Journaling my Christmas- Day 1

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I have been journaling like crazy today!  I've joined Shimelle's Journal your Christmas.  The first assignment was to write your manifesto for your book/blog.  I totally misunderstood it and practically wrote a book.  Then I realized it was supposed to be a short mission statement.  I ended up using most of the one she wrote but tweaked it a bit to make it my own. I'm very disappointed in how my Sharpie bled on my page.  I'm trying to figure out how to fix it without making it look worse. (written out below picture)

It reads: A holiday season dedicated to making the very best memories. More time spent smiling, laughing, loving and enjoying being in the moment. Dedicated to more sparkle, magic and more gratitude. And more time embracing what's most important this very *special* Christmas. (Looks like I left out a word as well.) In the words of Winnie the Pooh, "Oh Bother!" I also want to add a title using some little dark brown or black letters, which I have to find.

And this would be what I wrote before realizing it was supposed to be small:

So this is Christmas!

Oh how I love this time of year. The decorations, the Christmas smells, the Christmas giving spirit in the air. People tend to be nicer, tend to see more smiles. Oh and there are endless activities.  Yes it's busy! But it is oh so fun!

 

I don't participate in the elf on the shelf but I love to hear stories of what others have done with this mischievous thing. I love the idea of Santa and even though my kids don't believe I still like to play!

 

I'm making this book/blog to capture a glimpse into my favorite time of year.  It probably won't be daily, but who knows I might surprise myself. My intentions are to journal my Christmas and some of my favorite things this season.  My hope is to capture a picture a day of something I love. (That by the way takes up a whole page in a lined spiral notebook.  I guess it wasn't as long as I thought.)

 

 

Day 1

Advent Calendar reads: Home Depot Craft & bake a new type of cookie

 

 

 Every Christmas Eve I give the kids new pajamas to wear on Christmas morning. Due to getting the wrong size at first, I had to have Ashley try on some to find out just what size she needed.  So she picked these out and knew I was getting them.  She asked me if she had a sleepover if she could wear them because she doesn't have any and she didn't want to wear a Daddy t-shirt at a friend's house.  I could understand why and I said, yes.  However, I was not expecting her to ask if the sleepover was at our house. Last night Ashley had a friend spend the night. She asked and they were given to her in full knowledge that she will not be opening them on Christmas Eve.

 

  We had to move the nativity to take out the fold out bed. The fold out bed of course is a treat for the kids to sleep on.  The boys made up a rule for however many days Ashley gets to sleep on it they get to sleep on it for that many days as well.  So tonight they get to sleep on it. But it is being put away tomorrow so I can get my house back in order!

 

  This morning Mason, Ashley, Abby and I headed to Home Depot for their once a month craft.  I looked up to see what the project would be and saw they were making frames. So before we left I took a few pictures of the girls so they would have something to put in them. Mason really doesn't like doing the crafts.  I think it is because he doesn't like getting paint on him.  So I got to make one!  I don't have a picture in mine, I'm still trying to figure out what to put in it. The kids keep telling me to put a picture of my favorite kid in it. LOL! They fight over who is my favorite. And when one does something special for me they always say, "I'm your favorite, right?"

 

Here is Ashley working on hers:

 

 

Here she is with her friend showing their creations (Cropped out friend for privacy)

And here is Ashley with a picture in her frame (friend face blurred)

 

Aussie has Chinese on Saturdays and today was his final exam for the semester.  This determines whether he moves on to the next grade.  Since he will not be there next week, his test was graded today.  He got an A-.  I think that is pretty darn awesome!

 

Part 2 of today's activity was to bake a new cookie.  I found this delicious looking cookie on Pinterest that I attempted to make.

It is called Lemon Melting Moments.  Doesn't that sound good? Well mine was far from perfect.

 

 

They may have looked bad but they still tasted pretty good!

 

In my attempt to find a picture for my frame, I made a little Santa hat for my kitties.  They were less than pleased. 

 

 This is Lucky scrambling for her life!

And as you can tell by the lack of picture, Kiki would have NOTHING to do with it- we only got blurred pictures of that attempt.

 

Other happenings today. The silicone sheet I put in the dishwasher slipped down and caught on fire. Thankfully, I caught it when I did and was able to easily put the fire out.

 

I started making Ashley's skirt for the play she is in next week.  I also started on another skirt from an adult blouse that she saw that she loved.  I just have to put the elastic in both of them, but I need her awake to measure her.  So I'll finish both of them up tomorrow.

 

There are a couple of crafts that I'm anxious to make, but I really need to get to a craft store and I wasn't able to go today.  This is going to be a very busy week!

 

Hoping to enjoy every bit of it!