Magic Christmas Donuts

Hi There Blog Land,

Yes I know it has been a very looooong time since I posted anything. But a certain 18 month old and not to mention being outnumbered 3 to 1 has left me feeling too tired to keep up with it all. So while I've missed blogging I've had to pick and chose my battles where to focus my energy.

We have an Elf on the Shelf.... This wasn't planned but several days ago my First Grader worriedly asked "Why don't we have an Elf on the Shelf?" And began citing his classmates by name who all had an Elf at their house.

I had enjoyed seeing other folk's creativity and normally would love to do this but it wasn't something I wanted to invest my time, energy, expenses into. However Santa sent one wrapped in a beautiful gold box with a bow and left him at our door with a note explaining the weather had been bad at the North Pole and our Elf who is New in Training got lost!

The kids are loving our Elf they named Alex and I must admit he is getting us in the Christmas spirit.




Last night Alex left us Magic Donut Christmas seeds. They only work at Christmas time. You have to leave them out before bedtime and sing Christmas carols loud. And if you have enough Christmas spirit they will grow into a big donut! We made sure to sing several songs and sure enough it worked!



Alex moved to a higher spot during the night to keep an eye on the kids in the morning. He's a little skiddish around the baby so he likes to stay up high.

Speaking of the baby she enjoyed some bites of donut for the first time. Thankfully she sampled a few nibbles and moved on to yogurt!

The Master was not feeling so swell, he has a cold. Therefore no entusiasm but he did want 2 donuts which are both still mostly untouched.

Stuntwoman was thrilled with the sugar rush and had frosting off 2 donuts, thankyouverymuch!!!

Thanks Alex for the yummy breakfast. We sure enjoy having you here for the holidays!

(Turns out I remember why keeping up with blogging has been so sparse. The baby has tried to tear the office apart 3 times. Since this is not a kid friendly space we try to discourage little people from being here. I think it took me three times longer to get this done! Whew, off to go have a donut!!! Thanks for visiting.)

She keeps me hopping!

Hi Mom! I'm cute right, do not notice the mess I'm making.....

So I had a spare moment I thought to visit other lovely blogging gals and peek into happenings in their corner of the world. But little Miss has other ideas. Like attack the bookshelf. And three times I pulled her away and like a wind up doll she crawled right back over and got into the jewel cases. Daddy would be very upset if he knew. Little Miss is thinking "But it's a jewel case, right?"

Off to crawl away with her catch. Notice the drool on her chin and red knees from crawling all over this house. Not to mention that cheeky little grin!

Spring Break

Wow, has it ever been a blogging drought. I miss posting regularly but my babies keep me hopping. I just had to post this lovely family photo we just had taken while we were visiting with family in Nashville over Spring Break. Hope all you lovelies had a wonderful Spring Break too!

(and yes, those bags under my eyes are because my youngest still likes to wake up waaaay too much every night.... insert loud sigh and yawn here!)

Headers

Can anyone tell me how to center a header????

I've been trying to figure it out and am either too tired or keep getting interrupted by a kid!!!! My brain hurts and feels too full... raising hand - may I be excused please?

Valentine Art

I have selfish motives to fire up my dusty keyboard today. A really talented blogger, Jessica at Craftily Ever After is offering this wonderful Valentine art. Go here to find out more. I really love that she has generously shared her time and talents. To me that is the Body of Christ. Thanks Jessica!

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She has some other art from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. We gave the Thanksgiving Burlap in frames to the kids teachers after I printed them up with a matte finish at Costco. I included a note to the teachers we were Thankful for them. It was easy inexpensive and speaks my love language of giving generously (but was practical for my busy schedule and helped me be mindful of budget).

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I wish I knew how to design subway art like her. I have some fun ideas swimming in my head. One in particular from a sign that caught my eye over the summer at vacation bible school for the kids. She has an etsy shop and does custom orders, someday I'll have to get in touch with her and see about my idea. Who knows maybe she'll share it with the blogging community?

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Do check out all her fabulous tutorials and the rosette balls she made to accompany her Valentine Art!

Pictures with Santa

Our littlest Elf got to meet the big guy the other day. And that led me on a trip down memory lane. I looked up the photos of big brother and sister and their first visit with Santa.

I thought she would cry immediately as she doesn't like to be held by anyone but me these days, darn seperation anxiety. She surprised me by doing okay but after a minute she was not cool with it anymore!

Stuntwoman looks dazed and confused by her first visit with Santa. And she did not cry for the record!

Here is young Master meeting the big guy at 11 months old for the first time and he was dazed momentarily then lost it. If you look closely I'm in the upper right hand corner peeking from the back of Santa's chair upon them.

Gotta love those crying Santa pics, I bet Santa sees alot of that!

Sunday Verse

Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

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It has been so very long since I could find both time and energy at the same time to post. I would love to be able to keep up with blogging and post more regularly as well as comment when I visit blogs of those who are Dear to me. It seems my children keep me busy between kindergarten, preschool and a growing baby who is half a year old. Where has the time gone? I feel it slipping away so quickly like the sands of the hourglass. I keep trying to remind myself that this is only a Season, but some days fly by fast and others feel so slow as I struggle to do the tasks before me. I could go on but I'm sure you can relate. Right now my Family needs me and this is where I need to focus my energy. Hopefully I can get back to blogging soon, it is so very therapeutic for me. In this Season I give Thanks for every blessing bestowed.

Busy with Travels

My what a busy summer it has been! I know I have been far too absent from blogging but 3 little ones are keeping me on my toes. Hubby took a 6 week sabbatical from work and we traveled 4 of the 6 weeks! So I have lots to chat about and here goes.

Yes that is me crazy enough to travel back to Canada with a then 2 and a half month old baby. we are at the airport ready for takeoff! I am happy to report the kids did great flying.

Hugs in downtown Toronto in front of the CN Tower.

We took several trips within the trip and here we were on our way to Niagara Falls. We had stopped for a lovely picnic by Lake Ontario. I just adore this picture of my sweet girl and her flowers!

Snug as a bug in the Moby wrap!

I was having a good hair day, so here's another shot of the crew!


We never made it to the Greek festival, "Taste of the Danforth" when we lived in Canada but it was going on so we checked it out. Man was the food ever awesome!

How cute are these 2?

Lastly we made it to Cottage Country were we had the opportunity to rent a previous co-workers family cabin. It was really beautiful and relaxing there.

They sure have a nice place, we enjoyed staying there!

So Peaceful!

Refreshment!

The family who owns the cottage keeps art supplies and encourages you to decorate a rock and add to their garden. (Do you see the Gene Simmons one Dear Hubby did?)

I added a smiley face later. It's my legacy for whoever sees it to "Have a Nice Day"!

On our way back to Toronto we stopped at Santa's Village an amusement park and I couldn't resist showing our little elves. Love the mischievousness!!!

Here's the cutest elf of all!

More travel updates as little elves allow ;)

Sunday Verse

Leviticus 27:30-32 (New International Version)

30 " 'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. 31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD.

Today we began teaching the concept of tithing to our 5 year old after he earned his first allowance. I am very proud of him and know that I am building the Kingdom of God!

Showers of Blessings!

Hello Blogosphere! Long time no blog as I have been a busy gal this summer. See exhibit of Miss Maple Leaf below. But I couldn't miss out on the exciting surprise blog shower for Dawn of Spontaneous Clapping! And by the way Dawn I love that photo of ya'll ;)

And speaking of Miss Maple Leaf, she was wondering if Peanut (Dawn's Baby Bump) has a prom date yet?

So lovely Dawn remember when I was waiting to find out what gender my 3rd kiddo was? I had outfits planned for each outcome and pink it was for me. I have to admit I am always wrong and my husband always right when it comes to guessing. Anyhow I am rambling. So sadly I didn't get to use these adorable high tops.

They scream "B" to me. For those or you reading who don't know what I mean by B he is Peanut's Daddy to be.

I did an applique to this onesie and am dying from the cuteness. Do you think I could get away with doing a shirt like this for my five year old?

Here is the whole ensemble. Dawn, Please take pictures of Peanut, pretty please?!

And Dawn needs something shiny and new too. So here is my hand at trying to make tile necklaces. Hope you enjoy them. I mailed your brown paper package tied up with string yesterday. (By the way it took me all week to pack it... something to do with 3 kids and being 3 times busier!)

On to motherly advice. Since this is a baby shower I will just alert you that little boys have little fire hoses and they will use them, watch out! Which brings me to my next bit of advice, shower when you can! Dawn, you will be a great Momma and the best part is you get to have a Momma's Boy. There is a special connection with Moms and Sons. Can't wait to see Peanut when he arrives. Much Joy and Love and Hugs from Texas to You!

Hopes and Dreams

We have had a very busy summer and have been traveling and are planning to go on one more trip in 2 weeks. So, I haven't really had time to update my blog or visit others. The travel and kids have kept me super busy.

I'm not sure why this first day of school picture is so small. I'll try to repost for Grandma's when I can get a lesson from Hubby. I'm not liking the new computer, or maybe it's not liking me!!!

This week or oldest started Kindergarten! I have had such mixed emotions about letting go and trying to control everything. Finally today after a week of dealing with new routines and adjustments I have some perspective. I have worried every day over things like is he getting enough to drink and eat and is he happy? Also not feeling like I understand the school routines.... After all isn't it a Mother's job to worry? But today the spirit prompted me with a gentle reminder that worry is a sin. So I am letting go and Trusting in God. I wish I had more time to expand on this post but want to follow up with a love letter to my son. For now his Daddy took him to school and I have two baby sisters needing me, one wants juice with breakfast the other wants Mommy milk! I need a shower and a pile of laundry and housework awaits. Dear Reader, I have a request that you say a quick prayer blessing our family with the fruit of the spirit and for Me to have Peace! Many Thanks!!!

Grandpa's Masterpieces

So ya'll remember the fun art project we did last week at the park right? I can't believe I linked to it and if you scroll down it's just a couple posts before... anyways. So Grandpa had a Birthday this week. And what do you get a guy who has everything? Well you give him original artwork from his Masterpieces!

I found the abc stickers in the dollar bin at Target, woot! I used the same technique spelling out the word and framed it off with masking tape. I started off trying to get the kids to paint the wording but it wasn't working. Turns out I had to sponge it on quickly so as not to shift the letters. I had some cardboard underneath for protection and to keep it level of course. I only managed to get the baby's footprints, because 2 month olds curl their hands up + paint = MESS!

After that dried I sectioned off the back with more masking tape and let the kids paint more original artwork on the back. If you try this make be sure you put the older kid the direction the shirt will be worn, he started painting roly poly stick people upside down! You can see if you look close at his part. Then he added an ant parade. You can see that the younger one had streaks of design very "Jackson Pollock"! So if I'd placed her at the top it wouldn't have mattered that she was painting upside down because it would look good from any direction.

We finished off with a custom decorated designer shirt box for our unique Birthday gift. I think Grandpa will be one stylin Dude with a priceless gift. In fact I think I want one of my own! Happy Friday and have a lovely weekend friends.

Using old crayons

Our crayon tubs have gotten full of broken and worn down crayons. So I started sorting by color so we can try this project. Off to the left are some cheaper ones which don't melt and if made in China could be questionable for product safety. I'll be more careful to inspect when we get crayons from dining out... I just always bring them home and throw them in the coloring supplies. From now on those will go in the trash!

The kids had fun helping me grate these up. Be forewarned it is really messy!

Next we piled our shavings on a rock we found at the park. And then we let the Texas sun do it's thing. The kids had fun checking on the progress throughout the day.

Our finished handiwork. These will make a nice paperweight gift for a loved one. In fact Master gifted me with his right on the spot and announced the other was for Aunt Kathy.

En plein air

Today we did art outside, which the French refer to as "en plein air".
And while it was nice to be outside it was nicer to contain the mess factor. I absolutely adore how this project turned out and bonus the kids had a blast.

The proud artists displaying their work!

I think it would be fun to do your name, holidays phrases, fun words... shapes.... you get the idea right? I see us making some of these as Christmas presents this year. For the how to instructions I discovered them here at explanation required . I discovered her delightful blog after looking at another project she did that was featured on One Pretty Thing another favorite blog of mine. I heart you, internet!