I may just make this a link up. ;)
I'm caught up in the "betwixt the holidays" boredom. You know... The place in time when Halloween is finished, but you haven't yet been steamrolled by Thanksgiving and Christmas.
It's that weird place where you know you should be doing something but, goshdarnitall, the tasks that lie ahead seem overwhelming and costly, so it's easier to just mope around.
Yes, even us moms of large families find ways to mope around. Only... No one really notices.
Where the heck am I going with this? Darned if I know.
Sort of...
Let's play a game: I'm going to throw out a few ideas I have and you let me know if they're "crazy", "doable", or a "waste of time".
What do you win?
Well, you get to judge me -- which is not something I usually allow. And, if any of my ideas are great, you can steal them!
Ready, set, GO!
1) I'm toying with the idea of buying all matching, inexpensive Christmas stockings to replace our semi-matched set. AND, I want to embroider our names on them. I used to embroider when I was in grade school and jr high, but haven't done it since then. Crazy, doable, or waste of time?
2) Kyle and I are mulling over starting a LifeTeen group in our parish. We have no existing youth/teen group now, so this is only partially selfishly motivated. Crazy, doable, or waste of time?
3) I'm having Thanksgiving in my home for the first time EVER in our marriage! It will be only our family of nine, but I want to "do it up right", so I want to buy new cloth napkins and new glassware to go with my good china. Crazy, doable, or waste of time?
4) Stuffing from scratch? Crazy, doable, or waste of time?
That's all I gots today.
Weigh in!
And, don't forget to enter my giveaway for Pope Awesome! It ends this Thursday!
1.) Doable. I have been thinking that if I too knitted, crocheted, or something it would keep that wine glass out of my hands in the evenings. So go for it and save your liver.
ReplyDelete2.) Definitely Doable. This is a calling from God. Every parish needs a good teen group. There are SO many lousy ones out there for Catholics. Pick up your guitar and get going!
3.) Doable. This one is a no-brainer. Make your family feel like they are special for once. Using & washing real plates, napkins and is not any harder than trying to stuff paper plates and napkins into a 30 gal trash bag at the end of the day, trying to find room in your already over stuffed garbage can outside that won't get picked up on time b/c of the holiday and the raccoons will end up busting into it. I have experience in this matter.
4.)Doable. If you even try to tell me that you make stuffing from a box or bag I will call the Polish Police on you! Save your bread scraps from now until Thanksgiving so that you have this nice variety of colors and textures. And for Pete's Sake, use the the giblet bag that comes with the turkey, People!
Ooo! I love the saving the bread scraps idea! On the other hand, as Cari points out below, pepperidge farm does make a killer stuffing mix.... Is the number for the Polish Police 119?
DeleteAnd, when have you ever known me to play guitar?! You know those kids are gonna get treated to my broadway serenades!
1) doable
ReplyDelete2) doable
3) doable
4) waste of time. That's why God made Pepperidge Farm.
I do love me some pepperidge farm.....
DeleteI found matching stocking at Old Time Pottery for $2 each. I had wanted all matching for a while now but when you have to buy 8 it's hard to justify the money (unless it's cheap, which $2 was!)...so I say doable! I make dinner every year, but every year I really WANT the table settings to look fancy, and every year I end up pouting when it doesn't, then every year after dinner is over I ask myself why I ever cared in the first place since the food and company were plenty :) Doable, but if you find yourself dragging then this would be on my "must let it go" list. (same with the stuffing! The kids outnumber us and they couldn't care less!)
ReplyDeleteOh! Great tip! I'm going to check out that website!!! Thank you!!!!
DeleteSee this is why I missed your posts. You're so sane and I love this!
ReplyDelete1) Waste of time- But let me begin by saying, I love our mismatched stockings. The kids have ones that were knitted by a friend, and they are in the basic color scheme, but not the same. My husband's alternates from his childhood stocking, to any random one that the kids decide he should have this year. Mine is my embroidery fix. I used to love needlepoint, but since needles and small children don't mix, it's gone away a lot. But I did one gorgeous creation just for me because I appreciate it. Not once has any child, including the fashionable/stylish ones, begged for one of their own. Feel free to ignore my advice because I've never been a matchy kind of girl.
2) Doable- and you will be loved for it by people who don't even know you yet. I hold a special place in my heart for the adults who helped me along by leading Bible Studies and youth events/groups during my teenage years. I had so many blessings from their efforts, and that's when my faith became real because the relationship with Christ became personal. Go for it!
3) Doable- Last year was one of the best Thanksgiving's ever for our family, and it was just us at home. I used every good piece of china, silver, serving items, etc... that I had and most of it the kids had never seen before. It was awesome. They were careful, the food was great, and I was at peace. Even the little ones mentioned that they liked having everything fancy and really pretty.
4)Will anyone besides you notice? This one would be a waste of time in our house because it would either go unnoticed, or be complained about because it wasn't something horrible like Stove Top. But that's just how it is here.
Have a great and blessed Thanksgiving!
Ok, see this is interesting to me.... I'm not a hugely matchy-matchy girl, but I felt like the first 4 kids and Kyle and I have matching stockings, while the younger 3 have "near" matches. Which is almost worse than completely mismatched. I guess it bugs my Type A personality when I see them all hanging together.
DeleteIt's good to hear that you have fond memories of your youth group; it's a big reason we are considering it.
And I love that your kids all appreciated the fancy china! That's what I want to happen here.
I'm not much of a stuffing fan, but a couple of my kids are. I'm leaning towards cheating on this one.....
No matter what you do, it will be awesome!
DeleteDoable x4!
ReplyDeleteUmmm...but I wouldn't attempt any of it out this point in my life...haahahahahha!!! SO does that make me null and void? Yes, it probably does. But YOU momma of many go for it! Although maybe Life Teen would be better to kick-off with the new year? (And give you like a day or two to catch your breath?)
Last year we had Thanksgiving ourselves and I have to say...mostly we LOVED having a day to just spend together.
I think the LifeTeen people only train once a year in June, so we have a while before finalizing our decision. It's just that once we talk to our pastor and DRE, they will never forget! ;) And, since we need to hash this all out with them first, I'm thinking we should talk to them soon.
DeleteI love that you had a peaceful thanksgiving at home; that's what I'm hoping for this year! Well, as peaceful as it gets with 7 kids!
1) Crazy - I love matchy matchy, but I think collecting stockings through the years as you added onto your family is adorable, even if they all look different. They all have a meaning, ya know?
ReplyDelete2) Doable - You want a good place for your teens to go, so heck yeah!
3) Waste - It's the food and love that everyone will remember, not the napkins and glasses. Donate that money to a charity instead and make someone else's Thanksgiving a happy one!
4) Waste - Pepperidge Farms, and add in your own stuff (veggies, sausage, etc)
Wow, I'm opinionated!
Ha! Good! I asked for opinions!!
Delete1. Waste of time - My thoughts on the matching stockings are not to worry about it. Ours are not matching and I know my kids would kill me if I even thought about changing their stockings. It is something that is theirs, and they love them.
ReplyDelete2. Doable but a little crazy too – make sure you have lots of help. It is a great thing but it is hard to do it right. We have been trying to keep our youth group running and we have good years and we have bad years. We are back on track again this year, but it is hard and you need a lot of adults to help organize, drive, and pick up where you fall down.
3. If it makes you feel good, do it, but not necessary.
4. Completely up to you and kind of like #3. I do not love to cook normally day to day, I do it, but its no fun for me. But I always do Thanksgiving dinner for my (small) local family, and for some reason I love it. I do make my stuffing from scratch, but only because it is one of the things I love to do. I make homemade rolls too, but I go with canned sweet potatoes, corn, and beans.
1. doable. Except the embroidery part. Try etsy, or a local embroidery place.
ReplyDelete2. Whoa. That's really up to you and Kyle. You're a braver woman than I.
3. Doable. DO. IT.
4. DOABLE! DOUGH NOT LISTEN TO CARI AND HER ILK. She is a woman who does not like ice cream. I will link you to the corn bread stuffing I use every year. You'll never go back to boxed crap. If it's not homemade stuffing, IT'S CRAP!
If you link me to that cornbread one then I don't have to make Paula Deen's 3 Sticks of Buttah Cornbread Dish.
DeleteYou will be doing our arteries a huge favor!