The Star Shone

I love Christmas.  I love decorating, and making the house smell yummy.  This year, my kids have their own little tree, where they can put the massive amounts of Hallmark ornaments we have amassed over the year.  I'm actually a little surprised the little tree is able to stand under the weight of all the ornaments!

Then, we have our big, fancy, family Christmas tree.  This year, I went ahead and put up our enormous fake tree.  I prefer real trees, but I opted for "big" instead of "real" this year!  Since the kids have their own tree, I was able to color coordinate the big tree, and make it look just like I wanted, instead of all the ornaments jumbled on just the lower front of the tree.  Everything is blue, silver, and gold, and I adore it!

When it comes to wrapping gifts, however, I stink.  I am terrible at it.  I'm ashamed to admit that I throw the paper on just good enough to cover the present.  I never get around to even sticking bows on the presents, and the closest thing I get to name tags is writing the recipient's name on the paper with a black sharpie.  Thankfully, I have a friend who said that just wasn't acceptable.  She wrapped each of my gifts this year, and made them beautiful enough to be worthy of sitting under my beautiful tree!  I'm so very thankful to have pretty presents this year!!!

My favorite part of my tree,  however, isn't how big it is.  It isn't the perfectly coordinated colored balls, ribbon and tinsel.  It isn't even the perfectly matching presents under the tree.  It is the star.  I love my star.

This star is most likely the most simple, cheap star in all of Christmas tree stardom.  You can't buy this star in a store, and to my knowledge, only one other tree sports a star like this: my mom and dad's tree.

When my parents were first married, they were, like most newly married couples, broke.  They didn't have a star for their tree, and couldn't afford one, either.  Instead of spending money they didn't have, on something that wasn't a need, they did what they do best and made the best of the situation.  Mom and dad cut a star out of a piece of cardboard.  They covered it in aluminum foil, and put the shining star up on top of their tree.    And even after they were able to buy a "perfect" store bought tree topper, my parents continued to use that silver star throughout my entire childhood.

When I married and moved out of my parent's house, my Christmas gift from my parents was a tree, some lights, and some blue, gold and silver Christmas tree balls.  My parents always knew how much I loved the silver star on top of our tree, and inside of the box of Christmas ornaments was my own silver star, that they had made of cardboard and aluminum foil.  For the rest of my life, my favorite Christmas gift will always remain that silver star.

Barb Wire Man asked me for our first 7 Christmases together why I didn't go get a different tree topper.  This year, he didn't, because, he knows nothing will stop me from using that star.

That simple, handmade, tin foil star represents what Christmas is to me.  It is the simple, yet world and life changing fact that years and years ago, a star shone in the sky, marking the spot where the Savior of the world laid in a stable.  His parents were, like most newly married couples, broke.  They didn't have a place to lay their newborn son, let alone a star, but they did the best they could, with what they had.

Every time I look at that star, I am reminded that nothing else matters.  It doesn't matter how rich or poor we are.  It doesn't matter how many gifts are or aren't under the tree, if all the colors match, or if you even have a tree.  All that matters is that Jesus is.

Be blessed today!

Catching Up On Everything!

I'm not even going to look at the last time I wrote a post for this little blog.  I'm ashamed of myself!  Once school starts back up, and I get busy watching all my daycare kiddos, I tend to brush the blog aside.  I really shouldn't do that, but, I do.  Playing, diapers, nap times, laundry, lunch....it does take up the majority of my time.  I'm going to make an effort, though, to at least write twice a week!  It will at least keep my mom happy!

We just got over a round of illnesses at our house.  Little Man caught the stomach bug right after Thanksgiving, and the poor boy felt miserable.  It started on Thursday, and continued over into Friday.  Thankfully, we had the weekend to recover!  On Tuesday, late in the afternoon, Little Man started screaming while holding his ear.  I had never seen an ear ache cause such terrible pain, so I knew it must be bad.  He was also running a really high fever.  One of my daycare moms stayed at my house to help me out with all the kids, and, after Barb Wire Man changed out the completely dead battery in my car, I drove Little Man to the doctor.  By this time, it was 6:00 in the evening, and the closest 24-hour clinic is in a town 30 minutes away, so off we went.  I wasn't surprised when the doctor told me Little Man had an ear infection.  I was surprised when the doctor said "Umm, did your son also put some wadded up paper in his ear!?"

Sure enough, Little Man had something wedged into his ear.  Turned out to be chewed up pencil eraser.  Pencil eraser.  Now, the last time my child was sick, and had been to the doctor for a check up was in May, 2011.  I have no idea how long it had been in there, or, where in the heck he got a pencil eraser.  But, it is out now, so, we are good to go!

Unfortunately for Little Man, the antibiotic the doctor put him on wasn't strong enough.  I still could not get his fever to go down.  On top of that, he began throwing up again!  I was able this time to get him into our pediatrician, thankfully.  The ear infection was not going away, and fluid was continuing to build up on his ears.  They tested for flu and strep, and everything came back negative.  Another antibiotic was prescribed.  He continued to be sick to his stomach up until midnight on Saturday.  It broke my heart to see him so sickly, and tired.  My best guess is he caught another stomach bug on top of the ear infection.

Thankfully, Flower and I have been OK, with no symptoms of illness.  Barb Wire Man got a touch of it, but nothing that kept him down for very long.  Most weeks, I do not look forward to Mondays, but I did today.  Fresh week, fresh, healthy start!

I have had a lot of orders at 13 Plum Creations, which is a GREAT thing, but another reason I haven't written much!  Who knew that these little headbands would cause such a huge rush of orders!?  I almost had more than I could handle, and, admittedly, volunteered my sweet Mama to help me knit some of them up!  I'm still working on finishing up orders, too, but all the headbands got out!

I hope to have some new items up soon.  I'm changing things up a bit, however.  I will make one of each item.  Then, any order of that item will be custom!  That will keep me from making too many of one item, and, will allow me to make each item according to the wishes of the one ordering!  All items will have to be paid for in advance, however.  I had way too many people order headbands, then never respond to my calls and emails, or come pay for them.  How rude, I know!  Oh well, that is apart of it I suppose.  If you see something on my Etsy site you can't live without, go ahead and order it!  If you want it a little more personal, just look me up on Facebook...13 Plum Knitted Creations...and send me a message!

I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed day, and I will *hopefully* have another post up soon!

Goodbye, Sweet Youth

Today, I have quite mixed emotions.  You see, today, I turn thir...thirr....ahem.  Let me try this again.  Tomorrow, I turn thirrr....

Damnit.  See?  I can hardly even type it.  30.  Tomorrow, I turn 30.

On the one hand, I have had 30 amazing years in my life that I cannot complain about.  I can't even complain about the bad years, because bad as they were, some of the best things in life came from them.

On the other hand, I'm 30.

On the other hand, I still feel like I am 18.  I have tons of energy, am in wonderful shape, and am healthy.

On the other hand, I'm 30.

On the other hand, I could be 40.  Or 50.  Or 60.

On the other hand, I'm 30.

On the other hand, I'm alive.

But....on the other hand, I'm 30.

On the other hand.....wait!  There is no other hand!  I'm frikken 30!!!!  And even though I'm alive, healthy, and have a great life, it really sucks that I have moved into a whole other phase of life.

Can Someone Tell Me...

Can someone tell my why my kids need drinks and Barb Wire Man needs ice cream after I have the kitchen cleaned and dishwasher running for the night?

I'm serious.  Last night, I was sitting on the couch, finally relaxing after the kids had gone to bed, and looking into my "new" kitchen.  I thought, "The house is clean, the kids are clean and in bed, Barb Wire Man and I are sitting here in peace...how nice!"

Then, Little Man comes running in from his bedroom.  "I'm thirsty mom.  I need milk."

I get him water, he goes back to bed, and the cup goes into the sink for tomorrows dishwasher load, since today's is already clean.

Then, Flower comes in.  "I forgot to get a drink, mom.  Where is my cup?"  "It is in the dishwasher, because it was dirty."  "Oh, OK.  I will get another."

She goes to bed, cup goes in the sink.

Barb Wire Man decides ice cream is on the menu.  "Want some?"  "Sure, why not...sounds good."

Two bowls, two spoons and an ice cream scooper, right into the sink.

I have just come to the conclusion that as long as we are living in this house, or any house for that matter, the kitchen will never be spotless.  There will always be a cup or two in the sink.  But, it is a good thing, too.  We have a home.  My kids can walk to the sink at any given moment to get a drink of fresh, clean water.  We have money to buy not just food to sustain us, but also food that just tastes good.

Be blessed today!

Close, But No Cigar...

The good news off the day is I am finished with my dining room!  YAY!  I am so beyond thrilled, and I can say that after living it this house for going on 7 years, it finally feels like, well, home.  The   dining room is finally the way I want it to look, a reflection of our family, and almost completely pulled together.  There are still a couple things I am going to add to the walls, but it isn't urgent, and are simply decorations that I will get as I find them.  I know what I want, and I'm not doing anything else unless it is exactly like I want!  Here are a few of my finished photos!

I know the curtains seem slightly out of place...but, the match the main theme, once all decorations are up! (The curtains by the way, are actually two shower curtains!)

Dining area...see?  blue!  

I have 5 of these hanging...2 by the door, and two by the laundry room door to hang jackets, backpacks, and baseball caps on.

My Mama made this for me, and what I chose to be the main focus of the room.

Like I said, there are still a few things I would like to do to top it off, but those can always come later.  I love it, love it love it!

The kitchen?  Yeah.  Not finished.  Once I got the glaze on the wall, I decided the white cabinets just were not working with the theme.  So, I tried using the glaze on the cabinets as well.  That did NOT work.  It seriously looks like all my kids went outside, played in the dirt, then rubbed their muddy hands all over the cabinets.  Looks like we will be taking them down and repainting them another color.  Any suggestions?  Because I really have no idea...

Barb Wire Man spent the day at his favorite cigar shop, so he came home to a whole new house.  He had a great time, met a famous cigar dude named Matt Booth, smoked several good cigars, and got some awesome loot.  But, he didn't bring me a cigar.  Oh well.

The kids played.  They have been such good sports throughout this little remodel.  I'm proud of them!  I will be finished totally, soon, and I can go back to playful mommy!

And now, Barb Wire Man has just brought me a nice bowl of ice cream!  I don't eat it very often, but I think he sensed I needed a little treat after this long weekend.  Be blessed!

You NEVER Scream Snake!!

I grew up playing out in the country.  My grandparents lived wayyyyyy out in the country, and we always knew that while we were playing, we had to watch closely for snakes.

Anytime we went out to play, my grandpa would give us a hoe, tell us to watch for snakes, and if we found one, to chop his head off with with the hoe!  It wasn't odd for us to see snakes either, but it was no joking matter.  If we screamed "SNAKE!!!!" then by gosh, there had better be a snake, because Grandpa was going to be running our to kill it with a gun.  He was taking care of us, and didn't think it was a funny joke if we screamed it as a joke.

So, I am not scared of snakes at all.  If I come across one, I know exactly what to do.  However, I hate snakes.  I wish they were all dead.  And really, the only thing I enjoy about living in town is that there are no snakes.

So we thought.

Flower and Little Man were out playing in our backyard.  I was painting (of course) and Barb Wire Man was painting (of course).  Little man came running inside.  "Mama!!  Ders a shnake in your garden! A big one Mom!  Come git it!!"

I looked him square in the eyes and said "We do NOT joke about such things!  Snakes could be dangerous, and you do not tell mommy there is a snake when there really isn't!  Now go back outside and play...don't touch the paint!!"

Not 10 seconds later, Flower comes in.  "MOM!  He isn't joking OR lying!  There really is a snake in your garden!"

Barb Wire Man and I both dropped what we were doing and ran outside.  Here in Texas, it could be a small little garden snake.  Then again, it could have been a giant bull snake.  Or, it could have been a dangerous rattle snake.

Thankfully, it was just a garden snake.  But, it was the biggest garden snake any of us had every seen. After Barb Wire Man let the kids look at it and touch it, he, ahem, beheaded it.

Because I live in town, dangit.

A Little Business Thursday

I have had two Etsy orders this month!  I know for some Etsy sellers, that's nothing.  They get that many orders in an hour.  But not this girl!  Its the most sales (online) that I have had in a single month, and I'm excited! Since opening my Etsy shop, I have had 24 sales.  They say that 50 seems to be the "magical" number; that once you hit 50, your sales really start taking off and you are "established".

Good grief, after 2 years of having this Etsy shop, I'm ready to be established!!!

Now, I have 23 items listed in my shop.  If I sold everything, I would almost  be at that "magical" mark!

What's a girl to do?   Beg for sales, of course!

I'm asking all of my friends, readers, and fans to help share my blog, and my business.  Christmas is around the corner, and the good news is I do usually get really busy this time of year.

Know someone with a baby?  I can make them a beautiful, heirloom quality blanket!

Everyone needs scarves, hats, shawls, wristwarmers, neck cowls, and other things to keep them nice and warm when it gets cold outside.  I have plenty of those, and if they aren't in the colors you like, I can make them for you!

It would sure mean a lot to me if you told your friends, or shared my blog!  Or, just got check out 13 Plum and get yourself something!!


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