Thoughts on yesterday...

...in no organized fashion because my organization mojo is plum worn out right now. ;)

- Had a fabulous Thanksgiving with family and friends...thanks to those who were here! Made it so much more special to share the day with you!

- Woke up yesterday with no voice...which made sharing Thanksgiving with family and friends more difficult. ;) Rather irritating because I had plenty to say, lol, but I'll make up for it later. 

- I'm pretty sure we cooked and carved the turkey upside down. (True story.) But. It turned out wonderfully...thank you, Pioneer Woman! The other dishes, btw, also turned out well. Feeling like we might actually be capable of preparing a decent meal, lol. Also, thankful for the lovely sides and desserts that others brought. Nothing better than food prepared by other people! ;) Yum!! Bummed, though, because I really failed in the photography department once people showed up. Darn it all. (Even after my public service announcement about that yesterday...in all fairness, though, I scheduled that post the day before while I was all optimistic and able to talk. Then, Thursday actually came and I didn't have my act together quite as planned, lol.) But. Here are a couple shots I managed to remember to take while we were prepping things the day before:

(These are the sweet potato dish and the skillet cornbread. We also made cranberry-pomegranate sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, and pumpkin muffins thanks to the Pioneer Woman's recipes.)

- The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves...playing in the basement, challenging each other on the Wii, general play and so on. Plus, they all made little ship placeholders. Remember, I was telling you that I was going to try these to coordinate with my centerpiece? Well, one, those coffee holder things are awesome. And, two, it's unrealistic, apparently, to expect boys to make Mayflower like ships when given free reign. Asher almost immediately turned his into a pirate ship and Noah's first take was a modern sailing yacht. Micah's, since I know you're wondering, was an exploration ship sporting a sail decorated with a fight scene from Star Wars, of course. And, both Asher and Micah immediately needed "cannon holes" in their hulls. Lovely. 

Here are the boys working on their first ships (over the course of Thanksgiving, they each made more than one). I love how these pictures capture each boys' personality. Micah simply set to work and had fun coming up with his own thing. Asher went to google for a picture of the "jolly roger" and set about drawing and coloring, wanting to be as true to form as possible. And Noah got out the rulers and stencils and carefully measured out his design.

I was pleasantly surprised at how excited they were over this craft, though I suppose it shouldn't come as a huge shock. An opportunity to construct a vehicle of sorts? Definitely caught their attention better than coloring a silly ol' turkey. ;) (It didn't hurt that I added caramels and butterscotch candies to each ship on Thanksgiving while they served as placeholders, lol.) Speaking of which, here are the finished ships:

- I have a whole new appreciation for dish washers. And counter space. (Man, I need more counter space.)

- I also have a whole new appreciation for just how much work goes into planning a full meal for multiple families. Oh, we've had folks over before and all, but nothing enough like yesterday to remind me of meals growing up...the kind that my parents would make that would feed 40 easily. Seriously. Hats off to you, Mom!

- I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv for what, I think, is the first time ever. The boys joined me and were amazed...they have a definite difference of opinion as to what makes a good big balloon character, though. In particular, they just could not figure out why there were no Star Wars characters represented. ;) (Micah thought it was fun to try to guess how many people it took to hold each balloon...sometimes the announcers would mention it.)

- Very thankful for our lovely dining room table (that made seating everyone possible) and the new plates and flatware that I scored this past month. I actually set the table, which doesn't happen often around here. ;) Isn't it pretty?

- Yay, too, for Thanksgiving providing the motivation to finally finish putting things on my poor mantel. It has been naked much of 2010 whilst I kept talking about putting up these shadow boxes (that have been sitting in my office much of 2010 as well).

- And. Did you watch the 2010 Punkin Chunkin tournament to cap off your evening? Yeah. We did. ;) (It was even hosted by Adam and Jamie from the Mythbusters...can't get much better than that in the world of my guys, lol. Well, maybe if Darth Vader hosted?)

So. How was your Thanksgiving?

Happy Turkey Day!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! Also, briefly, here's how my centerpiece came out:

Will try to take more pictures today (especially of boys and their continued "tweaking" of their smaller versions of this). More later. Must go stuff my face. ;) How are you celebrating? 

(BTW, public service announcement...make sure to take pictures with family and friends today...and make sure you're in at least some of them. Trust me.)

Gift ideas: To make.

Ready for more gift ideas? How about things to make? You can mull them over during the Thanksgiving break. ;)

I'll be honest. I haven't been feeling particularly crafty this year. I've not done much in the way of scrapbooking and if I manage to make holiday cards this year, it'll be a feat. :) But. If *you're* feeling ambitious and want to make some Christmas gifts this year, here are a few ideas I've used in the past:

Glass magnets. Simple and easy to personalize. How about pictures of your kids with their grandparents for the grandparents? Pictures of instruments for that favorite music teacher? Letters of the alphabet for that pre-schooler on your list? Here is a tutorial that I've followed before. I picked up some cute tins from this place. (Incidentally, I know from experience that it's easier to package magnets in a metal container than to leave them loose in a glass jar...just so you know.) Slap a cute ribbon around it all and call it good. ;) Here are a portion of the many I made last year:

Yes. I tend to make things in bulk. On the one hand, it covers many gifts all at once and is less expensive overall. On the other hand, man, this took a long time. If you make things in bulk, don't wait until the weekend before you plan to give the gifts out, okay? ;)

Personalized shirts. The possibilities are endless. ;) There are scads of places available for this sort of thing. Here's the one I've used most recently.

Ornaments. Oh. My. Heck. I could devote an entire blog just to ornament ideas. I won't. But I could. Places like this are great for simple kid craft ideas. Personally, I like to just browse my favorite stores and see things I like and then try to figure out how to make it myself. ;) I try to do things in themes so tend to pick something general that can then be personalized for each recipient such as little frames with pictures. Look through my blog entries in December of 2008 for many more ideas to do with your kids. ;)

Candies. Ah, candy. I've had years where I sent everyone See's lollypops or Hammond's candy canes. (Did you know that you can go tour the Hammond factory in Denver? Santa will be there Dec. 11. We've been before...good times.). Something about quality candy just appeals to me. ;) In the "things you can make" department, though...a couple years ago we made homemade chocolate suckers for our neighbors and I fondly remember making bon bons with my mom growing up. Here are the suckers:

We wrapped each tree individually in a little bag and placed them in wooden bowls from the Target dollar spot...added some mini candy canes, and voila!

Lemon bread. I don't bake much, but I can handle little gift-sized loaves of lemon bread. Mmmm. I'm sure other types of bread are good, too. :) The Target dollar spot and places like the Dollar Store make this even easier nowadays with cute little loaf pans that are perfect for gift giving. (When I did this, I wrapped the loaves in cellophane and tied with ribbon.)

Votives. I haven't actually done this but was remembering the cute jar candles that the boys made a couple years ago. Something like that would be really cute and easy for gifts, don't you think? Here's Noah's jar candle in progress:

Papergoods. Obviously, gifts made by me over the years have included great amounts of scrapbooking...mini albums, layouts to go in larger albums, works to be hung on the wall, items to be placed on one's desk, blank notecard sets, etc. Methinks going into any more detail would require a separate blog post...or a separate blog. ;) Suffice it to say, papergoods are also a lovely option for gifts you can make. 

So. What are some of your "go-to" crafts to make for gifts? (Really. I'd love to know...always looking for more ideas!)

One week to go!

Is it just me or did November completely speed by? ;) So, what are your Thanksgiving plans? I'm feeling rather like a grown up here...hosting my first "real" Thanksgiving, where I'll actually cook a turkey for the first time. (Gasp! I know, I know. I've managed to get others to do it thus far, lol.)

I'm looking forward to it...got new plates, have been collecting serving pieces and have plans for a fun centerpiece and placecards. List-maker that I am, I made out my little menu and planned out what needs to be made when...because being in the kitchen doesn't come naturally to me and I need all the help I can get, lol. (I don't mind, either, telling you that I spent a lot of time perusing The Pioneer Woman's Thanksgiving recipes...yum! We'll see if I'm able to come close.)

Since I don't have my centerpiece and such actually made yet (that's what the weekend's for, right?) to share with you, I thought I'd share a few fun ideas instead...

My table will have been inspired by Pottery Barn's Mayflower centerpiece. Here's someone who shows her own take on this, along with a picture of the PB Mayflower I mentioned. I'm planning to use felt and canvas...will show you when I get it made. :)

Here's a layout and little story about a coloring "contest" my family had a few years ago. And. Here's a coloring sheet if you want to try it yourself. (I drew this one...the old link at that other post isn't working.) Here are more coloring pages I found.

And, here is an awesome resource for all kinds of craft ideas to do with the kiddos on turkey day. In particular, I'll be using this one: pilgrim ships from coffee sleeves. (I may end up making these in advance, though.) Or, of course, you could just set them up in front of the video games and call it good. ;) 

So. Happy "One Week Until Thanksgiving Day" to you!

Gift ideas: Kids.

Don't hate me. I'm nearly done with our Christmas shopping. The few things left are things that I know but just have to do, if that makes any sense. I'm feeling pretty darn happy. I generally do shop all year round and start early and all that. Regardless, I'm usually still running around in early December trying to figure out the last few things and get them shipped in time so that I can wrap them and such and ship them further. ;) Last year was the first year in recent memory that I actually got most gifts to people by Christmas (by a day, lol). 

So. Since I'm happy. And since I know I appreciate reading them on other people's blogs, I thought I'd do some quick lists of fun gift ideas between now and Christmas. Today's theme is kids...

Zebra Mix. I gave some of these out last year...and kept a few for ourselves. ;) Sure. You could just go buy box mixes and wrap them up, but these are way cooler and more fun (and EASY...can't discount that!). Each kit comes with very kid-friendly instructions, with the idea being that kids can do this (mostly) by themselves. Cool. (They taste great, too!) For what it's worth, I find that food gifts are awesome...truly appreciated and they don't take up precious space in the playroom. ;)

Finger Lights. I got some of these for the boys' stockings this year. (Don't tell!) If your kids (or the kids you're buying gifts for) are anything like mine, flashlight type things are strangely adored. I have no idea why, but imagine that these will be a huge hit. And, if not, hey, they were cheap. ;) (Note, I found that these came in a couple different varieties...some had white LEDs in all the colors and these had actual colored bulbs....some had velcro straps and these had elastic bands. No idea which is better but thought I'd point it out.)

Sumoku or Bananagrams. This one depends on whether the kid in question likes games. If so, my boys recommend these as fun little games that travel easily...great for playing while watching a sibling's karate class or soccer practice. ;) As a bonus, they're awesomely educational in that tricky sort of way that good games are. Sometimes we play these as intended and sometimes we make up our own rules like just scrambling up the letters and trying to figure out what the original word was. 

Speed Stacks. I won't blame you if you scoff at this one. I did. ;) But. My boys truly love these. They can spend hours in the basement with their sets just racing each other and trying to master new tricks. This link is to the basic set, but there are plenty of other items in the shop...poke around. While you're at it, watch a video or two on the site and be amazed. It's great for hand-eye coordination, is a fabulous alternative to outdoor play for those chilly days, and doesn't take up much space at all.

Squidgies. These are basically cooler frisbees. They're soft, so they don't smack your hand (or head) when you're attempting to catch them (this is a huge selling point for me!). My boys love 'em.

Okay, those are just a few off the top of my head. Stay tuned for more gift ideas in the days to come...

Note. I am not affiliated in any way with any of these companies. Just trying to share some gift ideas. ;) Also, though I've included links for online shopping, I encourage you to buy locally if you can. It's good to support your community. ;) (I happen to know that you can find the games and speed stacks at Learning Express here in Fort Collins and have seen the squidgies at times at It's Your Move in the mall or at Jax.)