:)SMILES

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Just dropping in to say a quick hello! My semester is finally over-yippee! I have been busy baking cookies tonite for Gavin's Christmas party at school tomorrow. Life will settle down a bit this weekend so I will post some more fun pics.

Isn't this fake magazine cover cute? I took the boys to get Christmas pics done the other day and decided to get one taken with them too; a gift for a grumpy daddy for Christmas!

Chat soon,
Noelle

Oh, Goody, Goodwill!

So, I spent $3.49 today!! It was 50% off today at GW so I did good:) Gosh, I wish everything in this world was so cheap! lol

I found this cute chubby snowman, he was $0.25!! He is glittery too but you can't really see it. Next to him is a sparkly hanging ball made with little glitter covered apples- too pretty! Then I got the 2 wooden ornaments next to it; a snowman and the Santa tree, those were $0.25 and $0.50!!! Then last I found the stocking sign with raffia and some bells on it. It was handpainted! I love wooden rustic looking decor; it makes me think of a cabin in the woods during winter time:)

Its amazing when you feel good, the things you can accomplish! Even though I was on a natural high last night because I got my degree- woo-hoo again; I fell asleep right away. Got up at 6am and got ready before I woke up the boys. Oh and I must mention that my lil Gage slept all night last night for me !! A good nights sleep- thats another woo-hoo! I took Gavin to school then Gage and I ran to Wal-Mart, to Good-Will where I got some cute-sies for CHEAP!! Then we met our friends for breakfast and a play date. All of that accomplished and we were home at 11am:) Gage is napping now like a good boy so mom's playing catch up!

Close-up of wooden ornaments, the flash on my camera made them look washed out; much cuter up close!

This ball is so pretty and is going in my kitchen!

Here is a better shot of the stocking sign! Isn't it cute?

And last, is a close-up of chubby frosty!

I am taking the boys this afternoon to get their Christmas pics taken and then Gavin has his Christmas program tonite! The children had to choose an animal from the nativity scene and wear that "costume" tonite. Gavin is being a sheep!!

Tomorrow is my last final and the prof is such a doll that she's having a little Christmas party for us too!! Then I am going to get some new hi-lites done in my hair, wait till you see the colors!

And Friday is Gavin's Christmas Party at school and I am going to be making Gingerbread Houses with the kids made with graham crackers!!
I can't wait to see how they come out:)

Chat with you later,
Noelle

I DID IT!!!!

I did it!! I passed Algebra with a C:) YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPEE:) Thanks to everyone's little prayers and positive thoughts that helped me get through my final tonite! Not to mention an awesome, very kind professor too:)

So as soon as my completion papers are filled out; I will be a college graduate! I have about 3 weeks off till next semester starts when I'll begin classes for my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. I can't believe I have finally made it! Can you tell I am proud of myself? It has been a hard journey but I have finally completed a huge goal in my life!!!!

Thanks again! (I think this calls for a trip to Goodwill tomorrow to celebrate, huh Holly?? lol)

~Noelle

A Quick Hello!

Hello girls! I'm going to be taking a mini break from posting the next couple days so I can get through my finals:( I am SO stressed about my Algebra final tomorrow!! I was doing really well in that class till I bombed the test last week. I need to get a minimum of a D in the class for it to count for my degree. My goal was a minimum of a C, cause who wants a D anyway! This is the last class I have had to take to receive my Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education that I started back in Fall of 2002!! I really need to pass this class and graduate so I can start my Elementary Education program.

My goal is to have my teaching license by the time Gage starts Kindergarten, which gives me about 3 years to do it. So I need to study tonite and a TON tomorrow for Algebra; then my other class ends on Thursday. So I may check in before then but no promises. I am really behind on folding laundry and ironing too so its time to play catch-up! Not to mention I still have a dozen or so gifts to wrap:) My 30th birthday is coming up next Monday; and the girls and I are going out Saturday to celebrate! I'd like to be a good girl and have all my chores done by then!! lol Then, I can fully relax:)

TTYL,
Noelle :-)

Welcome to my Christmas BLOG Party!

~Welcome to my Christmas Blog Party~
Take a stroll through the most decorated rooms in my home to see my Christmas decorating style and all the things I love at this time of year!

Here are my precious boys to welcome you to our party! Gavin is 7 years old and Gage is 19 months old. Christmas to me now as a mom is all about making it a happy and memorable one for them. Gage loves to look for Santa's everywhere we go and loves to say "ho ho ho"! Gavin has been learning about the real meaning of Christmas at school- the birth of Jesus! He sings "Away in a Manger" so preciously that it brings tears to my eyes! These 2 are the best gifts any mommy could ask for!

Grab a cupcake and some milk as we stroll through the kitchen to see all my favorite holiday decor: GINGERBREADS!!

See the cute gingerbread garland!
The Christmas tree is crocheted and was my grandmothers.

Here is a close up of my nativity set that mom gave me,
it was my grandma's as well.

The wooden snowmen, reindeer and santa's were made by my grandpa who was amazing with woodworking!
How I miss my grandparents so much, especially this time of year:(

Here is the top of my bakers rack.
The cute teapot was a gift from my mom a couple years ago.

More sweet gingerbreads! The 2 stuffed gingy's on the top shelf have been missing since 2 Christmas's ago! I found a little box last night in the back of my storage room in our basement and there they were!! I was so excited to find them:) That tray was my $2.00 Goodwill find this week!

Full view of the Baker's rack.

This is my wall shelf to the left of the Baker's rack that is loaded with more Gingerbread items.

The 2 little plush ginger-kids on this shelf were missing in action also with the 2 larger ones on my Baker's rack. Welcome back gingy's!

Here is the corner of our breakfast nook; just a little tree and some of the wooden pieces my grandfather carved and painted.

This is one of my stockings from when I was a little girl. Isn't she pretty?

"The stockings were laid on the back of the couch with care,
in hopes that St. Nick would soon be there. " LOL
(with a fireplace for Noelle to hang them on!!)
I still need to find a place to hang these, thats all!

Isn't the phone beautiful? LOL I have no where else to put it in the living room but on here:) This is my grandma's old record player that I decorated with some Christmas stuff. See the 2 snowmen by the phone?
They play "We wish you a Merry Christmas!"

Here is a shot of the lower part of my Window Mirror; some neat old items from my grandma and the wooden items were also made by my grandfather.

Darn camera flash! The shutter on the right wouldn't stay open last night after I tucked the tinsel under it!!! UGH!

A view of my tree that is being abused by little Gage; who likes to be sneaky and rearrange the ornaments on the bottom!

This is the right side of the top of our entertainment center.
There's my $1.00 pink Goodwill tree looking all sparkley!

See my cutie snowman candle from Peggy? That was one of the goodies she sent me in the stocking swap! Almost all of those items were my grandma's as well. I was so lucky to get so much of her Christmas stuff when she passed away. Her home was decorated so wonderfully during the holidays!

The left side of the e.t. center. I love that little blue house!

Here is a full shot of the top of the e.t. center.
And Gage's 9 month photo trio above it; isn't he a cutie pie?

Here is my little table by the front door; I love Christmas photo frames!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed visiting my home for the Christmas Blog Party! I can't wait to check out all the other gals homes too.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
~Noelle~

For Your Sweet Tooth, or MINE!

What a cute idea! A cookie ho-ho-ho game; instead of tic-tac-toe!

I've got a sweet tooth tonite but its too late to bake!
So I thought we could drool over these goodies for awhile:)

Yeah, I'll take one of these baskets, please? I've been a good girl this year!

This is a snowman sandwich!!
I should surprise Gavin with one in his lunchbox this week:)

This CUTE snowmen are made with marzipan! I
have never used that, have you?

My favorite holiday cookie to bake is cut-outs! My mom has an awesome recipe that she shared with me a couple years ago. We bake and decorate trees, snowmen, stockings, candy canes and of course GINGERBREADS!! My mom spilled the beans to me that my birthday present is themed...
I said "What? Gingerbread stuff right?" She couldn't believe I guessed it but I'm sure she's seen my love of them on my blog lately. Not to mention how much she has in her kitchen that I wish I could swipe! LOL

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... I got all my decorating done tonite!!! I am thrilled:) I even found a box of stuff from my grandma that I don't think I even used last year; it was a nice and heart warming surprise!!

So I will see you all tomorrow and your homes:) at the Christmas Blog Party hosted by http://gypsymermaidlife.blogspot.com.

Nighty-night,
Noelle

My Friday Find!!

Today we had to run some errands and ended up at Sam's Club, where I found this precious snowman! He's made of resin and its 3 feet tall, actually quite heavy. I looked at the sign to see how much he was and he was marked down to $24.96 from a regular price of $70.00!! I called Brian to BEG to get him and he didn't seem to mind so I snatched this little Frosty cutie up and brought him home with us! They also had a Santa too but I figured I could keep Frosty out of the front porch longer than a Santa, without looking like a total looney-tune! lol

It is SO COLD here today; it has been snowing all day so far. I guess we are supposed to get a couple inches by tonite.

Sunday is Lunch with Santa at Gavin's school following the 11:00 am mass. They have Santa there to take pics with the kids, there are crafts and cookie decorating for the kids to do as well. We also get some yummy sub sandwiches to eat for lunch. It was so fun last year, I can't wait to see how the boys enjoy it now. Little Gage walks around saying "Ho, Ho, Ho" in this little deep voice he makes. Outside of Sam's Club today, there was a gentleman wearing a Santa hat that was bell-ringing for a local charity to collection monatery donations for the needy this holiday season. The man kept yelling out, "Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!" Gage kept looking at him and repeated "Ho, Ho, Ho" back to him! LOL

Well, Gage is napping and I am FINALLY dragging the rest of the Christmas decorations upstairs to finish! If I don't I won't have any pics to post for the Christmas Blog Party tomorrow!!

~Noelle~