What Is Christmas? Sit down, I'll tell you...

Depending on your culture, family heritage, childhood environment, beliefs and religious convictions, the holidays mean different things to different people. Being interfaith, my family is no different.

But for me personally, Christmas (or, in my case Yule) is about the festivities, the joys (whatever those are for myself), the hope the season brings for the new year ahead, the miracle that is the cycle of the seasons, mother Earth, the God and Goddess, the sun's rebirth, the beauty and wonder of the season. But if you were to ask me what I want for Yule every year, my answer never changes: I want memories.

The holidays for me are mental photographs and videos of great memories with my family. For some reason, I live off of them all year long. I remember them and anticipate with joy and contentment the exciting holidays to come each year, the anticipation at the memories I know will form, the contentment of my heart and the peace in my soul every holiday, doing everything I love: Giving, cooking, hosting and laughing. And, yes, I am one of those rare gems that likes to discuss politics (even if you don't agree with me) over dinner. Life is filled with wonder and beauty and joy and good and the holidays are the perfect time I take to slow down mentally and physically to just absorb it all, to remember it second for second.

I hear some people complain about the holidays. And all I can think is, they are just doing it wrong. The reason for this must be guilt, for one, and fear, for two, then obligation for three. But it is also stressful because of those things, you feel you have to go broke to please family 9you don't) you think you have to make every celebration event (you don't) and you think you have to fear what others will think of you if you do what is right and take the holiday to appreciate it and embrace it for what is best for you. You don't HAVE to do any of those things, and that is the beauty of holidays.

The market has capitalized on holidays like Christmas and birthdays. What would change this is people spending less money on stuff and spending more time (something money cannot buy) with their loved ones, without shame or fear or guilt. And the family, they have to accept this lifestyle and in turn appreciate the time they get with their loved ones minus the materials and gifts and "stuff".

I am in no way saying gifts are wrong or bad. As you likely already know, I shower my kids and my husband with gifts and my husband showers me with gifts as well. But we don't only do this during the holidays, we do it just because,m we do it on anniversaries, or when a loved one is ill, we do loving things because we want to, not because we have to.
That said, I do believe gifts are actually a big part of the holiday.... For YOUR family. For my family, it is outside immediate family members such as in-laws. We keep it all between the four of us, because that's what we want.

It's also very hard for me to mingle with my in laws and celebrate the holidays since I celebrate them in an entirely different aspect than they do. They celebrate Jesus, his sacrifice, gift giving, materials and the commercialized aspect of it.

I celebrate it with spells, incantations, devotions, dancing, fire, nature, the sun, the moon, the animals, and the gifts are just a bonus because I truly enjoy giving to my kids and my husband, especially during the holidays. This is my time of year where I can spend as much as I want on gifts and get them each something they've always wanted. Would Yule be over if we stopped doing gifts? Not at all! There is the volunteering, the giving, the charities. There is the holiday meal, the spiritual observance of it. There is the time with my family, but most of all there are the MEMORIES.

I love spoiling my kids. I also love teaching them about giving back and kindness and loving others and compassion. I love teaching them about family values and the joys of the season, what makes the holiday really great: Memories.

Christmas Decorating 2016

Every year since we had the kids, we have had a tradition when it comes to decorating for Yule.

First, we bring in the Christmas tree. We are a sentimental folk, when we could not afford a real tree, much less have a real one in our first apartment (landlord's restriction), we opted for an artificial Christmas tree we bought on sale at Walmart dirt cheap. I had never had a Christmas tree before, real or fake, so I was super excited to get one that year. It was our first Christmas together, in our first apartment. I will never forget it.

We went to Menard's to get some of the ornaments and decorations. We picked them all out together, then we went to Sam's Club to get the ribbon.

We brought the tree home and set it up. We spent that evening decorating it while eating pizza. Ever since, we have been carrying this tradition on with the kids.

We bring the tree inside (almost eight years later and we cannot bring ourselves to part with it), we turn up some classic Christmas music, and decorate our tree as a family.

I always thought I would be the type of person to rearrange the ornaments my kids put on once they went to bed, but I don't. In fact, I love the way they decorate it with us. I prefer to leave it all just the way it is.

Every year it seems we try something new or festive. This year we added tinsel. I've never been a huge fan of the tinsel, but it's grown on me this past year. I actually prefer it over ribbon I think.

Once the tree is set up, (always on the Sunday after Thanksgiving), and it is all decorated and lit up, we put in a Christmas movie and bake pizzas.

The kids look forward to this tradition every year. They are now old enough to know what we are going to do as the year goes on, so it's even more exciting to see their faces light up when we tell them what time of year it is.

Thanksgiving 2016

Well, another successful Thanksgiving, and looking forward to many more! 

This year we found a 25.84 pound turkey, our largest bird yet. It took longer to cook, but the meat was so juicy and tender! You can get my Thanksgiving turkey recipe HERE.

As always, I start by rubbing the entire turkey with real, unsalted butter. Then I add the turkey rub under the skin, I am generous with the seasonings, especially this year with such a large bird to roast, I ended up doubling the rub recipe.

It turned out PERFECT! Everyone enjoyed it. My mother in-law made the delicious gravy, and the kids helped grandma and grandpa make the stuffing. :) 

Thank goodness we got a new roasting pan last year! Our old one was way too small. The wings of the bird always fell off because they would get roasted to the sides haha.

Tim has always made me laugh. He is such a goof and I love his humor. :)

The kids had so much fun this year. They made crafts with grandma and played with grandpa all weekend. It was such a great time. We can't wait until next year! ;-)

Haylie LOVES her grandma!

My in-laws arrived Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) and stayed until Sunday. We had so much fun! Irvine Park lit up their Christmas Lights in the Christmas Village on Thursday, so we bundled up Friday evening and went to see them with Mama and Papa.

We got lots of pictures, but these two are my favorites!

We had such a blast (as usual)! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Gobble 'til you wobble! ;-)

Let the Christmas Shopping Begin!

Call me a lunatic, but I really enjoy Christmas shopping. I look forward to it every year! This year was a little more exciting because now we have two kids, and our first is older and easier to shop for now, and we know what things he is really into this year. (One of those things you automatically do, even though I was restricted by my parents from celebrating Christmas, it comes so naturally for me now, is taking mental notes to self throughout the year.) ;)

Well, we had a very wonderful Thanksgiving with family this year (just like every year). I was super excited for it, we prioritized and had all of our Thanksgiving shopping done by the 17th, leaving only a few small items like french fried onions and green onions. Other than that everything was done and we were able to relax and enjoy the rest of the two weeks leading up to the big day.

My mother in-law, (Mama Gail), and father in-law (Papa Larry), arrived Wednesday night, and stayed until Sunday. We were so happy to have them here with us longer than one day. Unfortunately, my brother in-law (Nathan) and sister in-law (Melissa) couldn't stay but they did make it for dinner :).

Well, with the grandparents here early, we decided to get the kids' Christmas shopping done while we had the chance. Our work schedules have been so hectic lately (it always is this time of year), and we wanted to go shop for their gifts sometime before or after Thanksgiving.

We did a little shopping online, because we don't have a Toys R' Us nearby us anymore, we ended up having to do that online, but that was great, because it saved us time and everything. I actually decided I prefer Christmas shopping online, and next year we may just do that, except we like getting out of the house together while the kids stay home and going to explore the toy land at Farm and Fleet ;). Both of us are still kids at heart. Me more so since I didn't get to do this as a kid :).

So that was our weekend. And we got all of the kids' Christmas shopping done, and just need to wrap everything soon. Since I am still pretty new to this Christmas thing and gifts and the kids presents, I am following Tim's lead on most everything haha. If I don't know what to do or how to do it, he does!

We also found really great bargains at JCPenny!

Where I've been...

It's been a while since I have posted on here, not because nothing exciting has been going on (because it has) but because I have been so busy I have not had any time to blog lately.

My mother came to visit Saturday and we went to David's Bridal to meet with alterations for my wedding gown. This is my first fitting in my gown sicne the first time I tried on dresses here, so i'm nervous to see if it fits right! It's a size 2, and I am not used to wearing such a small size. When the woman tod me she was ordering a size 2 I stood there stunned, because I never believed I would hear those words.

I'm not a vain person by nature, I'm not very focused on body image as much as I probably should be. But I am a female, and I've had 2 kids. I can't really explain why this stunned me like it did, but it jsut did. I think it's because I wore a size 12 while pregnant and even after. I wore at least a size 10 or 8 before pregnancy. I think the last time I wore a small size (size 4) I was in high school. But for years after that I ahd always been careless with my weight and didn't put much thought into it, until the day I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office, 9 months pregnant with my first baby, weighing 207.6 pounds, that it hit me. I DID care. Suddenly I realized I was ina  rut. I didn't want to be 207 pounds, or even remotely near it. I was so uncomfortable, I was constantly out of breath. I was tired all of the time, and when my babya rrived, is til had no energy or stamina to keep up with him.

It wasn't my body image that hit me. It defintiely wasn't the number on the scale either, although at the time I thought that's what it was. But it was my continuing to be disgusted with the shape my body was in, as in I was out of shape. I was exhausted. I was walking to the mailbox and feeling almost winded. I was sick of feeling that way. I wanted to get into shape for my health and for my system, not how I looked.

So, it struck me because I really hadn't been paying much attention to the actual size of my clothes. I just wore what fit. I know wedding gowns tend to run smaller, so it shocked me to hear those words even more, considering.

I suffer from this anorexia thing, I won't call it anoerxia because I don't have an eating disorder, I eat very healthy and get my nutrients and vitamins, but I ahve this imprinted image in my head, where I always SEE the fat me, ratehr than the body I've accomplished. In spite of all the weight loss and muscle tone, I still see myself negatively sometimes.

Christmas 2014

Christmas 2014 was amazing! We opened presents early in the morning, and had a yummy Christmas morning breakfast afterward! 

As you can see, Lukas really wasn't sure what to think when he first saw all the gifts around the tree. He is just getting to that age where he kind of understands about Santa and how the holidays work, but he still has a ways to go. It's still exciting seeing his face light up, though. :)

The most wonderful mess ever is on Christmas morning! ;)

The rest of the day we watched Christmas movies, and had hot chocolate! Well, I had coffee, of course, my caffeine addiction doesn't leave much room to drink anything else! Haha

We ended up taking the tree down that same evening because someone wouldn't stop trying to pull the ornaments and decorations off! Hahaha

Merry Christmas, everyone, and happy New Year!!! :)

- The Klichs

Pumpkin Picking at the pumpkin farm!

Each year, it's our tradition to go to the farm on the 1st of October and let the kids' pick out pumpkins for Halloween (Samhain).

Once we get the pumpkins home, I use a spell on each of them for our home. If you are looking for a good protection spell for your pumpkins, maybe you will find this useful.

It's very easy. It's a simple enchantment spell you can use and I like to do it every year:

Pick out your pumpkin or pumpkins, and place it near your front door, but not on concrete as that will destroy your pumpkin and rot it out. If you have to, then place a board underneath the pumpkin to prevent this and protect it.

With a black permanent marker, draw a small pentagram on the bottom of the pumpkin(s). When the moon rises, hold your pumpkin (or one by one, if you have more than one pumpkin) in your arms, and repeat the following:

Precious pumpkin,
watch over my home

Protecting from bane,
all you behold,

By the power of this fruit
in the pale moonlight

Shield us from harm
both day and night.

Leave your enchanted pumpkin(s) as a watchful guardian(s). You may carve it no more than one day before Halloween (Samhain), and when you do, save some seeds for magic in the future.

You can also use the seeds for runes, which is something I like to do besides roasting them. ;)

Happy Autumn everyone! :)