when the house is too quiet...

I was in the home office answering a few emails, when things got very quiet. Too quiet. I went on a hunt through the house for Bear, who, at 13 months, is into everything. I found him sitting on the kitchen floor, a mouthful and fistful of catfood, with bits of food all around him on the floor. The cat was watching him disdainfully from her perch on the kitchen table. At least he left her a gift in return. I'm sure she needs a USB camera cord, right?

Welcome!

Hi, everybody! You might be joining me here from Boomama's Tour of Homes. Happy to have you here! I'm Danielle, and I'm a happy wife and mama in Mississippi. I had every intention of participating in this little tour last year, but having a baby just a few weeks before the event kind of took over! I'm happy to play along this year, though, and can't wait to look around at all the pretties you have posted! Come on in!

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This happy Santa stands on our front porch, welcoming you into our home.

In the living room is our big tree. I highly recommend the pre-lit kind. ;)

(I'm always looking for excuses to get my two fellas under that mistletoe!)

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We have lots of fun little goodies in the den and kitchen. Here are a few of my favorites.

This turquoise bowl was a wedding gift, and I love using it to hold ornaments.An angel stands watch over it.

I know the Little People Nativity set is for kids, but we're having fun with it this year. Bear can play with it next year. :) We don't eat many cookies, so our Santa cookie jar fills his bag with pretty ornaments instead.
One of my favorite corners of our kitchen holds this cheese plate with our last-name initial. I like it so much I might just leave it up all year! Our sweet Bear's room has his very own Nativity!

Full disclosure time: Our living room is not quite as neat and put-together as it might appear in the other photos. I love a good macro shot! If you were to come over most days, this is what you would see. Life with a boy is the messiest and most fun thing in the world!

But forget the mess and just let our Elf on a Shelf wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Noticing the little everyday things...

The wise men arrived at the Nativity in Tonka trucks, right?

See more everyday moments here.

Journaling Christmas - the setup

I read several scrapbooking and stamping blogs for inspiration, and saw an idea on one that caught my attention. The challenge was to journal and scrap everything you can about Christmas this year, from December 1 until January 6 (the 12th day of Christmas). The challenge cost $30 to join and included prompts, layout sketches and access to discussion among other scrappers. Well, I know how to keep a journal and how to scrapbook, so I don't need to pay somebody $30 to tell me what to do! It's a great idea and I'll make it personal by doing it all my own way.

The first order of business was finding a suitable journal for the project. I didn't want something too small or fancy, and I didn't want a traditional scrapbook. I wanted this to be something that could bear my handwriting mistakes proudly and would end up stuffed with photos, embellishments and trinkets from the season. This is Bear's second Christmas, but the first he'll really be aware of, and I don't want to miss a thing.

I happened upon this journal at Target, and it's absolutely perfect. It's 8x8, spiral-bound, and has lined pages. There are even some heavy cardstock pages with pockets for storing bits of things that won't fit on the page. And at $2.79, it was a complete steal. I bought two others but might see if they still have a few more. There's so much that can be done with these journals!

(Aren't my placemats cute? I practically stole them from Kohl's. I got four of them for $2.00!)

My personal challenge is to journal and scrap every little thing about Christmas this year. I started the day of my son's birthday (which was the day before Thanksgiving), because Christmasy things happened that day. I think I'll finish on whatever day we put away our decorations. I hope to carry my camera with me everywhere, and if I see pretty decorations or something festive, I'll snap a photo and write about it. We have concerts, parties, lots of good food and a sweet baby's excitement to capture. I want to remember it all!

It's not too late to do this if you want to. Just find a journal and start writing. Your decorations haven't been up too long, so snap a few pictures of them and write about the experience. Did one of your kids break a pretty glass ornament? Write about it! Have you tucked into the eggnog already? Journal it! is there an awfully gaudy house in your neighborhood? Sneak out at night and take its picture! If you're not a scrapbooker, who cares? Just have fun.

Be present this Christmas. Remember it all.