In By Christmas . . .

We are going to make it into our own home for Christmas.

Didn't happen exactly as planned.

The papers were signed tonight and the keys were handed over. We are going to be renting . . . house 3 didn't happen. (I'll recap all that at a later time)

For the next 3 days, we'll be moving in. Since it's during the week, it'll be slow going.

 Tomorrow is cleaning day, since KC has to work. I'm having the carpets cleaned and the fans will all be turned on so they'll be dry for the furniture. I figure that I can move in some of the bathroom and kitchen items, if I can find the right boxes.

Let's see if we can find the Christmas tree, string it with lights and let the kids decorate it before Santa comes :)

This is going to be a whirlwind Christmas. I'm going to have to remember to stop and enjoy it. The kids will be spoiled with all the new from gifts, but also the old with their treasures and toys returning to them after 6 months in storage.

This was a good day . . . and such a relief!

Today is a Very Exciting Day!

I've been a mother for nearly eleven years. Being a mother has been my focus.

I've been having babies, nursing babies and changing the diapers of babies for almost that entire time.

Now that my youngest are toddlers, I have a little more time for me.

A little more.

Before babies, I was a designer and an artist. I enjoyed projects. All projects. I see something and I usually don't buy it, because in my head I always say "I can make that".

My home has been my palette for years. My creations have been the colors on my walls and the flowers surrounding my home. 

Since being displaced for the last 5 months, I haven't had that outlet.

I have discovered a new love, Etsy. It is a site full of creative people.

I decided to start my own page and named it "Anything For My Kids". 

I created a group of ACEO watercolors (Art Cards, Editions and Originals). They are mini works of art that I only discovered there existence a couple of years ago. Tiny creations that make me happy. And they make me just as happy creating them.

I would have blogged about this a while back, but I wanted to get my first sale. You know, not one from a friend or my mother :) trying to pat me on the back. A real, for real sale.

And I got it!

I got my first sale. A lady in New Hampshire bought one this morning.

I have official sold my first work of art :) And it feels good.

I have lots of plans for the upcoming year. Projects in the works. Ideas spinning in my head.

Trying to get into my new house before I explode . . . looks like December 9th is the day :)

Not Cooperating For My Photo Shoot

This series of photos shows what it's like for me to get a picture of the twins together.

All I wanted, was for them to stand next to each other to show off their new outfits.

It still turned out cute, because they found it hilarious that they were messing with mommy.

I also love seeing Emmitt run so well.

I wish that the laughter could be heard in these photos.

And me pleading with Emmitt to "please stand still for just a minute"

Twins Are Two

11-11-11 . . . Great day for a pair to turn 2!

I am amazed every day by how different they are. In every possible way . . . except their sweetness, cuteness and charm  :)

The words are flowing out of their mouths. We can't always understand what they are saying. But "NO"  . . . there is no mistaking that word. And suddenly, Castiel thinks "please" is a magic word, he's very disappointed when it doesn't work.

 

They loved being sang to.

They had difficulties blowing out the candles. Emmitt was closer to spitting them out.

Castiel proudly blew one out and waited for Emmitt. It didn't happen, Cameron helped out from impatience, and looking at Audrey, she was also close at putting him out of his misery.

They LOVED the cake. We didn't realize it at first, but Emmitt ate him the cake infront of him, instead of the one on his plate . . . until we noticed a good section missing.

And when they asked for seconds . . . they got it, only because the grandparents outnumbered the parents :)

Gifts were opened. Castiel didn't give clothes a second look. They were thrown directly over his shoulder every time.

And the toys were perfect . . . truck, trains, balls and books!

They got 6 pairs of much needed warm pjs. We found out tonight that Castiel received 2 pairs of footie pajamas, because Emmitt freaked out and we'll never get them on him again . . . EVER :)

We had spent the day at Monkey Joe's.

A pizza, bouncing, arcade place where Castiel discovered that if someone puts money in those things that mommy lets me sit on . . . THEY MOVE. (The mall will never be the same for mommy)

 

We threw the boys down huge slides. They loved it and wanted to do it over and over. They just needed a lot of assistance climbing up, so it was a workout at the same time.

And Emmitt wanted to play an arcade game. I put two tokens in a machine, he pushed one button that dropped a ball, the ball bounced around for a bit, and then 82 tickets spit out of the machine.

Wish I got a picture of him with his tickets  :)  He got a dinosaur that grows when placed in water, and 2 tootsie rolls, which he shared with his brother.

You may have noticed that Emmitt got a new hair do. When he woke up on his birthday, he looked like this.

That hair made me laugh.

Strangers would "pet" him because it was irrestible, I found myself "petting" him daily. It was soooo soft.

We were thinking that if we kept growing it out, it would lay down eventually. But it didn't. If I let it go on any longer, he was soon to look like Albert Einstein.

So we gave him a faux hawk. If it's going to stick up always, may as well give him a hair style that goes along . . . and no product is really needed

Last haircut, Katie (my sister) helped figure out Castiel's new hair style. Before  :)

He has his daddy's hairline and I was afraid to cut it back too far. He looks older to me.

They are getting so big, so fast.

And I'm enjoying almost every moment of it  :)

People ask me all the time "how do you do it?", which I always reply "I have to, I don't have a choice."

I can't imagine my life without them. Love you boys so much!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Pumpkins & Fantasy Football

I just wanted to share our pumpkins this year.

Cameron's pumpkin is the skull and cross bones, matching his pirate costume this year.

Loving Zoe's choice of a peace sign this year. She added a heart, smiley face and star surrounding it.

Olivia's pumpkin is the cat. I loved watching her look on with disgust as my kids pulled the goop out of their pumpkins  :)

I carved the "Happy Hallow tween" It was the twins pumpkin and that's the best I could come up with.

And this year Audrey designed her own pumpkin face and carved it all out herself. Turned out great!

Here are some of the fun shots of the kids posing with pumpkins.

 

 Here I am forcing the kids to pose with their pumpkins, while in their pjs, and it is freezing outside.

Also, wanted to share. I'm the last one up tonight. Watching the Monday Night Football game by myself. This is the most important game of the weekend! (good thing that The Pack was on BYE)

Philip Rivers is tring to mess this thing up for me, but has gotten his act together a little, and then tried messing is up for me again.

Seriously?!? OVERTIME  :(

 me vs. my husband . . . the most important Fantasy Football game of my season.

I'm going to bed, but I'm hoping that I wake up to

BRAGGING RIGHTS UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!

otherwise, he will . . .

Happy Halloween!

Missed the old neighborhood this year. I wonder how many people were looking for our Frankstein blow up to take their photos under this year? Sorry, it's still in storage . . .

This year Zoe was Cleopatra. (I think she picked it because of all the makeup. She also talked me into fake eyelashes with gold lashes.) She loved her costume and looked beautiful in it.

Audrey was a Monster Bride. (It was the perfect costume for her, a little punky.)

 

I told her she looked too sweet in the first pic to be a Monster Bride, that's the reason for the second pic where she looks like someone who may just marry Frankenstein.

Then there is my fierce little pirate, Cameron.

Daddy told Cameron that pirates put their sword in their mouth when they swing on vines through the jungle . . . so that is him showing me  :)  I'm wondering why the pirate is in the jungle?!?  :)

So for the twins . . . I had a skunk costume that my mother had made originally for Audrey, and Cameron also wore it. I wanted to find a good combo for the boys. All I could think of is to turn one of them into a flower (a Bambi reference), but my husband would never have gone for it. And I didn't want to mark one of them for life :)

I searched eBay for fuzzy animal costumes and found the most perfect rodent to join my skunk.

 

My little porcupine! This costume made me so happy  :)  And even if he won't have let me put the hat on, his hair still would have worked (My little fuzzy wuzzy!)

 

And lastly, Castiel, my little Stinker  :)  If you know him, it suits him well. Not by odor . . . by personality.

 

I also had to get this picture, because I have the same with Audrey and Cameron.

L-O-V-E that tail dragging behind him  :)

So we all headed out tonight, a little late, but makeup fixes and forcing twins into costumes took a little longer than expected.

They made a haul! All of them. And multiply that by seven and account for all the candy that we bought to hand out to Trick-or-Treaters, which the doorbell rang only 4 times after we returned . . . and two of the times it was our children coming back  :) We have so much candy in the house . . . it should theoretically last all year.

I am always amazed at how fast kids catch on to Trick-or-Treating. The twins figured it out on the first house. After that, all KC said to get Emmitt moving faster was "More Candy". We pulled them along in a wagon, and they were checking out their stashes after every house.

I dumped out their candy when we got home.

And this is the twin checking out Eli's stash.

I think that they both have a new favorite holiday.

And I want to thank all my kids for handing over all their Almond Joys to mommy. Now that is love <3

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all!