Merry Christmas to yours

I can hardly believe that we are already at the eve of Christmas. Where has the year gone, where has the holiday season gone.

I am blogging away from home today so I am making this short but I wanted to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is enjoying their families as much as we are. I can't wait to check out all the pictures I've been taking! Again, Merry Christmas!

Here are some pictures of the kids doing holiday crafts. A very special thank you to Miss Pauli and her wonderful mom for providing us with the trees.

These trees were awesome.

Payton

Preston or spiderman

An early visit from Santa

Things may go quiet around here for a few days… I hope not but we shall see. Just incase I wanted to squeeze in this last post before we hop in the car and head up to Tennessee.

We were lucky this year! I talked to Santa and he agreed to visit our house early so we could spend “Christmas” morning together in our home before going to visit family.

Santa came on Wednesday night after we were all fast asleep. This year was especially fun. This year we had two little believers who totally knew what was up. Our youngest is almost two so he didn’t quite get it, but he sure did help unwrap and play.

Payton man I wish everyone could see this kids face. In her stocking she got a Barbie pop star DVD (I’m sure we will be watching this in the car today). I don’t think I have ever seen this kids eyes so big, her face so bright and for the first time in her life she could barley form words all she kept saying was oh my, oh my, its its.

All Preston wanted for Christmas this year was a blue soccer ball and boy oh boy was he excited to see not only a soccer ball but also a basketball and football. Boys and their balls you couldn’t make him a happier boy. He also got a scooter and some action figures and animal planet dinos (we all had a blast reenacting Jurassic park).

And Cooper well he just had a good time. He helped unwrap the first 2 or 3 presents. He then went off and played with them and came back to help with a few more along the way. ( I had the older two unwrap most of his)

We had a beautiful day! The weather wasn’t great but the rain stopped about 3 and we took the kids outside to try out their new stuff. I wish everyday could be just like that one! The kids were so happy and so thankful.

It's okay…

It’s Thursday again which means we are one day closer and only one day away from the weekend! I value my time during the week; I get to spend every waking moment with the most awesome boys in the world (and Part time with my school girl). Did I mention EVERY waking moment? So as much as I love every day I love the weekend I get a break and I get to parent with someone.

It’s okay …

To be more excited for Christmas than my kids.
To be tired of these NIGHTLY elf projects.
That at 50 degrees I’m FREEZING.
To just want a lazy weekend.
I broke the no present’s rule for the hubby!
To avoid the scale during the holidays.
To love checking the mail.

DIY door hanger

As I talked about in my Thanksgiving post back in November, my sister-in-law hosted an amazing dinner. Not only was the food great but she also did such a beautiful job on the decorations right down to the door hanger.

Did you know Hobby lobby sales large wooden letters? Well, I didn’t. She bought all the supplies for less than a $20.00.

Supply list:

Large wooden letter

Neutral paint

Holly berries

Burlap ribbon

Step 1.

Paint the wood your neutral color.

Step 2.

Hot glue berries onto letter.

Step 3.

Tie the awesome bow (nor my sister-in-law or I can tie bows… we go to my dad).

Step 4.

Glue tails to back of letter.

So simple. So elegant. I can’t wait to make one for our door.

Weekend review complete with heartbreak

We had a great weekend around the Miller house.

Saturday was a busy day like most. We shopped, we ate and someone got a heartbreaking haircut.

We recently got a Buffalo Wild wings in a nearby town which is awesome to me, it happens to be one of my favorite hangout spots. No, I don’t think the foods is all that but it does have one great thing going for it. It’s loud inside their restaurants. Loudness isn’t typically something that draws people in but with three kids this can be great. The loudness factor can determine whether my hubby and I get to have a relaxing and fun meal.
The kids had a really good time and they were really good too! Plus it was 75 degrees in December so we got to sit outside!

For weeks my husband has been trying to talk me into cutting the little ones hair. I kept putting it off and making up excuses. I never had this issue with our first two I’d cut and cut no big deal. For some reason it breaks my heart to cut Coopers. It’s just so stinking cute long.

But after my husband put up the argument about it constantly being in his eyes I went ahead and cut it. ☹

I don’t hate it. It didn’t turn out bad but don’t you just miss those curls. It also seems as if I cut his blond off.

There was also this yummy breakfast pizza (recipe soon to follow)

DIY art hanger

DIY window frame art hanger. Let me tell you we use our art hanger religiously in our home. It keeps all the artwork up on display where it should be.

I have three beautiful children! They are now all of age to use crayons and paint and let me tell you they use the HECK out of it. Naturally, as a mom I love to display their wonderful artwork. Covered fridges, doors and walls just aren’t my thing, I was filing* so much of their works or art. Filing= kindly placing in the recycling bin when children are not looking. This was making me feel bad. I mean they really do work quite hard on some of this stuff.

So…
A few months ago I came across a classifieds ad for window frames for super cheap… $4.00 each. They weren’t the thick fancy ones, but I couldn’t pass up that price. After I bought these guys I hung them up in the garage and there they sat. And then they sat some more and then some more again. My husband bugged and asked and pestered me about what I was doing with them. Thinking about my children’s endless artwork I thought up a solution to both problems.

The frames were a cream/white color so I did a light sand to a few areas and a rough sanding to a few areas. Then I applied some blue stain I had laying around. I couldn’t be happier with how the color turned out.

I love jute! I love using jute on my projects. This one was no different. I tied some jute across the frame in 3 places.

Topped it all off with my kids artwork. It’s a great way to showcase kids art and it also works great as a dryer for painted/glued projects. Start to finish not including drying time for the stain (this took about 2 hours) was like 40 minutes.

Wonderful weekend

I love the holidays! I love the food and the family.
This year my brother hosted the big turkey day. He and his wife made a wonderful dinner. She made most of it and still had time to make everything beautiful.

It was great day the kids all got to play outside thank you warmer weather! When the sun went down the adults got to play hello poker!

So Black Friday shopping who went? Was it worth it? How about cyber Monday? I don't do the whole going out at some crazy hour shopping. Mostly because I try to finish all of my shopping by Thanksgiving. This year I did order 2 leapfrog game cartridges for my kids they were like a third of the original price but thats it.

thankful Thanksgiving

Source

I have wonderful people in my life and I am so thankful for everyone one of them. I haven’t decided yet whether I think Thanksgiving is a good or a bad thing. After all, shouldn’t we be thankful for all the Lord has given us everyday, but then we aren’t, so its kinda great that we have a day to remind us how amazing everything really is.
This year like most in the past I am so lucky to get to go home for the holiday. Being in the Army this doesn’t always happen for everyone. I am thankful my family gets to spend Thanksgiving at my brother’s house with his beautiful family and my parent.
I will be out of town until late Sunday so there most likely not be a blog update until Sunday or even Monday just know there will be lots of fun and lots of pictures when I return. I am bringing my computer, which is funny since it’s not a laptop (my tech savvy big bro is helping me with something) but still not likely I’ll have time.

I am a blessed women and I have so much to be thankful for especially this year. I have an amazing husband who puts his family before himself on a daily basis. He truly is an amazing gift from God. He puts up with me not an easy task. I am thankful that he works incredibly hard so I don’t have to, allowing me to stay home and spend time with our children.

I am thankful for the beautiful children I have. They are each so amazing all in their own ways. A few months ago I’m not sure I would have been so happy to write this (we found out three was all we would ever have) I am thankful to be done having children and to watch these ones grow every day.

I am more than Thankful for my amazing parents and their good health. I can’t even think about what life will be like when they are not here. I am so blessed to have my parents.

I am thankful for my brother, his wonderful wife Jess, two people who accept me for who I am and love me for it, their three beautiful children. I am so lucky to get to see the kids grow and change; I would do anything for them.
Grams, we may not get to see each other as much as either of us would like but you are an amazing women and so much of who I am today.
I am thankful for all of my family and friends, the Army, and to live in a nation where we have a say.
I am a blessed women I just wish it didn’t take a holiday hidden at the end of November to see it.

Holiday oh holiday

Despite all the negativity I went for it… Heck yes I completely decorated my house for the holiday’s this weekend.
I love the holidays and I want to enjoy it as long as possible. Even if that means I am decorating the house in the middle of November all by myself.

Growing up my mom went NUTS over the holidays. She decorated, she cooked and not just a little I mean the entire house was changed over. We usually had 3 or 4 trees and she cooked enough for 50 people every Christmas. It was a huge event. Things have gotten a little smaller since moving to Tennessee but we are never short of love, family, decorations or food. She still cooks enough for 50 people lol. She’s convinced my husband can eat enough for 20. That’s how Italian mammas are, we could tell her to cook less but she wouldn’t even know where to start.
I love the holidays like I said before. I am so happy to be finished shopping and decorating. I do have a few more projects I’ll be crafting but that’s about it.

Wine and sip

Lets talk artistic ability here for a second. Okay, so as for me I have very little true artistic ability. But once a month I try to support my friend Pauli who teaches a paint class in our community.
After a long week what could be better than girls and wine. Did I mention that it isn’t just a painting class that wouldn’t be fun? This class is coupled with all you can drink sip wine. Basically we drink wine and attempt to paint a picture that is above our artistic abilities.
I have attended this class a few times and let me tell you it’s a blast. This time friend and fellow blogger, Candace, came along to enjoy the fun. Candace is a new mommy to the most beautiful little girl Harper.

As a mom, especially as a stay at home mom it is so important for us to get that time away from the kids and just let down and have a good time. These classes are great for that. The wine loosens you up and the amount of concentration I have to put into my painting makes me forget what’s going on back at home.
It’s kinda like bowling I always seem to do better after a few drinks.
This is what we were attempting to paint.

Pauli is pretty good at this art thing.
Check out my progression:

Well there it is in all its glory! Not perfect but I had a great time doing it!

Knob hanger

Every afternoon my daughter (kindergarten) swings open the kitchen door from the garage and promptly tosses her back pack on the floor before going on her merry way. ERRR aggravation to me. So my husband decided to hang a nail next to the door where she could put up her back pack ad coat. It looked horrible! The door is at the end of the kitchen so I had the pleasure of looking at this lovely nail all day long.
a 1x4 and 3 knobs later I am a happy gal.

Supply list:
14 inch 1x4
3 knobs (on sale at hobby lobby for 1.50 each!)
4 wood screw caps
stain and screws

Step 1:
Stain or paint the wood

Step 2:
Pre drill holes for the knobs. I also drilled larger holes on the backside to counter sink the nut.

Step 3:
Insert knobs and cut off the back end of the screws so they can sit flat against the wall. I used the dermal for this.

Step 4:
Screw to wall and pop in screw caps.

Fresh

I love the farmers market. I love everything about it. I love the relationships, the people, the lifestyle, but mostly I LOVE the food. Knowing that my kids are eating the best food we can get our hands on is so reassuring. This year we are in southern Alabama which has turned out to be amazing for the farmers market. Back home in Tennessee its been cold for over a month and the market has died down. Not here. We are still shopping it up.

My boys love going to the market and eating the fresh food and occasional sucker given to them by the sweet ladies working.

That tomato he's reaching for totally went in his mouth!
More than a few times I have had to buy food thats already been eaten off the table by these boys.

I love taking my kids to the market. Every time they go they learn or experience something new. He loves his mini pumpkin… slept with it and all.

Pumpkin patch 2012

Well this is more than slightly overdue since it wasn't last weekend that we went but the weekend before.
I love going to pumpkin patches the husband could do without. After 5 years of marriage I have figured out why. By the way he has a GREAT time at this patch. Growing up in southern California we just didn't have pumpkin patches. There really wasn't even fall. I moved to Tennessee and had my first child all in the same year. I also started visiting pumpkin patches that same year. And year after year 5 now the husband came along reluctantly. By the end of the day he'd be complaining about this and that. Ha not this time, he too had a BLAST.

My husband was totally in his element trying to teach a 3 and 5 year old how to rope a cow.