Rainy Day Blues ~

I feel like I have fallen off the craft bandwagon. I have gobs of fabric just a-waitin' for someone to make SOMETHING. And one day while the kids are napping....i will go do just that.

With this crazy wet/cold weather the kidlings and I are gonna be stay'n indoors as much as possible-- so I started making a list of some fun activities for us to do over the coming cold!

So here's a few fun ideas to help bridge the gap between now and spring.


Make S'Mores inside (need i say more)... I could eat 10 pounds of roasted marshmallows! Ok...maybe not my smartest idea since i'm trying to eat "healthier". :/


Build a fort with blankets for your kiddos to sneak into! Turn off the lights, get out the flashlights
and make it a real indoor camp out! I did this all the time growing up!
Endless adventures to be had under a blanket fort...

Have a Book Nook. If you have kids ...i'm sure you have TONS of books laying around. Gather them up and put them in basket. Have a specific place for the kids to go and read or have you read to them.

If you have a special little girl in your life....have a mommy and me Polka dot Toenail painting party! :o) TONS- O -FUN!!!! My little darling is napping at different times lately so this will be a good treat for her one day while little bro is napping!

Swimming party (in the bath tub). Put the kids in their bathing suits...blow up a beach ball...put them in their swim wings, bust out some Popsicles and turn on some Kenny Chesney. :o)

Painting Party. I love to let the kids finger paint. I also love to have new art to display in the house. And better yet....have the swim party after the painting party.....hehe!

... and last, but not least...
Always a favorite in my house -- family movie night!
We pile blankets and pillows in-- we have more treats,
snacks, and yummy things to enjoy than you could ever begin to eat in one sitting.
You can create the same....just make a palette of blankets
on the floor, gather up some favorite snacks and a family friendly movie...
put everyone in cozy jammies and enjoy!


Hope you find something fun to do with your sweet family while you keep warm!

What are some of your favorite things to do when stuck in the house over the winter??

Hawaiian Lemonade ~

I recently purchased a Beverage Dispenser that i love. I have been wanting one for a long time to have around for Birthday parties or any kinda party. I keep seeing them in all the Southern magazines i read. And i just had to have one. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Mine is glass and looks like this.

One of my new years resolutions was to be healthier. Sooooooo that means drinking more water and less COKE! I like water with a splash of citrus fruits in it....kinda like in the picture. I thought if i pass this beautiful dispenser in the kitchen i will be more out to drink what is in it.....water!

But on occasion...maybe this............ :o)


Hawaiian Lemonade


6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate
3/4 cup water
12 oz. apricot nectar
12 oz. pineapple juice
1 1/4 cup ginger ale
lemon slices to garnish


1. in a pitcher combine lemonade concentrate and water; add apricot nectar and pineapple juice
2. stir well and chill for several hours in the fridge
3. right before serving add ginger ale, lemon slices, and ice cubes


*recipe serves 6*
ENJOY!

Small Desk Area in the Kitchen ~

I have been fighting/begging my hubby tooth and nail over having a small desk area in the kitchen. We are trying to finalize our plans for what we both want in our Kitchen renovation. And there is this one spot that would be perfect for a small desk/office area. I think this will be a great addition. Hubby thinks that it is just to redonkulously (yea, i say redonkulous) small of an area. Well i found a picture that is EXACTLY what i want ....and is the same size of area.

I emailed him the picture and he still stands by his decision that it is to small......BUT he also said OK, Fine....i will build it for you. :o) Thank you! This picture shows everything i want my space to be. I want a white cabinet above to store/organize my bill paying system and to keep cards and other mailable items. And i LURVE the monogrammed chair. Maybe just not in white. The kids would ruin that in seconds! What do you think? To small or just right? Am i crazy?

Organizational News ~
I decided that this year i would try something a little different with all those stacks of magazines laying around. Last night i got them all out and starting pulling every idea, image, and/or recipe that i think may be worth hanging on to for further use. Once i've finished purging them i plan to sort them into a neatly organized binder that will hopefully cut down on space and become a quick reference guide.

Have some of you already done this? Do you find that it helps or just creates more work?

Birthday Outfit and a New Toy ~

I always try to make something special for my kids to wear on their birthdays. This year i decided to make a appliqued number "3" shirt for my daughter with a matching skirt. I had the material already on hand cause i wanted to make this for her last year but didn't have the time to make it. So this year i was determined to make it for her. I simply drew out the number i wanted in the size i wanted on regular old white copy paper. Then took my material and ironed on some transfer adhesive. Once i got the adhesive on the material i layed the number i cut out and cut around it. And there you have it ...a matching number 3 to go with the CA-ute cupcake material i used for the skirt.

This material is so sweet. My daughter loves cuppy cakes! One of the cupcakes even has little hearts on it. Huuummmmm...you will be seeing this skirt again soon. :o)

This outfit is just darling on. And she will be able to wear it for awhile...so that makes me happy.


On to my next subject. This year when the hubby asked me what i wanted for Christmas i had THIS website ready for him. HA! I have been seeing alot on this neat little toy. And it is just what i needed to add to my camera equipment. It is called a Light Scoop. It easily goes on you SLR camera's hotfoot. And it is just what you need for indoor photography!

It doesn't look like much but man has it improved my indoor photography. I have been getting some awesome shots of my kids with this little gadget. I usually take my indoor photos with no flash. But that changes things {some of you fellow photographers know what i mean}. But with this it just diverts some of the flash around the subject...and makes for less shadows. Here i will try to show you what i mean. I took 2 pictures of the outfit i made.

Can You see the difference? I can! The one on the left is clear and bright. The one on the right has some shadowing from the flash.

This little gadget is well worth what you will pay for it. It really isn't that expensive at all. I actually got both that they offer. And with that i got a discount. If this is something you are interested in i highly recommend that you get both {warming and standard}. If you buy just one it will run you $29.95 plus shipping $8-$10 depending on where you live. If you buy both shipping is free and it is only $55.95. So you are saving. Trust me....you will love having both!

Here is what they have to say:

Lightscoop® is a smart low-tech device that creates soft, flattering light by redirecting your camera’s pop-up flash to a ceiling or wall.

Don’t let your convenient little pop-up flash ruin your photos with evil red eye, ugly shadows, hot spots, bleached out faces, underexposed colors, and blurry movement that exist only in your photographs, not in the real world.

Slip a Lightscoop® on your camera and never miss out on another fabulous picture! Lightscoop creates soft, natural light and lets you capture the scene the way you see it.

If you look into getting one of these little puppies....let me know. I want to know how you like it! :)

New Kids Art ~

My kids have some new wall art. I'm absolutely in LOVE with these new pieces. They are just to cute!


My daughters nickname is MONKEY! HA! I love this verse ......


And an airplane for my son. His name is on the flag.

These paintings are really large. I had to do some rearranging of what i had on their walls. I have a few more things i want to put up....so i will do another post on all that soon.



Well the past few days have been exciting around here! Last Sunday night we got 6 inches of SNOW. The hubby has had the past 2 days off of work and the kids have had a blast.

View behind the house.

Little girl could hardly walk it was so deep....and the 6 layers of clothes didn't help either. ha!

Here is my little man going down the road on a foam board. UM....well since we never get snow like this here in the Deep south....we really were not prepared. No sled but this did the trick. :o) And yes...he is wearing his sisters pink boots! HAHA! It doesn't look like the snow is going anywhere either. To cold. We made snow cream and the kidlings LOVED IT!

Did you get alot of snow where you live?

2011 ~

I know this is late but i want to wish everyone a happy {belated} NEW YEAR! Last year was a good year....i hope this year will be even better! I have tons coming up and that is why i decided to do this post. Every year everyone starts the new year off with resolutions. I do it.....for about the first month. HEHE! Well this year my New Years Resolution is to keep my New Years Resolutions! First up on that list is ORGANIZATION! What better month to start organizing than January. The kids have brand spanking new toys to keep them busy for hours on end. The weather is yucky and that keeps me locked in so.....my organization is underway. I {as always} started in the kids rooms. Oh MY...did my kids get spoiled rotten at Christmas. I hit their rooms hard and got rid of outgrown toys and junk and did some rearranging.

Wrote down some future projects {to be done in warmer weather} in my handy dandy notebook and moved on to taking down Christmas decorations. Remember that new 9ft tree i got. Wellllllll along with the tree i acquired more ornaments. NOW i'm in need of more storage containers for all that. And here is something i didn't mention....i got yet ANOTHER tree. Yep, i did. The story goes.....i saw them on sale at the same place i got the 9 ft'r. I got a 7.5 ft pre-lit tree for $30 bucks! Folks it is the prettiest tree i have seen. Full and the limbs feel like real limbs. It didn't come with a box so i brought it home in 3 pieces and proceeded upstairs to the Master Bedroom with it. The hubby just stood shaking his head. HA! I didn't get any ornaments for it i just left it bare with it's white lights. So pretty. But i do have big plans for it next year. And... well... yes it is still up. I have to find some kind of storage container for it before i can take it down.

Needless to say...i have a huge shopping trip to go get some Storage Containers. Speaking of Storage.....my attic is in need of a major overhaul. While trying to get some things organized last year i just started taking stuff to the attic so that i wouldn't see it. Out of sight out of mind right? Well no...not really. That attic is haunting me! So while preparing the christmas stuff to go back in the attic....the attic will be my next venture. This is the year i AM going to get organized! :P

Next on the resolution list....is to live healthier. I'm not going to say that my resolution is to exercise or loose weight. I just want to be healthier. I just need to take better care of myself. And that includes several different areas. Mentally, physically and spiritually.

And that is it for me. My plate is full. What about you....what are some of your resolutions? Or is your resolution not to have any resolutions? HA!

No....none of the pictures are related to anything. I just snapped a few pics of some toys that my kids got. I got a new toy for my camera and was trying it out. More on that in another post. Sorry most pictures turned out alittle dark. They were took at night.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

She's 3 ~

Today is my Baby Girl's 3rd Birthday! Three years ago today at this very moment {2:47 pm} my baby daughter was born. I can not even begin to tell you how overwhelmed with joy and happiness we were to finally have her. The hubby and i had been married 8 years and had wanted a baby for a very long time and now the Lord had blessed us with a sweet baby girl. Weighing in at 6 pounds and 8 ounces, 18.5 inches long. I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. I didn't sleep at all that first night. I stayed up all night just looking at her and crying because i still couldn't believe that I ....I had a baby girl.

This morning i woke her up and brought her downstairs before brother woke up so that we could have her favorite breakfast just the two of us. :o) She was smiling from ear to ear. Then we played dolls for awhile. I reminded her that TODAY was her birthday and she said....."Yes mommy, i'm fwee years old today".

We already had her Birthday party over the past weekend. It was a Very FANCY NANCY Birthday party! She loved it! Lots of pink, feather boas, necklaces and diamond rings.....hehe!

Today is her day....that is all i have for my blog today.........


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET BABY GIRL!!! MOMMY, DADDY AND BABY BROTHER LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!!