Addicted......Who Me?

The count....

Over 30 packages of cupcake liners.

Fifty Plus cookie cutters.

Over 45 sprinkles, jimmies, colored sugars, quinoas and various other cupcake/cake decorations.

Over 20 bags of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, milk chocolate melting chips, white chocolate melting chips, cranberries, m&ms, swirled chips and more.

Among other fun stuff (cookie stencils, icing colors, icing bags and tips, icing, cake decorator gels, food coloring, food coloring gels, flavorings, etc). 

Shhhhhh.......don't tell on me.  Just hold me back when the "crack" store comes into sight - LOL!

And, if I ever do get cut off, I'm welcome to sneaking a few fun surprises now and then. 

Like these.....

Two of my favorite patterns by Sutton Gourmet Paper

Thanks Kellie for the gift - Christmas came early this year :D

CSN Stores Review

I was asked once again to do another review for CSN stores....Oh, how I love them! 

Since I'm in the middle of re-decorating our living room and entry way.  I have been looking at a lot of different decorative pieces (mirrors, clocks, picture frames, etc.).  I have also been looking at area rugs and coffee tables.  Coffee tables are a must have, I swear.  We haven't had any tables in our livingroom in such a long time that the kids have been dragging kitchen chairs and emptying laundry baskets to use as tables.  It's been driving me crazy. 

I've looked for good deals at thrift stores and yard sales, even scooped up a couple at a yard sale for cheap.  But, they are still piled up on the back porch or in the downstairs family room waiting for me to work some magic on them.  Only problem is, I don't know what I want to do with them yet.  So I keep looking in furniture stores and online.  And the more I look at tables on CSN's site, the more I want something new, that matches.  But there are so many styles and colors that I still can't decide.  I think I need a serious intervention LOL!

I think part of the problem is my house has been "kid friendly" for so long and now that the kids are getting past the stage of breaking everything nice that I own, it's hard for me to picture the look that I'm going for, know what I mean.    I think that is what is taking me so freaking long decorating and finishing it.  I swear, it's been almost a year, since I started.   But then, I do have the procrastination problem I mentioned before.  Hmmmm........

One More Turkey Craft. . . .

Finishing up our Turkey Day activities and books.

We read the following books......

Over the River A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson.  This was a cute play on the song...Over the River.  A turkey family is running to grandmother's house for Thanksgiving because a hunter and dog are chasing them.  It's cute rhyming pattern mimic the song and has a surprise ending.  Nathan enjoyed singing along with the parts that he knew.

A Turkey For Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting.  Mrs. Moose has always wanted a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, but never had one.  So Mr. Moose goes on a hunt to find one.  Along the way he comes across their dinner guests and together they set out to find a turkey.  This had a really cute ending.  We enjoyed reading this one.

The Story of the Pilgrims by Katharine Ross.  The book basically just tells the story of the pilgrims and Thanksgiving. 

A Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin.  A great book about how looks can be deceiving.  Grandmother makes the best cranberry bread in the land and everyone wants the recipe.  But she's hiding it and saving it for her granddaughter to have one day.  The recipe is included at the end of the book.  I would have tried it, but I didn't have time to run to the store for cranberries.  Very cute book....tied with A Turkey For Thanksgiving as our favorites for the holiday.

Trucktown Trucksgiving by Jon Scieszka.  Just a simple, easy book for beginning readers.  I bought it because I thought Nathan might like the imagination of "talking" trucks and such.

Our last turkey craft was an easy one (well, for the kids it was easy...not for me, since I was the one shaving and sharpening the crayons LOL).

On a towel place a sheet of wax paper and spread the crayons shavings on top.  Place another sheet of wax paper over that.  Set your iron on the lowest setting.

With parental help, place iron on the wax paper til it melts the crayons.

While waiting for the wax paper/crayons to cool.

Trace your child's foot on brown construction paper and cut it out (for the turkey's body).

Cut a cute little "wiggle" pattern out of the waxed paper/crayon sheet.

Glue the body to the wax paper.

Draw faces on the turkey and call it DONE!

Easy, Simple Craft time, with Super Cute results!

Linking to....

*To all our little "book clubber" friends, don't forget to enter the $25 Gift Certificate to Little One Books while you're here (link is on the sidebar)!!

Heard Around The House on Turkey Day

Ewwww, Mommy you stuck your hands up in the turkey's butt!!

Is it done yet??

(as the turkey is sitting raw on the counter)

Can we have pie now?

Now?????

I'm not eating those gut things, you know!

Nowwww, can we have pie???

Can we make an Elmo craft (after watching the Macy's parade)?

That turkey looks goooooood!

That's my favorite smell in the whole world!

I'm borrrrrrrrreddddd Mom, why do we have to wait this long!!!

I been waitin' on pie all day momma!

Why do we have to make a wish?

I'm not eating turkey this year, cause I'm a vegetarian now!

Can I spend the night at my friend's house?

Mom, if I don't get to eat pie right now, I think I'm going to die!

Did you know that Zeus has his own toilet (liter box)?

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to your's!

Now, bring on Christmas.....

My List of Thanks This Year

I'm thankful for the pretty, brand spanking, new dishes that the hubster bought for me....years of marriage and kids have been filled with mismatched dishes, but not this year, baby!

I'm thankful for the Wii, that has distracted my kids for most of the day, "most" being the operative word here.

I'm thankful for my cute Thanksgiving apron.  My clothes don't have flour and crap all over them this year LOL!

I'm thankful for my thriftiness - my home is decorated for Thanksgiving with pretty things I bought from thrift stores and yard sales and re-finished to look fresh and new.  And fun stuff I have bought over the years on clearance and otherwise that make my house look special for the holiday.  Also cute stuff my kids have been making for the past 17 years, that I'm sure will be hanging on the walls when they bring their own children home for the holidays.

I'm thankful for my gorgeous appliances....stainless steel and fancy schmancy, Love you!

I'm thankful for my rolling pin that was given to me by Rich's grandmother.  That woman took me under her wing and taught me everything I know in the kitchen.....I'm sure my husband is thankful for that as well ;)

I'm thankful for the roasting pan that is big enough to hold our 14 pound turkey (and then some)...a gift from Rich's grandma.  It's done me well over the years!

I'm thankful for the new shelves Rich built for my kitchen cabinets....the old ones were warped and falling apart and now I have not only sturdy shelves, but pretty shelf paper to put all my new dishes on.

I'm thankful that Rich only likes to watch two sports on tv...Boxing and Steelers football (only Steelers), so that I'm not stuck watching football all day.  My kids may play alot of different sports (basketball, baseball, wrestling...), but I'm Sooo not a Sports Mom.

I'm thankful for the growth of my blog and for the opportunities companies have given to me to review their products.  And thankful for the friends and family that support it.  Rich who understands how important this is to me and supports my love of doing something special...just for me.

And of course, I'm also thankful for my family and friends, home, God, health, etc....those are a give-in today and anyday.

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Little One Books Review and Giveaway

Little One Books was started by Barney Cohen and Joan McCoy from Seattle, Washington.  As grandparents they were unhappy with the quality of books for their grandchildren, so they decided to start a company of their own and proceeded to hand pick and review books, videos and music that they thought were not only age appropriate, but educational as well. 

Little One Books understands the important role that books, videos and music play in a child's life, they specialize in good quality books, music and videos from birth through five years old.   They have a detailed information section (Why We Chose..) on their website so that you can view why that product was selected for their store.  They have an extensive collection of books, DVDs, and CDs categorized by age group to make choosing a book, movie or CD for your child easier and a more rewarding shopping experience for you as parents.

I must say that when I was choosing a product for review, having everything sorted by age, video, book, etc. actually did make for an easier shopping experience....my only problem was choosing from the vast array of books, videos and music.  I love children's books.  I have been reading to my children for many years.  Our "library" isn't as great as it once was, because let's face it after so many years and so many kids, things get destroyed and beat up or colored in...you know the drill.  I've been slowly rebuilding their book supply back up and having a site like Little One Books makes doing just that so much easier.  At the click of my fingertips, not only can I see many great choices, but also tidbits about the authors as well. 

One of the books I chose was It's Hard to be Five by Jamie Lee Curtis.  I love Jamie Lee, she's spunky and fun and not afraid to be who she is.  She doesn't conform to anyone's ideals.  In a way, she was the perfect person to write this book.  Five year olds are just learning how to be the person they are meant to be.  They are trying to figure out the world around them.  Nathan loved this book and not just because he is five and the book is about five year olds.  He loved the bright pictures and fun rhymes.  It's a great book...totally recommend this book for the 5 year old in your life!

I also chose the book In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, this book is a bit controversial (because the little boy is naked in parts of the book).  In all honesty the nudity didn't really bother me.  And it went over Nathan and Nicholas' head...either they didn't really notice or they just didn't say anything.  But having little boys in this house, they run around in their underwear all the time anyway, so what's a naked kid in a book to them hahaha.  I loved Maurice's Where The Wild Things Are, but I wasn't really all that impressed by this book.  It's really hit or miss around here, everyone has a different opinion, so someone is bound to like it even if one of us doesn't.

I was greatly impressed by Little One Books (you will be too) and I am happy to announce that they have graciously offered a $25 gift certificate to my readers!!!

*To enter ~ Leave a comment and tell me what is your favorite children's book.  Please leave your email, if it's not available on your profile page.

For additional entries (worth one entry each, leave a comment for each entry) ~

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Contest ends December 5 at 12:00 a.m. midnight EST.  The winner will be chosen via Random.org.

Good Luck!!

Also, to make your holiday shopping even more enjoyable....Little One Books is offering FREE shipping and handling now through December 15 on all U.S. orders.  Happy Shopping!

*Disclosure: I received these books for review purposes only.  I was not compensated in anyway.  The opinions herein are my own and were not influenced by Little One Books.

This giveaway is now closed!!