Goals For The New Year 2012

It's a sort of tradition in my family on New Year's Eve for everyone to say at least three things that they want to achieve in the new year.

Here's the list my children gave me, from youngest to oldest.

Cameron (age 3):
- to see fireworks (His siblings told him there would be fireworks last night, so that is what he had on his mind.)
- to get more hugs and cuddles
- to go to school

Connor (age 5):
- to see fireworks (see above explanation)
- to go shopping more often
- to see Nana and Grandad more often

Isabella (age 6):
- to learn more at school, especially in science, reading and numbers
- to see Nana and Grandad more often
- to get a new pet kitten

Gabriella (age 9):
- to learn to maintain her bike (cleaning it, oiling the gears, etc.)
- to start walking places on her own
- to go to a special art school
- to learn to shade better in her drawings

Kayla (age 17):
- to learn at least 7 different languages
- to learn Judo
- to learn ballroom and Latin-American dancing
- to get her driver's license and a car for the family
- to become a firefighter when 18

Angelica (age 18):
- to join Parkour (a kind of running and fast-movement group)
- to learn martial arts
- to increase her muscle tone and increase her flexibility through exercise
- to pass all of her University courses
- to start the cat army invasion (inside joke with her flatmates)

Victoria (age 20):
- to finish writing her novel "Bark Lord"
- to learn to play the ukelele
- to start a writing YouTube channel

Josh (my son-in-law, age 22):
- to start on a bookkeeping course
- to learn martial arts
- to start a tree climbing YouTube channel

It's good to make goals for yourself, whether they are goals for the year or goals that you hope to achieve in a more long-term sense. And the new year is always a popular time to set those goals.

My friend Kayecee asked me to join her Reflection Meme, so here it is:

1. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions from 2011? Will you make any for 2012?
I didn't have resolutions but I did have goals. While I didn't complete some of my goals for the year, I did make huge strides towards achieving them.

2. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
I spent it with my family, playing board games, eating snacks and watching the ball drop in London through our TV.

3. What was your biggest achievement of the past year?
I continued to be featured in magazines for my weight loss. I've managed to maintain my healthy lifestyle too. I'm also pretty pleased that I managed to write 50,000 words of my novel in just 14 days.

4. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
I just submitted a short story to a publishing company for an anthology. I don't know yet if it's been accepted, but I have never actually submitted any of my fiction writing anywhere since reaching adulthood so this is a big step for me.

5. What was your biggest failure?
I put about ten of the 145+ lbs. that I have lost back on.

6. Do you have any big events planned for 2012?
There is nothing specifically planned, but I am aiming to have my fiction published this year.

7. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
This is a tough question because I don't feel as though I am lacking anything. I have a loving husband, wonderful kids, a roof over my head and good health. I suppose getting a literary agent to represent my writing would be good.

8. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Going to the beach. I really miss my home state (California) and being able to visit the beach as often as I liked. The beaches here in the UK are not at all like California beaches, but I still love to watch the ocean's waves and hear them crashing to the shore.

I also wish I had done more writing.

9. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Procrastinating. It's a real problem in my nature.

10. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No. Hate is not a word I ever use in regards to people. My emotions just don't run that way.

11. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No.

12. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

13. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

14. Did anyone close to you get engaged/married?
No.

15. Where did most of your money go this year?
I have seven children. Need I say more?

16. What was the best thing you bought during 2011?
My Kindle! I didn't actually buy it; my family gave it to me for my birthday. I am an avid reader and books were starting to take over my house, but now I can just buy them in Kindle format.

17. What places did you visit this past year?
We didn't manage to take any vacations this year. We did drive up to Lincoln to visit my daughter Angelica in her new flat near her University.

18. What song will always remind you of 2011?
None stand out, but my motto last year has been along the lines of "Happy Girl" by Martina McBride. 2012's motto will be "Something Worth Leaving Behind" by Lee Ann Womack and "I Hope You Dance" also by Lee Ann Womack or Maybe "Blessed" by Martina McBride.

19. What was your favourite TV program?
Hard to choose. Dr. Who, The Fades, Dollhouse, Fringe, Big Bang Theory, Supernatural, Eureka - I had a lot of shows that I enjoyed.

20. What was the best book you read?
This is an even more difficult question as I read loads and I enjoy most of the books I read. I can't really say I have a favorite though.

21. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I didn't listen to much music last year, but I intend to rectify that this year.

22. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
From "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield:

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

23. How would you describe your personal fashion in 2011?
Fashion? Ha! I scoff at your fashion and just throw on whatever is comfortable.

24. What was your favorite film of 2011?
I don't have a favorite but the one I last saw was "Captain America."

25. What did you do on your birthday?
My husband made a cake for me and I celebrated at home with my family.

26. What kept you sane?
My friends (both in my day-to-day life and on on-line/Facebook/Twitter) and my family.

27. Who did you miss?
California, the Pacific ocean, and living near my parents, brother, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, uncles and aunts.

28. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
happier
b) thinner or fatter?
about the same, barring a bit of weight in either direction
c) richer or poorer?
I'd say financially, I might be slightly richer this year.

29. Were you in love with anyone in 2011?
My husband, as I have been since the beginning.

30. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
Everything in life changes; it's the one fact that never changes. And it's up to you whether or not those changes are going to help you or hinder you. Make your own changes!

Come and join the Reflections Meme here.

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Merry Christmas with Christmas Carols!

The children all wanted to sing Chrismtas carols as their present to our family and friends this year.

Gabriella and Isabella:


Gabriella:


Isabella:


Isabella:


Connor (with a song he spontaneously made up for the occasion):


Kayla & Connor (Connor didn't think he culd remember the words without Kayla's help.):


Cameron (He insisted on joining in even though he doesn't really know any songs by heart yet.):


Cameron:



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Make Your own Faux Fireplace

When our family moved into this new house of ours, we were pleased to have more space, but one thing we didn't have anymore was a fireplace. With Christmas coming, the children were very concerned about their not being a fireplace for hanging the stockings onto or for Santa to magically appear through.

He rolled the sides of the cardboard to give it edging and to help it stand upright.

He cut the A4 paper in half and glued it on as "bricks" for the fireplace. He used the yellow and orange tissue paper to create the flames of the "fire."

He even created some logs for the fire by rolling up some shorter pieces of cardboard.

He rolled and then flattened the roll of some cardboard to make the mantle above the fireplace.

He says it would have been even better if he had painted it and added a vine-styled garland across the top of it, but I think it turned out pretty great as it is!

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Make your Own Popsicle Stick Butterfly Ornament

These butterflies can be made in a wide range of styles depending on the talent of the person painting them. The above photo was of a butterfly painted by a seven year old child.

This is really easy to do and all you need is some acrylic paint, popsicle sticks, gitter and a small piece of yarn.

First, you lay four popsicle sticks side by side. You can put a tiny bit of glue between the sticks (on their sides) to help them stay together.

Then you glue four more popsicle sticks, side by side, across the previous four at an angel (forming the two wings of the butterfly).

Next you glue one popsicle stick across both layers down the middle for the body of the butterfly.

When the glue dries, you paint the butterfly, adding colors and glitter to create the look you want. Allow it to dry.

Once your butterfly is dry, add two posts of glue on the backside at the tops of the wings. Affix one end of the yarn to each side and keep in place until the yarn feels firmly glued in place.

Wait a while to give it time to set even further. And then you are finished!

These butterflies make pretty Christmas tree ornaments and also make pretty Spring decorations for hanging around the house. They can also be affixed to gifts as an added personal touch to gifts.




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Make Your Own Christmas Tree Ornaments

Some of our most cherished ornaments that we hang on our Christmas tree each year are the ones that the children made themselves. It makes our tree unique and adds a bit of sentimentality to our decorating of it each year. I thought I'd share a couple of the methods we used for the children to make their own Christmas tree ornaments so that you could do the same.








Make your own ornaments out of homemade clay using cookie cutters and acrylic paints. You can make homemade clay using flour, salt and water.

-Roll it out until it is about ½ inch thick. Get out cookie cutters, preferably Christmas-themed, and your child can cut make as many as they can fit onto the surface.

-Using a sharp pencil, poke a small hole through the top of each one.

-Once these are done baking until they are hardened, paint them all white on both sides using white acrylic paint.

-When the paint dries, your child can use different colors of acrylic paints to make each ornament colorful and unique.

-When the ornaments are dried, put a tiny ribbon or string through the holes in the top of each one and tie it into a loop.

Now the ornaments are ready to either be hung on the tree or to be wrapped as presents.

Note, when not hanging on the Christmas tree, these ornaments need to be stored in an airtight and dry environment or the clay can become very crumbly.

Salt Clay

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 cup salt
1 to 1 ½ cups cold water
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions
-Stir ingredients together. Knead it together well until it forms a soft ball.
-Cut out the cookie shapes.
-Bake in the oven at 300F for an hour or until hard.





You can also make tiny bell ornaments out of egg cartons, pipe cleaners, paint and bells.

-Cut the bumps out of the egg cartons.

-Poke a hole through the top of each one.

-Using pipe cleaners, create loops through the “bells” to hang them from your Christmas tree, sliding jingle bells through the loops on the inside of the egg carton “bells.”

-Let your child paint and decorate them.

Now they are ready to hang on your Christmas tree!

This post is part of Get Your Craft On Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog.

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Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

While we are a Christian family, we celebrate Thanksgiving as a time to say what we are thankful for in our lives and to share it with the people around us. We always ask our children to tell us one or two things that they are thankful for. This time, most of our children decided to state their thanks as a prayer. Some of them weren't really too aware of the concept (Cameron), and some of them were a little superficial-sounding (Connor), but they were honest (as children tend to be).

Gabriella (age 9):


Isabella (age 6):


Connor (age 5):


Cameron (age 2, but turning 3 in 4 days):


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Make Your Own Costume For Halloween - Bat Wings

A couple of years ago, Halloween was fast approaching and money was tight. At the time, one of my daughters did not yet have a costume for Halloween. She did, however, have a black leotard and black tights. She did not want to be a black cat. What was I to do?

I had a small amount of black scrap fabric. I spent a couple of £s on some of the seam webbing. Here is what I came up with (modeled by my 6 year old daughter Isabella while wearing a witch costume dress today).



This is the shape you want to cut out, but in this picture, the top is already folded over, so remember to keep two longer pieces (with an opening for the middle) from almost mid-way to the ends of the wings. Those are the bits you will be folding over for your child's arms to slide through.



Here is a close up of the seam webbing I used (you place it where you want to "glue" the two bits of fabric together, and then iron it).



I did it all by sight, but I have tried to create a sample of the pattern shape I created when I made it. This is close, but actually needs to be deeper where the actual wings are. And I made the points at the bottom larger and less frequent than in my "pattern."


This post is created in collaboration with Creative Costumes.

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