Alabama Slacker Mama

I miss this!

2012-01-27T10:39:00.001-06:00

I miss buying super-cute little girl's clothes!

(from Target)

I wonder if I could get Chelsea to dress like this again???

My Pinterest loves for the week

2012-01-25T11:35:00.001-06:00

My Pinterest obsession has been well documented on this blog. I will admit, I don't look as much as I used to, but I still make the time to find some new things.

I've been looking at more things for our home recently. I REALLY have to limit myself because the more I look, the more I want to do, which leads to frustration because I can't afford to do it. Does anybody else have that problem?

Anyway, here are a few things I've been drooling over lately:

From HERE

I just love how these frames are stacked! I'm not crazy about the colors, but love everything else about them!


From HERE

How precious is this? I liked this so much, I've already ordered large wooden letters to do this in both kid's rooms! (See, spending money...haha!)

From HERE

Seriously, this is my favorite entryway ever! I want to rip out my current door and get one with sidelights. I want the wainscoting, I want the floors, I want the moldings, the accessories. I love it ALL! However, because it's not practical to rip out my front door or floors, I think I will stick to painting the inside of my door black and looking for similar accessories for now. The wainscoting may be something to look to in the future.

From HERE

This is from the same house as the foyer picture above. I literally spent forever going through her entire blog. Her whole house is TO.DIE.FOR. What I wouldn't give to have just an ounce of her decorating ability! Anyway, the reason I liked this (other than how gorgeous it is), is how she used the existing screw hole in the shutter to attach the bird feeder. My husband is 100% against putting ANY additional holes in our siding, so this is a fantastic option to decorate around the windows!

From HERE

I love the idea of using old doors to make a headboard. This has been my favorite door/headboard ever. I've been looking for old doors ever since I first saw this, without any luck. So, we ended up going to Lowes this weekend and ordering a new door. We are hoping with paint and molding we can make it "look" old.

From HERE

This is an older pin, but we've been looking at it again lately. We are hoping to finally get the deck done on the back of our house once we get our income taxes back. This is my DREAM deck/arbor, but the likelihood of the finished product looking anything remotely similar is slim. HAHA! A girl can dream, right?

From HERE

And finally, this isn't "for the home", but I did make this yesterday. It was so easy. I just dumped everything in the crockpot on Monday night, and put it on to cook Tuesday morning (well, Marty actually did that for me). When we got home last night, crockpot potato soup! I wouldn't say it's as good as Outback's potato soup, but it did taste really good!

So, that's what I've been obsessing over this past week. What fun and interesting things have you found???

I can't believe it happened again.

2012-01-23T20:24:00.004-06:00

Early this morning, parts of Alabama (along with Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee) were devastated by tornadoes....again.

I mean, it's not even been nine months since the horrific April 27th tornado outbreak that did millions (billions?) of dollars in damage, injured thousands, and killed hundreds of poor souls. Many people have barely even started rebuilding their lives....and it happened again.

When I went to bed last night, I never imagined I would be waking up to James Spann's (meteorologist extraordinaire) voice telling viewers to "TAKE COVER!" and hear the words "Dangerous storms"...especially this soon after April 27th, 2011.

But it was happening....again.

Fortunately, we were spared...again...and didn't receive any significant damage. But many, many others, were not so lucky last night.

My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with all the families who were affected by these horrific storms!

The one good thing that did come out of those April 2th storms was the HUGE outpouring of support that rallied together immediately after they hit. In most cases, if there was a need, it was met within the hour. It has been said that when FEMA finally arrived, they were blown away by the amount of assistance (food, shelter, money, donations, clean-up) that had been provided strictly by volunteers. They had never seen anything like it! But those of us that live here see this kind of support every single day.

Photo from here

Now that this devastation has happened again, the volunteering is going to continue! The Christian Service Mission, an organization that has been crucial to Alabama's recovery, has set up this fantastic page to help make donating to the recovery effort very easy for everyone!

They have agreed to donate $25.00 to the Christian Service Mission for every blog post written by someone who was directly or indirectly impacted by the 2011 and/or 2012 tornadoes. You don't even have to live in Alabama! All you have to do is write the post (go here for instructions), then comment on their page and let them know about your post. Their goal is to donate $1,000 by March 1!

Come on bloggers! We can do this!

WE ARE ALABAMA!!!

I think you're doing it wrong!

2012-01-23T07:11:00.002-06:00

For any of you who have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a BIG girl. I'm not puffy, fluffy, big-boned, a few pounds overweight....

I am FAT!

I've been fat for over two decades. It's not because of a medical condition (even though my PCOS doesn't help matters), it's not genetics, it's not because of medication or injury. It's really simple, I take in (eat) more calories than I burn off.

I do feel tremendous sympathy for those who do have medical conditions, injuries, take medications that cause weight gain, etc., so please don't take this as a jab at anyone out there who is larger than a size two. This is about me and me being fat, nobody else. HAHA!

ANYWAY, clothing has always been a big problem for me. Buying plus-sized clothing can be very expensive. I do shop at one expensive (for me) plus-size specific store when I can, but only shop at the outlet or on clearance. I have found their dress pants and underwear are very well made and last FOREVER. So, I don't feel bad about spending a little more for something that I can literally wear for years (well, I do upgrade the underwear more frequently...haha!) But when it comes to tops and such, I just cannot make myself spend big bucks.

Fortunately, in the past few years, I have been able to find plus-sized clothing in more and more places. But, in some of the places, their plus-sized line is literally a larger version of their regular clothes. Ladies, this is NOT a good idea! LOL

This brings me to one of my favorite sayings ever:

"Girl, just because they make it in your size, doesn't mean you need to wear it!"

Anyway, this weekend I was looking around at a well known discount store, and started looking at their "Women's" section. It was kind-of hard to find, because their "Women's Section" consisted of about 4 racks and some random stuff hung on the wall. I was a little irritated, and as I continued looking through the gigantic selection of clothes (sarcasm), I became even more irritated. In my opinion, this store is doing it ALL wrong when it comes to their (in store) plus-sized clothing collection.

Here are the things I noticed:

1. What's with the weird sizes?

I'm pretty sure if I tell somebody I wear a "Size 3", they will think I've lost my mind. I've NEVER, EVER, EVER worn a size 3...even as a child. I think I went from birth-to-fat. So thinking that changing my real size to a "size 3" isn't doing me any favors. It's just confusing me.

If you have to post a chart to explain your sizing, I think you're doing it wrong!

2. I don't love having a big elastic band on the bottom of the shirt and/or around the neck of the shirt.

Nothing like a big elastic band to make the shirt blouse out right around my "muffin top" to accentuate it. If you think women want to accentuate their muffin tops, I think you're doing it wrong!

3. Busy patterns tend to make big women look bigger.

Not only are these busy patterns, it also has the elastic around the bottom and neck. There is just so much wrong with these shirts!

4. I, under NO circumstances, want to accentuate my back hump.

This is the back of a shirt. You can tell it's the back (because it's exactly the same as the front), because of the tie that hangs down the back. If you think that big women want to accentuate their backs, you're doing it wrong!

And finally, 5. This has to be my biggest pet peeve ever.....STOP PUTTING THE PLUS-SIZED SECTION RIGHT NEXT TO THE MATERNITY SECTION!!!

There is nothing that makes me madder than finding a really cute shirt, only to figure out it is maternity. Since this particular store didn't have much in the way of plus-sized clothes, they just decided to shuffle some of their extra maternity clothes into the plus-sized section. I am fat, NOT pregnant.

In my opinion, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!

Now don't get me wrong, I do own clothes with strange sizes, elastic around the necks and bottom, have bold patterns, and a low-ish back, but that's only because at the time, I thought that was what I was supposed to be wearing. After seeing myself in pictures, however, I realize that these styles are probably not the best options for me. LOL

So, plus-sized vendors out there, what are you going to do to GET IT RIGHT?

sigh

2012-01-21T13:53:00.000-06:00

Sweetest.Child.Ever.

Who knew...

2012-01-19T07:37:00.000-06:00

there were SO many Lego ~~nerds~~ fans in Birmingham?

A friend told me Friday night that she had seen an advertisement for a Lego Convention at the Civic Center in Birmingham and thought we (Jameson) would be interested.

We didn't have any plans, and decided at the last minute to go. Having learned our lesson the hard way, we didn't say ONE WORD to Jameson about what we were going to do. That way, if things didn't work out, he wouldn't be disappointed.

We got to the Civic Center, and realized about 10 minutes into our hike, that we parked on the wrong side. That's OK though, we needed the exercise. HAHA!

We walk through the door, and Jameson FREAKED OUT! He was so excited, he couldn't contain himself! Unfortunately for us, the first thing he spotted was an after-market dealer that he LOVES. I say unfortunately, because #1: EVERYBODY was excited to see Brickarms there, so the crowd around the tables was HUGE and #2: All of their items were about double the price they sell for online.

After a while of not moving an inch in the crowd, we convinced Jameson to look around at the rest of the displays.

The problem was, it was SO crowded, you could hardly see anything!

Once we got away from the vendors, we spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the incredible displays. It is completely crazy at the things these people have been able to build.

Replica of the Twin Towers

I loved the display, below. It's a rock concert full of fans.

The Historic Alabama Theater.

These two were our absolute favorites of the event. Below is a mobile substation. This is the type of equipment that Marty works with on a daily basis. It was incredible to see how exact this copy was!

And this is a replica of the Alabama Power Building in Birmingham, complete with the gold figure on the top. After the event, we drove by the actual building and Jameson couldn't believe how close the model was to the original!

He was irritated that I I stopped his looking to take a picture. HAHA!

The afternoon got a little stressful and overwhelming for me and Jameson with the huge crowds, but we had a fantastic time. Jameson also came home with a TON of new ideas for future projects.

He also managed to come home with a ton of stuff from that darn Brickarms table.

But really, who knew how many Lego fans there were in the Birmingham area?

These three people...

2012-01-18T08:07:00.000-06:00

hold the keys to my heart!

I love my family more than anything in this world!

Welcome baby Easton!

2012-01-15T15:53:00.000-06:00

I am so sorry for the lack of update on baby Easton. I promise, this was not intentional! Easton's mommy had a pretty rough day on Friday, and asked everyone to please not post any pictures until she could. She was feeling better today and finally posted his stats and a picture, so I felt it was OK to finally post an update.

Mr. Easton was a big boy. He weighed 8# 9oz and was 20 1/2" long! (He was over a pound bigger than they thought he would be.) He also has a head-full of black hair and the biggest cheeks of any baby I've ever seen!

Proud daddy Matthew carrying Easton to the nursery.

(Photos from Granny Penny)

Isn't he the most precious little man ever?

Mama and baby are doing great!

As Easton was coming into this world, my mother-in-law was being discharged from the hospital. She's still not 100%, but hopefully will be better than normal soon!

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!

Even though it's Friday the 13th....

2012-01-13T08:39:00.001-06:00

It's going to be a great day!

My precious mother-in-law has been in the hospital this week, and at one point, we were all extremely worried about her prognosis.

However, she got some good news yesterday and will hopefully get to come home today!

And while my mother-in-law gets to (hopefully) come home from the hospital, we are excited for another family member to be going IN the hospital!

My niece (Marty's nephew's wife) Misty, was admitted to the hospital at midnight to deliver Easton today! I can't wait to meet the newest edition to the family!!

We would appreciate any good thoughts and prayers for my mother-in-law and for Misty, Matthew, and baby Easton!

It's going to be a great day....

I can just feel it!

Mullets ROCK!

2012-01-11T07:35:00.000-06:00

When Marty was cleaning out the garage Saturday, he came across a very interesting album.

An album that contained pictures from my Junior and Senior years in high school, which was right around the time Marty and I first met.

I really don't even know what to say, so I guess I will let my pictures do the talking for themselves.

Doesn't every 17 year-old need a Teddy Ruxpin?

Um yeah, that little white bow on the left side of my neck....that's tied to my "rat tail".

My first car. I see I kept it as clean as I keep my current car. : /

I couldn't let this opportunity pass without sharing a couple of pictures of Marty, too.

After looking at all these pictures, I am so bringing that mullet back!

I may bring that rat tail back, too!

(I am NOT responsible for any psychiatric bills you may incur after viewing this post!)

Number 14!

2012-01-10T07:59:00.001-06:00

National Championship #14!

I'm so proud of our boys! They came in the underdog, played extremely well, played clean and with class, and shut LSU down!

21 - 0

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Mama's Mumblings

2012-01-09T07:57:00.013-06:00

Welcome to the first Mama's Mumblings of 2012!

Can you believe that it is already 2012? I remember when I was a kid, thinking ahead to the year 2000, and thinking about how OLD I would be then. And now, it's 2012. My body may be old in years, but inside, I'm still only 18! HAHA!

Does anybody else feel that way?

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I met a super fabulous blog reader over the weekend! Laralee contacted me a few months ago about some ideas for her son's Lego birthday party. We've been e-mailing back and forth since then, and finally had a chance to meet on Saturday! **Hi Laralee!!!** I made a few Lego cupcake toppers for her precious son, Lane's 6th birthday.

I love doing different projects for others. I learn something new every single time I make something. For this project, I learned how to do the curved words with the Silhouette software!

Meeting Laralee was so much fun and her son was just adorable! It's too bad we didn't get to spend more time running our mouths. But I think her husband was getting tired of waiting for us to stop talking! HAHA! I'm sure we will see more of each other in the future!

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While I was off meeting Laralee, my husband (and Jameson) was busy putting up all the Christmas stuff back into the attic. This is no small feat, to say the least. While they were out in the garage doing this, they decided to clean up, too. While they were cleaning, my husband found a true blast from the past. I can't wait to share his find with you. As a hint, let me just say "Senior portraits" and "Mullets RULE!".

EEEEEEEK!

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My kitchen curtain fabric came in. It's a little different color than I was expecting (the red is more rust colored than I expected), but with the right contrasting fabric, I think I can make it work!

(Sorry for the poor quality. I was trying to take these at night)

I was thrilled that I was able to find some trim that matched perfectly on the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby!

(This is a better representation of the true fabric color)

The good news is that I found this perfect colored trim.....the bad news is we figured I need 15 YARDS of it to make it work. It looks like I'm going to have to hit every Hobby Lobby in the South to find enough!

I initially planned on using the exact same style of curtain that I had before:

This is a Victory Swag pattern.

But I found this on Pinterest the other day, and thought it may work well, too:

(From here)

The above looks like a large (lined) rectangle of fabric just clipped to make it swag. This would be much easier to make, in my opinion. But I do love my current Victory Swag. LOL

I've also found a great coordinating fabric, but will have to wait until next payday to get that. HAHA!

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A HUGE Thank You to all of you who voted for me for the Top 25 Southern Mama Blogs a few weeks ago. I didn't win, but I did finish 6th!

I feel extremely honored that somebody out there even nominated me, much less voted for me....especially considering some of the other blogs that were on the list!

Thank you ALL again! I have the best bloggie buddies ever!!

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Well, I feel a little down tonight. I go back to work after getting to stay at home with my family for the past 12 days. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely blessed to have the job that I have, working for the people I do, but in a perfect world, I would be a stay-at-home mom. I may be weird, but I love the routine of my day when I'm not working. I love knowing that on Wednesdays, I do laundry, and on Fridays, I do my grocery shopping. I know that at 2:00 every day I will be in car-rider line, and will be helping with homework by 3:10. I never thought I would not want to be a working mom, but the older I get, the more I crave family time. But for now, I will just try to enjoy every second that I do have with them!

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I hope you all have a fantastic and wonderful week!!

I'm so proud!

2012-01-05T19:31:00.000-06:00

Both kids got their report cards today!

Chelsea got all "S's" and "Meets all requirements", which is the equivalent of all "A's" in her classes! She is also doing awesome with her job in the lunchroom!

(I didn't get a copy of her report card because she only let me see it long enough to sign it and then put it up so she would remember to return it to school tomorrow. HAHA)

And here is Jameson's:

I am so proud of him! He brought his Reading score up from last quarter by 15 points and the 96 in Math is after he had a low score on a multiplication quiz. (after he busted his head open at school, and Mommy felt sorry for him and didn't make him do practice tests the night before the quiz).

I think I am most proud of their behavior and the positive comments from their teachers!

I'm praying the rest of their school year looks just as good!

It only took FOUR years....

2012-01-04T09:58:00.000-06:00

and many acrobatic acts....

The crown molding in this house is FINISHED!

Even in our garage entry!

I am ONE HAPPY WOMAN right now!

It just needs some touch-up paint, a second coat on the kitchen walls, and I am ready for curtains!

Here is the fabric I've ordered:

I can't wait to pull everything together!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful first week of 2012!

Southern New Year traditions

2012-01-02T14:51:00.002-06:00

In the South, there are many different traditions when it comes to the new year. Every family has different traditions, and mine is no different.

Food is a main center of a Southern New Year. In this house, we must eat black-eyed peas for health, and turnip greens for prosperity. I hate turnip greens, but on New Year's Day, I force myself to choke down several large bites, just in case. Other families insist on hog jowls, cornbread, and cabbage. Thank goodness my mama never insisted on the hog jowls and cabbage or I would be miserable. HAHA!

We also have the saying that you can't wash dishes or clothes on New Year's Day because you will wash someone you love right out of your life. So there is always a mad dash to have all the laundry and dishes washed, dried, and put away before the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. It is nice to have all of those chores done to start the new year, I must say.

Finally, we have the tradition that whatever you do on New Year's Day, you will be doing for the rest of the year. For instance, if you are fighting with your spouse, you two will be fighting all year. If you are spending time with friends, then you will spend time with your friends all year. If you are cleaning, you will be cleaning all year...but of course, you will have to clean all year long anyway, unless you have a maid or want to end up on an episode of Hoarders. HAHA!

So on our New Year's Day, we started the day with church, then home to eat our traditional meal. Once finished (without washing the dishes), we headed to Home Depot to buy paint!

Paint?

Yes, paint.

In a sort-of spur-of-the-moment decision, I've decided to redo the kitchen. Yes, I'm redoing my 4 year-old kitchen. I'm tired of fighting with the green, and moving to a much more user friendly brown. Don't get me wrong, I love the green. It was exactly the color I envisioned for the space when we built the house. It has been a nightmare making anything else work with the green, however. It just doesn't fit with the rest of the house.

Marty's sister, Penny, volunteered to help us finish the crown molding this week while Marty was off, but he wouldn't do it if I was going to eventually paint. Well, I've been wanting that stinkin' crown molding DONE for the past 4 years (the source of much bickering in this household), so I was going to get that room painted ASAP!

So after procrastinating for as long as possible, we started painting.

Kitchen before:

Goodbye green, hello brown!

The brown was supposed to be the same color that is throughout the rest of the house, but once it was on the wall, it is significantly darker. But, it's a good blend of the living room color and the dining room color and we think we will like it.

Then, since we (well, since Marty) got the kitchen painted yesterday, Penny came this morning to help hang the crown molding!

I am beyond excited to say the least!

As ALL of the projects we have done, it's been a huge pain, but it's getting done.

SLOWLY BUT SURELY.

So, I hope our home improvement projects continue throughout the rest of the year, preferably without all the headaches, though. LOL

I hope all of you are having a wonderful 2012 so far!!

From our home to yours

2012-01-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here's hoping 2012 is the most incredible, happy, healthy, prosperous, and loving year ever, for all of you!

Love, Marty, Robin, Chelsea, and Jameson

It was a gift card Christmas!

2011-12-29T09:09:00.001-06:00

Thanks to all our very special family members!

I think we will go use some today!

I hope you all are having a wonderful, stress-free week!!!

The LONGEST Christmas weekend ever (part 3)!

2011-12-28T10:02:00.002-06:00

To read Part 1, click HERE

To read Part 2, click HERE

Marty and I got up, for the second time, and got ready for church. Both of the kids were still going strong from their 2:37 AM wake up time. They surprisingly got ready without any problems (well, I guess since they already had SIX hours to play with their stuff, it wasn't hard for them to get ready) and headed to church.

After services, we ran back home to finish a few things, and then headed out to my mother-in-law's house to spend Christmas with Marty's family. As always, we had a fabulous, loud, and exciting time! Here are just some of the 100-or-so pictures I took.

Marty's mom (left), and Marty's sister's mother-in-law (did you get that? lol), Mrs. Gilmer (right). Mrs. Gilmer is facing some pretty serious health problems/treatments over the next few months, so if you could please keep her in your prayers, we would appreciate it!

My beautiful mother-in-law, Barbara.

My sister-in-law, Penny, mil, and sister-in-law, Tammie.

My sister-in-law, Candie, Tammie, mil, and niece, Shelby

My niece, Julie, mil, niece's Sierra, Lauren, and Natalie.

Penny feeding baby Reed. (I love Candie laughing in the background)

Just some of the presents! The baby carrier is blocking the majority of them. My sister-in-law, Connie to the right.

Shelby holding Reed.

My niece, Mallory, also holding Reed.

All the kids (and adults) impatiently waiting to open gifts.

Cleaning up with the world's largest garbage bag! LOL

We all had a great time, but by about 5:00 pm, Marty and I were whooped! We packed everything up, including a giant tub of Lego's that my nephew Taylor gave to Jameson as a surprise, and headed home to hopefully go to bed!

The kids got really quiet on the way home, so we hoped they were asleep.

NOPE!

When we got home, they were WIDE awake and ready to play with all of their things!

Marty and I tried to encourage them to go to bed "so they could wake up refreshed and play all day long with their things".

Nope, didn't work.

At this point, we had all been awake for about 19 hours (with only two hours of sleep for the adults prior to the 19 hour marathon). How in the world were the kids still going strong?

Well, about 9:00, I had enough. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and I abandoned the rest of the family and went to bed. Besides, I was the only one who had to actually get up for work the next day.

I have no idea what time the kids actually went to sleep, but I will guess that they were getting close to being awake for a full 24 hours.

When I left for work the next morning, everyone else was SOUND asleep....as in, I had to check and make sure they were still breathing....sound asleep. (Am I the only mom that does that?)

I will say this was an incredible Christmas. Everyone was happy, HEALTHY (which is a first in many, many years), and was relatively stress free.

I can't wait to do it all again next year!

I hope you all are having a fantastic week and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us all!!

The LONGEST Christmas weekend ever (part 2)!

2011-12-27T07:24:00.005-06:00

To read part one, click HERE.

Once the kids had their PJ's on, we had to put treats out for Santa!

Swirly cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, and a sweet little treat for the elves:

Both kids thought the elves needed something special too, so they made syrup, whipped cream, M&M's, and marshmallows. Elves like sugar, you know!

The kids reluctantly went to bed, and we waited patiently for them to go to sleep and for Santa's arrival.

Before Santa came.

Playing around with my camera settings. (Please disregard the blown lights on the top of the tree. HAHA)

SANTA CAME!!

Once we chatted with Santa for a few minutes, he left to finish his trip, and we finally headed to bed.
It was around midnight once we crawled into bed.

The next thing we knew, Jameson comes into our bedroom, super-excited because Santa had already came! I noticed it was still REALLY dark outside, so I looked to see what time it was...

If you can't read that.....it says 2:37 AM!!!

I told Jameson it was WAY too early to be opening presents, but then he got upset and said "Well sister is up too!" We got up and went into the living room and not only were they both up, they had already sorted all of their presents into piles, which let me know that they had already been up for a WHILE.

So, after a ton of grumbling on our part, we let them go ahead and open their presents.

Look at the destruction:

Jameson holding Daddy up because he's so exhausted. LOL

Here is the time after everything was opened and the living room trashed:

We tried to encourage the kids to go back to bed for a little while, but they would not hear of it. So, we told them they could stay up, but WE were going back to bed until it was time to get up for Church. We also made sure they were to be quiet, or they may loose their newly received toys! LOL

We tried our best to go back to sleep, but it was hard sleeping with all the "click, click, clicks" from Jameson putting together Legos and Chelsea squealing while she looked at pictures.

7 AM came quickly, and the alarm went off for us to officially start our day!

We were some tired parents!

To be continued.....

The LONGEST Christmas weekend ever (part 1)!

2011-12-26T07:25:00.003-06:00

Christmas is finally over for another year. I cannot believe how fast this year as FLOWN by! I guess it's true that time moves faster, the older you get. I guess I need to get started on shopping for next Christmas, since it will be here before I know it!

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas weekend this year!

Saturday started off with spending time with my family, eating and exchanging gifts. It is the Jones family tradition to have lunch at Red Lobster (so nobody has to cook!) and then go to my mother's house eat dessert and to exchange gifts. The kids (and the grownups) get so excited and can't wait until their first (of many) rounds of opening gifts!

And now, many photos!

My mother's tree and the gifts.

Every single time these kids get together, this happens. LOL

(Jameson-bottom, Jessie, Langdon, and Bryson-top)

My super-cute great-niece, Jessie.

My niece, Selena.

Jameson giving his Nana a big hug. I love this picture!

My nephew, Derek.

My Chelsea-Belle.

My niece Selena, niece Laura, great-niece Kacie, and niece's boyfriend Bo.

My sister, Diane.

My Mama.

Jessie again.

Laura, Kacie, and Bo.

I love the looks on the boy's faces!

Selena and Langdon (acting silly).

We had such a great time with my family! I think this is one of my favorite parts of our Christmas traditions!

Once we finally made it back home, we decided to let the kids open a couple of presents from us.

Jameson playing with his iPad (we didn't see his face for hours...HAHA).

And Chelsea with her new iPhone, complete with Scotty McCreery wallpaper and cover.

The big kids got some special things, too!

For Daddy:

For Mommy:

And also for mommy, thanks to a very special family member (THANK YOU!)

Once we were finished opening the presents, the kids changed into their PJ's and we started getting ready for Santa's visit!

Little did we know what little sleep Mama and Daddy would end up getting during the night ahead!

To be continued.....

Merry Christmas to All!

2011-12-24T15:35:00.000-06:00

We just wanted to wish you all a wonderful and fantastic Christmas and Holiday Season!

Each and every one of you mean the world to us!! Thank you for being a part of our lives!!

Love, Marty, Robin, Chelsea, & Jameson

I am FINALLY finished!

2011-12-22T10:02:00.002-06:00

Oh you think I am talking about all of my Christmas shopping and wrapping?

Uh, NO!

BUT, after working off-and-on, since October, I FINALLY finished all the treats for the kid's goody bags!

Getting them TO the class was a bit of a challenge, but it's nothing that a 40 gallon garbage bag couldn't handle. HAHA!

Mr. Jameson on his way out the door to his last day of school in 2011!

Don't you just love the short sleeves? These 70+ degree temps and storms are KILLING me! I guess our white Christmas last year spoiled me!

Now on to finish THIS mess:

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas week!!!

I love you all!!

It's a Pinterest Christmas!

2011-12-19T08:13:00.002-06:00

Every year, I try to make special goody bags for all of the kid's classmates. I normally fill bags with candy and Dollar Store stuff, but for the past couple of years, I've tried making a few hand-made things. Thanks to Pinterest, this year's bags are going to be FULL of "custom" goodies!

Here are the things that I have so far:

Hershey's Kisses, complete with fun Christmas stickers on the bottom.

Idea and free printables from Here

I normally try to give each student in Chelsea's class a gift. But, as new kids of all ages have come in, this year I decided to give money instead. I saw this idea, and thought it was a fun way to present the money.

From Here

I had a container of small bells left over from last Christmas, and decided to make a few of these, as well.

It says "The bell still rings for those who truly Believe!"

These would be super-cute for a Polar Express party!

From Here

Then, of course, Christmas would not be complete without a little Grinch thrown in.

I honestly had NO idea how many green M&M's it would take to make these. I think I ended up buying about 7 large bags to finish the project! Even after the test tube treats, I still have 2 quart-sized Zip-Lock bags filled of red M&M's!

From Here

I'm currently working on these:

(The Rice Crispy treats) from Here

The dipping the treats into the white chocolate was no problem, but I had a horrible experience with the red chocolate. I accidentally dumped 1/2 of the gel color into the white chocolate, burned my already-burned finger, had a blow-out with my squirt bottle and ended up with red chocolate all over the sink, counters, cookie sheet, floor, cabinets, my pants and my socks. AND, after squirting the chocolate on the treats, it really ended up looking like ketchup. LOL Hopefully once everything is packaged, they will look a little better!

I also will be adding these to the goody bags:

From Here

And these:

From Here

There are SO many other treats I would love to do, but I just don't have time!

Maybe I need to go ahead and start making treats for NEXT Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful and RELAXING Christmas week!!!

I love you all!!!

The Jar of Love

2011-12-15T09:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my precious Mama's 76th birthday!

My mama, on the left, and one of her best friends since childhood, Mrs. Betty, on the right.

Now I don't know about all of you, but it is impossible to shop for my mother. She's not picky at all, but she refuses to tell us anything she would like. As a matter of fact, this year she actually threatened me and told me that we better not get her anything this year. If we did, she would be very upset with us.

Well, goodness knows we don't want Mama to be upset with us!

On the other hand, I can't let her birthday pass without doing something special for her! After all, she IS my Mama! So, I tried to figure out something special I could make or do for her. I searched the Internet for ideas and here is what I finally came up with:

The Jar of Love

I took a jar, decorated it, and filled it with 76 curled strips of scrapbook paper.

On each strip of paper, is one reason why I love my Mama so much.

Some strips are funny, some are serious, some are fun memories from my childhood.... 76 special and unique things about my Mama!

I loved doing this. I laughed and cried while coming up with the list. It sure brought back a lot of good memories for me.....and I hope it does for her, too!

I LOVE YOU MAMA! I hope you had the best birthday ever!!

It's been a crafty weekend!

2011-12-12T07:02:00.004-06:00

Every year at this time, I'm always frantically trying to finish all of the projects I've started. I drive my family crazy with my last-minute rush to finish everything.

This year, I'm trying to finish early so I can actually enjoy the holiday.

Believe it or not, all the Christmas decorating is finished (except for the top of the mantle), even the outside. I'm waiting for a sunny day to actually attempt to take some pictures. I don't think I've ever been finished this early before. I'm determined to finish all the crafts I've started, too!

I managed to knock out a ton of things this weekend, I am very happy to say!

I got most of my Christmas cards completed and mailed.

I ran out of cards before I got one for everyone on my list, so I am waiting for my paper/envelopes to come in the mail so I can get those 100% completed. I hope they get here soon, because I am about to go nuts!

I'm finally finished with my Christmas sequel to my Halloween test tube treats.

(Idea from here)

The tags feature a deer with a sparkly red nose, with a tag that reads "Rudolph's Spares".

This time, since I only needed red treats, I used M&M's instead of Skittles. I figured the M&M's would be a breeze to use because I thought they were smaller than Skittles.

WRONG!

Who knew that M&M's were bigger (around) than Skittles? AND, M&M's are not even in size? I do now! I spent so much time hand sorting every single stinkin' M&M that went into all 50 of those test tubes. The bottom of the test tubes are a fraction of a millimeter smaller than the tops of the tubes. So, I had to find the smallest diameter M&M's to go in the bottom 1/4 of each tube before filling them the rest of the way.

Never again! LOL

Even though they were a pain to finish, they still turned out really cute!

Next, I finished a project I had been dreading.

I have a special friend that requested these several months ago, and I finally made myself finish them. It was so hard to make these...you know, with all the gagging going on, but I think they turned out cute!

Totally kidding Kim!

(If you aren't from the state of Alabama, these are Auburn ornaments. They are the ultimate football rival to my Alabama Crimson Tide.)

Then I worked on these cute little covers for mini Hershey bars.

(Idea from here)

I would love to say that I am finished with all of them, but these are the only 5 I have done so far. They take a little longer to complete than I thought they would. I thought I would wait and finish them when I'm not as tired and have a little more patience. HAHA!

I finished all my little snowmen that I started on last week.

(Idea from here)

I just love those funny little faces.

Then, I finally finished all the "Pledge and glitter" ornaments that are all over Pinterest. I made a few last week, and found them to be quick and easy, but really messy. I had to make myself get started on them again. But once I got a rhythm going, it really wasn't too bad at all! I was able to finish all of them in about an hour (minus the vinyl)!

I thought they were beautiful like this, but I wanted to add a little extra to them.

I found all this glitter (in a multi-pack) at TJ Maxx for almost nothing. I think the colors are so pretty in person. The photos don't do these ornaments justice.

These two are for Jameson's teacher. I'm also planning on giving her a snowman ornament with a pink hat for her baby girl!

(Idea from here)

I still have a couple more projects to complete, but I don't think it will take too long to finish those.

Wouldn't it be great if I could go into next weekend and have nothing that I have to do other than enjoy the Christmas Holiday with my family?

If that actually happens, I will be sure to let you know, because it will be a FIRST for this Slacker Mama!

I hope you all have a wonderful and fantastic week!

2011 Hill Family Christmas card

2011-12-07T08:25:00.001-06:00

Since I don't know everyone's address, I thought I would send you all our "virtual" Christmas card this year!

We wish you all a wonderful and joyous Christmas season!

Love, Marty, Robin, Chelsea, and Jameson

Trying to get our craft on

2011-12-05T07:41:00.001-06:00

This weekend, I was in a definite crafty mood. After two trips to Hobby Lobby, my house is covered in tons of craft-related things. But like most things, I started a ton of projects, but haven't finished any of them.

It's the story of my life.

Shelby came over after Church on Sunday and she felt like getting crafty, too!

That darn Pinterest has our brains spinning around in circles with all of the neat things we want to make. Every few minutes, we are finding new things we want to create. Right this second, I have the materials to do at least 15 different crafts I've seen on Pinterest. Today we couldn't wait and got to actually crafting!

Here are a few things we made:

These are precious! Everybody with young children seems to be doing the whole "Elf of a Shelf" thing, and these are little treats just for them. Shelby worked really hard on these little cuties!

These are cheerios dressed up to look like doughnuts. (I have no clue why I made the sign say 'Cookies'. I didn't even realize it until just this second. HAHA!)

Aren't they adorable? Now all we need is a teeny-tiny cup of coffee to go with them!

Here are some little snowmen ornaments I made using fake snow and socks.

And here are the "Pledge and glitter on the inside" ornaments that are all over Pinterest now.

Both of these ornaments were super quick and easy to make....but really messy!

And here are the tags I'm making for some of the kid's Christmas treats to give to their classmates.

I'm using the test tubes like I did for Halloween. The kids seemed to get a real kick out of them, so I thought I would try something similar again.

And here is a picture of part of the Christmas banner I made to hang on the mantle. This is the project I was working on when I burnt 6 of my 10 fingers. (stupid glue gun) I'll try to get better pictures when we actually have some sunlight and I've actually finished decorating the mantle. HaHa

It says "Believe".

I hope you all have a wonderful and fantastic week!!

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Oh, and if you have a few seconds, please click the 'Circle of Mom's' circle up there ^^^ on the right sidebar to vote for me in the Top 25 Southern Mama Blogs.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

BOYS!

2011-12-02T08:51:00.000-06:00

Anybody want to take a wild guess how long Jameson's had these shoes before he did this to them?

The left shoe is after I spent about 20 minutes scrubbing with a toothbrush.

Needless to say, he gets Dollar Store shoes until he learns how to take care of his things better.

Mama's Mumblings

2011-11-30T09:36:00.002-06:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's officially the Christmas season. Around here, that means it's the craziest, busiest, most insane time of the year! My ADD goes into major overdrive with so many things to do....which usually turns into me getting a lot of projects started, but nothing actually finished. HAHA!

Thanks to my wonderful husband, who had a few days off during the Thanksgiving weekend, we got a lot of the Christmas decorating done! I'm so thankful to him for being my motivation to get things done! We still have several things to finish, but the foundation is complete!

The ladder is not part of the decor. HAHA!

All the light fixtures got their own Christmas bling!

Jameson even got his tree up and decorated. (Unfortunately, not cleaned around, though. HAHA)

We even got a lot done outside! I still need to decorate the trees and add a few more things, but I'm liking it so far!

Here is the mantle. I was working on a really cute banner to put here...

However, due to a very unfortunate and painful hot glue gun accident that involved SIX of my ten fingers (one of which has a HUGE blister on it), the banner (and mantle) remains unfinished. Nothing like pain to stop the creative flow of energy. HAHA!

Stupid glue gun.

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The day after a long holiday can be a nightmare for a doctor's office! For those of you who don't know what I do, I am a phone triage nurse for an OB/Gyn office. That means I answer all the questions/concerns that people call into the office with. I also do all the prescription refills, do prior authorizations for meds that the insurance companies don't want to pay for (which takes FOREVER to do), triage all the new OB patients coming into the office, and schedule emergency appointments. It can be a crazy job, especially the day after a holiday and especially since I usually do it alone. This is just some of the patients I talked to on Monday:

So please, if you call your doctor's office and it takes a while for them to call you back, remember there is somebody like me on the other end of it trying to call everybody back as quickly as possible! And a scared, bleeding pregnant patient takes priority over a prescription refill. Everybody will be called back, it just may take a little while.

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Saturday was a great day to be an Alabama Crimson Tide fan!

All I am going to say about this is ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

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Saturday was NOT a good day for my precious mother-in-law.

She felt bad all day Saturday and ended up being admitted to the hospital with insanely high blood pressures. Fortunately, she passed all the tests with flying colors and was able to come home Monday night. We are praying this was just a fluke thing and won't happen again!

(Oh, and a little side note....We just loved finding out about it on Facebook...not!)

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This woman, my wonderful Mama, is a saint. No really, a SAINT!

She is willing to sacrifice everything (time, money, health, sanity), forgive people, give until she has nothing left, and do it all with a cheerful heart and a smile on her face. I wish I was just like her.

I hope she enjoys her "second" retirement, which officially started today! And I hope the person(s) that have been on the receiving end of her generosity truly appreciates what she has given to you!

I love you Mama, and I pray you will have nothing but laughter, joy, health, happiness, love, and PEACE from now on!

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Speaking of Mamas, someone nominated me for The Top 25 Southern Mama Blogs though the Circle of Moms Network.

THANK YOU to whoever nominated me! I can't believe anybody even reads what I write, much less nominates me for an award! And once I saw all the other blogs that have been nominated....Kelly's Korner for one...I'm even more surprised! I hate asking for votes, but if you like my blog, please click on the Circle of Mom's logo on my right sidebar and vote for me. You don't have to sign-up for anything or give-up your first born child to vote. They have made it super easy! You can vote once every 24 hours until December 20th.

THANK YOU!!!

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I hope you all have a fantastic week!!

Slacker Mama's 2011 Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T07:20:00.030-06:00

Many years ago, Thanksgiving was often rushed and stressful, with everyone trying to make it to two (or more) Thanksgiving dinners. We would scarf down a traditional meal at one place, and then rush to another place for a second traditional meal. I don't know about everyone else, but when I got to the second meal, I wasn't hungry at all. So somebody (my mom, I think?) came up with the idea of having a Thanksgiving brunch instead. Instead of turkey and dressing, we have ham biscuits, breakfast casserole, sausage cheese muffins, and whatever assorted snacks that anyone wants to bring. We LOVE it!

We eat, talk, eat, laugh, eat, and look through all of the hundreds of sales papers. We always have plenty of time, and by the time we get to our respective traditional dinners, we are hungry again!

This year was the second year we hosted my family for the brunch. Wednesday, the house was a mess, but I worked all day long and got the house clean AND organized! Everything (well almost everything) is out of sight, but I know where it is. What a great feeling!

Now, for the pictures!

At the last minute, I decided to make a pound cake. I'm glad I did because it was SO good!

Don't you just love these cute "bacon and eggs"? I saw the idea on Pinterest and just had to try it! They were a hit! Under the "bacon and eggs" is Kim Wheeler's "Christmas crack". It is SO good and addicting!

Look at that spread. Makes me hungry just looking at it!

Chelsea, Marty, Langdon (in the back), Jerry and Bryson.

My precious Mama

Diane, Jameson (doesn't he look excited?), and Derek.

Drooling over all the sales! Selena, Laura, and Bo (at his first Jones family brunch!)

After brunch, Marty and I went to his Mom's house to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We got there a little late, so I don't have any pictures of the food, but there was a TON (as always).

Sierra

Natalie

Jameson

Now, for a little show....The many faces of Shelby:

This is actually a picture of my mother-in-law....but if you look to the left, you will see Shelby.

I can't take this girl anywhere. HAHA!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and I hope you have a wonderful week!

At least Prancer is ready!

2011-11-25T16:52:00.000-06:00

At least one thing in this house is ready for Christmas!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Where is that purple dinosaur when I need him?

2011-11-23T09:15:00.002-06:00

"Clean up,

Clean up,

Everybody,

Everywhere.

Clean up,

Everybody

Do your share!"

(Barney's "Clean Up" song, written b Joseph K. Phillips)

Photo from here.

Where is that purple dinosaur when you need him???

He didn't even answer "Legos"!

2011-11-22T07:39:00.005-06:00

I thought FOR SURE his first answer would be LEGOS!

That kid is full of surprises!

If I don't "talk" to all of y'all before Thursday, I hope you have a wonderful, fantastic, and relaxing Thanksgiving!

Breaking Dawn "hangover"

2011-11-18T12:21:00.001-06:00

Yesterday's Twilight marathon was incredible!

We spent 12 straight hours at the movie theater yesterday, and it was totally worth it! I loved getting to see the entire Twilight saga from the beginning to end (well, almost the end) all at one time. The die-hard Twilight fans in the audience made the atmosphere even more special!

We got to the theater around 2:00 pm (after eating a fantastic lunch) and ended up getting home around 2:30 AM. We were worn slap out, and fell asleep the second our heads hit the pillow. I am thankful my Mama offered to keep Jameson, and took him to school for me this morning. However, even after a good 6 hours of sleep, I still feel like I'm running on empty. I think I'm too old to be staying out that late. HAHA!

I won't give anything away (unless you e-mail me and want details...lol) for all of you who haven't seen it yet, but I will say, it is the BEST of the series so far!

Oh, and for all of you (not here, but in real life) who have laughed and made fun of me for getting so excited/involved with a silly vampire movie.....

Seeing these smiles totally made it worth it all!

A day that has been over a year in the making.

2011-11-17T07:50:00.002-06:00

Can anybody out there figure out what I'm doing tonight? Here is a little hint:

Yup, that's right....We are going to see the midnight premiere of "Breaking Dawn".

Photo from Here

Not only are we going to see "Breaking Dawn", we are going to see ALL FOUR of the "Twilight" movies. "Twilight" starts at 3:45 pm, then "New Moon", followed by "Eclipse", and then the finale at midnight of "Breaking Dawn".

It's hard to believe that just TWO short years ago, I was totally against the whole "Twilight-thing" and made fun of so many of my friends. I said I would never go see some stupid vampire movie at midnight with a whole crowd of people. I guess never say never, huh?

The best thing about tonight is the fact that it has been planned for over a year!

On July 4th last year, Chelsea, Shelby and I decided to go see "Eclipse", the newest movie in the "Twilight" series. All three of us had just discovered the insane world known as "Twilight" a few months before, and we were excited to see the newest installment. We had a great time, and we just couldn't believe that we had to wait an entire year for the next, and possibly the best, movie in the series. That night, a plan was born.

Our local movie theater is great in that they always try to do special things for their customers. One thing they do is offer marathons of movies that have several parts. When the finale of "Harry Potter" was released a few months ago, they did a whole TWO DAY marathon of all the movies. We hoped they would offer a marathon of the "Twilight" movies, too. We decided that night (in July 2010), if they did offer a marathon, we would be there and make a whole "girls night out" out of it!

Every few weeks, Chelsea would ask me about "Breaking Dawn". She may not be able to remember a lot of things, but this she was able to remember. HaHa! As the release date got closer, I paid close attention to the movie theater's Facebook page, waiting to see if they would offer the marathon. Sure enough, they did and I immediately bought 3 tickets!

Chelsea has been so excited, that's just about all she has talked about for the past 6 weeks (other than General Hospital and Scotty McCreery)! Every day I've had to tell her exactly how many days we have left to wait. Well, we don't have to wait any more. Today is the day! The day that was planned over a year ago!

I'll be sure to let all of you know how it was.....after we wake up from our LONG (and fun) night!

Georgia Aquarium and The World of Coke

2011-11-16T07:33:00.003-06:00

Last week, Jameson got to go on his first Gifted Class field trip.

We've never been on anything other than "normal" school field trips, so we didn't know what to expect. The cost was higher than the regular field trips, but I just assumed it was because of where we were going. We actually went out of state, to the Georgia Aquarium and The World of Coke in Atlanta.

The first thing that was definitely different was the fact we had to leave WAAAAY before school started....

6:16 AM, and we weren't expected to be home until around 6:00 PM. All other field trips have to be held during normal school hours. I don't think anybody was too happy with the early meeting time, but everybody was excited about the trip! Not only did Jameson have several of his friends going, I was thrilled to find that several of MY friends were actually going on the trip, too. That made things even better!

Now, lots of pictures!

On the bus, ready to go! This bus definitely wasn't a school bus! The ride was smooth, the seats were super-comfy, it had a bathroom, and DVD players. Totally worth the extra money!

This is one of Jameson's friends, Collin.

This is another one of Jameson's friends, Rio.

He is ready to explore!

Beautiful Fall day at the Georgia Aquarium!

The World of Coke right across from the Aquarium.

Jameson's best buddy, Colby.

Jameson's ~~girl~~ friend, Gracie.

Colby and Jameson, impatiently waiting to go in.

Sea horses.

Jelly fish

Yes, Jameson has had some caffeine, why do you ask?

I love this picture!

Colby's ~~step~~-mom, Tiffany. I just love her to death!

Colby and the world's largest slice of pizza!

Jameson trying his best to eat the whole thing!

SHARK!!

Sharks, stingrays, and multiple other fish. The stingrays were putting on a show!

Starfish

That's some good eating right there!

His face looks like an old man. HAHA!

The kids loved this octopus most of all.

Seal.

Whales!

Dolphin

This turtle had the weirdest face!

Do you see the deadly snake on the tree?

A true albino alligator. It had pink eyes!

Electric eels.

Piranha!

Lion fish. These poisonous fish are taking over Georgia's waterways!

These fish were thought to be extinct!

Shrimp...some more good eating!

Crabs.

Now on to the World of Coke!

My hero....the inventor of Coca-Cola!

This polar bear was SO lifelike! The face was articulated!

In the past, workers used this machine to put the caps on the bottles of Coke. Forget the Stairmaster, I need one of these!

Past Olympic torches. This was really cool!

Miss Gracie and her mama, Nicole.

Yup, still caffeinated!

This is in the "Taste It" room at the World of Coke. Here, there are coke products from all over the world for you to sample. The "Beverly" from Italy, right behind Jameson's left shoulder, was the worst tasting junk I've ever had in my mouth. It burned, it tasted so bad. LOL

I think somebody is ready to go home!

On the bus, ready for the long ride home.

Even though it started really early, we all had a fantastic time! I can't wait to do it again next year!

A Slacker Mama's new best friend?

2011-11-15T07:48:00.009-06:00

A few weeks ago, I was invited to test the Bounce Dryer Bar.

This is what the Bounce Dryer Bar website has to say about it's product:

"We've raised the bar on convenience even higher with the Bounce Dryer Bar. It attaches safely to the inside of your dryer and freshens every load automatically. Wouldn't it be great if everything was that easy?"

Easy? HELLO! A Slacker Mama's best friend is the word EASY so I decided to try it and see!

I will admit, we are laundry snobs in this house. I've tried using "bargain" detergents and softeners in the past, but I usually have complaints from the family about the feel or the smell of the clothes, so I was hesitant to try something new. But after running out of my normal fabric softener, I thought I would give the Bounce Dryer Bar a shot.

Of the installation process, I think actually getting the paper off the adhesive sheet was the most difficult. HAHA!

There she is. After following the installation instructions, she's ready to go!

OK, lets try this puppy out!

The first load dried beautifully, and the Bounce Dryer Bar stayed stuck to the inside of the dryer. Since the inside of my dryer has several grooves, I was concerned that it wouldn't stick as well as it needed to, but it has worked fine, so far.

Fast-forward two weeks.

After two weeks of heavy-duty laundry, including sheets, comforters, bath rugs, work jeans, and two packs of gum, this is what it looks like:

Well, she's not very pretty, but she's still working very well! Our clothes are soft and have no static cling. It doesn't have much of a smell though, so I guess that will be one disadvantage for our family (we are weird and like the strong smell of laundry products...haha!). But I definitely think I will try the "Fresh Linen Scent" the next time. I don't think it will last anywhere near three months, but I do think I can get at least 1-1/2 months out of each bar. I do LOVE not having to hunt for the box of dryer sheets, which has usually fallen between/behind/beside the washer and dryer! Just throw your clothes in the dryer and press start. It couldn't get any easier!

I found out on their website, they also carry a Bounce Free version that contains no dyes or scents!

I admit that if I hadn't been given this sample, I probably would have never tried this. BUT, since I have tried it, and I really like it, I WILL use this again!

If you have any questions, please visit Bounceeverywhere.com.

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This is a BlogHer sponsored review for the Bounce Dryer Bar. I was given one Bounce Dryer Bar kit to try. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

Mama's Mumblings

2011-11-14T07:25:00.003-06:00

Hey friends! I hope you all have been enjoying this wonderful Fall weather!

It has been absolutely beautiful around here. The skies are so blue, all the leaves are gorgeous colors, the weather is cool and the wind has been gently blowing. This is my favorite time of year!

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Last week, Jameson got to go on his first Gifted Class field trip. As third graders, their field trip was to the Georgia Aquarium and The World of Coke.

(More pictures to come in another post...lol)

Despite the fact we had to meet at Wal-Mart at 6:15 am, the rest of the trip was a BLAST! I've never had this much fun on a field trip. It's too bad we can't go more than once a year.

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After all of the craziness of the past month, this week (after work and the field trip), I decided to do NOTHING this past week. No crafts, no sorting, no blogging, no rearranging. I did manage to wash clothes and dishes, get the Halloween stuff put up, and straighten some things up, but for the most part, I did NOTHING. It seems like the house is always a wreck, so I don't think having it messy for one more week is going to kill me. Then I realized today that Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks and I have to get this house ready for that. Now, I'm in PANIC mode. LOL It will get done, eventually.

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Thanks to Pinterest, I've about decided to abandon all Thanksgiving decor and go straight to Christmas decor. I do have a few Thanksgiving-type things up, but I don't know how long it will stay. HaHa!

I found these adorable pine cone elves and decided I just had to make some.

So, I go out into the woods and try to collect some pine cones. I found a TON of them, but they are all big and ugly. I read that you are supposed to heat them in the oven (low heat for a few hours) to help dry them out and kill any critters that may be in them (**shiver**). So, I fill up two aluminum roasting pans with them and turn the oven on. About 3 hours later, I go to get them out of the oven, and I can't get them out! The pine cones are stuck and are falling all over the place. Apparently, I was too stupid to realize that as the pine cones dry out, they open up. I now have enough pine cones to fill up about FOUR roasting pans. HAHA!

I will admit, they do look much better, but I doubt I will be able to make any super-cute, tiny elves out of them. LOL So, I am thinking doing something along these lines:

From Here

And/Or these:

From Here

I sure hope I have enough pine cones! LOL

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For all my crafty friends out there, I finally broke down and bought some "Terrifically Tacky", double-sided tape from Hobby Lobby, when I was making my Halloween test tubes. I LOVED the stuff, but it is expensive in the store. It cost $6.99 for 5 yards! You better believe I used it sparingly! Well, thanks to Pinterest, I found a source to get it MUCH cheaper.

Confessions of a Ribbon Addict sells it for $12.99 for 36 yards of the exact same tape! What a difference when you put them side-by-side! If you have never used it, I highly recommend it for all your "double-stick tape" needs! I think my next project using it will be glittered candles.

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I hope you all have a wonderful and fantastic week!!

Thank You!

2011-11-10T21:39:00.001-06:00

Freedom isn't free!

Photo from here.

Thank you to all the Veterans out there!

I hope you all have a beautiful, relaxing, and safe weekend!

Now we are just waiting on Baby Easton!

2011-11-09T07:21:00.002-06:00

This was an extremely busy weekend! Not only did we have a birthday party for Miss Mallory, at the exact same time, we had a baby shower for Marty's nephew, Matthew, and his wife Misty. They are expecting baby Easton in January!

Needless to say, there was a lot of running around between venues last week.

Marty's sisters are SO talented when it comes to parties. They can do just about anything! This shower was no exception.

We started with a small white room, and by the time Saturday got here, it was completely transformed!

Now, tons of pictures!

(Sorry they are so out of order. Blogger was giving me fits trying to upload them!)

The adorable cake made by Marty's sister (and grandma to be), Penny.

THIS is even more adorable! A diaper TRICYCLE! Also made by Penny.

Incredible cake made by Marty's sister, Candie. Look out Cake Boss....you have competition!

It wouldn't be a baby shower without cigars, would it?

Cake Pops.

Onesie cookies, also made by the Hill (Rosser) ladies!

The kisses had Easton's name on the bottom.

Sour Straws....they were the biggest hit of all the candy.

My crazy niece, Shelby.

I love the way they arranged the fruit using a cupcake stand!

Some of Easton's loot!

Thank goodness! LOL

These were bacon-wrapped cheese cracker things with brown sugar. They were SO good!

The spread with just some of the food. I had to leave for Mallory's party before everything was out.

Oh my goodness....these hand-made cheese-it's were SO good! Made by Penny, of course.

The proud daddy, Matthew.

The beautiful mom-to-be, Misty.

This is the most hysterical picture ever. This is Cliff, Matt's best friend. He is such a ham, and the look on his face is priceless. Cliff is about to get the shock of his life...his wife is expecting twins (a boy and a girl) in a few months!

They got so many nice things. Baby Easton won't have to wear the same outfit twice during the first year! We can't wait to meet this precious little man!

Happy First Birthday Precious Mallory!

2011-11-07T07:53:00.001-06:00

This weekend, we celebrated Mallory's First Birthday!

(Mallory is the daughter of my cousin, Clay and his wife (one of my great friends) Julie, if you are new to my blog.)

It's hard to believe she is already ONE! It just seems like yesterday she was born!

Everything went really well and we were so glad we got to be a part of it!

Now, a ton of pictures!

Birthday girl!

Table centerpieces. They said "Mallory is one!"

The cake!

Julie had one for each month.

Mallory's smash cake.

These are her 1 y.o. pictures. Aren't they precious?

Mama Julie and Miss Mallory.

The candy table.

Face banner. I got this idea from Pinterest. I think it turned out so cute!

The happy (and tired) parents, Julie and Clay, and Mallory.

My kiddos.

This is such a cute idea!

Almost everybody at the party filled one of these out. Mallory will get to read them when she is older!

It's time for cake!

What am I supposed to do????

The most hysterical picture of the day. I LOVE the look on her face!

This is all the damage she did and most of that was from her daddy smashing her fist into it. She's just to lady-like to make a huge mess.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALLORY!!!

I hope you have a lifetime of joy, happiness, and fun!

25 years? Really?

2011-11-06T19:48:00.000-06:00

Today is the 25th anniversary of my first date with Marty.

On that very first date, we decided on a wedding date, and that's the day we married!

For the whole wild and crazy (and really weird) way we met and started dating, go HERE to read the story!

Happy {dating} Anniversary, Marty!

I love you more today than ever before!

No Tricks here....only TREATS!

2011-10-31T07:21:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween everybody!

I am a little sad because my absolute favorite time of the year is coming to an end today. No more scary movies, no more really cool Halloween decorations, no more trick or treating...

Anyway, I'm really sorry that I've been totally absent from Blogland recently. I've been working on several projects like CRAZY, and computer time has been limited. I'm completely finished with two of the four big projects, and have a lot done on the other two. I just have to make it through Saturday, and then I think I will take a solid month of a craft-free holiday. It sounds extreme (to me), but I.AM.TIRED. Hobby Lobby isn't even looking good to me right now. HAHA!

I always try to do something special for my kid's classmates and my co-workers. This year, I decided to do the same treat for both.

I originally saw this idea on Pinterest around May of this year, and I just knew I HAD to do it!

I loved everything about it, so I tried to get everything as close to her original as possible. I even got into a bidding war with someone on Ebay to get the retired stamp set. HAHA! I am SO tickled how these turned out! It took a LOT more time than I thought it would, and I don't even have a clue how much money they ending up costing, but I love the end result!

My Sunday School students loved them, so I hope the school students and my co-workers do to!

Test tubes filled with color-coded skittles!

I made 100 in total. These are just the one's for the kid's classrooms.

Here are the kid's gift bags, complete with custom labels I made with the Silhouette software.

I also decided to have a little fun with some Hershey's kisses:

It was a lot of work, but I love how everything turned out. I hope the kids like them too!

I hope you all have the most wonderful day ever, filled with lots of TREATS!

Family Halloween Paartay!

2011-10-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, we had our yearly Halloween get-together at my sister's house. We had a fabulous time, as always! She always goes above-and-beyond to make sure everyone had a great time!

And now, tons of pictures!

Kacie and Chelsea

My sister, Diane. She's going to kill me about this picture. HAHA!

Langdon (and his closed eyes), showing off his pumpkin.

Kacie and her pumpkin.

Jessie and her pumpkin.

Bryson and his pumpkin.

The back of Jameson's pumpkin. He said "This pumpkin has eyes on the back of it's head, too!." Then I said "It must a mommy pumpkin, then!: HA!

The front of Jameson's pumpkin. He was being a smart alec with the eyes. HAHA!

A much better picture of Langdon. Don't you love it that it looks like Coach Saban is looking over his shoulder? HAHA!

Beautiful sunset.

Bryson came outside with me to enjoy the sunset, too!

Proof that the men-folk were there, too. My brother-in-law, Jerry and hubby, Marty.

The kids and my sister, busy at work.

My niece, Selena (and the Bama game on in the background, of course)

My great-niece, Kacie, the poser.

More busy work.

My niece, Laura, and her boyfriend, Bo. (You can tell we have some work to do with him...gotta get rid of that ugly Auburn attire...haha!)

Jameson being silly. (Be sure to notice the ham to the left on the next couple of pictures.)

It's hayride time!

The whole gang, bundled up and ready to roll!

We all had a fantastic time and I can't wait to do it again!

I hope you all have a fantastic Fall week!

It's almost Halloween at the Hill home!

2011-10-24T07:48:00.001-05:00

With everything going on around here during the next few weeks (two weeks to be exact), along with my normal October-time sinus infection, I decided to put a few finishing touches on the front porch and call it DONE.

It's not nearly everything I wanted to do. Given more time, less projects, and a ton more $$$, it could have been better, but I think everything turned out pretty well.

(Sorry for the crazy shadows....I was never outside when the sun was "perfect" and these are the best photos I was able to get)

Don't you just love these bones? This was all Jameson's handi-work. He spent forever burying these bones to get them to look "just so". He had a black crow in there, looking like he was pecking at the bones, but the neighborhood dogs liked it and destroyed it.

You see these super-cool apple gourds? My friend Beth gave them to us a few weeks ago. They look just like huge green apples, but later, turn into gourds. They can be painted to look like anything you want. I LOVED the green color, so I left them plain, for now. But after only one day out in the sun, they already started to turn. I hope to paint a few once they are dried out.

This is really cool in the dark. It glows all different colors.

Well, there you go, my Halloween front porch!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, filled with fun Tricks and Treats!

I am totally embarrassed!

2011-10-21T11:58:00.000-05:00

If y'all don't see me for a few ~~weeks~~ days, it's because I have been sucked into the dirty pit that was previously known as "Jameson's Room."

I've been so busy with everything else, I've given him the responsibility off keeping his room clean.

As you can see, that plan isn't working out too well.

So, during his Fall break from school (Friday and Monday), HE will be helping ME clean out his room. The plan is for every single thing to be removed from the room, sorted, and organized. While all the toys are out, I plan to clean every surface and wash anything that can go into the washing machine. MY plan is for only about 30% (or less) of all his toys to make it back into his room...but we will have to see how much wailing and gnashing of teeth that will cause. LOL

Wish me luck!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

I see London, I see France, I see the Witch's Underpants!

2011-10-18T07:22:00.001-05:00

My silly little umbrella witch found her new home this weekend! After a few stressful moments (for me, not for Marty) of trying to get the vinyl hooks actually hooked into our siding, she looks great!

It looks better than I even imagined it would! Marty did such a good job covering everything up with fake spider webs and spiders (of course, i couldn't get a good picture of that...lol).

The front porch is pretty-much finished, but I haven't been around during the daylight to take half-way decent pictures. I will try my best to post some tomorrow!

Too many irons in the fire!

2011-10-17T07:08:00.017-05:00

Why can't I say no?

I think it's inherited. My mother is the exact same way. A couple of years ago, my sister even bought her a shirt that said "Stop me before I volunteer again!".

From CafePress.com

The next few weeks are going to be crazy for me.

I'm helping with a few things for the school's Fall Festival. Nothing huge, but helping with signs, awards, games, etc. I definitely don't mind helping, especially since there seems to be only a handful of people (other than school staff) who have lifted a finger to help. I really hope, for the kids, the festival is a HUGE success! Oh, and if you are from the Munford area, ANYTHING you can do to help will be GREATLY appreciated!

Then, the weekend after the festival, I am helping with Mallory's First Birthday Party AND my nephew, Matthew's & his wife Misty's, Baby Shower. They are both on the same day, and the exact same time, so it's really going to be an insane 24 hours! LOL Also, a very special niece of mine, Shelby, will be turning 20!

This weekend, I have been working on Shower and Birthday stuff. There is so much I want/need to do for both events, I just can't seem to finish one project before moving on to the next.

Here is the almost-finished banner I made for the shower:

I still have to string it together and add ribbon, but the hard part is done. I don't know if you can tell, but the black letters are actually cut from glitter paper. The letters look so cool in person.

The shower colors are black, white, and blue. I think it's going to be really cute when everything is decorated! I hope Misty and Matthew like it!

I've also been working on something really funny and cute for Mallory's birthday party. We got this idea from Pinterest (of course).

From Here

When we saw this, we knew it would be perfect for Mallory's party! I've had the best time working on these. Seeing Mallory's precious face has had my laughing my head off! Here is what I've done so far:

Nothing is attached so far, and I still have to add the trim, but aren't these hysterical? I cannot wait to get these finished and hung up!

Right between the Fall Festival and the Birthday/Shower, is Halloween. Some time during the Summer, I found these on Pinterest and just knew I had to make them:

From Here

I loved these SO much, I ordered the test tubes and corks as soon as I found them. They have been sitting in a box, on my dining room table, since JUNE! I also stalked Ebay for the exact stamps used, which (of course) have been discontinued from Stampin' Up! I found them, and got into a bidding war with someone, and probably ended up paying three times what they cost brand new. BUT, I will make these to give to all the kid's classmates, my co-workers, and my Sunday School kids. I've already made the tags and bought the Skittles and ribbon, I just have to put everything together....you know, in all my spare time. HAHA!

And since I have two kids who LOVE Halloween, I'm sure there will be several hours (and probably a few days) worth of Trick-or-Treating. I miss the good old days when we would load up in a back of a truck, go to the middle of town, and everybody piles out and walks the entire town. We always had the best time! Not only did we usually end up with a pillowcase full of candy, but we also got to hang out with all our friends, and visit with all of our neighbors. That was the life, wasn't it?

These days, we get the kids in the car, drive miles and miles, stop at one relatives house, get back in the car, drive miles and miles again, go to another relatives house....and continue until we run out of gas, or until ~~the adults get grumpy~~ the kids get sleepy. The kids seem to enjoy it, but they don't know any different.

I also promised I would make some scrapbook paper Christmas ornaments to use for the Halloween Festival's silent auction.

(Sorry it's sideways...lol)

I haven't been able to do those yet because I am waiting on some "official" Alabama and Auburn scrapbook paper. I don't want to break any copyright laws, so I ordered the real thing. However, all my my Auburn papers are backordered and I don't know if they will be here before the festival.

I know everything will eventually get finished (it always does), but I'm sure there will be a lot of sleepless nights between now and then.

I feel like I've got too many irons in the fire, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

I hope you all have a wonderful and fantastic week!

Somebody is having a special 1st birthday!

2011-10-13T10:53:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe that precious baby Mallory is going to be ONE in just a few weeks!

It seems like she was just born yesterday!

Her mama, Julie, and I have been working on and planning her birthday party for the past 11 months. (What? Doesn't every first-time mom plan birthday parties months in advance???) Everything is going to be so cute!

One of the biggest things I've been working on is the invitations. Since I am completely in love with my Silhouette softwear, I just knew I had to try to make something extra-special for this precious little girl!

Julie and I have scanned the Internet for months, and finally found "the one" on Pinterest a couple of months ago. All credit for this idea goes to the original designer on Pinterest. We changed the colors around a little to match the party better, and we think it turned out fantastic!

(Edited for personal information)

I just love how the pictures show her growth from little baby, to an "almost" one year old little girl!

We have so many super-cute plans for this party! I can't wait to share them all with you!!

I hope you all are having a wonderful and fantastic week!

I guess I will just do one project at a time.

2011-10-11T07:44:00.003-05:00

I love Halloween!

I have so many cute and wonderful ideas running around in my head. My Pinterest boards are filled with incredible things that I want to do to this house.

BUT, I just can't seem to get anything finished. I totally envy all of the people out there who grab all of their decor things, and have it all put up and finished within a day or two.

HOW DO Y'ALL DO IT????

I know what I want to do, I just can't seem to pull it all together and get it done. I guess I will just always be one of those people who live in an unfinished house!

So frustrating!

Well, since I can't get everything complete, I guess I will do just one project at a time.

This weekend, I managed to complete one more thing to go on my front porch. Just like everything else, I got the idea from Pinterest. LOL

(Sorry for the horrible pictures, it was already dark outside by the time I got them put where I wanted).

I cut vinyl out with my Silhouette and just stuck them to the pumpkins. That way, when I want to try something else, I can just peel everything right off!

I'm still not anywhere near finished, but hopefully I can get close by doing one project at a time!

I hope you all are having a wonderful and fantastic week!

It was a perfect day for a parade!

2011-10-10T07:26:00.002-05:00

Last Friday was our school's homecoming parade. The weather was perfect...blue skies, cool breezes, and sunshine galore! We've always gone to the parade, but this year it was really special because Chelsea got to ride on one of the floats! The "Lunch Bunch" made a spectacular float, and invited Chelsea to ride along with them since she's been working with them this year. She was SO excited!

This is the whole gang right after the parade was over, but I thought it was the absolute best picture of the night!

Seriously hysterical picture!

We have the marching band...

They had Cheerleaders...

Football players....

More football players....

Seriously flat tire on the trailer carrying football players....

More cheerleaders...

More football players...

Precious Dance Line....

Baton twirlers...

This is Paul, a family friend who is also the editor of the Munford newspaper...

Yes, even MORE cheerleaders....

And even more football players...

Yes, more cheerleaders...

More football players...

And finally, the last of the cheerleaders...

And the last of the football players...

If anything, Munford has an awesome youth athletics department!

I LOVED this idea for one of the homecoming queen candidates. With as many farmers as we have around here, I'm surprised this hasn't been done before!

Senior float:

Great float by our new local grocery store:

Another great float by our local pharmacy:

As much as I loved the tractor, THIS has to be the best idea for a homecoming queen ever! Who doesn't love the Ice Cream Truck? She won homecoming queen, too!

Here's my Chelsea-Belle going by!

And Jenny and her grandchildren riding her horses. Everyone LOVED seeing them ride by!

We all had the best time! Everybody who went talked about how great the parade was this year.

Homecoming week ended with a HUGE win by our Munford Lions!

GO BIG RED!

I don't think it could have been more perfect!

Not quite extreme enough for TLC....

2011-10-07T15:52:00.000-05:00

I have to tell you, TLC's show Extreme Couponing is one of my favorite shows. It just amazes me how much money these people save. I'm also amazed at how much and the type of stuff they can get for practically nothing.

(However, don't get me started on the HUGE fourty-year stockpiles some of these people have....I mean, who needs 500 bottles of body wash and 1000 tubes of toothpaste?)

Anyway, just like about 50% of the people who watch the show, I've wanted to try my hand at couponing. I bought a binder and got some trading card sleeves and went to printing out any and every coupon I could find. I organized and reorganized each page until I sort-of have a useable, functional coupon binder.

The biggest problem I have is I never remember to take the binder into the store with me. It's kind-of hard to save money if you leave the coupons in the car...right? I'm also not willing to go to 10 different stores to find the best deals. My shopping is focused on three stores... Wal-Mart, Winn Dixie, and Target. I tried the Publix thing....it was too much work, too far away, and in the end, just too darn expensive. Once they build the one nearer to us, I may try again.

Well, today we were out of everything, including cereal, snacks and meat. I like to shop at Target when I can because they have really great store coupons that can be matched with manufacture coupons, but ours doesn't sell fresh meat or produce, so it was off to Winn-Dixie today. They were having a lot of BYGO deals and 10 for $10 deals today.

I was really unorganized today while shopping (because I left my binder in my sister-in-law's car yesterday), but I did manage to save a TON! I was so excited with my haul, I just had to take pictures....

Some of the things I got were: 4 packs of chicken breasts, two large bags of frozen chicken tenders, two large packs of pork chops, two roasts, 4 cans Pringles, 4 boxes of cereal, 6 cans of Campbell's soup, 6 boxes of pizza rolls, two huge bottles of catchup, 2 bottles of marinade, and 6 frozen pizzas....which, with a purchase of the 6, we also got a free Redbox rental, free liter of Hawaiian Punch, free box of bagel bites, free box of fudgecicles, and a free box of candy. I also got fresh bread, fruit, produce, chips, popcorn, flavored rice, 10 packs of seasoning mix, eggs (the Eggland's Best were $.50 cheaper than the store brand), cheese, 2 large bags of frozen spicy sweet potato fries, cupcake mix, 2 packs of frozen edemame, 2 boxes of storage bags, pickles, chicken stock, tea, popcicles, dippin' dots, peanut butter crackers, and 2 packs of cookie dough.

Before tax, I ended up spending $192 for all of this!! According to the receipt, I saved $118!! This is approximately a 60% savings! This is the best I've ever done! And the absolute best thing, we actually eat every single thing I bought. None of that lets-just-buy-this-because-I-have-a-coupon-syndrome going on.

It's definitely not extreme enough for TLC, but I think it's a pretty good start!

ADHD anyone?

2011-10-06T07:55:00.000-05:00

This is how we spent one evening when Daddy wasn't home:

You think he may have a touch of ADHD?

(Oh, and he literally begged me to put this on my blog...how funny is that?)

Truths for Mature Humans

2011-10-05T16:56:00.001-05:00

I found this on Pinterest today and I thought it was just too good to share! I couldn't find the "original" source, so if you know, let me know so I can give the author proper credit!

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did!

(You may have to "ctrl + " to make the screen larger or just click on the link to read it better!)

I am so jealous....

2011-10-04T07:05:00.001-05:00

My husband is here:

While I am stuck here:

Totally not fair.

Haha, Seriously, I'm really proud of my husband and this opportunity for him to go on this work trip. I just wish we were all able to go along with him. Maybe next year!

Maybe I will be finished by NEXT Halloween!

2011-10-03T07:17:00.001-05:00

This past weekend had to be the most incredibly beautiful of all time. Blue skies, gentle breezes, cool temps....perfect for being outside. Also perfect for finishing Halloween decorating, right?

Well, you would think I would manage to get everything finished....but alas, I'm not known as a "slacker mama" for nothing.

I'm also trying to work on things for a very special 1st birthday party, a baby shower, and our school's Fall festival....all of which are between October 29th and November 6th. My ADD is on MASSIVE overload right now!

I did manage to get a few things finished, but I still have a TON left to do. Here are some pictures of the newest decorations:

I tweaked the legs and I think they look better than before. It's amazing what a little Spanish moss can do...lol!

Pardon the mess all over the place, the wind was blowing like crazy and Spanish moss was blowing everywhere! LOL

I thought this giant witch's boot was adorable! I got it at a local craft fair this weekend.

The front door area. I have SO much more to do!

Here is another set of witch's legs. We are planning on hanging this on the front porch, but it was so windy, I didn't want to risk it blowing away. So, for now, they are hanging in the house. LOL!

Hopefully I will be finished by NEXT Halloween!

OK, she's REALLY a Senior now!

2011-09-29T07:40:00.001-05:00

After this week, it's official...

Chelsea is a Senior in High School!

Today, her class ordered graduation invitations (I only ordered the insert cards...I'm making her invitations), tassels, and all sorts of Senior paraphernalia.

And we also got these in the mail....

So this is really happening, huh?

I don't remember giving her permission to grow up this fast.

Halloween Decorating...It's a start.

2011-09-26T07:41:00.012-05:00

I have been planning Halloween decorations since around June, or even earlier.

That dagum Pinterest sucked me in early and has just kept me there, pinning, and planning, and buying stuff, just waiting until Fall got here so I could get my Halloween decorating on.

It was NOT going to be like years past where I've done the same thing (without Pinterest, of course), but never managed to get anything up until the week of Halloween....and then, it's just whatever I can manage to throw together in an afternoon.

Well, I didn't get 1/10th of what I wanted done, but I did manage to get a few things (almost) completed and up. I've still got a LONG way to go, but here is what I was able to finish this weekend:

Here are the infamous mannequin legs. My husband and I literally laughed the entire time we were working with these. I think they turned out really cute, but still needs a little something.

I think I am going to add more moss and move the crow so it doesn't look like she's got a big, black thing coming out of her **ahem**. The neighborhood dogs like the crow and keep grabbing it off the planter.

Next, I worked on a few little signs for the mantle. I designed and made all of them, except for the subway art. I downloaded that from Pinterest (of course)

This last thing took me FOR-EVAH to finish. I swear, if I had known it would have ~~been such a pain in the bootie~~ taken so long to finish, I NEVER would have done it! I am glad that I stuck it out and finished it, but WOW, what a pain!

Since I had the whole "witch's legs" thing going on outside, I thought I would do something similar inside. I know these aren't witch's legs, but they are witch's shoes!

Just like the rest of my ideas, I got the idea for the witch's shoes off of Pinterest.

(From Here)

So, here is my no-where-near-completed mantle. I have every glass container I own sitting up there, just waiting to be filled. They all won't stay there, so it won't be as cluttered as it is right now.

I hope you enjoyed the START of my Halloween decorating....

I HOPE!

I hope you all have a wonderful and fantastic week!!

Welcome Home Cpl. Christopher Gerren!

2011-09-23T13:42:00.005-05:00

I just had to share these two video clips with all of you today.

I have a really great friend, Maddie, who's daughter, Jessica, is married to a Marine, Chris, who has been stationed in Afghanistan for the past 6 1/2 months. While he's been away, Jessica and their daughter Madison, moved to Florida to live with Chris' parents. During this time, Jessica also gave birth to their second daughter, Remington.

Over these past 6 months, I've watched Jessica be the epitome of a military wife. She's managed everything, including raising their little girls, and giving BIRTH, without Chris by her side. She's also moved from North Carolina, to Florida, and back to North Carolina, with their two girls by her side. She's had the most incredible attitude throughout this entire deployment.

I've loved watching her count down the days until her husband's return. She had so many plans, signs, and decorations just waiting for that fabulous return date. Well, a couple of days before Chris was supposed to come home, Jessica got an e-mail saying it was going to be a few more weeks before he made it back. She was crushed, but remained strong.

Then, yesterday something amazing happened. Jessica was invited to The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she was surprised with a reunion with her husband!

Here are two video clips that are on Ellen's Website!

Jessica and Chris reunited!

Chris sees/meets his girls!

(Photo from here)

I've watched these over and over, and I cry like a baby every single time!

Welcome Home Chris!!

Thank you so much Chris and Jessica, and to all of the military men, women, and families for your sacrifices for our country!

Mama's Mumblings

2011-09-22T08:04:00.001-05:00

It's officially Fall, y'all! And believe it or not, I have NOTHING decorated yet! I know it's a shock to all of you. HAHA! I'm not "Slacker Mama" for nothing, you know.

I have been working on a few things, I just haven't gotten around to finishing them.

The story of my life!

I am determined to at least get "my legs" out of my dining room, and on the front porch by this weekend.

Even though we have sort-of gotten used to seeing in them now. The first twenty or thirty times we walked by, they did scare the mess out of all of us. LOL

I'm also working on a banner to go on the mantle.

I'm trying to run with the "witch's legs" thing. Hopefully it will work out well!

-----------------------------------

I am thrilled to death that I found some foam pumpkins at Target that were only $6.00! All of the others I've been finding are $15-$28 each! I hated to spend the money, but it's a whole lot cheaper to buy these and reuse them, than buy fresh pumpkins every year. Fresh pumpkins do NOT do well in our climate anyway. One little hole, cut, puncture, or scrape....it's rotted within 24 hours. I'm trying to figure out what to do with those, as well.

-----------------------------------

I, along with millions of other people, woke up to a little surprise yesterday morning:

I mean, PLEASE PEOPLE, can't you just leave well enough alone? I finally figure it out, and then I have to learn it all over again!

However, later someone posted this on their wall that really puts everything into perspective:

(Photos from Facebook)

So, I guess I will just shut-up about all that now. LOL

----------------------------------

One day, I will learn to keep my mouth shut. As Chelsea and I were headed to Stephanie's shower on Saturday, I was telling Chelsea how happy I was that Jameson hadn't been sick the past week. For the past three years, Jameson has missed school the week after his birthday because of being sick. Well, no sooner had we gotten to the shower, I get a phone call from Marty letting me know Jameson had a fever and was throwing up.

**slapping forehead**

Remind me not to ever, ever, ever open my big, fat mouth again!

Jameson had a couple of rough days, but is on the mend and made it back to school yesterday. He is still ill as a hornet, though.

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I was excited to see the new series the X-Factor last night.

(Photo from here)

I really wanted to like it, but just wasn't that impressed with it. It was just a little too much American Idol mixed with America's Got Talent for me. I was most disturbed by the man who got on the stage to sing, and then proceeded to remove his pants and underwear and shake his "stuff" all over the stage. I understand being surprised by the person doing this, but they allowed him to continue for several minutes without stopping him. Where was security? Fortunately for the television audience, his "stuff" was covered, but there were MANY children in the live audience who saw him in all his glory. It completely amazes me what people will do for ratings!

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I hope you all are having a wonderful week and hopefully I will finish some things and get to share with you!

Alabama Slacker Mama

I miss this!

My Pinterest loves for the week

I can't believe it happened again.

I think you're doing it wrong!

**sigh**

Who knew...

These three people...

Welcome baby Easton!

Even though it's Friday the 13th....

Mullets ROCK!

Number 14!

Mama's Mumblings

I'm so proud!

It only took FOUR years....

Southern New Year traditions

From our home to yours

It was a gift card Christmas!

The LONGEST Christmas weekend ever (part 3)!

The LONGEST Christmas weekend ever (part 2)!

The LONGEST Christmas weekend ever (part 1)!

Merry Christmas to All!

I am FINALLY finished!

It's a Pinterest Christmas!

The Jar of Love

It's been a crafty weekend!

2011 Hill Family Christmas card

Trying to get our craft on

BOYS!

Mama's Mumblings

Slacker Mama's 2011 Thanksgiving

At least Prancer is ready!

Where is that purple dinosaur when I need him?

He didn't even answer "Legos"!

Breaking Dawn "hangover"

A day that has been over a year in the making.

Georgia Aquarium and The World of Coke

A Slacker Mama's new best friend?

Mama's Mumblings

Thank You!

Now we are just waiting on Baby Easton!

Happy First Birthday Precious Mallory!

25 years? Really?

No Tricks here....only TREATS!

Family Halloween Paartay!

It's almost Halloween at the Hill home!

I am totally embarrassed!

I see London, I see France, I see the Witch's Underpants!

Too many irons in the fire!

Somebody is having a special 1st birthday!

I guess I will just do one project at a time.

It was a perfect day for a parade!

Not quite extreme enough for TLC....

ADHD anyone?

Truths for Mature Humans

I am so jealous....

Maybe I will be finished by NEXT Halloween!

OK, she's REALLY a Senior now!

Halloween Decorating...It's a start.

Welcome Home Cpl. Christopher Gerren!

Mama's Mumblings

sigh