Entertaining Ashley

Mason, Ashley and I started off our day at Las Palmas for lunch.

Aussie went to Chinese and he got his grade that he made on his final. He was very disappointed, but we are quite proud. He skipped a grade because there wasn't enough people to take that class and this is the highest level. He made an 87. This is his first B in Chinese so he is really bummed. This is the first time I learned he was in the highest level. He said the teachers are unsure what they are going to do next year. I'm sure they will figure out something. Aussie thought one option might be for him to join the heritage class.

 This kitty is my favorite. When I say, "Where is Mommy's biggy fat cat?" She knows I'm asking for her. I love her!

And though she didn't care for the Santa hat. She tolerated it for a couple of pictures.

 This one is my stinky cat. And I'm not kidding! She is stinky! She has always had G.I. issues.

She was not at all happy about wearing the Santa hat. And we had quite a few scratches on us to show her disapproval.

 And yet we continued to try...

 I even tried to show her what she was supposed to do.

I tried to bribe her with a little chicken. And FINALLY when she realized she wasn't getting any chicken unless she let me take a pretty picture she said, FINE take the dang picture!

Then I praised her and gave her the tiniest bit of chicken, and she was thankful.

 And this would be my very soft dumb cat. Although, she must not be too dumb because when she found out what we were trying to do with the Santa hat she never returned to the room.

Ashley begged all day to do something with me.

 So I mentioned playing a game. Mason, Ashley and I broke out the Monopoly game. Things were going well until I got this.

But what made it worse...is that I misinterpreted it! I thought we had just played the shortest game of Monopoly in the history of Monopoly games. So what is 12 x 10? Don't know how in the world I came up with $1200, but I mortgaged everything and went bankrupt paying Mason.

Mason and Ashley continued to play while Mason was racking in all the money. THEN it hit me...OH DUH! 12 x 10 is $120. Oh well I wasn't really into sitting on the floor and playing it anyway.

Ashley continued to bug me...What are we going to do? And so she decided Tiger Lily needed a new Christmas dress. She attempted to make it on her own, asking several questions along the way but she was not happy with the outcome and I ended up making one with a little help from her.

Greg had an extra job this weekend. He came home exhausted, but I think he enjoyed doing it. I sure appreciate him working so hard. I know his job is really taxing right now. I hope that it gets much better soon!

Gingerbread house and games

Yay the toy house sold for $100! Woot! Woot! We met last night and I handed it off to her.

Yesterday, was a busy day getting prepared for my class this morning. We made gingerbread houses. I cannot believe I did't get after pictures of all my kids masterpieces. There is one little girl who made the most amazing house.  I even asked her if I could copy something she did.  I was really surprised at how well my class did. For kindergartners and 1st graders they didn't need much help and they all did a great job.  Of course I had to make one too! I started it in class and then Ashley finished it when we got home.

I just love making them!

Did you know ginger was brought over from the middle east to Europe where Germany really picked it up and started making gingerbread. Queen Elizabeth I started making gingerbread men for her guests. But gingerbread houses really took off from Grimm's fairy-tale Hansel and Gretel. The witch's name in German actually means gingerbread. 

I had another surprise today.  Many times I don't have help in my class. But today there was someone willing to help. And she helped clean up! I thought I was going to be there a long time after class cleaning up. This is one of the messiest crafts we do during the year, so this was a VERY NICE surprise!

Today, Ashley and I both admitted to each other that we like to watch cheesy Hallmark Christmas shows. So today Ashley and I watched Once Upon a Holiday. Yes it was cheesy and yes we enjoyed it.

Then our neighbor Isaiah came to visit. They started playing a game where they balance on these exercise balls. They said they were trying to find their inner zen.

And now they are playing Super Smash Brothers.

and I won't name any names but it always ends in somebody getting angry. (which hasn't happened yet but know it's coming soon.)

Shopping

Well I'm not too annoyed by the early onset of Christmas in stores. I hear people complain..."it's not even Halloween or it's not even Thanksgiving". "Let's get through one holiday at a time". But no matter when things are sold or advertised in stores, the first sign of Christmas for me is Black Friday shopping. Oh that BLESS-SED day every year gives me so much joy. Now-a-days Black Friday is really Thanksgiving day. That doesn't bother me either. Of course if I was the one who had to work that day then it would bother me, but I'm not so I'm going to enjoy it.

This year's first store was Hot Topic. Ashley wrote out a 4 page Christmas list with pictures. T-shirts were $10 and everything else was buy one get one half off. And surprisingly this store was not packed. On any given day this store is packed. It is a small store and they cram a lot into it. But on this particular day it wasn't crowded and I was tickled. One of the clerk's was extremely HELPFUL! I mean so helpful that I looked up a survey to take to compliment him! He helped me locate everything that I needed to get. I felt like I had a personal shopper. He kept a growing pile at the desk so I wouldn't have to carry everything around. And in less than an hour Christmas shopping for Ashley was completely done. Well except for a couple of things I picked up at Walmart for her.

The boys on the other hand are much more difficult! They hardly want anything. Aussie of course wants to go to another Rubik's cube competition and Mason just wants gaming memberships and upgrades and such. Can you say SUCK THE JOY OUT OF CHRISTMAS GIVING? I want that shopping excitement! There is nothing enjoyable about wrapping a piece of paper that says your gift is a computer membership or a competition some time in the future. TEENAGE BOYS!

Anyway, yesterday I cleaned up and took apart the kids' Little Tikes Playhouse that has been in our family room for 10ish years.  It is bittersweet. Last year they had no interest in getting rid of it and I imagined them bringing their dates home in the future and still climbing on top of it. I listed it on Craigslist and someone has responded they are interested. So this morning I got up early and loaded it into my car. They haven't responded back with where to meet, so here's hoping this is still a go. We sure could use that money for the Christmas presents I already bought...or um...for food later on in the month. (just kidding...a little).

So yesterday, I mentioned getting together with a couple of my friends for craft night. On Tuesday, we got together and my friend Caroline is teaching us how to crochet. I know this is silly but I learned something new. I learned you can find out what size crochet needle to use on the yarn packaging. I told you it was silly...it's the little things. LOL! Anyway, I was able to pick up crocheting pretty quickly. I need A LOT of practice as I'm not great at it and I'm still pretty slow at it. Anyway, on Tuesday night it was just a practice run to learn how. But why do all that work when there is nothing to show? So I attempted a water bottle snuggie. It's not perfect but I had fun.

 So who knows if I'll keep it up but that was my Dec. 1st activity.

My Dec 2nd activity was actually at 1 AM Dec. 3rd but shhhhh! don't tell anyone. Someone posted a snickerdoodle recipe on my "diet" forum. It looked so yummy and I had the ingredients so I made them.

Don't they look yummy? 

Well...honestly they were only ok. The flavor is really nice, but it doesn't have that crunch like most cookies have, it is more of a bready kind of cookie. So I'm not sure I'll make them again. I actually think I would enjoy them better if I didn't compare them to the actual snickerdoodle cookie, because they are good just different.

Now onto today...Day 3...what to do? what to do? I can't reach the Christmas tree...so no decorating unless it's done later on...honestly what I need is a nap. Does that count as a Christmas activity?

December 1, 2015

Look it's that time of year again where I blog for a few days about my December daily plans then fail miserably and then come back again the next year and do it again. HA!

So let me introduce myself to the only 6 people who read my blog and that's only because it is automatically emailed to you.

I'm Chelle. Most people know me as the mom to triplets. Yes that has identified me for the past 13 years. And I'm proud of that, but I am my own person too. I'm a crafter! I will try any kind of craft. I don't always master every craft but I'm typically willing to attempt any craft. This is me at 3 AM with no makeup on. Why would I take a picture of myself with no makeup? Well...partially because I'm lazy and I don't want to put makeup on at 3 AM just to take it off again. But also because this year's manifesto is all about keeping it real.

This Christmas season I want to enjoy the little things. Trying to keep it simple and writing my honest feelings during this sometimes stressful time of year. This year most definitely won't be fancy. I will have Greg get one Christmas tree out of the garage with one box of decorations out of 8 or 9. Ashley has already asked to do the everyday advent for each day of December and it's just not going to happen this year. No I'm not being a scrooge. I just don't want to be so overwhelmed this season. Therefore, my Christmas Manifesto is Keeping it Real!

I am so thankful for a couple of ladies who have gotten together and started a crafting night. The first thing we did was make infinity arm scarves.  That was pretty cool and I've made 3 of them. So far it's been too warm to wear them just yet, but they are very pretty. Then our next craft was making a wreath. I wasn't so sure about this one, but I loved interacting with adults. And it was actually my first Christmas moment of the season. I enjoyed shopping in the Christmas section for ribbon. We made these early in November and I finished it on my birthday.

Well I'm super tired and feel like I'm no longer making sense, so I'll pick up with more things tomorrow (later on today.)

The Well Dressed Baby!

I've got a new blog.  If you know me, you probably know why. But why in the world would I call it Techno Biscuit?  Well simple...I had no clue what to call it so I asked Mason.  And Techno Biscuit is what he came up with.

I wanted to share what I've been up to. My friend's baby shower is coming up Sunday and I made her sweet baby some adorable outfits. Some of these you have seen on my other blog, but here are the finished products.

Bowtie for Daddy and baby

 Onsies with snap on ties- 2 with vests

 2 without and extra bow ties.

 Then one with suspenders. I LOVE these!

Then tonight I attempted to make a hat. I used This Site for the directions. I had a really tough time making it and it is definitely not perfect.  It is also much bigger than I anticipated.  It fits my 12 year old. So here is Mason modeling it for me. I think I could make it better if I did it again since I know what to expect, but I probably wont.

I've also been having fun doodling.  I'm about to start a project with Bible verses. I'll share if it turns out. But here are a couple of my doodlings.

Well I think that's it for tonight. Hope all is well with you! Chelle