When Mama's feeling sick, we first do this:

Then we do this:

 Then this:

 And finally, this:

And, yes, Mama feels a little better.

The Shelfless Elf

We don't have The Elf on the Shelf.  I'm not 100% sure what it is, but I've read reviews online.  We can wait another year or two before jumping on that bandwagon.  However, Mary's been exceptionally good this past week with Adam getting croup while on vacation and having her beach/swim time cut short.  We also had a brief period of potty accidents which was totally out of character for her and I'm happy to announce that we've been pee free for a few weeks.  Yea!  Last night, Mary mentioned to Doug that she would like some Christmas pajamas.  Adam has 4 or 5 pair and she has none.  Today, one of Santa's elves brought Mary a special treat.  The cards go in order from left to right.  The first one was found stuck to her back.  Wow!  That elf was sneaky.  This is what it said:

The Elf has come to leave you a treat.

You've been a great big sister and he thinks that's neat.

But just leaving you a gift is much too lame.

So in order to get it, you must play a game.

Where do you wash your hands?

Upstairs, downstairs...look for the next clue, if you can!

 Mary immediately ran upstairs to her bathroom and found the second card taped to her sink.  This is what it said:

You've found this clue!

Good for you!

If you want another card of black,

Go check the place where you go for a snack.

This one was found on the inside of the pantry door.  That sneaky Elf.  ;)

The final card said:

This is your last and final clue.

Go to the room Grammy and Grandpa stayed and there you will find a special treat just for YOU!

Sometimes I think she has more fun opening the presents.  She was so excited to find a present with her name on it laying on the bed in the guest room.  What do you know!  The Elf brought her a new pair of fuzzy, cuddly snowman Christmas pajamas!  That was one happy girl!

CRAFTY!

My BIG (in more ways than just size) art project for the kids playroom is finally complete.  They have a big blank wall I didn't know what to do with or how to decorate.  I chose not to paint the room, since 1) it's really big and 2) I had no idea what color to paint it.  Besides, I'm envisioning my little angels "accidentally" writing on the walls with markers, crayons, paint, etc sometime while we're living here.  Maybe one day, I'll get bored and decided to paint it.  For now, it's #86 on the "to-do list".  So, back to the blank wall.  I was looking on Etsy.com and came across this incredible wooden alphabet.  I fell in love.  This is so cool and perfect for the wall.  Then, I looked at the price- $175 for unpainted letters ($225 painted), $24.95 for shipping and 8-9 weeks before it would even be shipped!

It's cool, but not that cool.  We have a Michaels Arts and Crafts store down the street from us and they always have great coupons in the newspaper.  I looked there and found 9" wooden letters (the largest they have).  I originally wanted to try to recreate the same Etsy look for less, but due to the size selection of the other letters at Michaels, I thought it wouldn't work.  I decided to just do the whole alphabet in 9" and paint them all different colors.  I had a 40% off 1 full priced item coupon.  Being the thrifty lady that I am, I decided I could go buy each letter one coupon at a time.  Each time I purchased a letter, I received another coupon for the following week.  A coupon from the paper, a coupon with my receipt and getting on the e-mail listings added another coupon per week.  Before I knew it, I had enough for each day of the week!  Saving money was actually quite fun and challenging.  Painting them was really relaxing and one of the things I looked forward to each day.  Instead of just hanging them on the wall, I decided to create outlines like the kids use at school for learning to write.  A 2 roll pack of black electrical tape from the dollar store helped bring it to life.  Doug said my lines are crooked.  They are.  Maybe one day when I've finished all 85 items on our to-do list and I've #86 painted the room, I'll take down the tape and actually measure it out and paint some nice straight lines.  But for now, I smile every time I walk into the playroom and see Adam pointing at a letter and yelling it out to me.

The Breakdown:
THE ETSY PROJECT
$175 unpainted, $225 painted
$24.95 shipping
8-9 weeks before shipping, @ 1 week through the postal service, so we'll say 10 weeks to get the finished (or mostly finished) project.
Total=$199.95 /$249.95
THE KENDRA PROJECT
$10.70 for a paint set that included 36 different colors.
$63.45 for all the letters
$47.69 total savings with a random assortment of 40% and 50% off coupons.  I didn't pay full price for a single item!
$1 for the tape
6weeks 5 days from start to finish.
Total=$75.15
**I waited 3 weeks for my final letter- X.  Our Michaels had no idea when they would receive a new shipment.  On our trip to South Carolina for Thanksgiving, I happened to spy a Michaels.  On my birthday, no less, I not only found my letter X, but a fellow customer gave me a 50% off coupon she couldn't use and since it was a competitors coupon, Michaels increased the percentage 10%!  I walked away with my final letter and my cheapest letter.  Happy birthday to me.  Hmm, now what's the next project?

Back To Reality

Well, vacation time is coming to an end. Tomorrow we pack up and make the 5-6 hr drive home. It was a great trip aside from Adam getting croup and our emergency room visit Thanksgiving day. It was great getting to see so many friends and family and a really special treat for the kids to see both sets of grandparents at the same time.

I Spy With my 2 Little Eyes...

We are having a great time relaxing at the beach and enjoying the view.

Taking pictures is what I do.

We explored and played and swam, no lie.

This is what I saw with my 2 little eyes...

We saw these gorgeous clouds and sunset our first night.

Adam saw the ocean from the balcony

We saw Papa and Mary time...

 

 and Adam and Daddy time.

 We saw how the ocean can relax a person.

 We saw ourselves through the eyes of a 4 yr old.  (I think we look pretty darn good).

 We saw Carrie and Brian take Willa on her first beach trip.  (And Carrie tossing her shoe to Brian.)

We saw (and laughed) at people pushing (trying to push) strollers on the beach.

We saw Brian give in to temptation and run "Baywatch Style" into the water.

And we saw another beautiful sunset.  Ahh, this is vacation.

 * The day wasn't as perfect as it looked, due to Adam cutting his 2 yr molars and running a fever.  He just wasn't his normal hyper self, but the positive side was that he was cuddly.

This weekend, we travelled to South Carolina to attend Doug's cousin Andrew's wedding.  It's so nice to finally live somewhere close enough that we can drive to see family.  It was a beautiful November evening, filled with lots of love and laughter.

 The setting couldn't have been more beautiful.  Adam loved looking at the water...and throwing acorns in the water...and yelling at the water.  Good thing he didn't try swimming.

 He looked so handsome in his 3 piece suit.  No, he wasn't in the wedding party, but he was certainly one of the best dressed attendees (if you disregard the cracker drool, the dirt smudges, the shirt that refused to stay tucked and the fact that he kicked a shoe all the time).  I started calling him Adam-rella.

A few days before the wedding, Mary asked me if there would be dancing.  I told her, "Yes.  Dancing and yummy food."  She said, "And what sort of rides will be featured?"  Ha,ha,ha!  No rides, but plenty of dancing.  She didn't seem to mind.  She danced with her cousin Grace and new friend, Olivia.  She danced with Grandma.  She danced with Papa.

 She almost fell asleep in cousin Aly's arms...until she heard the magic word- cake!

Adam was equally excited.

 We had a wonderful reunion with Carrie and Brian...Now where's that baby?

 There she is!!!!!!  Baby Willa with the super proud grandparents.  Fabulous picture!

 Adam was a whirl of non-stop motion all night and he finally crashed at 8pm.  I couldn't believe he fell asleep in my arms...and stayed asleep in Aunt Carrie's arms...

 And even continued to sleep nestled on daddy's sport coat on the ground.

 Mary had a great time with her first sparkler.

 And she fell in love with Willa's super soft hair. 

 What a wonderful night!  Thank you Andrew and Jill for letting us help you celebrate this new chapter in your life!

Falling in love with fall

I totally forgot how beautiful fall can be. We've spent the Last few weeks really enjoying the fabulous colors of the trees. Today, we got to enjoy the fallen leaves and had some impromptu fun at the local library. You can tell it was unseasonably warm.

I Love...

• I love getting to sleep in while Doug gets up with the children, feeds the children, changes diapers and makes the coffee.
• I love waking up to toy trains being run up and down my face and hearing a little boy saying, "Toot, Toot!"
• I love beautiful fall days and nature walks with the kids.
• I love BLT's
• I love listening to the quirky things that come out of a 4 yr old's mouth:

         Mary:  "Mom, Santa's going to get me a fish tank for Christmas."
         Me:  "Really?  And is it going to be empty or have fish in it?"
         Mary:  "Oh it'll have lots of fish."
         Me:  "I think we need to wait until you're a little older.  You have a tendency to play with             water and make a big mess."
         Mary:  "Yeah, I'd probably take out the fish and eat them too.  Cause we eat fish."
         Me:  "Good reason to skip one for this year."


             Mary:  "Mom!  I'm so hungry I could eat a car!"
             Me:  "You know, there's a common saying, 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse'."
             Mary:  "Gross.  I'm so hungry I could eat a car AND a truck!"
    

Of course, Mary didn't want me to take her pic today.  Oh well.  Better luck next time!