Crafting like CRAZY!

Just wanted to write a very quick post to tell you all that I am a crafting maniac these last couple of weeks!  I have two childrens birthday presents that I am making.  I started them this week.  It's a process so I'm having to do one step and wait a night...repeat.  They are close to being done though.  Also,  the teachers gift that I told you about here....well, that's turned into making about TEN of them.  Only three are for teachers.  BUT, I had some requests for them and I want one as well...so turned into many gifts and one for me.  They are being created in assembly line fashion.  LOL.  I hope and pray I get to show you soon.  I have six of them ready for paint now, so tomorrow night, I paint.  =)  I actually have to get back to the store for more supply elements for the last four of them.  And if that's not enough, I've started three other little crafts I've been wanting to do.  So, wish me luck crafting each night.  And hopefully, by this weekend I will have something ready to take pictures of and show! 
How's your Christmas season coming along?  Are you busy?  Did you decide to make gifts or buy them?     

Wordless Wednesday: Here Kitty Kitty

Christmas Gifts

Today I am going to show you all the ornaments that I made for the teachers at my girls daycare.  I made one for each and every employee at the school.  It is a small school so it was only 8 of them.  At some point in the day each of the employees there take care of my girls.  Whether it is to wipe their nose, help them potty, change a diaper, feed them, teach them, or just plain love on them.  And I know that we are SO lucky to have a daycare where they do LOVE on them! So, for the girls individual teachers, I have another gift to make.  I will be posting on it later.  But for all of the teachers we made these ornaments! 

Some of them are iridescent and some are just clear.  Some have the initials in lime green and others in red.  I am happy with the way they turned out!  I used my silhouette to cut out circles and letters in the green or red vinyl and then applied them to the ornaments.  I got the ornaments at Hobby Lobby.  I went back hoping to buy a few more and make friends gifts but they were ALL OUT!  I had most of the ribbon on hand already from other various projects like hair bows or wrapping presents.  Then I wrapped them up in lime green bags with glitter polka dots! (Hobby Lobby, again!  Man, I love that place!)

 

 As I stated before, we LOVE our daycare.  So, I also ordered some of the items that my company manufactures and put them in a big red tub to give the daycare.  It's mainly sponges and post it notes.  Last year I gave them some and they were so thankful.  And that meant the world to me that they appreciated the thought.  So to jazz it up a bit I cut out the school name in white vinyl and applied it to the red tub.  I have a huge clear bag and some festive lime green, red, and white curly ribbon to wrap it up in.  I couldn't actually get all the 'goodies' to stay in for the pic below, but you get the idea.   

 And just one more close up of the ornament, because I really like the way they turned out!  ;-)

And for those of you who remember that we do have a guy that teaches there, don't worry, no polka dot initial ornament for him!  I bought him an ornament of his favorite college football team. 

So what do you think?  Do you think the teachers will love them as much as I did?  I sure hope so!  I stayed up late a few nights to work on them.  =)  (Don't forget, I have a 12 hour day and after that 12hours I get to come home and make dinner and get kiddos ready for bed...and the hubby's in school).  So for me, time is a toughie!  What did you make for teachers gifts this year?  I just love blogging because there is so much inspiration out there!  I actually got the idea from these ornaments from a local boutique, but I'm CERTAIN someone in blog land probably did these way before me!  My next project, which will hopefully turn out as cute, was inspired from a blog post and I will link back to it for sure!  =)  

We have such a big weekend planned!  I was off work today (Woo-hoo) and managed to get the laundry under control.  Tonight it's Disney Princess on Ice for the girls, some friends of ours, and my mom.  Hubby gets a night off!  Well deserved one =)  Tomorrow is my company kids Christmas party and then Sunday is the Cupcake's birthday party!  YAY!  What all do you have planned?

Hello World!

Wow, it seems like it's been forever since I've created a blog post!  I've been so busy lately.  We are getting ready for Cupcake's birthday party and I've been making Christmas gifts for teachers as well.  Just before the holidays we had a mini session with a local photographer.  I ordered our Christmas cards through her.  Here is the family picture I chose for them:

The photoshoot was a fundraiser for a child who is a cancer survivor but whose single mom has mounting medical bills.  How awesome was it of this photographer to donate sitting fees and partial profits from sales and her time for several days?!  And I saw it as an opportunity to grab a quick family pic while doing something good for another family.   =)  Win-win!  By the way, our cards are in and I love them!  I also got some pics for the wall and I am trying to talk hubby into making me some custom frames with his new saw he got for Veterans day!  I will keep you posted on that deal 2 ;-) 

Don't worry, I am not lost and will have plenty of posts coming up soon.  I want to show you all my Christmas ornaments we made for teachers gifts soon.  And there will ofcourse be a post on Cupcake's birthday party! 

What all have you been up 2?  Are you already busy busy for this Christmas season?  We have a jam packed weekend coming up and I don't see any signs of it slowing down until New Years!  I love every minute of it! (Well, except the dirty house I have from staying gone so much!)

Wordless Wednesday

Remember the tickets we won to go back to the farm?  Here are the pics from our second trip.  Mimi got to go this time! 

Giving Thanks 2010

This year I am thankful to be together as a family without any long distance between us.  I am also thankful for these little blessings!  My two little girls are such blessings to my life.  They help me to grow and be a better person.  They mean the world to me and I am forever thankful that God trusted me with two beautiful little souls to light the world.   

Thank You VETERANS!

Veteran's Day is a special day. It is a time we can recognize our servicemen or women for the sacrifices they make for our country. I am thankful to my husband and all the sacrifices he has made in his life in order to serve our country. As a military wife I can tell you they do make them. Their family makes them. My youngest daughter was only around her daddy for 4 months before he was deployed. And our story is just one of many. I know men who served whose spouses were unfaithful, whose children needed their fathers, whose wives cried many nights while they were gone. When my husband was deployed I saw a mother leaving her BABY to serve our country. These men and women are brave and honerable and they do the jobs that are the most difficult, but have to be done. Why? So we as Americans can sleep at night without any doubt that we are safe. Thank you. Thank you. A thousand thank you's would never be enough to let you all know what you mean to me. And having been there as a family member, thank you to all you mom's who hold it together, the wives who do the job meant for two, and children who bravely face the world while daddy's "working". I recently ran across an amazing artist named Jon McNaughton. Please take the time to watch the video of this most amazing painting. It is heart touching to say the least.
 

 
I will be taking my Veteran to dinner tonight to say Thank you.  I think I've posted some of our deployement pics before.  But it's Veteran's Day and I am honoring my hubby.  Love you Babe!

 
 
I am working today but I've made sure to tell every one I work with who has served our country Thank you's!  What are you doing for the Veteran's around you?

MIL Bday!

If you've read my latest few posts you know that we enjoyed a visit from my mother in law.  I am still working on getting pics on here from that visit.  =)  I grabbed a few pics off of my point and shoot camera to share today.  This was before dinner for her birthday!

It was bedtime for our Lil Cupcake so she wasn't the most cooperative in these pics. 

On another note if you remember my post here about my new running routine?  Well, I'm still doing it.  I've had no weight loss success so far which is kind of depressing.  However I REALLY enjoy running.  And yesterday I was very proud of myself.  I shaved 30 seconds off of my fastest mile!!!  And that amounted to shaving a whole minute off of my AVERAGE mile time.  =)  I'm a happy girl just for the accomplishment.  And since I've been running about 6-10 miles a week since September I am expecting a melt away soon!!!! 
How has your week been???

Halloween 2010

I started to make this a Wordless Wednesday post, but let's face it.  I can't not say a word about my little cuties in their Halloween get ups!  ;-)  My MIL was down for a visit this Halloween.  We visited a local church for a Hallelujiah Hoe Down!  The girls had an absolulte blast!  Mommy, Daddy, and Mimi were worn slap out.  LOL!  I had to edit almost all my pics because I changed the batteries in my flash and somehow changed the exposure on the pics.  We were all washed out.  I almost cried until I realized I could edit them and somewhat salvage.  

I decided at the last minute to dress up myself. I had picked up some kitty cat ears at the Target $ spot. Painted my face with eyeliner, which wasn't the best at staying on, but the girls liked it. My Princess wanted to go as the kitty cat instead of Sleeping beauty until she gave it a little more thought!

My handsome hubby and his baby girl.  She loves her daddy!

Mimi and Tinkerbell!

She's probably asking for Candy here.  LOL!

The church had TONS of bouncies and they asked everyone to stop playing games and pray.  So the children were asked to get out of all the bouncies.  The Cupcake didn't want to so Daddy had to go in after her!  I had to snap a shot of it!

Cupcake always takes the initiative.  She wanted candy so she just helped her little self. 

Most of the night both girls looked like the pics above and below.  Sucker in mouth.  Happy kiddos =)

 My beautiful Sleeping Beauty!

 When we first arrived we saw this Pig. The girls went wild! Cupcake wanted to admire from afar, waving and saying "Hi Piggy!" but cried if we got to close! Princess loved getting her pic made. My camera was awful on the exposure of this one so I snagged one off of Mimi's camera! Thanks Mimi =)

 

She's as pretty as a princess! Alot of her princess toys say phrases like that, so when I spit those words out while snapping shots, this was what I got =)

I've been on this kick lately that if I have my point and shoot camera I will get a quick shot of me and the hubs.  After all, the girls aren't old enough to do it yet.  This is what he's enjoying lately:

Yep, I'm all smiles, looking at the camera.  Then I look at him and he's got this look on his face like he's pulled one over on me.  I know that look, he loves to joke.  And I know, I've got a candid pic on my hands.  Ha, ha!

How did you spend your halloween?  Have lots of fun?!