Homemade Christmas Ornaments

I got this neat book online for free. It is a countdown to Christmas, with an activity to do everyday. It has been so much fun. One of the ideas was to make homemade ornaments.

I made the salt flour dough (super easy) and then we put food coloring into some of the dough. I let Tobyn pick the shapes he wanted to cut out. He really liked the stars and trains, so ended up with a crazy amount of stars.



Zoё wanted to help too. So she sat on the counter, until she got bored. I put her on the floor and when I turned around to see what she was doing, I discovered her helping mommy with the flour. What a sweet girl....

We baked the cookies for about an hour and then let them cool. Then it was time to decorate. We used markers, glitter glue and puffy paint to make our ornaments pretty. Tobyn really like the glitter glue, especially the blue! I think he used the blue glitter on every ornament he made.

I sprayed them with a glossy varnish to seal them and preserve them. I think they turned out so cute. Tobyn decided he wanted to give some of the ornaments as Christmas presents.

Tobyn has already asked to do ornaments again this morning. But I think we will take it easy today. I am still exhausted from all that decorating. Hopefully I can recover before sugar cookie decorating!

TUTUS!!!

I got all my tutus done. I thought people would like to see the finished product. They turned out better than I had even hoped for. The blue one is one of Zoё's Christmas presents and the pink one is for my neice Melody. I am addicted to making tutus now...Brian is annoyed. What do you think???

Black Friday

This year is the first year Brian and I decided to brave the crowds of the Black Friday sales. We stayed in Boise for Thanksgiving, so we had a variety of stores to choose from. We got up at 4 am on Friday to make it Toys'R'Us by 5 am. By the time we arrived at 4:30 am there was a line around the building. Luckily, my cousins were already there saving us a spot in line!

My dear hubby cracked me up. He is so polite and did not want to push or be greedy. He just wanted to meander through the store. I just laughed at him. I told him, "Today is not the day to be a Looky-loo. You need to get what you want and we need to move on to the next store." We ended up getting all the toys on our list and we got them at great deals. The problem arose when we got ready to check out. There were "lines" going everywhere. People that thought they were in line found out they weren't. The store manager ending up stepping in and directing traffic. I hurried to spot in the new line and we were outta there after a 30 minute wait.

The Boise Town Square Mall was our next stop. We hit JCPenney's first and were able to get some adorable outfits for Tobyn and Zoё that ended up being 60% off. We went to a few other stores including the Disney Store, Macy's and Finish Line.

We met up with my parents for breakfast at IHOP. I enjoyed a scrumptious omelet and time with the kiddos and then we were on our way again.

Our last stop was JoAnn's Fabric for some items for homemade Christmas gifts. We ended up saving over $250! All in all, I think we had a successful first Black Friday shopping day and it is definitely something I will repeat.

A Sad Day

So it happened the other day. The day every mom dreads from the moment her baby is born. The thing that proves that their baby is now a toddler.

I asked Zoё to do something...I don't even remember what it was. She looked at me so innocently and said, "No." Since then she has learned to say it more emphatically and also shakes her head.

*Sigh* I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I was just hoping to keep her a baby longer.

Tobyn's Writing

Tobyn asked me to sit down and help him write his name. I wrote his name on the top of the paper and then told him to copy it. It was so cute. He was concentrating so hard and sticking his tongue out while he was writing. He did all the letters but couldn't quite figure out the "n." He did a great job. I am so proud of him. Here is the result of his hard work.

My Baby

1. What's your husband's name?
Brian Keith Jacobs Jr. But I call him Babe, Jr, and Lover

2. How long have you been married?
Almost 6 years in January! WOW!

3. How long did you date?

4 years

4. How old is he?
He just turned 27 last Sunday.

5. Who eats more sweets?
I think I do, but we both have terrible sweet tooths.

6. Who is the better singer?
Me

7. Who is smarter?
He totally is. Straight A's in school so far!!

8. Who does the laundry?

Uggh...I do

9. Who pays the bills?
Our checkbook and money are a joint effort. We both put in and both pay out...

10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
I do....I can't sleep when I am on the other side.

11. Who mows the lawn?
Me again

12. Who drives?
He usually drives because I drive too slow according to him.

13. Who asked who out first?
He asked me out.

14. Who kissed who first?
Don't guys usually make the first move....or they should at least.

I love you Babe! You are the most amazing Daddy and Husband. You are the best and I thank God for you daily!!

Been busy...

I have not been blogging as much in the last week. I have been busy trying to get homemade Christmas presents done. For each of my nieces I am making no sew tutus. I have made homemade gifts for all 3 sets of parents. Whew. I am tired just thinking about all the work!! But I have had a blast and I think everyone will enjoy the more personal, homemade gifts. I will post some pictures when I am done with everything.

What's going on besides all that???

Brian is half done with his 3rd term of school. He is doing great! I am so impressed with him. Straight A's!!! Good job baby!!

Tobyn has his 3 year check up at the Doctor last Friday. He embarrassed his Momma horribly. Doctor appointments were so much easier when he couldn't answer the doctor's questions. The doctor asked, "Do you watch much TV?" to which Tobyn replied, " I watch TV ALL the time. I watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Ratatouille, ....." So the doctor looks at me and says, "You should limit his TV watching to 2 hours per day." Then he looks at Tobyn and asks, " What kind of food and drinks do you like?" "Oh I love black coffee," Tobyn said. The doctor then says, "Coffee is not good for little boys," and Tobyn said, "Oh yes it is. Black coffee is really good!" After the wonderful chat with the doctor, it was time for shots. He knew it was coming and told me, "Mommy I am not getting shot today." He had to get 2 shots, the varicella and flu shot. One in each leg. It was not pretty!!! He screamed so loud and threw the biggest fit! So needless to say, I am so thankful that check-ups are only once a year now.

Tobyn inherited another fish for his fish tank from one of my friends at work. He said, "My new orange fish is so cute." The fish has survived 24 hours at our house!

Zoë has been chatting like crazy! She is saying please and thank you. Thank you started out as "too-too" and has now become "tank too." Please sounds like"peas." So cute. She has learned the cuteness factor, especially when it comes to melting Daddy's heart. When she is in trouble, she just smiles and you can tell she is thinking, " I am so cute. How can you discipline me?"

We are trying potty training this week with Zoë. So far she has done pretty good. We have a couple accidents, but so not too bad. We shall see how the rest of the week goes....