There is a lot of fun stuff going on here at The Mabelhood in 2010! To start things off, friend and amazing fella, Chris McGrath, will be joining us with a guest post next week. He will post about a tremendous accomplishment – he just reached his goal of losing 200 lbs. No gimmicks, but a lot of sweat and hard work. With all those New Year’s resolutions buzzing around, we’re hoping his motivation is contagious!

The following week, you will be introduced to Nanny Carrie (who happened to have a baby a couple of days ago). As an experienced nanny who is oozing with kiddo love, common sense and practical solutions, Nanny Carrie is the mama with the answers! She will be providing regular posts helping us deal with all that kid stuff that drives us crazy.

Of course you’ll still be hearing from me about life in the mama trenches while also juggling Mabel’s Labels madness. Caitlin will be keeping you posted on all the Mabel news and Tanna is here to keep you organized.

All the best for 2010! It’s been a pleasure sharing 2009 with you! And a warm Mabelhood welcome to Chris and Nanny Carrie!

Around our house, we have great fun celebrating Christmas. This year was also fantastic, with one exception. Nagging at me all day was how baby boy was breathing. Not good.

At 7:30pm I couldn’t take it anymore and made the trip down to the hospital. Before getting admitted, they put us in the trauma room to get him on some oxygen and begin other treatments.

I was sitting there holding a ventolin mask over his screaming face, telling myself that the situation sucked. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, and a lot sorry for my baby boy. It was no way for my little man to spend his first Christmas, thought I.

Then I had a quick reality check. The guy on the other side of the curtain, who seemed to be getting treatment for pain of sorts, started speaking:

Guy: “Nurse? I kinda feel like killing myself”

Nurse: “Hmmm, what are you thinking about doing?”

Guy: “I dunno, maybe cut my wrists, find a gun or take some pills”

Nurse: “Do you have a gun?”

Guy: “No”

Nurse: “OK, we can have a chat with the Doctor about all this”

I looked down at my wheezing boy and thought about the guy on the other side of the curtain. What was his first Christmas like? How would his mother feel if, on his first Christmas, she knew that in about 40 more years he’d feel like killing himself on Christmas Day?

I gave my baby boy an extra squeezy hug and decided my Christmas didn’t suck after all.

Seven years ago my first born was celebrating his 2nd Christmas. As a new mom I had no clue. The presents that we had accumulated for him probably could have easily covered five 2 year olds. It was ridiculous. One thing I noticed in the excitement of the morning was that he was opening and throwing presents aside. My excitement was quickly deflated when I realized the unthankfulness in it all. Mind you a two year old doesn’t really totally understand being thankful but he didn’t really get excited about the toys, it was unwrapping them. I could have saved myself hundreds if I would have wrapped empty boxes and I would have gotten the same effect.

Fast forward 7 years and two more kids later, we follow a budget, we don’t over-buy. We don’t overwhelm. An astonishing thing occurs when we now open presents. The kids remember who bought what and are more appreciative of what they get. Most of all they love being in the company of family. It’s taken me a few years to learn about simplifying the holidays but I’ve finally caught on.

This year remember to teach your kids to say thank you. Make a list of who bought what while your kids open their presents and remind them later who the gift was from. Don’t let them get caught up in the getting but the giving. Tell them to give thanks to the people that are there and people afar. In this digital age there is nothing better than getting a thank you card in the mail from a loved one. This is a custom we should not let fall by the wayside.

If you have school-aged children, you know what it’s like to get artwork overload! Every day these little wonders bring home something new that they have created. Even at home, the coloring can go crazy. In coming months at the Mabelhood I’ll go into greater detail on dealing with the overwhelming artwork situation but for now I wanted to give you a few great ideas on ways you can give this artwork as gifts during the holidays or perhaps for future birthdays of loved ones.

Artwork Necklace – Mail or send a scanned image of your child’s artwork to create a one-of-a-kind necklace for that special someone in your life. Would be great for a mother or grandmother.

Send Art In A Card – Grandparents who live far away love sharing the milestones of your children but often miss out on these little drawings. How about adding some to the holiday or birthday cards this year? For the younger kids, have them explain what the picture is about and write it on the back.

Wrapping Paper – Buy a roll of craft paper and spread it out on the table for the kids to color on and use this as wrapping paper for gifts. Top it off with a bow to match.

Create A Book – What kid wouldn’t like to get “published”? Take pictures of your child’s art and using a photo site like Shutterfly, upload the images to create a book of art displaying their masterpieces!

Can you think of other creative ways to share your children’s art as a gift?