60% off my etsy shop today only!

Did you know that I have an etsy shop?  True story.

And today only, you can take 60% off your entire purchase (excludes shipping, sorry :( ) by entering the code:  60offalmostbirthday at checkout.
I am trying to clear out what I've got to make room for new designs in the coming year.

So, go find some iron ons for your kids, that baby shower you wanted a unique present for, and as an embellishment for that present you are working on (think about Heart Breaker or Mr. Cupcake Man on an apron...ADORABLE!)  It'll help me have a VERY happy birthday tomorrow!

MS Sucks and then there's this Santa Claus

Brennan, "creating" crystals with his crystal growing set he got from the Big Guy.

I just somehow managed to stab myself in the thumb with a used shot needle IN ITS COVER!
How does one do that?
Well, I somehow bent the needle while inserting it into the cover and then SURPRISE!
At least Bart is doing his shots regularly...so I won't complain too much. 

And on to other matters.
Do any of your children just assume that all gifts under the tree are from Santa?  Bart likes to keep the presents hidden until 12/24 at night and I think that is why mine do.  They weren't confused about the gifts from Grandma and Papa...because the boys were able to put them under the tree and saw them there a few days.
Even though I did not put up this one BIG present and it sat under the tree (right in front) for a few days...the boys still said, "Santa sure knew what he was doing when he bought this HUGE Nerf gun!"  Um, that 30 bucks was all Daddy, so tell HIM how cool it was...cause all I tell him is how UNcool the gift is...those darts are all over the house now...and they seem to like to use ME as their target (we have put an end to this target practice, but they sure had fun while it lasted).
I guess it doesn't really matter who they think things came from, but at the same time...Santa is stealing my thunder ;-)

And finally...why is NFL Monday Night Football on so late?  It's the 4th quarter, but there are 10 minutes left, which in football land equals about 30 real world minutes.  Geaux Saints!


FYI:  Two most obvious things wrong with the picture below...
1.  Jackson's pants were WAY unzipped...he has a problem of not caring about completing that step of potty time.
2.  Ethan's shirt is a size 12-18 month onesie.  He weighs 38 lbs and is 36 inches tall.  'Nuff said...but he was so cute as he cried to wear the "deeeeeeeer shirt! peeeeeease?"

Merry Christmas Y'all

Now that the gifts are unwrapped and the bellies are stuffed...let's play a game...let's call it "Find 2 things wrong with this picture."

I'll be back tomorrow to point them to you, but feel free to leave a comment if you notice them yourself.

I hope you all had a great day.  We did.  Quiet (we forgot to buy batteries) and low stress.

LOVE YOU ALL!




And hi B.B.!

Baking, Folding Laundry, Vacuuming, and Blogging

Today is Christmas Eve.

Sampling the pretzels for our turtles

If we were in Louisiana, we'd be at my parents for the day, eating good food, visiting with family and friends, and opening family gifts.
But, we aren't. We went "home" our first year in Nebraska and though we had a nice time, found it was just too much, driving between my parents town and Bart's family's town (2 hours).  So, we've stayed in NE during the holidays and have overall enjoyed ourselves, even if we do miss our family...and the massive amounts of GOOD food.

All three boys made the turtles by themselves, from opening ALL those rolo wrappers to placing the pecans on top.  I just put them in and out of the oven.

 So, today, we filled it with things to do:  Delivering a cake to Sarah's house (had to set it up); shopping at Target (not too crowded...Target does a great job of managing the check out lines, which makes life a lot easier), cleaning, baking for tomorrow (hot milk cake {Bart's aunt's recipe}, a cheesecake using this recipe, and "turtles" with rolos), and then tonight we will watch Christmas Vacation and tackle the mountain of laundry that was put off all week because I was working on the cake order. 
While at Target, I bought a new vacuum on sale for less then $12!  How awesome is that?!?!  We need a light weight vacuum to tote up and down 3 sets of stairs, so this stick vacuum by Dirt Devil was perfect!  It sucks great, too!
Tomorrow we will open our presents (Brennan keep making our wake up call earlier and earlier...I told him that I am VETOing his suggestions and saying 8 a.m.), finish cooking Christmas lunch, then enjoy the afternoon with our friends, the Peter's.

Brennan is such a great helper and leader, too.

I think as long as you remember what matters at Christmas:  Christ, it doesn't matter where you are (I'd say or who you are with, but I sure would miss my kids if they weren't with me, and Bart's wrapping skills are so outstanding that there is no way I could miss that), as long as you try to enjoy your day and thank Heavenly Father for sending his only begotten as the greatest gift to mankind.

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!

Oh, Westroads Mall, Oh Westorads Mall (think the tune "Oh Christmas Tree"!)

Eating lunch so he has MORE ENERGY for MORE SHOPPING!

Mr. E slept through about 1/2 of our trip.  Party pooper.

Testing out the merchandise while Mama shopped.

Did you know that Santa has a southern twang?  Yep.

Shopping for the adopt a family was not as horrible as I thought it would be, being just a few days before Christmas.  And people were very nice.  At JCP and at Abercrombie and Fitch the sales people helped me find the best deal for my money (got a pair of jammie pants for $9 including tax at A&F!) when I said I was shopping for the AaF.
I also got a pair of Paul Frank socks for me, Bart's Christmas present, and a new pair of sunglasses...mine have disappeared again.  I love that sale that the sunglasses kiosk in the mall has.  $5 isn't bad, considering I need new pairs often.  One day I can buy expensive sunglasses, but for now, I will shop when they are on sale. 
I also went into Gymboree (E really needs a few more tee shirts) and did not like ONE thing for E enough to take it home...so we left empty handed.  A sad day, I know!
Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?  We are!

Get your wrap on

There is a buzz in my house.
All about something called presents and UNwrapping them on Christmas morning.
Who will go first?  Who will get the most?  Will Brennan get Diary of a Wimpy Kid books?  Will Jackson get anything (he's been a bit naughty from time to time).
However...there is ONE very important aspect of these discussions that makes me cringe...the WRAPPING of the gifts.
So, I am putting off.
How about you?  Have you already wrapped everything up this year or are you going to join me on 12/24 and have a frantic wrapping party as we watch cable t.v. Christmas movies?
It actually sounds kind of fun.

The Tale of the Ten Dollar Macaroni Ornament

This is Lori.
 She is one of my friend's I've made through MOM.  This past Sunday (Dec. 12), another MOM friend, Megan, hosted an ornament exchange at her house.  There was only one rule:  The ornament must cost between $10-$15... (Oh, and you had to wear your jammies to Megan's house or she'd make fun of you)

Now, I was a bit worried about this price range...I mean, I know there are ornaments out there that cost that much money, it's just...well, I've never purchased any.  The lovely silver and red balls adorning my tree this year were bought on clearance at Target and came in a very large bin FULL of ornaments for less then $5 (on clearance that is).

I had no clue where to even LOOK to find one.

So, I procrastinated.  It got so bad that I actually thought I'd just call Megan "sick" on the evening of and skip out!

Until...fate should intervene.

Thursday evening, as I waited for Bart to get home from work, I happened to look out my front window.  I noticed two boys, maybe 14 or so, pulling a sled down the sidewalk, and then knocking on neighbors doors.  They slowly made their way down the road, then to my front door.

I was going to pretend I was not home, but alas, I felt compelled to open my door to these scraggly children.
Behind them on their sled (there was not yet any snow no the road, that was to come Saturday and Sunday) was a plethora of "goodies"  Handmade Santas, ornaments, treats and more.

As I was going to shut the door in their faces, the smaller of the two boys started in with a sob story of how his mother is applying for disability and had since fallen and broken her knee, etc, etc.  The children (not brothers, unless they were "brothers from another mother") were going around the neighborhood trying to sell these delightful wares to the suckers saints who were willing to help them have a better Christmas.

Well, for some reason, my sympathy radar went off.  I noticed some hand decorated ornaments in the back of the sled and asked for a price.

"Just ten dollars", the boy responded proudly.
"TEN DOLLARS!" I said in shock.  But then I remembered Megan's exchange and that our limit was $10...so...I gave in.

I happened to have a ten dollar bill from selling two bow ties to a girl at church, so I gave it to the ragamuffin children and took the ornament.

The plastic green ball covered in macaroni.  And not the nice "fancy" elbow macaroni.  No, no, no.  It was the somearestraightandothersarecuvedandtheyareallthin macaroni that you buy on sale for $0.29 at Bag-N-Save macaroni.

But, I was happy, I knew those boys really needed that money to help their mama out.

The night of the exchange, I packaged the ornament in a bag I had, hoping whoever got my ornament would understand, and have a softened heart as well.

As the ornaments were opened, one by one, my heart beat faster in my chest.  I started to feel sick.  These women had really found some nice ornaments.  There was a reindeer everyone was envious of, hand painted ball with snowmen on it, even a crystal snowflake.  All very nice.

When Lori announced that she'd pulled my name, my palms started to sweat, I got butterflies in my stomach, and I slowly brought her the bag.

As I carried the bag over, I told the tale I've just shared with you, and everyone was nearly in tears at the end of the story.

As Lori pulled it out, everyone laughed, a bit nervously.

Was this it?  Had Jessica really spent $10 on that ball of macaroni with big globs of glue showing?

Well, no one wanted to seem unChristlike or awkward, so they all went on and on about how generous I was and how sad it must be for those boys.  I just about had them ready to adopt the children for the holidays when...

I pulled out the SECOND bag I'd brought with me, with the REAL ornaments, purchased from the Christmas specialty shop in the Old Market (fancy, right?) 

The story was as fake as my Christmas tree...and that's the truth!

Truths:

• ornament exchange with $10-$15 limit
• two ratty kids did knock on my door and tell me that story, but I sent them packing.
• BART had the great idea to make the macaroni ball
• I was nervous...nervous I'd mess up my fabulously concocted story and look like a fool.
• I ROCK at ornament exchanges, lol!

Christmas Fun In Photos

Some of my MOM friends at our Christmas Party.  Did you know Santa only costs $40 an hour!?!  True story!

Ethan ate about a 1/2 cup of frosting at our Gingerbread Man cookie decorating party...but he was cute while doing it.  NOT so cute when not napping later that day.

Jackson and Mia in their adorable Confetti Creations aprons, taking cookie decorating very seriously.

Before the party...Jackson's reindeer shirt is from last year.  He wore it at least once a week, if not twice a week, for the entire month of December and other then minor maintenance, the reindeer has stayed on great!

At MOM's ornament exchange last night...a full report to come SOON!

The ornaments, all wrapped and ready for new homes.

OUR ANNIVERSARY DATE!  It was FREAKING FREEZING and WINDY so we got a bit wind blown.

in my new skinny jeans.

at roja for supper

Not pictured:  The craft day at my friend Stephanie's house Saturday morning, even though I had my camera in my pocket the entire time.  I guess I was too busy being awesome at decorating ornament balls and eating cheesecake and red velvet cake.

Golden Eleven

Eleven Reasons Why Bart Rocks My World and I'm still with the old son of a gun...

1. He's passionate.  About his family, LSU, hating certain things, and that unloading the dishwasher is the most important job in the house..
2. He supports me.  Whether it is in a hairbrained scheme to make money, a girls night out, or watching some girlie movie, he's there for me (or at home with the boys so I can be where I think I want to be)
3. We work well together.  He likes to spend money, I like to not spend money.  He likes to be spontaneous, I do not.  So, we take our +'s and help balance out each other's -'s ..
4. He thinks he is funny (he's not) and is adamant about thinking I am not funny (I am)
5. He takes care of me when I am sick.  Not with chicken noodle soup (yuck) or medicines, but by taking 100% care of the boys while I sleep. (If I get a fever, I get really, really tired and just want to sleep for days)
6. He works hard to provide for the family, even under very stressful conditions.
7. We have fun together..
8. He forced me to learn how to make really freaking good fried chicken, just like his mama.
9. He's good at giving gifts (a bit too good...see #3)..
10. Even though we were young when we got married, we worked well together and figured it out.
11. He often knows when things are bothering me, even when I don't express them and he tries hard to figure it out.

 

So, there are 11 reasons why we are celebrating our golden anniversary!!!!


Pictures by Dry Ink Photography in Baton Rouge, LA.