Books, Books, Books

I LOVE good books! Especially children's books.

We have so many books in our house tucked in closets

on shelves, loaded in baskets & drawers- they are everywhere.

I am trying to convince Brian that we need a bookshelf.  

Here are some that I had in mind.

This wall bookshelf from Elegant Abode

Great site too!

I LOVE this one- and I have the perfect spot

for it- I just need to do a little convincing! :)

from VINTAGE

This would be good for the kids rooms.

Fabric Book Shelves

This is a great idea- Gutter Shelves

& I love the banner too for more color.

This would be my dream, but with

really relaxing chairs & a fireplace.

from Martha Stewart

Hopefully I can find some time to read during the

busy upcoming holiday season. For now,

I like to just get inspired.

The Path

I have always been taught to stick to the straight & narrow path.

I like to think of the side squares here as little distractions, temptations,

or influences that take me off the path for even just a minute.

There are so many times when I pause before taking the next step

& I wonder... "Is this all really worth it?  I can't even see where 

this pathway is going.  Is there hope & light at the end?"

This is how I feel like the path in my life looks-

Beautiful & the pathway is straight, but I never

exactly know what is around each corner, or for that

matter, what is coming up next.

This is where my faith comes in.

Although I can't see what lies in front of me,

or around the next bend, I take joy in the beauty around me.

The path would be easy if it looked simple 

& I could see the reward in plain sight,

But instead, I look forward with hope,

for one day I will find the end of the rainbow

and join all those who have followed the path as well.

And what joy awaits, to be gathered together

with Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ & all

those we love of never-ending peace & happiness.

Homemade Chocolates

I know that Halloween is right around the corner,

but I thought these might be fun to make sometime during

the upcoming holiday season.   

CHOCOLATES

I am sure Brian will love me even more if 

he came home to some of these one day.

Mmmm

Homemade Twix Bars

Reeses Eggs

(or any shape you want to make)

Caramel Chocolates & Truffles from

That Skinny Chick Can Bake

and of course

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

from My Chocolate Therapy

Now, I hope your mouth is not drooling yet. :)  

I am not a chocolate girl but love chewy fruity treats.

So, these would be perfect to make for Brian

or as a gift for someone during the holidays.

"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate bunny now and then doesn't hurt!"

Family Games

Today I found some great games to play as a family

or for any large group.  Are you ever put in charge of 

the games or activities at family parties and have no idea 

what games the whole family can play?  

Here are some fun games you can change 

a little bit and use any time during the year.

Halloween Games

from EHOW HOME

And of course Family Fun always has

great ideas for the holidays.  Here are

their fun Halloween ideas this year.

Here are some great ideas on Parenting to 

play with little kids.  My kids would LOVE these

ideas & it would help break up the same games we 

play over & over on Monday night.  

I liked the idea of this crab game because it's a 

creative way for kids to clean up while having fun.

On Cloud 8 has some GREAT family

games for Christmas, but you could use anytime.

So, Let the Games Begin!

I Want Candy!

My favorite part of Halloween is the candy.

Of course I think my kids look adorable all dressed

up, and I love seeing all my little neighbor friends

in their costumes. But, I love the candy!

Cute idea right-

Last night, I was looking at a grocery bag from

my favorite local store and there was a list of 

rules for going Trick or Treating.

My favorite was #5.

Who ever came up with these ideas was a genius!

#1.  Go with an adult

(Yes of course I will go with you to get candy! I only

charge 1 piece of candy for 10 minutes of fun.)

#2. Carry a flashlight at all times

(Okay, if you really want me to, I will put on

Daddy's head-lamp he uses for camping!)

#3.  Wear bright costumes that don't block your vision.

(Because we will all be looking at our own costumes as we run 

down the street- hopefully we won't fall!)

#4. Only go to houses that are well lit.

(and may I add- that don't have scary people lurking about either!)

and my favorite

#5.  ALWAYS have your PARENTS check your

candy before you eat it.

(I TOTALLY agree with this!)

My Dad was always SO good about checking all 7 bags of 

candy on Halloween night. I always thought he was checking

for razor blades or chewed up gum.  Now I know,

He was checking our bags of candy to see the loot we had

& to see if he could barter his Laffy Taffy's for one of our

King Size Reese Peanut Butter Cups.

I get it now, and I love being the parent that gets to 

"check" 4 bags of candy this year.

I have to admit, it is the one time during that year that
I BEG my kids to share with me & maybe even barter a little too!

Morgan was not amused when I told her I will be 

checking her candy to find some I wanted to eat. :)

What I Need to Hear

This is what I needed to read & hear today-

the wisdom from our children.

from HERE

Cleaning Tips

Last week I saw all of these great cleaning tips online and 

didn't want to forget them, so I decided to post them on here.

Tip for cleaning your shower or bath from Martha Stewart

I love this idea of polished chrome from Real Simple

Here's a great one to remove all my lipstick from

Brian's shirt with hair spray.  You know, because I would much rather

kiss his shirt collar than his lips!  But, in case you need it  :)

also from Real Simple

This is a great & simple idea of how to clean your mattress

from Make It Do It

She has a lot of other great ideas too!

I thought this idea from Homemade Mama's was 

really great too for cold winter months.

Ice-proof your windows with vinegar.

Get stains out with this idea from Glamour

The best drain cleaner from Tidy Mom

Natural Homemade Cleaners from Clean Up Your Act

and, last for today, 20 new ways to use a 

magic eraser from DIY Life.

Happy Cleaning!

Halloween Tags Freebie

I am in the middle of planning a Halloween

party for Morgan & Jackson.

Morgan really wanted to have a Back to School

party, but life seemed so busy at the time that I told

her we would have a Halloween Party instead.

They were so excited when I brought home a witch's

cauldron for them to bob apples in & told them about

the bat juice we would be serving.

I am usually not a big fan of Halloween because I get 

scared so easily! For example, last night I went to Walmart

without any little monsters with me & was in my own little

world as I walked around the store.  I walked over to the

Halloween isle, and noticed 2 picture frames side by side.

One with an older woman, and the other with an older man.

I thought it somewhat odd that there were 2 picture frames

for sale.  I started walking past and then out of the corner of 

my eye I saw a portrait of a skeleton watching me.

Yes, I jumped- HIGH!

I took a step back and forth again to realize that the picture

frames I thought were innocent, changed pictures in certain light.

I quickly walked away and turned the corner.

Just then, there was another 4 foot skeleton in black standing

at the end of the isle on the corner I had just come around.

Yes, I jumped again.

I decided to leave the Halloween section & go to the

shampoo isle instead.  Nothing scary there, other than

the man staring at the Stay Free maxi pads for too long.

I'm hoping they are for his wife!
(not that I have ever had Brian do that for me)

You see, why pay money for a Haunted House

when someone could just take me to Walmart and scare me there?

Anyway-

While I still have a couple of weeks before the party,

I decided to start on a new party kit for Halloween.

This first sheet of fun FREE Halloween tags is for you-

and, the file does not have the watermark on it.

Please become a follower before you download it.

Thanks!

For the PDF file, please click HERE

You will need the free Adobe Reader to open it.
Have a great day!

Linking up to these parties: Whipper Berry, Tickled Pink 504 Main Fridays
as well as the great ones at the bottom.

Halloween Treats

When I was growing up we had the same

thing for dinner & dessert every year on Halloween night.

My mom would make sloppy joes, orange jello ghost

& pumpkin shapes, potato chips, & glazed donuts.

We have carried on the fun tradition with our kids,

but usually I serve this meal on a night other than Halloween.

Halloween I always seem to be running around like a crazy

woman putting last minutes details on the costumes together!

I saw these great other treats & ideas that I thought

would be fun to try sometime during this Halloween season.

Candy Corn Cheese Cake from Glorious Treats

My kids would LOVE these cute little mummy's.

from Our Best Bites- my favorite food website.

What kid doesn't love dirt and worms? Also from Our Best Bites

I think this would be good if you wanted to have a Halloween

Party and play Fear Factor.  I think I would loose with the look of these.

Then again, I don't do too well with hot dogs!

Our Best Bites

or these- just looking at them makes me feel a little queasy. 

And it's just jello in straws!

Divine Dinner Party

Let's go back to things that look really good.

I LOVE these owls!

Poppies at Play

These mummy's  from How Does She

are so cute!

I love this idea from Woman's Day

Another fun taco dip from BHG

Now, my absolute favorite which looks like it has 

nothing to do with Halloween. It looks more

like heaven on earth.  Aaa- Mmm :)

EHow recipe

I guess if you use orange, purple or green sprinkles it could work.

Chocolate always works right?