Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas from our crew of crazy kids!

What I Wore Wednesday: Jeggings!

Most (maybe all) of these outfits are from two weeks ago, I believe.I just didn't post them last week. I bought some jeggings because I was tired of the way my skinny jeans were bunching up in my boots. I had to go to the Juniors section to find some that I liked. I felt a little silly with my baby in a stroller in that department, but whatever.

Obviously not jeggings in this photo, and I also didn't feel like editing this morning. Green ruffle top from Old Navy, navy tank also Old Navy. Usual jeans, pink Converse from Target and huge paper beads necklace from Noonday Collection. We were obviously going to dance.

Jeggings are Levis from Macy's. Printed peasant top from Target. Sweater is an old maternity sweater that I held on to because I knew I would wear it again eventually, even though not pregnant. I like this outfit because I'm not quite comfortable wearing a shirt that hits my waist with such fitted pants, so the sweater gives me some coverage. Turquoise necklace and earrings from Francesca. I felt really cute in this outfit (I posted it last Friday but you couldn't really see the colors). I wore it to run errands.

Gray hooded sweater from Target, as is the long sleeve white shirt. Pink necklace from Allora Handmade. Jeggings and boots from Macy's. I was looking to try gray and brown together. It looked better than this picture makes it look. I wore this to I don't know where. I wore the outfit again on my trip, but instead of the necklace I wore a pink scarf and I liked that better, especially if I chose to not wear the sweater. Comfortable.

And this outfit is just to keep it real and keep me humble. This was my road trip wear when I went to Houston. The yoga pants and light-weight hoodie are from Old Navy. Tee shirt from Target. Pink Converse. I wanted to be comfortable for the 4+ hour drive, but also presentable should we need to make any stops.

Visit The Pleated Poppy for more outfit inspiration. I know looking at what other people are wearing has definitely helped me try new looks.

Just Write: Holidays

5 days until Christmas. I'm certainly not the only one writing about this today. I vacillate between ready and peaceful and overwhelmed and restless. Did I remember everything? Am I focusing enough on the right things? Am I getting it right?

This week we will do our annual tradition of driving to Meunster and buying steaks and pork chops for Christmas dinner. I'll buy some cheese and jams too. We could probably find similar things in town, but it is the trip that makes it special. On the way home we'll eat at Babe's, the fried chicken place that is so good. None of it is actually about Christmas yet it is all about Christmas for us. Our kids have asked every day when we are going. I love that they look forward to it and associate it with Christmas.

We'll also watch Polar Express and eat popcorn and drink hot chocolate. The kids will drink the hot chocolate from the Santa mugs my grandmother gave us. She gave them to us when we had four kids. Six mugs for six people; four kids and two parents. Now it is six mugs for six kids. The kids wonder what will Mommy and Daddy drink out of? (Of course the baby doesn't actually use one yet.) We'll happily sip from regular mugs. They'll sleep in their sleeping bags and it will be magical, despite the fussing and the warnings from mom and dad to settle down. And again, it is not really about Christmas (or not about Jesus anyway) but it is about it for us.

And isn't spending time together, making meaningful memories, enough? Or part of enough? I get so worn out and bothered by the constant cacophony of voices telling us to make it more holy and more this and more that and less about that. Can't we work our way towards our Savior in our own way? Does my way have to look just like yours?

I'll walk in Hope the way I feel led, knowing there is growing to be done and improvements to be made. And I'll hope you are doing the same, in your way, trusting that the One who knows it all loves you (and me) regardless of how we get there.

Merry Christmas! (picture from last year)

Linking up to Just Write at The Extraordinary Ordinary.

Friday Funbag

It is Friday! Also, last day of school for a couple of weeks! Right now I am excited about that. By next Wednesday I may be on the brink of insanity, but for now I am looking forward to no alarms (and no surprises--can you name the band?) and a relaxed schedule.

So, what is a funbag? A word I just made up, but also an indicator that you are about to get a big dose of random. Travis hates these posts, but sometimes I don't have one long, coherent post ready to go.

Last weekend I got to go to Houston with my girlfriends. It was wonderful. We were going to love on one of our friends who needed some comfort. All of us that went from our area have two or more children, with the exception of one friend, so a weekend without our kids was very welcome. It felt to indulgent to wake up Saturday morning and take my time getting out of bed (or off the couch, whatever) and just doing things at my own pace. We laughed and ate and laughed some more. There was shopping and game playing. We all went to Mass together on Sunday and it was just beautiful. Two of the girls had their babies with them (including a 7 week old!) so I got to hold other babies and snuggle and then give them back. Pretty sweet.

On the highway to Houston there is a giant statue of Sam Houston. So of course we stopped. For some reason there is a second, smaller statue of just his head. I don't know why it is there, but I took a picture next to it. But what do you when standing next to a giant head? I didn't know and I think it shows.

It was a truly great weekend, and I'm so glad Travis was so supportive in making it work. I'm a lucky girl.

So, if you read here you know I take pictures of myself for the blog on a regular basis. I also sometimes take pictures with my phone while I am standing on the edge of my bathtub. It is the only way I can see most of myself and sometime I want to send a picture to a friend to get their opinion. I am always worried I will fall off and the light is often too bright. But I also usually end up feeling like I look very skinny in the pictures, so I have no reason to stop doing it. Next week you will see this outfit in better light, but here is a recent picture I really like.

Naturally there have been class parties this week for school. I volunteered to bring cookies to two of the parties, and water and juice to two of them. I knew not to volunteer to make 80 sugar cookies. Making 48 was enough crazy for one week. I finally attempted royal icing and flood icing. I was fairly impressed with myself, although I still have some learning to do. My fingers were a food coloring mess when it was all done. Of course, the class yesterday had way too much food and my cookies weren't even served. Madeleine did give some to classmates at the end of the day, but I was a little frustrated that I went to all the effort only to have them not needed. I followed tips from from Bridget Bake at 350 and it really was easier than I thought it would be once I got going. Here is a blurry shot of my work, which makes me absurdly proud (the cookies, not the blurriness).

Finally, Benjamin is in full mischief mode these days. One disaster after another. He has colored on our computer desk (in pencil at least), emptied a box of toothpicks, pulled eleven million ornaments off the tree, and so on and so forth. Good think he is the cutest kid ever. (I say that about all of my kids of course.)

Have a good weekend!

My Favorite

The fun Jo-Lynne went old-school today, bringing back the blogging meme. She wants us to share our favorite things. So here you go.

My Favorite New Song: I don't have one song, but I am loving All Sons and Daughters. They are a "Christian" group, lovely harmonies, kind of a modern country pop feel. Really, they sound much better than I am describing here.

My favorite new toy: I don't have any new toys. I still love my ninja phone. I'll say my favorite is Travis's new smoker, because it has made him want to cook a lot and I love that!

My favorite new app: Like Jo-Lynne I love Instagram. I take more pictures than ever. I love sharing them with the community and Twitter with ease. I like to see what other people are sharing. It is just a fun app. And, I discovered StickyGram thanks to Pinterest. It allows you to easily choose photos from your IG feed and have them made into magnets! I'm giving some to a few of the godparents this year.

Favorite Christmas Story: Mortimer's Christmas Manger A sweet little story about a mouse who finds out about Jesus when he is looking for a place to sleep. I love the words and the drawings.  (the link to the book might be an affiliate link)

Favorite new snack: I like to eat pretzels and cheese. It is a very filling snack that is not too bad for me.

Favorite new recipe: This delicious broccoli chicken bake that I found via Pinterest (again). It is creamy and savory and good. I usually use leftover smoked chicken to make it. I love that it is a recipe that does not use any cream soups; you make a simple white sauce instead. It is a regular on our menu rotation now.

Favorite new TV show: I don't have one. We don't watch many shows, and what we do watch is not new. We watch The Biggest Loser, the Office and Community. Otherwise it is sports around here. My favorite book series right now is A Song of Ice and Fire saga, otherwise known as Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin. The series is also not new, although the 5th book was just released. We don't have HBO so I haven't seen the TV show, although I really want to see it.

Favorite new lipstick: I'm still wearing Yummy Plummy from Revlon. Have been for a long time. I did start using new mascara this fall, Lash Love by Mary Kay. And I love it. I've never paid much attention to my mascara, but this actually makes a noticeable difference in my eyelashes.

Favorite new accessory: Fun, cheap jewelry from Charming Charlie. I'm much more willing to try new trends when I can do inexpensively. My favorite right now is a huge silver flower ring. Travis thinks it is obnoxious and I think it is perfect. It is similar to this one, with a sparkly pink center.

Favorite Christmas tradition: On Christmas Eve we go to the early Mass (usually 4:00 p.m.). When we come home we stay in our nice church clothes for dinner. We will have purchased some nice steaks and pork chops from a market in a nearby town. We use real plates for the kids (instead of plastic) and wine glasses for the milk. After dinner we put on our pjs and get in the car and go look at Christmas lights. Our kids get so excited about the trip to get the food for our dinner (the town is about 40 minutes away) and then all the stuff on Christmas Eve. It is a lot of fun for us.

Favorite new beverage: No new favorite here. I still have a deep and abiding love for unsweet iced tea. My adult beverage of choice is a classic rum and coke.

Thanks for the inspiration Jo-Lynne! To read her favorites, follow the link at the top of the post.

Just Write: Books and Wreaths

We've had an Advent wreath at least as long as we have had kids, so 10 years. Every year Advent comes around and I am determined that we will faithfully light the candles and say the prayers and make each day meaningful and holy. Except I fail in the first week. Every time. And like we do, I beat myself up about it and I read about this family that has it all together and their kids say insightful, beautiful words and I let that voice in my head that says all the negative run loose and wild.

This year I decided we would also do the Christmas book countdown. I looked for cheap books so that we had enough. I didn't even have it ready to go on December 1, but we opened our Elf on the Shelf and so I counted that book. I sat and wrapped all the books and kept shooing the baby out of the room while I wrapped and was generally not very charitable. But the books got wrapped and so on December 2 there we were, lighting the candle on the wreath and saying the short prayer and then opening the book.

Last night we did it again, and we have done it every day in between. And so then I let my mind wander and I almost tripped head-first back into that negative space. Wondering why it takes wrapping and reading a book to get me to remember to do the Advent wreath too. Where are my priorities? Why do I need this worldly exercise to get me to do the spiritual exercise?

But I stopped my thoughts. I told myself I would never be critical of a friend making the same effort. I need to speak kindness to myself too. And as I sat reading the book (St. Nicholas book, carefully planned to be opened on his feast day) with five of the kids around me, I decided to just appreciate that moment. It was quiet and they were all sitting and listening and maybe we make a lot of mistakes, but this was not one of them. God doesn't care what it takes to get me to pause, even for a moment, and if it is a book to go with a candle, then be grateful for the book. So I am.

Linking up with Heather of the EO.