Me & My Three: November 2009

Monday, November 30, 2009

advent calendar events

Advent calendars take planning. Something I try to be good at but with the hustle and bustle of the Holidays it is hard to plan your next 25 days and actually stick to each and every day. My plan...write out all our events and service projects and drop them in the calendar the day of. So far here is what I have:

~WRITE SANTA A LETTER AND GO MAIL IT AT THE POST OFFICE.

~GO SEE THE REINDEER AND DROP OFF A TOY FOR CHILDREN LESS FORTUNATE.

~GO SEE SANTA AND TELL HIM ALL YOUR WISHES.

~DRAW A CHRISTMAS PICTURE FOR SOMEONE YOU LOVE AND MAIL IT TO THEM.

~MAKE POPCORN GARLAND FOR THE BIRDS.

~CALL SOMEONE YOU LOVE AND TELL THEM HOW SPECIAL THEY ARE TO YOU.

~BAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES AND TAKE THEM TO OUR NEIGHBORS.

~MAKE YOUR TEACHER A CHRISTMAS CARD.

~DECORATE THE TREE WHILE LISTENING TO CHRISTMAS MUSIC.

~DRIVE AROUND AND LOOK AT CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.

~MAKE A CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT.

~MAKE A SNOWMAN TO PUT BY YOUR BED.

~WATCH ELF AND DRINK HOT CHOCOLATE WITH EXTRA MARSHMALLOWS.

~TAKE SOME CANNED GOODS TO THE FOOD BANK.

~READ CHRISTMAS STORIES TOGETHER AS A FAMILY.

~HAVE A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR JESUS AND READ OF HIS BIRTH.

~MAKE REINDEER FOOD.

~GO TO ALPINE VILLAGE AND PLAY IN THE SNOW.

~MAKE MONKEYBREAD FOR DINNER.

~GO SEE ZOO LIGHTS.

~GO TO STARRY NIGHTS.

~GO TO A CHRISTMAS PARADE.

~GO SEE THE LIVE NATIVITY.

~GO TO THE SINGING CHRISTMAS TREE.

What are you putting in your calendars this year?

Sunday, November 29, 2009

advent calendar & christmas banner

I'm going homemade this Christmas, from decor to gifts. I'll probably change my mind on Christmas Eve when I'm still up finishing up last minute touches but for now, I'm so excited to see the finished products.

I have a few friends that have been making Advent calendars so I decided to try my hand at it. One thing I knew for sure was I didn't want to spend a fortune on this. I used a scrap piece of lattice my father-in-law gave me for the base of my calendar. Now, this is not how I want it. I envision it framed out, painted antique white, and then roughed up to all it's glory. Getting that done around here before December 1st just wasn't going to happen so, here it is.

I purchased these little white boxes/bags from the Dollar Tree. To string the boxes on I used ribbon and tied them on each side.

Thanks to my new birthday present, a Cricut!!!!!!!, I cut my numbers, the circles, and squares out. Add some little stickers and other embellishments and viola! This whole project cost me under $10 to make....gotta love that.

Remember that Halloween banner I made? Reverse it, add new ribbon, and now it's a Christmas banner for the amoire.

Don't you just love when your ink pad decides to come lose and smear dark, dark ink on your lovely creations? I guess it's time to rough it up some. At first I didn't think I wanted to but now seeing in pictures I think an antiquing will do it good.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

adorable, affordable

I know I've said before that we love our teachers. God has really blessed us with such caring, loving women to nurture and teach our boys. For Thanksgiving, we gave them a gift of thanks. I used leftover scrapbook paper so this gift was so cheap to do! To cut the letters out, because...once again, I do not have a Cricut, I used some chipboard letters to trace and cut the letters out. We wrapped them up, put a little note in that said:

We are thankful:

for teachers that share!

Teachers share their knowledge with me.

for teachers that love!

Teachers love for me to learn.

for teachers that care!

Teachers care about my well being.

For all you do and more, we are thankful!

You can't get much easier than that. To all the teachers that love our children and take the time to know them, care for them, and mold them...we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

where's breanne?

Blogging has taken a backseat to birthday parties, being chair of a school fundraiser, a death in the family, and now this....

carpet being thrown out a window.

Let me paint a picture for you. I've finished up all of Tanner's sweet little birthday party craziness...mess still to sit on my kitchen table (pictures of the party to come...I promise!). Move on to a school fundraiser. Again, mess on the kitchen table, floor, and kitchen counter tops. As I'm leaving for said fundraiser crazy day, I open the garage door to find puddles of water...everywhere. Hmm, what in the world. Ooooh, "Tristan, go get your daddy RIGHT NOW!!!". Said hubby jumps out of the shower and comes strolling out in a towel, it was only 45 degrees out and only for our neighbors to be leaving for work. Classy, classy I tell ya! We have a leaky hot water heater, he tells me. The rest, the whole long story, is history. For the comfort of your eyes, I will not bore you with the long drawn out story. It does however involve ripping out carpet and having all of that room's junk in your living and dining area.

Table, who needs a table to sit at?

jealous yet?

In the midst of my crazy, hectic Monday....

I received this!

O.H. M.Y. G.O.S.H!!!!!

My mother sent me my birthday present and being the impatient one I am, I had to rip it open right away. I died, cried, and my heart melted. Nobody loves you like your momma. Your mom doesn't just give you a simple present. She spends hours upon hours making you exactly what you wanted that you never even knew you wanted.

This is a beautiful pearl necklace that she made, on the right. Look at that cute

button and seashell! Pearls, seashells, and turquiose. DONE!

One thing about my mom is that she always coordinates the wrapping of a present with the present itself. I almost died when the box she mailed everything in was wrapped to a t. Seriously, we wonder where I get my ocd tendencies. An adorable, aqua, chunky picture frame and a super cute fluer di lis. You can't see in the pic but she did some aaaa-mazing bead work for the handle.

Now for the creme de' la creme. A sewing basket.

Swoon, pass out, try to pick my self up.

Monogrammed. Enough said.

Handmade pinwheel flowers...lots and lots of them.

With mother of pearl buttons.

Someone, please start my heart back up.

Then, I opened the basket up, as if that just wasn't enough in and of itself, to find notions galore, bobbins, threads, scissors, and...drum roll....vintage buttons. Three bags to be exact! I seriously cried and cried. I have received many, many presents in my lifetime but this one hit the spot. I can't believe someone cared about me so much to sit for hours and make all this. Be still my heart, I love her. Not for the gift alone but for knowing me. For taking the time to really, really know me. For listening to my frustrations about having nowhere to put my sewing knick knacks and coming up with not just a sewing basket but a memory. A memory I will cherish for years and years to come. That I will, hopefully, be able to pass on to my daughter-in-law or grandchild.