TURKEY "DRESSING" {November Kid's Craft}

As a testament to how far behind I am, here is my Thanksgiving craft post. 

I copy a basic turkey outline (that I found in an old "The Mailbox" magazine) on brown construction paper, and then my kids and I have a discussion about the double meaning of "dressing a turkey". Then they are set free to decorate their turkeys however they please using scraps I've collected. 

This is one of my favorite projects of the year. Sometimes, the rows of identical kids' crafts hanging in the hallway can be depressing. But this project allows for individuality and true creativity...and the kids blow me away with how dang creative they can be. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Please note the karate uniform, belt, Asian symbol.

The eye patch.

The dark mask and super hero cape.

Some even got together and made turkeys to go together. I love her pom poms and his shoulder pads and helmet...

Don't miss the stubble on the robber's chin and the bag of stolen goods slung over his shoulder. The policeman has a nightstick and a badge. 

Someone was still stuck on Halloween. The little vampire suit, red cape, and special hair do just kill me. 

This turkey's flowered hat and pretty parasol accessorize her beautiful summer dress.

The jeans and the hunting cap are perfect. 

Lady in pink.

And this turkey...I'm not sure. I stared at it for a long time trying to figure it out. Curly hair...sweat band...short shorts...gaudy sparkles...

The best conclusion I could come to was a Richard Simmons turkey...?? Ha!

Sorry about the lousy blurry pictures taken in our dark hallway. Hopefully, this still gives you some fun ideas for next year!

WHILE I WAS OUT...

INSTAGRAM
I have become drawn in by this fun, free app. I think it is the culprit behind my long absence from blogging. It fills a void that blogging usually satisfies by capturing moments and documenting a visual journal of sorts...but in an instantaneous, effortless way. This was too enticing to resist during the holidays especially. 

Just in case life gets crazy again, my blogging slacks off, and you'd like to stay updated on our daily happenings (which are fascinating, I'm sure), my Instagram username is rachelashmore. My account is private to those who I have not approved to be my followers, but that is to keep away creepos from knowing where I am and what I'm doing at any given moment. Just find my profile and request to follow my account. As long as you're not a creepo...it's cool.

SUGAR UPDATE.
I planned to include a little update on how my sugar-less diet is going. But as I typed, it became clear I need to save it for its own post. There was too much to say. Until then, suffice it to say,  I am still avoiding the stuff, I feel great, and I have learned more about the reasons behind my issues which in turn has shown me another favorite food that should also, sadly enough, be cut out of my diet.

PRAYER
A recent difficult experience taught me some interesting aspects of prayer. First of all, if I don't tell anyone that I need help, I am actually hindering God's ability to answer my prayers for strength or comfort or whatever. Isn't it through other people that God usually answers our prayers? Being a private, independent person in general, I think this was an important lesson for me to learn.

It was only hours after I was forced to tell coworkers, neighbors, or church members about what we were going through that I was keenly aware not only of my sudden increased strength but of the fact that it was a result of prayers on my behalf. This knowledge came clearly and distinctly, and glowed brightly in my heart making me--to my great annoyance--emotional for days. I suddenly had a different perspective on how faith and prayers can be applied to help others--and myself--in a very real way. Prayer is powerful. It works. And our Father in Heaven wants us to use it to serve and help our brothers and sisters.

DOTERRA ESSENTIAL OILS.
Has anyone else out there discovered the magic of these babies? I'm obsessed. They are amazing, and it boggles my mind that more people/medical professionals aren't aware of all they are capable of. Andrew and I use them daily for ailments such as infections, headaches, warts, sore throats, restless leg syndrome, insomnia, snoring (you better believe that's Andrew...not me), congestion, digestive issues, acne, allergies, mood swings, or pain of any kind.

Anytime someone around me complains of an ailment, I can immediately come up with in my mind, an oil that would help. But the few times I've actually opened my mouth to share the idea, I only come across as a silly-naturalist-hippie-nut. I'm sharing on the blog, because I can't see your frozen phony smiles and skeptical expressions from here. Expect more to come in the future. You've been warned.

CC
After an absence of several months, our kitty sauntered into the house like no big deal. He hung around long enough to get scratched behind the ears and show off his doubled-in-size mid section before slinking out the back door not to be seen again. It seems CC has abandoned us for a new family. This arrangement seems to suit us all just fine. And at least I can take comfort in the knowledge that he's getting fed reeeally well.

OMEN
So we've all heard about the bad luck to follow a black cat crossing our path, right? But does it mean anything special if a WHITE cat crosses your path? How about an entire herd of white cats?

Well actually a group of cats isn't called a herd. It's a clowder. I looked it up just now because herd sounded weird.

Driving down the highway to work, I suddenly had to brake hard for a clowder of kitties. A mom and six kittens. All pure white and running to an empty field across the street. The last little kitten was a feisty one. Stopping in the middle of the road, it stood fiercely facing me in the cutest, little battle stance I've ever seen. After all if its siblings were safely across it disappeared behind them into the long grasses.

There you have it. My pointless story...except to inform you that it's going to be an awesome-filled, lucky year. It's all very logical. White is an antonyms for black. Black is unlucky. So obviously, I'm going to have the opposite of horrible misfortune. Bring on 2013!

ANOTHER POINTLESS STORY
Each year, my family plays a Turkey Day football game. I participate to feel involved...however, I use the word "participate" very loosely. Participating for me usually entails running back and forth pointlessly and receiving maybe three pitty passes. I still have fun though. My sister on the other hand, has rebelled against the tradition entirely, and refuses to play. She prefers not to be pitied.

This year, my cousin got a helmet camera for the quarter back to wear, which allowed for some sweet playback footage. When the video was posted on social media, I anxiously pulled it up. At the end, I sat in shame at one awful, glaringly obvious fact: 

I am very, very, very sissy. 

Not having really considered myself to be a cream puff before, all that twinkle-toed running and hand flapping was hard to watch. Maybe my sister's onto something.

RON WEASLEY PILLOW

This was my Christmas present to The Beck. My sister is in love with the Ron Weasley character. I thought I would share the idea for any other Harry Potter fans out there. 

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When I saw her pin a similar pillow of him on her Pinterest wish list board, I figured it would be easy enough for me to piece together. 

All the fabric came from Wal-Mart clearance bins, my own scrap collection, and a decorative pillow that doesn't match my house anymore. I made the scarf out of soft fleece to give it texture and help it stand out from the rest of the pillow. 

It took me over an hour to make the one pillow, but I imagine it would be a lot faster for those who actually know their way around a sewing machine. I'm still learning.

OUR CHRISTMAS TREE 2012

We drove to Green Canyon, Idaho, to get our tree this year. That area has the spruce trees we prefer. 

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of us finding, cutting, or dragging the Christmas tree to the truck. Instead, I have fifty-seven pictures of Moose playing in the snow. 

It was his first time seeing any significant accumulation and he kind of freaked out about it. 

Let me fully impress upon you the point that Moose LOVES the snow. 

Dad, look! Snow! Everywhere! I love it! I must run! I must prance! I must feel the wind through my ears!

Mom! Look at me! I love you! And I love the whole world! Pet me! Never mind! I must run speedily through this glorious snow!

So, yeah. His utter joy was highly entertaining.

And that's why our Christmas tree post is all about our very large puppy.

And his beautiful golden eyes. 

But anyway. Back at the ranch...with Moose exhausted in his backyard kennel, we dragged in our thirteen footer and set her up. We felt the need to take advantage of our new vaulted ceilings. 

Good thing for the ginormous ladder, is all I have to say. 

Fully decorated with "The Grinch" playing in the background and 600 drops of sap waiting to be scrubbed off the wood floors. Becca kept saying it looked like a Dr. Seuss tree. I'm cool with that. I think.

Glowing in the dark. It was at this point that I decided to forego the white ribbon next year. It just looked like I toilet papered my Christmas tree.

At the after Christmas sales, I searched for a birch wood-looking ribbon I had seen, but ended up instead with a pale blue burlap ribbon for next year. Pale blue, pale green, and white is the color scheme I have been trying to gather and pull off for years. But my love for red keeps sneaking in and stealing the show. 

A full tour of my Christmas decorations will be coming soon! Until then, here are a few inspirational photos I found to help me with my new color theme next year...

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