The Sweetly Decorated Life: Craft Gift Bags for pre-k kids, ribbon, glitter, a...

The Sweetly Decorated Life: Craft Gift Bags for pre-k kids, ribbon, glitter, a...: Pretty and fun! I don't often toot my own horn, but if I ever want to blog for Better Homes & Gardens I need to get blogging a...

Craft Gift Bags for pre-k kids, ribbon, glitter, and handcrafted ornaments!

Pretty and fun!

I don't often toot my own horn, but if I ever want to blog for Better Homes & Gardens I need to get blogging about how crafty and artistic I am.  Have you seen my refurnished furniture?  My husband is pretty good at it too.

For the girls' preschool presents this year I decided to go all out.....there are no real step-by-step pictures but I promise you the finished product tells all!

Here is a play by play of their friends and teachers gift bags, all courtesy of the craft super store Michael's (which is awesome by-the-way)!

1) Purchased gift bags in bunches of 13, inexpensive adorable wooden ornaments, holiday pencils and bag stuffers!

Already have white paint, glitter, and letter stickers to adorn the ornaments with!

I'm ready to get crafting!  Be patient with yourself and if time allows when finished, have a nice glass of holiday cheer with your spouse!

Just before I begin, when I start a project, I easily become obsessed.  It's important not to go overboard because keep in mind these are kids and they will receive presents from everyone and their families so I want to make it memorable on my end!

I love gift tags so I embellish where necessary so buying a small roll of holiday ribbon at Target for $1.00 should keep these kiddie gift bags under budget!

2) Get your kids ready to paint the ornaments with white paint, brushes, and smocks.  Make sure your kiddies aren't hungry or thirsty before they start this project!  Snack them first.

3) Gently shake glitter on top of ornaments and let dry for 20 minutes.  I use an aluminum pan to capture extra glitter!

This can get messy!

4) Hot glue Letter stickers (kids this is a no-no I'm sorry) in the middle of wooden picture frame ornaments. Oh did I leave that out?  These ornaments are shaped like mirror frames!!  So pretty!

Use what you have!

5) Tie ornaments with pretty holiday ribbon onto holiday gift bags and stuff with prizes!!!  I chose puzzles (my kids were not allowed to pick stuffers for the simple fact that they would of picked large sized stuffed animals to put in bags and other large items like Mermaid Barbie dolls, so I chose mini puzzles of 50 pieces!)
Puzzles are great gift ideas five year olds and I keep them handy in my purse and take them out at doctors offices so that my kids don't touch other items in the office that may or may not be awash with bacteria!

Happy Crafting!

The Sweetly Decorated Life: Saturday Night Live's Performances and Motherhood

The Sweetly Decorated Life: Saturday Night Live's Performances and Motherhood: Remember the days when you turned on Saturday Night Live and you just new with 100% certainty you were getting a solid product. Now my hu...

Saturday Night Live's Performances and Motherhood

Remember the days when you turned on Saturday Night Live and you just new with 100% certainty you were getting a solid product. Now my husband and I who are avid SNL viewers are not so sure.  I turn it on and hope the host doesn't flub up.  It's tough because I know just a little bit about acting and it's not easy.........

There are nerves, the audience can affect a performance, and ultimately if you haven't slept the night before, you better hope your brain catches up and gets those critical lines delivered! The last time I was pregnant with twins, I was on stage and the one thing the stage manager told me was don't trip.  Nice.

If there is one thing about Saturday Night Live that hasn't changed is the love all the actors seem to share after a performance, love. They all hug, high five each other and what I hear is party until the wee hours.  I myself would get invited to the after parties at Colonial Players and just think, I can't do that....I have to sleep!!!!!!  Would I be able to turn down SNL cast parties? I don't think so!

These actors on SNL come back week after week and deliver performances that always surprise, the problem is they don't knock my socks off.  When Will Ferrell was on the show, you just knew it was going to be special-it was going to be hilarious, it was going to go there. Taran Killam has that ability and delivers insightful performances, ones that are certainly memorable (Brad Pitt impression, funny). 

In recent weeks, take the Charles Manson skit performed by Mr. Killam, albeit the subject itself, it was distasteful and we'll it just fell flat for me.  It's obvious my opinion doesn't count, but I do know funny stuff and that wasn't it-that Charles guy took peoples lives-horrible. Those promo videos Taran participates in are hilarious so having those extra takes and cuts gives actors a lot of freedom.

Performing live is a crap shoot.  You can have hit nights and you can have bummer nights. I too also experience this in motherhood-my problem is that I like to turn on Saturday Night Live after a long day of motherhood and see the hit nights and laugh hysterically. It makes me forget about my lost moments in mommyland, times where I should of, could of, didn't.

Jim Carrey was the host on October 26th and I expected an amazing night but sadly I was left disappointed, although the video shot of him impersonating Matthew McConaughey in that Lincoln commercial was a gut-buster!  Carrey sounded like Matthew, had his nuances down-pat and Patrick and I fell over in the bed laughing hysterically!! He has no reservations.  He just goes there.

My suggestions are sorta like this,

1) Bring back the old players as a favor and ask them to give acting lessons to the current players like a Saturday Night Live 101 for novices because the cue card reading is very distracting.

2) Even in community theater we didn't have cue cards and we weren't paid.  I know it's hard but if you have lines to remember it's good to stay inside and practice, practice, practice.

Kenan Thompson is SOLID but writers could give him better opportunities and better one-liners.  Tracy Morgan had this opportunity when he portrayed Brian Fellows.  Those skits were insane.  My sister-in-law and my husband knock those lines out of the park-that's what I'm saying, when something sticks, you remember it and it makes you laugh time and time again.  You can actually make your family members who don't laugh often, laugh hard (even I can do this) when you retell these silly skits.

Listen, I'm hopeful for the Christmas show.  I hope SNL cast members knock it out of the park (I keep saying that a lot don't I?) because I certainly couldn't go on stage like they do without a serious mixture of Red Bull and vodka, my liquid courage.  I'm ashamed to say that...............oh well.  

So on with the show.............but can Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd come back for the holiday show.........please?!!

At 30 Rock. We still Love you SNL!  

A NYC Tradition-the Tree at Rockefeller Center & Ice Skating-what are your Xmas Traditions?

Hanging on by a thread!

I love that each holiday we will be trekking up north with our twin daughters to see the lights and holiday action of New York City ! Why not I say?  My hubby loves Manhattan so we go there without fail and his idea is to take them every year to 30 Rock to see the big tree, ice skate, and get a hot dinner to top the night off.  My daughters love the city as well so that makes it somewhat easy but there are loads of others who with kids just can't make it work.  It's me who now takes it in stride after twenty years of failed auditions and sore feet (I nailed one though, still no agent!).  If you do find yourself lured by the bright lights and exciting life of Manhattan, with kids, you need these Five Essentials! (wine sold separately)

Here is my TOP FIVE MUST HAVE'S for Surviving NYC with your Kids 
1) A Double Stroller with storage-this politely moves people out of the way, (most times) and they think a baby is in there, it also doubles as storage for all your packages and coffee cups you no longer want to handle!
 
2) Warm Blankets.  If it's cold there, you will suffer.  The last trip we took the week before Christmas, we were without warm anything.  The weather was just right but should it show any signs of snow or wind, you gotta have face warmth!  Oh and you can fix your hair in any warm NYC restaurant bathroom. Wear a hat!
 
3) Bring Vitamin C Lollipops for the kids.  When you are browsing any store that has nothing to do with them, they will be slightly bored if not bored out of their minds. Lollipops keep them busy, no lollipop crushers allowed!!!  Make it last kiddos. (additional snacks are an excellent idea as well)
 
4) A GPS on your Smart Phone.  Most I Phones do so it's easy.  When we lost direction in finding our hot holiday meal, I was on the GPS app on my phone immediately and voila, I was at my Spot: Rosie O'Grady's on 52nd.  The parmesan crusted sole to die for! 
 
5) A Savvy Person who likes New York.  I'm lucky because my husband loves NYC and knows the areas fairly well.  He doesn't mind crowds and because he happens to be tall and strong, he gets through a crowd with ease.  If this is not your case, bring with you very confident people who are tall, don't mind hoards of people and like nightlife because this city isn't easy!  My kids happen to love it!
 
If none of that happens and you end up cold, tired and stressed from your New York City adventure or tree cutting extravaganza or any holiday party, don't worry it will be over in a month and you'll be wondering when the next party is............................
 
If you feel up to it, tell me about your holiday traditions outside of the house and how you survive with kids, what makes it special to you and what memories were made.......

The Non-Perfect Family and Holiday Drama

I always thought yes, I'm normal because my parents are divorced.  But no, it's just the opposite.  My husband and his parents, married for over 50 years, the couple across the street, the folks at church sitting in front of you, your neighbors down the street, they have all weathered the test of time.  They run half marathons, create perfect chocolate chip cookies, and pick up everything in one swoop under budget at Target!!  They stay married.  They seem perfect......

This is NOT my LIFE:  I come from a divorced family, not once but twice and I didn't think it hurt me in any seriously damaging way but it did-it really did. (by the way, I fail terribly at baking homemade chocolate chip cookies) Don't get me wrong, there are folks out there who have gotten married, stayed married and continue to live miserable lives.  I understand that.  I'm not talking about them or their amazing retirement accounts......I'm talking about the non perfect family-the one that hasn't found it's place yet in the big wide world of relationships.  You get by, you function but just barely.  You find yourself out of debt only to find yourself right back there, struggling to buy Christmas gifts, or the procrastinator family, the one that says sure I'll put up the Christmas lights one month early because I don't want to put it off, only to find yourself miserable in the process. The couple down the street wonders why did the McCoy family hang lights on Thanksgiving?!?

I come from a family of doers.  If we weren't out running a task or errand or wiping up from a meal, we were playing a game or heading outside for exercise-we rarely sat still.  It's always been very hard for me to sit still and just be.  My mind races about what I'm not doing but then I remember I was shifted from one parents house to the next on the weekends.  There was not a lot of time to just do nothing.  The holidays were super busy............visiting all the extended relatives, step-relative mr. or mrs. and anyone else in between that seemed to care!  Whew-my brother and I needed a vacation from the holidays when it was over.

Now in Annapolis life, my good friend Lindsey keeps me centered when my mind starts to race-her parents are divorced too (I hope she doesn't mind me sharing that).  Her daughter and my twin girls play like peas and carrots and I haven't seen her for close to two weeks and my smile just isn't as bright when she's not around.  I am attracted to happy and healthy people; they give me a boost so if it's a poopey day, I could go drift in and out of procrastination and that's where my non perfect family comes in.  My life feels chaotic and unruly, so Lord let it not be the holiday time of year.  It's okay, I'll manage I say, on with the blog.........

I come from divorce and I remarried someone with kids.  It's complicated and the holidays become even more so.  Can I procrastinate or ride away with my girls to find the closest shopping establishment?  As much as I love excitement and adventure, now that I have kids, I just want to stay home and enjoy them, play outside with them, watch a movie, color, explore their world but there is just so much more to talk about, lots more to work out.  I can't leave I say, there are issues to work out-other people's needs to address.

If we deny what's really going on in our households, how do we ever truly heal??  Are we being honest with ourselves and our families?

I was chatting with my mother and husband about a dramatic incident my 14 year old stepson just had with his mother and that's when I began to cry a little.  My stepchildren are living through what I went through thirty years ago.  I'm reliving it all over again and maybe I never healed.  I don't think any child wants to be from a divorced family-they have to accept that it's their fate.  My daughters have their mother and father together and they love it.  They love the idea of us. They are all about it.  They draw pictures about us, not anyone else.  We are their world.  I guess when my parents decided to end their 13 year marriage, a big part of my heart died with it.  We became the blemished family, the drama didn't stop there either.  My Dad and my stepmother (whom I grew close to) divorced after 20 years of marriage, severing any sort of relationship; a relationship where my stepmother actually mentally abused me, teased me, bullied me with no I'm sorry's at the end. I was never far from her daggers. It was her own drama.  I'm okay now-really.

Taking steps to heal in your life is what I'm doing.  I'm constantly reading, going to therapy workshops when I can and trying to accept the imperfect part of my "Country Living" magazine dream life.  The holidays often drum up old feelings of hurt, resentment, and family drama. Do they do that for you?  Share with me please.

I hope your holidays bring to you much meaning, hugs of warm love and a devotion to your family that you'll stay right where you are: committed, loyal and honest in your pursuit of happiness.  Everyone deserves that.

I want to put out there, my Holidays are too magical, sweet and special but it goes without saying, I share my pain with trusted adults, friends I can trust and with my husband who understands and empathizes with me. This makes the time that I hurt when I was younger much easier to bear.  My family or yours may never be perfect but we are in the pursuit of trying and what's so wrong with that?

The non-perfect photo