Trimming the tree...

over & over & OVER again!

*side note* ...this is all new to me. It's the first time I've ever had this sort of trouble. Didn't know there was such a thing as only decorating the top half of the tree. I'll have to remember for next year... though it really really bugs me and I keep putting the ornaments back.

This is how it all goes down first thing in the morning at my house in the month of December:

Victim:

Culprit #1:

 

Culprit #2:



Culprit #3:



Finding my something pretty and sparkly... to pieces. The shame!

 

At least Aubri is trying to put them to good use and is collecting ornaments (which she refers to as apples) for grandmother. She is little red riding hood.

This cute boy is just being plain naughty! He first stole my colander from the kitchen, collects the ornaments, and proceeds to throw them one by one down the stairs. Good thing I got rid of my glass ornaments and bought the shatter proof ones instead.


Lets look at the evidence again...

NAUGHTY:


NICE:


*I guess we know who's getting a lump of coal for Christmas. ;)

a little reflection fun:


& I just like this picture mainly because the sun was shining that day. Thats always nice, even if your kids are destroying your tree. :)

Aubri's 4!

This past Sunday Aubriana turned 4!!! She was so excited about it! When she woke up I started singing Happy Birthday to her and she then responded, while touching her face... "AH! My mouth got big, my nose got big, my eyes got big and my hair is LONG like you mom! I'm big!" Funny how that happened overnight. You can't help but laugh at a 4 year old imagination.

Its so fun to see the changes they go thru each year. Especially since it seems like yesterday when they were just born and you were holding them as a tiny baby (Tim and I did some reminiscing on her birthday, can you tell?).

Anyway, we had a big family party the weekend before Thanksgiving and celebrated her cousin Sophi's (turned 2) and Soren (turned 1) and Aubri's together! It was awesome! We took the kids to the Bullwinkle Fun Center and let them play in the over crowded Kiddopolaus. Then we headed back to our house for pizza, cake and presents. Man, did those kids get presents! Their Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Dana and Uncle Jim were too generous! The kids had a blast and I only really have a couple of decent pictures from the whole thing. I wasn't in the photopp zone... between knocking my brother-in-law over with my hinny trying to get some pictures and almost burning a pizza... well, I tried.

I did get some memorable pics of Aubri on her actual birthday. I bought her a cardigan to go over a really pretty dress her Grandma Jones bought her. So she was so excited to be dressed up on her birthday for church. We have church at 1, so I didn't get started on decorating her cake until after 7 pm! I know... I'm horrible! The day just got away from me. Aubri had a good birthday though, so thats what matters, right?!

First... here is a little interview I had with her. I got the idea off of pinterest.  You can get the page to print HERE. I think I'll be doing this with her every year from now on... if I can remember. One of the things that was exciting was she wrote her own name, by herself, on her birthday! I was so impressed! She's been able to do it ever since. Her name on the paper is all her, without any help from the peanut gallery! Go Aubs!

*Keep in mind that I just wrote her answers the way she said them. Some are pretty darn funny.

Right before she blew out her candles, she made a wish out loud. It was pretty funny but I can't remember what it was.


The presents. We got her little people to go with the big doll house that her Aunt Lurlyn bought her. The two girls she is holding below she named:  Karshia and Kaboosa. LOL!


This is Timmy, jealous that he's not getting any presents to open. :(


Playing her new fishing game with dadda.


The next day, Aubri asked her dadda to play dolls with her. He got to be the Grandma and I think Aubri's playing with Kaboosa. :) I couldn't help snap a photo. Tim's man enough. No shame in being a good daddy.

Turkey Time...

Okay... in preparation for the big Thanksgiving day, I thought I would post a really cute idea people could use to take to the dinner. These will definitely impress family and friends!

*We actually have a friend (Andy) staying with us right now for work. His wife Sharon (left back in Colorado) put together a fun little package of Turkey cookies for us. She is so so nice. My kids loved them as much as I did. So, I asked for permission to post the idea (I think she got the idea from a friend, so not sure where it came from originally).  But the credit and the actual cookie goes to Sharon. Thanks Sharon!*

What you'll need:

• Keebler fudge stripe cookies (for the feathers)
• Chocolate cherry cordial (for the body)
• candy corn (for the face)
• Hershey kiss (for the feet)

Instructions:

Super easy... just melt the chocolate with a candle or a lighter on the candy where you need it to stick to the next piece. Don't need to melt too much, just enough to use the melted chocolate like glue. 

First you'll melt the bottom of the cherry cordial and stick it to the center of the fudge stripe. Then melt the tip of the cherry cordial a little to stick the candy corn on for the face. Then melt the top of the hershey kiss to stick to the bottom of the cordial for the feet.

Thats it! Hope you enjoy the idea! Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Patch

...I'm just barely posting the pics from our adventure to the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago. We all had fun searching for our perfect pumpkins and taking in the fall colors and the crisp air that comes with it. The kids had a blast. Whats not to like about roaming around in a muddy field?! Little Timmy's pants will prove how much fun it was.

Tim found Mosby's farm not too far from our house. In fact, you could probably see it from our house if we didn't have some trees in the way. They had a little maze for the kids to play in, a hay ride towed by a tractor in 6 inch mud, and a field full of pumkins! It was a great time!

My hubby is so amazing! He works nights and sleeps until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  He makes sure he makes time for me and the kids no matter how tired he is. Love you Hubs!

Ah... the pumpkin and ghost that Tim and I were stuck with most of the time there because thats all Timmy and Aubri wanted to do. Most of my pics contain them... sorry. But there are some good/funny ones to look at. ;)

This one speaks for itself. Daddy is so SCARY!

The girls turn...

Both kids! 

Tiger wanted me to fit my head in there with him. LOL! I can explain... I thought my bum was covered by the pumpkin... then I saw this picture. Seriously gave myself a good laugh.  

Last one... I promise. :)

So Aubriana left her sweater in the car and complained that she was cold. Somehow, being carried on her dads shoulders kept her warm? Go figure. She did this pose all on her own. 

My job was to tow Tiger around in the wheel barrel so he wouldn't keep heading for the huge mud puddles. 

The kids taking turns with Daddy on the hay ride.

*So funny! They had these big boxes of "baby" pumpkins that the kids wanted... well, Tiger wasn't going to settle for the one in the front, he had his eyes on the one near the back. So he kept falling in the box of pumpkins...

...there, he found the one! Hallelujah!  

Jack-O-Lantern

My kids love pancakes for breakfast.  I'm not very artistic like some people in my family, but I wanted to do something fun instead of the same ol' round pancakes. So in the spirit of Halloween coming up, I whipped up some Jack-O-Lantern pancakes using THIS cookie cutter set. My kids LOVED them!!! I think next time, I'll let them design their own Jack-O-Lantern. Something so simple, yet so fun and festive for the Holiday. 

* Quick tip:

If you like the quick and easy method of pancake mix but want it to taste more homemade, then I have a great tip to adding a little more zip to your mix... sour cream! It does wonders! My family's favorite mix for pancakes is Krusteaz. I follow the directions for the amount of pancakes I'm wanting to make, but instead of water, I use milk and add in a heaping spoonful of sour cream to the mix. The consistency of the pancake is more fluffy and helps the buttermilk flavor come out more.

*side note: sometimes the pancake batter is a little think so I add in about an extra Tbs of milk. You don't want your batter to be too thick or too thin.

** One more tip:
Use butter to coat your griddle before pouring on the pancake batter. It helps give the pancakes a nice golden color and add a yummy butter flavor to your pancakes.



Before you use the cookie cutter, make sure you spray the inside of it with cooking spray so the batter doesn't stick when you lift if off.  You want to make sure you push the batter to the edges of the cookie cutter, so you get a nice pumpkin shape. Make sure you don't put in too much batter or your pancake will be too thick.  Have fun with it and let your kids join in. They'll love it.

Favorite Word...

This boy is full of personality! I thought he had more of a timid personality, sometimes he does, but lately he has been full of toddlerness (I made that word up)!

About a couple of weeks ago, he thinks he discovered the meaning of "no" and has been using it ever since. You ask him any question, and without a doubt, he will say NO. Mainly I think he just enjoys using the word because he gets a response out of us, but he really does know what no means. It's really fun to watch them discover things and learn to communicate.

Here's a cute video of him and his favorite word...

*Isn't his voice so cute?!

Do It Yourself Play Dough!

If you want a really fun activity to do with your kiddo... who is bored and needs entertaining, well you're in luck! Make Play Dough! If your kid loves to help you in the kitchen like mine does, then this is perfect for bonding. 

You'll need basic products that you probably already have in your cupboards. What you'll need:

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1/4 cup salt

2 tsp cream of tarter

1 Tbls vegetable oil

food coloring

**Put all of the above ingredients into a medium sauce pan and stir until smooth. Then put your sauce pan on medium heat on your stove and keep stirring until it forms a big ball. Dump it out onto wax paper and let it cool for about 10 minutes then have your kids help you knead it until you have a nice smooth ball of play dough! 

Step by step pictures of the process below. Courtesy of my adorable helper. ** stirring it on the stove top is for the adults only.

Now let them play and be creative. My little man is still pretty young, so I got him started with a little play dough head. He loved it and enjoyed his play dough after that. He even gave it a good taste and almost threw up. Yikes! He learned his lesson and hasn't tried any since. ;)

Leave it to my daughters imagination to come up with her own little Whoville. Cute!