Getting a handle on the gifts

I did manage to get a few gifts for the holidays before now and I so thought I was getting ahead of the game, then I realized CRAP! Christmas is less than a month away! I have a ton of stuff to get done before then and I had promised to make the kiddos new stockings this year. Grandma K had made some the Christmas each of them were born, but after 4 or 5 years of abuse, they are not so happy looking anymore.
So, Miss Chatterbox and I went to the fabric store yesterday and picked out a lovely sparkly pink for her to go with some fabric I had at home. She wants a bird on hers, too . . so we bought some cute little dove buttons and she also ga-ga'ed over some cute pink roses that 'exactly match' her pink fabric and a butterfly. I want to convince her to let me make her a bracelet from the butterfly - its a wooden button with the raised back, so perfect for a cute bracelet.
She picked out a fun green star print and an off-white w/ light gold snowflake print for the other stockings. I will make a fun applique for D's stocking if he wants, so that his is special, too. And I have some fun buttons to add to his.
Will have to post pictures after they are done.
I did get a fairly decent amount of shopping done over the past couple days. *phew*!!
Check the fun pom-pom/ marshmallow guns from BoyToys - I got for a whole slew of giftees and they're handmade to boot!!
Awesomeness :-)

And these so adorable butterfly origami hair ponies for Miss Chatterbox and niece Princess, from Asianexpressions
She also made a gorgeous set of cranes that I am turning into a mobile for above the MIL's new spa tub. They match perfectly with her decor and theme! And, Asianexpressions is a member of The Big Sky Montana Etsy Team.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving - I have to get some more cleaning done and clear out a shelf to take out of the livingroom before tomorrow, because then its the start of the cooking marathon. Turkey, ham, green bean casserole, coconut cream pie . . .on and on for 15 people! I'm really excited, though. I think it will be fun to have everyone over.

Have been so forgetful!!

I have just been plain not willing to let the time pass or just forgetful - not sure which. Thanksgiving is a mere week and 1 day away and I have 12 people coming over for dinner! Just rearranged the livingroom to better suit company and open it up a ton! The kiddos woke up this morning like it was Christmas (seriously just about that excited .. but they are pretty excitable) jumping around and D saying how much he loves it. LOL.
Now I have to get to the pile to go to storage, go through my craft stuff - fabric is done, now it's to beads, wire, scrapbooking extras, computer parts, odds and ends, and thread & needle stuff. Gah! I seriously have a craft issue.

I am going to try and go as handmade as possible, but the boys in my life are not making that easy at all! Miss Chatterbox is easy, though!! She wants fairies, a lamb from Judy Liz, and a white deer from Fantastic toys. She also wants a fairy house and I will be searching for one for Gramma Kathy to get her. Should be fun!!


The D-man, however, yearns for a Nintendo DS - yikes!! Starting the hand-held electronics thing a bit early. I think I may look into Leapsters, too, though. Hubby says the DS does have educational games, but not sure if I'm ready to sink a couple hundered into a game for 6 year-old who is getting a lizard for b-day that isn't cheap.

And daddy is asking that the kiddos pick out his present all by themselves. I asked them what store they wanted to go to and they said WalMart and I almost choked. I told them that WalMart is the answer to all the shopping one can do . .that we could go to a more electronis-type store, we could look on-line and we can keep thinking about it. So, changed tactics and asked what they want to get him. D answers, "Daddy like pirates, cause he was going-ta be one for Halloween. So, pirate stuff." And Chatterbox goes off on a Halloween tangent and we get home, so conversation turns to what snack is. I will keep working on them to ditch the WM idea and shop elsewhere. I do understand the need for big-box stores, but I want them to appreciate the other things, too.

Off to do something in the way of going through beads to take to girls group tonight.

Later!!

Turkey Day Contest on Etsy

Gooble, gooble! Yes . . .it's coming - the attack of the turkeys and relatives!!
AHHHHHH

Hahaha! I am trying to get ready for the housefull in less than 2 weeks (yikes! Not even close to cleaned-up) and meanwhile procrastinating on the cleaning thing by playing and making stuff on Etsy! I am so in love with all the wonderfully fun, interesting and absolutely AMAZING things I find on Etsy. I already have a few Christmas items bought and picks for hubby to get me. Gah -- back on topic.

MissKnits and sarahinflorida are running a Thanksgiving Contest here at this forum thread.

Stop by and vote for your fav by giving it a heart - yeppers, that means that if you do not have and Etsy account of your own - shame on you!!! - you gotta get one so you can VOTE FOR MY COMP-U-COPIA (completely shameless plug).

Check out all the listings at once and MissKnits awesomely fun blog at: missknitsetsy.blogspot.com: Etsy Thanksgiving

And hop on over to Etsy to get your hand-made on!!

So excited

Woooo!! yesterday I finally got to see my friend make some soap and it's for my new laundry detergent, too!! I was so nervous about it . .. soap making is so not something that I would ever attempt on my own, no matter what, but with her help and confidence, we'll be cooking up tons of stuff soon!

I can't wait to get really going and get labels, stamps, ingredient lists, packaging and all that fun stuff for this cleaner line! WOOOO-WHOOOO! I don't think I have ever been so excited about something in a long time - well, something that didn't have to do with the kids.

Soon we will be making the liquid soap and I can whip up the spray cleaners and then move on to the other sprays I am working on.

Yeay, and yeay, yeah!!

Have a wonderful Saturday night!

The struggle

hmm . .so I have really been struggling to try and work on my time and scheduling myself time for this, that and the other. I get a good plan worked out and BAM, something comes up.
Miss Chatterbox has a bad day and needs constant attention, I need to take so and so to this, hubby has a ton of homework and cannot help with anything, a volunteer gig takes way more time that expected, taking someone to the airport and on and on. I absolutely have no problem doing those things - this is not me complaining about having a gazillion things to do. This is me wondering what on Earth I am going to do to make a schedule work?!
Agghhh! I seriously have all these wonderful ideas and fun projects ... things I need to research for the cleaning stuff and books to read to get even more info on herbs and essential oils ... new items to put together for my Etsy store and blogs, networking sites and social sites to keep up with ... kids to take to appointements and take to and from school ... kids to rad to and spend time playing with or crafting with ... dishes to do, rooms to clean, clothes to fold ...
In otherwords all the gazillion things every mom has to do everyday. I just can't see to get a schedule to work for me! And if I don't schedule then there are certian things that I just simply don't get done and those things tend to be the creating things.
Anyone out there in mommy crazy land have any ideas?!?!?! It almost seems like now that I only have one at home it's harder to get things done.
Anyway, I would love some hints and ideas that you might do to try and get things done.
Timers, charts, hour-by-hour time schedules . .etc. Then how you work around big interruptions ie taking 4 hours of your day to do something to help someone that you had not planned on.

Yummy muffins

Alright .. I got the picture of the yummy muffins. Don't think they look so yummy in the picture, but really, they are very good - not too sweet, nice and moist and pretty good for you as far as those things go.

getting my act together

Ok, so once again I totally bombed the blog test - if there is one.
I am not giving up, though! There are so many fun things going on that I forget to stop by and do my bloggie ... well, maybe if I knew there were people sitting there, waiting for me to post I might be a bit better - ROFL!!

So today I am going to be totally random and share a recipe for some yummy pumpkin muffins. It started as a pan of bars recipe I found and have switched up a bit to put more good stuff in it and still keep it kid-yummy.
Here it is:
1-1/2 cups pumpkin pie filling
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups applesauce (unsweetened is best)
1/2 cup safflower oil (or a vegetable oil)
4 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons (or to taste) cinnamon
2 cups wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans *optional
1/4 cup white or vanilla frosting *optional
about 48 pieces of candy corn *optional and you may need more
orange food coloring *optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 muffin tins with wrappers or lightly grease. I have only one good tin, so I have to do this in 2 batches, but they bake better when you only do 1 tin full at a time.
In a large mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a meduim to small bowl; gradually add to pumpkin and applesauce mixture and mix well. If adding pecans, stir in by hand after pumkin and flour mixtures are well mixed.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. If you do 1/2 instead, you will end up with about 28-30 muffins, instead of 24, but I think the size is better for little ones.
Place, one pan at a time in preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center muffin. Cool while you bake second pan full.
** (optional part - helps to make the muffins more kid-appealing) While your last batch cools, combine frosting and food coloring in a small bowl. Place orange frosting into a small piping bag, or resealable ziplock and snip off a small tip on one end. Pipe small dots where you would place the eyes, then place candy corn over the frosting dots so they stick. Then, pipe funny pumpkin mouths onto the muffins. Serve for a snakc, breakfast of special treat.

These muffins could also be given a more Thanksgiving flare by making little turkey-type decorations of pilgrim hats on top. Or decorate for fall by piping a leaf shape on top. My son absolutely loves them and his classmates the past 2 years devoured them, too!

I will try and post a picture of the yummies tomorrow!