New Saturday Series: Christmas On the Cheap!

So I have a little extra time, you know, like 3 minutes before I have to get in the shower and get both kids ready for a birthday party, lol, so I thought I'd start something I've been considering for a while now. If you're like me, you have NO FUNDS FOR CHRISTMAS this year. And, (insert grumbling moan and choice words here), my embroidery machine is BROKEN! I KNOW!!! No monogrammed gifts for Christmas this year :( It's OK though, I'm still trying to convince hubby I need a Cricut Expression now, lol. Have you seen them?! They are freakin' cool! You can do so much with them, you can cut fabric, vinyl for your walls or your car windows (I know you've seen all those cute monogrammed initials on people's cars!), and so much more. But I'm totally getting off track here!

My first idea in this Saturday Series is....printable paper dolls! Now, I know, they canNOT compare to those cool $100 electric scooters, or a $60 Barbie dream mansion, or whatever else the toy companies are shoving down our throats this year, but they are still really fun! Here is a place where I found some REALLY cute vintage ones:

http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2009/11/free-printable-boy-paper-doll.html

If you want a couple more, including cute little girls, scroll down to the end of the post and there are 2 more dolls with accessories. They are very easy to cut out, not a lot of jagged edges or funky shapes, and they go together great (yes I played with them this morning, don't hate me cause I'm awesome!). You can print them out on cardstock or thin cardboard cut to the shape of whatever paper your printer takes, you can print them in color or leave them black and white and let the reciever color them in, or you could even print out the whole sheet and give it to them and let them cut it out! I will probably do the latter, because I'm mean and like to make my kids practice their scissor skills (and I'm lazy!). So there you have it! I better go jump in the shower and wash the stank off me so I can go to Chuck E Cheese.....yay.....

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

So I found this neat service called www.hireahelper.com. Pretty cool! You can search for someone in your area to help you move your stuff, clean your house, mow your lawn, wax your back hairs......ok, maybe not the waxing part, just making sure you're awake! But then again, you never know, it IS the internet.....lol. Anyway, you can either search for someone to help you, or you can sign up to be a "helper". I signed up to be a cleaner and a seamstress, and I even made a shiny new button for my blog! Check it out, it's pretty cool-------->

I know, I rawk. And I'm very po. Speaking of which, that's who Ayden is for halloween! Here's a preview, sorry it's so cruddy, my camera phone sucks.



Silly mama realized as we were leaving for his fall festival, that I THOUGHT was this morning at ten am, that in fact it was TOMORROW morning at ten am. Sigh. So, we just had to go around town in his costume, cause he didn't get all cutied up for nothing!
Well, it's off to bed for me, another Wacky Wednesday down!

Why I Love Fall....

No words.

Ummm....

OK I need some major motivation today. Both kids are out of school, and it's not looking like a wonderful day. Ayden is feeling sick, the house is a wreck ALREADY, there's laundry, dishes, and who knows what else to do, and this mama is TIIIRED.

Thoughts

Wow, I'm doing pretty good at keeping up with this thing. Yay me!
I attended a really cool seminar today, it was about parental involvement in school. Ayden went with me, and while I went to two sessions of my choosing, he was well cared for by some wonderful ladies, free of charge. The first session I chose was called "We Serve Too", and it was about the specific challenges military children have when dealing with PCSs and deployments and how they affect your child's schoolwork and overall behavior at school. It was actually very eye openeing, and the lady who taught the seminar was very passionate about the subject because she spent her childhood moving from school to school due to AF life, and no one recognised the fact that military children have special circumstances when it comes to moving and making new friends. It got me thinking about my kids, and the challenges and difficulties we will be facing in the next few months. I'm optimistic about it, because I know my kids are resilient. It just hit me tonight, though, that I'm not really mentally prepared for this. Like any big life event, I really have to get into the mindset and be prepared. I tell people, "Oh, yeah, we'll be fine", but in my head, I'm thinking, "What in the world am I thinking? I am scared to death!"
Well, now it's too late to finish and I am exhausted, so I will finish this tomorrow.