Elf on the Shelf day 6

He was a little thirsty today....

Elf on the Shelf day 5

He brought two friends today!!!

Elf on the Shelf day 4

Chillin in the candles

Elf on the Shelf day 3

Barbie brought the girls pajamas in the tree! You can see how well the photo shoot went!

Elf on the Shelf day 2

Sitting in a vase:

The Elf on the Shelf is back!!!!

This is our third year doing the Elf on the Shelf. I love it and the kids do too! Thanks to Pinterest I also get some creative ideas.

Our Elf will be surprising the girls on Black Friday to kick off the Christmas season! He also brought them a note reminding them to do good things for others. I hope they are excited!

10 FREE cards from Tiny Prints!

Tiny Prints is giving away 10 FREE holiday cards!  What a perfect way to kick off the Holiday Season! Beginning right now through next Tuesday 11/13 at 11:59pm PT, anyone, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, even Yankees fans, can get 10 Free Holiday cards from Tiny Prints. Below are all the details.This offer starts today and ends next Tuesday, November 13.  Just use the code HOLIDAYCHEER to get this awesome deal!

Here are just a few cards I am in love with this year:

Wishing Whimsy  

 Festive Delivery

Oh What Fun

This offer is only good on flat cards only.  Additional charges will apply if you add rounded corners, etc.  Happy Shopping and share if you end up ordering and show us what you got!

Carving our Pumpkins!

Well I totally slacked on Halloween this year. I have no idea where my decorations are and we skipped the pumpkin patch this year. I normally am all about pumpkin carving and I buy a fancy kit and do some intricate design.  This year we used a basic knife and a basic design.  We did manage to carve our pumpkins tonight and they turned out great!

Getting ready to go! 

Putting these kids to work.  Amazingly mommy was the only one who got her hands dirty...

The finished product!  Not too bad. 

Couldn't resist this pic of Madeline showing off her belly!

The girls are SO excited for Halloween now.  We are keeping our pumpkins inside until Halloween night so they don't rot out in the heat before then.  It's strange living in the heat again during the Fall!

Tiny Prints 20% off sale!

If you love Christmas and sending Christmas cards, then you  have probably already been browsing through cards.  I already have a few cards that I love.  I used Tiny Prints last year and LOVED my card.  It was my favorite by far!  I love sending cards and love receiving them!

Tiny Prints is having a 20% off sale PLUS free shipping, now through October 30th.  This is a great deal considering the quality of their cards is awesome! Plus they review your cards before printing and contact you if there is an issue.  Excellent customer service!

Just use the codes:  Sitewide:  20% Off - OCT20SW | Free Shipping: FREESHIP12

Now get shopping!   Click here to get going!

Zoo Trip!!!

Today we ventured out to the Phoenix Zoo.  On half days Brooke only goes to school until 9:40 (why bother??) so I decided to get out for the day.  I guess I didn't think it would be too hot, but let me tell you when its 104, its HOT.   The good thing about it being hot is hardly anyone is at the zoo and you don't have to deal with crowds.  The bad part is that none of the animals are out because they are smart enough to be inside their air conditioned rooms!  Luckily the zoo has some splash pads and we spent the majority of our time there.  I ended up buying a yearly pass so we can enjoy it more when the weather cools down.

Here we are at the orangutan exhibit.  This lovely lady was hiding until we came up and then she ran up to the window!

I packed lunches which were a big hit and easy on the wallet ;) They had kid sized picnic tables on a lake with huge birds so the kids were very entertained.

Of course we had to ride the carousel.  Madeline chose to ride the lion and Brooke rode the zebra.

At the end of our day, we finally found the giraffes and ostriches.  Those were what they wanted to see and lucky for me they were in the same exhibit (and had shady benches with misters blowing on me).

Here is a bonus pic of Madeline at the splash pad. 

Overall we had a great day.  Of course on the walk to the car I had to endure the 5 year old "I am dying because I am so thirsty and tired" speech.  We only saw half of the zoo today but since we now have passes we can go back and see the other animals on another day (preferably one that is under 100 degrees). 

I'm back!!!

Whew! It's been a whirlwind summer for sure! We are all moved into our new house and things are finally settling down. This poor blog has been neglected. We just got our Internet set up last night! A month with only being able to use my phone for the internet was rough! So this week I plan to return to the blog world and get this baby up and running again!

Long time, no blogging

Hello!  I have not fallen off of the face of the Earth, even though it feels like it to me!  We have had lots going on!  Last month while trying to enjoy a nice glass of wine on a Friday evening, I dropped it.  Now that was devastating in itself, but I dropped it ON my laptop.  Yes folks, in about 3 seconds I fried my laptop with wine.  So needless to say I was trying to blog from my phone which was not happening.  I think I did it once and was super frustrated and gave up.

Then we had visitors for almost the entire month of July!  Busy time but great fun!  The kids had a blast with all of our visitors and activities we had going on.

As some of you know, we also found out that we will be moving soon! Curtis is taking a job with Audi and we are relocating to Arizona in just two weeks!  Busy busy busy!

So I hope to be back into the blogging world within the next few weeks.  I have a lot to blog about but  need some time to catch up on!

It's 5:15 and my kids are whining since its  the worst time of the day here so I'd better go.  Wish me luck as I head to Arizona this week to house hunt!  :)

American Girl trip #2

Brooke had received some money for her birthday and was dying to buy her first American Girl doll. Knowing how indecisive she is, I had her go online the night before and pick one out. This really did not work out well. After an hour of browsing online, we narrowed it down to four dolls. 

After walking through the entire store for an hour, Brooke narrowed it down to McKenna and a doll that looked like Brooke. Then became the internal turmoil of having to choose. Now she was not asking for both, just very torn over which doll to choose. Soon she was in tears sobbing on the floor of the store.  Luckily, a very nice man who worked there came over and talked to Brooke about each of her choices and what the differences were, etc.  Then once she said what she chose, he quickly took the other doll away and out of her sight.  This man was good.  I am guessing she is not the first child to have a meltdown inside the store LOL! 

Here we are on the LIRR heading into the city. 

First subway ride!

Standing in front of the McKenna display

Here we are narrowed down to two dolls.  She sat here for a good 30 minutes trying to decide on her favorite.

Soon she was crying.  Devastated that she could not choose. 

Here she is!  Finally happy with McKenna out of the box!

Tea Collection's 10th anniversary!

For 10 years, Tea Collection has brought worldwide cultures and modern design to children's fashion. To celebrate their decade of global inspiration, Tea has created a Tenth Anniversary Collection from their favorite pieces. Browse collections inspired from Japan, Brazil, Korea, Turkey, & West Africa! These adorable pieces are a must-have for back-to-school! Let your children travel the world with Tea Collection! Happy Shopping!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!  We had a lazy day and then had a BBQ at the Burns' house.  The girls had two desserts so they thought it was the best night ever!

Trying to make silly faces. 

An attempt at a kiss. 

Silly faces finally!  They thought this was HILARIOUS.

Madeline of course kept her tongue out for the rest of the day practically.  We didn't see any fireworks this year but it was still a great day overall! 

Fathers Day gifts

Now that the gifts have been given, I can post this :). I took the girls to a local pottery place to choose something to make for Curtis. We got there before the store opened and they were so excited they were knocking on the door to get in! Brooke chose to paint a coffee mug and Madeline chose a piggy bank. They both had a blast and Madeline only ate the paint a few times....

Need a Father's Day gift? How about a photo book from Blurb!

I just love to make photo books!  They are a great personalized gift for any occasion!  Blurb has a great and easy program to help you.  I made a fabulous one for my girls for Christmas.  Now that Father's Day is approaching, what a great idea to give the dad in your life a great memory book filled with pictures!

Children see their dad as a hero, a rockstar, and a guy that can fix anything that's broken. With Father's Day fast approaching, be sure to give dad a gift to show just how special he is! Create a Blurb book filled with dad's favorite pictures from family vacations or choose pictures that will take him back in time--the possibilities are endless. This is a great project for the kids too! Let children pick out the pictures they want to include and surprise dad with a gift that was made just for him! Best of all, save 15% with promo code BLURBBOOK15OFF . Happy creating!

Dance pictures!

Here are Brooke's dance pictures for this year.  How did she get this old???? I think they turned out pretty well if I do say so myself!  She just loves dance and I hope she continues with it!

May Happenings

I can't believe May is almost over.  Time is flying!  Here are a few things we have done this May.

We went to the Merrick Fair this month.  The kids love it and we can walk to it so its an easy outing for everyone!

The kids loved the carousel of course!

We all went on the Ferris Wheel together and then Brooke rode the roller coaster alone.

Brooke got her face painted too!  She was devastated when we had to wipe it off.  

This is a random pic from JC Penney.  We went to pic up our birthday photos and Brooke spotted this comforter and declared her love for it.  NOT going to happen but she begged to have her picture taken with it so we would remember it....

Since its warmer out now we are able to go for walks at night to get ice cream.  Having an ice cream place (two actually) within walking distance is both awesome and terrible at the same time LOL.  I must say this picture was a mild success!  Now we just need to work on Madeline actually looking and smiling at the camera at the same time! 

Brooke channels her inner Carrie Underwood

My girls love Carrie Underwood. Wonder where they get it from?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!  Yesterday we had a great day with gorgeous weather.  We all went to a diner for an early breakfast.  The kids did very well even though Madeline ended up eating 3/4 of my breakfast plus all of hers. She's a bottomless pit!  We forgot the camera so we only snapped a few pics on our phones.  Madeline all of the sudden is very into dressing up so please note the 7 necklaces plus 5 bracelets she chose to wear. 

We then headed to a park to run around for a bit.  It's finally nice here and it was great to get some fresh air and some sunshine.  Madeline spent most of her time on the swings and Brooke was running around so much we never got a pic of her!

Of course no holiday would be complete without a group picture.  FAIL.  Madeline was so mad we pulled her off of the slide for this picture that this is all we could get.  Brooke at least looks at the camera these days!

After the park, we came home and I went upstairs and laid in bed while watching "Dirty Dancing".  I even took a short nap!  We ended the day at a relative's house for a BBQ and all kids were in bed by 7.  It was a great day!

Brooke's recital preview

Here is a brief clip of Brooke's costume and dance recital dance!  She is so excited!  It's a little blurry but you get the picture.  Next week we have pictures and get our matching pom poms!

Birthday Party Palooza!

I am way late on this post. I know.  April was the craziest month for us by far.  As the kids get older our schedule gets so full! 

Brooke and Madeline had a joint party at Chuck E Cheese on March 31st.  Brooke invited some of her friends and Madeline had a few there too ;)  They LOVED it.  I know these parties are chaotic but my kids had the best time ever.  Plus I didn't have to do anything but show up with cupcakes.  HUGE BONUS!  Everyone was happy! 

Here are the two birthday girls before the party started:

some action shots of Madeline:

Then  came the birthday celebration.  Each girl got a crown and got to sing and dance on stage:

Cupcakes were a HIT. 

 

Then of course came the ticket booth.  This might be my favorite picture ever taken: