Johnsie's Christmas Program

This little man was so excited about his Christmas program.

He wanted us to come and watch after his class had just 1 practice, back at the beginning of Dec.

During this song they sang about mommies giving lots of kisses. Hence, the face.

Johnsie's preschool Christmas program

Fun in the snow!

Ryan and Johnsie playing in the snow.

Poor Izzie has Peanut Butter on her Nose

Christmas Tree is Up

Well, the tree was actually up a few days after Thanksgiving so, it has been around for a few weeks now.

While trying to take this picture, I ended up with a bunch that look like

this.

Lance thought that since I was on the floor, I MUST be there to play with him.

And then, while trying to get some pictures of the mantle, a certain little boy, kept running through my pictures. I have a whole slew like this too. Boys!

Johnsie, helping Daddy put up the star.

I am still here, no worries

This new job of mine is kind of kicking my behind. Not only am I recruiting nurses but, I am also running their social media, twitter, facebook, their blog, linked-in, etc.

Anyway, as is well in our home. Here are some pics from the last month.

My parents came to visit from CA. It was wonderful having them here.

Chickie cut her hair. Well, actually she and I cut her hair.

I made burlap pumpkins which are still out and will be until after Thanksgiving.

Johnsie and I went to a pumpkin patch with his preschool class

Ryan and I celebrated 18 years of marriage. Chickie babysat.

The marshal came to town,

because he heard this guy was hanging around.

Apple Picking

We went apple picking at Grisamore Farms this past weekend.

Caught sneaking a bite.
Actually, they encourage you to taste there produce.

The farm has a bunch of animals too.


We went pumpkin picking too but, I was so busy that we have no pictures to show you.

New Job

I am so excited. Most of you know that I am a former Middle School Science teacher that decided to take a few years off, to be a stay at home mom. Well, things are sort of going to change. Just a little.

I was offered a position at Dream Nurse Travel as an assistant.

I will go back so, you can understand. I will try and keep this short but, I am a gabber so, just deal. Anyway, Kansas, the daughter of our builder, Phil, is a co-owner of the company Dream Nurse Travel. The company represents traveling nurses, placing them in positions of need.

Phil's other daughter, Sam, currently is working part time for the company. Awhile ago, there was talk about Sam and I splitting her job once she started her student teaching this fall. Sam checks the nurse's references and backgrounds.

Well, as it turns out, Kansas and her team decided that they need a whole other person. The company is growing fast! This person will assist Sam and Kansas. And, they hired me.

Besides helping Sam, I will assist Kansas in recruiting nurses and placing them into hospitals, clinics, etc, making a perfect fit.

At first, I will have office hours with Kansas at her home but, after I get the swing of things, I will be working from home.

I am so excited for this new adventure. I start this Friday.

Hey, if there are any nurses out there reading this, that are in the central NY area and you would be interested in traveling let me know.

Guess, I just started working.

Nature Walk

Yesterday, Johnsie and I went on a nature walk, in our yard.




Looking at our loot.


Our leaf people and dog. We added milkweed seeds for fur.

Giving Credit

Giving credit when credit is due is really important out here in blog world. One, it is just proper etiquette. But two, when you give credit to the person(s) that inspire you it reiterates to that person that they are actually making a difference in the world and that all of their hard work is justified.


Awhile ago I posted this activity that Johnsie and I did. We were inspired by Valerie from over at Family Frugal Fun Blog. After I posted, I made sure to go back over to Valerie's site and let her know that Johnsie and I absolutely loved the activity and that I also gave her a shout out here, on my blog.

This morning as I was reading through my favorite blogs I came across this picture over at Valerie's Family Frugal Fun Blog along with a post about how happy it makes her to know that families are coming together and having fun by using her ideas.

So, now not only is Valerie happy, but I am happy knowing that I helped make Valerie happy. Life is good!

Bulb Time

Yesterday, my day was spent planting these. I am a sucker for tulips.

But first, I had to prepare this. The right side of this picture shows the ground I have already started working and the left hasn't been touched.

Oh my gosh. It is like trying to dig up concrete. There are so many rocks in this soil that every time I attempt to shove the shovel in, I get in about a half and inch a stop. It is really super annoying and it is also really hard work.

I miss my Red River Valley dirt. So, all my peeps back in ND and MN go out and say thank you to your dirt. Seriously, go outside and thank it. It is the best dirt in the world, literally. Send me some, please!

This area has been worked. I added some top soil and peat moss to it. I was even tempted to raid Johnsie's bean bag so, I could add some styrofoam to it. I just know it is going to be concrete again come spring.

Here are some of the rocks we have uncovered in the yard. A few of them are huge.

We had a visitor show up too. Now, he is safely inside being poked at by Johnsie.

Besides planting our bulbs, Johnsie just had to have this little beauty the other day when we were at Walmart.

I think I am going to have go and buy more bulbs today. We only planted on the one side of our porch. Plus we need to add some hyacinths into the mix.

Puppy Love

Our dogs are really loved. Johnsie loves them a little too much sometimes.



What dog wouldn't love Dog Soup.




You should have seen the Halloween drink he made for me yesterday. I was ice tea, water, a flavored water packet, candy corn and to top it off some potato peelings. It was so nummy! He watched to make sure I took a sip.

Fall Wreath

Ok, this time my wreath is a smashing success. The last one I made was a little lacking. I got this idea from Roeshel at The DIY Show Off. If you haven't seen her site yet you are definitely missing out on something awesome. Her tutorials are great.

I know I have seen this type of wreath before and I knew I didn't want to make the traditional leaf and/or flower wreath. And actually from a distance, mine actually looks like leaves.
I just cut squares that were about 2x2 inches, no I didn't actually measure, just free cut everything. Anyway, I used a wreath from the Dollar Tree. I used the tip of a pencil and wrapped the fabric around it. Put some hot glue on the end and then shoved the fabric into the wreath. Easy Peesy.

I started first with some leaf garland wrapped around the wreath and was then going to add the fabric but, I quickly decided that was not the direction I wanted to go. Off came the garland.

I used mostly used scraps I had around but, I did pick up a few fat quarters from Walmart and of course, the clearance fabric bin. I always look there.


The ribbon is from where else, The Dollar Tree.

We finally have had a nice sunny day here, but it makes my fabric look more peach than orange. Sorry.

Premature? Maybe

A few days ago Johnsie and I got into our Halloween decor stash.
Premature? Maybe.


The rest of the family thought so anyway. The big skull was purchased last year at Target on clearance. The little glitter skull is from the Dollar tree and the spooky house was a clearance item from last year too. It came assembled. We just had to decorate it. Chickie and Ryan helped. Yeah, it is old candy but, who cares.

The candelabra is from the thrift store. The candles, crow, and creepy material are from the Dollar Tree. And we found a ton of old books at a garage sale this past weekend. I need to melt the candles down a little to get them a little more spooky.

Grammy gave us this cutie last year.

These skulls are from the Dollar Tree, of course and the jar is a thrift store find.

I bought this plate last year on clearance at Gordman's. One of my favorite shopping days of the year is the day after Halloween. Awesome day to load up on dress up clothes too. I have actually bought clearanced costumes and saved them for Christmas gifts.

Johnsie thought we needed a bat.

Specifically, a two-headed bat. He is so proud of this guy. This was great scissor practice for him. He cut the 2 big circles.

This is just the beginning of decorations. I figure, I need to wait until at least October 1st for the rest.