Happy Halloween

I want to first start off by saying how much money I've been saving lately with coupons, sales, and re-using things that I already have. I went to Winn Dixie a few weeks ago and spent $29 on 22 items! I've always been creative and people compliment me on my ideas and on my house decorating. I have even re-done a room in my aunts house and helped a friend with a few decorating projects, but my problem is that I'm not creative when it comes to making things for cheap or free. But this Halloween I have made things out of what I have. So, it may not be as cute or perfect as what I'd like but hey it's free!! So I'll have to deal.

 Here is the wreath I made for our front door this year. The wreath has been in my attic with lots of ugly fake leaves and flowers on it that I removed. Then I went to the dollar tree and bought the spider web and "Happy Halloween", which I just gluegunned into place and Voila! A $2 wreath for my front door. I'll take it!

I also made some ghosts that, once again, I've seen on pinterest and blogs and I've wanted to make them but just didn't have the extra money. So, I took the pre-lit topiary trees that I use at Christmas and threw a white fleece blanket that I had over them and used construction paper (that I already had) as the eyes and mouths. Oh and the names are part of the playball shapes I use for my students once again that I already had, so the total cost of these cute ghosts = free!!

 (these topiary trees do get really hot with the fleece over them so I usually just turn them on for a few hours a night)

My mom gave me some cute pumpkin and bat sponges a few years ago and I put them away in my Halloween decorations hoping to do something artsy with paints and the kids. But this year I realized that probably won't happen and why not decorate with them? So I put fishing wire through them and hung them
from my mantle.

Ok, so now onto Halloween night! Which was fun and laid back this year for us. Usually my whole family comes over for chilli & trick-or-treating (cousins, aunts, uncles, etc) but this year everyone decided to go to my aunt's house and since my children are a little under the weather and I had to work all day today we decided to stay home and do our own thing. This is the first year we didn't have a house to feed or people to entertain or a crowd to keep up with while trick-or-treating. We went out early around 5:45 and were home by 7:00. Maci Rose loved it at first but after only about 20 houses she said she was cold and ready to go home. She wouldn't wear her jacket because it covered her outfit. Figures!! And Carter went to about 5 houses and after each house he wanted to open every piece of new candy they put in his bucket. So we finally just put him in the waggon and let him have a sucker until we got home. I'm ashamed to say that I hardly have any cute pictures of them. Between getting juice cups ready and jackets for the kids and wiping their noses every few seconds I got what I could. Plus, Carter was an elephant and wouldn't wear the hood so that was another battle, but hey I tried the best I could!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Playball

Yes, this is my new job!! And it is about as fun as it sounds. "playing ball" It just kind of fell into my lap. My neighbor really needed some help with her classes because they were too full for her to teach alone. I work at 3 different schools...BeKare, Mountain Brook Baptist, & Church of Brook Hills. I honestly feel like it was a blessing from God. I work 2 days a week so I can still spend some time with my babies and make a little money too. It's exactly what I needed. So, if you're wondering what it is check out their website at http://alabama.usaplayball.com/about_us

I put the description below off their website to get you more familiar with what it is.

Please contact me if you are interested in signing your child up or seeing if it is offered at their school!

For over 25 years, We’ve Used Sports as a Means To Enrich all Aspects of a Child’s Life…


In Playball, sports play a vital role in the health and well being of every child. Sports help us learn life skills such as respect, sportsmanship, responsibility, confidence, self-esteem, patience, tolerance and leadership.


With Playball children learn the basic skills for Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Hockey, Tennis and Soccer.


Playball classes begin at age 2 and go through to age 8. It suits the needs of all children regardless of athletic abilities. It helps develop the confidence to participate in all activities - on and off the field!


Playball is progressive: children progress from informal introduction of basic ball and movement skills to more structured sports participation. No two classes are the same!


Playball consists of 6 stages - each focusing on the age development of the child.


Playball works on developing skills such as balance, coordination, mid-line crossing, throwing, catching, fielding and dribbling.


Playball is taught in different venues such as pre-schools, day cares, parks, and recreation centers!

Playball gives kids the opportunity to explore their creativity and imagination. They experience fun, laughter, joy and success. Children do not care that they are learning “tennis forehand” because it’s so much fun “swatting away mosquitoes!”.


Playball develops reading, thinking and problem solving skills as well as motor skill development. This is why Playball is so important for your children! We use these principles to design a program that is not only fun for the kids but has an underlying principle to accomplish this!!


NEWSLETTER LINK:


Please click here for our weekly skill spot

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=e16fff00ceab5f9a&resid=E16FFF00CEAB5F9A!546


email us @ PlayballAlabama@live.com

Labor Day

Busy is an understatement to describe our Labor Day weekend.

First of all, Jeremy was asked to be the best man in his best friend's wedding, which was down in Ft. Myers, Florida so he flew out on Friday morning and I stayed home with the kids.

Second, Saturday was the first "football game day" for most college teams and especially bama, which we spent all day out at my aunt's house watching all the games, eating good food, and letting the kids swim.

Third, Jeremy and I were asked to be asked the godparents of my cousins baby, Kate and the baptism was on Sunday (the day before Labor Day). We are very honored to be such special people in her life!

Fourth, my cousin Emily came in town from NY for her neice's baptism!

Fifth, Sunday, the 4th of September was my birthday and I turned 28! I feel so close to 30 at this age it's scary! For some reason I am really scared of turning 30. My 20's have been the best years of my life and I don't want them to end!!

So it was a crazy busy, but an extremely fun weekend for everyone!

A Doctor & Cowboy

Ok so I know I'm behind on my promise of 7 consecutive posts but while I'm slowly working on those I thought I'd show you the 2 cuties occupying my time.

While cleaning up dinner these 2 headed upstairs to the playroom & this is what I found. Maci Rose was wearing her doctor gear checking her baby's heartbeat and Carter was wearing a cowboy hat driving this noisy fire truck thing. It was a sight for sure! Hopefully they're getting some good practice for the future! Well the doctor at least! We'll see! Either way it gave me a good laugh after a long day at work!

Frugal Friday

5 smart ways you can use BALLOONS!!

I don't know about you but I have tons of balloons leftover from the 4 birthday parties I've thrown for my kiddos. They are stored in a bucket of party decorations out in my garage that my children seem to get into at least once a week asking me to blow up these balloons for them. And I know, I should probably find another place for it but that would require me having to go up in my attic and clear a space which is not as easy as it sounds. Anyways.... when I read this little snipet from Women's World Magazine the other day I thought this was so neat. I've never thought of using balloons other than for parties and entertainment.

1.) Open a bottle. You can use a rubber balloon to get a stubborn top off a bottle. Just use the balloon as you would a gripper.

2.) Make an ice pack. (this is my favorite!!) Fill a balloon halfway with water, but make sure you leave enough room for it to expand. Then place it in the freezer to have ready whenever you need an ice pack!

3.) Protect a cut. Slip a balloon over a painful papercut to keep it dry & clean while washing dishes, bathing kids, or doing some other type of house work or craft.

4.) Keep the shape. Blow up a balloon and slip an item of laundry over it to keep the shape of air-dry items such as bras and baseball caps. Toddler shirts fit perfectly.

5.) Save cut flowers. Slip a balloon filled with a little bit of water on the end of the stem and use a rubberband to secure it in place to help cut flowers last longer or until you can get them into a vase.

Have a good weekend!!

JaRae's Wedding

A few weeks ago we flew to Minnesota for my cousin JaRae's wedding. She was one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen. And her mom owns a salon!! How cool is that?? So all of the bridesmaids got to get their hair, make-up & nails done too.

Formal weddings in Minnesota are done differently than weddings down here, but my little sister is considering trying to incorporate these northern parties down here when she starts her wedding planning (hopefully soon ;)). They have the wedding at 2pm in the afternoon and then go bar hopping on party buses in between the wedding and reception. Then there is a sit down dinner at 6:00pm followed by dancing and reception. It's a good way to make your wedding day worth the money you pay instead of just a few hours and it also gives kids/parents time to go home and change clothes and nap in between.

Isn't her hair so cool & different?!

 The bridesmaids wore sunflowers in their hair which went perfectly with their yellow dresses. So summery!

 their first dance

 Once again, love love love the hair! So unique! Her hair is usually really straight and long so it was so different to see this on her.And this picture below is my absolute favorite!

 Father/Daughter dance

This is Taylor, the sister of the bride and maid of honor.

Bar hopping in between the wedding and reception. Of course, we had to go to the "Bar and Grill" places because of kids, but it was still so much fun!

 Uncle Mickey and Maci Rose

 We partied the night away. I havent had that much fun dancing at a wedding in a long time.

There were these little puppies there that Maci Rose threw a fit begged to bring home. She literally woke up and went to sleep every.single.day. asking to bring one home. I mean how do you explain to a 3 year old that you are in another state?? She thought we were up in the sky and then the airplane was going to take us back down to the ground and home. I tried explaining a million times. So frustrating!! needless to say, she didn't get to take one home.

 

 At Uncle Mickey's cookout.

We had so much fun and always enjoy every second we are up there!! They provide tons of entertainment! I have over 100 family members that all live in one small town called Buffalo. This is my moms side of the family or I guess you can say my grandmother's side?? Her 5 siblings & their kids and grandkids & great grandkids!! Can't wait to go back! We miss you guys already!

My Challenge to Myself

Hey everyone!! I'm alive I promise.

And I have sooo much to catch you up on so I'm challenging myself to do a post everyday for the next 7 days. These will include Carter's 15 month update, my new job, our trip to Minnesota, & just a little about what has been going on around here. This should be interesting to say the least. Here's to hoping I can stick it out!! Wish me luck!