V & Co fabulous giveaway....

at Simply Modern Mom!!!!!!!!!!!

Go check it out!

I am so excited about this giveaway.

I have been drooling over the things in Vanessa's shop, Uptown Jane!

shiny and cheap

Have you seen the wreath that Eddie Ross made last year out of ornaments?

Mine's not as pretty, but it was cheap!

If it falls it will break, but it won't shatter.

I bought plastic ornaments on clearance last year, and also some at the Dollar Tree.

Martha trees

hopped over here and found a super link for some more cute trees

{image via marthastewart.com}

"enemies" and friends

"Bad Guy" Jacob and "Super" Dallin

Speaking of dirt...

ornament 2009

I avoided pushed back making more important Christmas things on my list and made our Christmas ornaments for this year.

{fun and easy instructions}

Spraypaint Pillows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One day, I will have a bigger garage (bigger than the small, packed, one car space that I have now) and I will say:

"Hey ladies!  I am going to do this SUPER cool project......

{image via: v and co tutorial: spraypaint pillows}

....so come on over and make them with me!"

and then we will laugh and paint and have so much fun hanging out in my garage!

okay?

okay.

growth chart

{growth chart}

woe is me....i have no cricut

so i bought the vinyl on etsy

KITCHEN UPDATE

a little antique white paint on the beadboard

a touch up or two or three

a couple things on the wall

THEN complete!

did you notice my COMPLETE color change?

i like to keep things exciting around here

i LOVE it

it's bright and calming

it makes me happy

really cool clouds

in the sky

in our back yard

makes me want to go back to my 5th grade science class

(Mrs. Steele?  Why are they wavey?)

Forget Ice Water

It seems as though Ellie fixed the water/ice dispenser to spit out what she really wants.

DIY show off giveaway

There is a super fun giveaway going on at The DIY Show Off.

Lots of prizes!

Head on over and sign up for the fun!

Leen the Graphics Queen Giveaway!

{image}

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yes, please!

These are beautiful and they are being given away at Leen the Graphics Queen!

The braches would look smashing above my bed and my kitchen is almost done being painted (yeah, yeah, still not done, life happens!) and it needs some new art!

Now, if you don't mind, I have an new Etsy shop to drool over look at.

caramel apples

butterfinger was the winner this year

yum!

and yum!

Prehistoric Trunk-or-treat 20009 bc

Archeologists in Winchester, Kentucky made a recent find during a rare, but important dig.  Below, you will find evidence that there was life on earth in the year 20009 bc.  Our findings:

Ooga booga ug ug ug.  Uuug buuug huug-a-lug!

OOOOOGGGGAAAA BOOOO!!!!

Uugaagaa bugaagaa ugla bugla!

Lug-a-bug a booog doo boog.

Gooba booba looba AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Gooba looba dooba gooba hhooooba!

Booobaalaa hoobagaoauuubahuahao!!!!!!!!!!

{groundbreaking evidence of the first ever vampiress}

{thanks for the costume idea steal Jordan}

dress for emmi

This pattern has become my go to.

I really hope my kids give Christmas presents to all girl cousins this year.  (hint, hint ;) ages 12 months (or younger) to 5 years)

Halloween Thrifting

Here are some (last minute) fun thrift store halloween decor ideas at Savers.

Our ward trunk-or-treat is this evening!

Our costumes?  Hint:  It will be dirty!

GLAMOROUS

Civil War

This last weekend, we headed over to the Civil War Fort site at Boonesboro for their reenactment. We were thinking that we would pull up and their would be a festival, with food and booths and tons of people. What really happened was this: We packed the kids in the stroller, only to take them out to get in the shuttle bus. We were shuttled a mile down the river road and dropped off at the beginning of a 1/2 mile up hill hike to the site.

The hike was beautiful, despite me wearing flip-flops and Paul maneuvering the stroller.

The cannons were so cool!

And so were the cool old soldiers.

They all lined up and got ready to shoot off the cannon.

Dallin was not too happy about that!

This guy is a carpetbagger. He was fun to talk to. He is wearing a beaver skin hat and told us about mad hatters and going crazy off of the glue that they used to make the hats with.

Ellie (Kristen) was able to make a rag doll, and has since ripped it apart! A picture of that would have been a pile of rags with stuffing spilling out of the head...I will spare you the inhumanity of it all.

Go Steelers

Last Sunday, Paul and I caught the last 1:27 of the Steelers/Bears game.

It was a nail biter ending and the Steelers lost.

Dallin's teacher is a huge Steelers fan, so on Monday, I instructed him to say, "Da Bears!" to her. He wouldn't, but Paul, who had taken him to school, told on me.

Tuesday, I threw his Tenessee Titans shirt on (his only football shirt) and sent him off to school. As I was waiting for the bus to come, I got a text message from his TA: Dallin looked so cute today, make sure you take a picture of him.

The bus finally came, and down the steps came Dallin, wearing a "different" shirt a la Mrs. B:

I could not stop laughing, which in turn, made Dallin mad.
Then, I made him stand still to take a picture, which made him even more mad!

He likes to get off the bus, crawl onto the couch, wrap up in his "big green blankie" and have chocolate milk and a snack. He would not have me upset his routine!

pillow case, bed sheets, men's shirt

Rain, rain, go away!

I need to finish spray painting some day!

I am actually loving all the rain that we are getting. It has made everything green again!

But it has put all my painting on hold. My door knobs might just have to wait a while to be finished!

With "the lair" all mine (insert evil laugh), I have found more time to sew Ellie some spring time clothing, just in time for Fall. I plan things well, don't I?

pillow case dress

{rosette tutorial}

bed sheet turned ruffle sleeve top
{Sparkle Power tutorial}

bed sheet turned "fall is coming!" dress

{the sweet dress}

.....and finally, for YOUR viewing pleasure.....I got this sweet shirt at Goodwill to use for refurb purposes, but before I cut it up, Paul wore it to a YW/YM etiquette dinner at church. We were the "bad example" couple and although he was a rude date with horrible table manners, he sure looked H-O-T!

{button shirt to toddler dress}

found

i found this cleaning out my purse today

this was at my cousins wedding back in april

my purse was really messy

it was gas

Once upon a time, there was a certain someone (who is not me, but will remain anonymous, unless she would like to out her or his own self). When she was younger, she was having (I mean she or he) really bad pain in her stomach. She was lying on the floor in our living room in the fetal position and her parents were about to take her to the ER department for fear that it was her appendix Then, she passed gas and felt much better. (Ironically, a couple years ago, her husband had that same pain and really got his appendix out on Christmas Eve and was in the hospital for five days..it was so sad!...and yes, I got permission to write this and she still loves me).

Fast forward, probably 15 years later and 1700 miles away, and this persons relative of the younger sister kind, was having horrible back pain. She got on google and searched for the ailment according to her symptoms: kidney stones! it read. This was not a horrible surprise, seeing as her sisters number one and two both get the nasty little things. Super, she thought, Paul and Dallin are on a camp out and I am here with kidney stones! Then, she passed gas and felt much better.

The End

Thanks for your concern!

this it what happens....

when I don't feel good and my back hurts (google says kidney stone, I say bad gas...you asked...no, you really didn't, sorry...but I don't get kidney stones, my sisters do...either way, I hope I feel better in the morning) and Paul is working 2nd shift tonight so I can't tell, I mean ask, him to pick it all up. My kids like to leave me little presents ALL OVER THE FLOOR!
So I plop them in front of their healthy and nutritious macaroni and cheese gourmet dinner and run upstairs to hide for 10 minutes and make this super-duper cheap and cute dish towel dress (2/$2.50 dish towels from Target). Ellie was more than happy to wear and model the "piddy dess" on top of her jammies, all while sporting her very first black eye!

I made a couple mods, like the 3 inch slits on both sides at the bottom, as well as gathering the sides to give it more body.
(As far as sizing goes, Ellie is in 24 month clothes and this is big on her, thus the gathering.)

I have to say, however, that this is my favorite part of the whole thing: the ONE DOLLAR pair of leggings, also from Target. They are a size 6-12 months, but for $1 I risked buying them to see if they would fit...and they do!

They had black and purple as well--go to Target right now!
Target also has their College09 merchandise on sale...plenty of bargains to be had, my frugal friends!

if only i had lamb

i ♥ gyros

ATTN: Helen--I did it!

After one year and two months, I FINALLY finished Dallin's blanket.

I am normally a chronic non-finisher of projects, but I was determined to finish this one that I started when my in-laws were last here in July '08. They are now due to visit (WOOT WOOT!) next month, so I had to finish before Helen and Stu and 'lil baby Brady came.

Based on an idea from my friend Sara to cut up old shirts, I got most of the top fabric from my best friend, Goodwill.
This blanket was sometimes a major pain in the b-u-t-t. And my little $60 sewing machine was a trooper quilting this puppy! At one point, I had to cut the whole blanket in half just to continue quilting. It was my first time sewing on bias binding, so that is a little wonky, but I am so pleased with the outcome. Yes, I am a dork and so very proud of it.

The best part: Dallin loves it and that makes me so happy.

I told Paul, though, that if Dallin didn't like it, I would sleep with it!