Traditions: Tiny Treasures

OOOOOOHHHHH.....the FUN has officially begun!!

There's something about Christmas that brings me great JOY.

That brings me to my next tradition.

TRADITION #2

I'll once again give you my "mom tips" at the end.

Our Tiny Homemade Ornaments.

We do this every year and it has become something that my kids look forward to.

It started with a good intention to make a special homemade ornament every year. 

I was going to be "supermom" and come up with a new crafty idea every year.

But, they have loved this one so much, that we have stayed with it.

(Such a smart move, if I do say so myself.)

We start with Sculpey clay.
It's a delightful clay that you cook and it's really easy to work with.
I save my lovely Jo-Ann's 40% coupon and buy it.
One package will usually last me 2-3 years,
depending on when it hardens. 

Then we buy these little treasures.
Get the smallest ones you can find.
I get mine at Lowe's, only because my beloved Walmart doesn't carry them.

And then the fun begins.

Believe it or not, my kids instantly become SILENT.

Not a sound.

.....so beautiful.

hee hee hee

They are very serious about their ornaments, and I get excited to see 

what new creations will be hanging on our tree.

We have acquired quite the collection, and they are some of my favorite treasures. 

We have a collection of a tater tot family.

We have a caterpillar family.

And they both get new additions every year.

We have tigers, Pokemon thingy-majiggers, Princess Leia and even an earless Yoda.

Poor Yoda.

(You didn't believe me.....did you?)

I've included pictures of some of my favorites.

I've saved the funniest for last. 

If you have a teen girl, you'll see why.

Mr. Penguin

(we ALL need a red penguin on our tree)

Whoville Tree

Israel made this years ago, and I still love it.

These are some of this year's new additions.

Our Lovely Ladybug

Adventure Time
It's always "adventure time" here in the Blaylock home.

Luke's "weapons of war"
Every tree needs a sword and a lightsaber.
Don't be jealous.

Sweet and Simple

Lucy Lu-Lu calls this her

"a riaryeoya-ya-ya"

.....who knows.

But I love it.

And I love that she made it.

Here are the funny ones.

Keely's One Direction Guys

I love them.

We listen to our One Direction cd in the car all the time, 

mainly because Lucy Lu-Lu knows every word.....

and sings at the top of her lungs.

It's one of my favorite things, so I now love One Direction.

And I NOW love Keely's One Direction ornaments.

So, there you have it.

One of my favorite traditions.

Now for my "MOM" tip:

You MAY want to have toothpicks handy.

For instance, you may have a lovely child who spends 25 minutes

carefully rolling each ball to make a perfect caterpillar.

And then you might bake that lovely perfect caterpillar.

And then that lovely perfect, and now beloved caterpillar.....may fall apart.

And then that lovely child may fall apart.

So.....

I've learned that if I insert toothpicks into these treasures,

they don't fall apart.

You MAY also want to wrap with great care when packaging up and putting them away. 

We learned the hard way with Yoda. 

...just sayin'.

HO HO HO

Traditions: Chocolate Surprises

Well, the holidays are officially here!

There aren't words to express how much I love the holiday season.

Something changes in people.

And for a brief moment in time, it feels like the world changes.

I love it.

One of the things I love most about the holidays are traditions.

I'm a big believer in traditions.

I believe they strengthen families and make those "moments" in life more meaningful. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite traditions.

If anything, maybe it will give you a new ideas to try.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have a tradition you love.

I'm always looking for fun ideas!

Our first tradition starts December 1st.

It's one my mom did for us when I was growing up.

I'll share the tradition, but then I'll give you my "mom" tip.

TRADITION #1

CHOCOLATE ADVENT CALENDAR

We give them out on December 1st and each day you find the window with the matching number.

Inside is a little DELICIOUS shaped nugget of chocolate.

They really aren't all that delicious, but I've not met very many little kids who care.

Chocolate is chocolate.

At least to them it is.

I still remember being little and prying that little window open to see what shape my chocolate would be.

Such a simple little tradition, but one that we love.

Christmas will never be the same without our chocolate calendars.

 We usually find them at Walgreen's, but I found mine at Aldi.

They were cheaper. :)

Now for my "MOM" tip:

I've learned that when you give a young child 

a calendar full of chocolate, 

that child MAY be inclined to open every window and eat EVERY piece of chocolate in one sitting.

Then that same child MAY scream and cry on Day 2, when there are no more chocolates left.

So, if you have young children like mine, put the calendar up.

UP HIGH.

And then get it down every day for them to open their ONE window. 

just sayin'.

Let the holidays begin!

Happy Anniversary Ricky!

Well, today is my anniversary, so it's only fitting to express my love and gratitude for Ricky.

It's been SEVEN years!

It's gone so fast, yet it feels like I've always been with him.

We talk all the time about how strange it is to be as old as we are, 

and yet we've only been married for seven years. 

For those who don't know, we met online. 

It's not something I would recommend for everyone, but we were lucky enough to have it be a great experience.

How else was I going to find my Southern sweetie?

I remember the first time we started 

communicating with each other.

I almost knew IMMEDIATELY that I was going to marry him.

I know that probably sounds CRAZY, but.....no one ever said I was normal.

And NO ONE EVER said Ricky was normal.

So CRAZY works for us.

We started talking, and I knew he was something special.

I could feel it.

I felt a sense of peace that I hadn't felt for a long time.

I felt a reassurance that I would have happiness again.

And I felt great hope that I might actually find someone who would love me and who would help heal wounds that had been so painful.

It was a crazy whirlwind of events and we
were married 7 weeks later.

I still look back on it and think, "WE WERE CRAZY!!"

But, I'm so thankful that we were both willing to take a leap of faith.

Especially Ricky.

He was a single dad with 6 kids and he took it very seriously.

When we made the decision to get married, I remember thinking, "Thank you Ricky."

There are a few moments in life when I have felt
that kind of gratitude.

It was a feeling I'll never forget.

I was so grateful for the chance to share my life with him.

I was so grateful for the chance to have him be a part of Keely's life.

And I was so grateful that he was willing to trust me enough to be a part of the lives of him and his children.

I will always be grateful for that.

I will always be grateful for him.

He has loved me.

He has helped heal my heart.

He has been patient as I have tried to figure out 

how to be a mom of so many.

He has helped me to be a better person and encourages 

me always to be my best.

He is always willing to see me in the best light.

It's wonderful to be married to someone like that.

It's hard to feel bad about yourself when you have someone who lifts you up and encourages you every day.

So this is for you Ricky.

Thank you.

Thank you for doing the dishes.
Thank you for cleaning the truck for our dates, just because you want it to feel special.
Thank you for letting me warm my cold feet on you.
Thank you for the funny little dance you do.....and for the way it makes me laugh.
Thank you for changing my oil, fixing the toilet, repainting the house, building the coolest bunk beds and for making my waffles extra cripsy.

Thank you for giving me the chance to share my life with 9 amazing children, who are my whole world.

Thank you for the consistent example of someone who takes the higher road and does the right thing, even though many times it's the harder choice.

Thank you for loving me. All of me...flaws and all.

Thank you for loving my Keely and for making her your own.

Thank you for being someone I can trust and admire.

Thank you for making me laugh...and for letting me cry when I need to.

Simply put, thank you for who you are. 

You are the reason for my happiness.

Happy Anniversary.

My Kindness of the Day?

Ricky took me camping this weekend for our anniversary. 

And these two sweet friends came with us.

What's kind about this?

Well, this is only the SECOND time my sweet friend 

has EVER been camping.

I think it's safe to say it's not her favorite thing.

And then there's also the fact that is was freezing!

But, she came any way and I'm so glad she did.

Such good friends.

Such good times.

My Treasures

My post today is a combination of what I'm grateful for
AND the kindness of the day.
Keep reading and you'll see why.


I'm a big treasure girl.

EVERYTHING is a treasure.
It makes Big Daddy crazy.....but that's a whole different post.

I have boxes of these "treasures" that I've collected over the years.
I have little notes that were passed back and forth with friends in elementary school.
I have every report card.
I have every card.....of every kind.....that anyone has ever given me.
I've got badges, pins, ribbons, etc.
You get the idea.
LOTS of little treasures.
(I think I've whittled it down to three boxes, so I'm making progress.)

Well, among my treasures is an old notebook from when I was growing up. In it is a collection of my favorite poems, scriptures, quotes and inspirational thoughts.
When I was younger, I would just sit on my bed and read them.

They strengthened me, gave me courage, helped me to forgive and motivated me to be better.
I love that old notebook full of words.

That brings me to another favorite treasure.

Years ago when I went through my divorce, I went to visit my brother Jason and sister-in-law Angie.

oops.

I meant to add this photo.

(hee hee hee)

To them, it was probably just another person visiting, but to me, it was a critical visit at a time when I really needed them. At one point Angie (who I love more than I could ever tell you and who I think is the most super cool girl in the whole wide world), pulled out a spiral notebook. She explained that we were going to decorate it.

Inside this notebook were some quotes that Angie had so thoughtfully already written. She told me that my notebook was a place for me to write down things that would help me to have faith, things that would give me hope, and things that would strengthen me. So, we sat and I decorated my little notebook. I think I probably cried through the whole thing, but I got it done!

The quotes in my notebook have meant a great deal to me
over the years.
I have added my own favorites as well.

I want to share a few of the quotes Angie put in there for me.

and this beauty.....

I love these words.

Over the years they have become treasures to me.

So, today I'm grateful for a couple of things.

One, for my adorable sister-in-law, for always having a gentle heart. 

She has been my strength over the years in ways 

that she'll never know.

I'm grateful that she thought about what I needed at a very difficult time,

I'm grateful for my notebook.

I'm grateful for the strength it has given me, but I'm also grateful for the love that was behind it.

When I open and read it, it brings feelings of hope and strength.

Some of those feelings are there because I had to fight so hard to have them at a time when it was so hard to do so.

And I'm grateful for the WORDS in my treasured notebook.

I'm grateful for the power of words when they are used to uplift, motivate and strengthen.

I'm grateful for the inspiration of so many, and for their willingness to share their thoughts and words with the rest of us. 

We really do have the power to strengthen each other.

So, thank you Angie.

I don't know if I've ever told you how grateful I am for 

my little notebook.

And I don't know if you will ever know what a strength 

it has been to me.

Among all my treasures, you are one of my favorites.

It's a Pickle Kind of Day

Did you know that it's National Pickle Day?

Seriously!

It really is.

And tomorrow is National Clean Your Refrigerator Out Day.

I think we'll celebrate today.....and not tomorrow.

anyhoooo.

We are a pickle loving home.

You will always find them in our fridge.

And you will always find a back-up jar in the cupboard.

Lucy Lu-Lu can eat a whole jar by herself if you don't watch her.

.....just sayin'

So, HOW in the world do I tie pickles in with gratitude?

Well, because of TRADITIONS.

We are also a home of many traditions.

We love them.

So we make everything a tradition that we can.

"You didn't like anything in your lunch?!?"

"Well, let's make today the Blaylock Crummy Lunch Day!"

"Let's make sure we have crummy lunches on this day every year!"

Loud cheering from the kids.

Hoots and Hollers!

Yippees and Yahoos!!

You get it.

We love traditions.

(And no, we don't have a Crummy Lunch Day tradition)

Well, this year, we are starting the.....

PICKLE TRADITION

I'm so excited!

For all I know, many of you cute moms are already doing this.

It's an old tradition called "The Christmas Pickle".

You decorate your pretty little tree, and then you hide 

the pickle ornament.

The first child to find the ornament gets a gift.

I'm going to make the winner's gift green.

Why not? 

Right?

And I think I will hide my pickle ornament on Christmas Eve.

Then Christmas Morning has another fun element for the kids.

Today I'm grateful for traditions.

I'm grateful for a mom who gave us so many fun traditions to pass down to our kids.

They have made our life together a lot of fun, and I hope they will continue to be passed on for many generations.

My Kindness of the Day?

My sweet sister Britney called to tell me they had 

PICKLE ORNAMENTS

at the Dollar Tree.

I bought mine.

Go buy yours.

Thank you Britney!

I'm excited for our new tradition.

The Other Half of My Brain

Today I'm feeling very grateful for the other half of my brain.

The half that works really well on a regular basis.

Unfortunately it isn't in my head.....

it's in hers.

Meet my friend Tricia.

She really is the functioning part of my brain and today I'm very grateful for her.

There are many days when I feel like this.

HAHAHA! 

Come on, mothers. 

You know it's true!

Tricia knows me well enough to know this.

So on a regular basis, Tricia saves me.

I will get a text reminding me of field trips, reminders to set my clock back, reminders that school is out, reminders about meetings, activities at the school, church meetings, reminders on great deals that I forgot about 2 minutes after the FIRST time she told me, reminders to put my laundry in the dryer, and even reminders about what my plans for the day are.....because she knows I've already forgotten.

I'll get reminders to get dressed, to brush my teeth, and 

to.....just kidding.

There ARE SOME things I can manage to remember on my own.

I do have HALF a brain, remember?

Tricia really is my lifesaver.

I don't think I could survive without her.

When she thinks about me, I'm sure there are many times when she feels like this:

But she always treats me like this:

HAHAHA!

Oh.....the GLORIOUS GUT GIGGLE begins as it sinks in how much trouble I'm in.

(TRICIA: Just remember that it's a COMPLIMENT!)

hee hee hee

I'm thankful to have a friend like her. 

I'm grateful for her never-ending patience.

I'm grateful for the fact that she loves me so much, that she WANTS to help me succeed.

We all need friends like Tricia.

For all you overwhelmed and forgetful mothers,

I would share her with you if I could.

But, I'm just too selfish. 

:)

hee hee hee

Thank you Tricia.

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for helping me.

Thank you for encouraging me and for cheering me on.

Today, my heart is full of gratitude for you.

I love you.

Simply Sunday: A Happy Spirit, my friend Amy.

Today I'm grateful for my new friend Amy.

Just look at her cute face.

How can you not completely love her already?

Why Amy?

Well.....SO MANY reasons, but most of them are 

personal to the two of us.

But, I will do my best to share some of my reasoning with you.

I haven't known Amy that long. 

 In fact, really just a very short time.

But, I love her so dearly already.

I feel like Amy knows my heart

And I feel like I know hers.

Because our sweet friendship is new, there are many things I don't know about Amy. 

But this one thing I know for certain.....

Amy has a happy spirit.

She really does.

She has gone through a challenge lately that has been a bit tricky.

And yet, she remains happy.

She chooses to look at all the great things in her life.

And in doing so, she hangs on to her happy spirit.

I love that about my sweet Amy.

Because she's like that, it makes her so easy to be around. 

It's contagious and it makes me want to follow her lead.

 

 Today, I'm grateful for Amy.

I'm grateful for her goodness.

I'm grateful for her example.

I'm grateful for this sweet new friendship.

And I'm very grateful for her happy spirit.

We would all be better to follow her lead and be happy in spite of the challenges of life.

I love you Amy-girl.

My Kindness for Today?

A week ago, we had a craft day at the church.

I was busy teaching a class, so didn't have the chance to do some of the things I signed up for. 

Well, meet Sarah, my other cute new friend.

Her and another friend Ava (no picture) decided to do my craft for me.

They had other classes to go to, but instead they sat and made these for me.
And they made them SO CUTE!

I will always cherish these little homemade trivets because they were made with love.

I'm so grateful to have such happy and loving people in my life.

Thank you, my new sweet friends.

The Good Ol' South!

As most of you know, I was not raised in the south. I am actually from Laramie, Wyoming (shout out to all my Laramie friends!) and the Seattle, Washington area (another big shout out!!) I am a western girl through and through. As you can imagine, moving to a small town in Tennessee was quite the cultural shock! 

But, thanks to Ricky's wonderful Southern family and some really special Southern friends,
it has been quite the happy adventure.
Especially because of these two.

I love my in-laws. 

They are Southern, through and through.

And it makes them so darn lovable.

Although there are similarities anywhere you go, there are some very distinct differences in the South. 

I have been making notes of these things since living here. It's been a great experience living here and I am in love with so many things about the South. I have been wanting to write this all down for some time, so I thought now would be a good time!

I don't know how to write this creatively so I'm going to do a fun little bullet list. If you are one of my favorite Southern friends,
THANK YOU for making my life here so very happy. 

You truly are the best!

My tribute to the South

• You are a "sweetie", "darlin" or "honey" to everyone. And I mean EVERYONE.
• Everyone is always "fixin" to do something. Fixin' to tell you something, fixin' to leave, fixin' to eat some corn casserole, etc. (I still haven't acquired a taste for corn casserole. Every vegetable here has a casserole.)
• Ain't and Y'all is not just something you THINK people in the South say all the time. THEY REALLY DO.

• BLESS YOUR HEART! You cannot visit the south for even a day without hearing this. People use this to make it possible to say ANYTHING they want in a gentle way. For example....."Wow. That's an ugly baby.....bless your heart."  .....you get the idea. It's one of my favorite Southern sayings. Who doesn't want to hear that all the time?
• A straw is called a sissy stick.
• Every child says "yes m'am" or "no sir". Good old fashioned manners are alive and kickin' and I LOVE IT!
• Yonder: "I'm gonna go over yonder".
• Little things are "teeniny" things. I love that word. Teeniny. Say it enough and it will stick.
• "I'll bet ya a nickle to a donut." ...don't ask. I still don't get it. My mother-in-law says it and it's still confusing.
• Everyone's out of pocket at some point. "I'll be out of pocket fer a while, so I'll call you later."
• GET 'ER DONE! .....seriously. How can you not LOVE this saying?
• DOG = DAWWG   There are no dogs in the south. Only DAWWGS.
• "That dawwg don't bark." Something's not quite right with him. hahaha!
• "I ain't got a dawwg in this fight": when you don't want to be part of a discussion.
• "I'm gonna see a old man about a dawwg": If one of my kids ask Big Daddy where he's going or what he's doing, this is what he says. It makes them crazy. Basically...it's none of your business.
• WASHING = WARSHING
• A grocery cart is a BUGGY.
• Drink of choice - sweet tea.
• Every kind of soda/pop is called COKE. It's very confusing.
• Don't want a broken down tv? Stick it out by the side of road. Within an hour, it will be gone. 
• People in the South are still very religious. On Sundays every church parking lot in town is full. I love this!!
• The mullett is still around! It's especially cute when you see it on a young child.
• Football is a religion. Literally. It's a HUGE deal. The whole town REALLY does go to the high school football games on the weekend. Tailgate parties, parades and everything.
• Cook WITHOUT bacon grease? UNHEARD OF!
• True story: I was at the grocery store a few weeks back and as I was checking out, I had a conversation with the cashier. He was saying that his mom's name is Tennessee and she named her daughters Georgia and Carolina. They in turn named their daughters Savannah, and Charlotte and Raleigh. You have to love that.
• They are serious about their hunting and fishing. Camouflage EVERYWHERE. And I actually love it. My nephew here loves hunting, so when I see camouflage, I think of him.
• Beans. Any kind of bean. Northern beans, pinto beans, etc. They love beans. At least Big Daddy and his family do. 
• Turnip greens.....well.....any kind of greens, grits, corn bread, biscuits & gravy...mmm
  .....well, everything but the greens. blech!
• Tater tots = tater barrels
• They have the best barbecue EVER!
• Pacifiers are storm plugs or foolers.
• People in the South wave to everyone. They are friendly and warm people.
• We don't have fireflies.....we 'got' lightnin' bugs.

 I can't tell you how much I LOVE the South. The people are amazing. It's hard to sum it all up, because there's so much good to say. Southerners are loyal, compassionate and very kind. They are helpful and are genuinely concerned about others. They actually let you merge in traffic!! Their families are their top priority, they love God and their country. And they make no apologies for these priorities. In fact, they are VERY proud of it. They aren't ashamed of who they are, and I find great strength in that. In many ways I feel like I've stepped back in time to a place where old-fashioned values still matter, where the majority of people take pride in being good and in doing what's right. I love so many things about the South. It's a charming and wonderful place to be and I love that I'm here! I'm also grateful that my kids are being raised in a place that they can be proud of.

My Kindness of the Day?

I called the doctor's office and the cute little receptionist Charlotte answered the phone.
This was our conversation.

"Hi Charlotte, this is Veronica Blaylock."
Then she responded in an excited tone,
"Well, HELLO DARLIN'!"

How can that NOT make you feel better about life?
So sweet.
So kind.
So small.
and
So big.

I'm so grateful for the SOUTH!

I Enjoy Being a Girl!

Today I'm grateful to be a GIRL!

No offense to all you BOYS.

But, I really am so thankful that I'm a girl.

I feel great power and strength in being a woman in the world today.

I've always felt that way.

I've always felt that there were certain strengths and talents that I enjoyed because I was a girl.

I've never felt slighted, I've never felt like I belonged to the "weaker sex", and I've always been taught to find great joy in the fact that I'm a GIRL!

Don't get me wrong,

I really love BOYS!

Especially my big boy.....Ricky.

I think we each have separate and very special roles that we play in this life.

And I am grateful for the men in my life who have worked hard to become great men.

I grew up in a home with 7 sisters 

(and 2 wonderful brothers.....but they aren't girls, 

so they don't get to be talked about)
hee hee hee.

I was surrounded by mutual hormonal craziness on a regular basis.....and I LOVED it!

These cute girls have been my strength in this life,
and I can't imagine a better life. 

We were all taught by my mom to be confident in who we were. 

We were taught that we were valued.

We were taught that we had great things to offer the world.

And I grew up COMPLETELY believing my sweet mom.

There's a song in a musical that I have been singing my whole life.

Here are few snippets.

I'm a girl, and by me that's only great!

I am proud that my silhouette is curvy,

That I walk with a sweet and girlish gait

With my hips kind of swivelly and swervy.

When I have a brand new hairdo

With my eyelashes all in curl,

I float as the clouds on air do,

I enjoy being a girl!

When men say I'm cute and funny

And my teeth aren't teeth, but pearls,

I just lap it up like honey,

I enjoy being a girl!

I flip when a fellow sends me flowers,

I drool over dresses made of lace,

I talk on the telephone for hours

With a pound and a half of cream upon my face!

I enjoy being a girl!

I am grateful for the natural tendencies that women have. We nurture, we have a desire to uplift, we are tender hearted, we have a desire to create and to make the world a more beautiful place. 

Ricky always says, "you are mercy and I am justice."

And he's right.

We have different roles.

And I'm grateful for our differences.

His male tendencies don't diminish me in any way.

If anything, they strengthen me and help me to be a better person.

I have many favorite quotes, and this is one of them.
I feel empowered every time I read it,
and it makes me want to be a better woman in the world.

So come on GIRLS!!

Be proud of who you are.

Get busy making a difference in our crazy world.

We have great potential to do good.

It's GREAT to be a GIRL!

My Kindness of the Day?

This is my sweet sister Britney (remember her?).

Well, I can't tell you how much I love her. 

I dump my problems on her on a regular basis.

And she always listens. She even comes up with some GREAT advice!

She is a strong, talented and impressive lady.

In a nutshell, she found a great deal on a really cute shirt and told me about it.

She knew things were tight right now, so she turned around and bought the shirt and had it sent.
It showed up yesterday and was such a sweet surprise.

Nothing huge, and I'm VERY grateful she got such a great deal on it, or I would be feeling really guilty.

But, it meant so much to me.

It meant that my sister thought about me,

and she went out of her way to let me know.

Are you seeing a pattern with all this kindness?

It really doesn't take much.

But, it always means so much.

Thank you Britney.

I love the shirt, but I love the fact that I know
I'm loved by you even more.

I hope you know how dearly loved you are by me.