Archive - November, 2011

Temptation: What I Want

Posted in: Lessons I Learned, Love Love Love & Marriage, Susan Holiday Solutions
November 30, 2011 with 8 Comments

 

What is it with me and white lately?!   I am tempted by all things white:

the white fire place and my wedding dress

the white cabinets I want for my kitchen

the silver tub with the white porcelain lining

And now the white Nikon J1.

I want it.

And I am rather attached to it.

If I had a J1 my pictures might look like more Ree Drumond’s or Ann Voskamp’s.  If I had it I would take more pictures of my family that were worth keeping.  If I had the Nikon J1 this blog would be visually inspired by pictures of food and children more beautiful than all the visions of sugar plums that ever dance  in my head put together (do you think there is a chance my husband might read this – hint, wink, hint)!

I have a million excuses to get it…and just as many not to get it.  It is new on the market so there are no deals to be had; I have a looming house renovation (not my choice – the flood, remember) threatening to exceed its budget at every moment; not to mention the three school tuitions I am paying and the 10 year old Ford Explorer I am driving till death do us part (it’s not white, by the way, which is why it has to go).

Do you want?

Do you get attached to things, like me?


This is my new friend, Doris.

She wants more than me, she wants… deeply.

My wants are fluffy and white, hers are heavy and daunting.

I met Doris through Compassion International.  I was asked to sponsor a child twice in one week – at a Michael W. Smith concert and in an Ann Voskamp blog – double inspirations are impossible to ignore.

The cost to meet Doris’s wants, for a whole year, is less than the cost of the Nikon J1.  Just $38 a month.

She is so cute, don’t you think?  Even cuter than the J1.

I have a visions of her – growing, laughing, learning, eating… visiting with me… one day.

I am getting rather attached to her.

Her birthday is in February.  I have an idea for a present…

a flowy, snowy, white dress.

New Year’s Eve…With The Kids?!

Posted in: Just for Fun, More on the Kids, Susan Holiday Solutions
November 21, 2011 with 0 Comments

I love the holidays.  I really think they should just skip Halloween – who needs it?   Magazines should be filled with tantalizing Thanksgiving recipes starting in September and let’s deck the malls with Christmas in October.  Every year, I can’t wait for the holidays.

Until, I get to New Year’s Eve.  It’s kind of an afterthought for me.  I am somewhat of a New Year’s misfit.  After Christmas day all the relatives take that “holiday feeling” home with them and my house seems…very unparty like.  My homey visions of Christmas vaporize and are replaced by glossy visions of New Year’s Eve – a picture I just don’t fit in to.

I am not glamorous.

I am not raucous.

And after Christmas, I do not have the energy to produce anything

sumptuous!

But I do like to celebrate and after holidays and days filled with family, it is fun to reunite with some friends.

So here is my favorite New Year’s fit - a progressive party with the kids, kind of.  Get together with  a few other families.  It doesn’t matter if the kids vary in ages a little.  Hire the older children as sitters for the night. Then plant them all in the most child friendly house with lots of games and goodies.   The adults head to another house for appetizers.  Progress to another house for dinner.  After dinner reunite with the children at the kid house for dessert and to usher in the new year.  If you have really little ones you can pretend to usher in the new year 2-3 hours early.

It is a great non-glamorous, non-raucous, party combination of a little adult time and a little family time with a lot of cheering the New Year in together at the end.

It’s a homey New Year’s Eve.

Tool.Me Tuesday: A Thanksgiving Tool For Family Sharing

Posted in: Susan Holiday Solutions, Tool.Me Tuesday
November 15, 2011 with 0 Comments

I love this tool.

My children love this tool.

My IN-LAWS love this tool.

Need I say more?

This is a free downloadable from iMOM.com.  It is very easy to use and a great way to turn Thanksgiving  into a delightful time of

thanks. 

Consider this the whip cream on your pumpkin pie!

Thanksgiving Story Cards

These are the story cards.  They tell the real story!  Things I never knew about that first feast.  Very intriguing.  Everybody picks a card (there are 12) and so everyone has a part in telling the story.

Did you know that the first Pilgrim to die was baby Oceanus? 

Do you know what “Pilgrim” means and how they got their name? Continue Reading…

Say Yes To The Dress

Posted in: Just for Fun, Love Love Love & Marriage, Remodeling
November 9, 2011 with 2 Comments

I was asked for an update on the house.   This is a tempting question for me because I am trying to stay out of the circle of Fear-Worry-Anxiety (see post below). And when I think about the house it is easy to fall into the circle.

When one is abstaining from the circle of fear it is rather interesting what strange, happy thoughts might appear in the brain.  For instance, I am mysteriously pleased, actually tickled about these two items that were not lost in the flood:

my fireplace

and my wedding dress.

I cannot even remotely explain why they are even on the same page of my brain.  Perhaps it is a strategy of some sort.  Do you ever try to distract your child from something painful with something to delight them?  You know – they fall and scrape their knee, you see their lip quiver and Continue Reading…

Stop The Morning Madness

Posted in: Lessons I Learned, Parenting, Susan on TV, Susan Solutions
November 8, 2011 with 0 Comments

Here are a few suggestions for moms to keep the morning madness at bay in their home. Stay calm, organized, and get your kids to school on the right foot!

 

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