Happy Halloween: the pilot, the princess and the dog

This halloween Nathan was an x-wing pilot from Star Wars and Laura was Rapunzel from Tangled and Noah was the dog that Nathan and Laura both were when they were around two.

This year they went trunk or treating at the church and it was such a pleasant experience. Bright, sunny and lots and lots and lots and lots of candy. The theme was toy mania (based around toy story 3) and all the cars (and owners) were decorated in theme. It was fun.

Things Nathan teaches Noah

To say Noah idolizes his big brother is probably an understatement but I don't know of any stronger language to convey how much this little boy loves his big brother NATE. He has his own way of saying it which just melts my heart. He always says it with enthusiasm that comes from deep within his heart - NATE!!!

So Nathan is often nice enough (without prodding even) to oblige the little one.

Noah with his little people book and Nathan with his Wimpy Kid book cuddled together in perfect harmony.





Nathan smiling because he really does enjoy being emulated and Noah thinking he is quite the big boy.












And then of course comes the "teaching" of the don't let mom get a good picture, put your hand up like this so we can ruin her moment.

Do the arm farts and burping lessons come next??

Oh well, at least I have these little moments to hold on to.

What can you tell from this outfit?

So, I am sharing this to prove someday to my darling daughter that her mother did let her have a say in what she chooses to wear on an average day.

This photo says to me that she must wear her favorite shirt even if it is cold and I told her she must wear a shirt underneath and it has white in it so it MUST match. AND she must wear one of her favorite skirts because it has pretty flowers just like the top. It says that the smile on her face of pure pride and comfort and confidence is something I will never be able to teach her and that I am proud that she already has that spirit.

All of these pieces of clothing on their own are adorable, but together??? I want to remember this part of motherhood and the busy-ness of everyday life.

It wouldn't hurt to use these later when she is a teenager or maybe even a fashion designer someday either. So I ask, what does this photo say to our family and friends?

Future Assemblyman?

Nathan and his cub scout den visited the capitol this weekend. The tour guide is a past cub scout and achieved eagle scout so he was very into showing the boys them lots of cool stuff. All the boys thought they were very important using the microphone in the committee room and standing in front of the press podium underneath the spotlight.

New Haircut

It seems a never ending battle with Laura and her hair. She has beautiful hair but she never wants it combed. The crying, the screaming, the tangles, it is all a bit much every day. I took her to get a new haircut. It is quite short in the back and a little longer and layered on the sides and a new kinda angle for her bangs. I also got some new product for her hair and although it was quite expensive, it has worked amazingly well. She is such a little doll growing up so fast. She is 4 going on 40 though and feels it her job to MOTHER everyone.

It's been 5 months since I updated this thing??!!

Well, I am not going to go into a lot with this post. I really didn't know how to start up with the old blog again after all that has been happening. I will just say, we are all okay. We are getting along each day, taking it as it comes and getting settled with new routines. Mike and I have seperated and I am living with the kids at my mom and dad's.

I want to share positive things here so the people we care about can see how the kids lives are progressing so I will do just that, keep it positive and share them and the crafty things I love.

I so love reading other blogs and want to keep this up so I am going to give it another try. I will not commit to how often this will be updated but I do think it is a unique way of staying connected to those we care about.

So with that in mind, thank you to all who have been so loving and supportive to me.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

I managed to put together some teacher appreciation gifts for this week for Nathan's teacher. They didn't take that long and I know I should have been working on studying for my final but I did so enjoy the crafty break. I love to make things. I have no idea if Nathan's teacher will appreciate them but I sure did appreciate making them. I really should be checking into a crafter's anonymous home in the near future.

I used the ki memories school days line. I think I bought it last year. I love all the bright colors and fun embellishments. I used this line earlier in the year when I made her note cards for her birthday so I just continued with the theme. I was very proud that I used the packaging and cut out the pictures of the chipboard embellishments to make cards to go with each gift. I will always look for that now because I thought they were so cute with pop up dots.

Monday's gift: just a simple vase with some ribbon around and new colored pens

Tuesday's gift: saw this frame on 2peas and totally lifted it.

Wednesday's gift: I love the banners Dusti makes and saw this LEARN one on 2peas and copied it using the same school themed ki products.

Thursday's gift: a candy jar filled with nuggets wrapped in patterned paper, chipboard tied to the top. I later added another little chipboard apple to the front of the jar. A few of the cards are there too.

Friday's gift: I stole this idea off of 2peas too. Can you tell I did a search for teacher appreciation gifts? It is just a simple alphabet picture with adjectives for each letter that describe the teacher.