Saturday, November 27, 2010

Deck the halls...

I am ready for it to begin...

Texas snow sandman...

Normally I  am a solid color light person when it comes to Christmas lights. Ill choose strands of the same color for the tree, same color for garlands, etc. This year, I wanted COLOR! I wanted the house and tree to look like it regurgitated candy. 

The halls are decked....



 A few minutes, some scrap felt and a hot glue gun...


Some styrofoam balls, fun yarn, multicolored pom-pom balls, and hot glue gun = craftastic Christmas.









Because my crafting self just could not let the lone remaining pie pumpkin from Thanksgiving go to waste. A little acrylic paint job, a baby tobogan and voila'.


And Middle Little's big girl bed... I butchered a crib bumper that I spent way too much money on, with the bright idea I could sew it back together and recycle it into a quilt fit for a princess. Well, I couldnt. A co-worker that happens to be a great seamstress had to piece it together for me. Cute heh?!


Adorable Christmas mobile...





Give me some love brother...



In the words of Dr. Seuss - "These things are fun and fun is good."


Bring it on Christmas!
 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thankful and full....

It's a shame there is only one day a year dedicated to "thanksgiving". There is something to stop and be truly thankful for on a daily basis, from the major - "thank God I am alive", to the minor - "it's a good hair day", and everything in between. How often do we really say we are thankful and mean it from the core of our very  being? Its so easy to say yeah, I'm thankful for.... but to be thankful and truly mean it, now that's something.

Made these "Thanksgiving Dinner" cupcakes for a luncheon at the office. Super easy to make & fun! (Cookie "plate", almond sliver "turkey", caramel sauce "gravy", cut up cranberries, for, well, "cranberries", green sprinkles for "peas", icing "mashed potatoes" with yellow gel food coloring "butter".)


We spent Thanksgiving with family, loving each other/passing babies around to smooch and eating our weight in delicious-ness.



A cornucopia of desserts, yeah baby, thats what I'm talkin bout!
And I made "cherry pie" cupcakes... again, these were easy and delicious, even if they did
 look like road kill after melting under the heater in the car on the ride to Grandma's.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love cupcakes?! Well, I LOVE me some cupcakes.
 


And the Daddy tuned up everyone's PCs after we stuffed ourselves with all the Thanksgiving goodness, because it was a must that all Black Friday sales were located and store hours determined to gear up for midnight shopping.



Abbie snooping around in Grandma's room and found Christmas presents. Busted!


I am stuffed full of the Thanksgiving holiday fare... but more so, I am full of thankfullness.
Thankful for every day I am given, even when they are less than perfect days.
Thankful for my health, even the aches and pains at times.
Thankful for my children and what they do for my soul.
Thankful for the husband I have that still makes me want to draw hearts around his name like I did in junior high, even 20 years later.
Thankful for my home and belongings... even the piles of unwashed laundry and cheerios scattered on the floor.
Thankful to God for giving me what I have, don't have... and for his love and mercy.

Yeah, there are things I think could be better, or things I want, or things I can be selfish about, but I really am thankful and really do believe that even in times of adversity, struggle, or just plain ol' suck-ass days... I can and should be thankful.

What are you thankful for?


Monday, November 1, 2010

Trick or Treat!

Oh holidays, how I love you and the traditions we come up with carrying on year after year. Some people may "outgrow" the magic of holidays, not I. The anticipation, the planning, the holiday hype in every department store and catalog, the children's  wonder and excitement, the joy of it all... I thrive on it. I move from one holiday to the next ready to soak in and capture these precious fleeting moments. Because they are, my friends, fleeting. Time passes much too quickly, I have to enjoy it all. And, when no holiday is in sight... I make them up. Yes, why not? Life is just too short to not celebrate it.

The candy wrappers wadded in a ball stuffed in my pants pockets, Halloween decorations collected in piles in my dining room waiting to be stored back in the attic, and the remains of a sugar high wearing off... are evidence of a good time.

Halloween preparation started Friday night with a tasty homemade shrimp cocktail with blue corn tortilla chips and spicy pepperjack cheese to snack on, and pulling together last minute costume items.


Saturday we stuffed our annual candy bags to give out to our neighborhood trick or treaters. Middle Little had much fun putting together the candy bags and put them together perfectly with just the right balance of chocolate and fruity candies. (Last year, she was helping stuff candy bags and I caught her hiding a bag of fun sized M&Ms under her shirt...lol.)












Saturday evening we carved the annual pumpkin (this year Dad opted out... said he couldnt top the one he did last year, it was pretty cool). Check it out... easiest pumpkin to carve ever... the vomiting pumpkin. Actually, I kind of felt like this after stuffing all the candy bags earlier in the day. Dude, its called too many fun sized candy bars.



Sunday, Halloween morning I was up ready to try my hand at baking "from scratch" pumpkin pies. I scrubbed that little pumpkin and prepped it with great care in hopes that Id have the bestest pumpkin pies ever in my house.... the smell of fresh pumpkin pies all infused with spices and sweetness, was divine.






Delish. I was proud. So proud I ate about a quarter of the pie....AFTER we handed out candy and I had already eaten about as much candy as I handed out. Okay, not really, but I sure ate more of it than I should have. Can we say "hopped up" on sugar?


Before the whole candy eating frenzy and pie, Daddy cooked some mouth watering and just right seasoned chicken breasts on the grill for shredded chicken tacos. YUM. See, it wasnt all sugar... we did manage to eat something healthy.


After dinner, we climbed into the attic to see what we could drag out quickly to spook up the yard. A few "bloody sheets", some plastic skulls/body parts, lazer light, fog machine, a few random objects and we were good to go!




Daddy setting up the fog machine looking spooky in his tophat/wig.



And yes, now that I have overloaded your senses with all of this... I saved the best for last.
Middle Little decided she wanted to be "Jem" from the old 80's cartoon, Jem and the Holograms.


{Theme Song}
Jem...
Jem is excitement!
Oouu Jem...
Jem is adventure!
Ooouu...
Glamour and glitter,
Fashion and fame!
Jem...
Jem is truly outrageous
Truly, truly, truly outrageous
Woo ooo Jem...
Jem
the music's contagious (outrageous)
Jem is my name
No one else is the same
Jem is my name!


Oh how I love this girl. So here she is folks...
I bring you, the comeback tour... for one night only... "Jem"
Featuring D.J. Josh.0





If I hadnt taken such a long video Id post it, of Abbie dancing in the front yard to The Monster Mash & The Adams Family theme songs... lol.  Abbie is a dancing machine. The Littles had much fun trick or treating, handing out candy, eating candy and greeting people!

I am patiently waiting for Thanksgiving now. Oh the crafts and baking we can do! I can smell the turkey roasting, hear the football game in the background and see the kids running around! Someone pass me the gravy boat for my mashed potatoes.

Whether you observed Halloween or not this past weekend, I hope whatever you did, you had a good one! Now go celebrate something.   ;-)