Merry Christmas!!!

Monday Morning Musings

disclaimer: This post contains a referral link.

HaHa look at this it is still technically morning and here I am blogging.  Poor C has a bit of an upset stomach so we were up with him about 3:30 this morning and then again around 9ish. He basically gets a bath each time.  I'm hoping now that he is awake it will be better but its made for a rough morning so far.  They are now up in my room watching tv with their Ipads while I'm downstairs catching up on the computer.;)  With the rain outside it is just one of those days.

So I'm going to do a picture heavy post today so just bear with me.  Lots of very random pictures going on. LOL but it sums up the weekend so far.

Let's start off with Saturday morning and the kids waking up to SNOW. Yes it was snowing here in NC and since we all knew it wouldn't last they ran out in whatever they had on.  It didn't stick and quickly turned to sleet and rain but it was very pretty for a little bit.

That afternoon we had Christmas with my side of the family and my mom got M and I matching Mickey watches.  I love love love them.  N thinks we NEED to plan out next trip to Disney right now so we can wear them together. LOL

Once they left me and the boys made a run to Target and C saw this new PS3 controller on clearance and he just had to have it.  He used some of his new Christmas money for the pink controller.  I don't think he and N will be fighting over who uses which one now. :)

Then because you know it is C and he is crazy he decided to play with his new cars on the blinds.  I mean doesn't every kid line up their cars on the blinds?

And then my yesterday was spent finally getting my Christmas cards ready to mail out today and since I wasn't late enough I decided to update my Erin Condren address book. I have had it for awhile but I haven't really filled it out so now it is all nice and pretty and my addresses are all in one place.  I'm in love with it. Do you guys still use an address book? 

Last night we headed out to one of the local shopping centers that does a light show on the front of the movie theater.  C said he would be in the picture with me to show we were there. LOL it was a little cool out there but we liked the show and its a fun thing to do each year.

So what is up for the rest of your week?  While I'm pretty sure I'm done shopping I still need to wrap everything and get a list ready for the grocery store.  We do Christmas Eve and my brother and sister in laws and then Christmas morning and home with friends coming over for dinner that night.  There is so much food going around but it is so much fun and the kids love playing with each other and talking about all their new gifts.

Have a Merry Christmas week!!!

Jenny

November My Paper Pumpkin Kit

This is a busy week here with both boys finishing up school for the year and that means its time for teacher gifts.  We usually do gift cards for the teachers and then they can go out and get whatever they want with it but you can't just give them the gift card so that is where the My Paper Pumpkin kit comes in.  The kit from November is great for winter cards and gifts and I decided that I would use it as my vessel to give the cards.

If you don't know what My Paper Pumpkin is it is a monthly subscription box from Stampin' Up that will send you a project box each month with cards or another project that can be completed in about 30 minutes.  The cost of the box is $19.95. If you are not ready to sign up for a monthly box you can now purchase a set 1,3,6,9 or 12 month subscription. These will need to be placed through my Stampin' Up store http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=1444&dbwsdemoid=94340  this will give you the prepaid options.

The boxes each month come in a bright orange box and then the contents are wrapped in tissue and sealed in a shrink wrap.  There are also instructions included in each pack.

I always seem to take a picture of the front but here is the back when I flip it over.  The ink spot and the stamps are loose in the box but all of the actual project parts are in the shrink wrap.

All of the goodies to make this months project.

Here is the first project. This is a really cute die cut card that opens from the center.

And on the inside I stamped the snowfalling across the top. Just FYI if you have this kit and haven't done it yet I stamped off the snow before putting it on the card as I thought it was a little to dark when I went straight to the card.  The saying is also attached with a bit of washi tape!!!  There is so much washi on the spool that I will have extra to put in my stash. Having extra makes me really happy.

This is the other project in the box. This is a great To/From tag that you can use on any gift that you have. N saw this and wanted to add it to his card so you will see how I did that below.  Again I stamped off the snow before stamping on the tag.

Here is the final product.  We used the card and then added the tag to the outside.  Cute and easy and I'm so glad I had the My Paper Pumpkin kit. 

Did you get this kit? Have you used it yet? What fun did you create and use it for?

Happy Crafting!!!

Jenny

Thursday Thoughts

I'm linking up with Thursday Thoughts with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.

• Did anyone watch the Voice finale the other night?  I don't normally watch the show but my mom was here and she watches. Can I ask what was up with Bruno Mars and his hair curlers? And they were gold. Do you think they were real gold or just a gold color?

• I'm not sure where it came from but C is now obsessed with Paw Patrol. I know nothing of this show except the name but looks like I will learn it pretty fast.

• I'm still not done with the teacher gifts for this year and all they are getting are gift cards. LOL I'm using a My Paper Pumpkin kit to create some decorative holders for them and the boys don't have to take them in until tomorrow so I have plenty of time ;)  I'll share a post when I get them done today hopefully.
• Ugh M just wrote that N is having a major meltdown going into school today.  You can tell it is the holiday and he is more then done with being there.  He has 7 more minutes until he is late so we'll see how it goes. 
• I have to head out to the mall today for some shopping and I started asking C last night if he wanted to ride in the stroller.  His response was he didn't need to take in his Ipad and then he could be a good walker. Hmm I had never mentioned the Ipad but he knows me so well. I guess we will be doing some quick in and out shopping today.
• I think I'm confused with today being Free Shipping day.  I'd be a little worried that if I ordered today and did regular shipping that it would get here in time since I ordered things last week with expedited shipping and it still isn't here. :(  Seems like this should have been a day last week or even last Monday or something instead of just a week before Christmas.

Ok well I need to get ready to go this morning so I'll stop rambling now. What is everyone else thinking of today? Any big plans?

Happy Thursday,

Jenny

Whatever Wednesday

This post contains referral links.

Hi everyone!!! I hope everyone is getting in the holiday season. We are slowly getting there but today was the program at both boys schools at the same time so we did the divide and conquer method.  M and his mom went to Ns presentation and then my mom and I went to Cs program.

 

and then in what was something we probably should have done before C has his program we went and got him a haircut. He kept telling me no but he was all for it when grandma asked. :)  We left it pretty long still but he can now see better and its all cleaned up.

My December Ipsy bag came the other day and I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to review it so I'm going to share it here.

I love it this month. The theme was Thinking of You and the bag is a chalkboard blackish color and more of a pencil case then a makeup bag. So cute and different from the others we've gotten.  This month I got Beauty Without Cruelty facial wash, NYX Butter LipBalm in Marshmellow, Tarte Mascara, Cailyn Cosmetics Eye Polish in Orchid, and Sexy Hair 450° Blow Out Heat Defense Blow Dry Spray.  I'm excited to try all of these items. Many are new brands to me and others are new products from brands I already love. So much fun and a great kick off to December.

Now I'm onto making the rest of the boys teacher gifts.  I need to wait for N to finishing siging the cards and they will be done. :)  We only go a couple more days this week and then they are both out. C until Jan 5th and N until Jan 28th. LOL  I'm already planning activities for next week so that we won't be home the whole time driving each other crazy.

What are you all up to this week?  Are you ready for Christmas? Did you do all your shopping yet?

Have a great week,

Jenny

Monday Morning Musings

Good morning!!!  So I took a little blogging break but this is a busy season and with all the sickness going on here we just vegged out most of last week but I am back now and hopefully will be here for more fun the rest of the year.

Let's Start with a little weekend recap.  Saturday was Ms birthday so the boys started the day going to a kids build at Lowes and the they came home and we cleaned and finished decorating the little tree and then some family came over for dinner.

Then on Sunday we took full advantage of the 60°F weather here and headed out to the park for some fun.

And since we were close to the Bass Pro shops we stopped over to see Santa.

And since I'm a week behind I'm going to share from the other weekend too :)  We went to the Santa train and had a blast with the cousins and Nana.

We also had breakfast with Santa at California Pizza Kitchen and got a great family photo with Santa.

So as you can see Santa really knows what my boys want for Christmas ;)  They tell him every time.  LOL

Now onto this weeks fun.  We have our first school program timing conflict.  Both N and C have their programs and presentations on Wed this week. So my mom and Ms mom are coming over and we are going to divide and conquer. We are still working on the logistics but each boy will get a couple people to watch them.  We will see how it works out but I'm sure we will have more timing issues as they get older.

This is also the last week of school for both boys.  N is then tracked out until Jan 28th. Yes you read that correctly it is like another summer break for him.  He is excited but I'm not sure how excited I am ;) It is a very long time.

I'm getting pretty good with my shopping but we haven't wrapped anything yet.  That will be on this weeks todo list.  We have our first Christmas celebration this weekend with my side of the family so I will start with those gifts. :)

So that is my random little recap to start this week. How is your week looking? Busy too?

Have a great pre-holiday week!!!

Jenny

Stampin' Up Year End Closeout

Year End Closeouts over at Stampin' Up.

 Items are while supplies last so if you see something you want don't wait to order.

 http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryid=493&dbwsdemoid=94340

Happy Crafting!!!

Jenny

Thursday Thoughts

I'm linking up with Thursday Thoughts with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.

• I'm over the sickies. First it was N and then it was C and M. Here's knocking on wood that I don't get it. There is no time for that here.
• And since I'm not realizing its been a crazy couple of days I've never shared about Thanksgiving. We had a great Friendsgiving and everything was soooooo good.

• Did anyone else watch the Flash/Arrow crossover?  It was  AWESOME and I'm glad the ratings seem to be really high so hopefully they will do some more.

• The girls and I have our group Christmas dinner coming up and we do handmade gifts and well yea I haven't made anything yet. LOL  I've had the idea and most of the required items for months but haven't gotten to it.  I guess I'll have a busy weekend ;)
• Speaking of the weekend we are doing breakfast with Santa at our local California Pizza Kitchen on Saturday and then on Sunday we have the Santa Train and the Durham Museum of Life and Science.  I'm really excited for both events as they are traditions now in our family. 
• Oh an on Santa the boys went to the Home Depot build last weekend and Santa was there. We weren't so sure about C since he refused to go near him last year but he loved him this year and went right up to his lap.

Off to have some reading time now with C in the fort he built in the playroom :) He is waiting so patiently for me to finish. LOL

Have a great Thursday!!!

Jenny

TV Talk Tuesday

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW - ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Who is ready for some TV Talk?  Sorry I've been MIA the last couple of days. Very busy with Thanksgiving and having everyone home and then N was home sick yesterday :( He is back to school today so I should be on the upswing and will be doing some catchup this week but first we NEED to talk TV.

Let's start with the biggest show this weekend. The Walking Dead midseason finale.  Uhm yea that just happened is all I can say.  I was kindof expecting it but then the show just kept going and I was like ok its going to be ok but then at the end WOW.  I mean Beth wasn't a huge character on the show but she did have an arc and there was always the thoughts of her with Daryl and really they are kindof missing an age group of that older teen young twenty on the show that if the world is going to survive needs to be present.  However I think this will propel the group for the second half of the season and things will get a bit rougher for them.  And when Daryl broke down crying I about lost it.  While Rick is the leader of the group I think Daryl feels like he is the protector and he wasn't able to protect her like he feels he should have and that will get to him as time goes on.

Now onto something lighter. Dancing With the Stars finale last week.  Did you watch this season?  I don't watch every week but C and I will chromecast it up to the tv during the week and have dance parties along with the performers. ;)  I was not surprised that Alfonso won. I think most people picked him from the get go but I was glad that the girls all stepped it up and gave him a run for his money.  Can we also mention how many past So You Think You Can Dance dancers are on the show now. I love SYTYCD each summer so I love seeing all the dancers again but are there no other dancers out that that want to be on the show? or are they trying to cast pros that might already have a bit of a following?  

Is anyone elses kid obsessed with Max and Ruby? C is obsessed with them and somehow we have two different Christmas episodes on the Tivo and he wants to watch them over and over with Ruby's Christmas Tree being his favorite. :(  I really just want to know where their parents are and as I was a big sister and had my little brother with me a lot why does she not throw a fit about it ;) Since we all know that as the older sibling to always have to deal with your younger brother isn't what you want to be doing.  LOL ( love you bro)

So those are three very random shows this week. LOL many shows are getting ready to go into hiatus for the holidays so I hopefully will get some time to catch up on shows I'm behind on like Castle, Bones, Pretty Little Liars and White Collar.  Pretty sure there are some others too but those are the ones I can think of.  I'm not too behind just a couple episodes so we should catch up ok.  Oh and speaking of shows I'm trying to decide about how to watch The Flash/ Arrow crossover this week. Should I watch The Flash tonight and Arrow tomorrow or should I wait and watch them both tomorrow?  Totally a first world problem but I just can't decide. LOL

Happy TV watching,

Jenny