Ringing the Salvation Army Bell

Jacob and I volunteered to ring the Salvation ARmy Bell for an hour at Kroger today. It was so cold but it was so much fun. The church we have been attending does this one week during the Christmas season. So we may make this a family tradition!!!!

Christmas Cards 2011

Trying to decide which card to use...will run it by the family tomorrow for the final decision...

One more craft

didn't turn out as well as I had hoped but it wasn't bad for my first try. Didn't help that my modge podge is now tinted an army green...lol.

An artsy kind of night!!!!

I have had a night full of arts and crafts!! I started off this afternoon with the kids trying some "melted crayon" art. It was FANTASTIC!!! wE extremely enjoyed it, I am SURE I enjoyed it the most!! Tonight when my husband got home from work I made a mad dash to Lowe's to pick up a little something to complete a project I have been wanting to make. While there I also found some cute glass tiles and thought hmmm.. I know what I could make with these!!!

So I have made this tonight...

Still not happy with the necklace, but this is what I have to go with around the house. When I get ready to make them for gifts I will have to do a little more research.....

And this, wasn't happy with the results, will have to try another method next time...


I also made this....
another melted crayon art project I saw online....isn't it just adorable. I am so happy that some people come up with the greatest ideas, so that I can copy them!!!


And finally. I have been wanting to make this for sometime now but had not decided on a frame. Plus I needed to buy the screen. Well today I went to the Old House Depot and found this for $5....



all I did was add cup hooks and a hanger on the back and.....

cabinet

i don't know if I have blogged about this or not-and I am too lazy to go back and check. I got a cabinet from a friend several months ago, she is moving and just wanted to get rid of it, so it was FREE!!! I painted it, sanded it and here it is!!!! I am using it to store movies, games and electronics.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Catching Up

I realized while going thru some photos on FB that I haven't blogged about some of the events of the summer/fall. So here is a quick summary ....


JoAnna's first ballet recital...just love that face..LOL...


JoAnna's apron she painted at the homeschool Art Co-op


a little project I made with newspapers...I have an abundance of those these days LOL...

Pumpkin Patch

Visiting Daddy at work
Touring the ambulance
playing with the radio
grilling hot dogs and marshmallows in the backyard....


Our little picnic in the family room...while watching a movie....
JoAnna's first field trip...to the pumpkin patch....
A little project I made for JoAnna's school teacher....

Jace and JoAnna painting...

crayon art: My parents Christmas gift

I will have to wait a while before I can post these on FB as I don't want my mom to see this yet. I haven't finished it yet but this is the progress we have made today. I LOVE IT!! I saw this "crayon art" on pinterest and fell in love!! I was determined to try it this weekend with my kids. So I started getting supplies ready and thought...hmmm... I will make a purple and gold one for my parents. Then I thought...yeah, I will have the kids melt the crayons and then the title will be "Our Family Bleeds Purple and Gold"!!! I am so excited!!! The kids loved it, well except the 2 year old he wouldn't hold the hair dryer....LOL.

MELTED CRAYON ART!!!!

I am so going to try this soon!!!! LOVE IT!!!!

First Karate Tournament

Jacob had his first karate tournament this weekend! He did awesome!!! He received his first belt promotion-a white belt with an orange stripe!!! He did a fabulous job with his combos and the obstacle course. His form is excellent-and I am not saying that just because I am his mother. He takes everything he does seriously and does it to the best of his ability and that shows with each hit, block and kick.

I am VERY proud of him.

My first 5K ..... was a bust

I wanted to run a 5K before my birthday...which is this month. I had high hopes. I started off strong last fall doing the Couch to 5K plan. It was going great. Then the holidays hit. Then I just got lazy. So needless to say I signed up to walk this 5K. I also signed my kids up. My mom, my sister's roommate, my kids and I were planning on walking. My sister of course was running. We get to the starting line...my 4 year old decides she needs to potty. Lovely. So I walk her to the bathroom thinking I will be able to easily catch up with the stroller (which was carrying my two other children)....WRONG! I ended up having to carry her on/off for the first mile. Then I caught up with them, but only because I took a wrong turn-the turn you were suppose to make on the second lap. Long story short I didn't even walk the full 5K. Wasn't my fault. I learned a valuable lesson. Make the kids potty right before the race starts. We made it back from the 5K walk just in time for the childrens' 1 mile fun run. Of course my 4 year old had to potty AGAIN at the beginning of the race. When I explained to her she would miss the race if we went to potty she was determined to race. We made it just over halfway when we had to take a detour to potty behind some trees. LOVELY.

Lots of lessons learned.

Women Clip Coupons For A Cause - Video - WAPT Jackson

Here is a news story on our local chapter of Clipping for a Cause!!! We were so excited to get the oppurtunity to share our story!!!!


Women Clip Coupons For A Cause - Video - WAPT Jackson

Crest Kids

This is the 1st-5th grade program at Ridgecrest. Jacob is in first grade this year so I am very excited that he is now old enough to attend!!!! Now if only they had something similar for the younger kids...

need to get some decorating done in my house

We have been in this house 3 years and we haven't done much decorating.

I have done "baby girls" room but havent finished all the details. I have also considered painting her room, YIKES!

First things first...I really want new floors. I hate carpet. We should have pulled the carpet up before we moved in and had wood floors installed. Now it will be a nightmare to have it done. A nightmare I can probably tolerate if I dont have to stare at this stained carpet anymore!!

Here are a few ideas I have come across tonight while browsing..

First Day of School

JoAnna started 4K on August 8th, Jace started 2K and Jacob started homeschooling on Aug 9th. Its our first year to homeschool so I am sending the two little ones to daycare while I keep Jacob at home in the mornings. I go into work at 12 which gives us plenty of time to get our schooling done. So far its been quick and easy because most of his lessons have been review from last year.

I want one of these......

34 before 34

Well I haven't crossed much off my list YET! Hopefully I will get a lot accomplished in the next 2 months......we will see.

Walgreens

Walgreens: 12 bags of Chex mix, a proglide gillette razor, a box of omega smart, and a few fillers...bag of peanut M&Ms, and 7 laffy taffy!!! Two transactions totaling 76.05.... paid $3.16! Used coupons and $22.50 in RR PLUS got $15 back in RR! so basically they gave me $11.84 to buy $76.05 of products!!

SIX DAYS OLD!!!

This little one took about 45 mins to get to sleep, but once she was asleep I had so much fun with her!! She was born 5 lbs 14 oz so she was VERY tiny-but so beautiful!!!!

This week's savings

Well I found a lot of GREAT deals this past week!! I stocked up on razors, eye drops, body wash, TP, childrens benadryl, etc. I haven't done a final tally...but I saved lots of money this week. I am getting the hang of "filler items" and rolling my reward bucks back into my purchases by doing several transactions back to back. I racked up $40 at Walgreens in RR!!!! Most of which I spent today.

This week will be a slow week as there aren't many deals to be had and I am out of coupons for the Kroger mega sale. Oh well...maybe I should check out KuntryKlippers for some great coupons...hmmm..what else do I need to stock up on??

Here are my deals for the week...

I SAVED 77% AT KROGER!!!!!

This is what I got at Kroger tonight...........



I SAVED 77% AT KROGER TONIGHT!!!!! total was 226.76 and I paid 51.13!!!!!! got a 20 oz diet mt dew-needed a little refreshment after all that deal hunting, got 4 2packs of safeguard soap FREE, 5 Brut deo FREE, 5 Capri sun, 3 Friskas Cat food, 10 Fage Organic Yog, 3 4pcks of yoplait yog, 4 single yop, 1 philly cheese cooking cream, p...ack of turkey lunch meat, 2 sm pcks of armour meatballs, styson stk stir fry meat, 4 gold fish, 44 packs of pasta ALL FREE, loaf of bread, 12 krft bbq sauce FREE PLUS .60+back each!!! Kraft bbq sauce is on sale for .49 and I had 12 .45 cent coupons for each one, which is doubled...so I made .60 profit on EACH ONE!!!

This is the portion I sent home with my mom...




...and this is what I plan to donate...