Christmas Garland

Finally finished it - just in time to put it away.  yesssssss.  Hey, at least I'll have something new to hang up next year.  That's my goal - at least one new Christmas project each year.  By the end of Thanksgiving, I'm usually ready to work on something festivy & fun, which is when I started this.

It's Christmas cookies with sprinkles!  The original and amazingly adorable inspiration {found here} came from Nana & Co., whom I absolutely adore.  {I liked her candy canes, too, but I didn't have the patience to make any}  Everything this Goddess of Creativity does makes me swoon. Page, after page, after page of her blog is loaded with the most beautiful creations.  I don't think she and I could ever be BFF's because she's just in a realm of creative awesomeness all her own.  I would probably giggle too loud, play with my hair too much, pass some nervous gas, let out an awkward snort or something....it would be bad.

But anyhooo...

I love this happy, cheery, cookiefull garland.  

I thought I saved a template...can't find it at the moment...I should have one somewhere...but it was created with Photoshop and, GET THIS, the cookie cutter tool. {funny, right?!}  There's a shape in the cookie cutter tool box that is a scallop circle.  So I just sized my circle & scallop circle on my piece of paper, printed it off on cardstock, cut them out, and traced my shapes on felt.  So easy it's disgusting.

I'll go find my template so I can share it...  

Until Next Time...

SAYONARA to the Christmas clutter!  The next time I dig this stuff out, I'll be settled in a new home in my warm, sunny, beautiful hometown in Arizona surrounded by beautiful mountains and desert.  ahhhhhh....  I wasn't just excited for the new year to begin, I was ELATED!!!   After living away from home for 10 years, we're finally moving back to AZ this summer and we couldn't be more excited.  It's taking all of my willpower not to pack up the whole house, along with the Christmas crap, and load up a moving truck right now!!  {aaaakkk}

...but anyway...I can't get myself too worked up...I need to exercise control.  I do have six months left to enjoy the most beautiful place in the world.

My baby...my pride and joy...my beautiful Advent Calendar...being packed away into storage.  On account of the crazy toddler living amongst us, I can't really use the pockets, but it was fun to hang this up and admire it for a few weeks.  It has been my MOST fun project so far!  {you really should make one...}

Do you really have to go back into storage?  Yes, little friend, you do.  Because if we see you all of the time, we'll get bored of you.  {sigh}  We never want to get bored of you.

Until next time, my little lovey...

Down, down, down it all goes.  Did I mention that I had everything down, cleaned up, and back to normal BEFORE the New Year even struck?!  It's not that I didn't enjoy having Christmas splendor all around me...but I have been SO ready for 2011 to end and I thought that maybe I could speed up time a little bit by un-decorating quickly.  

Do you know what it's like to clean / un-decorate, and organize a fairly large space with a baby chimpanzee running around creating chaos and confusion?  I can honestly say that I do.  I do know what that is like.  

You can almost feel her chaotic energy through all of the debris.

I don't even have to tell you what's going on here.  You can see it.  She's challenging me here.  Can you believe that?!  Can you see that on her face?!  Blatantly challenging me.  

But then she turns on that whole 'cute face' garbage and I just cuddle and love on her like some kind of gullible fool.  I am her fool! 

 {but oh how I love, love, love that little precious, face with snot and dried food on it! kissykissykissy}

ahhhh.....normal again.  Feels good.  And what could be better to offset the horrifically depressing winter blahs than a precious little lemon tree?!  It's precious!!!  

  {cute story about this...}  So last year I was hunting and hunting for a dwarf lemon tree, but to no avail.  I began my hunt too late in the season {rats!} and couldn't stand the thought of paying $75 for the tree plus shipping from like Georgia or somewhere down that way.  Anyhoo--my BFF Kadie has this really cool, supernatural power of finding the most random, specific objects at yard sales...and after hearing me blab on and on about how bad I want to find a dwarf lemon tree, she finds THIS LITTLE BABY....at a yard sale....for $1.00.  {WHA'?!}  I told you.  supernatural.

You CAN buy happiness - and for me it was a $1.00 lemon tree!  I wake up in the morning, look at my precious little lemon tree (it's fake, but don't tell my kids...) and feel joy, energy, and excitement coursing through my veins! Okay, it's not that dramatic, but I sure do feel joyful and happy when I look at it.  Even a little bit sunny....

And now, with not even a shred of Christmas left behind, I feel renewed hope that I can get through this winter without going insane.  Light is visible through the end of my long tunnel, and I'm so happy about that!

...and....I know what you're thinking, and yes - I moved all of Brooke's toys and junk over to a different space so as to keep my living room as bare as humanly possible.  I LOVE it.  Clean, bright, and no clutter.  yesssssss.

Coming Up for Air...

So my last blog post was early November.  OY!  That's pretty typical for me during this time of the year.  It all starts with Halloween and all of the fun things I think I'm going to do...and never manage to do...

Now that it's December, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I wish I had a fun Christmas craft to post, but nowadays it's getting so hard to squeeze in some craft time.  I know, I know.  Not cool.

Since school has started back in September, my typical day goes something like this:  wake up at 6 a.m., stagger to the kitchen and take the thyroid meds, send the hubby out the door for his 1.5 hour commute, get the oldest kid up and ready and out the door; get the younger two up and ready and out the door; the little one wakes up sometime in between and needs food FAST...get myself dressed, get the baby dressed, go to the gym and pound it out for 1.75 hours (I know...it's a luxury and I desperately depend on this), come home, collapse, feed little one and put her down for a nap (or at least hope she naps), check email, convince myself that taking a shower would be a good idea, or not, but the smell usually wins out {eww} and I end up in the shower, do the whole hair routine crap (wish I could wave a magic wand for this step), clean the house, do chores, scrape crust off the floors; oldest kid gets home, needs food, little one wakes up, needs food, younger ones get home, needs food; homework, start dinner, clean more stuff, do dishes, feed the family, hubby comes home tired, feed him, tell kids to bathe and hope it all works out; teeth brushing, scriptures, prayer, tuck the kids in bed; vege for a little bit with the Love Nugget, crawl into bed and start the whole thing all over again in a few hours. 

AND I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

Honestly, I love it.  And there are so many happy little moments in all of the day-to-day things that it makes me want to bottle it all up and save it for when my little ones are grown and gone.  {sniff}  

my beebies...  They're getting bigger.  Older.  Wiser.  Soon they'll leave me.  Then what?!  I'm dying.  [are you loving the sweet sock/shoe combination on my little robo-cop guy?!]

 These rad little kids make my job feel like the most important thing in the world. 

Then came Thanksgiving.  November just kind of crept up, lingered for a minute, and then ran off.  We had the most beautiful, spectacular November I've ever had while living in the Arctic.  Thanksgiving was busy and fun--and I only managed to take two pictures.  What the?!  See what I mean?  It's all like a giant, fun blur.  Our food was SO good, too!!!

Now it's December and the Christmas season is upon us... and I feel like I just got Halloween taken care of!  ???!!!  

So whattyagonna do?  Go to the biggest Christmas store in the WORLD!  I took some photos for all of you - so you could experience a taste of it!

Any type of theme you could imagine is available.  How could you not want a pizza tree?!  Pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and breadsticks?!  If that doesn't scream Christmas, I don't know what else does.

Of course, I naturally gravitate to the candy/cookie/ice cream themes.  

And look at all the fruit!!!  How FUN!

This place really is so huge.  Every nook is filled with something magical.

Someday I want to have an amazing little mini-village.  There were so many here.

Even the miniature village has a Nativity scene.  

America the Beautiful on display here.

And.....chocolate?!  I. will have. a chocolate tree. someday.

...it was a little embarassing when my kids found me gnawing on these...how do you explain that?...

And so it continues...December is rolling by and I'm finding that it's getting harder and harder to squeeze in a project here and there.  I'm ready to make something fun, but when?

HOWEVER...I am proud to say, though, that my Christmas shopping is all done.  Thank you, internet shopping.  Because of you, I didn't have to feel overwhelmed and irritated.   

And my little baby girl.  She's going to be TWO in February.  ???!!!  {hold me...}  Where did the time go?  I really don't know.  Slow the heck down!

 My baby girl.  And she looks at me with that little face and no matter how many times she drops sticky things, powdery substances, and liquids all over the house, I just want to squeeze her and kiss that little face!

Well.  Time is ticking.  Soon I'll be welcoming the kiddies home, so I better to scrape some crust, do some dishes, and if I don't sniff my sweaty self, I can get an hour's worth of work done while I can!  

Merry Christmas to all!!

Lazy Halloween Food

I. Love. Easy.

Let's be honest here - I love to bake and create amazing food...but not for a classroom full of 6-year-olds who shove all they can into their mouths as quickly as they can before they pass out.  I've learned over the years that, rather than spend my precious time cooking and baking homemade goodies for class parties, I'll just jazz up the pre-made crap.  The end result is the same: sugar consumption.  Why waste time, ladies?!

Here we have The-Lazy-Mom's-Amazing-Looking-Halloween Treats!  Credits:  I found them on Pinterest.  Love Pinterest.

Nutter Butter ghosts dipped in vanilla almond bark, and cookie witch hats.  Do they even look like witch hats?  What witch has a bow on her hat, anyway?  They definitely needed the bow...but I'm sure many of you are more capable of making prettier bows.  I was in a hurry, folks.  Besides, they're just going to be inhaled by kids who could care less if the bow is pretty.  {I think it's just me who cares....}

Some of those 'bows' kind of look like doggie turds.  eww.  Maybe I should have grossed the kids out by saying that!  

That would have been rad.

For the ghosts you'll need:
Almond Bark (that melty stuff over by the chocolate chips)
Nutter Butter cookies
Tiny chocolate chips.  If you are an over-achiever,  you could pipe some chocolate circles for the mouth.

Melt the almond bark in a microwave for 20-30 seconds at a time, stirring each time.  Maybe towards the end, you could stir it every 10 seconds.  Then dip the cookies and roll them around with a fork, lif them out, tap off the excess, and set them on waxed paper.  Put the eyes on before the chocolate hardens.

Takes maybe 30 minutes---if you're slow.

For the witch hats you'll need:
{These took me 15 minutes--start-to-finish!  GASP!}

Circular fudge cookies
Hershey kisses (better get 2 bags because you'll pretty much eat half.)
Plastic baggie, corner clipped a teen, tiny bit
Frosting - and color it whatever color you want. (1 stick butter, 4 c. powdered sugar, pinch of salt, 1 t. vanilla, some canned milk - blend it up, adding more canned milk as you need it.  It needs to be thin enough to pipe but not too thin.)

I did this assembly-line-style:
Line up all of your cookies
Unwrap all your kisses; keep them in a little bowl next to the cookies
Scoop your frosting into the baggie, and begin:

Pipe a pearl-sized drop of frosting in the middle of each cookie
Set a kiss on each drop
Pipe a circle around each kiss - your frosting should be just thin enough where you can circle your hand around and it should fall around the kiss without you having to fuss with it too much.
Finish with a bow.

BOO-YEAH.  You're done.  And you look like Super Mom.  And that's what's really important.

Happy St. Pat's to You!

Happy St. Patty's to all of  you!!!  May there be a huge pot of gold at the end of your rainbow!  (or chocolate....I'd settle for that)

  

I told my kids this morning that since I go ALL OUT for....Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, Easter, and all six of our birthdays....I get a break for St. Patty's!  We had green eggs and pancakes - that was the extent of my celebrating.  The kiddies are on their own after that.  We might get a green layer cake tonight - we'll see how crazy Brookie is today.

Something fun to do on St. Patty's day - sit down with some Irish Cream Soda and watch "Leap Year!"  {squeal!}  Nevermind that it kind of has a cheesy ending - {what chick flick doesn't?} - but the scenery, music, and Amy Adams' outfits are amazing!!!  Randy Edelman did an incredible job with the music, and I've even purchased some of the soundtrack songs, as well.  I've got the instrumental music in my iTunes for when I need something fresh, bright, and easy to listen to.

{LOVE} this movie!!

...for fun, here are some fun Olde Irish sayings:

“You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

“It is easy to be pleasant when life flows by like a song, but the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is trouble, and it always comes with years, and the smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through the tears.”

“If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough.”

“Beware of people who dislike cats”

{I personally disike cats...what does that say abou me?!}

“Who gossips with you will gossip of you”

“I believe in the sun when it's not shining, I believe in love even when I feel it not, I believe in God even when he is silent.”

“Continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom.”

“There are fish in the sea better than have ever been caught”

“It is better to be a coward for a minute than dead for the rest of your life”

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures”

“Better fifty enemies outside the house than one within”

“Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat”

“Don't give cherries to pigs or advice to fools”

“A silent mouth is sweet to hear”

{haha!!  I like that one!!}

“When God made time, he made plenty of it”

“Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth”

“A cabin with plenty of food is better than a hungry castle”

“What is nearest the heart is nearest the mouth”

{does that include chocolate?!}

Simple Cake/Candy/Party Stand

I'm just re-posting this tutorial from the guest spot I did at the Crafting Chicks so that I have it on my blog for archival purposes.  Thanks again, Kadie, for the wonderful idea - yer amazing!!

THE MOST ADORABLE CANDY*CAKE*PARTY STAND EVER!

...and it takes 2 seconds to make...wahoo!

Isn't it ADORABLE?!  

 I found a cup for $1.99, a plate for $1.99, and some "Quick Grip" for $4.99. 

Remove those tacky stickers....

Apply a bunch of glue to the bottom of the glass...

Center it on the plate, and press down.  I was able to find a seriously awesome weight to press down on my glass.  Use anything heavy.

After a couple of hours, my stand was all ready for me to fill 'er up.  EASY, right?!

NOW here's where you get creative and have some fun.  You can make a variety of stands - you just have to get creative!  If you have a birthday party, random event, special holiday, mix and match your options.  When yard sale season comes up, keep a look-out and stock up on random dishes and glass stand items.  You'd be surprised at the great stuff you'll find for CHEAP!  

**ALSO, some ladies commented about using Velcro instead of glue so you can mix & match whenever you want.  Great idea, girls! I'll have to try that idea out sometime.

Some cute glass filler ideas are:  marbles, gum balls, hard candy that won't spoil over time, colored beads, or whatever your theme might be.  Party stores and dollar stores are full of small items that would be a lot of fun.

Fill glass containers with something fun...

 I'm in LOVE with this polka-dot plate from Target!!! 

This is a ceramic ice cream dish I found on clearance

And look at this cute little heart-shaped candy dish!  I found it at Target a few years ago on clearance and it looks great on this candlestick holder!  (Can you tell I live at Target?)

Add a cute plate in the mix...

You've now got a double-decker!  

You can even get creative with non-dish items like this cute nest-basket I found at the Pottery Barn outlet.  LOVE it!!!

This plate is an old, vintage tin plate on top of a candlestick I got at a yard sale.  I LOVE this one!!

Same vintage plate on top of a Mason jar filled with cherries.  Makes a great summer serving platter.

The possibilites are endless!!!  Go have some FUN with that glue!!!