Naughty Nattie

There is no way I have enough sanity to update this blog with everything I have missed lately, SOOOO I'll just start with what's going on at the circus right now. We have an elf. An Elf On the Shelf. Her name is Natalie, but the girls call her...Nattie the Naughty Elf

(She wanted Mississippi State to win the Egg Bowl. They did : )

Mal asked that if she came home from school with a *sad face* (which we've had our share of this year), could we lock the elf in the car so she couldn't go tell Santa...because a magic elf can't get out of an SUV...but has no problem with escaping a locked house.

We started the day after Thanksgiving, ONLY because Mal was driving me insane about it (and I wanted to...because I knew it would be fun. Whatever.) I have notified the girls that she will start her duties next year Dec. 1st and that she started early this year because the elf was excited that she was assigned to our awesomely fun house. Of course they bought that : )

(She loves the plate wall as much as I do)

To make the elf a *girl* you're supposed to buy one of their $8 skirts...or if you're like me you say, "HAIL no! I already paid an outrageous $30 on this androgynous piece of felt, I'll make her one." So I did. (BTW, the *girl* elf has her hair tucked up under her hat to make her more aerodynamic when she flies to and from the North Pole. I didn't make that up.)

I'm tired of people saying that the elves are creepy. Come on...look at that face. I think she's (he's, it's) freaking adorable : )

It has been fun watching the girls wake up and find her every morning...they actually spring out of bed. Worth the $30 right there.

The hard part about this whole elf deal is remembering to reposition her before going to bed. After sitting straight up in the bed at 2am with visions of disappointed children dancing in my head, her daytime perch (after removing her from the previous night's mischief) is in a cute little red antique chair...right below the television (it's the last thing I turn off in the living room before heading to bed). I have to say though, it's gotten cold here the last few nights and if I were to forget, I'm not sure I would leave my warm bed to move her.

Wait! Someone told me that if they DON'T move, that means that the kids have been naughty. Oh yeah, I could flip that around in a second! While Mal is having a hysterical, disappointed fit because Nattie is still on her perch, I'll just say, "Wait a minute...WHAT did you DO?!?". Take the guilt off of me and toss it right back to her.

Yep that's me, always thinking...

(Inside a candy lantern Hubby's YiaYia made for him : )

So far, Mal has only said, "THAT wasn't very funny." when she woke up to Nattie's shenanigans once (I'm sure I've mentioned that you never have to wonder what that kid is thinking) in the elf's 13 appearances, so I guess I'm not doing too bad...I'll be needing to steal ideas from the many photos I've seen online pretty soon.

Lazy bum.

Wish she'd fold some clothes or clean the toothpaste blob out of the girl's sink or something. Obviously the skirt doesn't keep *her* from really being a guy.

It has started...

Ahhh...Summer. We've been filling our days with lazy odds and ends...and it's been nice!

It's so relaxing not to have something scheduled every. single. day. 

It keeps us free to do things like blueberry picking : )

Delaney started this beauty the other day. I was so surprised at how LONG she will sit and work on it!

It is taking all of my willpower to keep me from bellying-up that paint-by-number when she's out of the room.

I LOVE those things!!!

I don't remember having to mix colors back in the day...do you???

Lots of these critters hanging around the back door lately. I wasn't fast enough to catch this guy but by the looks of that tail, something else might have already caught him recently. I was just sparing him more trauma ; )

Speaking of critters, Mal and I went bug hunting the other day. As you might know, I don't like wimpy girls and it drives me batty that my girls are scared of bugs, lizards, frogs, etc. This bug hunting expedition was a big step for her!

Roly polys are always a safe way to start out. They can't hurt you, bite you or sting you, and well, it's kind of cute when they curl up in that little ball isn't it?

Mal was ok until he unrolled and started walking on her hand...then PLOP, back in the jar.

We had a little talk and she decided to fish him back out and try again.

Success!!!

We (I) ended up digging up five more and before the day was done, they were all named (Tom and Lillian were her favorite polys). She walked around with one or two on her hand at a time, observing them through a magnifying glass and talking to each one about their exoskeletons and what she was going to serve them for dinner.

Summer is rolling right along ; )

If you give a kid a camera...

 

That face...

 

She took 52 photos of the new doll, Maggie...
That Maggie is a good smiler.

 
If I could change 1 thing the 10yr old does, it would be this pose.
(Well, she tends to talk with her mouth full and slouch but whatever)
So funny-she is positively perfect in every way : )

 
"Mommy look, my toes look like thumbs."

-Mallory, 5yrs old

Summer is almost upon us..

Are you ready?

An Ode and a Smile

So my friend Molly has this bag. It's a big bag. A HUGE bag. I laugh at her as she unpacks it. I can only liken it to a clown car or Mary Poppins' carpet bag...the stuff just keeps coming! I look in it. It is cavernous.

It has an echo. It has its own freaking zip code.

I want this bag.

The Extra Large Canvas Tote Bag from Land's End.

I have thought of the bag many times when I could have used it, the last being Mallory's EEG. They needed her to sleep so we needed to pack and bring all of her sleepy time *essentials*,

 i.e. lots of big fluffy puffy stuff.

A blanket, her pillow, her blankie (not to be confused with her blanket. Two TOTALLY different things), her baby, two small stuffed bears, activities/games for the wait, snack for after the test, a few more stuffed critters that she begged to bring, my purse, and a sweatshirt.

I SO could have used that bag.

Example of its wondrous hugeness:

all of this...

...fits in here (with LOTS of room to spare. Note that there are 2 (that's TWO) large pillows in there)

And pockets galore...I seriously don't think you can grasp how huge this thing is.

How about now?

That's my off-the-growth-chart 4 1/2 yr old in there people.

Not gonna lie, I did pick it up with her in it too...that darn bag is solid!

So well made too. My friend has been abusing hers for years and it looks fantabulous. Instructions say spot clean but, don't tell Land's End, she puts it in the washer on delicate and air dries it with no problems at all!

Slightly important side note:

I tweet. I really like the people I follow and the info and links they post. I usually leave Twitter minimized all day on my computer and check back a couple of times a day (and on my phone) because I kind of love it. Quick little tidbits, pieces of advice, articles and yes...products. Hey, if someone else likes it or has tried it, I like to hear about it. Did you like it? Why or why not? Help me make a good purchase or save me from making a terrible one. I'm not talking about that spam garbage, just opinions of people I have chosen to follow. People's opinions I WANT to know. Anyway, I put my two cents in (sometimes it's worth less ; ) every once and a while, and I realized the day of Mallory's EEG, that sometimes it's worth a lot more.

I tweeted this as I was trying to get together Mallory's supplies for our Dr. visit:

(REALLY wish I had this extra large bad

boy this morning for our appt...

{compressed link} Lots of lovies,

blankies, etc. to bring.)

No Land's End mention, just a link to the bag (in a compressed attachment btw).

After getting home and putting Mal down for a nap after the very tiring and emotional morning, I get a Twitter message:

(@myselfandDi Saw your post & LOVED

your name for our XLTote. Can you

Follow and DM us, we have a surprise for

you!)

Wow right?!? I was very surprised to say the least! It was so super wonderful to smile after such a crazy day. The wonderful people in charge of Land's End Twitter account (@LandsEndChat) and I dm'd back and forth, and let me tell you, they appreciate their customers (and admirers ; ). I tweeted about that tote with no intentions...just wanted to share what I KNEW was a fabulous product.

And well, as it turns out, they heard me : )

*
*
*
*
*

*

*

*

And they have a great sense of humor : )

Thank you Land's End...I LOVE my new *BAD BOY* tote!

(LOVE that *seaport* color...hoping they will offer it in their solid tote colors too)

A special discovery!

Talking about the little brown bird figurine in the previous post, reminded me about the discovery I made a few days prior to Delaney's party. This is another little something I wanted from my Grandma's. This pillow was the #1 thing that reminds me of her house in Illinois. I love it, mainly because she made it.

It has a zipper in the back which I was leery of undoing for fear of what was inside. The pillow had seen better days and I could tell the filler was broken down and it would be quite dusty but I knew I wanted to clean it up and slip in a new form.

Well, when I unzipped it, I found this:

I was SO excited! It's stitched all the way around so I'll have to find someone who can safely take the seam out and re-stuff it for me. (I'm thinking about adding a green covered button to the middle too). I can't wait to call my Aunt to find out the story behind this pillow and the different fabrics used to make it.

Happy discovery...happy me*!*

SWEET mail and the loooooongest week ever!

Remember what it was like getting mail when you were a kid? It made you feel so grown up and special didn't it? It's sad to think that our kids won't get to experience that as much as we might have because of these dang/wonderful computers. *Snail mail* is becoming obsolete.

Well, my friend Jill sent the girls some of her Best Dang Cookies In the World and they were so excited! Um, not just mail...but COOKIES! Can it GET any better than THIS?!?

They were SOOO good (the girls are obviously entranced by the kid trivia show they were watching) and WOW sooo HEAVY! They reminded me of those cookies that you get when you're in Disney World. They make you drool just looking at them, and then you pick them up and think, "Holy cripe...I'm going to gain THIS much weight...right now!" So worth it. Yuuuuum! 

My Week In the Life photos.

I have learned a lesson.

DON'T get that many photos printed next time.

Just. Don't.

I sure can streeeeeetch out a week can't I?

My days have been filled with cutting and punching (which I love) but I have once again overwhelmed myself. I'm going to do what I can, when I can...as soon as the printer feels like cooperating again. (insert crazy lady laugh here) It really is fun looking over the photos, at these little pieces of my everyday life. I ADORE this project. The project thus far has made me look at my days a little differently. The routine yes, but more importantly, the moments. Can't wait to really get on a roll putting it together. I'll get there. : )

We spent a fun afternoon with some out of town family today and had a really fun time watching all of the kiddos playing together. Mallory came to me at one point, looked up...and I saw it. Her beautiful, big brown and PINK eye.

Did I mention that ALL of the kiddos were playing together so nicely? I did?

Did I also mention that the out-of-towners had JUST arrived for their week long vacation?

I'm praying that the owner of this cute little foot didn't infect ALL of her cousins today. Ugh.

Mallory's headboard is missing because I was sanding it Saturday...and it's a doozie. Mal wants it to be green which is fine with me, but I'm having a heck of a time finding the right green. THE green. I'm thinking about doing a little mixing experiment to see if I can come up with it myself. I did see something close at Lowe's the other day (and trust me, it's not as bright as it looks) that I might go with (although I'm not nuts about how shiny it would be). The headboard has a few details that I'm not sure I'll be able to paint as well with a brush, so this option is looking better every time I think about it!

Saw this the other day and loved it!:

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.”

~Jim Valvano