Holiday Planning

Now that all the birthdays are done (until next year that is) and Thanksgiving is over, it's time to plan for Winter Solstice. We have some traditions we've created over the years and it's time to start some new ones.

Last year after some discussion on my local homeschooling list about our holiday traditions, I was freed from feeling this ridiculous need to fit it all in on the actual holiday. Over the next few weeks there are some things I hope we get to:

• Holiday cookies
• Winter Solstice Cake or something else to honor the dark of the night
  
• This year I want to make some suet cakes for the birds. In years past we have made pine cone peanut butter bird feeders.
• Make holiday cards for close family and friends. I did a yule tree theme last year, not sure what my inspiration will be this year. I'm leaning toward a snowflake theme.
  
• Decorate the house with snowflakes and wintery things.
• Finish up on holiday gifts. I'm making lots of crocheted items. Jade wants to make fancy soap again so I picked up some more melt and pour glycerin soap and we have plenty of essential oils to add to make them to make the soap smell good.
• Some years we have made our own paper but we might not this year it depends how much of a crafting mood I will be in. I also love it when we have find some vintagey paper at the thrift store.
• This year the kids want a real tree but we have budget concerns so me might not.
• Plan our Winter Solstice meal and breakfast meal. In years past we have done cheese fondue to represent the light and chocolate fondue to represent the dark. Last year we did something different so we might do it different again this year but who knows.
• Inspired by the others traditions, this year I hope to get lots of balloons and blow them up to surprise the kids solstice morning or maybe we'll do it together.
  
• We plan to keep the gift giving for our family to a minimum partly because I want to focus on celebration rather than gifts and we don't have a lot of money for gifts this year.
• Jade wants to leave out sun cookies for the sun. So we will try and make them on the longest night.

As luck has it, Stephen needs to take time off this month or lose his vacation time so we will get to do more of the these things together as a family.

Happy Holidays

Our Winter Soltice

We had a pretty good Winter Solstice. The only challenge was the kids did not sleep well at all the on the longest night of the year so neither did I. So I was not the most cheery or patient mom this year. Let's just say that things did not go all that well. I feel pretty sad about that but it was what it was. We are going to try to do things differently next year. I do not like being cranky mom during the holidays. I want to be magic mom. I like that better.

We didn't make a big deal out of the gifts this year. Partly because that's our goal as we want to focus on the celebration and not the gifts and partly because we really didn't have the money for it. So I didn't make a much of it for the kids to get each other something or us something, let them lead they way with that. Corbin has not been interested in the gift giving so much. This year he made of package for his sister just before Solstice and after Solstice he put some packages together for me and his Dad. It was so very sweet. So much better than taking him to the store to buy something. Jade made sure mom and dad had goodies in our stockings this year. She bought it all with her allowance no less!

We started the evening by lighting our solstice candle, symbolically catching the light to carry to the the new year. The kids lit their own candle as well. It was lovely to see them embracing the season and adding their own spirit to celebration.

We shared a lovely dinner of cheese fondue and chocolate fondue. Everyone enjoyed it. Then each of the kids opened up a small gift, a mini lego kit and and we opened one gift for the family. We usually buy a few games for the family around this time of year. We got Carcassone. We had fun playing a round of the game then Stephen and the kids went to the Yule Vigil with the pagan group we hung out with lots long before kids. I stayed home because I was tired and wanted to go to bed.

The next morning we briefly woke up the sun and blew out our solstice candle. We bailed on our big breakfast we had planned because we were all so tired. So we plan to do something more simple next year and make the big breakfast on another day, maybe New Years.

I was relieved that the kids were pretty happy with their gifts, since we kept it small. Even though I don't want to focus on gift giving I like giving and want the kids to be happy with what they receive. I like surprising them too. We got Jade a cookie press and she has already made some with it. The bummer part is has stopped working so we will return it and see about getting a different one. One that won't break! Check out these trilobite cookies. We made some but I don't have pictures. We used mini m&m's for the eyes. We got Corbin some stickers for his skateboard and some fun leather stud jewelry. He was very pleased. He wants to be cool.

Jade and I spent the afternoon watching season one of Star Trek Voyager. Corbin and Stephen played on the gamecube. We are saving up for the Wii.

Happy New Year, Solstice, and I'm back

I had planned to share about our Solstice celebration a long time ago but after I rested up from not sleeping well the longest night of the year and helping the kids put together things they got for Solstice I got a kick me in the pants cold. All I wanted to do was snuggle on the couch, rest and watch movies. So that's what I did. Then after I got a bit better we were on our way to celebrate Christmas in Columbia with Stephen's family. Then I got distracted with my new toys from the holidays: decorative scissors, a wire art kit from Jade, and money for yarn! I have been crocheting lots now that I feel better...that could be a whole 'nother post:)

Our Solstice night was pleasant. The kids made s'mores by the fire while Stephen and I made dinner. We had a lovely meal of butternut squash soup(although not my favorite), cornbread and pizza for the kids to remind us of the sun. After dinner we played a few new games together: Whoonu and Farkel. Then we were all very tired so we made up a big pallet on the floor in our family room to snuggled in a wait for the suns return. Stephen told us a bedtime story about winter and the suns return. The story put me to sleep I was so tired. I didn't sleep well which was good because I had gifts to put under our Yule tree from the sun and to fill up our stockings.



Soon the kids were awake and ready to wake up the sun. Although before that the kids dug into their stockings.


Waking up sun! Wake Up! (I think it worked.)

Corbin got a Lego Dino Attack helicopter from one of his grand dads. While I helped Corbin build the helicopter Stephen go to work on breakfast brunch: Gingerbread Waffles with mulled maple syrup (real maple syrup) and whip cream with some sausages on the side. The sausage weren't the tasty which could have been because we substituted pork instead of using chicken. I think if we have this meal again I will buy premade sausages. The Gingerbread Waffles were fantastic. I wouldn't mind some right now. We made this hot cocoa a few nights before Solstice which is also divine. I plan to have some tonight while we finish the last of the gift giving season celebrating New Years Eve at my moms.


BLESSED SOLSTICE

The Sun is Back

and

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just 15 minutes

Today, I could share about the mittens I knit for the kids but I don't want to take the 15 minutes it would take to take the picture of the ones I finished yesterday for dear daughter. So I went looking though my drafts on blogger to dig out some content so I would have something to share with you today.

I found this draft about 15 minutes that I apparently didn't want to take 15 minutes to write up. This strategy is used by the Fly Lady to help keep your house cleaner and more organized and it really does work. The trick is you "have to" do 15 minutes and a few of them during the day.

I forget to use this strategy to get things done around the house. Instead I look at the dishes strewn on the counter and groan and think this will take forever. When I remember to set the timer and wash dishes for 15 minutes I find that most of the dishes have been done and I even wiped the counters down.

So go for it. Set that timer.

My list of things to do today:

Fold Laundry and put swayaway
Gifts for Hubby
Dishes as always
Sort bins and baskets from general pick up yesterday
Dust in the Family Room
wipe down tables
Vacuum in play room
Filing (done)
make grocery list for winter solstice
take photo of Jade's finished mittens
work on fingerless gloves for me and jade's sweater

Belated Fiber Friday: Stockings are done!

I just love them.  They are colorfun.  I'm going to hang them up now and enjoy them everyday until Winter Solstice.



From left to right: Dad, Mom, Girl Kid, Boy Kid.

Plenty of yarn left for a pair of stockings for my feet or maybe a super cute colorful baby sweater.

A Decadent Chocolate Cake

A Decadent Chocolate Cake

I had to brag for a bit because I just made the most fantastic Chocolate Mousse Cake for Winter Solstice this year. Often I make cakes and they taste fine but don't look so good. This one not only tastes delicious it looks beautiful. I decorated the top of the cake with a red flower fairy and silk leaves around the edges to cover up the messy cardboard the cake is on.

A birds-eye view

We want to eat cake!




Getting ready to sing a song for the sun

Not bad...But not my favorite

Thankful Thursday - An Uberlist for 2012

Why Thankful Thursday? It's one of my ideas for this year to write more on my blog and it's on my Uberlist for 2012 to express thanks. What does a to do list have in common with thankfulness? Because doing these things will enrich my life. Anything that enriches my life is something to be thankful for.

1. Enjoy cleaning house for me. I want a cleaner and more organized home. I don't want to resent doing it. It needs doing and it's better to enjoy it than to resent.

2. Be more organized and get stuff done I will say I will get done.

3. Play games with my cool kids.

4. Watch good movies and bad ones too.

5. Walk 3 days a week.

6. Knit a saddled shouldered sweater for Stephen.

7. Get the yoke sweater going for Jade that I will steek! Eeek!

8. Dye fiber and card it on the drum carder. Pick a color scheme. Spin it long draw. Enough to knit a sweater for me! -  I bought a lovely gray fleece.  I'll  dye some of it for the yoke.  

9. Work on long draw spinning. I want to spin soft lofty yarns. - Doing it! 

10. Go on dates with my husband.

11. Visit Wamego with the Fam - we have a coupon for the Wizard of Oz Museum

12. Take walks when it's beautiful outside.

13. Take a camera with me more often to take pictures

14. Dye with my natural dyes, indigo and cochineal.

15. Do some silk scarf dyeing with Jade using Safflower petals.

16. Dye silk scarves inspired by India Flint.

17. Zentangle on some clothes.

17. Make zentangle cards.

18. Get scanner set up in family room. Move printer into garoffice.

19. Set up garoffice so it's easy to put stuff away.

20. Get stuff off old computer and store things virtually and/or on thumb drives.

21. Get something to store thumb drives.

22. Save for Yarn School 2013!

23. Weave or sell the freekin' loom already and save up for the Wolf loom I really want. - Put the loom craigslist but not willing to sell at a loss. 

24. Get the color gamp napkin kit from Halycon or see if Yarn Barn can put one together for me.

25. Get up the nerve to sell my mom's 4H table loom. I can use the money for something fibery cool. - Also on craigslist.  Not takers so far.

26. Make beer for the first time.  - When to a friends house and helped brew and bottle some beer! 

27. Get out more and do stuff.

28. Shelving for the family room on either side of the fire place.

29. Start Blogging again. I have some ideas! 

30. Stephen and I need to get our ducks in a row like if the worst happens and now I take this out of the law. Nothing bad will happen. Nope not going to happen.

31. Start health care savings account. - Done! 

32. Roof on the house.

33. Paint some of the furniture I have around the house to revamp it.

34. New windows. For the whole house but we can start with the kitchen.

35. Read more about Zen practice and set aside specific time for it. - At the first of the year I was doing good.  I will get back to it.  I will. 

36. Attend more events at the UU fellowship in Lawrence.

37. Play piano. Take lessons. Practice. Something!

38. Make amigurumi. I have the urge to make toys again. - Made some toys.  It was fun.

39. Make some picture shelves like these here.

40. Review this list when I get bored.

41. Sew pajamas pants for me and the kids.  - Boy kids are done, girl kids are cut and ready to sew.

42. Sew some aprons - have this idea brewing to use old jeans.

43. Help Jade make jeans skirt. - About halfway done with this.

44. Play more video games with Corbin - at least talk about it lots.

45. Remember to breath.

46. Call and chat with my sister.

47. Keep in touch with family.

48. Go to an unschooling conference.

49. Get a job to pay for it all.

50. Build a time machine so I can do it all. That or find the time turner Hermione used.

51. Remind myself that this list doesn't have to be done this year.

52. Have fun

53. Enjoy life

54. Knit a sweater for Corbin. He said he wants blues.

55. Help Corbin sew some bags.

56. Blog about the uberlist.

57. Dye fiber in colors that work with the sweaters and things I have so I look less like a crazy yarn lady OR stop worrying about it and embrace crazy yarn lady person.

58. Keep going with the budgeting for the most part it's working.

59. Keep using google calender and getting reminders. It helps with number 2.

60. Budget some money so the kids and do some decorating for their rooms. Things like posters etc.

61. Finish painting bedroom doors.

62. Finish bathroom - fix tile - supposed to be on Stephens list.

66. Keep going to swing dancing with Stephen because it's fun.

67. This list doesn't have to end. I can add more to it all year long and cross things off if I decide it's not something that needs doing.

68. Celebrate Summer Solstice this year. I keep saying I want to do that and don't. It would be a nice balance to our Winter Solstice celebration.

69. Return to Uberlist regularly for inspiration. This is on here twice. That's a good thing.

70. Have people over to do more with fiber with others. - Had a Fiber Day at my house in April.   There was six of us.  We are going to do it again.  Yay!  

71. Be thankful. Express thanks.

added after posting

72. Finish working up spiral sweaters and get the pattern written up too so I can sell it!

73.  Get the garden in shape to do some with it this year.  We cut down some trees so we have more sun.