Babies....

I am a firm believer in the idea that every child is a gift from God. And I think that it is only right to honor that arrival with a party! So I hosted a baby shower for my girlfriend Suzanne. I don't often entertain in my home, primarily due to the other 10 people who live here! But, this is a special time. Suzanne is expecting her 6th baby, but she also has one adopted daughter and two foster children. It was so much fun and the house (for one brief moment) looked great!

Tip Junkie! Who knew?

I am always looking for fun, new ways to save money, decorate my house or find a bargain. This fun site had loads of great ideas and tips. Right now they are hosting a " Tip Junkie Mom-prenuer Shop-a-thon buy from women this holiday season!"

They are looking for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Holiday ideas, so submit your blog posts so I can feature you. They are also having 12 days of fun holiday give aways, so pop in and check it out!

The gift of Education....

Today, I replaced the printer in the kindergarten classroom. Thomas' teacher has been without a printer for sometime. David was sweet enough to go install it for her during his lunch break today, so they should be up and running (probably the printer and the kids)!

Tuesdays are always so crazy in our house, primarily it is scout day. That's when the boys and girls all have meetings and lately it is also basketball practice day. It's insane. My good deed on this busiest of days was to help out another parent, who like me, is a private taxi service.

They don't live here in town, they commute 30 minutes from the next nearest town. So after school, I kept their son, while they ran home, fed their kids and then drove all the way back up to Guthrie, for their daughter's basketball practice.

Sometimes, it's just nice to get a minute to catch our breath!

Rock the Vote!

We are so blessed to live in a country and a time in history, where our opinion matters! I am proud to exercise this right! David and I voted and went to lunch, it was a perfect day.

Look Mom, No Hands!

Today my good deed was believing in my son. My sweet Thomas. He is so loving and precocious, and just all around 5 years old. He has beautiful blue eyes and a warm happy smile. He was riding around outside on his bike, which he loves, when I suggested that he might be ready to take the training wheels off. Not wanting to make any rash decisions, he opted to try it on his sister's bike instead.

I can't believe how great he did. One or two tries and he had it down like a pro.

Science fair

I spent most of Sunday helping each of the four middle children with the science fair projects. I am sad to sad, I don't think I actually helped, unless you consider 'trial & error' a help.

Day 7 & Cookieland....

Troop #908 invades Cookieland!

I spent all day Saturday at Girl Scout Camp with 10 of my Brownie scouts and 150 other 6 & 7 yr. olds. We hiked, we rolled sleeping bags, we picnicked, we made our own rope, we made silk screened hankerchiefs and sang LOTS of songs with arm movements. It was a beautiful day.

We earned out Fun In Nature Day patch and our "Ready, Set, Go Camping" try-it.

I loved every minute of it and was happy to give my time!

Printers, apple pie and shopping.....

Today, David took the day off and spent the day with me and the little kids. After a lovely morning, we stopped and got coffee and headed over to the school. I helped with the school's carnival set up, while David helped the 7/8th grade teacher get her internet back on-line. Then, I went down to Thomas' room (Kindergarten) and helped make two homemade apple pies, while David worked on her printer. The pies were wonderful and the kids did a great job. After we noticed some of the kids eating sugar out of the bag, we decided it was time to go.

We headed out to the city for some shopping and lunch. I love spending the day with David, especially over a nice meal! I also love anytime that we can volunteer at the school together.

Today, I finally found my 55-gallon barrels. I bought them from the local livestock feed shop. Why would I need 55 gallon barrels, you say? Why so I can make toxic barrels of awesomness of course! This is my contribution to the schools haunted house this year. I saw a DIY at instructibles.com over the summer and had to try it.

And after 4 cans of paint, 3 cans of foam insulation, orange Halloween lights, a fog machine, warning labels and accent paint, you end of with this!

The kids loved them and they really made the haunted house extra creepy! I hope they last for many years to come.

Today, I took all of Phoebe's boots (that were too small) over to her cousin, Caroline. It's fun to get cute shoes and it's a great excuse to buy some new ones. I also dropped off a little bag of Halloween goodies for all the kids that included popcorn balls, a creepy cd of noises, some Halloween stickers and other goodies!

Today I cleaned out all the kids pumpkins, so they would be ready to carve after school. David says this is the fun part, but my shoulders are sore from scraping the inside of the pumpkins. I also cooked up all the seeds for a tasty snack! (that took forever)

Day 2

Today we dropped off small bags of Halloween candy for each of the teachers at the school. We attached a small note wishing the staff a Happy Halloween and let them know we were thinking of them. I think it's nice to get small surprises in your box from time to time!

Give away Day 1....

Hannah & Isabel helped me today to put together a "Halloween" basket for some friends of ours. They have 8 kids(2 are foster) and are expecting a sweet baby girl soon. Anyway, they have had a stomach bug in their house this week and I thought this would be perfect for cheering up the kids.

We included a glow in the dark skeleton, some popcorn, chocolate eyeball candy, gummy body parts, some Halloween kid cups, chocolate for mom, a pumpkin tablecloth and a Spongebob Halloween video with 6 scary episodes on it! We filled it with silver tinsel filler and put it all in a big halloween popcorn bowl!

We are off to a great start!

29-Day Giving Challenge Begins....

Give a little each day

Make a big Impact.

Give one thing away each day for 29 days. Share your stories about how it impacts your life to focus on giving. Join the 29-Day Giving Challenge community today.

• Your 29 gifts can be anything... money, food, old sweaters, smiles, your time, kind words or thoughts.
• You can start your own personal 29-Day Giving Challenge at any time—there’s no official begin or end date.
• To complete the Challenge, share a story about the impact it made on your life to focus on giving for 29 days. Your story can be told with written word, short film, recorded spoken word, song or visual art.
• The Challenge is intended to be a sacred ritual—it is your opportunity to cultivate a mindful practice of stepping outside your own story for a few seconds each day by serving others.
• Don’t quit. If you have a day that you feel unmotivated to give, it’s ok. Just go for the simple give. Call a friend and give some kind words. Write someone a nice note. Or exchange smiles with a stranger. Every give doesn't need to be monumental. You might even notice that the “simple gives” feel more powerful than the grand gestures.
• If you forget your give one day, be gentle with yourself. This ritual is about progress, not perfection. Sit down and quietly reflect on your day. Review the entire day mindfully and find the times you unconsciously gave so you can bring it into your consciousness.
• Don’t forget that there is never a day that you don't give. There are only days that you don't acknowledge and remember you did.
• Enjoy your 29 days. And remember to stay open to receiving. Giving can't happen without the receptors of our gifts. Good giving to you today.

Zombie Jar Swap ....

Well, today was the big reveal for the Zombie Jar swap and mine just went out. I don't have any photos of the entire jar, but do have some teaser shots.

Check out some of the others over at Sasha & Libby's blog. They are all so awesome!

These feet are almost made for walkin.....

This boy would be walking if he didn't have so many siblings to carry him around all the time. He is getting more adventurous and loves to be outside! We've had a pretty nice fall, so he has really enjoyed it and tries to escape out the front door every chance he gets!

I could survive for 1 minute, 6 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Great Apron Giveaway.......

Check out this terrific apron giveaway! I love her stuff, especially her upcycled leggings. Check out her Etsy store to see more fun goodies.

witchy poo

witchy poo
Originally uploaded by annieoakleaves

Will have to make this! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Haven't decided yet, but I will!

Workbasket 84 - little birdies

Workbasket 84 - little birdies
Originally uploaded by floresita's transfers

Isn't this sweet! I have been wanting to make a gingham half apron for me and these would be so cute on the pocket!

Swap-Bot....so COOL!

I have discovered this cool website, called Swap-bot. It is a website that generates and tracks organized item swaps. I signed up and am now registered for five different 'swaps'. One is a 'vintage' hankie trade. I love any kind of vintage textiles, so this one is right up my alley. Another is Halloween themed, and another is a post card trade! Sounds like so much fun.

The last beams of summer....

Ah, the last days of summer. School is back in, but the sun and watermelon are still abundant! My kids had a great time after school feasting in the back yard. I caught my kids 'washing' off the melon juice and it cracked me up!


Then, I realized they were using the melon rinds for hats. Kids....go figure!