Category: Family

Stress-Free Christmas: Download Your Gift List Now

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog1 Comment

What does my family want? What do they like? Are they outgrowing their school clothes? What was that book they really wanted?

I know how stressful Christmas shopping can get, and this year has been a bit more so… maybe this will help take a little of that stress off your shoulders. This will be replacing ‘Letters to Santa’ in our home, and maybe it could in your home too!

I’ve previously shared our FREE printable shopping guide, but I’ve taken that a step further as we’ve been trying to simplify Christmas a little bit more so that we can really focus on the reason for the season.

FREE Printable Shopping Guide

We are trying to do a 3-4 gift rule here at our home, and even that looks like a mountain of gifts with the number of people we have. We really love getting ‘experience’ gifts, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out, so having this new list on hand will make things a little simpler. I also included a place to write the individual sizes and such to have everything on one page. Here is the link to download it:

Gift ListpdfDownload

On my computer, I have to keep changing the page layout to ‘portrait’ for this, so keep that in mind when you go to print it out, just in case it does the same thing to you!

I like to snap a picture of the finished lists so that I can have it with me whenever I am out and about, this also makes it easy to share with others you might want to buy gifts for your family.

Here is another version of the Wish List from last year:

Christmas Wish List

I hope this helps out! If it does, be sure to like, comment, and share this with someone you know!

God Bless!

Start Your Holiday Prep: Week 7 Guide

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Have you gotten started on your Holiday Prep? If not, don’t worry because you still have plenty of time, but don’t procrastinate any longer!

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Making Memories: An Afternoon Tea Time Menu Ideas

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog3 Comments

We want to create special memories, and my kids enjoy having tea time. Shyanne didn’t understand the concept of a make-believe tea time for a good while, but she likes having the real thing. We like to try out different teas, and we have been growing some of our own herbs for teas.

You can cut the regular sandwiches into small shapes for ‘finger sandwiches’ and make or buy a variety of cookies, cakes, and other treats. Check out our Hobbit-Inspired Menu for some ideas.

The conversation should be positive and productive, and it can help teach proper social interactions. Set the table with some pretty dishes and cups… maybe even buy some that are special for this event.

Getting ready for the event shouldn’t be complicated, and everything doesn’t need to be homemade… if you make it too hard, you won’t enjoy it, and you will be less likely to repeat it.

Let the kids help plan the menu and themes, and have them help prepare the treats. HAVE FUN!

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Special Needs Resources: Cerebral Palsy Toolkit

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Recently, I came across a glitch on the blog that had caused the requests put through on my ‘Contact’ form to not be delivered to my email anymore. I found several questions and requests. I have made a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page to hopefully answer some of those. One of the requests was to post this special resource.

Finding out that you are expecting can be one of the most exciting times of your life, but it can also be very scary. We know from experience that things can be downright terrifying, especially when faced with the knowledge that your child may have special needs.

Our youngest daughter, Shyanne, was born with multiple diagnoses and health conditions. Before she was even born, the odds were stacked against her. The doctors never expected us to make it through the pregnancy, and things got very scary towards the end when both of our lives were at risk.

It felt like someone had taken our life and made a HUGE jigsaw puzzle out of it, then added some extra pieces in there that had to fit. Every time we thought we were making progress, someone would come along and mix it all up again or ‘find’ a couple more pieces that needed to go in. Her story was complicated, and no one knew what the big picture would even look like… but God did!

He helped us through that very emotional time, and even though we couldn’t figure out how we were going to make it all work, HE gave us a sense of peace. We had to hand it over to HIM and HE put the pieces in place… one at a time, to create a BEAUTIFUL masterpiece that we could have never imagined.

HE made a way when we couldn’t see one, and we have witnessed miracle after miracle in our daily lives… That is why we created her blog:

Sweet Shyanne: The little girl who could

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Mini Garden Makeover and Fall Reset

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How are you doing? I’m praying all is well… everyone here is good. We’ve really enjoyed having a week of reflecting on our blessings, and eating outside was a hit with the weather being just right. We will definitely be observing Sukkot in the future and plan to make a few small changes in the future.

This week, we are taking a breather from school for ‘Life Skills’ as the gardens need a little attention and revamping. I’ve had a vision for part of the garden, and we’ve been working on making it a reality. We haven’t had to buy any materials as we have been repurposing some things that we already had on hand. I am contemplating the purchase of some fencing for the garden, but seeing it come together makes me second-guess that idea.

You may remember the Pallet Gate project that we did a bit ago… this is another baby step towards the goal! We put together a small raised bed just enough to allow the guys an edge to weed eat and maybe save my chives… lol.

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