Hi Everyone-
I’m taking the week off to enjoy the holidays with my family.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
A Quick Closet Fix
Our system for putting away gloves and winter hats worked quite well until it became cold and we actually had to find those items on a daily basis.
There were plenty of “I can’t find my hat,” and “I can only find one glove,” so I decided something must be done.
If you remember way back in February I shared our closet redo which took care of book bags, coats, and hats.
Effective for those items but we neglected to designate a place for winter hats and gloves.
Until now.
We decided the best place for some containers would be in our garage.
We took a trip to our trusty IKEA and found the IKEA RETUR Recycling Bin.
Ten boxes later we had some winter organization.
Best part: The closet floor is clear.
Now we are ready for winter.
Though, ironically, it’s suppose to be 70 degrees tomorrow.
Halloween Pics
It came out of their mouth…or at least I bet they thought it.
“ I’m going to save all these seeds.“
“If I could only get all this stuff out of here without having to touch it.“
“If only the other Himalayan girls found such joy in the simple tasks.”
“Yuck.”
Two Face from Batman
(Clothes from goodwill cut in half & sewed together – dress shirt, dress pants, tie, t-shirt, shorts)
About to go to Costume Piano Recital – no face paint or here…yet.
Dexter Jexter from Star Wars (anyone else not know about the cook in Star Wars?)
“He’s a cook. He has to have a messy apron. I want to put ketchup and mustard all over my apron.”
“Can I give you a hand with that?”
We had ourselves cracking up over that comment…oh, and putting the fingers up other people’s noses.
“Hurry up and take the shot. We can see trick or treaters and they’re getting ALL of the candy!”
mermaid costume here
“See this candy. Don’t touch my candy.”
Like mother, like daughter.
“Hey Mister, I have four hands so you can give me more candy.”
Yes. He really did say that.
All three of them: “Please. Please. Please. Can we have more than three pieces tonight?”
“No.”
“PUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSEEEE!”
“No.”
Notice that huge chunk of chocolate in her mouth? Nice, huh.
Halloween 2011 – All Done.
Care Bear Bingo
I don’t know about you but last night I ate about twenty mini candy bars.
If anything, I am underestimating.
I spent the rest of the night complaining about my aching stomach while my husband looked on with a, “Why are you surprised by this…. this happens every year,” look.
Later in the week I’ll post some of our Halloween pictures but for now I have this for you.
Care Bear Bingo!
I am going to a birthday party for a little girl turning four with my two youngest this weekend. The birthday girl is very into Care Bears so I decided I would make her a Care Bear bingo game.
The set consists of 5 cards and 25 calling cards.
The game is a preschool version of bingo with only sixteen spaces instead of the usual twenty-five. Fewer spaces for the younger kids tends to work better.
I also printed off two copies of the calling cards, cut them apart, and placed them in a small box for a memory game.
In order to download the bingo game, please click on the bingo board above. The PDF document should come up. From there, print.
If you decide to print, please consider becoming a follower of Big D & Me.
If you are interested in other printable bingo games please look in my “Printables” section at the top. I am also selling a Thanksgiving bingo game in my etsy shop.
Hopefully this is the first of many girly bingo sets!
Guest Post – Christmas Boxes
When I read through this post from Miss Maggie’s Place I knew it would be a great one to share with you. It allows children to be active participants in the giving process in a very simple yet important way. I was probably also drawn to the post since Jennifer is a Girl Scout leader. I have very fond memories of singing at a retirement home and helping others as a girl scout. Please take a moment to find out about this important program Jennifer works on with her troop and her family.
Hi my name is Jennifer. I’m thrilled to be doing a guest post today. I really appreciate Jen inviting me over to her awesome blog. I’m in my 5th year as a Girl Scout leader and I absolutely love working with girls. My blog is called Miss Maggie’s Place and you’ll find kids crafts, recipes for cooking with kids, Girl Scout ideas, and you’ll get to see a few of the sights around Georgia and South Carolina.
I wanted to share with you some information about Operation Christmas Child.
Operation Christmas Child is an outreach of Samaritan’s Purse. The Samaritan’s Purse organization was founded by the Graham family over 40 years ago. They help those around the world who are affected by war, drought, disease and help them to break the cycle of poverty. They have several programs and one of them is Operation Christmas Child. You can check out this youtube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJR28o9vukU
At my house we love Operation Christmas Child. It teaches my kids to think of others and it makes them feel sooo good to help another child who is the same age as them. OCC is a shoebox ministry that provides a tangible gift for children living in desperate circumstances. With the shoebox also comes a program written in the child’s own language to help them understand God’s love for them. We have participated in this awesome ministry for several years. My kids love it and my Girl Scouts love it too. Last year over 8 million children in 130 countries received shoeboxes.
You will need a shoebox like this. You can also purchase a plastic shoebox from Wal-mart for about $1.
At Girl Scouts we’ll make 2 boxes. The girls make a list of what items they want to include and assign everyone what to bring. At home we do 1 girl box and 1 boy box. Since we have one of each.
The dollar bin at Target is a great place to find cute toys, stickers and socks. We also go to the Dollar Tree and we have been know to save Happy Meal toys for our boxes. You can also find t-shirts on clearance. Please don’t include any used items, liquids, chocolate, food or any war toys/soldiers.
You can print out a coloring sheet for your kids to fill out all about themselves and put inside the box check it out here http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
After your box is packed go to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/and print out a label. Tape it to the top of your box. You’ll need to fill out the form & include a $7 check for shipping. If you decide to pay for shipping online they will track your shoebox and let you know what country it went to. I think that is super cool.
Write a short letter to the child and include a picture of your family. You can also include a self addressed stamped envelope and you just might get a letter back. My Girl Scout troop got a letter back from a little girl living in an orphanage in India. They girls were very excited to see who received our shoebox.
Collection week is November 14-21. To find drop off locations in your area call 1-800-353-5949 or visit the website. If you are interested in your group, organization or Sunday school class making boxes as a group you can request a packet & DVD by calling the 1-800 number or checking the website.
This is such an awesome ministry and it makes YOU feel so good to help a child in need.
Jennifer, thanks for sharing with us a wonderful way to help others!
Remember to enter the GIVEAWAY today – the winner will be announced tomorrow
A Creative Paige GIVEAWAY!
I’m so excited to introduce you to Paige from The Creative Paige. Her blog is new but quickly becoming the place to go. I was originally drawn to her site because I believe it is visually appealing (no wonder she’s a graphic artist) but then stayed around because it is filled with so many crafts. Paige has graciously agreed to give away a very special prize to one winner, one that your family will treasure for a long time. Take it away Paige!
Hey Big D and Me readers, I’m so excited to be here today to introduce myself and to share a little giveaway!
First off, I’m Paige from The Creative Paige. I’m a graphic designer/stay-at-home mom of two adorable little boys. We are currently living in Mexico and it’s been a great adventure so far. I have, however, had a hard time keeping up my craft habits. It’s hard to find supplies here and when you do find them, they are EXPENSIVE. So, I’ve had to find new, creative ways to continue my craftiness.
I really love creating printables because I don’t have to go driving around this crazy city looking for supplies…I can do it from the comfort of my own home. I love having inspirational words around me, so I use quotes and scripture for a lot of my printables. And of course, they are always free to download! Here’s a sample of some of my favorites:
Stop by and grab a few…print them or use them as your desktop wallpaper. And keep coming back, because there will definitely be more. I’m working on some Christmas printables…but it just doesn’t seem right to focus too much on Christmas at least until after Halloween!
However, in the spirit of Christmas…
I’m giving away a custom Christmas Card design to one lucky Big D and Me reader! I love creating Christmas cards…it’s a super fun time of the year for me to see so many great family pictures and help people make something special to send to their friends and family.
One winner will receive a custom card design file with their family picture that they can take and print at any local printer.
To enter: (leave a separate comment for each entry, 4 entries max)
1. Leave a comment on this post answering the question “Do you save people’s Christmas cards? How long? Do you display them?“
2. Follow The Creative Paige on Google Friend Connect.
3. Follow Big D and Me on Google Friend Connect.
4. Follow The Creative Paige on Facebook.
One winner will be announced on Friday October 28th (you have until Thursday October 27th to enter)
Thanks Paige – I can’t wait to see the lucky winner’s design
Hurry up and enter! And remember to stop by The Creative Paige!
TCU Game
Sometimes events can be so built up for kids that the actual event itself can be a let down.
I was worried this was going to happen with my six year old when he went to his first college football game.
But this was not the case.
My sister Kelly is a TCU alum and flew into town for the TCU vs SMU game.
For two weeks before the game, Andrew and I would talk about going to the game. He would express some interest towards it but nothing over the top.
One day I clarified for him that only the two of us would be going to the game. His brother would be with my husband on a camping trip while I had secured a babysitter for his sister.
This new information sent his excitement level on overdrive. He was thrilled to be the only kid attending the game and to have all the focus on him.
He excitedly planned out how he was going to paint his face purple and where we would place the white letters.
Andrew slept in his newly gifted t-shirt (thanks Aunt Kelly!) and was ready to cheer on the Horn Frogs on Saturday morning. Once we arrived at the stadium parking lot, Andrew caught on to the idea of tailgating quickly. After introductions were made, he filled a plate for himself and sat down. In fact, he returned for food three times.
Here we are tailgating:
During halftime, we were standing in the walkway when an elderly man fainted right in front of us. He landed on the concrete and didn’t move. It was actually extremely scary. Paramedics came and helped him sit up – eventually. But Andrew was convinced he was dead. I tried to explain that he was fine (even if he wasn’t I was going to tell him he was) but only a much later visual sighting appeased him.
My caring son told me that if he died they should just throw the body over the football railing. Apparently, we have a ways to go in the empathy department.
Andrew enjoyed the game but thought the food was the best part. In addition to the tailgating food, he consumed dip-n-dots, a hot dog, half of my pizza, nachos, and another serving of dip-n-dots.
As if the stadium food wasn’t good enough, Andrew was thrown a chicken sandwich from the Chick-Fil-A truck while we were standing at a corner about a mile away from the stadium. He danced around and sang, “I got a free chicken sandwich!” Hold onto your stomach…he ate about half of it.
The following Monday he wrote about his weekend and illustrated it. As a parent this is one of my favorite pieces of work to come home from school. I love to see his perspective and see what was important to him about his weekend.
On the back side was his summary of the game.
Here’s the translation in case you didn’t catch that:
I went to a TCU SMU game. TCU was down 7 to 14. At the end of the game I got a free chicken sandwich from the Chick-fil-a truck and at half time a man fainted.
Andrew feel asleep on the way home but had wonderful stories to tell his brother the next day. His favorite of them all, “I got a free chicken sandwich….and it even had a pickle!”
In Case You Were Wondering…
Last night I went out to dinner with a friend.
I realized 4 minutes from the restaurant that I had forgotten to put on deodorant.
It was 85 degrees and I knew we were going to eat outside.
Plus, I was wearing a sleeveless shirt.
This was potentially a ripe situation.
I hunted around the car.
All I found was a pack of Altoids.
Apparently licking Altoids and rubbing them in your pits works quite well as a deodorant replacement.
In case you were wondering.
Hair
Have you ever had this problem?
I’m going to get my hair colored tomorrow and I’m trying to come up with an excuse.
It’s actually worse than it looks.
I have a good two inches of brown hair followed by 8 inches of blonde hair. Oh so attractive
I know what’s going to happen when I enter the salon. A disgusted colorist will look at me repulsively while I say, “I know its been four months since I’ve been here but I was kind of busy.”
Crickets.
“I was trying to save some money so I waited to come in a little longer than usual.”
Crickets.
“I made sure to wear a hat all the time.”
Crickets.
“I actually never left the house during the last two months of this debacle.”
So I’ve been brainstorming..I think I’ll get a different look this time.
“While visiting a friend in Africa I was kidnapped and forced to marry a Zulu prince. But I escaped two weeks later when I jumped out of our canoe and battled a crocodile while getting to shore. I then came across military forces who took me into their operation and trained me to become a gunner until I met a young woman I thought I could trust. Turns out she was recruiting women to become geishas and I was just what they were looking for. I was the headline performer at the Sumo National Championships. Thankfully an audience member recognized me from a television appearance and was able to pay for my freedom. I just returned to the US this morning and this was my first stop.”
I’m betting this will get me a full highlight for the price of a partial.
Do you ever need excuses for your hair?
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Actually there’s no chicken dinner for this giveaway.
Maybe Kentucky Fried Chicken or Popeye’s would like to sponsor my next giveaway.
A girl can dream.
Moving on.
Time to announce the winner of the Graphic Anthology print.
Drum roll please……
The winner of the Graphic Anthology print is #21!
It’s……..
Congratulations Rachel! I can’t wait to find out which beautiful print you choose.
Everyone else – you can still get that print you have your eye on and get a 20% discount at Graphic Anthology anytime by using the CBKISSES code during checkout
Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and follows Big D & Me!
On Monday I will be sharing some cheap and easy Halloween decorating ideas with you so be sure to come on back and check those out.