As the Angry Cowboy once said...

Blaine let me know that he is the Angry Cowboy. He also told me that he's a farmer and he doesn't care. But as this day could not get any worse than it already has, I think the most important thing Blaine said is, "Mom, we forgot to pray." I have been doing a lot of that today with hope that we'll be able to dress up and play with Nannie and Papa.
Don't worry Angry Cowboy, I won't forget! And I'll never forget you putting on this outfit and becoming the "Angry Cowboy".

This is a Fat Head

I have had a couple of people ask me what a Fat Head is. It is a big giant sticker. That's the only way I know how to describe it.

Personally, I wanted an AJ Hawk or a Santonio Holmes Fat Head because Ethan's room is totally decorated in OSU decor.

But Santa brings what the child wants, not what the mother wants. I know this because I didn't get what I wanted this year. Just kidding big man!

So here is Ethan's Tom Brady Fat Head.

My Hearth

My hearth was filled with creative beauty this Christmas. I think what I loved most about my directions was that almost all of my decorations are homeade. Blaine and Ethan have worked so hard to make Christmas special this year and you will notice how hard they have worked to make that happen. These are the most memorable things about Christmas.

Have you ever...

Have you ever had the worst day? You know that there are people around you that are suffering from illness or other trials, but this one day is so bad that you just have to be sad and maybe even cry all day long?
This was my day. It's not over yet and nor am I giving up on what I'm about to tell you, but my day really stunk.
I should be in San Diego right now, but for no other reason than I forgot to turn the alarm clock on, I'm presently sitting at home wallowing in sad songs and refusing to give up on the hope of making it to see my Dad and Pam (my step-mom).
So, if any of you are flying on Skybus tomorrow and are willing to give up your seat... I'm waiting for just one more. I heard the intestinal flu is running rampant through the airports... I'm just saying.
I figured while I sit to refresh the skybus website until tomorrow morning (I can be one stubborn mama), I will utilize this time to show you Christmas pictures. The first series will demonstrate what it's like to make a Christmas picture of Ethan and Blaine. Please enjoy. You may want to microwave a bag of popcorn.

My friend Emily

This is my friend Emily. She is also one of my students. Emily was diagnosed last year with Leukemia and just returned to school a couple of months ago. Blaine is Emily's classmate and he has been praying hard for her recovery and return to home and school. Obviously, Emily is doing great and is just an inspiration to everyone she comes in contact with.

I will NEVER forget the day she returned to school for the first time since last Easter. She was so excited to be back, she could have thrown herself away.

Although I would never wish any illness on a child, I will tell you that this particular trial in Emily's life gave life back to others. I am so impressed at what Emily has done with her trial and how she has made a difference to her family, friends and the community alike.

This Christmas, I had the opportunity to share in Emily's hope for the holiday. Emily wanted to make the children on the 2nd floor of Rainbow Babies and Children Hospital happy for Christmas. When all was said and done, Emily, with the help of her family, was able to collect enough items to fill a Uhaul truck and collected over $8,000 for families having trouble meeting their medical bills.

I was so grateful to be a part of this Hope for the Holidays. Ethan and Blaine came along with me and I was so happy to see them happy about serving others.

On Christmas Eve, I returned with a friend and Emily's family to bring dinner to the staff who were working over the holiday.

I can only hope that we are able to fill another truck next year! Emily, you have a special spirit and I'm so happy to know you!

Ethan's Fat Head

Here is a quick video of Ethan opening up his "Fat Head" of Tom Brady from Santa. It was pretty cool. Ethan loves Tom Brady... I hope he only follows his sporting tactics and not his social ones. Sorry, Tom...

Just Like a Wedding

You plan, you shop, you invite, you eat, you don't sleep, you don't care, you give... and now it's all over! The only difference between a wedding and Christmas is that Christmas comes back every year.

I was "in charge" of Christmas Eve dinner for the first time in 15 years (since Matt and I have been married). I have moved up from vegetable trays to the whole shibang. Although my father-in-law went out and got everything to place on the table, I made a lot of desserts and cleaned the house, etc. Personally, I think he was nervous that I would screw it up.

Today, I will sit in my pajamas until I have to go to bed... I'm spent. No shopping, no sales, no nothing. I need to make some "Thank-you cards" and I will work on that today.

Blaine and Ethan woke up the earliest they have ever woken before for Christmas madness. Santa hides the stockings in our house, however, so it took them 2 hours to find the last stocking. By 8 am Matt and I were ready. The boys had a great time and I can't help but think of "The Christmas Story" everytime we have Christmas music on and Matt and I are just sitting on the couch exhausted and Blaine and Ethan are playing on the floor with all of their sounds. It truly is the best part of the day.

First Snow...I'm sending mother nature a Thank You card early.

Okay, here's the deal. We got our first good snow today... but it's always when it can be plowed in time for us to make it to school or the snow starts at 10pm and then is cleared by 3am when you really want it to start coming down. I figured if I send Mother Nature this pretty spring-like pre-thank you card, she will be so appreciative that I was thinking of her that she will start a huge snow storm around 3am and the school librarian will be giving me that "no school" phone call. I'm the last on the phone chain which is even cooler!

So, sleep with pajamas inside-out and put a potato under your pillow... Teri needs sleep and I need to finish my tree, and I need to finish some Christmas projects. I have needs!!!!

I had to post a couple more pictures....so funny!

Blaine was cracking me up with the whole mullet thing...he's too pretty with that thing on!

There's Will with the Hanson Brothers.

Blaine and Jimmy taking it all in...Jimmy. He's too funny.

Will's Great Birthday Party!

Blaine's friend, Will, had a birthday party this weekend to top all parties. We were able to go see the Lake Erie Monsters play and high-five the hockey players as they prepared to go out on the ice.

That's not all! The Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap Shot were there and came up to the party to take pictures with Will and the rest of us. We had so much fun! To top it off, they were handing out mullets tonight. You know Blaine was all over that.

Thanks Will for inviting all of us to your birthday party! It was great fun and I'm glad you thought of Ethan, too! You're a great kid. Seems like just yesterday you were 7.

My friend, Mary B!

Mary, you won the door prize last night! Just thought I would show everyone what you won and then you can tear into it.

Besides, I figure if you view the blog, you might be excited and want to stop by and pick it up so I don't have to get out of my pajamas today...

Here's What You Missed!

Ann, I'm sorry you weren't feeling well yesterday...we'll catch up.

We had a really fun time last night making Christmas Tags and various other creations.

Here are a couple of things we made last night. I will post the directions for the bow ingredients as well...

We also made candy bar holders which are so quick and easy to make and gift card holders. Here are the measurements for the paper bows.

Best to use a double-sided sheet of designer paper. If you invested in the Designer Series Paper Promotion from Stampin' Up!, then your bows will only cost .35 each. You are saving .13 per bow. Hey! Don't roll your eyes! If you make 24 bows, you'll save 3. 12. You could buy a snail refill or something.

Okay...You will need a 12 X 6 piece of double-sided paper. You will then cut 8 1" X 6" pieces. You will now have a 4" X 6" piece left. If you don't...well create a different kind of bow.

With the 4" X 6" piece you have left, you will need to first cut a 1" X 4" piece. Then you will need to cut 4 1" x 5" pieces.

Okay, if you attended the class you know what to do from there. If you didn't attend the class and want the rest of the instructions, I am happy to send you the rest of the information.

teristencil@centurytel.net

I know, that's lame, but I have very little time and 24 days left to freak out...

Cards for Soldiers

I'm happy to report that we sent 210 cards to the soldiers in Iraq via a soldier heading back. And thank you dear man for your service to our country and the service you provide to other warriors in need of supplies. Thanks are also in order for the gals who participated in the soldier stamp-a-stack that made all of the cards you see above.

Thanks to Ann, Dawn, Dawn's sister, Autumn, Vicki, Carol, MaryJo, Robin and Diane,my aunt Steph and cousin Jillian. I thank you so much for your support and kindness in donating both time and money for such a great service!

The cards are on there way!!!!

The card shown above the pile of cards for Soldiers is another winter card I made with the colors I love to use. Have to go finish dinner...

Would you like to offer my husband a job?

I put Blaine to bed last night and before I did, he came to me crying. I had anticipated him crying when we left my aunt and uncle's house in CT, but he held it in until going to bed. He was soooo sad about leaving. He said, "I miss everyone so much, I feel so connected to them." He's right! We have so much fun toghether and it's merely impossible to leave without getting upset. That's why I try to plan another trip so I have something to leave with. Okay, see you in a couple of months.

The guys even invented a new game (never leave them alone without toys). We call it Yoga Kickball. I think Jack broke his toe, but the sound an exercise ball makes when you kick it, is pretty cool.

We tried a family cook-off, but Jack took the grand prize and the only prize because the rest of us failed him miserably. Any time you want to come live with us and cook for us...




Come on, Matt! New England awaits you.





My cousins Jillian and Jay gave us a new addition to the family. Marley is a 6 week old boxer and Blaine cried because he misses her, too.





We even made Christmas cards and tags. Thought I would load up a couple of those, too. How lame is that! I have pictures of the dog and some cards. Where is everyone else?

What the Heck am I Doing...it's soooo late!!!

I'm getting very close to rabbit hallucination time, but I will risk it to post these items before going to bed.

I love this! I had been eyeing this technique for some time and finally had time myself today to make this treat bag. It's featured on page 76 of the Stampin' Up! Idea book and Catalog. Obviously, I made my own, but the idea came from Page 76.

You use craft ink on vellum. I also added Hologram Highlights to the snowflakes to add a bit of Christmas "bling" if you will.


I hate how these pictures load...they load backwards. Anyway, here is another card similar to the one beneath these comments, but I punched the "texture" out like the card featured in the Stampin' Success magazine from December.

This is a "case" from the new Stampin' Up! Success catalog, but I altered it by using the light box and then I just love the colors of brown, blue and green together. I seem to be using it on everything!

I love the texture of the polka dots using this faux embossing technique, too.

Weekend Stutters

There doesn't seem to be enough time for anything anymore. I hate to admit that I am glad Blaine was not feeling well yesterday so that I could have some down time.

My mom gave me some of her Altoid chewing gum tins and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, so I started playing with them. I put craft ink on them, but it slid off. So, I went to the garage to find what kind of spray paint we have. I removed the top from the tin and then sprayed with the white spray paint.

I used the beast to punch holes into the top over the "Altoid" lettering and then of course used the 5/8 ribbon to cover up the "Altoid" word.

You have to use staz-on to stamp over the spray paint and I love the green and black gingham together. I don't know, I was just playing around, but I will tell you that the Christmas Tags from the new mini catalog fit into one of these tins. Your outside paper should be cut at 3" and it will be a perfect fit. Just another idea.

Is it over yet?

I LOVE the college football season. It's such an ongoing game each and every week to see who will remain on top, who will move up and who will fall short. This weekend is one of the most bitter sweet weekends of the year for me because each time Ohio State plays Michigan I know our regular season is over until next year.

Every Saturday we sit together as a family and watch Ohio State play. It's so much fun. We eat ourselves into oblivion and scream and yell and sometimes even cry.

So, once again, I have to wait until next year for those special Saturday afternoons to sit in the Ohio State covered basement to watch another season of college football. Go Bucks!

Blaine's pick

Well...between Ohio State blowing they're #1 spot in the NATION and my dumb craft fair that I lost sleep and money over, I had an amazing Sunday with my family. I was so excited that the weather was dull and gray, so there was nothing to do but "hang out" with each other. I love Sunday afternoons.

Today, Blaine went through some of the leftover craft items and found a pair of slippers that my mom had knit. He then called Nana on the phone and asked her if he could wear them. Hasn't taken them off since.

Ethan did a cool thing today, too. I was so impressed with his "braverism" because he gave a talk in church for the first time to the entire congregation. He even paused to look up to everyone and didn't run away or throw up! It was great!

Up All Night with Teri

It's 4:55am and I'm afraid to go to bed now. All of my craft fair goods are sitting in the kitchen and I haven't gone to bed yet. The rabbits came, but I'm too tired to be scared. I used to be able to pull all-nighters all the time, but I stink at it now. There is simply no point in going to bed...I'll have to wake up in a half hour anyway. I might as well just suck it up.

I hope I make enough to take my family out to dinner tomorrow night. There is no way I'm making dinner for anyone today. Rabbits! They're everywhere!

Another Break...

Okay, now my back is killing me and I'm eating a portion of my blizzard. I haven't seen any rabbits yet, but I know they're out there and that's a sure sign that I should have been in bed a long time ago. I have a few more receiving blankets to sew and then we'll see where I'm at. Thought I'd throw in a few more pictures of what I'm making for the craft fair.

The first picture shows Altoid tins filled with Christmas tags. Those were very simple and fun to make!