How great are my boys?!

 I hope your weekend went well! Mine was hectic and busy!  Having 2 special needs boys keeps me busy during the week. There are physical, occupational, or speech therapy appointments or one or another specialist appointment. It can get a bit hectic, then add in the day to day things and there are days I just want a spa day! So, I kind of tend to try and take it easy on the weekends. Really bonding with my boys, so no cleaning, no huge meals and no doctors or therapy appointments! Anyway, you get the point as to why on weekends, other than really playing with my boys, I go on strike! The weekend is all about them and maybe me getting in some relaxation or something as close to it as I can! Or daydreaming of someone named Fabrizio, who speaks no English, bringing me a nice cold beverage, while I bask in the sun, oceanside! *sigh* One can dream, right?! :)

So, this weekend, the boys wanted to make ornaments. Since in my home, holidays are pretty much all about them, I have to let go of my inner control freak, which is VERY hard and let them have a little fun with the holiday. I remember being little and seeing every shop, house, tree decorated and how much excitement it instilled in me. I still love this time of year, however hectic it may be. The thoughts of family, good food, friends and the boys running to open presents first thing in the morning. It's just a warm and fuzzy holiday!

Anyway, no amazing finds today, no printables or links even. Just a good old fashioned love fest for my boys and I wanted to show you what they've been up to!

Well, we've had our tree up for weeks now really but, I did it in a hurry, without putting all the ornaments on the tree, (Incidentally, they still are not all on the tree!) and with only one string of lights working and untangled. The boys did not care though, they just wanted it up. So, we put it up. Well, this weekend the OCD took over and I could not take the look of the tree. So, I took everything off while they were doing their ornaments and redid it.

We have a tradition in our house, at least until the boys are older, that they get to decorate the bottom of the tree and I do the top. So, all of the breakable ones go up top and the plastic, paper or whatever else they've made, can go on the bottom. It may not be all Homes and Gardens or even Martha Stewart looking but, it's ours!

Anyway, I always tell people to keep everything for art supplies. Be it pop bottle lids, scraps of paper, pieces of colorful tags, or even saving leftover streamers from a party to be cut up, tore up or crinkled for an art project later. I have a whole wipes box full of scraps for the boys. Yes I said wipes box! They are small enough to fit someplace and be out of sight but, big enough to hold all kinds of small things. I've even decorated them or had the boys do it! Well, I hauled out the box this weekend and it was a mixed bag of fun for the boys. Gave me a lot of time to add another string of lights to the tree, another classic, simple, silver garland and the ornaments given to the boys every year by the grandparents.

At one point, DW, my oldest, got tired of using glue, complaining that it took too long to dry! He also was doing his best and had reached his limit with the glue too. He has SPD (sensory processing disorder), so glue is an issue for him. So, I dutifully handed over some tape for him. These are some of his creations:

How cute was this?! He just wrapped pipe cleaners around a popsicle stick and then used them to hang the whole thing on the tree! 

I have no idea what this one is, he just seemed to love it. :) 

 I thought this was ingenious too! I don't know if you can see it but, next to his snowflake there, he's strung a wire, like you'd get at a craft store with beads and simply bent it around a branch. 

 This was his "guy". When I asked him what this guy did, he true to his sense of humor (or lack of), said to me, mom I just made a guy, he does not do anything but, hang on a tree. He's not real you know! Which of course I feigned a bit of ignorance and thanked him for the clarification, trying not to chuckle.

Along with our festive holiday fun of ornament making and tree re-doing....is that a word? (It's my blog, I suppose I can make up my own words!) I found that we didn't want the holiday fun to end, so for a snack my son, asked for pancakes. To which I was against and told him so but, then he looked at me and said, wouldn't it be great if they had Christmas pancakes somewhere? Which of course got my mind wandering to all  the amazing green and red things you could do with or put on or in a pancake. Then onto shapes, that was my "aha" moment. I grabbed my mini cookie cutters and my son's pancakes, something I always make ahead of time and freeze, and let him have a blast!

He picked out his favorite shapes. He was very methodical about it too! :) How fun is that for little ones to do?! They feel like they've got a stake in their own meals and it makes it not only more enjoyable because it's festive but, because they've done it themselves! 

In our house, the boys always help make their own meals, including my 2 year old! 

 After all that they both helped decorate the buffet for the upcoming holiday festivities.  Which is where we will put all the goodies as people hang out and catch up. DW aka pancake man, in particular, did a great job. It was his creation and I have to say, it didn't turn out too bad either. Just need to hang the stockings on the wall above the buffet and it's all done! When I asked him about the penguin beanie baby and Marvin Martian, he told me that he was going to leave them there for his brother. He said that if brother had something to play with from that area, then he'd leave all the pretties alone! Smart cookie, that boy!

 I had to show you a close up of this because this is my thrifty, creative little man. That white/silver garland is actually two pieces and I was ready to toss them. Not big enough to do a whole lot with really, so I thought I'd give them to the boys' craft box. Instead this is what he does with them!! How adorable is he?!

I know there will be some people who read this and ask why I would let a 6 year old decorate and I say why the heck not?! If you can remember being a child, the wonder and magic Christmas or any holiday for that matter held for you.....remember how it felt to just want to do things, be allowed a little freedom. Maybe my perspective is a bit skewed, having almost lost both of my boys at birth, the oldest one six years ago around Christmas even but, still. Look how much fun he had and how great an imagination he has! I'm so proud of my boys!

*The smaller candles- I bought them on clearance for .50  a couple years back and held onto them. Took the out last year and the holiday ribbon I also found on clearance a couple years back and cut up a piece long enough to cover the whole way around and hot glued it to the back. It's actually two ribbons, a smaller one over a bigger one. I did several different designs though.
The other one, it's simply holiday napkins! I just cut around the picture I wanted from the napkin and decoupaged them on. Then did another coat of decoupage all the way around and then rolled in translucent glitter.
Two cute, VERY cheap holiday presents for someone!

Tip Junkie used to have a really cute printable available to go with a candle as a gift but, I am unable to find it right this second. So, I'll put the poem here and if I can find the link to it, will edit to add it. Here's the story of candles:


The candle shows man’s thanks
for the star of long ago. 
It’s small light is the mirror of starlight.
At first, candles were placed on the tree. 
They were like many glowing stars shining against the dark tree. The colored lights
have now taken over their remembrance.


Many people place candles on their windowsills at Christmas time. 
This practice which originated in the Middle Ages,
was intended to guide the Christ Child to Christian homes.


You can copy and print in any font you'd like and put that on some scrapbook paper for a particular holiday or print onto cardstock or first you can play with it in graphics program if you want.

 Of course I have to show you their finished tree. Like I said before, it's not Home and Gardens, it's not Martha Stewart but, in a home with two special needs kiddos, one of them being a newly turned 2 year old, it's not half bad! :)

Hope your weekend was just as great as mine!

Trying to make a stress FREE holiday!

This is crunch time....all the recipe scouring, the multiple trips to the store for the "right" potato, the right spice, now is when you have to put it all to use.


I have always had Thanksgiving at my house, every, single year, (Except this year). My house is just a bit bigger than that of my little sister and mom's place so, it makes sense. So, it's usually me that plans, preps and bakes til the sweat is dripping from my brow! This year though, my mother is in her new place at the retirement community and my little sister does not have her kids because they will be with their father. So, less people made it easier to have a holiday at my mother's place instead. Which frees things up a bit for me (kind of feel guilty about that to!)


The free time has given me time to almost fully decorate the inside of my house too. It's also given me time to answer a few emails from friends and I realized in doing this, that we're all guilty of trying to do the holidays the hard way! Even though I had learned tips along the way, I never put them to good use. It's taken several years for me to get these tips for some reason, maybe with age comes wisdom? It certainly is not beauty, let me to you. This morning's bags under the eyes can attest to that! Seriously though, I think I am a bit slow to do them because I am such a control freak. Everything has to be "just so" or it's just not worth it in my head.


So, in order to avoid that chaotic, mad rush we all feel right about now, as one holiday is at your doorstep and another one fast approaches. I'm going to pass on tips that you might've heard before in the hopes that maybe they will get into your head a lot easier and SOONER than they did mine!


1) The biggest thing that took me ages to give into was having a familial potluck holiday dinner. Have every relative coming to the big day, bring their own dish. If you have a favorite few things that you like to do, say the bird, the pies, and your famous mashed potatoes, then keep those for yourself and pass on a list of foods that you usually have and have each set of people bring a dish. Just keep a list if you have a big family so that you know who's bringing what. This way you don't end up with 4 green bean casseroles and no dressing! 


*side note: If you are "blessed" with that one relative that can burn toast and nothing ever tastes good, then that is the one you designate to bring the wine, the champagne, the sparkling cider, eggnog or whatever you have for your holiday meals. In my house, it's usually Squirt, as it's one of the only times a year I let my son have any kind of pop or soda. 


2) My favorite tip, employ your freezer!! I always over looked this step, thinking that "fresh" is best but, the truth is, if you do it properly, you can bake things ahead of time and freeze them until you need them, like cookies and muffins/cupcakes. If you're unsure as to what is the best way to freeze a cupcake, click here and for the answer as to how long they will keep in the freezer or refrigerator, click here. For cookie freezing (oooh and brownie) freezing tips, head over to Confessions of a Cookbook Queen where she tells you how it's done and done right! (Thank goodness, she shares that brownie recipe there!)


3) Cleaning and decluttering. Here is where I pass on a great tip from the home organizing genius Flylady. Baby steps!! If you actually start decluttering, cleaning and decorating weeks in advance, it is not as overwhelming. She has the fabulous idea of a "weekly house blessing", that lasts only an hour, where you devote ONLY 10 minutes to each of these tasks: vacuum, dust, mop, polish mirrors and doors, change bed sheets, empty all the trash and purge your magazines/mail. You set your timer and go to town for ONLY 1 hour, 10 minutes each task. I know this sounds a bit silly to some at first and like you would certainly not get anywhere but, even after a couple of weeks of following her steps, like ONLY decluttering 15 minutes a day, the 27 fling boogie, you will be amazed at how fast your house can transform. Leaving way for the decorating fun!


4) Decorating, take a deep breath. It's not that overwhelming and you don't have to do it all up either! Those gorgeous magazines and all those beautiful pics from the other ladies that have amazing blogs are just that, AMAZING! I however, do not have a house that large, that nice (my house is 96 years old!), nor do I have the financial resources that some of those ladies do, though I wish I did!! Oh, and did I mention the two tornadoes that reside here too? Yeah, they are boys so that imparts some sense of impending doom to any seriously NICE decoration!


So, here are my little tricks for decorating with toddlers, boys in general and for being able to do it without costing a pretty penny. 


A) This is the hardest step, for me, so I will list it first. Enlist your child(ren)'s help! If you're a perfectionist about the tree, or decorations in general, this will be a hard step but, well worth it. I ask my boys to decorate the bottom of the tree every year now and I do the top....ok I will admit that sometimes I may move an ornament or two after they've gone to bed but, seriously there was a hole! 


If they are tall enough, ask them to put on the window clings, some household decorations, etc. Ask their input as to where you should hang some garland or cardboard cutouts of santa's head. Even if they want to make their own tree decorations, let them and let them hang them on the tree. The holidays are all about family and for most of us with children, it's mainly about them. So, hang up the OCD hat for one or two seasons and let the kids take the reigns. It will quickly become a family tradition and seeing the joy and light in their eyes every year will be something you won't forget. (Even if there are 12 window clings on the bottom pane of their bedroom window and none in the dining room...just breathe! lol)


B) Shop for your holiday decorations AFTER the holidays. I know this is a no brainer for some of you but, seriously if you want to be able to afford a lot of decorations for not much money, shop after the holidays for things like your window clings, lights, tablecloths, napkins, etc. Some of this you will have to get as soon as you can and others, like lights, you might be able to wait a couple of weeks til the price goes down and then snatch up as many as you can. Christmas lights in various shades can come in handy for other holidays too. So, that's always a good deal. You'll also have extra for next year when you can't seem to find that one light that has the whole string burnt out!


C) Keep it simple, especially if you have young ones. You don't necessarily need anything elaborate or expensive to make your home all festive. I reuse the same things every year until they are worn down, then I recycle them and use them for other things, like crafts for the kids. Then I go out and try and find some new stuff at a good deal. 


D) Look around you, your environment, outside your house even. For thanksgiving, I simply walk outside and collect pine cones for center pieces,  leaves as they are just falling, etc. With the leaves, if you press them and then use them to decorate later. Either in a vase with a candle or by making this "leaf curtain" as my son calls it. It is hard to describe but, here is my inspiration:

      How gorgeous is that?! It's from Jeff Rudell, a paper artist genius!! Click here for the full article. It is simply gorgeous and soo cheap too! Instead of the stickers there though, I use leaves, or leaves glued to some construction paper or scrapbook paper. I've changed it up a few times now. Though for Christmas decorating, I love doing this!


Anyway, even at Halloween, think ahead and snatch up some of those cheap wee pumpkins at the local farmer's market or store (though they are ridiculously priced at a store!). Throw the pumpkins in a vase or nice bowl with the pine cones for a fall decorative theme! The point is, always keep an open eye to your own environment. There are loads of things outside and indoors that can make for free or cheap and lovely decorations, if you've got an eye for it. 


Below, I will share some of my Christmas decorations in my home, they are not anything fancy compared to some of the other ladies blog's I've seen but, the best things of all about doing a lot of decorating indoors is that a) I did it mostly for my boys, there is nothing like seeing their face as it all goes up and b) EVERYTHING you see in the pics (And I'm not posting all of them) I did for UNDER $25!!! All by picking up things after the season was over and on clearance!




Top of my microwave....that garland was falling apart, so DW and I decided that it would look great as "snow" up there. :) The Christmas tree was given to me by someone and I simply attached a giant, handmade bow to the top of it to hide my son's crabby patty treat jar in the back! lol The red, velvet premade bows, I bought something like 10 cardboard packages of them for 25 cents a piece! The vase with the ornaments, I already had. I simply attached a ribbon and bow to it. 

My boys love this part of the kitchen. I simply hang the ornaments on the valance itself. It's a heavy duty one though. So, poking the ornaments through carefully was a bit of work. Same goes for the ornament bundle at the top but, it's well worth the effort. 

I hesitate to show this because the oven and overhead fan are the last apppliances that need updating in the kitchen and it does not look so great but, I wanted to show you I was serious when I said I decorated for the kids! lol I picked up two packages of those cardboard cutouts for something like $1.50 a piece!

Again, I'm sure that this has been done till we're all purple but, the reason why I HAD to show you this: IT'S PLASTIC!!! Both the red and "Crystal" bowl! How great is that, with two little guys in the house?! I got them for free when purchasing my Christmas dishes from a wonderful lady online. The tablecloth, I picked up this year at Walmart, on clearance for $3! (A little tip, always pic up the biggest one. You can cut it to size and the leftover, depending upon the size of your table, can be an extra tablecloth or you can cut the remaining tablecloth into whatever shape you want, sew it together and make double-sided placemats. These are just some of the ideas you can do with the extra bit.)

And my littlest one's favorite part: 

This is just my kitchen though. Still night quite finished with the rest of the house the way I would like to have done just yet but, needless to say. It is all pretty similar to this...FESTIVE! :) It's all garland, bows, hanging ornaments and a few trinkets. When I get it all done, I might post a few pictures. 

There are tons of thins that you can do for free or cheap to decorate the house for any holiday. Just keep your mind open, your eyes open for the good deals and let the kids take over. They have some of the most crafty ideas sometimes. 

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a fantastic holiday!