Along came a spider

This is the last latest update I have made to our Halloween decor.( If you click on Halloween you can check out my original post. )

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(I am still working on the Keep Calm and Carry on poster.)

 

 The spider I found at Grahpics Fairy of course.

Next is a great print I found over at House of Smiths.

The above one is my version. I just altered her version in Picasa. I love the antiquey look of it.
I fond this here . Really I wish I could copy her entire house. I love the bright open feel of it. I have already made note of her color choices.


I am linking to these parties!

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Here!

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Keep Calm revamp!

Apparently the reason I wasn't a fan of decorating for Halloween was because I hadn't found this.....
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Hello! I found this great Remake of the Keep Clam poster that I have used for our family theme this last year.
The girl who made this at her husbands request also was kind enough to share it with all of us!
Go check it out and make one for yourself! Be sure and tell her I said I sent you..

This is why Keep Calm and Carry on is our family motto:

A convo with a potty mouth

Me: So how was your day today?

( understand that I was with her the entire day. Or so I thought....)

Gwenna: It was good.

Me: Did you have a fun time with Brooky?

Gwenna: Mmmmhhhmmm.

Me: What was your favorite part?

Gwenna: We jumped on the bed.

We yelled really* loully. ( loudly)

And we did dancing.

And we played ponies.

And.....

we said bad words.

We did *loss and *loss of stuff. (....lots and lots...)

 

 

Yep. They said bad words.

Probably really really bad words. Like "stupid" and "butt".

I didn't hear these bad words being said, so I have to let it slide.

But I'm onto you.

Gone are the days of your seemingly childhood innocence.

I am now faced with a true potty mouth. And not just any old potty mouther type, but the kind that brags about it later while bragging about her potty mouthiness.

Is this what I have to look forward to?

What's next? Sticking your chewed gum under the table? Running with scissors?

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Look. I even bought you a few necklaces to commemorate this milestone in your life.

Like I always say, it's the little things that make life memorable.

Wordless Wednesday/ Olives

Thinking of others

How do you teach your children to think of others? To put others needs before their own? My husband especially struggles with teaching this life lesson to our kids. “ Why can’t you just share? Just take turns!” is often heard coming from our lips. Most times however, they do apply this lesson and will give ( or at least trade ) willingly.

A particular memory that comes to mind, is of my vivacious daughter Serelle.

At the school they attend, they are given tickets for good behavior. When they collect enough they can cash them in for a prize.

Needless to say, Serelle was really motivated to collect as many as she could. She would rush to open doors for teachers, pick up trash, wipe lunch tables. Her favorite was when she found a $20.00 bill on the ground and turned it into the office.

After she had reached her goal of collecting enough tickets for a reward, she happily informed the teacher that she was ready to pick her prize. They went down the hall to the display case filled with all the prizes. It was full of books, posters, stickers, pencils, and other little trinkets.

I can just image the look of total concentration on her little face. So many choices!

That morning she had informed me that she had collected enough tickets and would be coming home with her prize. I knew she had a new found love of pencils, and figured that is what she would pick.

When she came home, I had not thought to ask her what she had picked, and we fell into our routine of doing homework and having snacks.

When she suddenly jumped up from the table exclaiming “ I almost forgot to show you!” Thinking that she was talking to me, I looked up to realized that she was talking not to me, but her big brother, Drew.

She ran to her backpack, reached in and pulled out a pack of Star Wars stickers. With a shining countenance and great big smile, she handed them to her brother.

“ As soon as I saw these I thought of you and how much you like star wars. I got these for you.”

All those weeks of planning and working, and when faced with a choice, she choose not to think of herself, but her brother.

With this simple act, I was made aware that they are listening. But more importantly they are watching.

I read a quote once that said "The most effective way to teach children is not with words, but with example.”

I am touched by, and grateful for, her loving example to her younger, and in this instance, older sibling.

Halloween

To avoid spending much money on a holiday that is not my favorite, I try to make/create what little decorations I put up. Plus, we are big time Christmas decorators and I tend to feel a little smothered by January, which is another reason I keep it as simple as possible. Another perk this year is that Halloween falls on Sunday, so we won’t be out Trick-or-Treating. I told the kids that they would be shopping from home this year for their costumes for the Trunk-or-treat party
. Which they have interpreted as “ That means Mom will make all our costumes! I want to be a weird clone trooper nobody has ever heard of and is really difficult to make! Thanks Mom!” Noooooooo!!!!!!!
This was last year. The villain from Scream is our neighbor, Drew was home sick. Yes, my absolutely beautiful daughter is the Grimm Reaper. William is someone who wears a lot of camo and flip flops. And Gwen is Cinderella. I made the mistake of making that costume, which quickly made my kids think that I somehow enjoyed it and therefore will make anything they request.

This is a wreath I made from a really boring book by Charles Dickens which made it really fun to rip up.( I do love Charles Dickens though!) The skeletons are printed from The Graphics Fairy. I just cut them out, stuck them in old frames and mounted them on top of the glass ,with removable sticky tabs, of the frames already hanging there. The glitter spiders were $2.00 from Wal-Mart.
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 I spent a whopping $2.79 on this little vignette. The Boo is from V. and Co. The busts came from the dollar store.
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Another print out from V. and Co.
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LOVE this vignette I found here .

My entryway. Yes those are 4 skeletons hanging by a rope. Everyone thought it was morbid until I said there were 4 to represent each kid. Then it was just so cute.  My owl  trick or treat picture is from Graphics Fairy

















Last years post Trick-or-Treating –Let’s- See- Who- Got The- Most –Candy- But –First- Let –Mom –Pick- Out- All- Her- Favorites –Do- Quality -Control.
Except for Drew. I just wanted to throw in a picture of him to be inclusive.
I do things like that.
This is what the girls and I will making after school today. If I remember the source I will post it.
So, Happy Halloween! See you tomorrow!
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General Conference

This weekend we had the pleasure of gathering together on the off limits nice couch to watch General Conference on the itty bitty computer monitor.

I was once again reminded of the gratitude I feel for living in a time and place that makes this possible. It was much need weekend. To have my chicks gathered round to hear the words of the prophet, and to have that spirit of learning in our home, is something that I will be eternally grateful for. ( As I type this the youngest is bawling about a piece of paper her sister has deemed very important and therefore untouchable, the boys are arguing about who kicked who first, and the Hubby is interrogating us all about the mysterious appearance of marker on the off limits or you die nice couch, so that feeling has quickly evaporated, I mean, struggling to stay present.)

Here we are gathered together taking notes of conference. You should also make note of the size of the computer monitor. That’s right, you can’t see it from how far away I am when I took this picture. But don’t feel too bad for us. We have some rockin’ speakers Andrew found on clearance at Best Buy that can be turned up so loud that all your other senses are dulled therefore you no longer can even think about how small the monitor is. See, that’s just how I am. I can find the meaninglessness beauty in all things.

We are truly blessed with the modern conveniences that we have and I am grateful for the time and opportunity I get to blog and to share my thoughts, however different, with those I love and those of you I may not know, but appreciate all the same.