Today, by the numbers

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10 = the number of times I have used the threat “Santa just made a check by your name” in the last 12 hours.

9 = the number of meltdown temper tantrums which directly correlates to the number of threats.  (See #10 above.)

8 = the number of loads of laundry I have washed, dried, folded and put away and thought about folding and putting away.

7 = the number of outfits between two little girls. (Gee, I guess that explains #8 above, right?)

6 = the number of stamps I had to peel off and reposition on little red envelopes. (Addie was helping me label, stamp and send our Christmas cards out.)

5 = the number of different pairs of tights that have been donned on between two little girls.

4 = the number of hours spent running between my project on the computer and helping Em with her homework.

3 = the number of stores we visited trying to find a little white button-up blouse for Em. (Do they not sell cute little white blouses any longer? We went with a black turtleneck instead.)

2 = the number of “major events” attended this evening. (One dance recital and one school Christmas program.)

1 = the number of times I got sick today. (A vast improvement over yesterday’s bout with the ‘ol stomach flu, trust me!)

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The best thing about today…is it is almost over.

Crafty Tuesday

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There has been some craftin’ going on around heeere!

Em has had a few serious homework/craft projects for school. Ones that require trips to the craft store to get glitter glue and jingle bells.

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And when you are in the same aisle as the pom-poms, you have to know you aren’t leaving without a package of those for another little someone.

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And then Wendy called and invited us over for a Girls Crafty Day, and we made some serious ornaments.

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Most of these were actually Wendy’s creations (except the 2 over on the right of the picture, those were crafted by the two cuties pictured!) Most of our creations from today are going to be given as gifts, so we can only tease you with a sampling.

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It was such a fun, fun day. Thanks, Winnie!

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And finally, my new obsession… (which was born out of my other new obsession – trolling around and browsing etsy shops) the craft of the season. Hopefully every kid in my life will be getting one of these for Christmas.
I present the kidlet.

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HOW cute are they? Just little bags to hold books, animals, stuff. You can hang them on hooks or on a doorknob. As our lovely model is showing here.

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We made this one for Addie’s little friend, Madison who turned 3 on Sunday. Put a cute little book inside, a card in the front pocket and voila! Gift! Cute! Fun!

So I’m off to cut out about 10 more kidlets to work on before Christmas. Want to guess what you’ll be seeing next week?
What about anyone else? Got some fun stuff to share?

Crammin’ it in ~ Best Shot Monday

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Our weekend started off with a lovely Saturday bagel date. We fueled up our tummies with bagels and our minds with all of the day’s news.

what is in the news?

And then? Well…I’m not really sure where the rest of the weekend went.

I guess it could have been lost somewhere along the way while we:
-Did some Christmas and birthday shopping.
-Grabbed some party supplies for Em’s soccer party.
-Bought our Christmas tree.
-Did a little real “work.”
-Cleaned the house up for the imminent party.
-Printed and hung some photos on the wall that has been pretty much bare for 2 years.
-Addressed and sent 75+ Christmas cards.
-And then decorated the other Christmas tree.

helping...

And that was the first half of the weekend.

Today, we managed to:
-Clean the house again (How – in less than 24 hours, how could it possibly get messy again?)
-Sing at church (well, Em and the Gospel cherubs sang – I just helped with the robing and de-robing)
-Celebrate our little friend’s 3rd birthday (complete with a bouncehouse!)
-And throw an end of the season party for the WonderGirls at our house. (Little hint – don’t even bother to clean your house – and certainly not twice! – when you are going have 11 kids running through your house with pizza and cupcakes!)

Exhausted. And other than the two photos here, I hardly took any photos.

But, J. took a bunch at the party for me and got this one which is my absolute favorite. The girls, giddy after some chocolate cupcakes, showing off their trophies.  So it is a J.’s Best Shot Monday today.

soccer girls

Kids Say Some Funny Stuff ~ Bathroom Edition

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This Friday’s edition of funny stuff is brought to you by none other than little Miss Addison, and it is filled with good ‘ol bathroom humor. I will never understand why kids think “poop” and all things bathroom related are funny, but anyhow…

A: Mama! I went potty, can you help me put my dress back on? (Yes, we are still with the “naked thing” when she goes potty.)
M: Yep. Come here.
A: I went #1 AND #2, and #3!

(Jamie’s contribution to their education while I was away on my weekend = what “#1” and “#2” mean. I can just see him standing outside of the public girl’s bathroom trying to explain that one.)

M: Um…ok. What is #3?
(Emma is cracking up and then Addie starts in and they can barely explain #3 to me.)
A: Emma and I says that #3 is when you have to go – Whew! That is stinky – CLOSE THE DOOR, stinky!

Uh huh. So #3 has been introduced into the household and it is in heavy rotation. Because you know, it is just so, so funny!

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And this morning Addie was helping me in the bathroom and I asked her to get me a new roll of toilet paper. She opened up this tiny little drawer that we never use but I could hear something rolling around in there.

A: Oh! Toilet paper can’t fit in that drawer, Mama! (As she shuts the drawer)
M: No, but what is in there, Ad?
A: (Opens it back up and peers in) Just some big straws, Mama.
M: Straws? (Racking my brain to figure out how straws got into the bathroom.)

So I checked the drawer myself. They were not straws. They were…uh, feminine products. Definitely not straws. But I think I’m just going to let her think they are straws for a bit longer – I am so not ready for that conversation.

Cheeky monkey.
Addie & Bear's closeup

Together ~ Theme Thursday

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We merely “live” all week for the promise of the weekend. Those glorious two days when Daddy will be home and we can all be together.

Uppy-down

Now that the holidays have hit and our weekends (and all the days in between) have become so frantic and filled, it is so very important to kick back and just enjoy being. Together.

Roughin' it with Daddy

And just to prove to J. that I am not part-vampire, I turned the remote over to him and came out from behind the camera. It isn’t a fantastic shot, but it is my favorite shot of us all hanging together.

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Stacy has more togetherness over at her place today.

Crafty Tuesday

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Man, we are in full-on creative Christmas mode over here…yet, I don’t have anything concrete to show you today.

Em and I are trying out a new pattern for a VERY fun kid present. I just cut all of the fabric out and have promised Em that she can help me sew it up tomorrow afternoon. We are doing a trial run since we need a birthday present for Addie’s little friend this weekend. But if it turns out, you had better believe every kid on my list will be getting one of these. I promise details and photos next week!

I also finished our Christmas card today, it is going to be printed tomorrow and hopefully sent out by the end of the week, so maybe, possibly, I can show that next week, too!

Let’s see, also working on calendars. Nope, can’t show those either.

We spent the weekend decorating and ushering in Christmas around here. We still have plenty to do, but it has been pretty fun – the girls are so giddy about every aspect of Christmas, which makes it all even more exciting. I didn’t take a single photo this weekend of our decorating mayhem. Huh. That is quite unusual for me. We did our “formal” tree in the dining room, but we are going to do our really fun tree (the real tree) in our living room this weekend. That will be photo-worthy since it has all of the good ornaments. So, yeah. Photos next week?

How about instead…another outtake of the infamous Christmas card shoot?

Jump!

Technically…a horrible shot. We were trying to “jump.” But I can’t help but smile when I see those cute faces. Sweetness.

Does anyone have some craftiness they are able to show today?

Outtake #223 ~ Best Shot Monday

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I have a secret. As much as I protest, (and do not fear, you will hear much protesting and complaining in the next few weeks!) I really love to create the yearly Christmas cards and calendars. It makes me stop, spend a few moments, and peruse the photos from the past twelve months.

I am constantly amazed at how much stuff we managed to squeeze into the year. I marvel at how much the girls have changed, really how much our entire life has changed in just one short year. And I gain a little bit of closure on the old year and can prepare for a new one.

It allows me to be a little bit creative as well. I don’t always get to be the “fun” creative in my real job, so it is nice to have a little creative break. I have had an idea for this year’s Christmas cards for awhile now. I suspect that J. thought it was completely crazy when I first told him of my idea. But, like a good husband, he willingly tried to corral the monkeys and help me get the shots I’ve been dreaming of.

I’m working on making at least a few of the photos work, but I think the outtakes – the ones we shot after we were “done” –  might be even more fun.

Here is one of my favorites from the day.

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I just know next year when I’m working on the calendar I’m going to look at this shot and not believe how much they have both grown and changed. One thing that I hope doesn’t change – that they will remain cooperative in my crazy schemes and willing subjects for the Christmas photos!

For more changing shots, pop over to Tracey’s.