I’m just too busy to craft, y’all. Thankfully, I’m busy with good things, so I’ll keep the tiny violin-playing to a minimum, but man, I’m itching for some uninterrupted time in the craft room!
I did schedule a time to drop off the Penguin Party quilt in the upcoming week! And, whilst digging said quilt out of the UFO pile, the Layer Cake Crepe quilt fell out as well and I realized I also had the backing for it, so I think I’m going to drop it off as well. Two Christmas quilts!
I did sneak in time on the Husband Christmas Socks and we are almost to the point where I’ll start the toe decreases. SO CLOSE.
Other than that, not much crafting time. A lot of work is going into Band Boosters right now, and then I was asked if I’d be on the board for another parent support committee, so I was helping out with that until Michael asked me to decline the invitation. [insert sad face here] Lots is happening in my church callings as well with the upcoming Linger Longers, Halloween party, and non-stop social media duties. Busy, busy. Autumn is so much fun, but fun takes A LOT of work!
Cross Country is keeping not only Nathaniel, but Michael and me, very busy as well, but that’s normal. Nathaniel set a PR yesterday, so he’s quite pleased. We then went to watch his friend perform in a marching band competition and it was a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Things will calm down after a couple of weeks; once Cross Country season ends I’ll get my Saturdays back and that really helps me balance my life. I like the uninterrupted time with Michael and Nathaniel at those Saturday meets, but Saturdays are big work days around the house so all that work gets loaded onto weekdays and it can just feel like a lot while it’s happening. See you next week!
With all the craziness that was last week, I haven’t had much time to work on HHP, so I’m just going to drop the checklists for the week here and hopefully I can do a more thorough check-in next week. I hope you’re all finding some time to do a little holiday prep amidst this busy back-to-school season! (Also, please know that you can generally find the next week’s checklists over on magicalholidayhome.com.)
This Week’s Focus: Clothing Care Areas and Clothes Closets
Catching up on the clothes closet is our focus this week, and it’s high time! With Autumn bringing cooler weather and the holidays ahead, it’s time to assess our family’s wardrobe.
While we’re focused on clothing, we’ll also clean, declutter and organize any areas devoted to clothing care. Whether it’s a laundry area, a sewing corner or clothing storage, this week will see us clean and organize the areas where we care for clothing.
In holiday prep, we’ll think ahead to “Secret Santa” or classroom gifts, focus on gift ideas for family members and begin online shopping.
This Week’s Household Checklist
Tackle family clothes closets. With cooler weather on the way, a seasonal clothes closet declutter is in order. Make room for holiday finery as you sort and toss summer’s stained garments.
Declutter, clean and organize clothing care areas. From laundry room to sewing basket, it’s time to make a clean sweep of clothing care areas. Declutter the laundry room, then clean and organize any other household area devoted to clothing care. Make it easy to do the wash, press a dress or sew on a dangling button … fast!
This Week’s Holiday Prep Checklist
Check family wardrobes. Time for a pre-holiday wardrobe check! Fill out the family wardrobe worksheet, and put any “To Buy” items on your shopping list.
Plan photo outfits. Check condition and fit for family photo outfits. Save time and tears on photo day!
Update individual “gift suggestion” lists for each family member. As you check wardrobes, record current clothing sizes, colors and preferences on the Gift Idea Planner form for each family member. Up-to-date information means fewer gift returns on December 26th!
Clear out the coat closet. Colder weather plus holiday guests can make for cramped quarters in the family coat closet. Add extra hangers, and make space for guests’ coats, hats and umbrellas.
Brainstorm ideas for Secret Santa or 12 Days exchanges. Workplace, school or social group gift exchanges should be small and sweet. Brainstorm gift ideas now.
Begin online shopping. Ordering early pays off if you shop online or through catalogs. Begin now to spread the financial burden of gift-giving and build up reserves in the gift closet.
Continue working on Christmas cards. Divide the Christmas card list into five sections. Complete one section this week–then check progress against the goal. You should be more than half-way there … and on track to finish before November 15
This last week went COMPLETELY SIDEWAYS! Lemme break it down…
Homecoming Chaos
I woke up last Sunday thinking I had homecoming completely under control. No dresses to make or hem, only a tie and corsage to purchase, and that was already done. Dinner and photos set up. This was going to be a BREEZE.
And then I went to church.
I caught up with the other two moms of the boys going to homecoming and found out that one of the boys’ dates was gluten-sensitive. The mom who had originally volunteered to host dinner at her house declared that she was really uncomfortable with feeding someone with a gluten sensitivity, and the other mom, who was already taking the photos, was super busy that day and also not completely comfortable with the responsibility of providing a gluten-free dining experience. So I volunteered to take over. I have a handful of friends with gluten intolerances whom I have fed in the past, so I knew I could handle it.
Alright, I could host a dinner for five teenagers. The theme of the dance was something like “Nights in Rio,” so I decided we’d go with something that would be easy to make gluten-free: Mexican-ish, which I could pass off, in the most white bread of ways, as Brazilian/South American. My husband loves to grill, so he said he’d make carne asada and fajita veggies. The other moms volunteered to bring the cilantro rice and fruit platter, and the grandmother of one of the boys heard of the theme and insisted I take a strawberry horchata drink mix home with me to serve them, which I thought was the cutest thing ever. That left me to prepare the beans, taco toppings, tortillas (wheat and corn), and desserts (which Renaissance took over). Renaissance made her now-famous pumpkin spice cupcakes (not gluten-free) because Nathaniel requested them, and then she also made Brazilian brigadeiros and pineapple-coconut sorbet.
I was thinking about what it would be like to be a teenage girl who just learned that she’d be having dinner at her date’s house, and I decided I wanted to make it a little fancier for them than “dinner at home” because, c’mon, it’s HOMECOMING. I decided to keep leaning into the “Nights in Rio” theme and turn my dining room into an elegant Brazilian(ish) restaurant.
I sent out a request on my ward’s Relief Society Facebook group to borrow anything that would support my vision and my sisters in Christ did not disappoint! Linens, serving ware, lighting, florals, greenery…I had ordered a few things from Amazon to decorate with, but ended up not using any of it because my dear friends came through so generously, down to the fairy lights and LED candles! This was SUCH a fun experience, and a reminder that we are all so much better off within a loving community. These ladies were so joyfully committed to giving these dear boys of ours a beautiful homecoming experience from start to finish, and I love them even more for all their help.
So, yeah, kind of chaotic, but it all worked out in the end.
BUT WAIT, I’m not finished!
Because I said CHAOS.
In my #craftygoals post I mentioned that I almost took the Penguin Party Quilt to the quilter’s house this week, but didn’t end up getting to that task.
You know why that was?
Oh, I’ll tell you. Because, in addition to setting up this charming homecoming dinner at home idea, I’m also the president of the band boosters and homecoming means a parade and halftime performance and all the logistics that go into that. But whatever, I’m old hat at this by now.
And then Wednesday happened.
I was working on the homecoming dinner plans and getting ready to reach out to the quilter to set up a time to drop off the Penguin Party quilt, when my phone buzzed with a text. I picked up my phone and saw that it was the Band Booster Board Members’ group chat.
. Secretary: My son just told me the homecoming football game is canceled tomorrow. ???
Me: LoL if that’s true because I just can’t .
. Secretary: He said the other team canceled the rest of their season.
I’ll spare you the rest of the panicked text conversation, but yes, ten minutes later there was an all-district alert sent out stating that our homecoming football game was called off because the other team had ended their season. THE DAY BEFORE our homecoming football game, we found out the opposing football team had canceled the rest of their season.
The school district made the decision to keep the parade on the books and move all the football-game-related stuff (homecoming royalty, marching band halftime performance) to the next football game, so we adjusted a few things surrounding the parade and went to work. The next day and a half involved a lot of texts, waiting for confirmations, and a general feeling of anxiety. But it went fine! Woo hoo!
Parade? Check.
Game? Canceled.
Dinner? Check. (So good…the carne asada smelled AMAZING and I think strawberry horchata is one of my new favorite things!)
Dance? Check.
Wandering around the house on Sunday in a comatose state? Double-check.
An excellent homecoming week, despite the obvious hiccups!
Crafting
As you can guess, not a lot of time for crafting. But since the Husband Christmas Socks live in a portable knitting bag, I have managed to sneak in a few rows here and there. We’re getting into the home stretch with these, I’m so excited!
I am really pining for some time to work on Rachel’s graduation quilt, but I don’t even remember the last time I was in the craft room.
I’m looking at my calendar for the upcoming week and I don’t think I’m going to find much time to work on creative pursuits this week, either. I need to break down all the homecoming decorations and return them, and it looks like this is THE week for planning meetings and rehearsals for a bunch of other stuff. A big life takes a lot of work! See you next week…maybe I’ll have finished up the socks by then?
No pictures because I’m feeling protective of our guests and don’t want to splash other people’s kids’ photos across the internet, and because the Husband Christmas Socks are a gift.
I was sick for almost two weeks in September, so I lost out on a lot of creativity time, AND THEN there was homecoming, which took up a lot of time, which subtracted from sewing and knitting. To be fair, homecoming prep was a very creative endeavor, so I’m not upset about it; I had a grand ol’ time working on homecoming!
Debrief: September #craftygoals:
Rachel’s Graduation Signature Quilt: I finished the backing with all the signatures. And I sewed up the individual pencil crayons and drawing lines.
Husband Christmas Socks: The goal was to get through the heel and maybe some of the foot. I am definitely into the foot! Woo hoo, Me! I wish I could show you pictures of these!
Penguin Party Quilt: The goal was to drop it off at the quilter’s house. It ALMOST happened. So close. I’ll explain more in my end-of-the-week post.
Wonky Stars Baby Quilt: The goal, which was really just a wish by the beginning of last month, was to finish it and gift it. I still haven’t touched it. I think I may need to release my desire to make this project a reality.
October #craftygoals:
Time-Sensitive Things That Need Working on ASAP:
Penguin Party Quilt: Drop it off at the quilter’s house. It’s so late at this point that I may not make the Christmas deadline. Ugh!
Things to Work on After the ASAP Projects:
Machine Stitching:
Rachel’s Graduation Signature Quilt: I could conceivably finish piecing this quilt this month. I don’t know if I’m going to quilt it or send it out.
Knitting:
Husband Christmas Socks: I want these done before the end of the month and blocked. No one’s going to die if it doesn’t happen, but I’d have a lot of peace in my heart if I didn’t have a Christmas gift looming on my mind when November starts.
Summary of October’s Crafty Goals:
Penguin Party Quilt: Drop quilt off at the quilter’s house.
Rachel’s Graduation Signature Quilt: Finish the quilt top and move forward with the quilting. Possibly finish completely.
Husband Christmas Socks: Hopefully finish and block.
Are you starting to figure out why I’ve never finished the entire HHP? Back-to-school activity ramp-up is no joke! I’m going to keep to my commitment though, and hopefully I’ll get some prep done in the master bedroom and the kids’ rooms soon.
Week 3: I did buy a new return address stamp for Christmas cards. The old one was running out of ink.
Week 3: I perused Christmas card designs and I’m pretty sure I know what I want to go with. Just need to order.
I’ve continued to work on the Husband Christmas Socks.
Week #5: Guest Room or Extra Room
It’s time to prepare for holiday house guests!
This Week’s Household Checklist:
Declutter, clean and organize guest areas.
No guest room or guest space? Take a bonus week, tackling another area of the household or catching up on earlier assignments. (I’ll be trying to get caught up on Weeks #3, 4 and 5…)
This Week’s Holiday Prep Checklist:
Status Check! Review the progress of the House & Holidays Plan on the first day of the month. If you’re falling behind, adjust goals to a more realistic level.
Begin planning holiday decorating.
Inventory holiday decorations.
Declutter before you decorate for autumn.
Decorate for autumn. Choose “generic” decor items. Nearer to Halloween, add a few Halloween items which can be removed easily after the holiday. Come November 1, swap them out for Thanksgiving decorations.
Schedule house guest stays.
Make a guest room “pamper basket”.
Set up the hot drinks station, if you do one. October is peak pumpkin spice season, so create a cozy little nook for cocoa and warm beverages, complete with flavored syrups.
Continue working on Christmas cards. Divide the Christmas card list into five sections. Complete one section this week. Goal: to be finished writing, signing and addressing cards by November 15.
The school year is massively underway! Life is operating at a breakneck, nonstop pace!
Cross Country
We hosted the Cross Country team dinner before this week’s meet, and it was so much fun! If I could do my parenting all over again, I would have pushed for every one of my kids to run cross country. That group of kids and their parents are just the best sort of human beings. They all work hard, they’re all polite, and they’re a no-drama group who are always thankful for anything you do for them. I love that Nathaniel runs cross country.
We served a pasta bar with amazing garlic breadsticks, and Renaissance spent three days making custom decorated sugar cookies for the team. Nathaniel sure has a sister who loves him!
The meet went well. I always enjoy cheering with the other parents as we move from spot to spot on the course. I think Nathaniel finished fourth on his team, and, compared to this time last year, he is running faster. He’s not at a personal record (PR) pace just yet, but he’s steadily improving.
Relief Society Activities, Now Featuring Rachel
Rachel is serving on the Relief Society Activities Committee and she conducted the activity that was held this past week. She was adorable. It’s so funny to me that she doesn’t really like public speaking, but she’ll soldier through because, while she doesn’t like doing it, she fully realizes it’s not going to kill her to speak in front of people. Sometimes that’s the healthiest mindset for getting through something.
Pep Band
Another home football game, another potluck for the pep band! We did a chili and baked potato bar this time and once again had too much food left over. Better than the alternative!
It was also our Alumni Night, where we invited any and all band alumni back to play with the band for funsies. The turnout was a little smaller than we’d hoped, but Renaissance and her two band buddies decided to go and it was so cute to see both Nathaniel and Ren playing in the same band. It was a nice evening.
Rachel’s Graduation Quilt
Haven’t touched it. Not one bit. When would I have had the time?
Husband Christmas Socks
Still slogging away on ’em. They look good; it just takes a long time to knit socks for man-sized feet.
Gardening
We’re trying to tidy things up in the yard before winter arrives. We’ve cleared the area where I want to plant the bulbs, and then Michael offered to build me a raised bed there, so at the moment it’s a bit of a mess. AND…our plans for next weekend have changed drastically, so I don’t know if we’re going to get this project finished anytime soon. Eek!
There’s another busy week ahead of us, but it’s mostly really fun stuff! It’ll be fun to share with you next week!
Alright, fellow Christmas junkies, we’re heading into the fourth week of HHP!
Due to being really sick for the past week and a half, I’ve not had the opportunity to work on any of Week 3’s tasks, YET. I’m posting so that you can have the checklists for Week #4 somewhat close to its original posting schedule. I’ll debrief Week #3 with Week #4.
Week #4: Close to Home
Week #4 Cleaning Checklist: Kids’ Bedrooms
Declutter, clean, and organize children’s bedrooms.
Particularly with kid stuff, I like to list available items in my church Facebook group so that congregation members can take them if they’d like. No point in driving it to a donation store when my own neighbors might use it themselves.
This week is a great week to help children work through the process of decluttering so they can learn how to do it from a young age. The chapter on kids’ room in Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff, by Dana K. White, is such a good read for this sticky area of parenting. I started using her tips with my kids about four years ago and they have slowly built up the ability to do a lot of it on their own now. One of my kids even did their own decluttering session around Labor Day because “it [felt] like the right time of year to do it.” I guess end-of-summer decluttering somehow became a tradition for our family?! #parentingwin
FYI: I also do a BIG kids’ room declutter at the end of the school year/beginning of summer break. There’s not enough time to do as thorough a job as I’d like during this one week of HHP, especially against the backdrop of a new school year ramping up. I also like the “chapter closing” feel of doing a big declutter and clean at the end of the school year.
No children in your household? Use this week to tackle a bonus room or any other area this week, catch up on previous weeks, or take the week off.
Next week will be Guest Room week, and I’ve never had a guest room in my home, so I use it as another week for cleaning kids’ rooms. Because trying to clean four kids’ bedrooms in one week is insane. If you don’t have kids or a guest room, it’ll be another bonus week.
These two weeks are also good yardwork weeks, before the weather starts turning. I try to plant my spring bulbs around the Autumn Equinox (~September 21), which falls in this week.
Week #4 Holiday Prep Checklist
Seasonal Spruce-Up exercise: I LOVE THIS TASK; it’s something I do every year because it’s so smart. Do a home walkthrough and write down any home improvements, chores, or projects that need doing before the holiday season gets underway.
Once I have my entire list written down, I rank and prioritize the projects/tasks so I can tackle the most important ones first. I like to use Karen Lin’s Ranker tool to help me figure out what my true priorities are and then copy/paste the prioritized list into a document.
Delegate where you can! When I ask someone in the family to do a task, I write it down on a Post-It and stick to one of my kitchen cabinets so I don’t forget to ask them about their progress. The Post-It stays on the cabinet and I keep “reminding” (also referred to as “nagging” by some members of my family) until the task is done. Then the Post-It note can go in the trash.
Declutter children’s toys: As our family heads into adult children years, there is more of this than you would expect. Specific areas to declutter include board games, video games/dead controllers, sports equipment that’s too small, winter weather wear, and sheet music that is from their elementary years. Arts and crafts supplies was a big one a few years ago, and also books.
Begin collecting stocking stuffers.
Hit the back-to-school clearance sales: Good sources for stocking stuffers, craft supplies, and wrapping and mailing supplies like tape and scissors.
Consult family and decide on Halloween costumes.
Start thinking about Advent calendars.
Start working on Christmas cards or letters.
Update birthdays and anniversaries in your calendar and/or task lists.
Continue working on handmade gifts. (Week 3 of 14)
Keep trying to find daily time to work on HHP. A little bit of time daily can get A LOT done.
The House & Holiday Plan was originally created by Cynthia Townley Ewer, and I use much of her original wording. She shut her Organized Christmas website down, so many people now post their own version. You can also join another Christmas planning enthusiast community at Magical Holiday Home.
Fear not, dear readers, ’twas only a cold that kept me from checking in for the last two weeks. The Boy brought it home after only one week at school, and Renaissance and I caught it within three days and it flattened us for nine days straight. Hopefully we’re now done with back-to-school illnesses. One and done. ONE AND DONE, YOU HEAR ME?!
(Except that I just re-read my last check-in post and remembered that we had a mild virus in the week before we had the cold…TWO AND DONE, YOU HEAR ME?!)
Rachel’s Graduation Quilt
I did manage to find a little bit of time to work on her quilt! I added the top and bottom borders on the signature backing, so that side is officially done!
And we also have fully assembled pencil crayons and drawing lines for the front of the quilt. I stuck them up on the design wall and Renaissance walked into the craft room shortly thereafter and just busted up laughing.
“Those pencil crayons are OBSCENELY large!”
And yeah, they are. Almost four feet tall. I’ve never made a quilt like this before and it is weird to have elements that big. I’m sure it will look amazing when it’s complete. Which shouldn’t be too long from now.
I mean…then I’ll have to quilt it and who knows how long I’ll drag my feet on that?!?! Sigh.
Husband Christmas Socks
The heel is completely turned, the gusset is finished, and I am firmly entrenched in the knitting of the foot at this point. I think we’re going to make it, guys.
I love knitting when the autumn vibes set in! It’s so satisfying to work with wool when the view includes crimson leaves peeking out from fog. Michael bought me a pumpkin spice creamer at the store last week, and I’ve been adding it to my rooibos chai in the morning and it’s just *perfection.* A warm cinnamon cuppa, hearty wool clicking on the needles and wispy fog make for the best kind of mornings.
Back-to-School
The first home football game (and pep band potluck and performance) is in the books! Everything went well, it was fantastic to see everyone again and we’re sounding really good for so early in the season! It was our big hometown rival game and we were winning until we weren’t, sad face.
It was a really good game though, so hopefully that bodes well for the rest of the season.
There have also been a handful of Cross Country meets and invitationals. We went to the farthest-away invitational this past weekend, which required a ferry ride!
It was a lovely day; there was no cell service where we were, so it was a day of conversation and walking, which is always a nice break from this crazy digital age that we find ourselves held hostage in. I nestled under my Florabelle Hexie Stripe quilt while the morning was chilly and damp, happy to chat with other parents while knitting away on a decoy sock. We ate wonderful bagels from a super cute local bagel shop, and the kids tumbled over each other as they laughed and waited for their assigned races. By afternoon it was warm and sunny and we were ready to cheer for everyone as they ran a beautiful PNW course lined with cedar trees and lush ferns. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Autumn is Here
The weather is lovely right now, a perfect blend of foggy, rainy days interspersed with warm and sunny days to dry everything out for a little while before heading back into overcast. The leaves are starting to turn in earnest, and I’ve officially had to start wearing a hoodie in the mornings. Such a pretty time of year. Hopefully it translates to some more crafting time soon, but back-to-school is a busy time of year, so let’s just keep our expectations low through October.
I’ll get caught up on posting the House & Holiday Plan posts soon.
