hey there, been a short while since i last shared a crafty project on the blog...
i created a tiny "Autumn" mini album made out of Lily Bee's index journaling cards. i LOVE how it turned out. it's perfect for those instagram photos even... thinking of making another one for a friend real soon!
you can view how to make it on the Lily Bee blog here... thanks for stopping by. hope you have a lovely day, xo :)
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last year, Corinne's preschool took a class trip to Snead's Farm & i was very impressed. never heard of it, but became obsessed w/ the fact that they grow asparagus, YUM! for the past three years, we have been going to Clarke's Farm in Stafford, which we LOVE so much & it's beautiful there! everyone is nice, it's never too crowded & jam packed w/ lots for the kids to do. but last year, Ty did not enjoy himself. so, we had to look for a new place to visit. last weekend we visited Snead's Farm & Ty LOVED it! i was so glad. both kids enjoyed every inch of this farm along w/ all the awesome activities the could get into.
she was not too happy that Ty left her behind in the sunflower maze...
family photo & yes, Tyler is there, you just can't see him standing in front of Tim, LOL...poor dude, i totally cut him out of the picture & before i could snap another, he ran off into the sunflower maze.
they LOVED the barn area w/ stacks of hay & lots of ropes to swing from...ha
a mini zipline...there is also a larger one, but non of us were too cautious to even give it a whirl...
picked up our pumpkins & of course acorns...i'm addicted to them, so good!!!
xo!
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TGIF!
so, i took a little break from the ole blog. the past week in a half was a little crazy...well, the past two months have been super crazy. but none the less, the last week in a half was a wonderful week.
my parents came visit to help celebrate Corinne's 5th birthday. they were here for 4 days. it was great to see them & the kids enjoyed their company as well.
Corinne's last week of preschool was a fun one. she attended a pirate birthday party...
had a blast at her preschools year end picnic at the playground...
& celebrated her birthday at Chuck E Cheese...i made her a Hello Kitty fondant cake that she loved, which made me a very happy mama. this was the 2nd fondant cake i've ever made & i'm now hooked!!
my mom had fun dancing w/ our host, so cute...
Corinne & her friends gathered opening her presents...
i tried & tried to talk her out of having her party at Chuck E Cheese...i really do NOT like that place. though, ours has updated & changed things around & is more open & looked cleaner. but still. but at her request, i didn't want to be a mean mama. she was ultra happy as well as her friends/classmates! it was well worth it!
she was in a mood, b/c it was time to go, but i wanted to get a photo of her & i together, LOL...
Corinne & Papa together...i really need to get more photos of my kids w/ my dad. it seems every time we are w/ them, i some how miss the opportunity of capturing the kids w/ him...next time...
Corinne & all her loot!!!
my parents left the next day. we finally were able to sit down & have conversation for a few hours before they headed home. currently, they are celebrating their 43rd Anniversary & my mom's 60something birthday on a seven day cruise...so lucky!
this past Tuesday, Corinne graduated from preschool. it was such a wonderful moment. i had to hold back my tears. one chapter in her life completed & on to the next...
their caps are cute. their names have been added to them and i just love the tassels hanging in the back of them...
here she is w/ her bestie, Carter...they are so cute & so photogenic!
it's been overwhelming over the last several months & i am finally feeling relief from all that has been going on from the kitchen, to SOL test studying w/ the boy, to getting our home back in order, all the fun activities that have been going on w/ Corinne & playing catch up...
i am looking forward to when Ty is out of school & the four of us can enjoy seven long, glorious days on vacation down south...it's so needed!
happy June, xoxo!!!
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waaaaaaaaayyy late posting about Turkey day. so bad. i know. i hosted this years feast & my parents drove up & stayed for four days, which was really nice. even though there were only 6 of us, a LOT of food was made. everyone had their requests for what they wanted to eat. luckily, the menu was kept SUPER SIMPLE! i had my mom bring some store bought pies, so she didn't have to worry about baking them & i didn't have to worry about buying so much ingredients.
our menu: a whole turkey (brined) & seasoned with butter, garlic, sage & thyme, stove top stuffing, sweet potato fries drizzled w/ honey, candy yams (for my parents), collard greens, green bean casserole (for the hubs), mash potatos (i think that dish is a waste of time concidering it's usually something you eat on a regular basis, but the hubs wanted it), whole grain dinner rolls (so yum), jellied cranberries, pecan & pumpkin pies & one big happy family!
yes, i had the timer going in this photo. i wanted to make sure "I" was in the moment of feasting w/ the family this time around. think i'll do this every year. i have found being the host i didn't snap many photos. i was more concerned about getting things done w/out having to rush or stress myself out. even though i started a few days ahead of schedule w/ the cooking, the last hour before setting the table & getting everyone to gather to begin eating, was crazy. just trying to reheat everything & making sure nothing was forgotten...well, i did forget about my dads black eyed peas...LOL!
we also celebrated Ty's 9th birthday...can't believe my little man is nine already! he's getting tall & so lean. it's freaking me out already! since i waited til the last minute to bake his cupcakes, he was in a hurry to open his presents. so, we used the pumpkin pie as his cake...LOL! he was happy & so was everyone else ;)
Friday, i didn't do any Black Friday shopping. wasn't in the mood to get up early & deal w/ the crowds. instead i headed up to boot camp at 530 am...LOL. i had to work off all that yummy food i cooked :D glad i did. i felt so good & less guilty & didn't care if i over indulged the rest of the weekend.
Saturday rolled around & Tim & Ty headed out to PA to hang out at the family hunting camp. i had to make sure there were photos of the kids w/ their grandparents before he left...especially since i was too lazy to pick up my camera the last few days.
by this time, he was being grumpy, i wasn't too happy my baby was leaving me for 4.5 days & NOT be w/ his mama on his birthday, which was Sunday, Nov. 27th. it was such a bummer he wasn't around :(
my parents headed back home Sunday morning. we snapped some pictures of the four of us before they left...it's amazing how tall Corinne is now standing next to them. she looks like she is five years old. after the parents hit the road, the girl & i ran errands & enjoyed a nice sit down lunch together at one of my fave restaurants...it was a nice break from eating leftovers.
i, by no means, advocate hunting what so ever...matter of fact, i am so against it. but my husbands family has been hunting for years (i was shocked when i found out they hunt & love to eat deer (poor bambi) yes i know, i'm 41 & still think of deer hunting as bambi hunting...LOL. anyway, my boy was super excited to venture out to the family's hunting camp. we set out before he left to Gander Mountain to pick him up some hunting gear. he LOVED IT! even bought him a camouflage sleeping bag & he now sleeps in it on his bed, lol.
here he is target practicing. when Tim emailed me this photo i about flipped. freaked me out. but i kept calm. but like Minny said in "The Help" this photo gave me heart palpitations, lolol!
here is Tim goofing off in front of the camera w/ his dad in the background.
i had evey intention of putting up my tree a week or two before Thanksgiving. Tim had the boxes down in the garage for several weeks & i just didn't have time to get to it all. that Sunday afternoon Corinne & i decorated the outside of the house & put up the tree on Monday after school.
we waited for the boys to arrive home from their hunting trip that Wednesday to decorate the tree, which was perfect, b/c it's how we started out the first day of my December Daily album. the tree has since been re-decorated, hahaha. i've rearrangd ornaments added beaded garland & wrapped the wide ribbon around the entire tree...looks so so pretty ;)
i will share more on my December Daily album later this week. i have been snapping photos everyday & typing up my journaling every evening. i won't be sharing photos daily (yes i know it's already nearly the middle of Dec, ha) but i will share a few photos later this week & then share the entire album at the end of the month. i have taken a slightly different approach to the project this year. so, i am not having to worry about getting photos of every day to post on the ole blog. i love the feeling of not being overwhelmed & enjoying the process.
be back later...
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this time of year is one of my favorites, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & Valentine's day not too far behind. i am forever in the mood to create & whip out my die-cut machines to create something FUN!
you can read more about my acorn place holders at the Lily Bee blog today :)
cheers!
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last Wednesday was a beautiful day, at least it was before the rain came. wasn't too sunny, but was nice & warm. we went for a little walk near by. we didn't stay too long, it was way too quiet for Corinne (i enjoyed the sound of the trees swaying in the wind, so peaceful) but made a point to snap a few shots of the girl.
i like coming out here in the fall. so pretty...think we will hit up downtown this month for more snapshots before it gets too cold.
i keep forgetting my camera remote, so the timer came in handy.
gotta love those dimples...
here is a halloween layout i created for Creative Memories blog earlier this week...
out of all the costumes Corinne has worn the last few years, this one above is by far my favorite one.
happy Autumn :)
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a few weeks ago, Corinne's class field trip to Snead's Farm was jam packed with loads of fun...walking amongst animals, feeding chickens, chatting w/ the Llama, pickin pumpkins, feeding goats & playing w/ friends. there was even a bar-b-que going, LOVED this farm!
not so wordless...
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yesterday went by super fast, but it was SUPER FUN! as soon as Ty arrived home from school, he quickly got into costume...
my little Princess Bell & Ninja :)
we hung out at my friends house for a little gathering with some friends. a pot full of homemade chilli & corn bread was devoured before the kids went off to trick or treat. love the mix of characters this year.
kids made a pit stop to our house for some candy...Corinne had fell in the front yard, she's a little distraught at the moment...LOL. her dress was long & she kept tripping over it.
Ty w/ a neighborhood friend.
it was a good night of trick or treating. HOWEVER, this year, my kids were too tired or too cold, one was not feeling good, so we cut it short...LOL. i think they lasted for an hour? no more than that. i mean really, they could nt hang like we used to in the past. we'd spend a good 3 hours & hit up EVERY house in neighborhood...LOL. back at the house, the kids overdosed themselves with candy & by 9pm, we headed home. i even went to bed when they did, i was so tired.
Corinne had a Halloween party w/ her class today. they all sung songs in their costumes. they were all super cute & in tune!
well, that is how we spent our Halloween.
now to enjoy & prepare for NOVEMBER festivities :)
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for fall. i'm a little behind at the moment, but finally getting there. i'm ready to spend a day clearing out all of our spring/summer clothes & whip out fall/winter gear...so ready.
bought a sporty pink jacket for casual days...i know, i don't even like pink, but the only other colors they had were black & white & i wanted some color.
and if you haven't noticed, i am trying to grow my hair long. i actually LOVE short hair & have had short hair since i was in high school. occasionally, i let it grow out & then i get sick of it & chop it off. but for the first time, in upteen years, i'm actually letting it grow as long as it can grow. my hair grows really slow, so patience is something i am learning to deal w/ when it comes to my hair. so we'll see how well i do over the fall/winter months. i do get annoyed w/ hair around my neck, so this should be interesting...lol.
scarves...how i love me some scarves & i want some new ones in burnt orange, white, purple & grey.
my Puma's. LOVE them. while at DSW yesterday, i noticed they have a TON of new styles that i want to get. sad. i'm not one who usually like to wear sneakers on a daily basis, but i've have really become addicted to Puma's over the past couple of years now.
speaking of DSW, i had two $10 off coupons & needed to exchange a pair of shoes i held onto for a few weeks that needed to be returned. exchanged the shoes & used my coupons for a pair of brown leather riding boots. i can't wait til it starts to get really cool to wear them :)
breaking out the large winter handbag & thinking about buying The Roma by Ona for it. i MUST have my almost 10 lb. camera every where i go ya know ;)
even though we have been getting a lot of rain, i am loving the 70 degree weather...just wish there was sunshine to go along with it. can't wait til we are out of this damp spell we have been getting over the past several weeks.
for a little autumn inspiration, check out my blog post at WIP kit blog...it's got me itching to start decorating the home with fall decor & shopping for halloween costumes for the kids.
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