Severed Finger mac and cheese for dinner tonight!

I served a severed finger (cut up hot dog) im my kids mac and cheese. The oh gross mom was soooo worth it. Im trying to relax and enjoy the holiday.

My daughter is still trying to decide if its "cool" enough to go trick or treating like this. I think she makes a cute hunter girl and I want her to stay warm outside. I know the pic is fuzzy but it was hard taking a picture of a moving and complaining target.

Earlier we were bored and decided to try some fun face painting. I love this one!

Later on we went a bit crazy and I did an entire underwater scene. See what we do on a day off from school! LOL

Just for Rachels giveaway!

Just for Rachel is having a giveaway. I thought I would blog about it and link it up because I love her super cute push pins! I think cork boards are my weakness - doesnt everyone need a cork board like this?!

My craft weekend is cancelled

I'm so bummed this weekend. I had a full weekend planned of listening to music, working on my craft projects and learning more about blogging. Plus I really love reading and absorbing all the cute craft ideas I have been seeing on other's blogs. Unfortunately, all that is cancelled. I have swine flu. Most moms out there know that when you get sick, you take an extra cough drop, a dose of dayquil and go about your day. At least that is what I usually do. This one however has me beat. Aside from the fever, coughing terrible body aches, and sweats (I feel like I'm prepping for menopause) Ive had a migraine that I could seriously do without. My wonderful hubby has been taking care of me, even when I have those moments where I am just plain grouchy, tired and bored. Im glad that my kids are at their dad's this weekend and hopefully wont get this - I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Sooooo not fun. So for now Im drooling over everyone else's projects when I have the energy to and sleeping. My projects will have to wait.... UGH

Makin Cookies!

If my kids could have their way (and my husband for that matter), they would have me making peanut butter cookies every night of the week. After spotting these peanut butter cookies at the idea room, well I knew I had to try them. It was actually easier said than done because I ran to 2 stores looking for them before my hubby picked me up a bag at Albertsons. I figured that peanut butter cookies would really hit the spot after a long day at school and homework after school. My son lighting up when he saw the recipe sealed the deal.

I made the peanut butter cookies and this is a picture of them cooling on the racks. My kisses ALWAYS seem to melt flat, but trust me no one seems to care! Another really good idea and my hubby's all time favorite is using Carmel kisses on the peanut butter cookies.

I wanted to add this picture of my niece and nephew having desert at my house tonight. Sammy had come over to play while my kids were eating their desert (skinny kids = pushing a big dinner AND desert). She kept walking around my kitchen making little comments about how she wished she could have one too. The desert was leftover chunked chocolate birthday cake layered with pudding. When she left to go eat dinner at my parents I made another one really quick for her brother. They were very excited when they walked in and I had theirs ready. Too cute!

I seriously LOVE clocks!

I was recently shopping and found a fabulous clock that I really felt I NEEDED for my house. My problem is when I thought of it, I couldn't figure out where to put another clock. It was when I got home that I realized that I LOVE clocks. You just can never have too many. The above clock is on the wall in my family room - so many clocks all on one clock! How cool is that?! This one my hubby got me for my birthday. I love it but I cant seem to fix the pendulum. It works but the dang thing wont swing. I keep thinking that I need to paint the wall behind it so it will stand out more. Do you paint a wall just for a clock?

I have this clock in my dining room. It belongs to my Aunt but I get to keep it in my house. I love, LOVE the chime. I would have a clock chime every 5 min if I could. The best sound on the earth!

On the wall between the kitchen and family, I have this clock. Just so classic and simply charming.

This last picture is the big clock in my kitchen. I have 2 of these, the other one is upstairs. I also have another smalled one in the kitchen as well. I do not like to not know what time it is before I have my coffee.

There are several more clocks in my house. Too many to put them in my blog. I am still trying to find rooms to put them in. Oh well.

What do you love?

More Halloween decorations

The kids and I added a few more things around the house for Halloween so I thought I would post them to my blog. We hung a blood bag above the kitchen table (from walmart its really fruit punch mix). We also made our bloody candles and added somefunky plates from the dollar store.

We then moved on to our firplace mantle in the kitchen. We used different sized bottled filled with colored water and glasses filled with chocolate eyeballs. I want to add some labels to the jars, but overall the look is good for now.

Since my kids are all on the small side I push desert at our house. As it is October I have been trying to make Halloween or fall deserts. The other night I made Halloween puddings.

Here is a finished one.

Here is a piture of the Halloween tree in the dining room. Im just loving all the Halloween decorations!

My pumpkin project

After seeing the painted pumpkin project at 320 Sycamore. I was dying to try and do them myself. I picked up several plastic pumpkins at the dollar store (it may be my new favorite place)

I then painted them with one coat of tarnished silver paint and then dry brushed a bronze over the top. I was very pleased with the result.

I then tucked them around the house. Little pumpkins here and there.

This is the one in the kitchen by the TV.

I loved the idea so much I grabbed an ugly clear glass pumpkin out of storage and used the same painting techniques. It looks alot more bronze than the picture. It came out great and I added it to my shelves. My daughter then came home and added the mouse.

My Halloween decorating weekend

I feel like Im in school writing an essay on what I did over the summer. Actually what Im writing about is what I did over the weekend. My kids were gone over the weekend and the house was quiet. It was the perfect time to listen to whatever I wanted on the ipod and relax and craft away. I missed my kids but I will say the weekend was wonderful. I will further explain how I did certain projects if anyone wants to know but since my blog is new Im not really sure anyone is reading these. lol I add that most of these projects are easy peasy! The above photo is the small table behind the couch. You see it as you enter the family room. I bought a package of dollar store skulls and put them into a glass jar. See! easy. I then wanted a witchy plate. I couldn't find a witchy plate that I liked so I ended up grabbing a dry erase pen and free handing a witch on a broom. It is rough, but works for me. I then found a welcome sign and spray painted it black as well. I then finally wrapped the lamp shade with white gauze and added googly eyes. I spray painted them with glow in the dark spray so they glow when the lights are turned off. Sort of cool but I couldn't get a pic of them to show up. On the lower level I added a skull I had and a large spider.

I then had these small southwestern jars that hung on a long string. There were just plain ugly. I decided to cut them apart and paint them. I used some labels I downloaded (please forgive me I will link it as soon as I can remember where it was) and glued them to the front after I painted the jars black. I then aged them with brown gel and grey paint. I made several of these and added them around my bookshelves.

I then decorated my desk with a dollar store frame painted black and a pumpkin cut in half and glued on. I also picked up a couple black roses and put them in a black vase I happened to have.

This is the table in my kitchen. I took an old lace curtain and aged it with coffee. I then mixed paint to the shade of red I liked and then spattered it all over. It became my bloody tablecloth. I then found a lazy Suzann out in the garage that was my hubby's and was old and brown. Black paint makes everything better!!

I then decorated it with plastic mice (dollar store) and dog bones painted white to look like bones. I then thought it needed something so I painted some old glass candle sticks that I hated. I'm going to add some "bloody" candlesticks soon.

So far the house is starting to look good - plus it was alot of fun.

P.S. my hubby got into it and started to put the rubber mice around things for affect. I think he did an awesome job!

The agony of a tiny laundry room

Recently, while looking through my list of favorite decorating blogs, I came across several women who have transformed their laundry rooms into a haven. A place that looks so serine and heavenly that you cant help but think that there isnt anyone that would object to the awful neverending task of Laundry. Thrifty Decor Chick has the most wonderful laundry room. I was so inspired. So excited to transform my laundry room so that I would get that same level of harmony with the world. Until I went into my own laundry room....

I decided to take a picture so you can fully take in my problem. New problem is I couldnt fit into the laundry room to actually take the picture of the laundry room. I then had to stand outside the room to take another pitcure to show the rest of the room.

See my problem? There isnt enough room for even a cute basket for laundry much less several baskets to sort. Heck, there is barely enough room to open the washer doors!

I even had to limit the size of my dog to a chihuahua so that I could fit her into the small room! Just Kidding! But I would really be in serious trouble if I did have a great dane or a lab.

I also have no real counter space to add that totally cute accent lamp and tray. My only counter space is taken up with a sink. I did manage to install a wrought iron hook that holds my extra hangers. There was no way I could get that in the photo.

I have no idea why anyone would build a home with 5 bedrooms and 2 and a half baths and then install a laundry room tinier than the space under my stairs. I have no comment about the person who bought the house :P Ill admit there are other features of this house that I LOVE........But the laundry room, well Im throwing in the towel.

Oh and BTW.... This is Thrifty Decor Chick's laundry room - Don't ya just love it! I have to admit I copied the picture just so I could look at it whenever I want and drool. Is it too much if it's my screensaver?

Lighting the fireplace

It was raining out today and finally cold enough that I do believe that the air conditioner is off for the year. After much soul searching and agonizing over the heating bills that came in the mail last year, I am going to try warming the house with our fireplace instead of turning the heat on.

I lite the pilot light and got it ready to go. Which means pushing the button for twenty minutes trying to get the dang thing to actually light, finally getting the flame to come to life (insert ahhh moment here), and then 2 hours or so of what the hell is that smell. By the end of the day tho the fire looked nice although I did watch a dead moth cremate behind the glass. Im good to go for fire whenever I want to go over and flick the switch on the wall. Seriously the best invention on the planet.

Overall Im so excited. I love the feeling of comfort a burning firplace brings to the house. I would love to think that on rainy days I will be curled up on the couch with a fluffy blanket, a cup of really great coffee, my teenage children all cuddled around me SILENTLY engrossed in books, and my own book that actually keeps my attention, but in all fairness reality sets in and I realize I spend most of those days picking up the kitchen, tackling the laundry, or yelling out "who left this mess here?". Hey! a girl can dream!

The above photo is a very blurry bad picture of my fireplace from the family room. It was difficult to take as my son did not want me to disturb his 30 min of Spongebob Squarepants before bed. My fireplace is placed in-between my kitchen and family room which I LOVE and think is wonderful.

My kids and I used to do peek-a-boo through the glass when they were younger but dont so much anymore now that they are teenagers. I dont think it would go over well with my son and his friends if they happened to glance up from the XBOX to see me waving at them through the glass. Seriously, all those things you did in front of your sweet precious kids that made them giggle and laugh till they fell over....try doing that when their teenagers and see what happens! You not only get a look but they also tend to call you a dork. (actually Im sure its something else but Im not up on the current term that defines dork). Do something embarrassing in front of your teens AND their friends and not only do you get a look but they then have to pretend you dont exist. By embarrassing this could mean saying hello to all of them as you are picking them up from school. Anyhow I am getting off my topic.

This is my fireplace looking at it on the breakfast nook side. Sorry these are not great pictures, I had to use my cell as my camera is so dead. I want to put vinyl lettering on the mantle wood part above the fireplace as soon as Im struck with inspiration as to what that may be.

My sweetheart of a husband took us up to the mountians for a picnic and as my daughter and I were walking back to the car we noticed him picking up pinecones and putting them in a bowl. Not only did he remember that I was wanting pinecones (I had an odd craving), he remembered to bring a bowl to put them in. WOW. MAJOR WOW. So that is my bowl of pinecones on the counter.

Annie

Starting my BLOG

Why is it that today of all days (the day when I was going to spend all day crafting, cleaning, cooking for my kids, and trying to figure out how to start my own blog) I end up in pretty much gutting my entire kitchen trying to figure out where the dead mouse smell is coming from. Oh yeah, as much as I love fall, I dont love all the critters heading indoor for warmth. If it was like having the Littles live in the back of some forgotten closet I probably would be ok with it. I am a pet person. BUT NO, its nasty, just plain smelly dirty nasty. Anyhow, a few hours later the kitchen island was reinstalled, (oh yes we did have to go there and take apart the kitchen) and everything was put back into place. I now feel like Im back right where I started this morning. We did find the dead mouse. At least Im prying that we did and there isnt another one. Poor thing was under the house directly under the kitchen. As for starting my own blog, I recently stumbled across Blogging and am slowly becoming addicted. I love it! I love looking at all the crafting tips that other women share and I love reading all the silly stories that we all feel the need to express now and then. I want to have one of my own but please be gentle with me. I have only barely learned Facebook and Im completely in the dark when it comes to twitter so Im hoping to learn how to create a nice blog. My reasons so far for creating a blog: 1. I would love to be able to post some of the crafts I do around my house. Some of them are not so bad and may inspire someone else. If not I will willing be your "what not to do" example. 2. I also would like to post pictures and get some advice, mostly decorating. I have a few rooms in my house that I enter and am instantly stumped. (this is different from when I enter a room and cant remember why I even went into the room in the first place- that is a whole different blog post) Sometimes inspiration comes but I hate it when it doesnt and I have no problem seeking the advice of others. Just dont post any comments like "MY EYES, MY EYES ARE BURNING." and "OH NO SHE DIDNT PUT THAT THERE" 3. FRIENDS. I need them. At least I think I do. I brought this up with my wonderful husband last night before bed. He is the sweetest man. His first immediate response was "why? We have each other." This is why I so love this man. But I do sometimes wish I had a girlfriend or two to chat with. Im just so dang shy. Hopefully this will help get me out of my shell. I also add that he was worried that if we did make friends that they would then invite us to dinner. Not really sure why that was a bad thing but Im sure we can handle it. 4. There are more reasons....those amusing stories that happen in my own life, the ups and downs of raising teenagers, getting remarried after being divorced (ugh that dang D word), and Gaining 4 grown stepkids, 10 step grandkids and 1 step great grandkid. Just Life in general I guess. Ill have to see how this goes from here.... :) Annie