AWB Secret Santa Ornament Exchange

Back this past summer I found out about Arkansas Women Bloggers and was so excited to find a site that is local to my state! Well we had an Ornament swap earlier this month and it was so much fun! I love to craft and this is my first time trying an ornament craft. 

I thought about doing the craft with a plastic ornament but I was worried that the decorations wouldn't stick as good as a glass ornament.

I got an idea for my first ornament from Michaels Projects section. Thankfully Michaels organizes their crafts into how long it will take (ie how crafty you need to be!). The details for this ornament are included in the link above but it mainly consists of double stick tape, silver glitter, a decoration adorned to it and add a bow at the end.

My second ornament was a blend of ideas that I have seen over the internet. A friend had completely handpainted her ornament red and then painted the santa belt. I had also seen the pinterest idea of putting rolled up red paper in the ornament and then painting the belt around the ornament. All I could think about is me not being able to keep the belt straight the whole way around so I figured that the double stick tape I used with the first ornament would work perfectly.

Having never made ornaments I give myself an A- (or maybe a B+) and it was so much fun that I am making more ornaments for our own tree at home with my 8 year old.

I received the cutest ornaments in the mail earlier this week from Jodi at The Coffee House Life and they are absolutely beautiful on my tree. 

 I have seen these before on Pinterest and so glad to have them on my tree! I also received a sweet note with my ornaments and bless her heart she has 3 little girls (5,3,1) and still was able to craft these up! I thought I had it rough with a rambunctious one year old! I love that my angle one had the word hope on it because there are some days in life where you need a little hope and this angel reminds of it. 

Thanks again so much Jodi and Arkansas Women Bloggers for this fun time!

Latest Comestic Surgery Fad

Ok ladies we all have that one pair of shoes we just love...you know the ones that go with any outfit, that fit our feet just right or that show off our legs when we wear them with a skirt or dress.

Then there is that pair of shoes that you have that no matter how many times you wear them by the end of the night your feet are blistered or your toes hurt from being crammed in the dang shoes. Well apparently there is a new and "upcoming" surgery to fix all that....

I was listening to the radio on the way home from work the other day when the radio host mentioned this and I couldn't belive what I was hearing. It is called stiletto surgery. This surgery is done to remove your PINKY TOE so that way you can fit your feet into your stillettos better!!!! SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?!?!

Who does that!!! And to top it off it is apparently one of the hottest growing cosmetic surgery trends! For the life of me I can't understand how wearing a dumb pair of heels is worth cutting off one of your toes! Has society gotten that materialistic that we will do ANYTHING to make ourselves look good? Trust me I am not above putting on a good pair of flats and calling it a day.

Besides I know my husband would think I have lost my mind if I were to seriously ask him about getting that surgery. Not only that but could you imagine that if you were single and had that done how many guys might think you are just a little too weird because you have 8 toes....I know I would!

And lastly here is the thing that is the most scary to me...if this is one of the hottest new trends what is next!?

A Whole New Christmas

I am a creature of habit. I live by routine and joining the military only furthered that need for habit even more. I get ready for work the same way everyday, get the kids up the same way so when something throws a wrench in my plans I usually just have to take a step back and breath. 

Well this Christmas a HUGE wrench in the decorating was thrown my way. Since I am in our new house (which I LOVE) I have had to sell some furniture and buy some new furniture to accommodate the new layout of this house. No biggie right?...well like I said creature of habit. So suddenly with the new layout of the house and how we arranged the living room furniture there isn't room for the tree in there. So taking my husband's suggestion I put it in our breakfast area of the kitchen. 

What Do You Tell Your Kids??

So what exactly do you tell your kids when they question whether Santa is real?

Taylor has asked me before if Santa is real or if I believe in him which I of course reply that I do and she pretty much leaves it at that. And thankfully she hasn't inquired any further because to be honest I don't know what I would say. The best answer that I can think of is to tell her is that if you don't believe in Santa then no more presents from Santa come...other than that I am at a loss! 

We have already established with her that the "Santas" at the malls isn't the real Santa because she knows that he can't be at every mall at the same time. I explained to her that they are Santa's friends that help him out so he can stay at the North Pole longer and finish all the toys. She of course replied that she knew all along that "Santa" at the mall by our house wasn't the real one because while he was out "feeding his reindeer" she saw him go into the bathroom area and a few minutes later come out in real clothes!!! Kids don't miss a thing!

So this year we have decided to do Elf on a Shelf with the kids in hopes that Taylor can hold onto the innocence of Santa for at least another year. Last year was just too hectic to do it with my hubby deployed and Olivia was only a newborn. I have already been given lots of good ideas for our Elf and found some funny ones on Pinterest too. Have you all done Elf on the Shelf with your kids and if so what are some of your favorite places you have found your elf at?

 

Easy Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

With the holiday around the corner this easily becomes one of the busiest times of the year. So let me impart on you one of the easiest cookie recipes to use. My grandmother has been doing this for years and now we have finally figured it out! My brother asked her a few years ago about her peanut butter cup cookies and she said there wasn't a "recipe" but just a few quick steps.

You will need:

a tube of peanut butter cookie dough

peanut butter cups

mini muffin pan

mini muffin foils

1. Preheat the oven according to the peanut butter cookie dough tube

2. Fill the muffin pan with the foils and put a scoop of peanut butter cookie dough in each one.

3. Bake according to the directions.

4. When the cookies are done carefully put the peanut butter cups in the middle and let them cool in order for them to set.

Voila! You're done! Easy peasy!!

So whether you need to make last minute cookies for your kid's school party or for a holiday party at the house this one is a favorite and so easy!

Enjoy!

Graco Babies R US Event

I am totally having flashbacks to college. Since I do not have internet in our camper I am sitting at McDonalds using their free wifi at 10 at night...would so totally stay up til the last night back when I was in college to finish a paper! *Sigh I guess that is the life of a working mom and blogger!* Anyways on to the fun post!

Last weekend I have the pleasure of attending and assisting with the Graco car seat event at Babies R Us. This event was used to highlight Graco car seat called the 

Graco® SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40. First let me tell you this car seat is awesome...wish I had one! Our event in Little Rock was a little small but that is how it goes in small town America. But I am just as happy for the people that won. We had a first time mom who was in the store picking out things for her registry so I felt good knowing that she won an awesome car seat and how safe it was too! Our other winner this was a blessing in disguise for them. Grandma was also there and she was beyond thrilled since the baby was only 3 weeks old and they needed another car seat. So like I said I am so glad we had the event even if it was small.

It is a car seat designed to use for your baby up to age 2 and 40 lbs. This car seat is the only infant car seat that is designed for rear facing protection up to age 2. This is important because it allows your baby to sit rear facing longer and that is proven to be the safest thing for your baby as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. There are so many cool features on this car seat that I don't know where to start first. 

The base has 8 adjustable recline positions to allow for leg room as your baby grows. This is the most of any car seat available. The car seat also has the Simply Safe Adjust harness system that lets you adjust the harness with one hand as your baby grows so you don't have to re-harness it every time you need to move it up. How convenient is that!!! Then it is has the click connect which makes it an easy transition to and from the base to the stroller. One of the other cute features is a foot pad for the baby so they don't put their feet on the back of your seat. It even has footprints on it!  So cute! It comes in two designs one that is more girly called Mena and one that is for gender neutral called Moonstruck. 

Of course I know that I am just one review of this car seat and like always I believe that every mom should also do her own research so I encourage you to check out the site and see for yourself the best car seat around! Graco Safety

Love to all and go check out this wonderful car seat!

The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 – the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.

Frugal Christmas 2012

This holiday season I have decided will be "Frugal Christmas 2012." It's not because we are tight on cash but because it seems like every year the amount of gift giving gets more and more excessive and farther away from the true meaning of Christmas.

So this year that all changes. No more scouring stores trying to find a gift, any gift really for someone who already has everything.

So here's our plan this year for presents.

1. Instead of individual presents for family members we are doing family presents. Thankfully my husband is a master at woodworking so we are making nice cutting boards. I am going to be doing gifts in a jar. There are so many food ideas for that and you can even do small non food gifts in a jar as well.

2. My oldest and I have talked answer have decided to do the angel tree or something similar for the community to help with Christmas for a family that might not get a Christmas at all without help. I told her that if we do this that she won't get as many gifts this year and thankfully she was ok with that. Makes me a proud mom that I have raised a good kid to be so selfless.

3. I still have to look around but I would like to go help serve food at a homeless shelter. My parents took my brother and I a few times when we were younger and it really enlightens you to people who are struggling for one reason or another and it is important to lend a hand when you can.

So this year instead of splurging all my money on nonsense or half hearted gifts I really hope all that above will make Christmas feel that much more special and realize that Christmas isn't just about the gifts but something much more than that!