Stumbled across this:
Buy Nothing Christmas: Alternatives page
Already knew about this:
St. Nicholas Center: Discovering the truth about Santa Claus. Around the world: Saint Nicholas traditions in many countries. Celebrate: resources for families, churches and schools. For kids: games and stories and other fun things.
Enjoy!
(FYI, personally I'm just recovering from the Thanksgiving mega-weekend and December just around the corner, but those sites are good.)
Monday, November 29, 2004
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Christmastime music at our house
I am a Christmastime music junkie, as dear husband will attest, but I hold off until after Thanksgiving unless something happens such as my husband pointing out the release of Barenaked Ladies' Barenaked for Christmas a week or so ago.
The first post-Thanksgiving Christmastime music to be played in our house was a dilemma. Some years I want to sing along, so it's the Penn State Glee Club's 1992 recording, P.S. Merry Christmas. Most years I really want to hear one of my favorite medieval Advent/Christmas recordings, and that was my intent this year. Yet, while pulling out my armload of Xmastime CDs and venerable cassette tapes I found myself humming "In Dulci Jubilo," so obviously I had to find that somewhere in my holiday collection.
I thought I was going to find it on A Renaissance Christmas, part of a boxed set from the Boston Camerata (with A Medieval Christmas and A Baroque Christmas). But no.
Now playing: Christmas with the Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter. We finally got to "In Dulci Jubilo" and it's much too slow! C'mon, pick it up, step lively!
I will definitely switch to medieval Christmas music for Christmas CD No. 2 of the season. I'm missing my fix of Nova, Nova and Nowel, Owt of Your Slepe with obnoxiously fun krumhorns or whatever.
Here's a well-worn and -loved cassette that inaugurated the season for me for many years: Sing We Noel: Christmas Music from England and Early America, from the Boston Camerata. I still play it, but it's a bit slow in spots from stretched-out tape.
Later I'll probably cheer up my lovable humbug-Mr-Grinch husband with Christmas Island, by Leon Redbone. We also have Amy Grant, street musicians, hammered dulcimer, Glenn Miller band, Frank Sinatra et al., a Rounder label compilation, the Roches, the Miserable Offenders, and a bunch more.
A year or so ago I got Music for Little People's A Child's Celebration of Christmas for the kids to enjoy -- fun versions of Rudolf etc.
What Christmas music do you love to play? Did you add something different recently for some reason?
The first post-Thanksgiving Christmastime music to be played in our house was a dilemma. Some years I want to sing along, so it's the Penn State Glee Club's 1992 recording, P.S. Merry Christmas. Most years I really want to hear one of my favorite medieval Advent/Christmas recordings, and that was my intent this year. Yet, while pulling out my armload of Xmastime CDs and venerable cassette tapes I found myself humming "In Dulci Jubilo," so obviously I had to find that somewhere in my holiday collection.
I thought I was going to find it on A Renaissance Christmas, part of a boxed set from the Boston Camerata (with A Medieval Christmas and A Baroque Christmas). But no.
Now playing: Christmas with the Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter. We finally got to "In Dulci Jubilo" and it's much too slow! C'mon, pick it up, step lively!
I will definitely switch to medieval Christmas music for Christmas CD No. 2 of the season. I'm missing my fix of Nova, Nova and Nowel, Owt of Your Slepe with obnoxiously fun krumhorns or whatever.
Here's a well-worn and -loved cassette that inaugurated the season for me for many years: Sing We Noel: Christmas Music from England and Early America, from the Boston Camerata. I still play it, but it's a bit slow in spots from stretched-out tape.
Later I'll probably cheer up my lovable humbug-Mr-Grinch husband with Christmas Island, by Leon Redbone. We also have Amy Grant, street musicians, hammered dulcimer, Glenn Miller band, Frank Sinatra et al., a Rounder label compilation, the Roches, the Miserable Offenders, and a bunch more.
A year or so ago I got Music for Little People's A Child's Celebration of Christmas for the kids to enjoy -- fun versions of Rudolf etc.
What Christmas music do you love to play? Did you add something different recently for some reason?
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Advent, Christmas, Epiphany with kids
I updated my Web site, Faith at Home, to focus on Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany.
If you want to get a kid-friendly nativity set, look up Advent wreath resources, or find a great new Advent calendar, check out the resources pages under Advent, Christmas, Epiphany. It has all of my favorite online resources!
If you want to get a kid-friendly nativity set, look up Advent wreath resources, or find a great new Advent calendar, check out the resources pages under Advent, Christmas, Epiphany. It has all of my favorite online resources!
Comic strip: Mom's Cancer
If you have a family member with cancer, go read this comic strip: Mom's Cancer. This is soooo good.
Lost or at least out of it
Looking back, I guess that epic Halloween post was a final blowout before taking an unexpected break from my blog!
I took a cybersabbatical. The election was somewhat all-consuming and I didn't want to go on about it here, so I didn't.
Now I have lots of stuff to blog about, but just want to say... I'm reminded that late fall and winter in Oklahoma can be awfully wet and cold. We were possibly going to have snow tonight, but now they've changed the low temp forecast so that's less likely -- we're just going to get tons of rain on top of the already sopping wet week we've had.
That's fine with me; I still need to get my tropical (ie, house) plants into the sunroom before it actually freezes around here. I'm stuck waiting on planting my new bulbs from Old House Gardens because they'll just rot, I think, in sodden soil. On the other hand, thanks to my dear husband I'm listening to bits of the new Barenaked Ladies Christmas CD on my handheld -- fun! I even broke my no-Christmas-music-before-Thanksgiving rule for this, heehee.
See ya sooner this time around!
I took a cybersabbatical. The election was somewhat all-consuming and I didn't want to go on about it here, so I didn't.
Now I have lots of stuff to blog about, but just want to say... I'm reminded that late fall and winter in Oklahoma can be awfully wet and cold. We were possibly going to have snow tonight, but now they've changed the low temp forecast so that's less likely -- we're just going to get tons of rain on top of the already sopping wet week we've had.
That's fine with me; I still need to get my tropical (ie, house) plants into the sunroom before it actually freezes around here. I'm stuck waiting on planting my new bulbs from Old House Gardens because they'll just rot, I think, in sodden soil. On the other hand, thanks to my dear husband I'm listening to bits of the new Barenaked Ladies Christmas CD on my handheld -- fun! I even broke my no-Christmas-music-before-Thanksgiving rule for this, heehee.
See ya sooner this time around!
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, All Saints, All Souls
Our town declared Saturday to be the trick-or-treating night, thereby making my and every other local family's Halloween plans a whirlwind of activity in two short days (Friday and Saturday), with a day to recover before Monday arrives. This was the busiest and most fun Halloween with the kids ever, for us. We are also ever so tired!
I resist switching the kids' fun from October 31, but there were unexpected plusses this year. The blessing of an extra hour of sleep when we really needed it 'cause the time changed back as we slept after trick-or-treating. Beautiful fall weather on Saturday night, but rain all day and evening Sunday. Grudgingly I admit Saturday night worked out very, very well. Except for the craziness of being unable to find my box o' fall decorations all week, until 4 pm before trick-or-treating!?!
Timeline:
On Wednesday morning Son2 (age 4) and I attended a MOMS Club Halloween party. His costume was ready, 'cause we arranged to pick it up -- a loan from the party host -- when we came to the party, LOL! An extremely cool/cute dragon padded costume. Horns, spikey stuff down the back, tail. He loved it.
On Thursday we actually paid money for a costume for Son1 (age 8 nearly 9): a Bionicle costume at 30 percent off, whew. He really wanted something storebought after all, and amazingly we were in and out of the Big Red Double Circle store superfast, finding and deciding on his costume and our trick-or-treaters candy in a flash. I was stunned and relieved.
On Friday the kiddos went to school in costume. Son1's costume soon had detachable/detached parts; apparently he dealt with it fine; by class party time he seemed cheerful anyway (first I heard of the detached thing). Both boys' parties were fun (I went back and forth). Highlight of Son1's party: dry ice in water in a deep container, making lots of "smoke". Highlight of Son2's party: the candy haul from insane parent donors, and, for me, seeing all the little kids in very cute and imaginative costumes. One four-year-old was a lamp -- with a light bulb filament shape painted onto a white t-shirt, and a lampshade on his head! LOL!
Son1 had a basketball game Friday night. Probably contributed to his wiped-out-edness on Saturday (new word alert! hahaha).
Saturday morning I tried to walk my precinct to get out the vote, but I kept missing the guy who was going to give me my info. We threw in the towel when I only had an hour left to volunteer. Then it was time to costume-up the kids for an afternoon family Halloween party, which was very fun. For parties Son1 decided to wear an alternate costume from a previous year -- a hand-me-down Batman that's still nearly too big! We had fun, then headed home where everyone vegged except me. Sadly, I wigged out.
I unearthed the box o' fall at last, after looking for it all week. Then I got all frustrated at the cool post-Halloween-sale stuff I had but didn't have time to use, dumped a bunch of stuff back in the box, deleted multiple items off my to-do list, and then got a grip. I put up my favorite kid-made decorations, some silly fake pumpkins in the living room, and a little tableau in the dining room of fun and silly things. Good enough.
Somewhere in there we got the kids to eat something with peanut butter. And milk. In a last-ditch effort to insert nutrition into children before the candy-to-come froze their minds and appetites. It worked okay.
A good friend of the boys came over with his dad for joint trick-or-treating, and all of the guys headed out to walk our long block. I handed out treats and welcomed home the tired crew quite a while later, with their buckets heaped full with bounty -- apparently our street was generous! We kicked back for a little while as the kids revelled in their candy. Then the friend and dad headed home and we headed out to another party. Last year I skipped this party, but I had such fun this year that I vowed to come along every year!
At this post-trick-or-treating party we know a lot of the parents and the kids from the boys' school and our former extended neighborhood. It was sooo enjoyable to hang out and enjoy conversation with the adults while the kids had extended battles and peacemaking with play swords etc. in the back yard and the house. Son2 nearly fell asleep on the way home (10 minutes)!
We got the kids to bed, tucked the house in for the night, dear husband settled back with a movie or something, I changed all the clocks and checked my email, and then I went to bed. At "9:40" pm. Ahhhhhhhh.
This morning I got up just before 7 am. I love getting up even just 15 minutes before the kids. Usually it's the opposite, and as soon as I make an appearance the kids want to know, "what can I eat????" They aren't impressed that I can't think and just want to blink and make some coffee and gradually wake up. Fat chance, LOL. Anyway, this morning I prepped for my Sunday school class (adult class about prayer and spirituality), the kids got up, and we had a couple of nice hours and then got to church early, with boy hands scrubbed, boy teeth thoroughly brushed, and boy bodies wearing church clothes!! And they were good in church!! This afternoon we vegged and fussed a bit and vegged some more, and I started catching up on the things I've put off since Thursday. Tonight is actually All Hallows' Eve, and a rainy one it is.
Tomorrow will be extremely busy. I'll try to do some laundry, but mostly it'll be getting the car tag renewed, meeting some friends for early morning coffee, going to the monthly MOMS Club meeting, walking my neighborhood/development/precinct to get out the vote, fixing as easy and fast a dinner as possible (meatball sandwiches? chicken nuggets, biscuits, and green beans?), and maybe going to an evening church service to celebrate All Saints Day on the very day (Nov. 1). Some friends have planned the service and are really excited about it, but we have single-car coordination problems (Son1 has basketball practice) that I will need to work out first.
Tuesday, All Souls' Day, I'm expecting to spend walking my precinct (pretty much the same as my development). And voting. And then watching TV that night. My poor dear husband -- though he's as interested as I am in the results at the state level and nationally. Perhaps he'll vote early on Monday? The line was over an hour long Saturday morning, I'm told. Wow.
My plan for Wednesday? Laundry. Maybe some weeding of the terribly weedy garden beds. That sounds nice. Perhaps a bit more fiction reading. And keep up with my ACTION folder in my household central; my Cheerios-box file folder system is working really well so far -- I speak the truth, I promise!
I'm heading to bed. I really want to get up before the kids tomorrow and keep that going. Obviously I needed to write this all out for some reason. Thanks for reading this far, if anyone did!
I resist switching the kids' fun from October 31, but there were unexpected plusses this year. The blessing of an extra hour of sleep when we really needed it 'cause the time changed back as we slept after trick-or-treating. Beautiful fall weather on Saturday night, but rain all day and evening Sunday. Grudgingly I admit Saturday night worked out very, very well. Except for the craziness of being unable to find my box o' fall decorations all week, until 4 pm before trick-or-treating!?!
Timeline:
On Wednesday morning Son2 (age 4) and I attended a MOMS Club Halloween party. His costume was ready, 'cause we arranged to pick it up -- a loan from the party host -- when we came to the party, LOL! An extremely cool/cute dragon padded costume. Horns, spikey stuff down the back, tail. He loved it.
On Thursday we actually paid money for a costume for Son1 (age 8 nearly 9): a Bionicle costume at 30 percent off, whew. He really wanted something storebought after all, and amazingly we were in and out of the Big Red Double Circle store superfast, finding and deciding on his costume and our trick-or-treaters candy in a flash. I was stunned and relieved.
On Friday the kiddos went to school in costume. Son1's costume soon had detachable/detached parts; apparently he dealt with it fine; by class party time he seemed cheerful anyway (first I heard of the detached thing). Both boys' parties were fun (I went back and forth). Highlight of Son1's party: dry ice in water in a deep container, making lots of "smoke". Highlight of Son2's party: the candy haul from insane parent donors, and, for me, seeing all the little kids in very cute and imaginative costumes. One four-year-old was a lamp -- with a light bulb filament shape painted onto a white t-shirt, and a lampshade on his head! LOL!
Son1 had a basketball game Friday night. Probably contributed to his wiped-out-edness on Saturday (new word alert! hahaha).
Saturday morning I tried to walk my precinct to get out the vote, but I kept missing the guy who was going to give me my info. We threw in the towel when I only had an hour left to volunteer. Then it was time to costume-up the kids for an afternoon family Halloween party, which was very fun. For parties Son1 decided to wear an alternate costume from a previous year -- a hand-me-down Batman that's still nearly too big! We had fun, then headed home where everyone vegged except me. Sadly, I wigged out.
I unearthed the box o' fall at last, after looking for it all week. Then I got all frustrated at the cool post-Halloween-sale stuff I had but didn't have time to use, dumped a bunch of stuff back in the box, deleted multiple items off my to-do list, and then got a grip. I put up my favorite kid-made decorations, some silly fake pumpkins in the living room, and a little tableau in the dining room of fun and silly things. Good enough.
Somewhere in there we got the kids to eat something with peanut butter. And milk. In a last-ditch effort to insert nutrition into children before the candy-to-come froze their minds and appetites. It worked okay.
A good friend of the boys came over with his dad for joint trick-or-treating, and all of the guys headed out to walk our long block. I handed out treats and welcomed home the tired crew quite a while later, with their buckets heaped full with bounty -- apparently our street was generous! We kicked back for a little while as the kids revelled in their candy. Then the friend and dad headed home and we headed out to another party. Last year I skipped this party, but I had such fun this year that I vowed to come along every year!
At this post-trick-or-treating party we know a lot of the parents and the kids from the boys' school and our former extended neighborhood. It was sooo enjoyable to hang out and enjoy conversation with the adults while the kids had extended battles and peacemaking with play swords etc. in the back yard and the house. Son2 nearly fell asleep on the way home (10 minutes)!
We got the kids to bed, tucked the house in for the night, dear husband settled back with a movie or something, I changed all the clocks and checked my email, and then I went to bed. At "9:40" pm. Ahhhhhhhh.
This morning I got up just before 7 am. I love getting up even just 15 minutes before the kids. Usually it's the opposite, and as soon as I make an appearance the kids want to know, "what can I eat????" They aren't impressed that I can't think and just want to blink and make some coffee and gradually wake up. Fat chance, LOL. Anyway, this morning I prepped for my Sunday school class (adult class about prayer and spirituality), the kids got up, and we had a couple of nice hours and then got to church early, with boy hands scrubbed, boy teeth thoroughly brushed, and boy bodies wearing church clothes!! And they were good in church!! This afternoon we vegged and fussed a bit and vegged some more, and I started catching up on the things I've put off since Thursday. Tonight is actually All Hallows' Eve, and a rainy one it is.
Tomorrow will be extremely busy. I'll try to do some laundry, but mostly it'll be getting the car tag renewed, meeting some friends for early morning coffee, going to the monthly MOMS Club meeting, walking my neighborhood/development/precinct to get out the vote, fixing as easy and fast a dinner as possible (meatball sandwiches? chicken nuggets, biscuits, and green beans?), and maybe going to an evening church service to celebrate All Saints Day on the very day (Nov. 1). Some friends have planned the service and are really excited about it, but we have single-car coordination problems (Son1 has basketball practice) that I will need to work out first.
Tuesday, All Souls' Day, I'm expecting to spend walking my precinct (pretty much the same as my development). And voting. And then watching TV that night. My poor dear husband -- though he's as interested as I am in the results at the state level and nationally. Perhaps he'll vote early on Monday? The line was over an hour long Saturday morning, I'm told. Wow.
My plan for Wednesday? Laundry. Maybe some weeding of the terribly weedy garden beds. That sounds nice. Perhaps a bit more fiction reading. And keep up with my ACTION folder in my household central; my Cheerios-box file folder system is working really well so far -- I speak the truth, I promise!
I'm heading to bed. I really want to get up before the kids tomorrow and keep that going. Obviously I needed to write this all out for some reason. Thanks for reading this far, if anyone did!
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Ready, set, vote!
Let's say you're registered to vote and plan to vote. You could vote early to avoid any lines -- call your local election board to find out how to do that. In my state we can vote early, even this Saturday and Monday.
Maybe you're not sure where your polling place is. Find it at mypollingplace.com.
Maybe you're not sure what will be on your ballot (which local races, etc.). Look yours up at Democracynet.
Educate yourself by reading your local newspaper's coverage, going to your state election board's Web site, finding the candidates' Web sites, etc.
Go out of your way to make sure you vote. Exercising this hard-won, precious right to vote is worth taking some time out of your day to figure out how you want to vote and then do it.
(I pick up my sons from school and take them with me to vote. Apparently kids who go to the polling place with their parents are more likely to vote when they are adults. Good thing, as I'm gonna do it anyway!)
Maybe you're not sure where your polling place is. Find it at mypollingplace.com.
Maybe you're not sure what will be on your ballot (which local races, etc.). Look yours up at Democracynet.
Educate yourself by reading your local newspaper's coverage, going to your state election board's Web site, finding the candidates' Web sites, etc.
Go out of your way to make sure you vote. Exercising this hard-won, precious right to vote is worth taking some time out of your day to figure out how you want to vote and then do it.
(I pick up my sons from school and take them with me to vote. Apparently kids who go to the polling place with their parents are more likely to vote when they are adults. Good thing, as I'm gonna do it anyway!)
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