Halloween Partay!

The kids and I went to a Halloween party at my friend Amber's house tonight (I adopted her as my friend from my friend Lyndsey!) It was a really fun time with games and yummy food.

Amber had the table set up with such cute decorations.

Here are the rice crispy treats that I (well, Rondell) made. They turned out so well. The candy corn melted a little so it gave them an orange color too. They were very delicious.

Lyndsey (well, Josh) made these brownies and put these cute toothpicks in them. Lyndsey also made Patti LaBelle's mac and cheese...and it was SO good.

I had this candy corn container so I decided to put the rest of the candy corn in it to have some extra treats on the table...because we needed extra treats, right?

Here are the mummy dogs that I made. I think they turned out pretty well.

The Super Hero and the Rock Star...Jamison and Quinn.

Each kid got a treat bag. And the winner of each game got a Halloween plate.

One of the games that the kids played was pin the nose on the pumpkin. Here's Caleb giving it a try.

Quinn pinned the nose perfectly! Caleb came in second. They also played a neat version of musical chairs. Quinn won that game too (he's a champ!).

Jamison getting ready.

Right before it was time to leave the kids had a scavenger hunt for their goodie bags that Lyndsey made. We turned out most of the lights and the kids had on glow necklaces. Amber made up clues and put them in different places that led to the bags. The kids had a lot of fun with that.

It was a great Halloween!

Thanking God on Friday

** I am thankful for my mom and MIL. They come over every year and help out with trick or treat and I appreciate that so much. The kids love going trick or treating with Maw Maw and my mom and get to chill, talk and see all of the cool costumes.

** I am thankful that Jamison's front tooth finally fell out. It would bother her when she would eat and she was getting a little frustrated. She ran up to me when I got home yesterday to tell me that she pulled it out while she was at school. She's so brave!

** I am thankful for prayer. It works! With the little things...it works. I have been working on praying during the little things that come up and I am thankful for the results.

Here They Come to Save the Day...

This is my 2nd year making the kids' costumes and it has been a lot of fun. I do not know how to sew, so my glue gun has been my friend through this adventure. It all started last year when Jamison told me she wanted to be a Pop Tart. See:

I took an off white pillow case and cut out a place for her arms and head. Then took a piece of white fabric, glued it to the pillow case and covered it with sparkly glitter glue...and ta da, she's a Strawberry Pop Tart (the red jogging suit is the filling). Caleb was a Brown Sugar Pop Tart.

This year Jamison decided that she wanted to be a super hero. So again, I pulled out my glue gun and made a run to Hobby Lobby for some fabric (I made the mistake of going to JoAnn's last year with the crazy line...HL had no line!).

She didn't want to be any specific super hero, which I loved. She told me what color she wanted each piece to be and I went to work. By default we decided that Caleb was also going to be a super hero. About we week ago Caleb kept saying that he was going to be "bigger" for Halloween. So, I decided to put a B on his costume for Bigger.

Here are the results:

I think he's pretty happy about it!

My heroes! Jamison said that her favorite shape is a triangle so she wanted a triangle behind her J.

Here are their capes. I glued their letters to the back and attached the capes to their shirts with Velcro so they wouldn't have anything around their necks (I knew that would drive them crazy).

Posing with Maw Maw, the witch. She comes every year for trick or treat (and brings her own bag to get candy...gotta love her).

Jamison and the mad pumpkin...she designed it herself and then Daddy cut it out.

Close up of the symbol. I free handed the J and used a straight edge to make the triangle.

The grandmothers...the angel (with the crooked halo and if you knew my mom you'd be laughing because this is so her) and the witch. My mom and I stay at my house each year and pass out candy. We love watching all of the people and the fun costumes.

Even Big Daddy joined in on the fun. He's such a trooper.

We had such a fun night and we can't wait to do it all again next year. Maybe by then I'll learn how to sew.

Treats, Only Treats!

The kids and I are going to my friend Amber's house with my friend Lyndsey and her kids for a Halloween party. We're going to have snacks, games and maybe a craft. I made goodie bags for the kids and I'm really excited about how they turned out. Here's my tutorial:

I got the idea to make little pumpkins from a workshop I went to at Lisa's. For the pumpkins we made there we used Stampin Up!'s wide oval punch. I didn't want my pumpkins that big and I don't have any oval punches so I used my Cricut and cut out a bunch of 1 inch ovals out of orange card stock. I took three and layered them to give the pumpkin look. Can you tell? I have one in the middle and then used adhesive to adhere one on each side. After they were done I took an orange marker and outlined the edges...you'll be able to see that better in another picture.

Then I took a piece of white card stock, 4 inches by 3 1/4 inches, and scored it at 2 inches.

I attached my pumpkin (see the outlines I did?) and drew on a stem with a green marker. Then I used a stamp that I borrowed from my friend Tonya (from a set I plan on ordering soon, Teeny Tiny Wishes) and stamped Happy Halloween.

I put a fun size bag of candy inside a baggie (one of those jewelry baggies) and adhered the card stock to the bag and ta da...a treat bag. I'm not a huge fan of all of the white space, but it's simple and cute.

What do you think? Did you make goodie bags?

I am Beyond Excited!

First, my friend Angie was having a fun giveaway...for a Target gift card. She had a picture of her adorable little guy who had something mysterious on his ear. She asked each of us to guess what the object was (it was a blueberry, I guessed right!) and then she'd randomly pick from all of the comments. So, her wonderful assistant (I just love that Layla) picked ME! I can't wait to have an excuse to go to Target...thanks Angie.

THEN...

Today I got word that I won a wonderful giveaway...and not just any giveaway...a stamping giveaway!!!!!

I discovered this blog a while ago and was immediately hooked. The cards that Jaydee makes are amazing. Some are complicated and others are very simple. Well, one day while surfing her blog I realized she was having a giveaway. I entered, not even thinking that I would win but secretly wishing I would.

Today I saw that she left a comment on one of my posts telling me to check out her blog and then saying congratulations. I immediately clicked over and realized it was true, my name was in print and I had one this HUGE package of Stampin Up! goodies. You have to head on over to her blog to check out what I won.

Wordless Wednesday - BOO!

Baby Shower Card

I wanted to show you the card I made for a baby shower that I went to on Sunday. My friend and her husband don't know what they are having so I decided to make a neutral card. It is a 3x3 card and I used both of my stamp sets (I only have two, but I'm working on that). I used my Hello Again set for stamp the hearts for the background and one of my tag stamps (I don't know the name of the set) for the tag and used my tag punch for the shape (I love this punch!). I stamped another heart on the inside of the card where I wrote the message.

I'm proud of my second made-it-all-on-my-own card (I forgot to take a picture of the first one, sorry).

I Have to Make These!

I was stalking blogs this morning and I came across this recipe. I can't for the life of me think of what blog I was on...I even commented and everything. Anyways, I'm going to make these for a little Halloween party I'm going to on Saturday. You should try them too!

The Simple Woman's Daybook - October 26, 2009

For today...

Outside my window...a beautiful sunrise. It is still pretty cool here but the skies are clear and that's what I love.

I am thinking...about the errands that I need to run tonight before BSF.

I am thankful for...the fact that my finger is just sprained and not broken. I have no idea what I did but all of a sudden I couldn't bend my left index finger. Since I'm left handed that was a bit of a problem. I had an x-ray done and it's just a sprain. It feels a lot better now.

I am reading...the 4th chapter in the book of John.

I am hoping...that I can get everything I need to make the kids' costumes tonight.

On my mind...how to completely organize my house.

Pondering these words..."I'm so proud of you for being such a good Daddy." This is what Jamison told Rondell after he told her that he was proud of her for picking out her own outfit. Such a sweet interaction.

From the kitchen...corn dogs, breakfast, steak burritos (found here), and chicken tetrazzini. Rondell and Jamison made pumpkin pie yesterday too, but...gasp...I don't eat pumpkin pie.

Around the house...I need to get it all cleaned up and ready because Rondell is throwing me a birthday party!!!!

One of my favorite things...Baby showers. I went to one yesterday and had a fun time. The mom-to-be looked so cute and the games we played were unique and a lot of fun.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Errands and BSF tonight, making costumes, Trick or Treat on Thursday and then a little Halloween party on Saturday with some friends.

Here are some pictures I'll leave you with...outside my bedroom window:

Share your daybook here.

Friend Makin' Monday - Movie Edition

Amber and Kenz have a fun topic today for FMM:

If life were a movie, which movie would you want to live in?

The obvious "Kelli" answer is You've Got Mail because I love this movie. I love the setting in New York, I love the comfortable look of Meg Ryan's bed, and I love the little store that she owns.

But, there's also this movie:

...because I LOVE this house. I could definitely live in this house:

More Fall Fun!

The family and I went to our favorite farm store today. It's about 25 minutes south of here, but very much worth the drive. Rondell and I discovered this place years ago, before we had children and we've been every year since. They have the best apple cider of any we've ever tasted.

We bought our pumpkin while we were here. Jamison and Rondell will carve it tomorrow.

The fam...Caleb was not interested in taking a picture.

My sweet girl. They have food at the market too, so we had lunch. Jamison's two front teeth are loose and are taking forever to fall out.

Caleb and his cookie. Jamison had a huge pumpkin shaped iced cookie.

And saving the second best for last (the first best being the cider that I strangely took no pictures of), the popcorn ball. I've eaten these since I was little and they are so yummy.

See you next year Renick's!

Thanking God on Friday

** I am thankful for Family Fun Night. Last night we decided to have Family Fun Night and Jamison picked that we would play a game. I picked out Disney DVD Bingo and it turned out to be such a fun time. Basically, you have the bingo squares come up on the screen and the square includes the letter and number and also a picture of a Disney character. Because of the picture Caleb was able to really play along too and we had the best time. We will have to do that again soon.

** I am thankful for time to have breakfast with my friend Tonya. It was nice to be able to sit down with her, without distractions, and just talk. The omelet wasn't bad either.

** I am thankful that Jamison asked me to have lunch with her at school. It was so sweet watching her interact with her friends and seeing her in her own environment. She was so excited to have me there and introduced me to all of her classmates. I encourage all of you to have lunch with your kids at school if you get a chance.

** I am thankful that I am going to the movies tomorrow with some friends. I can't remember that last time I went to a movie, so it will be nice to have an evening out!

** I am thankful that it's almost my BIRTHDAY (November 8, in case you want to make a note).

Welcome!

I've decided that I have to get back to making my house homier (don't you like how I made up that word!). There are two things I'd like to do in order to get myself back in gear:

Sarah at Clover Lane has this great idea. I love the idea of going into each room and writing down what needs to be done. I am going to take some time and do this over the weekend.

Kimba over at A Soft Place to Land is organizing this challenge. I LOVE this idea because I know that I am often thinking about how others feel about my home and wanting others to feel welcome (which I will continue to do), but I also need to remember the members of my family and to make our home a place where they always feel welcome, safe, and comfortable.

Yesterday Rondell changed the furniture in our room around and it makes for a nice change (with the exception of a few cords that are now in the doorway). We still need to completely go through our room and throw away, organize and clean, but we are well on our way to making our room a cozy place to be...and then on to another room!

Words to Remember

Yesterday I was getting ready to leave for BSF and I was saying bye to the kids. Jamison just gave me a short goodbye, but Caleb gave me words I just had to document...

Me: Bye Caleb.

Caleb: No Mommy, you not go anywhere. You stay here me. (exact quote)

I just love him. (I did end up leaving but gave him some extra snuggles when I got home.)

The Simple Woman's Daybook - October 19, 2009

For today...

Outside my window...blue skies and cool. It is supposed to get up to 60 today.

I am thinking...about the wonderful time we had yesterday at Freeman's Farm:

Three of my favorite people!

Here we are getting ready for the hay ride.

It was a nice ride and the kids really enjoyed it. I tried to get the look of amazement from Caleb on film but I was not successful.

The scenery was just beautiful!

Posing with the pumpkins. Caleb was too interested in everything around him to look at the camera.

They have a pit where you roast hot dogs.

I am thankful...for a nice Fall day. My mom and I are going for a walk after work and it will be nice to be in the sun, even if it is cool.

I am praying...for obedience.

From the kitchen...I have no idea. I did not meal plan this week and so I am out of sorts. Any suggestions?

I am reading...The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.

I am creating...goodie bags for Jamison's friends. I started on them last night and I think I am going to like how they turn out. I will post about them this week.

Around the house...MESSY!!! We had a pretty busy day yesterday and the house suffered because of it. I plan on writing out some things that I want to get done and then put that into action. I do much better when I have things written down. I am a list maker by nature.

Two of my favorite things...Friends and crafting. Put those together and I'm one happy camper. I was able to experience this on Saturday when I hosted my first stamp camp. I ended up only having two people (sniff), but it was still a fun time. Here's proof:

Two of my closest friends finally met! I have been waiting to introduce these ladies for months now and it finally happened. I love these girls to pieces and it was fun being able to do some crafting with them.

Here's my demo Lisa hard at work. Notice the stemware! I brought sparkling apple cider and cranberry juice from Trader Joe's...YUM!

Here's one of the cards that we made.

A few plans for the rest of the week...none! This means that I can really tackle my To Do list.

What are you thinking? Share here.