booandbunny

I finished them Friday ... the kids had a lot of fun as these guys had cardboard colored faces and no embellishments when they left for school, and looked like this when they got home. I shouldn't have saved the hardest for last (the insides of these made my hands cramp!) but they are the last to leave the house, so they just had to wait.

The grandmas will love the color-coded scarves. Ms. 8 loves purple, Mr. 7 blue and Capt. Kindergarten green. And all four grandparents enjoy the muffins and cookies they find inside. This year there'll be gift cards, too, yipee!

Sharing these creations has had me thinking about Sunday Scribblings again ... about change and how much life has changed in the past year. About how much of it we work for in our lives and about how much change is foisted upon us and about how we cope with that. I'm hoping for a quiet coffee Tuesday morning so I can let these thoughts open further in my head, maybe spill onto a journal page.

But for us one thing has yet to change ... Santa is expected by all this evening and I must prepare for his arrival. As I always tell the kids, he might be magical, but if he trips on the mess and hurts himself he'll still be hurt. Let's clean up a bit. Tomorrow we'll want space to play!

Joy to all ... and peace.

She found this project in a book and did it as a gift for her teacher. Too cute! The base was traced from a saucer, so the whole thing was relatively small, but she had such a good time making it! She plans to do another one for herself while on Christmas break. Back to my snowmen!

I keep hearing Mrs. Weasley in my head ... those lines she yells at Ron, Fred and George at the beginning of Chamber of Secrets. The boys are sneaking into the house after their overnight rescue of HarryPotter when she catches them: "Where HAVE you BEEN!"

I wish I could say I've been transformed, but ... as we all know ... that's an ongoing process that can't really be photographed. I can, however, say, I've been transforming. Just look at my dining room! It's not so tidy today as it is serving as the command center for all of the gifts that go out of the house to teachers, preachers and others who serve us every day of the year.

The snowmen boxes are the last to be done. I'll post another picture when they are ready.

I was saying to Hubby this morning as I put the finishing touches on the angel ornament how I would love to be one of those crafters who can work on these things all year long, thus not sprinting across December in a streak of Alene's craft glue on a Mod Podge High, but I just can't. I find some purpose in this business I create for myself, and a certain joy in people's surprise ... you made this?

I've also found great pride in the fact that my daughter, 8, has decided to make her own gift for her teacher this year. It's almost complete, and again, I will post a pic asap. It's funny how your kids tell you that they learn from your example. It's always nice when you see them following your example in a way that doesn't put one of your own bad habits on display ... for me this means cursing in temper or leaving stacks of junk around to be dealt with later!

So the boxes have been lining up and this was the weekend to fill them. They've been trickling out the door this week, as I said, to the bus driver or the karate instructors and then, with all that baking, I always have to send some goodies to my brothers, who are great cooks, but do not bake. I think I counted 15 boxes in all, plus the ornament and the treats. Hubby always teases me about the treats: "Putting Holiday M&Ms into those cookies doesn't make them Christmas cookies." To that I say he is wrong. To that I say it doesn't stop people from eating them and so it goes ... Christmas sprinkles on the greatest peanut butter cookies ever ... on the yummiest butter cookies ever ... homemade caramel corn in Christmas cans ... muffins and some nice teas for the teachers.

Then it was time to round up the artwork for the relatives. You'd think it's impossible to share a year's worth of three kids creativity all at once, but this is the second year I've made a calendar featuring their adventures in many media, as well as a new recipe for each month (mmmm foood my favorite medium for expressing myself!). So this was born during my time away. Stationary has yet to be created for the grandmas ... but it will meet the goodie-stuffed snowmen beneath a tree soon!

And so the time passes and my Sunday Scribbles continue to land on the margins of other things. I took this picture when I was thinking it would be the last hour of my life with this hair. Instead the shop had no power and I had to reschedule. Then I thought about punishment and reward as I listened to a friend recount recent court proceedings involving her victimized family and the man who did it to them. Seeing them healing puts special joy in this particular Christmas. And I went back to this picture when it came time for Anticipation, but alas we've had three different winter illnesses take down three different people in the house ... none of them me yet! I canceled my hair appointment and went to the pediatrician instead. I was unable to reschedule the hair. So, in the last hour, I've created this post and thought a lot about why I create and what I create and I have to say I'm just thankful I can create it. So many people stuff that part of themselves to one side, thinking there's no time, no money it, no point. But the point is in the doing. And, while outwardly I am still not transformed (would you look at this HAIR!) inwardly, another change is made.

Now, how about those peanut butter cookies? You measure out one pound of sugar, one pound of creamy peanut butter and dump in one egg. You mix it up and form the dough into one inch balls. Mash them with a sugar-coated fork and bake them about 10 minutes at 375. Then you watch as people marvel when they eat them ... and you never EVER tell anybody how truly simple they are. I'll be back when the snowmen boxes let go!

Do you ever have one of those days? Song days. Sing sing a song days. Sing out loud, sing out strong days. They just come to me … and since Capt. Kindergarten has been leaving me daily to go to school I think I’ve been singing more … no one around to say “Can You please stop now, Mommy?” ’Cause some days I just need to sing. I mean, let’s face it, chores are more bearable when you sing a bit, dance a bit. They just go faster.

And this time of year I do my best to crank as much of my favorite holiday music as I can because I simply won’t listen to it again for another 11 months. So I’m singing. Floating around doing chores on a Mod-Podge High singing singing singing. Peaking at the sparkle of the ice that remains under clear blue skies.

I know it's a Carpenter's song. My mom used to spin it on the LP regularly. Much to her chagrin I see a host of celebrities and some sweet little monsters when I hear it, warming my heart more. Or I hear Ellen DeGeneres' Dory ... just keep singing singing singing gotta keep singing singing singing singing!

There's a strange warmth to being ensconced in snow-topped ice. Our summer adventure zone was transformed into the kind of Winter Wonderland my 5-year-old has never really had the chance to enjoy. He went through five pairs of gloves yesterday! Waterproof gloves for him were the one thing I forgot to put on Hubby's list as I sent him to Target on his lunch hour Thursday for three pairs of boots and two pairs of snowpants. It had been so long since we've had a big bite of winter that the only snow boots in the house were two sizes two small for the smallest of all. (Yes, we watched the Grinch the other night!) It was a kind of TV-family day. While neighbors struggled to conquer the cul-de-sac (which wasn't cleared until late last night) we hunkered down and suited up. Sledding, snow forts (to the extent we could scrape snow off the sheet of ice that coated our little plot), crafting, hot chocolate, movies, some decorating and calzone for dinner.
You can see the layer of ice that coated the swingset and other summer fun ... and the kids were real good about taking turns with the saucer, making snow angels on the hill while they waited. The dog was about worn to a frazzle by lunch and kitty didn't seem so pretty licking condensation off the windows!