**EASY** Embroidering

I have wanted to embroider my own stockings for YEARS. I wish I would have known how easy it was because I would have done this a long time ago. I took our stockings and LIGHTLY wrote our names in pen. The pen is really hard to get out so make sure it looks good. They do have fabric pens for light or dark fabric that wash away with water but I couldn't find any that worked on the velvet I was using. I then used this easy chain stitch and traced over our names. I think they turned out well... not too bad for my first time embroidering. Click on the link at the bottom of this post for a video that shows you how. The key is to make sure you are keeping your thread to the side and coming up through the middle of your chain. These stockings look cute hung above our fireplace and it makes it feel much more like Christmas. We even decided to use this as our backdrop for our Christmas cards. I love being able to make something and then show it off. Here is the video!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSiutCEc9VU

10 Favorite things about Christmas

10. Christmas lights all twinkly and bright

9. Hot cocoa and marshmellows

8. Finding the perfect gift for someone you love

7. Watching the movie Christmas Vacation over and over and over

6. The kids version of Frosty the snowman in the front yard

5. Warming your toes by the crackling fire

4. Fresh baked sugar cookies

3. Christmas jammies

2. Playing games with the family and laughin till tears come out

1. Christmas Vacation!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a fantastic Holiday season!

Dipped Chocolates Recipe

This is one of my favorites to make around the holiday's!

2 1/2 lb. powdered sugar
2 cubes margarine
1 can sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla


Soften butter and add milk. Add sugar, salt, vanilla and stir. Divide and add flavorings. (I always use the orange extract and then put orange food coloring it as well) Refrigerate for a while. Use the directions on the back of the almond bark for melting. Form fondant into balls and dip into chocolate. Place the chocolates on tin foil to dry. Takes about a minute and then you can eat them!!! Once they are finished we usually keep them in the fridge, that's the way I like them and with a big glass of milk :)

Christmas collections

I was thinking the other day about how collections come about and what and why people start them. I have a friend who collects Santa clauses. Big, small, silly. Some would say I have a Christmas collection. I do have a lot of Christmas things. I can't help it. I LOVE Christmas! The lights, the colors, the music. Since I have been a little girl I have loved to look at Christmas villages. A little town stuck in a snowy winter wonderland. See the kids sledding down a snowy hill. Peek inside a little cabin and see the little family sitting down at the table.

When I was first married I mentioned how I loved these little villages so and there became my start of a collection of Christmas houses. Everyone started to add to my little town until is grew and grew and now it's out grown my house! The picture below is NOT my own, but isn't it pretty? I could look at these little towns for hours and imagine what the people are thinking and doing. I love to look at them when it is dark and the lights are on. I think I have outgrown my village collection or I should say it has outgrown me. My next collection I want to start is the Willow Tree nativity. Of course it has to do with Christmas! :)

So what kind of collections do you all collect if any?

Christmas Fudge

This project was so fun and super easy! I love this time of year especially with all of the crafts and creative projects that are out there! A few of my girl friends are getting these this year! You take a big chocolate bar, some scrapbooking paper and type out this little poem and there ya go!

Ella was helping me by playing with the ribbons Now...anyone want to help me clean up???The possibilities are endless with this project! I might go ahead and add some ribbon but you can do whatever you want! Super easy, creative and an inexpensive project everyone can love!

Here's the poem:

Dashing from the malls
With groceries yet to buy.
Lessons, work and housecleaning
Life’s so crazy! Why?

Bells on our telephone ring
The machine will take the call.
We have no time for family or friends,
It drives us up the wall.

How are you? How’s your life?
We really want to know.
Hope you’re ready for Christmas,
Now maybe it will snow.

A day or two ago,
We thought we’d make a treat,
For all our special friends-
A Christmas gift to eat.

Our intentions were top notch,
But our schedules would not budge,
Hence, here’s this year’s edition
Of homemade
Christmas Fudge…

Christmas cards

***The winner of the Ella Bella Bows is.....TAYLOR! Thanks for commenting Taylor. Alycia will send those out to you lickety split!****


It's that time of year again where it's time to send out those Christmas cards and share with those what's been going on in our lives. It's nice to see how the kids have grown, and what fun things have been happening through out the year. I try and send them out in the early weeks of December because if I wait too long then I'll get too bogged down with other things and they never get done.

In my quest to have some cute cards I try and convince my kiddos to participate and pose for a nice Christmas picture that we can share with friends and family. Easier said then done! Lot's of begging and threats (no dinner for a month! Your grounded for life!) to bribing, (candy for dinner, all you can eat!). Finally this year I came up with something that didn't require them to all be looking at the camera. Hubby and his family are huge hunting fanatics I like to say and I thought it would be fun to do something that had to do with hunting. This is what I came up with and the kids actually had fun acting it out.
*Disclaimer: Of course we would never hunt santa with actual bullets or anything. Just marshmellows and candy cane ropes. *

So how do you do your Christmas cards? Family photo? Home made? Cute box from a store?

Another give away!

Did someone say give away? That's right! Ella Bella Bowtique has given us a headbow and also a cute clip to give to one lucky winner! Making beautiful bows and clips while she was pregnant, Amanda started receiving requests from family and friends and eventually started Ella Bella Bowtique so many more could enjoy. These headbows and clips are handmade, safe and comfortable for you to put on your little girl or even newborn! Please check out her website here to view all of the headbows and clips that are available. (Perfect for Christmas pictures... :)

Let us know what you think! Leave us comments and we will announce a winnter on Monday!

Traditions

It's the season for some traditions don't you think? I grew up with a few traditions like always going to my grandparents, and holding our annual Christmas party downstairs. Always a bowl of spicy chex mix on the bar and punch made out of Squirt and juice.

Now that I'm married we've made a few traditions of our own. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Christmas. So of course the Christmas tree has to go up right after Thanksgiving. As soon as I can get away with it.

Another tradition is new jammies for the whole family that we open on Christmas eve. The whole idea was to have nice, warm, comfy jammies and of course to look cute for those Christmas morning pictures. No more half dressed shots! Another favorite of mine that I hide waaaay back in the freezer so no one can see, is a carton of Dyrers special addition Peppermint ice cream. This is sooo stinkin good! And half the fat of regular so that means we can have an extra large bowl of it right?

Another great tradition is Cottage Cheese cookies. Your probably thinking what the heck? Cottage cheese? That's not Christmasy. I'm not really sure why they became our favorite Christmas treat but they are so good you just can't eat one. People are always surprised by how good they are and really, you can't taste the cottage cheese. Promise!

This recipe came from my mil. A few years ago she made all of our families a cookbook with some of her best recipes for Christmas.

Cottage Cheese Cookies

3 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

5 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 cup shortening

2 tsp baking POWDER

2 cups cottage cheese

1/2 cup walnuts (optional. We've never made them with the nuts but I bet they

wouldn't' be too bad.)

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl (when it means big bowl, get a HUGE bowl. This makes a lot!) by hand or heavy duty mixer. Chill over night. (I'll be honest. We're lucky if these make it into the fridge for an hour. Still good!)

Roll into balls. Roll into powdered sugar. Press down a bit (not too flat)

Bake at 325 for 10 minutes on greased pan. (or non stick)

This recipe does make quite a bit but you'll be glad you made it all. You can share some with your friends! Now that I've shared some of my Christmas traditions, why don't you share some of yours? And don't forget to check back on Friday for an awesome give away we are having!

A Christmas Cookie Swap

Mmmm sounds good already! Every year I am always trying to think of something new to do for my friends. Something I want to make fun yet personal, thoughtful yet festive. Well...what about a cookie swap? You throw a party at your house and everyone brings a plate of a dozen cookies. At the end of the night you go home with a plate of cookies that are different from the ones you brought. Christmas these days can get really spendy so what a fun way to do something that won't break the bank and that everyone can enjoy! Besides...who doesn't like cookies?

Above are some pictures I found of some Holiday cookies. You can make them as festive as you want! Another great idea for your kids to join in and help!

This month we'll be having great Christmas idea's and some give aways as well! Check back often, leave us comments and maybe you will win some great stuff!

Clapping my hands in excitement!

Ok. Everyone who knows me knows that I love Christmas. LOVE IT! Love to shop for it. Love to bake for it. Love to hang out with the family. Love to decorate for it! In anticipation for that great day of decorating, who everyone knows IS really as soon as the turkey is off the table, I may even let the family finish eating it. I've been working on a few little things to decorate the house with this holiday season and I thought that I would share a few with you to get you in the holiday mood too!
This is soo easy! I already had the candles and the ribbon was 50% off at Michaels so it wasn't much at all. Look how cute the candles are now with just a little ribbon to jazz them up with. This is going to be a present for my daughters teacher. Mrs. Baillie if your looking, keep your eyes closed for this part!

This one is supposed to be finished but hubby's promise of the wood scrap I need to put the "days til Christmas" on is still missing. I'll bug him again today to get on that! I'd just do it myself but if you've seen his mans land, it's just not pretty.

THESE! Soooo stinking simple I'm kicking myself for not doing these before now. Someone said you could pick up the glass stones at the Dollar Store but I couldn't find any clear enough at mine so I got mine at Joanns. They were around 3 dollar for like 25 stones. I got a pack of 50 magnets at Walmart for 3 dollars too and of course had the scrapbook paper. Not bad if I do say so myself. Look how pretty they are. They will make someone fridge very elegant!

I picked up this sled at a flea market back in May, with the thought of turning it into, of course, a Christmas decoration . I'm not sure I like the bow though. I may change that. I just shopped around in my Christmas stuff till I found some things that worked.

Dollar asle at Walmart! Had the Christmas ribbon. I'm going to fill it up with some goodies for friends. It's so easy your kids can make this.

These books are where I've been finding some really great recipes. YUM!

So aren't you all excited for Christmas now? We'll be taking next week off for Thanksgiving but we'll be back on the 30th and we'll be having lot's of fun ideas and tips for the Christmas season!

Gobble Gobble

This Thanksgiving we'll be going to my parent's house for dinner. My mom makes an excellent dinner and we always top it off with her homemade pies! Mmmm...I love dessert! This year I want to help contribute but in a different sort of way. I found this idea on Familyfun.com and I love it! Not only is this a cute idea to help celebrate Thanksgiving but its also super easy! Not to mention its something you can do with the kids and I'm sure they would love to help you make something like this! This is what I'll be contributing this year!

So what are some delicious things you bring to dinner?

Believe

I guess you probably noticed that there was no post yesterday. Oops! It was me. I'm sorry. I really have no excuse other than, well...I don't have one! I've just been busy with finishing up our remodel, basketball, scouts, YW and all the other fun things that come with having a family. I also took on this craft project with my mil that we are doing at church, that has kept me sanding and sanding, and sanding till I felt like my arms were going to fall off.

I've confessed before that I am a blog stalker. I admit it. I am! I can't help it though. There are so many great ideas and talented ladies out there. That is how I found my latest project. I found this while surfing Tip Junkie If you've never looked at her site you should! Lot's of awesome tips and ideas.

Isn't this a terrific project? And it would make a great gift for someone too. You can find the originally idea here. I love the idea of using the candle for the letter L. It gives the project that little extra something special don't you think? I used the word Welcome for my daughters teacher's Christmas gift and put the word home on the candle. Like I said, the ideas can be unlimited. It's also fairly simple. We just cut a 2x4 into the size blocks we wanted. We cut 7 1/2 6 1/2 and 5 1/2 sized blocks but, you can make them any size that you want. We'll paint them (any color I think would look great too but, we picked black. It goes with everything!) and add the letters and your done. No more than an hour for sure!

Don't forget to check back wednesday for Alycia's terrific post and on friday we have another guest poster who is going to share some awesome tips on how to get the most out of your money this holiday season.

We also have some really fun give aways starting after Thanksgiving so be ready!

Traveling with Children (otherwise known as insanity)

Traveling with kids is always a challenge. Big or small, kids bore easily and finding ways to keep them occupied is no easy feat. When you lock them up in a car or airplane where they can’t move around freely the challenge becomes even greater. But I’m here to hand out some (hopefully) helpful tips.

I’ve been traveling with my kids, now 3 and 7, from one side of the US to the other and from Europe to the US for the past 7 years. I’ve done quite a few of both the domestic and international trips solo as well. The reason I’m still alive to tell the tale is preparation and whole lot of goodies. My best tip is packing for any possibility. I like to use JuJuBe Be Quicks to keep all my items organized. That way I can see exactly what I need based upon the color or design of the pouch.

Along with a spare shirt and diapers (if needed) be sure to pack lots of snacks that will survive the trip. Things like crackers, cereal, dried fruit and the occasional gummy bear are wonderful for keeping kids busy. In this case I think you can’t have enough snacks. There have been many times where our plane has been delayed and I’ve been saved by having food my kids like at my fingertips. I keep to non-messy snacks and generally pack them in small containers versus baggies so they don’t get crushed. I also prefer to travel with water instead of juice to avoid stains. I dedicate one JJB Pouch to food.

For activities I like to always include crayons or colored pencils, a small spiral notebook (pocket sized are good or school composition books), coloring books and some stickers. Just be sure to supervise kids with these items or your car may end up with a new interior! There are several great workbooks with activities related to travel. Rand McNally makes one my 7 year old has really liked in the past. It’s filled with dot-to-dots, color by number and hidden picture puzzles. You can find items like this at your local bookstore or online. I keep all the coloring items in another pouch so it’s easy to grab from the bag when I need it.

One thing I’ve learned when traveling by plane is insisting on being allowed to board first if you have small children. This varies by airline, some only grant this to those with children under five years old but internationally most airlines will request families with children to board first, a wonderful stress saver. The stroller will have to be folded and left behind and lugging a baby, a carseat and a bag is a slow process. How many of you have had to install a carseat on a plane? It’s no easy feat. Ask for bulkhead seating which will allow you more room to move around and give the kids a place to play after take-off if allowed by the airline (most are fairly flexible). Be sure to confirm your bulkhead seat reservation and remind the agent when you check in. Know however that on occasion even though you requested the seat won’t always get them. If you need help during the flight, warming a bottle for instance, just ask.

I like to pack any additional items in another pouch (and don’t forget to include a parent pouch – music player, headache medicine and other items you might need). Items such as bandaids, tissues, wet wipes and a plastic baggie or two for either motion sickness or a wet shirt come in handy. I also carry a travel size bottle of hand sanitizer (remember limits of liquids if traveling by plane. You can go to the TSA website for specifics – TSA Liquid Rules) My son carries his own backpack which has the things he likes to do; handheld game, spare batteries, headphones, toy cars and a few books.

My experience traveling with kids definitely favors travel by plane but these same items can be packed for a car. The kids can play games such as spotting different state license plates or colors of cars. No matter what you pack and prepare for inevitably there will be some small thing you didn’t bring. I’ve learned to just take it in stride and move on!

I’m a mom of 2 children living life in the wilds of Philadelphia. I write for a literary magazine and surf the internet in my spare time. I blog at Blogging Mama.

Keeping Kids Entertained

How does your Thanksgiving dinner go? Do you have a separate dinner table where all the kiddos sit or do you all sit together? How about this year doing something different. Put the kids all at one table but instead of a table cloth down, try using some butcher paper so the kids can color on it and it'll keep them entertained! I found this awesome idea from this website: http://www.parents.com/holiday/thanksgiving/crafts/simple-thanksgiving-day-crafts/?page=2
They have a little more for the kids to do but you can make it as simple or as complicated as you would like. I think its important for us adults to have a nice Thanksgiving meal and enjoy the company of our family and friends and its a fun way for the kids to be creative and be entertained while we do so.

Thanksgiving place cards

So I'm sure I mentioned that I was hosting Thanksgiving this year. I have so, so, so much to be thankful for. My family is all healthy and happy. I still have my grandma around. I think it's just awesome that my kids can visit with their great grandparents. Hubby has a grandpa and a grandma still alive. They tell the best stories and my kids are always asking questions.
Anyway, like I said, I'm hosting Thanksgiving at my house. It's really just my parents coming over so nothing too stressful, but I want things to look fun and festive. Now my big holiday to go all out for is Christmas and I don't have too many fallish things to use and I wanted the table to look really pretty. Yes! Another thing to be thankful for is that we can actually use our table again! It's been tucked away in the corner of our family room for almost a year while we remodeled our house. It was more of a pain to use so most of the time it was eating on the TV trays. I was looking about the house wondering what I could use to spice things up and then I spied these babies. They had these at Walmart for 1 cent. Yes. You read that right. ONE penny! Can you believe it? I couldn't. I had to ask someone and they assured me I didn't need glasses. I already had a few already but I bought a few more. About 5.

Now, I'm no Martha Stewart but I thought this idea would work and it was pretty easy too, once I decided on what colors to use. I know I've seen this many times in a ton of variations and this is how I did mine.

First, grab your scrapbook stash. Here is just a small, small, small bit of mine. :) I am a messy person when I am doing some project as you can tell.
I started with some card stock. I felt that it would hold up the best. I added a name and then some background paper and a little bow, some ribbon and a button.

Then I took my knife and slit into the stem of the little pumpkin. Be careful and don't slip...um, just in case.... I'm just saying. Then you place your little card into the slit and look! You have a cute little place card to put in front of your place setting.

So there you have it. A quick, easy, and cute way to dress up your table for Thanksgiving. Don't forget to check back soon. We are going to have some great tips coming up on how to travel with kids and some great ways to save during the holidays.

What I'm Thankful For...

I know I've already said it but I'm gonna say it again, I love this time of year! Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I can't wait! I love Thanksgiving! I babysit a little girl that's almost 2 and I've been searching for some Thanksgiving projects that we could do. In my search I came across something pretty cool. We all know what Thanksgiving is about and what we are thankful for but do we ever put it down on paper? If your like me then the answer is NO! (I try to journal but I'm not very regular with it). Last year I was pregnant and we had the opportunity to spend it with our family and I had so much to be thankful for. This year I feel I have so much more to be thankful for! So this year I'm going to start a new Seely family tradition! We are going to write down what we are thankful for and then every year from now on we are going to do the same! For a few years it'll only be my hubby (yes I'm going to make him, hehe) and I but before we know our daughter will be writing down things too!

This is what we'll be writing on this year, who knows in the years to come but check it out! Maybe you could start it too or another new tradition during the Holidays!!

http://a.dolimg.com/familyfun/assets/cms/large-files/pdfs/printables/1106b_thankfulleaves.pdf

Thanksgiving, and a project

If anyone knows me I am a big list maker. I like to know what is going on and be prepared, lest I forget something. lol Although I have also been known to jot down a few things on my list and then leave it in the car! Anyway, this year I'm in charge of Thanksgiving. For some weird reason I actually volunteered to have my parents over this Thanksgiving. Yes. I'm 35 (I mean 29 again) and I've never had to host a Thanksgiving. Luckily it's just my parents and us, so I won't have to make food for thousands, but.... it's my mom and dad! I want it to be edible you know. Perhaps even enjoyable. So in my quest for making this holiday a little special I started to make a list. Turkey, taters, gravy, rolls, you know, the usual Thanksgiving fare.

I wanted to see what spices I had and opened my spice cupboard. I was hit by the bag of marshmellows. I can't believe I'm showing you this but here goes.

This, is my spice cupboard. Notice all the things that aren't real spice like? There are some real interesting things that you can't see as well. I found a brownie scented candle, reciept for a telephone that we don't even have anymore, those wheels from the skate shoes, nail polish and a local phone book. My kitchen is almost done and after having all this new clean space, this cupboard looks real bad. And what if my mom looked in there? EEK!

This is my goal for the week. To clean out the spice cupboard. I can't believe how horrible it has gotten. So I encourage you all to go out and clean that one spot that has gotten out of control and see how much better you will feel.

Dont forget to eep checking back for some great tips, recipes and ideas for the upcoming holiday. Only 22 more days!

Where has the time gone?

Its already the 1st of November? Is anyone else is disbelief that we are nearing the end of the year already?? Once Halloween is over it seems like I just can't catch a breath until after the New Year. In 3 weeks we have Thanksgiving and then shortly after that we have Christmas. Sounds easy but November and December are such busy months! We usually travel back home to be with our families for both of these holidays which means a lot of driving, packing and stress to make sure we have everything in order before we go out of town. The question is...how can we slow down and enjoy this time of year? We need to remember the reasons why we celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving and enjoy the time we spend with our families. This season my plan is to take care of all those little things that need to get done early and try to slow down and have some fun the next couple of months! Christmas is my favorite holiday and this year its my daughter's first Christmas as well. I'm excited and plan on enjoying every minute of it! So what are your plans???

I couldn't resist putting this photo up. Cutest little pumpkin!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

First off I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Taylor. I was introduced to Alycia by her sister in law Sarah. I was a little nervous to post on this blog because it's a pretty cool blog and I didn't want to taint it or anything!

So... what to write about? I could have chose ANYTHING from the weather to.......my lack of creative inspiration. It just so happened that I was asked to post the week of my son's Birthday. So I thought, "HEY I should write about my boys birthday party." Since my life is lived vicariously through my kids. Here goes nothing!

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Carter is my youngest son and it was his 1st birthday this year! I sent out invites to friends and family about a week before. I was able to find apple cutouts and fuzzy balls for the caterpillar at the Dollar Store for my invites. I first stamped, WHO: WHAT: WHERE: & WHEN on the cutout. I filled out the invitation with clever little sayings that matched my son's name and went along with the book theme. like: PLACE: I wrote CARTERS COCOON. I then glued the fuzz balls at the bottom and made little eyes out of beads to make it look more like a caterpillar then I drew a hole in the apple with a permanent marker. You could also use a hole punch to make it look more like the book. Now that the invitations were sent I had to prepare for the party.

Let me begin by telling you that I am new to throwing party's and it isn't a piece of cake! (ha ha no pun intended) I started making the cake at 8 in the morning. I didn't finish until 4:30 that evening. I just wanted my kitchen back and a break by then. However, I had fun making the cake and will be baking yet again next month for my oldest son's birthday. The body of the Caterpillar was made out of 24 cupcakes frosted with green frosting and the head was from a round 9 inch pan frosted in red. I also used the rest of the green frosting for the middle of the round cake and for finishing touches to the face and legs. Carter got his own red strawberry cupcake. I placed his book on display by the cake with the invitation. I had this whole idea planned to help the kids at the party make caterpillar party hats, I was way too exhausted and out of time by the end of the day. If I would have made hats they would have been out of long strips of construction paper measured for their head and glue circle cut-outs of the caterpillar's body then they could draw a face and use pipe cleaner for the antennae. Maybe next time......

Had to add this picture at the end. If this was the only pic I showed you, you would have thought it was a clown party!

Sorry this is such a long post. Now lets here from you! What are some exciting birthday parties or themes that you have done in the past or would like to do in the future?

Chores

Those of you with kids can relate to this I'm sure. Getting them to do their chores has been a chore in itself. They do the chores for a little while and then....they fall off the wagon. Or I fall off the wagon remembering to remind the younger ones about their chores or hubby just does it himself. That's a whole other post! lol Anyway I was trying to think of a way to spice up the chore thing a little bit and thought it would be fun if I tried this. I thought I would write out all the chores that I want the kids to do. They are 11, 9 and soon to be 8 and I think they should be to handle all of these. You know chores like, dusting, bathrooms ( I may break this up a little so they are not having to clean the whole thing), garbage, dishes, you know the normal chore list. Ok my thought is to have all the chores written out on a card and put on the fridge. No certain order just all over. Then my thought would be the kids can pick say 3 chores, whatever they want, first come first serve, to do. They dont' have to do them all at once but I'm thinking of it more like a game, get the good ones first! Once they've done their 3 chores then they put the cards in a little pocket I'll make and then they are done. We've done the sticker thing and rotating chores but maybe this will make it a little more fun, cause who wants to do boring ole chores anyway? We'll also do an allowance to go with the chores because I think it's important for them to learn about money and how to save and good ways to spend. Nothing outrageous but enough for them. So how do you manage chores in your house?

How do you do Halloween?

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! The costumes, the cookies, the candy, the scary films on tv! I love all of it! This year will be my daughter's first Halloween and I'm super excited to dress her up! I think we'll just take her down a few streets in our neighborhood for some good ol' trick or treating. Nothing too big since she's only 9 months. (I'll be sure to thank her for the candy when she's older). I know Val blogged about costumes and making sure that the kiddos are warm while out trick or treating but maybe this year you won't be going outside. I've noticed in the past few years that there aren't as many kids going trick or treating. People having parties, churches or other organizations having trunk or treating or holding parties, people going out to dinner or maybe you'll just be staying in. Staying cozy in your own home while handing out candy. Anyway you do it, we want to know! How do you do HALLOWEEN?

The great costume find

It's almost Halloween, do you have your costume yet? I must admit I don't really like Halloween for this very reason! Getting the kids to figure out what they want to be and then trying to find a costume is totally stressful to me! My rule is that their costume has to come from home. I will buy something to complete the outfit but I won't spend 40 dollars on a plastic costume that no one will see anyway because it will be covered up by a winter coat and hat and gloves because living in N. Idaho pretty much means it will most likely be 30 degrees, if not colder on Halloween night. It's even snowed on us before. I love it when people think outside the box and get really creative with their costumes. Not that there is anything wrong with say the cheerleader, which my daughter wants to be again this year (hey no need to buy a new costume, works for me!) or being the scream man, which totally creeps me out but there seem to be a lot out there. Check out these cute and creative costumes that I found on familyfun.com. They are sooo cute! I love them. Family fun always has such great ideas.

I think the gnome little guy is my favorite. He's so cute.
So I think on Halloween I'll cuddle up with a cup of hot cider and watch The Great pumkin Charlie Brown (my fav!) and have a snickers or two and see what comes up my driveway this year.

*I thought it would be fun to have a little costume contest so send us some pictures of your kids and their costumes that you wouldnt' mind sharing on the blog, and we'll send a little something to the winner! Can't wait to see what you all come up with! Just send pics to ladeevalerie@aol.com

Websites to remember!

Last night I was flipping through my Woman's Day magazine and I came across an awesome article! Its about a bunch of different websites that everyone needs to know about! So I'm going to share a few.

www.shoplocal.com You can find weekly ads for lots of different stores in your area. You can find what's on sale and who has the best deals of the week.
www.mommysavers.com I think this one is pretty self explanatory. There is so many awesome things on this site.
www.bargainist.com Tons of amazing bargains and you don't have to join, register or pay to be a member of this website.
www.findhow.com This site tells you how to do just about anything! Sweet!
www.bighugelabs.com You can create photo calendars, jigsaw puzzles, mosaics, trading cards and tons more-all from your digital photos.
www.dafont.com Over 9,000 fonts all for free!
www.fixitclub.com This site shows you how to fix all sorts of household repairs.
www.discoveramerica.com Its linked to tourism in all 50 states and lists more than 4,000 experiences, attractions and events!
www.mousesavers.com This site is not associated with Disney but its a huge collection of tips, tricks and secrets for how to get discounts on every aspect of a trip to Disney World, Disneyland...all things Disney!

I just need to bookmark all of these sites! I was super excited to find them and was even more excited to share them all with you! Do you have any sites that you love??

Kitchen remodels bring out the best in everyone

Have you ever remodeled anything in your house? It seems to disrupt life in all directions, no matter how small. We have added onto our house several times and none of those have caused as much disruption as our kitchen remodel. I realize that it is a much bigger scale than the others and there is more involved but the craziness that has gone on is...well...CRAZY! All of our things from the cupboards were moved to the kitchen table which is now sitting in my family room. Let me tell you how fun it is to go looking through boxes and stacks for stuff.

Two weeks ago we finally got our cabinets in and I started putting things away and I'm still looking for that cheese grater that I was looking for last month! Last night hubby finally just went and bought another one so you know that the old one will be turning up any minute. I do have to say we have been pretty lucky being able to use our stove and have had only a day or two without having water and our sink. I have been spoiled though by having a dishwasher and having to do dishes by hand is just no fun at all. There maaay have been a few times that I ignored the dishes in the sink and instead grabbed me a diet pepsi and some chocolate and buried myself in a book.

So now we are down to waiting on counters and flooring and I can't say enough how happy I will be to finally have this remodel done. There have been some very crabby people around here lately, me included and I'm ready to have my house back! And to decorate. :) So do you have any fun remodeling stories to share?

Thanks for stopping by the blog today and don't forget to leave us some comments. We love hearing from you and keep checking back, we are getting ready for another give away soon!

Once a day keeps your mind more sane

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning...does that sound familiar? Its the story of my life! Try and keep the house in order and it only takes a moment before its all messy again. But what about the clutter, or the dust bunnies or maybe the big stack of junk mail that you need to sort through? Are you a surface cleaner or a get down and get dirty cleaner. My parents are coming to visit in a few weeks and so I've made a new goal (yes another goal) to take one day at a time and really deep clean my house. I always feel so much better when I've really cleaned and I can relax and feel more comfortable when we have company over. Its super simple and super easy. The goal is to do at least one project a day, cleaning something that you wouldn't normally clean. That sounds easy enough, right? The hard part is sticking to it! Today my project will be to go through the basket on my counter that somehow ends up collecting so many unwanted items. At the end of the day if I've completed at least one or two projects, then I'm that much closer to a very clean house! So...how do you clean??

Oh and the winner of the scarf is.....

TAYLOR!!!!!

Taylor...come on down. Woo hoo! Just let me know which scarf you would like and your mailing address and one will be on their way to you! Thanks for following us and commenting regularly!!

No time to read

Yesterday I got in the mail the November issue of Country Living. Have you read it? It's really great, and they have a lot of good ideas that aren't over the top or cost you and arm and leg. I love to read magazines and this is one of my favorites! I actually did a little dance when it arrived I was so excited. Don't worry I was in the house. Wouldn't want the neighbors to think I was weird or anything! Another favorite of mine is Real Simple. Lot's of great ideas and simple meals that don't look like feathers and unpronounceable things and that your kids might actually eat! I sat down with my magazine yesterday all excited to read, had my hot cocoa and my warming bag (rice bag) who my daughter affectionately named Bubba, and was all set. No kids in the house, nice and quiet! Two pages in and someone called. It took awhile but I finally got off the phone and settled in again. Then hubby came home to paint the living room ceiling. I could have done it, but I was ignoring it and hoping that it would get painted by itself. See? It worked! ;) Sigh. After that the day went down hill. A dentist appt. for the oldest kid, then pick up the others from school, then a haircut, then football practice, then enrichment night and by the time I got home, time for bed. I saw it calling me this morning saying "Read me. Read me" Sorry magazine, I have another busy day today. Maybe we can meet up for a date in the bathroom later in a nice tub of hot water. Just you, me, and the chocolate I have secretly stashed under the bathroom sink.

So what magazine's do you read?

P.S. Don't forget about your giveaway and leave us a comment. Those scarves sure could come in handy if you live in the cold states!

Our First Give Away...

We are so excited to do our first give away! A lucky winner will be able to pick one of these scarfs! Leave us some comments and we'll let you know who the winner is on Friday!

Going to the Pediatrician

Today I'm going to talk about something different. I want to talk about children getting sick. Yesterday I took my daughter's temperature and it was 99.7 so I was watching her careful because she was burning up, yet she was still very happy. This morning was a little bit of a different story, her temperature was 102.0. I took her into see her Pediatrician and asked the Dr if she was running a fever because she has now cut her fourth tooth. Also I asked that about her ears because she has been tugging on them. He said that it wasn't because of her tooth and that he believed her to have a virus. So the first thing they did was check her for Swine Flu. As I was impatiently waiting for the results a few different questions popped into my mind. When she cuts a tooth she tugs on her ears or sometimes she will have a fever. So why is it that the Dr's say that they have a virus and it has no connection with them teething? Do they know something that maybe we don't? In the end the Swine Flu test was negative and he says she has a virus and we are to watch her closely. She is only 9 months old and you can pretty much only give them Motrin or Tylenol. What do you think? Does your child or children do the same? Do you rush them to the Dr when they are feeling ill?

Curtain in an hour

*Guess What? We are having a giveaway! Tell all your friends and make sure you check back next week and find out all about it!*


Girls I tell you this is GENIUS! Pure genius. Who would have thought that you could use drop cloths that one uses to catch paint spills, could be used as curtains? I love thinking outside the box. Well actually, I like it when others think outside the box for me like here . When I saw this idea I just knew I had to try it. The best part for me though is, there is no sewing involved! I can admit I am too impatient. If I can find a short cut I'll probably try it. It doesn't always work out but, this time it turned out perfect.

First I started off with a canvas drop cloth. You can find these at Lowes, home depot even Walmart, although when I looked I did not see any, but the cashier assured me they had them. I'll have to check more on that one. Anyway, I picked mine up at Lowes for $10 dollars and some change. Not bad if you ask me. I washed mine and then let it air dry like the link above did. It was a bit rough and wrinkly, but I kind of like it that way but I suppose you could iron it too for a smoother look. Three sides are already hemmed so you only need to hem one side. To do this, I just used some fabric glue. This stuff is awesome. I picked up some of this stuff to put on all my scouters patches. It stickes really good. Ok back to the curtain. Then I folded over the top about 4 inches and glued it down to make a pocket for the curtain rod. I let it dry for about 30 minutes ( I told you I was impatient!) and hung the curtain. I love it! Sorry my pictures are so dark.

It's a little rustic and I might steam out some of the wrinkles towards the bottom but I like the bit of roughness to it and I thought I might add some ribbon or material to dress it up a little bit. So that's it. A no sew, drop cloth curtain. Made in under an hour. :)

Where did Mommy go??

Right now I am on the last book of the Harry Potter series. Have always loved the movies but didn't know about the books until one day I just decided to go for it and I LOVE THEM! Well unfortunately for my family I've been a little MIA since reading them. I get so into them and I just disappear into a nice hot bath and then reappear an hour later. Usually its when my daughter is either taking a nap or is down for the night. That still leaves my husband and our dog Teddy and not to mention chores around the house. I hate to admit it but until I am done with this book I don't think things will be much better. So that leaves me asking you this, how are you when you get into a good book? Do you shut yourself out of the world or are you able to juggle it with everything else? I think the next book or series I get into I may have to be better about that. What book are you reading at the moment??

Whats for dinner?

I'm in the dinner slumps girls. What should I make tonight has been going through my mind a lot lately. I've been making my two week menu like usual so I should know what's on the menu for the night. Then I look at it and I'm like eh, doesn't sound good. I think between a kitchen remodel, football for the oldest, drs appointments, and working I've fallen into a slump. Since it has been colder I've been really wanting to make some comfort foods especially with the crockpot but with no electricity in the kitchen that makes it kind of hard. I could plug it in, in the bedroom but...not real fond of smelling like chicken in the place where I sleep. So I'm asking you to post you favorite recipes in the comment section and then I'll pick one and I'll try it out and review it on our blog in a few weeks. So come on girls! Share those recipes. I can't wait to see what you guys have been cooking!

Chipboard Albums...

I had never seen these until Valerie (she has the best idea's) had told me about them! So I went to Michael's because I looking for a new idea and got a chipboard album in the shape of a fish. I did this one for my nephew Ryder and I think it turned out great if I do say so myself! Especially for my first one. Since my sister in law Tara lives in Utah, she sent some adorable pictures of Ryder to our Walmart for me to pick up. I have a ton of scrapbook paper, ribbon, buttons, etc and so the only part I had to buy was the chipboard which was a dollar and Tara ended up paying for the pictures she sent so it was an inexpensive gift but ends up being priceless in the end! You can do it anyway you would like, there are different shapes and sizes and there's no right or wrong way to make it. It took me about 7 hours to do this and I actually loved every minute of it! Not too many days until Christmas so get started now and give a gift that nobody will expect but may just be their favorite one they receive!! What do you think?

I forgot to mention that when you buy them they look like cardboard. What I did was scrapbook both front and back with paper that I had but you can buy paper that's already cut to whatever shape you picked. I didn't like the ones they had so I did my own but you can do whatever you want!!!

Less than 3 months till Christmas people!

Are you looking for a simple, easy, cute Christmas gift? Well have I got an idea for you! Turning tumbled tiles into coasters. They are so cute, you could use them just the way they are. You can find them at any hardware store. You know the usual, Lowe's, Home Depot. You can't beat the price either. I picked up mine for .38 per tile. Every time I go there now, I pick up 4 or 5. Now I have all these little tile towers all over. I'd take a picture but then you'd also have to see all the other stuff packed (stuffed, thrown, piled) all over from our kitchen remodel. Trust me, it's not pretty.

So here's what you'll need for this project. Yes, once again I've forgotten to take pictures of the actual process but I think that you gal's can figure it out. It really is easy. I chose to use stamps on mine.

4 or 5 tiles of your choice.
Stayz on ink (this really does work best. You can get it at most craft stores)
Stamps
Polycrylic protective finish
Felt pads for the bottoms

*So first you wipe any dust off the tiles. Then start stamping! If you make a mistake just use a little wet paper towel and wipe away. I think you have a few seconds at least to do this. NOT that I would know anything about having to re do any of mine. (only about 10 times!)

*And of course since it's about Christmas gifts I made mine with some Christmas stamps but I think any kind would look really nice. I made some nice florishy (lol I love to make up new words) ones for my mom and mil.

*After I finished stamping and the ink was dry, I'm impatient and didn't wait too long, put a few coats of sealer on. I think I waited maybe 20-30 min in between coats. I told you I was impatient! After everything is all dry then add the felt pieces to the bottom to protect.

Then to finish off the gift don't forget to wrap it in some pretty Christmas ribbon and add a cute little tag. I love ribbon! Hi, I'm Valerie and I have a ribbon obsession. :)

Okay dokey! That's it. This one is so easy that you can chill out with your favorite movie on and create these cute little gifts for friends and neighbors. They are going to love these!