Pop-Up Time

The shelving system collapsed in my daughter's closet last week, thankfully without anyone under it. After doing an inventory, it appears that it was the holiday book collection that put us over the weight limit. Even still, you can't have enough holiday books. Right? We are really enjoying working our way though our collection of holiday books, movies and music.


This week, we're turning the pages of:
Christmas At The Zoo.
You Are My Miracle
The Sweet Smell of Christmas
The Grinch
The holiday pop-up books from Robert Sabuda
The Berenstain Bears Trim The Tree
If You Take A Mouse To The Movies {aka The Popcorn Book in our house}
A Snowy Day
The Little Drummer Boy
Snow
Olive The Other Reindeer
Little Tree inspired by the sweetest poem by ee cummings

"The little tree had found his own special place that was waiting for him all his life." Chris Raschka

Here's a lovely list of holiday reading recommendations from SouleMama and another even better one here.

What are your favorite holiday books?

Feeling Grateful About The Details

1. Lit books courtesy of Ikea and my dad's handy work when he was here in September.
2. A turkey painting from my girl.
3. My husband writing his dissertation as the sun comes up.
4. Catching snow flakes on her tongue last night.
5. A turkey day card I picked up. I love the composition.
6. The happy holidays sign I picked up at Michael's.
7. My girl's hands.
8. The puppers with a pink sunset-pink-sky behind her.
9. A new lamp for our girl's room. I've been eying this one forever.

T-Tips

Here is a handy Thanksgiving Week Check List from the Organize blog.

Motherhood and Make-Up Work

On Saturdays, I feel this intense urge to be the magical, fun, no-schedule mom that I wish I could be all of the time. I cram in everything I can. Yesterday, we gorged on books and hot chocolate, leaves jumping, pancakes, movies, cuddle time, and crafting.

I look around the house tonight and see all of the make-up work I will have to do as result of my make-up time with my family. There is much to clean and do before the morning and tomorrow brings another merciless week. I'm like the cricket who sang all Saturday.



For over a year, I have wanted to make a mini book. I never thought I would have the time or find affordable resources locally, and for some reason, that really depressed me. It was just one more thing that I would never have time to get to and that made me feel even more behind.

Over the past few months, here and there, the pieces have sort of fallen into my lap and now, my books are ready to record the holidays. This is no big deal for most people, but for me, it's a symbol that I don't have to give up on being creative...or on having the kind of life I always imagined for myself.









Each year since college, I have studied the pages of Martha Stewart's Homemade Holiday Gift Guide. Inspired by the peppermint striped pages, I once made peppermint bark as gifts. When I ended up spending more on the ingredients and packaging than when I bought it at Target in perfectly packaged tins, I gave up on the dream of a homemade Christmas.

This holiday, we've decided to keep things simple and when the new Martha holiday issue came out this month, I started dreaming of making something again.

But I have no time.

Damnit.

Then my Aunt Jan gave us some homemade lotion that was awesome and it gave me an idea. A few weeks later, I found the perfect containers for it for .67 cents that fit perfectly into holiday packaging I already had.

We made it today and I don't mind admitting that I made such a huge mess. We were Lucy and Ethel and there's a place in the floor we're all avoiding because it is so slippery. But it was worth it to discover that I can do it if I do things over a long period of time. Ingredients one day. Packaging the next week. Making it the next month. Delivering it the next...you get the idea.











Adorable, affordable teacher gifts made by 3-year-old, DONE!

And here's the thing: my house is a disaster today. A million imperfections fall outside the borders of every photograph: laundry and stress and family crisis and everything else. But for a moment, I can feel like I'm making a sweet memory for me and for her and that gets me through all of the rest of it.

I picked up some new chimes on Saturday. They are Tibetan Prayer Chimes that promise to, "convey the prayers and blessings of the listener every time the wind blows." Each time they sang today, I said a prayer: a nice, peaceful thing for a Sunday. I pray that I can appreciate every moment of my life. I pray that I will no longer separate the kind of life I want to live from the one I am living. I pray that I can slow down a bit.

I found the most delightful stationary from Positively Green that says, "Let us pause to warm our hands before the fire of life."

I just love that.


**This is the most busy time of year for litigators, so my posts may be a bit sporadic until Christmas. Thanks for your patience.

I heart Etsy

Twice this month, I found something for my daughter for the holidays that was promptly recalled because of lead paint (a Curious George tool bench and a Fisher Price Medical Kit). This has me thinking about a trip I took to Munich in December and how all of the toys sold in the square seemed like they were made in Santa's workshop: wooden parts, hand-painted without chemicals. If you ever get the chance to go to Munich during their Christmas market, GO!






Photos courtesy of the Munich Christmas market site. I'll try to post some of my own closer to Christmas.

So, in search of thoughtful, hand-made goods that support artists, I've found some beautiful, affordable things for her at Etsy.

For example, at this lovely little Etsy boutique called Robin's Egg Pink (how sweet is that) I found these pretend cupcakes...



...and a precious apron


to go with the wooden pastel kitchen that Santa has indicated he will be bringing. I bought them late Friday night and they were at my door in the most adorable robin's egg blue and brown decorative box with pink ribbons on Monday morning. I just love it. I may have to go back to her shop to get one of her toddler afternoon tea jackets.



Etsy has gifts for everyone. Where else can you get a shirt like this?



I keep an Etsy link in the right hand column of this blog year-round to search for items by color which is so much fun. This time of year, searches like "mittens" "christmas cards" and "scarf" yield great results. Happy searching!

Christmas Pajamas

Inspired by The Pajama Program, I'm collecting new pajamas for children living in shelters in my area ranging in ages from just-born to 17. There are about 100 children, many of whom have never had pajamas, who will be eating at the Salvation Army on Christmas morning. My amazing fellow daycare parents are donating toys and books, but I decided that in addition to a meal and new toy, each child really should have something warm and clean to sleep in.

I know many of us will be getting Christmas pjs for our kids. If we could each pick up one extra pair, it would make a tremendous difference. If you have my address, please feel free to drop them in the mail and I will see that they are there for the children on Christmas morning. If you are a faraway reader, please think about donating to The Pajama Program whose mission is this:

"Thousands of children go to bed cold and without clean pajamas every night. You can help us wrap our arms around them."

Gratitude on Veteran's Day

Special thanks to my dad for his service. Safe return home and sincere thanks to the men and women serving today. On my last flight back home, I saw a large group of soldiers in Dallas waiting for a connection. It was all I could do to not go up to each one and thank them. I probably should have.

Email subject: 6 weeks until Christmas

The email subject alone has me more than a little freaked. My family is spread out throughout the country so this means pre-order, pre-packaging, pre-paring which I have not begun to do. It also means there's a loud ticking noise reminding me that I only have so much time left to meet my annual billable hour requirement. (Hence the sparse Teaworthy posts lately.) But I digress...

Tonight, I'm getting serious. Christmas triage has begun. It will begin something like this:


PLUS



EQUALS



Just kidding. Though I do recommend a candy cane in the gin and tonic. A swizzle stick with pop!

Here's a preview of a few holiday gift discoveries I have found so far:

Precious for your preschooler's stocking. The animals actually appear to be running!

Sephora has a new blockbuster palette for the holidays for $48 which is a lot, but cheaper than the department store versions and I believe they are offering free shipping.

Last year, it sold out by Thanksgiving, so order early for the make-up maven in your life who has everything.

Garnet Hill's collapsible basket now comes in new colors, has an optional cover and is $24.

Great for the Farmer's Market, a quick eco-friendly trip to the grocery, or for picnics.

Feel free to leave comments about your favorite holiday finds.