Countdown to 2011

Just when I'm finally getting used to writing 2010 on my checks....2011 sneaks up on me.  We have exciting New Year's Eve plans - putting the kids to bed and relaxing!  Seriously, at this point, it's my ideal night.  It's been a busy week - here's a little of what we've been up to:
On Christmas Eve, we completed our last Christmas project of the year, which was to make the melted snowman cookies that have been showing up everywhere in blogland.  I didn't have most of the cute decorating things I wanted, but with my only option being to head out to the grocery store for the billionth time, we went the "less is more"  (aka - grab whatever I can find in the pantry) route.  Jackson was super proud of them, so really that's what matters!

Later that evening we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service and then drove around to look at Christmas lights.  When we got back home, it was time for a new tradition - finding the pickle on the Christmas tree.  I have always thought this was such a cute idea (a pickle ornament is hidden and the first one to find it gets a special present) and this year a special friend gave me a pickle ornament!  We decided to hide it on Christmas Eve so it didn't get missed in the craziness of Christmas morning.  Jackson was very excited to find the pickle and wanted to pretend he was going to take a bite out of it for the picture...

His prize was the Yeti car from the Cars movie - to which he remarked, "If anyone else would have found the pickle, this present still would have been for me!"  Smartie pants.

Then the kids got to open their new Christmas jammies...

and then we sent them to bed!

Christmas morning was great, with J being thrilled over every new Star Wars toy and Carly loving on her new baby doll.  We spent most of the day at my in-laws, eating lots of good food and having fun with lots of family!  Unfortunately I forgot my camera :(

We had planned to leave for Western MD Monday, but when we woke up Sunday morning to get ready for church, we saw the weather predictions for a possible 6-10 inches of snow arriving later that day (as it turned out, we only got a dusting)!  Our plans quickly changed and we packed up and headed to Maryland to visit my family.  We spent several days there, exchanging gifts, playing in the snow...

and meeting up with extended family.  There were some bittersweet moments due to some life changes that happened in 2010 - my maternal grandmother moved to a different area, so we were only able to talk to her on the phone for Christmas this year (although we hope to go see her soon!), and my paternal grandmother moved into an Assisted Living.  It is becoming increasingly harder for her to get around, so this year for Christmas, we used the Nursing Home's Multipurpose Room for our family get-together.  We missed the coziness of being in a home, but it was great to see all the family who could be there, and every moment spent with my sweet Grandma is a treasure!
Since coming home, we've been finishing up some projects, playing with all our new toys, making some returns, checking out all the after-Christmas sales, and doing some freezer cooking.  The week has been jam-packed, so yes...now with the kids all snuggled in their beds, it is time to relax with my hubby to ring in the New Year!  Happy 2011!

Merry Christmas!

Gifted Tag Christmas

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How Many Kings?

As I have mentioned previously, I am a girl who loves traditions.  A few years ago, my in-laws started the tradition of getting each of us girls a new Christmas cd for Thanksgiving each year.  I love Christmas music and I love this tradition!  This year I picked Downhere's "How Many Kings?" and I am definitely not disappointed!  I have enjoyed Downhere since they first played at Cherry Glade Mennonite's Breakaway all those years ago in my tiny hometown of Accident (yes, you read it right), Maryland.  They sang the Mentos theme song and hung out with those of us in the youth group....laughed as group members were "measured for a coffin" by some of the youth group guys....which is a little initiation-type game that involves pouring water down the unsuspecting party's pants leg, making them appear as if they had a potty accident.
Anyhoo....the song "How Many Kings" has become my favorite Christmas song this year, and I think it pefectly captures the true meaning of Christmas. 



Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe, after all we've projected,
A child in a manger?
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl -
Just a child -
Is this who we've waited for? 'cause...

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have, whether costly or meek
Because we believe.
Gold for his honor, and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he will suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we've waited for?

All for me...
All for you...

So thankful for Christmas and the gift of Jesus.

Cranberry Love

I made an impulse buy at the grocery store the other day - fresh cranberries.  I love cranberries but have never really done anything with the fresh kind.  So I went to one of my favorite recipe sites, http://www.food.com/ to find some yummy cranberry recipes.

I first made cranberry chocolate scones - my first ever attempt at scones - and they were delicious!  Then I made sugared cranberries - another YUM!  I love the way they "pop" when you bite into them, and the sweet-tart combination is great.  Bonus - they are so pretty!  :)

The only bad things....1)  the recipe called for superfine sugar to roll the cranberries in, which I didn't find, so I used regular granulated sugar.  As you can kind of see in the picture, the sugar got a little clumpy.  2)  Evidently no one else in my family is a big fan of cranberries....but at least that leaves more for me :)

Click here to see a list of parties I may have linked to!

Christmas Craft: Trees

Jackson is having so much fun being creative and doing crafts lately, so when Carly takes a nap, I usually try to think of a fun project for us to do.  Today we made Christmas trees!  The styrofoam cones were from Dollar Tree, the sparkly pom poms were from Joann's in the dollar section, and I had the rest of the supplies on hand, so this was a really fun and inexpensive craft for us to do together.

I had seen this tree at Target and wanted to make something similar....

For J's, I cut up squares of green construction paper and had him glue them all over the styrofoam.  There is a definite reason why gluesticks are more popular than regular white glue....what a mess.  Plus he got bored about halfway through so I had to finish sticking on the construction paper.  After that, I used the glue gun to put on everything else exactly where he showed me.

Here's our final products!  I love them!

Click here for some parties I may have linked up to!

Christmas Craft: Burlap Table Runner

I'm not sure why, but I really have a love for burlap.  Maybe because it's supposed to look a little frayed and imperfect - you can't really mess it up too much, it just adds character!  This is a super easy project I did earlier this week with just some burlap, ribbon, rick rack, and a glue gun.  I wanted it to be pretty plain so it wouldn't interfere with whatever I decide to sit on top of it.

Hint:  I discovered that instead of taking time to try and cut a perfectly straight line on the burlap, just snip a little and rip out one of the strings where you snipped.  It will leave a gap in the burlap and make it super easy for you to know where to cut.

Click here for some parties I may have linked up to!

Rat Cookies

Earlier this week we received a special Christmas package in the mail from Kana, a Japanese student who stayed with us for three weeks a few years ago.  She sent the kids some Disney, Hello Kitty, and Pokemon items, and also sent lots of Japanese candy, cookies, and other treats!  We've tried a few of them by now and this morning after breakfast I let the kids open another treat (stellar parenting, I know!)  We picked a box that looked like it had something similar to animal crackers, and the names of the animals were written (in English) on them.  Cute!

They tasted pretty good too!  But I do question their choice of animals......

Rat and Pigeon?  MMM.....tasty!  (The "furseal" did make me laugh.)

Everyday Cuteness

My kids are growing up so fast.  Sigh.  I wish I could capture every single moment and remember it forever!  Unfortunately lots of the everyday cuteness will probably be forgotten.

Today was this big guy's last day of school before Christmas break!  I made a special dessert of mini smores pies (the recipe:  mini graham cracker crust pies, chocolate chips, marshmallows under the broiler for a bit) to celebrate.  As you can see, he loved it...

And here's my little laundry helper.  It's amazing how quickly they catch on to things.  The other day she found a piece of trash, crawled to the kitchen, opened the cabinet, and threw it it the trashcan.  Craziness.

Love them to pieces.

Laundry Room: Before

We are finally in the last stages of our laundry & mud room remodel - puttying holes, putting the last coat of paint on the trim, etc.  I'm so so so happy with how it all turned out.  When we bought our home, a 1961 Cape Cod, a little over three years ago, we bought it because of the potential it had, definitely not what it already looked like.  In the meantime, we have done a lot of work - adding lights to ceilings, replacing windows, ripping up carpet, pulling out ivy, ripping out the backyard jungle & planting grass, taking down wallpaper, painting, painting, and more painting.  Our laundry and mud room was our first "real" remodeling project.
At some point, one of the previous owners bred dogs.  There were two rooms and a little porch built off the garage for this purpose.  When we came through the house for the first time, this is what we saw in those rooms...

a dirty dog bathtub!  Just what every home needs, right?  No?  So, we probably didn't need the kennels that were built in the second room either.  And the stench....oh.my.word.  It was unbelievable.  Looking back, what were we thinking?!  We literally had to air these rooms out for a year and go in every few weeks with a can of good smelling spray and just coat the place.  It eventually became ok, but the rooms were so gross and nasty I didn't even want to walk in them.  But...being that the room had plumbing already.....and the fact that the washer and dryer were located in the nearly equally gross basement...the wheels were turning.  It would be a perfect laundry room!
Fast forward a few years - we completely gutted those rooms and hired a contractor to do most of the rest.  He used a little of the garage space to build a hallway to connect these rooms with the rest of the house and it worked out perfectly!
Some more "before" or "during" pictures...

View from the garage - please excuse the Titans sign - that is due to my husband - and it is only allowed in the garage (his domain)... we all know the rest of the house is devoted to the Steelers.

So, there you have it - the "before."  Click here to see the big reveal!!

Group Deals & Savings Sites

If you follow savings blogs at all, you have probably noticed all the Group Savings Sites that have become popular lately. I thought I'd share some of my favorites...
1) Groupon - a daily deals site that has different deals depending on your location. I purchased a $50 Gap coupon for $25...waited for a good sale, and got some great deals!  You can take advantage of other locations, if yours isn't listed.... the Gap deal was from Boston I believe, but it was good nationwide!
2) RueLaLa - I recently purchased a Lord & Taylor $50 for $25 - and had $20 credit, so paid only $5!!! We don't have a Lord & Taylor nearby, but I can use it online to get some great stuff.
3) One Kings Lane - mostly decor & home furnishings - upon signing up, I received a $15 credit (I *think* new accounts still do, but I can't be sure). Just today, I bought this fun little tray

and because of my credit, I paid only $1.95! (and you can use PayPal, which is a huge plus for me!) - They don't give special sign up links, so head straight to their website, or if you really love me, let me know and I'll invite you via email - that way I get a little credit if you decide to make a purchase!
4) Zulily - I haven't purchased from this one yet, but they have some seriously cute stuff, mostly for babies & kids.

5) Groopdealz - lots of handmade stuff and crafting supplies - it's a new deal each day and I think today's is especially cute - rosette rings from Love Stitched!

Let me know if there are other great sites that you love or if you try out any of these!  Happy shopping!

I'm Sensing a Theme Here...

So, yeah.  I am a cheapskate frugalista.  I was shopping at Target (said with a French accent to sound super classy) and saw a pack of Christmas letter stickers ("JOY") for 99cents!  I have quite the fascination with letter stickers, letter rub-ons, etc, and for 99cents....I "splurged."  This afternoon I had a few minutes while the baby was napping and the guys were out, so I decided to do something with the stickers.  (Sidenote:  soooo proud of myself for this, because usually these things just end up in a drawer somewhere!)
Here's the supplies I used:

I wasn't sure what paper to use, so that's why 3 kinds made it into the picture.  This project was SUPER simple.  I painted the frame black (used one of the very basic wooden frames from Michaels - it doesn't have glass so it showed off the 3D stickers), cut the paper to fit, glued it on, and then put the stickers on.  Doesn't get much easier than that! And here's the finished product....

Since I had all the supplies except for the stickers, the project was completed for a grand total of 99cents!

Click here for a list of parties I may have linked to!

My very first feature!  Thanks SO much!!

El Cheapo Christmas Decorations

The tree farm we went to last weekend offered free greens....so of course hearing the word "free," I helped myself.  I figured I could make a wreath instead of buying one....and so I did!
This was my first wreath making attempt, so I didn't have any of the supplies I needed.  I bought a wreath form for $2.99 and some green floral wire for around $2 and went to town with my free greens!  It wasn't too hard and I think it turned out ok....maybe next year i will make it a little fuller.  Tied it up with some Christmasy ribbon and....viola - a pretty cheap decoration for the front door.  Note to self:  next year, pay attention to instructions and wear gloves!  Things got pretty sticky.

I also have scattered greens throughout the house, on the mantle, around the nativity, etc.  I love the added bonus of the pine smell!
I am lucky enough to have a massive holly tree in our front yard, so each year I take advantage of that for more decor freebies.  I love the cute little red berries!

Cookie Monster

In preparation for an annual cookie exchange, I have been busy in the kitchen today - making 12 dozen peanut butter balls and now working on pumpkin spice cookies.  Meanwhile, someone's been busy in the dining room, where the cookies are waiting to be iced....

I don't know how she managed to reach, but there are definitely a few missing.

Our (Im)Perfect Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is probably one of the most "non-frugal" things we do... we insist each year on buying a real tree.  Every year after the holidays when the great sales are going on I am tempted to buy a prelit tree, which would end up saving so much money over the years....but I just can't bring myself to do it!  I love getting a real tree - love picking it, love the smell, love everything.  I especially love all the little imperfections that make it - perfect.  I just couldn't imagine having a cookie cutter perfect tree - no branches out of place, no dead needles, no bare spots.  I have wanted (for years) to start the tradition (i am a tradition-loving girl) of cutting down our own tree instead of buying it from a lot.  Finally, this was the year! 

We headed out a few days early to tag our tree.....

Poor Carly never makes it into the action shots - this is a picture to prove she was there.

Tagging our tree!

"Mommy, can we get this one?!  It's ORANGE!!"

Jon worked the day after Thanksgiving, so Saturday we went to pick it up!  We were glad we tagged it early because it was FRIGID, and we did not want to spend any more time there than we needed to.

BRRR.... borrowing Ellie's gloves.

We brought it home and after a quick run to KMart when we realized half of our lights no longer worked, the decorating began!  We love to go through all of our favorite ornaments - the kids get one as a present each year representing their favorite things or something special from the year.  Of course the little guy still needs some direction - "let's not put 3 ornaments on the same branch" - but overall things stay where he puts them - so yeah, we have some ornaments that are definitely too close, but again those imperfections are what end up making it perfect. 

Decorating was extra fun this year because we had special help from our Thanksgiving guest, Ellie, from England!

And here it is.... our perfect tree.

Frugal Finds - Thanksgiving Edition

Although I am SUPER pumped for Christmas, I'm still holding myself back from decorating.  I'm following the unwritten rule that I must not break out the Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving (or possibly Thanksgiving evening.....) and plus, I'm finding some super cute cheap (or free!) Turkey Day decor.  Thought I'd share it in case you are looking for some last minute additions to your thanksgiving table.
Carli at Dimpleprints has created a seriously adorable *HUGE* package of Thanksgiving printables.  There's banners, food labels, signs, recipe cards....you name it, it's there - for *FREE!*  I printed off some cute favor tags to put on the goody bags for J's class party tomorrow.  I would love to print a ton more stuff, but I'm not too stocked up on printer ink and cardstock at the moment!  Here's a glimpse as to what is in the package....

There are sooo many possibilities with this collection!  If you see something you like, click here to visit Dimpleprints!  Since I just finished the goody bags, here's a pic of how they turned out - simple but cute!

Another great find was this Faux Burlap Thanksgiving Print - I ordered it as an 8x10 photo from Shutterfly - it came today and looks so great!  I'll pop it in a frame and have an instant Thankgiving decoration!

Some other deals today...

If you are a fan of Dunkin' Donuts coffee (my husband's favorite kind), it's worth mentioning that on Black Friday at Dunkin' Donuts (at least our local one), coffee will be on sale - 6 lbs for $25.  That's a great price for stocking up, considering in stores a pound can sometimes be almost $8!  Is anyone else using the Free Coffee Mondays punch card?  I cannot get enough of the Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee!

If you read many savings/couponing blogs, I'm sure you've seen the $5 Hallmark coupon advertised - I picked up a Family Circle the other day, got the coupon, and made a stop at Hallmark today.  I picked up 2 rolls of their wrapping paper and paid $1.58 total.  (Normally $4.99 each, but on sale for Buy One, Get One for 99cents, and then minus the $5 coupon).  Not bad - they have the best wrapping paper!

One last thing to mention - if you have the Kmart Rewards Card, don't forget to sign your kiddos up for their Birthday Club!  They get a little pack that includes $5 off a toy purchase of $5 or more!  I tried to use it today to get some Star Wars action figures for J - unfortunately the coupon is not valid on BOGO items.  Technically, I shouldn't be spending Carly's birthday money on toys for Jackson anyway :)  I'm planning to go back later this week to find something for Carly's stocking.

Belated Birthday Party

This morning we finally had Carly's first birthday party! Only 2 1/2 weeks late, I guess it could be worse. It was a tad stressful getting everything together, since I haven't been able to use my kitchen much this week (new flooring - YAY!) but it all came together fine. We had all kinds of yummy breakfast food - peach coffee cake, sausage & hash brown casserole, ham/egg/biscuit bake, blueberry baked oatmeal, fruit (thanks Nana!), and Entemann's donuts (courtesy of our favorite bread man.)
The birthday girl seemed to actually kind of enjoy opening presents (for a one year old) and has literally played with her new toys for hours now!

Paper - always the most exciting part for a one year old!

Forget being dainty - she downed the entire cupcake in a very short time!

Messy girl

LOVING her cute new kitchen from Peeps & Nana!

We are so thankful for our sweet Carly Jean - she is such a happy and silly little girl.  She fills our lives with laughter and lots of love!

Mikiyas Daniel

For pretty much as long as I can remember, I have had a heart for Africa.  Back in college, almost ten years ago (*GASP!*) I was blessed to be part of a team that went to South Africa to serve at Bethesda Outreach for a month.  Looking back even further, I can remember as a child always circling the black baby dolls in the Sears Christmas catalog.  Could it be that even then, God was already softening my heart for Africa????  Maybe that's a stretch, but maybe not.
We hope to someday adopt and for awhile we were thinking about Rwanda - a few months ago, that door closed for now, because the country is currently working on becoming Hague compliant.  Over the summer, I read the book There is No Me Without You, (if you are interested in Africa, or adoption, or kids, or social causes, or anything - READ THIS BOOK!) which brought Ethiopia to my mind....and it has stayed there since.  (There are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia.  FIVE MILLION!)  So if we were starting the adoption process today - which we are not, though I'll keep you updated :) - Ethiopia would probably be #1 on our list.  We'll see if it still is when we are ready to adopt, or if God has other plans.
Anyhoo....back to present day and the real reason for this post:  Mikiyas Daniel.  I have always loved the idea of sponsoring a child from a 3rd world country, and we did sponsor Jhonny (who I met while in Bolivia) until he moved to live with family, but for a few years now we have not been sponsors.  We thought about it last year and even looked through the Compassion website, but I really wanted to pick a child who would be Jackson's age, so he could have a better connection with the idea, and at that time he was still too young. 
A few weeks ago, the kids and I were coming home from the mall and I turned on the radio.  Our local Christian radio station, WJTL was partnering with Compassion International to find sponsors for a group of children in Ethiopia.  (oooh....if we would sponsor a child in Ethiopia, and we adopt from there someday, maybe we would have the chance to meet him!) 
They began describing a child, Mikiyas Daniel, and said his birthday was in March, the same day as Jackson, just a different year.  (awww, too bad it wasn't the same exact day, that would be so cool!)
Then the radio guy said he had made a mistake, and when he re-read the new birthday, it was the same day, and now the same YEAR as Jackson's!  (!!!!!)  So I immediately rooted through the diaper bag to find my cell phone, but had no clue what the station's phone number was.  I kept listening and a few minutes later they said the phone number, so I called in hopes I would be able to sponsor this little guy.  I asked if he was still available, and the person on the other line said, "Actually his information was JUST put right in front of me."  Giddy with excitement, I gave all my info and happily became a sponsor.  Some people might think this was all an amazing coincidence - I think it was a "God thing."  :)
If you have ever considered sponsoring a child, please visit Compassion to find out more details.  It might stretch us a little more financially, but imagine the relief of this one's parents when they find out their child has a sponsor - that he will be fed, educated, and receive the medicines and vitamins he needs! 

Disneyworld Vacation

Not to sound hokey, but I think it really might be the happiest place on earth!!!  We had a great time at Disney, and there really is something magical about that place!  We had a week packed full of rides, eating lots of good food, meeting characters, and getting their autographs.  Of course I loved Disney the first time I went, back in 2005, but this time, having kids there.....even better!  I loved seeing everything through Jackson's eyes.  He was super excited about everything, loved every character, even if he had no clue who they were (ie Koda from Brother Bear), and was SO brave for the rides (the kid went on Tower of Terror!!!)  His top 3 faves of the week were:  1)  Jedi Training & fighting Darth Vadar, 2) being chosen to announce "Welcome to our Show" at the Little Mermaid, and 3) the Haunted Mansion ride.  Carly was such a little sweetie ~ pretty much the perfect baby for the week!  She was content to ride in the stroller for much of the time and would take 5-10 minute cat naps a few times during the day.  She loved the shows and would point and squeal so excitedly! 

Here's a few pics, because how can I blog about a Disney vacation and not have pictures?  (More on Facebook).

One Year

We have successfully survived the first year!  Carly turned one while we were on vacation at Disneyworld.  We just adore our sweet little girl.  She likes to be into everything, but she is the happiest baby ever!  So thankful she is part of our family.

Sneak Peek

Here's a peek at the projects I've been working on lately for our upcoming family vacation!

Not totally frugal, because I needed to buy all of the supplies, but my friend and I made these for our girls after seeing similar ones on Etsy!

Didn't want to leave Jackson out - it was a little bit of a challenge coming up with something cute that would still be for a big boy!

This was because I was too cheap to buy an autograph book - don't know what they are at Disney, but on eBay they were going for more than I wanted to pay!

Can't wait for vacation!!!

**For those interested, the tutu is no-sew and there are MANY tutorials out there in blogland.  The shirts were simple:  I made appliques, ironed them on, and sewed around the edges to make sure they'd last.  I bought the bows already made and sewed one on the Minnie Mouse face and one on a plain headband to make the set coordinate!**