Elves Making Coffee and Happy Tappers!

Today, we awoke to Buddy making coffee!!  I don't drink coffee at all, but it was a sweet thought on his part.  Maybe he can make me some hot chocolate tonight instead......



I finally started pulling the Christmas decorations upstairs from the basement today.  One of the kids favorite parts of Christmas is playing with the Happy Tappers from Hallmark.  They are basically snowglobes that have little figurines in them, and they dance to songs.  They can all be linked together, or seperate.  Pretty cute little things if you ask me!  Abby was at school, so I was enlisting the help of Ry-man.....he was helpful for about 5 minutes until he saw the tappers - then it was over!  He had so much fun, and played with them for about an hour consistantly.  It was so nice!!  Here is a cute picture of him with them, and if I can get it to

upload, there is a video of him dancing with the tappers :)

 



Wednesday Nov 29 - S'mores Anyone??

Apparently Buddy got hungry overnight - we found him roasting s'mores over a candle this morning!  What will this crazy elf do next??



Tuesday Nov 28 - Do You Know Where Your Elf Is???

Today we awoke to find Buddy hanging upside down from the blinds in the family room.  The kids are pretty convinced that he was swinging and playing - and when when came downstairs this morning we scared him and since he doesn't move in front of them, got stuck that way......yup - ok - sounds good!  Silly Buddy......



Buddy is the Best Elf Ever!!!

The kids were SO excited to wake up Sunday and find all of the suprises in store for them!  Little did we know that Abby was going to come wandering in our room at 5am.  She was quite impressed with the tree, but we just played it off like she was a little crazy and told her to go back to bed.  How awful are we?  When she woke up that morning for good, she was still going on and on about the tree - we just kept playing it off and changing the subject.....finally, she got a little peeved and pulled me by the hand into the hall to show me.  She and Ry were SO excited!  They just kept oooing and aaahhing over it.  Of course, they made me take their picture with it.

When we went downstairs - they were all confused at first.  Then, Abby spotted the presents and the letter from Buddy and she was even more excited!  They of course wanted to open all their presents before eating, and who am I to say no to that?  They love their elf presents!

Abby reading the letter that Buddy wrote to them.



Abby checking out all the Prep & Landing gear...

They are big fans of the 'night vision goggles' aka sunglasses with a light up ring lol.

I will try to get a pic of all the stuff that Buddy gave them, but right now it is hard to get it away from them for a picture.  Where will buddy end up next????

Our Elf Buddy Has Arrived!!

Buddy is here!  Superdad and I came home on Saturday night and found a familiar little elf all dressed in his finest red outfit.  Buddy was back!  He was telling us his grand plan - he brought a tree for the kids to keep upstairs, breakfast for the family, and presents for the kids.  I thought it all sounded marvelous!  Buddy wanted to help the kids understand all aspects of 'elfism' so he picked up some gear that his friends over in the Prep & Landing department gave him.  The kids were going to learn how to help prepare the house for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve!  In his gift bags, he was supplying them with night vision goggles, landing lights to bring Santa in (like in the airports), a scanner to make sure there are NO creatures stirring, and a special outfit!  They will love them.  Here are a couple of pics that I got of Buddy getting everything ready for the kids in the morning:

Here is buddy hanging the ornaments on the mini tree he got the kids for upstairs!

Buddy wrote each kids name on their own bag - he knows how much Abby likes finding her name!



Here are some pictures that I took of the table that Buddy set up for the kids - they are going to love it!

Buddy made sure he had everything done, and then thought that he would have a little rest and a snack.  He told us that he wanted to have a front row seat for the action tomorrow.  This is where he chose - a candle on the wall in the kitchen!  Of course, he had to have a donut for himself :)

Finally, I took a picture of the tree upstairs all lit up and decorated waiting on it's little observers in the morning.  It looks so pretty!





Pumpkin Pie - Oh My!!

My favorite thing to bake, besides my famous cookies - is pumpkin pie!  I got the recipe from my Aunt, and have been in charge of making them for about five years now to bring to Thanksgiving dinner.  This year I will share my secrets (well, sort of) with you!  I also tried something new in the form of making them 'pretty' if you will.  Here is my guide to pumpkin pie!

Here are the ingredients you will need: 29oz of Pumpkin, 2 cans Evaporated Milk,  2 Tbsp Flour, 1/2 tsp Salt, 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice, Nutmeg, Ginger, Cinnamon, Cloves, 4 Eggs, and 2c firmly packed brown sugar.  The reason for the non measurement on some of the spices - that's my secret lol.  Not too much of each :)  That is all I can give you!

Next, you need some extra special helpers - that makes the experience....Abby had her apron on!

Before I enlisted the help of the littles, I mixed all of the dry ingredients together in a 2qt bowl.  It just makes it a lot easier when adding the dry stuff to the wet. 

Then, with the help of my littles - I mixed the 4 eggs and the can of pumpkin together until well blended.  I used the whisk attachment.

After mixing the eggs and pumpkin together, then add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.

After you blend the egg mix and dry ingredients together, slowly mix in the two cans of evaporated milk and mix until well blended.  This was the littles favorite part!

After everything is blended together - this is what the finished filling will look like:

Next, you will want to line your pie plates (I swear by glass, but the cheap throw away tin ones are ok too). Now, I love to bake - but homemade crust is something I don't do often. So, these are just the refrigerated Pillsbury pie crusts that come in a two-pack.  I roll the edges down, and use the scoop part of the spoon to make a fun design in the edge of the crust.

To fill the crusts, I use a soup ladle.  I just alternate pans, so as to assure that there is an even amount in both.

All ready for the oven! 

I bake the pies at 425 for 15 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 350 for 35-40.

I don't have any pics of this process, but I used another crust and just cut out leaves and acorn shapes and placed them on an ungreased baking sheet at 400 for about 8 minutes.  I did forget to score the leaves with a sharp knife to mimic veins, but they look fine without also.  Super cute and easy!

When the pies cool, I just used some of the decorations and made a cute design.  Here they are!

Pies are ready to go tomorrow, and I will be enjoying a slice!  Also - only TWO days until Buddy makes his appearance on Saturday morning :)  The littles are going to be so excited.  Off to bed - long day tomorrow with two Thanksgiving meals to attend!  I hope everyone has a very safe and joyful Thanksgiving.

Holiday Bucket List??

Yes, please!!!

I can't tell you how many times Superdad and I always say "Oh, we should.....", and never do.  It isn't because we don't want to, or can't.  We just plain and simply forget.  Well, the kids are getting older, and it is much easier for them to tolerate the cold of winter.  Some things I have wanted to do prior to kids, but just never have.  So, it is my mission this year: DO THEM.  While perusing Pinterest yet again, I came across this little gem of brilliance.  A winter bucket list!!  Check it out:

I don't know what genius came up with this, but I love it.  With the exception of shucking oysters (ewwww) all sound like an amazing way to celebrate the holiday season.  My personal favorite is the volunteer together.  It is never too early to teach your children about helping others.  They are too small still to actually go and volunteer, but there is no reason we can't sponser a family or something.  After all, that is the best part of  Christmas - the giving.  I hope that you can find some things to choose to do with your family off this list!  The only thing that I will add is Festival of Lights, and the Duke Energy train display at the Museum Center.

I always like to find creative ways of counting down the days....  Abby is always asking for a visual of days left until something, it makes it easier for her to grasp.  So, I found this on Pinterest also.  It is a great idea!  It is a calendar that you make and when Santa's beard is full of cotton balls, it means it is Christmas. So cute:

Finally, I found this one that I love!  It is so easy to customize and make it your own.  Baiscally it is made with 2x4's, scrapbook paper, and chalboard paint.  I found this amazing tutorial on how to make your own homemade chalkboard paint from Martha Stewart.  The best part of this tutorial is that it is super cheap - supplies can be bought at your local home store for under $5!  You can customize it any way you want by choosing ANY paint color.  There are so many more uses for it, this is just one:

I would love to do one of these for all holidays!  You just write the days left with chalk, and erase the next day writing the new number in.  It would be a great gift idea also. 

So, get to planning friends!  Make this holiday season one to remember and make your own bucket list for your family.  Thanks for reading as always, and check back to see how we are doing on our bucket list!

Why I Love Where We Live.....

Does it make me sad that one of my best friends doesn't live next door anymore?  I can't lie...I think about it everytime I pull in or out of the driveway how empty that house is.  I was so blessed to have them living next door to us for three years.  They were there for Abby's 1st birthday, the death of my Dad, Ryan's birth, their daughters 1st birthday and the subsequent birth of their son.  We have been through so many memories in the three years.  Memories that you can't make in that time with most people.  How blessed am I?  Do I wish them all the best - of course.  I just have to thank our lucky stars that they are only an hour away.....and there are these things called phones - it is just different then walking next door for ANYTHING.  Day or night, doesn't matter - they were always there.  That is something I will cherish forever. 

That being said - they aren't the only awesome neighbors though.....I have MANY more.  Who can say THAT?  Me.  Our neighbors two doors down also have an Abbie - who is the exact same age....they are in school together.  Something I never had growing up, and I am so thankful that Abby does.  She will cherish this friendship for a long time.  It doesn't stop there though.  We refer to our street as the 'Lane', so if you see me say that - you will know.  We have driveway pizza, bonfires, cornhole until 2am, card games, and one heck of a lot of laughter.  Last summer it was just us and the next door neighbors (and their amazing family - who I can call some amazing friends too), this summer we expanded by three more houses.  Out of the eight houses four on each side - five hang out now.  Well, four houses now since the M family moved - we hope to convert the new owner too :)  We just have so much fun.

Last night, was a prime example of why I love where we live.  Jeff was off playing poker with some high school friends, the neighbor two doors down was having some of the other neighbor guys over for football, and the girls had nothing to do - why not have an impromptu girls night?  Of course - we live on the Lane, that is what we do best!  So with a litle texting a girls night was planned! We had so much fun, and I am thankful for each one of them. Yes, that means you Jenn, Christie, and Tara!  I am one lucky person..... Here are a few pictures from last night - don't let them fool you, no one was drunk LOL.  Both of the vodka bottles were practically empty upon arrival - just enough for two mixed drinks from each.  I am really trying to take a more postitive look on a lot of things, and thought that this would be a good place to start - at home, where I live :)

As I have said before - we are all excited about Yuengling.....so why not start with one while waiting for the girls?

Here are our fun drinks - they were cocktails by Jenn (hilariously spelled just like Jenn spells her name).  They were GROSS - do not buy them if you see them in a store....

The aftermath :)  We had so much fun, and I can't wait to do it again soon!

I will finish now and go to bed.  Tomorrow is the beginning of some big things here - that will be devulged later.  I always put pressure on things by letting people in, but this time I will let you in a little later ;)

Rapunzel Bow Holder

As I have mentioned before, I love Pinterest.  That is where I got the idea to make this Rapunzel hair bow holder.  Abby has a ton of bows, as do most girls - so I thought that it would be fun to make.  I have had the stuff for over two months, so I was glad to get it finished and the stuff finally used up!  I took some pictures to show you how I did it along the way, but the original directions that I used were here :

Source: littlepageturners.blogspot.com via Kati on Pinterest

Here are some pics of my attempt - had I thought about it, I would have used a softer fabric instead of canvas for the face such as a t-shirt, but it worked out ok.

HERE IS MY PHOTO DISCLAIMER - MY CAMERA NEEDS TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.  MY PICTURES LOOK AWFUL, SORRY!

Here are the supplies that you will need for this project: 

** I used a styrofoam disc, but I think that cardboard would work fine. 

** Polyfill

**Glue Gun and Sticks

** Scissors

** I used a cheap canvas bag instead of paying for canvas bty (by the yard), or a t-shirt would be ok

** Yarn - I chose to do brown to mimmick the color of Abby's hair.

First, I cut the polyfill to be the same size as the disc, I used 4 layers.....I think it was a good amount.

Next I cut the canvas about 2" or so bigger than the disc so I could wrap it and glue it.

Then I started to just cinch the fabric around and glue it to the styrofoam disc until it was secure all the way around.

This is what the finished product will look like.  I also glued a piece of cardstock to the back to keep everything looking neat.

Next I made three sets of twenty strands of yarn that were 4 feet long.  Yes, it is a lot of yarn, but it does not turn out quite that long by the time you are finished. Finally, you will need to braid all three sets together to get one long thick braid.  Here are a few pics of that.

I didn't get any pictures of the next steps because my fingers were so burn from trying to glue all the yarn on, but you can pretty much figure it out how I did it.  I just used some yarn pieces and made the rest of the hair.  I am not the most artistic person, so the face is still faceless - and Abby doesn't mind.  So, here is what the finished product looks like:

Sliter Family Halloween Recap!

We have had a really busy and fun Halloween month!  I tried to pick less pictures, but I just couldn't!  Here is some of what we did to celebrate the spooky month of October.....

We visited a couple of pumpkin patches - the reason for more than one visit: The first one we went to was Bonnybrook Farms in Clarksville, which I highly recommend - IF you don't mind no hayride.  Well, there was one, but it was a historical one, and the kids would have been bored to death!  So, we went to our old standby which is Blooms & Berries right here in Maineville....they have an awesome hayride and their kids area is just as nice as Bonnybrook - everything for the most part at both places is free for the kids area with a few exceptions for special things.

Here are some pictures from our trip to Bonnybrook Farms:

Jeff, Abby, & Ryan

I was a big fan of the fact that you could cut the pumpkin off the vine here!



Here are some pictures from our second trip to a pumpkin patch at Blooms & Berries:

Ryan doing the pumpkin roll - he loved this!

I Love Our Family!!

Ryan sitting on a pumpkin - this picture was at his request.....which was "Cheese Pumpkin?"

How does my baby girl look all grown up?!?

Another big thing for the kids is going to Kings Island for their Halloween festivities!  Here are some pics of the kids there.  The new thing was Trick-or-Treating with the Dinosaurs.  It helps that the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit is something they are both into right now.  It was so fun to watch them tell me about their favorite dinosaurs - for the record: Abby is in love with all dinosaurs with long necks, but particuarly the Allosaurus and Ryan is a big fan of T-Rex! Enjoy the pics from KI!

They love each other SO MUCH!

Abby loved looking at all the dinosaurs.....that is awesome.

This HAS to be one of my favorite pics of the two of them.

Abby is now enrolled in dance at a local dance academy.  She LOVES it so much.  It probably helps that one of her good friends from school is also there too.  Yes, we did plan it LOL.  Here is a picture of Abby and Rowan from their Halloween school dance recital.  If I can figure out how to upload the videos of their mini-recital I will.  They are a hoot!

Now, what is Halloween without the pumpkin carving?  Ryan loved using his 'tooop' aka the scooper.  He hates his hands getting dirty, so this was a win/win.....pumpkin got cleaned a little and hand stayed clean tightly wrapped around the scoop!  Abby was 'so disgusted' by it.....what a girl!  Abby chose to have Tinkerbell carved on hers, Ryan was an obvious choice with Mickey, I decided to carve Minnie because what is Mickey without Minnie?, Abby wanted Jeff to carve Jack Skellinton from The Nightmare Before Christmas.  The kid hates anything scary, but two of her favorites are Tim Burton movies - so funny.  Here are a couple of pics from our day of carving!  

Our finished pumpkins!

What is all of this rambling leading up to - well, Halloween night of course!!!!  We had a great time.  The McAffry family came up to join us, and walk around with us and our neighbors.  It was really fun this year since Abby 'got it'.  She and Parker, along with Abbie and Ashlee were gone at 6pm and didn't stop running until 7pm when they finally pooped out.  The finished the night by handing out the candy - something they all loved.

Here is a group pic of the older kiddos:  Abbie as Dorothy, Parker as a Ninja, Abby as Tinkerbell, and Ashlee as Ariel

The best part of October for the adults at least, has been the arrival of Yuengling in Ohio!  I am a strict Bud Light girl - yeah, yeah.  Well, I had one heck of a day that Monday - and Jenn handed me a Yuengling Light - oh dear - I am converted.  SO SO good.  That is why in the picture you will see all but one of us enjoying some variety of Yuengling!  We had the original lager, light, and the Black and Tan.  It was a Yuengling kind of Halloween.....Our group heading out to trick-or-treat with the kids.....