Christmas Without the "Stuff"

First of all, I know it has been forever since I've written a post.  I apologize.  I always say I'll get better, but I never do, so this time I am not going to make you any promises.  I'm posting today and that's all that matters.  :)

We've been focusing a lot in our house on reducing the "stuff" that we've accumulated.  We still have a long way to go, but we're getting there.  Our current challenge is getting through the Christmas season without a.) undoing all we've accomplished and b.) celebrating a wonderful Christmas season that the children will look back on and enjoy.  What are your favorite memories of Christmas?  Mine involve making cookies with my mom, going on a sleigh ride, visiting my grandparents, going to see the Christmas lights and Christmas Eve church service.  There are a few toys that stick out in my memory too, but not that many.  I remember my first Nintendo.  I remember receiving a swim suit that I really wanted.  I also remember this giant bean bag chair that was wrapped in a sheet.  For the most part though, my memories involved things that we did and not the things that we received.

With that in mind, as well as our mission to reduce our family spending, we've decided that Christmas will be different this year.  Each child will receive two or three presents to open on Christmas morning.  When purchasing these gifts, we asked ourselves the following questions:  Does it encourage creativity?  Do they have something similar?  Is it educational?  Will it create a family memory?

If you're considering downsizing your children's playrooms, here are a few ideas that I've compiled for gift giving:

1.  Memberships to some sort of activity (the zoo, the children's museum, the recreation centers, etc.)

2.  Gift certificates to an activity (Frankie's Fun Park, Chuck E Cheese's, miniature golf place, bowling, etc.)

3.  Spa trip - there are many spas that have packages designed for little girls

4.  Trip - It doesn't have to be something huge.  A night's stay a town over at a nice hotel with a pool is an adventure to kids

5.  Tickets - To a play, an aquarium, a theme park, etc. - anything that pique's the child's interest

6.  Books - Be careful here as many tend to accumulate a lot of books too; however, if they are a topic that the child enjoys and you know they'll read it, it may be worth the purchase.

7.  Art supplies - Great for older children.  Inspires creativity.

8.  Family board games can create amazing memories

9.  Electronics and accessories - As with books, it's easy to have too many, but generally they do not take up much room and children get a lot of use out of them

10.  Dress up clothes - Again, creativity!

For fun, here's a list of items that I would suggest not be purchased for Christmas or birthday presents:

1.  Anything that does not come equip with an "OFF" button

2.  Something that will get stuck in the foot of the poor unsuspecting person that steps on it

3.  Stuffed animals (the poor things are loved for 10 minutes and then forgotten)

4.  Toys with a lot of parts (kids are going to lose a part - I promise)

5.  Living creatures

6.  Anything that involves an oven (easy bake, cupcake maker, bug factory, etc.) - that's just asking for a trip to the hospital.  Also, have you ever tried to eat an Easy Bake Oven cake?  *gags*

Our goal is to make this Christmas season very special for the children and to help them understand that Christmas is about Jesus and giving and not about the presents they receive.  To help redirect this focus, we're planning some fun activities.  Here are a few of the things that we're doing:

1.  The children are picking out some of their gently-used toys to donate to charity

2.  We'll make cookies together and deliver them to a fire department, police department or hospital on Christmas Eve or Day (we haven't hashed out the details yet)

3.  We'll celebrate the season of Advent and discuss the events leading up to, including and following Jesus' birth

We'll also go see the lights, attend one or more Christmas parades, and play and sing along to Christmas music.  Hopefully, with all that is going on this year, the kiddos won't even notice that their Christmas loot has shrunk dramatically. 

What are your plans for gift giving this year?  Do you have any other items to add to the lists?  I'd especially love to hear suggestions for the do not buy list.  

A World Without Facebook

I'm a little over half way through my Lenten fasting from Facebook (I think) so I thought I would share some of the things that I have accomplished in my time off.

1.) Disney Trip with the family - I've posted about this separately, so check it out. I'll add some pictures to Facebook when I'm back. :)

3.) Run for Your Lives - A Zombie Infested 5K - This was a fun run! It was in "Atlanta" (which is in quotation marks because it was an HOUR away from Atlanta so actually NOT in Atlanta, but whatevs). It rained for the three days leading up to the race and I've NEVER been so muddy. Here is my grand finish.

4.) Milling My Own Flour - I started this just before Lent, but I'm really getting the hang of it now. This weekend, I baked four loaves of bread for the upcoming week. It is sooooo good and so much more healthy than the stuff from the store.

5.) Losing Weight - Speaking of being healthy, I've dropped 14.5 pounds since Thanksgiving. It is slow coming off, but it's getting there. I meet with a trainer and am training for my first Tough Mudder run in October.

6.) Half Marathon Training - Speaking of training, I'm running another half marathon on April 21st in downtown Greer. I'm really excited about this run.

7.) House Cleaning - Starting this week I've begun gutting my house and doing my spring cleaning. My apologies to anyone that has stepped foot in the disaster area known as my house recently. I promise it is better now. :)

8.) House Decorating - I have a plan for the downstairs. Now I need the time, money and motivation to execute it. Renovating Chris's house a few years ago left me without the desire to ever do house projects again. I think I'm finally getting over it though.

9.) Haiti - This will be a separate entry soon as well, but I'm attending a mission trip to Haiti in July. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to meet and help the people there and do God's work.

10.) Becoming More of a Hippie Mom - Is that possible? Yes! We now proudly buy 75-90% of our meat from a local farmer; we drink raw milk also purchased from a local farmer; and, as I mentioned before, we mill our own flour to make bread. The grain comes from a local distributor as well. In a few weeks the farmer's markets will be in full swing, and I'll be buying all of our produce there. I'd love to grow it myself but, alas, my thumb is NOT green. Although, I did just plant a fig tree in our backyard. Please cross your fingers for me that it survives and flourishes!

So there are ten things that I've been doing while away from Facebook. :)

Three Small Things

I have been trying something out lately to help keep from feeling overwhelmed all of the time and it seems to be working. Each morning, I create a list of three things that I want to accomplish that day. Only three. If I happen to do more than that, well, fabulous but it isn't mandatory. By creating a small list, I feel accomplished by the end of the day knowing that my list is finished. Also, it keeps me working. If I don't have a list and I'm feeling overwhelmed, I tend to ignore what I need to do. But, with a list, I feel like I have to do those things.

Yesterday, my things were: wash diapers, tidy the bathroom counter and tub (Liam throws everything he can find into the garden tub in our bathroom) and send out an email to my seminar committee. My three things covered three different aspects of my life: my kids, my household and my profession.

Today is Saturday so I am not focusing on my profession. My list for today is: go on a walk or do some activity with the family, clean out the garage and tidy the kitchen/dining area and living room. This morning we enjoyed a great walk with the kids. Cadence and Gabriel are getting very good on their bikes and Cadence ended up way ahead! After that, Liam went down for a nap. I put together some shelves I got on Craigslist and totally organized the garage. It looks great! I still have to tidy inside, but I'm on my way to finishing off today's list. :)

Goals for This Week

It's Sunday night and time to start thinking about the week ahead. I've blogged a lot today. Congrats and thank you if you've kept up! It's okay if you haven't though, I understand. The past few weeks have been a bit crazy and I am learning from the craziness and setting a few goals for myself for the upcoming week.

1. My bedtime is no later than 10:00 p.m.
2. I will get up early enough to make sure everyone has time for a good breakfast.
3. I will spend at least 30 minutes per evening working on laundry or housework.
4. I will stay focused and work as diligently as possible at my job during the day, but when the work day is over, I will focus solely on my family.
5. I will pack Cadence's lunch every evening instead of during the morning.

I'll update again at the end of the week.

We Have a Messy House

We have a messy house. The floors need to be swept and mopped. The carpets need to be steamed. Dusting hasn't been done in months and there is a lot of clutter. Sometimes I think about how nice it would be to have a clean, organized house. But then I think of all of the things I would need to give up.

I could clean in the evenings, but then when would I do posters for my daughter's Fall Festival? I could clean in the mornings, but I'm already up at 6:30 a.m. How could I ensure that I was resting enough for the baby in my tummy. I could clean all weekend, but then how would I take the kids camping, or help Cadence set up a lemonade stand to raise money in memory of little Rachael? Is a clean house worth missing out on Saturday mornings curled up in bed with the kids watching cartoons? Is it worth missing homemade waffles, church and afternoon family outings?

Maybe I could get a maid? But where would the money for the maid come from? Should it come from our monthly Chuck E Cheese trips? Perhaps I could cut out a few of our family long-weekend vacations?

Some day, when my children are grown, I want them to remember their mommy participating in their Fall Festival. I want them to recall how careful mommy was when she was carrying their brother or sister. I want them to have fond memories of camping, lemonade stands, Saturday morning cartoons in mommy & daddy's bed, homemade waffles before church, family outings, Chuck E. Cheese nights and family vacations. Maybe, with all that, they'll forget that their mommy was slack in the housekeeping department. :)

The current status of the bar in my kitchen.