Christmas Crafting Countdown

It's been awhile. It's continued to be pretty crazy around our house lately. Even though my husband came home last Monday, we're still trying to get back into a normal routine, but I really don't think that will happen until January.

Just this last week we've had 4 family birthdays and a Christmas party to celebrate. This means Little Bub is all out of whack and I haven't been able to get as much done as I'd like.

Have I also mentioned that Little Bub is now only taking one nap a day? Yikes. All of sudden I have to try to entertain him for a few more hours in a day, just around the time of year I need a few extra hours a day to finish all my crafty Christmas presents. I know I won't finish all I have planned, but here are a few things I've been able to complete.

Lissa May Photography did Little Bub's birthday photos and I absolutely just love them. She is just starting out in her own photography business and she lives just one street up from me, so we've decided to trade crochet hats as props for little mini-sessions of Little Bub at the holidays. Sweet deal for me I think! These monster hats were her first order. She found the pattern and bought it, so I got a free pattern out of it too!

 

I have also finished Little Bub's Christmas stocking. I have a few pictures to share, but I'm hoping to do that at a later date when I finish mine and my husband's.

 

 

But it's hard to get much of anything done when you have this face trying to get your attention.

 



Crochet Craziness

I've been super busy lately. My husband is out of town for the week so it's just been Little Bub and myself. It's given me a chance to catch up on some of my projects, though not as many as I would like.

I've mentioned before how I have a little obsession with crocheting hats. I knew I had a lot; I didn't realize how many I have actually made. I took pictures of each one earlier this week because I'm hoping to start selling some. I've only been crocheting for a little over a year, but this is the result.

 

That doesn't even count the couple of hats I've made and given away as gifts!

I just had to add that as I'm sitting here typing this post, Little Bub is playing on the floor and of course, you always get suspicious when the little ones aren't making any noise. Well, I guess I don't have to be.

 

 

He's over in the corner reading some books. A little man after my heart.

 

 

I can just hear him thinking: "Why are you disturbing me when I'm trying to read, Mama?"

Oh, Christmas Tree

Today we decorated our tree. Finally. I think it's been in the stand for a week now. However, we were totally unprepared for a real tree, which is the reason it sat bare so long. We didn't have enough of one color of lights to cover this tree!

This morning we stopped by Wal-Mart after Little Bub's swim lessons and picked up a strand of 200 red lights, after we hemmed and hawed over the ridiculous prices of the LED boxes of 25 lights (I just can't believe they were $7 a piece! We would have had to buy at least 5 boxes!).

After we finished wrapping the tree we looked at each other and knew it wasn't enough. I was content to leave it a little bare, but my husband decided that we needed to add the LED white and blue snowflake lights that I originally wanted to use (and which we didn't have enough of, nor can I find them in any store).

 

If you know me well, you know I have a touch of OCD about things matching and these two colors definitely do not go together, but I have to tell myself it doesn't matter. Not very many people are going to see my tree this year and Little Bub does not care one bit.

 

My husband's family has this tradition of taking pictures of the children hanging an ornament on the tree. Maybe we'll continue that tradition. Little Bub was more interested in pulling the ornaments off the tree though.

 

 

I gave him some unbreakable ornaments to play with and to leave under the tree for when he wants to touch things. Overall, I guess the effect of the different lights isn't all bad.

 

Mommy Brain

Anyone who has ever had children knows what I'm talking about. In fact, there was just an episode of Modern Family that covered the topic.

While I was pregnant, "mommy brain" didn't really rear it's ugly head. However, as soon as I came home with Little Bub, it really kicked in. In the beginning it was pretty harmless: leaving the house for Little Bub's first peds appointment with slippers on, forgetting why I went into a room or if I brushed my teeth.

And guess what? It's not getting any better. Just within the past week I took Little Bub to swim lessons without bringing towels, forgot to take my lunch to work, and left the house without my glasses.

Recently, I even drove 20 minutes to the grocery store, only to have to drive all the way back home because I had forgotten my purse. Of course, I had to drive back to the store because I hadn't gotten any groceries!

This article on Discovery News claims that in actuality mothers don't lose brain function, but instead their brains rewire based on a whole new set of priorities linked to the care of their children. That's all well and good, but what about the time I left the house for the first major shopping trip (read a 45 minute drive away from home) and I forgot to bring the bottle of pumped milk my 4 month old son needed, which I had left on the counter in an insulated bag. Let me tell you, nothing makes you feel worse! Luckily I was able to solve the problem by buying a new bottle and some formula at Wal-Mart.

Whatever the case, I sure wouldn't trade in Little Bub for anything in the world, including some lost brain power!

My Long Thanksgiving Weekend

Working in a school has its perks, I must admit. One of those is having a five day weekend to spend crafting and loving up Little Bub.

On Wednesday, I decided to take advantage of the unusually mild, sunny weather and take Little Bub to the park.











We brought our dog too. Poor Frankie. He's generally a good sport as long as Little Bub isn't reaching for a handful of fur.

On Thursday, we spent time with both sides of our family. My sister-in-law kindly agreed to snap a few shots for our Christmas cards. She has amazing talent!

 

On Friday, we went to go pick our Christmas tree. The past few years we used a fake one, but with Little Bub around we wanted to start the tradition of having a real one. It was a little colder outside, but still a nice enough day to walk around the tree farm.

The rest of the weekend was pretty normal. I worked on some crafts while Little Bub helped, Little Bub had swimming lessons and we took some much needed naps. I was sad to see the weekend come to an end.

Thank You Cards

Little Bub's birthday was now three weeks ago. I've been working on some homemade thank you cards and have finished them up today!

I was inspired by these thank you cards from my pinterest board (original source unknown).

It was a very simple project and perfect to fit in those extra ten minute slots you get between all the chores, work and playing you do with a one year old.

First, I picked some green paint I had in the drawer, poured it onto a small plate and cut an apple in half. I got out some sheets of white cardstock too.

 

Put the apple in the paint, making sure all of the cut side is covered and firmly press the apple onto the cardstock.

 

 

Repeat until you have filled the paper or made as many apples as you need.

 

 

Sometimes I had too much paint and other times I didn't have enough to make a good print. I made a lot of extra so I could pick and choose the ones I liked. I cut out the apples with just a thin margin of white showing around the edges.

 

To add something extra and because they were thank you cards (and I already had the stamp), I used some dark green ink and stamped the apples. First I experimented with some gold ink because I had used some gold accents in other party decorations, but it didn't show up how I wanted it to.

 

 

Finally, I wrote on the backs of the apples to thank each individual for coming to the party and bringing Little Bub a gift. Originally, I was going to paste them or tie them onto bigger cards instead of writing on the back, but with our Christmas cards arriving within the next two days, I'm just going to slip these in those envelopes.

 

Thank you cards are something that helps your children show their appreciation for things and don't take much extra time at all. As I said before, these small steps can be slotted into those times between other jobs and when your children are older, this might be something they actually enjoy doing on their own because it does add a little creativity.

 



 



 



Happy Thanksgiving

This is what I'm most thankful for this year.

 

 

A little man who is healthy, happy and continuing to grow everday.

Look how much Little Bub has changed in just one year! It makes me a little sad to see the difference. But he is still my little baby.

 

I can't forget to mention all the other blessings in my life, including my family, friends, home, job and the countless little things that make my life wonderful.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!