Entries from November 2008 ↓

A Holiday Tradition is something you recreate year after year.

Repetition of a similar event culminates into one big happy memory for children and adults alike.

A really huge, expensive gift – say an electric Barbi car or Jeep Grand Cherokee or a $2,000 Tree House – might make one big whopper of a memory if it only happens once. It’s just as easily be forgotten if year after year parents aim for the big whopper gift. You want to parse those out over time, otherwise you’ll always be one-upping yourself. Going bigger and bigger every year has the effect of rendering the big whopper of a present meaningless. It simply becomes their expectation, and after a few years if say the economy is down and their expectation isn’t met – children might think Christmas sucked. How is that fun for anyone?

“Every year around Thanksgiving we made a Ginger Bread House together and then for a month my mom would pretend to get mad at us every time we snitched a peppermint or sweet tart off the house. She would pretend to be the witch who would threaten to throw Hanzle and Grettle into the oven for stealing goodies off her house.”

That’s the kind of memory I aim for with Holiday Traditions. It’s time together primarily, it has staying power for the whole Holiday Season and it’s yummy. The yummy part is important because every single time they taste or smell Ginger Bread they will remember our happy tradition.

The Orbit Cookie-Ginger Bread House Kit, 4lbs
costs only $12.95. That is the kind of tradition you can keep up year after year after year without going broke.

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip # 1

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #2

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #3

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #4

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #5

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #6

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #7

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #8

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #9

Meaningfully Frugal Christmas Tip #10

Steal This Christmas Gift Please!

I have to give my first Toastmasters Speech tomorrow and I’m scared, I announced at dinner last night.

Everybody gets scared Mommy. It’s okay to be scared. But, brave is when you are scared but you do it anyway. What’s your speech about? Ainsley advised.

Me, I have to introduce myself and talk about me for 5 minutes.

I have two blogs and I write about my daughter and my son. I love my children. I’m a good mother. I have a husband who works at a chicken company. I have nice parents and two brothers and a sister. I’m pretty and I have short hair and blue eyes. I’m a writer. I have red couches and I’m a good decorator and a great cook. I love to exercise and I teach my children to exercise. I teach my children to read and write and their numbers and do projects with them. I’m a painter and I can sew. I go to church. I love yoga. I read a lot and love books. I love to dance. Just say that and you’ll be fine, she told me.

At least I know she’s been listening.

B-R-A-V-E

This is Ainsley’s first sewing project, a really cute hot pad.

Lately, now that I have a functional kitchen I don’t loath, I’ve resurrected this foundation of knowledge about cooking. I can cook. Well. I can make, like, anything I would want to order at a restaurant.

I’m not yet a master with the sewing machine, but I know how to use one and I can make drapes, pillows, maybe a prom or wedding dress if I have to (hoping I don’t have to). I can definitely make a gorgeous and tactile baby blanket and a Christmas tree skirt. I’m kind of sloppy though and dislike details in general.

As an adult managing my own home, my perspective on the feminine arts is totally different – I guess I thought feminism would cure us of the need or desire to sew and cook and clean (which is still a million times more realistic than Cinderella – who thought marriage would be her ticket out of chores and housework).

When my friends barter with me to sew in their zipper (no, too hard) or hem their pants, I realize this skill is useful. You may even be able to earn a living at it – just check out all the women who are opening their own Etzy Stores and online businesses and make it a point to Stimulate Women’s Economy.

Not only can I make anything I want to and (sometimes) save money, but I can make anything I can imagine. (Truly it is more expensive to make the baby blanket than to buy the manufactured one these days.)

This is our feminine heritage.

My mother is a master seamstress, crafter, candy maker and all around home maker. I’m trying to get her to open an Etzy store of her own. You should be so lucky to get this woman’s caramels for $26 a pound. I mean, Oprah should send for these melt-in-your-mouth mother candies and list them as her Favorite Things – they are that good.

Ainsley and ZACK will definitely benefit from learning these skills.

We should not stop teaching girls the feminine arts passed from generation to generation – we should stop teaching them ONLY to girls.

Hey, who wants to buy it Ainsley’s first hot pad?

Check out All Diva Media’s list of 20 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2009. I’m on the list. How exciting. Thanks DJ!

Soccer season is over.

Ainsley played on a local church league this year. No scoring, no winning, only one team to play against.

I think we’ll consider putting her in a competitive league next year. I see no point in pretending not to keep score. Our team knew we lost every single game.

Why do we keep insisting children are stupid or not paying attention? Why do we attempt to teach them the wrong lessons? We live in a Capitalist Society – if you think winning isn’t important here – YOU haven’t been paying attention.
Winning IS important and we should teach them how to try their best to WIN.

I did not coach because I think she is less inhibited and shy and has more fun without me there. Coaching my own kid was quite frustrating for me.

Soccer is MY favorite sport for girls because there is lots of actual exercise (unlike baseball with it’s endless waiting) and it’s gender neutral.

Also, I think Ainsley has an aptitude for it.

She says she wants to try gymnastics over the winter instead of going back to Taekwando. I’ll let her if it isn’t cost prohibitive.

10 Antidotes to Self-Objectification

Sharks v. Happy Feet