Surprises to Brighten My Day



A wall in my kitchen



Well April is here (how did that happen so fast??) and as each day passes by I'm getting more and more excited for longer, brighter, warmer days. Even though it is Spring, yesterday almost felt a bit like Christmas. Not because of the weather (although it was a bit on the dark, gloomy and wet side), and not because I still have Christmas lights on my house (they were taken down in January for your information, unlike several of my neighbours who STILL have them up). No, it felt a bit like Christmas here yesterday because of the little gifts I received that completely brightened my day. The first thing to arrive was my order from the local seed company, West Coast Seeds. I've been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the first batch of seeds to go into my garden, and the first batch of seeds that I will be growing from, well, seed! In the last couple of years that I have been very lightly dabbling with gardening, I'd always purchased established plants and just transferred them into my yard. While there is nothing at all wrong with doing it that way, I've begun to realize that you don't really know much about that plant that you will soon be eating from. Was it genetically modified? Has it been altered in a way that will inhibit it to from producing good yeilds year after year? To know I'm getting the best possible plants I decided starting them from seed was the way to go. Now, I'm still new at this whole process, so I haven't yet begun starting seeds indoors. That is a project that I want to take on very soon, but it hasn't happened yet. Instead I am direct sowing the seeds right into my yard. There are some plants that I will inevitably have to buy established from the nursery because of the fact that I won't be starting them from seed indoors. One of those will be tomatoes, another zucchini, also cucumber and then the blueberry bushes I'm planning to plant. My goal for next year though, will be to start everything from seed. I'm also going to be reading up on how to save my own seeds from my own plants.

Seeds from West Coast Seeds are non-GMO, are untreated, and for me they are local

My West Coast Seed order was delivered to my door by our postal service, and shortly after my delivery I checked my mailbox for mail. What did I find there? Another little gift, or several! I found a bulging envelope with writing I didn't recognize. Curious as to what could be inside, I tore it open and I was greeted with this:

A lovely friend and fellow homeschooler (hi Kim!!) had promised to send me some seeds that she had, and that she did! She even took the time to make little pot-shaped packages for them. Aren't they darling? I almost don't want to open them! But when I read what they contain, I can't help but get excited for all of the things that will be growing in my yard.

Today is still on the dark, gloomy and wet side but my day is still bright because of small gifts like these. I plan on heading outside this afternoon and putting my sugar snap peas into some dirt. Afterward I think I will drink some tea and daydream about what's to come.

Advent Activities

Well, as promised, I am sharing our activities for Advent. I hope maybe some or all of them will inspire or encourage you and your family to put a little bit of focus on togetherness, and maybe start your own tradition of an Activity Advent. Along with our activities, we also will be doing a Nativity Advent, which is 7 days long and will be interspersed with our activities throughout the month.

Here are the activities, in no particular order:

*Light the Lake- there is a lake just walking distance to my house that is surrounded by trees. In December the city lights up some of the trees with lights, and has vendors and activities set up in tents alongside the lake. It's a fun, low-cost activity (free admission, the only cost would be to buy things like hot chocolate or goodies).

*Make Paper Snowflakes- something so simple is so much fun. A great family activity and the bonus is you get to decorate your house afterward with your new creations.

*Light Up the Square- another 'light up' activity, but this one is a bit different. In our city there are a number of 'squares' or city centers (very small cities) that the city lights up. This one will have music, treats, arts and crafts, a lantern celebration, storytelling, cookie decorating, and my favorite; a tour of a historic house that is now a museum. Here we will have the opportunity to learn about old traditions, homesteading and how Christmas was celebrated and how a house was run in the early 1900's. It is rich with history, a perfect homeschooling opportunity, and something I really love to do.

*Bake Cookies Together- I think that one speaks for itself? Vaeh and Gabe both love to help out in the kitchen, especially when it involves baking.

*Donate Items to Shelter and/or Food Bank- remembering Christmas isn't just about us, incorporating a spirit of giving in with our celebrating is very important.

*Candlelit Dinner- another simple activity that could surprise you with the amount of joy it can bring, especially to little ones

*Craft Night- we all love crafts in this house, but more often than not we just don't get time to sit down and focus on a family craft

*Trip To the Library- we do this fairly often and the kids love it, but to make it an "event", we make it just a bit more fun. We'll bundle up and walk there instead of drive (about a 15 minute walk), and after we spend a significant amount of time there, we will pop over to the coffee shop on the corner right beside the library and sit and enjoy hot drinks

*Family Portrait- our first family portraits ever taken were in the summer of 2009, so there aren't many. A Christmas themed family portrait is definitely necessary

*Christmas Light Drive- something we all look forward to in the months before December. We compile a newspaper provided list of local Christmas light displays, and go on a driving tour of them all in one night, drinking hot chocolate or hot apple cider as we go. Last year we found some AMAZING walk-through displays complete with popcorn machines, cotton candy and hundreds of thousands of lights. Brilliant!

*Make Christmas Cards for Vaeh's Friends

*Paint Homeschool Room- we have been hard at work putting together our new homeschool room where the kids can have a dedicated space for learning together, or a quiet space for learning. This may not seem like a fun, Christmas-related activity, but Vaeh has been itching to have it painted, and to help me paint it, so this will definitely be a fun one for her.

*Wrap Presents for the Family -this is something else that can be overlooked as a fun time to spend with your kids. Of course you don't want to wrap their presents in front of them, but wrapping other family members gifts is a fun way to spend an evening.

*Make Gingerbread Pieces for Gingerbread Houses- a tradition in our house is to make gingerbread houses. This year I committed to making all of the pieces so we can actually EAT the houses (store bought kits are a bit on the stale side)

*Assemble Gingerbread Houses and Read Christmas Stories- fire included

*Christmas Eve Service at Church

*Bake Goodies For Family- another tradition. We always bake fun and delicious goodies for family members as part of their gifts. Last year we did Candied Orange Peels and they were a hit. This year we haven't decided yet, but I will most definitely post about it here.

*Winter Walk- this will be a walk where we go out and collect beautiful pieces of nature that remind us of the winter season and of Christmas. We'll then use these items in our craft night.

*Paint Window Scene- every year I paint the window at the front of our house with a Christmas related scene. This year Vaeh has told me how much she would love to help me paint, so we are making an activity out of it

*Mystery Events- these are sort of my saving-grace, so to speak. I have a few of these ones, and any time where I need to postpone an event or change the event schedule do to unforeseen instances, I pop one of these into a calendar pocket and when it comes time to pull it out, we brainstorm as to what we should do for an activity that day. It is very helpful too if a community event comes up that I wasn't aware of, I can replace one event with the Mystery Event label and we attend the new event that day.

*Christmas Movie Night With A Cozy Fire and Hot Chocolate- our favorite Christmas movie (or movies) will be watched. Some of them include A Christmas Story, The Polar Express and Home Alone.

*Toy Workshop in the Kid's Room- in an effort to keep clutter to a minimum, and to make sure the kids don't have more than they need, each year before Christmas we go into the kids room and go through their toys, bagging up things they no longer play with or want/need and we donate them. As awful as this may sound for a child-related activity, the kids really enjoy doing this and don't complain at all. They know that in order to have new gifts come in, we have to get rid of stuff we just don't need anymore.

*Vaeh and Gabe's Christmas Shopping- this will be an evening for the kids to do their shopping for family members.

*Game Night- the kids get to choose whatever game(s) they want to play and we all sit down together and play

It can be difficult to plan a full month of activities in advance. Doing this involves having a regular calendar on hand so you can see any classes or activities you may already have going on, so you don't double-book yourself in a sense, and so you ensure you don't cancel an activity because you forgot about dance class or Bible study or what have you. For us, Vaeh has a girls club she attends at our church every Thursday evening, so those evenings will have to have the activity completed during the day, or it will have to be something that can be accomplished before she heads off to her group. Also, activities that involve traveling and admission fees may want to be set up for a weekend, and/or around a payday if things are a bit on the tighter side of things in your house (which they are for most of us, especially around Christmas!). I make sure the kids don't know what the activities are ahead of time, so if I need to change around activities they aren't disappointed. It also feeds into the element of surprise and excitement, so that is a big bonus! We always pull out the day's activity on the morning of that day. This is very helpful and I highly recommend it.

I think the most important thing about the Activity Advent, is to focus on what your children really really love to do, and run with that. Also, if there were certain traditions you have been wanting to incorporate into your family, but weren't sure how to incorporate it or you weren't sure if it would be well received, having it as one of the advent activities can be a great way to do this and try it out. By incorporating this tradition into our family it has helped immensely to take the focus off of presents and receiving, and has put the focus on spending time together as a family, about growing closer, and about how we can do things for others. That right there is the best gift I could possibly receive for Christmas. 

A Pattern To Share and A New Plan

Ahhhhh, it's good to be getting back into the old swing of things. Writing here always makes me feel so good, it's a wonder how I can get too busy to do it. Hopefully that won't happen anymore.

I've been asked by a dear reader if there is a pattern available for the crocheted throw I made awhile back (it is actually a throw but I called it a blanket as I made it for Gabe and for his little body it's a blanket!) so I thought I would share with everyone in case others were curious and were wanting to make the throw as well. So here are all the fun details. There IS a pattern for it, but I followed it fairly loosely and changed it a tiny bit, such as not using the blue in it. The pattern is free and it can be found here. This was the first actual throw I've done so it is very beginner friendly. Any trouble I had I simply jumped on over to YouTube and searched for how-to videos on particular stitches I was having trouble with. YouTube is great for beginner knitters and crocheters. I highly recommend it! In the future I promise to share more details about what I'm working on so anyone who is interested can try it also. I'm actually in the process of crocheting another throw for my daycare girl who I will be giving it to for Christmas. I will share that in another post.

Something else I have been working on is a new plan for the house. I'm very big on lists and writing things down, and I've found that I am much more productive if I write down my goals for the day or for the short term. It really helps me organize my mind. If you are someone who tends to get flustered and overwhelmed like I do, try writing everything down. I am all about being more productive these days, especially with how busy I've been so today I started jotting some plans down for things I would like to change and/or implement. The list will no doubt grow, but for now I think it's a good start and I'm going to incorporate it into our days beginning today.

-Early to bed. This is something I have always struggled with, and something I know I need to work on changing. I've *always* been a night owl, but the problem with that is most days I don't have the luxury of sleeping in, and I'm one who absolutely needs at least 8 hours. 9 hours is the best case scenario and leaves me feeling totally rested and energized the next day, which equals me being much more productive. Starting tonight I'm going to try a 10:30 bedtime and see how that works out for me. If it enables me to get up earlier then I can also start my day with a personal and private Bible study, which is a great way to start the day.

-Get ready for bed. Yet another thing I struggle with. I'm very much in the habit of going to bed at what I think is an okay hour, and then lying awake for the next 60 minutes which actually puts my bedtime at an hour later than what I had intended when I went to bed in the first place. Instead, if I go actually get into bed a good 30 minutes before my intended bedtime, and do something like read or crochet or listen to music, I will wind down nicely and come my actual intended bedtime it will be much easier to fall asleep right away. My plan here is also to make sure that everything I need to get done after dinner, such as tidying up and the like, are done ahead of time so they aren't cutting in to my getting ready for bed. I will also do this with Vaeh, as she tends to stay up until about 10:30pm reading in her bed. Now I will tell her she can go to bed 30 minutes early and have reading time and then lights out, and if she doesn't choose to do that then it's lights out right at bedtime.

-Earlier dinner. In order to succeed with the first two things on my list, an earlier dinner time is necessary. A typical dinner time for us is between 6:30 and 7:00pm. My last daycare kiddie leaves at 6:00pm and that is usually when I start dinner. This has caused a lot of problems for us in the past, mainly because Gabe is a very slow eater. More often than not he is still eating at 8:00pm which is his bedtime. Starting today we are going to have dinner at 5:00pm and while we are eating my daycare kids can have a snack so they aren't feeling left out. By the time my last daycare child leaves we will be done dinner, and even if Gabe takes a bit longer to eat it won't matter. After that, my evening is free to finish other things up.

-Family worship. This is something I have heard many families do, but never tried it myself. We would read bedtime stories together when the kids bedtimes were at the same time (which used to be 8:30pm) but now that they have different bedtimes it has become harder to do story time. With family worship in the evenings, set at a time well before bed, we will curl up on the couch in front of a fire and I will either read from the Bible or read Bible stories to them and then we will have prayer time together. This one I am really excited about starting. Not only is it important to pray and worship with your family, but it is a special bonding time that I'm really looking forward to having.

-Weekly movie nights. As a family we watch quite a lot of movies together at home, but we don't have a scheduled movie night, so when our movie nights do happen they tend to happen spur of the moment and it ends up not being as enjoyable as it could be because things get forgotten and feel rushed. When we decide to watch a movie, we rush through dinner and then we're too full for popcorn during the movie, then we aren't sure which movie to watch and we just don't get settled, and before we know it the kids are up past their bedtime because it took us too long to get it together. A planned movie night will give us time to do just that, plan it. From time to time, if the movie is worth it in my opinion, we will venture out to the theater on our scheduled movie night.

-Chore charts/things to get done. In the morning I will sit down and write out (in the form of a list of course!!) what needs to get done each day and our goal will be to accomplish the things on that list first in our day. Each of us will have our own designated things that need to get done. I'll have to be a bit creative with Gabe, but I think this is a great way to instill responsibility in to them, and show them that we all need to work together to help things run smoothly in the house. I'm also going to do up a chore chart which I will make at the beginning of each week, where Vaeh and Gabe will have daily chores, or jurisdictions as the Duggars call them, that they will be responsible for. It will be small things such as sweeping the kitchen or tidying the bookshelf or getting together dirty laundry in the house. When they complete a jurisdiction they will get a reward certificate or slip that they will collect and can cash in with me each week or two. They will be able to cash them in for money to put in their piggy banks, or they can cash them in for a special activity that will have a designated slip value (ie: game night with their choice of game will cost 5 slips/certificates/dollars, whatever I call the reward, lol).

So that is what I have so far. I'm really eager to get on this as just reading it I feel a great sense of peace, that this is going to help immensely.
You may have noticed these last couple of posts have been quite picture-free. I've greatly neglected my poor camera along with everything else and have hardly taken any pictures these last few months. I'm making it a priority to take more pictures so not only can I tell you about what's happening around here, but I can also show you, because that is just a lot more fun. I'm also considering adding some video posts to the blog once in awhile. We will see how that goes.

xo

Cycling is Hard!

And I haven't even gotten started yet! I've spent the last week doing research. Yes, research. On bike riding. Gone are the days where you just hop on a bicycle and ride to your hearts content. No my friend. There are rules. Rules aplenty! One thing I did know was that here in BC it is a requirement by law to wear a helmet while cycling. After doing a little reading on the topic, I was led to one law after another after another. It's almost become overwhelming, and I can honestly see why so many people don't bother to park their car and hop on a bicycle. That, and the requirements seem downright scary. For example, cyclists are considered vehicles and are therefore required to ride on the road with traffic. It is illegal to ride on the sidewalk. Period. I get why this law was put into place, and it would make sense if there weren't so many flaws with it. One major flaw is the serious lack of separate bike lanes which I feel is very very important. The way our roads are designed here are for the most part ridiculous on their own, and adding a cyclist to the mix I think is crazy. Another thing is not all cyclists are hardcore cyclists. For many, the idea of riding a bike on a major roadway next to crazy, road raging monsters is just too much. I am one of those people. Yes, it has a lot to do with the fact that I haven't been on a bike since I was 13 years old. When I rode a bike there were no helmet laws and nobody gave a you-know-what if you rode on the sidewalk. That was where EVERYBODY rode. Well, except for those hard-core-er's. So coming into this is, well, a bit daunting to say the least. The other thing I have an issue with, is that my children are required by law to do the same thing, ride in traffic. Gabe will be in a trailer but even that scares me. He would be down near the ground with a front row seat of huge tires rolling right by him. Ummmmm. Yeah. Scary. Then there is Vaeh. My little 7 year old, dainty little flower girl, is required to ride her bike alongside traffic. NO. WAY. I'm sorry but law or no law, I'm not allowing my babies to be that close to cars whipping by. I keep getting these images flashing through my head of her hitting a bump or just losing control and falling off her bike. Bam. No more Vaeh. So if it comes down to me getting a ticket because my daughter, or all 3 of us are on the sidewalk, so be it. I'm sorry to anyone who is reading this that is an avid rider but the safety of my children are way more important than any law out there, especially when that law is actually putting them in harms way. Until there are more cyclists on the road, and until there is more infrastructure in place keeping a solid barrier between a cyclist and a car, you will find me and my family ever so carefully, respectfully and politely making our way past pedestrians on the sidewalk. Now, all of that said, I do plan on planning our routes ahead of time every time we go out so we aren't taking major roadways and instead finding paths through parks, down "dead-end" (to cars) roads and on traffic calmed streets to get to our destination. I just think it really sucks that there isn't much carefreeness (yes, it's a word) to our society, and we are all bogged down with so many rules. I know there are people who are pro-alltherules but I'm not. Sorry. But, I'm going to make the most of things because at least I am able to bike ride where I live, and do it for free. Who knows how long that will last.

On a very positive note, I bought a bike!!! I don't have any pictures yet
but I will share some soon, I promise. I'm waiting for a nice sunny day to take it outside and snap some pictures. It's been raining here for 752 days. Okay maybe not that many. It feels like it though. I found my bike on Craigslist for half the price it would be new, and my bike is only 6 months old. I think I totally lucked out finding it. My bike new in the store would be $800 including tax. No thank you. Factor in the fact that I am boycotting the HST as much as I possibly can, as it is already in effect on certain items, and I am one of many who are against it. So by buying my bike used I managed to avoid it. Yay me! Next thing I need to get is a trailer for Gabe. I've been browsing Craigslist and saw a few on there that I would like, and after doing my research on the best trailer to buy, I settled on a Croozer 535. Ideally I would LOVE to have a Chariot trailer (*drool*) but those puppies require one to take out a second mortgage on their house. Given that Gabe is already 2.5, he's only got a couple more years before he's out of a trailer and on to a bike of his own, or a trail-a-bike. The investment in a Chariot just isn't worth it to me, even for a used one. A Croozer is a close second to a Chariot, in my opinion, and about half the price. For the trailer I really wanted to buy a used one, again to avoid tax and to save money, but after seeing how old some of the trailers are that people are trying to sell, and after going to look at one in person and seeing how beat up it was, I decided I should go new in this area. Gabe's safety is the most important thing, and I don't want him riding around on bent wheels, and attachment wheels that no longer function. Both of those were problems with the one I looked at. And I don't know if the person I'm buying from put it together properly either! The Croozers are great because they come with all of the different attachments included, Chariots and other models you have to purchase each kit separately (ie: jogging stroller kit, stroller kit, etc.). That equals more money on top of an already expensive item. We're all about saving money here people. So I'm saving my pennies and hope to purchase this trailer in the next couple of weeks, just in time for the Teddy Bear Picnic that is coming up! I can't wait for summer. Mostly I can't wait for the rain to stop.

Whew!

Wow, it's been a crazy time around here. I can't believe I spent this long not posting here, but it was necessary. Once things started getting back on track after Gabe's bout with croup, we got hit with another wave of ickyness. We are beginning to get over it now, whatever it was, but it's still affecting me quite a bit. I have been really tired and not feeling myself at all and that part of it is hanging on. I'm thankful though that when we do get sick, which isn't all that often, we bounce back fairly quickly. I attribute that to our diet and basically taking good overall care of ourselves. It does make a difference. I will apologize in advance if any of this post doesn't make much sense. I'm still a little foggy, lol.

Tomorrow marks the end of term 2 in my Bible college class and term 3 begins next week. I'm loving every minute of it. I'm learning so much and making some great friends, and of course strengthening my relationship with God. I can't believe how far I was from Him just a short time ago, and now I'm closer than I've ever been. I've been able to accomplish so many things through Him and with His guidance, it's amazing. Truly amazing. I look back on the last year and I was just a mess, especially after ending the relationship with my ex. I didn't realize how co-dependent I had become on my ex until I left. The first time I had to go to a grocery store alone with the kids was absolutely terrifying for me. I was even scared to drive. I was so far removed from myself during that 7 year relationship that I spent much of my time at home, in solitude with my children. I didn't want to see or talk to anyone in the real world. I became so insanely shy, even talking to a bank teller or cashier was excruciating for me and affected me for days afterward. I would never go places or do things on my own. Ever. I always had to have someone with me, and that was on the rare occasion that I left the house. My life was in shambles. I wouldn't go to church because 1) I had to do it alone, and 2) I was horribly ashamed of my life, so I just didn't go. I look at my life now and I'm such a different person. I'm out, getting a life that I never had but always wanted. I'm meeting people, learning new things, making HUGE changes and stepping out of my comfort zone time and time again. Fear still grips me in almost everything that I do, but I press through it. I lived in fear for far too long and I won't let it have control over me anymore. It still has a voice, true, but not control. I've even started the process of auditioning for the worship team (singing) at my church. I've always wanted to sing but never had the confidence. This is a different girl!! I know none of this would have been possible without the strength of God in me.

I've recently decided to hold off on my studio re-do and I've contacted a homestay organization in the hopes of hosting a foreign student. Not only will this help my finances (things are VERY tight!) but I think it would be a great experience for the kids. I had an interview with one organization in particular and hopefully I will hear something from them soon. I figure since I already do so much of my crafting at my kitchen table, why not use my office for something that will be of a great help. I'm working on making some more changes in the areas of finances, meal/menu planning and smart shopping. So far I've managed to cut my grocery bill from around $500 a month to around $350 a month, but I know I can do better than that so I' m working on it. I will post about these changes soon, as they happen.

A few weeks back I watched the movie Julie & Julia and was completely inspired to do more cooking and baking. I have such a strong desire to make things from scratch, bake treats with the kids and create meals that make those who eat them close their eyes in pure enjoyment. I love how great meals bring people together and represent wonderful family moments and gatherings. I love how home-made baked treats make children eagerly sit in front of the oven licking their lips, and make them silently giggle while they eat them, filling up with the love that the baker put into them. I have a lot of wonderful memories of family meals and I want to experience those with my own children. It may take me awhile to start this "new" tradition here but I will keep you posted on every moment of it.

So that's it for now. I'm tired and should get some much needed rest. The kids and I were up at 5am this morning as I am helping out at my church every Sunday for the month of March. A bunch of us are making breakfast for the early morning service team and then we all sit down and eat together before service begins. It's such a lovely time, but it makes for a very tired Me come Sunday afternoon. I'm not a morning person at all. I'm not a grump, it just affects me a lot physically when I wake up too early.

Goodnight everyone! Bye for now ♥

Good Old Fashioned Wholesomeness

Last weekend, in celebration of Vaeh's birthday, we made a visit to the Kids Only Market on Granville Island. It's one of her most favorite places in the world and it's become a bit of a tradition for her birthday that we spend the day there. A couple of years ago I gave Vaeh the option to either have a party, invite kids and do the whole party thing or just go somewhere fun and spend the day together as a family. She chose the latter and a new tradition emerged. I'm a little against traditional birthday parties for several reasons so I was elated that she was on board. I'm sure her ideals will change as she grows older, but for now I'm loving the way we celebrate. My favorite part about the Kids Only Market is that they have all these neat little stores that carry really cool traditional type, quality, wholesome toys. Part of our tradition is that she picks out a special birthday gift while at the market. This year we cheated a little bit and picked out more than one, but they are small and can be enjoyed by all 3 of us so we snuck in a few more. As you can see from the picture, she picked out bells, a harmonica and a kaleidoscope along with a wooden birdhouse making kit and a garden tool kit. To me you don't get much more wholesome than that. She so takes after me. I would've picked all of those as well. We are blessed in the fact that because we are registered homeschoolers through a certain organization, we get a learning investment which is an allotment of funds dispersed throughout the year to be used toward the cost of educating and providing supplies to the learner. All of the items Vaeh picked from the market fall under the category of learning so they were no cost to me. I love when that happens. Especially when you take into account the changes I'm working on, that learning invesment is incredibly helpful.

A few weeks before our day at the Market I was browsing the free section on Craigslist and found an ad from a husband and wife photography team looking to expand their portfolio and offering free photo shoots for the first 5 people to respond to the ad. I happened to be quick enough and managed to get myself a free photo shoot. Before we went to the Market we had our pictures taken, journalistic style (my favorite) at Kitsilano Beach. I'll talk more about this in another blog post.

It definitely was a great day. We've been working hard on our harmonica/bells jam sessions and I think we're improving. But that would depend on who you ask. Just make sure it's not my neighbor :)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like....Spring Cleaning??

Today I was a busy gal. Today I cleaned like a mad woman. And not just typical cleaning was happening. I was on an organizing mission. A mission that would rival Martha Stewart's best day. Okay that's a big fat lie. But I did get a lot done today and it felt fabulous. I think what triggered my madness was the packing up of all the Christmas things around the house that we did on New Year's Eve. As much as I love, love, love Christmas, it felt so good to take the tree down, pack up all the trinkets and get my house back to normal. It felt like a really good way to spend New Year's Eve as well. Waking up on January 1st and not seeing any fake snow, or plush Santa's staring at me felt like a fresh start to the year. We did, however, partake in one activity on the 1st that involved a Christmas tree. 

Yes, that would be a Chia Pet. Vaeh has been asking for one for the last couple of Christmases and believe it or not the stores are sold out of them by the time I do my shopping. They only come out at Christmas time here, which doesn't help. This year she finally got one and has been chomping at the bit to start it. It's soaking in water in that picture but we have since spread the seeds and are awaiting sprouts. Exciting stuff, I know.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed as I really had the urge to do some crafting today but I got so caught up in cleaning that it just didn't happen. It was a cold, rainy day and it just made me feel so good to be at home. These kinds of days always seem to put me in the mood to craft. I did manage to get one small step closer to my big studio re-do and cleaned my office out. I did some crazy purging today. What a release that is!! Sometimes I wish there were more hours in a day so I could get more things done, but I'm satisfied with what I accomplished today. I recently read something about purging and things to remember when doing so. It went something like; get rid of everything you don't use, everything that is broken, everything that holds no value and anything that is not beautiful. I'll be keeping those things in mind as I continue to get rid of all the stuff I don't need, and simplify my life.

Forgetful Me

I vaguely recall something I mentioned about possibly sharing a super cute craft project in my next post. This was over a week ago. Hmmmmm. I completely blame this momentary bout of forgetfulness on the Holidays. And hey...at least I'm remembering now and not months from now, which I could totally see happening. I haven't had much time to work on it so I won't post any pictures of what I've done, but check out http://www.rosylittlethings.com/ and have a look. These are one of the cutest craft sets I've seen in awhile.

Last night Vaeh and I played a very intense game of Mouse Trap. Okay maybe it wasn't "intense" per se, but there was some serious giggling going on. She got it for Christmas and couldn't wait to break it out.

I loved this game as a child and I totally remember why. Unfortunately for Vaeh, beginners luck wasn't present.

I was the red mouse.

I try to make a very conscious effort to be present in Gabe and Vaeh's lives and if it means playing board games everyday then so be it. You would think working from home would allow me to be present, but not necessarily. Sure I get to see them everyday and all day long but that's not the same as being present. It's important to set aside time each day where I'm engaged in their activities, their conversations and their special moments. No matter how busy I get, missing out on their childhood is not worth anything in the world and I make sure I remember that.

I think one of my resolutions for 2010 is to slow down a little bit. I have a tendency to take on too much at once so I need to complete the tasks at hand before starting new ones. Maybe that will be my ONLY resolution this year. Less pressure. I like it.

Last year my goal was to try new things, things that interest me, so I don't look back on my life saying 'I wish I had tried that'. There are a lot of things that interest me so I really need to pace myself. Right now I'm taking a course in interior re-design/home staging and I am also getting my first year certificate in Biblical studies. The smart thing would have been to take on one at a time but that's so not my style. Working, homeschooling and taking two courses is a lot to manage. I've definitely learned my lesson though and will take next year to finish the courses up and then go from there, focusing on one thing at a time. It's no wonder I'm so forgetful!