Late to tell ya, but consider yourself told

Yep, I made it! Well, WE made them. Shelly Hill from the ward and I both sat in my basement for too many nights & afternoons than we care to admit, ripping apart old lamps and chandeliers, going thru cans of black spray paint faster than my family rips thru a roll of toilet paper (that's lightning fast people!). But in the end, we both have one, complete, and beautifully macabre! Don't be jealous, make yourself one. Cause it's totally worth the black fingertip and lawn you're sure to get in the process.

If I sat on Santa's knee, I'd tell him I want an Xbox Kinect thing - why not get one for FREE!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? I'm wishing for some Just Dance type games for the Wii, or the Xbox 360 if we score a Kinect thingy. Oooh, a trip to Disneyworld would be super nice! ;-) Or to finally get to finishing the toy room & laundry room & put the other bathroom in the basement would be a fabulous family gift, don't you think?

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? I'd like to say we eat home made cinnamon rolls, or some lovely breakfast casserole I have gotten up early to prepare....but the reality is I'm the last one awake and the kids are ITCHING to dive into the treasure that Santa has left them under the tree. So, we sit around in our jammies playing with new toys, scavage for food when we can't stand it anymore, and finally get dressed just in time to leave and go to Gramma's house for Christmas dinner.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? an endless bank account - to pay for the maid, stylist, personal trainer and cook of course!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? we plan handmade gifts for each other, and work together to create them.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Scrabble, Monopoly, Rummy, Spades, Sorry

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Everyone home and together while we put up & decorate the tree each year, holiday music blaring.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? Always wanted to see a Christmas tree on the beach! Send me to the Caribbean!

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? Easy - the Kinect Dance Party Bundle, Kinect Fitness Bundle, and the Wii Zumba game.

Crossing my fingers that I'll win a cool prize for the fam!!

Birthday decorations!

Hello friends! Eris' 7th bday party was this past Saturday, and I didn't do much of anything except prepare for it for the week before. I'll share what I took pics of a little at a time......what does an hour's worth of time sitting outside the soccer complex get you when you stopped at the Dollar Tree earlier in the day for a couple supplies?

Well, a plain foam wreath PLUS

a package of floral pins (oops, those are from WalMart - but also $1.00) PLUS

three packages of assorted balloons EQUALS

a cute birthday wreath for my wreath stand! I got the idea from How Does She.com

I'm putting the wreath in my birthday decoration tote to be used the week of each child's birthday! Will probably add a little plaque to it to cutesy it up a bit....maybe a large bow. But for the moment, it's staying like this. It's minimalistic, I'm pretending that's my style! lol

Oh, and beware if you make one yourself, the WM floral pins are longer than the cheapie DT foam wreath, which means this baby is a deathtrap on the back side! It will draw blood in a heartbeat! I'm going to have to snip all the sharp pokies just waiting to take someone's eye out. Would have been easier to find a larger dimension wreath, or cut those things off BEFORE poking them into the wreath and finishing the project! oops!

the suits, the water, the britches, and the birthday.

At 8:40, the ties left, after 2 and a half hours long hours. No one remembered they were coming (let's ignore that I signed up on their calendar just 7 hours before! lol), of course we weren't prepared, let me rephrase - I WASN'T prepared, which in this instance is what really matters. As the doorbell rang at 6pm, the 2 suits were there with smiles on their faces and handshakes ready to be shared, and my heart sunk. I was half laying on the couch, half laying on Brad - in the top and sweater that I wore to church this morning and sleep pants. Brad and I were talking about how long a day we'd had for a Sunday, how we needed to get to work on dinner, Eris had picked chicken and mac & cheese and nothing was defrosted. Oh, and of course we needed a cake - it's Eris' 7th birthday after all.

So, when they walked in, and I realized how horribly UNPREPARED I was to feed them tonight, it was awful. I quickly assessed that no, some other kind sole hadn't given them a big lunch after church. This was it. Buck up and make magic happen...and FAST.

All my chicken was in the deep freeze. *sigh* There went the FAST option. Upside, while that baked, I baked cinnamon apples and a birthday cake. Hey, if my oven is going to be on for an hour and fifteen, I'm getting the best use of it! The rest was easy, a green veggie and Eris' mac & cheese. Right?

Right....except when I'm washing some prep bowls and Brad screams and comes running from the basement that my sink water is flooding the toy room. Mamma Say WHAT??? So, he assesses that situation, realizes we have no kitchen or bathroom use until it's fixed and must leave for Home Depot immediately before they close on a Sunday night for connectors and pipes and things to replace this old copper pipe tonight. We talked of replacing this EXACT pipe last week when my kitchen sink stopped up again....literally 4 days ago. *sigh* 4 kids, baths, teeth, potty, and one bathroom. He's right, it really can't wait til tomorrow - but REALLY? Could things go any MORE wrong tonight?

Oh, they sure can. Picture this: Brad's off on said emergency plumbing run. Kids are hungry and getting wild. Missionaries are showing magic tricks to try to entertain while I cook with no sink facilities (which I forgot about at least twice and poured stuff down that drain where my hubby did NOT put a bucket under I later found out. men.). And Elder Max-something or other walks in the kitchen saying "umm, Sister?" (he doesn't know my name either) and he's holding the hip of his pants. I'm mentally slow at this point, like, look dude, did you spill your drink? pee your pants? what? He just stands and smiles. Finally, words come and I learn his magic trick used a quarter, and after doing it a couple of times, Ella Grace wanted to try. The Elder thought it funny to keep it from her by putting it up over his head, behind his back, and in his pocket.....she thought it funny to try and get it no matter where he put it. Notable struggle to worn missionary suit pants = fabric ripped down the hip. Not the seam. No, the fabric itself. And do I sew? lol Can pigs fly?

I find a pair of Brad's dress pants and toss them to the Elder and send him to change. Honestly, the duct tape idea came first, but I wasn't sure it would be a welcomed idea. We sit for dinner at 7:30pm finally. Brad gets back from Home Depot and joins us at the table, wondering why the Elder is wearing different pants than before. And HIS suit pants nonetheless! Aye yai yai. Wonder what his first thought was? lol

Eris asked us to sing happy birthday to her twice! The cake was crooked and unlevel, but topped with pink heart candy sprinkles and sparkler candles, she loved it, no matter what else the day held. Right as the last bite was being taken, the sounds of a saw-zall (sp?) came up from the basement stairwell. Brad was hard at work. Leaving the 2 smiling ties and 3 E's in the living room (Ehren was asleep after a temper tantrum over lima beans), I ran downstairs, put some pins in some pants trying hard NOT to think of the fact that it was 8pm and they had been worn all day and were certainly "dirty laundry" at this point, said a prayer, and turned on my sewing machine. Found another spot in the waist band that I didn't think my machine could do, so I did a quick sew job by hand. Tonight, my prayers will include strength and stability for that thread, because after all is said and done, it actually didn't look bad. I got big smiles from the Elder when he saw the repair, and as I fessed up to my daughter's apparent destruction to the waist band as well and showed my lame hand stitching, he was genuinely grateful. That waistband had been pulled out weeks ago and needed mending. (I wish I would have looked at the size of pants this Elder wears, I believe he'd appreciate a pair of new ones. Even a thrifted pair.)

I know this won't be an evening soon forgotten by the missionaries, one in particular with mended britches. I don't know just how long I'll be on the blackball list where they avoid your family at all costs. After tonight, I'm sure we made that list! lol This is the first time in a long time I'm completely looking forward to MONDAY!

free Christmas cards from Shutterfly

Hi bloggers - let's face it, if you are reading my blog you are probably a blogger yourself. (Wait, if you are actually reading MY blog, you are my only friend I bet! Please tell me who you are!)

Anyway, back on topic, I found that Shutterfly is giving away 50 free holiday cards to bloggers. That's a stinkin' good deal right there! Save the money you would have spent on printing or making or buying cards, and buy a year's worth of toilet paper for your family. Let's face it, if someone loses their job, you can do without mandarin oranges and onion flakes, but you can NOT go without TP. No way, no how!

FREE HOLIDAY CARD LINK HERE


Oh, and since this subject came up, and so many of us are planning and scheming to get that perfect family shot for said holiday cards, please, if you live in North America, don't do what this person did! I mean, REALLY? This just screams wrong to me. These cards go out mid December......why are the girls wearing summer tops? It's making me cold to just look at this pic, and it's a beautiful 60 deg out today.

p.s. Dear Mrs. Johnson, if you find me here someday talking about your cute girls and your Christmas card, you do not have the right to come kick my behind. I'm only stating how I feel.

Sleepy little E's?

So, after Brad and I made a bed this summer - a project that served purpose both for style & functionality, as well as marital therapy - we decided to just keep going with it. It was fun, and my father in law was willing to start pitching in with his time and skill set as well. He has a LOT MORE of both! Which brings me to share that my girls both have new beds and matching nightstands for their room!

Bed plans: Full size Farmhouse ( Pottery Barn Knockoff) from Knock-Off Wood. LOVE that blog! One pint of paint was enough, with leftover, and Eris picked the pink (anyone that knows her would have guessed THAT!). Bedding from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.This is Eris' pink nightstand - how cute is that? Leftover wood, paint, and a new knob. Easy peasy! Well, Charles said it was easy......he make it in an afternoon. Yes, that's her sleeping mask laying on top - it came with her new bedding and she loves feeling so grown up and fancy!



Ella's bed is the same plan, same size, just different color paint. And if you know my Ella Grace, then her choice of aqua is no surprise at all, right??!! lol Bedding from same, so it sort of coordinates without matching. Since they are in the same room, we have to work together just a little bit.

And of course a matching nightstand for her too! Total expense, $4 for the pack of 2 white knobs. Love a deal like that!

And there you have it. All that's left to do is clean the other half of the room that you can't see here, hang the lime green sheers and put up white baseboards. Well, THEN I get to start the FUN projects up there.....I hear chalkboard paint just calling my name! lol

Oh, and as for building beds, now we are mulling over the plans for Ethan's room! So, more to come!

Hey you!

Go vote today. This is a public service announcement paid for by the sanitation workers of the city whose jobs have been made secure by the extra trash we've all thrown away and recycled in the past couple of weeks that has been mailed to us and left on our doorsteps by the goofballs running for office that think a picture of their smiling mug will make us pencil in the oval next to their name.

Well guess what? I dig deeper than that.

GASP! Shocker I know!

So, you do your own digging, take your own notes, and then take it to the polls people. Do you best, pray about it before you walk in, and make your selections.

It's what freedom is about.