Okay, well, it is really 11:56pm.

The first snow is taking place as I type...

I think I'm calling it quits for the night. I have a feeling I'm going to be dreaming in blue/white gingham.

Christmas presents. I love the idea of making gifts for Christmas. The whole time you are planning, sketching, and creating, in the back of your mind is the constant image of that person seeing your creation for the first time. Not only is it personal, but it connects you, literally, to that person. Nothing compares, even if it costs just as much as something you could of bought.

My goal is something homemade by Mommy for each child. I bought such incredible Wizard of Oz fabric for the big girls that I might go a little crazy, if time permits. If that's the case, there is a possibility the babies might be forgotten. Focus... focus...

I started, rushed, and "finished" this blanket on Saturday during my "Mommy is making your Christmas presents downstairs" time. Now that you see the lovely photos, I will immediately be ripping every stinkin' stitch out.

Not the best part to rush on: the binding, but that's life with a few hours to start and finish a project. Now I've learned, since it'll take a good hour to rip out/fix my initial rushing!


Good luck to many of you that are also making memories while you make special gifts. Please post your homemade gifts on your blog, comment on mine with a link to yours, and I'll pick my favorite homemade gift by the 18th of December, and I'll send you a set of these just in time for stuffing stockings!

A set of four of my favorite homemade coloring crayons just for little hands. Start submitting! Many entries per person welcome.

Journal Excerpt from December 4th 2009:

"The last couple months have been different. I feel almost deceived thinking that life was going to get easier as the twins got older. I thought that made sense.

I am frequently asking Bobby out of desperation, "Why is it so hard? When will we get a break?" There are real tough times over here. Night times when three children need our attention at once. Evenings are constant and exhausting until everyone is asleep. Mornings just remind me of the day to come. And afternoons, I can be found with tears after I've given everything I have and must keep giving until I hear Bobby come home.

Because of all of this recently, I've discovered Bobby as the most incredible relief to me. He repairs me and patches me up. He makes jokes until he gets a grin. And he keeps listening to me in my sorry state as I sound entirely bleak. He believes. He hopes that life will get easier. He does this all so steadfastly, without getting caught up in the frustration of it all.

Bobby, you save me everyday..."

This is a gift I love to make for people, and this season, some special nieces' new bedrooms. They are bulletin boards, but much more attractive than those cork ones.

They can be hung in living areas, like the above board in my home, which I keep recent photos and invitations hung on. This variation uses ribbon and buttons to secure mementos.

I'm going to show you how to make this more simplistic variation which I'm slightly partial to these days.

Supplies:

preferred size canvas
batting (sized to cover the frame of the canvas' back)
fabric (ditto)
staple gun
ribbon for trim
push pins

Place the fabric wrong side up, then the batting, then the canvas front squarely. Now you're looking at the back of the canvas. Begin stapling the length of one side, leaving about an inch from the corners.

Continue around all four sides pulling the fabric taut before stapling.

For the corners, peel back the fabric and snip off the excess batting.

Pull the fabric taut and staple down the corner.

I like to staple one piece of coordinating ribbon to draw the eye to something--you artists know about the golden third. Now add a handful of push pins (I actually use long sewing pins because they push through the canvas easily and stay well.)

There you have it: a great gift for any room of a house. And children love these to keep photos, drawings, and little treasures.

It's hard knowing how much to really get into Christmas this year. How much to decorate, how much to pull out from the Christmas bins in time to turn around and pack it all up again. At this point, we're even contemplating a tree.

We'll be leaving yet another home this year. My usual day dreaming of hanging stockings and Christmas morning seem clouded with visions of boxes around every corner on that anticipated day.

But this is a good move; a very good move. A mile away, the same jogging route, a much larger space to make life easier for all of us. My mind hasn't thoroughly wrapped around the idea of another move, though. I'm sure it will hit right about the time that the Christmas holiday and its festivities pick up--"Oh right, I should be packing!"

After two moves already this year, you'd think we'd be good at it. Throw two babies in the mix and you've got the most memorable New Year's ever.

Grandma reading to eager grandchildren,

uncles taking in their niece,

Annabelle showing off her baby skin while eating from a spoon,

buff brothers holding chubby babes,

an expectant father lightening my load,

sharing my family with friends that feel like family,

and lots...

and lots of smiles.

Good conversation, laughs, abundance of food, and,

tryptophan.

So I didn't get to post anything from my Giving Guide last week. You can blame it on the two baby heavy-weights; they are sucking the life out of me with their lack of sleeping schedule. But they are so cute and chubby, I won't hold it against them.

Back to the Giving Guide, here's a fun gift for families with children, couples, newlyweds, college students, campfires, tailgating, etc. So I guess really anyone could use this that has a bottom to sit on.

I have one I keep in my car for trips to the park and such. They are indispensable.

So here's the easy version of the blanket. Find a durable fabric (home decor, corduroy, or the likes) for the back piece, and then a coordinating piece of fabric for the top layer. If you want to skip measuring (which I did with this particular blanket), find 60 inch wide fabric pieces at the store and just cut them length-wise based on how long you want the blanket.

Once you have both pieces of fabric cut, simple sew straight lines down the width of the blanket, about 9 inches to 12 inches apart. Now sew the edges together, less then 1/2 inch from the edge.

Once the two pieces of fabric are sewn together, pull out the bias tape. It should take about 2-3 packs of this awesome stuff. Fit the sewn edge into the folded bias tape, and go to town: sew the four sides together inside the bias tape.

I like using the zig zag stitch.

For corners, cut the bias tape flush to the blanket. Then start the bias tape again on the new side with the raw edge tucked in for a clean look.

When you've completed the blanket, sew a seam down about 3 feet of the remaining bias tape, fold in half, and sew that mid section (an inch worth) to the binding on the blanket. This will let you wrap the bias tape around once and close by tying it with a bow. First decide how you want the blanket folded to know where to place the binding ribbon.

I love this outdoor blanket because it doesn't require batting. It rolls up beautifully, too, which is my favorite aspect of the blanket.