My craftiness, part 2

So, a week ago (in the 'brought to you by the letter C' post), I mentioned that I was getting crafty, and was so excited about it. Well, I couldn't post pictures of what the girls did, because they had to fire the ceramic pieces. Well, we got them back today! They are fabulous!!! My brother in law actually got his today! It was for his birthday a couple weeks ago, but trying to find the time when Kenna wasn't grumpy, and Charly wasn't sassy took some time. :) Anyhow...here is the finished product...

Obviously, Uncle Dan is my brother in law. He is a football fan (Go Falcons!), so the girls made him his own Super Bowl...except he gets a Souper Bowl. :) Those little men in the bowl, are finger people. Kenna got to paint the face and bottom of the bowl. The bottom is red with sparkles, and the top is blue (as you can see). Then, Charly and Kenna made little football players, with their fingerprints (Daphne's fingerprint was a wee too small, so she didn't get to help on this one). Then, I added the arms & legs, the football, helmets and faces. :) I think they are so cute! And, I'm 99.99999999% sure that Uncle Dan absolutely loved it! And, the best part is that he can actually use it! Though, I suspect he won't! They don't crack and are dishwasher and microwave safe! It is so stinkin' cute!!!

Happy crafting!

*Screech* That's scary!

Kenna is certainly my wild child. She is almost fearless, some would say. She's most definitely a bruiser. If she falls and skins up her knee, she might cry, but then she'll come running over to me and say "Kiss it, Mommy", and when I do, it's like my lips are a magical power, because the boo boo suddenly stops hurting. :) Charly has always ran with purpose. She has always tried to figure out the quickest route to get from point A to point B. Kenna tries that, but it ends up as a zig zag. I swear she couldn't run a straight line to save her life. But, that's what I love about her. She's spunky. :) Anyhow, back to the fearless part. This child just gets right in the middle of stuff and goes.
WELL...Charly has discovered Kenna's kryptonite! When she sees this dang thing, she screams! She squeals! The tears come! She just keeps yelling "That's scary!", as she's flipping out! Wanna know what it is?!?!






It's a Dora bath toy tree! Yup...a tree!

There ya go! LOL! I mean, there is nothing (AT ALL) scary about this tree. It doesn't have anything that jumps out at you. It doesn't do anything. In the little window (when there's water in it), she'll see Swiper the Fox. But, that's not even the scary part to her. Just seeing the tree, brings on the shakes, and squeals! Now, when Kenna doesn't do what Charly wants her to, Charly tries to chase her with it! Oh my! I just wish I could understand my wild girl! Any ideas!?!

It's snowing...beans??

NOTE TO SELF: If Kenna is being quiet, CHECK ON HER!

This morning I was trying to get some work done around the house, as well as, on my computer. Kenna is normally a busy body, and plays with her toys, sometimes loudly. I noticed she was being unusually quiet. I walk into the girls' toy room to check on her. And, much to my surprise, she has found the 2 zippers, to the bean bag chair (one zipper spot, double zipped for added security...just not for a 2 year old!). There are little white beans EVERYWHERE!

Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean up these dang beans! She has probably dumped out a third of the bag! They are little foam balls, that are full of static. They cling to everything, and blow around when the air isn't even moving! Kenna could not get them off of her!

 So, I get the bright idea, to get a cup, to clean then up. This should be easy, right!?! WRONG! They stick to everything (did I mention that already), and when you move the cup to the bean bag chair, to dump, they float into the air! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!

Geez!! This is taking so long! Who knew such a beautiful and smart two year old could cause so much mayhem!?! Progress is slow, but we're getting somewhere. Then, somebody, decides to take a break and play! Who has time for snow angels!?!?!

Goofy and Mickey Mouse, that's who! Instead of helping clean the mess, they got right in the middle of it, and took turns making snow angels. :) I'll let it slide this time, but only because this was their first winter in Kentucky, and we didn't get any snow (that's amounted to anything!).

Thankfully, my little mayhem creator was also there to help in the aftermath! In the end, it is all cleaned up, except for a few floating beans. I love Kenna Merrin, even if she is my wild child!

They need to make a tiny little lock, for the zipper. The double zipper idea is a great concept, unless you have a two year old! :) Oh, happy days!

Doodle marks the spot

As I sit here eating grapes, I figured I would talk about the weekend that has absolutely flown by!
Kenna has a marker obsession. I think she really only has this obsession for the fact that everything she writes on has her stamp of approval on it. Friday evening, she drew on her bean bag chair, her sister's bean bag chair, herself, and the kitchen table. Luckily she got hold of a dry erase marker, so it came off of everything fairly easily. Then, I get to the bean bag chair. I think, I'll wash Charly's first, since Kenna will probably draw all over hers again anyhow. We'll start with the one that didn't do it. I'm thinking that when I undo the zipper of the bean bag chair, that the 'beans' will be a mesh case, like a pillow case or something. NOPE! They are completely loose! So, here I am, in the laundry room, trying to get creative with containing the beans. I think to myself, 'I'll put them in a garbage bag. This should be easy!' WRONG! Oh my goodness...what a freakin' nightmare! I finally get one garbage bag filled, and gave up. There were SO many loose beans all over the floor. Every time I moved the bean bag, it would send 10 more beans whisking across the floor. It looks like we're having a white Christmas, in our house! There are beans everywhere!! I still have to figure out what to do with the rest of the beans, so I can get this dang bean bag chair washed! Oh, a box! I have a big box! Finally!! I get them all dumped in the box, and the chair washed! Thankfully, all the work and wave of snowy white beans is not for nothing, because ALL of the marker marks came out!
Now, onto the child! Kenna is covered in marker! And, she's so proud of it. She proudly marched out into the living room to show off her marker. She was so excited to get a picture of all the marks. Geez! So, I get her in the tub. After multiple scrubbing attempts, we get the marker off her leg and arm, but it is NOT coming off of her face. Dry erase marker is not easy to get off of skin! So, my poor kiddo spends the next 12 hours with a marker face, until we do bath time again, on Saturday! Thankfully, it came off! So, when we were in public on Saturday, it didn't look like my child was a football player. :)

On Saturday, I took the 3 girls (Charly, Kenna and Daphne) to the movies. We also invited a friend of Charly's and my parents. We saw 'We Bought A Zoo'. We have a theater that plays second run movies, so you get the fun experience of going to the movies, without paying an arm and a leg. Thankfully, because, I like my arms and legs. :) It was a cute movie. However, it was not quite how I expected it to be, based on the previews. I expected a bit more kid friendly, though it was fine. I thought it'd be more about the animals and zoo factor, than their life...I dunno how to explain it. But, it was good! Charly and her friend enjoyed it. Kenna got bored and started running from one end of the isle to the other. Thankfully, she was being quiet, is shorter than the seats, and the theater wasn't packed. :)
Today, was a restful day. Okay, well except for me having to make a several hour trip to the grocery store, with Charly, and our coupon binder. But, it was fun! And, we are set on our meal planning adventures. :) Good times! I hope everyone else had an eventful weekend. :)

Brought to you by the letter C...coupons, crafts, cars!

It's been a quiet couple of days.

So, let's talk coupons. :) I admit it. I'm a couponer. Definitely not an extreme couponer, but I do carry a binder around...LOL! I coupon very regularly, and it's so cute, because now when my girls want something, they'll ask if we have a coupon for that. :) Gotta start the money savings tips, while they're still young. Anyhow, a couple of friends and I have started a coupon club. We rotate through everyone's house. We meet once a week, and get the little ones together, while we're there, have lunch, chat, and cut coupons. :) I actually forgot my binder at a my friend's house, and drove over there to get it today (left it there yesterday), just so I could have my coupons...it's our life line. Yes, it was worth it to get it...I have a shopping trip I need to make tomorrow! Anyhow, our get togethers are a lot of fun, even though we're getting together over little newspaper clippings. I must say, I love my coupon friends. :) Are you in any 'cool kids clubs'? My friend, Heather, and I were talking about learning to knit. We were thinking about maybe starting a group to knit together. :) I'm so not crafty, so I need someone to tell me what to do, and then I can tweak it a bit from there.

However, I am happy to report, that I did have a crafty moment today. I took the girls to a ceramic painting place, and had them get crafty. I can't reveal what they made yet, because I don't have pictures to show off their awesomeness in all it's glory. But, when I pick them up next Thursday, you better believe there will be pictures. :)

A couple days ago my husband's car decided to 'go out'. He gets it to the mechanic, and he says "clogged converter, $1200" YIKES! We have put so much into the car, already (it's a 99 Honda CRV), so we decided to try to get rid of it. We called a salvage guy, and he made us an offer, but I told him I was going to also list it on Craigslist. Holy Batman! Within 5 minutes of listing the vehicle, we had probably 15 people call. I eventually marked the post, as PENDING, and was still getting offers and calls until 10pm last night. Then, while I was out, I got another 7 voicemails regarding the car, and 4 emails. It's been craziness. But, I'm happy to report the car has been sold! YAY! Now, we need to think about where to go from here...thankfully, he is using a company vehicle, until we decide which way to go. What a relief though!! :) Wonder what we'll get next!

Oh me, Oh my!

So, Kenna, my 2 year old, has issues saying the first letter of some of her words. She has the hang of CH, because her sister is Charly, and S sounds are easy, like Sissy. But, the wretched K is just not working. So, my Kenna, is now known as Enna. :) That's cute!

Well...Kenna LOVES to wear sunglasses. She thinks they are magical, I swear. She has some with blue lenses and some with green, and some that are regular sunglasses. So, one day, we're out and about, and she starts freaking out, because she wanted her sunglasses on. Low and behold, this child cannot say the first part of the word glasses. Imagine glasses - the GL. Oh my! She just said "Enna's Asses!" Well, we're in PUBLIC, so I start repeating her, saying Kenna's glasses, hunny. You have to say GLasses! She just keeps yelling ASSES, like she's calling all these people around her names! Hurry escape! RUN! Months later, and we now have basses. I'll take it! LOL!

Well...I have one better than that! We were in Orlando, over Christmas (as you know from my catch up post), and we decided to take the girls to Disney World. Well, my husband has talked and talked about the castle, calling it Mickey's Castle. Miss Enna was SO excited! She talked about Mickey and Minnie for weeks before we actually left for the trip. We are driving into the parking area at Disney. And, for those of you that have been there before, know there's a large 'gate' that you have to pay for your parking. So, we're in one of the lines, and above the 'gate' there is a scroll that goes across the entire road, with Mickey and friends, and a picture of the castle. I guess she thought that was all we were going to see, because once we got through the gate, and were zipping to the parking lot, she starts screaming! "No Daddy, No! Mickey's Astle!" That's right, say it out loud, now! ASTLE...be careful not to put an H sound in there, or you've jumped into a 'bad word'. Well, my husband immediately starts busting out laughing! He keeps getting her to say it, and laughs harder and harder each time she says it! Then, my 6 year old turns to him, and says "Daddy, you only think it's funny, because you think she's saying a bad word!" LOL! That only makes my husband laugh harder!! Well, 2 months later, it's still Mickey's Astle! And, she'll proudly announce that she went there, to anyone listening! LOL! However, even though we really need this kiddo to get the C/K sound down, it's still funny!!

My craftiness in all it's glory...

For those of you that really know me, you know I'm a very logical person. Creativity does NOT come easily. I try and try, but it just does not happen. It stinks, but it's who I am. Well, I decided that since I'm home with the girls, I'm going to continue to push my crafty meter, into new territory, and get moving on some cute projects. Well, that wasn't working...so I joined pinterest. What a fabulous concept!! It has really taken my craftiness to a whole new level. :) And, I don't have to figure it all out for myself, just tweak someone else's idea. :)
I made a menu board this week. It was so unbelievably easy! I went to Michael's craft store, armed with my 50% off coupon and my 25% off frames coupon...not sure which one I'll need. I go all the way to the back, and find a cute frame, is a collage frame. I find one that has black frames (like the art I have framed in my kitchen), and it has 8 frames. It's PERFECT! I saw it, and swear I hear everyone in the store break out into "Hallelujah". The best part...it's 50% off! It was originally $29.99. So, now it's only $14.99. YAY! I get that and some scrapbook letters (so I can label each frame, to know what day of the week it is). They are also 50% off, so they're only $3.49. YAY! I finally get up to the counter (the line was so long...they must have been having an awesome sale, because I haven't seen that many people in that store, since Christmas!). I get to use my 25% off coupon on the frames, because it included sale items, so the $29.99 frame is now only $11.24. AWESOME!
So, I get home, and decided I wasn't going to wait to do this, because if I did, it wasn't going to happen. So, I get crackin'. I go upstairs and dig through my scrapbook pages. I found some cute striped papers...same pattern, 4 different colors. And, I find some cute flower papers, same pattern and same 4 colors as the striped stuff. Cute...spring is on it's way, and these are definitely spring colors. Alright...so, I cut the papers into a 4 x 6 size. On one page, I printed "The Menu" on the front of it, and framed it. First frame done...and super easy. Next, I took each of the papers, and my scrapbook letters. I abbreviated each day of the week (Mon., Tue., etc) and attached one 'day' to each sheet. Then, I framed them in the order I wanted them. Ta da! It's perfect! I hung it up, in my kitchen, above the table. Then, I took my dry erase marker and wrote on the glass, exactly what we're going to have each day.
The one thing I love about this project, is that I can change the papers out, with the holidays, and seasons. It was so easy, and super effective. Now, it will help ease any 'what's for dinner' woes. It also will help in my couponing. :) Yes, I am one of 'those people'. If I know what I'm making for the week, I can keep an eye out for coupons, and sales. :) Woo Hoo! It's a win win! I'm very excited. Hopefully, I can keep this craftiness up, and post all my projects. :)

I must say, as the cook, Friday is my FAVORITE day! :) Happy craftin' everyone!

I'm gonna try this again...

Phew! It's been a whirlwind couple of months. I am so far behind on my blogging. So much has happened since my last post, in July.
Where to start...

Charly started 1st grade! She was so excited because she found out over the summer that her Kindergarten teacher was now going to be her 1st grade teacher. :) We just adore her teacher, too, which certainly makes it a LOT easier on us. :)

Charly's 1st day of 1st Grade!

I turned 31. A few weeks later, my 3rd daughter, Daphne Elizabeth, was born on October 29, 2011. I was induced at 8am, on October 28th. I had 2 easy labors prior to her, so I thought she'd be an easy labor as well...err! I was so wrong. Well, okay, I was right, but it was a LOT of waiting. She had been low for the last 4 weeks, and then on the day of her induction, she took flight, and was way high! The doctor actually thought at one point, that she had turned, and was breech. She wasn't...just high. So, we spent ALL day and night waiting for her to lower herself, so we could get this labor on the road. That night, they said they'd try one more time, and if nothing happened they were going to stop the pitocin, and start in the morning. So, my Mom and Sister left. Well, apparently it started working, b/c at 340am, I sent my mom and sister a text saying "They just broke my water. I'll call when things start progressing." I called my Mom 10 minutes later in MAJOR pain, screaming "the baby's coming. HURRY!" She was born at 3:58am. She was 7lbs. 6 ozs., 19 inches long, and 4 pushes. My Mom and sister got to the hospital 30 minutes later. Sadly, they missed her birth...they waited all day with me, and when they went home things really got moving. But, she's here now, and we couldn't be happier!!!

Welcome, baby Daphne!

OK...next. Three weeks and one day later (November 20th), Kenna turned 2. We had a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party, since she just adores Mickey and Friends! She is becoming quite the little ham!

My Kenna!

For Christmas, we drove to Orlando, to spend the week with my in-laws! I know what you're thinking. You are thinking we're crazy driving to Florida, from Kentucky, with a 6 year old, 2 year old, and 8 week old. But, my parents were kind enough to get 2 headrest DVD players, so the big girls had movies to watch the whole way there. And, everyone did amazing. The first night we stopped in Atlanta. On the way back we stopped in Knoxville. We had a fabulous time! We took Charly and Kenna to Disney World, while Daphne got to spend some much needed time with her Nana. We just HAD to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse. When we walked around the corner to them, and Kenna saw them, she just started waving, and clapping. She was so excited to meet them! She was in heaven, when Minnie gave her kisses!

The infamous castle picture. :)

 

The family meeting Mickey & Minnie

OK...moving on. The new year came! YAY to 2012!! My husband turned 35, on Friday the 13th (of January). My husband had to work, so I decided that I was going to make a trek back to Pennsylvania (where I grew up) to go to my Grandparents 50th anniversary party (my Mom's parents). When we got to our destination, I found out that my Grandpa (Dad's father) had unexpectedly passed away. He was 89. It was one of the saddest days of my life! So, now, I was not only in PA for a celebration of 50 years spent together, I was also there for the loss of my Grandpa. It was a hard day! My Pap (as we all referred to him) will forever be in our hearts. RIP Grant R. Derrick.

After coming home from Pennsylvania, I had less than one week to get ready for Charly's 7th birthday! We had a cupcake themed party (since she's just so sweet!), so we decided to have the girls decorate their own aprons! We held the party at Michael's craft store, in their Party Room! It was so much fun watching the girls! They had an absolute blast!! I can't believe my 1st baby is now 7 years old! Where have the last 6 years gone!?!?! Happy Birthday, Charly Reanna! January 26th!

My Charly!

The decorations!

 We are almost caught up!! Two weeks later was my brother in law's birthday (Feb. 6th)! We celebrated by going to Cracker Barrel for dinner. YUM! Happy Birthday, Daniel!! Two weeks after that, brings us to last night (Feb. 18th). We had a dinner to celebrate my Mom's 50th birthday! A great time was had by all. It was my Mom, and her 14 most favorite people. :) Glad to see I made the list...LOL! Anyhow, after dinner we all decided to go back to their house to continue the celebration. Little did my Mom know, my sister and I went over to their house earlier, when they were out, and decorated for a surprise party. :) My Dad ho-hummed, and had to make a stop, to give us a chance to all get to the house before them. :)We were all set up, and when they got there, ta-da...a party. :) She was so excited! It was a fabulous night!! Happy 50th birthday, Mama!

A picture wall, of my Mom through the years!

Her cake!

The centerpiece...candy from the 60s!

And, then, there's today! We were just recovering from partying. :) We did NOT drink, but I had two (Charly and Kenna) very wound up little girls, that didn't go to sleep until after midnight. So, they slept in until almost 1030. Daphne, too! She was obviously a sleepy girl too. Well, when she woke up, she did something fabulous. She rolled over!!! What a big girl! 15 weeks old, and she's on a mission to get moving! She's just like her big sisters...go go go! Boy, am I in some serious trouble when she gets moving!

Daphne <3

Alright...so we're current. :) Thanks for making it this far...and hopefully I don't slack off so much anymore. I'll see you all again, soon. :) Goodnight! Sleep tight!!