On the Second Day of Christmas. . .

The girls are early out on Wednesdays and the sun was shining bright--the perfect day to take a trip to the tree farm and find our tree. All year as we have driven past the tree farm Rob would point and say: "Our tree is in there somewhere, just waiting for Christmas for us to come get it."

It was all that talk that kept me from trying a new tree farm. We couldn't very well not go get "our tree" after talking about it all year--or so Rob argued.

And besides, it IS such a cute farm.

First things first. . .we had to visit the petting zoo area. . .

. . .and feed the animals.

Rob even terrorized Signe with a rooster that was on the loose.

Then we passed the barn and I couldn't pass up a interesting picture setting. . .

Then we were off to find our tree.

I got to pick the kind we'd bring home this year. I'm a sucker for a full Noble. . .

. . .and a big old oak tree.

There are several oak trees that dot the farm and make me wish I had one making shade in my yard.

Finally we found the one. . .

(When I asked Rob what the cheapest tree on the farm cost--to compare it to the farm I was thinking of trying his response was "Why do you care, you are going to pick the most expensive one anyway!" But look! I didn't--though that might have had something to do with the height of my ceiling.)

You can actually drive your car or truck down the lanes and throw your tree in when you find it. . .

But we love to take the tree cart with us and walk around the lanes past rows and rows of trees. . .

. . .and quaint little sign posts.

Of course, I picked a tree way in the middle--and it was HEAVY--so we had to carry it through the trees back to our cart.

I am calling it my workout for the day!

Then we were off to pay for it and pick out our wreath.

You pay in this cute barn where they offer free hot chocolate and candy canes while they shake our tree for us.

There is something about driving home with a tree in your truck bed, breathing deeply to catch the fresh pine scent, that makes you smile.

We were supposed to decorate the tree also, but I got distracted by a urge to bake. I tried a new recipe for Kolaches that were yummy, but I wish I had baked them a little less to keep them softer. Oh well--the girls will have just as much fun when we do it on the third day of Christmas.

Service Update: An unforeseen phenomenon is occurring with the idea of one of us have a '"service day" each day. When it is not their day, and I ask them to, say, put their dirty clothes in the laundry room, I get "But it's not my service day!" and when it is, say, Hannah's day, Signe says "You have to do it for me, it's YOUR service day!"

I think we need to discuss the point here. They seem to be missing it.

Movie of the night: Picking up and Dropping off

On the First Day of Christmas. . .

Traditionally, on December first the girls and I make an advent chain. This year Signe came home from school with one she had made, so we are going to use hers. But instead of just randomly thinking up things to do as we go, I decided to try a slightly more formal approach.

Last year a friend gave me this cute little advent church with doors that open to reveal. . .whatever I decide to put inside it.

And rather than putting candy or little trinkets inside I decided to make a list of the things we want to do this year. Most of them we do every year so the hard part was narrowing it down a little. I worked it out on a calendar to be sure and put parties and things with actual dates on the right days and then printed a list of all the activities for the month:

This way I can plan ahead a be sure to have gingerbread supplies for the day we are doing houses or whatever. Then to make it interesting and try to keep the focus the joy of giving instead of getting I took it a step farther. I gave each of us a color and printed the list on four different colors of paper. If the strip of paper is, say green, which is Signe's color, she has to do an act of service during that day for a family member or someone else, and then we talk about it at the end of the day.

Today, it was Signe's turn and she helped her sister by taking her dishes to the sink and getting her a blanket when she was watching TV. When I asked her how that made her feel she said:

"Well, kinda bad 'cause I don't like having to do so much for her, but kinda good because I was helping someone."

I guess I'll take that. We will see how the rest of the month progresses.

**Movie of the night (we try to watch one every night, plus we DVR them so we don't always watch them on the night they aired): A Dog Named Christmas***

Let the Festivities Begin

Clearly I have not been very reliable lately with my blogging. I have been so busy doing things that I could blog about, but have not had time to blog them! However, tomorrow is December first and marks the start of our family's annual 25 Days of Christmas tradition. I blogged it all last year on my home and garden blog. But clearly I cannot maintain this one blog, let alone the four I have been attempting to keep current!

To get us in the festive mood we have begun are pre-25 days traditions: the paperwhites are planted, the house lights are up, and the annual family calendar is under way. . . and we have been listening to Christmas music pretty much since Halloween. Oh, and we have already watched half a dozen Christmas movies, AND ordered our Christmas cards.

We are determined to enjoy the holidays in an orderly fashion--wish us luck! And come back to see what we are up to or to get ideas for your own festive 25 Days of Christmas.

Singularly Summer

Writer's Workshop with Mama Kat

Prompt of choice: 2.) Find your one very favorite picture of summer and write a poem about it.

(Considering I took about 3,000 pictures in the months of June, July and August, this was kind of hard.)

In the midst of autumn, my favorite season, I still appreciate the idea of carefree summer days (an infrequent reality). This picture captures my favorite things about summer.

Lollypops and Pollywogs

Sunshine, sunscreen, summer breeze,

Girls’ giggles as they tease.

Bright bold colors, pinks and blues

Green green grass, forget the shoes.

Sprinkler showers, lollypops,

Rope swing high and stomach flops.

Sweet bee buzz attracting flowers

Play away the daylight hours.

Hair fanned out like golden streamers

Flying flags of little dreamers

Peering down, all eyes agog

Watery creature, pollywog.

A Season to Celebrate

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

~Mark Twain

Not only is this time of year my favorite season, it is also filled with birthdays. Yesterday we celebrated Rob's birthday, and thanks to him getting sick he was actually here instead of in Chicago where he was scheduled to be for work! (Luckily he was feeling better.)

So we made a party out of it, and of course the extra guests were the kids' friends instead of Rob's, but that is sort of how this household works. We include whomever happens to show up at our house.

Since autumn and Rob are two of my favorite things I combined them in his cake.

(I had some left over fondant I needed to use)

Which I then documented from nearly every possible angle. . .

(You're welcome, for not posting every one I took.)

Signe helped him blow out his candles. . .

And everyone helped him open his presents.

Then we dug in. . .

And surprise! There was cream cheese blackberry filling. YUM.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Pefect Moments

When I got married I pictured myself being one of those moms who are organized and keep a clean and tidy house, and has well mannered, adorable children who come home from school, have a snack of milk and cookies, and do their homework at the kitchen table . . . cheerfully--without arguing. And of course the kitchen is lovely and clean and homey with fresh flowers on the table AND counter. . .

. . . like today. All that is lacking is the milk and cookies. (Though, they did have cottage cheese and wheat thins--that counts right?)

And so long as I only take pictures when these rare moments occur, who will ever be the wiser!

Do As I Say, Not As I Do. . .

I remember when, before I had any kids, I would see children acting out in public, or children that were unkempt, or just not motivated, and I would think about what my kids would and wouldn't do, and how they would be, and what they would like. That's all fine and good, a plan is important--though I have learned that to make a plan is to invite the universe to laugh at you, at least when it comes to planning your children (births, behaviors, or otherwise).

But there is always one big thing to take into consideration when molding your children. . . the mold. By that I mean you. I am known for throwing little phrases at my children (and husband occasionally) that are meant to stick long enough to have an impact. For instance, "An orderly home is a reflection of and orderly life," (when trying to get my kids to clean) or "Be a victor not a victim!" when my kids are feeling picked on, or, my husband's favorite, "Happy wife, happy life!" (which Rob heard Dave Ramsey say to a listener one time, much to his chagrin--particularly since it was while we were doing our kitchen remodel and the caller was a guy whose wife wanted to do a kitchen remodel while he wanted to invest the money. . . but I digress).

All the words in the world, however, don't quite have the same impact as what we DO. Let me give you a prime example. . .or two:

Case Number 1 -- "Do as I do"

The Scene: Our Yard

The Task: To weed the garden and pull out some dead bushes

The Characters: Rob, Hannah

The Goal: To make our yard pretty and teach our daughter to work

Hannah (after putting in a good effort for ten or fifteen minutes): I don't want to do it any more.

Rob: Is the job done?

Hannah: It's hot. I worked really hard already.

Rob: You have been working hard, but the job isn't done. When you grow up you can't just quit before the job is done because you don't want to do it anymore.

Hannah: Really? You mean like the half planked ceiling, and the half finished tree house, and the half painted living room, and the half finished garden boxes. . .

I believe at this point we cut her off, because really, with the material she had to work with she could have gone on a while! We went on to explain that we are trying to make her better than us, and that those projects were still in progress--we hadn't actually "quit" working on them, per say. Then we finished up by telling her to do as we say, not as we do, or something along those lines.

Case Number 2 -- "Say as I say"

The Scene: The car--outside a gas station

The Task: To get a fountain drink

The Characters: Rob, Signe

The Goal: To avoid buying a zillion snacks or slushies

Signe: Are we coming in too?

Rob: No, wait in the car.

Signe: But I want you to get me a . . . (at this point Rob has exited the car and shut his door, thus ending the conversation)

Signe (Indignantly): He just shut the door while I was talking--that was certainly uncalled for!

Apparently you can add "That was certainly uncalled for" to my list of phrases. (And judging by how often I hear Hannah saying "That was highly inappropriate," you can probably add that one too!) I was still laughing when Rob got back in the car.

Have your kids followed your example lately?