On It Already Being Advent

or alternately, Where Did November Go?

Does anyone else feel like they blinked and found themselves transported from Halloween to the first week of Advent?  I suppose it could be the whole having a newborn and not exactly sleeping thing that's skewing my sense of time, but it did seem to fly by exceptionally fast this year.  I also don't have much in terms of documenting what we've been up to since I've hardly pulled my camera out at all which is a shame because, again, the whole having a newborn thing.  Newborns are adorable and should have their picture taken.  Frequently.  I did manage to get a decent family picture for our Christmas cards using my camera's automatic timer and a "tripod" which was actually two ladders and an old board we found in the yard so at least there's that.  We are very fancy here--and also it might be time for an upgrade in my camera equipment.  

All the grandparents out there can take that as a thinly veiled ultimatum.  You want pictures of your latest grandchild during the dark and dismal days of winter, I need an external flash :)  

I'm feeling pretty good about our Christmas preparedness here, even if it does feel as though we're speeding towards it at an unnaturally fast clip.  The presents are all purchased, not all wrapped mind you but purchased.  Present wrapping is one of my love languages though, so that's not a chore so much as a treat for me.  All the nativities are out, as well as the nutcrackers and Christmas books and I've got it on pretty good authority that St. Nicholas is bringing some excellent new additions along with the gold coins on his feast day this year.  Thanks to Trader Joe's and their boxwood wreaths our Advent wreath was up and running in time for its first Sunday lighting.  And in an Advent miracle I was able to easily locate the candles the boys rolled last year since I apparently had the good sense to put them into a box and label it "candles" after we made them.  I love last year me, I'd like to give her a high five.  Or maybe a hug. 

Now I can mostly just sit back and relax.....except for writing those Christmas cards.....and baking all the cookies.....and I guess that popcorn isn't going to string itself for that tree that we still need to go and procure.  So "sit back and relax" might not be the correct sentiment.  Maybe it's more of a "calmly stay on top of the season instead of descending in a panic of last minute Yuletide preparations." 

Wish me luck.  

  

{p,h,f,r} The Christmas Eve Edition

{pretty}

This year we had Christmas Eve dinner and then went to a seven o'clock vigil mass which worked out really well--two out of four kids slept the whole way through and no one had to be taken out once mass began.  A Christmas miracle!  Once we got home the children went straight to bed and we got busy decorating the tree and working our Christmas magic.  This year was the first time we've pulled off the fully decorated tree plus presents for Christmas morning and it was actually really fun.  There was so much extra to get done than we usually attempt on Christmas Eve though, that I went to bed sure that I forgot something.  I did.  It was the breakfast I had intended on putting together the night before so I could just pop it in the oven in the morning.  And also the candycanes for the tree that are still hiding on top of the fridge.  Oh well, regular french toast and a candyless tree it was. There have been worse Christmas catastrophes.

{happy}

We started off the day finishing up our Christmas baking which made me very happy and we made entirely too many sugar cookies.  But you know, you need to be prepared for the big guy--no cookies no presents.......at least I wouldn't want to risk it.  I think making and decorating Christmas cookies is the boys' favorite Christmas Eve tradition.  I can't be certain but it might even beat actually going to mass.......

{funny}

Of course no one in their right mind would actually want to eat the cookies that the children decorated, except maybe the children.

John John:  Don't take a picture of me with a messy face mom.
Me:  Oh, don't worry honey, I'm not.  (Well, his face wasn't messy......)

{real}

I set aside about half of the cookies and decorated them in a way that adults might actually want to consume, which wasn't hard since the children apparently only wanted to decorate as many cookies as they had to before I would let them start eating them and then they were pretty much done.  More cookies for the grown ups!  Because that's what we need.

Make sure to check out Like Mother, Like Daughter for even more Christmas Eve contentment.

On The Christmas Tree and Liturgical Living

This tree.  Oh this tree has a story.  The day we were supposed to go tree hunting at the local Exchange Chris called from work and said there was no way he was going to be able to make it.  Well instead of disappointing the children....again.....I decided to woman up and go and procure us a tree by myself.  Well, not by myself.  I'm hardly ever by myself.  I had my trusty team of very helpful helpers to assist me.  And by assist I mean run screaming through the forest of pre-cut trees disappearing and reappearing at will, while I quickly picked out the cheapest/least sad tree on the lot.

They strapped it to the roof for me and I got it home, hauled it down, carried it inside and set it up in the living room all by myself.  I even got the lights on for good measure.  Before Chris came home.  Which wasn't really difficult since he didn't make his appearance until 8:30.  On a Friday.  But I wasn't bitter.

I was pretty proud of the fact that the tree actually fit in the room since I am notorious for choosing gigantic trees that necessitate Chris sawing off the bottom when we get home so that we can fit them in.  Unfortunately I seriously underestimated the width of this beauty and it may be a wee bit too round for the room.

Don't worry though, there's still enough room to squeeze in the front door if you want to stop in for a visit.

And even get in some early morning calisthenics if you feel so inclined.

We strung the popcorn for some decorations but that's as far as I've gotten with the tree trimming.   I just really haven't been in the mood to start....and since it's already the fourth Sunday of Advent I think we're just going to go for it and do the tree decorating on Christmas Eve after the kids are in bed.  I've always thought that it sounded really fun and exciting for the kids to come down the stairs to see a decked out tree and all the presents on Christmas morning, but I've never been able to hold off the decorating that long because I usually find decorating so fun.

Well, it looks like this is the year.

And also like I really need to get started on the present wrapping since Chris cannot be put in charge of either wrapping or tree trimming.  Not because I'm too particular about how those two tasks are done.  No, no, no, no, no.  It's because I have a feeling he'll be busy assembling other things.  Why St. Nick insists on bringing toys that aren't just open and go I'll never know.

I have *almost* finished writing our Christmas cards though so those might even reach their destinations before Christmas begins.  Maybe.  So that's something, right?  And I've got some Christmas cookies baked and in the freezer, so I'm not a total disaster.

How are you're Christmas preparations going?  On track or a little (or a lot) behind like mine?  I really liked Auntie Leila's ideas on celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas.  I've gone ahead and made a tentative plan and pretty much bumped all of our Christmas-y activities to the first twelve days of Christmas.

I'm not lazy, I'm living liturgically.

{p,h,f,r} The Christmas Crafting Edition

{pretty, happy, funny & real}

Auntie Leila asked if anyone had any Christmas crafting going on so I figured I'd oblige, but I've only crafted one thing for Christmas--unless you count stringing popcorn for the tree, which I totally do but am too lazy to photograph--so these little beauties will have to suffice for all my pretty, happy, funny and reals this time.  I like to make the kids at least some kind of handmade present each year, but this Advent hasn't exactly been going as planned.  Lucky for Margaret, hand sewing is very soothing to me so I was able to come through with her gift.  Also, it's a lot easier to think of things to make for a little girl than a troop of boys.  

I used this tutorial which just involves making a pattern using a cupcake liner and then decorating as desired.  They came together really quickly and are just a wee bit wonky, but so are my actual cupcakes usually so really that just makes these even more realistic.

When David saw what I was up to he decided that he really wanted to make Margaret something too.  Originally that included a cake, cookies, a tea cup, eggnog and more cookies but I was able to scale his ambitions back to just a cake.  He drew up a picture of what he wanted and I winged a pattern.  He was really excited to work on his project for about thirty minutes, sewing on a whole lot of beads to make sprinkles on top and then........he was pretty much over it.  He's got a lot of ideas that one. Hopefully in the future he'll have lots of people to bring them all to fruition.  For now I suppose I'm his people.  So I guess I've got one more Christmas craft to finish this week after all.....


And as always make sure to head over to Like Mother, Like Daughter for even more captured contentment.

On Having a Less than Ideal Advent

This year Advent started out on the right foot, well as much on the right foot as could be expected when attempting to prayerfully anticipate the coming of the baby Jesus while your own baby has just gone.  By the first Sunday we had all the presents bought, the Christmas books down, the children's nativities out, the candles rolled and the Advent wreath made with a good hour to spare before dinner.  Of course Chris had gathered such a prodigious amount of greenery that I had enough left over to make a garland for the mantle as well, which meant there was only room at the table for the two of us to actually eat dinner, but still--the candle was lit and I'm sure the children enjoyed it from the other room.  

The actual *nice* nativity was more difficult to place this year since Margaret can reach just about anything she puts her mind to reaching but in the end it settled in nicely on the mantle--high enough for the baby not to be able to shatter, reachable enough for the big boys to put in their pieces of hay to make the manger soft for baby Jesus.

I even managed to have the kids write/dictate their Christmas lists which all included things that they will actually be getting which is not always an easy task when you do your Christmas shopping in October.

David's translates to:

Dear Santa, 

I would like 10 sheets of iron, 20 steel, 30 gold and silver, 20 bronze, 10 brass, 10 tenders of coal.  I also want Legos and a scooter.  This Advent, I'll let my brothers pick the games.
Love,
David

Apparently he wants to build his own child-sized train so that he and Margaret can ride it together.  I encouraged him to list some toys, just in case Santa doesn't bring raw materials.  The boys also all picked one thing to work on during Advent as their own gift to Jesus.

All in all, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself and how I pulled off that first Sunday after everything we'd gone through in the weeks leading up to it.

Advent, I've got this.

And then, the stomach bug.  First it was just Chris who wasn't feeling his usual self but by Friday the kids were going down fast and we spent the whole weekend in survival mode.  And disinfectant mode.  Survival-disinfectant mode.

There was no Christmas tree bought, no lights put up, no popcorn strung.  We didn't even remember St. Nicholas' Day and the boys forgot to put out their shoes. Luckily, St. Nick realized his mistake on Sunday morning and the kids eventually found their new Christmas picture books and chocolate coins along with a "get well soon" note tied up in a trash bag on the front porch.  I told the kids St. Nick must have been worried about spreading their germs around.  It was a very classy St. Nicholas Day.

With all that time lost, I'm feeling very behind on our Christmas preparations.  There are Christmas cards to write, cookies to bake, a tree to procure and decorate, Christmas dinner to plan, gifts to make, presents to wrap and just a little over two weeks to go.  There are so many things I should be doing right now, but mostly I just want to sit on the couch and luxuriate in the fact that I currently don't have to clean up after any sick children--maybe I'll just sit back and make a new and improved and more realistic Advent plan instead.  Sorry St. Lucy, things are not looking good for you.....

An Advent Baptism

Christmas really snuck up on us this year, partly because of all the crazy of moving, but I think mostly because Margaret's baptism had the majority of my mental energy in the week leading up to it.

 

Because of course the sensible thing to do the Sunday before Christmas when you've spent the past 8 weeks having a baby and then moving that baby from Florida up to Virginia and setting up your house and making some sort of effort at the homeschooling thing would be to invite the better part of your husband's family in to town for a baptism and subsequent party--I mean, we couldn't scrimp on the party--after all, baptisms are for celebrating!

Margaret spent the majority of her time in hysterics.

John spent the majority of his time attempting to blow out the baptismal candle.

The proud godparents were able to be there in person this time....the benefit of holding off on the baptism until we got to Virginia.

It was a pretty great day, even if our guests did clear me out of Christmas cookies :)

As well as everything went though, David has still been doubting the efficacy of the whole procedure.  The day after the baptism, when Margaret was starting to cry, he asked me how she could possibly be so fussy when she just got all of her original sin removed?  Oh, if only life were that easy son. 

Even More Christmas Crafting

In a post-move, pre-Christmas bout of apparent insanity I decided that I really needed to sew two five foot long piped cushion covers for the benches in our playroom.  After all, it looked so easy on that tutorial I found on Pinterest--how long could they possibly take to make with all of those child-free moments I have throughout each day?

Well, a week, several bandaged fingers and one semi-tearful meltdown in which I would have quit had I not already bought the cushion foam (so unexpectedly expensive!) later and they are finished.  Not photographed mind you, but finished.  I do think they were worth the effort, although if I had waited until after Christmas to do them it would have been a much more enjoyable project.  And also, you can all expect my Christmas cards to arrive late since writing heartfelt notes to all our friends and family took a backseat to my crazy this year. 

As per usual, David wanted to do what I was doing and, as I was not about to turn over my sewing machine when I was so determined to finish my own project, I set him up with a little sewing project himself.  I cut a quick felt tree out and tacked it down to some fabric scrap I had (painter's tarp?) and set him up with our handy jar-o-beads and he was off.

He literally spent hours picking out just the right beads and buttons and sewing them all on in just the right spot.

I think it turned out pretty cute, even if he did disregard all my suggestions for more colorful bead choices in favor of more black buttons.....it was his artistic vision after all :)

(The blue stripes are a peek at the cushion fabric--I used an old twin duvet cover for this project which just goes to show you that, contrary to my dear husband's belief, I'm not crazy for hoarding saving all the random bits and pieces of 'perfectly good' fabric that flow through our home.)

Now that I've got my major (and fairly unnecessary) projects completed I can get my focus back on preparing for Christmas.  I've got some major baking, house cleaning and yes--Christmas card writing to finish....okay begin....but then finish.

And in case you were wondering, it seems that the dinosaurs have not impeded Mary and Joseph's journey to the manger after all.  In fact, they appear to be helping :)

Advent

I can't believe we already have two candles burning on our Advent wreath.  Oh, our Advent wreath.  We got off to a rocky start this year after I lost the roll-your-own-beeswax-candles-kit that I had meticulously saved from last year and brought to our new house always making sure I knew right where it was so that it would be ready for Advent.  I did know where it was too, until round about Thanksgiving when it completely disappeared.  I kept searching the house just knowing that if I bought replacement candles I would inevitably find it but once we missed the first three days of Advent I couldn't wait any longer and headed off to the nearest Catholic bookstore.

I found the kit yesterday in a cabinet I had already searched twice.  On the bright side, I guess we're all set for next year.

We've got our toy nativities and Christmas book basket set up and our *nice* nativity has its animals for now and is slowly being filled with hay each time the boys do a kind deed to make a soft bed for baby Jesus.  Mary and Joseph are currently in our playroom making their way across our bookshelves for a Christmas Eve arrival.  Their way is actually currently being blocked by several different dinosaurs that David set up in an effort to ascertain if I was the one making them move each night or if they really are doing it themselves.  I'm not sure how the fact that there are dinosaurs in their way will prove anything one way or the other but I do love that he still believes in a bit of Christmas magic.

We've set aside our regular read alouds for Christmas stories.  We've already finished The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and have moved on to the Nutcracker (the version illustrated by Maureece Sendek--so good!).  We might do A Christmas Carol too if we have time.  I also did something completely out of character and bought a Christmas craft kit at the Hobby Lobby which the big boys loved and worked on without complaint--well without much complaint anyway--doing anything without at least a little complaining would truly be a Christmas miracle in this house.  It went so well I got some Christmas craft kits that my internet, to now real-life friend, Rosie put together which the boys did today and also loved.  I might be a crafting kind of mom after all.  Maybe.

In addition to Christmas crafts, I found out the boys love brownie batter and also Star Wars Lego Advent calendars.  Who would have guessed?

And nothing says Advent like Darth Santa ;)

This week we'll string popcorn for the tree and then probably put the ornaments up on Saturday.  And by we I mean of course that I'll string popcorn while the boys pretend to help so they can eat it--it is a Christmas tradition after all.