Christmas sale

Hey all,
I am having a sale on my etsy site.

use code: xmas11


to score 15% off your item. Please spread the word.

http://www.etsy.com/people/Annesyarn

Christmas pin

just listed: Green Christmas pin for the Holidays

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Annesyarn

need a Christmas gift idea?

here is the link to my etsy account again. I have been making scarves this week, and will post them soon. e-mail me if you want something specific(color and style)

http://www.etsy.com/people/Annesyarn?ref=si_pr

how time flys

This is a picture of the kids 1 year ago this week. They sure have grown. I have tried to get a new picture of them, but they don't seem to want to cooperate. So you can just have a quick update:)

Hannah is now 1/2 way through her 2nd grade year. She wears glasses now, continues to play soccer, and LOVES to read!

Calvin is 3 1/2 and has been playing soccer on an indoor team. He absolutely loves it. He plays with his friend. He is really into math, trains and boy movies.

ML - she has probably changed the most. She can climb the bunk ladder faster than Hannah, loves cookies and basically rules the roost. She is SO cute. Her obsession with Dora is similar to Hannah's. She is very bright and loves to learn.

Aren't you glad!

Can you imagine having nursery duty at this church!! Who would volunteer to watch a bunch of kids during their nap time?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, Hannah went back to school this morning. We had a great Thanksgiving break. It went by really fast for me. I took the kids and a friend to a bounce house Wednesday and we ate pizza and mini-golfed. They had a blast. Thursday we had Thanksgiving meal with a bunch of friends from church. (possibly a full post on that later...) Dan and I finished season 2 of The Middle. Friday, I went Black Friday shopping!!!!!!!! Saturday we put up the Christmas decorations (I think I am in desperate need of some new ones, everything looked busted and old to me) and we rested and watched movies all weekend.

Hannah has 3 full weeks until Christmas vacation. Today, I wrapped and boxed all the gifts for my side. They should ship out tomorrow. Dans side is almost done. Anyone have any ideas on a gift for my Father in law?

a family disaster...

I have nothing to say for this...

where has the time gone?

Holy Cow! It has been over a month since my last post. Sorry...I think that this will be my new years resolution: to do better. there is so much to say and share, I don't even know where to start.

Last weekend I went on our Church's 2nd annual women's fall retreat. It was very refreshing and lots of fun. The picture of me next to the JUMBO beaver was taken in the lodge where we stayed. They had these jumbo stuffed animals all over the place. My kids sure got a kick out of it:)

The picture of ML with the glasses on was taken at Sams while we were (prepare yourself!!!) waiting for Hannah's glasses to be repaired. They were so twisted, the tech girl didn't think she was going to be able to replace them, and neither did we for that matter. We were sure she was headed into her 3rd frames (since May)!!!

ML woke up sick this morning. She seems better this evening.
Nana sent Christmas pj's. aren't they cute:)

ML has a love for Hannah's Build-a-bears. She plays with them more than H does. ML is a girly girl. We frequently find her playing with dolls and trying to dress the babies.

I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. Time to make another Turkey. I got a great deal last week, but b/c it was SO big, we couldn't buy as much freezer foods...LOL. I am trying to remember not to cook it upside down this year. We are joining our friends and I don't want to show up with a yucky bird!

Trick or Treating at the Zoo

We took the kids Trick or Treating at the Zoo this past weekend. They had a blast as usual. What kid wouldn't love getting candy. Calvin couldn't wear his costume b/c it was around 80 degrees out that night, and he has a sweatsuit-type dragon costume this year. He would have died, so we jimmy-rigged a costume for him, and he went as Super-Calvin. He was happy. The girls went as princesses.

tripple the fun

I'm on etsy now

I have finally got it together enough to start an etsy account. I am still in the new to it stage, and have only posted to sell a few scarf and a baby boy blanket. Above is a cowl that I made for a good friend. I have been selling these like hotcakes!! So much so that I haven't haven't had any time to make some for my website.

here is the address, take a look and maybe buy something or pass it on to your friends. If you'd like a specific color in something please e-mail me directly.

thanks for looking:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Annesyarn

The "Dark Side" of Calvin

His latest obsession!

Star Wars. Specifically Darth Vador!

Any contributions to his Halloween costume would be greatly appreciated....jk:)

My little climber

This is what happens when I take a potty break for literally 20 seconds. We tend to find ML is quite a few "high" places these days...

Soccer has started

Soccer season is under way. Hannah is doing well this year.

it's feeding time

One of the coolest things about our Zoo is that for a very small price, you can feed some of the animals. When Hannah was about the same age as Calvin is now, we let her feed the giraffes. 2 weeks ago when went, I let Calvin have a turn at it. the Giraffes are his favorite animals at the Zoo(and have been for at least 1 1/2 yrs now). He was a little nervous at first, then I stepped in (and saved the day) helped him. He thought it was pretty funny how the giraffe was tickling him. you can tell he is laughing in the pictures.

Thanks Aunt Robbie

MiriLou loves her new Dora dress. She is going to be the cutest princess this October!

Calvin wanna-be

Hmmm, who should I potty train first!

It seems like we may have an odd situation on our hands:) Our 16m0 is a willing and very able participant to potty training. Who knew.

what happens when ALL the moms from 3abc go to the Zoo!

this happens!

Actually this is only about 1/2 the Moms. And maybe a 3rd of the kids...I think there are 17 there. It was a crazy fun filled trip:)

hannah's VERY "better late than never" party

Awww...Look at those cute homemade pizza's. (and the girls) We finally threw Hannah a party. As the title states, better late than never right:) We let Hannah have 5 girls over for a sleep over!!!! YES, that's right. A SLEEP OVER! What was I thinking? Not much...



Super cute cake made by one of the girls' mom. It couldn't have soy wheat in it, so I employed her to make it. Plus I don't know how to make the flowers and do the piping anyway. I was going to buy something from the store. Sarah outdid her self, and the cake was AMAZING!




I planned out the whole night in 30 minute segments. It went really well. The girls all had a great time. We made homemade pizzas, did some crafts, played outside, watched movies, and painted and jeweled their nails. The highlight, and what I keep hearing about from all the other moms(!!) was their 20 minutes outside with the glow sticks. HIGHLIGHT!!!!! I never would have expected that this would be their favorite thing. But I guess if you think about it, who lets their kids run around at night in the dark with glow sticks and scream bloody murder?! :)




The girls were all alive and kicking it at 12:30 when Dan and I went to bed...but passed out at 2:30 when I woke up. They slept until about 7(which I had not planned for). I made pancakes for breakfast.

Don't shoot me!

My kids discovered that the bullets to Calvin's gun stick to ML's forehead. This lead to a few minutes of fun while Dan ran into DQ and got our ice cream.

2nd grade

Hannah started school Wednesday. She really likes it so far. Most of the children that were in her class last year are in her class again this year. I think that was really helpful in taking away her jitters about going back. There are some "new" students this year. She relates to them well too. We are excited for what the year holds. From what I can tell (I haven't met her yet) Hannah's teacher seems to be a really good teacher. I think she is going to challenge the students to be better students and make them really learn. (which I LIKE!!!)

no picture yet

Dear family and friends who don't live around here,

There is NO first day of Second grade picture yet....because there has been NO SCHOOL YET! We had a freak storm Saturday that knocked out power to most of the city. It has taken them this long to get it all restored. Our power went out Sat evening around 5pm and came on Monday Morning.

School couldn't be held Monday b/c they still had 80 schools w/o power. And Tuesday b/c 1 school w/o power and 2 bus hubs w/o Internet and phone. Which is apparently very crucial to making sure all students make it to their building and home again(which as we all know from the 2010-2011 year was a problem...hence the new Superintendent!!!)

They are slated to go tomorrow, so stay tuned for a picture.

1 week left

Can you believe how fast this Summer has gone? Hannah only has one week left of break. We go tomorrow for orientation. She claims she hates school and doesn't want to go, but I bet once we go shopping for supplies and get her some new shoes she will warm up to the idea.

Today we are headed to the Zoo with some friends. These photos of them on the Zoo carousel were taken earlier in the Summer. Calvin is obsessed with "Butter-THY's" and was literally racing these little girls to the Butterfly ride each time!! Ha!

2 more days

Only 2 more days of (freedom) until Hannah and Calvin come home:)

They have been visiting with relatives. From what I can tell, they have had a great time. So have we. We have enjoyed eating out, shopping and a little day trip to Cincy. I eagerly(NOT) look forward to detox-ing them on Thursday...

before and after photos!! (finally)

Before (above)
After (next 3)

No more wall!!
awesome huh?

Before (above)
After (below 2)

Before (above)
After (below)

Before (above)
After (below)

what do ya think?
We love it!