Pictures of my 3 year old "baby".....

Three years ago this morning she came out screaming. She's been a blessing and joy ever since.....

Happy birthday Anna! We love you sooooo much!

(More b'day pics to come...)

The day after.....

I look forward to the day after Thanksgiving all year. But for me, it's not about shop, shop shop and spend, spend spend..... it's about family, friends, making memories and, screamin' deals.

We draw names of both sides of our family so I have three children's gifts and two grown-up gift to buy for each side. I buy one "bigger" item for the kids, then just stocking stuffers. Same for Craig and I. This year we are not spending more than what is in our bank account. Just a bit of money set aside, so you can rest easy, I'm not going into debt over Christmas gifts.. Now, here are the reasons I look forward to this day in the same way Craig looks forward to opening morning of hunting season:

My Dad- yes, MY DAD, comes shopping with us. My dad mostly goes for the stories and he's a real conversationalist. We'll be waiting in line for doors to open and before you know it we have found out what deals the people behind us in line are after. Last year while my mom and I were in Sears my dad waited for 45 minutes in line at Sports Authority for a $10 gift card. While he was waiting he got to talking with two gals behind him in line. It turned out that my dad and one of the gals were the last to get the gift card. So my dad GAVE his gift card to the other lady! When he told us he said, "there wasn't really anything I needed in there anyway." My dad cracks me up. He also treats us all to breakfast later that morning. He's the best.

My Mom- my mom tags along because she doesn't want to miss out on the fun. She's not as into it, but she'll gladly stand in line while I race around the store gathering items on my list. She is friendly and never gets impatient. I'm sure the retail employees love her, as do I.

My sister and her friend- We usually have separate routes. I'm usually at Freddies while they're at Toys-R-Us. They'll pick up something for me off my list and I'll do the same for them. We communicate via cell phone multiple times that morning. They are great!

My other sister and niece- Last year they called us from Kohls while we were in JCPenny and warned us "DO NOT COME TO KOHLS, IT IS A MADHOUSE HERE!" It's was nice to be forewarned and we moved along to the next stop while they were trapped in a crazy Kohls.

My mother-in-law- This year she'll be accompanying my on my 3:30am drive into town. I love her because she's just as into it as I am. A few years ago she went with me and I met her in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning as we were preparing to leave. I was giddy with anticipation and excitement (for the big hunt) and she looks up at me and inquires, "every hour?" Meaning we have so much trouble sleeping the night before, that we are up every hour checking the clock. I burst into laughter. She's a girl after my own heart.

Breakfast- after about 4-5 hours of shopping we all gather for breakfast to rehash our deals and tell our best stories over a yummy omelet. Usually my dad invites whoever else he knows is out shopping and wants a break. It's tons of fun.

Nap- Once back home sleep usually find me in the form of a nap. It is a peaceful slumber, much different than the night before, as I dream about all the great buys I got and how my Christmas shopping is done!

So, do you still call me crazy.....of are you a die-hard just like me??

Traditions

Welcome to Company Girl Coffee!

This week Rachel Anne had me thinking about HOLIDAY TRADITIONS.

I have to admit, I think I have been kind of lacking in that area. I hear of all these neat ideas for a tradition and I think, "I want to start doing that" but then I never actually make it happen. But I did think of one thing that we have done every year for at least the past 4 years.

Make a gingerbread house.

I'm not talking real gingerbread, just the easy graham cracker stuck on a milk carton kind of gingerbread house. Above is Christmas 2004, Will was 3 1/2 (sniff, sniff) and Wyatt (not pictured....did we let him partake in the decorating that year? Maybe he went to bed early....) was 1 1/2.

I always look forward to this fun activity. We get a ton of different candy, put on some Christmas music and go to town. I love watching my kids creativity and their different personalities emerge as they decorate. Let me tell you, watching your child decorate a gingerbread house will tell you a lot about their personality!

We talk and take our time. Last year they boys got so creative. They did the whole gingerbread house and then added a yard complete with a hill of snow, a sled, a lamp post and trees. All while Anna was busy shoving candy into her mouth! A lot of times this tradition will fall around my birthday (Dec. 17) and so that makes it extra special.

It's funny because this tradition just kinda happened! It first started when we were given a gingerbread house "kit" and we just took it from there. I think we are sticking with this one. I'd love to see my boys as teenagers decorating a gingerbread house!

So what about you? What's your favorite holiday tradition? Please share!

Quote of the day...

Monday I picked up a devotional book of ours and read a quote that has stuck with me all week,

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today."

-Chinese Proverb

The author was referring to teaching our children and it really struck a chord with me. So this week, I have been focusing on this verse and trying to make the most of every teaching opportunity....TODAY, and everyday.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou, liest down, and when thou risest up.

-Dueteronomy 6:5-7

Scrappin' weekend

This weekend three of my scrapbook crazy friends and I went away to the coast for our 5th annual scrapbook weekend. We spent a lot of time around this ginormous table and if this picture is any indication, it was well used....

I finished 16 layouts and it was so nice to get a break, do some shopping, and get a bit more caught up in the kiddos scrapbooks. Craig and the kids had a great time. He built a little fire in the backyard and they roasted hot dogs which was the highlight of their weekend.

Thanks for a fun weekend, girls! I'm already looking forward to next year!

This is my "new" red table. It was free because I spotted it in my in-laws garage and asked if I could have it. For nearly a year it had a white cracked coat of paint on top with black showing through. I liked it. I thought it added to my miss-matched, shabby-chic, kid friendly home. And I didn't have to worry about nicks, scratches or permanent black sharpie. Those all just added to it's "character". But I'm guessing other people just thought it looked like a crappy, paint chipped table. So I finally decided on a color...."ready to dance" red. Craig, my painter, put 7 coats of paint on this baby and two coats of sealer.

It turned out really nice and adds a good amount of color to our kitchen/dining area. I used to like to say I had a yellow, red and blue kitchen. But in all actuality the only red I had in my kitchen was this red bowl, which was my inspiration color for my red table. Now I can honestly say I have a yellow, red and blue kitchen.
Speaking of bowls....these are my fruit bowls and they are one my most prized possessions. They are something I really wanted but would never buy for myself because they are expensive and frivolous, but a good friend of ours knew I liked them and surprised me with them. So nice! Tuesday afternoon I went grocery shopping and filled these with produce. About 10-12 apples, 6 pears, and a big bunch of bananas. Today, less than 48 hours later there are two pears and two apples left! Does anyone else constantly hear, "mom, I'm hungry??" I feed my kids, I tell you but they devour this fruit.


On, another note. I cut bangs. I was getting frustrated with my hair, and have no patience so I grabbed my scissors and went to town. I'm liking them, but It's always a little awkward to have to explain to my hairdresser next time I go in that yes, it was me who tried to cut my hair and not some ill-trained professional.




And last, but not least. I had this great idea to video the kids doing something cute at the new red table. I must have taken 10 out-takes, deleting them, and I finally just decided to stop with this one. One of my problems was trying to manufacture the spontaneous cuteness, another was I only have 30 something seconds on my memory card to record something. But this one turned out a little humorous as Anna "christened" the new red table with water, and then she gets really distracted, and the time runs out. Note: notice how nicely it beads up on the new table.

Enjoy! :)

Today I was a fun mom

This week Rachel Anne blogged about speaking with kindness. When I first read her post I though, "oh, that's good one, I can do that, how hard can it be, I'm a pretty kind person aren't I?" Well, sure, I'm kind and polite to the gas station attendant and the clerk at the grocery store, my neighbor, and my son's teacher. But what about my own family? As I listened to my words throughout the day with a new perspective I realized how harsh I can be at times with my kids, the ones I love so much.



"Sit down and eat your breakfast!"



"Get your shoes, on.....we have to go NOW!"



"Pick up the junk all over the kitchen floor!"



I worked on it all day....but boy was it sure eye opening!



So I'm continuing to strive for kind words. It will be a daily challenge, I'm sure.



Today the kids and I just had fun. It seems to me that kindness flows naturally when I choose a good attitude and embrace joy everyday. It started when Anna came in my room this morning at 6:15. I was awake but not out of bed yet. We snuggled and talked for about 20 minutes. I asked her lots of questions and we chatted over the fact that we are both girls with blonde hair. She really gets a kick out of that for some reason. Then:



We picked raspberries

We colored with chalk on the sidewalk

I let Anna use scissors to cut a piece of paper into a million pieces of paper

We made mini english muffin pizzas and smoothies for lunch to surprise Wyatt

We read books

We talked some more

We went to Walmart and I tried not to freak out (kind words, kind words) when Anna tried to climb out of the cart multiple times and Wyatt hid on the shelving behind the vacuum cleaners....



You get my drift. Challenging? Yes, everyday. Rewarding? Absolutely!

She opens her mouth with wisdom; and on her tongue is the law of kindness. ~Proverbs 31:26

Family of Mushrooms

This family of mushrooms decided to grow in our front yard. The kids and I realized the other day that it is an awful lot like our family. They must have known we lived here. Makes me smile.

L-R: Wyatt, Will, Mom, Anna, Dad

The worlds easiest cookie recipe

My friend, McKenzie called me to share this recipe a few weeks back. I finally remembered to buy a can of pumpkin, and had stocked up on $.59 cake mixes from Safeway this week. So I tried it and they turned out pretty good.

1 boxed cake mix

1 small can (15oz) pumpkin

That's all!

Beat together with mixer and drop by tablespoons on greased cookie sheet or Silpat. Bake at 375 for about 9-10 minutes.

I used a yellow cake mix and added chocolate chunks. I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand but I had a bunch of mini chocolate bars from Halloween that I chopped up and threw in. Which could very well make them not only the easiest cookies but the cheapest, too. I think they'd be good without the chocolate and with a generous shaking of cinnamon. Or use a chocolate cake mix to disguise the pumpkin from your kids.

My kids gobbled them down. Wyatt loved them so much he named them "Dream Cookies" so I guess that's what they will be called around here. I justify "Dream Cookies" as a good way to get your veggies. Or wait, I think pumpkin is a fruit. Oh, well.

They made my house smell good!

Cute Costumes

Will has wanted to be Indiana Jones since September.....we found this princess dress for Anna at a kids re-sale shop back toward the beginning of the month, too. And Wyatt.....well Wyatt always keeps us on our toes. Thursday night he came up with a new idea.

Can you guess what he was? A Shepard! I spent Friday morning fashioning him a tunic from and old brown skirt. When he got home from school I showed him, what I'd made and his response was, "no, mom I wanted to be a Shepard from Heidi, not a Shepard from Israel!!"

Sheesh!

I had him try it on and said he could wear a vest (like the Shepard from Heidi) and then he was convinced. He even pinned his stuffed lamb to his shoulder!

If you think we could have convinced her to be anything but a princess, you'd be wrong! I had fun curling her hair for the first time and even let her wear lip gloss. She loved every minute of it!


And last but not least, our handsome Indiana!



A fun night was had by all! Now I'm off to raid all the dark chocolate!