Life Shut Down Part 3

Cade is using the people from the nativity scene to practice his marksmanship. I need to go "save" baby Jesus. When I bought the nativity for the kids to play with, this is not quite what I had in mind.

(apologies for no pictures; our camera is broken and we are debating if we should just buy the replacement part for $30 or spend $150-200 on a camera.)

Life Shut Down Part Deux

Ok. So I'm not feeling sorry for myself anymore. Yea me!

I was online at the font garden and giggled at all the funny sayings. The owners of the site have typed out phrases and quotes to display each font, and it's pretty funny.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.
• Last night, as I lay in bed looking up at the stars, I thought, "Where in the h*ll is the ceiling?"
• An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.
• Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made. --Otto von Bismarck
• Diplomacy: the art of someone having it your way.
• Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.
• We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees. --Jason Kidd

Hope you enjoyed them.

Life Shut Down

Somewhere in the metroplex area there is a 1 inch square piece of ice on concrete; thus, the whole place has shut down.

oy.

Three kids. At home all day. No playing outside (it won't get above freezing until late this afternoon). Claire is sick. Jack is teetering on the edge of being sick.

This will be a slow, painful death.

Feeling Crafty?

I have been wanting to make an advent calendar for a couple of years now, but surprisingly, I have never found the time. I was recently charged with coming up with a few Christmas craft ideas to present to the ladies at church; Finally, I had a deadline. And people were counting on me. Guess it was time to actually start this project.

If you search "make advent calendar" or "advent calendar craft", hundreds of ideas will be brought to you in .23 seconds (at least that's how long Google took). But there was one style of calendar that really caught me eye: an advent calendar made on a cookie sheet. Yes, a cookie sheet that you bake cookies on. Before you roll your eyes and go to your bookmarks to read about something much more interesting than a homemade craft made on a cooking utensil, take a look at this:



Is that not amazing? Even if you're not into handmade items, you still have to admit that it's pretty dang cute.

Short of the story: I made the calendar, and it's adorable! It took me waaaaay longer than it should have, but that is due to my anal nature. It was a hit with the ladies at church, and I think some of them might actually try it!

The other two ideas that I present to the ladies were a little less involved. The craft for the craft-averse was to turn an ornament into a oil diffuser. Ideally, you'd take a flat-bottomed ornament, pour scented oil at least halfway, and then stick several reeds (not bamboo skewers or wood dowels; it needs to be reed) inside, and oi la. You have a room freshener that won't burn your house down or cause cancer (and whatever other criminal acts defenseless candles are accused of). If you can't find a flat-bottomed ornament, you could place a round ornament on top of a napkin ring to steady it.

The last idea was medium in skill level. And it is a precious book that my Great Aunt Lou (who passed away almost a year ago) made for me when I was just one year old. It is a Christmas ABCs book.



Basically, it's a scrapbook (she covered the outside with felt and decorated it). And each set of pages is devoted to a letter of the alphabet. Included is a short rhyming poem and pictures from old Christmas cards that coordinate with the poem.



This was one of my favorite things to unearth out of the Christmas decoration boxes each year. The time and energy she put into it was precious to me.

If you'd like to make this but don't have any Christmas cards saved, ask around. You can also cut pictures out of magazines (on a few pages, my Great Aunt Lou had to do this as well) or print pictures on your printer from the internet.

Another craft that just came to mind that I did 6 or 7 years ago was make a centerpiece. All I did was buy the clear round glass ornaments and some craft paint in Christmasy colors (paint intended for glass would work better, but the craft paint does OK. Red green and silver look great!). I took the tops off the ornaments and squeezed one color at a time into each ornament and rotated the ornament around so that the paint would kind of swirl inside. After that color had completely dried, I did the same with the other colors (try to use at least 3 colors per ornament). Put the tops back on and put all the ornaments in a cute bowl. If you have any evergreen laying around (maybe from trimming the bottom of the treee), stick a few sprigs into the bowl to give it some texture.

I am done channeling Martha Stewart. We now resume our regularly sheduled program, already in progress.

A Hunting We Will Go

Not hunting for Bambi. For a Christmas tree! We went to the Wintergreen Tree Farm (see my earlier post for info on this great place), and hunted us down a real good 'ne. The pictures didn't turn out as well as the tree did. But hey. You don't come here for award-winning photography, do you? On that same rabbit trail, what do you come here for?

Enjoy our chilly hunting expedition!




Claire's got quite a belly on her...


The boys sword fight will Scott drags our kill out to the driveway for pick-up.

Genuine smiles are still elusive in our family...



Love this pic. So precious!

There's Something Really Wrong...

...with these pictures. Oh let me count the ways... Possible monetary reward for the best captions.




And for the record, Cade wanted me to fix him up with the "diaper." He did not, however, request that it be a thong diaper. That's just how the chips fell. Blackmail material? Certainly.

Awwwwwww

Cade just adores his little sister. And she is pretty smitten with him. They both love to hug each other. And Cade will often bring a toy to Claire if she's crying (which is all the time -- that girl thinks she's got a right to whatever she wants! what genetic pool could she have stolen that trait from?!?). It's just downright sweet. Enjoy the love. Awwwwww....

Happy Halloween!

Ok. So Halloween was over a month ago. But our boys are just now brave enough to try the color hair spray I bought on clearance. Jack was more adventurous than I expected; we did polka-dots on him! Cade opted for just white hair; I was proud of him for letting me do anything to his hair. Out to the backyard, my friends!

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Poor third kid. She's lucky she has a name.

Claire is not fortunate enough to receive regular bathing. We bathe her at least once a week (if it's a good week). But the girl doesn't get too dirty. So at the end of a long day of dealing with two older monkeys, we really don't feel like bathing Claire. Sue us.

Apparently Claire was feeling particularly desperate one night and managed to climb into the sink. At least, in our laziness, she's developing perseverance and an enterprising attitude.



You like the head cocked to one side? Very beauty queen-ish!

That's My Girl

It was in college that I got hooked on doing the crossword. Not just any crossword puzzle, mind you. The New York Time crossword. It was fortuitous that the NYT crossword appeared everday in our free campus newspaper, The Daily Texan. So, rather than paying close attention to my professors, I was physically present in my classes but actually far away in a land of witty clues, big SAT words, and Will Shortz (the editor of the puzzles).

So imagine my excitement when I discovered Claire poring over the Sunday NYT puzzle (the hardest one of the week, I'll add).

Nevermind that the puzzle is upside down. That's only because it's too easy for Claire when it's right-side-up.

Cupolas

For my mom...

If You're Mad & You Know It ...

... stomp your feet!

That's Claire's new mantra, as she slowly inches her way into the terrible two's. My kids seem to be around 18 months old when they hit that wonderful age where aliens abduct them and leave little monsters in their places. And so it is with Claire Bear.

She is not into full throttle tantrums yet, but she is starting to stomp her feet when she's mad. She did this yesterday in the atrium at church. Ah, how I love a public hissy fit.

Unfortunately, it's very cute when Claire gets mad and stomps her little feet. I have to repress my grins and remember to handle her the way I handled the boys. Even though she's my little princess, it's equal-opportunity-for-beatings in our house! (No, I'm not beating her yet. A stern "no" sends her bottom lip out and tears rolling down her face.)

Wintergreen Tree Farm

Christmas trees! Can't you almost smell them? Well, maybe if it weren't still 80 degrees outside. It's kind of hard to start thinking Christmas when you're breaking a sweat on your way to check the mailbox.

For the past several years, we've gone out with our good friends the Dragos to the Wintergreem Tree Farm to cut down our own Christmas tree. The farm is a small, family operation out near Van Alstyne. They don't have a website, or I'd link to it. For more information, you can email Nancy.

This place totally rocks. Like I said, it's a family run farm. They are out in the country (it's a really pretty drive!), and it so peaceful out there. After you arrive, you climb onto a hay-laden trailer and go for a tractor drive around their place. Then you're dropped off in the middle of hundreds of beautiful trees! And you just run, run, run around until you find the perfect one. You cut it down yourself with the hand saw you are given (I'm sure you could ask for help if you are saw-averse) and then drag your kill back to the driveway and wait for your tree to get picked up. They shake out the old needles and bundle it up in plastic netting and help get it onto your car/truck. Then you can go get some free coffee or hot apple cider and wander around their shop (they have handmade ornaments and decor as well as tree stands and other Christmas paraphernalia).

Here are the directions to the farm:

Take Highway 75 North to exit 51 (FM121/Stephens St) Van Alstyne. Turn right past the Mobile station (with food court), up to the next traffic light, which is sixth tenths of a mile. At the light, turn right (south) and go two blocks on Hwy. 5 to the next traffic light. The Post Office will be on your left. Turn left (east) on to Farm Road 121 and proceed 8.3 miles to Wintergreen Farm. The farm is on the left side of the road.

Here are their operation hours:

This year we will open the Friday after Thanksgiving and will open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If you need to come during our days off, please give us a call. We want to make your holiday season special.

And I thought this was especially cool (taken from their newsletter sent out this morning):

In an effort to help families this holiday season, we have decided to keep our prices the same as last year. Virginia pines range in size from 5' to 15' and the Carolina Sapphires from 5' to 12'. Prices for both range from $5 - $7.00 per foot. Leyland Cypress have become quite popular,and selection of Leyland Cypress this year is limited. They range from 5' to 8' and prices are $8.00 or less per foot. These trees are for individuals that have allergies.

I am a huge fan of this place and wanted to promote it to you guys! This makes for a really fun family outing and is so much more fun than going to Home Depot for a precut tree that is already starting to dry out. Our boys enjoyed running around the farm last year and had a blast looking at all the trees to find the perfect one.

Here are some pics from last year's Great Tree Hunt. I can't wait to go again this year!

(this last pic is a miserably failed attempt at a family picture. note to self: take family picture before making kids walk for miles while looking for a tree)

Vote, Vote, Vote!

Just a reminder from your local friendly blogger to VOTE tomorrow, if you did not already early vote. Yes, I know the lines will be long. So here's what you do. You wake up early, run by Krispy Kreme, and take donuts to your voting place. And then you hang out for however long it takes to vote while sharing your delicious, sugary heavenly confections with your fellow citizens who are also exercising their privilege and right to vote (as well as using voting as a completely valid excuse to miss time from work).

Thank God that we have the privilege and the right to vote. And then go VOTE!

Dumb & Poor

Everyone hates spam, right? You get tons of it, and it clutters your mailbox to where you can't see your real email. I guess being annoying isn't enough. Now spam is getting an attitude and is becoming insulting.

I received a message from "ebay" this morning. The subject title? "Dumb and Poor? Here's a way to make simple money!"

Reverse psychology? Maybe by calling me dumb and poor, that will make me want to click on this obviously phony email from "ebay"?

I just don't get it.

Torturing Little Sister

So it's not so much torture as it is wild, exciting fun. Cade got Claire to sit in an empty diaper box and he zoomed her around the house. Squeals and giggles ensued.

Miss Speed Racer

Claire crawled into the back of the van the other day and clawed her way to the front seat. She was enjoying herself immensely, pushing buttons and turning knobs. She pressed on the horn and this was the result:


Yes, in case you are wondering, I did run back into the house to get the camera. C'mon. She's the third kid. She was alright.

What's that smell?

No. The title of my post is not the first thing that Scott asked when he got home yesterday. Although that would have been appropriate.

No, the title is the question Cade asked when Scott started carving the pumpkin that Cade had brought home from his school's field trip to the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm out in Celina. Cade hated the smell of pumpkin. So much so that he covered his nose for the 20 minutes it took for us to carve and clean out the pumpkin. Jack actually starting dry heaving and gagging when he smelled it, so we removed him from the room. The actual carving of the jack-o-lantern didn't turn out to be quite the fun-filled family event. It was basically Scott carving and me scooping out the innards. Neither boy wanted to be anywhere near the pumpkin while it was being prepared.





But they sure were excited to take the jack-o-lantern outside and put a candle in it! (excuse the out-of-focus images -- lighting wasn 't great!)

Claire-o-lantern

Our friend Amy (wasssssup Amy!) gave us these adorable jack-0-lantern pajamas for Claire. Claire didn't quite know what to think of the built-in footies. She walked pretty funny for a couple of minutes (visualize yourself trying to walk if you had a #2 accident in your pants). Thanks Amy!

A Strange Thought

Sometimes my mind wanders. It wanders to Target. It wanders to Home Depot. It wanders into the gutter. It wanders around the house thinking about projects and design ideas.

And sometimes my mind just wanders into la-la-land.

Here is a question I pondered the other day: Can you imagine the size of Clifford the Big Red Dog's feces? How in the world would you pick up the dog doo from the backyard?

I honestly spent time on that one. I didn't come up with a solution, although I did resolve that it would be a long time before we have pets again.

School Rules ***NOT A KID FRIENDLY POST***

***This is not a kid friendly post. If you are living in your parents house, stop reading now! If you are living in your parents' house and you're over 22, move out and get a job!***











Cade has been writing, writing, writing since he started kindergarten. He'll write notes to me and Scott. He'll make signs and post them around the house. Cade will write names of his friends. One day, Cade decided to write down the rules for his classroom at school. When he showed the list to Scott, Scott nearly doubled over with laughter. Look at rule #3.



That was supposed to be "be patient". Not "be a sh*t". I think I'm going to bring it to school to show his teacher -- she'd get a kick out of it!

Stickers! Stickers!

Part of my job last weekend at my mom's was to go through about 6 or 7 boxes of my childhood stuff. I had an absolute blast going through my old things. Blankets, toys, room decor I hadn't seen in years made me giggle and brought back so many memories!

One of the many gems I unearthed from the disgusting, spider egg-laden boxes was my sticker collection. Yes, I collected stickers. Don't be jealous. And don't pretend you didn't collect them either.

Do you remember scratch-and-sniff stickers? Loved those! I read somewhere in one of my sticker binders (yes, binders is plural there) that my favorite scratch-and-sniff was a taco. Yeeeech. A taco? Was my olfactory sense not quite developed at age 8? In case you're wondering, yes. The scratch-and-sniff stickers still had a scent to them. The scents, however, didn't always equate to the original scent. The coconut stickers smelled like musty nastiness. The banana stickers smelled like musty nastiness. The bubble gum stickers smelled like musty nastiness. Are you noticing a theme?

The grape scents lasted the best. The apple fared well too, as did the spearmint. Cade was enamored with the scratch-and-sniff.

I harvested all the stickers still in decent shape for the kids. They love putting stickers on their artwork, and since I'm incredibly cheap and figure that they won't notice the slight musty smell on many of the stickers, I figure we all make out like champs.

I also saved some vintage stickers. Remember when Houston had a football team that wasn't the Texans? Love ya Blue! Ah, the Oilers. We loved to hate them. Bum Philips, too. I have a full sticker sheet of Love Ya Blue stickers. I also have some vintage Hello Kitty as well as other Sanrio stickers. Do you remember the old lady (Clara Peller) in the Wendy's commercials that yelled, 'Where's the beef?!?" (odd trivia about me: I was Clara Peller for Halloween one year! Mom made the dress with the lace collar and everything!) I have some stickers of her and her famous question.

If I get a chance, I may post a few pics of my lavish collection. They are all out of the binders now, but you'll get a feel for my prized adhesive-backed beauties.

Making Dough

This evening, since Scott was still at work, I let Jack watch Cars while Cade and I made some salt dough. You mix the dough, then roll it out and cut out shapes. Then you bake the dough. After it cools, it's hard and you can paint it. Cheap fun!

So tonight Cade mixed the dough and we cut our shapes and baked them. Now, Cade has some sensory issues. He has never liked getting his hands dirty. But I made him mix the ingredients with his hands. He sort of mixed it, and sort of didn't like it. Oh well. I'm proud of him for getting his hands messy!




Tomorrow when we paint our shapes, I'll update on the finished product!

I love me a soccer man!

I've always had a thing for soccer guys. Not sure why. Guess it's the way God made me.

Imagine to my delight that Jack seems to LOVE soccer! He's been kicking the ball around the house ever chance he gets. And he also begs Scott and me to play kick with him. He giggles and has such a great time running and kicking the ball.

This isn't the best pic of Jack, but it does have Jack and the soccer ball in the same frame. Ok. So I'm getting lazy...

My Fair Cade

This past Monday, Scott took Cade to his 1st State Fair of Texas ever! And they had a wonderful time!

There was debate between Scott and me as to whether Cade would actually ride the ginormous ferris wheel. Cade has been asking to ride the ferris wheel for a year now. Each time we passed by Fair Park on our way out of town, his resolve would become stronger. I was elated to find that Cade did ride the ferris wheel and loved it!










Of course you can't go to the Fair and not say hi to Big Tex.



Cade unfortunately didn't say hi to Big Tex. He was too busy pouting because Scott wouldn't carry him on his shoulders.


But Cade did stop pouting long enough to look at the trains set up at the feet of Big Tex.



And of course Scott couldn't go to the Fair and not see the shiny new cars!

There were some old trains set up at the Fair and they allowed the kids to crawl in and out of them. How cool! Cade loved getting to climb up on to the caboose!


Cade did not however like getting put up on the locomotive.

There were some huuuuuge sculptures of elephants at the Fair. Made for good climbing!


and for perspective of the size of this elephant...

And finally, there was a garden area that attracted so many butterflies because of all the flowers. Scott captured this gorgeous shot!