Boys and Cars

Back in the fall, we took a day to visit a car museum in our area. We invited Mr. C's "BFF" and his mom to join us. The boys had lots of fun. 

 

This cream beauty was one of my favorites.

They were pretty sure this one was related to Francesco from Cars 2.

The two moms learned that the original Volkswagen brand was designed by Ferdinand Porsche but Adolf Hitler took a hand in the planning too.

We were the only ones there, so one of the workers took us into the workshop. The boys were able to get inside a few vehicles and "drive".

Bikinis & Gingerbread

Mr C was all about Christmas this year - decorating, cooking, shopping, wrapping presents - he was game no matter what. Nothing would do except to make gingerbread people this year.

My little baking assistant...

Miss M gets in the action

and adds her own flair after asking if she could "get a little creative".

Yes, you are looking at a gingerbread people in swimsuits. Guess she's already dreaming of our vacation in Cozumel.








Three of my most favorite people in the world! Waiting and waiting for the parade to start!

Friday Funnies

OK....so it's a new year. I'll try to get back to more regular posting!

Today Mr. C showed me that he had a big hole in his sock. "Well, I guess you'll need to throw them out because it's pretty big and I don't think I can fix it."
His question to me was, "Not both of them. The other one is good so I will keep it."
Never mind that they are race car socks and he only has one pair.

Check back soon for a post about a Hot Wheels party for a pretty cool little boy who just turned F-I-V-E!!

Easy Neighbor & Teacher Gifts

I always like to do a little something for my neighbors at various times throughout the year. Usually at Christmas, it's something from my kitchen but then you have the expense and trouble of how to package the goodies. I went with something a little different after a reminder from a friend about her scent of Christmas recipe. It's really easy and not too expensive if you catch a sale or have an Aldi store nearby. That's where my fruit came from and the spices were on sale at my local grocery store last week. The baggies came from Hobby Lobby.

In each baggie, place one orange and one lime. You could probably sub an apple for one of the citrus if you wanted. Also add in a sprinkle of whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 5-6 whole bay leaves. That's it! Attach a tag that instructs the recipient to quarter the fruit, add the spices, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer all day, adding more water as needed. 

While also at Aldi's, I decided to do a goodie basket for the teacher's lounge. Miss M's school has a pretty small staff, so there's enough for everyone to have a little something. Using a Goodwill basket I had on hand, I spent less than $15 for the entire basket. I included:

• 3 green apples, 3 bananas, 3 red apples
• 2 oranges and 2 pears
• 1 can of beef snack sticks
• roasted peanuts in the shell
• Hershey chocolate kisses
• Peppermint Oreo type cookies

Tied up with a bow and a note of appreciation, this former teacher thinks the basket will empty quickly once placed in the teacher's lounge tomorrow morning. For both of these gifts, I would suggest giving them early in December so the goodies are eaten before Christmas break and the scent of Christmas may be enjoyed if your friend hosts any kind of holiday gathering in her home.

Friday Funnies

While visiting my parents over Thanksgiving, we were observing the three beagles, (ours, my folks, and my brothers) romp and play in the yard. One started to dig and my dad called out "Rudy, stop digging you crazy dog!"
Miss M. replied, "Popa, that's not what Daddy calls Hudson. He calls him a dead-gum dog."

Oh how I love little ears that mishear. She thought it was funny that I didn't know what dead-gum or dad-gum meant.







 

Friday Funnies

Mr. C came running to find me the other day during his TV time. "I don't like this show. It's called the Balooney Tunes and it's kinda scary."

 Don't you love how little ears mishear things sometime?

Halloween Fun

 Even though Mr C doesn't look too happy in most of these pictures, he was thrilled with his costume. He did however elect not to wear the fuzzy mustache that came with the costume. "It's itchy and how will I eat a hot dog?" Good point Mario!

Since I sold 3 outgrown costumes before Halloween, I was able to feel OK about spending $20 on the Mario costume. We had a total of 4 Marios at church Sunday night, so I am pretty confident I will be able to sell it with no trouble next fall.

 Annie did a little singing for a few lucky few! Her dress a thrift find for $3 this summer, with the addition of my gold locket, her black Mary Jane's, and $2 for a can of red hairspray on her hair which was curled the night before. It washed out surprisingly easy too.

 The winning car at trunk or treat. Skippy the dog was later added as the inmate -in a full doggy costume. Really, how can you compete with a cute pup?

 2nd place Fiesta!

Our car "Parkway Perk" coffee shop - a play on the name of our church. As in the past, we didn't spend much on our car, using things we had around the house!  Click here for a peek at our trunk from last year.

 We served hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles along with candy of course!

 The menu got lots of attention.

 Phineas! (The kids and I clean out the guts and Dad does the fancy stuff.)

 

A night shot just before we went home. See our luminaries on the ground? They had coffee scented tea lights in them - we worked on ALL the senses! 

 Day 2 of fun - Halloween Night! Since it was a school night Miss M opted for a simpler costume. She wasn't 100% thrilled with the flour on her face, but the mixing bowl "treat bag" made her happy! Mr C stuck with Mario.

Not really sure what's she's going for in this shot - Iron Chef maybe?