Homespun Christmas

Christmas seems to be getting less & less complicated the more babies I have. In fact, last year I did not put up one candle or wreath. Why bother when little people yank them down, destoy garlands, eat candles, and and smash Mary & the wise man? Is it worth my frustration to try to preserve the 'look' of Christmas?

But this year I decided I had to do something. I want my little people to love Christmas, to catch the excitement in the air AND in their Mommy. I want them to look forward to the special events and extra-fun splurges that are just for once-a-year.

Soooo ... we dug out the nativity set. Bought a few cheap-o replacement pieces at Wal-Mart. And oh, it's been fun watching the little ones learn who's who. And we went to the live animal Christmas Play. Yes, it was torture making 2 tots sit for 2+ hours, but it was also so rewarding to see how much the older ones understood and grasped. Christi was in awe of the angel. "Mom!", she whispered! "It is my first time ever seeing a real, live angel!" Next on my list is making a gingerbread house. I have never tried it before, but judging by the excitement factor of the other participants, it cannot fail. I also want to do some cut-out cookies {big hit!}.

Another simple idea that I am loving is something I saw at a MOPS meeting a few weeks ago. You hang clusters of Christmas tree ornaments on longs ribbons. I recently found all Christmas decor at 50% off at a local thrift shop, so I scored a large bagful for just a few dollars. This morning Christi helped string them onto ribbons, and we all love the results!!

I did 3 clusters like this, and the best part is, the little ones can't even touch them!

What do you do with your little ones to make Christmas special?

Before & After

It all began as an {ugly}, 3-dollar thrift store find. But it was solid wood, and I figured I could sand it down and refinish it to a beautiful finish. That was my first error. It was a solid piece, and most of it was wood. Except of course, the top. I bagan sanding the tar out of it only to discover .... flakeboard. Alrighty then. Plan B.

I went ahead and sanded down the rest of it, and painted it black. For the top I put on a piece of fabric, with about 6 layers of Mod-Podge. And I think it turned out pretty well for my first time working with the stuff. The top is all shiny & glossy & smooth.

What do you think?

Tales from Mommy-land

I totally love my offspring. I really do. But sometimes this life 'in the trenches' leaves me wondering if I will emerge on the other side of parenting with all of my faculties still intact.

<> Will I think it normal to use the toilet with several on-lookers?
<> Will it seem like no big deal to have pads and tampons spread around the house by toddlers?
<> Will I continue to scrape off offending sticky wads from the bottoms of my socks instead of scrubbing my floors?
<> Will I still blush when I remember how my son answered the phone yesterday morning? He told the caller, "Yeah, well my mom is changing a very dirty diaper, and everybody is talking to her and needing her, and she is about to go crazy. So, yeah, maybe you shouldn't talk to her right now." Wow. Hmmm.
<> Will I think of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and Alvin & the Chipmunks' "Had a Bad Day" as quality music??
<> Will I consider baby puke on my shirt no big deal ... just use a wet wipe to clean up the worst of it?
<> Will I consider grocery shopping *by myself* a delightful break?
<> Will I sing "I'm a Little Teapot" to myself 100 times a day?

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This morning I informed my boys that they needed to each set a couple of mouse traps out in the storage shed. Micah, being my dramatic one, sighed a tremendous sigh and said, "Mom, are you kidding? Do I have to?" Then Josiah pipes in with "Of course, Micah! You are, after all, the BEST mouse-trap setter!" Micah replied with "I know. I AM the professional. But my years are over." Talk about cracking me up. How many years has a 7-yr. old put in by now, anyways?

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Another funny. I was frustrated by tripping over the same jacket for the 7,528th time, when suddenly, inspiration hit. "Boys", I called, "come out here a minute." When they came I explained that I was going to start a "confiscation box" of any item I deemed out-of-place long enough or often enough to warrant being confiscated. To earn each item back, they would either get to pay me $0.20, or select one of a list of chores I wrote on the whiteboard. And to start things off immediately, I had Micah's favorite camouflage jacket, and Josiah's most useless precious cell phone. They thought this was hilarious! Josiah quickly came up with 2 dimes to get his phone back, while Micah began memorizing a scripture {one of the choices on my list} so he could go outside with his jacket. All of a sudden, it hit them. They ran frantically around the house, picking up and putting away every last thing they could find that belonged to them! I laughed & laughed. This is working better than I had dreamed .... Then their second thought hit them ... lets throw all of our school books around the house and leave them laying there! We all dissolved in heaps of laughter while I assured them that in addition to a 20-cent fine, they would be doing double lessons in any book I might find laying around.

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I'm so glad I'm a mom. I'm glad I can laugh. I'm glad that I have tiny little bodies to rub down with lotion after warm, soapy baths. I'm glad that I have little girls who absolutely love to sing fun little songs all day long. I am glad that I get to teach new ideas and concepts for the first time ever to open, hungry minds & hearts. I am glad I have 10 little hands to help unpack the nativity set, and that I can teach my 2-year old about Baby Jesus and Mary and "Jophus" for the first time ever. I am glad that when I go to bed at night, I get to check on 5 quiet, snuggly, warm little bodies, and speak special blessings over them. I am so blessed.

Creativity 102

I really am having fun exploring & learning with paint, sand paper, fabric, scrapbook paper, and much more! Since I lay around on the couch all day have only a couple of free hours after the children are in bed each evening, I am not getting a huge amount done very quickly, but it is progress. =) Hopefully you all won't mind if my blog is sprinkled with make-overs from time to time.

I decided to re-do my little lamp table in my living room. Again, it wasn't absolutely horrid, but neither did it look elegant or even pretty. Plus, I needed a guinea pig to try out a white paint job. I didn't even think to get a good "before" picture, before I took off the built-in lamp post. I did manage to find one in the background of another photo though, to give you a little idea of what it used to look like.

After the lamp post and cords were removed.

I filled in the center hole with a little chunk of wood, and some wood filler. Let that dry, sanded the whole thing down, and added several coats of white paint. I am very much enjoying the end results too.

The black lamp is one I found at a garage sale for $1. It didn't work, til I fixed the wiring. No, I am not as handy as I might sound ... it was just a loose wire inside. But I am very tickled with my "new" lamp!

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Thanksgiving was very laid back and simple at our house this year. The Zooks from near and far were all together about 2 weeks ago for a big work day at the home place. And the Gehmans are all gearing up for a big Christmas she-bang. So we enjoyed a lazy day at home. Playing games, watching movies, and of course, a delightful lunch. The grocery store was totally sold out of turkeys when I did my shopping, but I gotta say, the ham was not a disappointment either. And the ham soup bubbling on the back of the stove makes it even more sweet.

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Did anyone else brave the early morning Black Friday rush? For the first time ever, I did. My good friend Beth asked me to go with her, so we set our alarms for o'dark thirty and headed to the outlet malls. There was lots of great deals to be had! I found a few items for the kiddoes, a few for myself, and my favorite deal of the day? A pair of heavy winter boots for my hubby, marked down from $70 to $19.99. I must admit, I felt very virtuous, even if I was in Kohls at the ridiculous hour of 4:47.

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Well, that's all for now. There is a diaper "screaming" to be changed. Not to mention it's owner to be trained ... Sigh. Back to reality.

Til next time ...

Creativity 101

eI've always loved seeing before & after pictures. When I was little, my mom used to get used Country Woman magazines, and the first page I would turn to was the make-overs where a woman would get a new haircut, new make-up, and look like a whole different person. I just love seeing how much you can improve something with some creativity {maybe I'm just alittle weird ... I know, I know}.

Anyhow, recently I have found a couple of blogs that feature a lot of make-overs. Remodels. Before & afters. And slowly, slowly the thought began to dawn on me ... I could do that! So this week I aim to try my hand at a few such ventures and see what I come up with.

This evening was my first attempt. I decided to start off with something easy and small ...  in case it was a dismal failure then maybe I wouldn't feel quite so bad. So I found this little footstool at a second-hand shop last week, and while there was nothing really "nasty" about it, I had a different picture in mind.

So I set about taking it all apart ... sanding ... painting ... sanding ... painting ... and then the fun part, re-assembling everything with the new fabric. I love how it turned out! What do you think? It might even be for sale ...

I think I could call this a success.  Now maybe I'll have the courage to tackle my next, much bigger project. Stay tuned.

Monday Morning ...

Giggling :: because my little 4 yr. old is dressed up in Mama's pantyhose & high heels.

Excited :: because of some breakthroughs in my life ... God is working in me, and I am so glad.

Depressed :: if I happen to glance at my kitchen. How it gets so bad over the weekend, I do not know. I was tempted to take a picture to show you what I mean ... but that would be ::embarrassing:: !!!

Sad :: because of some changes approaching. One of my best friends of 15 years is moving away.

Adventurous :: with some new ideas I'm trying out this week! If they go the way I hope they do, I'll be back with more details!

Anticipation :: because we just reserved a gorgeous cabin for the Gehman Christmas get-together. I cannot wait!!

Disappointed :: because my brother Phil will be missing. He is spending 3 months in Guatemala learning Spanish.  Then on to Honduras do help Chuck with mission work.

Peaceful :: because my Redeemer lives, and I am seated with Him in heavenly places!!

a little bit Ashamed :: because I am blogging while my to-get-done-today list is not getting a bit shorter!! *grin*

Just keepin' it real.

The Gratitude Journal: Ever Grateful Memo Board & Easel [Giveaway]

My friend Shelly is hosting a fun give-away over on her blog: The Gratitude Journal: Ever Grateful Memo Board & Easel [Giveaway] Check it out!