Reece Celebrates 40!

Since this year has ended on a high note with Reece being back to work, we wanted to invite our friends over to celebrate the holidays and Reece's 40th birthday. It was a great day, spent with friends and family and we got to see some people we haven't seen in a very long time. There were kids running around the house, playing and laughing; good food; lots to drink; and of course the tombstone cake! Yes, the cake was shaped like a tombstone. I started making it for friends' 40th birthdays years ago and Reece asked me to make it for him.

Other than JD's birthdays, we haven't had many parties in the last two years. When you have money to pay the bills and not much else, extras such as parties go on the back burner. Plus, we just really didn't feel like having parties or that we had much to share or celebrate (except JD's birthday, which we would have had if I had nothing to serve but chips, Kool-Aid and cake). We are very blessed though...I have a job that allowed us to pay our bills with Reece's unemployment...I have my parents and my brother and his girlfriend, Amy...I have wonderful in-laws...we have great friends...we have a roof over our head, food to eat, heat to keep us warm and the things we need...and I have my wonderful family - Reece, JD and Bobo kitty.

Hope you enjoy these photos from our celebration! The last two photos are of the boys playing with the gift JD gave to Reece...an RC helicopter.

Vegas Scrapbooks...

I can finally post these photos now that my friends have gotten their gifts. I printed the pictures I had taken in Las Vegas when we went for our 40th birthdays and scanned a ticket to the CSI Experience to make a little scrapbook. And when I say little, I mean it. LOL The whole thing started with a deck of cards, perfect for the Vegas theme. I used 2 queens from each pack to make the front and back covers and then accordion folded black and red paper to make the pages. I attached photos, the scanned ticket, stickers, and a little note on Vegas theme paper, with a handwritten note, inside each one. I found chipboard poker chip stickers and put 2, back to back and attached it to the box flap and used Velcro dots on the back of that and the box to make the closure. I figured it would be easier than trying to keep tucking the flap back into the box everytime they looked at it. Here is the result below. I had fun making them and giving them.

Crafty, Crafty

Today, while perusing the aisles at Hallmark, I told a friend from work that I was going to have JD (with my help) make some ornaments for my brother's girlfriend. Then I thought, if I don't stop making things I'm never gonna be ready for Christmas. I still have cookies to make for a cookie exchange this weekend, not to mention wrapping all the gifts. The last few nights I've been working hard to get projects done. I put the final touches on a gift for one of my good friends (which I'll post pics of later...she may read this) and finished the gift card tins for JD's teachers. I wanted a creative way to give them...I think we made paper holders last year. Altoid tins are the prefect size for gift cards so I started looking on line and then decided that since we'll be giving Dunkin Donuts gift cards, the cup of cocoa stamp my mother in-law has would be prefect. She's the best and not only did she stamp them for me, she colored them and Stickled them. I cut paper to fit the shape on the lit and attached the finished cup and added a ribbon around the edges so you can't see the writing on it. Here are the gift card tins.

 

Of course I was on the Martha Stewart site and saw these cute candy cane mice made from felt and had to make them for JD's classmates. I have to say cutting the felt was no fun, but sharper scissors might have helped. LOL They turned out so cute. The only thing I might change is the candy canes...get the fruit flavored ones. Not sure how well 4 and 5 year olds like peppermint. JD does, that I know.

There's a chance we might get those ornaments done, but we'll see. LOL Christmas is only 10 days away. Yikes!! Better get moving.

Our Elf, Scooby, Returns

Last year we welcomed an Elf (On a Shelf) into our house. JD decided to name him Scooby. It was fun to see where he landed each day after his trips to the north pole to report to Santa or whatever else he was getting into. This year, JD is super excited to look for him everyday...he's really in to it. I told JD that Scooby's probably more comfortable in the house this year, since he was with us last year, and he might find some new places to hang out.

See, I've been checking out some sites, through Pinterest, for things to do with the Elf on a Shelf. There are some pretty great ideas out there. Here are a few of the places I got some of my ideas:

Pinterest Elf Ideas
15 Fun Ideas for Your Elf on the Shelf
101 Elf on the Shelf Ideas

So far this year, this is where we've found our elf, Scooby (I'll keep adding as we go along, some days he stayed in the same spot overnight) :

1. On the top of the small Chirstmas tree in JD's room (the morning he arrived)
2. Peeking out of JD's bag of halloween candy with an armful of candy
3. Peeking out of JD's Christmas stocking
4. Sitting on top of the TV
5. In the pocket of the Letters to Santa pillow after delivering JD's letter to the North Pole
6. In JD's room, reading a book
7. Sitting on the wreath by the front door
8. On the pantry shelf with the snowman he made out of marshmallows and toothpicks (and Scooby left the marshmallow bag open!)
9. On the bookshelf in the living room with a tiny bowl of popcorn, ready for TV or a movie
10. Hanging on the christmas tree advent calendar with one of the ornaments for it in his hand
11. On the christmas tree, with his arm around the santa ornament
12. On the dining room table, making a "snow" angel
13. On the bookshelf the day of our holiday party, with drink glass in hand
14. On JD's dresser
15. On the cabinet in the dining room, candy kiss in hand
16. Resting comfortably in the garland around the dining room light (guess he thinks it's a hamock)
17. Sitting in the basket of pointsettas at the top of the steps
18. In the bathroom with toilet paper wrapped around him and the top of the closet on the wall
19. In JD's room, sitting on the desk with a paintbrush and watercolors
20. Sitting on the light up train decoration (2 nights in a row)
21. Scooby followed us to mom-mom and pop-pop's in NJ and showed up in our room
22. Peeking out of JD's Christmas stocking on Christmas Eve
23. JD asked Scooby to stay one more day so he watched us open gifts from the Chistmas tree with a candy cane in his lap.

Scooby left us, until next year, on Christmas night. He left the candy cane he had and a note for JD: "See you next year JD. Remember to be good! Thanks you for taking care of me. Love, Scooby"

JD was sad to see him go, but who knows, Scooby may make a mid-year visit to make sure things are going okay and he will be back next year. 

Pinterest...Organizing On the Web

So, how many times have you found something online and then couldn't remember where you saw it later or bookmarked it and then couldn't find the bookmark in your huge list of them? My mother in-law told me about a site called Pinterest, where you create boards to store your ideas. You can use the catagories the give you or you can make your own. It connects with Facebook so you can find friends to follow and they can follow you. I've got boards for recipes, crafts, parties, family, the house, travel, clever products and just clever idaes and a board of just things I like (fashion, jewelry, etc.). I've told several friends about this already and they seem to love it like I do.

Check it out:
http://pinterest.com/

More fun nail polish...

Just had to share again. We had my company's holiday dinner Saturday night. Got a new dress...NOT black, believe it or not. It's red...bright red and I love it! I found the Sally Hanson Salon Effects for the Christmas season about a month ago and they couldn't have matched better.

After dinner we went out to Cancun Cantina to meet some friends and celebrate December birthdays. The rest of the weekend was pretty much cleaning, laundry, errands and making lists so I don't forget anything before next weekend. Been chipping away on the Christmas gift list and found that some of the gifts won't be given until after the new year, which helps alot. I've got the next two Sundays and most of next Saturday to get wrapping and get anything else I need. I so want to share my latest project, but I'm going to hold off in case the people receiving these gifts check out the blog.

Last Friday I took JD to his school for the Santa Shoppe, where the kids can shop for family / friends and not spend lots of money. Most gifts were $1 to $4 and there were older kids (elves) to help the little ones do their shopping. The little boy JD had was so sweet and very helpful. I had filled out the list on the money envelope with the names he wanted to buy for and hoped for the best. When we left, I told him I'd help him wrap the gifts in bags he could decorate, in a way that I wouldn't be able to see what he bought (there was a gift for me in there). So he proceeds to tell me, "Mommy, I got you a ring." So I said, "Buddy, you're not supposed to tell me...it's a surprise." He says, in a whisper (I guess the volume of his voice made him feel like he was still keeping a secret)  "I'm just going to tell you...I got you a star ring becsaue you're my star." Aawwwwwww! Love that little man. When we get home, he tells me he wants to play with his plane and daddy can help him put it together. Me: "What plane?" JD: "The one I bought at the Santa shop." LOL He didn't forget himself. So, daddy snapped the tail on the plane and JD flew it around the rest of the night.