I'm glad you got such a great deal on the Dora house! I think your dinner was perfect. I kind of a germa-phobe and love it when people bring me food like that. Inless I've been in their kitchen and I know it's clean I always wonder? You make me want to wear more pink.
On your Christmas without spending- I've never done that (I think it'd be SUPER tough)..but there was a huge family in our ward that every year instead of having a traditional Christmas, they would take the money and focus on one family and do a Christmas for that one family. It's a tradition for them- the kids totally know they will get nothing and spend Christmas focusing on a family that could really use the support. Cool, huh?
Great deal at Target. My Ella (7) sounds a lot like Annie Kate. She has never really gotten into girl toys.....or toys at all. She likest to play outside, swim, basketball, imagine and pretend with friends/siblings, etc. I have a few recall items I've just been too lazy to return yet!
My hubby and I want to rent THe Office so bad. We prefer to watch TV by DVD. Is that weird? We realized that Alias and 24 were much more exciting when you didn't have to wait a whole week for the next show!
I don't think I could go a whole year without buying something new, I'm always buying little things, like embroidery floss or cloth, some card making supplies etc...
Christmas isn't big at our house, but then it's easy when it's only the two of you and no money!
Way to go on the Target score! And I would be dying if I had to go over a week without A/C!!!! Hope you get it Monday!
8:40 PM
Anonymous said...
Your dinner idea is great- a lot of thought with them being able to save it for a night when they need it etc.
AK is awesome. I love that she charged and just took the ball. You totally have an athlete on your hands and that rocks.
The not buying things for a year would be hard but humbling in so many ways. We are talking about Christmas and giving and not spending. I have been selling things left and right to get my food storage more up to par, so that thought wasn't super random for me :)
Now I am curious how you cracked your lens on vacation!
Not spending for a year- wow, that would be great.
I LOVE The Office- but I have teenagers. They love it too so we watch it together & if it's too dirty we turn it off & delete it off the DVR. It is hard to do- so hard. Have you ever watched The Office bloopers on You Tube. They are sooo funny. Way to go AK- is she still dropping the K? I am teaching a class at Enrichment night in October on inexpensive gifts for kids to give their friends,siblings,cousins etc. for Christmas. I want to have a make & take for the YW who are invited to come. I would love ANY ideas from all you creative gals out there! sixandholding@msn.com Thanks
Your dinner was perfect. Homemade or not aren't we all just glad to not have to prepare a meal after we've had a baby or been through something stressful. I am sure the recipient appreciated your thoughtful gesture.
About Christmas...a few years back the church members in Orange County wanted to pay for the construction of the Newport Beach Temple (It seems like I remember the local members always contributing to the building of a new, local temple but I believe it is different now) Anyway, we were given a yea and asked to sacrifice and contribute to the temple. We did a lot of little things that year but the most memorable was giving up Christmas for the Newport Beach Temple. We had the best Christmas I can ever remember and there was not one complaint from any of our kids.
Our kids get way too much anyway from grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. We did want to have something to open on Christmas morning so we had the family work on a craft to give to each family member. My kids made me a homemade nativity which is priceless (I collect nativities) Santa came but brought only 1 gift for the whole family. The best gift was writing out the check for the temple. I will always be grateful for that special Christmas.
i have done a lot of thinking about spending $ at christmas and all through the year. also the want vs need
we don't go overboard but i have to say our parents do and even though we have asked them not to, they do it anyway. it is so frustrating when we are trying to teach the girls it is not about the possessions. arghhhhh!
we usually do a few "Santa" gifts and will continue that until Ellie knows otherwise... and the other gifts come from us but i have been thinking of ways to even curb that...meaningful vs a lot of stuff.
Kristi, Ben and I were talking about doing something similar this year for Christmas. We want to take some of the money earmarked for Christmas and spend it on something meaningful, like paying for a cleft-palate surgery for a child in a 3rd world country or something similar. We would still get our children something for Christmas, it just wouldn't be lot's of toys that would get broken or lost or clutter up our house even more. I really want to help our kids learn that it is important to do things for other people and that we really don't need most of the things that we have.
Love the dinner idea. I'm not that good of a cook myself so I really like it.
I really enjoy homemade Christmas gifts and usually try to do it every year. However, I know I couldn't do it for everyone. Although I like a challenge. ;)
I hope you enjoyed your dinner @ friends. It's always so fun to get together as families for dinner.
A whole christmas with nothing new? Sure would be interesting and I think it would take me a LONG time. Would also lead to more interesting gifts! Hurray for Target, I'm glad that their tricky return policies worked out to your benefit this time!
Wow, you got a whole lot of interesting info into this post, and I love it that you added so many photos with it.
I think taking dinner to someone is a wonderful thing to do whether you make it yourself or not, and certainly cute bows make it that much better.
It sounds like Annie Kate has found a good fit with soccer, you'll have to post some video of her in action.
What a treat to watch the entire season of The Office all at once. I got the Second Season on DVD for my birthday and rewatch it often.
I don't know how you're lasting without your good camera for so long.
What a score on the Dora house situation. It's good that you were honest about not spending that much money, it must have been thrilling to make money off the deal.
I like the thought of not buying as much and feel like I've spent less on myself this year than ever. Now that I have good mail on the brain constantly I tend to look for things to send or make for others. It's liberating!
It's so sweet that your family was invited over for dinner from someone in your local ward. I'm sure you feel out of the loop since you're always so involved with your DC ward.
I would be thrilled to get that dinner! When I'm sick or have had a baby I am just so grateful to have someone bring dinner (and you know, sometimes the homemade ones are not all that good!). Good thinking.
total score on the Dora house! I'm shocked that Target was so good about the return -- must have been Mattel's doing. We haven't gotten any Polly Pockets yet, I thought Eva was too little, but if SJ likes them... and if it will encourage independent play, I might have to go get one today!
I guess I'm the only one who has never gotten into The Office. Loved your comment about blushing if you were watching it with your grandma, I think about that too sometimes (with other shows, of course).
I love the thought of buying nothing new. I don't know how I would do it for Christmas, though! It would be a real challenge. I will always remember one year when I was growing up, my aunt (Ashley's mom) went on a shopping fast for a whole year. I thought she was crazy at the time, but now I can see why she did it.
Thank goodness that we have had such beautiful weather for you guys to have been without air conditioning. I am sad for your girls to be without their Dora house. Georgia asked for that for Christmas last year and received it from her cousins and plays with it constantly. Fortunately it was pre-recall, so it hasn't had to leave us. I was lucky to find some great accessories for it at Big Lots over the past year too (also none affected by recall). I don't know how I could do that no buying challenge. I read a quote recently that has really been staying with me. The quote was by Henry James, and forgive me for completely paraphrasing, but it said something like 'Fill your home only with things that are useful or beautiful'. And I have really been questioning myself before buying, because I don't need anymore 'things'. I have so much stuff already!!
I have to say that bringing in a dinner whether it is homemade or not is super helpful and thoughtful. Sometimes the homemade ones aren't even as great as the store bought ones. I love how you tied ribbons to everything! Score on the Dora house! Our best Christmas ever was when we lived in Chicago and we only had a 2 year old. We had NO money - but there was a local church that did a yard sale every November. They had the BEST things. Best toys that were only gently used. Expensive toy sets. I got our entire Christmas covered with $20. Now, that was 15 years ago - but I still wonder about those church yard sales. Let us know what you find. I would love to pack up my family and go to a third world country for Christmas and use our Christmas to help others in need.
OHHH The office. Still on loop at our house, oh man season 3 is soooo funny, totally worth the buy. Mom was over the other day and I put it on for her to watch, its soo funny to see mom get a kick out of dwight.
"More like Pam Babely!"
Thursday night dude!!! the 27th!! you know you want to watch the date with pam and jim!! you know this!!!
I've always loved your idea of bringing a pinneapple for a thank you hostess gift. I think that it is a brilliant idea.
12:16 PM
[Image]Pink Post it notes.
If I was to have a post it notes for things I would have loved to have blogged about this week these are what they would have said.
[Image]I am not great at taking people dinner when they have babies or such but wish I was. I never know what to make. A friend of mine in my local ward had a baby and since I am a little out of the loop with who was bringing them dinner I just grabbed a Pizza at Sams that can be cooked anytime, but is fresh, a pineapple, bananas and then some cookie dough balls that can be frozen and cooked anytime. I was hoping the cute ribbon on everything would disguise it not being homemade. [Image] Soccer has started and last week was AK's first game. She scored the first two goals last week and scored a goal this week. She got a big aggressive and went up and stole the ball from the star player on the opponents team and accidentally wiped her out. I felt bad for the other girl but was so proud of AK for getting in there! She is still a bit timid but learning. [Image] We purposely did not watch the Office all year so we could netflix it and watch the entire season in one sitting - well over a two day period. So last weekend we watched it and I was laughing so hard - it is the funniest show. It kind of pushed the limit with me on a few issues and would make me blush if I was watching it with my grandma. I don't know if I can hold off from watching it again this season but I think it will be well worth it.[Image] My Nikon has been out of commission since returning from Europe. The lens broke into our second week. (that was the only bad thing that happened on our trip - I wonder if I will ever get to finish writing about our trip) So I have been without my good camera and it is starting to drive me crazy, I need to call them and see if it is is fixed. I only have one lens and am wishing I had more about now.
[Image] I took back the lead paint covered Dora house to target. No box no receipt and they have this whole system of how they return it - and it was smooth. I had bought the house and about 5 sets of people and furniture all 75% off in June. I probably only spent $40 dollars. They gave me back $80. I told the lady I did not spend this much money and she said sorry this is the way we do the return and how Mattel wants us to do it. So that was a total score. The girls loved that toy and played with it every day so I went upstairs to the toy department and they each picked out a new house with people. [Image] Caroline picked out the Polly Pocket Airplane. [Image] Sally Jane the Pretty Little Pony tree house.
I feel like I have not seen the girls since - they love it. AK never really played with little toys as much as these girls seem to. Also we couldn't have Polly Pockets around with having babies around. I feel kind of guilty not just saving it for Christmas. [Image] Which leads me to my next thought. I saw this lady on the news at the first of the year who had set a goal for a whole year to not buy anything new (this excluded food and necessities) - and she did it. Every time I buy something this year I think of her. I had wondered if I could set that goal for Christmas for my family. I am not saying I am going to do it but just thinking about how that would work. We do feel a need to spend this Christmas giving and really focusing on our ward family and others. After traveling this year we feel like any money we spend we think of how many days or what that could give us in travel time or money. I am afraid if I wanted everything to be homemade I could end up spending more money and would get overwhelmed with losing so much time. I have these days where I want to sell everything I own on eBay and spend it on food storage. My mind moves in such extremes sometimes. (boy that was some rambling) Any thoughts on having a Christmas where would not buy anything new? [Image] I got a great phone call today with someone from our local ward inviting us over for dinner tomorrow night. When she asked me I got totally choked up I couldn't even talk. She thought the long silence on the phone was me not wanting to go and was trying to figure out how to say no. In a burst of tears I said, "YES! and thank you so much" We have a long day tomorrow with a baptism after church and the thought of going over to someonelses home is such a blessing. (but I must say I was even surprised at myself and how emotional i got about it)
We are now 8 days with no air conditioning. (whole new system coming hopefully on Monday) Good thing the weather has turned absolutely beautiful! I even had a sweater on at the soccer game today. And guess what color it was...
[Image]not my sweater but the only cute photo I could find online. this one is from Lilly P. herself! yep. Pink!
posted by everything pink! at 8:56 AM on Sep 15, 2007
Untitled
20 Comments -
I'm glad you got such a great deal on the Dora house! I think your dinner was perfect. I kind of a germa-phobe and love it when people bring me food like that. Inless I've been in their kitchen and I know it's clean I always wonder? You make me want to wear more pink.
6:08 PM
you know the target dollar spot has lots of the office goodies! :)
7:04 PM
On your Christmas without spending- I've never done that (I think it'd be SUPER tough)..but there was a huge family in our ward that every year instead of having a traditional Christmas, they would take the money and focus on one family and do a Christmas for that one family. It's a tradition for them- the kids totally know they will get nothing and spend Christmas focusing on a family that could really use the support. Cool, huh?
7:43 PM
Great deal at Target. My Ella (7) sounds a lot like Annie Kate. She has never really gotten into girl toys.....or toys at all. She likest to play outside, swim, basketball, imagine and pretend with friends/siblings, etc. I have a few recall items I've just been too lazy to return yet!
My hubby and I want to rent THe Office so bad. We prefer to watch TV by DVD. Is that weird? We realized that Alias and 24 were much more exciting when you didn't have to wait a whole week for the next show!
7:44 PM
I don't think I could go a whole year without buying something new, I'm always buying little things, like embroidery floss or cloth, some card making supplies etc...
Christmas isn't big at our house, but then it's easy when it's only the two of you and no money!
Way to go on the Target score! And I would be dying if I had to go over a week without A/C!!!! Hope you get it Monday!
8:40 PM
Your dinner idea is great- a lot of thought with them being able to save it for a night when they need it etc.
AK is awesome. I love that she charged and just took the ball. You totally have an athlete on your hands and that rocks.
The not buying things for a year would be hard but humbling in so many ways. We are talking about Christmas and giving and not spending. I have been selling things left and right to get my food storage more up to par, so that thought wasn't super random for me :)
Now I am curious how you cracked your lens on vacation!
9:29 PM
Not spending for a year- wow, that would be great.
I LOVE The Office- but I have teenagers. They love it too so we watch it together & if it's too dirty we turn it off & delete it off the DVR. It is hard to do- so hard. Have you ever watched The Office bloopers on You Tube. They are sooo funny.
Way to go AK- is she still dropping the K?
I am teaching a class at Enrichment night in October on inexpensive gifts for kids to give their friends,siblings,cousins etc. for Christmas. I want to have a make & take for the YW who are invited to come. I would love ANY ideas from all you creative gals out there! sixandholding@msn.com
Thanks
10:19 PM
Your dinner was perfect. Homemade or not aren't we all just glad to not have to prepare a meal after we've had a baby or been through something stressful. I am sure the recipient appreciated your thoughtful gesture.
About Christmas...a few years back the church members in Orange County wanted to pay for the construction of the Newport Beach Temple (It seems like I remember the local members always contributing to the building of a new, local temple but I believe it is different now) Anyway, we were given a yea and asked to sacrifice and contribute to the temple. We did a lot of little things that year but the most memorable was giving up Christmas for the Newport Beach Temple. We had the best Christmas I can ever remember and there was not one complaint from any of our kids.
Our kids get way too much anyway from grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. We did want to have something to open on Christmas morning so we had the family work on a craft to give to each family member. My kids made me a homemade nativity which is priceless (I collect nativities) Santa came but brought only 1 gift for the whole family. The best gift was writing out the check for the temple. I will always be grateful for that special Christmas.
10:54 PM
love all of the goodness in this post.
i have done a lot of thinking about spending $ at christmas and all through the year. also the want vs need
we don't go overboard but i have to say our parents do and even though we have asked them not to, they do it anyway. it is so frustrating when we are trying to teach the girls it is not about the possessions. arghhhhh!
we usually do a few "Santa" gifts and will continue that until Ellie knows otherwise... and the other gifts come from us but i have been thinking of ways to even curb that...meaningful vs a lot of stuff.
7:07 AM
oh and i love the thoughtful dinner. i think it will be much appreciated.
7:07 AM
I would love to get that dinner dropped off after a baby. I love your post-it post.
2:58 PM
Kristi, Ben and I were talking about doing something similar this year for Christmas. We want to take some of the money earmarked for Christmas and spend it on something meaningful, like paying for a cleft-palate surgery for a child in a 3rd world country or something similar. We would still get our children something for Christmas, it just wouldn't be lot's of toys that would get broken or lost or clutter up our house even more. I really want to help our kids learn that it is important to do things for other people and that we really don't need most of the things that we have.
3:34 PM
Love the dinner idea. I'm not that good of a cook myself so I really like it.
I really enjoy homemade Christmas gifts and usually try to do it every year. However, I know I couldn't do it for everyone. Although I like a challenge. ;)
I hope you enjoyed your dinner @ friends. It's always so fun to get together as families for dinner.
9:13 PM
A whole christmas with nothing new? Sure would be interesting and I think it would take me a LONG time. Would also lead to more interesting gifts!
Hurray for Target, I'm glad that their tricky return policies worked out to your benefit this time!
10:20 PM
Wow, you got a whole lot of interesting info into this post, and I love it that you added so many photos with it.
I think taking dinner to someone is a wonderful thing to do whether you make it yourself or not, and certainly cute bows make it that much better.
It sounds like Annie Kate has found a good fit with soccer, you'll have to post some video of her in action.
What a treat to watch the entire season of The Office all at once. I got the Second Season on DVD for my birthday and rewatch it often.
I don't know how you're lasting without your good camera for so long.
What a score on the Dora house situation. It's good that you were honest about not spending that much money, it must have been thrilling to make money off the deal.
I like the thought of not buying as much and feel like I've spent less on myself this year than ever. Now that I have good mail on the brain constantly I tend to look for things to send or make for others. It's liberating!
It's so sweet that your family was invited over for dinner from someone in your local ward. I'm sure you feel out of the loop since you're always so involved with your DC ward.
11:15 PM
I would be thrilled to get that dinner! When I'm sick or have had a baby I am just so grateful to have someone bring dinner (and you know, sometimes the homemade ones are not all that good!). Good thinking.
total score on the Dora house! I'm shocked that Target was so good about the return -- must have been Mattel's doing. We haven't gotten any Polly Pockets yet, I thought Eva was too little, but if SJ likes them... and if it will encourage independent play, I might have to go get one today!
I guess I'm the only one who has never gotten into The Office. Loved your comment about blushing if you were watching it with your grandma, I think about that too sometimes (with other shows, of course).
I love the thought of buying nothing new. I don't know how I would do it for Christmas, though! It would be a real challenge. I will always remember one year when I was growing up, my aunt (Ashley's mom) went on a shopping fast for a whole year. I thought she was crazy at the time, but now I can see why she did it.
7:51 AM
Thank goodness that we have had such beautiful weather for you guys to have been without air conditioning.
I am sad for your girls to be without their Dora house. Georgia asked for that for Christmas last year and received it from her cousins and plays with it constantly. Fortunately it was pre-recall, so it hasn't had to leave us. I was lucky to find some great accessories for it at Big Lots over the past year too (also none affected by recall).
I don't know how I could do that no buying challenge. I read a quote recently that has really been staying with me. The quote was by Henry James, and forgive me for completely paraphrasing, but it said something like 'Fill your home only with things that are useful or beautiful'. And I have really been questioning myself before buying, because I don't need anymore 'things'. I have so much stuff already!!
7:54 AM
I have to say that bringing in a dinner whether it is homemade or not is super helpful and thoughtful. Sometimes the homemade ones aren't even as great as the store bought ones. I love how you tied ribbons to everything!
Score on the Dora house!
Our best Christmas ever was when we lived in Chicago and we only had a 2 year old. We had NO money - but there was a local church that did a yard sale every November. They had the BEST things. Best toys that were only gently used. Expensive toy sets. I got our entire Christmas covered with $20. Now, that was 15 years ago - but I still wonder about those church yard sales.
Let us know what you find. I would love to pack up my family and go to a third world country for Christmas and use our Christmas to help others in need.
9:56 AM
OHHH The office. Still on loop at our house, oh man season 3 is soooo funny, totally worth the buy. Mom was over the other day and I put it on for her to watch, its soo funny to see mom get a kick out of dwight.
"More like Pam Babely!"
Thursday night dude!!! the 27th!! you know you want to watch the date with pam and jim!! you know this!!!
1:20 PM
I've always loved your idea of bringing a pinneapple for a thank you hostess gift. I think that it is a brilliant idea.
12:16 PM