Bag o’ Joyful Swag
My husband brought a gigantic company-logoed duffel bag home from work the other day. It was presumably a bag o’ swag, as is to be expected at a corporate business office around the holidays, but he didn’t look through the contents ahead of time. So when he walked in the door and the boys asked about it, he jokingly said, “Here, boys, this is for you. It’s full of CANDY!” They took it, opened it up, and screamed in delight. Because, unbeknownst to us, it was ACTUALLY FULL OF CANDY.
Easy Advent Activity Ideas
A few people have asked for our list of Advent calendar activities – something I originally planned on sharing but knew I wouldn’t finalize until the day we began, December 1st. True ’nuff, I didn’t finalize them until the day we began, December 1st, and now it’s December 5th. {shoutout to all my fellow procrastinators} But, hey, maybe you are just looking for a few family fun ideas throughout December and maybe this will still be a good resource, so here you are: Click above, or download the pdf here. A few tips: 1. Go to the Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, or the Target dollar spot BEFORE you plan activities. They always have cheap, cute…
Christmas, Reclaimed
A few weeks ago I spoke to some fellow moms on the topic of “Simplifying Christmas”. About reclaiming the joy and wonder of it. And finding ways to not hate yourself and everyone around you by the time the holidays are over. It was easily one of my favorite topics this fall because, like most things humans get ahold of, we’ve lost our way a bit in this department. And of all the overwhelming, stressful things in life and the world around us, Christmas just doesn’t have to be one. It’s amazing how much stuff we accumulate to celebrate the birth of a savior who couldn’t have come with any less. Our family is over this. So…
Attempting Advent
Growing up in a church that didn’t participate directly in Advent, I have come to adore this tradition as an adult. (I think everyone has, actually. It seems like Advent has made a splash in evangelical churches in recent years. It must have a great PR team.) And as a parent? Oh, man. It’s the best. Each year we attempt an Advent calendar with daily activities. “Attempt” because I try really, super hard not to set unreasonable expectations. For instance, our activities are things like “read a Christmas book” and “make an ornament for a friend”. I try to scale my real desires of “create a 6′ ice-sculpture” or “feed every homeless person in Texas” back a little.…
Joy to the Mess
I see you, moms who send your kids to preschool in matching monogrammed festive wear. You look totes adorbs walking in to drop off all calm and collected. I see you, and I raise you a toddler with no shoes and a single sock halfway on. We’ll hold the door – you go on ahead. I’ve got to finish brushing the McDonald’s biscuit crumbs off my kids’ pants before we go inside.
Crafternoons are for the {pinterest} birds.
A few years ago my favorite pair of earrings went missing. I couldn’t find them for weeks until, one day, I spotted the very corner of them dangling out of the toilet paper roll in the bathroom. Because children. They’re always misplacing things. I can’t be too hard on them, though, because I’ve been misplacing lots of stuff lately. Like…entire days. “Oh wow…it’s Friday already? I could’ve sworn we were on Tuesday. Wednesday at the latest.” I misplaced 3 solid days last week. Honestly can’t tell you what we did, where we went, what we wore, when we last bathed. (The more I think about it, the more I realize what a lucky…
Christmas: the most wonder{stress}ful time of the year!
Rule 1 of church attending: Never ever, ever, ever skip potluck day. It’s way too delicious to miss. (Can I get an amen?) A few weeks ago, some young couple friends of ours broke this rule. They skipped the brunch potluck we had during class and came straight to the worship service afterwards. I saw them across the room and walked over to give them a hard time. “Skipping, on POTLUCK DAY? What were you thinking?!” I said. My friend laughed and said, “I know…we knew it was a brunch today, but we couldn’t afford to bring anything so we just stayed home!” The part of the conversation that caught…
Blessingmas Report, The Christmas Meltdown, & Family Photos
I’ve been putting off an after-holiday blog because there’s too much to recap in an orderly fashion. Let me just start by saying that at our after-church lunch on Sunday, I was waiting outside the one-staller bathroom for my turn when the lady occupying the restroom came out, made eye contact with me, said, “Hold on just a second…”, turned back around, flushed the toilet, and came back out. So that’s how we do, now. We only flush if we make eye contact with the next person in line. Thank you for reading this. Blessingmas Report I’m sure most of you are wondering about Blessingmas 2012. The anticipation of it…
Neighborly Blessingmas Revolution 2012
Gather round the fire, everyone. I’m going to tell you the tale of an underground revolution called Blessingmas 2012. Better yet, I’ll just share the email I sent to a few of my friends: Hey friends. I can still call you that, right? Most of you are probably wondering why you’re still friends with me. I’ll remind you why: my charm is irresistible. Let me give you some background about my cryptic text today. If you’re completely uninterested in that and would rather just know what I’m proposing, skip to the bottom. Last year at this time I decided to make brownies for my neighbors for Christmas. I kind of…
Broccoli Butt & Advent
Broccoli Butt Every time I pick Beckett up from the nursery at church, I overhear the ladies saying to other moms, “She ate some of the sauteed carrots and most of the kale.” or “He ate all of the zucchini and quinoa!” as I grab my son and his diaper bag that never contain the words “kale” or “zucchini”. His snacks are usually made by a friend of mine, General Mills. I was feeling some peer pressure, so last week I sent that dude with some steamed broccoli and cantaloupe. Talk about mom of the year, y’all. That is nutritious as it gets. The only problem is steamed broccoli smells…
