In With the New

Well, another year is leaving us, and I must now make my obligatory resolutions for the new year. I actually like this part, since I think self-reflection is good and healthy and a necessary part of living an examined life.



Instead of making my list of all the things I want to start doing, I want to approach it from the perspective of, "How can I improve what I do so that it serves me and my family better."



Homeschooling: I do believe we have found those things that work well for us, but lack the discipline to keep plodding on. My friend Deanna and I, who share a brain, are launching a joint homeschooling blog to keep us on task and enthusiastic since we both seem to need some accountability to keep us honest.



Time Management: I am pretty overextended right now, between my necessary indexing work and my desired midwifery studies. That said, I waste a LOT of time. I research every little thought that pops into my head for hours, and discuss it ad nauseum with some really wonderful friends. I need to stay on task, get my work done first, and then spend time surfing and chatting (by phone or IM). Additionally, I have found so much joy and satisfaction in the return to crafting and blogging this year. I wouldn't dream of giving it up, but I need to remember to put first things first and save these pursuits for when I have done the more important tasks first.



Personal Goals: I would like to finish my Childbirth Educator Certification this winter, and prepare for the IBCLC this spring. I hope to attend my requisite number of births so I can advance to intern midwife status. I have two more breastfeeding events to plan this year, and then will plan no more as the primary organizer, but hope to find a replacement who I can consult as she plans the next event. I hope to get back into the swing of things running-wise, and want to reinstitute a home yoga practice.



Happy New Year to all of you! I hope we can keep each other on task for 2008!

You Tube Love

Oh my, the boys have discovered You Tube.

Operation Christmas: Phase One

We gathered at my in-laws yesterday for the first of this year's Christmas gatherings.

Kathie's decorations were exquisite.







Gifts were exchanged and assembled.







Henry modeled the PJ pants I made him--he is wild about all things dolphin.





Music was played and singing was sung.



A good time was had by all.

Unfortunate Coincidences

Two years ago, on December 5th, Rhys broke his leg.



This December, our dear little friend Jem broke his.


I like having things in common with my friends, but come on...Enough's enough.

Get better, sweet boy.

Coffee, Tea, or Me?

My dear friend Jenn made the most adorable coffee cup pincushion for me as a Christmas gift. I think she was tired of reaching into my box of pins.



She admitted that she used this tutorial. Martha is pure genius.



Can't you just eat it up?



Thanks, Jenn!

Pachelbel Rant

We had a brief foray into cello playing with Quinn, and I have actually been considering trading in his 1/4 size for a full size and learning myself. In any case, this was really, really amusing in light of that. It was also fairly hideous because Canon in D was our wedding procession, lol.

Felt Slippers

My latest gift-making pursuit is to make fleece-lined felt slippers for my mother-in-law, father-in-law, and husband. I'd enlarged this pattern to be the mens' size, but technical difficulties necessitated cutting it down to my mother-in-law's size.



The felt is from a thrifted wool sweater that I felted some time ago (I have a front loader and am not really clear on effectively felting with it).



I used this tutorial, but made some changes--namely doing blanket stitch around the ankle rather than bias tape (I didn't have enough).



The fleece is from a red fleece cape that my mother-in-law handed down to me. It's a lot of material, so I am drooling at the thought of all the uses I can put it to.

A Touch of Elvish

Again, my photography is less than stellar, but I wanted to share a few shots of my craft for the Holiday Traditions Exchange. I wish I had spent some more time on packaging and wish I had better traditions to share, but I did think my craft bit was pretty cute.


Elf boy...

A detail of the little boy...

Elf girl...


A detail of the little girl...

I did have some technical difficulties in sewing the cuff on--it's hard for me to visualize which right side to put with which wrong side, but since I serged it, it looks okay.

I hope my recipient likes it!

Gingerbread Houses

We finally made our (graham cracker) gingerbread houses this morning. It's so challenging to stay patient while the kids are getting hyped up on sugar, the walls won't support the roof, and Jason is getting super focused on what he's doing. But, {{{breathe}}}, it's done.

Jason and Rhys worked together on their house and mosquito-snowman.

Quinn's Pueblo-style house was a good solution to our roof issues.

I went with an A-frame, myself.

Liam did all his decorating independently, but I helped him construct his "passive-solar" design, LOL.

Ornament Making

Today's advent treat was a movie rental of the kids' choosing. We have an ancient Blockbuster gift card, and we had stuck it in today's stocking. But when the boys decided that they wanted to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we decided to go ahead and purchase it instead of renting it, since that was probably going to happen at some point this month anyway.

While we watched the movie, I made a few ornaments (apologies for blurry pictures--I have a heck of a time getting a crisp shot at night without flash)...

A white felt dove. Naturally you can't tell, but the two sides are sewn together with a blanket stitch and the wings are attached with a whip stitch.

A button wreath inspired by Martha. This was so quick and easy. If you have a huge button stash, I would highly recommend this as a nice gift-topper.

Another Martha inspiration for the button stash.

And, as requested by my ginormous fan base, a full shot of our "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree." Quinn has been diligently working on that paper chain for awhile now. It's a good thing the whole house isn't decorated as heavily as the bay window--otherwise, I would be in total overstimulation mode.

Trimming the Tree

This afternoon and evening were spent decking the halls and trimming the tree. Jason took the boys and picked out what he dubbed a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" from the "irregular" pile.
It's fun to pull out all the lights and garland...Dig into old favorites...Remember special Christmases past...
Recall those who left pieces of themselves behind...
Thoughtfully place each ornament...
Proudly take part in jobs that were "too big" last year...Hang newly made ornaments from this year...
Unwrap inherited heirlooms...
And view them in a new light...
And finally decide to embrace silliness when there is no cooperation to be had...
May your holiday preparations be joy-full and fun.