It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's that time of year and things are VERY busy around here! We've been shopping, baking, caking and so much more!

To get the holiday season started off right, we received an e-mail from the jolly ol man himself! Daniel was super thrilled and impressed with this! Check out Daniel's personal message here: Santa message.

On the first of the month, our Neighborhood Association had our Annual Holiday Bazaar! The downside was that it was rainy and cold...and the festivites were all outside. Daniel was very excited about this, so a little cold and rain wasn't going to keep us away! It started at 4:30 with Santa arriving at 5:00. So, I got the kids bundled up and headed out- we timed it right and got there at the same time as Tony. Things were already in full swing and everyone was having fun. After we dropped off our toy donations, we headed off to find Santa. Not only did we find Santa, but also Frosty and an Elf! The only downside was that they did not have a chair set up for Santa to sit in so the kids couldn't actually sit on his lap. Daniel went right up, but Arianna was holding on pretty tight. Santa sensed her hesitation and offered up a candy cane. She quickly went over and grabbed her candy cane and retreated. We got her up there long enough for a picture and she was done with that. No tears this year, but I'm sure if she had sat on his lap tears would be a given.




They had guys dressed up and walking on stilts which Daniel thought was neat. We grabbed some food from local restaraunt booths- yummy mexican and ice cream! The kids got to make reindeer antlers and bell necklaces and play a few games.




Daniel was super excited that Santa brought two of his reindeer for us to see. Very cool!

We stood in line for the face painting and balloon animals, but it started raining pretty hard. While the tables were under tents, we weren't! Daniel was quickly persuaded that the balloon wasn't so important and we escaped to the warmth of the car! All in all, it was a fun night!

Daniel asked for a bike and the interactive Buzz and Woody for himself and a Mickey Mouse kitchen for his sister. I think he asked for an Xbox for his Daddy and for his Mom to be able to stay in the Disney castle :-). He also asked for snow. So, you can imagine his utter delight to wake up the next morning to SNOW!! It didn't last long and wasn't the nice fluffy stuff to play in, but it was admired and enjoyed the same!

The lights went up on the house the weekend after Thanksgiving as usual- the guy that does them for us is awesome! The tree went up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but our tradition is to decorate it the night of Dec 2nd. Why you ask? In 2007 when I was pregnant with Arianna, we decorated the tree on Dec 2nd and the next morning our little Princess decided she didn't want to wait another month and came into the world a bit early! So, we just decided that will be our decorating day from now on! We had fun decorating and anyone with small kids will understand why only the top half of the tree is decorated! She actually is very good and doesn't bother the tree, but I'm sure lots of stuff at the bottom would be too tempting for now. Daniel did a great job helping and we had fun!

Next up was our traditional gingerbread house decorating. This was our 3rd year and it's always a fun time. The prior 2 years, we made the gingerbread from scratch and constructed our house. However, this year I was feeling a little time pressured and opted for a pre-made kit. I did NOT like using the kit and will definitely make time for the homemade gingerbread next year! We all had fun decorating our family gingerbread house-everyone had a part! And yes, there are hidden Mickey's on the house!




In between our everyday things, we'll be making our annual goodie baskets and lots of other fun stuff! Hope your holiday preparations are going well! Happy Holidays!

Zoo and Museum

This one is a little late, but the kids and I went to the zoo right before Thanksgiving and had a great time! We really love having our zoo membership! It was a cool day- I think around 50 degrees and the zoo was empty. We practically had the place to ourselves! I was a little disappointed that the giraffes weren't out as they are one of my very favorites. I gave Daniel money to get a pressed penny and he chose a giraffe for me since I didn't get to see them...what a sweetheart! We had the penguin room to ourselves and stayed there quite awhile as we all love the penguins. A penguin jumped in the water and Arianna had a good time running back and forth following the penguin. We skipped feeding the birds as neither seemed interested and we headed back to the petting zoo and carousel. We were the only ones on the carousel so she let us stay on there quite awhile- which was fun for the kids although Mom was ready to get off! We took a nice walk back to the entrance and the kids picked out a couple of little toys before heading out. Then we headed downtown to get Tony for a nice lunch!






We had planned to make another trip to the zoo for Arianna's actual birthday, but decided we would go for something indoors since the temperature was a high of 40 that day. We just got a membership to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and thought that would make a fun day! The zoo just reopened in November and has really changed! There are lots of children's interactive areas that they loved! Daniel's first request was to see the dinosaur bones so that's where we started.

Then we headed over the the Children's Museum area and let the kids go! Arianna was definitely in awe of the bubbles. She would get 2 feet away from them and then run back and look again!

Daniel says his favorite was "everything"...sounds about right! They both enjoyed the balance area and the grocery store was a definite hit! They loaded up with vegetables and fruits...if only they would eat that well everyay!

We ended in the "Dream" area where you can make your own pinball machine, sand art and build things. The coolest thing in here was the shadow room. There weren't any instructions, so we went in a pushed the button which started a countdown. When it hit 0, a very bright flash went off. Um...ok we had no idea about this one. As we were exiting, a gentleman that worked there came by to explain the exhibit. You can pose and when the flash goes off, it puts your shadow on the wall- even once you move away. Then you can use laser light to draw and make your own art. It was really cool. After that, we made our way backwards back to the Children's Museum and then the dinosaur room. It was a fun day and the kids had a blast! After that, we stopped by downtown and enjoyed a nice lunch with Tony!

Guess who is back in Texas???

Check out our Elf blog for the latest antics. (There is also a link on the top right side of this blog). :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday to a sweet girl...

As most Mom's say...I can't believe my sweet little girl turned 2 on Thursday! This has been a great year seeing her personality develop. She is such a sweet and fun little girl. Even after her little tantrums (which are becoming less and less every day :-)), she can melt her Daddy with her smile and "Dadddeeeee". She loves her big brother and always welcomes him with hugs and kisses when we pick him up from school. Daniel is enjoying that she can really play with him now- they have so much fun together. They are just little bundles of energy for sure! We have been truly blessed with wonderful children and we are loving every minute of our family life!

Daniel was very excited about her birthday and was a huge help with the decorations and wrapping presents. I was impressed with how well he wrapped the presents...he might just have a job in a few weeks! They loved our party "guests"...aka the balloons that were over 4 feet tall!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Arianna!

All things Pier 1

Things have been very busy arounnd here and I have fallen a little behind in my postings. So, I'm here to get caught up!


To kick off the Disney sweepstakes promotion that Pier 1 is running in their stores, they brought the Big Cheese himself to the corporate office for a meet and greet. On the heels of our Disney vacation, Tony was sure that I wouldn't want to go to this....surely he was kidding! When we picked Daniel up from school, we told him that we had to stop by Daddy's work (to which he was not so thrilled). When we went inside and he saw Mickey, he smiled from ear to ear and said "I didn't know Mickey came to Texas!" The line was long, but moved very fast...I'm sure in big part because we didn't have to contend with the autograph books! The kids loved seeing Mickey and it was well worth the time!

Speaking of Pier 1...they celebrated Associate Appreciation Days earlier this month. Tony was the very lucky winner of some cool Pier 1 stuff! Most of it was samples that may or may not be sold in the stores. Really cool win! If we thought the luck would continue, we would invest in some lottery tickets!





Pier 1 has some really awesome things in their stores right now! I would find lots to buy even if I didn't get the awesome discount! :-)

Coupons and discounts...

Since we are in the shopping season, I wanted to pass along some specials that I have found!

Deepdiscount.com has 40% off Blu Ray and DVD's and 30% off CD's and books through November 29th. They always offer free shipping which is a great deal! These would make great gifts or stocking stuffers!

Cheryl & Co has some great coupons and free shipping on a lot of selections.
Use code CHERYLAA5 for$5 off your holiday order (expires 12/31/09).
Use code CHERYLHD10 for $10 off any $50 order (expires 12/31/09).

Jewelryland.com is a new merchant for me! They have a nice selection of jewelry for Disney fans like me!! You will get a free pair of Mickey Mouse birthstone earrings with a $40 purchase (no coupon). You can also save $10 on a $99 or more purchase of Princess themed jewelry (code PRINCESS).

Personal Creations ...I seem to be using this merchant more this year for those people I am not quite sure what to buy for. They have so many things from ornaments to frames and everything in between! Save 35% on any order with code AF0939.

Personalization Mall has a great selection of things that can be personalized for the baker or chef in your family! I have ordered the aprons and hats and they are top quality!
10% off personalized gifts with code PM6244.
$5 off $15 personalized purchase with code PM6680.
$10 off $50 purchase with code PM5514.
They currently have 15% off many items until November 25th.

The Popcorn Factory has $5 off of your holiday order with code SNOW5 (expires 12/31/09).

Crazy for Bargains has a great selection of sleepwear for your whole family! They have great prices and offer free shipping for orders over $40 (code FSHIP).


I'll be sure to pass on more specials as I complete my holiday shopping! Happy shopping!!

Pirates and Bats...oh my!

I will admit that I am a sucker for kids costumes! I usually find some really good deals and buy a few for the kids to dress up in during the year!

Since we are going to be at DisneyWorld and on a Disney Cruise for the week of Halloween, I'll go ahead and post some pictures now! I'm sure I will have tons more later ;-) I know there will be a Minnie Mouse dress in the near future :~)

Here is Pirate Daniel and his little Buccaneer Arianna off getting set for an upcoming voyage on the Disney Wonder! Daniel will also be havig a Pirate makeover at the Pirate League in the Magic Kingdom before we attend the Halloween party- that should be tons of fun!


Tony's birthday was last weekend and Daniel insisted on throwing him a Batman party...which they both enjoyed. I decided you couldn't have a Batman party without the special appearance of Batman and Batgirl. Tony thought it was great and we had lots of fun! Arianna did not want to take her costume off and wore the arm pieces most of the weekend :-)



Have a great weekend!!

Kids!

Here are some updated pictures of the kids!


Daniel is close to 5 1/2 and getting taller! He loves school and is doing great! He is such a sweetheart and a really good kid! He is really enjoying that Arianna can do more things with him now. Sheesh...he's growing up so fast! He is very excited about our upcoming Disney trip and is planning out the things we are going to do while there!




Arianna just turned 22 months....another one that is growing too fast! She has most of her teeth and has some words that she knows. Although she sometimes calls Tony "Daddy"and other times calls him "Mama"- whatever! :-) Her favorite thing to do right now is to climb up the back of the stairs- she's a darn good climber too! She really misses Daniel when he is at school and runs to give him hugs when we pick him up from school.

Thanks for looking! :-)

Cakes!

Things have been crazy busy around here lately! I've had quite a few cakes in the last few weeks on top of everything else. Some days I wasn't sure if I was coming or going or if I had even take a shower! I am thankful that the cakes are behind me! I do enjoy doing them when they are much more spaced out! Here are some of the cakes that I did recently...

This cake was for a baby shower my neighbor helped plan. I loved how the colors came out on this one! I am a little sad that this neighbor has since moved though :-(

This cake was for a repeat customer... I have done all of the cakes for her little girl. This was the first topsy turvy type cake that I have ever made and I was nervous! I could not have done it without my wonderful friend Sharon and her Topsy Turvy DVD! I made this one as she requested down to the colors, but I don't think it was quite what she wanted. And to top it off, it was for an outdoor party during a weekend of rain...so the party was rescheduled (another cake to follow...) I thought it turned out cute...

These cookies were part of a gift to Tony's current boss who is expecting a little girl. I always try to include the older siblings in some way and thought these turned out cute!

This is the cake for her shower at work. Her nursery is decorated in a monkey theme with pink, orange and brown! I have done quite a few baby shower cakes for people he works with. I told Tony that I suspect they move him around to whichever one is having a baby so that they can get a shower cake! As he said "whatever if it keeps me employed"! ;-)

This cake was for the the rescheduled birthday party. As I said before, I didn't think she was thrilled with the previous cake. She sent me a picture (sorry-I do not know the original decorator) of what she wanted and this is what I came up with. She seemed more pleased with this one. As she left, she mumbled "I hope I don't destroy this one"...not sure what that meant and really don't want to know!

This cake was a simple baby shower cake for my SIL who is expecting her first baby- a little boy!

This cake is by far my least favorite of the bunch! It turned out way more cartoonish than I had planned, but as I told myself..."it is what it is...". I was just glad to be done at that point! I was able to get the kitchen cleaned and enjoy some time with my family!

The countdown has begun...

The countdown to our October vacation to DisneyWorld and a Disney Cruise has begun! To celebrate our excitement, we made a Disney themed countdown chain!

The individual "rings" are 2"x8" with various Disney characters. Very simple to do with any graphic or for any occassion! I really think this turned out super cute!

Here is the master hard at work!

And here is the finished product!

What seems like an eternity will be here before we know it! So, I better get busy finishing up our plans and getting things ready! Can't wait!!!

First Day of School!

Daniel had a great first day of school! He was apprehensive and fought off a few tears in the beginning, but then he was off and running! It was, of course, much harder on me! Tony took the day off and was there to drop Daniel off and pick him up with me and Arianna. It will definitely take some getting used to...it is really quiet around here with him gone. When we picked him up, both teachers commented on how well he did and how well behaved he was which made my heart smile! We are so proud of him and it was a great start to the school year.

Cheryl & Co deal

Another great special for Cheryl & Co! They currently have a Hibiscus Sampler Gift Tower on sale for $19.95. If you use code VP at checkout, you can get this item shipped for just $14.95! That's an awesome price for a great gift!! So tempting to send it to myself :-) The $5 off code can be used on any product on their site and they have plenty with free shipping!

Show Day!

Daniel had his last "show day" at Little Gym on Wednesday! That makes 4 sessions that he has attended and really enjoyed! He was a little sad that he won't be going back. Their schedule just doesn't work out for us once he starts school on Monday. So, I am looking into a couple of other things to keep him busy and having fun!

He has done very well in these classes. One of his first instructors commented on how far he has come since the beginning. One of the biggest things we have noticed is his confidence has gone way up...which is awesome!

After class, we headed over to McDonald's for a "celebration"...ok just to play! Believe it or not, we made it over 5 years without ever going to a fast food playground! And we have been to plenty of places that have them....we just have an aversion to them for various reasons and honestly Daniel never asked to go to them. When the new McDonald's opened near us, we decided to take them in there. It is a nice one- I'm sure partly due to it being so new. We don't play there often, so it is a treat for him and he enjoys playing. There is a McDonald car in the area for the smaller kids that Arianna likes. While she was sitting in the car, a bigger kid climbed in next to her. When Daniel, aka protective brother, saw this, he shot over there to keep his eye on the situation. He managed to nicely get himself between Arianna and the bigger kids. It was really sweet to watch him look out for his little sister.

Next up... movies and lunch with Mom...

Fun Day at the Zoo!

It is only Wednesday, but it has been a busy week already! Monday we played with the neighbors for a bit and then got everyone caught up on Dr. appt checkups! It was bad enough having back to back appointments, but this was also a new doctor so it took awhile- glad it's over! Daniel managed to get out of there without any shots this time so he was happy. Arianna did have to get 2 shots but she didn't cry or even flinch...she did look a little mad though!

Tuesday, I took the kids to one of our favorite places...the Fort Worth Zoo! It was a little hot- but hey it was under 100 degrees! It turned out to be a great day though! The kids both had a lot of fun and really wore themselves out! Daniel was really enjoying taking it at a slower pace this time and asked a lot of questions about what each animal eats among other things. The only dissapointments this time were that the Penquin exhibit was closed for renovation and the carousel was also closed. I was really disappointed about the Penquins since that is Arianna's favorite. But I wasn't so disappointed about the carousel since I at least didn't have to stand in the heat for half an hour waiting!










After the zoo, we headed downtown to pick up Tony for lunch. We decided to head over to Freebirds for some good food!!



Next up.... Show Day at Little Gym!!

Free food!

If you like Chipotle and you like free food...this is for you! Free Chipotle! Hmm.. I think I know where I'll be eating!

Coupons!!

If you know me, you know I love a good coupon! So, here are some that I thought I would share with you!

My all time favorite place to order an edible gift... Cheryl & Co has 15% off sitewide through midnight Sunday. They have a lot of gifts with free shipping as well! My favorite is the create your own boxes. Frosted banana walnut, cinnamon pumpkin, lemon and of course the frosted white cookies are all favorites. (now I'm drooling!). Check out their site and use coupon code NU at checkout for your 15% off!

Boston Market has a few coupons out right now. This one is for a free meal when you purchase a meal. And this one is for $3 off a $6 or more purchase.

Crocs.com is offering free shipping on a purchase of two or more pairs of shoes until August 23rd. Check out their clearance section too- I found some good deals in there!

More to come later...

Vote for Vivian!

If you have a minute, please vote for my friend Jen's Bully, Vivian in the CuteDogPhoto contest! If you are so inclined, you can even vote daily! You can also visit Jen's Bully Blog here! Good luck Vivian and Jen!! :-)

eta...the link is also on Jen's blog if you click that link!

Family Pictures!

I thought I would follow the pictures of the kids with some family pictures...so here you go! We did a few different poses this time...

We love the potato heads and parts...especially the Disney themed ones! It has been at least a year since I got new parts at Disney, so I think we are due to get some more in October. After all, we need some Princess and Minnie parts for Arianna (ok...and me!). They give you a box and it's $19.99 for everything you can squeeze in that box (and have the box close). So, I have learned a few tricks and can pack those boxes to the rim without much space in between!

We spent a good part of Friday playing with these and the kids aren't the only ones that have fun!

Here are a few others with some super heroes and a bad guy thrown in as well!

The budding artists at work...

August pictures!

It is still hard to believe that August is already here...I'm still trying to figure out where the summer has gone! It is also hard to believe that Daniel is 5 years old and that Arianna is already 20 months old! Time moves way too fast!