Meg's Wish List

It's that time again, folks!
I have made a Christmas list every year since I was old enough to write. In the Lawrence house, you made a HUGE Christmas list, because Santa liked to have options.

Translation: My parents are brilliant and saved themselves from last minute frantic shopping where they search for "the one and only" toy lest they shatter the dreams of a child on Christmas morning. Santa always managed to get me something from my Christmas list.

Before I go on, let's be real. Everything on this list is a want. All of it.
I have everything I could possibly need for the rest of my life right here with me.

1) springform cheesecake pan. I don't have one. I love cheesecake.

2) giant stainless steel pot for canning and cheesemaking
(Last month, I found one for like 70% off and jumped on it!)

3) 4 qt glass pyrex liquid measurer

I'd just like to point out that so far, all of these items would benefit the gift giver as well, since they would be used to create good things to eat.

4) beach cruiser bike with white wall tires, breaks (muy importante), a wire basket and maybe one of those cute little bar shelfs on the back. I don't own a bike, but I'd like one..but if I'm going to get a bike, I think a cute vintage inspired beach cruiser would suit me well.

5) a counter top compost pail. I often use a bowl, but this system a) looks gross b) can be stinky c) can cause major fruit fly problems in the spring and d) needs to be emptied at a minimum of once a day. THIS adorable countertop compost pail has a cabon pad in the lid to keep the stink in, and prevent attraction of gnats and fruit flies. It's attractive, convenient, and very affordable compared to other models I have seen.

I really super duper want one of these. It's a pain make a trip out to the compost pile for just two egg shells, an apple core, or 4 strawberry stems. I love the idea of just going out there once a day to empty the pail. I checked on our compost pile about a month ago and wooooweee! It's doing it's thing and come spring, we will have a lovely batch of nutrients for our garden. Yippee!

6) the Kindle Fire
reasons:
a) we want a 2nd computer, would love a touch screen but don't really need one.
2) Aaron has downloaded a few ebooks and I don't like sharing my kindle with him.
d) um, touch screen, color, wifi, movies, children's books----that alone opens up SO many possibilities for preschool---I could triple my library!

7) a trip to California. I haven't been home for Christmas in like 7 years. I haven't been to California in a year. It's been a year and a have since I've taken the girls. It is killing me. Literally. Something inside of me dies when I am away for that long. I seriously think I survived last winter because and only because of that 10 mile run in 70* San Juan Bautista.

8) Nothing would make me happier than a "Sold" sign...or even a "for sale" sign on the boat. I'm not opposed to having a boat anymore...I just don't like that boat. Also, our garage is stuffed to the muff. I'd love the extra space.

9) leaf removal. We usually do this ourselves, but dang. I'm tired. I've been tired for 8 months. I spent 2 hours blowing leaves one saturday, and now they're all in the back half of the yard, but I know that is where they are going to stay until next year. The pile is 2-4 feet deep and spans the entire backside of our home. Really. I'd LOVE to have a "professional" come out to do a one time leaf removal job and make all of it disappear, this year. Spring gardening/landscaping will be so much more enjoyable if it doesn't begin with loading and hauling 20 tarploads of leaves.

10) reflective running gear. I have a headlamp, but my little flashing light for my back is busted. I need to get another one if I'm going to do any night running this winter. There just aren't enough hours in the day to run when you have small children at home. Running in the morning is also not an option, since our day begins at 5:30am. I usually run on saturday mornings and one weeknight with a group of ladies after the kids have all gone to bed. It's a blast, but it's dark. I need a new flashy flashy light to pin on my back so I am a little more visible when it is pitch black outside.

11) A 20 ton gas powered log splitter---like this one. Ok...that one is a little fancy. We ordered a bunch of firewood this year, but we have at least 2 cords worth of cut logs out back just waiting to be split. I hate paying for firewood when I know we could have it for free for the rest of our lives if we had the right tools. And free firewood would not just mean saving on the cost of wood....it means a teeny tiny electric bill from not having to run the heater all winter. And now that the place we used to rent a splitter from has relocated and changed business to commercial rentals only...we don't have the option to just rent. But we could rent our own splitter out and get a little of the cash back. Just sayin', it would be a fun tool to have, a wonderful convenience, self reliant, and splitting wood with a giant hydraulic splitter is (incredibly dangerous and a quick way to lose a thumb if you aren't careful) a lot of fun and very rewarding work!

12) last, but not least, The Almond Box. Yeah, yeah, I know I got it last year, but hey...no one else (deserves it) is campaigning this year, so Mom, I hope you're reading this and will jump on board and support an imcumbent election.

Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

That's about it. I must be growing up. This is the first year I feel silly posting my ridiculous "all wants, no needs" list. Sticking with tradition, I posted it anyway. The kids' Santa letters are coming up, soon, along with Reese's birthday posts, preschool posts, a few crafty posts, recipes, more from our Elf, and most importantly, a celebration of the birth of our Savior, who is the real reason we enjoy this wonderful Christmas season.

I Do Recall...

THESE are Zhu-Zhu Pets.
Reese saw a commercial at a friend's house in November, and has been begging for "a Chipmunk Playset" ever since.

It took us forever to figure out WHAT exactly she meant by "Chipmunk Playset" (take my advice, don't google it).

She asked Santa for one in a letter.

Then they were recalled.

Crap.

What's Santa to do?

I did what any parent would do, and showed her the online video report where the nice news lady tells you about the hazardous toxins used in the paint on the Zhu-Zhu Pets' cute little button noses, among other safety recall issues.

Reese decided to ask Santa for a Barbie instead.

Mommy was THRILLED with this decision, as she heard Santa had already picked up 2 Barbies on Black Friday.

Daddy, on the other hand, decided to make two little girls' dreams come true.

Walmart "fixed the problem" and put a limited supply of Zhu Zhu Pets back on the shelves for purchase.

Daddy went to Walmart at 5 am on Christmas Eve.

A Christmas Miracle!

We had two VERY happy little girls on Christmas Morning, and one VERY surprised Mommy as Reese and Quincy found BOTH a Barbie AND a Zhu Zhu Pet next to each of their stockings.

Meg: "WOW! Uhhhhh....Hey. Aaron? Does Santa know that these little things were like, RECALLED?"

Aaron: Those reports were inaccurate. Trust me, if Walmart carries them, then these toys are totally safe.

5 minutes later:
YES.
That would be one Barbie with her HAIR sucked up INSIDE of one Zhu-Zhu Pet.
Huh. "totally safe". Right.

Aaron: Uhhhh, hey girls, don't put your chimpmunks near your hair, ok?

Later, when cleaning up the wrapping paper mess, we noticed the yellow warning sticker on the Zhu-Zhu Pet package.
Oops.

Christmas Jammies

Thank you Walmart for $3 Black Friday Buzz Lightyear jammers. My kids are in heaven.

A Festivus for the Rest-of-us!

Christmas Eve this year involved Aaron and Jimmie setting fence posts and changing a flat tire on the trailer, all in the freezing rain. The women stayed inside with the kiddies and made really yummy food all day.

homemade cranberry-orange-vanilla saucea 21 lb bird (delish!)
kiddies on a crazy sugar high
Corbin Mac as Baby Jesus

On Continuing Tradition

Well. I made an attempt.

We had:
a loving Mary (rockin' the same pink pashmina that Kristie wore in '05 as Mary)
a camera-shy Joseph
a bride/angel (also sporting pink high heels) remove her pants
a super excited innkeeper (thank you for your cooperation)
a shepherd/video-grapher
a chubby lil' baby Jesus
and a bossy cheetah/narrator that wonders if anyone is listening to her.

The clips are short, but classic.

Merry Christmas from the Willy House!

Ghosts of Christmas Past

I came across this little gem today:
1991.
You would think that by 9 years old, I would have figured out the whole Santa thing by now.

Yet, here I am at age 10, making sure Santa hears my entire list.

Perhaps, I just figured that being the youngest, I had the responsibility of believing. Otherwise, none of the older kids would have to 'play along', and I didn't want to be held responsible for the end of stockings for everyone.

Poor Santa. I have SEVERAL pictures exactly like this one. Just how long was I on his lap? Good thing I didn't weigh much.

Thanks to the (very patient) Santa, I got both the black velvet purse with the white bow on it, and the Wilson Phillips cassette tape that I asked for that year.

Also, Mom and Dad,
You probably need to call FedEx and check the tracking number on the Almond Box. I received no packages today. Did you really pay the extra shipping to ensure it would arrive Christmas Morning? So thoughtful! You shouldn't have.

{Reason #455}

why my family is super awesome.

Christmas 2005

This was the last year I was home for Christmas.

Lawrence standard rules for the Nativity Scene are as follows:
1)Roles for the Nativity are drawn from a bowl
2)you get 5 minutes to come up with a costume. Ready, Set, GO!

in past years, there have been turtles, reindeer, a cow (what happened to the cow costume?) in our nativity scene, and my "Magic Nursery" baby doll played the role of Baby Jesus for a few years.

In 2005:
Dad was Caesar Augustus (who made quite the decree)
Parker was Joseph (who told Mary she was "scary")
Baby Steven was Baby Jesus
Kristie was Mary
I think Scott and Hannah were Wise Men (bearing gifts of rugga rugga, a baby book, and toilet paper on a golden candlestick)
Tyler was a Shepard
Aaron was his sheep
Mattie was the Angel
Uncle Steve Narrated
Sam was the innkeeper
I think Gibson was an animal in the stable
and I was the star.

Merry Christmas, Family!
We love and miss you, and (mark your calendars, y'all) we'll be in Hollister next Christmas.

(dude, why is the text so huge? Why can't I change it back?)
Have a good one!

Away in a Manger

A few years ago, I noticed a manger and a bucket of straw in the entryway of a friend's house. At the end of each day in December, the children get to place a piece of straw in the manger for a good deed they did that day, or name one that they saw someone else do. By Christmas, a rustic wooden manger houses a cozy bed of straw that would be comfortable for the Baby Jesus.

I thought this would be a great way to help my family look for and recognize the good things that people do to serve others at Christmastime, and hopefully encourage them to do kind deeds as well. Adding straw to the manger is a good physical reminder that when we serve others, we serve Christ.
While the girls were napping yesterday, I cut all the pieces needed to build a wooden manger. When they woke up, we had fun hammering them together. Reese and Quincy hammered all 22 nails into that bad boy! A few had to be pulled out and redone, but we really had fun.
It is lopsided, the nails are crooked, and it took us 2 hours, rather than 10 minutes. They stayed on task and worked really hard and to me, it is perfect!
I didn't think to take pictures until close to the end, as I was focused on making sure my children didn't hammer one another. You can hear in the video where I panic a little when Quincy starts waving the hammer around.

We used a cedar fence picket ($1..98 @ Lowe's), 1 1/4 inch finishing nails, and 4 recycled yard stakes that we had from the fence (I just cut the pointed ends off).
We had so much fun, and had extra supplies, so we made two, and for FHE, we filled the extra manger with holiday goodies, the girls chose a friend, and delivered it to their family. It was so fun to start a new tradition, and then share the tradition with someone else, that we might continue to make them in coming years to give to someone different each year.
I think we will keep our manger under the tree with all the other Christmas gifts.

The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances!"

Aaron is taking a vacation day on Christmas Eve.
That night, we will sing carols, eat goodies until we are sick, act out the Nativity, have a big turkey dinner with friends, and do all the other traditional Christmas Eve festivities.

What about during the day?
It kills me when it is spent shopping.
I don't believe in Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, unless it is for batteries or a forgotten dinner ingredient. To me, buying someone a gift on Christmas Eve is like saying, "hey, I found this for you last minute." and takes all the fun out of gift giving and spending time hunting down the perfect present. Why on earth would you want to make the GIVING part of Christmas the last priority? I know other people see it as a tradition and look at it in a totally different way, so I'll get off my soap box, but i feel like Christmas Eve should not be spent scattered apart from each other, in various stores in a mall, or in separate rooms of a house wrapping gifts. It should be spent with your loved ones, doing something together.

So....
What will the Willy's be doing on Christmas Eve?
Setting fence posts, of course!

Remember Festivus?

A new holiday was born! A 'FENCE'tivus for the rest of us!

There will be a Pole (35 of them),
A Dinner with our besties (I've been dying to use that word for a week),
Feats of Strength,
and if the event follows suit with all other holidays and home improvement projects, it is very likely that there will be an Airing of Grievances.

A perfect way to spend Christmas Eve day.

Meg's Thoughts on the Christmas Spirit

This is quite possibly the longest post ever.

I went to Walmart late Saturday night to pick up some ingredients and things for Reese's birthday party on Monday. I couldn't find several of the items I was looking for (molasses) and ended up wandering up and down several aisles over and over again in my feeble attempt to locate them.

I crossed paths with the same old man numerous times, and at one point (where is the freaking molasses?!) I let out a frustrated sigh.

"I know how you feel." said the man.

He looked old. (like the blue sweatpants 24/7 kind of old...not just because I was at walmart and that is the unofficial uniform of the general public)
and really really tired. (it was 9:30)

I turned to look at him and he said, "I hate Christmas. I hate Christmas shopping. I can't wait until it is over."

Um...sorry, am I in a Hallmark movie? Are you Mr. Kruger?

"Oh, no... I LOVE Christmas" I replied cheerfully, "it's just late and I still have a lot of shopping to do, and I can't find anything on my list, tonight"

"Mr. Krueger" then said, "well, my wife died over a year ago, and I don't have and close relatives, so I don't have anyone to shop for this year, but me."

I started to feel really sorry for sad "Mr. Krueger"...and then he gestured to his cart, that had a FRIGGIN' HUGE LCD television in it!

"Wow! Nice tv! Merry Christmas to you!" I said

Mr. Krueger patted the box with pride and said, "My one and only Christmas present." and headed back down the aisle to continue his shopping.

I said nothing, but I wish I had.
Was it REALLY his ONE AND ONLY Christmas present?
To HIMSELF?! How is that a Christmas gift at all?

This really got me thinking...
Have all of our Christmas shopping lists become so long and so outrageous that we simply forget to give to those who aren't family, close friends, or coworkers?

What about giving to people we DON'T know?
Does the spirit of Christmas only apply to family, and when we are old and family runs out, we get to shop for ourselves?

We give gifts at Christmas not just because the wise men brought gifts to the Christ child, but because Christ's life is a gift to us. We celebrate Him at this time of year, and after all that He has done for us, we want to give back to him. He said,

"For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:35-40 KJV)


And so, I'm trying to teach my girls that the real gifts of Christmas are not just the wrapped presents under the tree, but the gifts we choose to give back to the Savior through service to others.

I love the magic of Santa and elves and all things Christmas and I think the big man in red bears the message of selfless giving and goodwill to men, so we totally do the Santa thing in our house.

But I want my children to know their Savior.
I want them to know WHY we have all the lights, and trees, and music, and sweets for the neighbors.

I can't stand the thought of one of my children growing up to be like the lonely man I exchanged conversation with in a Walmart, who could only think to purchase a tv for himself to make Christmas seem right.

Looking at that fat tv made me realize that there will ALWAYS be an excuse not to be charitable. From, "my list is already too long", to "I'm lonely or broke and hoping someone will give to me" or "finally, I can get what I want", and more often, "I literally have nothing of value to give" No matter what your situation is, isn't it ALWAYS the right time and the right season to give something of yourself to someone else?

Because presents or no presents, selfish gifts to yourself are not what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

I'm not trying to sound perfect, or even good at doing this myself. I'm only writing my experience and the lesson I am trying to learn and teach to my daughters through starting traditions of our own. So what I really want to know from all of you is,

what did your parents do to teach you the true meaning of Chistmas?

and What has helped you teach it to your kids?

On Trying to Relate to My Children

Through the eyes of little Corbin,
this must be what it's like:

Let's face it, if that were MY dinner, I too, would be in a gluttonous coma, needing someone to wipe the dribbles off my face, burp me, and then tuck me into bed when I was done.

Gingerbrother

Remember my post last year about these little guys?

Well...forget the Almond Box...we all know that I truly must be the favorite child, because I ended up with the 1 and only original gingerbread man cookie cutter!

Never fear, siblings...thanks to ebay,you can have your very own (click here):

No joke, you really CAN find ANYthing on ebay!

Behold: The Vintage Hallmark Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter

The amazing thing?
Mr. Gingerbread Man is has "1981 Hallmark Co 45 cents" stamped into the back.
They are selling for 99 cents on ebay. Yeah. In 28 years, it's worth has doubled!
Not bad, little cookie man. Not bad at all.

Who wants to teach me (er...do it for me) how to use a paypal account and make this little guy mine, all mine? It would be nice to have more than one...especially when my mom decides she wants hers back.

Sewing Machine.

I'm finally finishing up a few projects around here, one of them being Christmas stockings. Aaron's mom took great care to make each of her children a personalized stocking, and ever since our first Christmas as a married couple, Aaron has insisted that I do the same for our family. I finally got around to it this year (our 9th Christmas together), and spent a lot of time selecting fabrics I love. One is raw silk, one is a velveteen stripe, another a velour codurouy, etc... THEN, when they were complete, I proudly showed them to Aaron.

Aaron: "They look like they could have been purchased"

Me: "Thank you."

Aaron: "Don't get me wrong, I think they are beautiful, but when are you going to finish them? They're so fancy."

Me: "Aaron. They ARE finished...well except for our names. I can't decide whether I should embroider myself, or pay to have them monogrammed"

Aaron: "I don't think you understand. HOMEMADE stockings are supposed to LOOK home. made. These look like.... like just like they're NORDSTROM STOCKINGS."

two days later when I decided to speak to him again ;)...

Aaron: Soooo...."Why aren't there any bears or snowmen on them?"

Me: "What. (the kind of "what" that actually means "WHAT?!!!") What do you mean?! I hate sewing! I did this for you! You want bears? my BLOOD and SWEAT are on them, isn't that enough?"

Aaron: They're just so...NICE.

Me: "So you don't LIKE them because they're too nice? What does that even mean?...And how is it a problem?"

Aaron: "Well the reason I bugged you about wanting homemade stockings every year is because I wanted a stocking with that zig zag stuff on it"

Meg: "Ric-Rac?"

Aaron: "yes. And John had a bear, and I had a Santa, and Jana had an angel...etc etc.."

Of course! He wanted FELT stockings....with stuff on them...and probably a little glittery puff paint, and yarn. He didn't just want a homemade stocking all these years...he wanted HIS stocking. Or at least one like it.

I totally get the nostalgia.

Immediately, he went from being a jerk, to being cute and sentimental.
If only I'd known.
Miss-communication at it's finest.

Maybe someday, (like in another 9 years) I'll make another attempt, but, for now, he'll just have to enjoy our "Nordstrom Stockings".

A Fan!

Are you on Facebook?
are you a fan?
click here to become one.

That's right, siblings.
I'm letting Facebook run my Almond Box Campaign.

Did that just blow your mind?
Boom. Roasted.

This ad created by Meg for Almond Box 2009.

"That's what I want"

Dear Santa,

I would like a cute little pin cushion please. I didn't realize until tonight that I don't own one. My pins are currently in a ziplock bag and the arm of my red sofa...neither of which are really a good idea.

These are cute.

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!
-Meg