Merry Christmas!!!

From my family to yours- Have a very Merry Christmas!!!

all i want to do is watch a movie right now

i took a peek in her notebook and found this : )

1. the other day i got super mad and yelled at kaylee to clean the family room.

2. i know i shouldn't get so angry according to pinterest and other good mom blogger's because "kids are making memories".

3. but i love a clean house. it's hard to explain properly but if my space is clean and organized then i feel happy and clean and free.  plus, thats why she has the extra large bedroom.

4. friday was hard for me after hearing about the tragic event in connecticut. i broke down and cried. still get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

5. saturday, we took kaylee to the american girl doll store to use her gift card she got from mike's folks.

6. then we went to eat dinner at the yard house because we were all feeling a little woozy from lack of food in our bellies.

7. the restaurant was in a quaint little area that i need to go back and visit. since they had bowls on sale at anthropologie. i got a few more for my "collection."

8. went to the lady bug's christmas luncheon yesterday. the food was to die for and i got a pretty ornament this year. [compared to last year]

9. we're celebrating christmas tonight!

10. so tomorrow all i have to do is pack and clean house. [doing laundry at the moment]

the birthday party

1. I met up with the girls right after school on Friday and we all "walked" home. [the girls ran screaming!]

2. once inside, they all ran screaming up to kaylee's room. [it was awesome to have a house full of screaming kids!]

 3. we had an after school snack of baby goldfish, pretzels, teddy grahams and a fruit/veggie plates. [mike made fun of the fruit/veggie plates but the girls ate them]

4. while eating their after school snack, they also worked on an american girl doll picture frame kit. [michaels had them for 40% off]

5. they played games and each girl won a prize [large chocolate candy bars]

6. we had pizza for dinner. [one of the girls had to leave early so i wanted to make sure she got to eat dinner]

7. then we watched kaylee blow out her 8 candles on her donut cake and open her presents. 

 8. they ate donuts, cupcakes and popcorn while watching a disney movie. then continued playing with her gifts. 

 9.  and each girl got a goodie bag to take home. kaylee stenciled the star onto the pre-made bag and on the back we stamped : thanks for coming to my birthday party, love kaylee. i had the stamped made a few years ago from vista prints for only the cost of shipping.

in the goodie bags: notebook from pick your plum, a mechanical pencil, lipgloss/fingernail polish set, m+m's and a pack of sugar free bubble gum not in photo

 10. this was my kitchen and family room before the party.

*sigh* i wish it still looked this clean!

[friday] LOVE... BIRTHDAY GIRL EDITION

 funny video of the birthday girl showing us what her and her friends are going to do at her party today.

1. funny

2. smart

3. beautiful

4. loves to have fun

5. loves donuts and cinnabon rolls and olive garden and pizza but not with too much sauce, pepperoni or cheese

6. loves her brother [wants him to be home in time for her party but he's got finals]

7. sensitive

8. got mama's back vs daddy

9. creative

10. loves diary of a wimpy kid books [after meeting jane porter she came home to see when Jeff Kinney will be in the area]

11. loves and misses her friends from elkhart

12. dances like her mama [the 80's rule!]

13. sarcastic

14. loves to "cuggle", her word for snuggle and cuddle

15. loves to draw and color and make her books and signs.

16. still likes to play with her american girl doll, barbies and mrs. goodbe

17. she is hostess with the mostess when hosting a tea party

18. she can pretty much rock just about anything!

19. hula hoop extraordinaire

20. she is simply- AWESOME!

dentist and a vacation after my vacation

1. funny girl at the dentist office last friday. she was pretending she was going to bite their fingers if they started to hurt her.

2. i went to the dentist today. let me just say that its super important to keep going every 6 months for check-ups because it prevents bad things from happening.

3. i think i'm going to find a new dentist. i spent 2 hours at the office, didn't get my teeth cleaned even though that was the point of making the appointment.

4. yet they managed to find $800 worth of stuff that needs to be done? [before you assume i have real yuck mouth- they want to do a laser cleaning and a porcelain crown]

5. they also took my picture and i look horrible! double chin, red blotchy skin...yikes! i remember those days when i got compliments from complete strangers.

6. remember i did those health questionnaires for mike's work? well i got paid and bought a 32" magnovox hdtv for the guest bedroom with the money. now that's my kind of work- easy peasy.

7. tomorrow i get to spend the day cleaning and figuring out how to decorate for miss kaylee's party.

8. michaels craft store has their american girl doll crafts for 40% off so i bought picture frame kits for the girls to decorate. [i also got kaylee a few gifts from santa]

9. starting to feel the time crunch. kaylee's party, santa next friday, then pack for the cruise saturday, drive to new orleans for the night, leave on the cruise sunday, come back to drive 5 hours back home, celebrate new years eve, then ham's birthday.

10. i'm going to need a vacation after all this!

shopped till i dropped

1. a few weeks ago, we became costco members and bought a christmas tree. i wanted a real one but mike said this makes more financial sense and less mess.

2. mike also wanted a taller tree so we got ourselves a 9 footer. this was the tallest they had or we would of gone taller.

3. i made ham put on one ornament before he returned to school. once he comes home, i'll have him finish decorating.

4. i shopped till i dropped again today. the outlets were having major sales "today only" or so they say.

5. i got my mil a coach purse that was like 77% off and my mom a vest from her favorite store- coldwater creek.

6. i also got kaylee a pair of gap jeans, polka dot shorts and a new shirt all for 60% off sale prices!  [shorts + shirt are for the cruise. put a red belt with it = super cute outfit!]

7. i won't mention what i got myself but its all for the cruise. thats my story and i'm sticking to it!

8. caught parenthood tonight. man, i love that show so i don't know why i don't watch it on a weekly basis.

9. kaylee and i didn't make it to the other local bakery for our cupcake testing because i had to run to the grocery store.

10. but we did make it to "fivebucks" for a yummy peppermint hot chocolate with soy + whip.

over the weekend

my neighbors house- view from driveway

1. weekend was good. went to an early lunch on saturday where kaylee cried because she really, really wanted olive garden.

2. she had a friend come over later.

3. i went to see a movie by myself because i still don't have any friends. [saw the last of the twilight movies. the ending was a great surprise]

4. the dog marked his territory on the new coffee table.

5. went birthday/christmas shopping all day today.

6. going to the outlets tomorrow to do more christmas shopping.

7. love that i can sneak a few things for me : )

8. did the holiday light judging with the lady bugs tonight.

9. got to judge my area and my neighbor won. we tried to pick a different house but he has the house and yard completely decorated and its not cheesy.

10. and to make things more fun around here- i got called a hormonal bitch and defriended on facebook because i made a comment about johnny manziel being awesome. [he won the heisman trophy for those that don't know]

[friday] LOVE... Saturday edition

via pinterest

1. these two colors together. 

2. actually getting the rooms ready to paint. spackling done.

3. finding a new home decor store that has unique pieces. [the store just opened]

4. going back to that new home decor store and buying a piece for the front entry and a coffee table.

5. the pioneer woman's awesome recipes.

6. getting a call yesterday that nissan forgot to give us yet another rebate so come and pick up a check!

7. our bad luck with cars just might be over. knock on wood.

8. going into a restaurant and feeling like i'm on vacation.

9. neighbors taking the time to decorate their yards with christmas lights. 

10. the kids agreeing that i should email/text santa to see if he can come early this year since we're going to be on a cruise christmas day.

the battle of local bakery cupcakes

1. after school kaylee was hungry, tired and had a headache. [this seems to be  happening more often]

2. the only time she buys school lunch is when they serve breakfast. this is the second time they "ran" out of food by 11:30AM so all she got to eat was 1 pancake. no sausages or anything else. hmmm....

3. kaylee's a pretty good lunch eater. i usually pack her a main dish, chips/crackers, fruit or a veggie and a dessert.

4. so an after school cupcake from a local bakery was in order. plus, we got brownies to eat later- yum!

5. i think we need to do this more often. it can get pretty boring staying home every day after school.

6. we planned on checking out another local bakery on monday to see who has the better cupcakes for her birthday party.

7. but we decided to do her traditional donut "cake" even though they wont be krispy kreme donuts. [we'll still check out the other bakery on monday]

8. i made the pioneer woman's bowtie chicken alfredo for dinner tonight.

9. it was yummy though i decided to double the sauce a little late and it tasted more like a wine sauce. [yay! a new recipe to go into rotation]

10. on a totally different topic- i joined a book club. of course they're last meeting for the year is on sunday.

[wsww] and some other crazy stuff

i do this wsww [what she wore wednesday] instead of an wiww [what i wore wednesday] because she dresses much cuter. like right now for example- i am in running pants, they're clean! and mike's old sweatshirt.

1. she wore this outfit last friday. i want her to wear those cowgirl boots more often before she out grows them.

2. she lost another tooth this morning. the last one she lost back in july still hasn't grown in yet. thank goodness she has a dentist appointment on friday.

3. i'm trying to stay in today hence the sweatpants and sweatshirt but its hard knowing that bath and body works is having a buy 3 get 3 sale right now. [part christmas presents for some stinky nieces and kaylee]

4. i plan on doing my running around tomorrow. 

5. remember when i posted about my love for this c + b dinnerware set? well, they're doing a $5000 sweepstakes. you betcha i've been signing up daily for that! i WANT those dishes!

6. and so much for not spending money today- jcrewfactory is having 40% off sale prices which ends tonight. thinking outfits for the cruise!

7. funny story: monday we went to pf changs for dinner. on the way out to the car, i gave peanut a hug and we both took a step. well i must of tripped over her foot because her shoe came off and i went flying, like a bird!  i was half way bent over and my arms were flapping trying to regain my balance while yelling... ooo-ooo-ooo!

8. i regained my balance but not very gracefully. glad i didn't fall, that would of been a total face plant!

9. not to sound ungrateful but while cleaning the house yesterday, i wish we bought a newer one. 

10. every thing's so outdated- what was i thinking we could do the work around here?! we are not determined diy-ers!

drama queen and reminiscing

1. last thursday, when i went to pick her up after school, she was crying.

2. i immediately thought someone must of said or done something mean to her.

3. but she got dirt and sand kicked in her eye instead, by accident, i hope.

4. while i know her eye was hurting her, she ended up taking a much needed nap, she can be such a drama queen.

5. she would hardly let me check her eye and we had to put a frozen ketchup packet on it thanks to pinterest. [ketchup packets form better to the body. good thing i have a ziplock bag full of them in the freezer]

6. but once her brother got home, all of sudden her eye felt better and she was back to herself- GOOFY!

7. i had a great run this morning. i ran faster and further and while the scale is not giving me any slack, i'm starting to feel a little slimmer]

8. on my cool down walk, i got a little sad. i did a little reminiscing about my swimming days and i'm SOOO disappointed that i didn't break my high school butterfly record or make it to state in an individual event.

9. not only did i let myself down but my coaches as well.

10. to leave this post on a positive note- i did break the school record in the 200 individual medley and we did make it to state in the 400 freestyle relay. i swam anchor, kinda like another famous swimmer.

Meeting Jane Porter

1. we did a little outfit shopping for kaylee since i felt her dresses were too summerish even though it was 80 degrees outside.

2. so i whipped her one from abercrombie kids. [her outfit: skirt, top, tank, tote, my outfit: dress from local boutique]

3. once kaylee and i got to the hotel, i kinda looked around to see if there were any signs posted as to where to go when i heard MY name being called out.

4. it was no other than jane, herself! talk about geek-ing out! [kaylee even said "she knows your name?"]

5. jane gave me the biggest hug! and i felt like we've been friends for like ever.

6. i even got to meet her hunky, surfer husband- ty gurney!

7. i've been to his shop in hawaii a few times and the closest i've gotten to jane was while at the shop and the dude working there said he just got off the phone with jane.

8. we drank champagne and i picked a green passion tea- delish! and we got to eat an assortment of little sandwiches and desserts.  my favorite sandwich was the cream cheese and walnut. i loved all the desserts : )

9. one of our servers was telling us that the teapots were from the hotel owner's personal collection. then he came back and told us he just broke one. hope he doesn't get fired!

10. it was a small group but i liked it this way. we all got a chance to talk and to ask jane questions. jane and i have tons in common.

11. jane is just so awesome to her readers. she gave us a signed copy of her new book The Good Woman and an awesome swag bag!

12. of course, me being lame, just had her make it out to me instead of putting something funny in it like " to my favorite stalker fan. love, jane"

13. and i always do this. i took my lumix instead of my nikon and my photo with jane turned out super blurry.

14. i only sweated a few times so i did good.

15. i seriously did not want the tea party to end! [still on a little high from it] 

[friday] LOVE

1. tea parties that include personalized, homemade invitations and a dog.

2. melissa winning dancing with the stars on tuesday.

3. kaylee still believing in santa claus.  [which brought back a funny memory about ham that i will post about later]

4. sweet tea being an option at most restaurants.

5. my hair is almost at its longest which was about 10 years ago.

6. peppermint covered pretzels

7. duck dynasty. [i look to see if the show is on every night now]

8. a super clean house! [proud of myself for not taking a nap. even clean + organized the fridge and utility closet]

9. listening to christmas music [makes house cleaning a little more enjoyable]

10. EEEEKKKK!  I GET TO MEET JANE PORTER TOMORROW!

tired thursday

my cute snowman- front entry

 costco but real wreath w/pretty bow but afraid it will get stolen

 peanut showing my newly placed pretty bows

close up of pretty christmas bow

added lights- getting crazy with my christmas decorating mojo

added lights to my snowman- where i got shocked!

1.  i'm dead ass tired this morning. i got 4 hours of sleep. stayed up till midnight watching duck dynasty.

2. then i woke up around 4 and couldn't fall back to sleep.

3. today suppose to be cleaning day, we'll see how far i get. 

4. i almost got me kaylee this cute vera bradley tote bag while at picket fences yesterday. i couldn't decide between little mandy and mandy.

5. i want it to carry the ipad/other things to do, drinks/treats and sweatshirts for when we go to places so we have them at all times.

6. then i thought, i have enough bags. then again, what's one more bag right?

7. boy do i suck at coming up with names and passwords. this is probably the 100th time i've forgotten my apple password. [i don't use it often]

8. i also decided that navy and orange is my favorite color combination and want to  do my bedroom or the family room in those colors. it will go somewhere!

9. i've also changed ollies name to M.A.D.  most annoying dog [ever!]

10. i wrote a funny comment on a blog giveaway post. said i was 90% done with christmas shopping but 100% poorer.  ok, not all that funny but its so true!

[wsww] and drooling over some dinnerware

1. she wore this outfit one day before thanksgiving break. she's getting so big so fast.

2. we're placing bets on when she will be taller than me. [some say in 3 years]

3. today i went to marshalls to get a purse but ended up with a few sweaters and a couple of jars for snacks and such only to put them back. the line was 20 people deep. 20 people = very slow moving line!

4. then i made my way to one of my favorite stores- picket fences. the whole store was like christmas. i could of bought almost everything in there.

5. instead i splurged and had them make me 2 christmas bows for my costco but real wreaths. then i started to worry that people would steal them so now they're on my fireplace.

6. i also got an angel ornament for my lady bug's ornament exchange that i might accidently take back. [evil smirk]

7. i'm pretty stoked at the moment, getting my creative decor mojo back. [i just got electrocuted because i dumped my scentsy wax on the lights.

8. long story short, i've been watching health video's for our medical insurance, mandatory via mike's work. if we get 1000 points each before dec. 1, we get a $100 gift card each.

9. i was hoping they would have either visa gc or crate and barrel so i could use it towards this dinnerware set that i'm actually dying over. of course they offer neither.

10. and of course i can't just have the 20 piece setting, i need enough for 12 people for that one day SO i'm selling my children to the highest bidder!! [kidding]

time got away from me

thanksgiving treats- owl cupcakes

1. the day before thanksgiving, i went out and had a much needed mom's day. bought a few tops from anthropologie, mulling spices from william sonoma and my favorite smelly stuff from l'occitane. [they also carry my favorite face stuff]

2. that evening, kaylee and i went to baking. banana bread, pecan-toffee mini pies and owl cupcakes.  

3. i also made sweet mama's punch and green bean casserole for our thanksgiving feast at the neighbor's [awesome] house.

4. the bad part about not cooking thanksgiving, no left overs! we did swap some desserts though.

5. saturday mike, ham and i watched the aggies beat missouri. how awesome would it be that freshman, johnny football, wins the heisman?

6. yesterday, mike took the day off so we would be able to pick up ham's car on time. [two of his windows stopped working]

7. have i mentioned that we've spent around $11,000 in the PAST YEAR on car repairs? car repairs! 

8. but i no longer need to worry about car repairs, knock on wood.

9. we are slowly becoming texans- we are now members of costco.  

10. kaylee's feelings got hurt yesterday because another girl didn't want to play with her and some other girls at recess for some unknown reason. sweet kaylee, she just wants to be friends with everyone!

i still know nothing

concrete ship

1. i took this photo while in galveston with the lady bugs. if you want a little history lesson, click here.  

2. i love the contrasting colors and i do believe someone tried to live on it. [a homeless person]

3. this morning was spent cleaning the downstairs of the house. i want it clean before putting up christmas decorations.

4. even kaylee's ready to decorate.

5. friday mike and i got into a fight because he was being mike.

6. saturday he went to the aggies game with some co-workers then met up with ham to take him to dinner. 

7. while he was doing that, kaylee and i went shopping. i found out that i still know nothing and she still knows everything!

8. yesterday i invited my annoying husband and know- it -all child to go shopping with me.

9. on the way to the woodlands, kaylee asked if we could get some bbq. her quote "i want something with gravy on it. i want to throw down some gravy."

10. we found some good deals at orvis, my dad's favorite store. we got him a vest and  ended up getting mike a weekender bag. i told him his gym bag looks tacky when he goes off shore or on small business trips. he is the boss ya know.

[friday] LOVE...

1. dessert cart from last saturday. i tried to take it home.

2. people who take the time to make and sell on etsy.  just bought a birthday bunting banner for birthday decorations. [it can go in kaylee's room afterwards]

3. finally getting some ideas around for her birthday party.

4. getting a "fivebucks" peppermint hot chocolate and remembering when a dear friend brought me one while we were waiting in line to pick up our kids at daycare.

5. feeling crafty again. going to try and make this found via pinterest.

6. mike doing the dishes for the past 2 nights.

7. mike making dinner last night because i couldn't make lasagna because he had used my last jar of spaghetti sauce.

8. actually getting some real samples in my birchbox this month!

9. Kaylee's school room mom's coming up with the idea of everyone donating at least $5 to get the teacher a gift card for christmas instead of unwanted junk.

10. get to sleep in for the next 9 days! kaylee gets a whole week off for thanksgiving break.

i took a break?

from saturday night

1. guys mike works with. the dude in the plaid shirt is aka "the crazy canadian" via kaylee. he's quite funny when drunk. [the blonde is the other dudes new wife]

2. i've been either really busy this week or super lazy. i would try to blog then find myself doing something else so nothing got posted.

3. monday kaylee got pushed into a mud puddle so i had to take her some fresh clothes.

4. tuesday i had an eye doctor appointment and found that my allergy bumps are back. now i'm doing allergy + steriod drops again. i get to wear my dorky glasses for a week- yippee!

5. after my appointment, i went and got my hair cut since she didn't have time on monday. she did a good job but its not what i asked for but i'm giving her a break since she's still training.

6. wednesday i had lady bug's meeting. got to eat, listen to what's coming up and saw a demo on table decorating with plants/flowers you already have at home.

7. this morning, i took mike the dessert i made last night because he forgot it even though his wallet and keys were right next to it. i swear if his head wasn't attached...

8. i've been feeling super unorganized lately. 

9. i told mike its not fair. all he has to worry about is himself. 

10. while i have a birthday party to plan for, birthday and christmas shopping to do  and get everything ready for the cruise.

[friday] LOVE... monday edition

proof that some leaves do change color in texas

1. it's november and its "fall" in texas [high of 69 today]

2. ham coming home for the weekend because we asked him to babysit his sister saturday night. he only charged us $2300 an hour.

3. kaylee acting all disappointed when she heard ham was babysitting then getting all excited because he lets her eat whatever she wants!

4. The aggies whooping the #1 team saturday. we were ahead the entire game- BAA BAM! [poor ham, he missed some great partying at college station i'm sure]

5. mike's work giving us free tickets to the rockets basketball game saturday night. we got to sit in the company suite [lots of food + beverages] and a driver to take us to and from the game.

6. being able to run a full 3 miles and i'm still alive!

7. finding a new favorite pair of jeans on sale.

8. dove milk chocolate ice cream bars.

9. having a great neighbor who is willing to watch ollie while we are on our christmas cruise.

10. finally getting organized with my birthday and christmas gifts list for the kids. [i figure out what i'm going to buy then split them to birthday or christmas]

wsww + other important stuff

theme day at school [tutus + ties]

1. my what she wore wednesday has gotten away from me.

2. my run this morning was poo-poo.

3. kaylee had the day off yesterday because of parent/teacher conference so we slept in- till 8am!

4. then i started cleaning [some of] the house. a few bathrooms, my tub! and swept [some] floors.

5. after lunch we went to the mall to get mike some cologne even though we're on a spending freeze. [he wants to make sure he doesn't smell at work since he has to speak in front of people more often now]

6. and our iron broke so i have to get a new one today.

7. my lady bug's club is having a workshop today. we're making fake flower arrangements for a retirement home.

8. kaylee's been begging me to adopt. [or to have another baby] she doesn't care if its a boy, girl, baby or 8 years old. she even googled adoption on the ipad!

9. it breaks my heart to tell we can't adopt especially since there's soooo many kids who needs a home. why does it have to be so darn expensive?

10. and she was a little interested in the election last night till the princess protection program came on. you know, the important stuff.

i want to show you something

 what kaylee's room looked like.

 another grotesque view

 after!

 view from her bed

her sink [jack and jill bathroom]

1. sunday, while mike was watching football, i had kaylee start cleaning her room.

2. i had most of it in piles by toys. ie: barbies, american girl doll stuff, dress- up, arts + crafts, etc...

3. of course she still shed tears and sounded/looked all pitiful.

4. at the rate she was going, it would of taken her ALL day and night so i started to dictate. she did the work so she would know exactly where things go.

5.  i threatened that any toy left out will be confiscated till further notice.

6. she has the biggest bedroom in the house. i even think its as big as the master. 

7. ham wasn't too pleased she got the bigger room till i pointed out he basically has an apartment. i promise photos of the house coming soon, said AGAIN a year and 3 months later.

8. after the football game, we decided to check out traders village- a flea market type place.

9. anything you could possibly want, someone was selling it! socks, bras, plants, watches, maxi pads, lawn mowers- all there!  they even had a few bars which i thought was a great idea.

10. on the way out, we didn't make the light and good thing mike decided not to run it.  a second later a car got hit in the back- someone's bumper fell off and the car that hit the other car, drive off! [i told mike that could of been us!] 

mike's company picnic

 showing everyone how its done

 shelton + part of his family [they're the ones from indiana]

 getting her face painted

 my beautiful butterfly

 getting her "portrait" done

the fun portrait

1. we had a great time saturday. [it got us out of the house!]

2. after checking in and getting our food, it started to down pour. it cleared up once we finished eating. [the food was delish!]

3. they had a "hamster ball" but kaylee wouldn't go inside and roll in it. she wanted her face painted instead.

4. i sent ham a photo of her face painting and he replied back, "i knew i should of gone to the picnic, i want my face painted too."  i'm sure there was no sarcasm in that text.

5. they had all sorts of activities for the kids: hamster ball, laser tag, petting zoo, a bull ride, the swing ride, tattoo artists and face painters.

6. they also had activities for the big kids: volleyball, soccer, laser tag, basket ball and minute-to-win-it games that included prizes.

7. there was also more snacks: snow cones, popcorn, beer, wine and water/pop stations.

8. after walking around a bit, we hit the caricatures and ended up waiting for over an hour. there were only 4 families in front of us but they wanted the WHOLE family done.

9. once it was our turn, the artist said he would include me since he had some time. i declined and had given my ticket to a kid babysitting his younger sister. so he did some extra's on kaylee's portrait.

10. and now i have one of kaylee and ham.

[friday] love

her brother stamped her forehead

1. knowing that i'm not the only one to eat a dozen oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in a 24 hour time span right? right? [in my defense, they were mini size.]

2. finding a cute christmas plate w/ mug to leave cookies + milk for santa.

3. rock'n to some tunes, belting incorrect lyrics while pinteresting.

4. that kaylee doesn't know better and thinks i'm a good singer.

5. that i might be going to the pioneer woman's book signing today. 

6. that mike's work is hosting a company picnic tomorrow. i heard there's going to be rides, games and prizes plus my favorite-lots and lots of food.

7. that my electric bill went down 50% from last month.

8. getting a $75 rebate gift card. going to buy some much needed bedroom table lamps. 

9. love that my house smells like creme brulee. [my favorite store had the wax melts and i put them in my scentsy warmers]

10. that potbelly's whats for lunch for kaylee and i today.

halloween 2012

 my little 80's/Rocker chick

 with our neighbor friend 

 fiona's scary ghost

fiona and ollie dressed as bride and groom

1. i made chili and cornbread for dinner but of course kaylee wasn't hungry after her healthy snack of chips.

2. fiona came over and we tried to get photos of them but they wouldn't behave. or one would but the other wouldn't vice versa.

3. once kaylee got home from school, she wanted to get into her costume right away.

4. any costume that has to do with pretty hair and make-up is a total win.

5. at first i felt like the halloween grinch with a small, cold heart having to go out trick or treating. but after a few houses the heart started to grow warmer and bigger...

6. and in between being done trick or treating and going over to the neighbor's for some birthday cake, i got to pass out candy. nothing makes me happier than seeing happy kids.

7. of course, once we got home, kaylee was hungry. i got to be mean mom and made her eat chili instead of candy. [she didn't complain]

8. after i tucked kaylee into bed and while i was closing down the house, a warm fuzzy feeling came over me. it was nice seeing the neighborhood having fun.

9. and that put me in the christmas spirit. 

10. so is it too early to put up christmas decorations? kidding. sort of.

Another Fall Favorites Swap

I recently did a Fall Favorites Swap hosted by The Chronicles of Chaos and The K. O Jewelry.  I got teamed up with the awesome Nikki over The Crafty Side of Sarcasm. Boy was I surprised when I got my goodies! I was expecting the typical scarf, smelly stuff and some chocolates...instead she sent me a beautiful sweater from Old Navy, a beautiful scarf that goes with everything and some warm and cozy gloves!  As Kaylee would say " she totally Rocked it!".  Thanks SOOO much Nikki!

 I had a great time shopping for Nikki even though I got her the typical stuff: scarf from Forever 21, a little bit of Texas nail polish, her favorite spray since she's allergic to everything and some homemade hair ties.

I wrapped them in cute fall owl tissue paper and of course, I had to send a note pad for my love of list making.  The red blob on the card is one of those wax seals with the letter K on it that I've had since my college days [*yikes* just did the math of how long ago that was!] I still love using it though.

happy halloween

my goofy kids

1. this photo might not be a good representation but every time ham comes home, he looks more and more handsome. 

2. i wasted a good sports bra day this morning. of course i had plans to run the full 2 miles but my legs felt like lead so i had to cut it short.

3. i went to target to grab stuff to make chili + corn bread and a blue jean skirt for kaylee's last minute halloween costume.

4. and since method was on sale and i happen to have a dollar off coupon, i went ahead and picked up a bottle only to have more than half spill on kaylee's skirt and in armando.

5. at least armando will smell good and the floor mat will already have soap on it once it comes time to wash it.

6. i feel a little guilty that i'm just not that into halloween. maybe some spiked hot apple cider would help?

7. on facebook, a high school acquaintance posted a photo of herself wearing a halloween costume with half her ta-ta's hanging out. i wanted to ask her if that was her 12 year old daughter's costume?

8. once again, mike is out of town for halloween. i think he's missed 6 out of 8 of kaylee's halloweening.

9. first kaylee was going to be a hula girl, then a 50's girl even though she was one before. [she only got to wear for about 15 minutes because that was the halloween she got sick.]

10. but with all the neon clothes thats back in style, why not an 80's girl? [an era after my own heart]

getting back at my neighbor for something he didn't do

my neighbors house

1. so friday there was an opportunity for me to get back at my neighbor for sticking that longhorn car magnet on armando.

2. but about 30 minutes later, mike and i returned from eating lunch with kaylee and it was already taken down.

3. sunday i see mr. longhorn mowing his lawn and decided to say something. he claims he never saw it! that his wife must of taken it down and that he never put the car magnet on armando!

4. mike says he's pulling my leg and will get me back when i least expect it. i hope so because i want my $10 t-shirt back.

5. some exciting news- there could be a christmas cruise in our future.

6. talk about an incentive to keep running even if it is a freezing 40 degrees out. [mike says i've officially become a texan]

7. after school we're going shopping because miss skinny minnie, who insists on getting taller even though i tell her to stop, needs some blue jeans. all but 2 pairs are size 5/6. 

8. one of my dearest girlfriend's has family and friends on the east coast. praying they are all safe from hurricane sandy!

9. while this is so minor in comparison, friday our electricity went out for about 10 minutes. good thing we had our iphones because i didn't even have batteries for our flashlights.

10. it made me realize that i need to get an emergency kit made. our neighbors told us that with hurricane ike they lost power for at least a week and a half and we're about 75 miles north from where it actually hit.

the big chill

 hanging out together on their ipads

sad ollie 

1. ham came home again for the weekend since there were no home football games. 

2. while he was home, we played south park uno- kaylee won, they went hot tubbing and we ate at the cheesecake factory. [besides a few homemade meals, of course]

3. i also made him some cannoli's since he's a big fan. they were super good and easy but next time i'm making them regular size.

4. i love finding them two hanging out even if they aren't talking. [fyi- kaylee is on the family ipad, she does not have one of her own]

5. sunday evening, we all went outside to give ham our hugs and i caught ollie peeking through the window.

6. ham said he thinks ollie's sad he's leaving. ollie would try and take stuff out of his suitcase while he was packing. 

7. after my run and smoothie this morning, i took a long, hot shower. i can't seem to get warm. i'm now drinking chai tea and turned on the heat. [the house says its 64 degrees!]

8. i need to get the floors swept and mopped. its been forever since the last mopping.

9. but i would rather go shopping.

10. shhh! did you hear that?...thats target calling my name!