Here We Go... Again!

I am so sorry that I've been AWOL for so long. Things have been pretty bad around here, but I'm working hard to set things straight. Please don't take the following as a bunch of whining. I'm trying to figure out the best way to lay it out for you so you can understand without sounding as if it's the end of the world. It's not.But I want to be honest about this stuff, too. Just know that, while these things weigh on me every day, I won't let the bad dominate the good. Sometimes just acting cheerful can help bring up your spirits to where you're no longer acting.

Santa ALWAYS Sends Candy Canes

I know that, in the social networking circles I travel in, Santa is pretty controversial. Some parents don't do Santa because they don't want to lie to their kids, be found out later, and have their children feel betrayed by the lie. Others prefer to keep Santa out of a religious holiday. And some parents just want to focus on the family time and spirit of giving - Santa is really all about receiving when you think of it. Although I can see all the points of these parents, and agree with some of them to some degree, we do Santa.

My biggest concern of all of the above reasons for eliminating him from the holiday season is the first - I do not lie to my children. That is, I don't lie to them, with this one exception! Santa is magical, he's a giving person who wants to spread joy. Why wouldn't I want my children to feel that magic once a year? "But what about when they find out it was all a lie?", you ask? Here's how it worked for me, and how I went about this with my oldest: When I started doubting the whole Santa thing, my dad took me aside and explained that he was really Jolly Old St. Nick. A slight shock, but I was OK. Then, he enlisted my help. Now that I was grown up enough to know the secret that little kids didn't know, I was an elf (when I had kids of my own, I got to climb the ladder to "Santa" status.) So, from then on, I got to join in on helping my brother and sister write letters to Santa, I got to help choose the gifts for them from Santa, I got to stay up late and help my dad arrange the gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve. My oldest loves having these special privileges, too.

So, do you remember the photo I posted a couple of days ago, asking if you could figure out why Little Guy was so amazed and my teen was giving me an actual smile... for the camera?

Here's the wonderful Holiday story:

Little Guy and I wrote a letter to Santa as our Dec. 1st activity from our Christmas Countdown/Advent calendar. He dictated a short letter to me, then we cut out pictures of toys he liked from the Black Friday ads we'd been saving. Being three, he wanted everything. So, we spent a good hour cutting things out. Then, we weeded it down to 1 page's worth of toy pictures and we glued them all onto the letter. As I folded up his letter, he said, "No, Mama! Don't close it all up! I need to make a picture!!!" Whenever we send his grandmas anything, we always include a freshly-drawn picture, so why not one for Santa, too? I traced his hand with a marker, then he colored it in and added a couple of stickers. I added it to the envelope, sealed it up... and didn't know what to write for the addressee.

Google was no help. I man, there were nearly 2 million hits for "Santa's address", but I was hoping to find one where we might be able to get some kind of response - even a form letter. I went from site to site for nearly an hour and finally gave up. I did the next thing I always do when I need to find something online and just can't:

How COOL is this???

Now, Bernie is one of my friends that my husband calls my "Imaginary Friends Inside the Computer". I've never met her. I've never even spoken with her on the phone. We know each other via comments on each other's blogs. (If you've never read One Mixed Bag, you have to go check it out. Bernie usually posts every morning before I even roll out of bed. Her posts are the very first thing I read in the morning while I gulp down sip my first cup of coffee.) ANYWAY, later that afternoon, Little Guy and I headed for the big blue mailbox near the grocery store with an envelope addressed to Santa... at his vacation home in Montana.

Before she even received the letter, Bernie asked if she could include a small gift for him and what might be appropriate. I suggested some stickers or, if she meant a package, she could probably find a die cast car for a buck. Then, STILL before she got the letter, she (or maybe her husband, Roy) came up with the idea to send him a stamp with his name on it. He LOVES stamps! And, what about one for my oldest, too? Um... OK! THEN, she emailed and asked if the kids could have candy canes. She said that Roy insisted that Santa always sends candy canes, but she wanted to make sure I was cool with the candy part. Well, Santa and candy canes go together like milk and cookies, right? Of course he sends candy canes!

 This is what arrived from Santa on Wednesday! Now, the mail gets delivered early here, so it had to sit here ALL DAY, waiting for my oldest to get home from school before we could open it. I really, really, really wanted to see what was inside. Try as I might, I just couldn't figure out how I might just peel back a corner to have a peek inside!




Finally, my oldest got home! Little Guy was just bursting the second he heard the front door open, "Brubber! Hurry up! We got a box from SANTA!!! Hurry!" Then, the poor kid had to wait for Mommy to take a picture.



The very first thing in the box was a "Santa's Nice List Certificate" with Little Guy's name on it. He was so happy to know that he was on that list! He'd been watching the Dora the Explorer Christmas special where Swiper gets put on Santa's naughty list and has been wondering about himself. (He's not been easy to live with lately!) I haven't used the old, "Santa's elves are watching you!" threat, but I sure have been tempted!

 Next, he was just thrilled to pull out Artie the Elf's very own, real live ELF HAT! My oldest told him to make a face like one of Santa's elves for the picture and this is his interpretation:

Then, they got into the gifts! Little Guy had no idea what his stamp was until we told him to push it down onto the cardboard. I couldn't believe it - I had to change my batteries right after the photo on the right. I completely missed the surprised look on his face when he moved the stamp. He can recognize his first name in print, so he knew exactly what it said. I love that Bernie & Roy included his last name, too. It was good thinking because we don't really write it much and he really should learn to recognize that in writing, too! Now, aside from learning to recognize (and eventually write) his own name, this stamp is going to be very helpful when it comes time to put his name on his drawings and art projects. You see, Little Guy just HAS to do everything by himself. He gets so frustrated when I write his name on the back of a drawing or project before we mail it off to a grandparent. Having his own stamp to put his name on all by himself is a great way to give him that independence he wants.


Although I missed the photo after he realized that the little box he was holding was a stamp, I did manage to catch the face he made in the photo on the left. I couldn't help but laugh when he proclaimed with much authority, "Brubber! I know what that is! It's a stamp with YOUR name on it!!!"

Now, on the right, you'll see a very genuine teenager smile! That smile is hard to find on an apathetic-acting teen's face - even harder to catch on film (or a digital memory card... whatever they call it nowadays.) He absolutely loves his stamp. It's not just his name, though! Nope - it's his signature with his name printed below it. He loves drawing - he's constantly working on creating his own brand of Yugioh-like cards, a manga comic book, or just doodling. He signs his work, then has to go back and print his name. He's proud of his work and wants people to know it was his work - his siggy is just a bunch of squiggles. So, Bernie and Roy created a signature stamp for him, with his full name printed below it. (You should have witnessed the weird looks he gave me for a couple of days after I asked him to show me his signature. I think he was under the impression that I was going to forge his name for who knows what reasons! LOL)

Bernie & Roy even thought to add an extra bottle of ink for the boys!

And, here are those candy canes. Little Guy is enamored with candy - especially candy canes. He hasn't had much candy until recently, and he sure has a sweet tooth! See the look on his face over there? That's one of complete and total awe. I took the picture right after my oldest explained that there were TWELVE candy canes in there and, if everyone in the family split them up, we'd each gt four whole candy canes. Now, being three years old, three is a big number to him. Whenever he is asked how many of something he'd like, he answers three. He knows that four is a larger number than three, so to learn that four of those candy canes were all his was nearly too much for him!

And check this out:
A real, framed AND autographed photo of Santa!!! I could have knocked him down with a feather when he saw this. Every morning, now, he wakes up and goes to his Santa picture and says hello. I'm wondering if Santa's picture will be spending his off-time in a box with all of our other Christmas decorations, or hanging on our living room wall year-round. (Actually, I think I know the answer. I'll be seeing Santa in July!)

I think that Santa is expecting his reindeer to need a little pick-me-up by the time they fly to our house, He sent along some Magic Reindeer Food for us to sprinkle on our lawn on Christmas Eve! If you don't get any in the mail from Santa, you can make your own from some oatmeal and sparkly colored sugar.

What a great letter - I love how all of the crafting we've been doing is mentioned!

Oh, and, although we had to show Little Guy how to use the stamp at first, he figured out how it worked pretty quickly! At least I know that, if he gets lost in a store, they'll at least know his name so they can call me over the P.A. system. (Bernie, it takes a little more than a baby wipe to get this stuff off if you wait a while to clean it off. The back of his hand still has his name all over it! LOL) But just look at how much fun he is having! The ink will wash off (eventually), but I know he'll remember having a fun time for quite a while.


We added Little Guy's certificate and letter to our "Tree Wall" and his Santa photo is sitting right on his little red table. (Psst... check out my next post later on today to see what we did with this photo... There's a giveaway involved!)

 I really want to thank Bernie and Roy 

for helping to make Little Guy's first 

"real" Christmas all the more magical. 

Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have imagined

such a wonderful reply from Santa. 

We'd all like to send you our gratitude and wishes for a very wonderful holiday and very happy new year to both of you!

*I like to think that I'm pretty creative when it comes to cool things for kids. But I'd NEVER have thought of a simple personalized stamp as being one of them. I'm doubly amazed that both my 3 y.o. and my 13 y.o. are equally thrilled to have their very own stamps. If you're thinking that a stamp like the ones that Bernie & Roy sent my kids, check out their online store: Rubber Stamp Shop. Hey - there's even have a secret section on the site with jokes! Ok, it's not secret, but it did take me a while to come across it.

{NEW} WINNER Announcement - Scrapin' Sara's Gifts Winter-Themed Scrapbook

***My first winner did not get into contact with me within 48 hours after I sent her an email. That means that I needed to pick a second winner, who is named below: 

Thanks to all who entered this giveaway! I have to say that I'm slightly jealous of the winner - that's a great-looking scrapbook.

CONGRATS to Whitney!!!

Don't forget to check out Scrapin' Sara's Gifts for some great cards and other handmade gifts. And remember: She ALWAYS includes extra surprises with every order. I'd like to thank Sara for sponsoring this giveaway - THANKS!

I have more Etsy giveaways listed at the top of this page. Don't forget to enter!

How Do You Thank a Coach? {Budugalee Giveaway!} (11/21) US

As many of you know, my oldest decided to join the Cross Country team this year. Now, I had absolutely no experience with high school sports (or any organized sports, for that matter.) I really had no idea what was expected from me or from my son. Well, one of the things, it turns out, was to be part of the parent carpool when these was no bus available for transportation. Another was to pick him up from his daily practice at a park nearly 4 miles from out home. And, finally, I was expected to show up at the meets with snacks and to cheer on the team. Um… we have no car. I prepared my son for the begging for rides from kids who live near us to both the track meets on Saturdays and home from practice Monday through Friday. I missed all but two of the meets because I managed to plot a route that included a bus ride and long walk. Oh, and thanks to my son, I had no idea that I was supposed to be sending snacks each week! ("I forgot.")

Let me tell you something – my idea of a coach used to be the ones you see on TV and in movies. You know the ones, they yell at and belittle the kids in order to “motivate” them and toughen them up. They act uncaring and apathetic toward any adversity a kid might face outside of the sport. My views have been changed forever! My son’s coach was a really nice guy. He could tell that my son really wanted to participate in Cross Country, so he worked out transportation. In fact, most of the time, the coach, himself, would drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction of his house in order to drive my son home from practice. Every. Day. Since he had to be at the Saturday meets extra early, he arranged rides for my son to be picked up and brought home. I only met the guy twice, and he was busy coaching at the time, so I never really got to know him. He was a quiet manly-man, from what I could tell… and that’s all I knew about him!

I really wanted to thank him for all of the extra things he’d done that made it possible for my son to be on the team, but what do you give to a guy like this? I thought on this for a couple of day, then I knew: My friend, Bernie, recently opened an Etsy shop and she makes some of the most interesting and unique cards I’ve seen. A “Thank You” card made by Bernie would be just right. She also loves doing custom jobs… She’d know exactly what kind of Personalized Greeting Card to make for this coach!

So, I got in touch with her on Etsy through her shop, Budugalee, and explained all of the nice things this coach has done (there’s more – I just don’t want to bore you all to death!) and asked if she’d be interested in creating a Thank You for him. Oh, she replied right away with quite a few great ideas!

She asked if I had any photos of the team’s jersey, running shoes, anything like that. So, I sent some and she worked out a design for me. In the meantime, I had looked up a few quotes about coaches and cross country and found the quote on the front of the card. Bernie suggested adding “Thanks for going the extra mile” inside the card – now, how perfect is THAT?!

Now, if you check out most of the cards that Bernie makes, they have pretty borders and sparkly paints on them. Mr. Bernie, who acted as the consultant with a male perspective, suggested she skip those thing – the recipient was a manly-man, athletic type, after all. I’m glad he did! The card came out just right. I sent it with my son to the last meet of the season. When my son turned in his uniform a few days later, he saw the card smack dab in the middle of the coach’s bulletin board in his office for everyone to see. Now, this tells me that the guy is quite proud of it – and deservedly so! I think that Bernie came up with the perfect Thank You card for the situation!

Front

Inside

If you are looking for the perfect card for someone special, you really need to check out Budugalee. Bernie’s card run from the weird to insightful, witty to serious. She starts with copies of old photos and then uses props, paint, cardstock… whatever she has, to add the perfect touch and set the mood of the card. Check out these...

GIVEAWAY!

Do you have someone special who you’d like to give one of Bernie’s personalized cards to? She’s offering to create the perfect personalized card for one winner! It will be a process similar to the one I experienced for the coach’s card. You can send you own photos, include any special sayings or messages, etc. Just let her know, and then stand back while the brainstorming begins! 

If the Rafflecopter form is wonky, please click on the title of this post. Do not attempt to enter on my home page because Rafflecopter has a glitch and you may end up entering a different giveaway!

Have You Checked Out My New Blog Design???

Late last year, I discovered blog giveaways. I entered left and right, trying to make Christmas happen for the kids. I won some pretty cool stuff. One thing I won is what prompted me to start this blog. I entered to win an Amazon.com gift card. I didn't see that there was a second prize - a blog design. Guess which one I won... So, I got a blog design. I had no idea what I wanted to write about, but thought it might be fun to just blab about whatever I wanted, you know? The design was simple and didn't really have much of a theme (except for my button) because I really just had no idea... It was nice and it prompted me to start writing. I've made some really great friends, have gotten to try out and review some pretty cool products, and have used my blog to express my views and share cool ideas with whoever feels like reading it.

I am so excited about the new look of my blog. I swear, just a few weeks ago, I mentioned to someone that I would love to have a new look. It just wasn't something I could fathom paying for, though. I didn't really need it and money's extremely hard to come by. If I was trying to make money off of my blog, it would be a different story. I'm not, so I'd have to be happy with the design I have. That's when I received an email from Krista at Heavenly Savings. Must have had some good karma floating around because I won a complete blog re-design in her International Giveaway Hop!!!

Within an hour of responding to that winning email, Margaret of W.A.I.S.T.Eed Space Designs sent me a "Congratulations" email and a link to a form. I had no idea (again) of what I really wanted. Her questions on the form were very good and got me thinking in the right directions. I wanted a cleaner look. I wanted two sidebars, but still wanted space so my main posts wouldn't look squished. I really wanted a change in my header and button. I told her what colors I like and mentioned that I love Klimt's Tree of Life.

A couple of days later, she had a design all ready for me to look at. I was blown away! Except for one minor detail, it was perfect. That detail was fixed withing 15 minutes and it was time for her to install my new design! How's that for fast?!

There are a few thing that I just love more than all the rest: The header is ME! She managed to find a great Tree of Life-inspired tree and the writing is nice and casual. The widgets with the rotating blog buttons in the sidebar are just too cool! I always try to keep the blog buttons to a minimum because they take up space and no one ever looks at them anyway. Well, now they catch the readers' eyes and don't take up a lot of space. Everyone's blog button will be noticed! I have a cool little tree favicon now! My button is softer and not as bold as my old one (grab it from the sidebar if you'd like!) And check out my neat social networking buttons at the top, right! I even have a Google+ button to match the others. Oh! And I have a siggy now, too.

After checking out her prices, I know that I could have saved up some PayPal payments and gotten this great design, anyway. She's got some amazing packages for both Blogger and Wordpress. Plus she does ala carte items if you just need a button for a hop or a header or something. Oh, and right now (only through Nov. 4th! - HURRY!):

Everyone who orders a package can either get something free off of the A La Cart mean or you can take $15 off the cost of what ever package you order. Please go here and fill out the order from and use the coupon code 15OFF!

In addition to W.A.I.S.T.Eed Space Designs' Web site, you can find Margaret on her Blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Follow her in some way so you can catch her next sale if you miss this one!

English Roast {#CrockPot #Recipe}

I've had ample opportunity to try out some of the wonderful recipes that you have so graciously linked up on my Call for Crock Pot Recipes post since our gas had been turned off. The good news is we now have it back on! But I have learned how to cook some amazing meals using that slow cooker and will continue to do so more often than a couple times a month (I'm thinking at least twice a week.) It's so easy to just toss everything into the crock pot in the morning or even before going to bed the night before, then setting the crock into the heating unit, turning it on, and letting dinner take care of itself. I also like that I'm not pouring any valuable vitamins down the kitchen sink when I drain veggies - they cook in their own juices and I use the extras for gravy or sauce!

The first recipe I tried was for a beef roast, shared in the comments by Christy who writes Adventures in Mommyhood: Mommy Outnumbered (I have another idea she shared in an upcoming post, too!) Her suggestion was to season a beef roast (I use something called Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt to season the majority of the meat I cook) and set it in the slow cooker. The, mix up a can of cream of mushroom soup and one packet of dry onion (or onion & mushroom) soup mix. Pour the mixture on top and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours. The juices can be turned into gravy and you can serve with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.

Photo by: sundaykofax

Being the kind of cook I am, I had to change it around a little. I cut up some carrots, potatoes, and onions from the farmer's market and set them into the bottom of the crock pot. Then I added the seasoned roast. Mine was English Roast because Kroger often has "Buy 1, Get 1" deals on them and they're perfect for the slow cooker. Next, because the whole family loves them, I chopped up a bunch of fresh mushrooms and put them on top of the meat. Then I reached into the cupboard for my cream of mushroom soup - GONE! How could we be out?! I'm the only one who uses it and I do so rarely - we usually have 2-3 cans sitting in there! OK, time to really improvise... I found a can of mushroom gravy form who knows how long ago waaaay in the back. There was no expiration date on it, so I opened it, smelled it, and tasted it. Hmm... seemed OK. So I mixed it with a packet of dried onion & mushroom soup, poured it on the mushroom-covered meat, put the lid on, and prayed that the gravy was good.

Within an hour, my husband began asking when dinner would be done (it was 11am!) All day long, I made the entire neighborhood jealous. I'm not kidding - I had three different neighbor drop by for no good reason. They all got around to, "So... what are you making?" before they left. The last guy was the lucky winner - he stopped by just as I was cutting up the roast. He's a single guy who buys frozen dinners in bulk, so how could I send him home with that wonderful aroma in his nose to eat a frozen "meat patty with gravy"?

Everyone loved it! I usually have enough leftover to reheat for another entire meal when I make a roast that size. This time there was enough left for a snack... for Little Guy. It was so good! 

So a big  

"THANK YOU!" 

goes out to Christy for sharing that great idea.

Photo by: vistamommy