Waste Not, Want Not

I scored a roasting pan for $5 at Cost Plus World Market the other day.  It came in such a nice box that I really didn't want to throw it away... So I brushed the box with a few coats of white paint and cut out some holes to turn it into a little play house for Caiden.  I feel like Made by Joel would be proud... He is the king of simple play things.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm realizing that I'm as bad as my kids.  They steal any box leftover over from a trip to Costco and fill it with all sorts of random things.  I usually find a few milk boxes with lots of holes and scribbles all over them kicking around the house with random objects rattling around inside... I finally work up the courage to try to throw them away and I get very heated objections!  Well... Waste not, want not, right??

A Love Note From Elliott

Let's be honest: There are lots of reasons to not want to have kids be a parent.  You see your friend's kids being monsters, you notice the lack of order in their house, you see how tired the parents are and how annoying it might be to have to be consistent all the time.  These things are true.  Being a parent is hard, dedicated work.  Being a parent magnifies all your faults and forces you to look within and change, it forces you to practice selflessness (and nobody enjoys that!).

But you know what?  For all its hardships, being a parent is worth it.

Especially when you get little love notes like this:

("I love you Momma, I love you as much as a lion loves his cubs"--Elliott, age 6)

I happened upon this love note left for me and my heart felt like it might burst.  It feels like that now as I look it over again.  I love my little munchkins and I am so thankful for them!  I learn so much about our Creator through my relationship with my kids and I know I've grown a lot as a person as well. But sometimes its just a simple, selfish enjoyment.  I love these little notes!  I love having these two little people around me who love me so unquestioning.  And plus, they're just so darn cute!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

The fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Psalm 127:3-5

More of my thoughts on this topic here... 

Santa's Busy, Are You?

Have you gotten the Christmas planning itch, yet?  Word around the web seems to be that its almost time to break out the Christmas music, which is exactly how I've been feeling.

I haven't quite pulled out decorations or Christmas CDs, but I've started planning.  I have my notebook scribbled in and gift ideas floating around in my head and on paper.

Giverslog has put out a clever week by week holiday organizer printout where you can schedule in from now until Christmas what needs to be planned and done in time for Christmas.  Find the printout here.

Another holiday-esque thing I'm contemplating is this Maple Walnut Custard Pie.  It sounds amazing.  

I always enjoy hand making at least some of my gifts, but hesitate sharing them here in case of spoiling the surprise for the recipients.  But I've resolved to share at least a few of my favorite DIY present ideas.

What about you?  Any Christmas aspirations up your sleeve?  How do you prepare for the holidays?  Any favorite "go-to" Christmas gifts you'd like to share?

5 Minute Pillows

In one of my feeble attempts at decorating a few years back, I bought three couch cushions; two of them didn't have covers.  I always meant to find some covers or make some covers, but I suffer from a few diseases that prevented me from doing that.  I have indecisiveness disease, fear of picking design elements disease, fear of the unknown process disease, procrastination disease, and lastly, inability to act unless certain of procedure disease.  All of these things prevented me from using my pillows, so there they sat, stored, for a few years until last night.  I happened upon this 5 Minute Simple Pillow Tutorial that suddenly pushed me over the hump (many humps) and into the sewing room (dining room table).  I think you find the tutorial great for people suffering from the "inability to act unless certain of procedure" disease (ITAUCOPD).  Kinda gives you that little "umph" to try it, huh?

I used a (vintage?) table cloth for the rectangular pillow and an old sham fabric plus miscellaneous scraps for the two square pillows.  This was a fun project and additionally, allows me to report to my friend, Toni, that I have indeed done some sewing lately.

DIY Treasure Hunt Party Game

Caiden was very specific about the details of her 4th birthday party.  She specifically requested to have her presents hidden so she could have a treasure hunt with a treasure map to find the gifts.  I thought I could make that happen.  It turned out to be a big hit with all the kids and made present time a lot more fun, too.  Once they found the gifts, all the kids helped lug the loot to a central area where they made a pile and all circled around to open them up.  Nobody even seemed sad that Caiden was the only one to get to keep the treasure!  They all seemed to have a sense of pride in finding those gifts and were just too happy to be a part of making it all happen.

To do this yourself, simply: Hide something, leave clues, and make a treasure map.

All you really need is:

1)paper
2)pencil
3)imagination
4)treasure

You might also want, but don't necessarily need:

5)envelopes
6)tape

I put 4 clues into white envelopes and taped them in the locations pointed out on the map (this was for a 4 yr. old, so we kept it really simple).  Once it was time to hunt, I told everybody to put on their eye patch (for effect) and handed them the map, instructing them to find the clues and read them to find out where the treasure was hidden.

I made sure to make it clear that the treasure they needed to find was the birthday girl's presents and she needed everybody's help to find them!

Our map led from the 'START' words to a corner in the fence where they found the first clue; it said, "Look in another corner for your next clue." Then, "Look under something blue that you can walk up." Then, "Go to a girl's room to find another clue." Finally, "Look inside a box that is old and is outside to find the treasure."

I hope you try this and make sure to take lots of pictures and let us know how it goes!