I miss my mom.

I actually have to make my own bed, empty the dishwasher, get the boys ready for the day, and make dinner tonight all on my own??

She is the biggest help when she comes and of course the hardest part is the first few days after she leaves. We miss you, Grandma...

Photo: Bob Heimstra

I have 3 wardrobes scattered throughout our bedroom and it's driving me crazy! My maternity clothes, my regular clothes, and my in-between clothes for this wonderful period of nothing fitting! I'm really trying to simplify and downscale and wanted to share a little card I keep in my wallet. I cannot remember where I got these questions~I googled them and nothing came up, but I'm thinking from an old Oprah or something? Anyway, here are the 3 golden questions to ask when buying or going through your clothing:

1. Do I love this?

2. Is it flattering?

3. Is this the image I want to portray?

I clipped this picture from Ballard Designs because I loved something in it. It's not the window treatments or the table~it's what is on the table. The cotton stems! Since we moved to Texas, I have been a bit obsessed with cotton. I had never seen a cotton field in person before and it's kind of fascinating to me to see the fields of white in the fall. I guess it would be like someone moving to Montana and never seeing a field of wheat before.Speaking of Montana, my mom is here visiting from there and we went cotton picking in a vacant field that is for sale. Are we crazy?

Yes, but it was fun and look how pretty it looks in a big apothecary jar in our bedroom...
and you can't beat free. :) She's taking some home for a memory of her time in Texas too. I think it would be perfect in a bathroom too. What we won't do for some great jar fillers...

I love filling out a brand new, clean calendar for the new year. It's like a clean slate, full of possibilities of activities, vacations, appointments, and family time. I always wonder what will fill the pages and what I will see the next January when I review it. Isn't it amazing what can happen in one year??

Here's a little hint though: it can save you a lot of money. How?

Here's how I do mine:

First, I go through with a red sharpie and put all of our family/extended family birthdays with a star, so they stand out. Family first, right??

Then, I go through with my previous year calendar and mark important sales. Whenever there is a fantastic sale I find, I mark it on my calendar with a cloud and stars around it, so I can be sure to be on the lookout the next year. This saves us so much money because we can budget for the sales and never have to pay full price for things like clothing and toys.

For example, Old Navy has their additional 50% off the clearance usually twice a year. Their prices at this sale cannot be beat and are sometimes even better than yard sales. This is also when I get some cute baby outfits for showers and gifts throughout the year. So, this next week I will be watching for it and try to make it the first day for the best selection and before word gets out. Since it usually happens in July and January, and we have most of our clothing budget for the year in these months.
I also watch for Target's huge toy clearance, which also happens in July and January, where they go 75-90% off. It's a great time to stock up the gift closet for friends' birthdays. And don't forget about the Amazon toy clearance in December.

our little Landon...

Merry Christmas to you all!

Baby update: No baby yet!! Still holding tight, went into false labor on Sunday night (*sigh*....and this is my fifth baby??) I will be induced on Monday if this little guy doesn't make an appearance this weekend. I am so ready. I'm really tired, uncomfortable, and haven't felt like doing anything, except eating, saying "ouch", "can you pick this up for me," sitting and more eating. And that's exactly what I've been doing. I just can't wait to hold him and not be pregnant anymore. Dilated to 4, 70% effaced.

A thousand blessings to each of you for your kindness, support, and love sent my way. I have so much to be grateful for. We all do.

Look what two bags of $1.88 moss from Walmart's floral section can do for a little natural holiday greenery:

a foam tree~I covered two for one on each side of my piano, and of course added my obsession of the season: gold stars.