Christmas Decorating

Christmas decorating has taken longer than usual this year to the point that there are a few things I still have to put out this week. Normally I pull out the decorations and deck the house out the week after Thanksgiving, but this year it has taken a bit longer than usual. That’s okay though; the kids have been having lots of fun helping me get everything looking all Christmassy. I love pulling out the decorations each year and finding those forgotten treasures. It is kind of like meeting up with long lost friends.

The first thing out every year is Jingle. He is our little Christmas bear. He hides around the house waiting for the kids to find him. The kids love this bear.












We started the tradition a long time ago and it is one of the things the kids look forward to. Every year it gets harder and harder to find spots that the kids won’t find him right away which makes a fun challenge for mommy too.

I love this snowman. Isn’t he so cute? I won him at a Christmas party several years ago and he quickly became one of my favorite decorations to pull out every year. I actually even put him away last since he is a snowman and snowmen fit in very well with the winter season not just Christmas.








Christmas is the one time during the year that I have candy everywhere in the house. There are so many yummy treats to eat during the holidays. One of my favorite is spice gum drops. When I turned three, my mom made me a snowman birthday cake decorated with gum drops. I remember that cake and now gum drops are something that make me smile.

There are still a few finishing touches here and there and the kids are each making a nativity scene for display. We have lots of crafts and baking to do, presents to make and wrap. And our Advent activities to help us keep our perspective and focus on Jesus, the reason we celebrate at all. It is always fun to spend the last month of the year celebrating all that God has done and all that God will do in the coming year.



Linking up with My 3 Boybarians for the Holiday Bokeh Party Click on over and check out all the photo fun.

Taco Night

Taco Night in our house is not to be fooled with. About once a month we have taco night and it is one of the funnest dinners we do.

This time the meat was leftover pulled pork from the other night that I added some taco seasoning to and turned it into taco meat. (Okay, side note here. This pulled pork was amazing and it made enough for two dinners and two lunches!) Anyway... We have all the toppings you can imagine and we switch it up every time so no two taco nights seem to be the same. We also do not use crunchy taco shells. Instead we use white corn tortillas that I heat up and we make soft tacos.

There is something extra special about watching your kids have a blast build their own tacos and enjoy every last bite. Having fun dinner nights as a family is something we do often.Little G is the first one at the table and can never seem to wait for the rest of us to sit down before she starts loading up her plate.

Homeschool and Clutter

Happy Friday! Heart of the Matter hosts a meme every Friday for homeschool moms and this week, the topic of choice is:

Best Tips For Conquering Clutter
One of the biggest struggles for homeschooling parents is managing the household while teaching the kids. What are some ways that you stay on top of the daily chores? Do you have organizational tips to share?

This makes me laugh because I try so hard to conquer clutter in my house and there are many days I find it to be a loosing battle. It seems to me that for a homeschooler, clutter is required. Or, is it just that as a mom who is spreading out her time amongst the munchkins who are home all day long is left with little time to keep up with the everyday house mess that seems inevitable. There are a few things I do - that I know work for me - to keep clutter from over taking the house. So, I will share with you what works for me.

Less is more - I try not to buy too many things. Before I buy anything that is not an immediate need, I ask myself if I have a place for it to call home. I ask myself if it is something I will use more than once. If it is décor item, I ask myself if it really works in my house and if I will still like it in a few months. I often leave items I like at the store and will go back to buy that item only if a week or two later I still want them. That tells me that it is not an impulse buy. I really do not have a lot of décor in my house. I do not like to buy items that are not useful.

Contain Everything - I am still working on this area. I just bought some Rubbermaid “Take Alongs” to contain our manipulatives. I had been using plastic baggies and putting all of those in a large container but that was hard for the kids to keep put away for some reason. I put all the manipulatives in their own container and that seemed to do the trick. Now, each container will go on a shelf so they are more easily obtained and put away. The take along containers I bought at Wal Mart this week for so little money. (1 pkg. of 5 for $2.50) I have a hard time spending a lot of money on storage items so I rarely buy them and when I do, it is only, that which is cheep. You will not find cute storage baskets at all here. I can never bring myself to buy them no matter how much I like them.

Put it Away - When it comes to the kids’ toys, I am struggling. We only buy that which we know they will play with for a long time and that can be passed on to the next child. We do not get them toys throughout the year either. We only buy the kids toys for birthdays, Christmas, and then not very many. However, it seems that toys multiply spontaneously. Have you ever picked up a toy and wonder where in the world it came from? I really have a hard time with getting them to put away toys consistently when they are done. Nevertheless, I try. Baby G is 21 months old and long ago, we started teaching her to “Put away.” Whenever she is done with something, we tell her to put away and she has learned to do just that. I am hoping that she will continue, as she gets older.

I fail miserably with controlling paper clutter. So, I have no advice with that.

Clutter can be so powerful in the home and I am in a constant battle with it so that I can keep it at bay. Clutter can cause dissension in the home. Clutter does not bring peace and relaxation. It can't, clutter is chaos and undermines the very core of a home. I am sure of this as I have seen in my own family that when the clutter is under control, peace and rest can be felt. Clutter is a distraction saying, "Look at me you have to put me away still." It can cause a mom to have a sense of urgency in her that she does not need. Then the kids pick up on it and the day spirals down hill from there. Please know that I am far from getting it under control and look for new, easy, inexpensive ways to control the clutter all the time.