Today is the day I conquer the world!

Not really.  This is just my motivational speech to get off my rear and do housework.  You know?  The usual: make beds, wash clothes, fold clothes, put away clothes, sweep and mop floor, bathe children (bathe myself for that matter), bathe the dog.  Oh how I loathe bathing the dog.  I don't know why.  She's a good dog, a kind dog.  It's just I despise grooming her because when I do it is a long process.  Poor dog.  She doesn't deserve my scorn. 

Let's do something more fun than cleaning.  Posting pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inappropriate Laughter

I have decided that there is a medical condition for my laughing at very inappropriate times.  Have I found or even looked for a name for this condition?  No, but that's beside the point.  I'm sure it's out there. 
I believe it started when I was in the seventh grade.  I was in church (with my father speaking as a guest) when an old man behind me started burping these outrageous burps.  I couldn't take it, I lost it - uncontrollable laughter.  On second thought maybe my condition started as a child when I shared a bedroom with my sister.  She could always contain her laughter but it would be me that would get us into trouble with my big mouth:)  Anyway, back to the church scene....I received my last spanking from my father that night.  I was in seventh grade but couldn't contain my laughter in the church house!
My problem continued into college when I again was in a church service (maybe that's the problem - church services) when I looked across the sanctuary to see one of the lead deacons dressed by his wife in baby blues, pinks, and maroons which by the way, she was also the interior decorator for the church (I would recognize that color palate anywhere).  Again, I lost it.  Why can't I control my laughter like other people?  Why do I find rather normal things hysterically funny?
Well since then I've gone on to laugh at funerals, laugh uncontrollably at the edge of the aisle of my wedding, laughed when a friend shared with me her husband had cheated on her, I laugh when I am extremely mad at my husband and nothing comes out but laughter - I can't make any solid arguing points because I'm too busy laughing.  My list could go on and on.  I believe the stress of these situations send me over the edge.  I don't know.

Well, last night is my latest addition: Dos' violin recital.  Other parents lovingly watch or film as their children try their best to share what they've learned this year. Me?  I get tickled at the mannerisms of my little man and lose it.  I mean, have to walk out the back of the church (Again, with the church.  Maybe I am on to something) can not control myself.  Everyone was following the instructor as they should and he just stayed in his spot concentrating so hard on what he was supposed to do. Oh how I love that boy.
Any pointers on how to keep the laughter in check?

Easy, cute Christmas Trees!

My feelings toward this season are not new to society.  In fact, it's rather cliche' to speak of the excitement of the season but it still holds true for me:)  I'm pumped! There is SO much going on around our house and I rather like the hustle and bustle of the holidays. 
I am working on an Advent Calendar for the kids and will also be adding something new this year - a countdown to Christmas for my man!  Again, these will have to be discussed another day:)
As I was saying yesterday, I tried to put forth an effort to decorate various areas of my house.  This is such a step UP from last year, considering I was 9 months pregnant and could not decorate a thing.  Bless my man's heart.  He put up the trees last year and I loved it.  I can not even recall what they looked like but the decorating was taken care of and my heart was happy.
In addition to adding a centerpiece at my dining table, I also tackled the top of our TV armoire.  We do not have a fireplace nor a mantle so the armoire serves as our spot to hang the stockings.  To make the top more festive in addition to the stockings, I found a "how to" guide for paper trees in Disney's Family Fun December/January 2013 issue.  I will be honest.  I subscribed to Family Fun because I found an amazing deal on it - like $4 for two years or something ridiculous like that.  However, I was not really impressed with it because the "crafts" seemed like interning for Martha Stewart instead of family fun.  So imagine my surprise when I came across this craft idea to make Christmas trees out of magazines.  Now I'm gonna show you how I did mine but I still kept my opinion that the crafts are not really ones I'm gonna do with my kids.  Don't get me wrong, some can be done with kids but for my family if we're gonna do crafts, it's gotta be completed in less than 10 minutes or their interest is GONE.  I would not recommend doing this tree craft with kids as it took me a good 45 minutes to make two trees.  The project itself is easy. The amount of time is due to folding all that paper.

1. Start with any magazine you are finished reading.  I used one Family Fun mag and one Parenting mag, I believe.

2. Take the top right corner and fold it toward the spine of the magazine.  It will form a right triangle and still leave about 2-3 inches of your page left at the bottom.

 

3. Take your newly formed triangle and fold it again towards the spine of your magazine.  It will now leave a point hanging below the edge of your magazine.

4.  Tuck the point of your page under the triangle in order to make the edge flush with the rest of the magazine.  Repeat this process for every page.  When your finished with the pages, fold the front and back cover likewise and tape those two covers together.

5.  This is what your final tree should look like after you glue a ball ornament on the top.

Here my trees make their debut at the top of our armoire.  And for those of you who are counting, yes, there should be six stockings but I got these before Quattro was born.  And I'm too cheap to order his before Christmas.  I'm waiting til they go on sale after Christmas (he's young, he'll never know). 

Merry Christmas, y'all!

 

 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

I do not particularly remember having a fondness for Christmas decorating as a child.  I mean, I LOVE this time of year but I don't remember participating in helping my mom decorate.  I guess for me, my sense of ownership in having a part in the celebration of Christmas came when I was in college. Having secured a position at Importer's Warehouse, (which was a definite step up from my position at Bruno's - not that Bruno's wasn't good, it paid the bills but I was the ONLY cashier old enough to work past their 10:30 p.m. rule for labor law compliance and the working til midnight every night coupled with 8:00 a.m. classes did not mix) I dealt with Christmas decorations day in, day out.  I always found it funny that Importer's Warehouse's main sales were generated from Christmas trees and Christmas decor yet the owners were Seventh Day Adventist and didn't even celebrate the Christmas holiday.
Anyway, that year, me and my college roommate bought Christmas decorations and we got a tree. I was hooked!  I loved it.  Now I adore seeing the house all festive with Christmas reds here and there.  However, I am still a cheapskate and a tightwad.  So I've tried to get creative and lo and behold, I think I have:)
My sweet mother-in-law has given us three artificial trees over the years.  Whenever she goes to throw one out, we take it in.  Three free trees!  Who can beat that? 
Having headed up the Holiday Auction for three years, I received some of the decorations from one of the auctions.  My man was put on the assignment of cutting 64 "discs" of wood and I kept some of them after the event.  I showed you in a previous post how I used them as a centerpiece.  For Christmas, I wanted to spice them up.  Of course, I found a pin on Pinterest for using epsom salt in the bottom of a Mason jar to look like snow.  Here's what I did. Again, Pinterest was my muse:)

Once I placed my salt and tea lights in the jars, I needed to tie in the Christmas feel.  Here are the materials I used.  My husband had purchased the salt for some project he had going in the garage so I just used a little of what he had already.  So this was free to me:) The cedar that I used, I got from my neighbor who just so happened to be trimming back his trees recently.  I used the cedar for this project and to drape across the top of my armoire in the living room. Again, free! The rest of the materials were purchased at the Dollar Tree.  Here they are:

And for the final product?

Pretty cute (and easy) if I do say so myself.  They look really soft and inviting with the candles lit.

 

Not sure how many years I have been going to my mom's house to decorate her tree but I truly enjoy it. I think what I enjoy is I get to tell her what she needs to buy for her tree and then I decorate without having spent a dime:) She's of the age where she has a little more budget to spend on Christmas decor but has a lot of shoulder problems and can not decorate the tree. It's turned out to be a pretty fun time for her and I. This year I brought little man with me. The tree turned out beautifully but for some reason these are the only pics I caught of the day:

 

I have some more cheap decorations to share but since this has turned into a long post, I will save them for another time:)

Merry Christmas, y'all!

 



Decorating for Christmas

So I found another video tutorial today which I thought I would share with you. I like this one because she actually does five videos on various pieces to decorate: wreath, tree, garland, etc.
I got the kids' tree up and the main tree up.  I still need to work on the tree in the Toy Room and have to map out what other surfaces I'm gonna be decorating but that will have to be for another day since I promised my mom I would help her decorate tomorrow.

Here are some small shots of how I used the golden glitter deer I picked up from Dollar Tree as well as the Deco Mesh I picked up from Vinemont Flowers and Herb.  This is our main tree.  I like the results but my whole tree picture seems to be lacking something - I don't know.



On a completely different subject, check out this intense look Quattro is giving the iPhone while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:)

So, how's your decorating coming?  How many trees do you put up?  Are they real or artificial?

What Don't Kill You Makes You...

Maybe due to my love for a list and the satisfaction of crossing off a task from a list, my personality gravitates toward tasks, seasons, items that can be clearly defined.  I do not care for individuals or stores that begin to decorate or stock items for Christmas as soon as Halloween is over.  I mean, there's still Thanksgiving to observe and celebrate. My Christmas decorations come out at the proper time - the day after Thanksgiving.
That is, until the flu, bronchitis, colds, and pneumonia hit our house.  For the most part, I am healthy.  Right now I'm the only one steering this ship called Home.   However, the past three nights I have grown nauseated and ran a low grade temp then the next day I'm fine and can take care of the family.  It's almost as if God knows at least one of us is going to have to feel okay for a majority of the day.
Needless to say, the Christmas decorations are not up but I have been pinning away on Pinterest like a mad woman.  I also made it out to two stores today to get some decorating items: 1. Vinemont Flower and Herbs and 2.  Dollar Tree.  After watching the following video, I had to buy some more deco mesh.  I love this stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iA8ylJWzzVc

So here's my loot and I'll share my plan:)

1.  Put up kids tree in the Toy Room.  The theme for this tree is Kids Crafts.  Whatever Christmas ornament the kids have made through preschool, church, at home, or school goes on this tree.  A lot of bright colored ornaments will be on this tree.  I found some purple glitter ornaments at Dollar Tree but in the above pic they're hiding behind the ribbon and they look maroon.  Trust me, they're purple.

2.  Put up tree in Dos and Tres' room.  Their room has a large front facing window so I put a tree in their room.  As I can afford more trees I will gladly add them to our room and the other two kid rooms but for now three trees will have to do.  This one is Snowflakes with lime green and red accents.  It's only a 3' tree but I loved to see the lights shining from their window when we pull in at night.  I bought some more ribbon for this tree to add some density to the decorations.

3.  Put up the big tree in the Living Room.  Since our ceiling in this room is 12' tall, we cheat and put the tree on a stand to make it look taller.  Again, one day, when there's money to splurge we will get a BIG tree but for this year, the one we have will do.  The theme for this tree is Snowmen and I'm trying to work in some vintage Christmas colors here but not really sure I can do that without scratching what I've got and starting over altogether. 

4.  New to this year:  decorating the TV armoire, the dining table, and the entry furniture piece with cedar boughs.  I'll keep you posted on how they turn out.

Hopefully we will get decorations out of the attic tomorrow - hopefully. 

We Just Might Make It

Took Dos and Quattro to the doctor today.  Since getting Tres' results of the flu back yesterday,  I figured I better get the boys to the doc before Turkey Day.  Neither one of them have the flu but Dos has run a low grade fever off and on with a lot of sneezing and runny nose. 
As I sit at my laptop, looking at a clean house, I am thankful for a lot:
1.  God gave me the strength to do a major overhaul on cleaning and disinfecting the house.  I can't even tell you how many loads of laundry I've done today.  But I can tell you all of our beds have new sheets and clean comforters on them. 
2.  Thankful for insurance.  Numero Uno made the move to his current employer eight years ago and I was skeptical.  For the life of me, I do not know why other than it was change and change makes me nervous.  It has been a great company with great benefits.  However, Tamiflu, even after insurance coverage still cost us $75!
3.  Thankful for an amazing husband who stood beside me today helping wherever it was needed.  I love the partnership he and I share.  I was busy cleaning and he would help with the little one or I would be feeding one kiddo and he would be helping the others. I feel like I can conquer the world with him by my side:)

Tomorrow we will have a makeshift dinner here with just us.  I'm about to map out when to start cooking each of my menu items and I'm pretty excited cause I'm gonna peruse The Pioneer Woman's site to see what recipes she has to share:)  Now if I can just hold off any sickness coming my way....