"You don't argue with the angels. His name is Jesus."

Today's creativity was theatrical....if you can call it that. Our church's nativity play was originally scheduled for the Sunday before Christmas but had to be canceled due to the snow. It ended up being rescheduled for today after church. It was super funny (we're no fuddy-duddy church afterall!) and since Three is the youngest baby in the church, he was Jesus and I had to be Mary. Yes, I said "had to". This was sooo not my thing but once they assured me I had no lines, it was fine. DaddyMan was an "Obnoxious Servant", something he handled quite naturally. :o) Three did fantastic. He didn't cry at all and just soaked up the attention.

Back away from the scissors

I was rescued from the house today! My parents came to pick me up in their truck and we went on The Great Adventure to Joann's. I imagine it would feel the same if we were four-wheeling through a huge muddy field but it was so great to get out. I picked up my much needed D-rings and this super cute book. Here is a picture of Two's apron. I'm sure I'll eventually add pockets but at least now we can finally use them!



In a last minute crunch to get everything ready for the morning, DaddyMan prepared to wrap the last few presents. He had to gather things from my regular wrapping station (ie-the bed) because Three sleeps in there with us and of course, being 11pm, he was actually sleeping. I was at the sewing machine finishing up the aprons and he very politely asks if he can borrow my scissors. Um, NO! Now, I very vividly remember the conversation we had when I first bought my pair of Fabulous Fabric Scissors, and how they were only for my use and exclusively for fabric.... It was very similar to the conversation my grandmother had with me many many years ago about her fabric scissors, and no, I don't think I'm being even the eentsiest bit selfish. So, he gave me a look that said I must be crazy and then went to get a different pair of scissors without saying a word. Sometimes he is so smart.

Because of the weather, Christmas Eve services were canceled at our church. After my early trip out with the parents, I very much agree that it was necessary, but it made me rather sad as well. You see, Three was supposed to be Baby Jesus tonight. Not in some lame reinactment, but our Pastor always holds a baby during his short message every Christmas Eve to remind us that Jesus, too, came to us as a baby. Two got to be Jesus when she was a newborn. Now of course we all know that Jesus came as a baby, but to see it like that, is so very touching. Definitely more so now that I am a mother. It makes the true meaning of Christmas much more real to me. To hold my little baby and know that, thousands of years ago, another mother held her son, the same way I hold mine.... May it be real for you too.

Merry Christmas!

Muffin Tin Monday

Another week, another Muffin Tin Monday! The kids love it and argue about who will be my Kid Chef that night. Will they still be fighting for dinner-cooking rights when they're teenagers? We have to get creative to fill up all those muffin tin holes....like deconstructing spaghetti into noodles, sauce, and meatballs. There's three tins filled just like that! Who knew it was so fun to actually dip your noodles into the sauce? Or that carrots apparently also taste good dipped in spaghetti sauce? As long as they make it into little tummies, who cares?! Here's One with tonight's dinner: peas, carrots, garlic bread, meatballs, spaghetti sauce, and curly-Q noodles. YUM!

On to my Baby Jesus adventure story: I found Two wandering through the house with a cup of water. I wasn't sure what was going on, but like any good mother, I told her to take the cup back to the kitchen without asking her what she was doing. Oh, those wonderful parenting moments. Later, I'm in the living room and I see Baby Jesus in front of the fireplace with some strange looking white stuff, which I soon discover to be wet toilet paper!

Me: "Two? We're you giving Baby Jesus a bath?"
Two: "Uh huh"
Me: "With toilet paper?"
Two: "Yes."

Fortunately for Two, I thought that was one of the sweetest things I had ever seen and it very much reminded me of the woman who washed Jesus' feet. What an amazing thing to be reminded of, especially through the innocence of my sweet three year old.

As if I needed one more thing to do....

Welcome to my first blog! I have recently become addicted to crafty mom blogs. Unfortunately they waste as much of my time as Facebook does but it is oh-so-much fun and I get so many ideas! I love it! My craft to-do list is getting longer, my commitment to handmade is getting stronger (and more attainable)....I am so inspired. Unfortunately my house is not getting any cleaner and the circles under my eyes are not getting any smaller, but, with my own blog, I'll at least be accomplishing something and hopefully be able to backtrack one day and remember how much fun I was having during my best attempt to be a crafty, loving, super mom.

We woke up this morning to no power and a house temp of 58 degrees! Eight inches of snow topped with a quarter inch of ice meant an entire week's early start to Christmas Break for the kids and what little craft time I had went straight out the window! Not a great situation considering I have about five more projects (read: GIFTS!) to complete before Christmas! Oh no! Fortunately, the kids are young enough that I can surprisingly craft their gifts right in front of them! Amazing! They definitely get that from the DaddyMan.

Speaking of him, he updated our bathroom today! Brought it completely out of the 70's. I'll try to post some pictures soon. It really makes a huge difference. Now, I'll admit he was reluctant to update the bathroom for my Christmas gift. His version: he was going to have to update it no matter what (true) so it wouldn't really count as a gift (false, I asked for a new bathroom). But, after explaining to him the fantastic two-for-one opportunity -bathroom gets updated AND it doubles as a gift- and considering the above mentioned snow (read: lack of last minute shopping opportunity) he was convinced! I love my bathroom! Now I can pee happier. :o)

Now if I had posted yesterday, my first post would have been something like this: "Take Baby Jesus out of your pants!" I have wanted the Willow Tree Nativity for several years now. I told DaddyMan I was finally going to buy it this year but I didn't. Living on one budget, I usually have too many excuses to not spend money on myself so this was a big deal and he wholeheartedly agreed. (He really is amazing. I need to remember that more often.) But, when shopping at my favorite store (Goodwill!), I found an entire kids' nativity set bagged -get this- with an entire cast of Star Wars figurines (for One) and other misc, including a girl and puppy for Two's doll house...all for TWO DOLLARS! I knew I had my new nativity set (and some Christmas gifts too - score!)! I think it's really cute and best of all, I don't have to stress over the kids messing with the nativity. The only rule was that all the pieces had to stay in the living room so they didn't get lost. However, it wasn't long before I found them lounging in the doll house in Two's room and told her she needed to bring them back to the living room. Well, Two is 3 yrs old and it just wouldn't be any fun to use your hands, now would it? Nope! Two unzipped her footed jammies and was cramming Baby Jesus and all the other characters down her jammie pants! Hilarious! They eventually made it into their expected spot, completely unaware of the excitement to come. I'll share that story tomorrow!