Because we needed a little Christmas now

Did anyone else have to mop up the puddle of tears after the entire team counted while one of their own did 500 step-ups on The Biggest Loser last night? Because OH MY TEAMWORK.  And was I the only one blowing through a box of Kleenex when Christina confronted Emily's mom about not inviting Max to her birthday party on Parenthood?  Because OH MY BEING A CHAMPION FOR YOUR KID.

Sob fest on NBC last night.  I'm sorry to say, Tuesday night TV tears have become such a regular occurrence that the Hubs is used to it.  

In other news, we decided to go for the gusto and pull out the Christmas decorations today.  Don't think it wasn't accompanied by the Hubs' rendition of "It's the most worstiful time of the year" as he carried the sixth box down our deadly flight of stairs, because it most certainly was.  But we powered through.  I got most of the lovelies up today while the Hubs was at work and while Newbie was napping.  Newbie did help sort through some of the stuff before crashing for his nap.  He was totally taken by the snow globe I got from my grandmother when I was in first grade and had to get stitches in my mouth to prevent the gap between my two front teeth that I now have.  Awesome.  It was worth it though.  It was worth all the Novocaine and chocolate milkshakes when I was seven just to see the look on his face when he saw his first Christmas snow globe...

Yes, that's an awful picture.  But that's just something we've all come to expect from me.



So precious.  You may be looking at that schmattering of Christmas decor and thinking, "Wow.  Where's all the burlap and what's up with the hokey penguin pot holder and the Bath and Body Works ornament bag Christmas decorations?"  And you would be right. But the thing is, I love cheesy Christmas because cheesy Christmas is what memories and traditions are made of, baby.  And I am all about the memories and traditions.  There is not much in my Christmas bounty that wasn't passed on to me from my mom or made for me by my grandmother or bought at the Icing when I was in middle school stolen from my parents' house when I moved out and got married.  I just love having pieces from the past sitting out to remind me of my best Christmas memories and to encourage us to build new ones.  I've got some burlappy Christmas stuff going on too, don't you worry.  But I just couldn't part with all of my treasures- they mean a lot more than some jingle bells I picked up at the Hob Lob for three bucks. 

Speaking of traditions, growing up, my sister and I had fun felt over-the-top colorful stockings that we used year after year.  No Pottery Barn stockings for us, baby.  My mom made ours, and I adored mine for years and years and years.  It had a HUGE Christmas tree with beaded ornaments and a little mouse tucked into a quilt at the toe of the stocking.  Then when I got married, my mom made me a set of stockings for the Hubs and I, and one for Opie too.  They're felt and cute and a little more low-key than the one I had growing up.  Which is OK because I'm a big girl now.

But you know who isn't big?  Newbie.  And you can guess where this is headed.  I got online and found a felt stocking that looked similar in style to the ones my sister and I had growing up, in all their bright colored, sequined and felted glory.  I sent my grandmother the link to the stocking, and she agreed to make Newbie's Christmas stocking.  JOY OF JOYS!  I have been waiting on pins and needles to see the finished product.

So this afternoon, Newbie and I were decorating. Then something STRAIGHT out of the best Christmas movie you can imagine happened.  As I was going through boxes of decorations and as Newbie hung out in his exersaucer, the postman came by with a package containing the stocking my grandmother made for Newbie!  YES!!!  I was so excited, I opened it right away and showed my little man.  He was thrilled- the picture below is blurry because he was jumping and squealing when he saw all the beads and sparkles.  Such fun!  I am so happy I have a treasure made by grandmother to hang next to the stockings my mom made for the Hubs and me.  Thank you, Mutte!!!

It just looks fantastic.  I love love love it.  Now you can see where my sister gets all her sewing talent.  And I'm still wondering why it skipped my gene pool?!? That's alright.  I can rock one mean hot glue gun.

After way too much garland and glitter and Willow Tree Angel Nativity figurines, and LED lighting, the Hubs got home from work, and we all sprawled out in the living room together to watch Newbie go to town on his "Little People" Nativity.  Let me tell you something, those donkeys taste GOOD.

Am I the only one who laughs when I see the Great Wall of China in the background of all the pics featuring my living/dining room?  Because it cracks me up.  What a lunatic that dog is.  And I know, I know, it's not the dog that's the idiot.  It's the owners.  And that, my friends, is what makes the whole thing so stinking funny, because if I didn't laugh, I would have to cry.

On that note, I will leave you this evening.  Wishing you all sweet dreams and plenty of Z's! 

Snoozin'

Popping in one last time today to wish you all a wonderful evening.

Newbie's crashed in his crib for the night and Opie and I are waiting for the Hubs to get home from work.  I just heard myself say the following to Op when he rang his bells to go outside:

"Nope.  Your dad's not home yet, so that's just too bad.  You can just poop on the floor."

Maybe it's time for a little R&R, eh?.  Apparently this Mama's whooped.  Hopefully I won't have to pay for it in some heavy carpet cleaning tomorrow morning. =)

Playgroup rocked his socks off

"I HEART playgroup."

-Newbie

*The fabulous pictures below were taken by  this fine woman.  Hop over to her blog and check her out- she has some beautiful pictures, a sweet little boy, and a super awesome camera strap she just up and made herself a night or two ago.  What the what.  That's what I'm screamin'.  Too cute for words!

The other pics were taken by me and my rad cell phone.  Believe me, you'll be able to figure out which is which. =)

Yes, you have that one right.  That's one of the pictures I took.  But I'm thinking his adorable outfit maybe makes up for the grain and the lack of focus.  Maybe.

Oh my heavens.



I had so much fun with some wonderful girlfriends today, and I had SUCH a blast watching Newbie interact with his fellow littles.  The boy was a riot.  He was the youngest of the bunch, and he seemed pretty peeved that all of his buddies were cruisin' around.  I think it's good motivation to make it happen.  He is a roller and a scootcher, but he has yet to rise to the occasion and start crawling.  He got so close today, I thought it was going to be a kodak moment, but it didn't quite happen.  He watched his buds work their way around the living room, and he was just thrilled to have some playmates hanging out. 



We could stand to work on our social skills, however, as he was gently taking any toys the big kids had that he could get his hands on.  Which I thought was funny....but not exactly endearing.  =)  And he affectionately tried to pull some hair, which means "I love you!" in Newbie language, but not everyone is savvy to Newbie language, so I had to put the kabosh on the hair pulling.



He was pleased as punch to have the gang over, and I think the other littles and the mamas were too.  There will be more playgroups in our future, despite the fact that Chex mix was on the menu.

Here's Newbie with his buddies....this was right as everyone was getting ready to crash.  They were all glazed over and a little whiny.  I thought it was funny because they were ALL singing the same tune: "Feed me some more or take me home so I can go to sleep.  Party's over, folks."

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: Newbie's stealth toy swiping. 

The sweet little girl on the left is just a doll, and her big brother in the yellow was such a trooper given that he was the only one moving around on two legs.  The little guy with the load of red hair is just the sweetest little boy- you can check out his mama's blog here.  We missed a few homies who had to bow out for the day, but we had fun with our little crowd.

And all the kids were pretty fascinated with Opie.  I think Opie even got some Chex mix out of the deal. =)

Newbie crashed after all the excitement and I got a chance to spruce up the blog.  Two things: I ADORE Christmas, and I ABHOR blog templates.  Blech.  I apologize to those of you who don't decorate until after Thanksgiving.  I hope this isn't messing with your holiday mojo. If it is, close your eyes and pretend it isn't here until next Friday. I just couldn't control myself after Santa shopping last Saturday.  Decos come out gradually over the next few days.  Can't wait!

I'm off to find some grub. I am loving leftovers today.  Hope y'all have a fabulous afternoon!

Is it bad that instead of coffee cake, I'm serving Chex mix?

Oh gosh.

Sorry about the way-too-stimulating wanna-be Christmas background I have going on with the blog-O today....as soon as Newbie takes another 4 hour nap, I will fix it. =)

I'm so glad God touched some of your hearts the way He touched mine with those two words, "He repairs" in yesterday's post.  Thanks for letting me know God used it to touch you...it makes it easier to be vulnerable when I know God is using my vulnerability and its not just hanging out there somewhere in cyber space. =)

Newbie and I have a mini playgroup at our house planned this morning.  In my infinite wisdom, I decided there just wasn't time to do any baking or go to the store, so we'll be having a gourmet combination of Chex mix and coffee for snacks. Awesome. Hostess FAIL!  At least you can't burn Chex mix!

Newbie was up at the crack of dawn today, and by 7:30 had already headed down for his nap.  We are working through a grueling process of trying to get him to sleep through the night again.  I don't know what happened, but a couple weeks ago he decided he wanted to wake up for an hour between 3 and 4, and it has taken its toll on my sanity. He's not sleeping well and neither are we. We are trying tidbits of letting him "cry it out" but I hate hate hate it.  I can't seem to let him go long enough or with any consistency before I break and go in and hold him because it just rips me up inside.  And the worst part?  We have a video monitor, and we saw him PULL DOWN the bumper, PEER THROUGH THE CRIB SLATS, and then heard him cry, "Mamama ma ma ma ma mamamama!"

Have mercy.

He was looking for me.

And wondering where the heck his mama was when he woke up and couldn't fall back asleep.

That was it.

I was done.

The Hubs is going to have to straight jacket me for the plan to work.  Because I just can't do it.  IT GOES AGAINST NATURE, I TELL YOU!

On a lighter note, I am wearing plaid flannel today.  I love plaid flannel. There's just something about it on a chilly November day.  It is no velour, but I love it all the same.

I'm off to pull out some coffee and Chex mix....and now you have decided that you will never come to a play group at my house.  I'm not going to lie, that is probably not a bad decision.  But we would love to have you.  As long as you like Chex mix.

Wishing you all a happy plaid flannel kind of day!

Two words.

This morning in church we sang David Crowder Band's "Glory of It All", and there was one line that resonated in me so fully it seemed to echo across the deepest canyons and the darkest crevices of my heart.

"He repairs."

Heads-up.  We are about to get for real.

When I heard those words yesterday, I realized that I haven't been trusting that "He repairs".

I saw that because of all the ways I fall short of the godly woman I want to be, I had started to buy into the lie that I was beyond fixing.  That I was an unholy mess that was too messy.  Even for God.  Because I love Him,  And I'm still a mess.  I had fallen into reasoning that because I've given Him my heart and then still managed to get messy, there was no way He was going to stick with me.  I had convinced myself that all of my mess -my sin, my short-comings, my failures- were just getting too ugly for Him to repair. Too far gone for Him to fix.  I had begun to fear that He wouldn't bother because He'd shown me His mercy and grace and I still couldn't seem to pull it together.  

It had all fallen apart.  And I had started to think that the mess was getting too big for Him to clean up.  Because He'd already cleaned it up before.

What a lie!

Yesterday God reminded me of the refreshing truth that "He repairs."

And I started to think about that mess...

Those two words hit me like a freight train and beat down the walls of self-doubt and insecurity and condemnation.  They wiped out the messiest messes hidden in the deepest places of my heart and obliterated all of it with the Truth that when it all falls apart, He repairs.

Not a single one of us is too messy for Him to repair.

Over and over and over again.

Even me.

Even messy me.

Again. And again. And again. And again.

 

He repairs.

This afternoon I am so grateful I serve a God who doesn't give up on a work in progress.  I am so grateful that He continuously repairs.

 "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Phillipians 1:6

And this afternoon, I feel so blessed to have a son to share God's truth with.  I am so thrilled to be able to tell Newbie that God repairs even the messiest messes- to tell Him that we serve a God who will never give up on us.  This week we are busting out the Christmas decorations, and I consider it the utmost JOY to share the story of Jesus' birth with my son.  Words simply don't contain the depth of my desire for my son to know Jesus and to follow Him.  I am bursting with excitement about sharing Christ's love with my son this Christmas.  I can't wait to tell him how it all started.  In fact, I didn't wait.  I got a little overly excited today and may have opened up the Nativity my mom bought for him a little early.  I unwrapped each piece and set them out for him to explore.  He immediately began gnawing on one of the three wisemen.  He's a hands-on learner. =)  I am so looking forward to helping him understand the magnitude of Christmas and the truth that Christ rescues and repairs, again and again and again.

God is so good.  Praying you are overwhelmed by His goodness today!

"Oh the Glory of it all is:

He came here

For the rescue of us all

that we may live

For the glory of it all

After all falls apart
He repairs 

He repairs

After night

comes the light

dawn is here

it’s a new day

everything will change

things will never be the same

we will never be the same"

-David Crowder Band, "Glory of it All"

Ya better watch out...

Santa and Mrs. Claus are headed out to do some Christmas shopping today.

It is going to be a lot of fun because this little boy is at the top of the NICE list.  I mean, the hat alone put him in the top 3.  His overall content and giggly demeanor got him the rest of the way there.

I love that sweet little boy and can't wait to play Santa for the first time.  Ho ho ho!

Santa may have to find this mama some new flannel pj's too.  Because the chilly weather has finally arrived for good, and I cut the elastic out of the waistbands of all of my pj's last year when I was a preggo.  I'm just sayin'.  Not sure I made the nice list, but I'm keepin' my fingers crossed because homie needs some new pj's.

After today, just about all of my Christmas shopping will be done!  WOOHOO!  I don't know how I got so on the ball this year, but I love that I won't be stressed out about getting it done in super-busy December. I'm a spazoid when it comes to Christmas shopping, and I usually end up running through Target on black Friday like a chicken with my head cut off. Not this year, baby! It helps that we're doing some homemade gifts this year and that I gave my life away to Snapfish last weekend.  I highly recommend going the homemade gift route- it is such fun.  If you have a seamstress for a sister like I do, however, the trick is to set your expectations low cuz there ain't no way I'm gonna beat her in the creativity department.  The good news is, I have a cute baby to sweeten my side of the deal. =)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Squash Monster

All I can say is, it is a good thing I got off the phone when I did this afternoon because my son was sitting on a squash monster.  It was Blow-Out City.  

Yikes.

In other news, we hit the mall today with a friend of mine for some family photo outfit shopping.  For her.  Not me.  I lived the family photo shopping nightmare once for my family already this year, and I am in no hurry to do it for myself again.  Shopping for a friend's family photo outfits is a lot less stressful.  I'd even call it fun.  Newbie, however, was not convinced.  I think he would have enjoyed the day a little more if I had let him stay home and play with his blocks.  But I was sick of my four walls, so we hit the road. And it was a successful trip, complete with red plaid button-down shirt and sweater vest.

 

Then we got home and the creative juices started flowing and the exersaucer was callin' Newbie's name, and I cranked out this little puppy:

Except the "N" was replaced with a dark brown felt letter.  The above pic just shows off my mad Internet editing skills.  You know, "N" for Newbie.  The slipcover was made out of a flannel receiving blanket that matches his crib set.  I am pretty impressed with myself.  The old pillow cover was one I've had since high school.  Yeah.  It was time.

Speaking of time, I should probably make sure I am not burning down the kitchen.  Chicken's on the stove, and enchiladas are begging to be made.  Y'all have a fantastic Friday night!!!

PS- I am currently about 6 activities away from finishing the Sprinkles and Wrinkles Fun Family Activity Advent Calendar that is going to rock your socks off.  I can't wait to finish it.  Mostly because it is taking forever.  Intense December planning is in the process.  I'm doing all the work so you don't have to.You'rewelcome. =)