An Empty Manger

I stained the manger today.

Here's the finished product...

I plan to go buy the book about the straw in the manger

(where everyone in your family puts a piece of straw in  for every good deed they do).

Hopefully it will be overflowing for Jesus by Christmas Eve!

Christmas Manger

I bought this manger today at The Wood Connection.

They have the cutest stuff there.

I also bought some Thanksgiving decorations.

When I get around to painting those, you'll be the first to know!

Clean and Dry

What started like this on Friday,

 soon looked like this,

 and now looks like this...

I had an unexpected opportunity to clean out under the sink.

I put anything mildly dangerous in the blue bin with a lid.

No I just need to find something more waterproof for the bottom

'cause it looks like this is not the first time it's been wet under there!

Why is the floor all wet?

Whenever I hear that question, I cringe!

And I know what my something is for the day!

 I found the problem under the sink.
The dishwasher drain hose had somehow come unattached.

 I got it put back on and proceeded with a big clean up job.

After the fan dries everything out, I'll finish this something!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy one!

It has always been my favorite holiday and will always be.

We are eating here at 12 and at my brother-in-law's at 4.

Two yummy dinners on my favorite day of the year!

 This is the traditional raspberry/cranberry jello salad that I make every year.

This something shouldn't last long!

Christmas Card

I got to help my friend with her Christmas card today.

She designed this cute card and I helped her line everything up in Photoshop.

She's so creative.

Thanks for helping me complete another something, Marci!

4T

A while ago, I went through all of the 3-year-old girl's clothes and 

put all of the 2T clothes in bags to give away.

I went through the 3Ts and put them in her drawers.

Just when I was thinking that it was time to start shopping for bigger clothes for her,

what to my wondering eyes should appear...

FIVE bags of 4T clothes from the neighbor!

 I sorted them and put them away for next year.

 I think that the only thing I'm going to have to buy is socks!

Thanks again, Britney!

Ikea Fun

I took the 15-year-old to Ikea to get him a desk

since his legs don't fit under the one he has anymore.

Here's an old before picture...

He chose this cool corner table.

During and after...

Then he saw a cool bedspread that I absolutely love.

It has the alphabet on it.
What elementary school teacher doesn't love something covered in cool letters?

He told me how much he liked it, too.

I bought it for him along with a fun lamp for the desk.

My favorite part about the makeover is that he put some of his own artwork on the walls!

Twice a Year

I do the mending at my house about twice a year.

I don't typically mend kids clothes because by the time I get to them,

the kids have outgrown them.

I had to do this mending, however, because it's the only pair of church pants the 15-year-old has.

 I also mended some pajamas for him because there is no hand-me-down box

for the oldest child to find more in.

According to my calculations,

I won't be mending again until May 18th!

Yay!

Gathering Supplies

I got some supplies for my next project!

Any guesses?

It's finally inside!

This something has been a long time coming.

I finally got my new table and chair set in the house.

I love it!

Here's the table before...

 Here's a during picture of the new table.

And the table now.

It takes up a lot less room and easily fits all eight of us.

 Here it is with the new round tablecloth my sister bought.

 The husband was skeptical from the mention of a round table,

but after eating dinner tonight,

he says that he really likes it, too!

Bookmark

I used to have some mean Photoshop skills.

They get pretty rusty when I don't use them.

I brushed up on them tonight and helped a friend with a bookmark for church.

Here's the finished product...

Roly Poly

Polyurethane, that is!

(Thanks, Uncle Dan!)

The weather is beautiful today.

And beautiful weather around here means something needs a coat of

paint or stain or poly or something like it.

I was able to get two coats on my 'new' kitchen table today.

As soon as it's dry, I'm moving it inside!

Halloween is over!

But you wouldn't know it around here.

The 3-year-old boy still wears his k-k-k-kelton mask around the house.

I won't let him wear it to the store anymore!

I finally got the Halloween costumes and decor gathered and up into the top of the garage.

Then I found this...

A mother's job never ends!

A Winter Coat

Today, I put another coat of stain on my table.

It was 48 degrees outside and I decided hoped that it was at least 50 in the garage.

The next couple of days are in the 40s so I'm hoping to get it finished and in the kitchen soon.

Sorry about the bad pictures lately.

It's too bad I'm not making money off this blog

because I kinda broke my really nice camera

and this is mostly what I use it for.

*Sigh!*

Putting The Edge On It

This piece of the island in the kitchen has come loose many times.

I think it has to do with a certain three-year-old in a walker!

Every time it came loose, we'd just push it back on.

 Today I finally pulled it all of the way off and re-nailed it in place.

She's going to have to be going pretty fast to get it off now!

Frozen Stroganoff

I made some stroganoff for dinner tonight

and for two future nights, too.

In the past, I've had people ask for my freezer recipes so

here it is if you're interested...

1 pound hamburger

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 chopped onion

1 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

Brown the hamburger, add the soups, onion, and salt.

Heat to a boil.

Remove from heat and add sour cream.

Serve over egg noodles.

39 cent Soup

If you know me, you know that I like to get a good deal.

There is a great sale at Smith's (grocery store) today.

Today I restocked my food storage with a few things that were getting low.

This is what I bought...

And this is where I put some of it...

I spent $98.76 and saved $133.45!

Gotta love it when you save more than you spend!

BOOM BABY!

(That's a line from The Emperor's New Groove that we use a lot around here!)

Success!

I opted for the alcohol and lemon juice to get the light stain off my table.

I let it soak and then used a toothbrush on it.

That really didn't help much.

 So I got out  my secret weapon...

A steel bristled brush!

 I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed 

until I started seeing little pieces of wood.

Then I thought I better stop! :-)

I put one coat of stain on.

So far, it looks like this something was successful.

I want to put another coat of stain on and then several coats of poly.

That might be a problem since it is 34 degrees outside and snowing!
(It was 60 degrees and sunny when I started this project this afternoon!)