Thank GOD for Ebay!

My daughter is in rec. cheerleading this year. It's her first year doing anything extracuricular. We really had no idea the uniforms would cost over 100 bucks, and with times being tight we really didn't have the money. SO, I took off to hunt on Ebay for the uniform when I learned the cheerleading squard is actually a well known organization across the US.

And with that I found the uniform on Ebay, it was larger then her actual size, but I figured if I could win this I'll be saving money and she can reuse it next year.

THANKFULLY at the last minute when my high bid was out bid, I typed as fast as I could and put in my max bid and as the countdown went to the VERY last second LITERALLY I punched it in and WON!! THANK YOU LORRRRD!!


Now, I only have to buy the black body suit, but the skirt, vest and bloomer alone would of been over 60 bucks based on our price list we were given. I won it for 30 bucks!! THANK YOU WHOEVER LISTED THIS!! Not only that, the sizes ran SMALL so thank GOD it WAS a big size and I went with it and got it anyway :) the vest is a little loose but the skirt is a perfect fit. Now we better sell those raffle tickets and use it towards her bodysuite and pom poms and the showcase in December:)

She loves it:D and so does little brother ;)

DIY Monogramed PAINTED pumpkin for under 3 bucks!

I have been seeing these vinyl kits to decorate pumpkins ALL over etsy and the web, but I am far too frugal to shellout 10-15 bucks for one. LORD NO.

So I do what I do, and I go to Joann and buy two paints for 1.20 a pop and some ribbon. I use a coupon and my total is right under 3 bucks :D

For someone who can't paint I say I did pretty great:)


Incase you're wondering, yes, my last initial starts with an "M" however my kids and their dad's starts with a "W" :)

So anyway, how to do the font? I went online and googled "curlz font" and you know my butt doesn't even have a printer (with ink anyway) so I had to hand sketch this bad boy (yeah, literally, ignore the chicken scratch):


During the paint process:


Adding dots:

Ta daaaaa, (yes, the little pumpkin is for me "M", it's my way of feeling special haha. No, I'm only kidding, it's for my parents).


Throw it in the yard on a random plant stand and you have yourself a cute little pumpkin (but you may want to keep it on a covered porch incase it rains, the paint isn't water proof, I don't think..)

Seriously, THREE BUCKS!! go make one :D

Photographing the Children

Whoever said photographing children together was easy, is crazy. Especially if they are my children. I always seem to get perfect shots of other people's children, but when it comes to my own two..well, let's just say it doesn't always work out how I imagined:

That being said, if you can appreciate the realness of photography, then you can appreciate images like the one above;) My son is a ham, but he is definately not one for staying still for photos. He likes to do his own thing, even if he wants to pout about it. I must say, I could be biased, but I LOVE THIS PHOTO!

Still Prepping for Halloween.

I can not lie, Halloween is my favorite holiday, EVER. I love fall so much my living room is fall colors year round. I secretly pray the summer's will be short, and I crave the leaves to turn from my FAVORITE COLOR green into deep reds, oranges, golds, etc. This year the summer's in NC have been insanely long and the heat has been extended well into October. I am mad at this.

I seriously hate the heat. While most girls are ready to break out the flip flops and short shorts, you will NEVER catch me dead in shorts, EVR. :) For one I am chubby for two I anticipate the fall and the cool crisp breeze. I love nothing more then to not use the a/c, and pop open my windows while burning any fall scented candle.

So above is a photo of MiMi in the cat tutu costume dress I made her. So now MiMi and her cousin ( my neice ) will match, even if they are clear across the US from one another. hehe. And in two days I promise to post the tutorial for this costume. IT's too fun and easy not to share with my few subscribers.

So tell me, friends, what is your favorite part about fall? I DARE YA TO SHARE ;) <3

This & That Halloween Black Cat tutu Dress Costume

I just got done making this adorable black cat tutu dress costume for my neice. I know it looks big, but it's the picture. Remind me and I will post the photo tutorial on how to make this exact costume for under 20 bucks :) If enough people are interested I will blog the how to on this pretty. I just shipped it Thursday and I can't wait to see my baby neice wear it.



I love making tutu's SUPER PUFFY & tutu dresses, they are so easy to make, and SO CHEAP!! You'll get a kick out of doing it yourself also :) Besides, what little girl WOULDN'T LOVEEEE a super puffy tutu dress costume! This black cat tutu dress costume is puuuurrrfect for any little girl! :)

I also made MiMi one, and Ethan? Well, I think he'll be a cowboy (I THINK).

KRYLON SPRAY PAINT MAKE OVER: RUSTY TEA KETTLE TURNED FLORAL CENTER PIECE

By now, I am sure you are well aware of the wonderful things Krylon brands spray paint can do for revamping an old ugly object laying around the house. If you don't allow me to show you JUST one more ugly thing made FAB by Krylon!

So I bought this tea kettle originally to boil hot water for my sons bottles when he was just a little guy. One night the sitter left water in it and it rusted (yuuuck) Being the pack rat I am, I held onto it because I knew it could look better.



Could look better? YES YES YES, and not just to boil water (the rust inside shot that idea). So I dug out the trusty ole Krylon Satin Spray Paint in "Ivory" and wiped this ugly thing down and, well, the rest is history, two coats of Krylon later and she's ready to sit center stove, on or on the counter with some faux flowers inside:) I'm sure I'll end up getting fake hydrandgeas, but what a nice little farmhouse look, right?


Watch out next week when I take an ugly old night stand and use Krylon's "celery" to make it over for my daughter's shabby chic bedroom ;) LOVE YOU KRYLON!!

Been a while..

Sometimes I don't know where my life goes or in what direction, or how fast. It seems like there are so many changes and so little time to blog about them all. Not that much of it is even remotely interesting, but sometimes it makes me feel good to spill my beans to the world.

So what's going on? Baby girl started Kindergarten. Just last year she was in Pre K, now she's growing up so fast, and I love to watch her grow, and other times my clingy mama side says, oh gosh, before I even realize it, she will be 18 and what will become of me?

From the time I was 21 and pregnant with her, I pretty much defined myself solely as a mother. Nothing more, nothing less, just mom. And I think it will be hard to picture myself being anything else. And then bubby came along and now I am doubly thinking, man being a mom really does mean wearing your heart on your sleeve, and now I have to do it x 2.

I realize it's a huge responsibility, and sometimes I wonder why God trusted ME, of all people with such precious beings. Part of me already knows why, I needed them to grow, and they need me. And I only hope to never let them down, but I am sure at some point no parent is perfect.

Anyway, KINDERGARTEN?! wow, what a transformation from Pre K to Kindy, huh?

Then a week ago, some of my Jersey family came down & my sister came down from California with my baby neice. It was a great time to catch up, only everything was so chaotic and Ethan was a hot mess and my parents house isn't child proof, which meant a lot of time for me at my own home minus family interaction.

Sometimes it's just easier to forego the family fun when it entails chasing a busy body 16 month around and hearing my father huff about everything he does. (haha).

Then I took a few photos of my sister's best friends baby (the lighting was harsh and I only managed a few good shots) but we were on a time crunch and had to get a few done before she left for Georgia again. So here's a couple:














What a cute baby. Definatley not my best work:( and this makes me sad, but, again, the lighting was harsh and the timing was off.

Aside all this, I did get one relaxing night at Myrtle Beach with my unusually loud children, courtesy of my awesome sister and her awesome fiance. And then we ate ate the Spring House, and I got sick right away (the eggs were not cooked right). But it was still good;) haha! But my sister kept MiMi, so she treated her to Ripley's Aquarium, where they did not honor an inactive duty military i.d. for her fiance. Kind of sad, the man goes overseas so many times and can't get the discount. C'mon business', what about the veterans? Back in the day they had drafts and men and woman were not going back to back overseas, I don't know how the military families survive these lengthy back to back deployments, I think even those who get out should get the military discounts. I can't even begin to phathom being in a war torn country, let alone over and over and over. But that's another rant for another day.

How has everyone been? <3 Loves!