It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas!

Finally! The tree has been up almost a week now & until today, not an ornament in sight :( So, first order of business was a Christmas bunting I've been trying to make since LAST year!

I took chipboard letters and used my all time favorite medium (MOD PODGE) and glittered the heck out of 'em! The bunting flags are made with felt and holiday fabric (again used MOD PODGE) and felt ric rac! Ta-da! Easy peasy...in fact, not sure WHY I waited so long.

We also made a paper garland while chatting by the fire today - here my model wears it as the latest fashion statement:

Then we got the boxes of decorations from the basement and dressed up the tree.

Nolan even got to decorate his own "branch." After he left we had to make some minor adjustments so the tree wouldn't fall over from too many in one spot :)

While we worked on the tree, daddy-o worked on a yummy roast for dinner. When your windows look like this (fogged up) from all the activity, you know it's GOTTA be a good day!

(says "Hi Mom")

The final outcome....

and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, with hopes that St. Nick soon would be there.

Make or Bake (girl version)

What on earth could I make for two picky tween/teenage girls for Christmas that they'll actually like? Well, let's break it down a bit...what do they spend most of their time doing? Getting ready! They love hair things and blingy things so....

since feathers are the big thing right now, I've come up with some hair clips in the colors they wear the most. Then to coordinate with those, there's these little cuties:

Ribbon Rings! The possibilities are ENDLESS for these and I feel an addiction coming on strong. Watch out cuz I just may be sportin' some of these guys too :)

Also, Mira chose new bedding for her birthday a couple of months ago and there's a few re-decorating items on tap, these being two small ones.

There's a BIG hopeful score I'm trying to locate and it will be the coup d'etat if I can find it! So keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Make or Bake 2.5 vol. 1

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, I am really trying to get back to enjoying the holiday season. This year I have committed to slow down and savor every moment. Along with keeping it simple, we are going with a "make or bake" theme for our gift giving. While I do want to truly take in all the holidays have to offer, trying to come up with creative gift ideas for my family has been tough, even a bit stressful. So I will share with you here on the blog the things I come up with.

For Nolan I was trying to come up with games or educational type things he could play with. A 2.5 year old doesn't have a very long attention span but he does love to play games. So, first off I thought of a "memory" game. There's a few different approaches I could use, but I decided to go with something more tactile than fabric or paper. Here I used wooden discs! I stamped the fronts with his initial "N" and the back with pairs of jungle animals.

Supplies:



Then I was going to make ABC flash cards, but thought these would bigger and more fun!

(can't get this picture to rotate :( They are quilted with colorful fabric on the front, flannel on the back and batting sandwiched in between.

Hopefully he will love them and it will make his

a little brighter :)

In & Out

Let me hear ya shout....In & Out! FINALLY we have one here in Utah! In & Out burger was my favorite when we lived in California and now I can get my fix right at home :)

Can I just tell you that my car smelled AWESOME. It's been open for over a week now but the line has been (no exaggeration) 40-50 cars long so we haven't been yet! I ran an errand today and when I drove past (it was about 1:30 pm and we hadn't had any lunch...he he) there were only line 10 cars waiting so I JUMPED right in. About half way through I began to feel REALLY guilty that the kids weren't sharing in my delight! It was short lived though as I tore thru it in no time! Moms need treats too, RIGHT!?! Once everybody gets over the hype & the lines are realistic, then we will ALL go, but for now I'm thankful for my window of opportunity :)

Happy Birthday Travis!

That's actually supposed to read 39, for the third time, but believe it or not, they were out of THAT candle!

Happy birthday, my love. Hope your day brings peace, joy & happiness. Thanks for all you do for our little family :) We love you!

Top COP!

Sometimes it's not what you know, it's WHO you know. I always remember my dad saying that as I grew up. Today, it's true. One of Travis' best friends is a Salt Lake City Police officer. Saying that Nolan loves "cops" is a major understatement! He likes to play the "cop" (funny how he calls them cops not police officers) and "frow" bad guys in jail.


So, he brought over the police car and showed Nolan everything. He got to play with handcuffs, talk over the loud speaker, run the siren & the lights!

Then he gave out crayons & colorbooks, stickers and Jr. Police badges. Phew! What an awesome experience! SO exciting! I'm certain my neighbors loved it too :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday we had family photos taken - I can't wait to see them! I will post them here in the next few days. It doesn't seem possible that the last time we had professional pictures taken was 6 YEARS ago! Honestly, it feels like maybe 2 or 3 at most! But when I look at them, Mira was just 4. Nolan was just a twinkle in my eye and we're coming up on his THIRD birthday. Time slips by so fast....that's why I want to savor each moment and create wonderful family memories for us all.

We have SO much to be thankful for today. I'm grateful for my hubby and our families. Not many can say and TRULY mean that they have the best family in the world...I can and do! My children bring such joy into every single moment of life! They are *the* inspiration for everything I do in life :)

We slept over at my mom & dad's house last night to get a jump on the day. We arrived a bit later than planned (taking pics took longer but WELL worth it) and had a quesadilla bar with all the goodies. We even added one of my favs, asparagus, to throw in :) Yummy! We stayed up late, chatting and laughing, just enjoying the time together. Then we got up early and started cooking.

This is my sausage and butternut squash with wild rice stuffing! So delish!

I made pumpkin cornbread for something different this year. Along with it we had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and the traditional sweet potatoes - it's NOT Thanksgiving without these :)

Then came the always coveted turkey induced nap! (this was actually BEFORE we ate!)

No nap for THIS guy. He piled up some of Grandma's pillows, got a running start and jumped on each one on his way down the hall! Nolan didn't stop until he was red in the face & out of breath. He was so tired that he went to sleep in the car and didn't wake up, even through putting on his jammies at 10pm!

Hope everyone had as wonderful a day as we did. Happy Thanksgiving!