Christmas Crafts

I don't know what it is about this time of year but it makes me want to craft more than any other season. Perhaps it's my love of Christmas and all things Christmassy. I am a sucker for snowmen and Santa dishes, candles etc. Perhaps it's because craft fairs abound at this time of year and inspires me with tons of creative ideas.

For some reason though this craft bug doesn't hit me until mid November. If I were to even attempt to make a profit with my cards or crafts, I'd need to be working up an inventory way back in August so come November 1st, I'd be all prepared to offer up my wares.

Combine this with the fact that finding time to craft what with three small kids, ferrying them back and forth to school and pre-school, working four evenings a week is almost impossible.

This year I am determined, however, to make at least one project. I did a digital photo album and calendar up this year for the parents via Shutterfly so I do have that under my belt. My other more ambitious plan is this:

Isn't that adorable? I don't have those exact colors but you get the idea. (For Pattern go to Bernat.Com) I thought this was so sweet I had all these grand ideas of how many small rugs I'd make for families and friends. Till my husband asked... "how much did the wool cost?"

Ummmm... "well it was $23.00"

him... "$23.00 for a rug?"

Okay, dearest. I get the picture. What you think of as "a it almost costs nothing" gift cause I made it myself turns into a $23.00 price tag per each. Add that to the fact that I never factor the costs of home made gifts in to the budget amount I've got fixed for a specific person cause after all... it was homemade. Yeah, I'm not a great business woman.

Add to that the fact that it turned out to be somewhat more complicated than I had figured. What I dreamed of whipping off two squares in an evening turned into a multiple evening project as I crocheted and subsequently tore out my stitches as I either had too many or too few stitches. Which is why I like the good old traditional granny square which practically crochets itself, not counting required.

So while I have it figured out now and actually completed my best square yet yesterday, I had to sit the children down with play doh at the table in order to even do a 1/4 it. Worked great and was even worth having to clean up the mess. I hate play doh mess. It always sticks to your clothes and feet cause they never like sit still. So we are on for day two of this only they are getting almost play dohed out have reduced their play doh creations to smearing it across the table.

In the meantime, I have grand projects of making little blankets and beds etc for the hamsters (electronic) we've bought the girls for Christmas. Yeah. We'll see how that goes. But not one Christmas craft project is on my list. Sigh. But then just how many wall hangings and home made angels can you make?

Has your husband put his foot down and told you to not bring one more Christmas craft into the house? Mine hasn't yet.. but he's getting there. ;)

Top Ten Thursday - 10 Things I'd Rather Do than Clean

I recently stumbled across a blog called Should be Cleaning and thought girl, that is definitely a metaphor for my life. Should be Cleaning. I should be cleaning something but instead here I am. So I thought I'd do my

Top Ten List of Things I Do To Get Out of Cleaning

1. Blog - okay that was obvious and a no brainer

2. Read - anything and everything. I will pick up a science book, comic book, reader's digest magazine, newspaper, back of the cereal box.. literally anything just so I can read something. (my husband says this should be #1) *L*

3. Surf on my Blackberry. It's so fun looking up free apps. Free cause I wouldn't spend money for some weird little program that sits on my phone. Okay, I did pay for my Pink ring tone but after that I draw the line.

4. Play dolls and any mom who has two little girls knows how mind numbingly boring it can be to play with Barbies for 2 straight hours. I can only do her hair and change her clothes and say hi back just so many times.

5. Fix a snack. Why clean before I eat, right? It will just get dirty again?

6. Lie on my (unmade) bed and stare at the ceiling. Pretend I'm resting my back.

7. I can't clean now, my favourite show is on television.

8. Sit with O in the bathroom so he can pee two drops into the toilet five or six times a day.

9. Take the kids for a walk.

10. Have a cup of tea.. goes with number 2.

Would you like to play along? It's easy. Grab our button, post your top ten and come back and link up.

Be sure to stop by my lovely co-hosts blogs too. Sara at Domestically Challenged is offering a giveaway to a commenter on my blog. How cool is that? So get on over check out her blog, see what's up on the giveaway block and then come back here and comment. Thanks Sara!

Domestically Challenged

My Messy Paradise

It's a Beauty Filled Life

Olympics - Commoners Not Allowed

The 2010 Winter Olympics are being held in my province. I am of a mixed mind about this. While I am not overly involved in winter sports and I do not enjoy watching it on television, I struggle with whether I should actually be proud that the Olympics are here and what exactly do I teach my children or do I just gloss over it like it's not happening.

You see I think the Olympics were originally supposed to promote friendship and unity and a coming together of many different countries, cultures and nations.

Does it still stand for that? I think not.

The Olympics are only for the elite.

For the first time since 1988, the Olympics are being held close by. Close enough that I could hope aboard a ferry and take my children over to Whistler and watch. Watch what? Well anything really. Who cares, it's the Olympics! I'd go to just about anything just for the experience of being there.

But is this actually a real possibility? No. The tickets are so far beyond any ordinary person's means that doesn't even begin to define the word expensive. Some tickets would take a month's worth of work. Six months of food out of my children's mouths. You get the picture.

Who then can afford to attend? The volunteers maybe, I don't know how it works for them but I live to far away to volunteer. The wealthy? The celebrities? In short, the elite.

So we spend millions of dollars improving the roads, building venues, advertising, marketing etc.. just to be told that I can't afford to actually go to one of the events? Does that really make sense? I think not.

They say the Olympics will be a big economy boost to the area and there are lots of outside benefits to holding them in your country. I don't see how that can be. They've spent so much money, our already congested city will become even more congested with tourists that I really think we'd be lucky to break even on the debt load of hosting.

So again, I struggle. I should be proud that my province was chosen to host the Olympics, that international attention will be upon Vancouver and Whistler and in part I am proud. I see others in my community that go all shiny eyed as they talk about the importance of the Olympics and what it means to me and I wish I wasn't so cynical. That the Olympics isn't just about getting a higher brand recognition by Corporate sponsors. Kind of like how Christmas is over commercialized. They've over commercialized the Olympics.

The other part of me... well I'm tired of society being divided into the haves and have nots.

Pithy Parenting Tip #159

Never leave your toothbrush out on the counter. You never know what they are going to "clean" with it.

In the Mommy Trenches