Christmas gifts

 

Made a few new reusable fabric bags for Christmas wrapping. Pretty much my kids' entire lives, I have used reusable bags for a minimal waste Christmas.   A few years ago, I further simplified things with a Want, Wear, Read and Make bag for each kid. Four gifts tossed into handmade reusable bags.  Leaning into this small area of my life that is organized and planned, since the rest of my brain feels disorganized and chaotic. 

Beachy vibes

 I will always pick a cold deserted beach to a packed summer beach. Magical. 

Backyard

 When we find ourselves with an unscheduled afternoon (which feels like a rarity), this is where we find ourselves.  Home. My most favorite place to be.

Santa!

 The world through a 5 year old's eyes is quite delightful. 

This was her letter to Santa, dictated to dad, signed by her. 

Here's Santa tucking it in his belt.

Apparently dad found out his fave Christmas Eve treats, there's quite a list! Merry Christmas!

The struggle

 

Someday I'll miss this. Someday I'll miss this. 

I swear, I just get an area tidy and organized and my girls swoop in and the tidy goes to chaos quicker than a wink. Even when they do clean up, it's never in the way I just organized it.  Of course I want them to read, create and do life here, but perhaps waiting an hour or two to invade the space I tidy wouldn't be too much to ask? It seems like every Christmas I am trying to get them to tidy the original mess so we can take out the Christmas mess.  It never really happens and then there's mess everywhere and I can't even deal.  The meme comes to mind, "Christmas magic is really a mom who loved her kids so much."  So true.  And so I carry on and send my fellow "December is overwhelming" parents out there a brownie, because chocolate helps everything.

December 1

When we got home from Thanksgiving, I opened our local free paper that had the calendar of events for all the towns in our area.  There are SO MANY THINGS going on. I got so excited as I took my sharpie and started circling everything.  When I actually got my calendar out to commit, I got overwhelmed immediately. I closed the calendar and declared I didn't want to do any of it!!  Although I went a wee bit dramatic and I don't really want be a bah humbug, I do want to be mindful of doing the things, but not overdoing the things.  I want us to be taking in and enjoying and not running frantically. I want us to be together, not frazzled.  I'm tempted to be frazzled already because I don't have our advent calendar stuff down from the attic, nor any of the other Chrsitmasy stuff.  It's not when I do things that matters, I plan to do them when I am able without letting that guilt sneak up into my brain.  There are so many expectations I set for myself, many unrealistic. Whatever I do will be enough, so long as I keep the peace in my brain, the peace in our home and the true meaning of the season forefront.

December 1st, what did I do?  Nothing Christmasy like I intended.  I cleaned and set up the 'like new' marketplace couches I got with gift money (thank you!). 

They played and I read our morning books.

We worked in the kitchen. 

Played some more.

Painted. (I painted that. She actually likes what I painted and wanted me to take a pic)

Loved on daddy.

And snuggled for night time books. (He's 12 and still snuggles me like this everynight.) 

My brain tries to go to all the things I didn't do, but meant to do. I think the things I did do matter more.  

Homeward bound

 What a trip! Maine to NY, the same route we've done oodles of times. This one? One to remember. 

We started off leaving a day early to surprise my dad.  I took a little snooze and when I woke up, I saw things I didn't recognize, including the sign that said "LAST EXIT BEFORE CANADA."  Somehow my husband keep driving and we ended up in Canada...without passports, birth certificates, dog health certificates and we had poultry across country lines. All not permitted! 45 minutes later, a visit inside two different customs buildings, we got papers and were permitted back in the United States. Such an adventure. 

We kept on moving and arrived finally at my home sweet home. 

We arrived to a snow covered cabin. All the cooking and baking is required to be done on the woodstove. The hot water is only on at certain times of the day. Apparel is t shirts because the woodstove cooks us too. Every knife is super sharp. A full view of the stars from my bedroom window. Morning walks with no vehicles. Wildlife outnumbers the people. Deer all over. Partridges drumming. Geese honking. Woodpeckers tapping. Owls hooting. Frozen frogs to thaw. Where there's nothing to do by wordly standards, but yet there is everything to do. Projects aplenty.  It's the town where some of my most favoritest people live, memories and stories get told wherever we go and the St. Lawrence River paints the most beautiful picture in my soul.  While I love my current house in Maine, a part of me will always love the very rural north country. 

(The tree I planted with my mom at the school)