Flarp!

I can't believe I'm dedicating an entire post to Flarp, but someone asked so I thought I'd explain. When Savannah was threatening to run away to the amusement park, along with every baby doll she owns she packed her Flarp. Flarp first made its entrance into our world at a friend's house... they had flarp sitting out while we were watching football... and then they gave Savannah some for her birthday. It's a hit.

According to urbandictionary.com, Flarp is "A musical toy, also known as 'noise putty.' The noise coming from the toy 'flarp.' The best toy in the world. Makes fart like noises causing one to laugh continuously. If placed on a wooden surface, it sounds like farting on wooden chair."

A rude source of giggling. Entertainment for hours. A great stocking stuffer!

A Crafty Christmas

It would appear as though everyone in my world is getting homemade Christmas gifts this year. That's not REALLY the case, but I've certainly spent my fair share of time crafting these days.

Exhibit # 2594:

A fabulously cute and crafty (and easy!) (and cheap!) gift for any teacher on your list. I bought a shadow box (which was 50% off at Michael's this weekend - score!), hot-glued some whole and broken crayons to piece of black cardstock paper, wrote Savannah's teacher's name with a white paint pen, and... bada-bing, bada-boom! How cute!

Next time I'll try to center my letter in the box. And wipe away the fingerprints. Doh!

Oh Christmas Tree...

... or lack thereof! My poor child has only had a Christmas tree once in her life and probably doesn't remember it. She was one... now she's four... and we still don't have a tree. Bless her heart! The holidays are busy for us, generally spent travelling to places that aren't covered in snow (hellelujah!). We don't buy real Christmas trees because the house is usually empty for the two-ish weeks surrounding Christmas, leaving a dead tree (and a fire hazard!) to greet us upon our return to the Great White North. And, sure, it would be easy enough to buy a fake tree... but it takes so long to decorate... which means it takes even longer to un-decorate. And that's just not stress I need when returning from the travel that inevitably surrounds Christmas. So sorry Savannah, you're stuck with this...

Yes, there are six stockings going up the stairs.

No, six people do not live in my house.

These are what we call 'decorations', people!

This is the first house we've had that doesn't have a plug near the stairs.

Makes me sad because my garland has no lights. :(

Ah-ha! Lights! On the garland on the mantle! Yea!! :)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

... in hopes that St. Nick will find us in Alabama!!

For more cute Christmas decorations, head on over here!

**UPDATE: If y'all are looking for the ornament in my header (which are also hanging next to the stockings on the fireplace), you can see how easy they are here!

Our Little Runaway

Savannah spent quite a bit of time loading her most prized possessions up in her stroller tonight. Her response to the logical question of what she was doing: I'm running away! Really? Already?! She's only 4... I'm sure my brother, who 'ran away' more times than I can count, was at least 5 or 6 the first time he threatened to run away! Where was she running, you may ask? To the amusement park... when it was -12C outside... with 50 km/h winds that made it feel like it was -23C. To all our American friends that need help with the conversions (no worries, I Google it every day!), that equates to 10F with 31mph winds making it feel like it's -9F. No, that negative sign in front of the number nine was not an accident. Yes, it's pointless to shovel snow from your driveway when wind like that will just blow your neighbor's snow right on over to your house anyway. And, heck no, I did not set one foot outside my house today. But Savannah? It didn't matter to her. She was going to go ride some rollercoasters. Without a coat. Or mittens. Just her and her babies.

What, two babies isn't enough?!

Fine then! Two in the stroller, two in the Snugli,

one in the carseat (hung on the stroller handle), and one here...

That would be Baby Nicholas... in the Halloween Pumpkin!

At least she remembered hor Dora slippers...
And the Flarp!

Dear Santa...

Savannah and I went to Chapters this morning... that's the Canadian version of Barnes & Noble, complete with Starbucks! As we were searching for a few Christmas books to buy, Savannah decided she wanted EVERY. BOOK. IN. THE. STORE. She's a reader, what can I say?! I told her that we couldn't buy every book because momma isn't made of money (the exchange rate? yeah, it hurts!) I bargained with her by telling her that maybe she can add specific books to her Christmas list, because there are lots of people out there that want to buy Christmas presents for cute little girls. Her response: "Momma, I'll write a letter to Santa when we get home and tell him what I want."

That being said, I present to you Savannah's first ever letter to Santa...

Aaah, the little one filfills the "every girl wants a pony" stereotype at the ripe ole age of 4. And, yes, she's talking about a real pony... not the plastic 'My Little Pony' that has been purchased in abundance. Shhh... But this is just too darling!! Merry Christmas, y'all!

What's the Good Word?!

TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!!

It is done. The streak is over. And this Canadian is so excited for her Yellow Jackets. Seven years is a long time to deal with the taunting of those Bulldog fans... a long time! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the following:

It's up with the White and Gold, down with the Red and Black
Georgia Tech is out for the victory.
We'll drop the battle axe on Georgia's head,
When we meet her our team is sure to beat her.
Down on the old farm, there will be no sound,
Till our bow wows rip through the air.
When the battle is over, Georgia's team will be found
With the Yellow Jackets swarming round!!

Wordle!!

Have y'all seen this? It is SO much fun! Check out Wordle and have some fun of your own.

Psst... it's a great idea for Christmas!

Homemade Handmade Fun!

Alright, y'all all know I love me some artsy-fartsy craft projects. So how could I resist Antique Mommy's Homemade Handmade Holiday Carnival?! This time around: Christmas Ornaments! It's easy... really, it is... and they're super cute!

Here's what you need:
- Plastic Ornaments (Yes, plastic! Michael's, people, Michael's!)
- Acrylic Paint
- Some darn cute ribbon to make bows
- Some plain ole skinny ribbon to make the hangers
- A crafty little paintbrush
- A hot glue gun & the accompanying glue sticks
- Maybe just a dash of patience (which I lack!)

The easy-peasy steps:
Step 1: Pick your ornament.
Step 2: Pick a coordinating ribbon.
Step 3: Pick a coordinating paint color or two.
Step 4: Paint circles ALL around the ornament.
** I hold the ornaments very precariously at the top and bottom so I can paint all of the circles at once. Again, it's that whole lack-of-patience thing. But you could paint half of them, let it dry, and then finish.
** I think bigger circles are prettier, but that's just my opinion. :)
Step 5: Once all of the circles dry, pick a coordinating color to paint an initial, monogram, name, whatever you fancy on one side of the ornament!
** You could also use a paint pen, because sometimes painting letters with a paintbrush makes me want to pull out all my hair!
Step 6: While the paint is drying, make a pretty bow with the ribbon you chose way back in Step 2.
** I originally used wired ribbon, but then I realized that regular fat ribbon works too, because the bows aren't SO big that they lose their shape.
Step 7: Tie the skinny ribbon around the center of your bow so it doesn't come untied. And use that to make the hanger for the ornament.
Step 8: Hot glue the bow / hanger to the top of the ornament, sit back, and admire your artistic creativity... then do it all over again!

Really, they are SO cute. And they're really not that difficult.

Oh, looking for a place to hang your ornaments to dry? I taped wooden skewers to the overhang on my kitchen counter... that's where they hang! And where are they hanging once they're all finished... via safety pins on a hanger in the bathroom window. What?!? I needed storage space!

Christie and Jason are getting married in August... his & hers ornaments!

My friend Erika is the one that possessed me to try this.

(Side note: Why am I always her guinea pig?!)

An Auburn ornament for her hubby and a UGA ornament for E!

I made this ornament for my orange-loving cousin for her birthday!

And, look, a purple ornament... this one has my name ALL over it! :)

For more fabulous homemade handmade fun, visit Antique Mommy HERE! Happy crafting!!

Happy Halloween

From our silly rabbit to yours! :)

Blue Devil Born and Blue Devil Bred!

I feel old. I can't believe it's been 10 years since I graduated from high school. TEN YEARS. Really?! Wow. I had the joy of travelling back to good ole C-town this weekend for my reunion... an event I had certainly been looking forward to. I don't make it home nearly as often as I'd like, so knowing that so many of my old friends would be in the same place at once was really exciting. It was a jam-packed, fun-filled weekend. Friday night we all met up at Loco's for some mingling, then a bunch of us headed down to The Loft to drink the night away. Saturday morning started with a hangover (!) followed by Family Day in the park, where we met some of my classmates' sweet little babies and played relay races that made us all feel like kids again. After fun in the park, we headed across the street to dear ole Columbus High School where we enjoyed a lunch catered by Smokey Bones BBQ in the 'Devil Rock Cafe'. And then we got to take a tour of the school... where we bombarded the band room, gathered again on the stage, and stood in awe of the new Art wing. The reunion festivities were concluded Saturday night with dinner at the Trade Center, which holds so many memories for all of us as that was always the site of Magnet Socials and Prom.

It was an amazing weekend! While a few friends were missing from the action, it was truly so enjoyable to have everyone back in one place. Here's to hoping it's not another 10 years before we all get back together again!!

Apple Orchard

It was a beautiful Fall day in Canada, with just enough crispness in the air to make us wonder when Winter will come knocking. In an attempt to savor the last bit of gorgeous weather until our Spring thaw, we decided to take Savannah to an apple orchard. We went to one in Michigan a year or two ago and got completely ripped off... pay to park, pay to pick, pay for donuts, etc. But I found an orchard that's just a few miles from our house here... you don't pay to park, you pay for your apples by the pound, and there's a cute little country store that sells baked goods and apple wine and the like. Even better, all of the apple trees are dwarf trees, meaning we didn't need a ladder or have to pick Savannah up to reach the trees. Savannah loved it! I think she ate 3 or 4 apples just as we were walking through the rows of trees. She'd pull one off a tree, take a few bites, and throw it on the ground just to grab another. It was adorable!

A few pictures of the fun:

Super Superlatives!

Todd's mom is an elementary school teacher - Grade 2 and Grade 3, I think. She didn't start teaching until Todd was in college, but she has such a passion for it and is so well-suited for the job. "Grandmere" has been buying books for Savannah since before she was born and encouraged us to read to my belly. She's the one we call if we're wondering if the most recent statement out of Savannah's mouth is advanced for her age. She's the one encouraging us to teach Savannah to write her name with capital and lowercase letters, instead of just capital letters. She's our very own, personal educational guru.

So it's no surprise that Savannah's 2-week "summer school" started in the car, on the drive from Tallahassee to Tampa, after Todd dropped her off after her two glorious sand-and-sun-filled days at the beach where her brain literally took a vacation of its own. Todd's mom decided to teach Savannah about superlatives... small, smaller, smallest... big, bigger, biggest... skinny, skinnier, skinniest. And then she got to the superlative that I'm sure will be erased from Savannah's vocabulary for all eternity: F-A-T!

The conversation went something like this...
Grandmere: Okay, Savannah, let's try "fat". Fat, fatter, fattest.
Savannah: Grandpa is fat.
Savannah: Uncle Matthew is fatter.
Savannah: But, Grandmere, you are the fattest!

Okay, so that didn't go as planned!

This is Savannah schooling Uncle Matthew in "Don't Break the Ice".
I'm pretty sure the only thing he's fatter than is the stick he's using to break the ice!

Look Who's 4!

We went to a snazzy little photo studio on July 2, where Savannah was the center of attention for an entire 45 minutes... needless to say, my little ham loved every bit of it! I had to narrow 250 pictures down to these four poses. And then I got crafty with the wallet-sized photos!