Saving For a Rainy Day

InstaFriday 2-3

2012-02-03T09:59:00.000-05:00

A rather sparse Instafriday.Not much to see.

I'm rather excited about tomorrow.I really needed some girl time so I just posted on Facebook that I wanted 3 people to come over on Saturday evening,bring a snack,bring a craft and just come over and hang out. I limited it to 3 as I have a square dining table and we would all get some equal work space. We'll see how it turns out so perhaps we can do it again (and expand?)

Painting projects have been so relaxing of late that I picked another. I went with Erin to Hobby Lobby last night an hour before they closed. We learned an hour is not long enough to spend at Hobby Lobby. But I should know that. My mom and I once spent the length it took Tim and the kids to see a movie once :)

Ok,on to this weeks photo's.......


Why yes,that is the view in a room at the ER. Take my advice: Don't text and drink iced coffee while walking down some potentially icey steps.That's all me and my purple bum have got to say about that.

Best toy find ever! Little people Bat Girl and Wonder Woman. I think Easter bunny just may have to bring her the Bat Cave in her Easter basket

This is Stella. Up at the big kids school. Just taking it all in. (not sure why she's sticking her tongue out!)

Tim wanted Fajita's for his birthday dinner on Sunday. So I made fresh corn salsa to go with it and Emma made some delicious guacamole.She looks so grown up here. {sigh}

We are blessed with another sunshiny,milder kind of day around here. Love it!

Have a super Friday!

New Link up to try :)

2012-02-02T11:24:00.002-05:00

Let me know if you signed up :)

1/12 of 2012

2012-02-01T08:24:00.000-05:00

So today is February 1st.Can you believe it? 1/12th of the year is gone. January was good to us. I hope it sets the tone for the rest of the year.February is even offering us an extra day this year.Thank you February. I will do my best to make that extra day awesome! I might have to come up with something fun for that.

Right now I'm sipping on the most excellent coffee.My big kids are off to school and my little kids are snoozing away. I went to bed early last night with the hopes of being able to get up earlier. It worked. I really need to maintain a better sleep schedule. We are all night owls around here and it needs to change.

See that picture? I'm just in love with it! When we took our walk in the comfy 60* weather yesterday the wind was blowing and Caleb was running with his arms out. 'Look Mama!!! I'm flying!!' I was so glad to capture it and thought to myself : This is one of the best times of your life.Being a mama to these sweet little kids who are fun and full of energy and imagination.
Something so simple can be such a wonderful Thank you God kind of moment.

I'm simply grateful for something like the technology we hold in our pockets to record these awesome snippets of everyday life.
And yes- I will be getting this framed.

I'm off to read up on Craft Weekend.(Someday.....) while relaxing to some Bon Iver.
Happy Wednesday and Happy February to you!

Virtual coffee 1-31 -Night out and Blog Swap!

2012-01-31T17:28:00.000-05:00

Another Tuesday.This one happens to be the last day of January!It flew by! And today it doesn't even feel like January.It's now just after 5pm and I still see bits of sunlight. Love it! Plus it was 60* today!

So I'm posting and linking with Amy a little late today.So coffee was quite awhile ago. I'm still nursing the big bottle of water I got on my walk earlier.

Tim turned 34 this weekend. We celebrated at the casino with our friends Josie and Doug. Before some fun at the slots we tried out their buffet.It was good and the desserts were fabulous!

We had fun! And broke even ;)

Desserts on casino buffet. Amazing.Totally amazing.


Last day in January!! Love this weather!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I recently participated in a really fun swap going on over at few other blogs.

For this swap I had Stephanie. Steph is young and fashionable! I admit I had a hard time picking out some goodies for her but I hope she enjoys the ones I sent! I know I love the ones she sent me :)

Key chain,address book,frame and a cute little book :)

I'm off to enjoy the rest of this lovely day. I got a lot done earlier and I'm excited to share it with you soon!

InstaFriday 1-27

2012-01-27T09:30:00.001-05:00

How was your week? I spent mine nursing a cold,painting a chest of drawers and watching season 1 of Downton Abbey in about 4 days. The most TV I've watched in some time! Tim's birthday is on Sunday and he has off for a few days. Last night we went to the mall where I was treated to some bling for my ears and a new pear of Uggs. What have I been waiting for? They are like stepping into marshmallow casings for my feet. Ahhhhhh.................

With him home I was able to do my nails without any little's pounding on the door.

Super cute necklace won on Darlyblog

Not an LV fan but I do love cherries!

Jumping into the #janphotoaday with COLOR!

I seriously love my new hat.Tim does not and my sister says I look like Super Nanny.

The perks of having a cousin who lives above the florist.....these were in the dumpster!

A few of the goodies from my pilgrimage to TJ's

Cute girl +Ikea = Lovely day

Burton Morris,local artist

Funny little elf

Not sure what the weekend will hold.I have somethings in the works.......
Have a Blessed Friday!!!

{Happiness} on a Tuesday

2012-01-24T10:50:00.001-05:00

If we were talking over hot mugs today I would probably chew your ear off about.................

My project inspired by the chest in this picture

That I started watching this and it's every bit as good as people are saying.

That I can't get enough of this with lots of honey.

That I've been enjoying the sounds of this pair.

How much I REALLY want a new Vera in this pattern!


I'd tell you about how I'm loving the way this is making my house smell.

and of course how I started reading this right away after finishing the first one.

I would probably also tell you that my menu last week failed. Ok,well not failed but you know not everyday goes as planned so on some day's I didn't make what was planned (or anything at all) so if I were to post this week's you'd probably see all the stuff I never got around to making last week. Then of course I would ask you for suggestions and you would more than likely give me one of the 6,382 ways to make chicken breast.

I would also talk about the kids of course because they are after all, my world. About how my mama bear instincts came out and I ended up looking like an idiot (long story) and that you can buy a 5 year old some nice shiny new toys that cost a pretty penny but he seems to be happiest with the leftover paper towel tube.
Oh yeah-someone can say her own name now 'Stowel-a!!'. Totally biased but it's quite possibly the cutest thing going on in the world these days.

Did anyone else luck out on scoring some of the Harajuku kids stuff at Target for 75% off? Stella got the sweetest little outfit for under $6.........Now I have to stalk the dress I want for her.

<

To start the week off............

2012-01-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Well,the weekend wasn't a total waste.The weather guy said we were in for some big snow.So Friday night I went to Joann's (after sushi with the hubs) for some fabric to work some magic on my sewing machine just in case we were cooped up in the house all weekend.

I woke up Saturday morning knowing I was not going anywhere.One because I had already seen the snow come down fairly hard over night and two because my throat felt raw and my head was spinning.So after a cup of tea I went back to sleep and slept till 2PM!!

After a shower,more tea and bite to eat I felt way better. After reading some more of The Hunger Games and making my family some tuna noodle I made my way out with Erin after all. I had no idea we had a Charming Charlie around here!! I had heard of these on a few other blogs. They have the cutest stuff. I got a cute headband there and a sweet little bunny ring dish at Anthro.Then I stocked up some goodies at Trader Joes.Their chocolate covered potato chips are my weakness.

Yesterday I was back out again with the hubs and our tag along Stella.I cannot stay in.I just cant. I hit up Michaels because I had a coupon and because it was Sunday and hoblob was closed. I got some Smash book stuff, scrapbook paper and a frame for the project seen above and some paint because I want to do a project I found on Pinterest and of course now I can't find the pin! We also went into Ikea where I couldn't find any of my pins of stuff I wanted. I did however remember that I wanted to get the wooden magazine files to use as corner shelves.So I did.

Today was just a day full of getting stuff done.Even though I got up fairly late I'm happy to report that I had me and the babies bathed and dressed,the living room all clean and a load of dishes done by 2 pm! We never got a chance to enjoy the temps in the 60*'s today though because the weekends snow made it a huge wet mess outside.Then it rained like crazy making it even messier out there!

I finally got some little pig tails on Stella and she looks A-Dorable!
These guys made me smile a whole bunch today.

Tag!! You're it!

2012-01-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

Melodee at Polkadot Notebook tagged me in a fun post over at her blog.

What a fun way to get to know more about your favorite bloggers!

The Rules:
1. You must post the rules.
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then
create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4.Tag eleven people and link them on your post
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

Eleven Fun Facts About Me:

When I was a kid I collected erasers.
In first grade I was the spelling bee champ and went on to a big tournament between other Christian schools. But I lost because I didn't say 'through' after I spelled it correctly.Or maybe it was before?
I love 'King of the Hill. I think my hubs and I have seen every episode.
I love coconut chicken and shrimp.
I kick butt at Words With Friends.(well,most of the time.)
I'm all done having kids but if I had more I like the names Tessa,Olive and Charlotte for a girl and Simon,Oliver and Wesley for a boy.
My 12 year has me into Bruno Mars and Glee
My shoe size is a 7.5,sometimes an 8.
I have 2 tattoos.I don't dislike tattoos but I do dislike mine.
In another life I had my eyebrow,nose and tongue pierced. I think I would consider my nose again.
Good Luck Charlie has my favorite house on tv.

Melodee's 11 Q's for me:

1. If you could meet ONE bloggy BFF, who would it be..? Uh?? I really have no idea. I have so many favorites!And I don't want anyone to think I'm a creeper! Ha!

2.What's your favorite recipe to create? I like when Em and I make brownies and we go through the pantry and just add whatever we find to them.

3. What's your ideal date night? Sushi! and then usually some shopping.We aren't really movie people unless we are watching at home.

4. If you could travel anywhere in the world TODAY, where will it be? Tokyo. I've always wanted to go there. I would ship tons of kawaii stuff home!

5. What's the one thing you LOVE most about yourself? My ability to adapt to different groups of people.

6. If you could ask your reader's ONE thing about
your blog, what would it be? (Good, bad, ugly, you pick) I don't know.Not many people read it (yet!)

7. What's your favorite season? Fall,met my honey in the fall and all our kids bdays are in the fall.

8. What's the first thing on your bucket list today? Haven't made one.....

9. Biggest goal for 2012 (or change?) a smaller jean size ;)

10. What's your favorite past time? It is now reading and sewing I'm happy to say!

11. First word that comes to mind NOW - good

My answers are kinda vague! sorry

Ok,here are my questions for you!

What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
Ok,it's down to the Giants and Pats! Who you rootin' for?
Are you still friends with your BFF from high school?
What year did you graduate high school?
What is your favorite smell/scent?
What the last color paint you used to paint a room?
What are your vacation plans for this year?
Last book you read?
Favorite new store?
Have you ever won anything?
Do you have any phobia's?

Ok who am I gonna tag??

Danna @ 3 Pink Cupcakes

Kim @ A Cuppa Kim

Lorren @ Barefoot in Paradise

Ashley @ The Christian Wife Life

InstaFriday 1-20

2012-01-20T12:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't had many photo ops this week for InstaFriday. If all of my plans go accordingly tomorrow I will have TONS! I'm excited.
I so need to get out.
Really bad.

If the weather doesn't cooperate I will have a sad.

View-Master still rocks.


If you are on my FB you know all about me wanting the LAVENDER sink/toilet.


They were actually on Craigslist.Just come by and pick them up. Tim and Noah drug them home for me last night. In the falling Snow!

Double Earl Gray on Wednesday. Walking up to grab Noah from school.

I'm about halfway now (This was taken a few days ago) LOVE it!!

I still can't get over Tim and Noah dragging home a used toilet in the snow for me. (My neighbors were getting rid of them) So what are they for?
Well for the longest time I have been wanting to put a bathroom in our basement. All of the plumbing is there. We have a Pittsburgh toilet down there but never used it. So I really want to put in a nice (much needed as a family of 6!) second bathroom. I have been wanting to do it in all purple and black. Here is my pin board I've been keeping on it.

On Winter depression and gratitude.

2012-01-18T12:20:00.000-05:00

I did take that walk yesterday.
It was good.
I was alone.
I am never alone.
The air was balmy.About 55*

I had hoped the walk would do me good. January is simply just never my month. The coldness sweeps in and seems to seep into my brain.Freezing whatever is in there that is supposed to make me smile. I don't like the thoughts that aren't frozen. Thoughts that I'm not good enough.That I am failing.That maybe some people are falling away from me. Perhaps that isn't true but some sort of defense mechanism in me tells me that I should reject them first.
I think I had this defense mechanism a long time ago. I kept doing this to the first boy I ever really thought I was in love with and one day he was just so tired of my games he told me he was done with me.(2 days before my birthday I might add.Jerk! That was the second worst August 27th of my life). But looking back I'm ok with this because a little over a year later I met my Tim who for the last 13+ years has always put up with me and the way Winter hurts me and the way the Spring thaws my brain and heart.

Source

This way of doubting myself makes me want to jump out of my own skin.

I hate it.

Now I'm not putting all this out there to gain pity or anything like that. It just really does make me feel better just to put it down. It puts things in perspective and when things will feel better I can read this and feel even more thankful.

Despite what I have just typed I am thankful. In this moment of sadness and stupid,silly winter blahs.

I am.

Grateful.

for my husband and children. The people who give me purpose in this life.
for the rest of my family,especially a Mom who knows more than anyone that life can really suck but keeps keeping on anyways.
For friends who make an effort towards our friendship.
And most of all for my God. Even when I forgot about him he never forgot about me.

I don't think another long walk is in the cards today.Winter came back and it is now about 30* less than yesterday. Funny how the sun shines so fiercely on days like this but it's warmth cannot be felt.

I love writing on here. I love sharing all that is fun and pleasant with me and my life. However I would never ever want to give the impression that my life is perfect and everything is just swell. Nobody has it like that. We are all broken people and sometimes life just seems to stink. Sometimes for no good reason at all.

I guess right now it's my turn for that.

Lists,a sofa and books.

2012-01-17T12:11:00.002-05:00

My coffee(pecan praline with maple brown sugar latte creamer) has long gone cold by now.Since it's been made I have made plans with a friend for Saturday morning,showered,taken care of a sick kid (it's Emma who is hardly ever sick!)by making her peach tea with honey,ate an English muffin with goat cheese and strawberry jam,changed a diaper and wrote a note to someone only to miss the mailman by about 55 seconds.

Now I have an excuse for a walk later-if the rain dies down a bit.

So it is a Tuesday. Time for coffee with Amy. If we were sipping on a cuppa together what would I chew your ear off about?

Tomorrow evening is the very first RFL meeting of the year. We get to hear about our theme for this summer so we can start planning for our site. Another reason for the weirdo in me to make more lists. Man,I love list making.

Speaking of which. I got the coolest little notepad last night. Tim needed to head to Staples so I just went for the ride.I hadn't left the house since grocery shopping on Friday night. I did not walk out of there empty handed though.

The Mini Goals Notepad. It's awesome. Each page has space to 2 goals to get done. It was only $4. I think the edition I have is a bit different from the one at Amazon as mine has 75 pages and not 100. Seems to be a different color too. (BTW,Sharpie pens ROCK!)

I might also talk about how much I want this sofa from Ikea. Like really,really want. I will find a place for it.That is how much I want it.

Isnt' she fun?

Oh! I finally jumped on the bandwagon and started reading 'The Hunger Games'. It's not typical of the books I usually read but so far I'm enjoying it. I hope to finish them before I see the movie. Kind of like how I still need to read 'The Help'. A long,long time ago way before I had kids or even a Tim I read like crazy. Like got the 20 books max out of the library and read them all before their 3 week due date. I was a bit of a nerd. I sorta kinda miss her. Well,that part of her. Not the part where she listened to Metallica and Nirvana cassettes continuously.

Ok,I'm going to attempt those goals.....after the main goals of course (dishes,laundry etc...)
Have a Fantastic Tuesday!

PS- I FINALLY got a button.Check it out up there. If you grab it I'll be super happy and super excited to post yours as well (If I haven't already!)

Do you swap?

2012-01-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

One of my very favorite things around the blogosphere are swaps! A package of little,fun things among bills and pizza flyers can really brighter my day. Not to mention sending things someone else's way is fun as well.

I remember when Em was just a babe I did a lot of fun swaps through Yahoo! groups.

Perhaps one day I may even host my own!

Thanks Ladies for hosting these! I'm looking forward to it :)

On a Monday

2012-01-16T14:30:00.001-05:00

Kids are off.
2 of them are still sick.
We are out of toilet paper.Improvising till daddy gets home!
Lysol is getting a work out.
Scooby Doo marathon on Boomerang.
Leftovers for lunch (for the non-sick people)
thinking of doing my nails during nap time.
Gift cards are burning a hole in my pocket err...wallet.
Started watching Mary and Max on Netflix. So far so good. Maybe I'll finish it while I do my nails.

It's getting really dark in here.I think it might rain.
I'm really excited about what I have up my sleeve for my mom's birthday. I would put it here but I'm not really sure if she reads this or not.
The local community college non-credit course catalog came. The upholstery class really caught my eye. I'm still thinking on it. The voice over class looks fun too.

written with heavy eyelids

2012-01-15T18:47:00.000-05:00

3 day weekend around here. Day 2 almost over.I never even left the house this weekend.The kids had friends yesterday and then today everyone seemed to be getting sick.

I didn't do a whole lot.I want to sew or craft but lighting isn't striking right now.It is only about 6:30 now and my eyelids already feel sort of heavy.

Lists were made. Lists of dreams,what I can do to make life better,how an ideal day should run........and a menu:

cute paper from Target $1 spot.

I know a lot of people post their menu's in their kitchen. I've decided to no longer do that. Sometime I receive feed back from little people that I don't need or want ;)

So from now on I will write it down and can keep the menu in my purse if needed. I really think making a menu makes life easier.

I guess I will join Tim on the couch and watch Beetlejuice for the eleventy thousandth time. I hope I have energy tomorrow to jazz up the house a bit. The only itty bitty thing I did today was move the basket of Scentsy bars. Girlfriend grabs,smells and exclaims 'MMMmmmmMMM!' And then they are everywhere.

InstaFriday 1-13

2012-01-13T11:05:00.000-05:00

How Was your week? I think mine was pretty good overall. No,really! I got the pictures to prove it! This is where I unload my week in phone pics. Not it any special order........................

No soda!! Just Pop!!!

He thinks of me. Isn't this awesome?

Urge to bake! It's ok,we've eaten 3 boxes of Cuties so far so we deserved a cupcake.

Love Hallmarks doodle bags,Sushi rocks,Last week we had a day worthy of a walk and ice cream and Stella is just cute.

I wonder who she was and if she could foresee her picture being in the Salvation Army on an ugly chair.

$2 and it now holds my course ground sea salt.

wanted these but resisted.

Perk from Hubby's work.

Cupcake wrappers. Every one says the line is from Toy Story. Never saw it.Seriously.

Caught up on 'Glee' thanks to Hulu and Kindle

So handsome.

I was brave and let Em have friends over.6th graders are seriously amusing.

Beautiful girls.Stella's hair is growing in long but I think Ellie's gorgeous eyelashes are even longer :)

I hope you have a great weekend! Winter has come back so I'm thinking it's a weekend spent at home. Football is over (well for us anyways.Love ya Black 'n Gold!) so I could put my troops to work or we could never change out of our jammies and just have a Harry Potter Marathon................

Totally linking up with Jeannett as usual :)

Pinspiration and a Thank YOU!

2012-01-11T14:23:00.001-05:00

After dropping of some packages at the Post office last night(just in the nick of time)I was pleasantly surprised when my man suggested we go to Michael's.I'm starting to think he doesn't want to be outdone by Ryan Gosling ;)So of course without hesitation I said yeah.Duh! I remembered something on Pinterest that caught my eye and went to the acrylic paint section. When I came home I made these:

Inspired by

inspired by

#1 I painted with materials I already had on hand. That little box was stuck in my mind.
#2 I thought of when I saw the sweet Shabby Chic clothes pins in the $1 bin.Love this! Plus I really got the fridge cleaned up this way.Yes, those are sonogram pics from my 15 month old!

****************************

I really want to say THANK YOU! for the supportive comments on yesterday's post. I've lived it both ways and both have their pro's and con's.Right now as I sit next to who I feel is the worlds cutest 5 year old I can't help but feel grateful.(Even if he is stealing my phone and playing with an annoying voice changing app.) Being a mom is a hard job and as I look at photo #2 I realize these are my accolades. His 'A' is my 'A'. Her picture is mine.I'm the mom who supports and fosters these talents and jobs well done. I'm totally taking credit for having great kids!! I love being the 'management' around these parts.

I'm so happy to have you cool ladies 'stop by'. Come over to hang out again. XOXO!

A little behind

2012-01-10T18:58:00.001-05:00

But this is on its way to you dear Hannah!

chit chat (morning coffee)

2012-01-10T11:17:00.000-05:00

Oh,morning coffee how I love thee. After my coffee/computer time I really like to just go through my list and get stuff done. But for now let's have coffee together. I'm joining up with Amy for Virtual Coffee. (Only today I'm actually forgoing the coffee-for now-I'm having white hot cocoa!)

Here's a few things I would chat about if we were sitting together over some steaming mugs.

Tim stayed home yesterday. I'm not sure what it is but there is something about having him home during the day(during the week) that really just throws me off. I got nothing done. Except shower.A long one.Because he was there with the little kids.
We completed our collection of Harry Potter DVD's.
I'm in a cooking rut.Even with Pinterest! I need some ideas.
After my 'treasure hunting' yesterday and a marathon of 'American Pickers',I realize how crazy I am over old stuff.I can't wait to head out again. My poor husband.

And finally I would just bare my heart on something that's been weighing on my mind. A few days back I received an invitation to join 'Linked In'. I know my husband uses this form of social media.It's for professional networking. Reads a bit like a resume.I think.Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I don't have a career.I chose to be a mom and stay home to raise to my kids. But for a slight moment it made me feel less than. There was a time,when my older kids were little,I worked full time.Brought home a nice paycheck.I even took care of our insurance. Back then I longed to stay home with them.To enjoy them more.I came home to them tired and cranky.Dude,I missed out. I know I did. I know that what I'm doing now is what's best for our family.But for a second that email made me feel like I wasn't contributing.Not receiving accolades for a job well done. I don't know . It just bothered me a bit.

Then of course I would change the subject for something lighter like showing you the dent on my finger from Stella.Girl can clamp down when I trying to fish something out of her mouth.Something Caleb left laying around.

Can't wait for Thursday. I'm having a real,honest to goodness coffee-or maybe even dinner-with my girl Josie on Thursday.Woot!

He Plays Piano in the Dark

2012-01-09T17:53:00.000-05:00

The power got knocked out last night.(A car hit a pole a few blocks away.) The outage was sporadic.From what I could see the street behind us had power.As did the next one up.But our friends who live many blocks lost it too.

Such an event sure can freak out a 5 year old. I calmed him by letting him use my Kindle.He really wanted to use the air horn app. But I steered him towards this one instead. He was asleep soon after. Piano by candlelight must have bored him. That or he was still upset that football season is now over. I went to sleep too. I hear it came back on about 3 hours later.

I still can't believe I fell asleep without the tv on!
I might just try it on purpose tonight.

Treasure Hunt

2012-01-09T14:35:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday was simply gorgeous. It had all the makings of a fresh spring day.Near 60* and sunny.Nothing about it would make you think it was the first Saturday in January.

I woke up super early thanks to the sun peeking through the curtains. I had my coffee and pondered the stuff we talked about doing around the house.But I had an itch to break out of the house. I went on Craigs List and typed in 'Flea Market' hoping to get lucky. Success! An indoor flea market on a farm about a half hour away.

All of these little things were $1 each.
All for Stella's room.

Went to the Salvation Army Superstore. The only thing super was the furniture but I didn't take any home.

I pretty much love this table though.
No room in the car for her.

1) Awesome train set.
2) Annie trading cards
3)Vintage Valentines with the lollipops still attached.(kinda gross)


Sort of pains me she didn't understand my excitement over this cabinet.Or my horror over it		$2500 price tag.

Last stop of the day was the Ohio River Antique Mall. All this time I never stepped foot in the awesome purple painted building. It was amazing and and I'll have to get more pics next time. 3 floors full of cool old stuff.

We also had sushi which of course makes any day better. Yesterday we finally got all of the Christmas stuff put away.This makes some people feel blue. An after Christmas let down I guess. Not me though. Just nice to have my house back to normal and look forward to this years Christmas.

Attempting to finally use that sewing machine today. Wish me luck!

InstaFriday 1-6

2012-01-06T10:14:00.000-05:00

First InstaFriday of 2012. ( No special order.I dump these right onto the post via the Blogger app)

We all get a kick out of these HUGE windmills on the turnpike

She had so much fun dancing on NYE! My little party animal

I may or may not want this.

Watching a movie.....based on a book.....on my Kindle Fire

I have no words

Noah dancing with his Memaw on NYE

"Come play with me Danny"

If you think I bought this just for the box......then you're right!

The aftermath of our trip! How did all this fit in the van? With the 6 of us in it?

Cotton Candy vodka.....took a shot. That was enough for me.

Admiring the Art Deco embellishments throughout my sister in laws apt.

Looking forward to the weekend.It's supposed to warm up so I'm hoping we can get the lights down.But the weekend is wide open so maybe I can finally get something done around here.

Good Bye 2011/Hello 2012

2012-01-04T12:13:00.000-05:00

source

I thought I would just touch base on how 2011 was for me and my family. It started off very rocky. With my sister's tragic death the day after Thanksgiving we welcomed 2011 with a 'Good Riddance 2010' party. When January started we knew that Tim's freelance work was coming to an end and we had no idea where our income was going to come in. I was still battling the blood clot I developed after Stella's birth. This meant giving myself shots,getting my blood checked every few days and even seeing an oncologist.(Just that word alone is scary). I fell down my steps that second weekend in January. Because of the medication I was on for the blood clot I had to be checked for internal bleeding. STRESS! is pretty much how to describe last January.

In February we had our kids dedicated at church. I had wanted to do that for a long time.A few days after that,on Valentines day,Tim had an interview for a new job.He got it! He started a few weeks later.While I missed having him home with me,this company has been wonderful. His career has taken off,they sent us to Vegas and I can now stay at home with our kids.

Now I can look back and know that him being laid off in September of 2010 was one of the best things to happen to us. He was able to be home and take care of me through Stella's birth,the health problems that followed and when I lost my sister.It lead him to where he is working now.God blesses us in His time and after the storm passes we can see how He worked.

We had a wonderful summer that started off with our trip to Vegas. I was so very nervous as I had once said I would never fly. Never say never. It was the trip of a lifetime. When he wasn't in a class or conference it was just the 2 of us.Very rejuvenating for our relationship. Plus flying was great. I can't wait for the opportunity to do it again. I'm really hoping we get to go to this years conference.It's in New Orleans!!

We ended our summer with a much needed family reunion on my daddy's side. I'm happy to say that we are much closer.Every one may have their differences but if you want to love on my kids then by all means please do so.

In October we celebrated Stella's First Birthday. The First Birthday of that 4th child we've been wanting so bad for the past 3+ years. It was a great day with family and friends.

Then end of the year was lovely and peaceful. I'm looking forward to this year. A year of well,just living. I want to make it a great year. I hate the word resolutions to tell the truth. I just have some goals. Most I already had. Here are a few examples.

Exercise. Not diet and exercise. Just exercise. I love food too much for dieting. But I really need to get moving. Perhaps I should take the Wii Fit out of the box I got a few Christmas' ago?
Do some serious organizing.
Do more traveling. I really got the bug last year.
Nurture friendships. Someone else put this and it totally resonated with me.
I'm also gonna learn how to use that sewing machine,gosh darnit!!
And this is the biggy-Get more into God's word.Stick with my devotions and prayer time.

So Welcome 2012. I hardly believe you are the end of the world. That is just silly. I think you will be a fulfilling year for our completed family.I'm sure you come equipped with challenges just like any other year.I have a really big God though so I will take those on with my head held high.

I really hope that you come with lots of house stuff. Serious remodeling and such.Ok,at least painting. That upstairs hall is looking pretty funky. Please and thank you!

Pedicures too. I like those.Look good,feel good,ya know?

Most of all I just want family and friends.Laughter and love. Another good year in a life well lived.

It's cold.......really cold.

2012-01-03T17:03:00.001-05:00

It is,with out a doubt,a hot tea kinda day around here.I had some Tazo wild sweet orange and now I'm onto the sweet and spicy stuff. Think I'll try the lavender sencha I got at Wegmans yesterday. (That store was awesome and I really think they need to put one around here.Right next to a World Market.A girl can dream,right??) It is down right cold.Windy too. The kind of day where the sun shines brightly in the windows only you know better. Know what it's really like out there.

The big kids went back to school today. I stuffed their pockets with gloves and hats amid the protests. I told them they can thank me later.I also promised hot cocoa when they got home.

To capture all 4 looking semi normal at the same time can't be done.

We drove east on Friday. The turnpike is always an adventure.
Filled with bathroom breaks,'look at that's and odd radio stations.

Yay!! Our exit!! Thank goodness because I have to pee again!

We had a nice weekend filled with family and lots of food.
Oh and punch. Lots of green punch.

I love this stuff.

Stel-bel is quite taken by Memaw's North Pole sign.

Caleb can always pull off a silly hat. He also said it was his lucky day
because he got that sticker at Walmart

We rang in the New Year right in the middle of the town square.
The weather was a mild 50*.
There were fireworks and dancing.(Including a weird drunk guy)
Confetti and noisemakers.
And Noah pulling off some sweet Travolta moves.

See???

We spent lots of time opening gifts at my in-laws house. (Among my favorite's is the monogrammed Lazy Susan Tim's aunt bought us.) There are family photo's everywhere in their house. And I think this one is my favorite:

He said not to post this on FB but he never mentioned here!!

That cute little boy? Well,he's all grown up (gonna be 34 in a few weeks!) and married to a super cool chick with 4 kids of their own ;)
I think he looks so much like Caleb in this pic which is funny because I always thought Caleb looked more like my side of the family.

In our spare time we hit up sales and stores we don't have 'round here. I scored 'The Notebook' box set for $10. Now I can see Ryan Gosling look pretty swell and depress myself all at once whenever I feel like it!

So now it's 2012! Did you buy your new calender yet? Did you make resolutions that you probably won't keep? I'm just excited it's a new year. I pray for new adventure (you know,more stuff to write about!)

Well the snow is coming down hard and fast now. And I have boxes to send up to the attic for the next 11 months. Ok,after the next cup of tea.

2012!

2012-01-01T10:46:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year Loves!
We had a great time with my husband's side and it turns out my Noah can pull off a mean Travolta a la Saturday Night Fever!

InstaFriday 12-30 (Last one of 2011!!)

2011-12-30T01:07:00.001-05:00

I have TONS of pics from this week! Here's just a few!!

Totally digging on this hat from Target......I'll try to catch it when it has a red sticker on it ;)

My Em! Something so fun about trying on hats with the girls!

Erin and Stella

Milk drink at the Asia Grocer.

More trying on hats at Target. Gracie is both Erin's niece and one of Em's BFF's

Em and Gracie at Loews. We took them to see 'Breaking Dawn'

Stell-Bell at church on Christmas. That's her Bday dress. Way too pretty to just wear once!

I just love these!!

I rocked purple tights with my vintage flats on Christmas. Go me!

My niece Tiggles showing off her princess nails.

Linking up as usual with Jeannett over at her lovely blog.

See you guys next year !!!

A nook and a kindle

2011-12-29T10:56:00.000-05:00

So about a year ago my Mr. surprised me a Singer Furtura Quartet.
I'm ashamed to say I have NO IDEA how to operate this gorgeous piece of machinery. But I'm gonna learn!
To help me even further on this venture he lovingly put together a little sewing and crafting nook for me in the spare closet in our bedroom. (If you live in a very old home like mine,you know there is no such thing as a real closet,just the one's they made out of the recess' next to the chimneys.)

I need to give her a name like my pink Kitchenaid.(Penelope) Any suggestions?

He added some cool wallpaper on the back wall. The ThirtyOne tote has my fabric stash in it.

Lots of crafty stuff in those boxes.

I love this little space. He is the BEST!!

As if I'm not spoiled enough: this arrived yesterday. I can't wait to read Liz,Kellee and Stephanie's books on here!!!

This will be my second to last post of 2011. I will work on my InstaFriday later on tonight (It's a doozy!!).Tomorrow we are off to celebrate Christmas and NYE with my inlaws. The kids are so excited! They have no cousins to compete with out there LOL.

I'm looking forward to the hotel pool and hanging out with my sister in law. Sometimes I can't get over how she was a little 13 year old (a year older than Em is now!!) when her brother and I first met and now she is married herself with a career and all. Crazy. Lucky for us her husband is a professional barber because my boys are looking quite shaggy these days!

This week is has just been 'off' having the big kids home.But that's ok,its a good 'off'. However my house looks like a bomb went off!

Happy Day after Christmas!! Winner

2011-12-26T10:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to recap our whole Christmas with this post because when you have family all over the place it just doesn't get crammed into 2 days. We still have lots of fun stuff going on.

The kids all sang 'Happy Birthday to Jesus' after services yesterday.

Goodies from my man! So in love with that little cross necklace. It's silver with a gold heart wrapped around it.

Congratulations goes to HANNAH!

Congrats Hannah!! I'll get your info from you soon so I can send you out some super cool favorite things of mine!

InstaFriday 12-23

2011-12-23T11:14:00.000-05:00

I would have loved to have this back in the day in my first apt!

I've learned to love aprons when I bake!

She wouldn't let go of that car.

Nativity I bought for our first place together. I LOVE it.

Yep,that's me.

Yes,it is!! Go!! Hurry!!

Emmy and Gracie at the 6th grade Christmas party.

Another 'first'. Our first tree together had hardly any ornaments. I found this is the utility closet across the hall from our old apartment. It had these stars crudely painted on it. It just really holds a special place in my heart.

Old Santa from the antique shop in town.

Meringue cookies.

We were sooo tempted to buy this little chair for Stella. But we didn't.Kinda regretting that.

Christmas at the Brandt's

2011-12-22T23:54:00.002-05:00

A little tour of Christmas Cheer here in this old house.

Spring on the last day of Fall.

2011-12-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

60*? Four days before Christmas? We'll take it!
We got to enjoy a thunderstorm.....some people even saw rainbows! Then the sun came out and Caleb snuck in one last bubble session for 2011!

It was fun to watch as I sipped hot cocoa and played words with friends from the porch.Yep,it really was that nice out.

Midweek musings..........

2011-12-21T10:13:00.000-05:00

Helping mama make Christmas Pretzel treats.

Yesterday was a lovely day with my sweet 5 year old. He helped me in the kitchen. He asked a million questions (mostly about the logistics of Santa Claus and such!) and took a walk with me.

His 5 year check up was scheduled for 6.Tim wouldn't have made it home in time so we walked up. It was a nice walk.It had stopped raining by then and since it was dark out already we had a wonderful tour of lights! Do you have any idea how exciting Christmas lights are to a 5 year old?

The BIG tree in the middle of town.

Then we got to the main drag where he was in awe of the big tree and the lights on every corner. Then he asked about a million more questions. One of the stores in our little boro is a really cool antique shop. I've bought a few treasures there but I think it's somewhat overpriced. They have so much cool Pyrex but it's about 10 times as much as what I'd pay at a thrift store. I was absolutely in love with the little Wolverine tin kitchen set in the window. I'm not even gonna ask how much it is. They were once made right around here.

Must resist!!!

I need to peel myself away from the couch (and Clueless on E!),make another cup of coffee and ready myself for a day up at school with the big kids.I'm sooo glad that their parties are scheduled for different times so I can help out at both. I'm fairly certain that next year -up at the Jr. high- they don't have Christmas parties where mommy's come up and help. So I'm not missing this one!

*Click here*

Uh....try 5.

2011-12-20T23:59:00.000-05:00

I am so in love with these Handmade Ryan Gosling memes. But this one is pretty much my favorite right now:

It really makes me giggle.But really. Entries are low so connect and enter!!! Me and Ryan thank you ;)

A post of Christmas goodies.

2011-12-18T22:05:00.001-05:00

After church today I came home to a lovely surprise! My cousin dropped off my Christmas present! Beautiful handmade ornaments. I absolutely love them. Plus there is something so special that a handmade gift holds. I think for someone to spend their time on something just for you really says a lot. I really like that they are not especially Christmas-y so I can keep them up all year. Here's just a few of my ornaments:

I was just saying to Tim that I was sorry we neglected to get an ornament to commemorate our trip!

A gorgeous vintage pic of my Gram :)


One of Manda.

Yesterday I baked all day long! I made 13 dozen thumbprints.I did different fillings:Tea Rose Jam,lime curd,chocolate drops,icing and sprinkles...................
I took them to a cookie exchange my aunt invited me too and came home with all of these:

Next year I want to package mine really cute. I appreciate the tins!

By Friday I was feeling about 90% and even better yesterday.So today I was felt good enough to finally make it back to church after missing a few weeks. I'm so glad I did! The choir did their Christmas Cantata.I never knew my friend Jill had such a gorgeous voice! And they sang 'O Holy Night' which is like pretty much my favorite Christmas song EVER! Speaking of Christmas songs, HERE are a few of my other favorites. I listened to Christmas music all day yesterday whilst baking.

Speaking of Favorites,Don't forget to enter my GIVE AWAY!! I'm super psyched about it. I can't wait to share with you.

Off to cut up my Hello Dolly's. I think they should be cool by now. I also have Festival of Tree's in the Scentsy warmer. My house smells AMAZING. You have no idea :)

You like free stuff right?

2011-12-17T21:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, I love free stuff! Product samples,the goodies at Sam's club, GIVEAWAYS!!
Well if you do too then you must try Smiley 360 ! Rumor has it that they are giving away some pretty awesome stuff and all they want in return in you opinion. Worth a try right?


This has nothing to do with this post. I just thought it was really cute. (source)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. I'm giving away a whole surprise box of my favorite things! Just click on the above link. Good luck!

A Favorite Things update. Give Away

2011-12-16T11:22:00.000-05:00

Thank you very much!! I did it. I now have 50 wonderful followers on my little ol' blog here! So as promised I am doing a Giveaway!! Holla!!!

I have so many favorite things. I love coffee,tea and mugs. Stuff that smells good like candles,perfume and Scentsy products. Things that make me look good and feel better such as a cute pair of earrings,fun socks or some soothing Burts Bees's lip balm. Fabric,baubles and trinkets to craft with.And of course what I really love is a unique,vintage treasure!!!

So what am I giving away?? A surprise box full of the above! Think of it as a Saving for a Rainy Day grab bag :) I already have the goodies waiting to go to a good home!

So here's the scoop! You must follow me via Google Friend Connect to enter. To enter leave me a comment telling me what your favorite things are!I would LOVE if you could give a little shout out on your blog with a link to this post for an additional 2 entries.Please and thank you??
Last day to enter is next Friday,December 23rd and the Winner will be announced on Monday December 26th. Thanks for following me :) I hope we get to be great friends!

XOXO~Nikki

InstaFriday 12-16

2011-12-16T09:53:00.003-05:00

For your viewing pleasure I give you this weeks instaFriday! Enjoy!

Caleb is letting Santa know all about the Batman toys he wants this year!

I was these ornaments at the grocery store. They were arranged just like that. I feel like it's my Christmas Card from Manda.

Our Christmas cards.All written out.Just need to pop a photo of The Four in there!

Stella is so sweet with her friend Elliana. I love hearing her say 'Baby!Baby!'

Loved this moment I caught at the mall.Of course my boys are checking out Steelers stuff!

A little view of our tree. I let the kids decorate it this year.

Linking up as always over at Life Rearranged!

PS-Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!!!

Where are you Christmas?

2011-12-15T00:28:00.001-05:00

Found on Google Images

I'm in a weird place today.I really want to feel Christmas.I want to feel it like I did as a child. I miss the magic and coziness it held.The anticipation! I hope that despite the way I feel my kids still hold excitement and wonder for the season. I hope I'm hiding my feelings well. I know now that growing up we didn't have a lot of money.But I didn't know that back then. I knew that I had a warm home with a family and food on the table every day.I had a mom who made the most wonderful,creative treats every year for Christmas Eve with the budget she had to work with. My Grammie and I would pretty much eat all of the artichoke dip between the 2 of us. I miss those Christmas',I miss her.

I'm trying really hard to concentrate on this season for what it's really worth.For the real meaning.Jesus is the greatest gift.A sweet little baby sent to redeem us all. All we have to do is ask. I've asked before but sometimes I feel like fall so hard I need to ask again. And when I feel like that,unworthy perhaps,is when I feel the most resistant to praying.When it's probably what I need the most.

Stagnant,lukewarm,ambivalent? All words that be used to explain my current state of mind these days.I miss going to church as a family.I miss leaving there and feeling sooo good and refreshed. I went in search of something new tonight but I knew by the end of the evening that while it's going to be a wonderful endeavor, it's certainly not for me/us. (Which is a little disappointing because I have a good friend who has a hand in it. I'm excited for her and hope she can forgive me when I tell her I'm not on board.) I felt a bit defeated on the way out. Why is finding a church so challenging? Did our old church really set the bar that high on some things?

On a good note,I think I see the light of the end of this tunnel that we call sickness. I can now taste my food so that's a start. But when I talk I don't sound like me. Well maybe I do- I think this is what I'll sound like in 50 years. So I'm glad I'm starting to feel better because I have to have 13 dozen thumbprints done by Sunday!!

Taking the Four to see Santa tomorrow night.Hoping we'll get a good picture worthy of sending out in our Christmas cards!

Our Weekend

2011-12-13T11:37:00.001-05:00

Despite my my nose being clogged like an old toilet life went on this weekend. Saturday I headed
out to pick up supplies to make my friends some birthday gifts.While at Hobby Lobby I also grabbed some fun red polka dot fabric to cover the lamp shades in our room. I can't wait to get started on that project.

Then I went to the Walmarts in search of tea. Remember way back when I participated in Kim's mug swap? Well my swap partner sent me a teabag that I finally got around to using just a few days ago. Good Earth Sweet & Spicy tea. It was seriously the most delicious tea I have ever drank! When it was gone I had a sad. So I was very happy find it there,super cheap too I might add. Two of my very favorite senses-taste and smell- have left me while I'm sick. Luckily this tea is crazy strong so I can taste is somewhat.

Sunday we celebrated Caleb's 5th birthday with our family at a local fun place. Nothing big,just the cousins.But he had a really fun time and loved his Batman cake! I hear it was delicious :/

Batman cake

Hey kids,I don't think this is how you play this.

Well,off to gather some of the kids toys to giveaway to make room for the new ones. It's pretty embarrassing how much crap my kids have.Especially since they don't use half of it.A few years back we adopted the '3 gifts per kids because 3 was good enough for Jesus' policy. However that doesn't seem to keep everything at bay. Especially since they all have birthdays right before Christmas. If anyone has any suggestions on organizing/storing/giving away toys and just plain STUFF I am all ears!

InstaFriday 12-9

2011-12-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

It's a rather sparse instaFriday when the germs ruled our week here.

We are the kind of people to get excited when they open a new Sheetz in our neck of the woods.

Please don't take my picture whilst opening my birthday cards!


My beauties in a crystal bowl.(the bowl is a wedding gift I thought I'd never use!)

Hoping we all feel better for Sunday-It's Caleb's 5th Birthday Bash!!

My guy is 5 today!

2011-12-08T20:49:00.000-05:00

I'm so blessed to have my awesome 4. But out of all of them I have to say that Caleb makes me laugh the most.

And today my guy is 5!!! Celebrations are on hold because I'm really sick but Daddy took him out for some yummys and to spend a few gift cards he got in the mail. Happy Birthday to the one that makes mama laugh every day!

More than a little,less than a lot.

2011-12-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here we go on a Tuesday afternoon....

I guess I'm not used to having sick kids. I took Stella to the drs and they said she had the common cold. That's it. I guess I'm sort of neurotic. None of my kids have ever had an ear infection. I wouldn't even know what to look for. They must have got this from Tim. When I was a kid I was the queen of strep throat. One year it led to Rheumatic fever. This is why I was held back a year.
Finally have most of our Christmas decorating done! Minus the tree and outside lights. This is the first time I have pulled out a lot of the knick knacks and such since 2008.
Stella can now say 'Thank You'. It sounds more like 'dankoo' but it's so sweet. Gives me the warm fuzzys.
Can we say addicting? You need THIS app. Seriously.
While you're at the App store,down load North Way Worship Live. This is from my old church (the big one) You'll understand why I find the worship music so stunning.

I think we'll be seeing a lot of these.

I have no plans to get dressed today.
But I do have plans to make chocolate covered potato chips.
Beef Stroganhoff is whats for dinner. It's Em's favorite dish. What makes it really special is that it's my Great Grandma Barbara Erhardt-Curtin's recipe. That means when Em learns how to make it for her family it will be a 5th generation recipe.How awesome is that?
Just remembered all the Shiny Brites I bought earlier this year. How could I forget?
I haven't made time for any of my girlfriends lately. I feel like a bad friend. A bad,lazy/busy friend.
I still plan on doing my giveaway! It's in the works. Really it is!

In which I realise I'm ridiculously dependant on my smart phone.

2011-12-04T23:52:00.001-05:00

This weekend just flew by-thankfully. My little ones are still sick. Sick like Caleb has stained the carpet and Stella has doubled her weight in phlegm. Ewww! The tree is still not up.Lights? Nope. Christmas card picture taken? Not yet!

Friday did NOT go as planned. My iPhone died. Not sure how. The guy at the 'Genius Bar' said it was undiagnosed hardware failure. My warranty expired nearly 3 months ago. So I ended up with a refurb. While I was doing all of that I missed our boro's Light Up Night. I missed my Noah on the Firetruck with Santa! I hadn't backed up the phone since September so I lost some numbers and all of my photo's since then. But I'm really grateful to still have the last text messages from Manda.

Tim and I went to the Christmas Banquet for the new company he works for. It was nice even though we sat with a hole table full of people we don't know. They had drawings for prizes and I won! Some company logo gear and a $25 giftcard for Fandango.com.Tim won too.Logo gear and a PF Changs gift card. Date night!!! Oh! My logo gear is a luggage tag. I hope it's a sign we get to go away for the conference again.This time it's in New Orleans!

I did do a little bit of decorating. I made some paper garland. I bought tons of Christmas scrap paper. I think I may make a bunting with the leftovers. I also went grocery shopping for the week so I won't have to leave the house and can devote my time to all things Christmas! (Except on Thursday when my little guy turns 5!)

Time for bed.............time to end this weekend.

InstaFriday 12-2

2011-12-02T09:23:00.000-05:00

Oh,hey there people! I skipped InstaFriday last week so let's see what I have here today.......

I love the Gratitude App!

Stella on Thanksgiving.She wasn't thrilled with this headband.

They love this tunnel toy!

Caleb in his Dumbeldore hat

One of my very favorite Hobby Lobby Finds......Thinking of getting one for everybody :)

#1 Booger Wiper

2011-12-01T11:18:00.001-05:00

I wish I could share with you that it's December 1st and we already have Christmas in full swing 'round these parts but it ain't so .What we do have is the first bout of some nasty colds for the little kids. I'm doing the motherly job of wiping up boogers and serving up lots of fluids. Caleb is still snoozing away and Stella is awake and very cranky. The only 'good' from having her sick is that she is super clingy and cuddly. I'm totally relishing in it. I like the way she tickles my fingers and then we both giggle. Then I feel a tinge of sadness when I think about how she is the last baby I have to mother like this. I try to just live in this moment.I think of this little one who needs me and how I just wanted to be her mom so bad. I'm sad for her that she is sick.I know she is uncomfortable and doesn't really know how to express it. Her happy disposition is replaced by a 'why me' kind of look.Poor baby.

So that is what we have here. Nothing fun or exciting. I've done no crafting this week,no new special meals.Heck,I'm lucky I managed a bit of mascara one day this week so far. But that's ok because my little monkeys needs me and that's why I'm here.........

Thanksgiving weekend 2011

2011-11-28T11:28:00.000-05:00

I wish I could show you a bunch of great photo's I took on Thanksgiving but I was elbow deep in food all day so I never got that far. We hosted this year.I had my mom make the turkey though as I'm really intimidated by it for some reason.I've never made a turkey even though everyone says it's really easy. I did make creamed spinach,coleslaw,sweet potato casserole,mashed potatoes and Pioneer Woman broccoli cheese and cracker casserole.We had some great laughs when my 9 year old nephew asked what a 'tampoon' is.Kids!

Friday and Saturday were odd days. Last year on 'Black Friday' is when we lost my little sister in a car accident. .Which made it a year on Saturday. I had my moments on these days as I watched the photo montage we played at her funeral. Pictures of our family.Three sisters and then a few years later our brother was added into the mix.The house we grew up in.Photo's of her as a gorgeous teenager and then as a mom of 2.One of the last pictures is one of all 4 of us.I feel my heart just breaking when I look at that one.I think of my 4 and how much I want them to just always have one another.

Manda and her babies

Friday I had my much needed doctors appointment. They did a slew of blood work and put me back on blood pressure medication.I won't say the number but the weight I gained in the past year is downright shocking and making me quite mad at myself. Same with my blood pressure.

Saturday I went to Elliana's Christening. Ok just the luncheon.I took Emma with me and she got to hold Ellie.She delighted in her littleness and said how she missed Stella being that little.

Afterward I had a much needed nap and woke up to dine on all the leftovers from Thursday.Then I went upstairs and watched that video I mentioned.And Prayed. A lot.

The next morning I woke up feeling sooo icky. Just in pain all over and still so tired. I didn't think church was in the cards. I mentioned this to Caleb and he was so sad! He just loves our new church. How could I say no to him?? So we went and I'm so glad we did because the message this weekend about Lazarus.About how death is not final for those of us who believe in Christ.It so great for right where I was this past weekend. Plus we sang some great worship songs.

After church Tim and I played Santa and got tons of our shopping done.Our kids get 3 presents each,PJ's on Christmas Eve and a DVD to share. With their varying ages this will be harder this year. (Tim treated me to a few Christmas scented candles at Bath and Body Works and a fabulous purse from Claire's.On clearance for $3.49 from $28!!)

Today the kids are off again.I was going to do Christmas decor but I really don't feel like dragging all that stuff out of the attic. I would make it a jammies and hot cocoa day but the temps are in the 60's again so I think we should go outside and use it up while we can.So I think that's what we'll do.

Some stuff

2011-11-23T11:23:00.001-05:00

Last night I went back to my old church for Thanksgiving Worship night. Wow.Wow.Wow. Let me tell you,when I worship there my hands just go straight up,I close my eyes and just do my darnedest to to focus on why I'm there. 51 people were baptized.One man was baptized with his girlfriend.When they were done he asked her to marry him. Now that is the kind of man I pray my girls will find and hope my sons will be. But as beautiful and wonderful as is it there,when we were done we didn't see familiar faces,were not greeted with hugs which I feel validates my decision to switch. Worship is when I feel God the most but I know that being a part of the church is the big picture.I just wasn't feeling it there.I'm just glad I went with Jill and not Tim because he would say how much he wants to go back..............

Ok,voting is on for Tiny Prints Talent Search. GO HERE to vote for our little sweetie,Stella Patience. Thank you for voting for that little heart shaped face.

Now for a little What I Whipped up Wednesday........
I needed a small lamp for the front foyer.The only light in there is the (ugly) chandy. Seeing as I'm totally obsessed with the fabric section at Hobby Lobby but can't sew a thing I find other creative uses for fabric.This is where the lampshade comes in. But I didn't have a base so Tim actually found this one at Target for me and it's perfect!! Yay! These sticky lampshades are perfect! I can't wait to get some started for our bedroom lamps.

Now off to pick up a bit around here.The dishes seem to multiply around here ya know!

Virtual coffee 11-22

2011-11-22T09:56:00.001-05:00

Here's the latest 'round here......

One is for Earl Gray.......the other for coffee..........

Saturday I got up and helped out up at my new church.They gave away 175 turkeys to whoever wanted one. No questions asked.The line was down the street when I got there. I took prayer requests from people in line.One couple wanted us to pray for the safety of their 3 year old grandson. I don't know his story but I could see the heartbreak in their eyes.I felt so sad for them.Please hold little K up in prayer.I also felt so sad when we ran out and some people were still in line.I wish I could invite them all for Thanksgiving dinner.
Later on the same day I learned that the family of one of Noah's classmates lost everything in a fire.I have 2 bags here for them full of clothing and personal care items (this is where couponing really comes in handy folks!) for them.A friend is picking them up later and dropping them off at the kids school.
I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year.I have yet to do my shopping.I should probably do some deep breathing exercises when I do.I'm sure the more I put it off the more stressful it will be!There will be 19 of us here.............
Dove dark chocolate with almonds is the STUFF!!
I had a Scentsy party Friday night.If you want you can order HERE if you like.May I recommend 'My Wish'?
Thinking of taking up embroidery. I actually did it a lot as a kid.My favorite was making French Knots.

So if we got together today,this is most likely what I would bring up. I'd probably also whine about my ever failing health but I know you don't wanna hear about that.I'd also brag about my craftiness this past week but I'll talk about that tomorrow.

Linking up with Amy :)

InstaFriday 11-18 (and a special moment from my week)

2011-11-18T09:41:00.000-05:00

Yay!! Time for InstaFriday,where I show you some of this weeks phone pics.Can you believe I do not have ONE picture from Emma's performance in Alladin this week? Well,I never claimed to be super mom and to say this week has been stressful would be an understatement.

But before I get on with the pictures I want to share how God really helped me this week.
About a year ago I came across THIS article on CNN.I was really touched by it and shared it on Facebook.Well my friend Josie took this a step further.She decorated some boxes,put notebooks in them and gave me one among other friends. For my very first prayer in the box I asked God to please bless Josie and her husband Doug with a baby in 2011.I really wanted to share motherhood with one of my closest friends. They had baby Ellie just a few weeks ago!!!

Well,shame on me for letting this God Box just sit on my book shelf for most of the year. On Tuesday I was just feeling so overwhelmed. Being pulled in what seemed a hundred directions. I spied the box and grabbed it,reading over the prayers I wrote in the beginning of the year.(In one from January I asked to be cured of my blood clot-Done in February!!) So I wrote a new prayer. I asked for strength to just get something done in this house. To have order and peace in our home. The next day I just had the most incredible burst of energy! I was organizing,cleaning,pitching stuff. Through all of that I even managed to bake my Noah a cake for this 10th birthday! I felt amazing.I stopped for a minute and just thought 'Wow,God!This is from you! Thanks!!!!!' Praying for this every day. I want to be the best wife,mom and homemaker that the Lord wants me to be.

Ok, on with the pics:


Stella with her toothy grin before church.

Yep,it totally does!

I won!!! Thanks Kiki!!

Gourmet Malted Milk Balls from a day out with my Mister!

Celebrating Noah's Bday at Don Pablo's.

Linking up here as usual :)

Tiny Prints Talent Search

2011-11-17T16:01:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! I just entered a very sweet picture of Stella in the 3^rd annual Tiny Prints Talent Search! You can enter too! There are a few different categories:

·         Cutest Baby (From ages of 0-24 months)
·         Cutest Kid (From ages of 25 months - 10 years old)
·         Cutest Family
·         Cutest Couple
·         Cutest Pet & Owner

You can enter now on their website or on Facebook.Vote starting on November 22. For official rules click here.

What I Whipped up Wednesday 2

2011-11-16T09:01:00.000-05:00

I had my hand in quite a few projects this week.These are the 2 I actually finished.

My bare front door needed a new wreath. I already had all the materials laying around. The wreath form is smaller than what I prefer for my big door but it will do.

I like the vintage button I added on.

A few years back Em and I really got into making these fun memo boards. I keep one in my kitchen and it holds all the little school pics,baby announcements,save the date photo's etc.... that are just too sweet to put away. I have to say that this one I made on Sunday (for my bedroom) is my very favorite!

Velveteen ribbon and fabric covered buttons complete this project beautifully!

I'm so in love with it I made it my wallpaper on my phone!

I'm working on a few other things right now including some jewelry,lamp and Christmas things!!

Linking up with Kimmie over at Sugar and Dots!

Happy Day Project recap

2011-11-14T12:27:00.001-05:00

Ok, I committed to the Happy Day Project with the BEST of intentions. Really I did. I'm pretty sure my dirty little secret (being a non driver) is what kept me from blessing people the way I should have.So anyways,here's my recap.

Day 1,Bring a Treat to a Neighbor:
Day one went GREAT! I baked up lots of little loaves of Choco chunk Pumpkin Bread in these adorable mini bakers from Michael's. 4 of my neighbors got them and I stuck either tea or cocoa on them. I've had this knife that belongs to my neighbor Kate since the block party so I stuck that on there for her too. I also made a whole housewarming gifts for some relatives that moved to the neighborhood. I had a lot of fun putting these together and can't wait to do it again! Maybe next week before Thanksgiving.

Day 2,Write a note:
Ok,day 2. Hand written notes. Easy Peasy as I LOVE sending out cards and notes. I sent one to my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law. I think it's easy to tell our own family's how much we care for them but not our in-laws. I wanted to tell them both I care for them across the miles.

Day 3,Gift card to the homeless:
Incomplete,see below.

Day 4,Book for a Friend:
I found this really cute book to send to a friend who just had a baby. It's packaged but not yet on it's way out of here.

Day 5, Refresh Someone:
Not completed. Before I totally understood the day's task I was going to drop off a bottle of favorite pop to a friends porch or something. But it was to pass out water to the possibly thirsty. It was a cool,rainy day. I wasn't sure where I was going to pass out water so it didn't happen.

Day 6,Thank someone in service: Not done either.Shame on me! Noah's BFF's dad is our fire depts LT. I'll have to send some cookies in with him for the crew!

Day 7, Blessing Bags:
Ok,I'm going to put this one hand in hand for day 3. This was not completed either and I felt really bad about it.But in all honesty I really have no idea where to to find someone in need like this all on my own. However yesterday I went to church and found what may be an opportunity to combine both days projects into one. I can gather items needed for the homeless and go out and bless them with a group from church. I'm really eager to do this. One of the people in charge of this project is a neighbor of mine so perhaps a knock on the door armed with pumpkin bread will spark up the conversation on how I can help :)

So there you have it. My experience with The Happy Day project. If this was a real school project I'd give myself a C-. Now I'm going to catch up with the other participants and see how they did :)

Nikki's Favorite Things

2011-11-12T22:59:00.000-05:00

Source

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things!

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things!

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eye lashes
Silver white winters that melt into spring
These are a few of my favorite things!

When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember
my favorite things
and then I don't feeel so bad!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things!

My Favorite Things ~The Sound of Music

I love this song! Only growing up I didn't associate it with 'The Sound of Music'. I heard it every Christmas on our Kenny Roger's Christmas tape. Now I know that sounds pretty much cheesy but I still can't listen to it without getting pretty teary eyed.Thinking of Christmas' long ago with people who are gone from this world. So I love that tape/cd whatever. It's my go to Christmas music.

Anyways, Oprah always had her favorite things. Complete with lavish giveaways. Giveaways?? Love those! Don't you? Well,more about that later.......

On to the Favorite Things!

This Favorite Things Post is a shout out to the ladies who really inspire me-some of my favorite blogs!!These are the blogs that really speak to me,whether it's with their words,pictures,projects or maybe just something about them I can relate to.So in no special order I give you some blogity goodness.......

Life Made Lovely: Every week I totally look forward to the feature 'Home Made Lovely' Where Heather takes you inside some fabulous homes in and around the blogosphere. It's so fun to see the creativity in these homes. *some day* I would love to see my own home featured.*some day* She also has a wonderful link up on Mondays!

Happy Days: I think the reason I'm drawn to Hannah's blog is that she is just so REAL. I seriously wish she was my neighbor or went to my church or something because I think we'd friends :) Hannah hosts the Pen Friends project!

Lucky Number 13: I first found Amy on Pinterest and she shared so many wonderful things. Then I saw her home featured over at Life Made Lovely and was a nice surprise that one of the bestest pinners had a blog! I think her blog is one of my favorites visually. Join Amy for Virtual Coffee on Tuesday.

Jolly Goode Gal: I have been reading Jerusalem's blog for maybe 3 years now? She is very sweet and creative.God blessed her in that department let me tell you! Her house is so cool it's even been in a magazine! How's that for Awesome sauce?
Join Jerusalem every Thursday for Confessions.

So that's the first part in my Favorite Things..... Now onto the Giveaway news:

I know that in the grand scheme of things this little thing is still in it's infancy but I'm coming up on 50 followers and 250 posts.Yay me!!! Once I hit both I will be hosting a super duper Giveaway! I'm very excited about it. Sorry, I won't be giving away a car or a coach bag but I promise it will be something pretty cool!!

So I guess this is still InstaFriday....

2011-11-11T11:38:00.002-05:00

SNo link up to InstaFriday due to the Happy Day Project but I gotta dump these picks somewhere. So here we go......

Stella and Noah on the bridge at the
Chinese Buffet.

Folk Art at the craft fair. Betty Boop reminds me of Tammy Faye Baker here.

One of my Best Friends Josie gave birth to her first baby 2 weeks ago. Welcome to the world Elliana! You are so Beautiful!

A pic of me and Tim taken a few weeks after we first met. It was at the photo booth at the mall. Just looking at this reminds me of the super cute guy I fell for in the first place :) What a hottie!


THE orange owl cookie jar from Anthro. I've wanted this since seeing it on Edie's Blog.

I'm still on a high from my first Anthro trip :) Can you tell?
Here's a few other things I'm crushin' on right now:

Zenni Optical :
I can not wait to place an order with them. I LOVE wearing glasses. They are part of me and I like to use them as an accessory and wear different pairs depending on my mood.The prices are amazing here and so is the selection. I've read some great reviews on them too.


This is the pair I MUST have!!!

Smash Books:
I want to start this in the worst way. I can't seem to find any stores that carry the stuff though so I guess I'll have to order it. All the stuff is so cute and I think it looks easy enough to get my kids on board. Of course I'll need an Instax camera to pair up with this memory recording journey.

Pandora :
I know this is nothing new but I recently 'rediscovered' it thanks to the sound on my laptop being wonky. So I listen to it on my phone. I'm just loving on the She & Him station along with The Avett Brothers and Anberlin.Now I have some new favorites like Old Crow Medicine Show and Band of Horses.

So there is a little wrap up for the week. Still trying to work on the Happy Day Project. I'm seriously gonna grade myself on it and it may not be pretty.

Tonight on the Biography Channel.............

2011-11-10T00:40:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to play a little catch up here. My posts have been so filled with link ups and such in my attempt to connect to the blogging community. Which is awesome. I've noticed my traffic and followers going up.(Not that that is the reason I blog. None of those numbers count if we don't connect or interact.Please leave a comment and lets be friends!) So exciting :) So here's a little refresher on me:

Most importantly I am a wife and mom who loves her family and Jesus. I met my husband on Halloween 1998 and it was love at first sight.We had our daughter Emma only 1 year later. She is 12 now and a BIG surprise! Some medical issues earlier in life led 4 different doctors to tell me I'd never conceive on my own.Our son Noah is almost 10,Caleb is just about 5 and our baby Stella (so excited to get another girl after 11 years!!) just turned 1. We also have 2 Angel babies we lost in the summer of 2009.While those moments were defining for me they did not break me.

Our Family last Christmas.Sometimes I'm just in awe that this is ours.

I love to cook (when I have the energy,which as of lately I seem to lack).Sometimes I joke with Tim that he just married me for my cooking. I also pride myself in having my kids try unusual fair or exotic cuisine while they are little. I didn't even try a taco till I was 14! So it makes me pretty happy that my Emma loves sushi or that our family really gets our moneys worth at the Indian buffet.

We have this big old house we bought when we were pretty young.Young and dumb I always say.We just didn't realize the time and money it would take to really make it our dream home.And then our dream changed when we decided we wanted more than 2 kids. Then again there is always something to do here and the house is always evolving. There is only one room in the house that remains with plain white walls and that won't last long!

Our house is messy about 90% of the time. It's frustrating because I grew up in a very clean and organized home. I don't know how my mom(also a mom of 4) did it all because I just don't have it in me. I want it that way but it just isn't happening. But even if it's messy I still make sure it smells good. My house always smells wonderful. One of the best compliments I ever received was when a coworker came over for a party once.He was here all of a minute and said 'I love your house!It smells just like the holidays in here!'

Some long term goals for our home include:

Getting the basement (an old damp cellar) fixed up to include a utility room,laundry room,full bath and game room.
Knocking down the wall between the dining room and kitchen.Undecided about switching up the dining room and living room.Should I keep the living room where it is and have one HUGE kitchen? Or should we do one of those family room attached to the kitchen/great room deals? This may all depend on what we do with the basement.
Doing a total overhaul on our backyard. It's a joke. I wish Yard Crashers would stalk me at Home Depot one day and help me out.

Ok,looks like I'm a ~~little~~ very obsessed with my house.

Here are some other things about me:

I grew up crazy obsessed with Hello Kitty.I think of a lot of that had to do with the thrill of the hunt.HK is every where now and not as exciting.
I have 2 tattoo's. I don't like them. But I'd still like to get another one day.
I can't get enough of Mumford & Sons these day.
I hardly ever watch tv anymore. I deleted all my stuff I had saved on the DVR. I'm ok with this.
I'm hoping Santa brings me a Kindle Fire and a gift card to eShakti.com
I broke my ankle in 7th grade. I felt like I was pushed even though no one was behind me. I had a purple cast and none of my jeans fit over it. My cousin had to help me pull my pants over my cast and broke her nail.I think she was more sad about her broken nail than I was my ankle.
I really,really hope to go on a Mission trip one day and show my kids the importance of it.
My favorite books are all kids books like Gone Away Lake, Mindy's Mysterious Miniature,Something Upstairs and The Velvet Room.

On a more serious note:

I'm feeling spiritually 'stale' lately. Pray for me.Pray for us. I'm not sure where we are on our walk with God.
I finally have a doctors appointment to talk about some of the weird stuff going on with me.My head just feels 'odd' all the time. More than likely its the shingles stuff but I'd be lying if I said it didn't freak me out. Same for the loss of balance and tingles in my arms...............
It's coming up on a year since we lost my little sister. I'm scared. I'm not sure of what.The emotional toll coming back? Seeing my parents devastated by the loss of their child? The holidays coming when I really notice her missing? There were 4 of us and now there isn't. Things aren't the same. We are missing a piece.

I'm so much more than what you see here. 33 years of me.....I have visions in my head who I was,who I am and who I want to be.

What I Whipped up Wednesday

2011-11-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

A few years back the company Ceilume was giving away free samples of their light weight plastic ceiling tiles. I must say I was impressed by the style,quality and price of the products. But what to do with the samples? Way too pretty to just throw away. I found some pretty blue and black damask ribbon at Hobby Lobby (how do I love thee?Let me count the ways) and glued it to the back of the tile and tied a bow at the top. This is what I got:

I need to straighten out the bow some how.Starch maybe? I also have a white one that will be going up in our bedroom once that gets taken care of.

Another find at HL was this little sign that says: Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God. I found some scrap paper that looked lovely with it,pasted it to a canvas,placed the knob in the wood frame of the canvas and hung my sign:

I have a few requests for these now.....

Linking up over at Sugar and Dots.

So blogger lost my original post....

2011-11-08T23:41:00.035-05:00

I did do this post last night.....published it and it somehow dissapeared......so anyways here's a summary of the original.
So I DID start on the Happy Day Project but I'm a day behind. I made apple cinnamon bread and chocolate chip pumpkin bread for a few of my neighbors(some of which happen to be family and friends)

Erin and I (and Caleb too) took a trip to Anthro and Trader Joes. I wasn't prepared to do some serious shopping but I did buy myself this $6........had it gift wrapped and everything! Besides,I wanted to save some money to spend at TJ's on stuff like chocolate covered potato chips,pear cinnamon cider and Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce.

We celebrated Noah's bday a week early because next week is crazy busy with Em's play and RFL kick off.

Caleb (who is starting to read quite well) was a little confused by the Chinese zodiac place mat. He thought it was the menu. A menu where he had his choice of dog,rat, monkey and Dragon ???

Ok,so I'm gonna hit publish now....hope I don't lose this post again.

Girls Day out at Christmas in the Village

2011-11-07T11:28:00.030-05:00

We went out for Christmas in the Village for the second year.It's a big craft fair in a little town near my mom's house. My aunts and cousins joined us. I must say we had much better finds last year but we still had a good time anyways.I did get a cute scarf and a necklace.Plus I found a sweet little apron for Stella when it's time for her to become a 'Cooker Girl' with Emma and I.

After the craft fair we had lunch and then went to Gabe's where we made fun of ugly shoes and talked about words we don't like.(words like 'moist' and 'slacks')

I can't wait to have another girls day out! See those triplets? The one in the middle is my Mommy and they will be 50 in a few months!!Wonder what we can come up with for that?

Triplets after a breakfast of curly cheese fries

One of the houses had chickens in the back yard. I wish we could keep chickens!!

My favorite thing I found,Christmas tree's made of vintage jewelry pieces. I think I saw this pinned before.

Black and Gold represented. Nice to look at after last nights horrific loss :(

Really excited about this link up.........

2011-11-04T09:22:00.000-04:00

I hope I can pull this off! It's always a blessing to bless someone else.

I hope you will consider joining us. Imagine that feeling when you make someone else's day......

InstaFriday 11-4

2011-11-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

Our week in phone pictures: Whilst putting this post together I realized that I didn't take a whole lot of pics this week.........

Ikea stars.....from a fun shopping trip with my friend Erin.

My littlest Trick or Treater's:Dumbo(third kid to wear it......I say having a bunch of kids gets you the most bang for your buck!!) and a sweet little Bat. Fairy and Army guy weren't around for this shot.

Silk flowers were fun to make this week.Teal for Ovarian Cancer and Purple for RFL

Sweet Pastels for Stella,used the big bag of buttons I got at the rummage house in the spring.

Found some adorable patterned satin's too. Tutorial I used found HERE

Pinterest Test Kitchen-November

2011-11-03T11:10:00.000-04:00

Linking up over at Keeping up with the Johnsons for the November Pinterest Kitchen. First up I made these adorable Halloween S'More's(Pinned HERE) to hand out to any kids we knew that came to the door trick or treating.

I was really pleased with how they turned out.But due to the rain and some construction on our street,our trick or treaters were few this year.

My next test was also a foodie item. I have let my love for iced green tea latte's from Starbucks be known before. But at $4 a pop I had to limit myself to maybe 1 a week. So I looked up a copycat recipe on Pinterest and THIS is what I found.

The ingredients are quite simple: Milk,ice,water,sugar and of course green tea matcha powder. I actually had this on hand because I always wanted to make green tea cupcakes or ice cream. It was about $11 for the package at the local Asian grocer. I remember thinking that was kind of pricey but now.....

As soon as I opened the powder I could smell that lovely green tea aroma. I followed the directions exactly.I used the little spoon that actually came with the tea powder. So now I figure this this whole box for $11 will probably yeild me around 50 drinks...... That's about $200 worth of Starbucks!! Really puts things in perspective!

I'm proud to say it was DELICIOUS and tasted exactly like what I would have ordered. Even Emma was impressed (her drink of choice too,we like so much of the same stuff!)

For all of my Pins follow me here:

2011-11-01T12:04:00.000-04:00

Polkadot Notebook nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award! I'm honored! The "Liebster Blog" award it given to up coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. "Liebster" is German and means sweetest. kindest, nicest, beloved, loveliest, cutest...
The rules for the Liebster Award are:
1. Thank the giver and link back to her.
2. Reveal your top picks and leave a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

Part of the fun is picking the blogs to pass the love along to!
A Cuppa Kim I love the way she writes....she always makes me smile!

Happy Days Real,truthful writings the lovely and genuine Hannah.

Happily Ever After Karen's blog.She finds joy in raising 2 beautiful kids while dealing with chronic illness.

3 Pink Cupcakes Danna's journey.

My place

2011-10-31T23:53:00.000-04:00

I think for once I'm going to try linking up to Amy's Virtual Coffee...........Hmm.What to talk about?

Well,I'm still trying to figure out my place. I think that's why I love being home. I know my place here. I'm the mom. The wife.The Vice President. The cook.The maid. The one who complains about dirty socks on the floor and people leave lollipop sticks on the table.(Gross,I know.)

I don't work anymore.So I don't have somewhere to go to just talk.No co-workers to connect to. I really like the new church I started attending but something seems to be holding me back from going again.But I really want to go and to connect. I tried to know my neighbors but now it's cold and everyone seems to be shut in. I was thinking of making some pumpkin bread and dropping it off to a few neighbors.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

I also want people to like me. I love meeting new people and I feel like I'm always hoping for their approval. I have a huge fear of rejection. But do I want them to like me? Or do I want them to like who I think they would like? Am I really my own person when I get so much inspiration from others? I hope that when others see me that they are seeing the genuine me.Not me trying to dress or act like someone else. I don't ever want to fit into a stereotype or a mold. I have flaws and I don't think I do well at hiding them. But I think I do a good job of trying to fix them and apologizing for them when they affect someone else.

I also think when it comes to being a Christian I want to come off as real and genuine.I think I have a fear of sounding like a hypocrite. But then I remember that I am in fact flawed and imperfect and so is every single person who calls themselves a Christian! Isn't that a relief? I need to remember that when I'm feeling awkward and quite possibly judged.

Source

So this is my first link up to virtual coffee. It's really rambly and I still don't think I conveyed what was on my mind.But I suppose it's a good start.

Baby,it's cold outside!

2011-10-29T12:44:00.000-04:00

I can't believe this is the weather we woke up to this morning!! Dude,that is SNOW! And what do you do on a morning like this?Sleep in? No,you go to a walk for breast cancer. Team Family Ties participated in Making Strides for Breast Cancer. Some of the girls even tie dyed our white team shirts from last year pink.

I wore my thickest socks,gloves and an ear warmer. The snow was big and wet so I had an umbrella too. Wetness,cold and mud aside-I love taking a good long walk and wish I made more time to do so.

But now I'm back home.Hot coffee (in my favorite RFL mug),pj pants on. Snuggled under our favorite Steelers blanket watching the Halloween episode of Yo Gabba Gabba with my Caleb.

Back out later with my friend Erin.

InstaFriday 10-28

2011-10-28T00:32:00.002-04:00

Em and Jules at the Costume Dance


Enough coffee to last me for a few weeks

Love looking at all the nail polish!

Vintage Bowling trophy I picked up for Molly's bowling party!

More than the basic orange Jack O'lantern......lots of colors and facial expressions to choose from

love my cookbook collection

It's The Great Pumpkin,Charlie Brown! Watch it every year with my kids :)

Oh,Stella!!

Everything is more fun if it's from Trader Joe's! Even my vitamins.

Lovely Earrings I bought on Etsy.Shop here.

Linking up today with:

Cold is here......and so is just a bit of Halloween.

2011-10-27T23:58:00.000-04:00

Cold has come. I reminded Tim to make sure the kids are wearing their winter coats when they leave for school in the morning. The little ones have on their footie pj's and I washed all of the extra throws we keep in the living room. I've turned the heat on a few times. Just enough to warm the house up and when I shut it off it stayed warm. I think the next step will be to seal the windows. I'm a bit reluctant to as I'm sure we'll still get a few more 'windows open' kind of days.

Halloween is in a few days. Decorating didn't happen again this year. Well,the black feather wreath went up and the electric Jack O'Lantern did too.But that's it. I'm sure the only way that stuff even made it's way out of the attic is because we needed stuff for the costume dance last week.(I just might have to start decorating for Christmas next week.Otherwise it may never happen!) Scary movies and treats are flowing abundantly.Which is good because I think those are the best things about Halloween anyways. Oh and the fact that Tim and I met on Halloween. That's a favorite too. 13 years on Monday.

midweek stuff

2011-10-26T12:30:00.002-04:00

I was getting bored and moved the furniture around in my front entry hall. Remember when Target would do that 'Global Bazaar' thing every year? It was kind of like Pier One comes to Target. Any ways,we got this piece super cheap one year. It's been holding out board games but I didn't like the way the ones in the glass cabinet looked. Especially since Caleb-who tries to play them by himself- just chucks random dice and checkers in there.

So I decided to cover them some how and it was super easy.

Lucky for me,Scrap paper is 4/$1 at Michael's this week. I found this really cute Anna Griffin paisley print. I was going to do a black and white damask but thought the brown in this would look nice with the rich wood.
I removed the rubber keeping the glass in,cleaned the glass with Windex and placed it on top of the glass. Cut it with my craft blade and placed a little Mod Podge on the glass.

Let it dry and put the now decorated glass back in place with the rubber strips. And there it is! :

Looks so much better now! I'm up for a game night now!

***********


Emma and some of her friends at the Halloween Dance

Friday evening I helped out at the Halloween Dance for my kids school. It was for 5th and 6th graders only so Noah couldn't come. He's really hoping they do it again! And so do I! It was a blast.

Saturday night Jill and I threw our girls a joint Birthday party. We had done this before when they turned 8. Not only are they Best Friends but they are only 2 days apart.

First we celebrated at the local pizza parlor

Then we took the kids down to the Haunted House Spooktacular!

I was seriously prepared for something uneventful and cheesy but this was REALLY scary!! I think what made it extra freaky is that it was in an old funeral home.Quite a few of the kids didn't even make it through. I'm thankful for refunds!

Sunday we celebrated my niece Molly's 5th Birthday with a bowling party. I managed to get a few shots in there........

So that is our weekend in review........Although it's already Wednesday. I'm not feeling well again. Lot's of aches.....chest pains and my arms and face keep going numb. I know I need to see my doctor but the only time I can really go is the evening and those appts tend to fill up fast :( Seriously need to get Stella's thank you notes out. Actually went grocery shopping and planned out meals for the next few days. Looking forward to dinner with my cousin on Friday night,Making Strides against Breast Cancer walk (gonna be FREEZING!) on Saturday morning.

I feel like I have a lot on my mind lately. Too the point where my brain feels tired,cluttered....kinda foggy. I really need for every thing to just slow down. January....almost looking forward to the quietness and solitude of it.

InstaFriday 10-21

2011-10-21T00:37:00.001-04:00

My fabulous sister in law bought me a box of Earl Grey. I think it's sweet she remembered something so simple as the kind of tea I like.

Free goodies in the mail from Target. YAY!!!

Dear iced green tea latte,
We are now best friends forever!
Love,Nikki


Me and my birthday girl.She turned 12 yesterday and we celebrated with Mexican (her choice). Taking her to Nordstrom for a little spree on tomorrow before her joint Bday party with Juls.

Werewolf cake from Lincoln Bakery. What a masterpiece!!

My sweet little reader loves the Hello Kitty book she got from our Cousins and Aunt!!!

A bit of Birthday goodness!

2011-10-19T10:29:00.000-04:00

Stella's birthday party turned out awesome!! I have a whole post planned once I get all of the pics from everyone-I didn't have time to take any myself. Thankfully Tim and I both have photographers as sisters. His sis Jess took the one above. I love it!!

We had a beautiful day.It got sunny right before the party started and all of the food was amazing. It was a day of family and our closest friends. Feeling so blessed just thinking about it!

A letter to my Angels on Pregnancy and Infant loss day.

2011-10-15T11:24:00.000-04:00

Dear Riley and Adam,

Not a day goes by that Mommy doesn't think of you. Even though your little sister is here it doesn't erase the pain I felt when I found out that each of you were gone. Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance day but I remember you both every day. I remember the excitement we felt the day we found out we were pregnant and that Caleb was going to be a big brother. Riley we lost you in June and Adam at the very end of August. It was the worst summer ever. I love you both so much and I know you will be looking down on your little sister with love as we celebrate her first birthday tomorrow. Mommy will meet you in Heaven one day.

Until Then with hugs and kisses...........love,
Mommy

*************

This day rolls around at such an odd time of year now. I celebrate the life of one child and mourn the other 2. Sometimes I feel like I have no right to mourn when I think of how my parents lost their grown child or how my friend/co-worker gave birth to her sweet baby girl sleeping. But I know for me-in my parenting experience,in my relationship with my husband- this was the hardest thing we have dealt with and the pain in my heart hurt. Really bad. I love them so and will never forget them. Having Stella does help but it doesn't undo what happened or who they were.

InstaFriday 10-14

2011-10-14T10:14:00.000-04:00

Our Cheerleader (yes,that is the new car)

Whoah, lots of photo's this week. It's been a busy one. Or at least our 3 day weekend was! First up is last Friday nights homecoming parade and game.

Saturday was the first official day of me having every weekend off. The weather was just amazing,there was no good reason to stay inside so we took the kids to one of those fun centers. Stella and I watched the rest of our family do the Go-Karts.

Then we went for a game of mini golf. We also played pass the baby.


Shhh!! This is serious!

Sunday,I was glad to get to church again. Just Em and I again. Nice to see familiar faces. Great to sit with a friend! Afterward Tim and I went on a date to the Greek Food fest. Stella chaperoned :) After some yummy gyros and feta fries we hit up Michael's,Trader Joes and Lotus Mart.Lotus Mart is an Asian Grocer.It smells like hot garbage in there but you can find some really cool stuff like various sauces,rice noodles,candy etc..
My kids like these drink pouches with some pop star. I don't know his name so they call him the Asian Justin Beiber. Stella liked these Hello Kitty biscuits.

As mentioned before we headed out for some awesome burgers for little girls Bday.She was a little sleepy through it as you can see.


Caleb always feels up to goofing off. Grilled cheese phone anyone?

I had a Thirty-One party a few weeks back and got tons of cute stuff!! I was especially excited for my new wristlet.

How cute is that??

And just for fun....................................

This is a picture of me hugging you Mommy!~Caleb

in which I feel as though I've hit a parenting wall

2011-10-13T00:30:00.000-04:00

See these kids? I love them in a way I never knew existed till I held them. I think about them and just smile that God entrusted me to be their mom and I pray I'm doing right by them.

I love them so very much I think I'm gonna burst. They are awesome. Each of them in their very own way. Each bringing special gifts and talents to our family.

Today one of these guys faced disappointment. The kind a mama can't fix for them. The kind where your heart aches for them and you fumble for the right words. The kind where you pray that your kid handles it gracefully.The kind where mom feels as though she's hit a brick wall on the road of parenting.

The kind where Daddy just wants to take them out and try to do something to lift their spirits. The kind where Daddy is angry that his child is sad but really,there's no one to be angry at. Daddy has hit that brick wall too.

And so at the end of the day,after you've cooked their favorite meal (pumpkin pasta) and gave them lots of hugs you can feel a bit better and so will they.Then ya give them some encouragement and listen...leading to the point where they decide to smile and tell you they love you and they just keep trucking with some dignity.(I know,I'm being awfully vague!! sorry!) Well then mama's stress levels go down and she doesn't feel like running to the nearest chocolate cake like she did earlier ;)

Stella is 1!

2011-10-11T09:53:00.001-04:00

Our sweet little 10-10-10 Baby Girl is now 1 year old!! 1 year since our dreams came true,1 year of her capturing the hearts of her big sister and big brothers.1 year of her charming the heck out of random strangers in public.1 year filled with thousands of kisses and gentle squeezes.

It's family tradition that the birthday kid (or parent) chooses where we go out to eat on their birthday.Since Stel can't really choose just yet-or even eat much of the food for that matter-we chose Burgatory since we've never been there.Quite yummy.

This Sunday is her party.We rented out a hall and are having a soup and salad bar. I'm praying for nice weather and hoping those who have not RSVP'd will do so soon. I still need to do a bit of shopping for the occasion.

Emma is now boasting that she is the only one of our kids who was full on walking before their 1st birthday. Stella has taken a few steps but is not getting around on her own just yet.The boys were at least 14-15 months by the time they were walking. I don't mind as I know this moment will be bitter sweet. Another mile stone passed that will not be celebrated again here.

It's funny how Emma's milestones are so exciting to me and Stel's make me a little sad.I want so much to just enjoy her babyness and suck it all in. To grasp on to every moment. Before I know it she will be the one making posters for the Halloween dance and rolling her eyes at me when I try to sing a song she likes ;)

Thank you for the past year Stella,for making my heart grow despite the 2 pieces of it taken to heaven,for being there for a cuddle just when mama needed you the most. For wrapping your daddy around your little finger and for completing our family. I love you sweet baby girl.You are an amazing gift from God. Happy Birthday!

A new Friday link up to try :)

2011-10-07T13:11:00.000-04:00

It's Fill in the Blank Friday over at the little things we do:

1. Something popular that I can't stand/just don't "get" is Disney Princess stuff.I'm really going to discourage this stuff with Stella.

2. Something unpopular that I secretly love is Butter.Must cook with REAL butter. I never buy margarine or any other butter substitute.

3. When I've had a bad day I lay on my bed and feel sorry for myself until my husband asks me whats wrong .

4. I'd prefer warm chocolate chip cookies to a fancy,complicated desert any day.

5. Something that makes me nervous is knowing I MUST learn how to drive before next summer is over.*shudders*

6. Something worth fighting for is family. I would never let anything or anyone break up what Tim and I have with our children.I meant what I said on the day we took our vows and I know he did too.

7. When people think of me, I hope they think that I'm friendly and talkative.That I'm doing a good job as a wife,mother and homemaker.

InstaFriday 10-7

2011-10-07T09:07:00.001-04:00

Ok,bear with me here as I drink tea rather than coffee this morning. I decided it was time I finally use the cute little teapot that Tim bought me for Christmas.I have the purple one.

Feeling much better as I got out of the house last night and did some shopping for Stella's Birthday party! It's next weekend on the 16th but her real birthday is on Monday! So hard to believe this tiny,petite little thing is just about a year old already.


finally broke out the baby legs-we love them!

Tonight our big girl is marching in the Homecoming Parade. I sooo can not see my quiet Emma as a cheerleader but if she wants to go for it I will encourage her.


Big sister scoops up little sister as soon as she gets home each day.My girls together makes my heart happy.

This is my first weekend off as a SAHM. We had previous plans to go away but those fell through. Now the weekend is wide open with the promise of gorgeous weather......What to do?


Sharing a book. Love it!

I need to get back into ready myself. I'm asking Santa for a new Kindle Fire this year.The app on my phone just doesn't cut it. Then I can say I read something besides Harry Potter and Twilight.


I took this because it's just one of my favorite little spots with lots of favorite little things.

I had previously mentioned finding some goodies in boxes that made for some neat time capsule pictures and I think those will get a post of their own.

But I did find this!

Ok, now I know that this just looks like some ugly,green eye shadow. Well it is. But it has a lot of significance.This stuff is probably going on 20 years old. It's in a cheesy,gold compact. It's from Aveda. I promise,I'm not a hoarder. The night I met my Tim was on Halloween. A friend brought him over. I said 'He's not dressed! We can't go out for Halloween if he doesn't have a costume!' So I dragged him over to the table and put makeup on him. Gobs of this green shadow.I liked that I got to touch him. I thought this guy was really cute.I may have over did it but I didn't want him to go away.I later found out he only let me do that to him because he wanted me to. So you see,this ugly green shadow helped to shape our family in some weird way. That's why I can't bear to part with it. True story.

Thankful Thursday #9

2011-10-06T11:46:00.001-04:00

Today I'm kind of struggling with a Thankful Thursday post. I mean of course I have gratitude in my heart for the obvious-family,friends,a home. That kind of thing doesn't go away. But when you're in a funk it's easy to forget that kind of good stuff. I'm not sure why I'm feeling like I do. The sun is shining and it's a gorgeous day. I'm just feeling a tad over overwhelmed and I'm mulling over some decisions that need to be made. And as much as I love that Emma is so involved it's hard to do everything she wants to do as there are 3 other children in this family that deserve just as much attention.

Last night I just kind of sat there on the front porch with a cup of tea and was feeling sorry for myself. Which is so lame but I couldn't shake these feelings of pity on my shoulders. So my husband-who had to run an errand- made me go with him. Just the 2 of us.Lately we've been getting some more time together and for that I'm grateful.Even if we are sitting in the car and no words are spoken or maybe we are at the store picking out chips. It's the just the 2 of us for a brief time. I think we spend so much time co-parenting that it's easy to forget that first we were a couple.


Taken up on Mt.Washington a few weeks into dating.

So today I'm grateful for alone time with the one I love. It's rare and it's precious. It's so needed.

A Plea from lil 'ol me.

2011-10-05T10:14:00.000-04:00

It's been quite some time since I blogged about my very favorite magazine. Home Companion was a treat! Packed with so much eye candy for decorators and artists. I still have every issue (put away in magazine cases from Ikea) and will never part with them! I have found out about some wonderful blogs and places to shop from this magazine. There was also a frameable print and some super cute paper dolls in the issues! So I was pretty excited to find out that publishing it again is being considered!

So click HERE and sign the petition!! I will be such a happy girl if this arrives in my mail box again.

So close yet so far away...........

2011-10-04T17:07:00.000-04:00

to 50 followers and a GIVEAWAY!!! So tell your friends to follow me and I'll be giving away something special as soon as it happens....................

In the mean time I'm going to ask you to check out my Blessings Unlimited site. You just might win something from the catalog ;)

Saving For a Rainy Day

InstaFriday 2-3

New Link up to try :)

1/12 of 2012

Virtual coffee 1-31 -Night out and Blog Swap!

InstaFriday 1-27

{Happiness} on a Tuesday

To start the week off............

Tag!! You're it!

InstaFriday 1-20

On Winter depression and gratitude.

Lists,a sofa and books.

Do you swap?

On a Monday

written with heavy eyelids

InstaFriday 1-13

Pinspiration and a Thank YOU!

A little behind

chit chat (morning coffee)

He Plays Piano in the Dark

Treasure Hunt

InstaFriday 1-6

Good Bye 2011/Hello 2012

It's cold.......really cold.

2012!

InstaFriday 12-30 (Last one of 2011!!)

A nook and a kindle

Happy Day after Christmas!! *Winner*

InstaFriday 12-23

Christmas at the Brandt's

Spring on the last day of Fall.

Midweek musings..........

Uh....try 5.

A post of Christmas goodies.

You like free stuff right?

A Favorite Things update. *Give Away*

InstaFriday 12-16

Where are you Christmas?

Our Weekend

InstaFriday 12-9

My guy is 5 today!

More than a little,less than a lot.

In which I realise I'm ridiculously dependant on my smart phone.

InstaFriday 12-2

#1 Booger Wiper

Thanksgiving weekend 2011

Some stuff

Virtual coffee 11-22

InstaFriday 11-18 (and a special moment from my week)

Tiny Prints Talent Search

What I Whipped up Wednesday 2

Happy Day Project recap

Nikki's Favorite Things

So I guess this is still InstaFriday....

Tonight on the Biography Channel.............

What I Whipped up Wednesday

So blogger lost my original post....

Girls Day out at Christmas in the Village

Really excited about this link up.........

InstaFriday 11-4

Pinterest Test Kitchen-November

My place

Baby,it's cold outside!

InstaFriday 10-28

Cold is here......and so is just a bit of Halloween.

midweek stuff

InstaFriday 10-21

A bit of Birthday goodness!

A letter to my Angels on Pregnancy and Infant loss day.

InstaFriday 10-14

in which I feel as though I've hit a parenting wall

Stella is 1!

A new Friday link up to try :)

InstaFriday 10-7

Thankful Thursday #9

A Plea from lil 'ol me.

So close yet so far away...........

Happy Day after Christmas!! Winner

A Favorite Things update. Give Away