years, we met Nick's mom and dad the day after Thanksgiving to pick out our tree.  I can't believe it's been 10 years that we have been doing this!  So much fun!!!

 We go to a lovely Christmas tree farm called Hensler's.  It's been featured in Midwest Living and other publications and is just spectacular.  They have a Santa and for the past two-ish years Cal has wanted the first thing he does upon arrival to be visiting Santa.  Three years ago he was a little shy, and last year and this year he had no problem.  Here he is standing in line.

 He always whispers to Santa which is just adorable in my book.  Top secret stuff, right there ;)

 And we got a great photo of him and Santa.  Love this little boy's spirit so much.  He told Emma he told Santa what she wanted too since she was too much of a "scare-dy cat to tell him".  Sweet boy.

 Once outside the workshop we went to see how the reindeer were doing...

 They seem to be just fine :)

 Then it was off to wait for the tram to take us to the Christmas tree fields.

 It's all fun and games until people start getting nuggied...(and how do you even spell that word?)

 Here are our boys ready to go!

 She melts my little heart.  She is just so silly when you give her a saw.

 Gotta make sure that blade is straight.

 Here's my hottie standng next to our tree...to the left of him.  Yep, Griswold and his tree :) Do you see how tall that tree is?  My husband is 6 feet 4 inches tall, ladies and gents :)

Here are my boys next to our tree.  Seriously, doesn't it make Nick look super short?  I love them so much!  I wish Emma could have been in this picture but alas, she was chopping down the tree with her grandparents.  Every year her and Cal switch off and they love helping them. So cute!  

I wish I had the photos of Cal helping his Daddy cut our tree down but this Mom forgot to check the battery situation and my battery pack died right after this picture.  I've never had the huge Canon die before, it has a HUGE battery life so it must have been dead.  Dead, dead.  I was trying to remember but I think I had charged it last before our vacation, you know a month and a half ago.  I know you were just on the edge of your seat for that little tidbit of knowledge.  ;)

And then we went home and decorated it.  Or rather, we decided we would decorate it, none of our old school vintage lights would work so Nick went and bought a kajillion dollars worth of new LED lights but they had harvest gold colored bulbs and no "gumdrop" colors so we all schlepped to the store so Nick and I could bicker on the east side of lowes for the better part of an hour about lights and how many lights we need, and how the vast benefits of LED versus traditional will benefit the world for decades to come, only to buy lights EXACTLY like the ones my husband had purchased while braving Black Friday crowds with two children, except for the fact that they had purple bulbs instead of the dastardly harvest gold. And they were twice as much. So now kajillion x2.

 And breathe.  

Oh, I got an outdoor rug too.  So it was worth it.  :)

But we got home, decorated the tree with kitten safe ornaments and have gone on our merry way.  But we have this beautiful beast of a tree in the corner and it makes me happy.  We don't have much of a theme but I love it.  It's a reflection of our life and all of the memories we've shared.  I remember my friend Lisa giving me an "Our First Christmas" ornament before we eloped to Hawaii and I hang that and say a prayer of thanks for such an amazing marriage.

I hang the ornaments my Aunt Jan gives every year and I thank God for her and our family and our memories.  And then I remember I must buy more sprinkles!

I hang all of the precious ornaments my mom and Nick's mom have bought the children every year and I say more prayers of thanks...for healthy babies and safety for them.  For the naivety of childhood we've been able to afford them.  For the warmth our home and snuggly clothing envelopes them in.  For God always providing for their every need.

So for us our tree on Thanksgiving weekend makes perfect sense because we are whispering into the boughs plenty of prayers of thanks for His giving.  It all comes together for a gorgeous tree I just adore.  And that hopefully won't set our house on fire.  Fingers crossed folks!  :)

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas tree too and I hope you had a great holiday!

My love to you all!

Nine Days into December...

Here we are nine days into our "super spectacular Christmas makeover"  and so things are going well!   I must say, the 5 gifts a day thing (which means I'm wrapping 5 gifts a day...I wish I could have 5 gifts a day.  Why isn't that happening?) is going well.  Day 2, I was a gift short having only wrapped 4 so I got to wrap an extra gift the next day, which really was, no big deal.  The thing I like about wrapping 5 presents a day is that the wrapping paper situation is under control.  I mean, seriously.  I have all of my wrapping paper grouped together and when I go to wrap them I only have to grab one roll.  I have also finished off about 3 rolls of wrapping paper which is super helpful.  Usually I am rolling around in all of the wrapping paper rolls and in the process I am losing my tape and scissors and everything else.  Which by the way it is super frustrating, so this way it saves me a lot of headaches.

I also must reiterate how fantastic it is to be semi-organized this time of year because as I can attest to, things come up and when it does it is so nice to have a clear schedule.  Secret:  we are getting the kids Nook tablets for Christmas.  The Nook HD plus to be clear :)  Which this week and next week somehow turned into the "hot item" of Christmas shopping and also was the one thing we had not bought.  So we've been looking everywhere.  Nick was able to find some and buy them from a Target 2 counties and an hour and a half each way away.  Oh joy!  It really wasn't that bad and the kids had fun and I had fun...until Emma puked in the car.  Twice.  See?  I probably would have blown my lid if I was stressed with being behind and needing to shop and clean and everything else that would be over my head.  But since I am keeping everything in check and taking small bites out of my to-do's I am less stressed and able to at a moment's notice go out and help out with the finishing up!  See people?  Being organized works, I tell ya :)

I hope you all are having a great Christmas season.  I feel so blessed to have a warm home, a huge tree, and a happy family to enjoy it all with!  Jesus is the true meaning of our season :)

Cheers!  :)

Making a List, Checking It Twice

This year I am making a list.  And I'm going to check it twice.  Maybe the song isn't talking about making a list of things to buy but a list of things to do.  At least that's what my list is about.

Anyone else ever feel like this about Christmas?  :)

Can a woman get an amen?

Last year I tried to be more organized. I shopped all year 'round and really felt like I had a leg up...until it got a little too close to Christmas and I realized that I had let my ego of being ahead get the best of me and I found myself way behind way too late to fix it.  Basically I shot myself in the foot by convincing myself that a year worth of shopping meant that I was done.

But I was far from it.

So I took the feelings that I had from last year and used them to kind of troubleshoot my faults to be prepared for this year.  Here are things that always catch me up and the solutions I've come up with so I don't have these things hanging over my head:

Christmas cards

I always put these off, have lots of cute cards, and then am struggling at the last minute to get them out in the mail amidst all of the other tasks going on.

SOLUTION:

I'm already addressing them to get in the mail the day before Thanksgiving. I can wipe my hands of them and sit back and relax.

My 2015 Alternate Solution: I already have a day on the calendar when I know I will have a solid two and a half hour time slot that this kiddos will be gone.  I am using this date as my deadline to have my Christmas cards ordered and here, my address labels and stamps in order, and the hot cocoa ingredients in the house.  I have big plans of sitting down with christmas music on, a mug of hot chocolate next to me, and I can gleefully write them out and be done with them.  Hallelujah!

Decorating

Every year I have the best intentions.  I am going to make amazing displays around the house, people will ooh and aah and it will look and feel amazing.  But it never happens.  I always have Nick bring down our decorations and then 5 bins end up sitting in a corner, just waiting to be unloaded up until the very last minute.  This year I'm not doing it.  Not gonna do it, I tell ya.

SOLUTION:

While we are sticklers (read that as my husband is) about not decorating until after Thanksgiving, I was able to have him bring all of the bins out of the attic.  I am going through them the days before Thanksgiving: weeding out what the kids are too old for (training dishes, board books), and paring down the bins we need to decorate with by getting out things I know we will not be using and putting those things together.  I tend to get really nostalgic once that tree's up so sitting in my craft room doing this really helps me to think

don't need, need, don't need, don't need.  

Trust me folks, this works :)

My 2015 Alternate Solution: I have made bins as I go through things that say clearly on the outside "Christmas Memories" and Nick knows those are things that do not need to come down, just things I want to keep.  That has helped a lot. And this year I am finally going to start decorating (just a smidge) the week of Thanksgiving with the hopes that it will lend us more time to simply enjoy our home and the decorations following the tree being decorated. 

Christmas Shopping

I've always been okay about shopping Christmas early, but early was November,

maybe

October.  I always ended up thinking I had bought more than I really had and ended up going on massive shopping sprees at the end.

SOLUTION:

I have taken a clue from my favorite person, my Aunt Jan, and have shopped all year.  I've made a detailed list of what I've gotten for whom, including how much I've spent along the way to make sure I don't overspend.

My 2015 Alternate Solution: I still don't have all of my shopping done.  A couple of weeks ago Nick and I dragged out all of the gifts that I have already bought and made a list of who they are for.  He then gave me a budget (or helped me rather, he's not a dictator, thankfully) of how much to spend on each person we have left to buy for.  This is proving to be quite helpful as when I am out shopping and see something, if it is within the budgeted allowance I can just scoop it up.  

Christmas Budget

I always tried to save money but with the massive shopping trips I took I was ruining my budget at the finish line.

SOLUTION:

To be honest I don't have an overall Christmas budget.  I try to buy items as cheaply as possible  (with coupons, clearance, sales, etc) and it always seems to work out.  An example is for one child I bought 13 items and spent $42.00.  The retail value of those items was about $184.00 so I saved a lot of money!   $42.00 is within the range of what I am willing to spend so I am okay with that.  I keep an eye on my spending throughout the year so I am aware of what I've spent.  What I do budget for is the month of December: Christmas tree, dinners, cookie making, stamps, gas going to extra places: it all adds up...we set an amount to stick to with all of those categories.

My 2015 Alternate Solution: This is still true, I don't shop year round with the thought, "I only want to spend $15 on John..." but I do shop and try to get things as cheaply as possible.  Then when we pull everything out and make a list of what we have and what we still need to finish up we make a budgeted list for each person and add all of those totals together to make sure it is reasonable.  Obviously if our total equals $600 and we only have $450 then each person is going to need tweaked a bit.  Also we make the budget based on what I have spent on each person.  If I've already gotten that person some more expensive things but don't have enough then we make a smaller amount available to get them just a few basic things. 

Gift Wrapping

Am I the only person who hates the whole "staying up late wrapping gifts until the break of dawn on Christmas Eve" thing? Of course not!  This year I've decided no way, no how am I doing that again.  My problem being that the place I wrap presents is also known as our homeschool classroom which makes it a little tricky to get things wrapped, and then not touched by inquiring little hands :)

SOLUTION:

Gifts are going to be wrapped ahead of time and then taken to any houses they are going to that are not mine.  We exchange gifts at my grandma's and so any gifts that go there are going there immediately.  That way there's less to keep track of here.  Once those are out of the way I will start wrapping the gifts that stay here but aren't for our kids.  Those we have room for in our classroom while still doing school.  After we start our Christmas vacation the kiddos won't be in the classroom and I'll be able to wrap the kids gifts without them spying them :)  Whatever works for you, the point is make a number and wrap that number of gifts per day...5 is my number.  5 gifts a day gang :)

My 2015 Alternate Solution: I love feeling joy in wrapping gifts:  having time to spend a little longer making a bow or being able to attach a small gift or candy to the outside of the package.  But with having to wrap ALL the gifts at once all of those ideas quickly get tossed out the window.  So I'm reinterating the idea of wrapping a few gifts a day.  If you started December 1st, wrapped four gifts a day and went through Christmas Eve, you would have enough time to wrap 96 gifts and I'm guessing not many people even have that many to wrap. 

Taking/Making Food

I love cooking but when I am asked at the last minute to bring a dish or appetizer, I freak.  When I freak I spend way too much on stuff I know no idea how to make and get so nervous.

SOLUTION:

I've thought of what people usually ask me to bring and what I am comfortable taking to places.  I usually make appetizers or desserts. So in November I found a sale and stocked up on crackers and cream cheese for making cheese balls and dips.  I also stocked up on cocoa powder and add-ins for brownies and cakes like peanut butter, nuts, toffee pieces.  With these things on hand I'll be able to whip up something relatively quickly without the fuss of running out to buy ingredients.

My 2015 Alternate Solution: I have narrowed this down even further to one appetizer I am known for making (my chipped beef dip) and a dessert I love making (pie).  I make sure I have the ingredients for those two things on hand. At.all.times. And then if I need to/want to make something else I still have other ingredients but I pretty much always know what I'm going to bring.

So I hope this helps you all with those delightful Christmas tasks that can become insurmountable Christmas chores.  I came up with this list for myself when I noticed that Christmas was starting to feel more daunting than darling.  And I don't want that.  This year, with these items checked twice and under control, mistletoe will be the only thing hanging over my head!

What are your tips for a smooth sailing Christmas?  Post them in the comments for us all to enjoy! 

Our Christmas

Every year we do some fun things at Christmas.  Make cookies, decorate, celebrate, yada, yada. 

 

Here are just a few pictures from our events...

Here we are with my sisters getting ready to celebrate a little at our annual Ugly Christmas sweater party.  Nick's in a women's sweater that is way too short and when I put mine on I realized I shrunk mine last year because the sleeves are way too short.  I guess it's back to Goodwill to find some new ugly sweaters for next year!  I always am super excited when I find ugly sweaters at Garage sales during the summer. 

 

I guess it's the little things, right? 

This is our tree after Santa.  Emma got a big gift and I was a little concerned that there wouldn't seem to be much under the tree.  I guess my fears were a little silly!

One of our traditions at Christmas every year is that on Christmas Eve we gift them with matching Christmas pjs.  We put them on at my Grandma's house and then on the way home we look at Christmas lights.  When we get them home they're usually conked out with jammies already on and we are good to go for bed. 

Here is Emma opening her "big" gift from us...an American Girl that looks like her.  She has been asking for it for literally a year. This was all she asked for for Christmas. 

She said "Oh, thank you ever so much." 

It was so precious. 

In our stockings she gave Nick and I each $2.00.  She said she had been hoping to get her doll and she was hoping the money would help us out since we'd spent so much on her.  She is just too cute...

 

And we gave the money back in case you are wondering!!!

It's nice to give a gift that they really appreciate.  She still is telling us just how blessed she is and how much she loves it. 

 

She makes me happy.

Calvin always puts this hat on and wants us to take a picture. 

 

Sure cutie, I'll take your picture. 

 

He makes me happy too. 

 

So there you go, some pictures of the fun things we did this year.  How was your Christmas?  Are you still relishing in the holiday like we are???