My kids didn’t actually do a great job of adding “straw” to the manger during Advent. So, I added a little extra before I took the photos today to show you the doll I made. Beatrix did share lots of clementine segments with her siblings though, so that she could add a “piece of straw” to the manger for baby Jesus. If the segment was refused, she would insist, because she really wanted to add a piece. Forcing food on people counts as sharing, right?
On Christmas Eve I had a choice between sewing cloth diapers for the girls’ dolls or making a baby Jesus for the manger that Jonny created at the beginning of Advent. I am so glad that I made the obviously right choice. Who really knows why I put things off to the very last minute. I had been planning on making the doll for weeks. The girls are taking turns sleeping with baby Jesus at night (who by the way is just a simple waldorf style swaddled doll. The swaddling clothes, which I made from a muslin dish towel, are stitched in place.)
Christmas felt simpler this year, and I am encouraged to keep things simple in years to come. The manger and jar of “straw” will definitely be added to our tradition, but I am realizing that less can be more. On Christmas Eve our kids did all the decorating, and after they were in bed Jonny and I filled stockings and set up the nativity. Christmas Day we went to Mass, and I met my two goals: haircuts for Seth and Keats, and being early enough for Mass to get seats. I made a “special” Christmas dinner that included a small, fresh local ham that ended up being fed to Trudy. I don’t know how to cook a ham.
As we are heading into the new year, I am of course thinking, planning, and hoping for a wonderfully organized new year. Considering the fact that I lost the library book on organizing solutions for people with ADD, I am not sure that there is much hope. I was organized before I had children, so I know I have it in me, but there is just too much to distract. I do hope I can find that book. The irony won’t be lost on me if I end up having to pay for it.
Today was super rainy and gray. Seth, Gabe, and I went out for a little while so they could have their piano lessons and I could knit with my little students. I skipped my lesson because I haven’t practiced. I was busy with this blog all week. I know that’s sad, but it was time consuming to make the move from Blogger to (self hosted) WordPress despite the fact that a very generous friend did 99% of the work for me. I like this new blog. I think it’s pretty. Pretty is important to me. More importantly, I hope that all of you who emailed over the past couple of weeks to let me know you were unable to see my blog, now have your problem solved. Also, I am not using Intense Debate for comments right now, I think that the basic WordPress comment system is simpler and quicker. Well, I hope it is. You guys all made my day with your comments on my last post. I haven’t yet been able to get the comments uploaded from my old blog, and may not ever be able to. It was feeling lonely here. Thank you.
Friday is my birthday. I already know what Jonny is getting me, because I ordered it today. It was his idea though.
The cat in the photo is one of the three whom I catsit when my friend Mike travels. His name is Sanders. He’s mostly scared of me.
My mom had a talk with me about how most people probably don’t want to see knitting on my blog, that it’s boring. She’d rather see more photos of my kids. I tried to explain…..
Don’t worry, we’ll carry on with the Yarn Along, and hopefully my mom will understand. (She’s not a knitter.)
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