december

And I’m officially caught up!!


All templates are part of the Monthly pack from Cathy Zielske.  The kit is Just Because by Three Paper Peonies.  And the twill is from the Week in the Life Twill by Ali Edwards.

See the other months here.

I'm back to using Project Life for 2012!!

november

All templates are part of the Monthly pack from Cathy Zielske.  The kit is Just Because by Three Paper Peonies.  And the twill is from the Week in the Life Twill by Ali Edwards.
See the other months here.

logan: 48 months

Logan, this month:

You are:

• So excited it is December! You woke up cheering “It’s December, it’s December!” on December 1st! You have a lot to be excited about in December – Christmas AND your birthday!
• Convinced you will be 40 pounds and 4 feet tall when you turn four. Not quite. But you were just shy of 40 pounds and are 40 inches tall at four!
• Super cuddly and I LOVE IT!

You say:

• “Is that REALLY the truth, Mom?” (suspiciously!)
• “Doody section”. Yep, no idea there.
• “Budget” and giggle uncontrollably as if it is a potty word.

You made:

• A lot of fun out of a roll of bubble wrap when we laid it out on the floor like a runway. :)
• TONS of crafts when Kristen was in town visiting! And ornaments for everyone for Christmas!
• Me super proud when you helped us pick out the toys and take them for donation before the holidays. You have such a kind heart, buddy.

You, quoted:

• “I hate Best Buy! You can only buy things that are like fifty bucks!”
• “Daddy, have you ever heard of a bed dreidel? It’s a bed that is shaped like a dreidel that spins and spins!”
• “Nuttin’ means coal, right Mama?” When listening to I’m getting nuttin’ for Christmas.

I can’t believe you are four already, baby. The other day you told me you didn’t want to be a real hockey player anymore (what you said you wanted to be when you grew up). When I asked what you wanted to be, you said, “Your baby, Mommy. I want to be little forever.” You will ALWAYS be my baby, little man. I could not be more proud or adoring of you. You have made this crazy thing called motherhood the greatest adventure of my life. Every day is more special and a LOT more fun with you in our lives. You bring us immense joy and overwhelm us with love.

Love you more than there are stars in the sky, buddy!

logan: 47 months

Logan, this month:

You are:

• Wolverine for Halloween! Too bad you upchucked and didn’t much feel like Trick or Treating!
• Obsessed with the Aristocats movie. You are particularly fond of Marie. Of course. :) You also enjoyed watching Pocahontas for the first time this month!
• A hockey fan! We went to see the Avalanche and you had a great time. You got a lottery ticket from the blimp that flies over and won forty bucks!
• A Lego maniac! Every single day I drop you off at school, you pull out the Legos first thing and ask me to work with you for awhile.
• The best big cousin to Duncan. You sang him lots of songs while we were visiting and held him for a little like a big boy!

You say:

• “Lame!” when I sing you a song. Yep, don’t like that one!
• “But I like to be cold!” when I ask you to put your coat on.

You made:

• Me super proud when you were so patient while we were delayed at the airport headed to see Auntie and Uncle. :)
• Me put a little mark (in marker, of varying shapes) on your hand every day when I drop you off so when you look at it you know I’m thinking of you!

You, quoted:

• While having a tickle fight (super serious) “Guys, the more you make me laugh the sooner I’ll turn into the Joker!”
• When we got on our plane to head to San Fran, I told you that we were flying on the plane with the antelope. You replied “Does it give us cantaloupe?”

Love you more than there are stars in the sky, buddy!

one little word 2012

Ali Edwards began a tradition five or six years ago to select “One Little Word” in lieu of New Year’s traditions. One word to focus on for the year – one word to keep your purpose clear and driven.

I’ve never participated in this concept. I’ve never been one to be too focused on making New Year’s resolutions (and even worse at keeping them if I did make them). Last year I attempted the Happiness Project and dropped off the bandwagon quickly. Boiling down an effort to improve myself into one little word is both appealing and frightening. Appealing in the sense of simplifying, frightening because I might choose the wrong word.

I’ve spent a few days pondering my goals for myself, for our family, for 2012. And there is one big overlying theme – we have too much excess, too many distractions. We’ve been blessed with so many things in life – both in terms of people and material things. But those materials things are getting in the way of what is truly important in life, and they definitely do not bring me lasting joy. I know I can’t make this change for my entire family, but I’m hoping by setting an example, I can affect a positive change in all of our lives.

So my “one little word” for 2012 is Less.

Less technology. Less web-time. And yes, less blog-time.

Less junk food. Less eating out.  Less excuses for not exercising.

Less spending. Less shopping at Amazon, Target and craft/scrapbook stores and sites (eek!).  Less grocery shopping without a list!

Less possessions. Less clutter.  Less of what we don’t use.

Less stress in December by making 1 handmade gift a month. :)

Less over-analyzing. Less self-deprecation. Less excuses. Period.

My hope is that all this “less” will bring me more of what matters. More focused time with my husband and son. More time and energy to do the things that I truly enjoy – crafting, scrapbooking, baking, and even a bit of blogging. More living with intent. More living in the moment.

If you are interested, Ali has an online class for her “One Little Word” program that looks fantastic. Normally, my interest in something like this would get me jumping into buying the class right away. But I’m going with the “less spending” and “less web-time” and am practicing restraint. I am going to give this a shot on my own!

Happy New Year! What are your resolutions?

Merry Christmas!

Yep, I’m still here! Just have a holiday to do lists a mile long and trying to simplify where I can. Which means this sad little blog gets no love this month, except for this holiday card post!!

Love this free holiday card template from Rebecca at Simple as That! I ordered my cards pretty early from Shutterfly so I didn’t see this cute template until it was too late. But I thought I’d share it as an ecard from us to you. Happy holidays!!

30 days of gratitude: days 22, 23 and 24

(image from One Little Mama)

Day 22: I am so grateful for a clean house. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to afford having cleaners come in every two weeks (I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I do) and walking in a clean house after work is AMAZING!!

Day 23: Today I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to go to lunch at my son’s school. He was thrilled to pieces to have me there. It was fun to try their “Stone Soup”. :) I just loved spending time with the little guy during my regular work day!

Day 24: Yes, I know that is tomorrow! But I already know what I’m going to be grateful for - the opportunity to be with my new nephew in San Francisco for Thanksgiving!!! Yay!