Blogging dilema

So, what is the big problem you ask? Well, in looking back at past blogs I realize that I love telling people about deals that I find and projects I am working on. My problem is that pretty much all my free time lately is spent finding good deals and working on Christmas AND many of my "followers" who read the blog may be on the receiving end of these deals, so I can't share! Instead I thought I would share some views of Christmas at our house and I will have plenty to share after Christmas!!

Some of our family pictures displayed throughout the house.

The kids' trees

These next 2 are Dollar Tree finds that I can share. I love stocking holders and these 2 are adorable. Can you believe $1?

And finally, the first of Teagan's many Christmas programs. She is definately the daughter of a music teacher - very focused on the director and into the music. We love it!

Last pleas for Santa!

The kids worked on their letters to Santa. One last effort to get on his good side! Just kidding - my kids really are pretty good. Here they are working on their drawings for him and making their lists.

And it wouldn't be Christmas in Williamsburg without a trip to the big guy himself. Tate took just a little coaxing, but once his sister was in so was he.

If that look doesn't say naughty I am not sure what does! And little miss sweetie knows when to turn it on too! We are in trouble!

A little hiatus

Thats what you call it right? When you are gone from something, but find your way back? That is definately what I would classify the past couple of weeks. I can't really tell you what we were doing, but it was stuff I promise! Teagan has been doing a basketball camp on Saturday mornings and Brad has been helping coach.

Once we got past her doing dance moves at half court, she got into actually playing the game.

Not sure if she is helping coach here, but it sure looks like it.

The rest of the time was spent catching up on laundry, getting ready to host Thanksgiving, and just enjoying the fall weather we were having. I did get Teagan's room finished and here it is:

I am very excited about how it turned out and I think Teagan really likes it too! My Grandma (aka my go-to) tied a brown sheet with yarn over her existing blanket. She used the rest of the sheet to lenthen the curtains, which are my favorite part!

This picture is blurry, but I really like this area of the room too.

I made this picture using a frame that I already had. I took left only the glass and added a wall sticker I found at Dollar Tree. I really like when you can see the wall paint behind it. It really helps tie everything together.

I found this at Hobby Lobby awhile ago, but it definately fits Teagan and what I hope she thinks of her room:

I am officially in Christmas mode. I got trees and decorations up today and am trying to finish up shopping. It might make for less posting than usual, but I promise to share any amazing deals and ideas that I find along the way.

Sneak Peak

So I did it! I got Teagan's room painted this weekend. It was now or never so I put it on the calendar and pretty much confined my self to her room for the majority of the day Saturday. Here it is before:

And after:

It isn't a hot pink, which of course was Teagan's first pick, but not mine. This is called "pig pink" and if you can see all the walls it is definately pink. I am super happy with it and it is a great job done. I will give you a couple sneak peaks in a second, but before I do that I am going to share some pics of my own little "sneakers."

While I was redecorating I saw a couple of flashes going past Teagan's window. This is what I saw. Just let me say that if these 2 are working together on something, it probably isn't good. So, I watched them for awhile. It turns out that they were running from one end of our house to the other playing "tag" with our dog. So, this is how it went. Teagan would run ahead and get Wrigley's attention while Tate stood here waiting

and looking pretty dang cute, if I mights say so ! Once Teagan got Wrigley's attention she would ran back to Tate like this:

And then they would both run to the other side of the house and start the whole process over again. Exciting, huh? You know what - I wish life was that simple sometimes!

On to the peaks. I am still waiting to finish the bedspread and curtains, so a whole room picture should come soon, but for now:

A good project checked off the list. Next stop - toyroom!!

Thrifting with a Thrifter

I love when people you hang out with appreciate your love (borderline obsession) for a good deal. I had the chance to do some thrifting with my friend Amy last night and here are some of my finds. Thanks for the non-mom time Amy!!

Can you ever have too many winter decorations? Well, probably, but this can stay up past Christmas so for about $3 it was worth it.

Target has some great clearance on towels right now. Like 75% good. I got both of the for less than $3 total. Definately a good thing because right now I only have I set and they don't get washed near enough. Gross, I know, but hey thats how it is!

The basket will look great in Teagan's room (when it finally gets painted) and it is the perfect size for library books, which we tend to lose frequently! Super excited about it - thank you Goodwill! The Deal of the Day - this shower curtain. I saw the collection on the shelves, but I find it way over priced, so I settled with the fact that I would have to figure out something else. But at the end of the aisle (my favorite place in Target) was this repackaged shower curtain priced at:

yep - $3.61!! Nothing wrong with it except that is was repackaged. I measured Teagan's windows and it will work width wise. I think I will need to add some material at the bottom, but I think I can make curtains for 2 windows for less than $7!! Its like Christmas in my world right now!!!

To Insanity and Beyond!!

Halloween season is just cause for any mom to claim insanity and I was trying to avoid my case of it. I actually did pretty well, but of course tonight I had to add one more thing to Tate's costume. He (obviously) is going to be Buzz Light Year, but his costume seemed a little bare.

So this is my attempt at the wings needed for his costume. I'm sure I could have bought the ones online for $25+, but you guys know me. I bought a $2 foam board, $2 in paint and some elastic and we were off! My goal is to get him from looking like this (obviously not Tate, those pictures start tomorrow):

To this:

Guess we'll see! My next ticket to mental health:

Looks innocent enough, right? We will find out. I am going to attempt to make a new bedspread for Teagan's room using this yarn and

Teagan's old blanket and a sheet I already have. My drive for a bargain might just drive me to the looney bin!!

Fall Fixins

So, I have to admit that I am pretty proud of myself. With the exception of a couple weeks this summer I have kept up well with my menu planning each week. I still have a huge binder with everything that use to clutter up my counter and I keep old and new recipes in it. We are having a few of my favorites (and a newbie) this week, so I thought I would share.
We started Sunday evening with this recipe for Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder found here: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bacon-cheese-potato-chowder-107301.aspx











I love soup in the fall. If you make this make sure to use the bacon and green onions, otherwise it can be a little bland.
While that was cooking on the stove I prepped for our Monday night supper - the new recipe. It was for crock-pot lasagna. I am always up for trying new stuff, especially if it means my meal makes itself while I am gone. Not going to lie - this was awesome!! All the same prep of regular lasagna, but you can make it ahead in your crock and keep it in the fridge overnight. Just set it on low around 12 and by 5:30 it is ready to go. Here it is: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagna-114123.aspx










So, that should give me a lunch and a night of leftovers - even better! Wednesday is another crock-pot meal. Its called Sunday Chicken and I found it on a site that doesn't exist anymore, but so stinkin easy. Here it is:
4-6 frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream
*put chicken in slow cooker (I always use the plastic liners, always) mix soup and onion mix and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high 4 hours OR low 6-8 hours. One hour before serving stir in sour cream.
Easy-peasy - I always make more and use it for enchilada or this recipe later in the week.
















http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001854027
So, there you have it. A couple of our favorite meals, with not much work and pretty cheap ingredients. Congrats to Raider volleyball on their 1st round win this evening. Now we are off to cheer on the Raider football team Wednesday night!