Bells will be ringing....

It's Christmas time again!  I just wanted to take some time and share with you some of my favorite shots of Christmas morning.  I hope you enjoyed your time with your family on this day, as much as I did. These kids are the reason I live and breathe!  I am so incredibly thankful for the blessings that have been bestowed upon me!  I love my life!

 

Santa's Coming!!

Hey ya'all!  This is just a quick little post, I wanted to share.  The kids and I spend the day making cookies for Santa's arrival!  Check out how cute they are!

This is my first Christmas since my Mom (step mother technically) passed away.  In her honor we decided that the cookies we left out would have to be snicker doodles because those were her favorite. 

 

We're ready for the big show!!!

 

Merry Christmas,

 

Pennie

Happy Haunkkah

Happy Hanukkah!  Today is officially the last day of Hanukkah, and we have truly enjoyed ourselves!  We did things a little different this year, mostly for financial reasons (see my post below about leaving your car running) but I'm glad we switched things up.  Instead of gifting to each child every night, we set up family gifts. 

 

One night they got a new XBox game (daddy picked it out because I suck at those), another night they got a new movie, a couple nights of board games, Family swim night at our local indoor pool, Barns and Noble gift cards, and the last night TONIGHT was the big one!  We finally told them that the second weekend in January we are taking them to Great Wolf Lodge up in Washington for the night! The point of this was to show them how much it means to have family time.  Chris and I are making a point to our children, of how incredibly lucky they are to constantly be surrounded by people who love them. 

At times having such a large family is exhausting, and annoying to say the least. But when you are feeling down, and really low there is always someone there to pick you up and remind you of all the things that you do wonderfully! We have an amazing built in support system that a lot of families these days are missing. 



Usually I don't make new years resolutions, however this year I just may have to put a little more emphasis on family time.  As they get older it does get harder, but I am determined not to let important time pass us by. 

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, HAPPY EVERYTHING!!!!

Don't leave your car running.....EVER

Go ahead, say it!  I give you permission!  Okay, lets say it together....."Pennie is a flaming idiot!  Being naive is not an excuse for stupidity!" 

So, this might be a little harsh.  I have made some bad decisions in my life, but this one MUST take the cake!  Tip of the top!  I think I should start at the beginning. 

I live in a very nice community.  We are in a suburb of Portland, so we have great access to all things Portland and urban with a touch of weirdness.  I drive to the office every morning, leaving my home just before 5am, stopping to get a coffee at the local 7-11.  The family that owns and runs the one on my block is very kind and is always asking about my kids.  This morning was like any other, I left my car running ran into the store bought my coffee, shared a quick laugh with the cashier like usual.  Walked out of the store to get into my car, and it was GONE!  MY CAR HAD BEEN STOLEN!

I am such a naive imbecile that the thought "Oh no, someone accidentally drove off with my car." ran through my head for about a second.  I called the cops and the nightmare began from there.  My iPhone was inside of my car, luckily the police officer had an iPhone as well and we tried tracking the thieves that way.  It was fruitless, because they turned off the location services as soon as they realized it was there.   The only thing that I had with me was one debit card.  They had EVERYTHING, my purse, credit cards, cash, Christmas gifts, car seats, everything that you would normally have in your car!  Everything was gone in one quick second. 

I have spent the entire day trying to get my life back, all because someone stole.  Stole from me, stole from my children.  I am feeling so angry, so frustrated, so disappointed, so MUCH of everything!  I am emotionally exhausted.  Quite literally, I have no idea who does this to people. 

Why am I telling you all this?  Because I needed an outlet to vent my anger and frustration.  I am a mother who has to be perfect all the time, never showing fear, I always have to stay strong.  This is my moment of weakness.  I needed to get this out, so I can let it go.

Pretty Peacock Perfection

 

I have to admit, even if I do not craft another gift, I am proud of the ones that I have created so far! Considering that I have never done DIY gifts before!  Wreath's are a bit expensive, however I know that my mother really does like them!  I wanted to create something pretty that they would see often, and think of me.

 

I spend an insane amount of time and money at Michael's.  I adore that place, and today I was able to score everything that I needed in one shop! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I honestly don't know anything about creating wreaths, but I love burlap, and the Peacock feather's called to me, The "P" is for their last name, and the glitter is several  shades of blue. 

 

The burlap was super easy to work with, and the feathers are just stuck in there and secured with hot glue.  I secured the ribbon with hot glue so it would not pull. 

 

I just love peacock feathers!  For the "P" I used ModPodge then sprinkled the glitter combination that I liked best, don't forget the top layer as the sealant!

Viola!  Another one down, and another name crossed off the list!  I'm pretty proud so far, and I'm not even done yet! 

Fab or Fail?  What do you think?

Cheers!

 

 

I have been known to enjoy a glass of wine, or three.  May that be in the comfort of my home, while out to dinner, with breakfast (?!?!)  Nah, I'm not quite that bad.  But I do enjoy my wine.  I have a couple of step sisters who also enjoy a glass every now and then.  Plus I love any excuse to play with glitter! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These, are incredibly easy to create!  All you need is: ModPodge, Glitter, Tape, and a Paint Brush. Start by deciding how far up the stem you want the glitter to go then place a piece of tape.  I used painter's tape, however masking tape would work as well. 

 

 

 

Once you have that settled, paint on your ModPodge, don't make it to thick or it will take to long drying.

 

 

 

 

Cover with glitter and leave to dry.  I left mine on the windowsill for about 45 minuets.  

 

 

 

 



  Set aside to dry, mine took about 45 minuets. I then did another layer of modge podge and glitter. 

 

 

 



 

Once both layers were completely dry, I did one layer of ModPodge and left to dry.  This final layer of ModPodge created a sealant so the glitter won't come off.  That being said, these are hand wash only. 

 

 

Viola!  Another project done!  These I will pair with a bottle of wine each, and I have two more step-sisters to cross off the list.  Onto my mother and step father!

 

What do you think?  Fab or Fail?



Seasons Greetings

I love this time of year, the kids are so happy and well behaved as Christmas is just around the corner.  We are a blended religion family, in that I mean I am Jewish and my husband is Baptist. Although he does not practice regularly he cannot imagine NOT celebrating Christmas.  I know, I know BAD JEW!

I am tolerant of all religions, and although I would be perfectly fine with only celebrating Hanukkah and not having a Christmas tree I do not see a problem with allowing my children the freedom of religion.  Plus, now that my in-laws are with us all the time, my mother-in-law would pitch a fit if we didn't have a genuine Christmas tree. 

 

 

 

So I strapped on my Ralph Lauren rain boots, and bundled up in the warmest scarfs and hats I could find and off we went to find us an AWESOME Christmas tree!

 

 

 

 

 

We went to this cute quaint little tree farm out in Boring Oregon. Yes there is literally a town up here that is really called Boring, and yes it's quite boring from what I've seen.  It was family owned and they offered us hot apple cider, and coco for the kids!  The Manley men even offered to load the tree into the truck for us! 

 

 

 

 

It's very hard to find one that every member of the family agrees on!  But once we did, I think we over estimated the height of our ceiling, because the tree was WAY to big for our front room, it would have looked better in our entryway hahaha!

 

 

 



 

I have found joy in Christmas decorating over these past couple of years, and I'll admit the gaudier the better!   I love decorating all the time, but there's a warmth that comes with filling your home with twinkling lights and the smell of a tree in your living room that just makes the long Northwest nights seem a little more bearable. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday whichever way you choose to celebrate it!

 





Staching Through the Snow!

 

 

 

 

December is here and that usually means Christmas Shopping is in FULL SWING!  I like to start my shopping and crafting before Thanksgiving, but I have a LOT of people to gift!  I made these babies up for my coffee obsessed step-sister Melissa.  I have to admit I am quite jealous of these and will probably make myself a set as well.  

 

 

 

 

I did a quick google search for Mustache photo prop printable and had a ton of options to choose from.   

 

 

I liked these ones the best, and because I do not have any talent at drawing a traced these babes onto the cups and then filled them in using a black sharpie. The mugs, I purchased at the dollar store. 

 

I baked these at 350 for 20 minuets.  Viola!  I had fun playing with these, and I hope she will have fun drinking from them as well. 

 

 

My favorite Sugar!

 

I have never created gifts before, but this year we are watching our pennies closely, and I hope that the gifts are enjoyed even more because they were home made.  Stay tuned for more DIY Christmas Gifts....except if your family.  IF YOU'RE FAMILY STAY AWAY!  <3

 

 

If you chose to re-create this project will you use moustaches or do you have another idea?  I saw animal noses, quotes, and all kids of cutesy things.  What will you make?