Alright blog friends.  This week took me by storm and what started out as a week with Jahred mostly off, turned into a week with me mostly on.  Here is a list of things accomplished and a few notes on what should have been achieved.

Check these off:

Axel made a silly face at his teacher after she asked him to "not walk silly" to the door at the end of class – I lectured on appropriate school behavior (even when you haven't been outside and have loads of extra energy and are feeding off the attention of 22 other preschoolers...it's still not ok to make a silly face at your teacher) ;).

Upcoming holiday party – Axel and I whipped up 4 dozen truffles and one batch of buffalo chicken dip (I have no idea if it's tasty or not since I don't eat meat...best of luck carnivores).

Thought I accidentally threw away our $100 Menards rebate – dug through the trash in the middle of the night because I was thinking about aforementioned problem while breastfeeding at 3am.  By some wacky coincidence, the rebate arrived the next day in the mail.  Whew.

Buddy the elf is causing chaos in order to encourage Axel to not make silly faces at his teacher – perhaps such a whimsical elf isn't the best example of not acting silly.  Too damn bad, the kid's 4, wicked smart, and if he wants to walk in a silly way to the door at the end of the day I'll be damned if I'll be the one to waste our super-fun time together nagging him about it.

Axel is confusing his discount stores – Buddy the elf appeared in a bowl of marshmallows one morning and Axel said to him, "Buddy!  Do you know where we got those?  SAVERS!  Now you just wasted them."  For the record, I do not purchase food at Savers.

Axel offered to give all my yarn to "someone who doesn't have any yarn" – this "giving tree" thing at school has really grabbed hold.  While I don't mind helping out a needy family I would somehow like to teach Axel that Mommy and Daddy work really hard and it's o.k. for us to have what we have.  It's lovely to think of others, but it's just as wonderful to be proud of where we are and how hard we struggled/worked like hell to get to a comfortable state.

Found the "it" toy of the season – "I would like a car that turns into a dinosaur and it's red and it shoots another car which is blue and has a small dinosaur that attaches to it somehow and it talks and it turns back into a car."  I thought for weeks that Axel was asking something of Santa that was virtually impossible.  After discovering it as a "sold out" item on my favorite website, www.yoyo.com, I quickly sourced it and paid full price on another site.  What a load off.  I will say that in this calendar year, this is the first "new"/ not pre-owned toy I have bought for my child.  For the giving tree at preschool, it is required that all gifts be "new."  Thought provoking.

Transformed our house from Thanksgiving (see table shot below) to Christmas (see Axel topping the tree with our vintage tree-topper, "Um, Mom, this isn't actually a star.  We're supposed to have a REAL STAR.  One with lights."  Crap.).  This reminds me of when we bought our van.  Rubbing insult to dorky-van-injury Axel says to his friend, "Wanna see our new van?  It's silver...which isn't even a color."

Things I have yet to do:

Email Kristina S. to tell her thank you for the Wristie order.  It is probably to you already, as well as a dog collar for your sweet puppy.  I do hope it fits.  I meant to email you saying that I miss you all as well and hope to make a journey south when I'm not babysitting one of Santa's elves.

Take pictures of my kids with Santa.  I will be checking this off my list tomorrow and after our first dry-run with the mall Santa (where they think I'm the cheapest Mom alive since I refused to purchase their $34.99 photo package...and they DO NOT allow you to snap even one of your own) I'm confident that Axel is all business this year and to get the toy mentioned above he will show me those pearly whites.

Clean my house.  I'm in survival mode and if you looked in my bathroom right now you may just see two days worth of MY pajamas on the floor in front of the shower.  They lay right where I stepped out of them and while deciding what to wear to bed tonight I grabbed something new off the shelf because I was too lazy to walk downstairs.  Do I see a problem with two sets(potentially three tomorrow) of pj's on my bathroom floor?  Absolutely not.  It's more of a badge of courage that I dared two showers in two days.  That never happens.

Call some people that I've been meaning to call.  My college roommate is turning 30 this month and that just means that in the coming calendar year I'll be turning 30 as well.  Holy crap.  I need to consult the authorities on whether or not I'm old enough to turn 30.  While more than half of my friends have reached the milestone and beyond, I'm hanging on to my youth – hanging on by my two sons, my colorless minivan, the occasional grey hair I find in my head, the fact that I own enough yarn for my son to think of giving it away, the quilts I have yet to finish, the nearly seven years I've been married, the geriatric dog who's been with me for most of my adult life, the aches, the pains, the crooked-smile of a scar on my abdomen from my most recent cesarean, my fine china that collects dust from the lack of entertaining going on around here, the shot-glasses that will NEVER get used and sit in the "donation" bag, my star-less faux Christmas tree, my favorite books and my own two hands that are most wonderful and tackle everything I throw at them in a day.  I think I'll look towards 30 like an old friend.  Maybe I'll ponder all of this next month...when I have more time.

Oliver's first Christmas is also the first for our family Elf.  Named by Axel, Buddy has come to stay with us this Christmas season.  For all of you who aren't familiar with "Elf on the Shelf" I have to refer you to Google for the official storyline, however I will say that an "Elf on the Shelf" spends his nights at the North Pole and his days making sure your children make the "nice list."

Is Buddy magical?  Absolutely he is.  As Roald Dahl once said, "Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

I was at the gallery this weekend.  Were you?  If you were, you may have purchased some awesome art for really reasonable prices like I did.

Here's what I found:

"Thinking" by: Brendan Rohde.  Done on wood in acrylic and pen.  LOVE THIS for my studio.

"Rocket Santa" by: Brandan Rohde.  Darling for the boys' room.

Much fun both morning and night (I was there for the opening and closing).  Live music, WCCO television and yummy treats.  Missed out?  Here is a link to what went down:  Click HERE and HERE TOO.

I am PUMPED about being chosen for this show!  It's the first time I have been featured in a gallery, and I'm so happy that it's in my home town!

Like the above advertisement says, the show runs Black Friday through December and there will be plenty of items made by...you guessed it...little old me!

I have to encourage you all to come this weekend and support small business, Lowertown St. Paul, and word has it that at 9am on Saturday, when the doors open, WCCO TV will be there waiting.

I'll be there with bells on...ok, maybe not bells so much...but perhaps a kid or two.

Stop by the AZ gallery, grab a bit of nosh, perhaps win a prize and for SURE you'll fall in love with the space.  Can't wait until Saturday!

A very successful day at Savers.  We are now lit up with x-mas lights (that were new in package, yet bought second hand) and are so proud to show off our tree house in daylight and in darkness.  Thank you all for bringing your unused items to Savers and letting me purchase them for $1 per strand.  Yea!  I love getting just what I want for a buck!

It was such a beautiful day here in Minnesota.  I didn't think I would ever report that we ate our bedtime snack – ice cream – in t-shirt pj's this November evening in our outdoor tree house.  Wow, this planet is a warmin' and just for today I'm ok with that.

Stay tuned for tomorrows announcement on where you can find me for the month of December...

No breastfeeding humor here.  The racks I'm referring to today are fresh out of Jahred's workshop.  As fast as I am drawing up plans for him these days, he's cranking out the merchandise.

We LOVE making things from stuff we have lying around.  These particular fixtures will be used in my VERY EXCITING upcoming gallery debut.  I will be one of the artisans featured at AZ Gallery in Lowertown St. Paul this Holiday season.  Stay tuned for more info on that...

Anyhow.  To make these racks, no lactation required, simply grab a branch, add a few knitting needles and a black-painted piece of cedar.  (Of course you'll need a circular saw, a drill, and a few other tools.  The construction however couldn't be simpler).

First we have the "******* (name removed for trademark infraction...see future post) Rack."  A sign will be added to encourage customers to "Try Me."

Next you'll see the "Strap Rack."  Love the bendy hangar shapes on the top?  Yup, those didn't cost anything either.  (Only a blister from the pliers.)

Hot from the cutting table.  I'm rolling out a new product today in my Etsy shop.  After serious name contemplation...wrallets, wristlets, arm cozies...I've settled on "****** (name removed for trademark reasons - see future post)."  And that's exactly what they are.  Like the "belly bag" – but not really.

For some you may find them useful for an urban life.  Don't want to carry a purse or sit on your wallet?  No problem. 

Have troubles staying warm in the MN winter?  Add a ******** layer.

Worried about getting mugged for your purse during the Holidays or need the extra hands for carrying packages?  Look no further.

Personally I find them a blessing for running.  They keep my arms warm and I can slip them down over my hands as mittens (I can also hold my iPod inside and still be able to use the touch-screen without pesky gloves).

If you are of the older generation (ok...unfair stereotype here...young people do this too), but you no longer need to tuck your kleenex in your shirt sleeve.  You've got a zippered pouch on each arm in which to hide that baby. Eeeee.

They're an awesome gift for teens, moms, urbanites and runners.

They can hold cards, cash, ipods, mobile phones, chapstick...

I have to give a HUGE congratulations to my brother Tyler for earning "Junior of the Year" for this past Triathlon season.  This is a major accomplishment, one I can't imagine any other "junior" having the dedication to achieve.  He was honored last night in a banquet/ceremony at Gear West, and tonight we'll be honoring him here...with chicken dinner and this CAKE!

Looking for a hearth to hang your stocking on this Christmas?  Look no further than Axel's treehouse. 

Remember when Jahred built this "Faux Mantle" for my living room?  Well, it's been cropped and re-purposed with it's very own felt fire.  That trunk that I found on the side of the road years ago?  It's a coffee table!  And to top it all off, I found a wreath for $3 at Savers today and a set of white wooden chairs (seriously, these are fabulous and I would rather have them in my house) for $1.49/ea.  Wow.  $3 for 2 antique chairs (the fabric touch was mine...5 minutes...seriously).

I made the curtains last week.  Again, using $5 worth of fabric from Savers.  Never mind that it's a silk-elephant motif...the price was right and when they need to be replaced in a season or two...I'll head right back to 'Big S' for more used fabric.

I'm thinking we'd better plan a housewarming party?!