Christmas through the eyes of a two year old

I have spent the past few days decorating our house for Christmas.  Parker had so much fun with all the "new" stuff.  However, it has been pretty entertaining watching how he plays with the decorations.

For Christmas last year my mom gave Parker a bunch of Christmas books.  I packed them away with the decorations so they would be "new" again this year.  He was beyond excited about all of the books and after he read them, he decided they were more well suited as a Choo-Choo train!

I have a Santa Claus decoration that is similar to a Russian Nesting Doll.  It has proven to be his favorite toy.  However, he thinks they are cups and pretends to drink from them.  I'm just waiting for the moment he actually fills one of the wooden figures up with water from our refrigerator door (note to self: remember to child lock the ice and water dispensers).

See that item he's holding?  It's not a Christmas wreath centerpiece for my coffe table.  Nope.  If you look closer you see that it's an alligator.  And, it's chasing him!

I let Parker decorate one Christmas tree all by his self.  He had so much fun doing it!  However, he would place all the ornaments on one tree branch until it was full, then he would proceed to another one.  I know I've morphed into a mom when I bit my tongue and refrained from telling him where to put each ornament so it would look "pretty".  He was so focused and when we ran out of ornaments he was absolutely beaming.  He couldn't wait to show it to his daddy when he got home that evening.  The memory makes me a little teary eyed! 

Once we were finished with the little tree he was overly excited to put together the bigger Christmas tree.  After I put it together there were a few V-shaped tree limbs (I'm assuming to put at the bases of the poles so it doesn't look so fake!  But, to a two year old, they were more fun to wear as hats.  He even told me I had to wear one and when I did so, he told me I was a princess (if someone ever needs a self-confidence booster, just hang out with a two year old!).

As much as he is enjoying all the decorations, the little guitar Christmas tree ornament is taunting him.  I had to move it to a higher branch because even though I thought it was our of his reach, nothing can stand in the way of a budding musician.  I don't have a picture of it, but Parker practically tried to climb the tree to try and yank it down.

Happy Holidays from our house to yours!

2012 Thanksgiving Weekend

I always intend to blog about our holidays and never seem to find the time to do so!  I figure it's too late to blog about Halloween, so instead I'll share about our Thanksgiving whirlwind of events!

1.  Wednesday:  We drove up to Yukon late Wednesday afternoon to Greg's aunt's house.  We had time to visit and hang out with family which was fabulous.  Parker entertained everyone with his rock-star glasses (I forgot to take a picture and he broke them yesterday.  Boo!) and guitar.

2.  Thursday:  We enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving lunch with our family.  Everything was delicious, but my mouth keeps watering for some more of grandmother's cornbread stuffing that she added bacon too.  Yummy! 


Greg and cousins Harper and Ashley

Me and my cousin Halsey

Parker cracking up his cousins Hillarie and Harper

After Parker's nap we drove to Norman so we could spend a few days at Greg's mom and step-dad's house.  That night after I put Parker down I decided to brave the Black Friday craziness!  The plan was to meet up with some girlfriends, but that didn't last long as we were all in the search of good bargains.  I started out at Target and got the first three Twilight movies for $4 a piece!  Yay!  From there I went to Wal-Mart where I had a lot of success!  I bought the entire Harry Potter DVD collection for a little over $20!  Yay!  I also bought a wii for $95 and a new TV stand for our living room for $87!  Yay!  After I left Wal-Mart I ventured over to Best Buy and braved the cold and the wind standing in line for an hour.  I should have got there sooner because the TV we wanted to buy was already sold out (I walked in the door at 12:15 and the doors opened at 12:00.  They were only letting 50 people in at a time).  Boo!  The guy had a TV that was an inch smaller that he said he would sell to me for $250, but I figured Greg would gripe so I said no.  We were wanting to buy a 40" for $187.  To console myself I bought The Lorax DVD for $4.  We recently rented it for family movie night and Parker loved it so I didn't feel as pissy when I left.  I think I climbed into bed that night morning at 1:30.

3.  Friday:  After we got up and around, Greg, Parker and myself headed to the mall.  I needed some new foundation at MAC, I had to get my wedding ring inspected (and cleaned!) to maintain my warranty, and I wanted to find Parker a pair of Christmas pajama's for his Christmas Eve present.  I got a pair and a sweatshirt for him at The Children's Place for $12!  Yay!  We had a nice lunch at El Chico and then left the mall.  It actually wasn't as packed as the stores were the night before.  From there we braved Toys R Us, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart turned into a major score because Greg has been dying to buy a bike with training wheels for Parker.  We got the last one in his size for $29.  Yay!  Parker was with us and rode it all the way to the check out stand and the whole time he kept saying, "Daddy, I want to take this home".  Poor Greg was ready to give it to him right then and there (and he still says he doesn't want to wait until Christmas), but I told Parker that we were just picking it up as a favor for another little boy's parents. 

From there we went to Best Buy.  Greg told me I was crazy for passing up the TV offer the guy made me the night before.  I was obviously getting sleep deprived because I didn't even think about just buying it and returning it if Greg didn't like it.  Luckily, the same employee who told me about it the night before was still working and they had three left!  There was a sign on them that said $299, so they adjusted it at the register for us.  We are now up with the times with a flat screen TV in our living room!  Yay!  (Is it just me, or are there a lot of "yay's" in this post?)  From there we want back to my in-laws house to relax for about an hour before we met some friends for dinner at Red Lobster.  That night after Parker was already in bed, Greg and I left to go watch the final Twilight movie at the theatre!  It was great and I'm so glad that Greg was such a trooper during the entire Twilight series of movies!

Saturday:  I'm not sure if any one has noticed, but I added some new items to my Bucket List recently.  On Saturday, I had the pleasure of marking another item off of that list!  We went to the OU football game!  And not just any game, it was the Bedlam Game!  I know a lot of my family on the East coast may be reading this and wonder what all the excitement is.  Well, Oklahoma doesn't have a pro football team.  Instead, our state either roots for the University of Oklahoma (OU) or Oklahoma State University (OSU).  Bedlam game is OU vs. OSU.  So, it's a pretty big deal!  One of my best friends from high school has 4 season tickets and they invited Greg and I to join them.  We were thrilled!  It was a great game that ended with an OT Sooner win!  BOOMER SOONER!

 

After the game, Greg was anxious to drive the two hours back home.  He is in the middle of fifty million different projects at our house (OK, more like six or seven, but they are all big under takings!) and was ready to go home so he could knock some of the projects off his list on Sunday.  We got home tired and exhausted around 10:30 that night, but were happy to be home with all of our goodies!

Sunday:  I went grocery shopping, cooked lunch and dinner, and tried to complete all of the un-packing (I failed).  Greg and I both put together our new TV stand and then he installed our new TV, along with hooking up our surround sound and the new wii.  All I can say is I was even more excited than usual to watch Revenge and 666 Park Ave that night!

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I voted!

Did you?

This sounds soooo lame, but the best part about the whole process is the little sticker I can wear proudly all day that says, "I Voted".  (Make fun of me if you want, but that sticker also got me 10% off my purchase at Atwoods today!)

See my sticker?
 

The previous election was the first time I chose to exercise my right to vote.  And after all the time I spent researching the different political parties and each candidate, I was really looking forward to that stupid sticker.  We were still "living on the road" at that time, so I did an absentee ballot.  Which meant I didn't get a sticker. :(

This year, I didn't stress myself out over who to vote for.  I watched the debates, tuned out all my friends and their opinions, and voted for the guy that I think can do a decent job.  And then, I got a sticker.  What can I say?  It's the little things in life that please me, and later today when I pick my son up, he'll be excited to steal my sticker, so it will actually make two people's day!

Happy Election Day!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of Fall last month, mainly because I saw this cute little printable on pinterest and I couldn't wait to frame and display one personally. 



Can you find my typo?

To make your own printable, go here.  Once I saved the blank version I opened mine up in my paint program and added text boxes so I could write my own bucket list items.  The size of the picture was not big enough to fit the 8X10 frame I already had (and that was conveniently painted a nice pumpkin orange color), so I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a cute piece of scrapbook paper to place behind my bucket list.  Then, just use a dry-erase marker to check off your bucket list items!

Dream Catcher Necklace

One of my besties asked me recently if I was still making jewelry because she hadn't heard me talk about it lately.  The answer was yes and no.  Do I still like to make jewelry and do I still have all the supplies?  Yes.  Have I actually made anything recently?  No.  Although I hope to do something about that in the very near future.  Her next comment was that after seeing a picture of a dream catcher necklace on pinterest, she had been on a hunt to find one that looked "bohemian" and was not having any luck.  She told me that I should make some and sell them since she couldn't find any necklaces, just the kind one hangs on a wall.

Source: bohogirl.tumblr.com via Misty on Pinterest

                                                         Her pinterest inspiration.

So, being the great friend that I am (ha, ha), I decided to make her a dream catcher necklace for her birthday.  I had never made a dream catcher before, so I had to teach myself by watching youtube videos.  The webbing is pretty hard, and I obviously didn't do it the "right" way since my webbing is not uniform at all.  I have a feeling that it's a craft where over time, practice will make perfect! 

After this picture was taken, I re-did the feathers because I thought they were sticking out too much.

I made two necklaces, one for my friend and one for her sister.  She was pretty excited to see it when she opened her gift, but I keep forgetting to ask her if she has worn hers yet.  If so, I'll ask her to email me a pic of her wearing it and I'll post it at a future date.

In the meantime, I need some feedback.  Would you wear a dream catcher necklace?  Should I make some for my shop?  What would you pay for one?  Any and all feedback would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Oh, How Pinteresting!

It has been a long time since I've linked up for this, but since I remembered it's Wednesday (yes, sadly, sometimes I don't even know what day of the week it is), I decided it was high time I link up for....

Here are some items I'm loving this week:

Source: windchasers.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Look familiar?  Hee, hee!

Source: craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: picasaweb.google.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: thriftycraftygirl.com via Felicia on Pinterest

You are supposed to put a glow stick in the tube, then place them in your bushes for glowing eyes!

Source: alittlebiteofeverything.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: sherellechristensen.typepad.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: myhottropics.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: allrecipes.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Source: media-cdn.pinterest.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Happy Pinning, Y'all!

Painting Pumpkins

A few weeks ago Parker and I had the pleasure of staying the night at one of my best friends house.  It provided some much needed girl time that I had been missing.  Back in the day, Misty and I would have spent the evening with a glass (or two) of wine before heading out to dance the night away.  Fast forward to the present, and since we are both mommy's now, our late night evenings now consist of a glass (or two) of wine (hey, some things will never change), painting pumpkins, and watching a season of Newlyweds on DVD (Misty and I are still hoping Nick and Jessica will some day re-unite.  We can hope, right?)

We began the day by letting the kids paint pumpkins of their own.

Then, topped the night off by painting our own "grown up" pumpkins.

I wish I could say that the inspiration of painting pumpkins came creatively to us, however, I think we were both inspired by pinterest (what else?).  Here was my inspiration:

Source: feelinglovesome.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Here are mine and Parker's finished products!

*We sprayed the big pumpkings with a clear coat afterwards.  However, we didn't clear coat the kids pumpkins.  They used finger paint, and I would highly recommend using a clear coat if that's your paint of choice.  Parker's pumpking has been sitting outside for a few weeks and the paint is peeling off.*

Being Crafty

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm not much of a crafter.  However, I see amazing things all the time on pinterest and it makes me want to be a crafter.  So, here's a quick glimpse of one of my latest crafts, totally inspired by pinterest!

Being the non-crafter that I am, I quickly realized I totally screwed it up!  I figured since the max number of days a month has is 31, that I should only use 31 squares.  But, I failed to remember that calendars typically use Sunday as the first day in the top left corner.  Opps!  One day I may add some more squares, but until then I'll just have to change the order of days at the top each month! 

If you want to make your own Dry Erase Calendar, here's what you'll need:

1.  a large photo frame  (I got mine at Wal-Mart for about $6.00)
2.  paint color samples (I got mine from Wal-Mart...FREE!  I did have to cut them down to size)
3.  Dry erase markers  (I got a two pack at Wal-Mart for $2.49)
4.  Some type of paper for the back ground.  I used silver gift wrap (I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $5.99, but I printed off a 40% off coupon prior to shopping so only spent $3.59)
5.  Tape  (surely you have some tape laying around)

All I did was tape the wrapping paper to the back board of the frame.  Then, I placed the squares evenly on top.  Once they were arranged to my satisfaction, I taped them down.  Last, write in the info of the current month!  Easy peasy!

I am in a mild panic that the year is almost over and I have not even come close to crossing off every item on my yearly goal list.  One item is to give my kitchen desk space a face lift.  That's where this item comes to place!  The desk is still a hot mess, so Greg is refusing to hang my calender until it has been tidyed up.  I made it about two weeks ago.  So, lets just say the calendar is leaning up between said hot mess and my home lap top.  Pics will be posted when it gets a proper make over!

The Childrens Place Model Search

I've entered this adorable photo of Parker (taken by his Papa) into The Childrens Place Model Search.  Please click here to vote for him!  For some reason I didn't enter his name when I was submitting his photo, so to find his picture enter his ID, which is 8930.  Voting ends Oct. 31 and the grand prize is a photo shoot for The Childrens Place along with a $500 gift card to The Childrens Place.  Thanks for your help and votes!!!

Toddler Tales

For those of you who semi-regularly read my blog, you may have noticed that I'm no longer doing my monthly posts about Parker.  I figured blogging every single month for the first two years of his life was a pretty good achievement!  But, I want to blog a few things that he's doing so that when I want to reminisce about his life as a two year old, I'll have a few milestones written down.  Because basically once you become a mommy your brain turns to mush.  I'm not kidding.

So...here are some pretty neat things that Parker (who is 2 years and almost 5 months old) is doing:

1.  He is dressing himself. Sometimes when he is finished I'll have to tell him his shirt or his shorts are on backwards, but for the most part he wants to dress himself! 
2.  He can count to ten!  I don't really get to take credit for this and have day care to thank.  He won't count on command, he basically has to want to count, or if I nonchalantly start counting he may chime in.  He will often skip the number four, but I'm not going to nag him about it.  Yet.
3.  He can feed the dog.  To be honest, I have to monitor this, because if it were up to Parker, Shady would have a dog bowl that would be filled to the brim each meal.  I'm sure Shady wouldn't complain though!
4.  He can open the fridge.  Lucky for me, he only usually does it when he knows I'm about to make him a glass of juice.  I think it's about time I move the wine bottles to the upper shelves...note to self!
5.  He can drink from a cup!  Granted, I still give him sippy cups 99% of the time just because I don't want to have to constantly clean spills.
6.  He also knows how to fill up his cup (or his toys) with water from the refrigerator.  Luckily, that does have a lock option!
7.  He knows how to wash his own hands!  He loves climbing up onto the bathroom counter to turn the faucet on.  He doesn't use soap if I let him wash by his self, and he can't reach the bathroom light, or the bathroom hand towel, but we are making baby steps in the right direction!
8.  He tries to read to himself.  I have often caught him in the act of flipping through a book that I had recently read to him and he will flip the pages and say things that pertain to the page.  His most often quoted book is "no monkeys jumping on the bed!".  He loves being read too!
9.  This has nothing to do with developmental growth, but he finally loves wearing hats!  And bandannas, too!
10.  I recently purchased flash cards and he loves telling me what objects are on the cards.
11.  His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds!

He normally turns his hat around and wears it backwards.

Parker's favorite things are:  going to the beach, boat rides, whistles, running, being read too, Caillou, the movie Cars, fruit, balls, Frisbee's, playing with other kids, sunglasses (although if you ask him where his sunglasses are he will tell you that they are in the lake.  Which is true.), playing "wakeboard" (this is where he pretends he is wakeboarding...his daddy couldn't have been more proud!), and suckers!

This was captured the first time I over-heard him reading to his self.

Hard at play.

He loves sitting next to his daddy on the boat.

 

 

Gettin' Crafty

Aside from making jewelry, I'm not the typical crafty type of gal.  And, I haven't even had the chance to make some fun jewelry in a long time.  However, a month (or two or three) ago, I had someone contact me via my etsy store and asked if I could make several of these particular little gems for her upcoming wedding.

I was ecstatic!  A valid excuse to dig all of my jewelry making supplies out from their hiding spot, plus my first custom order! 

All together, I made three adult and two child sized bracelets.   My picture's not the greatest, but trust me, they were pretty cute!

Way back in February I made this cute beach arrangement!  I'm slowly trying to give my home a beachy feel, and this work of art makes its home on top of my refrigerator.  The "real" sand actually comes from the beach near my house!  A big thanks goes out to my mom, because as she witnessed me at Walls (one of my fave stores!) with my internal struggle as to whether or not I should splurge and spend $25 on the vase, she finally said she'd buy it for me!  (Yes, I am a tight wad)  I'm so glad she did!

Now, for some more current projects!

A few weeks ago we went to a beautiful wedding and this is the item I made for the bride and groom.

I have been obsessed with family name signs for a long time now, and still don't even have one of my own.  However, I've ordered several off of etsy for various wedding presents, but I saw a great tip on pinterest about how to paint letters onto wood.  I figured I'd test it out, and this was the result.  Not super great (I wish the letters were a little bigger), but it worked!  And, I saw the bride recently and she told me it was hanging up above their door, which means it didn't end up as firewood, which is great!

The piece de resistance is the satin minky blanket I made for my sister-in-law.  I followed the instructions that I again found on pinterest.  Now, let me just say, that although I know how to sew, I do not particularly like to sew.  And, I don't do it often enough, so when I do try to whip out an awesome creation attempt to make something, it always seems like I have to re-teach myself a tip or two.  Thankfully I still have the owners manual of my sewing machine along with the required sewing book I had to make in college.  Several days and a few glasses of wine later, I wound up with this.

To find the instructions on how to make your own blanket click here.

Granted, I'm afraid it may not last through more than two trips to the washing machine, and if one were to look at the corners carefully one would see that the ruffles are tacked inside (that's what I get for thinking I would "make it easier" on myself....note to self: next time just make one continuous stitch).  Oh well.  I'd say she was happy when she opened her gift at her baby shower and I hope the softness of the fabric makes my sweet new niece happy!

 

May your life be sewn with Love.
 

Yesterday I ordered the last supply I need to begin a venture on a new craft.  I'd tell you what it is, but it will also be a birthday present, so I better wait to post a pic or two later next month.  Tune in!