Still Here. Still Blessed.

I'm still here.  Just been busy as I'm sure all of you have been too. 

I have been a stressed out mess worrying about making this the best Christmas ever for everyone and also feeling so sad that my Mom wouldn't be here. 

Well, Christmas came and it was wonderful.  My brothers came to our house.  We had great food.  I think everyone loved what I bought for them and it wasn't sad at all.  I felt pretty content all day.

My favorite gifts were second hand.  My brothers brought me a bookshelf that I'd been wanting from my Mom's house.  My husband and kids bought me a silver heart locket and a Barbara Michaels book from Goodwill.

I also got an entire bag full of tea and a Walgreens card so I'm all set if anyone gets a head cold.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.   I'll try to get back on here soon.  Things aren't quite so bleak in my little corner of the world and I have a lot of projects and decorating I'd like to do in the new house.   I know I haven't posted any pictures of it yet.  Soon. 

A Better Philosophy For Holiday Shopping

I wish I had read Libby Balke's of Bargain Babe Christmas shopping post earlier this year. 

It's too late for me to stick to only three gifts but I definitely think it will be something I do next year. 

This is her variation of the Three Gift Rule:

1. An educational gift
2. An “experiential” gift
3. A “want” gift (this is the wild card, to make sure someone’s top “must have” doesn’t fall through the cracks)

Christmas Already?!?

It's true that seeing Halloween candy next to Christmas decor in the shopping aisle bugs me silly.  But, it's also true that I start Christmas shopping very early.  I hate being out in the stores anytime after Thanksgiving.  God forbid I have to step foot in a mall during the holidays.  Panic attack, anyone? 
So, I've been gathering stuff for my family here and there for the last few months.  Remaindered perfume gloss for a dollar at Payless (and I have a 20% off coupon) got put away for a stocking.  Free beaded bracelets I got with my swagbucks are going to my nieces.  They don't look cheap at all.  I used my swapadvd credits to get a brand new movie for someone too.  It still had a factory seal on it.  I used an amazon gift card gleaned from swagbucks to help buy a Timex watch for my son.  I almost have enough Disney Movie Rewards credits (almost all found on email newsletters and freebie sites) to get something worthwhile.

I still have to fill in the blanks here and there with some fun freebies.  But, I just printed out a coupon for a free bag of Lindor truffles.  Now is the time to start signing up for freebies to fill those stockings.  Last year I got packs of gum from our local gas station by filling out a questionnaire.  Great for my gum loving kids. 

If you're short on funds you can still fill a Chrismtas stocking for almost no money.  The trick is to get started right now.

 Here's a few sites that I love to browse for freebies and goodies:

Target

Freebies 4 Mom

STL Mommy

And here's a link to an old post I did on stocking stuffer ideas.

If it's still warm enough outside for garage sales you might try the freebie boxes too.  I just had my own garage sale and can say honestly that I put some pretty good stuff in those freebie boxes.  I sold the other kids toys for a song also.

Durkee Chocolate Cinnamon Snowballs

This is not my recipe. I clipped this from a coupon insert today and decided to make them since I had all the ingredients. These are pretty easy to make and taste a bit like yummy Mexican hot chocolate.
Hope you like them too.

Chocolate Cinnamon Snowballs

1 cup butter (no substitutions), softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
Extra powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400.
Beat butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon with a mixer until light. Gradually add flour, mixing until just blended.
Shape dough into 1 inch ball. Place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer from baking pan to wire racks. Cool slightly. Roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely. Roll in sugar again.

Merry Christmas & Happy Boxing Day

This has been a truly blessed holiday season for us.

The night of the 23rd I took my daughter to see The Nutcracker Ballet and she loved it. It was so nice to see so many pretty little girls all dolled up in their holiday finery enjoying the ballet with their families. I think we may have to do this again next year. Thanks to Groupon for the discounted tickets. Hubby got in some guy time with my son at an indoor swimming pool with slides and a whirlpool.

On the 24th Hubby and the kids delivered cookie tins to our neighbors. It started snowing so we had a wonderful fluffy white Christmas. The kids played and made a snowman. We had a lazy afternoon. I got a nap in. We enjoyed an evening candlelight church service then went in search of something to eat for dinner. Most restaurants were closed and we settled on getting some true junk food from the gas station. While we snacked on hot cocoa and Bugles, Hubby drove us around our neighborhood to check out the holiday lights. Next year I'll make sure to pack pb&j's or something healthier. Oh well, we had a really good time.
Then it was time for lights out and tuck ins and our excited children finally closed their little eyes.

Then Christmas morning we all dashed downstairs to see what was under the tree. I love watching their little faces light up as they opened all their gifts. I'm definitely going to be garage saling for gifts again next year. Big Girl loves the Polly Pocket art stuff I picked up in June. It's among her favorites. We spent the day with my side of the family eating cheese ball, baked beans, deviled eggs, and homemade pie and candy. After we put the kids to bed Hubby and I settled in with a bottle of sparkling wine and the first season of Big Bang Theory. It was truly a great way to end Christmas.

Today we're all still in our jammies. We've snacked on leftover caramel rolls and I just made a pot of ramen noodle soup with veggies. There are no plans and nowhere to go and life is very good.

This week I'll be thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2011.
Happy Holiday Season!

Overstuffed- I Bought Too Much For the Kids

After I had sorted through all the toys and stocking stuffers, it seems I have a wee bit too much.

I decided to save half the stocking stuffers for Easter Baskets and part of the big toys for their birthdays in February rather than give them too much right now.
I'm still working on giving them the right amount that makes for a good Christmas without overdoing it.
It's just so hard when I see so much I'd like to give them. Especially when it's a good deal.

Feeling that Christmassy Feeling.

I have many chores left undone and cookies yet to bake and gifts yet to be delivered.

Yet, I'm smiling because dinner is pretty much done. I'm about caught up on laundry.
My husband is on his way home. My kids are healthy. I'm healthy. All my shopping is done. Most of my wrapping is done. My kids have been pretty well behaved and very loving lately.
And there's only one more day of school and work until Christmas vacation.
All that other stuff will get done. And I'll probably be listening to Christmas music while I do 'em.

Tonight I'm going to be working on:
Making candy out of pretzels and peppermint chips.
Making cookies out of Almond Crescent dough I have in the fridge.
Cleaning the stinky mouse cage
Putting away more laundry.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

I've been squirrelling away stocking stuffers for months. My favorite part of Christmas morning is watching everyone dump their stockings and go through the goodies. I love getting stuff in my stocking too and Hubby and the kids are really good at shopping for me.

Candy (Walgreens had some chocolate figurines on sale for .29 cents in their ad)
Gum
Pens/Pencils/Markers
Scotch Tape (if you have a little girl like mine who likes to "invent")
Mini staplers/staples
Super Glue- My Hubby loves Lock Tite
String/Twine (for the handy type guy or the inventing child)
Nail Polish
Nail Files
Sharpies (I asked for sharpies this year)
Mini bottles of lotion and bath gel
Batteries
Hot Wheels or Match Box cars
Polly Pockets (great use of gently used yard sale purchased dolls- bonus is they come with shoes)
Stockpiled McDonalds toys
Lip Balm (plain flavor non shiny for the guys)
Cartoon Band Aids
Stickers
Tooth brushes
Socks
Nuts (my daughter loves pistachios)
Mini liquor bottles (for the adults only, ahem)
Eye glass repair kit
Bubbles
Homemade Scribble Cookies
Homemade Bean Bags
Cd and Dvds (bonus if thrifted, swapa dvd'd, or garage saled)
Hair Clips and Pony Tail Holders
Aquarium stuff like fish pellets, weekend feeder, or chlorine remover for those who have fish
Plant Food Sticks
Seeds for the gardener
Mini Sewing Kits (even the ones you get at nicer hotels)
Laundry Detergent Samples (great for college students)
Favorite Fruit- My Hubby loves mangoes
Pet Nail Clippers for your animal lover


What else could you put in a stocking? Feel free to comment.

What's in the Works- Making Gingery Things in the Kitchen

I'm going to try this recipe for Gingerbread Creamer. If I like it, I might bag up some to give out as neighbor gifts.


I'm also planning on making a pan of these ginger snaps. I like them as a bar cookie and I use half white/half wheat flour. I amp up the ginger a bit for Hubby.


I lucked into some Trader Joe's Sugar Cookie Kits today for .99 cents each on clearance. They come with cutters, frosting, and colored sugars. I think this might round out my Christmas baking. Here's a review of the cookie kit. I dropped off a box for my friend who's stuck at home with sick children who are climbing the walls with boredom. I think I'll use the extra cookie cutters as decoration for the neighbors cookie bags.

I should just do all my Christmas Shopping Online and In Thrift Stores

The title pretty much sums everything up.

Oh, and Walgreens for stocking candy. Because you know, you really can't find good candy at the thrift store. At least not the disgusting Sponge Bob gummy thing I bought for Big Girl.

Anyway, Hubby took the kids to a pajama party Christmas thing at church this morning so Mom and I ducked out for some super not-so-retail therapy.

Our first stop was the Goodwill. All Christmas was half off so naturally I picked up some wrapping paper that I don't really need but I guess wrapping paper is a Christmas gazingus pin for me. I also picked up a few kids books and a Starbucks coffee mug for a quarter. Mom was in the market for a new book or two to read so she picked up two hardbacks. What I really enjoyed was seeing people obviously shopping for presents in the toy and doo dad aisles. One lady in particular was gingerly picking up things and looking them over really well before she placed them in her cart. See, you can be a thoughtful thrift store gifter too!

Then we decided to check out the Feed My People thrift store which is a little country thrift store where volunteers sort and price the merchandise. You can find a lot of needle pointed pillow cases and bits and bobs of ribbon ends bagged together for a quarter. Today they had books for a nickle apiece. And then they rolled out a cart of Sara Lee bread for everyone to take a loaf or two since the pantry had extra bread. It was like we won the lottery! I bought new packages of Christmas ribbon and stocking stuffers of new glitter and a tonka truck for a quarter a apiece.
I picked up a copy of The Tao of Physics for my nerd husband or one of his nerd friends. For a Nickel! I passed by a complete set of Hot Wheels track, a bag full of Noah's Ark figurines, and other great toys. I just didn't need any more big presents. I spent about $7 but bought a lot of stuff. I could have bought our kids entire Christmas (minus gross Sponge Bob candy) for less than $20 today.
My Mom spent 45 cents on book and left with two loaves of bread. I think she was quite tickled.

Maybe next year I'll do the bulk of my shopping at Goodwill and Feed My People.

Christmas Deals for Your Tiny Train Enthusiasts.

We're lucky enough to have a Whittle Shortline train store just a few minutes away. I've only bought a few of their wooden trains, but I can tell you that the quality is great.

Right now they have a sale on some of their Christmas train stuff. If you're still looking for a Christmas present for a small train enthusiast, you could still score a good deal on these American made wooden trains. The set pictured above in on sale for $20.00. If you've ever priced wooden Thomas trains then you know this is a good deal.

Sitting here alone with my cocoa

Hubby and I share most everything. And now he has passed down his nasty virus that kept him home from work all of last week. Yay!

I'm feeling a bit better little by little. Being home with the four year old was beginning to wear me thin though. I sent Hubby and the kids out for dinner tonight. And now I am missing my family and don't feel good enough to do any chores that have been piling up or any Christmas cards or present wrapping. I did about three Christmas cards today before I gave up because it was making me snarly. Not the right mood to address Christmas cards.

I'm hoping tomorrow is better. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow. The past two nights I have been up between 4:30 and 5:00 feeling miserable. I'd take a pill and then fall blissfully back asleep for half an hour before the dingity danged alarm clock went off and ruined my happiness. Children must be fed and sent to school no matter how crumby I feel. But, tomorrow morning is mine! Muahhahhhha.

I'm glad I did a shop till you drop earlier in the week right now. We have plenty of food and I am done shopping for gifts. I ended up just buying Little Debbie holiday cakes for the trash and recycling guys but since I don't actually know who they are or have a personal relationship with them, I feel that is acceptable.

I haven't heard back from the food pantry about adopting a family yet and I'm starting to worry. I started stockpiling food stuffs. If I don't hear back by next week I'll just make a lump donation to them and consider that my holiday good deed. I also have a lot of donations to make to their thrift store. So, they can make a bit of money from my donations and get out the food that I bought for the adopted family.

My kids have a date with Santa tomorrow morning. I guess I do need to get up early enough to comb the snarls out of Big Girls hair and put a bow in for her. I'm hoping they don't ask for something that I haven't already bought for them because they won't get it because I am done done done shopping.

Today I did find out that I have to bring a new ornament for a gift exchange at the next Brownie meeting. The kids got their yearly ornaments from Cracker Barrel this year for .99 cents. They have free gift wrapping so maybe I'll take Big Girl there to check them out. The ornaments have to be new with tags so I can't gift one of the cute salt dough ornaments that we made in November. They are now gracing our Christmas tree.

And now I'm going to lay on the couch like a slug and think about all the chores that are going undone and wishing my annoying wonderful family would come back because I miss them.
Tomorrow is a new day, dang it.

Done with That-Onto this

Done with This

I finished my Christmas shopping today. I picked up some last minute Lotto Scratchers (a family tradition) at a gas station. Then the kids and I ran through Target and bought food items for the mail carrier, recycling guys, and the trash men. Tomorrow I take my credit card out of my purse. I'm out of cash so I'll be limping along with my debit card for gas and grocery purchases. I've spent more for this Christmas than in years past, I'm almost sure. I'm glad all shopping is done. Now I just have to wrap and send.
Here's to a joyful December!

Onto This
Ever had one of those moments where rational thinking goes out the window and you do something impulsive? I guess it's not really that impulsive since I've been thinking about it for awhile.

Today I bought mice for pets. I have always had an affinity for rodents and have had many hamsters and mice before. While I think hamsters are a lot cuter and cuddlier, they also have a nasty bite. Mice don't bite. But, they do stink a lot.

I also bought a cage with kit for them while I was in the pet store. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying close attention and bought a cage that has bars that are a bit too wide and they can sneak through. Hubby found one sitting on top of the cage when he came home. They are both black and white males. One is fuzzier than the other. The fuzzy one is wily. Little Guy named him Stabber. The sleek one is shy and timid. Big Girl named him Road Runner. I'm probably going to regret this purchase before long but we're having fun watching them run around in a ball right now while Hubby is on his way to Petco to get a better cage for them. He's being a real sport about it since I didn't consult him about our new pets. I KNOW I told him what he was getting into when he married me with the pet situation. I've never been without a pet. Even when I lived in the dorms at college, I had a contraband pet mouse named Morton. He was awesome and sneezed every time you held him. He lived for about three years. I don't know if Road Runner and Stabber will live up to his legacy.

Our pet total comes to 5.
One Abby dog (the best dog in the world!)
Two Cats- Mr. Fusty (big, furry, grumpy, and snuggly) and Sarah (docile, agile, and very silly)
Two Mice- Stabber and Road Runner (withholding judgement until further notice)

Christmas Consumer Crapfest

On December 1st I will officially be done Christmas shopping. Whether I like it or not.

Yesterday, on a long drive to Grandma's house our family had a discussion (again) concerning the fact that Christmas is not a holiday about presents but rather about rejoicing in the birth of our Savior. I love to give gifts. I love wrapping presents with bows and ribbons. I like finding good gifts I know people will like. I love stuffing stockings with little treats. I wonder if I get so excited by the giving part of it that I am not properly displaying the true meaning of the holiday to my young children.

I want all of December to be about doing fun family things together- watching holiday movies, sipping cocoa, worship, retelling the Christmas story, making gingerbread houses, and baking cookies for the neighbors. I want to make the holiday more magical by doing less shopping and more relaxing. And not just for my children but for myself as well.

One more day to get Daddy's last Christmas gift!

How are you making your holidays less stressful?

Blackish Friday

Nothing has gone as planned this Thanksgiving. Our trip to the In-laws farm in Indiana was canceled because our Dr. thought Hubby might have mono. Turns out he just has some other generic virus and is feeling better everyday.

Little Guy and Big Girl have been playing musical beds and you never quite know who's going to turn up in your room in the dead of night. This crowds out Hubby who has a hard time sleeping anyway, and he ends up going to one of the kids beds. So, I'm usually the only one who wakes up in the bed they went to sleep in.

So, without a holiday plan in place and with nightly sleep interruptions I have been a little foggy. Wednesday Big Girl informed me that Polly Pockets were no longer a toy she was interested in playing with. I have a nice collection of Polly Pockets (some new, some pristine garage saled condition) in a pretty case stored away as a big Christmas present. Oops.
So, I asked what she really wanted. Enter Squinkies. They are tiny rubber toys that look like gumball machine fodder. A few months ago we found a small set of these at Target on clearance. I let her buy them with her own money. Apparently, a few is not enough.
Target is the only store around here that carries them. Target opened at 4 am on Black Friday.

Guess who was awake during the musical beds portion of our evening at 3:30 on Thursday?
I showered and left the building. Driving down the road in the dark I had brief thoughts of how it would probably just be me and a few other people in the store at that hour. Um, pardon my first timer Black Friday ignorance. I had to park across the road at another store. It was cold.
I began to wonder how badly nightly sleep disturbances had affected my rational thinking. When I got up to the sidewalk of the Target I had to walk past the debris left behind from the overnight campers. Bottles, folding chair covers, portable heaters, all tossed aside like a marauding rabid bear had come charging and they had to run for their lives.
I entered the store at 4:20. I left the store at 6:30. An hour and a half of that time was spent waiting in line for a cashier. I got the Squinkies and a few other items others discarded that I picked off the shelves while I waited in the long curling queue thru housewares.
Anyway, that was my first and probably last experience as a Black Friday shopper. Especially alone. Others traveled in pairs or as a family and were able to leave the line to go to the bathroom, get drinks from the open cafe, or to retrieve forgotten wanted items from store shelves. I was a one woman army determined to leave that store with a blister pack of Squinkies which consequently were not even on sale and also in great supply.
Mission Accomplished.

Handmade Christmas Journals and Gift Tags

One of my favorite bloggers, Katie from Making This Home is living her dream of supporting herself and her husband by selling her handmade journals and other items. I love them all!
Check out Gadanke.com to see what I'm talking about.

I bought myself the Love Where We Live mini book. It's just precious. Every time I see it I get excited about the possibility of making my home a haven.

She just came out with the cutest Christmas tags. That made me think that her handmade journals would be a great Christmas gift for someone who loves handmade items or who loves to journal. I think she also sells gift certificates.

If you're interested in simple living you might just want to read her blog for inspiration.

Kids Christmas List So I Don't Forget

I've been collecting a list of Granparent/kid friendly presents in my head and decided it was time to write them somewhere.

Cartridges for view master
Dvds- How to Train Your Dragon and new Shrek
Toothbrushes- battery powered Thomas and design your own Spinbrush
Gift certificates for gymnastics

Today I Bought Clothes

Way back in May (before the clothing compact) I earned $25 Gymboree Gymbucks redeemable this week. So, I took my opportunity to shop for the kiddos and scoured the online clearance items.

I bought:
3 summer shirts for Big Girl (will fit her next summer)
2 shirts for my nieces (part of their Christmas)
3 hair ornaments (one for each girl)
A pair of shorts for Big Girl (saving for back to school)
A ringer tshirt for Little Guy
1 pair of undies for Little Guy

Total after Gymbucks- $32.71


I still have $10 in Old Navy rewards to use up. I'm hoping to get some socks for my nieces to go with their other Christmas items.
Now back to the compact.

That's a Wrap

Bits of wrapping paper, a wayward Christmas ornament, wooden rolling pin for playdoh, mini toys from thrift bags, and a Vtech I bought on clearance last year for ten bucks.

More bits of wrapping paper, giant box of building logs I bought on clearance last year for ten bucks, a childhood classic from Shel Silverstein, and one of the personalized pillowcases that I ordered from etsy for the kiddos. I filled the pillowcases with their stocking goodies.


We took the kids to a candle light service last night to remind them of what's really important about Christmas. A Savior Is Born!
I even threw in a line or two about the Whos from Whoville- "It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags"

Hope you're having a wonderful Christmas morning too. We'll be celebrating with family and I made my first buttermilk pie (with the clearance buttemilk).

Merry Christmas!

Wherein I humbly take my chill pill.

Last evening was not fun for me or anyone around me. Today has been better. I packed and mailed two packages, did the grocery shopping at Aldi, dropped in on my son's Christmas party at preschool, and took care of cards/tokens for the mail carrier, recycling guys, and waste haulers.

There are still things I need to do:

Assemble gifts for the neighbors (flavored teas and baked goods in a bag)
Finish my Christmas cards
Wrap presents for the kids
Finish Christmas baking (sugar cookie cut outs and gingerbread bars at the least.
Plan and shop for our Christmas menu as my family is coming here.

But it's coming together and the poor me Christmas martyr shtick is over. Yay!