I was featured

I follow this blog- who designs blogs and highlighted it on her blog...Anyway, I loved the idea of this blog and thought I would submit my "story."  It's about bad dates.  I had a terrible bad date experience (actually, more than one...but that one is first and foremost in my mind), so I wrote to them and submitted the story.  You can read it by clicking here.  Do you have a bad date story you'd like to share?  Hope you laugh as hard as I did.  :)

Five Question Friday

Time for Five Question Friday!  I've not been uber consistent with this blog hop, but I do enjoy it! 

Here goes!

1. Favorite gift you are GIVING this year?
There's a few that I'm making with my cricut machine.  I know one of the recepients reads this blog, so I will not show the entire project until later (stay tuned!).  But to see a little sneak preview, look here.

2. How many parties are you attending between now and Christmas?
Not sure...as little as possible, really.  :)  This time of year really gets out of control with all the parties and expectations.  I try to keep it as simple as possible.  We have a work party tomorrow, an advent celebration Sunday night at church, small bible study party, and a friend get together.

In addition, A.'s birthday next week.  We have friend and family parties to throw on top of it all.  I do feel so blessed to have all these things to attend, but really...do they all need to happen in the same week?!?!?

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
All of em.  Except Feliz Navidad...long story, but so annoying.

4. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why?
Mrs. Ritter.  Kindergarten.  What's not to like about Kindergarten.

5. If you had a choice to live in any other period of time (other than now) what era would you choose and why?
Not sure...but I do know that I love the older days when people were content to live their lives, materialism wasn't rampant, and homes were much smaller with less stuff.

Pleased to meet your aquaintance...

I'd like to introduce you to my...

Backpack toting, balance loosing,

tantrum throwing,

window breaking,

gum chewing, U of M jacket sporting, post-it note winging,

pumpking sitting, out-loud laughing,

hat hoarding, fashion no-no creating,

Big boot filling, body coloring, brown endorsing,

Brother cuddling,

stripe loving, self-dressing,

door knob cramming,

hair doing,

Loving, smiling, playing, caring,

two year old.

Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoy him.

Not Me! Monday

Ok, I wasn't going to do a Not Me! Monday post this week, but there's so many things that I didn't do...so, I'm writing them today to save you the novella next week.

I did not head to Sam's Club in paint-stained sweat pants, white t-shirt and unwashed hair ponied up with tennis shoes so that I could pretend that I was the just-finished-working-out-mom-running-a-quick-errand-on-the-way-home-from-the-gym instead of the too-lazy-to-give-a-darn-mom that I actually am.  Did it work?  Did I pull off the rouse?  Not sure, don't care.  What?!?!  Really?!?!  Nope!  Not me!  I would never go out in public without the 1 1/2 hour long grooming ritual that I do everyday.  Personal appearance- and what other's think of me- is always on the top of my priority list.  After all, what other's think of you completely determines one's self worth, right?  Right?  (crickets...)

I did not make my family wait for an hour after church with empty bellies and crabby attitudes so I could fix them a nutritious lunch.  I did not spend that hour talking to Dave about how the boys need to eat a more nutritiously balanced diet.  I did not serve C. Kraft Mac & Cheese and a hot dog for lunch today.  Nope, not me!  I'm always following through on doing the right thing- expecially when I've just had a serious conversation with my dear husband about it.  I am not consistently inconsistent.

I did not drag my two boys through a Hallmark store on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  First, I would never brave the crowds with two children in tow, and second I would know better than to bring them to a Hallmark store.  Everyone knows that little boys cannot keep their hands to themselves, and bringing them to a Hallmark store is like bringing a bull through a China shop.  Not me!  I would never to that!  Not to myself.  Not to the boys.  Not to the poor Hallmark store owners.


A few things I did not say this past week:

• Um...A., I know you want to help daddy pick up Molly's poop.  Um...yeah, he uses gloves and a baggie to pick them up.  Yes, I know...that one was still warm.  Let's go find a sink with lots and lots of soap.  Now...where did daddy put the finger nail clippers?
• C....just because you could see her butt crack when she bent over, doesn't mean you need to put your finger in there. 
• C. did not say, "Time out sucks."  When I put him into time out last night....at our small bible study.

Ok, that's enough for this week.  Check here to see what everyone else has not been doing.

Merry Cricut! Christmas!

I'm always trying to figure out a way to do creative gift giving...

                                          ...within the budget.

So, this year, when our Christmas budget shrank considerably, I decided to make many of our gifts for family and friends.

Enter:  the Cricut.

This lovely machine was a gift from my awesome parents a few years ago.

I love it.

I think every crafter should have a Cricut machine.

Perhaps it should be a rite of passage for crafters....not sure, but I digress.

So, here's a list of some of the things cluttering up my kitchen counter that I'm keeping handy to finish my crafts:

Picture Frames . Armour Etch . Paper . contact paper . paper cutter . paper mache box . Mod Podge .

And, here's a little hint at what's to come.

I'll post more pictures when the projects are completed and/or delivered!

Merry Cricut!  Christmas!

UPDATED: ****NEW***Giveaway Winner!

Ok, the first winner was given over 48 hours to contact me, and didn't. 

So, let's draw another one, shall we?

Again to random.org....#26!

Jamie H!.

You have 24 hours to contact me at

letsgotothehops (at) yahoo (dot) com

**********************************************************

I'm so excited!  It's time to announce the winner! 

Thanks for participating, everyone.

I've been able to meet many new friends through this giveaway- this is too cool.

Thanks everyone!

Stay tuned, another giveaway coming up soon.  These are just too much fun!

Not Me! Monday

Ahhh, the weekly therapy session begins.


I am not bribing my toddler to be still with one of Dave's "little debbie" snacks (generic version, of course).  I would never bribe my toddler, first of all.  And second, I would NEVER dangle the carrot of void-of-all nutrient-sugar-dense junk food.  I only blog when the timing is appropriate, and never during play time.  I am always diligent to fill my little toddler's tummy with only things that are good for him.

I am not a procrastinator.  I would never procrastinate my work load leaving my husband to take care of the boys for 5 hours on Sunday just so I could meet my daily goal.  Nope!  Not me!  I am a wise consumer of my time, and always on top of my work load.  I would never stick my husband with two cabin-fevered boys on a Sunday afternoon....and especially not on the afternoon of this birthday.  Whoa, no!  Not me!  Birthdays here are national holidays, and are meant to be observed all week long.

Speaking of my husband's birthday, I did not wish him a Happy Birthday on my facebook status...a day early.  I always am aware of the date, and would never mess up the actual day of his birthday.  He did not call me that day- to which I did not greet him with a "Happy Birthday, mister!"  And if I did greet him that way (which I didn't...but you know, if I did), he did not reply, "ahhhh.....yeah....tomorrow...."  Not Me!  I am the best, most up-to-date wife in the world.  I certainly know which day my husband's birthday falls on every year.

Speaking of date-challenged, I did not send out my niece and nephew's birthday cards late.  Definately not really, really late.  Certainly not three weeks late.  I did not misplace E.'s birthday card in C.'s clutches, and he did not hide it from me...and proceed to tear it apart.  I did not have to make her a new one, and send it out three weeks late.  And since her brother's birthday was that same week, I did not purposely hold onto his card - for another two weeks just so the two would not arrive together.  I am the greatest aunt in the world!  I always put my niece and nephews at the forefront of my mind, and would never put their birthday cards in the clutches of my toddler- who has proven time and time again that he cannot be trusted with paper products.

Whew.  That's a weight off my back.  Click here to see everyone else's therapy this week.

Have a good one, everyone!