Thinking About Christmas

It has started...slowly but surely the world is becoming Christmasy. I love Christmas myself, but I like to wait until at least after Thanksgiving to decorate. You get tired of it after awhile...

So that leads me to think about what things we want to do this year, such as, do we want to get a real tree or use our fake Charlie Brown one? Are we going to put lights up outside, what goodies shall I bake, what presents will we buy/make?

I for one wish to simplify things a bit this year. I say that every year, but this time there just aren't a lot of funds to spend. Every year I watch my children pretty much destroy what they get for Christmas and get overwhelmed with it all, so I don't see the point in going all out on the presents. They just get torn up anyways, especially if they're cheap.

My husband and I are planning to save whatever bonus he will get for something important, like paying off debts and moving. That means I must buy a little at a time and make some things. Some ideas I've had so far:

I found a yummy looking recipe called Christmas Jam
You can make this and decorate with pretty fabric on top. You can google 'gifts in a jar' and find all kinds of recipes for cookies and drink mixes to give.

For the girls, I have seen some tiny little porcelain tea sets at the dollar store for $1 that I am planning to get. Also I can sew doll clothes, doll blankets, night gowns etc. We can get art supplies and go to second hand stores to look for dress up clothes. They do need clothes and shoes as well, so I will keep my eyes open for that too.

This year, instead of buying fru fru Christmas dresses, I will purchase some cotton Christmas print fabric and make them jumpers to wear with white or red turtlenecks. I only need about 1.5 yards of fabric for each child, which averages about $4-5 and I don't need buttons or zippers. However, if I find some cute Christmas buttons I may get some for embellishment.

I had also planned on making a gingerbread house with the girls. I need to research it a bit more though...I've made one before, but my grandmother made the actual cookie pieces and I just helped put it together and decorate. It was fun! (yeah, I was like 16 years old too)

So anyways, just thinking and thinking about it. I want it to be fun and full of memories, not a ball of stress and hassle. Here's a picture of last year's Christmas tree- the $30 one from Walmart.

Day of Messes-warning, partly a female post

Yesterday was like the Twilight Zone or something. I woke up late for starters and found that (sorry if the is too much info) I had 'leaked' onto my bed. (from the monthly visitor) I didn't have time to change the bed because I needed to get Leiah ready for school. So I make her lunch and get breakfast started and realize that she has leaked on her bed (pee) and Alexa (the middle one) has also peed Sarah's bed.

After I got Leiah to school and go to get the beds changed, I find that Sarah took off her diaper and then peed in Alexa's bed. So, I get everything changed and washed. As the day went on, I myself went through two more pairs of clothes because I was bleeding so heavily! During snack time, I made them all sit at the table because I'm tired of cleaning crumbs off of everything. I got a phone call, and somehow they still managed to make a huge mess on the floor I had just mopped!!! So, about 4:30 in the afternoon they wanted to go outside. It has been pouring down rain for two days so the world is soggy and puddles all over. So I let them go- within 5 minutes all of them have fallen in the water. Sarah is dragging a blanket that I just washed that she peed on that morning. So I go outside to get them and my neighbor comes over to talk. I look over and Sarah has taken her skirt and diaper off, in the soggy yard. So I run over to fix her and step into a mudhole- my whole foot is covered in mud. The neighbor is still trying to talk to me through all of this- so I wash it off in a puddle and see that Sarah has taken off her shoes and is running in the wet grass in socks only. Finally, I get everyone to the porch, strip them down, get changed and get dinner on the table!

My husband had a wild day at work too...anyone else? Full moon?? Weird...


So, here's my question- ( I will try to give it as much feeling as possible)- CAN ANYONE HELP ME POTTY TRAIN MY CHILDREN PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I stink at it- I can't even remember how we got Alexa trained. (just before she turned three) Sarah will be three in March and she seems to understand, but completely resists it. I haven't tried treats or anything yet. I have the toilet training in a day book, but I don't have a doll that potties...

Leiah you know is special and has a lack of communication at present. She goes potty at school but I don't know if she is actually going in the toilet. At home she doesn't indicate a need to go at all. Part of it is my fault because I get busy and forget. It's also hard for her to get up and down off the potty and pulling the clothes up and down can be a challenge for her too. She will be 6 in January, and I know she wants to be a big girl. I personally am getting real tired of changing poops- 2 or 3 a day. And we just can't afford all the pull ups/wipes and night time diapers. (those Goodnights things are expensive!)

So someone, please have mercy and help me. Come to my house and walk me through for the next few months. Ha, ha, just kidding...I wish...

Must get off- shopping day today.

My toothpaste

For several weeks now, my husband and I have abandoned regular toothpaste. I noticed that I had a build up of plaque on the insides of the bottom of my teeth. I don't really have money or time to go to a dentist to scrape it off, so I hit the internet.

I found out that common household ingredients can clean as well as heal your teeth better than anything else. So, I mixed up baking soda, salt and some drops of peppermint oil and started using that. I sometimes dip my toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide before I dip it in the baking soda mix and brush. It's slightly unpleasant, but not real bad. Anyways, my teeth are cleaner and some painful nerve sensitivities are now gone. I haven't checked the plaque situation lately, but I will keep doing this and see how it works.

I got all my information here.

Now, if I could just get the kids to go for it...

Cool site

I just wanted to share a great website I happened on a couple of weeks ago. This woman has endeavored to use her crockpot every day for a whole year. I am really inspired because the recipes are very healthy and I just have a hard time knowing what to put in the crockpot. It sure would help in the evenings when everything goes haywire while I'm trying to cook.

I made yogurt last week and it turned out very well. I just left it plain, but I may blend up so fruit in it next time. Here she is: Stephanie, at A Year of Crockpotting

What's coming up

Ok, peoples, I started a new blog. There's a link for it on the left there. Be forewarned that I will be posting pictures from time to time, not naked ones-I have a swimsuit on :)

I am going to do a three day juice fast, and then I'm not sure what I will do after that. If all goes well, I may continue on the fast for 5 days or even longer.

Anyways, I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is in two weeks! And you know what comes after that- the Christmas madness!! I am supposed to be doing the Christmas party for our church this year, since I had the idea of not going to a restaurant this time, so I gotta think about that too. Plus I will have guests (dh's parents) with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I will have some extra things to do.

My decluttering went alright last week- we didn't get to it Saturday, we rearranged our bedroom instead and it's great! Anyways, I'm not sure how posting on two blogs will go, but I'll try to keep them updated as often as I can.

Have a good week.

Today

My To Do List for today...

* strip all the beds and wash the sheets- hang outside to dry- haven't done that in ages and it's a beautiful day (um, winter doesn't arrive here till January or so)

* sweep and mop the kitchen- the eating area is awful. My girls eat like pigs and after a long day, I'm not going to get on my hands and knees and clean up pieces of food off the floor. So, I either let the dog in and then mop, or just wait till morning and sweep and mop. Gross...

* quickly wipe sticky surfaces and vacuum living room

* run to the store for a few things I couldn't find the other day

* get waffle batter soaking and change out kefir

* If I have time I have got to finish Leiah's quilt- the actual quilting part. I have just had no motivation...grrr, I want to move on to making pretty dresses for Sarah and Alexa, but I won't let myself till the other is done.


One other thing, for those of you who homeschool. I have a very hard time 'slowing down' the momentum in the mornings when I'm getting stuff done to sit down and do 'school'. My mind is rushing ahead with what needs to be done. How do you overcome those feelings? My 4 year old is just doing preschool work, but she really enjoys it and I haven't been taking much time on it lately. My children aren't that big of a help yet, so I pretty much have to do everything. (besides them picking up toys and putting things away) I hate feeling like I'm behind on stuff.

Anyways, just wondering. I'm trying to decide on what to do about school. My oldest is in a special program at the public school, but they are moving that class to another town, 15 minutes away and that makes me uncomfortable. The facility will be awesome, but still... Alexa will be going to kindergarten next year along with Leiah, but I'm not sure if we should do that or homeschool. I am terribly undisciplined when it comes to doing homeschool--it would take a lot of time to do the special things with Leiah, not to mention I would need to travel for her speech therapy.

Just thinking out loud here...

Award

Many thanks to DeNiece for this award.


I am passing it on to Candy, at Keeping the Home

To Lori, at Michigan Momma

To Mrs. Darling, at Dishpan Dribble

and to Lindsay, at Passionate Homemaking