March 12, 2012

The Sweetest of My “Handful” Moments…Happy 1st Birthday Kasey Blue

During our lifetime, I believe the Heavenly Father gives us each a handful of moments that so deeply impact the soul, the exact day and time are imprinted in our memory forever.  These instants are ours alone.  Tiny glimpses of heaven while here on earth.  Stand-still moments in time that we always have with us.

Tuesday, March 15,  2011

4:29 pm 

I don’t know where you were last year on this date and time or what you were doing, but this, my friends, was one of my “handful moments” from God. One to remember for a lifetime.  Because I played a part in bringing a new life into the world.

 After eight hours of labor and an emergency c-section, our 8lb 9oz baby boy came into the world.  Kasey Blue was here.

What a moment.

Even through all the drugs they had me on, I remember it all.  He came out with red hair and in a rage of screams and cries.  And that’s how we saw him for the first time as they held him over the surgery curtain.  It was all so surreal.  And as long as I live, I will always hate that at that beautiful moment, I actually thought “Does he look a little like an angry Danny Bonaduce?”  That part I am blaming on the drugs.

*************************************************************

Turns out they were right. All of the veteran moms and dads. Time does fly.  These 365 days have gone by in a blur. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of learning and growing for KB and Mommy & Daddy.  A year I’ll never forget.

There’s been baby usuals: ear infections, teething, first words (which was ‘goood’), first steps (which has come with bumps and bruises).  We’ve had our share of wet sloppy kisses, middle of the night feedings, bath time splashes, mad fits (and miniature breakdowns from both parents), first smile (at your Daddy while talking silly to you), a scary fever, a first-time for every holiday (including going to vote with us), every bodily fluid imaginable on every thing we own (puking on one of the dogs), and the sweetest laugh I’ve ever heard.

Kasey Blue, your first year has included the love of being swaddled (until you learned to turn over), getting first runner-up in the county fair baby pageant, lots of stubbornness (but you get it honest), saying “Hiiii” to your canine fur brothers and sisters in the mornings, hundreds of bottles and thousands of diapers, multiple times of putting away little outgrown clothes (and mommy crying every time), a stomach flu, your love of ceiling fans, maneuvering through church so we don’t interrupt anyone else’s worship service with a screaming baby, falling off the couch (hey, it happens), innocently pinching our faces so hard tears come to our eyes, getting to photograph you.

There’s also been LOTS of comments about your red hair; learning to dance to the beat of music; having your picture taken with Dakota Meyer, Mike Wolfe (American Pickers) and Santa Claus (all on “KB’s Wall of Fame”); a first little girlfriend (Chloe Karnes); outgrowing bouncy seats and jump-a-roos; getting into every cabinet there is and pulling each item out one at a time; fat feet; dressing you like a little monkey for Halloween; pulling the entire tree down at Christmas time; being super ticklish; first pro-life rally (our little activist); bronchitis; chocolate ice cream; grunting back and forth with people (you love that); chasing dogs (first in the walker, now on foot!); giving high-five; dealing with reflux; crying when we put you in snow for the first time; throwing everything down and stomping it.

Yep, it’s been an eventful year.  You have grown so much in one year’s time…and so have your Daddy and I.  We are better people because you are here.  Our hands and our hearts are full.  We love you with all our hearts and always will.

Happy 1st Birthday sweet baby.

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March 8, 2012

The clothes make the [wo]man?

There it is.

Cute, huh?

I liked it.  In fact I fell in love with it.

See I have a weakness. Well I suppose if judged by my actions the last few days it could technically be considered a borderline addiction.

Here goes the admission…

I love to shop for clothes.  Especially online.

It doesn’t even have to be the overtly expensive stuff either.  I love Target, Old Navy and the clearance section of just about every place you can think of.  I even love the low-budget second-hand joints like the Salvation Army and Goodwill.

I just love the creative expression that lots of clothes allow me.  Each day (that I will myself to get out of pajama pants – I work from home, remember?) I can throw something together that totally fits my mood.  Maybe it’s bohemian or laid back country. I could go sporty or ‘mom on the go’.  Whatever I feel like.

Embarrassingly enough, it was this same love of clothing that got me into some credit card debt seven years ago. I had taken out several ‘store cards’ (you know the ones with the percent off every time you use your card). And though I was making decent money at the time, I just let the debt get out of control.  I feel ashamed talking about it even now.  Things weren’t going great in my life and it seemed I turned to shopping to give me that incredible ‘nothing else matters’ high.  I finally realized what I was doing to myself. Instead of using shopping as simply a means to clothe my body, I was using new clothes to smother out the problems I should have been facing then.

I remember one night while doing laundry I worked on gathering all my credit card bills together (a dreadful thing I had been putting off) and realized I was in about $3,000 debt.  Still stunned from the overwhelming amount on the calculator screen, the buzzer went off on the dryer.  I got out my clothes and in usual routine cleaned out the lent trap.  Staring at the ball of navy fuzz in my hand it hit me like a ton of bricks…”there’s your precious $3,000 in clothing”.  Talk about a heart sinker.  But it was also a turning point.  With a lot of work I got the debt paid off in under two years.  And I came to an important realization…it was just clothes.  The shopping and buying and pretty things hanging in the closet didn’t change one thing when it came to the trouble areas in my life. In fact it was adding to it.

So…why did I tell you this story?  To lead up to 2 a.m. Friday morning.

It had been an incredibly stressful week.  On top of all the normal day-to-day stuff weighing on my shoulders and stiffening up my neck, I was still healing from a horrid stomach flu that appeared out of nowhere Monday night.  On Thursday morning, it struck my poor little KB so severely we spent most of the night at a nearby hospital with my crying, puking baby hooked up to IV fluids.  Too much had gone on in the days prior…I couldn’t possibly fall asleep.  So I went online to Old Navy (my old faithful) to get some light weight spring/summer pants for KB.  Add, Add, Add – okay three cute pairs of tiny people’s pants in the “cart”…now let me quickly pop over to the Women’s Clearance section just to look.  Boom…before I knew it I had myself five things in the pretend cart. FIVE!?And then I clicked ‘Purchase’.

The yellow dress at the top of the page was one of them.  That yellow dress was going to make my horrible week all better.  Even moments after the purchase, I was riding the ‘buying’ high.  Why simply knowing that adorable, summery 1970s inspired striped dress would soon zip through the U.S. Mail straight to me, was turning the whole crummy past couple of days around. I pictured in my head how I would wear it: which shoes, maybe with a denim jacket, funky necklace perhaps. It all took me away. Out of the overworked, anxious place I’d mentally been in.  The photo below is a perfect rendition of how I envisioned myself in the dress…

But I woke up Saturday morning with reality setting in, fully feeling the guilt of what had occurred.  The needless shopping I had done.  A bad hangover of regret swallowed me.

At this point you may be thinking “it’s just some clothes, gimme a break”.  And you are right, except to me it becomes IJS (It’s Just Syndrome): “Well it’s just a pair of shoes”, “Oh, it’ll be okay, it’s just a sweater”, and “What’s it matter, it’s just a t-shirt”.  And all those add up.

Plus, you see, and most importantly (here’s the part I really feel bad for)…a week prior, my husband and I had just had a deep, in-depth conversation about our (mostly my) spending habits.  Together we had decided we were tired of being ‘stuff obsessed’ people.  He explained that we were, in fact, drowning in our own stuff. I concurred.  We agreed to run all financial issues/purchases through each other. And completely fired up and ready to lead a Movement on the issue I, yes I adamantly stated, and I quote, “I will do whatever it takes finance-wise to be able to stay at home with KB”.  We agreed we were finished…No more wasting money on needless STUFF.

Then, in a fleeting moment, I bought a lot more stuff.

I fessed up to Eddie only after the bulky package of clothing arrived.  And I felt awful.  He had a look of disappointment on his face.  I felt like I had let my little family down by haphazardly spending our hard-earned money on stuff I didn’t even need.  The clothes were only a symbol of something more…they represented my failure.  Now they are tainted.  I can never look at them the same.  So, once again, I am reminded that all the excess clothes in the world still amount to a whole bunch of stuff. A lesson refreshed for me.  The quick high I get from the purchase is not worth the financial health and freedom of my family.  So…they are all going back.  Even the yellow striped dress…and I’m more than okay with that.

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January 19, 2012

What every new mom should know…

This time last year I was realllllly pregnant.

I was also realllllly nervous.

Nothing changes a life quicker than adding a new one to it.

I gave birth to our first baby in March of 2011.  I can’t believe in less than two months he’ll be turning one.  It has me reflecting on the entire ‘becoming a mother’ event. When he hits that 12 month mark, I’ll no longer be “a new mom”…I’ll have joined the ranks of moms that have experience.

Before he arrived, I had about a gazillion and one questions.  I couldn’t soak up enough info from other women who had done it all before.  I had to know what to expect, the changes I should be prepared for, what not to do, etc.  I have a hard time with ‘change’ and figured the more I could be prepared for what was about to happen the better I’d handle it.

I don’t consider myself an expert by any means, but I know what it was like for me.  Here is what I’ve learned in my short time being “Ma Ma Ma Ma”…. (Oh, and feel free to pass this on to your expecting friends…they’ll appreciate it)

Pregnancy and Preparation

  • Your hormones are about to control the next 10 months (yep, 40 weeks) of your life. You will cry, laugh, freak out, and hate your husband all for no reason and at more-than-likely really inappropriate times.
  • People will rub your belly absent-mindedly thinking they are somehow ‘touching’ the baby. I tried to be patient during this because I myself have almost gone straight for the belly of a pregnant friend.
  • Talk to other expecting mommies…whether it’s on the phone or in a chat room online.  It makes a world of difference talking to someone else going through the same thing as you. I can’t tell you how helpful and therapeutic it was to go through pregnancy with a friend of mine (also a first time mom).
  • You will be TIRED…so take it easy on yourself. There is a little break during the 2nd trimester that allows you to get some baby preparation done. But get in as much rest as possible.
  • You will be uncomfortable the entire time.  Be prepared to do a lot of peeing (we went through 12,000 rolls of TP while I was pregnant), eating, resting/sleeping, dealing with heartburn, and re-situating yourself because the belly area is achy. And feel free to groan every time you do any of these…I did.
  • This is such a neat time for you and your husband. As corny as it sounds, your love for each other has multiplied.  It really is a special moment in time for you two, soak it up.
  • Don’t waste your time or money on a lot of the ‘extras’ that you will barely, if ever, use. For us it was a wipe warmer, car bottle warmer (they don’t work), and unfortunately a beautiful changing table his aunt/uncle gave us as a gift.  Those things will still be there in the store if you decide you gotta have ‘em after the baby arrives.
  • Learn now to roll with the punches.  Do not get too attached to your ideas of how the baby will be delivered, if you will breastfeed, etc.  Things don’t always go as planned and you may not have a choice in the matter…but it won’t be the end of the world. For example, I had a c-section and couldn’t breastfeed – both things I didn’t think about dealing with.  I took the ‘unable to breastfeed’ thing a little harder than I should have making it even worse to work through.  So, be careful what you have your heart set on.
  • Now, the question all new moms have to ask…how bad does giving birth hurt?  Every mother has a different birth story and just about all of them want to share it with you.  Now it may seem like every one you hear is a total horror story, but it’s not always like that.  Yes, it hurts to have a baby…but you will survive it. I went through it (and I’m the biggest cry baby on the planet) and we will probably have another one some day… so, there you go.
  • I’m just going to say it…maternity clothes suck. They are way overpriced and incredibly uncomfortable.  The only clothes that made me happy were lounge pants and a big tshirt (I know my husband appreciated that).
Baby has arrived…what the heck just happened?!
  • Things are going to go a little smoother if you get used to the idea now that you WILL have pee, spit up, vomit (there’s a difference in the last two), snot, or poop on you at some point – and it could all be at the exact same time. And you will probably be in a public place when you realize one (or all) of those things are on the back of your shirt.  True story – Eddie’s first Father’s Day, KB is less than 3 months old, we are all actually looking pretty decent and ready for church on time.  So proud of our little accomplishment I boast to myself all through church “Look at us, alright, we are all three looking good. Sitting in the pew right on schedule. KB even had a nap beforehand so he is extra smiley.  We are one of those, dare I say it, perfect families?”  It wasn’t until I got home I realized the entire day I had been carrying around a baby blanket on my arm that had dried yellow diarrhea almost completely covering the back side of it.  What the?! Just remember…there’s no such thing as perfect.
  • It doesn’t matter how sweet and helpful your husband tries to be…you are still MOM.  The brunt of it will fall on your shoulders.  You will have to know what to do, when to do it, and where it is.  You pretty much have to just dole out the orders…just try to do it nicely and with patience.  But I’m told this is exactly what women are built to do.
  • You will care more about how your new child looks (have they had a bath, what are they wearing, etc) than how you do.
  • You had a baby.  Your body will not be back to somewhat normal in at least 6 months, depending.  But be aware, all things will not go back to the exact place they once were…some of it will be more (clearing throat) south…sorry.  Oh, and that brown belly line goes away but man it take its sweet time. The stretch marks are pretty much here to stay ~ once again, sorry.
  • Your schedule now totally revolves around the baby. It is useless to fight it. Start letting go of all that old selfishness now.
  • You are going to feel guilty for the rest of your life.  It doesn’t even have to be about anything in particular. From here on out you will have ‘mom guilt’. Ask any other Mom about it. Oh, and you will worry.  You will worry if there’s too much poop/too little poop, too much eating/too little eating, on and on and on.
  • A protective instinct like you have never known will show up after delivery.  You would kick a rabbied grizzly in the teeth and not bat an eyelash if it came near your new child. Powerful stuff right there.  Don’t mess with it.
  • In the beginning expect nothing in return from your new bundle of joy.  It will lay there like a cat – expressionless.  It’s big eyes will look at you in a seemingly ‘this is it?’ manner.  There will be no gratefulness for all that you are doing and have already done.  Being a mom is a thankless job…but very rewarding in other ways.  Simply seeing your baby grow and thrive feels like a hearty pat on the back.
  • There will be times YOU cry…maybe right along with the baby.  Just because you do does NOT automatically mean you have Postpartum Depression. There are lots of changes and lots of hormones coming at you. Go easy on yourself.  (Note: Do keep watch over yourself for the signs of PPD, it is more common than you think and totally treatable)
  • For at least the first 3-4 months you and your husband will be VERY tired.  There are lots of changes and you’re learning new roles.  Try to take it easy on each other.
  • Accept all the help you can get. I know it feels awkward…but you just had a baby…suck up the pride and gratefully take the assistance.
  • You will want to trade sleep for your ‘not yet conceived’ second child…
  • Have a notebook or calendar handy to quickly jot down your baby’s day – do it at night after washing bottles.  You might not have time to write oodles of journal entries, but you’ll have all the little important events down!
  • There will come a time when you question whether you were meant to have a child…there’s a 99% chance that thought will come to you during a middle of the night feeding or crying session.
  • Especially the first year, you will cry recalling the memory of the day your little one was born.
  • I’m pretty sure SATAN invented the pajamas with 889 snaps up the leg all the way up to the chin.  A diaper change at 3 a.m. calls for a two-piece set of pjs…buy lots of those.
  • Babies cry.  Get used to the sound.  It will not kill them to cry for one minute and 27 seconds while you pee.  Also, it’s okay to always blame the crying on ‘teething pain’ – we did from the beginning and my son didn’t have teeth until he was 9 months old.
  • Have lots of bibs, some kind of really comfortable rocker or recliner, a diaper genie-thingy, pacifiers, butt paste and gas drops, pack n play/playpen, and a baby swing…oh the baby swing…Thank you Jesus!
  • You’re the Mom.  You may be new at it but you have more instincts than you realize.  Trust them.
  • Just know now, your kid will fall off a bed, couch, something before they’re a year old.  Like a nurse once told me, there’s a reason they are soft and pliable. Chances are you have done NO PERMANENT DAMAGE.
  • You DO NOT have to tote a big, full diaper bag around everywhere you go.  Leave it in the car. Put the essentials in your purse (diaper, travel wipe pack, paci, small toy, tissues, even a thin blanket). Saves your back…I mean, jeepers you’re already packing around a baby!
  • Because they can’t communicate yet, it’s easy to forget how important you are to your little one.  At one point I thought a well-trained monkey could do the things my baby needed done.  But remember, you are that little one’s WHOLE WORLD.
  • Do yourself a favor and stick a spare set of clothes for YOU in the diaper bag.  You’ll thank me when it’s 98 degrees outside and a baby spits milk down the front of your shirt and pants (true story).
  • In the beginning, you and little one are just getting to know each other.  Don’t worry about ‘if you love your child enough’. It took me awhile to figure this out.  Love is not the butterflies in the stomach feeling movies teach us…love is a verb.  You are doing everything possible for this little person which translates into love. And trust me that love quickly grows and grows.
  • No matter what you’re going through, hang in there.  Remember…this too shall pass.
  • Talk to your baby…I promise they are listening.  And isn’t it amazing that just the sound of your voice can calm them.
  • You will have a new appreciation for God sending his only son to die on a cross for our sins. I do.   Also, your faith will increase…you will pray like you’ve never prayed before for the Lord to watch over your precious baby.
  • You will care more about the state of the world after he/she is born…because they will still have to live here long after you are gone.
  • If you are going to be a stay-at-home mom, the days will feel incredibly REPETITIVE.  Different day, same routine.
  • Like I’ve always said…Parenthood is like boot camp. It breaks you all the way down just so it can build you all the way back up into a better person for the job.
  • Don’t take it too seriously. Enjoy your kid.  Get to know each other over time.  I can’t imagine leaving this life having never experienced parenthood.  All the old cliches are true - time does fly by and you will miss this.  So hang on and enjoy the ride!

Godspeed new Mamma!

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January 1, 2012

It’s 2012 ~ Happy New Year!

     It’s been a great year.  The most memorable part – my husband and I welcomed our first child into the world.  Changed everything…in a great way.  I pray God blesses you with health and happiness this new year ~ Here’s to 2012!

CHEERS with some of Granny's traditional punch on New Year's Eve!

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December 30, 2011

Made in USA Christmas Update #11: To sum it all up…

And just like that…it’s over.          

This photo makes my heart hurt a little...it just looks sad. Another reason we use a fake tree :)

      Yep. Six months of planning and preparing…and in 24 hours it’s all over.  I always get a little sad after Christmas and New Year’s. It’s just such a fun, exciting time of year and I know once those dates pass, it’s only dark and cold winter days left.  But it was wonderful – even the stressed moments when I wanted to pull my hair out one by one (what? I’m the only one that gets like that? :P) - and I’m taking away lots of great memories from Christmas 2011.

     I last wrote about Christmas with my Dad’s side of the family.  The next event was Christmas at the in-laws.  It was a great turn out.  And yes, there was more ribbing about our enthusiasm for ’Made in America’ :).  It was easy this year buying for my mother/father-in-law – the entire family had gotten together during the summer and had a professional photographer take photos. So, we went in with my husband’s two brothers and their families to get them a big framed portrait of the Kessler family - Made in USA and supported a small business. 

     I always have trouble finding a gift for my husband’s brothers and their wives and his uncle (who is my husband’s age, I know kind of strange) and his wife.  So, I went with a “Household Goodies Bucket”.  I figured this was something they could each put to use instead of just giving ‘stuff’ that would eventually clutter up a closet.  I filled the American-made green mop buckets with all ‘Made in USA’ household products like detergent, air freshener, band aids, kleenex, dish soap, etc.  I wrapped them in clear wrap (Made in America) and tied them with colorful ribbon. I printed little note cards explaining what all was inside.  In the rush of getting everything together I totally spaced and forgot to get a finished product pic but here’s a before photo (I didn’t have all the goodies that went inside when this was taken but you get the idea).  I think they enjoyed getting something they could use and would save them from just having to buy it themselves later on.

I also love to coupon, so I kept my eye out the past several months for great deals on name-brand household items Made in USA that I could fill up the bucket with!

   There are eight children to buy for on my husband’s side of the family and since they span from a wide range of ages we usually just give them cash to buy something they want or need.  As for Eddie’s grandparents, we went in with one of his brother’s to purchase one of the big family portraits to hang in their house.      Pa Pa teared up when they opened it, so I think it was a good gift choice. :) And I’ve always been a fan of photo gifts!

Christmas Day…

     This was our first Christmas with a baby!  As you can imagine Eddie and I were excited about Santa coming, after all it has been many years since he had visited each of us ;)  On Christmas Day we woke up early so I could make breakfast and we could enjoy KB opening presents.  And at 9-months-old that little monkey learned pretty quick how to rip apart wrapping paper…and that to him was the best gift – the wrapping paper and ribbons!  But that’s okay, I’m sure he’ll get lots of fun out of his gifts…eventually.    

     I am so proud to say all but one item (Fisher-Price bath toy set I got on sale last year after Christmas) Kasey Blue got for Christmas was MADE IN USA! He got a Little Tikes push car and play table (Little Tikes makes a portion of their huge line of toys in the USA); a green Adirondack chair (like mommy & daddy’s); a bathtub tugboat, blocks, and truck set (all from Green Toys - I just love them, I think this is going to be my ‘go to’ toy company); a children’s Bible (his first :); a plastic wagon; a “Made in USA” onesie (from mommy & daddy); a University of KY hat, socks, and cloth crayon carrying case; a handmade chunky wood car; Crayola finger paint (I think I’m the most excited about that, I adore kid art). 

     Afterwards, we had a big breakfast and went to church.  I’m glad Christmas was on a Sunday this year.  Very appropriate.  We celebrated Jesus’ birthday with a worship service…a good day. 

     Afterwards we had lunch/Christmas at Eddie’s grandmother’s house.  We got all the aunts/uncles & cousins the great-smelling, hand painted air fresheners I wrote about last blog.  We bought Eddie’s grandmother a book from her favorite author (printed in America) and a newspaper subscription from her former hometown (she loves keeping up with that area’s news plus it supported a small business).

The only other gifts we gave out at this family gathering were for the little kids – two (soon to be three :) little girls.  They all got adorable handmade flower headbands from a shop I found on Etsy – they are actually made in northern KY! 

     After a short afternoon nap for KB, it was off to the final family Christmas…my family’s.  Smaller group, but all the attention is on KB, he’s their first grand baby & nephew.  For my mom, we got her a pair of brown Okabashi clog shoes (though the company sounds foreign, they are a family owned business in Georgia!) and a QVC gift card (which surprisingly sells a good number of USA items!).  Dad got gift certificates to his two favorite local restaurants.  We got my brother-in-law a gift card to Amazon and my sister a pair of handmade wood earrings (from Simply Elan in Versailles, see past blog post) and a shamrock necklace from an Etsy store (she loves four-leaf clovers).

     Though Christmas Day is over I still have some gifts left to give, to friends and their little ones.  For them I have a candle (made in KY), a hand crocheted little girls togi with blue and yellow removable flowers (another Etsy item), a handmade (by me) initial ornament, another Green Toys boat and a pirate treasure map puzzle.

Great ‘Made in USA’ gifts we received…

     We are always so grateful to receive gifts during the holidays. It means a lot for someone to think of us or KB and go to all the trouble of finding, wrapping, and getting a present to us.  We didn’t at all expect everyone to take buying American-made this Christmas to the extreme we did.  But it was so neat to have family and friends participate in their own way.  For example, my Uncle Ricky has bought American-made items for many years now and this year was no different – he had KB a marble game (for when he’s older), a book and these adorable kid-friendly USA map placemats. 

    Eddie’s aunt Ann had gone to extra trouble to find KB American-made puzzles which she found by Melissa & Doug (a company with a huge line of toys, a portion of which is made in the USA).  His other aunt Patsy makes lots of delicious food gifts this time of year and joked that those were definitely Made in USA :).  My parents/sister purchased some of their toys and books for KB second-hand, which was part of our ‘buy American’ mantra – by doing this they got him twice as much and the items look brand new!

     Our friend/junk dealer/artist John and his wife Faye blew us away with his ‘Made in USA’ gift for KB.  He made a tool box with little tools!  It is simply adorable! What a talent he has.

Hey, Jesus was the son of a carpenter ;)

  Some other unique American-made things we got/gave…

Left to right: Boo Boo Bunny, it's a reusable plastic ice cube you freeze to have on hand for that next bump or bruise (such a cute idea!); Hand made wood ornament - my Mom gets me one every year and this one was perfect for 2011; UK FANatics - all this stuff is American-made UK gear (except the bear which was purchased second-hand)!

 And from my sister, the perfect gift for me…

It’s a family’s quest to not buy anything ‘Made in China’ for an entire year…wow. Can’t wait to read it!

   

Summing it up…What did we learn during this project?

    I realize that ‘Buying American’ isn’t a brand new concept. There are some people who have done it forever. But this idea really struck home with me and my family this year. The U.S. economy is in bad shape, I don’t need to explain that to you. And unfortunately this isn’t a fairytale…no one is going to ride in and bail us out.  But there is hope…Americans have a long history of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. I believe one way to do that is to become less dependent on foreign countries for goods and services we can do ourselves – providing jobs and some sort of stability for our U.S. workers.  So instead of feeling helpless and hopeless about the way things are going, start small.  If the demand for more American-made goods rise, the supply will have to follow. 

      This project not only opened up our eyes to the extras (gifts, etc) we purchase that are made elsewhere, but also the food, cleaning products, clothes, the list goes on and on.  From here on out we plan on being more deliberate with our spending. We want to always purchase American-made when possible.  And more than likely our Christmases from here on out will be ‘American-made’ ones – though it won’t always easy.  Through out this, we found the hardest ‘Made in USA’ things to find were clothes & shoes (and surprisingly a Bible!).  And the easiest thing to find was children’s toys (with some research).

     My advice for anyone wanting to do this next year…1) start early.  Use it as a year-long project. 2) The internet will be your best friend. 3) Do a little research to make sure it’s American made (and not just one stitch on a t-shirt!).  A little extra time and effort? Yes.  But totally worth it in the end. I’ve got to tell you, it really felt good this Christmas to give two-fold gifts (the second being the money spent on it supported our own economy)!

     I can’t thank you the readers enough! It was great to have you follow our journey!  And just because Christmas is over, doesn’t mean redwhitebluelife is :)  I’ll still be blogging about everything under the sun and occasionally ‘Buy American’! We sincerely hope you had a wonderful Christmas! And we pray you have a very blessed New Year!

      Also a special THANK YOU to all these media outlets for spreading the word to BUY AMERICAN: Columbia Magazine, The Adair County Community Voice, Lexington Station WKYT, 93.5 WAIN,and 92.7 WHVE!

                                                HAPPY NEW YEAR ~ GOD BLESS!

    

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December 24, 2011

We wish you a Merry Christmas…

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

I’ll post soon about #2, #3, & #4 family Christmases!   

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December 20, 2011

Made in USA Christmas Update #10 – One Christmas down, three to go!

4 days to Christmas…

Butt Bow

     We’re down to the wire now…only 4 days left to the big day! But if you’re like me I’ve always felt like the week before and the week after Christmas are technically holiday time too. 

     Family Christmas #1 out of 4 happened Saturday!  My Dad’s side of the family.  His brother Ricky is actually the one that has bought American gifts for years.  Eddie and I got a lot of good-natured ribbing on how vocal we have been this year when it comes to purchasing USA items, just goes to show they were listening ;).  So here’s what we got who for this family gathering:

  1. I created/printed my own gift tags this year, hoping the recipient would understand that their gift is two-fold (one for them, a small economic push for our country).  On back I wrote the ’To’ and ‘From’.  
  2.  On my Dad’s side of the family, everyone primarily gets a gift for the younger kids and my grandmother. Then the cousins, aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews buy smaller items for each other.   We got my grandmother Mary got a red pair of Okabashi (Made in Georgia) slip on shoes and Kentucky-made candy (she loves chocolate). And she loved them!   
  3. The older kids got low-dollar gift cards: 2 to the Cafe on the Square (a local, small business) and 2 to Wal-Mart (I hated to go with Wal-Mart, the ‘Made in China’ capital, but since these cards were ‘low-dollar’ amounts I had few choices). The two smaller kids (3 & under) got Green Toys race cars! 
  4. And as for small gifts for cousins & aunts/uncles I got these adorable handmade air fresheners! A friend of mine shared them with me and I loved the idea. They are made in the county next door (Green Co.) and each one is hand painted! They smell so good our dog snatched one thinking it was real food.   Along with our KB Christmas card, these made the perfect ‘little’ Christmas gift (shhh, I also got some for Eddie’s family).   

Christmas Gift Wrapping…

     As I’ve mentioned before – I have always been one of those folks picking through the leftover gift wrap and decorations after Christmas.  You wouldn’t believe how much $ you can save doing that.  So this year I already had a pretty good stash of wrapping materials.  As I pulled things out of my plastic storage bins I just had to check the ‘Made in ____’ on each one.  Not good.  Here’s a photo of some basic wrapping necessities and where they came from…

      Pretty uneven, huh?  Ribbon, bags, boxes, tags, all of it came from another country.  All I could find ‘Made in USA’ were the ribbon rolls and tissue paper.  Sad.  If we keep up this ‘American-made Christmas’ I’m not sure what I’ll do when I run out of certain wrapping materials.  Some of it may take some digging to find!

Cute as a button small gifts!  Perfect for the office, teachers, babysitters, etc…

     It’s always a challenge when I need a number of small-dollar gifts (fellow employees, garbage man, neighbor, etc) with a lot of thought and well-wishes behind them.  Here are a couple of ideas I just thought were cute as a button! 

"Merry Christmas from the 'Ding Dongs' next door" - that's what the notecard attached to a Hostess box of Ding Dong read, perfect for our neighbor Phyllis. We also have one ready for our mailman and garbage man!

 

We gave these to some friend antique dealers we know and work with through out the year! "Merry Christmas! Thanks for working with us 'nuts' this year!"I got this idea from a favorite website I love to keep up with (krazycouponlady.com)! This idea is one of my favorites!

 

SANTA-TIZER! How cute is that!? This one came from a favorite website of mine thekrazycouponlady.com.
And a real quick FYI…
1) Get the full story by reading my past blogs located in the archives (right side of screen).
2) Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page we created – “Made in USA Christmas 2011″ – when I find great gift items made in the good old US of A, I post them there!
 
3) If you like what you are reading, be sure to sign up for this blog – you will receive an email each time there’s a new post! It’s on the right side of the homepage.

4) I am beholden to no one. :) I do not receive any compensation from any person or company. I mention stores, companies, and brands because that’s what I’m researching or that’s part of the experience we’ve had while doing this project…whether good or bad.

Hope your Christmas preparations are coming along nicely! Thanks for reading & God Bless!

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