Weekly Update Nov. 2nd-16th 2014

When I say "weekly" update, I hope you know that's just a rough estimate. This one covers the past 2 weeks. Sometimes you have a bad week and nobody wants to hear about it. Just give it time and there will be something to write about. Life is all about ups and downs.

Starting with Monday morning, November 3rd, Evan was playing "Elf on the Shelf" where he was the Elf. Sophie just cried because she "just wants to be Sophie!" That was the sign that the Christmas decorating needed to happen! When I told the kids we were going to be putting up the tree, and maybe we could surprise Daddy when he got home, Evan got upset and said, "But families work together!!!" So we decided to wait for Dad, and ended up putting if off a few days. But this past Friday (the 14th) we finally got our tree decorated! It had been up for about a week with just the lights (and it's pre-lit. haha!) I realize the rest of the world is saying "what do you mean finally?" Well, my goal is always the day after Halloween, but something ALWAYS comes up and it ends up being about the week or two before Thanskgiving. So if my goal was the day after Thanksgiving like most peoples, it might not be done by Christmas. Having the tree up (trees actually, but the one in the front room isn't decorated yet!) brings a sort of magical excitement. I LOVE watching the kids enjoy all the Christmas magic. Putting up the tree is just the start.  When the tree goes up, Elf shows up. Yes, our elves name is Elf. I love having someone around that helps the kids remember to be nice and obey! (Another great reason for decorating early!!!)

Other than decorating for Christmas I've been doing a lot of stamping and of course piano teaching! I had a couple parties and met some really nice people! I love having the added benefit of meeting new friends! I'm looking forward to having a fun Bingo night next month and hope that several friends can make it even though December is always a busy month! I've also started guest blogging on the Stampers Xpress blog. (It's a private blog for my up & downline.) Again, I absolutely LOVE the friendships made through Stampin' Up! They have truly blessed my life.

I've also been busy around the house. I finished re-finishing 6 dining chairs (paint and fabric) plus 2 counter stools/chairs (paint & new cushions). They look AMAZINGLY better! Little updates can make a HUGE difference!

The rest of the family has been busy as well. Evan had his initial evaluation at the school district for speech therapy. He was so excited to "go to school". I hope when he does finally start school he isn't disappointed! He'll have another full evaluation sometime soon, probably after Thanksgiving and we'll go from there. We're also hoping this will open up a possibility for preschool for the rest of the school year. I know it's not a whole lot of time, but I think it will definitely be beneficial.

He is definitely growing up. He went for another haircut on Saturday. He still wanted to sit on Mom's lap, but didn't wiggle at all! He also wasn't afraid of the clippers - or the "tickle machine" as the lady called it. He did a GREAT job. The stylist not so much. Dylan keeps saying he looks like Lloyd from Dumb & Dumber. We might have to take him back to get it fixed.

Yesterday at church was the annual Primary Program, and it happened to be the first for Evan! He didn't want to sit by his class at the front, but did want to sit by Mom who was sitting in the back by the class she helps teach. After every song (which he didn't sing!) he would bounce up and ask if it was his turn yet. Finally, it was, but he didn't want to go without Mom! He did a GREAT job at the microphone though. His part was "I am happy with my family because they are my best friends!" (He wrote the ending himself!) I guess it was too short for him because he stood there bravely waiting for me to tell him what to say next. He ended with "The End". haha!

Sophie continues to grow no matter how hard I try to stop it. She LOVES to dance and sing and is so happy! She also LOVES to talk. She uses the biggest words possible and describes everything! "This is a HUMONGOUS pear!" She is such a blessing to our family! She adores her big brother and copies everything he does. (good AND bad) I love watching and listening to them play together. They have their moments like all siblings do, but they love each other and take care of each other. Evan is always concerned for Sophie and watching out for her, and Sophie takes care of "bruboo" (or "picklebug"). They always get an extra treat for the other, which probably allows them to have more treats... how can I say no to service? This morning she got fruit snacks for everyone out of the pantry and after Evan ate his he told her to go get him some more fruit snacks to which she replied, "ok!" with a happy smile.

Well that's about it this time. Grandma & Grandpa R. come this week for Thanksgiving and will be staying through the beginning of December while Dylan gets to go to Germany for work! Evan is gladly giving up his room so he can sleep in Mom & Dad's room. haha. I guess it's my own fault for getting rid of the guest room and turning it completely into my "office". I guess it's a fair trade. :)

Weekly Update Oct. 26-Nov. 1

Our Families Weekly Summary Oct. 26-Nov 1, 2014

I've just started getting a weekly update from my sister-in-law about her little family, and I thought it was a great idea! So I've decided to write down our life, one week at a time. I take a TON of pictures, but don't always remember some of the small details. I do try to write down the cute/funny things the kids say and do, but some of the seemingly insignificant details get lost, and those are the things that I'm sure we'll all like to remember in 20 years. So here goes my first weekly summary.

October 26 – November 1, 2014

The week started off with a pretty good day at church. The kids behaved themselves in Sacrament Meeting (although Sophie always announces she needs to go poop during one of the speakers… ) It’s a little difficult on her having me go up to play the organ, especially at the end. They are both getting better with it though. Evan likes to go to his Sunbeams class (as long as he can sit by JJ!) and I get to watch him from the back of the Primary room where I sit with my large class of 7 year olds. (I’m a team-teacher but don’t ever teach the lesson, I’m just there because there are ten 7 year olds. TEN.) Anyway, he raises his hand to answer the questions, and he loves singing time. He doesn’t sing much, but he dances in his chair. Loves it. Sophie only cried for a couple minutes when Dylan dropped her off at nursery. (Huge improvement. The ward changes made it pretty difficult on her, especially because Dylan had been her nursery leader the entire time she’s been in there!)

We came home and had a “HULK SMASH” Family Home Evening lesson. We talked about how feeling angry is ok, it’s how we handle the anger that matters. We had a list of ways to respond to anger and the kids gave a thumbs up or thumbs down. Evan gave some great suggestions on what to do when you’re angry. My favorite was “just laugh!” He has been reminding Sophie all week when she screams “that’s a thumbs down for you!” I keep the Hulk picture up on the pantry door to remind them during the week what we talked about. I’m thinking of making a FHE board with a bulletin board for the weekly reminder. I’ll have to go sketch that project out.

Pumpkin art by Evan

Speaking of projects, I painted that $15 Craigslist nightstand silver. I’m very pleasantly surprised with it! Spray painting hasn’t worked so well for me in the past. It was a win this time. I’ll share a picture when the new handle I ordered arrives. I also spray painted and recovered one of our dining chairs. I LOVE how it turned out! I’m hoping to finish the other 5 next week. I used the Rustoleum Metallic Spray Paint. It worked great for me!

I’ve also been keeping busy teaching piano lessons, and we had our Halloween piano recital this Saturday night! It went really well! I’m proud of all my students for all their practice and their efforts in learning their pieces!

Let me back up a little to actual Halloween though. The kids requested donuts for breakfast. Why not? It’s a holiday, and they’re going to be overloaded on sugar for the next few days anyway! Evan loves the chocolate covered kind with sprinkles. He chose a lemon filled one today… although it really doesn’t matter what’s inside since he just eats the top off of it. Sophie does the same thing. She always chooses the chocolate covered star shaped kind with sprinkles. I prefer the chocolate covered cream filled kind myself. (I believe they are called Bismarcks.) J While they bounced off the walls, I designed our annual Christmas card. I’ll have to do the annual letter next week.

Anyway, I had taught our weekly music class on Wednesday (a group of us get together and take turns teaching a little class at the church. We sing a few songs and make a little craft, and once a month take a fun fieldtrip.) I had some foam pumpkin stickers and spider rings left over from that so the kids had fun with those. We had pizza and “frog eye salad” for dinner (thanks to my friend Nikki who I ran into at the grocery store who was planning the same thing). Evan was a little fascinated by the frog eyes, but kept saying “they’re not real Daddy.” Haha. After dinner Evan put on his Spiderman hoody and was ready to go! Sophie had been wearing her witch t-shirt and purple spiderweb tutu all day anyway, so we added her cute little fascinator. Easiest (laziest?) costumes ever. My same friend Nikki knocked on our door and so we all went trick-or-treating together! Evan had a blast getting candy, but he was even more excited to play with all the other kids who were out. Sophie got scared by a lady who opened the door and was dressed like a witch or the grim reaper or something. She’s not as big of a fan of Halloween as her brother is. She did enjoy all the candy though!

The next day we spent most of the morning waiting at Walgreens to do these biometric screenings to get a discount on insurance. It took kind-of a ridiculously long time, but it will save us $50 a month, so whatever. Finally, we were on our way to Dylan’s company picnic. We had lunch, cotton candy, and snow cones. There were funnel cakes, but the lines were always long. Evan loved the inflatable obstacle courses and slides, and Sophie LOVED the pony rides! There was also a camel, but again, the line was always long so we didn’t try it. (Same with the paddle boats, trampoline bungee jumping thing, and rock climbing wall.) Evan did get to see a “magic” show. The guy was honestly a little weird, and there wasn’t much magic, just some bad jokes, but Evan the entertainer enjoyed it. That’s all that matters.

We came home and I had my recital (and of course forgot to take pictures!!!) while Evan took a bath…the entire time! (He was COVERED in sand from the picnic.) The kids did come out for rootbeer floats at the end though, and to play with all the other kids. I think it went pretty well!

Now on to the next week, I’m preparing for several card and Project Life classes and I do believe it’s time to decorate for Christmas! (If I don’t get started now, it will never happen!)

Don't forget to have fun!

We went on vacation for a few days to New Orleans for my birthday. For some reason, people are shocked when I tell them we brought the kids. I guess New Orleans has that kind of reputation, but honestly, we ALL had a BLAST. Swimming, shopping, sight-seeing (and none of that kind of sight-seeing if you know what I mean!) It was a much needed trip. I don't remember the last "vacation" we took where there was no work involved, and we were ALL there. It was really nice. The best part was that the hotel was free thanks to all the points racked up by all the traveling that the Mr. does. It was a very cute hotel right in the French Quarter. Yep, I was pretty much in heaven.

Of course, we come home and I have a very busy week recovering from vacation. Did you miss me? Well, I'm back, and I'm exhausted but exhilarated at the same time! I had an amazing evening last night with a good friend at a very fun "special event". I even won a prize! That's always exciting! Unless you're an avid paper crafter like me, you probably wouldn't get it, but then again I was once anti-scrapbooking as well. So, if you don't know anything about Stampin' Up!, well, they are a fantastic paper crafting/memory keeping company that has lots of coordinating paper products (and stamps, imagine that!) as well as digital designing, home decor, oh so many things! Anyway, I'm addicted, as most people that know anything about them are. Every year they come out with a new catalog of all their products. Last night was a red carpet new catalog release. Sounds fun right? So I attended with my friend Julie at a movie theater here in Houston. It was fun to see new products, and receive a new catalog early, PLUS I won 3 ink pads of their new "in-colors" which are seasonal colors they keep around for only 2 years. Not to mention, I also got a fun new stamp set!

Anyway, the point of all this is that for me, making cards, digital designing, and just being creative is a great stress reliever for me, and it's even BETTER that I get to do it with friends! Every mom needs a hobby for "herself" to balance things out. I love that my hobby also records the memories we make as a family, and documents these years that will be over before I know it!

Under $30 Thursday - For REALS. Kindof.

Yes it's finally an under 30 Thursday ON A THURSDAY! I'm actually writing this on a Wednesday because we're going on vacation for my birthday (which is NOT under 30)! Woohoo!!!

1. So remember that Old Navy wrap dress from the first ever under 30 thursday? It's seriously FABULOUS. And I noticed today that there's a striped one ON SALE! So I bought it. Happy Birthday to me! Right now there's a 15% off everything code so I got it for 14 something (total steal!) but you might get lucky and score even more! Go check it out. Oh and I'm thinking of altering the sleeves. 3/4 or short? What do you think? (About the dress... ignore the hideous booties.) I also noticed there are a bunch of short sleeve versions. Lots of thick stripe ones. Just type "wrap" in the search bar.



2. I love this color! Also from Old Navy. $15 (PLUS your 15% discount. I wish I would have seen it to add to my previous order. I hate paying for shipping.)



3. Ok, so if you haven't noticed by now, I love me some maxi. Dresses, skirts and burgers. (Anyone know what tv show that one's from? You get a special prize if you do! If you sing the song you get bonus points.) Anyway, so I received some gift cards for Christmas and bought my FAVORITE skirt from Kohl's. I don't see it now, but there are lots of fabulous options! Just search "maxi" once you're on the Kohl's website. Here are a couple options. All under $30 of course. ;) Can you tell how much I love b+w???

4. If you aren't vertically challenged like I am, these sandals would be fabulous with any/all of the above! They come in a fun turquoise/silver color too.


5. I need a little extra height so the dress/skirt doesn't drag. These ones are calling my name. Literally. Also come in black/silver.



So that's it for this week! See you when I'm back from our trip!

Travel Checklist

We're heading out on a little roadtrip for my birthday! Woohoo! A real vacation! This is just a rough draft of my packing list. I used it last time we went to San Antonio, and it saved my sanity. The trick is to use it to pack and then bring it with you to repack in the hotel. I've wasted too much time today and haven't even started packing, not to mention laundry, cleaning and last minute errands, so I'm posting it here in rough draft form. If you notice anything or would like to add something let me know. Otherwise, I'll make it a little more aesthetically pleasing when I return. :) Enjoy!

Catch up for the week, including an under $30 Thursday on a weekend.

I know I've been MIA this week, and I just want to say my motto this week is:

We had a last minute park adventure where Evan decided playing with the girls was way better than playing with the boys, a trip to the ice-cream factory with our adopted family (neither family has family nearby, and Evan prefers being with them to us, so why not?), a visit to Dad at work (on our way home from Ikea), a messy house to prove it all, and NO GUILT whatsoever! It felt REALLY good to just leave the mess and go enjoy life! I love love LOVE hearing my kids laugh, and they do it a whole lot more at the playground than they do in front of the tv. (Although, they do find humor on tv and Evan has the cutest belly laugh while Sophie does the sarcastic Simpson's "ha-ha.") Anyway, it was a FABULOUS week, and the house managed to get cleaned up pretty quick, which was all kinds of amazing. So now it's time to shop!

1. Here's the dress I was talking about last time on my first under $30 Thursday, which was on a Tuesday, and now it's on a Saturday. I seriously need to reconsider the Thursday part of that weekly feature. Anyway, when I first saw it, it was on sale for $20. I didn't get it but couldn't stop thinking about it, and the Mr. even said "Wow! That's a nice dress!" So I decided to buy it while he was gone and wore it to the airport to pick him up. I got it in black and white (of course I did) but I'm really liking the blue and green one too. Maybe if it drops down to $20 again. Oh wait there's a sale on. Buy one get one 50% off. I should have waited! ANYWAY. Now you can get the black and white AND the green and blue.


2. Or you could get this fun striped one.

3. I just discovered the J.Crew Outlet site (thanks to thebigmamablog.com) and think it may have rekindled my love for J.Crew. I'm always on the lookout for cardis in every color. Well, look no further. 20 bucks. I know you're surprised that it's in hot pink, but no, I'm not buying a hot pink one that would clash with my red hair, but you know ever since Sophie was born I've been becoming soft. I'm not buying it. Just not hating the color anymore. Ok, kinda liking it. Still not buying it.


4. I've decided it's time to wear capris. Not shorts yet, I'm contemplating a spray tan before the shorts, but it's Houston, and it's gorgeous weather, and my jeans are just not going to cut it for this weather. I've always thought Loft pants fit kinda funny, but then Quinette (my gorgeous sister) bought a couple pairs in fun colors and they were so flattering! So I'm contemplating getting them in this color, but I'm also liking the Amore Red. Lots of colors to choose from and 40% off with code TREAT


5. I was SO CLOSE to buying these and still SUPER TEMPTED because they're 40% off of $12.88 but I have NO IDEA what size I am!? If you can figure it out, please let me know. I want these. Shoot. For that price I might just buy some and if they're the wrong size, I'll give them away. I'm so torn right now.

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