Christmas Post #7 Planning for Travel and Guests

       

           This doesn't pertain to EVERYONE. Some people don't need to travel anywhere, and are down the street from family. Unfortunately, that's becoming less and less common. A lot of us have family coming, or we're going to them. It seems like it's SO early, but plan for your travel or guests now.

       Travel, as far as I'm concerned is a bigger one. If you're traveling, you need to include this in your budget, and book early, because we all know at Christmas, you're not the only one traveling. Also consider accommodations. I know at Christmas, family tends to overflow in houses...if you plan on booking a room, that is something you want to book early, because if you wait, believe it or not, you could be in trouble. We've had family stay in hotels over Christmas, and they get lucky they book when they do.

      When it comes to guests, think comfort. They're traveling to be with you, do what you can to make them comfortable when they get there? Have some spare toothbrushes, and put an extra blanket in their room. Also again, accommodations, are you going to have enough room for everyone? Will you need to buy air mattresses? Or will your guests need to get a room? In that case make sure you tell them early so they can plan and book. We're going to be an overflowing house this year, complete with air mattresses.

      Your latest assignment, there you have it, and the last one of the month! 

       K, Luv Ya Bye!

       Nancy, Cale, Jake and Alice

Christmas Post #6, Plan the Menu

         This might seem a little early, but I promise there is a reason I get you to do it early...and you'll see why soon, not today, but soon. Today I want you to plan out your menu. So this isn't, plan your one big Christmas meal. No, this is look at the number of days you need to supply food for, and plan a menu for all of them. We're talking all meals, potential snacks, and what could be covered by leftovers. For us we need to be able to cover Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing day, and the 27th. I choose these days because well, stores aren't open for two of them, and they're a mad house for the other two (typically the 27th is because we work the boxing day sales). 

       What are your traditions? We have a specific Christmas eve, and Day dinner, Hot Chocolate on Christmas Eve, Appetizers on Boxing Day etc. Fill in the things you KNOW you're going to have, in detail. These are the traditions, then I simplify to the best of your ability. Here is what ours typically looks like, with a couple notes:

      Christmas Eve: Breakfast- (what I typically have) Oatmeal 

                                Lunch- Hamburger Soup (soup is easy, quick to reheat, and we'll have enough poultry soon. I make a BIG pot)

                                Dinner- Tortier Pie, Salad and Home fries

                                Other- Hot Chocolate, Cookies, snacks 

        Christmas:       Breakfast- Overnight slow cooker breakfast (Christmas morning is chaos, this is a life saver)

                                Lunch- (if needed) Leftover soup

                                Dinner- Turkey Dinner

                                Other- Munchies

                          

          Boxing Day: Breakfast- leftovers or cereal

                                Lunch- Appitizers

                                Dinner- Leftovers (either a plate of the turkey dinner, one of our leftover turkey recipes or appetizers, or soup)

         Dec 27th:       All Leftovers, all day

          That pot of soup at the beginning is a LIFESAVER, and easy to toss together. That's your newest assignment.

                         

       K, Luv Ya, Bye

    

       Nancy, Cale, Jake and Alice 

Christmas Post #5, Organization

      We have all these great intentions and plans to...well plan for, but we need to keep it organized to stay on track. Today is about setting up a planner and a Calendar to keep everything straight. There are several different ways to approach this. In the past I have mentioned the website that kind of spawned this series,  101 Days to Christmas. On that page she has free printable pages that could be the right answer for you. I have done binders, saving in my phone but for me, it's a specified notebook, and the family calendar. My notebook has been in use for well over a month now, mostly planning the blog but there are sprinklings of my plans in there as well. The reason I chose this method is I live out of notebooks. I always have one on the go, it could be lists, schedules, ideas, but I always have a notebook going and I just function well with them.

      Something to play close to the chest (in say like a notebook) is start making your shopping list for gifts. Yeah, I know is seems SUPER early, but how much do you LOVE being in the insanity of the malls, only to discover what you're looking for is sold out. Not to mention if you spot one of those gifts on for steal, you want to scoop it up and save a couple bucks. There is also the aspect of made gifts. If you have a talent like baking, or gardening, some creativity, painting, or knitting, or want to piece together a gift basket, that takes time. I'm making 3-6 of the gifts I'm giving this year, so I need time. I have one done, and 2 started. 

        And finally, our family wall calendar is the best option for writing events and things because we all have access, and we can all see what's coming up. If our Christmas planning were a solo act, sure I could keep it in a binder, but we work as a team so we all need to know what's up. Figure out the best way you operate and take it from there.

        K, Luv Ya, Bye

        Nancy, Cale, Jake and Alice

Christmas Post # 4, Decorating

     

       Before you freak out about the title, breath, I mean for Fall and Thanksgiving. So right off the bat, the reason I post 3 times a week instead of daily, is because I would probably run out of things to post, but also to give you a day or two to cover things. Well today is the last day of Summer...so today is the day to start planning and decorating for Fall. In my last post I did say I explode when it comes to Christmas...that IS for Christmas specifically. MY approach to Fall decor is more of a subtle approach, and what I like about it is I actually display two different ways to do you decorating in one blog. With Fall I like a little something on the door for the neighbors to see, the table, and a focal point. The focal point is my book shelf in my living room. I have some pumpkins and rustic looking items on display.  That's today's assignment!

      K, Luv Ya, Bye!

      Nancy, Cale, Jake and Alice

Christmas Post #3 The Master List

         Here is a little tool I have used for years, the Master List. The Master List is basically a brainstorming list of things that are related to Christmas, in your mind. This can be things you do, certain songs, the food, specific decorations, at the risk of sounding like a total cliche, what Christmas means to you and your family. This list is a pretty major tool in your planning.

        For starters, it helps you prioritize what is important to YOU when it comes to Christmas. It can make you think a little harder when it comes to thing that will pop up on your to-do list. It could be something you would have remembered in the final hours, and you cover it a little sooner. What's more, I would undoubtedly not hit something that is on your list, because it's personal to you and your household. I have different priorities when it comes to my holidays in comparison to others. A couple years ago I helped my friend plan specifically for her, and I asked her to do the master list. She put a higher emphasis on baking than I do, and less on decorating...where I explode. Your Master List will be different than mine, or your neighbor's or your co-workers, but that's the point, it's personal to you. 

       That is the assignment today, master your Master List

       K, Luv Ya, Bye!

       Nancy, Cale, Jake and Alice 

Christmas Post #2, Plan For Thanksgving

         

         So really quick, I had this post done, even published... and when I was trying to look at it on my phone to share it...I deleted it. So I'm sitting here hoping the wiggles can keep Jake occupied long enough for me to do this again. He's supposed to be napping right now...but no such luck. 

         Today's assignment, and actually the first of the Christmas Planning series, has zero to do with Christmas...it's plan for Thanksgiving. I've actually already seen Turkeys on sale, and because I'm not doing Thanksgiving dinner this year, I shared the sale with my mother in-law.

         What you need to do is take into account what you need to do. So for us, it's all about attire and travel. Maybe you are hosting, and need to grab one (or two) of those sale turkeys as they pop up, along with the other aspects of your potential feast. Other things to keep in mind, do you have enough plates, cutlery, things like that? Who is sleeping where? Figure out all of this now, and in a month (because Thanksgiving is about a month away), you're sitting pretty.

          Okay I have some raspberry sounds happening on the other side of my laptop right now, I better get on that. 

         That's today's assignment! 

         K, Luv Ya Bye!

         Nancy, Cale, Jake and Alice

* Don't forget to let me know if you want the blog posts shared directly on your FB 

Christmas post #1

          Seems appropriate we had some nippy days this past week, and it started to REALLY feel like Fall. We even started a new family tradition and went with my in-laws and took Jake apple picking. I start in like that because it's that time of year again, time to start planning for Christmas. If you just scoffed at that sentence, it possible that this blog series, is not for you...then again you might need it most of all. This series is here to help you spread out the mayhem that is the holiday season, and make Christmas something you enjoy, not something you are stressed out about. 

           First, a little history, I started do this after I was inspired by a website that is a lot more on the precise and posts EVERY day from here and beyond Christmas. It's called 101 Days to Christmas, you can check it out here. It's actually done by a woman who has published books about organizing, so she might know a little better than me...perhaps (lol). I started my own series, because A, I don't really do EVERYTHING on that site, and most of the people I know don't either, and B, It's American, so we have a huge confusing issue with Thanksgiving and Remembrance day. Mine is more simplified and Canuckafied ( I think I just made a word). I do however start at 101 days (that would be today) as tribute. 

         This is my third year doing this blog series and a LOT has changed in our lives this year. While not a LOT has changed as far as our traditions go, or things we're going to do, Jake will play a MAJOR role in everything. Last year Cale played a bigger role in everything because I was in my third trimester at Christmas. 

        So what has changed in the blog this year? For starters, I've polished everything up from last year. This series is something I try and improve on every year, and I think I've done JUST that. This year I'm also including assessment posts, more on that in a bit.

       If you have never seen my series before, like I said this helps you to plan for your holiday season this year, but of course we have 3 holidays (though some would debate one of them) before Christmas rolls around. Let me promise, we don't forget these, we recognize them, help you plan for them, and show them the respect they deserve. We also cover things you may not think of, or help you with issues you've had in previous years. One of my favorite things is we also dull the sting of the cost of Christmas by helping to spread those expenses out, you'll see what I mean. Now if you have zero desire to pop back in three times a week ( Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and just want the bare bones, this is where the assessment posts come in, brand new this year. Assessment posts will show up three times, in October, November and December. They give you a couple things to knock off your list, and ONLY pertain to Christmas. They're also handy if you may have let a couple things slip during the month. 

      Now IF you don't want to miss a post, this year I have personalized posting. I post the blog on Facebook, on my personal page, and my fan page. This year, I'm collecting names of people who would like me to post directly to their wall, so they never miss a post. If you're interested, let me know and I would be happy to include you. This post, has not been posted on one of the assigned days, and serves only as an intro to this year's series. Thanks for checking it all out and I can't wait to share my personal planning and tips with you for another year. 

      K, Luv Ya, Bye,

      Nancy, Cale, Jake and Alice 

Trusting Myself

     

          We're getting really close to Jake being 6 months old, and I'm coming to some realizations. In the last couple of weeks, we're had a LOT of firsts. First time rolling over, first big laughs, first time moving himself around the floor, and last Saturday night was a big one, first time sleeping in his own room.

        As it has been seven nights, I have officially moved the pack and play out, and taken back our room. Something I must confess, I can be painfully insecure, and when it comes to being a mom, that can seriously be an area that I get really worried about. In the beginning of motherhood, I'm not sure I would have survived without internet access. I was looking stuff up constantly and if something went a little sideways, I was failing as a mom. I also suffered with this in silence, which is not good. I researched the crap out of every little thing. It was at about the four month mark, that started to calm down. I still read stuff, and get ideas, but around four months I started to be okay with it if things didn't go as they were supposed to. At five months I started to understand, okay well with Jake maybe it would work better if I tried this. As we approach six, I realize that what everyone online has been saying is true, I know what's best for my son. I'm not saying I'm perfect, oh god no, far from it. But there is literally no one on this planet who knows this kid as well as I do (sorry Cale, but you are a close second). This realization came to me over this last week.

       If you are a pinterest mom, you have probably started researching one thing, and ended up researching things you didn't even know were things. I have MANY times, but the problem with it is you could be potentially making up a problem in your head, that's not even actually a problem. For a few weeks now I thought Jake was ready for his crib, but pinterest had shown me all these different ways to transition your baby properly to their crib, so in my head I had to master one of these methods. I was being held back by an issue I wasn't ready to deal with, all the while my son was not liking the pack and play anymore. And then I did the unthinkable, I decided to dive in head first, we were going to try him in his crib that night, and that was that. I DID look for reassurance, not from the internet where everything is true and you should never question it, but from a friend who I know and trust, and like me wants the best for Jake...weird right?

      Turns out my gut instinct was right, Jake does SO well in his crib compared to his pack and play, we really haven't had any issues thus far...with him. Okay so the first night I may have bawled my eyes out when the pack and play laid empty next to me. I may have had little to no sleep because I watched the monitor, while the kid slept through the night. I will say this though, even the handful of times I have had to get up with him, they have gone pretty smooth, and I'm not disrupting Cale's sleep anymore.

      The moral of the story is I'm trusting myself as a mother, FINALLY! I'm not thinking I ALWAYS will, and I'll ALWAYS be right, because who is. What I am saying is I'm doing pretty damn good for my kid.

      K, Luv Ya, Bye!

      Nancy

Squeezing Out the Last Bit of Summer

       

          I sit here, typing this post at 8:00 at night, and I needed to put the light on. This is always a kind of sad reminder of the fact Summer is almost over. What's sad for us, is it feel like it just began. We sat out on our back deck this evening, discussing the summer, and how we had another one we really didn't get to enjoy. Last Summer I was pretty sick or tired for most of it, and this summer we had Jake. As first time parents, we accept that we probably could have done more with him than we did. But there are so many things out there that basically tell you to keep you kid inside until they are at least 6 months old. Jake is really close to that now, and we find ourselves grasping at the last of the summer days at this point.

          That all being said, both mine and Cale's favorite Season is Fall. We have a list of things we want to do, and do with Jake that we're excited to get on. One of the activities is actually planned, and Gramma and Grampa are joining us.

          For me personally (and if you're reading this, you too), my Christmas Planning Blog series is coming back. Actually 2 weeks from today will be the very first post. I don't feel like Christmas planning blog needs much more explanation than that...or what I will give you in the first post. I spread out the planning for Christmas starting on the 15th, and we cover everything in between! I'm generally ahead of the blog myself too...so I'm kind of starting...now. What I need from you, the reader of this blog, showing interest in this upcoming series, is feedback. I post and share this blog in multiple places, BUT if it sounds like something you might be interested in, please let me know, and I can post every one of the posts on your facebook page, so you never miss one. Let me know asap, not a ton of time left!

        K, Luv Ya, Bye!

        Nancy