Crafty collage

Son gets such a kick out of making crafts this year. Yet another interest I love sharing with Son. Here are some of the projects he has made this fall. I love his imagination!

Better than I imagined!

Last year shortly before Christmas, we were standing in the check-out line at Sam's Club when I saw this empty white box. It was at that moment that this image popped in my head where Son could have a scene for his 'people' to play in, especially with his great imagination. So I picked it up & figured I'd give it a go. I penciled the scene in but couldn't decide whether to color or paint it. A few weeks ago, I finally outlined it with permanent marker & started to paint.

Now one of my various hobbies of the past are painting ceramics. I've never really painted a scene from scratch so I had no clue how this would turn out, even after it was outlined with marker. I have watched a television show or two on painting techniques (while I was bored doing laundry a few years back) & I guess some of it stuck with me. For two nights I painted & as it progressed I was in shock of how it was turning out. I never imagined it would look as realistic as it did!

Now I am so excited to give this to Son for Christmas (which will go along perfect with the Wizard of Oz characters I picked up from McDonald's). I absolutely love how well it turned out. So much so that I already picked up another plain white box to make another scene for him sometime in the future.

November begins

October & November were very busy so here are more pics from then! Enjoy!




Here are some special moments from October that we wanted to share with you...





Who doesn't love Halloween festivities? I think it's so much fun to dress up for many reasons. Mainly, when else can you look like... well anything really? By the way, we still have two and a half mixing bowls full of Halloween candy from various parties, parades & trick-or-treating just in our neighborhood. (Right before the holidays too!) Anybody interested in sharing this so our kids' heads aren't the only ones turning around in sugar shock??? (sigh) Okay... guess I'll have to bake something creative for the YMCA front desk. Now isn't that ironic, huh? Then again, how many of you will have something after you workout? Don't you feel like you've earned it sometimes?





This is what it looks like when someone is building a windmill. They've always looked impressive far away but man! Hubby said he was in awe.




Son's preschool field trip last month was to a local Mexican restaurant where they learned about more than where food was prepared. The weather was absolutely beautiful for the walk to & from.





Here are some murals we saw by a local artist. They really caught our eye, especially the car. Son was all about the turtle & transformer!





Son has been very helpful in cleaning up these days. He also has a 'thing' for lists because for some reason, he's more inclined to get it done & quicker when he can cross it off afterwards. That is definitely something he gets from me! Now I just have to make the time to make his 'job' chart so I don't have to keep making very bad drawings that he somehow can read. No clue there!





We really enjoyed seeing our old friends at their oldest son's birthday party. They had it a movie theater & afterwards adults & children alike enjoyed seeing the new movie Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa. What a great idea for a kids party! I'll have to remember that one.

Gobble gobble gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving all! Enjoy the holiday with your loved ones & be safe!

No resting today!

Wednesday before Thanksgiving & there is nothing planned. Seriously... we don't have a single place to be... absolutely amazing! One would think now we can just kick back, relax & unwind. But not me, no... since we are wanted to host Thanksgiving (by that I mean Hubby cooks, I clean before, during & after) that means we need to do light maintenance on the house to get it ready. By that I mean...

• Clean the bathrooms
• Vacuum
• Clear the dining room table (where everything on it will end up in the basement or the bottomless pit as we like to call it)
• Laundry (only a few loads though)
• Clean & prepare the guest room (which is also Hubby's office where the bed & floor act as another file cabinet of sorts)

Oh & did I mention that we have a handyman coming to do some work on the house tomorrow? Just a couple of wall patches, repairing & tiling part of our master bathroom wall & building the master bedroom headboard which we've had for probably about six months. It's not that Hubby can't do these things himself but the fact that this local handyman was reasonably priced for all these jobs combined & Hubby hasn't had the time available to do them. At this point, we just want them done & we both know the holidays are only get busier. I think it will be worth though.

How will shopping be this year? That is the question!

Each year there are one day that only truly motivated people (or utterly crazy as Hubby says) will shop on; that would be Black Friday. I know that's the day I typically get the bulk of our Christmas shopping done. Last year I discovered there is also Cyber Monday, for those who want to get the deals after the deals. Of course it's also known for 'Buy Nothing Day'. To each your flavor! Try saying that three times fast & tell me you don't sound like Elmer Fudd!

The question is with our country in a state of economic disaster, how will it compare this year & will the deals be cheaper than we've imagined? It will be interesting to see. Here are a few of the sites listing all of the deals. Hope it helps!

• Black Friday Info
• Black Friday.Com
• Black Friday.Net (appears to be the easiest to navigate at first glance)
• Deal Taker (combines Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals!)
• Cyber Monday.com

Learning patience

Patience has never been a virtue I've had an abundance of; that said I have been learning how to be the good 'bad guy'(which I didn't think was possible) using the incredible art of distraction. By the way, that works great with kids! I'm not quite sure how it took me this long to figure that out!

Anyhow for the past week or so, I have using some suggestions that Hubby gave me & now Son responds better to me overall (except on rare occasion). More amazingly, I have been restraining my temper more easily so now Son & I have more fun overall & I'm more relaxed. It's nice having things get done!

What's the stamp price now?

I don't know about other people, but the stamp costs have changed so much many times in the past five years that I sometimes forget what it is! Luckily, I found this informative site. Hope it helps you too.

Feeling like he won the lottery!

Everybody gets down on their luck sometimes & then sometimes you hear of someone with an amazing lucky streak like this guy! I'd imagine about now he's wondering why he didn't buy a lottery ticket too.

Cool October nights

“October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book.” By: Unknown





Hubby & I really enjoyed our last fire of the season. Hopefully old man winter will fly by & spring will be flourishing before our eyes. Hey, one can dream, right?

If only wishes came true...

Today Son & I were inside a store passing an ice cream cooler & this is what followed...

Son: What's in there?
Myself: Ice cream.
Son: I have an idea! If I'm a good boy then I can have ice cream.
Myself: I don't think so. We have to eat dinner first.
Son: But I really want ice cream, Mommy!
Myself: I know. I want to win the lottery but that's not going to happen!

Appreciating birthdays

When you are young, most people anticipate his or her birthday anxious to become another year older. As you age, it sometimes becomes just another day. We celebrated my grandmother's & great-aunt's birthdays. Son was an excellent helper cleaning up after dinner. Maybe because he was so anxious to have birthday cake! (LOL) After Son blew out ALL the candles out, my youngest sister & friend served cake while I added additional pictures to the new digital picture frames for my Grandma & Great-Aunt. It was a great day spending time with family & the kids had a great time (until exhaustion took over & they became very cranky). Another great memory to cherish!

69 years too late!

Did you know that there is a town named Batman in Turkey? Now imagine the mayor of this town suing suing Warner Bros. and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan for using the name without the city's permission 69 years after the superhero was originally created. Well it's happened! If it takes you that long to sue something (only after something earns millions of dollars), then me thinks you're doing it for the money!!! Or perhaps they have their own secret wealthy playboy and superhero of their own!

Turkey crafts

I'm always trying to come up with new crafts to do with Son who absolutely loves them now. Since Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away, I thought I would share everyone these simple crafts I found. I would love to know what you think of them.

Baby intelligence

There are always new tips & trip about how to raise a 'smart' baby. Here are another fifty tips just for that occasion by Parents Magazine (a good buy for parents). Some I was familiar with but others were new. Enjoy!

Soccer monster!

Son had his first & second soccer practice followed by a game where he experienced a real soccer game for the first time. He really enjoyed playing & even got a chance to play goalie where he blocked a few balls! For the most part though, it's fun to watch the kids chase after the ball as a mob most running for the sake of running.



Meanwhile Daughter loved walking everywhere we would let her & playing with a soccer ball herself. Perhaps we have a couple of soccer monsters on our hands!

It was a late night!

Most nights the kids go to bed pretty good. Last night though they both had a hard time. Daughter woke up a few times crying & then going back to sleep. Son had a difficult time 'getting comfy' when he finally fell asleep on a bed made on the floor, two to three hours after his bedtime. I seriously lost track how many times I had to go into his bedroom.

During that time, I managed to clear out many of the hampers of clean clothes, weeding out his too-small clothes. He's now into 5T shirts & pants. The challenge with the 5T pants is he needs the length but needs a belt for the waist. Now I need to weed out Daughter"s 18 month clothes as she needs a 2T/3T shirt & pants. This is a never-ending chore as the kids keep getting bigger! In with the old & out with the new!

Today we went to a fairy tale workshop where he learned all about being a prince & planted a bean. Amazingly he was very calm for being tired. We'll see how this afternoon goes.

Where did the time go?

We has some fun family outings in August & September that I've been wanting to share pictures with you. Enjoy!

August



Son & Daughter seem very well matched. When they play together, they each give what they get!



Our family enjoyed a fun weekend away...

September



Spending a wonderful day at an amusement park with Hubby, kids & in-laws.



Checking out the science museum with my Hubby, kids & parents.

Like a Gypsy in October

"There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir,

We must rise and follow her;

When from every hill of flame,

She calls and calls each vagabond by name."

By: William Bliss Carman




An afternoon at the park where we saw a 'Haunted Graveyard'

that a neighbor had set up which enthralled the kids.

Cool, huh?

Time for our annual visit to the pumpkin farm!

My mom, youngest sister & I then took a impromptu girls' weekend (which our husbands were completely cool with) for my Mom's birthday. Actually we were talking about visiting an area my grandmother's old place that we used to visit when we were kids. About that time, Hubby jokingly suggested we should get going quickly if we were to leave that evening. We all looked at each other startled, smiled & said "Are you serious?" I don't think he even realized how he unwittingly encouraged the idea. Within two hours, we had a plan & were on the road & had an absolute blast!

When Hubby was away on business, my mother-in-law & I took the kids bowling which Son really enjoyed. Believe it or not, he actually took the majority of these pictures! He's getting pretty good aim, if I do say so myself!

My youngest Brother & girlfriend came to visit. It's always nice to see them.

Shortly before Halloween, we went trick-or-treating at a local downtown area. Son & Daughter both enjoyed walking around & talking to people. We always enjoy seeing the creative things people make with the pumpkins. I think the 'Incredible Punk' was a general favorite though!

Time for change!

The projected winner is Obama with the polls currently 338 vs 155! Talk about a landslide! Not everyone may agree, but change is definitely coming for our country. His family must be so proud.


I respect John McCain for the respect he showed Obama during his concession speech. Everyone will remember Obama girl & Joe the Plumber who found fame during this campaign.


I look forward to seeing change happen! If only we could see four years into the future & see where the country will be then. Either way, history has been made!

Election Results

Faster than I know...

The other day I was checking on Son to make sure he was still covered before I went to bed. As I covered him back up, I was struck by how tall & grown up he has become. I remember when he was as little as Daughter (who's already a year old)! Then of course, she herself is so tall for her age that she's already as tall as our neighbor's 2.5 yr old daughter! No wonder they nearly wear the same size! My babies are growing up which makes me sad but happy as they enjoy the wonder & experiences life has to offer.