More Hunter Quotes

Some more Hunter quotes:

"I wouldn't be sad if I died, becuase then I'd go to heaven and Jesus would watch over me."

"Jesus is kind of a superhero."

"I'm a super hero, and my superpower is being nice to friends."

"I wouldn't want to go to devil-heaven."

That's all. I'm just trying to get better at writing these funny things down.

New Elf Printables!

Is anyone else's favorite holiday movie Elf? Mine is, for many reasons. A few winters ago we found ourselves in Hawaii for the month of December. The studio apartment we rented had one ancient TV/DVD combo set. The cable was out, and the only movie that played in the DVD player was Elf. We watched Elf everyday inbetween beach going and island exploring. Not once did we get sick of it. My kids quoted Elf at the most random times. When we rode in the elevator at our apartment complex, and someone got off Tralee shouted, "WAIT! I forgot to give you a hug!" When I put my kids in bed they asked to snuggle after first eating a roll of tollhouse cookie dough, or they would sing "I love you! I love you! I LOVE YOU!" To this day, whenever we pop Elf in the DVD player I'm taken back to our Christmas in Hawaii. Not only that, but Elf is full of quotable quotes that make me giggle, laugh, or smile with every viewing. These quotes make me happy. I like things that make me happy. So, I decided to make a few more Elf printables to add to my Etsy shop. Take a look below, and tell me what you think. If you feel inclined to visit Leslie's Love Prints, click here. 

 These printables and more here.

Funny Kids

My kids say funny things all the time, and I've been kind of remiss when it comes to documenting the sentences that crack me up. Before I forget, here are two recent situations that had me laughing.

First, the other night I made a casserole for dinner. It wasn't my best dish, but by far it wasn't my worst. Tralee liked it alright, and was taking bite after bite. Hunter, on the other hand, was sitting with a scowl on his face and hadn't touched his dinner plate. I told him he had to at least try one bite before he could decide whether or not he liked it. Tralee, true to her helpful nature, enthusiastically encouraged Hunter to try dinner by saying, "Hunter, I KNOW it looks like puke, but it actually tastes quite good."

Needless to say, Hunter never tried a bite, as I stopped enforcing after my dish was compared to a pile of vomit.

The last anecdote happened the other night while Hunter and I waited for Tralee to finish up at swim practice. Usually there's another little girl waiting for her sister to finish up too. Hunter and this little girl pretend to be dogs while they wait. Before their playing continued one day I heard Hunter tell her, "I want to marry you when I grow up." The little girl responded with, "I know." It was a cute little exchange between friends.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll get better at writing these things down, because I know I'll forget them if I don't.

Halloween Video

So. . . I've been slacking when it comes to the blog. Life is busy. Busy busy busy. In the midst of all the carpooling, volunteering at school, swim practices, playdates, etsy orders, among other wifley and motherly duties, I managed to create a short video of our Halloween. Find it below.

As for how our Halloween went, I'll give you a quick run down. I volunteered in both kids' classrooms for their parties during the day. That night we went trick-or-treating with cousins. Jim's brother John dressed up in his crazy stiltz costume which was pretty spooky! We started out in the other Jacobs' new neighborhood. We traveled over to a neighborhood Halloween party, and then ended the night trick-or-treating in the most tricked-out neighborhood I've ever seen. I mean, they close down the roads, decorate with ghosts and lights over the street (rivaling Disney's decor), dementor-esque statues welcome you into the neighborhood, and instead of a simple candy bar, people give out extravagent menu items. One house had a movie playing in their front yard and gave out giant bags of popcorn. Another home had a full-on cotton candy maker. Offerings like hotdogs with all the toppings were passed out. Homes actually had haunted houses to go through, and barrel rides on their ATVs. Plus EVERYONE was dressed in a cool costum. I've never seen anything like it. It was pretty cool. My kids had a blast with their cousins, and our Halloween was a success. Of course it ended back home with the kids trading Halloween candy. I mean, what's trick-or-treating without trading? The negotiations were fierce, but I think everyone made out well in the end.

Anyway here's the video, enjoy:

My Little Monsters

Have you guys heard of PicMonkey? I love it. This morning Hunter and I transformed my sweet babies into little monsters for Halloween. Hunter wanted to be a vampire, and since Tralee was already off to school, we decided to make her into a zombie. It was quite fun. I'm sure we'll be playing around with the effects again real soon. Until then, enjoy my little devils (there's a devil setting, with horns and everything!!).

Happy Haunting!

Free Halloween Printables 2014

Hi! It's been a while since I came up with a new free printable, so I slapped these babies together last night. You can use all three, or just one or two of them for your Halloween decor. 

If you would like to have them for your very own, just click on the image(s) below and it will take you to my Box account where you can download them to your computer, and print however you choose. They're sized to 8x10. 

If you would like to see my free Halloween printables from years past click here.

For more free printables of all occasions click here.

To check out my Etsy shop click here.

Happy Haunting!

New Patchwork Map Printables

I've been working on some new printables lately. I finished this map set not-too-long-ago, and think they turned out cute. Hunter LOVES maps, and I wanted something that would look cute in his room, and not just a regular map (not that those aren't fun). I was inspired by some vintage maps and other typography images I've been looking at, and came up with these. At first I made the World and USA maps, but decided that Canada needed to be included since my hubby is all Canadian and stuff.

I like how they turned out.

What do you think?

If you would like some for your very own, here's a link to my Etsy shop.

School Picture Day

School picture day was last week.  I took a few pictures of my kids before they went off to school.  I think you can tell by the amount of pictures below who was more happy to model for me, and who was just humoring their mother.

That's all!

Hunter's First Day of School

Oh man, Hunter's first day of school was a hard one for me.  We did all our usual first-day traditions.  I gave him his special book with an inscription from me.  It was the same book I gave Tralee on her very first day of school; The Kissing Hand.  Hunter and I read it together before he left for school.  I also read the inscription to him.  I told him how proud I was of him, how big he's gotten, and all the hopes I have for his first year of school.  Then we kissed each other's hands, and readied ourselves for this next big adventure.

While I was helping Hunter get ready for school, I started picturing him through the years; my baby in all the stages of his life up to this point.  I did my best to hold it together for my little guy.  After feeding Hunter lunch, we walked outside and took some pictures.  

His idea was to pretend to ring the doorbell.  Whatever.  We just rolled with it.

I had to get the huge backpack shot.

After pictures at our house, we drove to Hunter's new school, and took a few more.  I could tell by Hunter's quiet demeanor that he was a little nervous, although he told me he was mostly excited.  When we were close to the school I heard a little voice from the backseat whisper, "I have bubbles in my tummy."  I swallowed hard and answered back, "Me too Bud!"

Once in the classroom Hunter found his name, hung up his backpack, found a seat, and got to work.  He sat next to another little boy, who has since become one of his good friends at school.  I took a few pictures of my little guy in the classroom, and tried my best to hold back the flood gates.  I think I went up to Hunter three or four times to pat his back, tell him goodbye, and whisper encouragements into his ear.  I probably would have stayed all day, but knew I had to leave sooner or later, so I gave Hunter one last goodbye, and forced myself out of the classroom.

I took this one last picture of Hunter hard at work through the doorway, and then finally turned and walked away.  It was then that the tears started rolling.  Another mom walking in the school with her kindergardener took one look at me and said, "Oh man!  Don't get me started, I'm going to be a hot mess!"  I'm pretty sure I looked like a hot mess on the drive home.  I called Jim and said something like, "I just dropped Hunter off!"  But Jim couldn't understand me.  He was all, "WHAT?!?!"  So I repeated myself and he said, "Ohhhh!  Hunter's first day."  I tried my best to describe the experience to Jim who was away on a business trip.  I told him, "My baby isn't a baby anymore!"  Jim was sweet, kind, and understanding, but I'm pretty sure he thought I was a little crazy also.  I just can't believe we're here already.  My baby is growing up, and that stings a bit.

 I was beyond excited to pick up the kids at the end of the school day, and find out how everything went.  Hunter said he loved his teacher, class, and school.  He drew this adorable picture on his first day, and it is now proudly hanging on the fridge.  I can't wait to see what else awaits us this year as both of my kids navigate their way through a new school year at a new school, and I figure out what to do with myself now that I have a few hours every weekday to myself.

I'm proud to say, I haven't cried since that day.  It's awesome that both of my kids love their new school.  It makes sending them off everyday pretty easy, but my favorite part of the day is when I get them back home.

Tralee's First Day of School

Tralee was mostly excited and a little nervous on her first day of school.  She told me, "I have one butterfly in my tummy."  One is not too bad, especially when you're the new girl.  Here are some pictures of her first day:

When I picked her up at the end of the day and asked her how it went her reply was, "I LOVED IT!!"  I'm so glad she did.  In fact, almost every day is filled with happy stories, excitement, and love for her new school.  Her old school was great, but she was NEVER excited to go.  In fact, she would ask me, "Can I be sick so I don't have to go today."  Nothing was wrong, she had lots of friends, loved her teacher, but the day was just too long for her.  She spent most of the day in one chair, with the exception of the one hour every day she got to go to either music, computers, library, or gym class and then the other breaks for recess and/or lunch.  At her new school, Tralee goes to a new classroom for every topic which breaks up the day for her and keeps her mind active.  She also has either art, music, dance, and/or gym everyday.  I was surprised that the only recess Tralee has is at lunch, but she's never once complained about it because she's so busy and active during the school day.  We're really loving her new school.

Here's a picture of her on day two:

She's happy and ready to go. . . also KNEE SOCKS!  I love them!

Hunter's first day of school post coming soon.