Oh my.

This morning my children were playing Thomas Trains in the living room when I heard Jonas say, “Maggie, you’re a b—–.”

Now, it sounded to my profanity accustomed ear that he just said “bitch”, so I called him in and asked him what he said.

“I said, “Maggie, you’re my best builder.”

“Oh. . .you didn’t say bitch?” I wanted to make sure because it really sounded like that was what I’d heard.

Jonas looked puzzled. “No.”

“Ok. Just checking, because that isn’t a very nice thing to say to someone and I just wanted to make sure you didn’t use that mean word.”

“Alright Mom!” He ran back to the trains where I overheard, “Maggie! We can’t say bitch because it’s not a nice word! Maggie! Listen to me! We can’t say bitch, ok?”

“Jonas. . .that’ll do, thanks.”

Motherhood: ya win some, ya lose some.

My house is moved.

MY HOUSE IS MOVED.

The old one, which was much more of a clean up and repair situation than it usually would have been, is clean. There are parts of the house that actually look better than when we moved in. Looking at the task from the beginning, I knew it was an absolutely impossibility for me. Not only was that too much work to give to anyone, but after being seriously ill and debilitated for over five months, that was no ordinary mess.

I let a lot slide in those months because I had to. Crayons on the wall, spots on the carpet, stickers glued to inappropriate surfaces- all were there for everyone to see. Honestly, it was embarrassing. The only thing that let me even show my face was knowing that I had done the best I could, even if it wasn’t good at all. That and the total cheerfulness of the people who came to help.

A young man at our church was in need of an Eagle Scout project, and he chose taking over my move and home repair. He enlisted tons of help from church members, his scouting group, Chris’ squadron, the Honor Guard, and friends. I do not know the total number of people who came, but I know there were well over thirty, at least. They worked all day hauling furniture, scrubbing, cleaning carpets, making repairs (one poor guy had to totally reassemble my old entertainment center when it died on the way over), and doing huge amounts of lawn work. In addition to all this work, the Scout organized a lunch brought in by volunteers so everyone was fed as well. If I had tried to do any of this myself it would have been impossible. I am so grateful.

I spent most of my time at the new house, unpacking and directing traffic. Every time I dropped by the old house, I wanted to run around hugging all these fantastic people I was so happy and thankful they were there.

Last night, I went to dinner with a friend and visited Lowe’s for a few minor items that I needed to set up the new house. I also went out and bought a stack of thank you cards. Today, while I rest my body since I totally over did it yesterday, that will be my project. I don’t know if I will be able to fully convey my thanks. I wish I could send each helper a hundred pieces of happiness.

I love this Cosmo Cricket line because while many sheets are the very traditional reds and greens, there are a few that are just beautiful wintery blues. These are my favorite pieces, and seem so peaceful to me. I made these tags by cutting tags within tags and doing a lot of layering. The stamps are by Stampin’ Up. You can add a lot of impact by matting and adding extra layers like these. Also- all of the stitching is faked with brown pen.

These came out so well, I plan to experiment with them in card sizes.

The goal this year is to have a very simple and handmade Christmas. The closer my gifts can be to Earth friendly, the happier I will be. We need less glitz, plastic and commercialism and more peace, joy and heartfelt. I am learning that it requires a lot of foresight and planning.

It is EASY to walk into a chain store, grab the nearest hunk of plastic emblazoned with your child’s character of choice, ring it up for less than $24.99 and hand it to the gift-wrap people to make festive. That takes all of about ten minutes, not including the inevitable twenty minutes in line at the checkout (shudder). The average holiday budget will allow for a few similar purchases, so if plastic hunk #1 fails to enthrall, plastic hunks 2, 3, and 4 will probably overwhelm the child into feeling like a suitable holiday haul was made.

It is much harder to realize that quality handmade means higher cost. Most people can’t buy as much stuff as they would normally buy because their holiday budget just won’t stretch as far. This is not a bad thing. When I consider how many toys I have thrown away in the past few weeks preparing for this move, it really does boggle the mind. Many of the toys we had purchased had been temporary fixes, providing entertainment for a few hours or days and then being tossed aside for the next cheap thrill.

As we began to pack up the house for this move, I began to do some serious cleaning out. I made over two thirds of our toys disappear into the trash or donation box, and I wondered how the children would react. They haven’t even noticed. In fact, I think I could half the box that is left and they would still not notice. Instead, they are ever busier with their art supplies and dress up clothes, and the handful of favorite toys that were left got some attention.

This leads me to believe that my children don’t really need toys for Christmas. A token one or two new, thoughtfully selected items will more than do it. Maggie is getting a lovely doll with some doll clothes and some books. She is also scoring one of these wooden sewing machines for her birthday a week before Christmas. Jonas is getting art supplies, a puzzle(nothing terribly organic about this, but at least i could compost it), books, and I plan to sew him a knight’s costume provided I have the time (which I think I will). The Killian children will also be getting a set of hand carved forest animals to share. And that is enough. That is all that I think my children can truly appreciate and care for.

I looked high and low for good handmade items, and ideas for stuff I can make myself. There are a ton that I love. Etsy is a wealth of creativity and truly honors the spirit of buying handmade. In these economic times I think it is important to value these cottage creators and your own industry. In a time when the value of a dollar and human labor is starting to be called into question, it is a good time to use yours wisely. We vote every time we spend a dollar, and where we spend it and what we choose to support is reflected in it. It is impossible to maintain our current 1st world standard of living without dramatically altering the way industry is currently set up, but we can make some choices that value the needs of the individual and the Earth, and those choices add up.

I am trying to figure out how to explain this to my children. Jonas has been asking many questions about what happened to Thanksgiving and why the Christmas decorations are up all over. I think that is my springboard. Of course my children are ogling the new toys at the store, and Jonas wants to know why Santa doesn’t bring everything on his list, or why he sometimes gets items he doesn’t even want. I admit that although I put enough thought into the things that he is receiving this year to be very certain they will be appreciated and used, I am worried about potential disappointment from him on Christmas morning when there are no plastic action figures or new video game systems. He has been warned that these items will not come, but I still wonder if six years of commercialism have tainted him beyond repair. I have noticed that he is always very concerned with getting and that advertisements are very influential on him. It makes me wish that I had done a few things differently from day one, but live and learn, right? Honestly, I could have done much worse.

I wish I had started out with a more natural, organic approach to childhood consumerism, but I was raised in the 80s and trained to be very focused on being a ‘have’ and not a ‘have not’. I also wish that TV and tons of quick, cheap toys hadn’t been so relied on, but situations like debilitating illness and a child with severe ADHD demanded that something be done for my sanity, and I do not chastize myself for using any tool I had to manage the impossibility of some of these situations. Also, as I have delved into the world of natural toys and kid products, I must say that there is the exact same pull toward excess. I have seen many pictures of gorgeous Waldorf inspired play rooms with many more natural, heirloom quality toys than my children currently have in plastic. No matter what trend you ascribe to, the urge to buy is strong. People like to have stuff.

This constant drive for stuff (which I suffer from myself, so don’t think I’m being all holier than thou here- I’m just examining myself, my children and our motivations to make some conscious choices), is also making me set up some plans and goals for non-stuff centered activities to help focus and create tradition and bring the Christmas spirit. We always do baking and attend a few parties, and we also read Christmas books in the evenings in December. I collect Christmas children’s books (see, I need my stuff) so we have many on hand that I always enjoy pulling out and re-reading each year. I would like to do a few more Christmas crafts with the kids this year, perhaps dough ornaments. I would also like to see us give a little service. Mostly, I want to be able to take it as it comes, and find enjoyment and peace, rather than rushing and chaos. That should probably be my goal for the entire next year. Enjoy the moment, live simply, choose people over things.

These paper baubles are extremely simple to make- so simple that you can even have your little ones help!

Cut strips of paper the same length (I did 6 inches).
Punch holes in both ends.
Put a brad through the holes securing all papers together.
Fan out the papers to create a ball.
Tie on any embellishments and a string to hang them by and trim your tree or banister or anywhere else you want to hang some cheer!

I used Cosmo Cricket “Oh Joy” papers

I’m nearly finished packing up and I find that I have a number of empty layouts and mini albums that need homes. If you are interested in making some of my work yours, or giving it as a Christmas gift, just drop me an e-mail or comment here. You can view the ones I have here on my flickr account.

Since I am hoping to move these, and maybe buy some new curtains for the house we’re moving to, I have discounted prices on nearly everything. My usual custom rates are no where near this.

This is a peek of the December kit that I created for My Scrapbook Nook Kits! If you would like one to come to your door as a Christmas gift to YOU, pop over here and tell me what your favorite section of the Nook message board is!

Winner will be drawn at random on the 21st!

A beautiful doll traveled to our home all the way from Canada after being lovingly and painstakingly created by artist Christina Platt of Bamboletta. This doll was made to be sweet and darling and to look very much like the new little girl who would love her next Christmas morning.

Her warm brown eyes glowed, and her cuddly pink sweater was just right over her mermaid covered pink dress!

She was perfect, all the way down to her tiny, cute shoes.

But deep inside, this doll had a dream. . .

You see, the mermaids on her dress just weren’t enough.

She dreamed of fins and flippers!

She dreamed of seashells. . .

In her heart of hearts, she wanted to be a girl by day and a beautiful mermaid at night. She wanted to swim in the sea and be princess of the oceans just like the little girl she was going to wanted!

So. . .the little girl’s mother got an idea from Amy Karol. . .and then saw more finny ideas at Bamboletta. . .and decided to take her very small, backwards sewing skills and fly patternless by the seat of her creative pants to make not only a pretty funky-awesome removable mermaid tail with scales- BUT to create Yae-Bow covers out of seashells as well!

What the heck is a Yae-Bow, do you ask? Yae-Bow is the little girl’s word for “elbow”, and also what the little girl thinks breasts are called, despite numerous conversations to the contrary on the subject. Breasts, bosoms, boobs, bazoombas. . .they’re all Yae-Bows to the Magpie.

Now the little doll is happy! She is everything she wanted to be! At least until the little girls’ mother had an idea for a fairy costume. . .but that is a dream for another day.

—Footnote:

Are you LOVING this doll? I am. I keep telling myself it is for Maggie, but really. . .I kind of want her for myself. Bamboletta Blog is doing a drawing for a free doll on Wednesday, so be sure to sign up. I know I’ve got my fins crossed