20 months is an interesting age. It’s hard to tell sometimes if my Charlie is a baby or a little boy. There are so many things that he approaches with an “I can do it myself” attitude, until he decides he needs mama to do everything for him. I can feel myself on the cusp of what I know will be a lifelong journey of giving him just the amount of freedom and independence and responsibility he needs to grow and learn, all while being ready to step in as mama when it’s needed.
Every blog everywhere is talking about New Year’s resolutions and goal setting right now. So, since I’m trying to be a legitimate blogger I figured I better jump on the bandwagon and inspire all of you to better yourselves in the new year. The problem is I’ve never been very good at setting helpful, realistic goals for myself. There are all kinds of rules and guidelines for how to make a good goal, but following such guidelines always sounded so stifling and boring. So I’m going to take a different approach: good old fashioned stream-of-consciousness list making. Here are my goals for 2014:
I think God put Christmas in December because he knew we would need a reason to add warmth and cheer to our homes during the long, dark winter nights. (Ok, so he had some more significant purposes in mind when he sent his son to earth as a baby. But that’s one of the great things about God. He shows his love in the great big unfathomable ways, but also in the tiny daily details of life. Like giving us the opportunity to enjoy Christmas lights and garland.) If only it were socially acceptable to leave Christmas decor up through February.
I’m sitting in the living room, watching Charlie as he moves haphazardly between toys, picking one up, putting it down, getting something new out of the toy drawer, banging a couple together…you know, normal baby play behavior, when he goes over to the shelf, reaches his hands up and says “blah.”
That’s his word for everything in the world. It generally means he wants something.
I look up to see what he’s pointing at and say, “Do you want your treasure basket?”
He grins, and stomps his feet around a few times (that’s his happy dance) and toddles over to a clear spot on the rug. He’s ready for some serious playtime.
For about a year I’ve been planning to make an Activity Advent Calendar for Christmas. Despite the plan, I still didn’t get it done until 2 days after Advent had commenced, but no one but me really seemed to mind. So just in case you’re looking for some some late-start advent ideas, I thought I’d go ahead and share what I did. (Or maybe you’ll be cooler than me and tuck this idea away for next year and actually get it done on time!) Anyway, back to the calendar. I love the idea of being intentional about celebrating the season and creating family memories. I also knew that Charlie would be just old enough to enjoy some special activities each day. We are just beginning to form our family Christmas traditions, and I feel like this advent calendar is something that will grow with us through the years.
Hi! I just wanted to stop in and let you know that this week I wrote a post over on My Sister Says with some ideas for your Thanksgiving. Whether you need to know how to roast a turkey or you’re just looking for some simple ways to decorate, I’ve complied some links that I think could be useful.
Also, in case you missed it on Tuesday, I announced the opening of my Etsy Shop! Right now I have a simple 2014 Calendar Printable for sale, so if you’re looking for something to hang on your fridge to keep track of your appointments for next year you should check it out. It’s currently on sale for $1! I’m still taking requests for alternate color schemes if you have anything you’d like instead of yellow and gray.
That’s all for now! Have a great weekend!
I’m excited to announce my first product in my new Etsy shop!
Ever since discovering Etsy a few years ago I have dreamed of opening a shop of my own. Oh, to spend the days crafting and somehow make real money doing it. I’ve had lots of ideas – totes embellished with crochet flowers, handmade cards, recycled flannel burp cloths… But for now I’ve settled on something a little more up my alley: printables. I’m a graphic designer after all, so I have a lot of practice making files to print. I also happen to be a bit obsessed calendars, planners, and other various organizational papers. This new venture combines the two loves.
My first product is a clean and simple monthly calendar for 2014 in yellow and gray. You can download the file instantly and print it out on your home printer to use however you see fit. Hang it on your fridge, put it in a binder, stick it next to your desk.
And now for my infomercial voice (did you know I have one of those? Yeah, you’re right, I don’t. Just pretend):
*Don’t wait! For THIS WEEK ONLY the 2014 calendar printable will be on sale for ONLY $1! Next week the price will go up to $3! Don’t miss out on this SPECIAL OFFER!*
Ok. You can unplug your ears now.
I hope to add more products over time, and I’d love to hear your suggestions. Are there other colors or styles that you would like to see? Have you been needing a good weekly planner sheet but just can’t seem to find one that has everything you need? Would you love to have some pretty notecards with your favorite verse or quote on them? Let me know in the comments or contact me directly. I’d love to hear from you!
My sisters and I embarked on a massive art project this summer. We decided to enter the Mystery Build Contest, which involved getting a mystery box of art supplies in the mail and creating a piece of art from only those materials. It was a lot of fun, it was challenging (that goat face about got the best of us), it required a few pretty intense weekends of work. But we got it done and we’re pretty proud of our creation. I wrote a little more about it over on our shared blog My Sister Says.
Right now public voting for the contest is open. You can vote for our project #103: I and the 3D Village on page 4 of the contest submissions. (Actually, you can vote for as many submissions as you like. There are some pretty amazing ones. But we’d really appreciate if you’d vote for ours too!)
Last year I hosted Thanksgiving at my house. We had a new house, a new baby, 14 people, and no dining room. As much as I wanted to go all out and overboard with the Thanksgiving decor and made from scratch food, I knew that my reality demanded I keep it simple. So that’s what we did. Everyone who came brought a dish or two to share, so I was left to only worry about the turkey and just a couple side dishes. A few weekends before the big day my sisters helped me come up with some decorations that would add a nice festive touch to the table without being too time consuming or expensive. This simple layered bean candle holder was just what I needed.
One of the more significant changes we’ve made as we’ve sought to cut down on the grains we eat has been in our breakfast routine. Breakfast is a meal that usually happens in a rushed state. I don’t have time to get ambitious with eggs or bacon or fancy breakfast tacos. I don’t even have time to stop and think about what options I have. I need breakfast to be the same every single day.