Fun With Sand

A couple of weeks ago I found the neatest craft on Kristin's blog, so a few days ago me and the kids attempted to try it. We had so much fun! We made sand sculptures. Here are some of our creations.

I made this elephant, because, well, we all knew I would attempt to make one.

Kasi made this elephant.

Brandi made this one. Right now it is just a head, because the body fell apart. She waiting a long time to make this, and the sand wasn't very sticky at that point, so it didn't stay together too good.

Ryan says this is an elephant, but it looks more like a toilet to me! lol!

Ryan made this bowl, and I love it!

This is Kasi's little martian person.

This is Brandi's little smiley face.

You all know I am obsessed with ornaments for my tree, and every year I make some with my kids names on them. I already made one set this year (here) but couldn't resist making these. I formed the sand dough around the ribbon, so it should hold.

if you want to make some, the recipe is here on Kristin's blog. She always has lots of rafty ideas, so make sure you browse her whole site.

Ride, Baby, Ride

My dad recently bought a motorcycle. This is not a good thing for me because now my hubby is talking about wanting one. The good thing is that we can not afford it right now, so it will be a few years. I wonder if he would be able to fix a bike with yamaha motorcycle parts the same way he can fix our car whenever something goes wrong? It can't be that different, can it?

Our New Kitten

We got a new kitten today! Her name is Ginger. You can see pictures of her here and here. She has the best personality! She loves when the kids play with her with some yarn. Who knew kittens will actually chase a ball of yarn?

Laptop Bags

I finally have hubby talked into buying me a new computer when we get our tax refund in February. The big decision now is whether to buy a desktop or a laptop. My sister has a laptop, and she loves it. Mine would no doubt be abused, what with all the kids using it. I would also have to take it with me everywhere so I could blog on the go. It's a good thing they make laptop bags that are durable and fashionable. Spire USA makes bags that last a lifetime. Each bag comes with a lifetime guarantee, so don't worry about the abuse you dish out to it everyday. It can take it.

All Set

Today is the kids last day of school until next Monday. I have crafty things planned for the next few days so hopefully they will not get bored. I priced mixers at wal-mart today and was drooling over the stand mixers. They have a Sunbeam one on sale for $69, and I wish I had the money to go snatch it up! It would look so pretty sitting on my kitchen counter.

Be Proud

I am very proud of our military. Whether you agree with the war we are now fighting or not, standing behind our military is so important. These men and women of our military, and their families, sacrifice so much so that we can live the way we do in this great country we call home. I can not imagine how hard it is on the spouses of our soldiers who face single parenthood so their significant other can defend our freedom. It must be especially difficult this time of year, with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming so quickly.

If you would like to make a difference in our fighting soldiers families, make a donation to Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry' This is a wonderful program that assists our military's families this holiday season, as they struggle to make Christmas special for their children. This is a great way to show your support for the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day. Every cent you donate goes directly to support the families of our military service members and veterans. I can not think of a more worthwhile cause than this. I would love to say that I helped put a smile on the face of a child who woke up Christmas morning without one parent, because they were off defending our right to enjoy Christmas with our families.

R.I.P.

My mixer died.

It lived a good life, and made many cakes, cookies, and brownies.

Gingerbread was just too much for it.

It waited until the last cup of flour was added before it made it's final noise.

Then it started smoking.

I thought it was going to catch on fire!

It's final mixture is chillin' in the fridge....

We're going to bake it on Wednesday. The kids are excited. Brandi helped me make the dough this afternoon. It's a good thing wal-mart has a mixer for $20 on black friday. I have so much more baking to do!

Layaway For Christmas, Or Any Day

Do you need to make a big purchase for Christmas this year? Does someone on your list want a big screen television, or maybe a digital camera? I know my girls are wanting new bicycles. All of these things cost a good bit of money. With Kmart's Layaway for the Holidays I can afford these things, because my payments will be spread out over a period of time. It's so much easier to squeeze a little bit of money out of the budget every couple of weeks instead of having to come up with a couple of hundred dollars at once. All I have to do is go pick out the bikes I think the girls will love and bring them to the layaway counter. They require a five dollar service fee and a ten dollar cancellation fee, or 10 percent of the total layaway amount (whichever is greater) at the time of layaway, and then the balance is paid over the next 8 weeks. They will break the balance down into affordable payments to be made every two weeks for the next two months. When I make the final payment, I bring the stuff home. It really is very easy. If you decide during the eight weeks that you can not make the payments, you can get a refund, minus the service and cancellation fees. If something happens and you can't get to the store during those eight weeks, you have a full year to get your refund. This is definitely the way to go if you don't want to put big purchases on your credit cards.

Foam Ornaments

Yesterday, the kids worked on these ornaments. I have to get some pictures to go in the middle, but you get the idea.

These are Kasi's. She liked giving them different colored eyes.

Ryan made this one. He is such a party pooper, and didn't really want to do any. Maybe it's the age he's at right now. Who knows.

These are brandi rose's. Adorable!

Subhysteria

I love watching movies. Some of the best movies are the ones that are made independently. I read about this new movie coming out in April, 2009 that sounds good. It's called Subhysteria and stars IMDB actor Lavrenti Lopes. The movie is about 16 people stuck in a subway car, unable to escape, with no way of communicating with the outside world, and they all think they are going to die. Sounds like my kind of movie.

High Hopes

I planned on making the gingerbread cookies with the kids today, but things don't always go as planned. Right now I am sitting at my sister's while Brandi plays with Carson. Ryan and Kasi are home alone, and as far as I know have not killed each other. It's nice to get out of the house and have adult conversation, so I am enjoying my afternoon, and am in no rush to get home. Colleen has a project planned for Carson involving pine cones and glitter, so we may stay and help with that.

Let me run....colleen is almost done vacuuming, and I don't want to be rude by sitting here typing! Enjoy your Sunday!

Toys, Toys, And More Toys

I can not believe Thanksgiving is this week. Only five more days. As much as I love this holiday, because it brings my family together, once it is over I know it is only four weeks until Christmas. Four weeks! I still have so much shopping to do, and not nearly enough time or money to get it done. I am always looking at the clearance items in the stores. In fact, all the things I have bought for my kids this year so far were on clearance. I hate paying full price for anything, especially toys that are going to be forgotten in a few weeks anyway. I decided to check out the stores online to see if they had anything marked down low enough for my budget. I was thrilled when I found toyoverstock.com. This site has the cutest toys at the best prices. I found a cute little bulldozer that comes apart. It is a beach toy, made to zip through the sand with ease, with the help of little hands, of course. The cab is also a sieve and a sand scoop. I know a few little ones this would be perfect for. This toy is usually around nine dollars in the regular stores, but here, you can get it for $2.99. They have dolls for little girls, baby toys for infants, and of course, ryan's favorite, little cars to play with. All of these things have extremely reasonable prices. That is so important to me. If you are still looking for gifts, check out Toy Overstock.

Yummyness <--- Is That Even A Word?

Tonight we decided to make some chocolate chip cookies.
First in...one egg.

OOPS!

Let's let Kasi try.
Success!

Boo adds the butter.

Ryan adds the mix...yes, I cheated! lol!

Mix it all together and 10 minutes later...

YUM!!!

******please no comments about my spaghetti stained bowl******

Our Gingerbread House

Me and the girls put together our gingerbread house this morning. Ryan, at 13, is too old for such things. Well, he's the one that missed out, because we had fun!
I learned the hard way that once you have it together, leave it alone!
Boo dropped a piece of candy into the tray, and I lifted the house so she could get it.
It fell apart in my hands!
We got it back together, and this is how it ended up.

Not too bad, huh?

Gingerbread House

I bought this today, and plan on letting the kids build it over the weekend. I have never used on of these kits before, but it looks easy enough. We all know it will probably not look anything like the picture on the box, but that's okay. I will help them get it standing, then let them do the rest. It's gonna be fun!!!!!

2008 Ornaments

Every year I make the kids an ornament for the tree. This year I bought a foam picture ornament kit that allows you to make 24 ornaments: 8 penguins, 8 bears and 8 snowmen. I am going to let the kids make them to give to their grandparents. I made the ones for our tree so the kids will have a pattern to look at. They were super easy, and took about 10 minutes to make. I added the pompoms and google eyes, and put the date on them.
They came out cute, right?

This Blogs First Award!

This award was given to me by renae's crafty corner! She seems to think my blog is cool! Hers is pretty awesome, too. Thanks, my new friend!
So here's the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. Nominate 10 other blogs for this award
4. Add links to those blogs
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs
6. Give a reason why you consider their blogs cool

Wow. Ten other people I think are cool? Let's see.....

carrie, jenn, tammy, jennifer, vixen, missy, frigga, the other tammy, leigh, and diana.

I Got Nothing

I feel like I have been neglecting my crafts for a while. I was so excited to set up my etsy shop, and then I sold something in the first 24 hours. Then...nothing. Maybe my prices are too high? I'm thinking of doing a giveaway on my world blog, and the winner could pick any one item in my shop as their prize. Does that sound like something you guys would be interested in?