Let the stress begin

The house hunt is on.

We have been in our current house for 15 years, where does the time go. I didn't think that when we bought it we would be here for so long, because it was small when we bought it and has only gotten smaller as each child entered our family. I always joke that in the summer, my square footage increases as the kids spend most of their time out

side and the house doesn't seem as full. I've kept telling myself that lots of families "in the olden" days grew up in small homes... and with lots of children, but somehow it's different now.

We have lots of good memories here, it's where we grew our family and have made friends that we could easily consider family. I feel like it's where we've "grown" up. But it's time to move on and we're excited for the change. We feel grateful that our entire family is on board and excited for the change. To say I'm super nervous would be an understatement, heck, I need benadryl to even get any sleep. I don't expect I'm going to be very pleasant from here until January 12th what with house hunting and Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the stress associated with all those things. I'm not t

he most stable person to begin with. (And nobody would argue that in my family). So, chocolate and caffeine....lots of it and maybe we'll make it through. Can't wait to see where we end up.

Lucky, Lucky me!

As a preface to my post, I have to put it out there that I have for as long as I can remember been a huge fan of black and white. My wedding was just that. Black and White. I'm also extremely crazy about polka dots and the hounds-tooth pattern. So......., last year I was browsing RCWilley with my sister one night and came upon this chair with over sized black and white hounds-tooth upholstery. I gasped! I sat in it. I swooned over it. For crying out loud, I even pet it. And it was $1200! What the????????So I walked away, saying good buy pretty chair. THEN, an RCWilley commercial comes on TV and Paige Davis was sitting in MY chair. I backed it up and recorded it on the DVR. I showed Shawn when he got home so he could see THE chair I had been talking about. One night Shawn and I were browsing floor coverings at the SLC showroom, I hunted all over the store until I found it so he could see it in person (I was sure he was dying to see it). Goodbye again!

A few weeks ago, my sister saw it in the Clearance center. They called me to give me an opportunity to pay $450. for it. I had to decline given the fact we're trying to conserve due to hopefully moving and of course Christmas,.... just couldn't do it.

But then....., tonight, my sister called and said she's leaving work and she's stopping by on her way home. I go out to the car and she has THE chair........for ME....Holy Cow!!!!! Instantly I cried! I'm totally grateful to her and for her. I cannot believe she did that for me! Can you believe she did that???? The gesture is beyond generous...really. But that's the way she is. She's the one who got me through our looooooong unemployment phase. When things were what I thought was more than I could handle, she's the one I'd call. And during that time she called and asked how long it had been since I'd changed the oil in my van, she made a phone call and called me back and told me what time to be at Jiffy Lube as she was taking care of it. Who does that? (Well, actually she does that ALL the time....she's always taking care of everybody) And she's the one I'd tell when I was overwhelmed with emotion for the miracles and generosity we received during that time. She understands hard times and hard things. She helped me make it. So, yes the chair is a beautiful gift....I will LoVe it forever!!! It makes me feel loved and I'll think of you every time I sit in it!!!!! I Love you, Cindy!!!!! You Made my Day! You're the best! Isn't she BeAuTiFuL?

Birthday rag quilt

This is one of my BFF's, Amber.This is her daughter Nea and she is Noah's BFF.
Her birthday was yesterday . . . and this is what I made her.


HOLY COW, it turned out cute! I want one just like it.

Jump starting the holidays

I usually do all my creating after the 10 o'clock hour when the house quiets down and I'm all alone. My friend Wendy prompted a little craft morning and I have to say......that's the best, Hands down!!! No tutorial here, but the stockings are from Hobby Lobby and already have the bells attached. After mod podging assorted printed papers to them, I strung them using flexible jewelry wire evenly apart (I have never used this stuff before, but I am now SUCH a fan). A trip to the dollar store for the glittery ornaments and some tulle and sheer ribbon finishes it off. Thanks to Wendy and Penny for the get together and good company, I'm ready to do this again ANY TIME!!

Too cheap to buy the real thing

So, last year I heard about the elf on the shelf, I thought it was a cute idea and wanted to get it, but once I checked it out and found out it was $29.95 I said forget it. Being the cheap and resourceful girl that I am, I was determined to rip off the words to the book from somewhere (I was hoping someone would post the poem somewhere) and I planned to create my own little book. It must be the protected secret of the universe, because I couldn't find it anywhere. That brings us to this year and I'm still too cheap to plunk that kind of money down, so after scouring the web, I came up with this alternative. This is a similar idea, where you can print a letter from Santa introducing you to your elf, and the elf's passport, great idea from

organizedchristmas.com ! I have been on the lookout for an elf, and just last week found this one at Robert's crafts for $7.99 (unless you score a 40 percent coupon like me!)

We haven't officially introduced him to our family yet, but for now.....he's an extra set of eyes in the teenage boy's room.

Meet Tykee. He is cockapoo/maltese
Our family has fallen head over heels for this little puppy. We have actually had him for almost 2 months now and are realizing how much we love having a dog and how much we had missed having one since Molly died.
In March, Taylor came home and said his band teacher told the class that they had brand new puppies. I e-mailed him to find out what kind they were, how big they would be, and if there were any females. Out of 4 puppies, they were all male. Since I already live with 6 males, I was determined that I wouldn't add another one. But then I started to seriously consider the idea (for a lot of reasons) and we finally decided to go and take a look (I actually knew that we would be getting one), seriously the cutest puppies ever, and before we went home that night we had picked the one we wanted (actually Cole picked him) to bring home. A week later I picked him up, just a few sleepless nights, but very quickly, he was the puppy of our dreams. Oh......he's naughty alright, he chews, drags shoes into the family room constantly, pulls flowers out of the flower beds.....but we love him. (Kayla took these darling pictures that capture him perfectly.)

Easter Bunny Cinnamon Rolls

Cinna-Bunnies

Ingredients:

• 6 Rhodes Anytime™ Cinnamon Rolls
• cream cheese frosting (included with rolls)
• candy to decorate face
• sliced almonds for teeth

Method:

Allow rolls to thaw until pliable (about 1 hour). Place three rolls on a sprayed baking sheet for the bunny heads (leave space around rolls for the ears). Unwind the other three rolls and fold both ends toward the center. Place above head for ears. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting and decorate face as desired with different candies and sliced almonds for teeth.

I'm going to Costco to buy the big bag on cinnamon rolls (the best deal by far) and I am so making these on Sunday Morning!  Cute! Cute! Cute!