The Jacobs Clan

Hot Off the Press!

2012-02-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

I made this print today. It's up at my shop. I like it! It think I might put it in my playroom. It's a good reminder for my kids (or anyone I guess) that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Ah. . .the things we learn from children's fiction!

Countdown to 2/14

2012-01-30T20:32:00.000-08:00

I haven't always been the biggest cheerleader for Valentine's Day. I like it, I guess. It kind of seems like a holiday that pressures you into doing something nice for your loved ones. I'm not saying I wouldn't appreciate a gift on V-day. I'm just saying I think I would appreciate a just-because-he-was-thinking-about-me gift more. I'm also stubborn (ask my hubby), and don't like doing things because I'm told to. I want to do it on my own. So when the calendar tells me I must be ultra lovey-dovey smooshy-smooshy on February 14th, I want to tell the calendar, "Hose off! I'm going to ignor you and be lovey-dovey smooshy-smooshy on February 15th instead!" Is that stupid? Probably. That being said, I try to make Valentine's Day a little more special around here for those that I love (i.e. pink heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, heart-shaped sandwiches made with the help of heart-shaped cookie cutters, etc). I don't want my stubbornness to get in the way of my hubby's and kid-o's fun.

So, in the spirit of getting a little more excited for Saint Valentine's Day, I made a few things to get us pumped up for the 14th of February.

I saw this craft on Pinterest, so Tralee and I took a trip to Lowe's to stock up on paint samples. We came home, cut out hearts, and made this garland:

For Christmas I made my family on my Dad's side a DVD of my Nana's life (remember the super awesome gift I was WAY excited about from this post?). I interviewed my Nana a few years ago, recorded it, then selected the favorite stories she told me to put on the DVD. I have been collecting old photographs every time I go back home to visit, so I scanned them, and added them with music to the DVD while my Nana told the story of her life. The DVD turned out really good (for an amateur such as myself) and I think everyone that received one also enjoyed it. Anyway. . . one of the favorite stories on the DVD was about how my Grandma and Grandpa met.

My Grandparents danced with their friends at Garfield Park in Wisconsin every Friday night. Nana and Grandpa Eugene would meet up, dance, and hang out with their friends; never thinking they would be more than dance partners one day. Not long after they met, WWII was declared, and Grandpa was called to serve his country. On the last night they danced together at Garfield Park, Eugene waved goodbye and told my Grandma, "I'll write you!"

My grandparents fell in love through letter writing. My Nana said the letters kept getting better and better! When he came home from the war, he only wanted his sweetheart to meet him at the train station. Nana said when they met, she got such a kiss it nearly knocked her off her feet (she had never kissed anyone before). My grandparents went out every single night after Grandpa Eugene came home from the war, and were married just a few months later. I love that story! What I love more is this picture:

Grandma and Grandpa's first kiss after Grandpa Eugene returned from WWII. He proposed a week later, and they were married a few months later.

It's the picture of them kissing for the FIRST TIME! I LOVE IT! I love it so much, I made this printable of that moment, and will hang it in my house to help get me a little more excited for Valentine's Day. This moment is what it's all about.

I think this might make a cute card!

I also made this little banner:

If you would like to make one as well, just print the photo below, cut the squares out, use a hole punch to put holes where marked, string a string through said holes, and hang it up for some instant cute V-day decor.

The following two prints aren't really too Valentine-y, but they're the newest additions to my Etsy shop. Jim's cousin gave me the idea, and I think they turned out pretty cute:

I also made a few prints of this popular quote in various sizes and colors to put up at the shop:

Thanks for peeking!!

She's Five

2012-01-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

I couldn't stop it from happening, no matter how much I wished for time to stand still, it just wouldn't. Since last Monday, my first baby turned five! FIVE! Where did the last five years go? Where, I ask you? Tralee is growing up, and there's not a thing I can do about it! I was warned, by more than one person, how fast the time goes by. I was told, "before you know it she'll be heading off to school." I didn't believe it, yet here I sit, mere months away from seeing my FIVE-year-old off to school. Before I know it, she'll be on her first date, driving a car, and heading off to college. I don't like it, but I'm coming to accept that no matter how hard I squeeze my eyes shut, and wish on my lucky star that my babies will stay babies, it's just not going to happen. I realize I need to change my wishes to things that can actually come to fruition. So, here are five wishes I have for Tralee on her fifth birthday:

1. I wish Tralee will find at least one very best friend and confidante at school. Someone she looks forward to seeing everyday, someone to share her secrets with, laugh with, have play dates with, and who she'll stick up for and who will stick up for her if/when needed.

2. I wish Tralee will be kind to others, especially to those that need extra kindness in their life.

3. I wish this year will bring health, happiness, love, safety, and peace to my sweet five-year-old.

4. I wish Tralee will always see a strong, smart, confidant, kind, loving, beautiful friend looking back at her when she stares into the mirror. Someone who can find humor in her mistakes, as well as learn from them.

5. I wish Tralee will always know --know matter how tall she might grow, or how smart and independent she gets-- that she will always find peace and comfort in my embrace. My arms will always be open to gather her up, my shoulder will always be there for her to cry on, my lips will always be willing to kiss any wound better, my ears are always tuned in to hear a funny or heartbreaking story, joke, or anecdote from her day, my eyes will be focused on her at every concert, recital, dance, play, and game that she's involved in. I will always be willing to spend any night of the week with her, snuggled on the couch, eating popcorn and ice cream while watching a silly movie together. I want her to know that Dance Parties in the Kitchen is a club that will never close, and will always be hip to me. I want her to feel adored the minute my eyes look at her, even if we're having a tough day agreeing on things. I want her to know that my love for her grows everyday, even if she starts to push away. I want her to know that I'll try my best to give her space when space is needed, and be there for her when I'm needed more. I want her to know there is no measurement in the world capable of tracking just how much I love and adore her. She's my first baby, forever and always.

These are my wishes for my sweet girl on her fifth Birthday. I know someday she really will be heading off to college and starting her own life -- a life that I get to hear about in phone calls and catch glimpses of when I visit her every now and again. I'll miss her so much, but for know, I guess I'm grateful she's only five. I get her for thirteen more years! HOORAY! I'm thankful for the last five and looking forward to the next thirteen+. So, here's an extra wish (or two), just for me (are you listening lucky star?): I wish that the next thirteen years are everything I dreamed motherhood could and would be, and that I take the time to enjoy the sweet tender moments I get to share with her. I wish that time will feel fleeting during the moments that aren't so tender, like when she's an emotional teenager saying mean things, but the sweet moments I look forward to everyday, help me to take the time to enjoy them and that they come more frequently.

Now. . . Pictures from Tralee's Fifth Birthday:

I asked Tralee what she wanted to do for her birthday, she informed me she wanted to take her best friends (Hunter, Brinley, Jovie, and Oakley) to Chuck-E-Cheese with her. Not what I would have choose, but it was her day, so I went with it.

One of the things tokens got spent on were all the picture machines.

The adults even took some pictures. Here I am with Jim and Audie

Instead of a birthday cake, Tralee requested these Rapunzel cake towers she saw me looking at on Pinterest. Don't laugh. I am in NO WAY a cake decorator -not even trying to be. This was the best I could do.

We made the party hats the night before her birthday.

Playing games

Tralee was actually really good at Deal or No Deal. She might just have to play the real deal one day!

Jim and Hunter playing basketball (of course).

Dont' forget the tickets!

Jovie and Oakley. Poor Oaks, towards the end of the party she hit her head on one of the above mentioned picture machines and got a nice cut and goose-egg on her little head. Not fun.

This picture cracks me up. Brinley rode this ride alone the first time and was scared it was going to tip over (it's a truck that tips forward and backwards). Then Tralee came along when Brinley was getting off and said, "I want to ride that with you!" So, Brinley had to ride again, and get scared all over again when the truck tipped back. Both girls were scared (this ride isn't scary, but it terrified them for some reason). I'm mean, cause I laughed and then took this picture. I'm still laughing.

Blowing out her birthday candle. Sweet girl!

Happy Birthday Stinks!

Some New Prints

2012-01-21T16:58:00.000-08:00

Here a few of the prints I've made lately for the shop. I'm having fun making them. If you have any ideas for prints, let me know! If I like it, and put it up in my shop, I'll send you a free copy!

I think I might print the 11x14 of this one, frame it, and hang it in our play room.

Cute for Valentine's Day

Jim and I have this one hanging in our room.

Today

2012-01-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

First we did this:

Then we did this:

That's hot chocolate, in case you were wondering.

Thank you snow, for finally gracing us with your presence!

MIA

2012-01-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

I've been MIA on the blog as of late. Here's the rundown as to why:

Jim has been having back issues again. He walks around like a 90-year-old man, and I'm usually the one running around getting him things since it takes him 13 minutes just to stand up.
The kids have been sick. First Tralee and now Hunter has started with the same symptoms. Ick. I've been chief nose-wiper, temperature taker, and kiss-it-better-er around here.
I have had food poisoning the last two days (curse you gas station food!!!! Why did I do that to myself?) It's hard to take care of my three favorite people when I feel yucktastic.

So, to sum it up, we're a sad broken down group of people right now. I'm sure I'll get back to Blogland as soon as our health improves. Until then, have a great day!

Tralee's Future

2012-01-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

The other day I was looking at Tralee's baby book with her. We're approaching birthday number five, and I'm not loving it. My Stinky Tralinky is growing up too fast! I was in the middle of thinking about how hard it will be to see her off to school this fall when she said this:

"Mom, I'm so glad you have this baby book to look at, because you're going to miss me when I grow up and move to California." That wasn't all, she continued with, "And I'm glad you have Daddy's baby book, cause we're going to move to California together, and you're going to stay here, and when you miss us, you can just look at our baby books."

According to Tralee, she's going to marry her dad when she grows up, they're going to move to California, and play with their friends on the beach all day. It's up to Hunter whether or not he wants to tag along, but I have to stay in Idaho and look after their baby books.

Since this discussion I have decided that Tralee is not aloud to turn five. In fact, I've decide she must Benjamin Button herself and start aging in reverse. She has to stay my baby forever. That's all there is to it.

I Won!

2012-01-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

For those of you who want to know, I won the printable bet! Yippee! Mine was A. Jim's was B. C. was another quote I thought was cute. I'm not one to gloat, so I'll just leave it at that. . . now it's time to go cash in on my winnings!

Valentine's Day Printable

2012-01-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

Is it too early for Valentine's stuff? If yes, then ignore this post. If no, here's my latest printable! I think it's cute.

This and more printables here.

And because I'm nice, here's a free Valentine's Day printable without the Leslie's Love Prints watermark. It's sized to 8x10:

Enjoy!

My Boys

2012-01-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love them!

That's all.

Two New Things about Hunter

2012-01-05T01:10:00.000-08:00

We started potty training this week. I don't think I was 100% ready (wearing diapers was the last thing keeping Hunty a baby), but the diapers ran out, and I told myself once they were gone, it was time to start training. I saved one to have Hunter throw away when I explained that, "diapers are for babies, and Toy Story undies are for big boys" like Hunter. We're now on day three of the three day potty training method.

Day one was the worst. We went through about 11 pair of undies. Hunter seemed oblivious to what we were trying to accomplish. He peed in his bed that night. Not fun, but I stayed positive and upbeat. I encouraged with love. Lots and lots and lots of praise was given for dry pants and any attempt to go near the potty.

Day two started with success! I was on him from sunup, watching and waiting. Finally I saw the tell-tale signs that something was about to happen. I rushed him to the potty and HE DID IT! We had more success on day two. We also had lots of wet big boy pants, but progress was made.

Today is day three, and I would like to say Hunter is 100% trained, but he's not. It's partially my fault, I haven't been right next to him 24/7 like I'm supposed to be. The times Hunter has had accidents were when I was taking a shower, fixing lunch for the kids, cooking dinner, etc. However, now he's starting to tell me when he's about to go. Yesterday he told me, "Mommy, I hear the pee pee coming." Today he told me, "Mommy, I'm ready to shoot at the Cheerios!" So, we're doing it. It'll probably take a little more time for him to get it down, and I'm okay with that. Progress is being made everyday, and I'm proud of my big boy! I'm also proud of me. I'm not a fan of potty training, but I'm committed to see this thing through. Also, Hunter looks really cute running around in his Toy Story briefs he picked out, and the boxer briefs I chose.

Another thing about Hunter is he developed a transient tick. I noticed it a few weeks ago when he started blinking his eyes a lot. After talking to his doctor, and following up with a little google search, I was informed that sometimes kids around Hunter's age develop this kind of tick. Their little minds are taking in so much, that it's kind of like an outlet for them. We're not supposed to mention it, or bring attention to it around Hunter. It should go away on its own. It does get worse when he's tired. When Jim and I are talking about Hunter now, and his little transient tick, Jim usually asks, "So, how is Blinky?" The other day after he asked me about our blinky little son Jim said, "I just thought of something. Our kids' nicknames right now are Stinky and Blinky." If we have another one, I thought of a few more nick names we could use: Pinky (for a girl that likes pink), Slinky (if we have a flexible child), Clinky (for a noisy boy or girl), and Minky (for a child that likes fur?) Eh. I'm tired. I'll have to come up with more later. :)

Ready. Set. Jump!

2012-01-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

My little Hunter is a jumper. He's constantly jumping on and off of things. It really doesn't matter what. He'll take the couch pillows and cushions and set up a little jumping course for himself in the living room -- leaping from cushion to cushion. Sometimes he just hops around the house telling me, "Mommy! I'm a jumping bean!" He's a little daredevil.

We're pretty used to Hunter's antics around here, but sometimes we forget that other people aren't. There's usually a gasp when our company visits and sees Hunter leaping from the furniture. They usually ask, "Is he okay!?!?" He is.

Sometimes I have to stop a jump from happening. They're just a little too dangerous at times, like when he thought jumping from the top of a flight of steep cement stairs in Park City, UT was a great idea. I saw him prepping for the jump -- I swear this all went down in slow motion -- I screamed, "H U N T E R N O O O O O !" I frantically reached for the little turkey, but it was too late. His legs were already set in motion, my finger tips barley grazed the back of his t-shirt as the rest of his little body flew down the five or six cement stairs. In that one second, while Hunty was plummeting towards the landing, images of an ER visit filled my head. In reality, Hunter landed perfectly, and just kept on walking, no doubt searching for his next stunt. That flight of stairs was more than twice his height! How on Earth did he land it perfectly? No scratch. No bruise. No blood. I'm pretty sure one of his angels helped him out. Thank goodness!

I wonder if Hunter has a future as a stunt double. I can just see him jumping off of buildings, out of airplanes, and doing any other number of things that will make his mother cringe. Just as long as his angels will always be there to provide a soft landing, I'm okay with it.

Tralee wanted to show off her jumping skills too.

HELP!!!!!

2011-12-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

I need your help. Jim and I have been fighting (not really). I made a new printable for my Etsy shop and I couldn't decide which quote to put on it. Jim had HIS idea (I didn't love it), and I had mine. I made them both (I actually made three), and now we're fighting over which one is better.

So . . . I'm taking it to the masses (well, the masses being my 18 or so followers!). Which printable below would you be most likely to purchase and/or hang in your home? Please vote for your pick either in the comments, or on the poll above. I'm not going to tell you which one was his or my idea. I don't want to skew the votes. Please do vote though! The wager is really high and I WANT TO WIN!!!

A. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

B. Blow Me a Wish

C. You are Never Given a Wish. . .

The poll will close in a week.

Thanks!

Daddy's Home AND Santa Came? No WAY!!!

2011-12-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah Baby!!!

Christmas Eve was spent prepping for the big day. I cleaned just enough to make the house look presentable for Jim's return and for Santa's arrival, but mostly I wanted to spend the day playing with the munchkins. They helped me cook, prepare the cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

Christmas Eve night the kids and I played with our little nativity set, while I told them the Christmas story. I read some scriptures to them about the birth of Christ. I think they're starting to understand that Christmas is about more than presents. After learning about the nativity, I read and sang carols from a little Christmas book my Grandma Stoehr gave me one year. I LOVE that thing! The kids don't know many of the carols yet, but whenever they see the musical notes on one of the pages of our Christmas book, the request that I sing that song to them. I couldn't make it through many of the songs without tearing up a bit. It was a nice moment with my own little babes.

Once a few carols were sung, the babies' teeth were brushed, and they were put in their jammies. I wrapped them each in a blanket, put them in the car, and we drove around the neighborhood looking at the Christmas lights. Some people around here went ALL OUT! There's one house who choreographed their lights to the beat of various Christmas songs that play outside. That was our favorite house this year. Every time we drove into our subdivision at night Tralee asked, "Can we go to the music house?"

Hunter fell asleep on our little drive (that was my plan!) so I tucked him under his feather comforter when we got home, but Tralee was WIRED!!! It took her until 10pm to finally conk out. She was just WAY to excited that Santa AND Daddy were coming in the same night. I asked her if she was more excited to see Daddy or see if Santa comes. She answered, "Both!"

Once Stinks finally had visions of sugarplums dancing in her head, I was able to go downstairs and wrap, wrap, and wrap some more. I even saw Santa come! Shortly after Santa's visit I heard Jim's truck pull in the driveway! CHRISTMAS WAS FINALLY HERE!!!!! I had my husband home after 15 LOOOOONG days without him. He just missed Santa's visit, but helped him finish off a few of the cookie crumbs! Jim also helped me with all the finishing touches, and we finally got to bed around 2:30am.

Santa's cookies and milk, and carrots for the reindeer before and after. Santa even left a note for the kids!!!

Christmas morning was magical. I mean, check out Tralee's face when she rounded the corner from coming downstairs and saw that Santa had come:

I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are the pictures of the kids waiting at the top of the stairs so Mommy and Daddy could get the cameras ready:

Hunter was still half asleep! Tralee wasn't. She was READY to get the show on the road!!

Hunty looking around at all the goodies.

After Santa visited. Darn it! I didn't have my camera ready when Santa was here! Maybe next year!!

Hunter's present from Santa was this four wheeler. So far, he's rode it once and didn't think much of it. We're hoping he warms up to it soon. Tralee, on the other hand, drives this thing around like a maniac!

A gift for Tralee Daddy brought home from his business trip

Once Hunter figured out there was candy in the stockings, he cared for little else. I think he sat like this nibbling on chocolate for a good five minutes before we snapped him out of it.

Christmas kisses!! Love this pic!

Some homemade gifts for Jim. Two things I know about Jim: 1. He believes in Sasquatches, you know, Bigfoot (I secretly love this dorky little feature my hubby comes equipped with). Every time we drive to Canada he tells me, "Keep your eyes peeled, this is PRIME Sasquatch territory!" I would like to say he's kidding around, but I'm pretty sure he's serious. Also, anytime there's a doc-u about Bigfoot, Jim's mesmerized! So, I made him the shirt. 2. Jim loves the TV show The Office. I find him frequently quoting from it, and this Dwight Shrute quotes is something he says quite often. So, I painted a little piece of canvas and painted on the quote. Jim says he's going to hang it in his office at work. Jim also got a new WII game, a marshmallow shooter, and some other little goodies in his stocking.

The number one MOST played with toy Christmas morning and beyond was this marble game Jim and I made for the kids. Jim built it, I painted it. The kids love it! HOORAY! The 160 pack of marbles Hunty got from his Grammy Char Char and Grandpa Jim help keep the game well stocked.

Funny Christmas Story: Tralee asked Santa for a "Rainbow Barbie House." I told her I wasn't sure Santa's elves made a rainbow one. Tralee assured me, "Santa can do it! You'll see!" So, a few nights before Santa visited, "Santa" stayed up late painting rainbows onto cardboard to put onto a Barbie Dream House. Christmas morning came around and when Tralee saw the Barbie house with rainbows I said, "it's a Rainbow Barbie House!" Without missing a beat Tralee turned to me and said, "See Mom! I told you Santa would do it!" A few second later she rubbed it in a bit further by saying, "I guess you were the wrongest mom in the world, huh?" We got it on video. Someday when she's up late painting rainbows or doing some other ridiculous thing to make sure her four-year-old's Christmas is magical, I will reminder about the "wrongest mom in the world" comment! :)

The post-Christmas mess

Every year we have the same menu for Christmas Brunch. I grew up going to my Nana's for Christmas brunch. She started making it 34 years ago. My Grandpa Eugen's very last Christmas on Earth was the first time Nana served Christmas brunch at her house. She's been doing it ever since. Since our little family can't make it to Nana's for Christmas Brunch, I make it myself. Christmas isn't Christmas without Nana's Christmas Brunch.

Menu For Christmas Brunch

Frozen Peaches thawed and served in their syrup
Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
Kielbasa (served with ketchup and horseradish)
Crepes with a creme filling and raspberry sauce
Quiche Lorraine
Cherry Kringle
Monkey Bread (or some other delish baked good.
Nana usually does cranberry bread.
My Aunt Mary also makes some little Polish Apple baked item.)

We always serve Christmas Brunch with something bubbly to drink. Here's how my meal turned out:

Our little family before we sat down to partake of Christmas Brunch in Idaho

The rest of our Christmas was spent going to church, eating, playing with our new toys, spending time as a family, talking to our extended family on the phone, and relaxing. It was PERFECT!!!! I hope everyone else's Christmas was just as memorable and magical!

Cookie Time

2011-12-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

Two days before Christmas (is that Christmas Eve Eve?) the kids and I decided it was time to bake cookies for Santa. When I grew up my mom always made sugar cookie dough and gingerbread dough, so that's what I did (isn't it funny how you're drawn to the traditions you grew up with?). My munchkins had a lot of fun rolling the dough and choosing which cookie cutters to use.

Here they are hard at work:

After all the cookies had cooled, I mixed up five colors of icing, sanitized some paint brushes (I mean, I TOTALLY used the proper approved pastry brushes), got out all the sprinkles I could find, and let the kids have at it.

Tralee insisted that Santa wanted a rainbow cookie. We didn't have a rainbow cookie cutter, so I took a knife to some dough and came up with the cookie below. Tralee approved of it (phew!), and Santa told her later on in a letter that it was his favorite cookie of the night!

This was the work of Hunty.

Tralee lasted longer than Hunter. Hunter decorated (if you can call one splotch of red icing on a cookie decorating) one or two cookies, then had enough. Tralee helped me till the cookies and icing ran out.

It was a fun cookie filled day!

Our Night Out on the Town!

2011-12-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

My friend Audie and I are single moms a lot. Our husbands travel for work, and just like last holiday season, they were both gone again this year. So, just like last year, we planned a night out with the kids to eat at some place yummy, hang at the mall, and let the kids visit Santa. We hit up Chipotle first, noshed on some food (guac and chips -- yum city!), went to the mall, noticed that the line to see Santa was ridiculously long, so we window shopped, bought some cinnabons (Have they changed their recipe? They were not as good as I remember!), then went back to check on the Santa line. We thought all the responsible parents would have taken their kids home and put them to bed at that point so we could hog Santa all to ourselves. Nope. The line grew since we first checked, so we decided we better get in it before it got any longer.

Hunter was a little stinker while we waited. Actually, he was a pretty normal two-year-old boy. He did NOT want to sit still and wait in line when there was a whole huge mall to run around and explore. I chased him around quite a bit. Finally, towards the hour-long-wait (are we crazy for waiting that long? It was either wait, or leave with a bunch of disappointed kids. We waited), I strapped Hunty in the stroller while listening to him protest his trap. Of course, when we excited the "North Pole" the line was completely empty. Oh well. Here are some pics from our night out:

Tralee waiting in line

Baby Anson. Isn't he cute? He's a handsome little nugget!

The kids and Santa. Don't they all look SO EXCITED! Sense the sarcasm. At least Tralee is smiling a bit.

We got TWO smiles!

Everyone got a book from Santa. They wanted to read them right away!

Overall, it was a fun night, even with the long line. Plus, Santa brought all our kids what they asked for, so it's a good thing we decided to wait to see him!

My Husband is Hilarious!

2011-12-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while my hubby does something that REALLY cracks me up. This video is one of those things. His cousin hosts a free style rap competition every Friday on Facebook. This is Jim's and his cousin's video for Free Style Friday. They've both been away working for almost two weeks now, and won't be home until Christmas. Their video examines that a bit. Here it is:

Wet Clothes

2011-12-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

Our dryer broke. . . AGAIN! This is the fourth time in two years that it's on the fritz. It's the second time within a month that it broke. We bought it from a used appliance place that had positive reviews. We got, what I thought, was a pretty great deal. I guess it was all too good to be true. Two weeks after we bought it, the dryer's heating element stopped working. Luckily the dryer was still under warranty, but two years later the dryer has broke down three more times. We also bought a freezer from said company, and wouldn't you know it, one month passed this company's warranty the freezer broke. They wanted to charge us $200 to fix it. That's how much we paid for it in the first place. Needless to say, we're not heading back to this used appliance place. . . EVER! I'm not even sure we want to fix the dryer again at this point. It might be time to bite the bullet and buy a new one. With four people and a dog, we kind of need a dependable laundry room. What I would REALLY like is a little number like this:

Aren't they pretty? I bet they're as functional as they are beautiful. Hold on, I need a second to wipe the drool off my face. Santa, if you're listening, how about this red LG front loading washer and dryer set under the Christmas tree? I've been pretty good this year. Actually, I probably could have been better. Awe shucks! Maybe next year.

While I'm in dream mode, how about a laundry room that looks a little something like this:

Are those two washer and dryer sets I see? I hope the laundry-doer/s in this family know/s how lucky he/she/they are. Isn't it funny how excited you can get over appliances when you're the one that actually uses them?

Or this:

So pretty and fresh.

Check this little beauty out:

I would even love something like this if it meant the dryer worked:

The lady is pretty fantastic, isn't she? I love all the pink!

So, we're currently on the market for a new dryer. We're hoping to find an amazing deal on a reliable dryer (fingers crossed). If you have any tips on where to score a great deal, let me know! Hopefully I won't get any recommendations to the used appliance place I've sworn off. That would be kind of funny.

Oh. . . and Santa (if you're still listening), if I someday get my dream washer/dryer set, I'll dress up like the lady pictured above to match my set every time I wash (well, maybe not every time. . . but definitely the first). I probably won't look as fab as she does though. I don't have a hat anywhere close to the awesomeness of Lady Kenmore's.

Tralee's Letter to Santa 2011

2011-12-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Dear Santa,

I love you very much. I wish I worked at your workshop. And I can help you bring toys. And I wish I could see your reindeer. I wish Santa was my dad, and even my own dad at home so they could be twins. And even they can have a great Merry Christmas. I love you to get some princesses, and please give me a toy! I

What kind of animal do you like Santa? You’re so sweet when you bring presents. I want to be good. And Merry Christmas to all! I wish you were a great Santa, and you are! Santa is a great great great man! And even Christmas I will blow you a kiss.

Santa, I want a toy doggy that looks like Brady’s and even a rainbow Barbie House that has rainbows. I do want toy pretend foods. And you’re the greatest greatest GREATEST Santa in the world!

Love,

Tralee

Etsy Shop. . . .READY. . . GO!!!

2011-12-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

My Etsy shop is up and running! There are only a handful of items up at the moment. For now, I'm just selling some of my printable art. I'm totally new to this, so it might take some time to get the hang of. I'm excited! My goal is to post at least one new piece a week. With a household to run, a husband to make-out with, two munchkins to take care of, a dog to pooper-scoop after, and all the other stuff on my list, I think that's a pretty realistic goal.

Go ahead and take a peek at what's for sale over at Leslie's Love Prints:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LeslieLovePrints

Oh, and to celebrate the new shop (and the new year), here's a free printable to help you ring in 2012!!

Wish me luck!!

Busy Bees

2011-12-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

We're buzzing around over here, getting ready for C-day. There's been Christmas parties to attend, lists made and checked twice, and a whole lotta fa-la-la-ing. It's all great fun, but not a whole lot of time for me to sit and sip wassail whilst reading Dickens's A Christmas Carol, and listen to a fire crackle in the background (if only we had a fireplace, I might put our buzzing on hold and actually do just that).

I have made some crafty little things, and one ultra awesome gift for some people that I'm super excited about. The only problem is, said gifts and said people all read my bloggity-blog-blog, and I would hate to steal the surprise away from Christmas. So, no pictures of my creations. . . yet. Maybe when our jingle-bell-induced buzzing comes to a halt will I take a moment to share some crafty photos. Until then, take a look at my two best creations:

I love his little tired eyes in the morning.

She was waiting for me to read Olivia to her. I was snapping pictures instead. Eventually Olivia's adventures in Italy were read. That being said, how come a pig and her family get to go to Italy, and my family and I haven't been there yet? That needs to be remedied. Plus--spoiler alert--we won't leave Venice in ruins like a certain O-named pig!

I just like this one. Don't you wish you could hang out with her everyday? I'm one lucky mama! And sometimes, I'm one tired mama who wants to pull her hair out, but mostly I'm just lucky.

Four more days!!!

Tralee's First Dance Recital

2011-12-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

Today was Tralee's first dance recital. All the little girls tap danced to Brenda Lee's, "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus." They were all adorable. Tralee cracked me up. She stole the show, that's for sure! But. . . perhaps her show stealing techniques were not in the way you would think. Tralee started off standing in the wrong place, then forgot to put on her hat. Part way into the dance Tralee stood front-and-center and while the rest of the girls were doing the choreographed tap moves, my sweet Stinks was in her own little world. She finished the dance strong! I giggled through the whole thing thinking, "Of course she's doing her own thing! What else would I expect from my against-the-grain girl!" I love my little tapper! She dances to her own tune, and that's why she's a star in my book.

Here's the video. Right around 2:07 Tralee enters her own little world. She comes back to Earth at 2:28. I love her!

In other news: Christmas is getting closer!!! Are you as excited as I am?

Christmas Party

2011-12-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

We had our church Christmas Party on Saturday night. Tralee played the part of Mary in the Nativity. Her little crush, Alex, played the part of Joseph. They were cute up there--all the kids were pretty cute acting out the story of Christmas!

After dinner, the Nativity, and singing Christmas carols, Santa came to visit all the children.

Here's Tralee waiting in line too see Santa.

Tralee asked Santa for a, "stuffed animal that's a dog and a Barbie house with Barbies."

I think she just might get what she asked for!

Are you wondering where all the pictures of Hunter are? He slept though the whole thing! He woke up as soon as we got home. Silly boy!

We had a fun and busy Saturday.

Craft Fair

2011-12-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

I did a craft fair this last Friday and Saturday. Here are some of the things I (I'm using "I" lightly, Jim did a lot of the work too) made for it. We made crown molding shelves, various art and printables that we framed (Jim made all the frames and I painted them), and other little cutsey decor items. I think we had a lot of fun stuff.

Jim made the barn door display for me using an old door we came across, and some old barn wood. I think it was a really cute display. So cute in fact, it was one of the first things I sold on Saturday morning. I had to rearrange the rest of the stuff after the door went bye-bye.

We got a good booth space with a bulletin board behind us. We were able to hang up more stuff than we thought!

This was one of Jim's favorite creations. I told him to make me a barn wood shelf to display some pictures in, and this was the outcome. Cute, if I do say so myself.

Red crown molding shelf. I love red things!

I made The Family: A Proclamation to the World printable, and Jim made the awesome barn wood frame to put it in.

This little dity was a popular seller.

I think the thing I sold the most was the owl printable. People loved it. I had it in different colored frames as well.

Framed printable

One of my favorite things I made was the, "on a bicycle built for two" art with frame.

More stuff.

I like this one too. But, I like anything with elephants.

This shelf was one of the first things that sold.

I don't know if you can tell, but there are little jingle bells in the frame. This thing sold pretty fast too.

We had several temple art items as well.

That's about all.

Overall, I can't say that the craft fair was a huge success. There wasn't a whole lot of traffic coming through. Several of the vendors were pretty bored, and I think we sold the most of our stuff to each other. I haven't done a craft fair in several years, and I guess the market for it has changed a lot. I talked to a lot of vendors who said they used to do 90+ craft fairs a year, and now they only choose a select few to do. I guess I picked a not-so-great one to display my items, but it was still a fun experience. I also have a good amount of stuff to start my Etsy shop with. Yup, I'm going to give Etsy a try. I like to make stuff, but I only have so much wall space, so I guess Etsy will be my crafting outlet. Once I really get my shop up and going, I'll set up a link on the ol' blogaroo. Until then. . . Adieu!

Child-isms

2011-12-06T07:42:00.001-08:00

This post is mostly for Grammy Char Char who has been begging me for some new pictures of her adorable grandbabies. She bought these little outfits for said babies, and they look super cute in them. But wait! These pictures are not all! Scroll down and there are a few little Tralee and Hunter-isms I didn't want to forget about.

Tralee:

Tralee has been into wearing, "A plain long sleeved shirt without anything on it." She thinks wearing this will make her look more like a kitty cat, because "kitties don't have stuff on their fur." The only downside to this is that Tralee only has a few plain, long-sleeved, shirts without any designs or emblems on them. So, we're constantly negotiating which outfits she should wear. She's also been wearing one of my belts around her belly for the last three days. It's her kitty tail, in case you were wondering.

Hunter:

While we were at church on Sunday Hunty climbed into my lap, gave me a squinch, and said, "You're the best mommy." I responded, "You're the best Hunty." He then added, "Aw! We're both the best!" I would have to agree.

Another Hunter-ism happened the other day when I told him it was time to go brush his hair. As I was carrying him to the bathroom he said, "We have to brush my hair so I can say, 'Ow! Ow! Ow!'" I don't think it hurts when I comb through Hunty's feathery short hair. I DO think he's observed me wrestling the tangles out of his sister's hair a time or two. She yells"Ow!" through the whole hair-doing process. I suppose Hunter thinks you have to say, "ow!" whenever your hair gets brushed.

The last Hunty-ism happened the other day whilst I was changing him (I know, I said I would potty train him in November. . . yeah, that didn't happen. But it will happen soon!) While I was changing the little stinker, he pointed to his you-know-whats and told me, "don't forget about my grapes." GRAPES?! We've never called them grapes before -- but now that's all we CAN call them.

Sometimes Hunter wants to get a hug. If I go in for a kiss too, he'll pull away and say, "No! Just hugs!" After we're done hugging he'll look at me and command, "Now a kiss!" After we give each other some kissies, Hunter will grab both of my cheeks in his sticky little paws, pull my face into his and tell me to, "Squish noses." He likes to smoosh our noses together. Sometimes that's all his wants, "No hugs! No kisses! Just squish noses!" I love to squish noses with Hunter! I highly recommend a good nose squish every now and again.

Silly kids. Silly, cute, adorable, funny, drive-me-crazy kids!

Now I have to get back to making stuff for the craft fair I'm doing this Friday and Saturday.

Mom, I hope that helped satisfy your grandchild cravings for a few days! Love you!

Decked a Lil' More

2011-12-05T05:48:00.000-08:00

Hi. I couldn't sleep the other night. I woke up at 3am and was wide awake. So, channeled my inner elf and worked on some Christmas crafts. I even heard Buddy in my head saying, "I got a full forty minutes [of sleep], and still had time to make a rocking horse." I didn't get to the rocking horse, but I did make a garland and some elf hats and Rudolph noses to decorate some pictures of my cute kids. The elf hats were really easy and took about five minutes to throw together. The garland took a little longer. I saw something like it in a Pottery Barn catalog and knew I had to try making it.

I think it all turned out pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself. Now I think I'll go make some snow angels for two hours, then go ice skating, then eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie Dough as fast as I can, and then I'll find those cute kids of mine and snuggle!

Skipped the Crowds and Decked the Halls

2011-11-27T18:06:00.001-08:00

My last post was about Thanksgiving decorations. It's only the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but it already feels like ages ago. We spent our Turkey Day with Jim's Aunt Michelle and her family. We also got to visit with some of Jim's other relatives. It was a laid back day surrounded by yummy food and fun people. My kind of day. I made this. Exquisite. I mean, it was on Martha Stewart's website, so of course it would be perfection! I mean, I'm not a chocolate person, but I LOVE French Silk Pie -- go figure. Literally. My figure goes just thinking about the scrumptious deliciousness of this pie. On the way over to Jim's Aunt's house I whined, "I don't want to share this pie. I want it all for me." I said this whilst imagining my French-Silk-Pie-covered-face sitting on my kitchen floor, fork in mouth, empty pie pan on my lap, and a look of satisfaction smothered over my face. Jim gave me a, "You're weird" glance, and I was reminded that it was Thanksgiving. A day we're supposed to share our blessings with others. So, once we arrived at Michelle's, I decided not to leave the pie in the car only to take it home later and snarf its silky, rich, satiny, chocolate, decadence all by myself, and share my bounty with others. Now the pie is gone, and I'm a little sad.

To get over my love affair with The Pie, I spent the Friday after Thanksgiving NOT fighting the deal-thirsty mobs (not a fan of crowds) and instead I stayed home with the littles tearing down our Fall decor and decorating for Christmas. While we hung the ornaments with care, Nat King Cole (I could listen to his smooth voice croon Christmas Carols ALL. DAY. LONG) among others filled our house with Christmasy spirit. I even did a new little craft I had been thinking of. It was SO easy and I think it turned out pretty darn tootin' cute if I do say so myself. Looky here:

I call them, Antiqued Mason Jar Lanterns. I spray painted the jars with a silver metallic paint, used sandpaper to scruff them up, and painted on black and brown watered down acrylic paint to give an antiqued effect. I used a paper towel to rub off some of the acrylic paint if I thought it was a little thick in some areas (use it like a glaze). Then I cut some vinyl letters using my Silhouette (you could also use stickers or modge podge paper on), placed them on the jars, and finished up the project with a coat of glossy finish. I picked a glossy finish instead of a mat to help with the glassy effect. I then added the Christmas lights and, walla, Antiqued Mason Jar Lanterns!

Here are some more of our decorations:

I took an old thrift store frame, spray painted it green, modged podged some paper onto it, and added the vinyl sleigh and letters. I coated it with some modge podge (love that stuff!)

Some trees I made and some dollar store decor (love the dollar store!)

Earlier in the day the kids and I decorated our mini tree. It's the centerpiece on our often cluttered dinning room table.

More decor. I made the advent calendar. Some other items are things I made mixed with dollar store finds. The Irish Santa was a hand-me-down from Jim' mom. We like anything Irish around here!

We decorated the Christmas Tree as a family Friday night. I actually did send Jim out into the masses to buy us a good deal on a fake tree. Yes, we've decided to go fake this year. I'm still finding pine needles from last year's tree. I was done with the mess. I will miss the smell of a real needled tree, but I'm hoping a pine-scented candle will make up for the loss. Also, Hunter's new favorite hiding place is under our twinkly tree. Here are some pics from decorating:

These are the only pictures I got. I was too busy decorating with the family to get any more.

As I was putting the finishing touches on said tree, I wondered what happened to my help, then looked over at the couch, and saw this:

Do you like Hunter's pink pull-up diaper? It's a leftover from Tralee's days in diaperhood. Just so you know, a real boy can pull off a pink diaper!

Melt my heart with my lovies cute selves! The only thing that could have made our Friday better would have been a slice of French Silk Pie (I really can't get that thing out of my mind, and I refuse to make another one because I know I'll gluttonously eat ~~all of it~~ too much of it). Since The Pie was gone, I had to do the next best thing. I tucked the munchkins into their beds, snuggled up to the hubster on the couch, put on a re-run of How I Met Your Mother (love that show), and basked in the festive decor around me.

We had a great Friday after Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is (almost) Here!

2011-11-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

I don't have much in the name of Thanksgiving decor, so I made a few things to festive the place up.

I spray painted an old thrift store frame, modged poded some fun paper to the white mat that came with the frame, and added some cute pics of the munchkins. I cut the vinyl "blessings" word out to place above the frame. I also printed out another printable found here, and added it to a $1Ikea frame (when o' when will Ikea come closer to me?). Jim also cut some blocks for me, which I painted, and added the vinyl letters that spell, "give thanks." The pumpkins were leftover from my Halloween decor, and the "Homemade Pies -- 35 cents" printable is one that I made. I copied a sign I found online, except I think the sign online had an apple pie, and I wanted a pumpkin pie. So, I just made my own sign with a pumpkin pie, printed it out, and popped it in an old frame.

Happy Thanksgiving banner.

Thanksgiving printable. Found here.

I had to throw this one in the mix. Isn't he cute?

Snow

2011-11-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

We had some snowy weather for a good hour yesterday. So, of course we had to go play in it before it all disappeared. As usual Tralee was out frolicking the longest. Hunter and I had some good snowy fun for 10 minutes or so, while Tralee was out there for three times that. Afterwards we all came inside, changed out of our wet clothes, and got snugly in our jammies.

Tralee's grassy snow angels.

Interesting Turkey Craft

2011-11-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

We had pre-school at our house yesterday. The theme was Thanksgiving, so of course we had to do some kind of Turkey craft. Most of the kids' turkeys turned out like this:

And then there was Hunty's. His turned out like this:

Should I be worried? Or is this a sign that Hunter is a creative genius who thinks outside the box? Jim said Hunter's turkey looks like a turd on a plate covered in eyeballs (hope you weren't eating something when you read that last line).

Lovely.

I was thinking we should have made the picture of Hunter's turd-eyeball-turkey into a holiday card that said something like, "Eye hope your Thanksgiving isn't crappy!" There just wasn't enough time to pull it off. Oh well. Hopefully you're not too upset you didn't get that kind of card in your mailbox this year. Sorry if you're disappointed. Maybe next year our little Picasso will pull off something equally fantastic.

Remind You of Anyone?

2011-11-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Jim and I were looking at old photos a while back and came across this one of yours truly:

Right after we saw it Jim goes, "take off most of the hair, and that's Hunter." So, I did just that (really quickly using my limited photoshoping skills) to see if he was right:

What do you think? Does the face above resemble the cute little (albeit messy) mug below?

I kind of think it does. When Jim and I were discussing it later I asked, "So what do you think happened when our little man was created? Did my genes just take over and bully your genes into making sure Hunter looked more like me?" Jim answered, "To be honest, my genes were probably just so happy to be involved they didn't care how Hunty turned out." Haha! Silly Jim. It doesn't really matter what happened in the creation process, we're just so happy to have Hunter as a part of our family. I don't know how the little munchkin does it, but he gets cuter everyday.

Every Once in a While

2011-11-13T07:21:00.001-08:00

Every now and again I catch a glimpse of my first born baby. Tralee will make a facial expression and in my head I'll see this:

or this:

Where or where has my baby gone? She's getting so big, so mature (as mature as a four-year-old can get), and it breaks my heart a little bit. It's so cliche to say, but it really does go by so fast! I wonder if I'll look at Tralee as I send her off to college, or if she'll smile at me on her wedding day, and I'll still see a glimpse of the baby I brought into the world. I think so. I'm so proud of the sweet, sensitive, little girl I have and I'm excited for what's to come for her, but in my heart, she'll always be my baby.

Painted Nails

2011-11-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Tralee had been asking me if she could paint our finger and toe nails for a while. So, yesterday I let her have at it. She even painted Hunter's fingernails. I'm not sure what the protocol is on little boys' nails. I know there was some big hoopla about the J Crew editor and chief painting her son's nails pink a while back. It didn't bother me. I also wasn't too worried when Hunty stuck his hand in front of Tralee to get painted after he watched her paint all twenty of her nails, and ten of mine. He's around two females (three if you count our dog) all day. He's bound to participate in some girly things every now and again. Also, two minutes after Hunter got in touch with his feminine side, he was all about throwing a ball around with me, leaping off the furniture better than a superhero, and promptly pealing off whatever paint actually made it onto his nails. Tralee's mani and pedi, however; are still as gorge as they were yesterday, as is my pedicure! You'd be jealous about how awesome my toes look right now. In fact, if you were here looking at my piggies I'm sure you'd ask, "Where did you get THAT done?" If anyone is interested, I'm sure Tralee would LOVE to give you the full treatment. Pop over anytime and you'll leave with your toes looking like this:

Tralee's toes

Hunter getting his nails done. Love the tongue sticking out.

Mommy's turn!

The finished product.

We're all about appearances around here (HA!), so it's a good thing we whipped out the nail polish yesterday! We wouldn't want to be seen with naked nails! Oh the shame!!! Thanks Tralee, for keeping us hip!

Christmas Printables

2011-11-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

I've been having a lot of fun making printables lately. Can you tell? I guess it's just an easy and inexpensive way to decorate, so why not? Jim's Aunt asked me to make her a few Christmas printables to give out as gifts. What a great idea!! Seriously, print one of these bad boys out (or any fun ones you come across online), put it in an inexpensive frame (hello dollar store), and walla! Instant cute affordable presents!! I made these to fit an 8x10 frame, but you can also crop them down to fit smaller frames. I think 5x7 will work well. I'm not sure about other sizes.

I couldn't decide between snowflakes or no snowflakes for the two printables below. I'm still not sure.

Just one more:

Friday. . .a day late.

2011-11-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

Friday's weather was perfect for staying inside, sipping hot cocoa, and snuggling under a blanket while watching Disney cartoons with the littles. That's exactly what we did. We skipped our library and park plans, stayed bundled in our pajamas, and enjoyed each other's company. We also peeked outside every now and again excited that snow was falling. At some point those little snowflakes got the better of us, and we slipped on whatever boots and jacket we could find, ran outside, and tried to catch snowflakes on our tongues. Tralee stayed out the longest while Hunter and I probably lasted in the cold about 34 seconds or so. Tralee was probably out lallygagging for about an hour. I guess it's just proof, once again, that Tralee really is a winter baby. Friday was fun. Friday was relaxing. Friday gave us a bit of cabin fever. So, when we woke up on Saturday with little sunbeams patting our faces awake, we decided to hit up the library and park a day late. We were ready to get out and about. Tralee insisted on bringing her favorite (as of right now) stuffed animal; it's an orange cat she named Blue. So, Tralee, Hunter, Blue, and I got ready for the day, and off we went to play.

I tried a cute little bun in Tralee's hair. I added a flower clip she and I made on our Friday indoors.

Tralee and Blue ready to go.

Without a doubt, my children's favorite park activity is swinging.

Blue even likes a good swing.

See what I mean?

Tralee wanted Blue to enjoy his day at the park as much as she did. So, he went on everything Tralee did.

Towards the end, Hunter got cold and tired and just wanted to be held. He also gave me a few kisses.

Have you kissed this boy? It's a lot of fun!

More kisses!!! I'll take all I can get! I have a goal to kiss him so many times no other girl will ever be able to catch up. Is that weird? I don't care.

I like his mischievous little face here. He was giving me so many kisses, we were both laughing pretty hard.

Love that boy!

One more for the road.

'Til next time. . .

What to do with Leftover Halloween Candy?

2011-11-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Why, make edible playdough of course! Use the candy for decoration! That's what we did. There are lots of edible playdough recipes out there, so we just used this one, then opened up a few mini packs of M&M's, Smarties (USA kind, not the delish Canadian ones), Candy Corn, and added a few white chocolate chips for good measure. The best part is, I think the kids played with the playdough and candy more than they ate it. Also, it kept the littles occupied for a good hour or so. So, I got some time to myself (I took care of the ever-so-exciting task of doing the dishes while they played), and we got rid of more Halloween candy! Hooray! After the kid-os were done, I put the playdough in a tupperware container until the end of the day. I think they played with it one more time before the garbage fairies ate the rest. I couldn't bring myself to save it after thirty fingers and three mouths had been playing/eating it for a good portion of the day. Fun was had, more candy vanished, and cleanup wasn't too horrible since Corky-the-Buddhist-Pug was right there to catch whatever fell off the table. Yippee!

One of the many creations of the day.

"Playdough I can eat? Cool Mom!"

We had Brinley over to play for the day. Tralee LOVES Brinley. Brinley loves Tralee. They both loved the playdough. It was a playdough-playdate-love-fest all up in here.

Trick-or-Treat

2011-11-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

Jim got home from a business trip right in time to go trick-or-treating with us. We picked him up from the airport, drove to the other Jacobs family's house, ate some pizza, and then went trick-or-treating. We had a fun night.

This is Tralee's face right before she cries. She was sad because she couldn't be in a picture. This girl is SOOOOO sensitive. She gets that from me. Poor girl. But never fear, as quickly as the tears appear, they're replaced with smiles just as fast! Don't believe me? Check out the next photo. It was taken about one minute after the above.

Tralee wanted red hair to match her wings. We found some red hair spray stuff and what do you know? She looks pretty good with red hair!

I like Hunter's face in this picture. I wonder what he was thinking? Also. . . he WAS NOT a pumpkin for Halloween. . . he was a basketball!! He finally decided to be a basketball and I thought, "How am I going to pull that off?" I wandered into a thrift store one day, and this basketball costume was looking right at me! Hunter was really excited when I showed it to him! Plus, he looks wicked cute as a little basketball boy. Hooray!

I know I'm probably biased, because she's mine, but this girl is GORGEOUS!!!! I just love her to bits!

I walked outside and found Hunty sitting on the steps chillin' all by himself. He looked so cute just sitting there that I snapped a few pics.

Jim dressed up as a TALL zombie. He wore stilts around and was a huge hit everywhere we went!

The girls running to get more candy. Hunter couldn't keep up, so Jim and I took turns walking the slow route with Hunter.

I kept trying to get a good picture of Tralee trick-or-treating all night. But most of the time she was a running-for-candy-blur.

Tall Zombie Dad and his little basketball buddy.

A rare moment where Tralee was still.

Isn't this house cute? I love it! I also love the little ladybug.

Cute boy.

I sent him up to the door all by himself. Such a big boy!

Jovie, Tralee, and Oakley getting more CANDY CANDY CANDY!!!

Hunter's turn

Shortly after we started trick-or-treating I noticed Tralee bouncing around the way she does when she has to go. So, we departed from the group, walked to a nearby Stinker Station (that's what a chain of gas stations are called around here) and I let my own little Stinks take care of business. While waiting I played around with my camera. I wasn't really dressed up this year. Lame, I know.

A cool house on our trick-or-treating route.

After it got dark our kids started complaining about being cold and tired, so we left. It was a fun night.

Thanksgiving Printables

2011-11-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

I made a few Thanksgiving printables. I couldn't decide if I wanted a border or not, so I made one of each. I also couldn't decide on the colors. I kind of like them both, but went with the second one. I liked the warmer background color and colorful words. So, I printed out an 8x10, slapped it in a frame, and now I have some Thanksgiving decor up. Yippee!

Ladybug Friday

2011-11-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

Every Friday I take the kids to the library for story time, and to re-stock our book pile at home; then to the park to burn off some more energy. After we're nice and tired (I'm usually the one that's tired, the kids could go and go and go just like the Energizer bunny) we head home for lunch and a little R&R (once again, I'm the one that needs to recover, the kids just play some more). This last Friday Tralee wanted to wear her costume all. day. long. I recently completed it (I made the skirt, the rest was courtesy of Savers and the $3.99 I had in my pocket at the time of purchase) and Tralee was excited to wear the whole shebang. She decided she wanted to be a ladybug about a month before Halloween, and had been eyeing the wings hungrily since we bought them. I wouldn't let her wear them for fear they would be damaged before H-day. Since Friday was our church's Trunk-or-Treat, I thought, "why not give these bad boys a test run?" So. . .all. day. long. on Friday my Stinky Tralinky donned her wings, skirt, and antenna. I grabbed the camera before we headed out to the library and park, knowing I needed to capture a few pics of my little ladybug. Also. . . I noticed after taking all these pictures that Tralee's wings were on upside down. All. day. long on Friday I didn't notice, then the first thing I thought after plugging the pics into the computer was, "Her wings are on wrong!" I WAS going to blame Tralee for putting them on wrong, after all, she's only four and putting things on inside out, and upside down is expected, if not, forgivable of that age group. Then I realized that if I told everyone it was all her fault, I would be lying. I try really really hard not to be a liar. So. . . I'll admit, it's my fault the wings are wrong. Wrong-sided wings or not, I love all the pics from our Friday at the park.

Now for the pics:

Look at those cheeks! I love them!!! They're SO kissable!

Maybe she really could have flown had her wings been on right.

I love it when my kids do sweet things, like hold hands, all on their own!

Thrill the World!!!!!!

2011-10-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

We did it! On Saturday, October 29th, 2011 Jim and I Thrilled the World with about 160-something other zombies in front of Boise's City Hall. It was SOOOOO fun! I decided towards the end of September that I wanted to do this, so to actually follow through with something (I'm pretty good at starting things and not completing them) felt pretty darn great! I was surprised when Jim got on board because he hates to dance! He later told me he thought I wouldn't follow through, so why not sign up for something that probably wouldn't happen. Haha to him!

Jim and I spent the month of October learning the dance from the Thrill the World tutorials on youtube, and by going to the free dance classes downtown Boise. When Saturday night came around, we were ready! Saturday was busy, so I didn't really have time to think about performing too much. I made our zombie costumes, took Tralee to The Wizard of Oz, ran some errands, and by the time I got home, it was time to zombie-up and leave.

We dropped the littles off at Jim's Aunt's, and Jim's Uncle Roman, cousin Mason, and Mason's friends volunteered to come downtown, watch us perform, and video the dance. That was very nice of them! Also, Mason and his friends said they want to learn the dance and perform it next year. They didn't even know what the Thriller dance was before this. I'm thrilled (teehee) Jim and I introduced it to the next generation.

Anyways, here are some pics from our experience and the video Roman took for us.

Watch out or I'll eat your brains!

I guess this zombie needed to get her drink on. Kidding. Jim was taking pictures, I saw an empty bottle sitting on the ledge in the parking complex, and this is what happened.

Well, isn't he cute?

I like this picture of my hunchback-zombie-hunky-hubby

Outside City Hall waiting to perform

Just trying to zombify my hair.

The undead who were performing went inside City Hall for a few minutes to practice and get the rundown.

I stole a few picture from the Idaho Statesmen:

This zombie and her friend stayed in character throughout the night. They were really fun.

Cool picture.

Everyone dancing

Now for the video. Roman got as close to us as he could (the place was packed!), the only thing is, as close to us as he could get was behind us. The video turned about pretty great though, thanks again Roman! Also, thanks Michelle for watching the wee ones for us! Here's the vid:

When we walked away from the performance that night Jim said, "You're probably going to want to do this every year, huh?" I wasn't sure until we got home and Tralee saw the video. She said, "Hey! Next time you have to take me to that dance party!" So. . . I think next year Tralee will probably be old enough to performs it (she knows half of the dance already from watching Jim and me practice, and she came to a few of the dance classes with us), so it looks like we'll be there with an extra Zombie next year! I can't wait!

We're Off to See the Wizard

2011-10-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I saw in our local newspaper that The Musical Theater of Idaho was performing The Wizard of Oz. I thought it would be the perfect thing to take Tralee to. She's never seen a full live performance, and I thought The Wizard of Oz would be the perfect introduction into the world of stage.

We went into the box office on Friday to buy our tickets for Saturday's show, only to be told they were SOLD OUT! Oh no! That was the only performance we could make it too. The nice lady at the ticket office told us, "If you come to the performance on Saturday, we'll put you on a waiting list and if somebody doesn't show up, you can buy their tickets." As we were leaving the box office Tralee asked, "Did we get our tickets?" When I told her they sold out her little face looked awfully forlorn. I kept my fingers crossed that two seats would open for us on Saturday, because I promised my little girl we would go to OZ!

Yesterday Tralee and I left Jim and Hunter at home to do guy stuff, while we made our way to the civic center. Before we left, Tralee and I said a little prayer that we would be able to see The Wizard of Oz. I know it was kind of a trivial thing to pray for, but after promising Tralee for weeks I would take her to see The Wizard of Oz, I needed a little help from upstairs. When we arrived at the civic center Tralee and I walked in hand-in-hand. We found the same lady that helped us at the ticket booth and asked if we could be put on the waiting list. She informed us, "Give me about five minutes, but getting you some seats shouldn't be a problem." HOORAY! Tralee swiftly turned to me and asked, "So, we're going to see The Wizard of Oz?" When I answered, "Yes!" Tralee shouted for joy and jumped up an down. I might have too.

About five minutes later Ticket Booth Lady waved us over. She whispered in my ear, "I have a season ticket holder who can't make it today. She's stuck at a wedding, and would like to donate her tickets to you." Ok, I might be a little bit of a dork, but I totally welled up! I thanked Ticket Booth Lady, and Tralee and I made our way, tickets in hand, to the AWESOMEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE! We were in row E, right smack-dab in the middle. Maybe it was just luck, but I believe our prayer was answered. So did Tralee, because when she prayed before bedtime she said, ". . .and thank you for letting us see The Wizard of Oz."

Overall the local cast ensemble did a really wonderful job! Dorthy was great, The Wicked Witch of the West was amazing, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion were also awesome! Glenda the Good Witch was fun too. I liked it when she floated by on her bubble. My favorite part was the jitterbug number, which I guess was taken out of the motion picture. I'm not sure why, because it's super fun! The real live Toto and miniature horse were also a hit! Tralee really liked Toto, she thought he was "so cute!" The highlight for me was, after every number Tralee clapped and shouted, "Bravo! Bravo!" Where did she learn that? At intermission we bought some cookies to share. I thought Tralee would get a kick out of the green witch cookie, but she wouldn't eat it because she said the witch is too scary. Silly girl! She did, however, munch on a chocolate covered Oreo without difficulty. At one point during the show Tralee climbed into my lap, and whispered in my ear, "Mom. I love you." The feeling is mutual! I'm so happy my little munchkin and I were able to get lost in Oz together!

1980's Racing Night

2011-10-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while Tralee was at a friend's house, Hunter and I were building with blocks. We made a road for our cars, and were having a lot of fun driving our cars around on the block road. After a while I remembered that last year Jim picked up an old 80's racing set at a thrift store for $6, and we hadn't played with it in a while. So, away went our block road and out came our totally narly TYCO Lamborghini Championship race set. Hunter and I started putting it together, but after a few minutes of figuring out the best way to build the track I thought to myself, "Ug! Gag me with a spoon!" I continued my train of thought with, "Self, didn't Jim say he had one of these rad car racing sets -- although not as fancy -- when he was little? Yes. Yes he did. I bet he would be able to put together a wicked cool road in no time. Let's wait for Jim to come home with Tralee and have him help put our track together." Not a few minutes went by when, who should walk through the door? JIM!!! He picked Tralee up from her playdate, and after eating some dinner, our family went back upstairs and put together a totally tubular race track. We spent a good portion of the evening racing cars, and saying stuff like, "don't have a cow man" when one zoomed off the track. Jim and I eventually got kicked off of the track, because the kid-os wanted to take over. The race track kept the munchkins occupied for a good portion of the night. It was radical!

Our super fancy race track!

Hunty watchin the cars zoom by

The yellow Lamborghini going to fast you can hardly see it!

Everyone watching the red car zoom up the ramp! Do you see the blur of red! So excited! Hey Nascar fans, your Indie 500 whatevers don't hold a flame to our track!

Tralee found some stickers and decided to decorate her red car (of course). While we were taking a break, Jim and Hunter were snuggling.

The newly decorated car, back on the track

I think Tralee had the most fun racing cars. Hunter's interest in the whole operation came and went.

See what I mean? One minute he'd be into the race track, and the next minute he'd come up to me and said, "Look at my egg hat!"

Our 80's racing night was like, totally bomdigity!

Pumpkin Night

2011-10-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

We had the other Jacobs family over last night, and Jim announced that he wanted to carve pumpkins together, so off he went to buy a few orange orbs. When he came back he let each kid pick a face for their pumpkin, then they all got their hands dirty cleaning and carving. I made roasted pumpkin seeds (yum!) while Jim lit the pumpkins, turned off the lights, and chased the kids around with the lit pumpkin heads (I think I've mentioned in previous pumpkin-y posts that the pumpkin-head-chasing-thing is a tradition Jim's dad started when Jim was growing up -- so it continues in our house). All the kids ran around hiding while the glowing pumpkin heads chased after them. After a while, as all good nights do, it came to an end. Our little evening with friends must have tired my kids out, because they fell fast asleep shortly after our company left. We had a fun night with friends.

Now. . . pictures!

Cleaning out the guts. Also, I like Jovie's face in this picture. In fact, her face in a lot of the pictures to follow is awesome!

Jim kept pretending to eat the pumpkin guts, so then all the kids thought they should try to eat the guts too. I don't think they were all that impressed with the flavor.

Check out Jovie's face again!

Cute little Oaks.

Oakley tasted the pumpkin, and after a minute decided that it wasn't as good as Jim made it out to be.

Tralee and Jovie worked as a team cleaning out the big pumpkin.

Jim took off Hunter's shirt because he thought he would get really dirty with all the pumpkin guts. I don't think Hunter even touched a pumpkin the whole night. He watched the action go down though.

He's kinda cute, huh?

Another classic Jovie face. Jim was showing the girls different ways they could carve their pumpkins. Also, I gave Tralee an 80's hair-do because her hair kept getting in her eyes, and the closest thing I could find to put it up was one of my hair-things that's a little too big for her fine hair. This was the best hair-do I could come up with in a moment. She rocked it though!

Jim was smart and used his big-boy-tools to carve the pumpkins. It went a lot faster than using knives.

Tralee with her pumpkin

Jovie and her pumpkin

Oakley and her pumpkin

Here they are all lit up

Jovie posing by her pumpkin

I like this picture

The lights went off, and the pumpkin chasing was about to begin!!

Here's Jim chasing around the girls, Hunter wanted no part in the pumpkin chasing.

The girls after they were captured

Tralee got to hold baby Anson, the newest member of the (other) Jacobs family.

This was Jim's little project. This was Hunter's pumpkin, but Jim wanted to do a little more intricate job with it, so he worked on it after everyone left. Can you tell who the pumpkin is supposed to be? I'll give you a clue. . . "Hey you guys!" Did you guess it yet?

I was cleaning up pumpkin guts when I heard Jim say, "Hey Leslie, come check this out." Hunter fell asleep on Tralee, and she was busy patting and tickling his back. So cute!

Tralee took one final yawn, then I picked Hunter up, got him in some jammies, and put his little self to bed. On my way back down the stairs I met Tralee who was falling asleep on her way up. She was laying down on the middle of the stairs, so, I scooped her up, got her ready for bed, and tucked her in.

We were all tired from our night of Halloween fun.

Angry

2011-10-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

Even when she's angry, she's gorgeous, in my humble opinion.

I can't remember what she was mad about. Those big brown eyes were giving me the "how dare you" stare down, so I took a picture. I think we got over the issue at hand within another minute or two, and continued with our delightful Sunday.

Someone Super Cool!

2011-10-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

My big brother's birthday was yesterday. Judging from the picture below, you can see how awesome he is! I mean, he was pretty amazing back in the day (see picture), so you can imagine what he's like now.

Yeah, if your jealous of me for having such a cool big brother, you should be. Cause he's really great. I mean, he would ~~force~~ ask me to do karate matches with him when we were growing up. Because of Jimmy, I've got some mad kung fu skills. Seriously, don't mess. My big brother would also set up our toy closet, and play store with me for hours. Not only that, but he would sometimes let my Barbies play with his G.I. Joes when we were playing war. My Barbies always died off pretty quick, but still, the fact is, they were there during our epic battles.

In all seriousness, I really do love my brother Jimmy (I think I'm one of the last people to still call him that. I think he mostly goes by Jim, but he's cool, so he lets me call him whatever I want). He tortured me a bit growing up, but I think I bugged him enough to make it even. Even through all the bugging, teasing, and torturing, there was love. I have some special memories of moments with Jimmy giving me advice, bear hugs, and hanging out. Now we're all grown up and live thousands of miles apart. I don't get to see my big brother that much, but when I do, I get to see what an awesome husband, father, and man he's become. Not only is he still a great person, but when he's play-fighting with his son, you can see that he can still kung fu like nobody's business!

Happy Birthday Jimmy!

Utah Trip

2011-10-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Jim, the kids, and I drove to Utah for my cousin's wedding. We crashed at my parents' very nice hotel, and spent a super, albeit, quick weekend with family. It was a lot of fun.

Swimming at the hotel pool with Tralee. There were some goggles that someone had left behind that we let Tralee use, and she LOVED them. I wish I would have taken a picture of her with them on, because her whole head would go down in the water and stay there longer than I thought she could. She would come up for air, and then go right back under. After a while we made her take off the life jacket and give swimming a whirl without it. She did really well. I guess we need to invest in some goggles for her. Hopefully by the end of her next swim lessons she'll be a confidant swimmer.

Here's my mother swimming with Hunter. She put him in this swimsuit/floating thing that was also up for grabs in the hotel's swim stuff. Hunter looked funny, but he loved the thing.

Tralee would swim all day if we let her, but yeah, the life jacket has to go at some point. She loves just floating in the water, but we don't want it to be a crutch.

My mom and her sister, my Aunt Lorie. I used to go visit my Aunt Lorie and her six girls in Utah when I was younger. I didn't have any sisters, so going to a house full of nothing but girls (Uncle Jack aside) was lovely.

They're kind of funny when they're together.

Jim with Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave is the youngest sibling on my mom's side. Dave's a hugger. Jim decided to beat Dave to the hugs, so every time Jim saw Dave, he went in for the hug whether Dave wanted one or not!

My Mom's dad (my grandpa) and my dad looking all spiffy outside the Bountiful Temple

My kids found a roley poley. It kept them busy for quite a while.

Waiting for the reception to start.

He's just so cute!

I took some model portfolio shots for Jim (hardy har har). He struck this pose all on his own, without any encouragement from me. That mark on his face was a kiss from Tralee after she put on some of my lipstick. Jim kept it on all night. He said, "when you're my age and a sweet young thing gives you a kiss, you leave on the lipstick." What he said was cuter than that actually, I can't remember his exact words, but you get the gist.

My mom and dad.

They've been married for 35 years, and still like to kiss. That's nice. . . and gross.

Throwing those helicopter leaf things in the air.

Dad, Mom, Aunt Lori, and my grandma (Mom's mom). Something was funny.

Tralee looking all cute in hat her Aunt Adrienne gave her.

Can you see that little eye peeking through? Hunty thought he was pretty funny for taking off his pants and wearing them on his head. It actually was pretty funny.

Overall, our weekend in Utah was great! On Saturday after the reception we went out for sushi with some of Aunt Lorie's daughters (the same ones mentioned above) and their husbands. It was nice catching up, and getting to know everyone a little better as adults (I haven't hung out with some of my cousins since they were little). My family is the greatest, and I wish the weekend would have lasted a bit longer. Oh well. I have a lot of cousins on my mom's side, so chances are there will be another wedding in no time!

Sleeping

2011-10-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

The other night I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. I'm not sure what time I woke up and headed off to bed, but when I made it to my bedroom, the bed was empty. Where was Jim? After checking on Hunter and covering him back up with the blanket he kicked off, I made my way to Tralee's room. Jim was there, and he and Tralee looked so cute together, I took a few pictures.

They looked so peaceful, I just left them and headed back to bed. When I woke up in the morning Jim was by my side. Eventually Tralee and Hunter found their way into our bed, and we spent the first part of the morning smiling at each other with our tired eyes. After a few minutes one of the children announced they were hungry, so we all got up, made some pancakes, and went about our day.

I love my little family.

Birthday Night

2011-10-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

We went out for my birthday the night after I turned the big 3-0. First dinner as a family, then back home to eat birthday cake. Jim bought me an ice cream cake, and it was delish. The kids helped me blow out the candles, and we had a great night together.

Jim lighting the candles as the kids sampled the cake.

Being sung to.

Blowing out the candles.

The candles kept re-lighting. Tralee thought it was funny, Hunter took it as his personal job to make sure each of the candles would be blown out and STAY out.

Hunter was serious about getting those candles to stay out.

Attack of the birthday cake cutter.

I loved spending my birthday with my favorite people. I'm blessed.

The Farmstead Birthday Adventure

2011-10-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

My birthday was yesterday. I'm 29 again! Wahoo! Ok, I'm 30. I'm not sure if this is something to be happy about, or if I should start looking for a good hip replacement doctor. Either way, my birthday was a blast yesterday. Tralee's preschool group scheduled a field trip to go to The Farmstead, and the field trip day just happened to be on my birthday. I was almost more excited than the kids to go have an adventure at this fall festival type place. And. . . it WAS quite the adventure!

We started out visiting the farm animals. This pony got a little curious with Hunter.

Hello goats!

We had a little learning session with the guy in charge. Tralee answered every question he threw at the group. Although, I might have to work on the whole raise-your-hand-and-wait-to-be-called-on thing with Tralee. She's so eager to please and eager to be right, she just shouted out each answer.

We then helped the farmer feed the ponies, goats, and cows.

Pumpkin photo op

Weather wise, our Farmstead adventure wasn't the greatest. It rained on and off all day. My kids didn't seem to mind, so I didn't really care. It made for a great adventure later on in the day (keep reading, and you'll see what I'm talking about). Tralee's took a ride in the cow train. It started down pouring right when I got her settled on the ride.

Tralee was a trooper, and smiled all through her rainy cow ride.

I wasn't sure if I should let Hunter take a ride, since any other ride we've tried he wants off after 30 seconds. However, he assured me that he did, in fact, want a ride. So, I strapped in my two-year-old, told him he couldn't stand up or try to get out, and watched as the tractor pulled him away.

It turns out Hunter loved his cow train ride, and this was what happened when I told him when his ride was over, and he had to get out:

We went through a hay maze. That was fun.

The kids played in some corn. The little boy sitting next to Tralee is in her Sunbeams class at church, and in her preschool group. Tralee talks about him ALL THE TIME! She even prays about him. I think she might have some tender little feelings for her friend Alex.

Hunter was so proud to climb to the top of the slide all by himself.

Once at the top of the slide, he wanted nothing with going down the slide. I went up and went down the slide with him. I should have got a mommy award, because my bum got all muddy from sliding with him. A muddy bum doesn't look great, just FYI.

A lot of the preschool group left earlier in the day. We stuck it out to the bitter end. It's a good thing we did, because the sun decided to stay out and play for a while. Tralee was also excited to go on a hayride with Alex and his sister.

Okay, I don't know why, but the picture below cracks me up every time I look at it. What are those little brains thinking? These were the pumpkins they each picked out. I wanted a picture of them with their pumpkins, and this is what I got. Silly kids.

Remember when I told you I think Tralee likes Alex? Doesn't the picture below say it all? I also think it's funny because he's probably thinking about tractors, or trucks, or some other boyish stuff, and Tralee's probably thinking how much she likes her friend.

Also, remember when I said we had a bit of an rain-induced adventure later on? Well, this is the part where that adventure took place. First, check out the pics of the kids' feet before and after our muddy visit to the pumpkin patch:

I thought the picture above would be about as muddy as we got. I was wrong. Our tractor pulled the hayride tralior thing into the ditch and couldn't get out. Check out the picture below.

So, we all had to unload off the hayride, and stand in the mud-mud-muddiness while the driver pulled himself out of the ditch. Everyone had to hike through the deep mucky mud to get back on the trailer. Some little kids lost their shoes. It was pretty funny. I laughed the whole time watching the situation go down.

Check out our little muddy buddies after we got back on the hayride:

I'm glad I put Tralee in her rain boots. Good thinking! I ended up taking Hunter's shoes off the rest of our stay. I just carried him around.

Below are a few pics of the kids jumping on the big pillow thing.

Look at the stride this girl has! Future track star? Maybe!

I love the next few pics of my little darlings.

We had a great day at Farmstead, rain, mud, and all.

After our little field trip, I took my kid-os to TCBY for my favorite frozen yogurt treat. I ALWAYS get the white chocolate soft serve swirled with the fruity sorbet flavor of the day in a waffle cone. It's my favorite treat in the WHOLE world! My mouth waters just thinking about it. I let each of my bambinos pick their own flavors, and we sat, chatted about our adventures, and ate our treat.

We left TCBY, came home and ate lunch (yes, we had dessert before our meal, you can do that kind of thing on your birthday), relaxed for a bit, and then I took the kids to a friend's house (Thanks again Clair!) to be babysat while I went to a dance class downtown. It was a free class that taught you the Thriller dance, and since Jim and I are going to perform it with others the end of the month, I thought I better go dance it with my fellow zombies. Jim WAS going to come with me, and we were going to make a date out of it, but his flight was canceled, so he didn't get home in time. I just went by myself. I was reminded that I need to get out of my comfort zone a bit more, because I had a lot of fun grooving like a zombie with some hilarious people.

After zombie-ing it up, I tucked my babes into bed, and fell into dreamland myself. I woke up when Jim came home at midnight. He walked over to me in bed, scooped my up in his arms, gave me a kiss, and wished me a happy birthday. It was the perfect way to cap off my twenties.

I'm in a Little Love with This

2011-10-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered Meaghan Smith. I love all her music. Take a listen to this song, and see if you don't fall in love too! My kids also love her youtube videos. They're very cute. In fact, right this minute as I'm typing this Tralee came up to me, pointed at the computer screen and asked, "Can we watch that again?" I think that's just what we'll do!

Trampoline and Other Tired Musings.

2011-10-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago I took the camera out onto the tramp with the kids. I set it on the highest ISO and fastest shutter speed I could, and got some funny pics of the kids. Here are some of my favorites.

She was spinning so fast that her legs made it around before her torso. . . SIKE! She just put her shirt on backwards. Oh man, I bet you were SOOOO shocked before I said, "sike!"

I love it when gravity takes its course. . . on other people (like Hunter in the picture above); not with me. I do NOT appreciate what gravity (and nursing) have done to m' ladies. Not. One. Bit. Thank goodness for plastic surgery. . . . someday. . . maybe. . . or maybe not. . . maybe I'll just have to do a bazillion pec exercises and see what I'm working with. We'll see. NOW, back to more trampoline pics.

He's flying!

No trickery in the pic above. That's really how sweet she looks! FOR REALS!

Love the hair Astro Girl!

Like this one too.

Oh yeah!

We've gotta do something about that diaper on the kid. I've been postponing potty-training. 1. Because Hunter is my baby and potty training somehow makes him a 150% a BIG BOY. 2. Because I'm lazy. There. I said it. I'll probably do it when he's two-and-a-half. That gives me until November. Check with me then, and we'll see if we're diaper free up in here.

I like this picture, even though Hunty's face doesn't even look like him. Maybe it's due to gravity again.

My floating angels. Also, check out the skinny little legs on Hunter. He used to have the MOST chubbalicious pudgy little legs. Now they're long and lean like his sisters. Where-o-where has my baby gone?

Okay. . . my most FAVORITE picture of the WHOLE DAY is below! Seriously, it makes me laugh every time I see it. Tralee laughs too! So funny! Check it out. (Now I'm worried I hyped it up too much and you won't think it's as funny as we do. . . if you don't, then poop. Oh well.) Hopefully it'll at the very least make you smile.

It's so funny because of. . . YOU GUESSED IT. . . GRAVITY! Oh man. That pesky gravity gets ya EVERY TIME!

I'm really tired. I don't sleep much when Jim's gone. Oh yeah, Jim's gone and won't be back until my b-day. You know what I want for my b-day? For Jim to take the babies out and give me an few hours of rest. Of course, I'll probably end up cleaning or doing some other form of foolishness instead of resting. Crazy me. Did I mention that I'm tired? I'm pretty sure I'll read this all later and blush with all the craziness that's been typed out here today.

Guess what else I decided? I REALLY like E.E. Cummings poetry. He said (not literally), "To hell with the grammatical rules! I'm gonna make up my own!" I like that. I like to sometimes have a little fun with grammar (just tell yourself that's what I'm doing when you see a mistake I've made).

Also, after having done some research I've concluded that I greatly enjoy William Carlos Williams poetry, and him actually, and I still really like his poem, This is Just to Say. Some critics say that this proves how selfishly smug he was, and that it's the equivalent of saying, "sorry I knocked down your house, but the crane was there, so I just couldn't help myself." I mean COME ON! He ate some plums! He didn't knock his wife's house down! It probably was selfish of him to eat the plums she was saving, but I too have eaten a treat I knew Jim would want later. The temptation was too great.

By the way, sorry Jim. Sorry for that one time I ate the Old Dutch Ketchup Chips all by myself and didn't save you any. They were delicious. I promise I won't smash your face in with a crow bar as well.

Seriously, some critics need to relax. Although, if they're metaphorically speaking about his alleged affairs tearing the Williams home apart, I guess that makes sense.

I've learned Williams took some unnecessary liberties in the husband department, but from what I've researched, he seemed like a pretty decent poet and doctor for his time. He couldn't have been so horrible to his wife (affairs aside), since at the bitter end, she read to him when he was unable to do so for himself. If he was so horrible, I'm pretty sure Mrs. Williams wouldn't have helped him out. She might have said, "Take off Will! You ate my plums! Now you get nothing!" Instead, she read to him.

Jim, will you read to me, even if at the bitter end I'm laying in bed with a bag of your ketchup chips, snarfing away, and not sharing with you at all in my old-lady haze? I think I've been pretty good in the wife department, good enough to be read to on my deathbed, even if I've taken advantage every now and again. :)

Anyways, this post has become pretty random. I think I go a little crazy with no Jim around. I miss him a lot. And. . . I'm tired.

That's all.

Together as Friends

2011-10-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

Tralee takes dance classes every Wednesday with her cousin (I think it's second cousin if you want to get technical) Brinley. Sometimes after dance Tralee goes to Brinley's for a playdate, and sometimes Brin plays over here. These two little munchkins are so cute. They get so excited each time they see each other at dance class. They're usually hugging each other, or else talking about hugging each other. When it's not Wednesday, Tralee's usually talking about Brinley. The conversation usually goes like this:

Tralee: Mom, is it dance class today?
Me: Nope, not until Wednesday.
Tralee: Well, when am I gonna see Brinley again?
Me: On Wednesday at dance.
Tralee: Can't we go see her now? I REALLY REALLY want to play at her house TODAY!
Me: We're not playing there today. You'll see her in a few days.

Then Tralee usually complains that it's been FOREVER since she's seen Brinley, and how unfair it is that she can't go play with her whenever her little heart desires. I don't blame her. These two little pretties DO have a lot of fun together!

Plus, look at how cute they are in their matching dance outfits.

It's Halloween It's Halloween. . .

2011-10-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

. . .cute festive decor in my house can be seen! Hooray!

Below are a few projects I've done either this year or last year to add a bit of Halloween flare to our house.

It took me about a billion years to roll each of these roses! Good thing I love the outcome! If you want a closer look, just come knock on my front door!

Here's our entertainment center with all the festive decor.

Close up of the garland. I made the leaf garland with a few bunches of leaves I got at the dollar store. I took them apart with my wire cutters, then wound them back together to create a garland. Total cost: $3! I made the "Happy Halloween" banner using various black and white papers. Super cute, I think! I'm also thinking of cutting out a mask to put (temporarily) on my kids' faces in the pictures above.

I think these two little pretties are my favorites! The Bride of Frankenstein and the Frankster himself. I cut them with my Silhouette, glued them onto some orange paper, then put them in some dollar store frames. The little figurine was from the dollar store last year, and the old books are courtesy of my many trips to various thrift stores.

I love my little witch frame. I bought a cool oval frame from the thrift store, spray painted it black, and then cut out the witch and letters with my good ol' Silhouette. The pumpkin was a Craft Warehouse purchase. I just decoupaged some cute paper onto it. The old books are from a thrift store, and the vampire is a dollar store find!

I found the tutorial to make these little lovelies here. Super cute idea! Added bonus, I already had all the jars and lights. I just needed to make a quick trip to the dollar store for my tissue paper! I used my Silhouette to cut out the faces.

You've seen the pics above before. I had them printed out (thanks Costco), put them in some dollar store frames I spray painted black, and cut out some vinyl letters for the wall. The plate was a thrift store find, the bird and spider in the frame are vinyl I cut with Sylvia (my Silhouette). The rest of the items are dollar store finds.

Who doesn't love a good Halloween song? My kids love this witch one. So, I used my handy computer to create this printable, put it in a frame I already owned, added a few dollar store and craft store finds, and WHA-LA! Cute decor! The printable is below, if you would like to use it:

The kids and I made these ghosties last year using cheese cloth, balloons, and starch.

All and all, I love my little decorations. I always get overwhelmed when I look through home decor magazines and people's entire houses look like a catalog. Then it hit me: Just add a few new holiday decorations each year, and before you know it, you'll have a festive house in no time! Right now just my front room looks like Halloween. I'm sure in a few years, splashes of each season will be spread throughout my home. If not, no worries. It's always fun to do crafty projects that add a little flare to the home.

The Countdown Has Started!

2011-10-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

Now that it's October, the official Halloween countdown has begun! To get in the right mood, check out these little lovelies; pictures of my monsters (not copying you Lady Gaga, you can have your little monsters, but the ones pictured below are MINE!)

I just LOVE Halloween! I love October (my birthday comes along mid-month). I love the fall. I LOVE this time of year!!

Guess what else makes THIS particular October all the more awesome?

Answer: Jim and I are doing this. If you want to see us dance the entire Thriller dance (we're having a competition to see who can learn it the fastest) with a number of other Zombies, come watch us on October 29th, downtown Boise at 8pm. Or better yet, if you want to learn the Thriller dance and come dance it with us, all the info is on the website I linked above. It's going to be SO COOL! Say what you will about MJ, but he was a genius in the dance department! Learning the Thriller dance is almost as much fun as watching the late King of Pop do it himself!

Well. . . that's all! Have a thrilling October everyone!

Saturday Plans

2011-09-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I had it in my head that that would be the day I would FINALLY clean the house from top to bottom. Piney fresh and lemony scents would fill my house as I scrubbed, polished, and dusted the dirt away. I figured Jim could take the kids out, and I could get caught up with my housework.

Jim had a different vision for our Saturday. He had it in HIS head that it would be the perfect day to go play on his Uncle's property together as a family. We would invite the dirt under our fingernails while searching for snakes and frogs, get sand in every empty crevice on ourselves while building castles, and actually smell a piney fresh that can't be bottled while playing in the tree house.

So. . . what do you think happened?

I decided that my house can survive a little (or a lot) of neglect. My family can't.

So last Saturday, we spent the WHOLE DAY playing together. And you know what? I didn't even mind coming home to a messy house. In fact, some of my house is still in a state of neglect, but my kids are happy. They're still talking about our Saturday adventure.

I mean, would you rather spend a day cleaning inside, or a day playing here:

Corky even came!

Checking out all the fishies and froggies

Close up of our catch. . . they were all set free before we left.

What would have happened if my princess kissed this frog? He looks kinda like he was hoping for a little something something.

The tree house Jim has been helping build.

Inside the tree house

Another tree house shot

Hunty controlling the Snort. He looks like he knows what he's doing, doesn't he?

Look at his tiny little self up there acting like a big boy!

Tralee and Jim's turn at the driver's seat

Hunty wanted to be lifted into the trees just like the baby bird in Are You My Mother. Don't worry, this Snort knew Hunty's mommy was on the ground, so on the ground Hunty stayed! :)

She sounded just how this picture looks. She was screaming for someone to help her down. Once she asked nicely, I was all over it.

Snort and tree house

We stopped for milkshakes on the way home. Tralee REALLY liked hers.

No really, she snarfed her Mountain Berry shake down in no time at all!

All in all, we had a perfect day together. I can't wait to neglect my house some more!

Tralee Thinks They're Just Fishin'

2011-09-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

Tralee and Jim have gone fishing together since Tralee could walk. It's their "thing." A few weeks ago I heard Trace Adkins' song, "She Thinks We're Just Fishin" and knew I had to put something together for my favorite Daddy/daughter duo. So on our next family night we hiked our favorite little trail up to Jump Creek Falls. That's our go-to spot. Whenever we're looking for something to do, it doesn't take long for Jim and me to look at each other and simultaneously say, "waterfall." Waterfall=Jump Creek Falls. Waterfall+Jacobs family+fishing poles+camera=a night we won't forget. Our family night was spent with the usual jaunt through Jump Creek Canyon and exploring once we made it to the falls. We played, we laughed, we spent some time together, and most importantly, Jim and Tralee fished while I took some pictures and videos. I finally put it all together using some older and newer pictures from our many visits to the Falls. Also, thanks to Trace Adkins for his song that, you know, just goes perfectly with this video. The song and the memories of Tralee fishing with her daddy go together like peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, like bees and honey, like oreos and milk, like. . . well, you get the idea. Enjoy the little video:

For some reason the video isn't working on my blog. If that's the case, and you're just DYING to watch it, here's the link that should (fingers crossed) take you to the video: http://youtu.be/HrzRW5ULazk and in case that link doesn't work, here's a link to my picassa web album. You can try and watch it there as well: https://picasaweb.google.com/101798754447517825438/20110923?feat=email#5655956290531120306

Payette River Night

2011-09-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

A few Sundays ago we drove up to a beach near Banks, Idaho and played in the Payette River with the other Jacobs family. It was a SUPER fun night!

All the Jacobs kids doing their own thing

Hunter wasn't too thrilled about being in the water. I don't blame him. It was cold.

I like this picture of Audie in her pregnant glow!

Isn't she pretty? I marvel all the time at that beautiful little face.

We found a few fuzzy caterpillars while we were up there. I can't say that they both survived the ~~wrath~~ care of four small children.

Oaks and her caterpillar

Can you hear the Baywatch theme song as you look at this? I sure can. Watch out The Hoff, you've got some competition.

Cute swimsuits. Cute girls too.

Everyone doing their own thing

While I was walking along the beach with Hunter I saw some object swimming toward me in the water. It was bat! Crazy! It was having a hard time taking off from the sand so, after taking some pictures, Jim found a cup, let Batty crawl in, and then Jim flung it in the air so the bat could fly off. Batty flew to the nearest tree, and I told my husband I wasn't aware he was a bat whisperer.

Thanks for the fun times other Jacobs family. . . and bat and caterpillars too!

Inked

2011-09-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hunter is at that fun stage where it seems like he wants to draw on ANYTHING except paper. I found him inking himself up the other day.

Oh boy! Better get those Magic Erasers ready for the walls, and soapy water ready for him!

Look Who Started Dance Class

2011-09-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

She LOVES it!

Wisconsin

2011-09-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

Jim, the kids, and I left Ohio and drove to Wisconsin on a Thursday afternoon. It was a pretty smooth drive. We spent a short weekend in Wisconsin, visiting with family, and watching my nephew, Brady, get baptised. On Sunday afternoon we went to the airport and flew back to Idaho. Here are a few pics of our time in Milwaukee.

I wish I got a better picture of us visiting with my brother, Todd. We stopped to visit Todd at the group home he lives in in Wisconsin. He loves milkshakes, so we stopped to get him one before we got to his house. He gulped it right down first thing. Then we took Toddy for a walk, and after Jim took Todd for a car ride where I guess they had a dance party together. Later, I asked Toddy to show me his room, so he grabbed my hand and took me right to his room where my kids and Todd fought over his toys! He seemed happy to see us, and I loved spending time with him. We had a little talk with Tralee and Hunter before we got to Toddy's, explaining how special their Uncle Todd is, and how he might sound and act a little different, but he's a perfect spirit inside. They did great visiting with Uncle Todd.

The house I grew up in. I was here from 1st grade until my junior year of high school.

On Friday morning, I left Jim with the kids and drove to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Beautiful!

Another photo of MAM

My kids playing on their cousin's swing set. There are some HUGE willow trees on the property.

Brady and Tralee sword fighting.

Just us

My Nana and me. She made a yummy brunch for us while we were there!

Brady sword fighting with Uncle Mike

More sword fighting at Nana's

My Nana has this oil/light thing hanging in her entry way. I believe it was a gift from my dad. For as long as I can remember, this lady has been hanging there with raindrops surrounding her, greeting people as the walk into Nana's condo.

Aunt Mary and my cousin Kevin coloring with my munchkins

Nana and Tralee

Later on, back at Jimmy and Amy's house; Haylee, Brady, and Tralee put every pillow, blanket, and a huge love sac at the bottom of the stairs and then started jumping off the top stair into all the fluff. I remember doing the same thing with my brother (Haylee and Brady's Dad) when we were about their age. Funny how history repeats itself through the generations.

Tralee leaping into the pillows

Brady's turn

Here's a pic so you can get a better idea of what the kids were jumping into. There's even a giant stuffed teddy bear in there.

Relaxing in the pillow fluff at the bottom of the stairs

Brady, Jimmy, and Haylee after all the jumping was done

Just hanging out

Brady and his Caterpillar. Haylee and Brady have them for pets.

Brady and Jimmy before Brady was baptised

Uncle Mike, Aunt Mary, and Nana at Brady's baptism.

We had a great time visiting our family in Wisconsin. We were just sad our visit was so short.

A REAL LIVE MERMAID!

2011-09-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our day spent by Lake Erie. We may or may not have seen an ACTUAL mermaid while we were there. Take a look:

Eternity. . . by Calvin Klein (said whisperishly -- if that's a word) Hunter started rolling around in the sand by the waves. I thought he was trying out for the next Calvin Klein ad campaign.

Tralee's not bad at splashing around in the water either.

Jim took Tralee far out in the vast unknown of Lake Erie. They worked on swimming. Tralee has a mean doggy paddle, but needs to graduate to a more prestigious swim stroke--side stroke, breast stroke, back stroke, anything other than what she's doing now: doggy-paddle-doggy-paddle-doggy-paddle-go-under-sink-sink-sink. We're working on it. Hopefully by next summer she'll have a mean butterfly stoke happening.

You are now entering into mermaid territory. Keep reading and you'll see the most beautiful sandy mermaid you'll ever lay your eyes on!

I even took a video of her to boot:

I think (fingers crossed) I'm almost done posting our Ohio adventures. Next up is Wisconsin. After that we're smooth sailing right into the present.

Just Some More Pics from Ohio

2011-09-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Stinky Tralinky

Kisses from Grandma

My dad and Jim golfing

I was going through some old things and came across this picture of my feet when I was in K5. I told Tralee to stand on it to compare our feet. Awe!

This is a picture Tralee drew for her Daddy. In case it's not completely obvious to you, the picture is of Jim holding a BIG BIG plate of spaghetti.

Hunter sitting in a crib I used for my baby dolls when I was little. Now my REAL baby doll is sitting in it. Let's get another "AWE!" going on up in here.

Can you tell I'm getting bored with all the catch-up posts? I'm writing less and less, and just shoving a bunch of pictures in your face. At least the subjects in the pictures are cute.