All moved in!

We're almost all moved in! Except for hanging some pictures and curtain rods, and setting up the last of the VCR's, DVD's, Wii's and all the other electronic junk that I'm no good with, we are officially apartment dwellers. DH says we're "scrubs" now, whatever that means : )

Trying to fit our stuff into this widdlebiddy apartment has been interesting. But it will be fun to see how much we can survive with (or without). I may not need 2 tons of Tupperware and most of the scrapbooking stuff I never used anyway! By the end of our 8 months here, we may just have a huge "moving in" sale and sell half of what's been in storage.

The best thing about this place is DH is a mile from work. It takes him 7 minutes to get to work and 5 minutes to get home. He said something yesterday about missing the "down time" he got during his former 15-20 minute drive home. I looked at him like he was crazy. I love having him home at 6:08 instead of 6:24. Hey, sixteen minutes makes a big difference in whether or not your pasta is past its prime, y'know?

All in all, we're looking forward to a VERY happy new year, and hope you are, too!

On The Move...

Guess what? Our house sold! It's been on the market for a little over 3 months and the right people finally came along. Guess what else? They want to close on December 29th. OMG....

We looked at some houses this morning, while two showed potential, they weren't "perfect". We've been so spoiled with this house, finding anything that comes anywhere near acceptable is going to be quite difficult. We'll continue to look, and may end up renting until we can find the perfect home, or decide to build something of our very own.

Meghan's having a hard time with it. She doesn't like looking at houses. Trying to explain to her that someone is going to buy our house and we can't live there anymore is going to be hard. I'm hoping the transition will go smoothly, but that's a lot of change for an almost-4-year-old.

I'm praying for strength, patience and understanding, and peace. Strength for all the boxes I'll be packing, patience and understanding for helping Meghan get through this, and peace for my mind and heart.

I LOVE this time of year!

I love fall, Thanksgiving, getting ready for Christmas, the crisp air, the aroma of cinnamon and spices...this is MY time of year! I look forward to days spent with family and friends, indulging myself in foods of the season, and polishing my toes in festive hues for Holiday parties.

It's hard keeping my inner-Martha Stewart in check, though...Magazines team with crafty ideas that {OMG} I can do myself! So today I plan to mix up some Russian Spiced Tea and fill these altered Prima jars (left) for Meghan's teachers' gifts. I mean, what's better than a little homemade goodness? I feel like I give a little bit of myself with each homemade goodie.

I love the crafts I can do with Meghan! On Monday, we made a wreath out of construction paper handprints and a paper plate, and wrote something Meghan was thankful for on each hand. Of course, there were the obvious things, like Mommy and Daddy, and some of her toys, but then she'd say "making hot cocoa with Grammy" and it would make my heart smile : ) You can't buy memories.

So here's to Homemade Holidays...go make yours great!

Meghan's First Dentist Visit!!!

Miss Meghan surprised the pants off me today by being the model patient while having her teeth cleaned. In fact, she's such an expert now that as soon as it was my turn, she told me, "Now you have to sit real still, Mommy"...hehehe! Anyway, the big dork that I am, I brought my camera. What? I HAD to...

A good cleaning by Miss Judy


Dr. Cranford double checking...


Showing off those pearly whites


Did you see those awesome sunglasses in the first picture? ; )
Meghan chose a racecar themed toothbrush instead of the predictable princess brush. She got a whole goodie bag full of fun stuff, and two stickers for her shirt. What did we do to celebrate? Went to get ice cream...here's to job security, Dr. Cranford!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween everybody! I can't wait to get Meghan into her homemade Sleeping Beauty costume tonight (THANKS MOM!!!!!) so I can get a pic of her for November's contest at Memory Book Inspirations! This is such an easy challenge, and what an awesome prize!

http://memorybookinspirations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=5368

I love looking at all the costumes people come up with. Our Halloween costumes were always homemade; I remember being a jar of jelly beans, a princess (of course, don't all girls have to be a princess at least once?), a ghoul, a country gal (that one was fun), and the Pink Panther. To me, it's way more fun to think up a costume and see it come to fruition, than just go to WalMart and buy the same plastic and nylon get-up as everyone else. Now if you do that, that's fine, it's just not as fun for me.

Meghan's Halloween history includes being a cheerleader (1st year), Cinderella (ok, I bought this one but there's not a lot of selection for girls ages 12-18 months...), and last year she was a strawberry (proudly handmade) for which she received many compliments!

I think people like seeing homemade things. Life has become all too "easy" and it's dumbing us down. We no longer have to put on our thinking caps, because someone's already thought of everything for us. Let's take a stand in 2009 to think for ourselves a little bit more, not only at Halloween, but every day!!!

Have a SAFE and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

It's all about the gourds...

Wow, what a day!

We decided to pick out a pumpkin while Grammy was visiting and give it a paint job. After Meghan told us what she wanted on her pumpkin (two triangle eyes, a triangle nose and a big smile), I drew it on with a Sharpie and gave her free reign with the black paint. Except that she didn't fill in the shapes, she painted around them. So we have a reverse Jack 'O Lantern. Wanna bet it's the only one? ; )

Click on the play button:


So after we got done painting on Jack's face, I got the wild idea to turn some decorative waxed gourds into votive holders. My mom was SO thrilled with this idea (yeah right). But, I think they came out nicely! Here's my Martha Stewart project for the day:

My latest creation

I've spent what free time I have during the last 2 days making this beaded bracelet. It's certainly not for everyone, but I love the colors I used: browns, oranges, greens and dark purples. It reminds me of harvest colors.



I think I'm about jewelry'd out. The upcoming craft fair at my mom's church has had me making enough jewelry, altered items, and handmade cards to last me a LONG time! Of course, there's still a lot more I'd like to do, but a trip to the craft store is imperative...I'm running out of necessities! *gasp!*