My Lovelies as of Late

Here lately Libby Baker is loving:

-root beer floats from Sonic
- Ramona books
-Christmas movies
-hot chocolate
-Nutella
-Hello Kitty band aids
-Christmas lights
-learning about math at school
-wearing dressing
-smelling Christmas candles

Here lately Hollyn Reed is loving:

-playing fetch with Doc
-anything that even resembles a ball
-her babies
-marshmallows
-chocolate milk
-Minnie Mouse
-wearing Mom's shoes
-sitting under a bank, or as the rest of the world calls it, a blanket
-picking out books for Libby to read to her
-rubber duckies


Here's hoping your Wednesday was a-ok.

And today I ask: what is YOUR favorite family Christmas tradition????
I'll be blogging about mine later this month...

Oh, and you see that little bow in Libby's hair?
Up close it's some kinda cute. Tomorrow I'll be giving you the details.
See you then?

Chritmas {Via Pinterest}

Not sure about you, but it's starting to look a lot like Christmas at my house....or it will by the end of the week when our tree is up. We usually put it up the day after Thanksgiving, but this year we fell short. I blame tonsil removal.

Anyway, in preparation for house decoration 2011, I've been searching Pinterest for some inspiration.

Here are some of my favorite finds so far:

here

here

here

here

here

here

here

here

here

here

Oh, Pinterest, what did I ever do before you came along?

In case you were curious, Libby is starting to return to the land of the living a little more each passing day. She's still not 100%, but she's working on it.

Tomorrow she goes back to the doctor for a follow-up.

Praying it goes well.

Oh, and here's a secret from me to you:

From now until December 7, McDonald's is offering its peppermint mocha coffee and peppermint hot chocolate for a dollar. It's not Starbucks, but it sure is good.

Here's hoping it's warm where you are, and if you need me, I'll be bundled up on the couch sipping something hot and sending Lee to fetch another blanket.

You Say Potato

You say potato;

I say I'll take mine like this:

My favorite potato ever is covered in sausage rotel.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, and once you've tried you can thank me.

Here's hoping it's sunny where you are.

Today I'm home with Libby, who says it feels like there's a dinosaur in her throat.

Oh Christmas Wreath, Oh Christmas Wreath

Thanksgiving has passed, and Christmas is in full swing at our house. We're hoping to get the tree up tomorrow and enjoy our last day of sickly holiday-ing.

To help get in the holiday spirit, I made this earlier this week:

I wanted something simple that I could possibly use at some point in the year other than Christmas but that still had that Christmas-y feel. The best part? It was free for me because I had all of these supplies on hand. The base for the wreath is made from a pool noodle which I then wrapped in burlap. The wooden A is left over from another project, and I made the little flowers.

I think they're so cute. I'll be posting on how to make them later this week via a hairbow I made for Hollyn to wear in our upcoming photo shoot. Come back then?

Here's hoping your Saturday was wonderful, and if you're in Mississippi, I hope you're listening for the sweet sound of cowbells tonight and a big GO STATE! coming from our house.

Today I'm linking here, here, and  here.

Black Friday Came Early

Since we knew this week would be on the hectic side, what with Libby having her tonsils removed and whatnot, we shopped til' we dropped last Saturday. Mom had Libby, and Lee and I had Hollyn.

And can I just say that I think if there was a 'Toddler Trooper of the Year' award, I think this little girl would bring home the gold?

Anywho, our day looked a little something like this:

Are YOU out and about this black Friday?

What was your best score?

I'll just sit here and live vicariously through you while I nurse the Libster back to health...

oh, the many, many joys of motherhood.

P.S. Are you lovin' my new Africa shirt? If so, you can order yours here. Fortunately for me, I won mine via a giveaway here. Yay for giveaways and supporting adoption!

Reesie Roll-Ups

Everybody loves Reese's, right?

I mean, isn't that universally understood?

No?

OOOOKKKKKK....then let's just say that everyone at MY HOUSE loves Reese's; that better?

Well, here's a little something to help grow that love:

Three ingredients:

1. Reese's

2. Crescent rolls

3. powdered sugar

Libby made these ALMOST all by herself. She unwrapped the Reese's, unrolled the crescent rolls, and wrapped them up. I put them in the oven and baked according to the instructions on the crescent rolls.

We let them cool and then covered them in powdered sugar.

And there you have it.

I got this recipe from a friend for-ev-er ago, but I've seen it floating around Pinterest some as well.

Ah, Pinterest, my favorite way to waste time.

Update on Libby:

She slept through the night and ate ice cream for breakfast this morning; I think it's safe to say she's starting to feel a wee bit better.

Here's hoping your Wednesday is wonderful.

What are you MOST looking forward to tomorrow?

The family, the friends, the food?

I'd love to know.

Lee and Hollyn will be going to his parents' house, but Libby and I will be here eating popsicles.

Regardless of what you do, I hope it's wonderful.

Surgery Schmergery

The tonsils are history.

Today has been long, and unfortunately Libby is s-i-c-k from the anesthesia.

Here's hoping my girl can keep down her water and rest some tonight.

Thank you to all who have texted, called, facebooked, and e-mailed. You are officially the bomb.com, and I couldn't be more thankful.

Assuming I can grab a minute on the computer tomorrow, there will be a recipe.

It's okay if you feel the need to get a little excited; it's a good one.

Happy almost Turkey Day to you and you and you.

The Sun'll Come Out, Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day we've been waiting for...

I'd say 'been lookin' forward to', except that'd be a lie.

You see, tomorrow is the day we say adios to Libby's tonsils.

So, naturally, today we celebrated with lunch at Lib's favorite restaurant.....

....and a shopping trip that would make any kid jealous.

Here's to a week filled with ice cream, popsicles, and all the movies one girl can handle.

Her surgery is scheduled for 8 in the a.m. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Here's hoping your Monday is awe- to the -some.

Excuse Me Just a Minute.....

To put it mildly, 2011 has not been my year.

At all.

No way.

No how.

It's that time of year when I'm starting to reflect on the year that is almost over and the hopes for the year to come. And unfortunately I have very few nice things to say about 2011 other than the fact that my children are, for the most part, healthy and happy, no one dear to me has died, and the hubby and I are still doin' our thing. I still have a house to live in, food to eat, and a friend to call when I need to vent.

The basics are covered, yes.

And while I desperately wish that I could focus on the basics and not stress or worry

 about EVERYTHING else, sometimes that's just not possible. 

In fact, lately it seems all but IMpossible not to notice or be somewhat consumed by the problems in my day-to-day. I'm so frustrated with the way people treat one another, constantly complain, and take very little personal responsibility. What's a girl gotta do to get ONE good day around these here parts? Surely I'm not the only girl out there who thinks that some time at the beach with her besties and a good book would do her soul a world of good, right?

After lots of thought and consideration, I've narrowed it down to two options:

1. God has something really big in store, and He's using this year to teach me and mold me and prepare me for whatever that may be.

2. I'm being punished for something that I didn't do.

It's certainly one of those though; it has to be.

Right now, for the first time in a long time, I'm just trying to focus on one day at a time. I feel like I'm up to my eyeballs in life and all the this and that that sometimes come along with it, and if I don't keep my chin up, I might drown in the yuck that seems to be filling in every little crack all around me. It's not that any ONE thing has happened or there's some major drama or event going on in my life. In some ways, I wish that were it, because that one thing would eventually end and there would someday soon be new drama to take the focus elsewhere. Instead, it's more like lots of little issues in almost every aspect of my life.

And this girl has had enough.

And while I wish that I could say that next week's time off of work would be the break I so desperately need, that's just not gonna happen, at least not as long as Libby still gets her tonsils out on Tuesday.

So, I come to you with this question, my darling readers:

What do YOU do when you're in a funk?

What is your favorite de-funking device, be it a movie, a place,a book, an activity?

I'm open to any and all suggestions, just please keep them clean and family friendly.

My prayer this week is focused on this:

God, please help me keep my situation in perspective. I realize it could be so much worse, and I AM THANKFUL for all You've done for me and given to me. Please help me see the positive and to stop focusing on the negative.

Here's hoping your week so far could beat the pants off of mine.

Tomorrow, there will be an overnight field trip with my favorite female co-worker and seventeen kiddos. Let's hope it's fantastic and drama free in every way possible.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the picture in this post came from here, and apparently I'm not the only one having hard time these days. Maybe there's something in the water.....

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

So if you've been keeping up, then you know that this weekend was spent mending my sweet, albeit rather grumpy and sickly, seven-year-old.

And while that's about as much fun as it sounds, I was perhaps two breaths away from going stir crazy, when I remembered some pool noodles I bought a few weeks ago for, get this, ten cents each. I feel like I stole them considering I knew that what I wanted to do with them would be super cute.

Bloggers, meet my new Thanksgiving wreath:

I made him in under an hour, and other than the pool noodles, I had everything I needed, so he cost me, you guessed it, a grand total of a a dime.

Here's the low down on how I made him:

First I took my pool noodles (I had two), and I cut them. I used one of them to make the big circle that became the back layer of the wreath, and the short scraps that came from shortening both noodles to make the top layer of my wreath.( I plan on using the other noodle to make a Christmas wreath in the next week or so.) I then used duct tape to form my two circles; I use that term loosely, because they don't exactly look like circles yet.

Note: If you see this and feel inspired and can't find any pool noodles this late in the season, you can certainly use a Styrofoam wreath for the back layer and even a paper plate for the front layer.

Then I covered each circle with burlap.

I tried using hot glue, but it burns the noodle, so I stuck with packing tape.

Once both circles are covered, I took some different colored felt, and cut out eight feathers using a template I made from  a piece of cardboard.

Once I cut out the feathers, I hot glued a piece of cardboard to the back of each of them to give them some support. Notice this isn't very pretty, but it doesn't matter! No one will see this part.

Once the feathers were reinforced, I taped them to the backside of the turkey, making sure they were somewhat level and even. 

I then cut out two feet, reinforced them with cardboard, and taped them to the back of the turkey.

Note: I folded the felt in half and cut both feet out at the same time, that way I know they'd look the same.

Please ignore how ugly the back of this project looks-- again, no one has to know. It can be our little secret, mkay?

I then used a cup to trace the felt that would become his eyes, drew a nose and a gobbler (don't use that word often...), and hot glued them in place.

Isn't he adorable?

Here's a shot on a lighter background so that you can see his feet:

I haven't hung him yet obviously; forgive me- it's dark.

I'll do that tomorrow and post a picture later this week.

Until then, I think I'll stare at him-- I just think he's so stinkin' cute!

Super easy, super cheap, super cute--- the way crafting is supposed to be.

What are you doing at your house to get in the Thanksgiving spirit?

We're doing any and everything we can, considering our Thanksgiving will be spent taking care of Libby; her tonsils are coming out the Tuesday before Turkey Day.

Here's hoping your weekend was fan-freakin-tastic and that we can make it another nine days without another tonsil-induced trip to the E.R.

Today I'm linking here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Winner Winner Chinese Dinner

First and foremost, congrats to Meaghan from The Gordons on winning my 100,00 views giveaway. Send me your address, and I'll get the book in the mail to you on Monday. mccallald@yahoo.com

A few other thoughts:

-Today there was Uno and a Harry Potter marathon.

-Tonight there was Chinese food, and it was fab-o.

-Libby gets her tonsils out in T-minus ten days and counting....it can't come soon enough.

Here's hoping your weekend beats the pants off of mine.

Like a Baby Seal

Last night this little girl and I took a trip......

...to the emergency room.

It's one of those universal things that every mom dreads. No one likes the idea of taking her baby to the hospital, because nevermind the shots and needles and restless nights-- a trip to the emergency room means something is really wrong.

For Libby last night, her 'something wrong' can be summed up in three words:

she. couldn't. breathe.

She casually mentioned her throat hurt right at bedtime. You know how that goes-- the girl is FINE, laughing, giggling, playing. And then it's bedtime, and BAM! Something's wrong.

Are we the only house that does this? Please say no.

Anyway, she goes to bed. All seems fine. Four hours later I hear what sounds like a baby seal. I know that sound. It's one that makes my skin crawl. I ran into her room (literally, and almost tripped over the dog in the process). She's coughing, but it sounds more like wheezing. She literally was having trouble drawing a breath.

So, in warp speed, I got dressed and carried my baby to the car while Lee stayed here with Hollyn. All I have to say about this is I haven't ONE TIME picked up or even attempted to pick up Libby in almost a year. The back and I, we don't always see eye-to-eye. In fact, we've invested quite a bit of money in my back in the past year, all for the sake of us being able to play nicely together. But what's a mom to do? Libby could barely breathe, and I was supposed to say, "Sorry, kiddo. Gonna have to walk. Mom has the back of a ninety-year-old." Wasn't gonna happen. However, I'm happy to report that even after carrying her, my back feels t-totally fine today. *Sigh of relief.*

Anyway, after a trip to the ER, a breathing treatment, a shot to help with breathing, some steroids, some antibiotics, some Tylenol to combat her 101 temp, two prescriptions,  and some ice cream, she now feels well enough to sit on the couch and watch Judy Moody.

Does the fun EVER end at our house?

Here's hope your night last night was totally uneventful,

 because to be honest, uneventful sounds really nice right now.

Oh, and a quick reminder:

YOU ONLY HAVE UNTIL ELEVEN O'CLOCK TONIGHT TO ENTER TO WIN MY THANK YOU GIVEAWAY! Please hear me when I say that I've read A LOT of books and this is one of the best I've ever read. It's only been out for a month or so, and it's selling like hotcakes because it's JUST THAT GOOD. You can enter to win a copy here.

Happy weekend-ing to you and you and you.

If you need me, I'll be on the couch with my sick little girl.

My Top Ten Favorite Posts

Can I just be honest and say that choosing ten posts I can call my 'favorites' was not an easy thing to do? These are my memories; this is my life. I'm sure if you asked me again in a week, the list would change. But for today, here are ten of the my former posts that I love and think you might love too:

That One Little Thing

Spending My Time

How Do I Want Them to Remember Me

30 in My 30's

Dear McCall, age 18

The Big Jump

This Time Last Year

Here Kitty Kitty

Those Dang Pinchers

Soundtrack of Me, Part 1, 2, and 3

Rockstar by Morning

And can I ask: what is YOUR favorite post on YOUR blog? If you've never thought about it, good luck. Picking probably won't be an easy task.

But you know what IS easy?
 Entering my latest giveaway...you have until tomorrow night at eleven to enter to win
a copy of one of my favorite books of all time.

Here's hoping your week has been way better than mine-- let's just say teaching seniors how to write research papers is not the most fun thing I've ever done.

P.S.) The photo in this post came from here. :)

The Top Five

In case you missed the news, I'm only a few thousand views away from reaching the big 100,000 views.

Whoa that's a lot of peeks at this little blog of mine.

As of today, here are the top five most viewed entries:

Embracin' the Camera and It Tastes Like Cake Batter: 23, 913 views (thanks, Pinterest for making my cake batter dip receive about 900 views each and every day)

Giving Thanks: 1, 145 views

Turning One Is Oh So Fun: Hollyn's Milk and Cookies Party: 1, 068 views

Libby's Cake Decorating Party: 884 views

Reading: Seeing Pink: 721 views

Which of these is your favorite?

Tomorrow I'll be talking about my own favorite posts...assuming I can choose some, that is. Funny because none of my favorites have anything to do with something I've made, while all of my most viewed posts have to do with something I've made...Hmmmm.....

Oh, and before you do, did you ENTER YESTERDAY'S THANK YOU GIVEAWAY?????

 NO?

Then what are you waiting for?

 You can enter it here.

Happy Wednesday to you and you and you.

Today I'm linking here.

THANK YOU! {A GIVEAWAY}

Big news: Lee, Me, and the Girls is on the verge of reaching100,000 views.

Wow.

That's a lot of people who have taken time out of their busy lives to take a glimpse into mine.

And I want to say thanks.

So, last week I ordered an extra one of these:

It's the book I've been reading lately and raving about to anyone who will listen.

 I can honestly say it's one of the most meaningful, inspirational books I've ever read.

It's inspired me to do more to help those in need and to draw nearer to the God I love.

And this copy is for one of you.

All you have to do is be a follower of my blog and then leave a comment telling me one thing that inspires or has inspired you. It can be a quote or phrase, a person, a movie, a blog, a book...whatever you so choose.

If you're not already a follower- it's easy as pie. Just click on the follow button that you will find in the right hand column on my blog. If you prefer to follow via e-mail, that's fine too.

The giveaway will be open until Friday, November 11th at 11pm. The winner will be announced on Saturday, when I will have Libby draw a winner.

Only one entry per person, pleaseandthankyou.

Thanks again to all of you who take time to read my blog regularly; I could not be more thankful.

Here Piggy, Piggy: It's READING FAIR Time Again!

Last spring, Libby won first place in the state reading fair.

And while this was a great opportunity for her, it's also got me a little scared this year.

The concern: how do I explain to my first grader that it might be someone else's turn to win this year?

We've talked about it and discussed it, but I'm not sure she really GETS it.

More on that in a minute.....

But first,
here's what she came up with this year:

Most importantly: HER BOOK

If you have young children and have never read the Mercy Watson books, you are MISSING OUT! They are favorites at our house. They are chapter books, but there are lots of pictures and the chapters are short, so they're great for early readers are not quite ready for real chapter books.

Here's the whole dog and pony show, costume included:

That's right; my little one is posing as Mercy Watson herself for her project presentation.

Notice that the costume comes complete with pig feet.

Now for a closer look at her board:

The pigs on the sides represent the things Mercy considers being for Halloween before she decides, with help from her parents, to be a princess.

The the pigs in the center are princesses, like Mercy Watson.

Lib and I also made this cute little piggy out of a Halloween trick-or-treat bucket:

Lib's favorite part:

My favorite parts (there are two):

And in case you can't tell via computer pictures, the pigs' noses are 3-D.

And even though no one may notice, Lib had so much fun with the details on this project.

Thoughts on this?

Here's what I know:

* Libby had a lot of fun choosing her book, cutting, painting, gluing, and writing for her project.

*We are both very happy with the way it turned out, making her a winner no matter what.

*I feel like doing this helped to better understand what she reads and to see that books are fun.

And isn't that all that matters?

And now I can proudly say:

LIBBY PLACED SECOND IN YESTERDAY'S READING FAIR!

To me, this is good news. Here's why:

*she was still able to see that hard work pays off, and that the extra effort is always worth it when it comes to doing your very best.

*she was also able to learn that winning isn't the most important thing, which I do believe is a very important lesson indeed.

Speaking of lessons, I've just about learned that I need to focus on saying NO more often, as this week has had me totally overwhelmed. And if you know me, you know that overwhelmed isn't something I feel very often, as I like my plate fuller than most. And today, I'm home once again with sick Hollyn. Hopefully she's about shown this ole' virus who's boss because I miss my sleeping baby!

Here's hoping your Friday and your weekend are awe-some in more ways than one.

I'll be at a meeting most of the weekend, which means great friends, great food, and great fellowship.

OH, and one more thing....this ole' blog of mine is just about to reach 100,000 views. When it does, there will  be a special giveaway by yours truly. Are you excited?

I sure am.

Today I'm linking here, here, here, here, here, and here.  Where's YOUR favorite place to link to?