today

in the event your holiday sucks

I never blog on Sunday. I usually take the weekends off.  But today's post is of a religious nature.  Writing blog posts of a religious nature is another thing I seldom do because I hold my faith near and dear to my heart. I often find it difficult to talk about my beliefs with other people.  I am a very private person in this way.

Nevertheless I do have something that I think I need to put out into the universe.  It is something amazing that I learned this last week that might be of value to someone out there.

Last Sunday I was asked to teach a lesson in church.  I was given the topic of The Sacrament.  I was a little bummed because I thought it might be hard to make the lesson interesting and engaging.  To this day I don't know if the lesson I gave was interesting to other people, but as is often the case, I learned a lot having taught the lesson.

To prepare, I researched what exactly happened the night of the last supper.  I wanted to get a sense of what that event was truly like.  One of the things I read that I never knew before was that during the last supper, the twelve disciples were fighting amongst themselves as to who would sit where.  Where you sat at the table at a passover meal denoted your station in that particular group.  So they were fighting over who was more important.

Do you remember this post I did a while ago?  I really do build things up in my head to be way more elaborate than they could really ever be.  I had began to build up this Christmas into a magical bacchanalia the likes of which our family has never seen.  I pictured well groomed children gathered around the counter sweetly frosting sugar cookies.  I wanted handmade cards and fun nights by the fire watching Christmas movies as a family.

Now make a huge leap with me to reality.

My kids start the day well groomed. By dinner time, they look like New York panhandlers.  They whine and fight and fuss and make huge messes. I have hardly any free time so making my own cards was out the question.  And those family nights by the fire? Oh we've tried to have them. They are nice until Birdie smacks Frankie with a block and gets in trouble. Then both babies are crying and Thom is screaming that he can't hear the show.

Good times.

So here's what I finally realized:  Here's what God taught me:  During Jesus's last supper here on Earth, a holiday meal, where he gathered with those that he loved,  there was fighting. Like real contention and bickering.  If even Jesus, son of God,  isn't capable of having a Martha Stewart holiday, what makes me think I can?

How pompous I have been to think that I could somehow strong arm my family into conforming to my silly idea of an ideal holiday.

The bottom line is an ideal holiday is a myth.  It doesn't exist.  At least not when children are involved.

So this year I will go and make merry. Even when Frankie barfs all over my Christmas dinner outfit, which I know he will. Even when The Boy pesters Birdie till she screams like a pterodactyl.   Even when my house is a mess.

And I will somehow capture a photo akin to Da Vinci's Last Supper when all looks calm and peaceful and maybe twenty years from now my memory will have faded enough for me to believe it was really true.

the thing about december

December is a funny month.  When you are a kid, it lasts forever. When you are a adult it is gone in the blink of an eye. It sneaks up on you like a cat that brushes your leg. Before you can look down to see what happened it is already gone. Just a tail disappearing behind a door.

December is quiet snowfall and hustle and bustle and honking horns.  It is kind words and merry gifts and dead lines and stress. It is a time to enjoy your friends and family and yet it reminds you of those you have lost.

It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.

This is how it goes.

I hope your holiday season isn't too stressful. I hope you aren't lonely.  I hope you find time to be still and reflect.

Here are some simple gift tags you can print off if need them.  If it saves you a trip to the store then I'm a happy girl.

They look best on white card stock. And you know, a little glitter makes everything fabulous.

freak. it's friday already?

I love old children's book illustration and I particularly like this one.  It's been on my computer for years now.  But I realized the other day that there is something terribly wrong with this picture.

Do you know what it is? If you do, then you have a husband similar to my own.

If you don't know then you should click away now, happy in your ignorance of the fact that some husbands don't smile cheerfully when asked to place the star on the top of the tree, or help deck the halls in the slightest fashion.  Some husbands have no intention at all of putting up twinkle lights on the eaves so that the house looks festive. Some husbands will have no idea what Santa has brought the children until they unwrap it.

However, these types of men aren't all grinch and no love.  No, no. If you are lucky, you will get one that loves to cook almost the entire gourmet Christmas dinner.  He will also help you make your traditional Opera bar candy and work very hard everyday so that the children might have gifts under the tree.

You are also one of the lucky ones if your husband has no desire whatsoever to smoke tobacco in any form. Even if a pipe does have certain charm.

But you are really super duper lucky if you have a clock like the one in the picture.  I'd like to buy it from you if you are so inclined.

on the first day of christmas...

wood & wool stool

Yesterday morning was fairly miserable.  Frankie Valentine had to visit the pediatrician for a nasty cough.  I thought I had said good bye to my cold but it was back in full force.  I schlepped both babies to the doctor's office in a daze, head pounding.

Some lady in a Jaguar honked at me when I didn't realize the light had turned green. Then she gave me a scuz as she drove by.  Isn't it funny how the birth of our Savior brings out the impatience and nastiness in some people?

I didn't want to go, but the craft store is right next to the doctor's office and I really needed some supplies.  The Bird wouldn't sit down in the cart. Frankie started crying.  The line snaked to the back of the store.  

I just wanted to curl up and die right there next to the yarn isle when I heard a voice.  "You need to change places with me."  She was loud.  She got everyone's attention.  Was she talking to me? "You need to come up here and trade me places."  She was talking to me.

"Oh that's okay. Ha ha." I said because that's what I do, and quite frankly everyone was watching and I was embarrassed.

"No. You need to come up here. Everyone, I'm trading her places."  She came back to me. She was small and old and delightfully spry. She had on a pink leisure suit.  She touched Frankie's fuzz head. "Honey, I've been in your shoes. Go check out."

And that is how I was rocketed to the front of the impossibly long line on a Tuesday afternoon in Michael's craft store. That is how a little Christmas spirit was rubbed off onto me.

It is my first Christmas gift of the season. I plan to pass it on.

wood & wool stool

happy holidaze

Well I'm coming out of my Christmas daze. The house looked like a party gone astray. The fridge was stuffed to the gills with millions of calories. The tops of my thighs are brushing together.

Ug.


But then the magic was kept afloat for a few more moments when I saw this.

SPARK from Jmills ENT. Jeremy Miller on Vimeo.

If you missed Spark, I'm so sorry. Get you crap together next year and join in the fun.

Also, I had these for lunch.

They freshened things up considerably.


And I have a gift certificate in my pocket to Lululemon which should help rectify my thigh situation.


I'm back in business baby!

for mama c. and papa

Away in a Manger from April Meeker on Vimeo.

Please excuse the dirty bottle in the foreground and the burp from Birdie half way through.

What can I say?

Things are a long way off from perfect these days.

and then christmas decided to come out in full force

Christmas is officially in full swing. I know this because when I was drinking my apple cider this morning I noticed that my amaryllis has started to bloom.

That, and Sugar Daddy was singing carols. Sugar Daddy has had a long time repugnance to Christmas music too early in the season.

I decided to make all new decorations for the house this year. I really wanted a fun childish theme.

A few weeks ago, we inherited a bear cookie jar that was given to Ben's dad when he was born. It is almost seventy years old and absolutely charming. It was my inspiration.

I call it "The Sweetest Christmas Extravaganza".

I'm making silk flower brooches to tie on the packages instead of bows.

Last Monday it was raining like mad. The sky was so dark and the fire place was so cozy, I decided not to send the boy to school. Instead we read Christmas stories, cuddled up on the couch. Thom and Natalie assembled the gingerbread house. It rained all day.

I think it will become a tradition. One day every December, the kids will get to stay home and we will craft and bake and read and cuddle and make memories.

black friday

I did not get up before the sun to shop.

I ate a leisurely breakfast with my family while we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.

I put the baby down for her morning nap and then I went to officially start the Christmas season.

I put the Christmas sheets on the boy's bed.

That means it has begun.

Then I sat in my pajamas at the computer and did a little Chirstmas shopping.

I really hope I can keep Christmas feeling the way it does this morning.

Warm and quiet.

M.I.A.

Sorry for the absence. I have been so very very busy. Having fun, working hard. I hope you all are enjoying the happiest of holidays with family and friends.

That's what it is all about. Family and friends. Oh yeah, and food. Lots and lots of fattening food. Hummmmm. . .

Speaking of niblies, I roasted up some chestnuts. They are beautiful, but extremely overrated if you ask me. Anyone out there know how to spice them up a bit?



I'll be back tomorrow with pics of our current, snowy adventure. Until then, take care good friend. Take care.

in lieu of tea

I had really good intentions. It's the thought that counts right? Or is that just drivel to make people feel better? I meant to get invitations out. Really I did. I thought of each and everyone of the friends that make my life a happier place to be. I thought about us sitting around the table with frou frou sandwiches and charming tableware, laughing and enjoying the season together. I even thought about the sweet little gifts that I would place on each plate. It was a great party. In my mind.

December, and all of its events plotted against me and now it is too late. Time and money have a way of raining on the grandiose plans my little brain concocts. The Christmas Tea Party Extravaganza must wait until next year.

And so, in lieu of fancy tea cups and smoked salmon finger sandwiches, I am sending out an extra special Christmas message to all my surrogate sisters.

Old Friends

photo by tara whitney

New Friends

Kindred Spirits

Merry Christmas Darlings! I hope that your holiday is merry and bright. I hope for you all the things you wish in your heart and most of all, I hope to laugh with you many times in the new year.

Consider this a quick kiss on each cheek, a hug and a check to make sure you look fabulous with no mascara smudges.

Much love, April

photo by

tara whitney

* Dear friends, if perchance your lovely face doesn't appear here on his post, it is only because I don't have a photo of you at my fingertips, and you know how lazy I can be. Please enable my indolent ways by sending me a photo to add.

a chirstmas wish

Sugar Daddy has been asking me what I would like this Christmas. I haven't been able to give him any concrete ideas. It just happens to be one of those years. I really just want to have a nice day watching my son enjoy the magic of Christmas. Really.

However, there is one little thing that I have been pining for. Unfortunately, it isn't something that my dear husband can pick up on his way home from work.

In a way, I feel like a greedy child at Christmas. I know I am already so blessed to have the Boy. Many people out there will never be able to parent at all. So call me greedy. I'll own it. I want another one. I want another so badly at times my heart and arms feel like Jell-O. I want diapers and formula and onesies. I want fat cheeks and early morning feedings and Gerber carrot puree' stains on my white shirts.

This order may be a little tall, even for Santa. But, I'm putting it out there. I'm sending out this request to the village of friends I have here on the web. If you know of anyone who is looking to place their baby for adoption, would you please consider referring her to our little family?

And in the meantime, I'll continue to thank the good Lord everyday for the son that I have and think of ways to makes the happiest of Christmas memories with him.

it's beginning to look a lot. . .

like Christmas around our house. I'm feeling very festive.



We have a slight hanukkah slant to some of our decorations. Jesus was Jewish after all.


This week will be full of shopping and baking and hopefully spending time with friends.

these hands

I don't have pretty hands. It's a fact. I've come to accept it. They have always been wrinkly, like I just got out of the bath, and my nails are often chipped and black from working with silver. I usually hide them in my pockets when I am feeling self conscience.

I tried getting fake nails to glam them up a bit, but they just looked like wrinkly hands with thick plastic ends. I spent the first day of my honeymoon ripping them off.

I inherited my ugly hands from my father, who, in turn, inherited them from my grandmother. My grandmother's name was Vola. Vola Wyatt. She was the pinnacle of our family. She made Christmas happen.

Her hands, her wrinkly hands, kneaded and draped and clipped and cleaned and stirred and smoothed until Christmas, Campbell style, materialized. Then she dialed and served and presented and hugged and made each of her grandkids feel like her favorite. I miss her so much this time of year my chest constricts each time I make one of her recipes or catch myself humming the way she used to hum. And, oh how I miss her hands. If only I could feel her stroke my hair or grasp my arm. If only I could plant one more kiss on her downy cheek.

And now it is up to me. I have to put my hands to work and recreate the type of Christmas I had as a child, the type of Christmas I want Thom to have. They are large gloves to fill.

sugar free

As hard as I try, I can't seem to keep stress from creeping in during the holidays. I feel it crawling up my back and pinching the back of my neck. And the worst part is, I'm off sweets. Yes, the time has come to crack down and loose some pounds.

I know you must be thinking "Silly girl, doesn't she know it is Christmas!?" Yes, I am all too aware. I am aware of every ounce of sugar in my house. But, the time has come, and so I must go forth, without.

Until Christmas day of course, then all bets are off.

the thing about christmas cards

It's the same thing every year. What to do about Christmas cards? Some years I am lucky enough to stumble upon a fabulous after season sale on Crane cards or some other set that would be way out of my price range if I were to pay full price, which I never do, because I was raised by people who would rather suck on an Akla-Seltzer than buy something that is not on sale.

It is incredible drudgery being a girl with a penchant for fine papers. A girl, that is, on a budget.

And then there is the whole family photo thing to consider. Attempting to photograph our little family may seem like a simple task until you throw in a boy named Thom and a wild canine (yes, the dog does have to be in the photo because we are just that type of family).

I stopped writing a newsletter when I finally realized that I really dislike reading epistles about what other people have done all year. That's what blogs are for right?

Having said all this, let me just give a small caveat and say I really LOVE getting Christmas cards. It is one of my favorite things about December*. And I know that in order to get cards, I must send, so I'm off to do a little shopping on Etsy for some fabulous, one-of-a-kind, inexpensive cards. Wish me luck.

Don't forget to scroll on down a few posts and enter to win the Winter Glam earrings.

* If you feel so inclined, I'd love to get a Christmas card from you, especially Ms. Finland who has yet to reveal herself. Send me an email and I'll swap addresses with you.