Merry Christmas...

Wishing you the very best Christmas...

May your home be warm and filled with wonderful food, family, friends, lots of laughter, tons of love & many many blessings... on this very special day of our Lord's birth...

Merry Merry CHRIST-mas!

Stuff For To{day} ... Free Santa Notes Download...

Free Santa Notes Download

I was just getting out all of our Christmas decorations... and remembered... Sparkle... Rainee's, Elf on the Shelf... who comes to "life" on December first... and brings along a little note from Santa. So I thought I'd share these little notes with you... They're great as gift tags... lunch box notes... or just them for a little something from Santa...

Hope your kiddos enjoy them...
Happy December 1st!!

Happy Thankgiving...

Well it's here... Thanksgiving... and the question to be asked this year is...

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

Are you sleeping outside in line waiting for a store to open so you can get the best deals... or... are you holding back, just a little, and gobbling down your food so fast you can't enjoy it to get to the store of choice doors opening... or... are you spending time with family and friends and enjoying the day... and aren't you wondering, just a little bit, what happened to this holiday of giving thanks....

Well, here in my little house?... I'm looking at my family... at my home... at my little part-time job... at all the blessings I've been given this past year... feeling blessed by little things taken for granted.

If you've followed my blog at all... you'll know I haven't blogged like I use to this last year... and when I do, it's been something quick... but the truth is... the reason is... I've had a hard year... so many ups and downs... so many things going on in my life... I haven't had the energy to put much into anything other than caring for what's most important...

I'm not going to go into everything that's been going on this last year... but I will tell you if it hadn't been for Lord, my prayers and those of others... what I'm thankful for would be much different...

So, today instead of passing by this holiday with shopping and meaningless things that don't last... I'm going to make memories and enjoy every moment of the day... I'm going to remember Thanksgivings past with those I miss... and enjoy... enjoy every family member... enjoy every giggle... enjoy every football cheer... enjoy every board game... enjoy every bite of thanksgiving dinner... down to the very last bite of pumpkin harvest pie...

I'm going take in the blessings that surround me... and be thankful...

I hope you're surrounded by blessings to be thankful for today and always... Happy Thanksgiving...

Stuff For To{day}...

Thought I'd share one of my new favorite things to make... and I'm having such fun making them...
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pacifier Clip... which I'm now selling in my Etsy Shop...

Sick For My Birthday...

Well, yesterday was my Birthday.... and both Rainee & I were sick... Steve rented us movies... so between naps, we watched movies and had chicken noodle soup...

Soooo because yesterday was a bust... we decided to celebrate today instead.... I'll have to give you an update about what birthday surprises my family have in-store for me....


Have a wonderful day...

Halloween Lunch Box Notes...

Download Halloween Lunch Box Notes Here

I think Halloween is such a fun holiday although I'm not into all the gory stuff... I do love seeing Rainee get dressed up and taking her out trick or treating... This year I thought it would be fun to do something fun for her the full month of October.... but the question is... what? Well, with Halloween themed Lunchbox Notes of course.  

Here is a set of Free Halloween Lunch Box Notes...

Etsy Shop Halloween Lunch Box Notes

..... Annnnnnnd if you're interest in more Halloween Lunch Box Notes, here are a few more from my etsy shop....

I know Rainee will love them... I hope your kiddo's will too!!

For laughs... below I've add a few fun sayings to go along with your lunch box notes...

What did the ghost say to the invisible man? Long time no see.

What music do Mummies like? Wrap music.

What kind of witch lives on the beach? A sand-witch

What do skeletons use to communicate? Cell-phones

Ghouls just want to have fun...

Have a Fang-tastic day...

Halloween is a real treat.

Carve out some good times! (with carved pumpkin)

Just hanging out with my ghoul friends.

Time for a coffin break. 

I can’t stop falling in love with brew.

Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? Because he didn't have any guts.

Sit for a spell and have some brew. 

I want my mummy

Mummy's little monster

Free broom with flying lessons.

Broom Parking - 5 cents 

Ima Ghoul

Myra Mains

Dr. Acula

Bite me.

What's a ghost's favorite thing to wear? Boo-jeans

What do you call a witch's garage? A broom closet.

What is a vampire's favorite candy? A sucker

What is a vampire's favorite food? Neck-torine

These Free Halloween Lunchbox Notes will disappear on October 31st--

and will be laid to rest until the next Halloween... Get yours before they're gone!

New Teacher Gift...

Rainee and I love giving gifts to Rainee's new teacher's each year... and this year along with the Cup-Filled-With-Pencils (from last year - and below) we gave her a set of From-The-Desk-Of cards from my SimplyEverydayMe Etsy Shop... one of each design (apples, bees, pencils, crayons, owl & little blue bird)... Plus we also gave her former teachers at set... all the same designs... as a little thank you for helping her get to Third Grade. They loved them!!!

Now as for last years teacher gift  - - - -  I've had sooooo many emails... and comments about this Cup-Filled-With-Pencils for Rainee's teacher gift from last year... I thought I'd post this project again and answer a few questions....

What Size Cup: This is a 24oz. cup
Where Did I Get Them: Walmart. AND I just went online and found them for a set of 4/$18.00 .
How Many Pencils: I put 30 in it. One for each kid in the class.

Suggestion: Sharpen sharpen sharpen those pencils before giving them to the teacher... I didn't the first time... but this year I did... they appreciate it a whole bunch!!!

Hope you day is filled to the brim with wonderful things too...

Lunch Box Notes... Extension...

If you've had a full weekend, like me... and didn't do half the things you wanted to... you're in luck when it comes to my last post and the Lunch Box Note giveaway... I've extended it, check it out...

Giveaway... Lunch Box Notes...

Since summer for us is at a close and school is starting up this week I thought I'd do a little giveaway!!!

I don't know of a better way to say I love you during a child's day than with Lunch Box Notes... Rainee looks forward to seeing not only what I've put in her lunch, but what little surprise Lunch Box Note I've given her for the day... I know these notes make her day and make her feel close to me on good days... but especially on rough ones...

~ Download Lunch Box Notes Here ~

I've been doing notes for her since preschool... and now I thought I'd share some with you sooooo...  you can DOWNLOAD these (8) Printable Lunch Box Notes...  your kiddo's will love them... FOR THIS WEEKEND ONLY... GIVEAWAY EXTENSION... you can now download these whenever you'd like.

I am also delighted to show you 3 other Lunch Box Note versions from my etsy shop... SimplyEverydayMe... There are 8 Lunch Box Notes on each printable page.

Thanks so much for skipping by and I know your kiddo's love these... happy lunches...

~ Link to Etsy Shop for more Printable Lunch Box Cards ~

Giveaway... Lunch Box Notes...

Since summer for us is at a close and school is starting up this week I thought I'd do a little giveaway!!!

I don't know of a better way to say I love you during a child's day than with Lunch Box Notes... Rainee looks forward to seeing not only what I've put in her lunch, but what little surprise Lunch Box Note I've given her for the day... I know these notes make her day and make her feel close to me on good days... but especially on rough ones...

Download for Printable Lunch Box Notes

I've been doing notes for her since preschool... and now I thought I'd share some with you sooooo...  FOR THIS WEEKEND ONLY... you can DOWNLOAD these (8) Printable Lunch Box Notes...  your kiddo's will love these KnockKnock Jokes... (after this weekend they will be available at my etsy store)

I am also delighted to show you 3 other Lunch Box Note versions from my etsy store... SimplyEverydayMe... There are 8 Lunch Box Notes on each printable page.

Thanks so much for skipping by and I know your kiddo's love these... happy lunches...

Link to Printable Lunch Box Notes - at SimplyEverydayMe

Thurs{day} Thoughts...

With my daughter getting old (every moment)... I've been thinking about my own childhood. There are some memories that are so strong and some that seem to have faded along with time. Why do you suppose that is? Getting older and memory loss? Or is it just life has taken over and we need reminding of those pleasant days of when we were young... 

I like to believe it's just life... and in return, I love it when my now life brings back memories of my own childhood... One that happened just this week...

My daughter, loves loves loves dogs... she loves playing and sleeping with her stuffed doggies... she also loves pretending she's a doggie... it's adorable... I never get tired of seeing the joy she gets from her doggie playtime.

And this week her playtime triggered one of my own childhood memories... We didn't have a dog when I was a child... but one of our favorite things to play... was doggie. My little brother would pretend to be our "doggie" and my older sister & I would play with him and put bowls of water & food out for him... we would do this for hours... just like Rainee... I love this memory of my own childhood, but also love that Rainee is making her own "doggie" memories...

It doesn't take much to make a memory... or to trigger one that's been forgotten. What is one of your favorite childhood memories?

Rainbow Sling...

I thought I'd share my latest crocheted item in my Etsy Store...  on both blogs... 

This Water Bottle Sling... is a great way to hold your water bottle. It's perfect to take along on walks... hikes... bike rides... dog walks... bird watching... shopping... concerts in the park... or a day at Disneyland. I love love love the bright rainbow. It is just so fun... I've been using mine all summer... and every time I take it anywhere I get an order... So... today's the first chance I've had to get one up on my Etsy Store... anyway, here it is...

Thanks for looking... Have wonderful day...

Happy Father's Day...

Happy Father's {Day}!!!

As I was looking for a photo of Steve with Rainee for this post... I came across one of my favorite layouts of them together... so I had to post it again...

Anyway... to Steve... Rainee's daddy... I love watching you teach Rainee little things that help her grow... you make her smile, laugh and play... I love seeing how very much she loves you... you are a great dad... and we love you very much!!!!

And to my dad... even though you're not here... I still miss you... I feel blessed to have had a dad with such a kind caring and loving heart... you are missed to{day} and every {day}...

Father's, enjoy your {day}... enjoy your children...  and have a happy father's {day}!!!

It Is Still Spring... Isn't It?.....

Spring cleaning to me... conjures up images of sunny days with the windows wide open and sunshine flooding into every room.  It brings thoughts of summer...

So with it still officially Spring...
I have been doing my annual Spring cleaning these last
2 1/2weeks... and every {day} Rainee asks... "Mama, If you're doing Spring cleaning, when is it going to be Summer? I thought we were on Summer vacation?" And every {day} I answer with... Summer actually begins June 21st... and that when she gets out of school it's still Spring... which is great for mommy... I can get to Spring clean, while it's still Spring!!! But I've noticed over the last couple of days... she's stopped asking.... do you think she's realized, she'll probably get the exact same answer if she does ask???... lol!!!

Sooo thinking I was nearly done on Monday... my husband decided to get involved and add a few things to my list of "to do's"... sooooooooo after giving me his list of projects to tackle... I'm now just hoping to finish before Summer enters and Spring ends... My fingers are crossed that to{day} will be the {day} I finish up... so our Summer vacation can officially start... because honestly I'm exhausted... I really need some R&R... plus a little bit of fun!!!
What about you... did you get all you wanted done with your Spring cleaning??? Or are you still working on it like me??? Whatever it is... I hope it's fruitful.... so you can enjoy the sunshine of Summer!!!

The Blogoversary Winner...

The Blogoversary Winner to the Owl Coffee Cozy & Starbucks Gift Card is...

CHRIS RANDAL

Congratulations!!!! Email me your mailing info so I can get this to you!!! And thank you all so much for making my blogoversary special!

CakePop Wedding Cake...

A friend asked me to make some cakepops for her small family wedding... but she wanted it to like a wedding cake... because it was going to be their wedding cake...  I was excited and a bit intimidated... because I didn't know how I was going to do to make it look like a cake, I thought I'd have to make the tiered stand... but then I found the... SmartBaker's CakePop Stand... this made life sooooo much easier... it was perfect!

I tried it out at Rainee's Angry Bird party with the lollipops I'd covered... and it worked great!!! The only thing I felt it needed was a little pretty-ing up... so around each layer of the stand I added lace using heavy-duty scrapbook tape, I also put a doily in the middle of each layer. I'm quite happy with my sweet little cakepop wedding cake... and so was my friend...

Rainee's Angry Bird Party...

I told you we were having a simple Angry Birds Birthday Party for Rainee... with cupcakes and such... Wellllll... I kinda went overboard on doing some fun things for her party... Because you know... you only turn 8 once! Soooooo I whipped up a fabulous bit of birthday fun. You've seen the invitations here...

Now for the party stuff... I wanted to do something for the snacky food... so, for the candies... I rolled brown lunch bags and made nests for the put worms, eggs and Angry Bird poop... instead of cakepops I made lollipop covers and put them on my cakepop stand.

I also made Angry Bird faces for the buckets that held the chips and cheese balls. 








Rainee also wanted to play a few games... so together we made some green pigs...we painted cans, then decoupaged pig faces on to them that I'd printed... We used these Angry Bird Pigs to shoot at with sling shots... and also for Angry Bird Bowling. Rainee wanted to do this fun game we'd done at a baby shower last year, so instead of drawing a baby... the kids had to draw an Angry Bird on top of their heads with a crayon and paper plate... and our last game... the tried and true cotton game... except I changed it up a bit and said the cotton balls were eggs and they had to put them into the frying pan... too fun... The kids loved the games!!!!

Here's Rainee with her silly friends and her cake table... 

And before our guest left... each received a thank you for "crashing" my  party bag... with a water play sling shot, a mini frizbee and some candies...

All in all it was a very fun party and Rainee had a blast!!!

My 4th Blogoversary... Plus a gift...

There is so much to celebrate {to}day... My 4th Blogoversary... Rainee's Angry Bird Bird{day} Party... AND... National Donut {Day}... so because it's such a festive and full {day} of delightful things... I thought I'd give a gift to celebrate!!!

So, how do you celebrate donut {day}??? You have a donut and a cup of coffee, of course!!! Because I can't give a donut... I thought I give a $5.00 Gift Card to Starbucks PLUS a blue Owl Coffee Cozys from my Etsy Store... You can enter Every{day}... until next Wednesday... then I'll pick a winner... it's that easy peasy...

Happy Blogoversary... go on enjoy a donut to{day}...







a Rafflecopter giveaway

Angry Bird Birthday Invitations...

Rainee had been wanting an iPad tablet for sooooo long... that back in October I told, I would try to get her one... BUT... it would have to be for her birthday... AND...  she could either have a party OR a tablet... not both... so Rainee decided on the tablet... sooooooooo there wasn't going to be a party...

But as her birthday came closer... AND... mommy being mommy... I couldn't let her birthday go by

without her sharing it with a few friends & family... so when I told her we could have a cupcake party... no fancy thing birthday... what would she like this years birthday theme to be... she said an Angry Bird Party... And of course, me being me, I could just buy invitations... I had to make them... so here they are... Rainee's Angry Bird Invitations... and I love love love them...

Now that they're done... I've had so many people wanting to buy them... I'm thinking about putting the a digi file along with instruction on how to make them in my etsy store... what do you think???

Photos of the party will be coming... have a fabulous Wednesday...

Happy Memorial Day...

Freedom. I'm blessed to live in a country who fights for our freedom. Blessed by those who've served and are serving now. They chose to fight and even die for our freedom. So on this day of remembrance I want to say... I am grateful. I am blessed by the freedom they have made possible.
Thank you.

Happy 8th Birthday Rainee...

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY... RAINEE... she's having a great day so far... donuts & hot chocolate for breakfast... Nerf guns from daddy... and after many months of crocheting and selling hats, coin purses, cup cozys, water bottle holders... mommy was able to buy her a tablet... just what she wanted... it's going to be a wonderful day... we love you Rainee! Happy Happy Birthday...

Stuff or to[day}... giveaways...

Here are two more WONDERFUL giveaways from my niece Autumn's blog... Autumn Bouquet...  these are sooooo fun... check them out...

First is Brittany from Brittany Chavers Studio ... and she's offering... Aquamarine Faceted & Silver Filigree Earrings

 

 

 

Next is Natacha  and her new shop Nanoutriko! How cute are these!!!!

 

Remember you can enter every day... for any one (or all) of her giveaways... you never know you just might be a winner!!!