Hello friends!
I do hope this finds you doing well!! I am sitting in my sunlit office with the outside temp.being almost 70° today - just lovely! I am thinking of my snow-covered Northern friends as I wear my shorts and flip-flops! :-) Are your Holidays still Happy? To be honest...I have had a few rough spots this month with my Happy Holiday Really mission and I am trying to correct one situation right now as I think about what to share with you this week. Hopefully, when I check in next time my mission will have been accomplished!
Can you believe that Christmas is this week?! Of course, since about the time I turned 25 I've said that every year, but every year I am still surprised at how fast Christmas approached!! Okay...at the risk of being redundant, what things would you like for Ammie and me to share with you and/or help you with? Would you like to do recipe exchanges? Do you need parenting tips? What about money-saving ideas or even decorating how-tos?
We don't have all the answers to any of those things, but what we do have is a great network of others moms that we can tap into. Let this blog be our gift to you...take from it what you need and/or leave something to! For today's "share", I am leaving you a link about "Coastal Christmas" decorations. When I saw this, I immediately thought of my cold-weather, northern friends and how this might be a way to add some extra sunshine to your holiday. I know that a lot of families get to travel to warm weather, beach-laden places throughout the year so these decorations are not only unique, pretty and easy to do...they would also conjure up good memories of those trips for all of you!
Like thousands of other families this Christmas seasons, I am hitting the road this week to be with family on Christmas. For my fellow travelers, safe journeys to you! For everyone...My wish for all of you is that the true meaning of Christmas will shine brightly for you and that you have a very, very Happy New Year!!
Smiles,
Your JBF Friend Andrea
http://www.completely-coastal.com/2009/12/ideas-for-homemade-christmas-ornaments.html
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Still having a Happy Holiday Really!
Good Morning!
I am still having a Happy Holiday really, although some days it has been just barely! (Can any of you out there relate?!). The "barely" part really came into play yesterday when we went to buy our son's Christmas gifts and the invoice I was handed was about $900.00...(gulp, sigh and small sweat!). We buy our children only 3 gifts each year...something to share with each other, something they need and then something they want. Well...until about a month ago 2 of my sons were still in bunk beds. Bunk beds are great and we had them for about 10 years, but...my boys are getting big enough now that I thought it was time that they graduate from that scenario and get their own, twin beds.
So...for the past 6 months I have been working on this task of getting them out of the bunk beds and into the twin beds. I have utilized Craigslist and Freecycle and managed to get 3 free box springs, one free bed frame and one bed for only $15.00. Well - doing the fast math you can see that I am still one frame and 3 mattresses short for getting them all into a bed which is where the $900.00 invoice comes in! We are fortunate enough to live very close to a mattress manufacturing company that has been in business for 113 years and have an excellent reputation with good prices and wonderful mattresses. Even so...buying the 3 mattresses all at one time, at a good price still put us out a significant amount of money.
Now...the really tricky part here is how to make this $900.00 purchase exciting for my 3 boys who have actually enjoyed sleeping on the floor in their sleeping bags since Thanksgiving! (We took the bunk beds to my parent’s vacation home over the Thanksgiving break knowing that we were going to be buying mattresses). Any ideas on that would be most appreciated!!!
Now that we have made that purchase my goal of having a Happy Holiday Really is going to be tested this weekend as we try to finish up Christmas with a drastically revised budget. I am looking at all the Free Christmas activities my town has to offer (luckily...living in a large metropolitan area does help with that!) plus I have a few things that we can do here. So...I will let you know how that goes. And for the rest of the gifts I need to purchase? Well...coupons and bargain hunting, etc. are something I have been doing for year and so I will use those skill to once again "pull the rabbit from the hat"!
I am trying to encourage the other half of the Germantown/Port Washington Just Between Friends team to write something here as she is in the middle of that snow storm that has been talked about all over the news! She is hilarious and always has something going on!!!
We do this blog just for our friends, so...let us know what you think, how you are doing and what you know!
Keeping Happy!
Andrea
I am still having a Happy Holiday really, although some days it has been just barely! (Can any of you out there relate?!). The "barely" part really came into play yesterday when we went to buy our son's Christmas gifts and the invoice I was handed was about $900.00...(gulp, sigh and small sweat!). We buy our children only 3 gifts each year...something to share with each other, something they need and then something they want. Well...until about a month ago 2 of my sons were still in bunk beds. Bunk beds are great and we had them for about 10 years, but...my boys are getting big enough now that I thought it was time that they graduate from that scenario and get their own, twin beds.
So...for the past 6 months I have been working on this task of getting them out of the bunk beds and into the twin beds. I have utilized Craigslist and Freecycle and managed to get 3 free box springs, one free bed frame and one bed for only $15.00. Well - doing the fast math you can see that I am still one frame and 3 mattresses short for getting them all into a bed which is where the $900.00 invoice comes in! We are fortunate enough to live very close to a mattress manufacturing company that has been in business for 113 years and have an excellent reputation with good prices and wonderful mattresses. Even so...buying the 3 mattresses all at one time, at a good price still put us out a significant amount of money.
Now...the really tricky part here is how to make this $900.00 purchase exciting for my 3 boys who have actually enjoyed sleeping on the floor in their sleeping bags since Thanksgiving! (We took the bunk beds to my parent’s vacation home over the Thanksgiving break knowing that we were going to be buying mattresses). Any ideas on that would be most appreciated!!!
Now that we have made that purchase my goal of having a Happy Holiday Really is going to be tested this weekend as we try to finish up Christmas with a drastically revised budget. I am looking at all the Free Christmas activities my town has to offer (luckily...living in a large metropolitan area does help with that!) plus I have a few things that we can do here. So...I will let you know how that goes. And for the rest of the gifts I need to purchase? Well...coupons and bargain hunting, etc. are something I have been doing for year and so I will use those skill to once again "pull the rabbit from the hat"!
I am trying to encourage the other half of the Germantown/Port Washington Just Between Friends team to write something here as she is in the middle of that snow storm that has been talked about all over the news! She is hilarious and always has something going on!!!
We do this blog just for our friends, so...let us know what you think, how you are doing and what you know!
Keeping Happy!
Andrea
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Happy Holidays Really! (So far) - -
Good Tuesday afternoon to you!
Okay...normally I will just post once a week, but I thought I would at least update the mission we are on to make the Holiday Happy Really!
We were gone for Thanksgiving for over a week and did not get back until Sunday. I am just now getting caught up with laundry (last load is in the wash now...yeah!!) and my e-mails have finally all at least been looked at (no internet for 5 days = over 500 unanswered e-mails!!) I am sure many of you can relate! I at least have the Thanksgiving decor gathered and 90% of it is stored away for next year...well, the last post mentions how that happened. :-) So now...it is time to get the house decorated for Christmas (this is where if you were sitting here, you would hear an audible UGH!!). That sound effect would be due to the fact that we have tubs and tubs and tubs of Christmas decor. (again...does this sound familiar to anyone?!). I LOVE how our home looks when it all decorated, but it takes about 5 hours or so to get it all done. Well - I will skip all of the background conversation that my husband and I had about how it is just us, no one sees the house all decorated except for the kids, etc...., but this year our Holiday is going to be Happy Really! because we are only putting up the 2 trees (the children have their own), decorating the mantle (we can't skip the stockings!) and putting out the children's most favorite items (of course their favorites involve buttons to push and singing/dancing).
None of our Christmas traditions are being altered (we still read them a Christmas book each evening, have our advent candle out...), but what we have gained is reduced stress during a time where the tasks are more than time available to complete them. Now, I can use that saved 5 hours from the decorating and saved 3 hours from the undecorating to do something like...get my Christmas cards mailed out BEFORE Christmas Eve day, watch a movie with my children, take the walk I have been meaning to take for 3 days now, etc.
So...off to enjoy more Happy Holidays Really!! How have you been doing with that? Let me know...it is always so nice to know you aren't alone on things, isn't it?!
Smiles,
Andrea
Okay...normally I will just post once a week, but I thought I would at least update the mission we are on to make the Holiday Happy Really!
We were gone for Thanksgiving for over a week and did not get back until Sunday. I am just now getting caught up with laundry (last load is in the wash now...yeah!!) and my e-mails have finally all at least been looked at (no internet for 5 days = over 500 unanswered e-mails!!) I am sure many of you can relate! I at least have the Thanksgiving decor gathered and 90% of it is stored away for next year...well, the last post mentions how that happened. :-) So now...it is time to get the house decorated for Christmas (this is where if you were sitting here, you would hear an audible UGH!!). That sound effect would be due to the fact that we have tubs and tubs and tubs of Christmas decor. (again...does this sound familiar to anyone?!). I LOVE how our home looks when it all decorated, but it takes about 5 hours or so to get it all done. Well - I will skip all of the background conversation that my husband and I had about how it is just us, no one sees the house all decorated except for the kids, etc...., but this year our Holiday is going to be Happy Really! because we are only putting up the 2 trees (the children have their own), decorating the mantle (we can't skip the stockings!) and putting out the children's most favorite items (of course their favorites involve buttons to push and singing/dancing).
None of our Christmas traditions are being altered (we still read them a Christmas book each evening, have our advent candle out...), but what we have gained is reduced stress during a time where the tasks are more than time available to complete them. Now, I can use that saved 5 hours from the decorating and saved 3 hours from the undecorating to do something like...get my Christmas cards mailed out BEFORE Christmas Eve day, watch a movie with my children, take the walk I have been meaning to take for 3 days now, etc.
So...off to enjoy more Happy Holidays Really!! How have you been doing with that? Let me know...it is always so nice to know you aren't alone on things, isn't it?!
Smiles,
Andrea
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Happy Holidays...Really? or Really!!
I am trying to have Happy Holidays Really!! this year. Not that my Holidays aren't Happy usually, but - as so many of you moms out there can relate too - the Holidays add stress and strain to an already packed schedule and daily agenda, not to mention the drain it is going to put on our budget (after starting 2 businesses this year...we are watching every penny - literally)! :)
The first thing I have done this season to have a Happy Holiday Really! is to let my husband and three sons put away the Thanksgiving decorations and get out the Christmas ones. What?! That sounds so nice of them...how is that something I have done, you might wonder? Well...while it was very nice of them, it was also an exercise in letting go of control and just realizing that while I am going to have some of my lovely decorations bent, crushed or even broken - they have saved me much time which I can use to do other wonderful things like laundry, paying bills, writing out the Christmas cards (one of those schedule straining activities I alluded to earlier)...
The next thing I am going to do is to KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS! This is the most important thing I am going to do this season! It bothers me more than I can express that while the snowmen and Santa motif decorations, etc. are cute...they are not what this season is all about. So...my family and I will keep the reason for the season in perspective which in and of itself should keep our Holidays Happy Really!! (Believe me...snowman decor is a favorite at our house, however; I have started putting it out in January as we get so little snow - if any snow! - and so it my way of creating a snowy winter for my children)!
Another thing which is key for us to have Happy Holidays Really! is to not overspend!! We usually do pretty good in this area as using credit cards makes me feel physically ill, however; with our new employment situations this year we are having to spend even less. My credit card phobia is actually one of the reasons which led me to buy a Just Between Franchise...second-hand items are wonderful (yes, really!) and buying second-hand enables me to buy more and/or do more for our children. If you don't know about consignment sales, I would love to tell you all about them!! :-) Another budget helper is coupons. We save hundreds of dollars per year just by using our coupons!! For a while, I had gotten away from using them as they were taking up too much time. However, a mom from my MOPS group told me about The Grocery Game and while I do pay a monthly fee - I save way more money than the fee and it is savings that I would otherwise miss out on. I could go on and on with money-saving tips, but...I guess the last one I will post here is to just analyze everything before you trash it or get rid of it. Old jeans for example are being turned into fabulous quilts for my 3 sons plus their mom! These quilts are not only functional, but...they are great, usable momentos from my children. When I get the quilt finished, I will post a picture. (I did a t-shirt quilt in 2006 just to practice my skills with and it turned out very well!! - my husband finally realized the value in moving all of my old shirts from high school and college and even our honeymoon once he saw the finished product and now he even helps me pick out t-shirts while we travel as he knows that after about 3 years or so, I will retire these shirts and make a new quilt out of them for us).
Finally...I am going to take a cue from my children this year as to how much/little we do as far as holiday activities and outings. So many times, I spend time searching and searching for things we can do either around town or even as activities in the house when in fact...the children are just happy to use their time off from school to spend with my husband and me plus each other. So...if they want to look at lights and get hot chocolate, we will and if not then we won't! (Okay...on this one - if they don't, my husband and I will still do this - - LOL!). If they want to get their pictures with Santa...away we go, but again, if they don't then I am just as happy to take their picture in front of our beautiful tree which they have decorated. Yep...my kids decorate the tree by themselves and yes...our tree is most heavily adorned at the bottom! (I do manage to spread a few of the decoration from the bottom to the top while they are at school, but - it won't be too long and either 1) they won't want to decorate the tree or 2) they are going to be tall teenagers and I will miss our "bottom-heavy" tree!).
So, as I begin my Holidays "tasks" it is with a joyful heart as this year I am going to have a Happy Holiday Really! That is my wish for you too!! I always love hearing from you and I would especially love to know how your holidays are going! Send me an e-mail or you can reach me on Facebook. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me -
Smiles,
Andrea
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Hitting the Road for the Holidays
Hello friends! I hope this finds you doing well!!
I thought I would go ahead and check in now as I don't know that I will be able to send something out next week as...(gulp!) we are heading over to my parent's vacation home where they are without internet AND NO TV!! This will be a true getaway for us for sure as we are on the internet all day long for work, school, etc. so that is technology withdrawal in and of itself, but....no tv?!! Wow!! We are actually going to have to do this thing called...spending quality time with family - LOL! I am really looking forward to it actually...I have packed along a craft project, some baking ingredients, christmas cards and our Shoebox for Children items so we can assemble those and drop them off before the deadline. Speaking of packing though...I have not even started packing my clothes yet nor my youngest child's, so I best get going! (I am also potty-training that youngest child, so packing involves so much more as you parents know...a potty, LOTS of extra clothes, cleaners for the potty...!). Good thing we have a cargo trailer - the more I jot down what we are taking the more I realize how much it is...does anyone else have this problem?! :-) Between our four kids bags, sleeping bags and pillows and the "lack of technology" past time items we are taking, plus the potty-training items - we look like we are heading out of town for months! How did we pack in just 1 trunk before?!
Before I head out ...I wanted to leave you with a great website I found that has all sorts of fun Thanksgiving crafts and treats. Check out: http://www.familycorner.com/newsletter/whats_new.shtml
May you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving...whether your are surrounded by family and friends or celebrating on your own, it is a special time to remember the blessings the Lord bestows upon us throughout the year. Happy, Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!
Smiles,
Your Just Between Friends of Germantown/Port Washington hostesses, Andrea and Ammie
I thought I would go ahead and check in now as I don't know that I will be able to send something out next week as...(gulp!) we are heading over to my parent's vacation home where they are without internet AND NO TV!! This will be a true getaway for us for sure as we are on the internet all day long for work, school, etc. so that is technology withdrawal in and of itself, but....no tv?!! Wow!! We are actually going to have to do this thing called...spending quality time with family - LOL! I am really looking forward to it actually...I have packed along a craft project, some baking ingredients, christmas cards and our Shoebox for Children items so we can assemble those and drop them off before the deadline. Speaking of packing though...I have not even started packing my clothes yet nor my youngest child's, so I best get going! (I am also potty-training that youngest child, so packing involves so much more as you parents know...a potty, LOTS of extra clothes, cleaners for the potty...!). Good thing we have a cargo trailer - the more I jot down what we are taking the more I realize how much it is...does anyone else have this problem?! :-) Between our four kids bags, sleeping bags and pillows and the "lack of technology" past time items we are taking, plus the potty-training items - we look like we are heading out of town for months! How did we pack in just 1 trunk before?!
Before I head out ...I wanted to leave you with a great website I found that has all sorts of fun Thanksgiving crafts and treats. Check out: http://www.familycorner.com/newsletter/whats_new.shtml
May you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving...whether your are surrounded by family and friends or celebrating on your own, it is a special time to remember the blessings the Lord bestows upon us throughout the year. Happy, Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!
Smiles,
Your Just Between Friends of Germantown/Port Washington hostesses, Andrea and Ammie
Monday, November 16, 2009
Let's Get Blogging!
Okay...I am totally new to blogging, but we thought it might be a great way to keep in touch with all of our great JBF friends! So...here we go! Ammie and I will be taking turns on writing the blogs, but...I get to start us out - yeah!
This week we have decided to share what we have found out about Thanksgiving Crafts for kids. Ammie's children aren't in school just yet, but...my 3 sons are in school and are therefore accustomed t0 days full of activity each day and are already bemoaning/forecasting boredom next week as they are out of school all week for Thanksgiving. To arm myself with some quick, go-to activities, I have been keeping my eyes and ears open for some "fresh ideas" to keep the troops busy and entertained next week. I thought that some of you moms may have the same predicament as me, so...I am going to share with you what I have found. Happy Crafting, but most of all....Enjoy the time with your precious "babies" - it goes so fast and I am learning first-hand now that they won't always want to spend time with you!
Here's a great e-book and best of all...it's free! Enjoy! http://www.favecrafts.com/master_images/Thanksgiving/Thanksgiving-Crafts-eBook.pdf
Smiles,
Andrea
This week we have decided to share what we have found out about Thanksgiving Crafts for kids. Ammie's children aren't in school just yet, but...my 3 sons are in school and are therefore accustomed t0 days full of activity each day and are already bemoaning/forecasting boredom next week as they are out of school all week for Thanksgiving. To arm myself with some quick, go-to activities, I have been keeping my eyes and ears open for some "fresh ideas" to keep the troops busy and entertained next week. I thought that some of you moms may have the same predicament as me, so...I am going to share with you what I have found. Happy Crafting, but most of all....Enjoy the time with your precious "babies" - it goes so fast and I am learning first-hand now that they won't always want to spend time with you!
Here's a great e-book and best of all...it's free! Enjoy! http://www.favecrafts.com/master_images/Thanksgiving/Thanksgiving-Crafts-eBook.pdf
Smiles,
Andrea
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