Novembering

In Rumer Godden's novel In This House of Brede a character remarks that November is full of howling winds and holy souls. I have done my best to fill our home with reminders of the holy souls and the cold front has done it's best to surround it with the howling winds.

We've had several fires in our fireplace already but this past Saturday we had a fire in the fireplace, bought a new winter coat for JF, played outside, and warmed up with some homemade hot cocoa. (I use this recipe and just substitute coconut milk - it's delicious.) The whole of it seemed so snug.

I wanted a little playlist for all my Thanksgiving baking - rolls, pies, cookies. I like to keep the wintry-let's-snuggle-up music for January and February but still wanted something fun and festive for now. So, with a little help from Google, I came up with this:
Thanksgiving Prayer - Johnny Cash
Count Your Blessings - Bing Crosby
My Favorite Things - Julie Andrews
Over the River and Through the Woods - Danny Kaye and the Andrew Sisters
What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Theme - Vince Guardaldi Trio
We Gather Together - Celtic Spirits
Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel
The Fox - Nickle Creek
Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp




Finally, the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday and I'm sure a lot of you will be scoring some good deals for all the upcoming holy days. Please allow me to remind you that I am a part of the Amazon affiliate program. If you can and would click on the button in my sidebar, the one that says, "Click thru to Amazon" I will receive a referral fee for any items you purchase at no extra cost to you.

The Seven Quick Takes that took a Month to Write

As always, thank you to Kelly for hosting!!!

1 - The plan was to post these quick takes a couple of hours ago. Instead I spent over an hour trying to search for the song to begin this epic post. And by "trying to search" I mean I was actually watching clips of The Graham Norton show on YouTube.


2 - But here is the song I was looking for. Warning to Mary of letlovebesincere: if Ryan Adams makes your ears bleed do not listen to this.


I heard this song once on the radio last year. I don't know how I finally found it, but I know it took a long time. The other day I was driving and it suddenly popped into my head and I had. to. listen. to. it. My husband hates it but I can't get enough. Anyways, thank you, YouTube, for the History tab which led me back to Valerie June.


3 - Today I made a mistake:
Volunteering to cover a 1/2 hour of an adoration time slot.

Our parish has adoration throughout the day on Fridays, immediately following the all school Mass and with Benediction at 3pm. Parishioners attend and classes come over through-out the day, K-8, to spend time with our Eucharistic Lord. However, during the kids' lunch time they are sure to have people signed up to be in the pews. I volunteered to take 11:30-12.

My kids' behavior really wasn't that bad (they're 2, 3, and 5) and if we had been the only people in the church I wouldn't have minded at all. But when others are there - well, it's probably just not a good idea for us to be there. I know I wouldn't mind if a parent and children came in while I was praying but I also know how much the silence means to me.


4 - A couple weeks back I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. So now I'm on a special diet (don't tell anyone about the small Butterfinger Blizzard I got on the way home from Adoration today) and have to do finger pricks 4x a day. One of the most interesting things I have learned is that, at least for me, sugar is not the enemy so much as the carbs found in bread, pasta, milk, and even popcorn. It's a bit of a blessing that I can still enjoy some chocolate candy (in small amounts and only following a good bit of protein) since I really have to limit my beloved baked goods.

But if all this means a smaller baby - I'm in it to win it. (Shooting for 10lbs or less. Because that's what a small baby means to me.)


5 - Confession: I began this post weeks ago. But that's okay. Here's a friendly reminder: gonna order something from Amazon? Use my link (or click on that little button in the sidebar) and I'll earn a small referral fee at no cost to you. It's what buys Christmas presents in these parts - no joke - so thank you for helping our family.


6 - SO. Thanksgiving. James survived yesterday and will hopefully survive today. Mostly this, and the intense pain happening in my S.I. joints / hips, is all I can think about.

I know Thanksgiving = casseroles and things filled with butter or covered in cream of something soup to most people. But any more, to me those things are just death threats. Ugh. I hate food allergies.


7 - My kids love using our fireplace. They will haul the wood in, and build it up, and then sit with me and / or their daddy to take it all in. It's the sweetest.

And in case that sounds just too perfect, here's a look at the family room mess. :)


Take care, everyone! See you in Advent!

7QT - radio dj, cookies, Minnesota pics, and more

1 - I added this song to my Songs for November playlist from last week but in case you didn't see it I wanted to share it again. It's a really pretty song and a really lovely video - it's her real wedding video! I even tear up when her dad is walking her down the aisle.


2 - Today I'm fangirling out a bit and totally enjoying the opportunity to guest dj at my favorite local radio station: 99.9 WWCT FM. Their tagline is music for people who love music and they play a lot of the songs I share here on the blog - minus the country. Oh! Unless it's Johnny Cash. They play Johnny Cash.

I suppose I'm most excited about this because I'm not doing it because I'm JF's mom or a blogger. As a fan I submitted my name and playlist, and as a fan I was picked. They probably pick everyone who submits but I don't care. I'm really happy to be doing it.

And I'm going to give a shout out right here and now. My good friend Jen R. is babysitting my kids so I can do this, because she's great.

You can listen live if you click right here.


3 - Let's talk holiday cookies. A holiday season isn't a holiday season if I don't bake chocolate crinkles, snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, and decorated cut out, sugar cookies. What about you? And I'm talking Thanksgiving - Epiphany, people! Let's get 'em ALL in!

4 - I had a lot of fun in Minnesota last weekend. I didn't really have fun getting there or coming home (missed flights and hours of de-icing make me want to cry, and what up O'Hare, with no free wi-fi?!! Lame!)

ahem.. But Minnesota was wonderful. Highlights include:
Nell and her family who hosted me in their dreamboat home.
Teresa and all the wonderful folks from Holy Spirit Academy
Being able to pray in gorgeous St. Michael's Church.
The amazing pretzel bread Nell served me for lunch.
Meeting so many wonderful bloggers. (like Marie and Anna and Jaqui and so many more!)

5 - My friends Haley and Christy have a brand new podcast that they launched earlier this week. I am SO excited for the Fountains of Carrots podcast. If you haven't listened yet, please do! So many great things to come.


6 - More exciting news for another one of my friends: Kelly is one of the keynote speakers at Edel '15! I am so proud of my friend and so happy for her and everyone else who gets to attend. She will be great!


7 - I'm really excited about the Advent Care Package giveaway that's happening right now on my blog. I'm not doing it to get more followers or because I was given something and now need to promote a vendor. I'm doing it in the hopes that whoever the lucky winner is, she will really benefit and have an easier Advent because of it. If you haven't entered yet, you can check it out here.

And now no more Advent from me until after Thanksgiving! I need to focus on gratitude and generosity a bit more.


And thanks to the aforementioned Kelly for hosting! 

7QT - Music, Mantels, Devotionals, Nursing, and more

1 - I'm working on a new playlist of mellow, pretty songs that match November weather, and here's what I've got so far. What would you suggest I add?


2 - So I switched out my Halloween decorations for my Thanksgiving ones and....no one who actually lives in my home cared. Ben helped me for a little bit but soon got tired of me putting a pumpkin in one place, standing back, staring at it, moving it to a new place, standing back, staring at it, moving it back to where it was originally but with something different next to it, standing back...

How is that not thrilling?!

Of course I grammed a little bit of it, but if you didn't see it I'll show you here, even though - I know - it's actually not that interesting.

3 - Speaking of Instagram, have you ever clicked on someone's IG handle on another person's picture and then seen that they have awesome pictures and started following them? And like you know nothing about them except that they have awesome pictures? It feels kinda creepy, right?

Oh well. I did that recently and ended up discovering a grammer and blogger who I may have spent way too much time pouring over every blessed thing she ever wrote. Cozy Home Chronicles - have you guys ever heard of this blog? I'm in love.


4 - I'm really excited about the Advent devotional that the creators of Blessed Is She have put together. If you're looking for a little something to help you walk through the four weeks of Advent (which begin at the end of November - head's up!) I really encourage you to get this. I might even buy a few and pass them out at Thanksgiving to the women in my family.

To learn more or to order one just click on the image below.



5 - Being able to tell JF' story is an honor, an emotional roller coaster, and something I feel called to do for God's glory. I've been trying to balance out of state and in state events and it's been a lot of fun working with people. For example, in December I'll be in Park Forest, Illinois, speaking at the parish one of our good friends grew up in (JP's godmother!) and in March Travis and I will be going to Pilot Grove, Missouri and staying with the parents of one of Trav's former students. It's a lot of fun - even with all the crying that comes along with it.


6 - Sunday was the last night I nursed my baby. :(

He's fifteen months and this is the longest I've ever been able to nurse so there's much to be grateful for (babies to nurse! a relatively easy time nursing! being able to do it for so long! that God created us with the potential to pull down our pajama top and fall back asleep all the while feeding and comforting our children without having to go to the kitchen!).

BUT there's a chance we may never have another baby and so Monday may be the last time I ever nurse a baby again. That's sad. That makes me tear up a little bit. But Monday I stayed at the hospital with JF, Tuesday he slept through the night, and Wednesday I knew he hadn't eaten much at dinner so I fed him food and gave him a drink of water and he wanted to go back to bed. So now we're done.

7 - I was really surprised and honored when Kristin from This Inspired Life podcast contacted me and asked if I'd like to jump in on the fun and chat it up with her. You guys! It was crazy getting the interview done! On Monday we were at the beginning of our conversation, me tucked away in my bedroom while the kids watched a movie down the hall, and suddenly there was an incredibly loud noise.

"Someone is drilling into my house!" I said, and I was right. The telephone company was installing something right outside my window.

Then about five minutes later there was a knock at the door.

Then about a minute later the kids were running down the hall, loudly.

Then about three minutes later I got the call from JF' school nurse telling me she'd just given him the epi pen and called 911.

We scheduled our follow-up for Thursday morning and as I was putting on a new movie for the kids I realized that the internet was down.

At that point it was just funny. Already long story short: I fixed the connection, Skyped with Kristin, and now the podcast is live.

In it I talk about JF, the cause, blogging, Behold, the blog consulting business, and I give 5 tips for bloggers. You can listen here, if you'd like. :)


If you're new here, stick around! You can follow A Knotted Life on Bloglovin' or Feedly.
Plus, I'd love to connect with you. You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I hope to "meet" you soon!

Autumn in my home - a blog hop

When it comes to decorating for Autumn I have two rules.
#1 - Nothing Fallish before September 1st.
#2 - Nothing Halloween before October 1st.

I regularly break both those rules.

I don't know about you, but I love seeing how other people decorate for special occasions. It can say so much about one's style, sense of humor, and beliefs. I always appreciate seeing the thoughtful and fun ways people mark the seasons and celebrations in their homes.

That's why I asked a handful of my favorite bloggers if they would join me for a blog hop. Today we're each showing off our Autumn decorations. Get yourself a pumpkin spice anything, get comfortable, and enjoy!

Here's a look at my home during September, October, and November.

September
My husband is a physics teacher in an area public school and two of my children attend parochial school with one more in the Early Childhood Education classroom at the local public school. After a long summer, September really is "the most wonderful time of the year."

A little more about our mantel.

I made this wreath for less than $10 from items in the WalMart craft section. I love way the colors pop against our front door. 

A little vignette on the front porch.

 

October
Many of September's decorations remain but the mantel gets a new treatment and many more items come out of storage.

The white board in the back is actually one of the ceiling tiles we ripped out of our basement. 

The tombstone I made for my parish's All Saints' Halloween party.

The ghost carrying the pumpkin was my mom's and I have always loved it. She gave it to me a few years ago and it's one of my favorite things.

I made this wreath a few years ago but added the bird this year.

A little bit of autumn on every shelf.

The chalkboard is back in the playroom.

Halloween and Fall books in the book basket.

Halloween tree and skull.

Even the owl lamp is dressing up for Halloween.

I found the print on Pinterest.

November
Once again I reuse a lot of the same decorations. My door wreath and the leaves on the mirror remain. Other items get moved around a bit and overall it feels a lot more simple than Halloween and October.

Early in November the kids and I make turkey handprint crafts with a list of all the things they're grateful for. The pictures hang in the house through November and I keep them with the decorations so each year I can reminisce a little as I pull them out of the box.

So that's my house all autumn long but I'm not the only one showing off my decorations. There's a whole group of us doing a Blog Hop today.Check out all these other lovely ladies and all their fabulous decorations.

Mama Needs Coffee
House for Five
Fountains of Home
Team Whitaker
This Ain't the Lyceum
Two O's + More
Surviving Our Blessings
Better Than Eden
Svellerella
Clan Donaldson


If you're new here, stick around! You can follow A Knotted Life on Bloglovin' or Feedly.
Plus, I'd love to connect with you. You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I hope to "meet" you soon!

for the win

Because I don't have my act together (and we were out of town for Thanksgiving) I just did the annual hand print turkey craft with my kids today. 1 piece of construction paper + hand print + additional bits to make it look like a turkey + child's name, age, and list of what they're grateful for = as crafty as it gets in these parts.

I keep these hand print Thanksgiving lists with the fall decorations and I love reading the lists each year.

Resa said "monkey" "fingers" and "daddy".

JF said "me" "mommy" "daddy" "trains" "walks" and he named his siblings.

Ben said "chocolate" "coloring" "playing" "going to Mass" and he also named his siblings.

L wrote her own list which included "Jeezus" and "famlee".

 Also, I totally haven't purchased Advent candles for our wreath. I'm going to town tomorrow (doesn't that sound so small town and folksy?) so I'll get some then. It's not that big of a deal, though, because I still have Thanksgiving decorations sitting out.

Yesterday afternoon we were coming home from my in-laws and stopped to rent a movie. I thought I'd surprise my husband and get the final season of Breaking Bad, because he loves it but can only watch it on Netflix, which means he hasn't seen the last season.

When I got to the car he was appreciative but pointed out that I only got episodes 4-7.  Oops.

Then, I said I'd drive home because he was tired and his stomach hurt. And I hit the curb and we got a flat tire. So then he got to lay on the cold ground and change the tire, after fighting an epic battle to get the spare out of the secret compartment in the van. All said, it took an hour.

I'm so helpful!

The pictures in this post are from my cousin-in-law's house. I love H's sense of style and I am super duper jealous of her home. I love it. Built-ins, radiators topped with marble, all original unpainted woodwork and trim.

Try to look past the guitar case and baby gate and notice the beauty of this staircase. The landing has a little alcove with seating. There's also seating where the guitar case is resting. It's gorgeous. And people, they have a butler's pantry! 

Finally, I'm trying to go gluten free for the month of December. So far I've eaten a lot of potato chips and drank two Dr. Pepper Tens. If anyone has better survival tricks please share!

PS - My sister-in-law is awesome. She braided my hair like Katniss Everdeen's because I'm a geek and she's good with hair. Love it!

PPS - Congrats to Sarah who won the Feast! giveaway! Sarah I sent you an email so you can get your gift. Yay! Happy liturgical living to you!

Thanksgiving is just pre-gaming for Christmas

A friend posted a picture from Wednesday. Her boys were in their pj's, standing by their Christmas tree. The stockings and nativity were on the mantel. She said they all watched A Charlie Brown Christmas shortly after the picture was taken. It was the night before Thanksgiving.

Another friend posted a different picture - family gathered and visiting on Thanksgiving day - with a big, cheery Christmas tree in the background.

Leaving my mom's house on Thanksgiving evening I counted four homes on her street already lit with lights and Christmas decorations. 

At first I was mad. Really, really put off. And then I became sad. And now I'm a pretty good portion of the both of them with a forced heaping helping of trying-not-to-care-what-other-people-do. 

But, hold the gravy, people! What is going on here?

I'm trying to understand why people don't seem to care as much about Thanksgiving any more, why they treat it as little more than a pre-gaming event for Christmas, and I just can't figure it out. I do not understand. But gosh, do I ever miss Thanksgivings of my childhood.

My older cousins tossing a football outside. Homes decorated inside and out with cornstalks, straw bales, pumpkins and gourds. Wearing construction paper Indian headbands and pilgrim hats. Going to Mass to thank God for our blessings. Talking about American history and the first Thanksgiving. People visiting and playing games and napping during the long, quiet day.

Maybe I'm romanticizing my past, but I really think that my memories are correct: for most of my life the Christmas season didn't begin until firmly after Thanksgiving. Not just for Catholics and others who celebrate Advent - but everyone. Everyone. It was the culture of America.

People didn't leave Thanksgiving gatherings early to shop at Wal-Mart. (Wal-Mart, people!!) And they didn't sit around Christmas trees. Loved ones were more important than a good deal on a new thing. And gratitude - a real humble thankfulness - was significant enough that we didn't have to give ourselves warm fuzzies with twinkling lights and Christmas movies.

I wish we could go back to that - to the Thanksgiving of my childhood. Where we were so thankful for what we had that the gratefulness was enough. Where we all looked forward to a day of counting blessings, taking naps, and having some peace and quiet. 

Or maybe the grown-ups just did a really good job of making me think that's what it was. If it was all just a trick well kudos to them! It worked and I'd like to give the same to my kids. 

Black Friday comes soon enough - why not leave the tree-putting-up, crowded shopping centers, and all-Christmas-music-all-the-time radio stations for then? Why not really stop and foster a sense of appreciation for what we have before diving into a season of wishlists? Why not stop pre-gaming Christmas with Thanksgiving and just give thanks? Really, truly I am asking: why not?

What I Wore and What I Ate: a Thanksgiving recap

I finally have time to sit down and post all these things.  And now that most of you have moved on to Christmas despite the fact that it's still November, you may not care anymore.  But if you do, well here you go!

6 month old Resa wore a hand-me-down onesie and some cute polka dot pants.

4 year old L wore a hand-me-down dress, hand-me-down cardigan, shiny red shoes, and pink socks that she was certain matched her dress and shoes.

Everything I wore came from Target.

I think the watering can really makes the picture.

This was supposed to show the detail on the neckline.  It's what you get when a toddler is taking your pictures.

And now what we ate for lunch.

(My cranberry fluff turned out well - yippee!)

And then the kids did dishes.

For supper Mom set out a bunch of yummy, lighter food. 

Veggies and dip and lunchmeat and soup...

... homemade bread and grapes and cheese and jam.

Then on Saturday we hosted Trav's family for Thanksgiving. 

Here's the hubs cutting our first turkey. 

Every year I trace the kids' hands and we make a turkey.  Then on the same page I write a list of all the things they're thankful for.

L said picnics and going to Grandma's.

Ben said "all birthday for me" and all the people he loves.

JF's list was made up by me, filled with things I know he likes, like trains, chicken nuggets, and his speech therapist.