Sugary Sweet 'n Very CUTE ♥

Who loves to bake this time of year?

WE DO! WE DO!

Saturday the boys went to the cheap movie theater and saw Toy Story 3 again... love that movie!

We went shopping for winter boots for their ever-growing feet...

hoping snow will arrive soon:)

Then we came home and baked some of my fave cookies... GINGERBREAD!

And oh what a sugary sweet and very cute time we had...

Hehehe... here's my youngest decked out in his "cook" clothes as he called them!!

I found the chefs hat, apron and mitt on Ebay last year for like under $10 and had to get it!!

Here's my oldest darling creating a Santa beard full of frosting on his gingerbread man:)

He used lots and lots of sweet goodies to decorate his ♥

Hard at work...

Holy cow!

Thats one CAVITY filled cookie... lol!!!

Whats a guy to drink when he's eating cookies?...

 Too cute... he was pretending to drink "coffee"!

Gage's cookie with gumdrops

Here's my mr and mr gingerbread ♥

Hmmm... I asked them to smile and this is what I got... lol!!

Such a ham!!

Why is it when kids get older they don't want their picture taken much?

My oldest gives me grief about taking his pic sometimes:(

Little bro sure loves to ham it up for the camera!!

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Have YOU done any baking lately??

Noelle ♥

Thanksgiving Blessings ♥

Dear Friends,

I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all will be spending the day with your loved ones, and enjoying a delicious warm meal.

This year I am especially thankful for...

My husband and children,

my small family,

my JOB, even though its stressful- I have good pay and benefits to support my family,

my home,

food and clothes,

good friends...

Some things we take for granted, like simple things like food.

I've seen so many people on street corners holding signs lately that they are in need of work and food,

through tough times many people suffer.

I wish that every person on Earth could be warm and fed a wonderful meal on Thanksgiving.

If you can, drop some canned items off at your local shelter tomorrow to lend a hand to those in need.

Love to you all,

Noelle ♥

Christmas Stocking Swap... Come one, come all!!

 

There is nothing more I LOVE this time of year than giving gifts that make people smile:)

I am HOSTING a Christmas Stocking Swap!!

Here's the details...

I'm gonna make this pretty easy for you all!!

You will send your Swap Partner a Stocking filled with fun little goodies to make their hearts and faces SMILE this Christmas season:)

--Ideas: candy, ornaments, baking items, candles, anything related to their hobbies/interests, etc!!

If you are interested in joining please copy and paste the following INFO to an email, and send it to me: way2tiredmom78@hotmail.com.

.....................................................

Name:

Address:

Email:

Blog address:

Fave things about Christmas:

Fave Colors:

Fave Candy/Treats:

What do you collect?:

Fave Hobbies:

Any allergies?:

...............................................

These simple questions will help your swap partner to get to know you better and send YOU one special stocking!!

*Our spending limit is $15-$20* 

(before shipping)

*Sign-Ups will be taken till Dec.1st...

*Partners will be assigned via email on Dec. 2nd

*You will then have 8 days to make/purchase some lovely items for your partner

*SEND OUT DATE is DECEMBER 10th!!! 

(The BEST way to ship is with the USPS via Priority Mail; you can get a GREAT sized box for I believe $10.95 and fill it to the brim.. its Flat Rate!! Also get a tracking number as well, and email that to your partner)

*** Once your partner is assigned, PLEASE email your partner and visit her blog to get to know her...

I've made MANY wonderful friends through swaps ♥ 

I hope you will join me and help spread some holiday cheer!

Please comment as well, if you are going to sign up then email me your info shortly after, thanks ♥

Noelle 

Holiday Hutch Decor

Ooooh I love how my hutch looks for Christmas!!

Lots of sugary sweet Gingerbreads from my collection, with lots of red and green- classic Christmas colors that I love to use in my home this time of year...

Top of the hutch, adorned with wooden Christmas trees my grandfather made and painted years and years ago ♥

Santa was an after Christmas deal from WalMart for $5...

I added a string of lights which glows so pretty in the dark.

 Gingerbread goodies...

The jar came from Goodwill recently for 50 cents... I filled it with red and green gumdrops:)

The teeny tiny gingerbread is an eraser that my little Gage gave to me ♥

The WISH blocks came from KOHLS after Christmas last year for like $2...

LOOOVE this sweet little ceramic gingerbread house!!

It was my #1 find at Goodwill last weekend for $1.50!!

Its really heavy but so so cute!!

 This adorable little tin came from my sweet friend Holly...

I filled my apothecary jar with Starlight mints.

These green plates came from GW too; I want to add the letters JOY to them...

 This cute little gingerbread man was a gift from my mom sings and the marshmallows pop up out of the mug, too cute!!

 This sweet little gingerbread "vase" came from a student of mine when I taught preschool years ago; I love it!!

 This lil gingerbread girl stays in my kitchen year round... 

isn't she cute?

Thanks for visiting!!

Have you started to decorate yet?

Noelle ♥

Happy List ♥

All too many times in life, we forget to remember the simple things that make us happy, right?

I am SO guilty of that at times...

I get stressed by my job, the kids talking back, a messy house (all the time)...

BUT I am trying harder to NOT sweat the small stuff and think of lil' things that make me happy, like these...

Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks... yum!!

A quick trip to Goodwill, on 50% off Saturday where I got some cute Christmas knick knacks for only $4.27
(will show those tomorrow!)

Caramel Rolls from Granite City...
where hubs and I went for Brunch yesterday, for our 1 year Wedding anniversary...
omg, these are to DIE for!!
(Also had bacon, eggs, yummalicious potatoes, french toast and a Mimosa, yea I ate like a PIG... oink!)

My new Rockin' boots that should arrive any day from...
www.shiekhshoes.com!


And most important...
moments like these that make you smile till your cheeks hurt!

 

Isn't he BEYOND precious? ♥

Future model ♥

LOVE... 10 years and going strong ♥

Happiness = F.A.M.I.L.Y


I linked up with Mammarazzi to share My Happy List...

Homeade Edible Gifts

Hey dolls!

What are your thoughts on receiving homeade EDIBLE gifts?

Like the cookie mixes in a jar, or a homemade cocoa mix?

This year I am wanting to BAKE my BUTT off, for some reason:)

I've been seeing super cute gift containers around for "edible" gifts and am PUMPED to make some things for friends, family and a couple of my FAVE co-workers!

My FAVE fudge to make is called "2 STEP Fudge"...

Literally it takes 2 steps to make, unless you add a third ingredient, lol then it becomes 3 STEP Fudge!!

(I crack myself up!)

So here's what you use...

1 bag of these...

Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate chips... the BEST!
Very creamy!

And 1 can of this...

Duncan Hines Chocolate Frosting!

**You first melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, I usually do it in 30 second intervals, stirring each time till fully melted..
Then add the frosting and mix till smooth.**
IF you want to add the 3rd STEP, I like to add 1 1/2 cups of these, chopped...

WALNUTS.

Or you could add peanuts and marshmallows, or even crushed peppermint candies... lots of ideas:)

Then once you mix all 3 things together, spread the mixture out on a wax/parchment paper lined bar pan and place in fridge for about 15-20 minutes.
TRUST ME, this Fudge is YUMMO!!!

If you want to give some of this Fudge as a gift, find some CUTE storage containers/boxes like these...

And what a SWEET gift you have:)

I personally love to receive homeade items, to me it says that the person who gave the gift really took the time to prepare something sweet ♥

Enjoy!

Noelle ♥ 

Feelin' Festive

Morning girls!

I was able to sneak a blog post in before I head off to work:)

Here's a "rough" copy of what our Christmas card will look like this year...

I DID ask our fab photographer if she could add a cutie pie gingerbread somewhere on the card 'cause YOU know I LOVE me some gingerbreads, and I think it'd look cute with the color scheme!!

I am really stoked about this Christmas season this year :)

I ♥ my family!!

Have a great day!!

Noelle ♥

Almost 1 year ♥

Hey girls!!

Guess what this SUNDAY is?

My and hubz's ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ♥

Can you believe its already been a YEAR!!??

Been together over 10 years and married ALMOST one... lil backwards I know, lol!!

Our wedding day...

Nov. 12, 2009...

AMAZING DAY ♥

My and my handsome hubby ♥

All in all, our first year of marriage has been a really good one!!

My hubby stood by my side last December when my dad passed away and helped me through so many sad, tough days that came after.

I have to say that after all this time, Brian is my backbone ALWAYS!

He is the ONE person I can always go to, no matter what ♥

He is my BEST friend:)

And now my hubby, forever ♥

And if he doesn't get me an Anniversary Card... I'm gonna kick his BUTT!! ;)

Hugs,

Noelle ♥

Helloooo there!!

Hello gals!!

I hope you all haven't forgotten about me and my absent blogging self:(

Whats new?

I'm Soooooo incredibly behind on reading blogs the past few weeks; this is my weekend to blog hop!

We've been soooo busy lately, there's barely time to breathe!!

Halloween was fun with the boys, for the most part...

the weekend prior we went to visit my sweet blog friend Stacy and her boys in Ohio, that was a fun trip!!

Here's a few pics of our trip to the Toledo Zoo where we went trick or treating!!

The brave knight Gavin getting ready to slay this giant bear;)

My lil clown Gage watching for the walrus to swim by!

He did tricks for us too...

I ♥ Polar Bears... this one is So funny!
He was pacing back and forth trying to figure out how to get his ball out of the water... lol!

Forget the darn clown car, he rides tigers:)

Gavin about to slay the lion, Aiden watching...

Such a HANDSOME knight ♥

Whats this?
Gage is leaving me for Princess from Super Mario bros!!!

......................................

Just stopped to monkey around a bit!

I signed both of the jokers up to join the circus...
well really I just made them get behind the circus car!!

Gage having fun bouncing...

Gavin and Aiden and a TON of other kids waiting in line for the bounce house/slide:)

All in all...
It was a DOG-GONE good day!

So what'cha think of my new header?
I used more of our Fall Family pics and LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it turned out:)

Chat soon,
Noelle ♥