Merry Christmas

Mom-Preneurs Shop a Thon and Daily Giveaway!

So for 12 days they'll be giving away two prizes per day from Mom's who are crafty at making things to help support their families. Check it out on the link above.

Trick or Treat?

My girlies had a lot of fun Friday night for Halloween. We were quite the busy peeps! We had 3 people bring our treats to us...now that's a riot. Then we went to Trick My Trunk which was super fun with cars with tons of candy in their trunks all decorated up. And you know they had the bouncers to jump in and slide on till your heart was content! They had a blast. As if this wasn't enough fun, we then left and went to the Portico Square Dance!!! Yee haw! It was so funny to see everyone in costume and really square dancing. I think fun was had by all. The girls loved the kids area complete with buckets of corn kernels with hidden candy and a sticker table with crafty stuff. They were completely occupied the whole time and never even thought about dancing. Paul missed all the festivities at home with a horrible migraine hugging the porcelain goddess. So here are our pics to show you are two rootin tootin cowgirl, horse riding, chicken riding, square dancing tots. We had multi-functional costumes for the evening thanks to Granna!

I Got TAGGED by someone

i received this game of "blogger tag" from cyberspace and the deal is, you fill out the answers and tag a fellow blogger. IF you read this, you are to copy it into your blog and answer the questions...then tag a fellow blogger and pass along the quiz!

1. Where is your cell phone? in my KNITTING bag
2. Where is your significant other? decopaging(yes, ladies) a box to house our cell phone cords...saw it online and oh so nice.
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother?Granna, Granna Banana, Momma
5. Your father? Popsie, Roberto, Daddy
6. Your favorite thing? sleeping!
7. Your dream last night?Too tired to dream!!
8. Your dream/goal? dream: to not worry about finances Goal: have extra time in my life to spend with my family doing fun stuff
9. The room you're in? the dining room/office/catch all room, soon to be reorganized by my dear friend Tera
10. Your hobby? I sure enjoy the IDEA of knitting and scrapbooking, but seriously it doesn't generally happen.
11. Your fear? Kidnapping
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Um, maybe a different house with a little more room.
13. Where were you last night? Um, Lowe's(ogranizing aisle)
14. What you’re not? smart about politics, patient
15. One of your wish list items? A new knitting bag.
16. Where you grew up? mostly in ruston, louisiana (also a little in Little Rock, Brandon, FL, Dermot, AR)
17. The last thing you did? mod podged some magnets for christmas gifts
18. What are you wearing? pajamas
19. Your TV? Not a flat screen big tv, but maybe one day
20. Your pet? Kids are plenty!
21. Your computer? it works
22. Your mood? tired...as always...
23. Missing someone? a few
24. Your car? Chrysler Town and Country Minivan! (my husband totalled my Mercury Villager mini...at first I was sad, but I am LOVING this new van)
25. Something you’re not wearing? over the shoulder, boulder holder
26. Favorite store? man, I need to get out....maybe our new TJ MAX!!!
27. Your summer? boring
28. Love someone? boy do I
29. Your favorite color? well, there's two...pink and lime green
30. When is the last time you laughed? today at one of the kids for something goofy
31. Last time you cried? tonight during communion at church...i love that reflection time....one of the most peaceful times I know of

ok...i am tagging Granna Banana...hop to it, woman!

And we have 3 winners!!!!

Congrats to our three Pay It Forward winners-Granna, Meredith and Jen!! Okay, so they were the only three to sign up, but that doesn't make them less of a winner!!! As stated in the previous post, you'll get something handmade by me in the next 365 days...and believe you me...I am a PROCRASTINATOR!!! Seriously, just keeping you all aware of my nasty little faults. So, all you need to do is email me at scrappinmomma@bellsouth.net and let me know your favorite color/colors, shoe size...yes, your shoe size...your address and then wait to be surpised one glorious day out of the blue! Thanks for playing my game. Ohhhh, and you all three have to do the same on your blog...make a pay it forward give away post! Enjoy good times.
Leigh-Ann

The Secret is in the Sauce

I stumbled across the blog above. The Secret is in The Sauce, or SITS for short In other words, you get your blog featured as the blog of the day and TONS of people visit your site and leave comments. It's a win/win situation for all involved!

SITS has introduced me to some great blog finds that became daily reads from the start. I found these blogs either through the blog of the day or through comments they left here and I followed over to their site.

P.S. Did I mention the prizes they're giving away on the main site today? Run on over and check it out! There's a new prize every hour! Good luck!

Pay it Forward of my own

So, I signed up to win a pay it forward thing and I WON from http://joystitch.blogspot.com/!!!! So, now I must pay it forward and offer my bloggers a chance to win.

"I will send a handmade gift to 3 random people who leave a comment on this blog post. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

So sign up and be ready to win. Mallory and Marybeth will pick our winners on Oct. 17 after 6 pm CT. Happy winning!!!

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 7.0 plus a book: I need to win this thing. I have version 5 and just got a book this week to take my pics to the next level. Enter here for a chance to win...
http://thesecretisinthesauce.blogspot.com/2008/10/october-giveaway-photoshop-elements.html

My new favorite treats

OH MY GOODNESS how I love these things!! Talk about scrumptious!!!! I found the idea for them on http://bakerella.blogspot.com You will love this site if you enjoy tasty and absolutely adorable little treats. My batch made up about 43 cupcake pops. The girls enjoyed them. Our 9th grade LifeGroup loved them. Their a hit! I can't wait to make some for Halloween. I am using brown and orange for the colors. I also want to make them for a bake sale sometime. Enjoy...and don't eat too many!

And to think...

She looks like such an innocent little cherub...but we all know by the last post, that maybe that isn't the whole picture! I love my girl...mischief and all.

Need I say more?

Umm, so we had a little discipline problem at school, but I think it was handled well. She swiped M.E. Guy's Dora doll on the way in from the playground! Little hound then went and hid it in her backpack...under her jacket. It's hard to imagine being dishonest starts at such a young age. Hopefully she learned her lesson. Life rolls on...

Beach Life and Such

We went for our annual Labor day trip to Orange Beach this past weekend. We had great weather on Saturday and enjoyed our stay at the Phoenix VI. The girls enjoyed the beach and sand...that is except when Marybeth would throw it in her own eyes and her sisters...We had to cut the trip a day short and come home on Sunday instead of Monday because of Hurricane Gustav. We left right before they had a mandatory evacuation of that area...just in time to beat all the traffic. All in all, we had a good time. Enjoy our pics...

Where to begin...

I cannot believe I do not have more time on my hands to update this blog like it needs to be done! Life is so busy...We've started another school year and Miss Marybeth is in Pre-K3 and Miss Mallory is in Pre-K4. They are both attending the same private Christian school which makes schedules a lot easier on me for drop off and pick-up. Before the first week was up, Marybeth made a visit to see the principal for being loud during naptime, not laying down and disturbing other classmates...my, my, the journey has begun. So, therefore, we have succumbed to bribery every morning to achieve good behavior at naptime at school. She has already earned Dora socks(BLUE of course), ice cream (BLUE of course), snow cones(BLUE of course), candy...she is slightly motivated by treats such as these. BLUE is her signature color. She wants blue everything! Mallory is doing very well in her big girl class and they are learning their vowels to read short one vowel words! I am so amazed. I don't remember learning to read until 1st grade! She'll be a bookworm for sure once she learns how.
Paul and I have made a decision after prayer and talking to committ to the Portico ministry. We are excited about the work that God is doing there and what is yet to come. Portico is our church that is very non-traditional. Portico is accepting of all peeps and wants to share the love of Christ and His salvation with many who would never step foot into the traditional church setting. Although they have no youth at this time that aren't already affiliated with First West, Paul is committing to be the volunteer student minister at this time. Challenges lie ahead, but in the days to come as Portico becomes a separate church(kinda like a church plant), God will grow this area, I'm sure. We are so excited to be part of something so fresh and out of the ordinary! Worship each week is quite an experience and God truly is in it. AND WE REALLY ENJOY RANDY'S TEACHING STYLE...We enjoy being part of a small community of believers. We have a couples community group that meets on Thursday nights and we are thoroughly enjoying it. Our new study is on communication....could it be more appropriate? Sometimes in the busyness we've come to think that the other should know our every thought, but that is definitely not true...even after 7 years of marriage.
Here are a few pics to let you know how our girls are quickly growing. Enjoy!

New Eyes

Many of you know that I had LASIK surgery on both eyes this past Thursday. I will say that this is proving to be the most beneficial thing I have ever spent money on in my life! I am so amazed at how I can see the alarm clock in the middle of the night and how I am able to see the ceiling as I go to sleep and as I wake. I have prayed that God would give me new eyes to see people in need that I often pass by on a day to day basis. I have found that some of those people have been my own children as I am caught up in the busy-ness of life. This week I have tried really hard to make sure to show and tell them often how much I love them and also to take time with them. Marybeth kicked a hole in the sheetrock in the hallway last week during a bedtime tantrum. I am reading many parenting books currently and praying that God will give her the ability to overcome her anger and to react and respond in different ways. Mallory is enjoying summer camp at school and both are looking forward to VBS this next week at First West. Paul is keeping busy at the Children's Home with recreation stuff right now. My knitting is going well. I just finished a cute little sweet pea hat for John Martin Arabie, born yesterday to Kelly and Trey. I can't wait to meet him. I have a new blankie on my needles for the girls for their car blankets. They are going to be cutie patootie! Will post some new pics soon.

The Intrudor

The girls enjoyed running and playing in the wonderful weather on Saturday. They got their new shades for the spring and were ready to go. Marybeth committed her first crime this day. I say CRIME because she broke in the back door of our neighbors house after escaping from our yard in a split second as I sat in my chair by the swing set! I went looking for her and she had opened our gate, their gate, and proceeded up their back deck and into her little friends room to play with her "Baby Lie" aka Baby Alive...I could only laugh at her shenanigans! Imagine me, going to the wide open back door and calling for Marybeth...I know laugh all you want, I am still snickering at it. Thank heavens everyone was clothed! I could just imagine walking in on someone in their skibbies! They got a kick out of it too. Oh, and she let their dog out who ran off down the street and around the block. Our neighbor Susan had to get in her car and go find her. What a day of play! So beware of the two year old intruder! She is quick on her entry!