Oh, She's Crafty

One of things I've had more time to do now that I'm not working is finish our advent calendar. Two years ago for Christmas, just after we announced that we were expecting John, my Mom gave our family an advent calendar kit she had picked up a few years before. It's a bit unique from any other advent calendar I've ever seen because each ornament represents some Biblical story that prophecies or points to the birth of Christ at Christmas.

I am moderately competent with crafty things like sewing, embroidery, cross stitching, needle point and at one point I knew how to crochet things like potholders. I don't really pick up these projects just to do them. It's the end and not the medium I enjoy. I have to be inspired by a particular project in order to start and, hopefully, finish it, which I am with this advent calendar.

It has surprised me how much I suddenly wanted to work on this project. Part of it is I want to finish it before Christmas. Part of it is I want to finish it before our little Danish prince arrives and life gets a little more complicated. But the biggest thing is working on this is one of the precious few things I can point to at the end of the day and say, "I made this" and know that I won't have to do it again tomorrow or next week.

The makeup of my daily life has changed quite dramatically in the last four months; from one where I could measure the effectiveness of my day in things like completed photo shoots, publications and press releases to one filled with stories and songs, basic household chores, and finding tasty and inexpensive new ways to eat beans. It's refreshing to accomplish something that is a bit more tangible than saving $9 at the grocery or getting John to eat salmon.

This is really the prequel to a long overdue post on how I am handling the transition from working mom to stay-at-home mom. But for now, I need to get back to my embroidery needle and hot glue gun. Just nine more ornaments to go before December 1.