Homemade Anxiety

It's 13 days until Christmas. (well, the 14th day from now will BE Christmas, so you know what I mean). We're actually making progress on our homemade Christmas gifts, and I'm starting to feel like we might actually get everything done in time. But here's the thing. What comes with homemade gifts? Anxiety.

I'm starting to worry. What if they don't like it? What if it doesn't fit? What if they won't use it? Think it's stupid? Wish we'd made something else instead? And so on and so forth. That's the thing with homemade gifts, they come with anxiety on the side.

And be honest - have you ever received a homemade gift from someone and thought (Ugh....) and then had to plaster that seriously fake smile on your face and graciously accept it? I dread that smile. I'm so worried that we're going to see a lot of it this Christmas.

Homemade Christmas-o-rama!

WHOA! Christmas is coming up super fast!

Don't you hate it when people say that? Me too. And even though Christmas comes at the same time every year, I am TOTALLY guilty of saying that... daily... this year.

I've talked a few times about us committing to a year of homemade gifts from Sept 2011-2012. And even though all the canning is done (many many pickles and soooo much jam and other goodies), and quite a few gifts are complete (though it's tough to decide whether or not to post what they are here in case my family decides to sneak a peek before Christmas) there's still SO SO SO SO much to do!

Tonight/this weekend, we'll be upcycling a sweat-shirt into something fabulous, doing some freezer-paper stenciling, sewing, and probably more knitting (though I think I'm going to wear my fingers right down to the bone with all the knitting I"m doing). That will knock approximately 4 gifts off the to-do list.

I still haven't decided what to make my husband. : /

Hard to fit?

Disclaimer: If you're a guy reading this you'll probably be either bored, confused, or weirded out. I suggest - if you're looking for something to occupy a bit of your time, other than reading my blog, that you click this link instead: Think Geek

Okay ladies - now that we're alone...

I'll start - my name is Tea and I am a hard-to-fit woman.

Now - I know what you're thinking: "aren't we all?" - and of course to some degree that answer is yes. But if you're able to walk into a clothing store at the mall and pick up ten items and have half or more of them fit the way they should - I'm not talking to you. It's not that you don't have fit problems, I'm sure you do - but the fact of the matter is that I'm totally completely 100% jealous of you. Just so you know.

No - I'm talking about women like me. Oddballs if you would. Now, usually I'm totally okay with being a bit
oddball - in fact, I relish it. I like being "different", and I'm a fairly confident person, so I can usually pull it off. But - brace yourselves ladies - I. Hate. Shopping.

Nope - not joking. Hate it. Ten-thousand percent, loathe with every fibre of my being, wish I could be just about anywhere else, would rather clean my bathroom than shop for myself. And here's why. I'm "hard to fit".

Here's the rundown so you know what I'm talking about:

Day 2 - Raging Meltdowns...

Whew - Day 2 of Mommy only m-f is almost over. Thank goodness. Today was the day of the raging meltdown. Our big'un is almost 3 1/2 and boy oh boy is he ever testing his limits these days. Sometimes we can have a good laugh, when we get things like "Mommy - I have to talk you some questions." "Uh... okay buddy, what?" "Um, I don't want to (eat dinner, be nice to my brother, wear pants, etc)" "Babe - that's not really a question..." but when it comes to things like a raging, screaming, limb flailing, dish throwing super-sonic meltdown because HE wanted the RED cup (which has been his brother's cup ALL. DAY." NOT the GREEN cup (which he just asked for)... then it becomes a little tough.

Now, generally, we just try and reason with him, tell him WHY he can't have the red cup, and him know that his real option is the green cup or nothing... but tonight that resulted in him body-checking the dog (good thing the dog is good natured) and then practically throwing himself down the stairs while screaming "NO green cup, NO nothing, NO bed, NO dinner, NO (little'un) having the RED cup, NO!" Yeah... that's when I decided to sit down on the kitchen floor. It wasn't very effective. He's not really moved by silent protest.

So I just picked up Captain Meltdown, carried him up to his bed, and left him there to scream himself hoarse.

The I want Daddy...s

It starts... hubby's gone, left this morning at around 5:45 am. We've been trying to explain to the boys for a few days now just how long Daddy's going to be gone (5 days, 1 work week, Monday until Friday, etc etc etc) and this morning I was thinking that our big'un (3 years old) was finally getting it. Nope... not so much. The I want Daddy's have already started.

This morning on the bus:
Big'un: Mommy, the kids wouldn't give me a high five and now I'm sad...
Me: Oh, I'm sorry Buddy! What would make you feel better, a hug?
*(nope)
Me: A glass of milk?
*(nope)
Me: A muffin?
*(nope)
Me: Well, what then? Anything you want.

Mommy Only Week

SO.......... hubby's leaving for a week on business. And I'm looking at 5 whole days of "Mommy only". I'll be perfectly honest - I've beed DREADING this week ever since I knew it was coming. It's not that I don't love my boys - I love them to bits, it's not even that I really doubt my parenting skills - I'd say - so far I'm doing alright... I mean, I'm relatively confident that we can make it Monday to Friday without any major injuries and both kids being fed, clean, and slept... not necessarily in that order.

What I'm NOT confident about - my ability to get ME through the week, fed, clean and slept. To not completely lose my mind when the littlest one says "Daddy... are you?" for the ten thousandth time (he does it already when one of us leaves for about 1/2 an hour... by day 3, it'll be painful....dread). To not go completely bonkers when there's absolutely NO ONE else to change that dirty diaper, clean up soap/shaving cream/etc from the bathroom counters/walls/floor... and who knows what else they'll get into.

I can Remember... and I will.

 

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"The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." - Douglas MacArthur

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day here in Canada. I believe it is called Memorial Day in the states (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called) but no matter what it's titled, it's a day that we remember those who served and currently serve in our military forces. 

It's a tough day for me. And not, perhaps, for the reasons that it's a tough day for a lot of people. I'll be perfectly honest, it's tough because I'm 29 years old, and I’ve never ever been touched personally by the brutal realities of war or conflict. I do not have close family members or friends who serve or have served. I've never suffered distance of having someone away serving, or the loss of someone who makes that ultimate sacrifice. And I can't pretend to understand the longing, and grief, and sadness that those who have experienced that have. 

Sneaky sneaky November

Well now November... when did you get so sneaky? You with your 30 days and your daylight savings time and your clever little Remembrance Day (not that I have ANYTHING against Remembrance Day - PLEASE don't get me wrong, I'll post about it when it's appropriate... THIS is about November) lulling me into a false sense of security when suddenly I actually LOOK at the calendar and realize that it's only 52 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!?

WHAT? GAH! ACK! BLECH? and all other manner of excalamtory strange noises. 52 days? That's IT? Oh goodness gracious.

Do you know what this means, November? Well? Do you? It means that you can't just lull around and waft in like "oh Hi, it's Me... y'know November...." anymore. You've got to announce yourself with some presence! Like "HEY! It's me, November?! Yeah, guess what Lady? Christmas? It's COMING."

Yup. 52 days. That means I have to complete approximately 1 gift project every 2-3 days from now until Christmas. Sounds manageable right? Did I mention I work? Have toddlers? A Dog? Church commitments?! Oh goodness help me. Seriously. HELP. ME.

Hallowe'en complete and on to Christmas!

Finally got past Hallowe'en - a total success! Made the big one's pirate costume...

Little one was a monkey (Did NOT Make this costume)

But we did make the wagon look like a pirate ship!

I love Hallowe'en

I love Hallowe'en. I mean, I really seriously love it. I can't even explain why... in a previous post I briefly talked about our yard haunt... and that's part of it. I love dressing up silly and hanging around on the front lawn scaring the neighbourhood children. It's the one day of the year that that's allowed! (I mean, seriously, people frown on it if you do that at Christmas, y'know?)

This year I'm going with a witch costume, bubbling cauldron suspended from branches over a "fire". Got some great ideas (as usual) from Martha Stewart. Seriously, I know we hear it's a "good thing" all the time, but this website is brilliant if you're looking for crafty ideas and such for ANY holiday.

Check it out yourself if you're looking for last minute ideas...Last Minute Halloween Ideas

Pirates, Monkies and gravestones, oh my!

So... Hallowe'en is kind of a big deal at my house. A few years ago now, my Dad and I decided we were going to do a serious graveyard in the front yard of his house, on a whim, I dressed up like a mad scientist and wandered around the driveway to scare the neighbourhood children as they came to get their candy... and for some reason, we got hooked.  Several years later now we have ground popping zombies, a skeleton, a coffin, a floating ghost, many many gravestones, lighting, a gate, a giant cross, sound effects a fog machine and more. Like I said - we got a little... involved. So every single year we try and decide what to add... we don't like to spend a lot of money... and we generally try to make things as simple as possible... this year I've gotten a spider that drops down from a tree in my yard and crawls back up.

I'm adding in some pics - but what do you think? Got any great, simple ideas?

Giant Tree Spider

Year of Homemade Gifts - whose brilliant idea was THIS?

So... I joined this craftalong at Craftster.org.

Okay... okay... I STARTED this craftalong at Craftster.org. It's a Year of Homemade Gifts. I (and actually quite a few other people) committed to making homemade, or at least "seriously discounted as to remain frugal" gifts from September 1, 2011 to September 1, 2012. I thought - I can DO this. NO problem. I make jam, I make pickles, I can sew and knit and crochet and paint and make cards and stuff. Hubby does woodworking - we're ALL Set.

The truth. It hasn't even been 2 whole months yet, I can't do this. I'm INSANE. WHAT. WAS. I. THINKING?

Bad Mommy

I'm having a bad day. Like a really bad, terrible, awful, no-good day. Some days it strikes me - there's no running away from home when you're the Mommy. And today - today I feel like a bad-mommy.

My kids are bad. There. I've said it. And no, I'm not trying to be facaetious. Seriously. They're bad. They don't listen, I'm not even sure they know what listening is. They're boys, so if they do something once and get in trouble, that generally means that they'll do it at least 15 more times just to see if it still makes Mommy angry.

And Mommy gets angry.

Well - they're hitched!

Sister's wedding was yesterday - and it was beautiful. Sister looked AMAZING in her dress, and new brother-in-law looked pretty handsome too. It was a great day of celebration at 4 Seasons Golf & Country Club in Claremont - great staff and beautiful venue too.

My Sister's wedding

It's this Saturday. It's been a long time coming, and suddenly, it's here. I hardly know what to say about it... I mean, I'm sure it's going to be a fabulous, wonderful day... a lot of us have put plenty of work into this day, and I hope with all my heart that she'll enjoy every second of it... but I think I might be glad when it's over. Whew.

The boys are ring-bearers... and by that I mean, we've got them some fancy dress suits, a couple of matching "noodles" (neckties, T calls them noodles), and I'm on the hunt for cheap little boy dress shoes this week, and they'll (hopefully!) walk down the aisle together and let someone unpin the rings from T's lapel. That's the plan, we'll see how it goes.