Return from Disney and the Birthday Blog

Well, hello, folks! I've finally made it back from the happiest place on earth. Seven days at Disney World is just about all the magic that one can take. ; )

I have so many pictures and tales to share with y'all. But I just got home, it's 11 PM, and I'm just too sleepy to share right now.

But I do have some exciting news that just can't wait!

I'm being featured today over at the Birthday Blog.

Yeah, little ol' me!

I submitted some photos from Ty's Mario birthday party, and Stacy loved them so much she is sharing my ideas over on her blog. So go on over and check it out!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about my old blog. I fully intended to give y'all updates from DW, but we stayed BUSY!

And sick.

Did I mention I was sick in Disney World?

As a dog!

I'm talking lying-prostrate-on-the-bathroom-floor sick.

Luckily it was only one of those 24 hour things, but still. How sad is that to be sick on vacation?

But enough about me. I said I was tired, so I'm going to bed. I'll try to post some pictures soon...

Outraged

The time change has thrown Lucy's sleeping schedule slightly out of whack. She was up at 5:15 this morning ready to go. Well, while I was flipping through the television early this morning I just so happened to see a certain commerical on the new Cooking Channel.

It seems they have a new show entitled, pardon my language, "Bitchin' Kitchen."

Yikes! Really?

Do we really have to be subjected to such language on the Cooking Channel? This ain't HBO, people. It's just cooking for crying out loud!

What if Ty would have been watching TV with me? Not only did they say the "word" outloud a few times, it was spelled out in BIG BOLD LETTERS! Ty's learning to read now, and he's been sounding out every word he sees.

I was mad to say the least. How could we, Christians, let things get this way? Years of turning a blind eye, I suppose. We have the Creator of the universe on our side, living within us even, and we continue to let Satan have his way in our nation. What a pitty!

So I decided to do something. It doesn't seem like much, but it's something at least. I sent this e-mail to the Cooking Channel this morning:

I recently saw an advertisement for your show "Bitchin' Kitchen." Words cannot express the shock, disappointment, and utter disbelief I felt at the title your executives chose for this program! As a Christian and mother of two small children I do not condone such language. Not only will I not be tuning in to this program, I can no longer watch this channel, period! How can I, knowing that at any moment an advertisement for this show may pop up on the screen where my children can see or hear it? I do not care what sort of language may be considered "legal" for television, you should be ashamed of resorting to such filth to promote your programs. It is my sincere hope and prayer that you will consider removing this program from your line-up or at least changing this program's title. Surely, out of the thousands of words in the English language, you can come up with a title that is not nearly as vulgar or offensive.

Who knows if my letter will make a difference, but I am praying that it will. Maybe if you have a spare minute today you can send an e-mail as well. And don't forget to pray. He can make a difference!

Mixed Emotions

Here are a few shots of my latest cake. It's for a 9 year old Alabama football fan who also has some feelings for LSU. Funny, I didn't know it was possible to like them both. (And in case you were wondering, her nickname is Jo Jo-Bama.)

Some close-ups of the mascots...

Yea, Tigers!!!

Boo, Elephants?!?

I had no idea the Alabama mascot was an elephant. I just don't get it. I suppose I could research this, but I'm not going to because it's Alabama, and I just don't care!

Ha! Ain't I awful?

Go Tigers! Beat Bama! : )

Thoughts of Red and Green

As Chief Executive Decorator of our household, I'm about to make an executive decorating decision. After much deliberation, I've decided to jump headlong into Christmas decorating. (Even though I'm having Thanksgiving dinner at my house.)

I know. I know. It's only the first week of November, but wait and hear me out. You see, since Monkey #2 made her entrance, my decorating energy (along with my housekeeping energy) has been, well, zapped. Just the thought of dragging down those boxes of decorations makes me tired. And then, of course, just about the time I get the house decorated, it'll be time to pack everything back up. Uggh!

So, rather than be a Scrooge and just not decorate at all, I've decided to give myself a head start. Tackle it little by little. You've heard the riddle:

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

That's my plan anyway. A little chewing each day.

Now that I think about it, I probably haven't left myself too much extra time. This week is practically over. That leaves only one week before we go to Disney World. We'll get back home two days before Thanksgiving, and then - Whammo! - It's officially the Christmas season.

Can you believe it? It's almost Christmas!!!!! I've seen so many cute and creative Christmas decorating ideas while roaming through the blogosphere. I want to try them all. Maybe I can squeeze in some Christmas crafting between housework, school work, pizza work, mothering, and sleeping.

Maybe.

Probably.

Definitely!

Also, while browsing through blogs I ran across this linky party featuring mantels of Christmases past. So, I decided to link up. Here's what my mantel looked like two years ago:

And last year........I added some glittery trees from the dollar store and a few magnolias.

Then there's the rest of the house...

The stairs...I'm not sure if you can tell, but I hung silver balls, crystal ornaments, and glittery snowflakes from the handrail using fishing line. Time consuming, but worth it, don't ya think?

The hutch got a little cluttered with all the Christmas cards we received throughout the season. I need to come up with a more creative way to display those this year. There are tons of ideas out there. Just need to find the right one for me.

And my "favorite-est" thing...

I just love my ladder/pot rack! The only trouble now, is that it is full of pots, and I don't really have anywhere else to put them. So I'm not sure if I'll be hanging ornaments from the ladder again this year : (

Be sure to check out the link above for more holiday mantel inspiration.

Fall Festival 2010

Whew!

Am I glad that's over with! One more thing checked off the "To-Do" list.

Don't get me wrong. The Fall Festival was a huge success this year, but talk about exhausting! I wish I knew how many steps I made yesterday.

It was the perfect weather for the festival. Not too hot, not too cold. And not too windy like it has been in previous years. We estimated that there were between 300-400 visitors at the festival. And that's not counting all of our church members who were there. We really had a good turnout.

This year we added an awesome petting zoo to our list of attractions. Glory Land Farms brought a whole menagerie of animals for the kids to handle: rabbits, chickens, goats, pigs, horses, donkeys, a snake...

and an alligator! Yeah, that's me holding an alligator!

The cutest animal of all, though, was this:

Ty really enjoyed the afternoon. And just like I expected, he spent most of his time in the big, inflatable jumpers. Unfortunately, the kids got a little too rough hopping around in there, and Ty has the bumps and bruises to prove it. He came away with busted lip, a black eye, a scraped back, and a scratched finger. And he lost a pair of shoes. Other than that he had a blast! : )

Tricks and Treats

For those of you who didn't get to see the Monkeys all dressed up this weekend, this is the moment you've been waiting for...

Drumroll, please............

Ta Da!

Meet Thing 1 and Thing 2!

Aren't they adorable?

We only made about 4 stops on our trick-or-treating round this year, but the kiddos got plenty of treats! Actually, I think we still have candy left over from last year.

Our last stop of the night was at my mom's.

Now for something really scary!!!!

Sandy decided to get in on the dressing up too.

I told you it would be scary. I'm not so sure if "truck driver" is a good look for her. :)

Ramblings

What could be better than going to Disney World in 7 weeks?

Going to Disney World in 3 weeks!!!!!!

Due to unforseen circumstances we had to move our vacation up a few weeks. And get this. We are going to stay an extra day, and we were able to upgrade to a better resort, and we are getting a better meal plan for only a few bucks more. This could not have worked out better for us!

In the meantime, things are super busy around here. Actually, now that I think about it, I have at least one significant event on the schedule every week until my birthday, January 8.

This week I'm finishing up the kids' costumes for trick-or-treating. They are going to be so cute! I can't wait to share pictures with ya'll.

Our church's Fall Festival is this weekend too. The Tool Man and I head it up each year. If you are not familiar with our festival, it is a HUGE event for our church. We have 30+ carnival games, a fantastic cake walk, hayrides, chili dogs, popcorn, inflatable jumpers, face painting, an extensive petting zoo, and candy candy candy! I'm always amazed at how it all comes together so easily every year. Our people really work hard to make it all happen. And what's even more amazing is how quickly it is all cleaned up! In less than an hour everything is put away, ready to be used again next year.

Next week I have two cakes to make. I hate to tell ya'll this, but the first one is an Alabama football cake! Yuck! Ew! It's for a 9 year-old girl who is a big Bama fan. She wants half the cake to be Bama and half to be LSU. The LSU half I can handle, but the Bama half? Well, that remains to be seen!

I am also helping with a wedding shower next weekend, and I'll have to make a cake for that too. I wonder what flavor I'll make this time. I'm thinking another coconut lemon curd cake. It was a huge hit at the last shower. So yummy! I got the idea from Mrs. Paula Deen so you know it has to be good!

The next week is our annual Thanksgiving lunch at church, and I'm in charge of setting up and decorating for this meal. Of course I'll also be busy planning and packing for Disney World. That will be fun, of course, but it's a little challenging trying to guess how many outfits and diapers a toddler is going to go through in 7 days. Wouldn't want to run out of diapers, now would we? No, that would not be a good thing.

I guess I'll stop boring you with my schedule . But I do want to tell you that at least two of our hens are laying now. Yeah, I found two eggs yesterday! One was a pale sage green color and the other was little lighter and slightly more blue. I love those colors. It just occurred to me that those eggs are almost the exact same color of most of the walls in my house. Maybe that's why I like them so much :)

I'm making a few special treats for the kiddos at Awana tonight - mummy dogs and a giant s'more cake. I'll post a few picture for you when I get the cake finished, but trust me, it is soooooo cute!