Last night I played Monopoly with Alex and his two friends. Just the four of us. We were up well past midnight, because you know how long that game can be, and so today I am tired. But that’s okay. I can afford to lose a little sleep. What I cannot afford is to pass up the chance […]
an Uncommon tip for this holiday season
*This post has been sponsored by UncommonGoods.com. The day after Halloween we woke up to Christmas decor on our street, holiday music playing on the radio, and Santa Claus set up in our mall, already asking children if they’ve been naughty or nice. Is it just me, or is the Christmas season starting way early this year?? […]
Christmas shopping for a 3 year old
You know who is super easy and super fun to shop for? A three year old!! Aiden is at the age where I know what he wants for Christmas because he wants anything and everything that he sees. Here is what it’s like walking by the toy section in Target with Aiden: “Mom! You see […]
he’s our daddy
Yesterday was Father’s Day. Growing up, I never celebrated this day because I never had a dad around to celebrate. Being raised by my single mother and growing up without any grandfathers in my life, Father’s Day was not anything worth celebrating in my house. It wasn’t until I got married and started a family with […]
candy heart craft
We have many Christmas decorations for our home, and a few Halloween decorations, too. But we fall short when it comes to Valentine’s Day decorations. So this week I decided to make a Valentine’s Day craft with the kids, one that we could pull out every February to help decorate our home for the “LOVE” holiday. […]
a bump in the road
I am happy to report that I am now at the 36 weeks mark! I am thrilled to have made it this far in Aaron’s pregnancy. So grateful. Although I must report that there has been a slight bump in the road, you could say. Turns out my blood pressure has been especially high this […]
Snow Day
Winter Vacation.I love this two-week break. Somedays we spend it doing nothing — all day in pajamas, watching movies, playing games. Other days we venture out. And I don’t just mean outside, but out of our area. Like in our local mountains for a day in the SNOW!We love the snow! […]
who’s naming this baby, anyway?
Just two more days until Christmas! Today we will be baking and decorating Christmas cookies. I’ll have to do my best not to eat too many ~ I need to watch my weight with this pregnancy, since I was about 15-20 pounds over my normal weight to start it off. Well, I consider my […]
what we did on Valentine’s Day
I’m having too much fun on Pinterest. WAY too much fun. Have you been to my Pinterest page lately? It’s getting pretty full. If you are not following me on Pinterest yet, then what are you waiting for? Click on this link….and FOLLOW! But I have to warn you: it’s a tad bit […]
let’s wrap
This year I let my three year old wrap all the Christmas gifts that she had carefully chosen for her brothers and sisters. She has 4 brothers and 4 sisters. That’s eight gifts. Do you know how much self-control it took for me to just sit there while she did her best to cut that […]
My Elf on the Shelf failure
I’m sure most of you know about the popular Elf on the Shelf by now. He comes with a book that you read to the children, and the story explains how Santa sends one of his elves to “spy” on them during the day, and then at night he flies back to the North Pole to […]
Christmas tree
I love how our Christmas tree looks in the background of these photos
the holiday family photo fail
It is not me who hasn’t even bought one single Christmas gift for anyone – including all nine of my children. It’s not me who is waiting until the last possible second, hoping that the stores do not run out of all that is on their lists. It was not me who gathered all the […]
last minute Lucy
So here it is, Sunday the 18th – and would you believe I have not bought ONE Christmas present yet? Well, believe it. Because I haven’t. I haven’t even been out there looking. I haven’t been on Amamzon.com, either. I’m just a no-shopping-waiting-until-the-last-minute fool, is what I am. Ah well, it isn’t the first time. […]
tree trimming traditions
Some of my friends have these amazing Christmas trees. I’m talking the kind that you’d see in a Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens, or House Beautiful magazine, complete with the coordinating ornaments and fancy ribbons. And while I admire those beautifully decorated Christmas trees, and sometimes even plan on “doing it that way next year”, […]
I need to learn how to say NO
Rich has been at work for the past five days. So it’s been just me and the kids. It’s been a bit crazy and very busy, but what else is new, right? The kids were getting impatient about getting our Christma tree, and I kept putting them off with “let’s wait for daddy […]
I’m a bit behind…
We are already seven days into December. My Christmas Tree might not be up yet, and the Christmas lights might not be hung outside, and our Christmas decorations might still be sitting in boxes in my living room waiting to be unpacked… But by golly, we got our Christmas Countdown Chains done today! Hallelujah!! […]
Trick or Treat
This year we had a 5 year old Spiderman, a three year old Minnie Mouse, a six year old Disney’s Princess Jasmine, an eight year old prize fighter/boxer, a ten year old Alice in Wonderland, and a 12 year old boy wearing a blue face mask. But Rich and I only walked around the neighborhoods […]
at the patch
Last year we missed it. Last year I somehow forgot, or life was too busy, or I kept putting it off…. and we missed it. And it made me feel awful. So this year I made sure we took time out of our busy week, and we went! The Pumpkin Patch 2011 The thing about […]
Independence Day
The 4th of July in our little town is always a lot of fun, but this year we had an extra special time at the parade — A.J., Aislynn, and Andrew were IN the parade this year, helping to hold the Chinese Dragon for their Kung Fu Martial Arts school. It was so fun being […]