Christmas music and shopping!

oddly our local radio stations are blasting the holiday music.  don't get me wrong, i LOVE my holiday music but not at the beginning of November.  not sure why they are doing it so early this year.  i shouldn't complain as it was nice hearing it in the stores i shopped today to get a start on my Christmas shopping.

i finally made it into this GREAT store today for the first time and i'm in LOVE!  i found several great Christmas gives at fabulous prices.  if you have a Gordman's near you...please pay them a visit!

i also managed to get a start on the stocking stuffers.  stocking stuffers for my kiddos have always been important to me.  every year i've made it a challenge to get the most unique and fun trinkets and special things to fill each stocking.  they rarely get candy but sometimes there is a special treat that they favor in there.  i just have a truly good time finding specific things for each of them.

well, i'm beat...it was a busy day shopping today and i'm ready to hit the hay and relax.

Wii themed birthday party

Lake turned 11 a week ago and his party was slightly delayed due to everyone being sick in the house.  at any rate his party day came and went without a hitch this past weekend.

it started off with guests arriving and getting their mii badges to wear during the party

the wii had a slideshow of photos going of Lake through out his 11 years.  everyone enjoyed the cute baby photos to those nekkid ones and then on to his accomplishments and school functions.

the rooms were filled with blue colored decor such as; blue light bulbs, blue mylar balloons, blue cups, goodiebags, etc...

speaking of goodie bags

i found some wii controllers that were candy dispensers, cute medal awards that go around your kneck, gold covered chocolate coins and blue neon glow sticks.  they also got waterbottles with labels of the birthday boys mii on it (didn't do well in the photo department).

i made a quick attempt at a wii controller cake but still wished i would have had close access to a bakery supply shope for better writing tools.  i did also have a cupcake stand of blue sprinkled cupcakes to go along with the party.

he doesn't look too thrilled here but he told me many times that he loved his party.

Lake and his friends and some cousins had fun playing wii games and snacking on fun foods.

other fun decorations where 8x10" sized mii images that were hung around the rooms of all the family and guests.  hand made banners weren't the best but done up to have different fun phrases for competing. 

 

everyone raved about the theme and had a great time visiting, playing games and snacking.  as for me there are more things i would have liked to have done but oh-well. lol

  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  

Happy Halloween!

just a quick entry sharing a pic of my two treaters from last night.  our treating was a day early in my town.  besides the rain, wind and lack of interest from my boys it wasn't all that bad. ha.

they got their share of candy and had fun visiting family and friends houses.  my little guy was a "in-ja" (ninja) and my NOW 11 yr old wanted to be a barbarian.  i enjoy every year making something out of much of nothing.  i don't think this was my best work as lingering colds kept us from getting a good head start on making costumes this year but it didn't turn out too bad.  i get satisfaction when someone guesses right off what he is and that happened at about our third stop at treating.  Lake was a real sport going to the Salvation Army store to hunt downt he perfect clothing pieces to transform into his costume.  fun times, good memories. 

hope your halloween is memorable.  be back tomorrow to share some birthday party pics of Lake's 11th birthday Wii themed party.

 

pumpkins....trains....fall....

love it.  fall that is. 

after a LONG week of being sick it was so nice getting out and taking in some fresh air.  sure we still have a bit of a cough but we put that behind us as we were happy to be doing something fun.  i ran across a website where they had a 'pumpkin train' at a local farm.

i was bummed to realize i didn't have the good batteries for my camera so i was very limited on the photos as the camera kept dying. *cry*  i did manage a couple for my scrapbook so i'm good for now.  as for the kiddos that keep swiping my rechargables for gaming controllers...that's another story. grr.

 

quick update for now...

life is just busy right now.  with colds/flu traveling around a BIG circle in our family i haven't had much time for anything else.  halloween is around the corner and i have YET to get a final decision on the kiddos costumes. sigh.  no worries as i've pulled them outta my *uugghhmmm* rear at the last minute before. lol

i'm doing some preping for my middle kiddo (Lake)'s 11th birthday that is coming up this weekend.  we've decided on a wii themed party so i am excited to add all the fun touches.  i can't help but have Christmas in the back of my head these days.  parents are starting to call me and request gift list ideas and it's putting the pressure on me.  they all know i will NEVER give them a list for myself but i do try to help them with my kiddos.  i am so proud that when i started asking my kiddos for ideas for the grandparents they were ungreedy and only made general suggestions but reassured me they didn't really need anything. sigh =]

i'm getting into the creative groove these days but still have trouble scrapping.  i think because i have lost touch with the latest things going on in the scrap community that it's made me a little 'gun shy' but i will come around.  i think a quick trip to Michael's or my lss will do the trick.

if you haven't seen me around you can find me on facebook, twitter or through email.  i'm currently working on a refurbishing blog and hope to share very soon. it's a fun hobby the hubby and i have been enjoying this year.  it's actually helped us financially along this 8 month PLUS layoff we endured.  no worries, it has ended over a month ago and we are well on our way to being stable again...my that feels good! =]

be back soon...

Fall Back into Scrapping Crop at Scrapperie!

*Come join us this weekend, September 18-20, for a fun little weekend crop! We'll have challenges, games and mini contests galore- so many things you'll be scrapping in no time and never wanting to stop! (And you'll have until Tuesday, September 22nd to get your challenges done, so there is plenty of time to hang out with all of us on the boards, play games and mini contests AND get all your scrapping done!) *

 

Come on over to Scrapperie and bust out some mojo while getting in on some fun prizes!  Would love to see you there and be sure to say 'hi'.  There is also a fun post count contest going on...jump in! :)

first day of school has come and gone...

my kiddos are off to a great start.  my goal this year is to be more prompt and scheduled with school happenings.  i must admit that in the past the homework times have so varied and good breakfasts haven't been inforced.  not that my kiddos haven't always had meal options but i just haven't always been health conscious like i should have.  i've always encouraged my kiddos and praised them but this year i am striving to be more structured and untop of things more.  wish us luck. lol

Sydnee is pushing 14!!!!  she has started 8th grade which is the highest level in the middle school.  we didn't do much with her visit to the school before hand as she has the school pretty much memorized.  she's going to be exeriencing some mixed media art classes and also a work shop style class where she will learn some woodworking skills (i told Josh that she can help him in the garage after that, ha).

Lake will be 11 come end of October.  he still loves to play football out on the recesses with his buddies just like for the last few years.  like Syd, he is at the top of the grades in his school.  i can't believe he is in 5th grade.  hopefully the girls won't bother him too much this year as they do every year (wishful thinking).  Seriously, i think every year after 1st grade i have had to speak to his teacher on his behalf about the girls that sit around him and how they both his learning experience.  don't get me wrong, he's had a crush on one for the last few years but he still isn't all "into" the girls yet.

i so wish them the best year yet!