Oh, Isabelllll....

My daughter has become one of "those" girls. You know, the FB profile pic of herself in the mirror, using her cell phone, making a face and perhaps a peace sign with her fingers.

I'd be bummed out that she gave in so easily (or that she's growing up too quickly) but - hot dayum, what little you can see if it - my living and dining room look GREAT in the background of the reflection.

P.S. I stole these pictures from her FB page.

I hope she doesn't sue me.

:)

P.S.S. Volleyball tryouts begin today. Exciting stuff!

I'm Ready [a sneak peek]

I know that Fall doesn't officially start for another month.
I get that.

But I am so ready and so excited.

Here's a sneak peek of what I worked on this weekend...

The wreath I made on Sunday - took no time at all (compared to my spring wreath).

I already had the actual hay wreath ($3.99 from the Hobster). I bought the shiny ribbon at Michael's ($3.00 x3) and the leaves and balls (both $0.99) there too. The leaf ribbon I bought from the dollar store for - you guessed it - $1.00! Used my weapon of choice - my glue gun. And that's about all she wrote.

I love it.

Below... just a few pumpkins I pulled out. Sitting on a tray I got on clearance from Michael's.



You know, I used to love Michael's so...

But Hobby Lobby has SPOILED me with their darn good prices. I betcha they would have had sales going on for fall/autumn stuff. It's too bad they are closed on Sunday's though. My guy works on Sunday's and it's much easier sneaking things into the house when he's at work.

Linking to: Polly want a Crafter?
Linking to: Craft O Maniac

Nic's First Day of Pre-K

Try explaining "PM class" to an anxious 4 year old.
I dare ya.

He was roaring and ready to go to school at 6am.
He even offered to walk himself, promising to use the cross-walks.
His school is 2 miles away. But I do trust him. It was a hard decision, but for the sake of showering you with the obligatory pictures, I decided to go ahead and drive him. At least for his first day. Tomorrow? I may not feel like leaving my office. We will see.

Here is my Nickelbutt...

HE LOVES [L.O.V.E.S!!] when Daddy comes home in the van (which is not often, Dish Network corporate people, if you are wondering). He decided to use his lunch break to see Nic off. Nic also loves that his "name" is on the van (give or take a letter). He always says his "second" name is Nick Jr. No, really. He does! It drives me INSANE! I gave him a perfectly lovely middle name - Joaquin - and he prefers Junior. Too bad, kid. Your daddy's name is Junior. Well, it's Marcos - but he's a Junior. As in a second Marcos, not as in me = cougar. OK....Moving on..

As you may [or may not] know, this tree was planted this year.

I decided to claim it as Nic's tree - and we will use it as his Back 2 School backdrop each year going forward. Can't wait to see how he they grow!

He LURVES his Bumble Bee [Transformers] back-pack!

That FACE!!

This last one?

I spy something..........

Tune in tomorrow!! 

Creep

First of all - Happy Sunday!

Even though the weekend is almost over - there is a little something to be excited about!

Nic is FINALLY starting school tomorrow.

I really need to get him a haircut.

And a back-pack.

OK- enough about that... Feelin' a little stressed about my to-do list today.

Let's chat about something more creepy.

As in my purple lantana.

It's creeping onto the sidewalk.

And I have one creeping into my neighbors yard.

As much as I love summer - and was looking forward to it all Spring-long,

I think I am just about ready for cooler weather now.

There is so much I want to do in the front yard (i.e. replace said creepers) -

but it's way too hot to do it now.

The husband and I want to add more plants/flowers

to help make the yard look fuller and more colorful.

This is our "newer" red push tree.

It needs to be pruned.

Is that the right word?!

All those little "branches" at the bottom of the tree need to be taken out.

I am conflicted.

One person told me to gently cut them off.

One person told me to tear them off, so that they won't grow back.

What do I do?!

Mushroom soup, anyone?!

This is our second mushroom of the season, people.

They freak me out.

I love mushrooms - but the kind you buy at the supermarket.

Not the kind that sneak-up and freak me out.

Such an odd shape, too.

moving on....

My Ash tree is growin' and growin'.

Bet you don't even recognize her.

In January, she was a twig (using the term loosely) with zero leaves.

Now, she's filling out and growing up.

Soon she will want to wear mascara and face powder.

Oh wait, that's Isabel.

moving on...

The husband and I had to drop some trash off at one of the large containers the construction workers use (a blessing when living in a new community and have trash to get rid of). After we dumped our stuff in, we saw two pallets laying next to the container. I've been looking for pallets for awhile. And I didn't want to steal them from behind a store or anything (I don't look good in stripes). But since these were laying next to the garbage, I figured they were fair game.

I made Marcos get them and put them in the back of the truck.

I have plans for these babies.

Plan 1: A sign for my kitchen.

Plan 2: A sign for my porch (for Halloween)

Of course, I think Mr. HOA guy was driving around this morning and lingered his creepy stare a little too long. I am sure we will get a note about these being visible to the WORLD.

I had Alex move them into the garage.

Well, off to get started on my to-do list - which includes coupon cutting, grocery shopping, hair-cutting, and back-pack shopping. Fun.

P.S. The pictures are lonnnnng and skinnnnny. I can't find the charger for my camera and the battery is kaput. So I am using my new KODAK Touch video camera - which also takes pictures. Just not as nicely as my Panasonic.

I guess I should add "find camera charger" to my to-do list.

/sigh

A woman's work is never done, is it?

Hey, ya'll!!

... it's ALMOST fall!!

I know I've mentioned this before, but Halloween is my SECOND favorite holiday...

I've already started chatting up how we should go OVERBOARD on the house this year. Nic wants a haunted house. I like the way he's thinking!!

I like the idea of bringing oranges, browns and bronzes into the house. And leaves and stuff. And pumpkins.
And then skeletons and witches and black cats.

I've already started scouting the dollar store for finds. It's got to be on the cheap this year, you know - due to the stock market & economy. I figure if I pick up a few dollars worth each week (or when I have the time to venture out), by the time Halloween comes around - we will have a small stockpile.

I can't wait to make the kids (and their momma) happy campers goblins!

And here we go again...

It's back-to-school Monday.
Can you believe it?!
Not me.

I was up until 1:30 working on something for... well, work. So, it's been a rough morning so far.
I had to rush to get pictures... They are so not impressed with me... and it shows. lol... Oh well, it captures their personality.

Nic doesn't start school until NEXT Monday... [long story]...
But, the two of us are off to Isabel's school.
I forgot to send a check for lunch money.

Epic Fail.
Mother of the Year.
Yep, that's me!

Happy Monday, peeps!

Help

I know my posts as of late have been kind of generic... Not on purpose. It's just that I've been super busy with work and the kids, etc. And while I did finally get my camera back, I have yet to find the battery charger. And it's still summer and 110* out there. And humid [yes, it does get humid!].

This is our last weekend before school starts on Monday. We met Nic's teacher yesterday and Isabel's this evening. Alex's we will meet someday, I suppose. I think we are 98% ready for summer to be over.

Especially because the darn skeeters are out in full force. I LOATHE mosquitoes. I do. But, they come with the territory (farmland and such).

Speaking of skeeters.

I started AND finished a wonderfully addicting book on Tuesday:

I love the 50s and 60s era. I am SUPER excited about the movie coming out (I mentioned before, I LOVE, LOVE Emma Stone). I generally don't read books before they come out in the theatre (don't want to be disappointed), but I just couldn't wait. I bought The Help for a mere 11 bucks at Wally World. Knowing what I know now, I would have paid four times as much. It was THAT good.

I posted on Facebook that I was going to start the book and people warned me; I didn't disappoint, it was one I could not put down. If you haven't read it yet, go - RUN - to your local library or book seller. Get it and enjoy it.

You're welcome.

Happy Friday - and have a blessed weekend!