christmas card

This one won't make the card but it is a favorite of mine.  Mostly because they aren't looking at the camera but just being themselves with their buddy.  It captures so much.  Love it.

which one will make the christmas card???

Probably not this one...

Although it is fun and says alot about our family. 

Notice the only non-crazy one is Truman.

More to come...

images (being thankful and thanksgiving)

 Watching the parade

 Playing Wii for the first time (yes first time).

 Wrestling with Truman.

 Consuming this everytime I have one.

 Trimming the tree.

:-)

Dessert (yum)

ahh-dictive!

Yum-Oh!

all fall



go to meal - chili chicken sandwiches

I may have shared this recipe before.  I've altered it to fit our tastes.  It came from a Kraft magazine.  It is one of my go to meals when things get thrown out of wack like forgetting to sit out beef or chicken to thaw :).  

These are things I keep on hand:

 Mix the chicken with 1 T of mayo, 3 T of cottage cheese, squirt of horseradish (alot or little, to your liking), 1 T squash, 1 palm full of chili powder (again to your liking).  Mix together. 

This is what it looks like.

Spread on bread, top with cheese, buttering the outside of the bread (like grilled cheese).  Grill. 

Serve and enjoy.

I don't always use the canned chicken, but in a rush it works.  In the original recipe it called for 4 T of mayo.  That was too much for my group, I add the 1T for the taste it gives but use cottage cheese or plain yogurt for the rest. 

hate

I know hate is a strong word and we don't use it in our house but I have to say I hate this.

A full dishwasher with clean dishes when all I want to do is clear out the sink of the dirty ones. 

I'm not sure which is worse, this or a dryer full of dry clothes when it comes time to switch it over.

I'm just sayin'!

the haul {extras}

These are the leftovers from trick or treating.  One bag for a later time, one for my kids at school (the non-chocolate kind).  Can you tell we like chocolate in our home :-).

treasure

My parents called Friday afternoon asking where we were.  When they do this I know they are either on their way to my house or are already there.  In this case they were 10 minutes away.  I was sitting, waiting on Grace to get out of school.  All they told me was that they were "making deliveries."  We had a nice visit and they brought me a big garbage bag of treasures.  There were two quilts and this...

My parents were cleaning house and have alot of treasures they wanted to share with us.  My mom is really good about keeping a history of things whether it be from her side or my dad's.  I thought this was a bedspread at first but she explained it was a tablecloth.  Pinned to it was a piece of paper with this note:

This tablecloth was a project of Mom's (my Grandma Grace) as the depression hit and she came home from college to work in her dad's business, West Plumbing and Hardware.  Customer's purchases were wrapped in heavy, brown paper and tied with cord from a large spindle (no plastic bags!).  The cord became mom's "yarn" and this pre-marriage project kept her busy while she and dad (my Grandpa Perry) waited to have enough money to get married.  They were married at age 27.

First off, my Mom guessed this was probably made in 1934/1935 time frame before their marriage.  WOW!  Second, what a concept to use cording that wrapped up packages, they used what they had, never wasted a thing. 

Third, they waited to get married until they were 27.  I'm guessing that was unheard of in that day and age BUT they didn't marry until they were financially set. What a concept :-)!  Also, my Great Grandfather may not have given his daughters hand in marriage until my grandfather could prove himself financially worthy.   What a difference from today!

What a precious treasure this is to me, my family and to one day Grace.  Mom said I should use it, GASP!  I about fell over.  I don't think I could, I would be frantic if something happened to it.  I did get curious though and laid it out on my dining room table.  I just love it, I love how it lightens the room. Mostly I love that I have a piece of family history and a story to tell with it.  To think my grandmother made it with her own two hands, she had to have spent a long time on it, it's intricate detail. 

Thanks Grandma Moo.

Thanks Mom for sharing something so precious.

I will treasure it.

a new space

I have the best husband in the world.

Truly I do.

He puts up with alot of things.

Including this....

Some may know this but Art made me a scrapbooking desk out of a door. We put this desk in the guest room downstairs.  Since taking on a teaching job this fall I have found myself spread out into three different rooms, unorganized and if you know me, this drives me bonkers.  I had this great idea to combine it all into one with one hitch.... to move it ALL upstairs to the girls front play room.  When I suggested this to Art his first reaction was, "We agreed when the desk went in to the room downstairs, there would be NO moving it!"  The reason this was said is because the desk was supported by the wall with BIG screws.  He put a ton of work into making it just right and now I was asking him to move it!?!  Like I said, I have the best hubby in the world.  A couple of weekends ago he took my dream and vision and made it real.  It came with a few headaches (there's a big hole in our drywall now from those big screws) but it is up.  I now have a functioning, organized, fun, girly (as Art says) office/scrapbooking room.  I love it!  And now I will share all of Art's hard work with you...

 I love the paint color

 Art made me this shelf a long time ago (back when we lived in Sacramento).  He made it look more pottery-barnish by adding some wainscoting to the back.  It's a whole new shelf!

 Wine rack turned pen holder.  I use it now more than before :).

 A shelf (that was in Art's office) got a new coat of paint and now displays our globe.

 This room is a craft room for my kids as well.  I used my Mom's old Coca-Cola crate to organize their things and have them at hand.  The girls love having this table.

 I put my girls artwork in black frames and had them stamp their hands, write out their names and age.  They were so excited to help paint the room.

 Painted my pie shelf red.  It pops against the paint.

 Finally a shelf for the girls scrapbooks.

 

 Chalk board for the girls and I.  Mine is on top to write out notes for school etc...  Although Grace put her mark on it in this picture.

 My inspiration for the colors in the room. 

 Getting organized for school, a box for every month.

The girls craft supplies are in the closet as well in the rolling cart. 

 I even took the inspiration to the walls by free handing the flower design.  This is the part that Art calls girly.

I enjoy having everything in one space, I feel organized and not stressed running from one room to the other.  So hopefully, as the sign says I have simplified my life.

our halloween

 1 rainbow princess (with light up skirt)

1 princess Belle (minus the beast)

 handing out treats by campfire

Art's pumpkin carving creation, in honor of the many raccoon friends around our neighborhood