Came and Went

Christmas came and went.
My tree is still standing (13'8" high)
      It is still drinking water and the pine cones are popping
            Music to my ears.
The kids' gifts are no longer all over the living room.
       They are secure in boxes by the mammoth tree . . .
               On the kitchen table . . .
                     On the stairs . . .
                           On the counter . . .
                                 And even the floor of my shower.
The Kinect is played daily
       hourly
                minutely
                        (is minutely even a word?)
Most of the gifts have been delivered or picked up . . . most
          not all
              isn't that true every year?

Our kids were blessed this season with Nook Tablets.  They are all filling them up with books, apps, and watching Netflix.  They are so pleased and happy that I am so pleased and happy.

You know what else makes me happy?  Jason's new luggage from Grandpa.  We packed a weeks worth of clothes in it and sent him off to a tournament in Seattle the day after Christmas.  They have played 2 games already - one win, one tie.  He has a goal and a penalty - not great, but acceptable.  Personally, I think he could work harder.  But I always think that.

Carly is off to cousin Madison's house to spend the night.  We gathered up all of the gifts for them and went over today since we didn't see them on Christmas.  We got them a tote of Christmas decor for next year, labels, sharpies, tape, and wrapping paper.  Ridiculous I know, but it was all 70% off.  LOVE IT!  Carly packed up her nook and pillow pet, put on her new middle schooler type clothes, and went out for the night looking totally adorable in her new jacket from Grandpa.  Her other jacket went missing at a hockey practice.  Grandpa felt pretty bad about that and picked her out a white jacket on HUGE discount.  YAY and she loves it.  I was sketchy about a white jacket, but not her.  She even found a head band to match for 2$.  WOW.
She also acquired new bedding - NOT a mommy blanket.  She has always wanted bedding from a store, not from mom.  Her last quilt was made by me and given to her for her 7th birthday.  Her first was made for her for her 4th birthday.  She is 11 and has finally got something else.

Caden has been stuck like glue to his nook.  He is deeply into parkour and spends much time watching you tube videos and martial arts movies.  I introduced him to Jet Li last night and he was already a big Jackie Chan fan.  He also loved, loved, loved his legos.

So, I lay here on the huge lounge style sofa sectional and listen to Jay snore at 9:30 pm, to rock music coming from Caden's Nook even though he has earbuds in, and to the history channel (which I am not a huge fan of). The tree and stove, alike, are crackling.  Esme is stirring, trying to get comfortable on the sofa as I move the pillows around, and I can hear the clothes spinning in the dryer.  It is quiet and peaceful, but sad.

I miss my kids when they aren't home, especially after a holiday when they are off of school.

Our Charlie Brown Christmas

I called this year a Charlie Brown Christmas. Money was almost nonexistent. We pulled out our quite small fake tree and I let Carly and Caden decorate it. I have never been a "professional decorator" type. I've always wanted my tree to reflect a little bit of all of us. There are ornaments that reflect my husband, like multiple sports themed ones and a jeep. Those, I don't love. In fact, those are the ones I wish I could lose, but in the grand scheme of things . . . I don't care. If it makes the kids happy putting them up and driving me nuts. Its cute that they put this big ugly eagle on a football at the top and front of the tree. By big, I mean grapefruit big. Seriously.

Then there are the ornaments I bought the kids year after year that remind me of them. All of the bells remind me of my little girl, along with a few ladies that hang on the tree. Then there are the cute little wooden ornaments that remind me of Cade. And many ornaments that are Jason's - mostly airplanes and some hockey or baseball characters, and Peter Pan. I think that may be his favorite too.

Then there are things that make me happy. I love ornaments that look like candy. I don't know why, it just seems whimsical and child-like. Lollipops & rock candy among my favorite. I also love my ornaments that look old and in your basic red & tan colors and are fabric, wood, or metal.

Carly calls it an I SPY tree. So this year it became a game.

"I spy 15 Santa Clauses"

"I spy -- snowmen"

"There are 3 new ornaments, what are they?"

I feel much better about the chaotic display on my tree now. It is interesting and colorful and full of things that make each person happy. How could I not love it? I laugh to myself and think that it looks like Happiness threw up all over the tree. This year, as Christmas day went on, it got more and more filled up. Every bow that could be saved ended up on the tree too. It is also now full of envelopes and "coupon" books.

Which brings me back to Charlie Brown Christmas. I challenged all of the kids to think of 4 things they could do for each other and make coupons. Carly thought of making each coupon a punch card with 3 punches. Both she and Caden made coupon books with a total of 12 coupons. They listed things like, "Make a treat for me," "Leave me alone," & "Play a game with me." Jason didn't partake in this, but he picked out great gifts for his siblings. They took thought and were very loved upon opening.

Jay and I also contributed coupon books for each child.

Some of the coupons were:

1 itunes song download

lunch date with mom/dad

driving lesson (for Jason)

girls/guys day out

help clean my room

I am hoping that this will actually save us money in the long run. The kids ask for lunch out every time we leave the house. Now I will ask them if they will be willing to turn in their coupon for it. Because there are only 3 of them in their pack, they may realize that it is not that important to head over for fast or deli food. The same goes for iTunes. They are always asking to buy a song or download an app. I know I could just buy them gift cards, but that comes out of my account anyway. And it is tough keeping track of who has used up what when I enter them all into the same iTunes account. This way, I can ask them how important it is for them to have this song. Are they willing to use one of their coupons for it? They each got 4 of those.

It is important that we get down and dirty with this frugal lifestyle we should be living. We should not be sacrificing good meals just to purchase things we can do without.

Which brings me to my eBay infatuation. I love shopping for brand name clothes for the kids on eBay. I have been able to get Carly some great stuff. She loves watching the mail for her "new" clothes. She is really good about passing on her old stuff too so she never has too much sitting around here. She has been growing so much lately, really filling out, so she has gone from an 8/10 to a 10/12. I even had to get her a new coat because her arms were getting too long for her favorite green Columbia. But we grabbed a black Old Navy coat for $25.00. SO HAPPY about the price and she got an adorable hat and scarf that match perfect from Grandma Trish for Christmas.

I have tried to buy Jason clothes on eBay too. He isn't fond of used clothes but I don't care. Carly and Caden got him a great new Hollister shirt there and he loves it. I make sure that the items I bid on never cost more that comparable item would cost new. If I get a t-shirt, it better not be more than 6 dollars including shipping.

But BUT but, I need to stop looking for good deals now because we don't need them. That 6 dollars could be used other places. I just love the fact that I can get what the kids need at such great prices and I am reusing items not buying new.

So, I went from Christmas to eBay.

Boy Oh Boy

Gosh have I missed a lot of blogging. Let's see if I can sum it up.

1. I have a new niece, Killian Patricia Harvey. Born almost 2 weeks late to my brother and sister-in-law. She has red hair and is completely adorable. She was taken c-section because mom and baby were getting exhausted.

2. Thanksgiving was delicious and calm. We went Phil and Haanah's, snacked on veggies and cheese/meat trays until dinner was served. Food was all fabulous as were deserts. I made my first pumpkin pie. That was great too. WooHoo

3. Kids are getting OK grades - Carly's are great but it is a struggle for her to maintain it. She is determined to do so though.

4. Jason went to a hockey tournament over Thanksgiving. We missed him, but he did well. He played hard and strong and scored some goals. Jay went down to hang out with him after he'd been there semi-on his own for 2 days.

5. We finally got snow and really cold temperatures. We also had freezing rain. That was NOT fun, but school was cancelled the week of Thanksgiving so the kids had a LONG vacation. I however had one week less on my paycheck though.

6. Super behind on Christmas shopping. We have dubbed this a "Charlie Brown" Christmas. Our tree is small and artificial. The ornaments are bright and colorful as always though. That part I Love. Carly says it is like an I Spy tree. So, we play I Spy. For example, I Spy 12 Santa Clause's on my tree. I have barely bought Caden's Birthday gifts either - and we didn't get what we've been promising him for an entire year, an iPod touch. We just don't have the extra cash and we aren't using credit cards. He will be horribly disappointed, but we do have an extra iphone laying around that we will let him have for his applications. I hope it suffices until we can get him what he wants. I will also remind him that he has enough money on his own to buy it himself if he can't wait. Knowing Caden though, he won't want to spend all of that money on just one thing. I have made coupons on the computer for many gifts. It is easier than sending something someone may not want. I will do the same for the kids. Instead of itunes gift cards, I will make my own coupons that say "This coupon is good for 1 song download" or "This coupon is good for 1 $2.99 application". The money comes out of my bank account anyway and this makes it more personal. And I am hoping that this ends the kids constant pleading to download or buy something. Now I can say, "do you have a coupon for it?"

Other things we did for little cost are making gifts. I have made many heating pads and trivets from fabric that my mom had "hoarded" when she was alive. I use feed corn that is like 50lbs for $25.00. I also have flack seed ones. Those do not and should not get as hot though. They are more for trivets and sinus/headache pads. You can stuff a lot of heating pads in a one-rate shipping box. Its awesome! And, we created a cookbook for everyone for Christmas. Haanah and I gathered recipes and I designed a book, printed, and semi-bound it. It has some great treats in there along with some practical recipes.

I don't have really any idea of what to get my older children this year. I want it to be special, but can't afford to go all out and expensive. It is torture on my soul.