Little Sprout Growing

Fun Winter-time Books

2012-02-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

We have been having fun with some new library books lately.

It is fun to watch my Little Guy become more and more excited about particular books as he's gotten older. AND fun to see him actually "get" little funny parts or sad parts.

Some books we are enjoying right now come off of our "W is for Winter" reading list. We haven't done many of the activities, since we've been busy moving. But we DID get a bunch of books from the book list.

Favorites:

Hello Snow! by Hope Vestergaard

This is a very cute and funny book about a little girl who wakes up and spends the day playing in the snow with her daddy. Some of those funny parts that the Little Guy loves are in this book.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

This one is a classic, but for good reason. The Little Guy loves it.

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft

Explains how animals get ready for and survive winter-time. Kind of a hard concept, I think, but it has lots of animals in it.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

This one is one of my favorites (and his too!) Bear is hibernating in his cave, when a bunch of other animals come in and have a party right under his nose!

Other:

These books were not on our favorite list for one reason or another. We read them once and then they went back to the library.

All You Need for A Snowman by Alice Schertle

The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London

Baby Showers and Baby Hats

2012-02-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

It seems that just about everyone I know is pregnant at the moment.

I honestly know about 6 people who are all due between the months of June and August.

At first this kind of annoyed me, but then I started thinking about how last time I was pregnant, no one else was and so my Little Guy doesn't have too many friends his age who are also MY friends. So I decided maybe it was more fun this way. =)

Anyway... tomorrow I am attending the first of what's bound to be a long succession of baby showers over the next several months. I hunted down my Newborn Baby Hat pattern and used my $5 of $5 or more coupon from Michael's to purchase two skeins of yarn - one in blue/brown and the other in pink/brown. I'm getting prepared, you see?

Here is the first one:

I was told by a friend of mine, who received one of these hats for her first baby, that it was her favorite for her newborn. I was happy to see it on her second one, as well!

So my plan is to start making these up so I'm prepared for the future!

Then maybe I can personalize some burp cloths or something to add to it when the time comes.

It's A....

2012-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

BOY!

We are very excited to announce another boy joining our household.

I am looking forward to having two little boys who are hopefully good friends. =)

Icicles and Winter Walks

2012-02-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

We had quite the unusual weather during our last winter storm.

I took the opportunity to take a "Winter Walk" with my Little Guy as part of the "W is for Winter" Mommy School unit. I figured it may be the only chance this winter for it!

This is before we moved and the Little Guy was super excited about the white stuff!

We talked about how different things looked compared to when we went on all our walks this summer.

This was the day after a devastating ice storm hit our area.

It was very neat to look at the trees and bushes and see that EVERY BRANCH was encased in ice.

Amazing and beautiful!

And, like I said, devastating to the poor trees.

Of course we had to break off some icicles to eat!

He says "Mmm... Yummy!"

I love these opportunities when we get to walk in some amazing and unique aspect of God's creation! And it's especially fun to share it with someone who is in total awe because it's completely new. =)

Interesting? Shocking? Upsetting? True?

2012-02-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

I came across this article today while browsing my personal Facebook page.

I was instantly interested and checked it out.

10 Worst Books for Toddlers, from the creepy to the weird

Doesn't that title grab you?

Well, then I read it. I have to say, I was pretty disheartened by some of the statements or observations made by the author. I'm sure the author thought they were being funny or amusing or something.... but I thought it was all kind of sad.

What do you think?

I'd like to hear your thoughts - although please be respectful! =)

I'm Back! Pregnancy Reflections

2012-02-03T21:01:00.000-08:00

My power is back, I'm basically moved into my new place and finally have tv and internet hooked back up. Hooray! Time for life to get back to normal. =)

I thought I'd do a little comparison between my two pregnancies up to this point.

I'm now 19 weeks with baby #2.

That's hard to believe! I feel like time is traveling much too fast!

I seem to have quite a mental block when trying to remember things that happened during my last pregnancy.... so we'll see how this goes. =)

Baby #1:

First Trimester Symptoms?

Fatigue, headaches and maybe a couple nauseous moments

Gender Prediction?

I felt it was a boy pretty strongly all the way through.

Weight Gain?

I'd gained 12lbs by

Feeling Baby Movement?

I'm pretty sure I didn't know I was feeling the baby until at least 21 or 22 weeks.

Baby #2 - 19 Weeks

Baby #2:

First Trimester Symptoms?

Fatigue, headaches and .... okay that's it. =)

Gender Prediction?

I felt it was a boy pretty strongly at first... and now? I don't feel strongly anything? Hmmm...

Weight Gain?

As of yesterday, I've apparently only gained 5lbs so far! Must have something to do with chasing an almost 3-year-old around.

Feeling Baby Movement?

I've been feeling a lot of movement this week. I was feeling some fluttering up to 2 weeks ago though.

Other thoughts? I feel like I've been kind of disconnected from this pregnancy compared to my last one, but then I was wondering if that is just because up until now I haven't looked all that pregnant OR felt much. Or if it's just because we've been so busy. Or if it's because it's baby #2.

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with my OB concerning having a VBAC (Vaginal Delivery After Cesarean). It's something I'd considered, but only in the last few months has the hospital I'm delivering at made the decision to approve doing them. Definitely something to consider going forward, but I probably won't make a decision until my 3rd Trimester though considering my history.

Pear Tree Greetings - Valentine's Cards

2012-02-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

Looking for a fun and unique Valentine's Day card this year?

For you or your kids?

Make sure to check out the products at Pear Tree Greetings.

They have:

Photo Cards

Interactive Kids' Cards

Stickers

Gift Tags

Address Labels

There is definitely something for everyone and always affordable, of course. =)

And to sweeten the deal...

Pear Tree is offering my readers 15% off their order when you purchase three Valentine's Day products! Use coupon code LOVE2SAVE. Offer ends 2/14/12.

MOVING!

2012-02-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

We are currently MOVING!

I have had no internet service for the past couple days and they won't be out to set it up until Friday sometime, so I am kind of off the grid for the moment!

Thanks for your patience!

Power's Back! Work Woes

2012-01-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

After 126 hours without power, ours finally came back on.

Yay!

The Little Guy and I spend 3 nights with my parents... giving up on our house altogether.

Although I'm sure we could have toughed it out at home, our house tends to get very dark (I call it "cave-like" even when the power is on!) by early afternoon. After a couple days its hard to find things to do with a 2-year-old when you're in the dark for hours and hours!

So, we are happy to be home and slept in our own beds last night. =)

Starting today we are moving boxes into our new temporary house.

At the same time, at work we are implimenting a new region-wide computer systerm, so I have mandatory training meetings!

It's all making for kind of a hectic, frustrating sort of week.

You know the kind I mean, where you have too much to do and not really enough time to do it all the way you'd like??

Here's an interaction with my Little Guy this morning:

Him: Mommy! What doin'?

Me: I'm getting ready to go to work.

Him: No! Mommy no work!

Me: Sorry buddy. Mommy has to go to work today.

Him (thinks): Me work too.

So sad. I've been working so much this week that I am really missing my Little Guy. I'm not sure how people do it full-time. In addition to working additional days the past 10 days or so, several of them were during the day (normal working hours for most people). Whereas I'm used to being home with my Little Guy during the day and then working in the evenings, I've missed out being with him during the day too much lately.

I'm definitely looking foward to getting back to my normal schedule soon!

Snow, Ice and No Power

2012-01-22T00:23:00.000-08:00

Well, we have survived the 14" of snow, the ice storm and the crazy aftermath,

but we still don't have any power at my house.

I'm not sure when we'll get it back, but I'm hoping by tomorrow.

There is a nice, big tree hanging on the power lines and those power lines keep sagging farther and father down each time I drive by.

Today I headed over to my parents with the Little Guy so he could have a change of pace and I could get a shower. He's been pretty good the past two days without power, but this morning he was saying "Watch TV? watch TV?" and when I told him that "we can't watch TV, no power" he ran over and was like, "I fix it!" Poor guy... doesn't really understand the whole concept. =)

So... I'm off the grid for the moment. I got some pretty neat pictures of the ice storm, so I'll share them when I get a computer back.... hopefully soon.

I'm also due to move this week, so hopefully I'll get a little blogging in there somewhere.

Mini Reviews #1

2012-01-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this a new thing for me this year. I'm going to save up several reviews and do them all at once rather than doing a long review on each book. If they are just books I've picked up to read, I'm going to do a mini review. I like to be able to look back at what I've read and see if it was something I enjoyed or an author I liked, so I still want to document it... just not clog up my blog with millions of reviews!

If they're for a publisher review or ARC tour, then obviously then they will get their own lengthy one. =)

Click the Goodreads Summary for a summary of each book.

Title: 51/50: The Magical Adventure of a Single Life

Author: Kristen McGuiness

2010, Soft Skull Press

ASIN: B00440D824

Genre: Non-Fiction

Goodreads Summary

My Review:

This was the first book I read on my Kindle. I started it thinking it was kind of a weird fictional book about a recovering alcoholic trying to discover herself... only to realize that it was actually more of a memoir written by the author about her own weird life. At that point I was too far in to quit, but I thought it was a strange and not very uplifting book.

Title: Paradise Valley (Daugthers of Caleb Bender #1)

Author: Dale Cramer

2010, Bethany House Publishers

ASIN: B004EPYYDQ

Genre: Christian Fiction

Goodreads Summary

My Review:

I'm always a sucker for a good Amish story, so when I saw this one for free on my Kindle I was pretty happy. This book is about a father who moves his Amish family to Mexico to avoid a government that is attempting to force their children to attend a conventional school 5 days a week. Apparently this was based on some true events, which made me like the story even more. This was really a great novel, with intelligent and interesting characters. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series to see what happens to the Bender family in Mexico.

Title: Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart

Author: Beth Pattillo

2010, Guideposts Books

ISBN: 0824947932

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Goodreads Summary

My Review:

This is my least favorite of my books I'm going to review today. There was something lacking about the storyline of this novel. It was cute, it was nice, but for some reason I wasn't too excited about it. It's a little unfortunate, because I looked back at my view of Jane Austen Ruined My Life by the same author, and I really liked it. I felt like the author was really grasping to make the story work with the whole Mr. Darcy/Jane Austen theme for this one.

Title: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Jessica #1)

Author: Beth Fantaskey

2010, Graphica

AISN: B003UV91AQ

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Goodreads Summary

My Review:

This was another free Kindle download. I'd never even heard of it before. I really enjoyed this book. I always like a unique vampire story and this one delivered. Main character, Jessica, is a smart, interesting and fun American teenager and her counterpart, the vampire prince she's betrothed too (surprise!), Lucius, is complex, mysterious, charismatic and brooding all at once. Makes for an interesting relationship and story line. If you like paranormals I'd suggest picking this one up. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

Trip to the Children's Museum with Grandma

2012-01-14T16:09:00.000-08:00

Today the Little Guy and I joined my mom for a trip to the

local Hands-On Children's Museum.

It's been about 17 years or so since I was there last (yikes!).

That was when my 5-year-old cousin came to stay with us for a month....

he's 21 now.

They are now in a different location and wow! it's really neat!

I apologize in advance... this post is very photo heavy!

Here are some of the fun things we did...

Gardening! (notice he even has little gardening gloves on??!)

Of course the very LARGE train table was a hit.

He took grandma for a ride in the "bus" (delivery truck), which we also washed with a pretend bucket of water and sponges.

Shoveling rocks into a truck (we did this several times throughout the course of our stay...)

Water/current table

Sand table

Mommy and the Little Guy sitting in the rock truck

In addition to these fun activities, they had a big cargo ship that you could climb in with a working crane, a pet rescue station, a dress-up/stage station, craft station, a doctor station, grocery store/deli station and I'm sure some other things I'm forgetting.

I was really quite worn out by the end!

Thanks Grandma for taking us! =)

Back in the Groove

2012-01-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

I have to confess that over the holidays I really fell off the couponing bandwagon. There was just so much going on, that the newspapers were piling up everywhere. If I was going to the store for something specific, I would frantically search for the coupon I wanted, but other than that it was kind of a lost cause.

Now that the busy holidays are over, I decided it was time to get back in the groove.

My coupon organization really needed updating though.

I had a file box that I kept all my inserts in, but I was just putting them week by week

into the hanging folders... I hadn't bought any file folders to go inside them.

Needless to say, I quickly ran out of room and then I was missing the hanging folder when I put them in and they'd fall to the bottom of the bin.... you get the picture.

I decided I needed to re-vamp my file box. So yesterday at Target I bought some neat

file folders that have erasable labels! Handy right?

They I started the job of going through and throwing out all the old inserts with expired coupons and all the new papers I had that I hadn't even pulled out the inserts yet.

So now I have them organized by each week in it's own separate file folder and then all the file folders for each month in a hanging folder. I'm going with that for now, and then I'll see how it works. =)

I also have some sections for misc coupons, like craft stores, Albertsons and Target because sometimes I get store coupons for those that I might keep separate.

Hopefully I can keep up the couponing better this time around.

I'm not trying to be an extreme couponer, but I feel like it's worth putting a little effort into if I can save some money on things we'd normally buy.

Return of the Mommy School!

2012-01-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

November was the last month I attempted a Mommy School unit.

T is for Thanksgiving was mildly successful.

Unfortunately as the holiday's were creeping closer, the less I did.

At the beginning of November I remember thinking,

"Why is there nothing good for December??!"

Now I know... there is NO WAY I would have gotten around to planning for a December unit study.

In fact, we are almost halfway through January and I'm FINALLY feeling up to tackling a new unit. Just my luck, Alison over at the OopseyDaisyBlog has just posted a new Mommy School unit!

W is for Winter - Perfect!

There are actually SO MANY activities in this unit that I am thinking of just using it right through February also! There are 80+ pages in this unit. I just got online with our local library and placed holds on a half dozen books.

We will be moving to a new house sometime around the 24th of this month (another reason I'm thinking of extending this unit into February), so I'm not sure exactly how much of this unit we'll get through, but I'm very excited nonetheless.

I will try to start my weekly update again on how we're doing!

Go here to see all the Mommy School packets at OopseyDaisyBlog.

Schedules

2012-01-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

I was thinking that time was going to slow down a little after the holidays, but it doesn't seem too!

We are busy packing our house. We are going to moving somewhere temporary for about 6 months, so I am attempting to be organized and packed boxes with things that we won't really NEED to unpack again. That way we can leave those boxes in the garage or something and not have the bother of unpacking and packing again in 6 months time.

This seems to be a little harder than I anticipated.

I was about to pack the Easter basket into on of these such boxes when it occurred to me that we will be in our temporary place during Easter. Oops!

At work we are implementing a new region-wide computer system.

Awhile back I sign up to be something called a Superuser.

I'm still not exactly sure what that means, but apparently I get trained first and then I think I have to help others after their training. It also seems that I get an extra day of training.

So next week I'll be training 3 days.

Our Bible Study at church is starting up for the winter semester this week too....

I have decided to attempt to attend again this time.

It is a little hard for me to get there considering I work until 1am, get off and home by 1:30am and then the Bible Study starts at 9:00am. But I thought I'd give it another try. If it's too hard this semester, then it might be something to cut out in the Spring. =)

My Little Guy spent his first weekend away from home this past weekend!

It was so sad! He went to stay with my sister-in-law one night and then my mother-in-law the next night. My MIL lives a good 1 1/2 hour drive from us and I didn't like feeling so far away. Unfortunately they were not good about updating us (as in... we got NO texts or anything the entire weekend), so I think they're going to be limited on how often they get to do this, but I was sure happy when he was home!

2011 Reading Goals/Challenges Wrap Up

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm going to apologize in advance....

you may not really be interested in this post, but I need to post it somewhere

so I can keep track of what I did last year. =)

I attempted five reading challenges in 2011.

Page to Screen Challenge - Goal: 5 books, Actual: 3 60% Completed

Nicholas Sparks Challenge - Goal: 3 books, Actual: 2 67% Completed

1st in a Series Challenge - Goal 6 books, Actual: 6+ 100% Completed

Spring Reading Thing - Goal 10 books, Actual 8 (+6 others)

Fall Into Reading - Goal 11, Actual 7 (+1 other)

I also had a Goodreads goal of reading 60 books this year....I completed 57,

which I pretty proud of considering I read all those HUGE Outlander books.

And FINALLY,

here is my list of books I read in 2011:

December:

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier
The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage by Kieran Kramer
Mine Is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs (for publisher review)

November:

A Wedding Invitation by Alice J. Wisler (for publisher review)
Fracture by Megan Miranda (ARC) Good Choice Reading Book Tour
Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling (for publisher review) didn't finish
Legend by Marie Lu (ARC) Good Choice Reading Book Tour
Flesh and Blood by Kristen Painter

October:

September:

How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (ARC) Good Choice Reading Book Tour
Blood Rights by Kristen Painter (ARC) Good Choice Reading Book Tour
Indelible by Kristin Heitzmann (for publisher review)

August:

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy (ARC) Once Upon A Twilight Book Tour
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

July:

Restless in Carolina by Tamara Leigh (for publisher review)
Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right by Kieran Kramer
Laird of the Mist by Paula Quinn
An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser (for publisher review)

June:

Abandon by Meg Cabot (ARC) Once Upon A Twilight Book Tour
A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
Stillettos & Scoundrels by Laina Turner Molaski (ARC)

May:

Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn (Children of the Mist #1)
The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks
When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer (The Impossible Bachelors #1)
Maid to Match by Deeane Gist
Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate (for publisher review)
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

April:

Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer (for publisher review)
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren

March:

February:

January:

Happy Reading in 2012!!

Project Pinterest #3

2012-01-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

I'm attempting to actually DO some of the ideas/projects I find of Pinterest.

So this is my way of keeping myself accountable. =)

I'm hoping to post this weekly with my accomplished projects!

See all my accomplished projects by following me on Pinterest

by clicking the "P" button on the top-right sidebar!

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder - Very yummy!

Source: luluthebaker.blogspot.com via Elsie on Pinterest

I used this idea for our announcement... here it is if you missed it.

Source: Uploaded by user via Elsie on Pinterest

I used these cute labels on my Christmas gifts this year.

Source: make-it-do.com via Elsie on Pinterest

"The Best Coffee Cake. Ever." It was very yummy. =)

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Elsie on Pinterest

What Pinterest Projects have YOU finished lately??? =)

Please share!

2012 Goals

2011-12-30T16:19:00.000-08:00

So I thought I'd follow up my depressing life post with something a little bit more fun. =)

I decided I wasn't going to make actual Resolutions this year... but I'd just set a few goals for myself and see where it takes us. Some are personal goals and some are family goals.

Goals 2012:

1. Go on 12 dates with my husband

2. Go to a movie at the drive-in theater

(I have always wanted to do this - and we never make it there)

3. Take my son to the zoo

(I already have Groupon tickets for this!)

4. Take my son to NW Trek

5. Take my son to the Hands On Children’s Museum

6. Go camping at least once

(I had twice, but I'm going to be pregnant or with a new baby this summer..... sooo)

7. Read at least 50 books

(My goal this year was 60 and I didn't quite reach it. I figured with a new baby I'll be lucky to make it to 50)

8. Attempt one craft a month with my son

9. Read a Jane Austen novel

10. Go fishing

11. Attend a performance of the Seattle Symphony

12. Go through a corn maze

13. Grow a vegetable garden

14. Attempt to can something besides jam this summer

15. Pay off at least one debt

(This is kind of cheating, since our car is scheduled to be paid off this fall, but oh well!)
16. Sew something for myself

17. Keep a prayer journal18. Make monthly freezer meals

19. Do a monthly Mommy School-type unit with my son

Are you doing resolutions this year?? or some type of goals??

I'd love to read them... sometimes I get inspired by other people's ideas.

Link it up if you have a blog or just post in the comments!

Catching Up

2011-12-30T16:09:00.000-08:00

Source: google.com via C R on Pinterest

I feel like I've been very MIA on my blog lately.

I would like to blame this on being pregnant, but that probably just not the case.

Ever feel like everything just comes at you at once??

In September my husband and I were feeling pretty secure about his job. He'd had it for about 4 months by that time and he was really enjoying it. So we decided we'd try for a baby.

October I was pregnant - yay!

Thanksgiving week - my husband got laid off. He's still technically employed, but they have no work for the foreseeable future.

His new claim for unemployment wasn't going to be active until the end of December.... ummm.. so no money coming in except for my part-time income for about 3 weeks.

We rent from my in-laws. THEY apparently are having money troubles also, but haven't shared that information until now and they have decided to sell the house we've been living in for about 5 years.

We have no money to move. We can barely cover our rent, let alone an extra deposit.

Soooo... that's where we are.

I started packing up the house today.

They are going to try to short sell it, so we have to be out by the end of February at the latest.

I've never really liked this house, but it's still depressing.

My husband is very hurt and stressed out by the whole situation (there's of course more drama to the situation, but I don't want to share it here).

I'm attempting to just trust God that this is going to turn out okay and not stress.

I figure that doesn't do me or the baby any good.

All my free computer time is spent searching for jobs or houses.

Sooo... I'm hoping that that pretty soon we can have this all behind us and I can do a little more fun blogging! Cuz that sounds like a much better idea to me. =)

Announcing....

2011-12-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

It's finally time for the announcement!

We've told our families and mailed out the Christmas cards with the news...

I am 14 weeks today!

Hard to believe we're going to start all over again... seems a little overwhelming at times. =)

Book Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring

2011-12-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

Book Details:
Title: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Author: Tracy Chevalier
2001, Plume
ISBN: 0-452-28215-2
Genre: Historical Fictions

Book Summary (from Goodreads):
Girl with a Pearl Earring centers on Vermeer's prosperous Delft household during the 1660s. When Griet, the novel's quietly perceptive heroine, is hired as a servant, turmoil follows. First, the 16-year-old narrator becomes increasingly intimate with her master. Then Vermeer employs her as his assistant--and ultimately has Griet sit for him as a model. Chevalier vividly evokes the complex domestic tensions of the household, ruled over by the painter's jealous, eternally pregnant wife and his taciturn mother-in-law. At times the relationship between servant and master seems a little anachronistic. Still, Girl with a Pearl Earringdoes contain a final delicious twist.

My Review:
This book was on my list of Page to Screen books to read for this year's reading challenge. A book I normally wouldn't have picked up most likely. I did enjoy this book, although I really know nothing about the painter or the time period.

Griet was a young, but intelligent girl who, through a family tragedy, ends up working as a maid for the famous painter, Vermeer's, household. She is hired to clean the studio and becomes increasingly pulled into the actually work - grinding paints and such. She is very fascinated by her master, Vermeer. That in itself is a little frustrating to me... because she seems to sense the wrongness of it, but can't shake the attraction even as it causes increasing issues within the household.

This is a very interesting novel, based on real characters. We really have no idea who The Girl with the Pearl Earring was - and this is an inspired fictional take on a historical event.

Reading Challenges Update

2011-12-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

I've been having a lot of fun with the reading challenges I signed up for

at the beginning of the year - but man! - they're hard to finish!

I didn't think they would be, but apparently I tend to get distracted! =)

I think Nicholas Sparks and Page to Screen are doomed... I just didn't get to them.

Although I am currently reading Girl with a Pearl Earring to get one more for the Page to Screen challenge in.

1st of a Series was pretty easy... I had that one completed awhile ago.

I'm frantically reading as many books as possible by the end of the year to make my 60 books in a year, but I may fall one or two short... I just don't think I have enough time with the holidays this week. =)

I will definitely be doing some challenge next year.... I may be more careful in my choosing though!

I Bared it All

2011-12-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today I'm "baring it all" over at

Once Upon A Chapter.

I sent her some pictures of my bookshelves and my Little Guy's bookshelves

for comparison! =) I think he may catch up to me quickly!

Makes my mommy heart happy to have a child who shares my love of reading!

Winner!

2011-12-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who entered the

Vintage Trims Grab Bag giveaway!

The winner is....

#11 - LoryAnn!

The winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen!

Thanks again!

Two Mini Reviews: Dark Lover and Cloudy with the Chance of Marriage

2011-12-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

Just finished these two books.... I'm not really feeling up to a lengthy review of either, so here they are - short and sweet. =)

Title: Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage (Impossible Bachelors #3)

Author: Kieran Kramer

2011, St. Martin's Paperbacks

ISBN: 0312374038
Genre: Historical Romance

My Review:

Like the other two Impossible Bachelor novels, this one is fun, quirky and full of sex. I had read some very unfavorable reviews on this one in the series, but I liked it. The point of these novels seems to be very far-fetched and ridiculous, not historically accurate, so if you can handle that, then they're pretty easy and fun reads. If not, don't even pick this one up because you'll think it's dumb. =)

Title: Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1)

Author: J.R. Ward

2005, Signet Eclipse

ISBN: 0451216954

Genre: Paranormal

My Review:

This is a series I'd been hearing about for awhile now, but hadn't gotten around too. I picked up this copy of the first in the series cheap when Border's was going out of business. I really enjoyed this book and will be picking up the next one in the series. I liked the original take on the vampire nation. I could have done without some of the sex scenes, but I was expecting them for the most part from other reviews I'd read. The characters were well written and the plot was engaging. Definitely left me wondering what was going to happen in the next book.

Project Pinterest #2

2011-12-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Is everyone on Pinterest yet???

Hello? If you're not, you should be.

I love browsing what everyone else is pinning and finding my own inspirations.

At the moment I am having fun pinning stuff on my Christmas Inspiration board.

Some things I might do for this year.... others I might do next year.

So... I thought I'd give a little update on Pinterest Projects that I've

ACTUALLY DONE!

Amazing right???

I'm trying not to just pin things, but actually put them into practice. =)

At least a few of them!

Source: infarrantlycreative.net via Elsie on Pinterest

Source: thepeachkitchen.com via Elsie on Pinterest

Source: craftaholicsanonymous.net via Elsie on Pinterest

Source: rusticweddingchic.com via Elsie on Pinterest

Source: bethanyactually.com via Elsie on Pinterest

Have you done any Pinterest projects?

I'd love to see them. =)

Visit my "Things I Actually DID!" board for more!

Giveaway Update

2011-12-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

It's seems my Rafflecopter widget was having some issues,

so I'm using a Google Form for The Giveaway.

Sorry for the delay!

It's Giveaway Time!!! Vintage Trim Grab Bag!

2011-12-12T15:52:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of the holidays, I thought it was time to host another giveaway!

This is going to end at midnight on the 16th, so it's a pretty short giveaway.

I plan to have it mailed out by the 17th, so it will get to you for Christmas!

Check out all my new vintage trim bags in my Etsy shop!

I have a Buy 4, Get 1 Deal currently going on.

Buy 4 Trim bags and receive one free w/ upgraded Priority shipping included.

Bags are only $5.00 a piece!

Also use coupon code BLOGFOLLOW for an extra 10% off!

Here's a look at the ACTUAL bag of trims you'll be winning!

This is a quart-size bag FILLED with all types of vintage trims.
In this bag there could be all or some of the following:
-Laces
-Ribbons
-Cording
-Buttons
-Tassels
-Seam binding
-Piping
-Rickrack
-Other Misc Trims

As we filled these bags, we attempted to cull items that were damaged or overly worn and frayed.

These items have not been cleaned. This particular bag is approximately 8 oz. of vintage trims.

Loading...

Happy Winning!

Open to US and Canadian residents only. Winner will be chosen by Random.Org and announced the following day via email. The winner has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Honesty

2011-12-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

Can we be honest?

Some days are hard as a mom.

Some days nothing seems to go right and you really have to think hard to remember the good parts of the day.

Take today, for example:

I attempted some shopping at Michael's - just a quick in-and-out.

Not only did they NOT have what I was looking for, but I had a screaming child most of the way and eventually ended up storming out of the store with a sobbing and snotty-nosed kid.

Embarrassing.

The next store, wasn't much better, but we had grandma with us, so at least we didn't have any screaming or crying.

I gave up after that and went home.

Then there was no nap - oh wait, there WAS a nap - but it was ME sleeping in the rocking chair while he talked to himself.

Then we attempted to decorate the Christmas tree.

I'm happy to say only one thing got broken and I didn't care about it, but I was completely stressed out and most of the ornaments we were handling were shatterproof ones.

(side note: before bed tonight he was saying "Careful.... VERY careful..." as he attempted to put something back on the tree. Apparently he WAS listening)

Next was the hour of getting into everything - the coffee grounds out of the coffee maker, the yarn I was attempting to make a craft out of, the food I didn't want him to eat....

By the time Daddy got home, Mommy was almost in tears and about to put myself in a time-out.

Some days are hard.

Thank goodness not every day is like that.

I'm ready for bed... anyone else?

Finding Our Tree!

2011-12-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

I Love, Love, Love going to cut down our Christmas tree!

It is one of my favorite traditions!

My husband's family never had live trees when he was growing up, so his first experience was going with me after we got married. Sorry... but nothing compares to a real tree. And the one year we used a fake one, it lost so many stupid needles that I was sure I might as well have been cleaning up after a real one. At least the real ones smell good for your effort!

Anyway.... we lucked out with no rain and since my husband is currently laid off, we went on a weekday. I think we were the only ones there!

The Little Guy just loves tromping around after Daddy

Helping cut down the tree!

I told him it was a big tree.... apparently he didn't believe me....

I think a little more is going to have to come off. haha!

Merry Christmas!

Book Review: Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling

2011-12-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

Book Details:
Title: Valley of Dreams (Wild West Wind #1)
Author: Lauraine Snelling
2011, Bethany House
ISBN: 0764204157
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Book Summary (from Goodreads):
Addy Lockwood's mother died when she was little, so Addy traveled with her father's Wild West Show and became an amazingly skillful trick rider, likened by some to the famous Annie Oakley. When her father died, she continued to work with the show, having nowhere else to go.
Now Addy has discovered that "Uncle" Jason, the show's manager, has driven the show into debt, and he's absconded with what little money was left. Devastated, Addy decides to try to find the hidden valley where here father had dreamed of putting down roots. She has only one clue. She needs to find three huge stones that look like fingers raised in a giant hand. With Chief, a Sioux Indian who's been with the show for twenty years, and Micah, the head wrangler, she leaves both the show and a bundle of heartache behind and begins a wild and daring adventure.

My Review:
Well, I think this is a first for me.... unfortunately. I didn't even finish this book. I was pretty excited to read it, I thought it had a lot of potential from the back cover summary, but....

Honestly, I was trudging through this book, hoping it was going to pick up some speed and then I had some friends over, cleaned my house and somehow misplaced the book. The bad part was that I wasn't upset that I lost it, because I was so bored with the story by then.

The problem? The main character, Addy, is too naive, too whiny and constantly got on my nerves. She supposedly grew up as the star attraction of a Wild West Show and yet, she seems to have no common sense. I understand that she would not know how to cook or other basic life skills because of the show cook, but it seems that she would have come in contact with a lot of crude people over the years. I just had a hard time believing she was so sheltered.

Then there was the story line - the one that seems so promising. BORING! I was so disappointed! It just trudged along at a snails pace. I honestly didn't even care what happened at the end and I was about 3/4 of the way through it.

The one highlight of the book, in my opinion, was the secondary story line going on, which I'm assuming ends up being about the love interest when Addy makes it to where she was going. Ransom was an interesting character and I enjoyed the chapters of the book about him. But it also kind of irked me that I was sure he and Addy got together at the end and I thought she was too dumb for him.

Anyway.... I'm sure that some people would really like this book. It is a simple, clean read, but it just wasn't for me. If you like unrealistic Christian historical novels, you might try it.

Disclosure: The book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. All opinions in this post are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.

Book Review: Mine Is The Night

2011-12-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

Book Details:
Title: Mine is the Night
Author: Liz Curtis Higgs
2011, Waterbrook Press
ISBN: 978-1-4000-7002-2
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Book Summary:
    Stepping from a battered coach on a rainy April eve, newly widowed Elisabeth Kerr must begin again, without husband or title, property or fortune. She is unafraid of work and gifted with a needle, but how will she stitch together the tattered remnants of her life? And who will mend her heart, horn asunder by betrayal and deception?
    Elisabeth has not come to Selkirk alone. Her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr, is a woman undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any promise of grandchildren. Dependent upon a distant cousin with meager resources, Marjory dreads the future almost as much as she regrets the past. Yet joy still comes knocking, and kindness is found in unexpected places.
    Then a worthy hero steps forward, rekindling a spark of hope. Will he risk his reputation to defend two women labeled as traitors to the Crown? Or will a wealthy beauty, untainted by scandal, capture his affections?
    The heartrending journey of the Kerr women comes to a glorious finish in Mine is the Night, a sparkling gem of redemption and restoration set in eighteenth-century Scotland.

My Review:
    This was a wonderful, wonderful book. My only regret is that I didn't have the time to read it faster!
    Mine is the Night is a fictional re-telling of the story of Ruth and Naomi from the Bible. Only this one is set in 18th-Century Scotland. Elisabeth and Marjory are hoping to escape the notice of the dragoons seaching the landscape for Jacobite rebels. Both Marjory's sons fought and died for Bonnie Prince Charlie at Falkirk and now Elisabeth adn Marjory have been stripped of their title, fortune and properties. They are left at the mercy of Anne, a distant cousin to take them in.
    Can these two women find peace and happiness in their new life together? Will they always be looking over their shoulder in fear that they will be hunted down as rebels?
I don't want to give away too much and ruin the book, but I will say that all the characters in this book are engaging and important. The story keeps you reading longer than you should and the hero is everything you would hope him to be. AND it's set in Scotland - what more could you ask for?!
    I will definitely be checking out more of this authors books as this one was beautifully written. =)

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers for my honest review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are mine.

It's December Already!

2011-12-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? It's December already!

Even though I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping, it's hard to believe we're about to close out on another year... time just seems to keep moving faster and faster.

Right now I'm drinking some hot chocolate with some leftover Reddi-Whip from Thankgiving squirted on top while I carve out some time for blogging! Mmmm..!

I feel like I've been behind on posting lately.

My husband is currently laid off at work... they have apparently worked too fast and run out of jobs.... we are unsure of how long this is going to last, but are praying it's not too long.

It seems like I work a lot or I'm recovering from working! haha

I'm enjoying my new position in the ER for the most part, but the hours are definitely getting to me a little more than I expected. I spend the next day or two after a weekend of working basically wanting to sleep!

This morning we met a friend of mine at the local park and took some pictures for our Christmas card! That was fun and I'm looking forward to seeing how the card turns out. =) I'm ordering them from PearTreeGreetings again like I did last year, so I'm sure they'll be great! (Keep an eye out for a great coupon code from them soon!)

Here's one of our "out takes" It'd be great except my son, like normal, didn't want to smile AT the camera, but rather at the ground or something. =)

I felt like it was Saturday all day today... probably my husband being home from work. It makes me feel all off kilter!

One of my good friends came over today and first helped me grocery shop

(that has to be the mark of a good friend, right?)

and then we watched Water for Elephants. Have you read the book?? I had read it awhile ago, so I enjoyed the movie. Since I couldn't really remember the details, it seemed like it followed the book pretty well... I'm sure that was partly faulty memory though! =)

If you haven't read the book, you should.

Hopefully I'll get a little more regular blogging in soon! It always seems harder to blog when my husband is home, so we'll see.

Gratitude Giveaway Hop Winners

2011-11-29T14:17:00.000-08:00

Winners have been chosen and emailed for

the Gratitude Giveaway Hop!

A Rush of Wings - Rae M

$5 Amazon GC - Brenda D

Thank you to all my followers!

Winners have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen!

Last Day to Enter Gratitude Giveaway!

2011-11-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

Last day to enter in the

Gratitude Giveaway Hop!

Win a copy of A Rush of Wings or a $5 Amazon Gift Card!

Easy entry... THANKS READERS!!

My First Adult Sized Hat

2011-11-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

This may be hard to believe, but I don't think I've ever knitted an adult-sized hat...

At least I can't think of any.

For a couple months now, my husband has been complaining that I've never made him a hat.

Now... this is not because he's never gotten a hand-knit hat.

My mom has made him quite a few over the years.... but apparently it wasn't fair because I had never made him one.

So... I finally got some yarn, tracked down a suitable looking pattern and FINALLY made him one. I'm pretty proud... it was too short the first time I knit it (even though I made it 1/2 longer than the pattern called for), so my mom graciously ripped out the crown so I could re-knit the rest of it and make it longer. I'm hoping it's not too long now!

Here's the finished product:

Yarn:

City Tweed DK Yarn in Toad by KnitPicks ($4.29/ball)

55% Merino wool, 25% Superfine alpaca, 20% Donegal tweed

Pattern:

Wasatch Backcountry Hat (free Ravelry download)

So... I'm hoping it fits (he's on a hunting trip for the weekend right now.

But if it's too long I guess that's too bad for him because I'm not re-doing it again.

I have another ball of this yarn and I want to make a matching beanie for the Little Guy! I just have to sit down and figure out how much to reduce the pattern to fit.....

Book Review: A Wedding Invitation by Alice J. Wisler

2011-11-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

Book Details:
Title: A Wedding Invitation
Author: Alice J. Wisler
2011, Bethany House
ISBN:978-0-7642-0733-4
Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Book Summary:
After returning home from teaching in a refugee camp in the Philippines, Samantha Bravencourt enjoys her quiet life working at her mother's clothing boutique near Washington, D.C. When she receives an invitation to her friend's wedding in Winston-Salem, NC, she's excited to reconnect with her college pals.
But the wedding turns out quite differently than Sam expects. A chance encounter leads to a reunion with Carson Brylie, a fellow teacher and the man who once broke her heart, and Lien, a young Amerasian girl who desperately needs Sam and Carson's help.
But working with Carson might put Sam's tender heart at risk once again. Is she willing to forgive the past and take another chance on love?

My Review:
This is a nice, sweet story. Nothing really outstanding about it, but not bad either. It was fairly predicable. I read another book (Hatteras Girl) by this author about a year ago and seemed to like it too. =)

The current setting is the 1990s. Samantha works for her mom in Washington, D.C., but goes to NC to visit friends and that also happens to be where her aunt lives. There are numerous chapter flashbacks to the 1980s when Samantha worked in the Philippines with Carson at the refugee camp for people trying to get out of places like Vietnam. Apparently the author actually did this in real life, so it was kind of interesting learning about the camp and the process people went through to get to America.

As I said, the ending is fairly predicable and I won't go into details because that would just give it away faster. Samantha is someone who has had some bad experiences in life and love and has had a hard time getting past them.... is she able too?

If you like cute, clean and predicable reads... this could be for you. =)

Disclosure: The book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. All opinions in this post are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.

New Additions...

2011-11-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

There are some fun new additions to my Etsy Shop today!

My mom is a talented decorative painter and has pulled out some of her stock from past shows to sell. Fun Painted "Rusty" Cans filled with potpourri, Cookie Tins for saving (or giving away!) your holiday cookies, ornaments and more!

Check them out in my Christmas Shop!

Tis the Season...

2011-11-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

For being BUSY apparently!

I feel like the past couple weeks have just been filled with places to go and appointments galore!

I'm not sure if it really has anything to do with the holiday season or not.

Most of the stuff we've had going on are random appointments and activities.

I went to see the Breaking Dawn premiere on November 20th with my in-laws.

As you can see from this post and this post, they are VERY into the Twilight craze.

I go along because I'm invited and it's something we can all do together.

I'm finally getting used to my new work schedule, so things are settling down on that front... I'm figuring out that I need to take a nap during the day on those evenings I work for sanity sake.

I had a movie night with a bunch of friends and we watched My Fair Lady. That was a fun evening and something I'd planned about a month ago.... I just didn't realize at the time that I was going to be up late at the Twilight premiere the night before....

Anyway.... hopefully in the next week or so after the Thankgiving holiday I can get back to a more normal schedule and my blogging will be back on track..... is that wishful thinking this time of year?? =) Lucky for me I have a lot of my Christmas shopping done already this year! Yay! I think this is the most on top of it I've ever been!

Fracture by Megan Miranda - Good Choice Reading Book Tour

2011-11-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

Book Details:
Title: Fracture (ARC)
Author: Megan Miranda
2012, Walker & Company
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2309-3
Genre: YA

Book Summary:
A lot can happen in eleven minutes.
Decker can run two miles easily in eleven minutes. I once wrote an English essay in ten. No lie. And God knows Carson Levine can talk a girl out of her clothes in half that time.
Eleven minutes might as well be eternity under water. It only takes three minutes without air for loss of consciousness. Permanent brain damage begins at four minutes. And then, when the oxygen runs out, full cardiac arrest occurs. Death is possible at five minutes. Probable at seven. Definite at ten.
Decker pulled me out at eleven.

My Review:
What an amazing book! This was an awesome read and I highly recommend it. From the moment I opened the front cover, I was hooked. I read this book in less than 24 hours. I stayed up until midnight reading the first day even though I knew I had to get up in less than 8 hours.

Delaney Maxwell, the protagonist, is a 17-year-old girl who fell through the ice on Falcon Lake one day. Her best friend, Decker, pulled her back out eleven minutes later - dead. Against all odds, she wakes up 6 days later - basically fine. Normal life resumes... or at least she tries to make it normal.

Nothing is the same. Not her relationship with Decker. Not her relationship with her parents. Not even with other kids at school. Then there is Troy. The strange boy who seems to know all about her, but she's never seen him before.

And why does she keep having these weird pulls towards people who seem to be sick or dying? Can she do anything about it? And why is Troy always there also?

I can't answer any of these questions without giving away the book - but if you like good endings, I think this book has one. Although I was unsure of how it was going to end right up until the last two pages, I felt like things were resolved and I was satisfied. The author did an excellent job of weaving the story through all of the questions and keeping the reader guessing as to what was going to happen.

I definitely recommend this book. It has a slight resemblance for me to The Unbecoming of Mara Dryer, but was also completely different.

This book is set to be released January 3, 2012.
Thank you to Good Choice Reading for hosting the Fracture Book Tour and giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Gratitude Giveaway! Thank you!

2011-11-16T19:15:00.000-08:00

I am joining up with

I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and All-Consuming Books for the

Gratitude Giveaway Hop!

Thank you to all my readers!

This hop is meant as a thank you to our readers, so there is only ONE entry.

No long list of optional entries.

If I get enough entries... I just may throw in a second winner for a $5 Amazon gift card!
UPDATE!
Currently over 60 entries and we've hit 100 likes on my FB page,
so I'll be adding a second winner! Whoo hoo!

I am giving away one gently read book of mine.

A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

Please fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

Check out the rest of the Gratitude Giveaways!

My Favorite Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2011-11-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

We are having a quiet sort of day at home today.

I'm trying to get some housework caught up as well as enjoying the ONE day this week where we don't have to run somewhere (... well, other than me having to work this evening).

Tomorrow I'm supposed to go to our women's bible study potluck thingy. It's the last day of the session and we're just going to eat and talk, I think. I wasn't going to bring anything... I mean, I think I'll be doing good to just GET there after working until 1:00am, but then I decided I'd make some yummy pumpkin bread. It's something I can do ahead of time and it actually tastes better the next day!

Plus, the bonus is that it makes 3 smaller loaves and I'm having some friends over Friday night, so I'll just save a loaf for Friday!

I thought I'd share.... I found this recipe a few years ago... I've modified it some, so I'll copy the original recipe and then put my modifications in red.

Source: allrecipes.com via Elsie on Pinterest

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup applesauce
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar usually I eliminate a 1 cup - tastes fine
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, vanilla, and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

This recipe makes the most delicious, moist pumpkin bread! I have seriously made it to give away as Christmas gifts in the past because it's that good. I've never frozen it, but other reviewers say it freezes well.

Enjoy!

Christmas Shop - Vintage Aprons!

2011-11-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

Check out my new Christmas Shop in my

Etsy shop Little Sprout Basics!

New vintage aprons and bags listed!

More items coming soon....

Moments to Remember

2011-11-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I started blogging was so I could write down all the cute things my son says and does.... and do I do that? Not very often.

Here's a few of his latest:

When he wants a piece of candy from his Halloween pumpkin bucket - "Mommy, a piece 'o punkin patch?"

Yesterday he heard me call my husband by his first name and started yelling "Shaun! Shaun!" (daddy was maybe not so amused... but he was back to being daddy today. =)

Anything and everything it seems that we need to "wash it!" because it's "yucky!"

Halloween apparently made an impression because he sees and talks about ghosts all the time. "Mommy, see a ghost?" "Mommy! Look! a ghost!" The checker at the grocery store asked him how he was doing one day and he said "a ghost?"

Whenever he sees anyone that I told him was coming he says "I find you!" Example: Yesterday I said we were meeting Kelly and when he saw her, he ran over saying, "Keewly! I find you!" like it was his idea all along.

He is also very into fixing at the moment. Sometimes I think he purposly takes things apart or "breaks" them, so they may be fixed. And then he doesn't want help, "No! Baby fix it!"

Which brings me to my last one - he refers to himself as "baby" all the time. I have NO idea where this has come from because we don't call him baby. We call him "bud" or "buddy" a lot, but not baby. But, that is how he refers to himself, "Baby do it", "Baby fix it", "Baby walk!" etc, etc....

Okay... that's all I can think of off the top of my head. =) I may be updating this list for my own benefit later. haha

Crisp Fall Days

2011-11-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

Today was a rare DRY Fall day in the Northwest. =)

We took advantage by taking a walk and then raking up some leaves and jumping in them!

We almost never get to do this because the leaves are always soaked!

The Little Guy really enjoyed it!

I spent the rest of the day figuring out what we're doing with our next Mommy School unit - T is for Thanksgiving.

I also did some coupon shopping - stopped at Albertson's to use my doubler coupons and stock up on some Swanson chicken and beef broth!

And thought I'd show you my finished Fall wreath!

I finished up the flowers with some vintage buttons I had laying around.

I think it turned out pretty good. =)

Now I'm off to take a short nap before I have to work tonight!

Legend by Marie Lu - Good Choice Reading Book Tour

2011-11-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

Book Details:
Title: Legend (Legend #1)
Author: Marie Lu
2011, Penguin
ISBN:978-0-399-25675-2
Genre: YA, Dystopia

Book Summary:
Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a military prodigy committed to her country.
Born into the slums of the Republic's Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal.
From different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered. And Day becomes the prime suspect.
Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival while June tries desperately to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to to keep its secrets.

My Review:
I received this book to read as part of a book blog tour - I signed up for it and I was a little unsure about whether I was going to like it or not. I wasn't even exactly sure what it was about. I LOVED this book. I read it in two days - and that's with a 2-year-old running around my house.
This book really reminded me of The Hunger Games in a couple ways - obviously because it's about young people, the crazy militaristic government, the drastic comparison of wealth and poverty, and lastly it's dystopian era. Post-natural disasters and destruction of the United States-type world.
The book chapters alternate between the perspective of the main characters, June and Day. June is a wealthy kid who has had everything and is slated for a top job in the country's military. Day failed the Republic's test and has ended up on the streets acting out against the country government who is oppressive to those who live in his Sector.
You can read the synopsis above and get the general idea of what the book is about. The characters are interesting and intriguing. They have chemistry together and it seems like you as the reader really feel their frustrations, hopes and worries. There are some good secondary characters also.
The plot carries the reader along - I didn't want to put the book down. There are no dead areas of this book, no times when you're bored. I think the author takes a unique look at a post-destruction world.
Overall - great book. I definitely recommend picking this one up! I don't think you'll be disappointed! I'm looking forward to finding out what happens in the second book of the series!

This book is set to be released November 2011.
Thank you to Good Choice Reading for hosting Legend Book Tour and giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Productivity

2011-11-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

This week is turning out to be fairly productive for me!

Two days ago my husband brought me home a large bottle of vodka - yes vodka. I had asked him to buy me a lot for my Christmas project. He looked at me a little funny, but finally (2 months later) he brought it home.

So yesterday, while my son was supposed to be taking a nap in his big boy bed (noticed the emphasis on "supposed". A nap did not happen yesterday), I made up my gifties!

I used THIS tutorial I gleaned from Pinterest and made up bottles of homemade vanilla extract for family and friends this year. It was pretty fun and I'm excited to taste the finished product. I've been told that the homemade kind is much better than store-bought (but really, what isn't??)

Today I've been working on a burlap wreath that I started a couple weeks ago. Again, during nap time (where a nap is actually taking place), I've been cutting out burlap flower petals and I'm going to attempt to assemble them.

This is another Pinterest project I came across. I'm not so good and free-handing things, so I was a little nervous about the petals. The author of the tutorial said her scanner broke and couldn't upload the pattern for the petals, so I had to make it up. I'm thinking they are going to be fine though.....

My un-assembled petals....

I've decided I should try a Pinterest project every week.... or at least a recipe. =)

We'll see how it goes!

Just in Time

2011-11-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Just in time, my husband and I bought our Little Guy his "big boy bed."

Up until today, he's never attempted to climb out of his crib and I've been more than willing to let him just stay in it as long as possible. But lately, I've been thinking it's probably time to get him a bigger bed, so Saturday we picked up a toddler bed and mattress for $50 off Craigslist.

He loved it right away.

It's been sitting in our living room because we have to disassemble his crib and move it out of his room before we can put the new bed upstairs.

Well... apparently we have to do that now.

Today I put him in a time-out in his crib and the next thing I knew he was coming down the stairs. Uh, oh. Now, we are currently attempting to have a nap time, but he has crawled out of his crib 4 times now in an attempt to foil naptime. Grrr....

My Little Guy is growing up... no doubt about it.

Now... how am I going to get him to stay in that toddler bed for naptime??? Hmm....

Strange Events

2011-10-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much this week.

I've been incredibly tired it the past couple days and so I've been napping during the day (when I'd normally be posting)

and then working in the evening the past few days.

I've had a couple strange things happen to me the way home the past two weekends, which has not helped the situation.

Last Friday, the 24th, I was on my way home from a game night with some friends at about 1:30 am. I drove into my development, which is fairly wooded and dark, and saw two large blue yard waste bins lying across the road - blocking it.

I meant to drive around them (basically in the ditch), but then I noticed there was a black cable running underneath and decided that maybe I should risk it - I mean some stupid kids could have set up a booby-trap or something.

I backed-up into a side street and turned my car around to go around the other way, but someone had layed a metal ladder across the roadway in the other direction while I'd been sitting there! At this point, I was pretty freaked out, but luckily I could drive around the edge of the ladder. I called the Sherrif once I got home and went to bed.

Then... on Saturday night I was coming home from work at about the same time, 1:30 am and pulled into the development. In about the same area as the last incident, there was a lot of debris in the road, sticks and a crushed soda can or two. I thought that was a little weird, but like I said, we live in a wooded area and I just figured it'd been windy while I'd been at work. As I drove through a large stick came flying at my windshield (luckily broke apart) and completely freaked me out! Someone had thrown it at my car! Seriously!?

I drove home, and woke up my husband. He took one of our dogs and a giant spotlight he has for hunting. He drove around, but only came across a couple teenagers driving out who (of course denied knowing anything). I called the Sherrif again.... mostly because it was the 2nd incident. They actually had the officer call me back and talk to me, but they didn't find anything.

The whole thing is very strange... I'm a little nervous when I drive home now!
Tonight is Halloween, so I'm hoping that because it's a weeknight those crazy people won't be out to get my car again!!!

Book Review: A Sound Among the Trees

2011-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Please rate my review - see widget below - Thank you!

Book Details:
Title: A Sound Among the Trees (ARC)
Author: Susan Meissner
2011, Waterbrook Press
ISBN: 978-0-307-45885-8
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Book Summary:
As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn't believe that Susannah's ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.
When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband's home, it isn't long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.
With Adelaide's richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak - and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

My Review:
Let's start out by saying that this book was not at all what I expected. Coming from a Christian publisher, there was almost no mention of God in this book (very minimal). I think someone who is not religious-minded could very well read this book and not be annoyed. That said, I enjoyed the book for the most part.

The storyline was very interesting. The community believes that Holly Oak is a cursed house. As the story goes, Susannah Page harbored Union spies in her cellar during the Civil War and was a traitor. The women who live in Holly Oak believe that the house bears a grudge against them for Susannah's sins and needs absolution.

After a series of events, a stash of letters have been uncovered. Hidden letters written by Susannah to her cousin in the North - letters that were never sent. These letters do a lot in the way of explaining the events of the past and whether or not the house is really haunted (which I'm not going to tell you - because you should read it!)

I got a little bogged down in the current-day part of the book. It seemed like there was a lot of carrying-on by Marielle and Adelaide about whether there was a ghost, if the place was haunted, whether it was safe to live there, etc. Not that it wasn't interesting... I just felt it went on too long. On the other hand, when it got to the part where they were reading the letters of Susannah's I was completely drawn in. I loved reading Susannah's telling of what was happening in Virginia during the Civil War.

Overall it was a good book, interesting and full of interesting characters. It was a redemptive story in the end, which I liked. Definitely worth picking up, especially if you like a little historical fiction!

Please rate my review!

Time

2011-10-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

What is it about time?

There never seems to be enough of it.

Remember when summer break seemed to last for FOREVER?

These days I find myself wishing for more time.

I never seem to be able to fit in everything I want to do.

Does this happen to you too? I think it must. I think it is universal.

Sometimes when I have a free evening to myself (when my husband' hunting and my Little Guy is in bed) when I actually cannot make a decision about what I want to do.

Do I want to read my book? Or maybe catch up on the weekly TV shows I try to watch? Or maybe I should watch that chick flick I've been wanting to watch? OR MAYBE I should do a craft project that's been sitting and waiting to be completed (or waiting to be started!)

Usually I just end up on the computer because I seriously cannot make a decision about which thing I want to do more!

Sometimes when I sitting home during the day and reading my book, I actually feel guilty. I know that it's stupid to feel guilty, but I feel like every minute I'm home, I should be spending my time with my Little Guy. (Doing the Mommy School has really helped me with this particular guilt, since I can feel like we did something productive together.)

I've often wondered if I'd still have this problem if I didn't have to work, but I think I would probably think this even if I was home full-time. Maybe I'd have more time to do the things I want to do... maybe I'd just waste more time.

This is just a post of my rambling thoughts tonight.

I'm sure everyone has these same struggles, but sometimes it feels good to work them out by writing. =)

Mommy School - Week Three

2011-10-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

This week in our H is for Halloween unit for Mommy School we did some fun stuff...

We painted fist pumpkins,

we broke out the flannel board that I made last week and had some Halloween stories,

we went to the pumpkin patch,

and we carved a pumpkin!

We also got a couple new books from the library:

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

The Three Bears Halloween by Kathy Duval

Today I think we are going to roast some pumpkin seeds. =)

Finding the right Christmas Card - You, Shared + Giveaway

2011-10-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for a fun way to share your family via Christmas cards this year?

Pear Tree Greetings has some wonderful options in their new holiday line.

They sent me a card to review and allowed me to create my own personalized card!

It's fun to make and I'm super excited about a few aspects, like:

100 lb cardstock

Affordability

Amazing options for personalizing your cards

They have Magnet Cards, Personalized Gift Tags, Ornament Cards and More!

They have some wonderful photo cards that also allow you to add your Christmas letter! How awesome is that?? How is it that our Christmas card can stand out? That the person who opens it actually wants to read the words I've chosen to take the time to write. How can I share our lives with those friends and family who are no longer living near us? Us, Shared.

I never write a Christmas letter because I don't want to bother with both the card AND a separate letter. But Pear Tree Greetings has solved that dilemma with combining the two! The Modern Christmas Letter

Here's the one I chose:

(click on the image for a bigger image)

Fun, right??

I wrote a little blurb at the top about what our family is up to this year and the memories we've made. I think it's fun that I can share a little something about us and then share several photos of what those memories are!

Pear Tree's new personalizing tool is super easy to use and makes the process fun!

This post is sponsored by Pear Tree Greetings. Pear Tree Greetings has helped tens of thousands of customers celebrate life’s shareable moments with a collection of uniquely personal, high-quality greetings and stationery. Pear Tree Greetings offers a full line of photo cards like Christmas cards, invitations, announcements, address labels, save-the-date cards and dozens of other high-quality paper products, so you can seize every opportunity to connect with others. Custom greetings made simple, affordable, and absolutely keep-worthy.

The Giveaway:
Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter.

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not exactly sure what it is about places like this, but going to the pumpkin patch is SO FUN! I think I was almost as excited as the Little Guy. =)

This is the first year we've taken him to a pumpkin patch locally.

(2 years ago we went to the Roloff Farm in Oregon)

Apparently there are quite a few pumpkin patches to chose from in our area, so I asked around and we decided on the Schilter Family Farm, which was very fun.

They have a variety of fun things to do. We only had about an hour before they closed, so we did what we thought the Little Guy would think was the most fun, and then picked out our pumpkins.

First, the Hay Ride...

Next, the Petting Zoo.

We saw, goats, pigs, ducklings, a pony and a cow.

And lastly, of course, the Pumpkin Patch!

He was slightly upset about the prickly stem on the "punkin"

But eventually he got over it.

And lastly... a photo with mommy. =)

Compared with our last visit to the pumpkin patch when he was 6 months old!

Mommy School - Week Two

2011-10-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Little Guy and I are having SO much fun with our Mommy School!

We did a bunch more fun activities this week and checked out some new books from the library. We spend lots of time on the couch reading all our Mommy School books!

This last week we read books from last week and...

The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis &

The Three Bears by Byron Barton

We made some pumpkin and apple sugar cookies...

Other activities...

We used 9 pumpkin cut-outs in 3 sizes and sorted and counted them.

We colored the number "3", which he can now identify by sight.

We used the movement cards to act out things like Creep like a Cat and Roll like a Pumpkin, etc (we greatly enjoyed this activity!)

Next week I want to do some painting (!), we're going to visit the pumpkin patch and break out the flannel board that I made this week for some stories. AND we got a couple new books from the library today to add to our stash.

Freezer Meals

2011-10-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

As part of my new routine with work, I've been trying to be a good wife and have some sort of meal planned for my husband for dinner. He gets home from work, and I basically run out the door at the same time, so it has to be something already done, or easy for him to prepare.

The last couple weeks I've been putting away some freezer meals.

I would LOVE to get to the point where I made about 10-12 freezer meals at one time and then they would be done for the entire month, but I'm not to that point yet.

So far, I've been making a meal for that night and then making a second one (it's no more work to make two meals than just one) to put in the freezer.

Lately, I've been using recipes from my mom's

Once-A-Month-Cooking book

Last night I made the Cheesy Corn Casserole.

This is why it's so easy for my husband....

He pulls it out of the freezer and I've written all the instructions on the foil.

Date: 10/11

Name of Dish: Cheesy Corn Casserole

Additional instructions: Add the mozzerella cheese on top

Baking temp and time: 350 for 30 min

Easy peesy, right?

I'm hoping to get more of these in the freezer in the next few weeks, and I won't have to hear "Honey? What's for US for dinner?" =)

Since I was home last night, I took a suggestion from the bottom of the recipe and made these Pumpkin Spice Muffins to go with our meal.

He may have to come up with his own sides in the future though. =)

Shift Work Survival

2011-10-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Okay... so I think that title was maybe a little dramatic.

I am attempting to figure out a new routine with my new work schedule.

In some ways I think it will be better. Instead of leaving at 2:30 pm each day, I'll be leaving at 5:00 pm. This gives several more hours with my Little Guy and the added bonus of being home during nap time!

On the other hand, I'm working one extra shift a pay period, and I don't get home until 1:30 or 2:30 am. Last night I was home at 2:30 and I won't lie... I'm pretty tired today. And I even took a 1 hour nap while the Little Guy napped yesterday. I think that is going to have to be a new routine for me on work days... naps. Which kind of defeats the bonus of being home during it! Argh! =)

I'm liking my new position so far though. It's interesting being in the ER. So many weird and interesting people come in. Last night I had an older man telling me all about his hernia surgery from 2 years ago and another guy was attempting to show me his urine bag attached to his catheter (uh... no thank you!). So... although I may get more of an education than I was bargaining for in the ER... I don't think it will be boring either!

I just read a really great article in Women's Day magazine about women who choose to work the night shift and why. Apparently this is becoming more and more common across the country - basically for the same reason I do. Saves on childcare costs and allows us to stay home more with our children during the day! Interesting! It's in the October17th issue if you'd like to pick up a copy.

Book Review: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

2011-10-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Book Details:
Title: Shanghai Girls
Author: Lisa Lee
2009, Random House
ISBN: 978-1-4000-6711-4
Genre: Historical Fiction

Book Summary:
In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealthy and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father's prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn't be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree ... until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.

As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pear land May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discriminations, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown's old ways and rules.

At its heart, Shanghai Girls, is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. Along the way they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are - Shanghai Girls.

My Review:
I received this book from someone I work with. I was not sure what I would think of it; it didn't see the type of book I would normally pick up. But, I'm always intrigued when someone tells me a book is so good they are willing to loan it to me to read.

Shanghai Girls, as the summary states, is about two sisters who grow up in a wealthy family in Shanghai, China. They want for nothing and are pretty spoiled by their parents. They are fairly insulated from the politics that are swirling around them in 1937 - the Japanese are a real threat - Mao is trying to take over the government and make it Communist, etc. But then the girls father announces that he is selling them (they are only girls, not the coveted boys, after all) to pay his debts.

Together, the girls overcomes huge obstacles to reach America and their new husbands. Their lives are forever changed by things that happened along the way. We follow their lives over the next 40 years as they work in the family business, raise a child and fight against being deported during the Red Scare.

I learned lots of things about Chinese culture, religion, customs. Also about conditions in Chinatowns in America and discrimination against Chinese-Americans during that time period. It was really, really interesting.

This was definitely a different sort of book for me.... it took me awhile to get through it. But it was very good - I'm not sure whether to be glad or sad that I don't have a sister! =)

Bottom line: Worth reading.

Mommy School - Week One Update

2011-10-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

Last week the Little Guy and I worked on some of our Mommy School projects.

We are doing H is for Halloween and it's been a lot of fun.

We are spending a whole month on each unit since we are just doing a few things a week.

We've checked out a bunch of fun books from the library:

Pumpkin Heads! by Wendell Miller

It's Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall

The Eensy-Weensy Spider by Mary Ann Hoberman

A few others that went along with the Number 3 and Halloween theme.

We also made some Pumpkin Pie Play-dough...

Which we've been cutting out with our pumpkin cookie cutter.

I made biscuits and gravy last night and we had pumpkin-shaped biscuits!

We've been playing the Hokey Pokey with black and orange streamers

("Put your orange hand in, put or orange hand out")

He's thought this was a super fun activity.

We've been playing some of the fingerplay games and songs.

It's been a lot of fun and I feel like it helps me focus on a few specific things to do each day. This week I'd like to make some Pumpkin sugar cookies, make a sensory bin and one of these days we need to make it to the pumpkin patch! But probably not this week.

Pear Tree Greetings - Sticker Gift Tags

2011-10-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

Pear Tree Greetings has some adorable new stickers!

They sent me a sample of some of their Sticker Gift Tags in the mail to review

and I am already trying to figure out how I could use them for my

Etsy shop or Christmas gifts!

Here are some examples:

1. Two that I've yet to use... I'm brainstorming ideas for using the Garden one next year though...

2. Property Of... using this one as a bookplate in one of my favorite books.

3. Made with Love - used this one on an Etsy package I shipped out.

4. From the Kitchen Of - homemade applesauce to giveaway!

There are so many creative things you could use these little tags for!

Birthdays, holidays, crafts, etc!

Follow Pear Tree Greetings!

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Know Me Better

2011-10-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

This is a new meme by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. I thought these were fun questions. I'd love to hear my readers answers also! Leave a comment or link up. =)

Know Me Better 10/6 Questions
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

I love Chocolate Fudge Brownie... the kind with the chunks of brownie in it... yummm!
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

I'm really not much of a breakfast eater. I would be okay just drinking a cup of coffee and waiting until lunch, but I know that's not so great for me so I attempt to at least have a piece of toast for breakfast each morning.
Night owl, or early bird?

Night owl - no reason to fight it, it's not going to change. =)
One food you would never eat?

Mussels or any kind of gross slimy seafood. Tried mussels once and thought I was going to die.
Skittles or M&Ms?

Skittles - I like M&Ms but milk chocolate is not my favorite. I much prefer the fruity flavors!

Where I Am Today

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm guest posting over at

That Mama Gretchen today!

Gretchen is on vacation and I'm sharing some fun

kid-friendly tips on traveling with your little ones!

Head on over and check out her blog!

(and me! of course! =)

Two-Year-Old Drama

2011-10-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

See this sweet little face??? So calm, so innocent....

Well, now he's two and apparently he's got opinions and he's not afraid to share

them in very negative ways.

My monthly bunco group meets tonight and I wanted to make a quick run to the store to find something for a costume. We were making one stop and going to two stores. The first store we went in was Michaels and I figured we were just scanning for a couple things and leaving, so I wouldn't put him in a cart. Mommy mistake #1.

He was pretty good - if you can overlook the fact that he threw a ball (the size of a tennis ball) over one of the aisle shelves... you know... the ones that go way above your head and you walk between them perusing the merchandise... yeah. He threw a ball OVER that. Anyway....

we got to the checkout counter and he started acting up, so I picked him up and he started slapping me in the face! Seriously??? So embarrassing.

We got to the car to drop off our stuff and I almost cried.

Next we went to Target, but I made sure he was in a cart this time.

By this time, I knew I needed to be quick, so I grabbed what I needed and started out. But he was kind of hanging over the end of the cart (on his knees), so I was going to give him a box of animal cookies if he turned around and sat down. Well... he wouldn't even acknowledge I was speaking, let alone turn around until I told him he'd lost the cookies for not listening.

I'm really not sure how to proceed with this behavior. He can be SO sweet (like book-reading time before bed and naps!), but so naughty other times.

I have set up a time-out chair and told him what it's for. I'm going to try to be super consistent about using it - unless I find some other strategy that works better.

I'm also going to start setting the timer for time-outs and requiring an apology.

My husband has a very strong personality and I'm sensing that my son has one too -

just how to direct that personality into positive things is the question.

We'll see how it goes... I keep telling myself that "two" only lasts for a short time

and I'm trying to soak in the "sweet" times.

Meet Me in the Laundry Room

2011-09-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Nobody has a perfect marriage right?

Do we all need a little help and encouragement sometimes??

I'm joining up with Aimee over at HomeSpunThreads

for Meet Me in the Laundry Room

40 Day Online Bible Study & 40 Days of prayer for marriage: This is not a study about how to change your husband. If that is what you are looking for you, you will not find it here. This is a 40 Day study on how to change your marriage, starting with your personal relationship with God and His instructions for your life as your husbands wife, his Help Meet.

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Project Pinterest.... almost

2011-09-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

I saw THIS very cute picture on Pinterest a couple weeks ago.

I'm sure everyone else in the world has also.

Today it actually wasn't raining so I thought I'd attempt to get a

good picture of the Little Guy to try to re-create the idea....

Seriously? I could NOT get him to look at the camera!

I think I have the weirdest child ever... he makes the most fakey smiles

for the camera while looking off into the distance (never at the camera) OR

he just won't look at the camera at all! Seriously....

So this is what I got. Still cute... but would it kill us to have a picture with his face??

Mommy School... Buying Supplies

2011-09-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

I took my husband to the airport this morning at 4:00 am.

He is flying to Texas to meet up with his sister and they are driving a moving van back to Washington State to move their grandparents up here (that's the plan anyway... his grandpa is currently in the hospital in Texas).

The Little Guy was not in a good mood.... being woken up so early for a 1.5 trek to and from the airport kind of did him in for the day....

so Mommy decided it was a good day to head out of the house in search of

Mommy School supplies!

(If I want to start this in October I need to get going here!)

I didn't want to spend much money, so I headed to the local Dollar Store and Target.

We are going to start with the H is for Halloween unit. We're going to focus mostly on the pumpkin activities... and maybe some of the bats. I'm not sure he'd even understand about ghosts or anything like that at this point.

For $12 we picked up some crayons, pompoms and stickers for crafts, google eyes and spiders for sensory boxes, foam pumpkins, orange paper plates and crepe paper streamers. The most expensive thing was the crayons!

I also found a few things for some of the other units -

A package each of foam turkeys and leaves for

T is for Thanksgiving and L is for Leaves.

And a DIY turkey placemat for the Thanksgiving unit coming up in November.

Each from the Target $1 bins.

Now I just have to sit down and figure out what else I want to do and pick up some paint and a stamp pad and stuff to make play-dough and sugar cookies - actually figure out what I'm going to do - oh wait, did I say that already? =)

(There is a possibility that I may think this is more fun than he does!)