{V-dAy pRoJeCt}

A little peak at a little som'n som'n I'm workin' on for the boys for Valentine's Day...

I don't think I've ever been this prepared...I feel like I could fly...

*cue the music*

i hEaRt mY sIsTeR...

This is me and my sister along time ago...we had a horrible hairstyle ergo the hat picture:

And in 12 days she will be here...in Texas...with ME! We are beyond ecstatic and we will count down the days on facebook together and are planning a million fun activities to do...I'm declaring it a homeschool holiday WEEK...

I can do that now ya know ;)

I love my sister so much and she is SO stinkin' hilarious...she seriously could get paid as a pro blogger for all the funny stuff she writes...

Like this....

...THIS is what I discovered in my inbox this morning...

...a song dedicated to what we will do when she gets here:

TWELLLLLLVEEEE DAAAYYYYSSS!!!

On the 12^th day from Alimas my true love gave to meeeee….

12 hugs at baggage claim

11 Bible studieeees

10 starbucks runnnsss

9 silly music videos

8 all the cookies

7 yummy supperrrss

6 days of laughter

FIIIIIIIIIIVE (trips to) the goooolllldennnnn arrrchessss

4 is less than five

3 is more than 2

2 cute little boyyyys

And an application for a passport to come see meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

See, that last line is what I cracked up too the most...ya'll may not know it but I can tend to procrastinate and I've been really bad about not getting a passport to go see my sis now that she lives in Canadia...SO, she's apparently going to help me do that on her visit. :)

I love you Whitty and you are the bestest sister EVAH!!!

mY 2ooth pOsT!!!

Yay for 200 posts! Not as many as it should be but hey, I'm not gonna beat myself up about it...

Actually, that is what I wanted to write about today.

I often think to myself..."Geez, I need to blog something..." But because that "something" doesn't have dazzling pictures of a client, then I clam up and run away in shame.

I have decided that I've had enough. Enough of my pity party and trying to make myself fit into what wonderfully and joyously was in the past. I have decided that I'm going to embrace this time of my life where I CAN take more pictures of my kids and pets and everyday happenings...embrace that I have the time to scrapbook those moments frozen in pictures and craft my little heart out...embrace that I'm not so stressed out, my family is lacking in the fun department.

Yup, I've decided that I'm no longer afraid of the "Photography" title on my blog. This is my blog and I am in control of what I put on here, not my title. Besides, as long as there is a photo it's game right ;)

Sure! I'm still pursuing a photography career here in San Antonio! I LOVED what I did and I welcome new clients and relationships...but, just because I'm waiting doesn't mean I can't muse about the funny and quirky things that go on in my life. I figure that it would be liberating for me to post and might brighten someone else's day rather than hide in my pride of not having a business up and running yet.

So, sorry for those who are looking for inspiration...I am trying to shoot for myself more lately in way of capturing my cute little kids and my crazy pets and still try to catch the occasional "artsy" photo...which I'm kind of pleased with the kitty photo down below...but for now, I have to be real and post what's real in my life...and that is:

"Hello, my name is Ali..."

I'm a:

*Christ follower...I am absolutely passionate about Jesus!

*a worshiper...can't stop singin' about him (see above)

*wifey-poo to smokin' hot hubby of 8 years

*Mamma to two of the most adorable little boys you will every meet

*homeschool teacher to two said little boys

*crafty gal that loves to create...especially scrapbook

*lover of animals...my two kitties are my favorites right now

*domestic affairs specialist

*girl who is attracted to anything old, vintage or rusty

*friend to anybody who wants to be...

SO...now that THAT is all cleared up ;) Here's something that happened to me recently:

I tripped over my Crocs running down the stairs and ended up impaling my head through the sheetrock...it's a very weird thing how I ended up 20 feet from initial trip up to wall but here's the damage:

I ended up having a small concussion...which would make sense as to my array of emotions right after the incident...

1st - tears because I felt bad for making a hole in the wall with my head

2nd - laughter because I made a hole in the wall...WITH MY HEAD Bwahaha!

3rd - confusion...how the heck did THAT happen

And the rest I really don't remember...

So, my smokin' hot hubby, who is gloriously amazing at home repairs, started to fix the wall and I commented how it looked like a funny monster...I think I still was suffering from confusion:

My smokin' hot hubby's birthday was also coming up and I was lacking the brain power at the time to come up with a cool theme for his cake...so what did this disoriented domesticated woman do???

Needless to say, my smokin' hot hubby was very sweet and acted like it was the best creation ever...I guess as long as it was white cake with cream cheese icing...extra icing...the aesthetics didn't matter...

{Swingin'}

Tryin' to get back into the "swing of things."

It's interesting how life does have a rhythm. Sometimes that gentle rocking motion comes to a sudden halt and we need a little encouragement...a nudge to get back. Into the "swing of things."

So, with that said, happy swingin'.

PS I heart my kitty....Howard.

dEaR SaNtA,

Dear Santa,

I know your really tired...but I've been a really good boy this year. I didn't chew on any furniture and only pooped on the floor one time...and that's only because one of the boys slipped me some food. I really didn't mean to. You know how gassy and sensitive my stomach is. I'm getting better at not napping right behind Mamma when she's doing dishes...so she doesn't trip over me anymore. I'm real good at protecting the house, Daddy, Mamma and my kids. So, I wanted only one thing for Christmas...is there some device that would deter psychotic kitties from me? They're kinda buggin' me...I thought they were cute before but now all they want to do is chew my tail up and stick their claws in my face...and if your feelin' really generous, a way to let Mamma know that it's humiliating what she puts me through...

...please hurry...

Love, kisses and slobber,

Sam

more cRaFtY Christmas...

There were two projects that I OH so wanted to do with the munchkins...

The first were these cute little Ginger Cookie Ornaments I found from Creature Comforts blog. I must say they make me really hungry for cookies when I look at them...I found that my kids at ages 5 and 6 had a hard time finding the right pressure to use on the little white puff paint tubes...JEEZ, why didn't I think of this before...I have a hard time finding that sweet spot too! You know, so the paint doesn't let loose like a person who's had one too many artichokes for supper. Needless to say, they gave up after a couple, but because of the random blobs, it's easy to spot the one's that the boys' made and that makes me happy!!!

I still need to give them their "hangin' ability" but here's what ours look like almost done...

This other blog I spotted had these AMAZING Christmas cards that the kids can TOTALLY make!!! Parker LOVES to paint so I let him have at it with some diluted cheap tubes of acrylic to give the cardstock that water color look...I know I didn't get really creative on the colors but I just LOVE the palette that the other gal used...so I decided to stick to what worked :)

Anyhoo, we're really enjoying all the fun crafts this season! I think me more than the kiddos haha! I'm hoping to get to our paint cookies on here soon, so I can get ya'll that recipe and some pictures of the kids' creations :)

Christmas-y tHiNgS

This year was gonna be different.

After seeing this video, right after last years Christmas, I bawled my eyes out and promised myself and my family that I was never going to let the 'stress' and 'consumerism' control my Christmas.

And I'm so excited to say that this year it hasn't!!! And it's been SO wonderful!!!

Although, my thighs probably aren't benefitting, I've been baking and making yummy Christmas things in the kitchen with the munchkins...

I've been doing fun crafty things with the kids...like, I don't have my nativity scene yet...because it's oober expensive and Willow Tree NEVER goes on sale...so my kids helped me out and made me TWO!!!

If you want to try this with your kiddos, here is the coloring print out...I'm not gonna lie...these nativity scenes are pretty little. So, needless to say, I ended up doing alot of the cutting. But watching my kids faces as they saw this 2 dimensional craft turn into a 3 dimensional one, was SO worth it. They were just so amazed how a little folding and glue could make something SO cool!!!

So, I am enjoying every minute of this blessed time of year. We may not have many presents...but we have LOTS of PRESENCE this year and my children aren't disappointed at all! :) This next week we start our break and are going to try to make an ornament a day...here is an AWESOME blog where you can find some super cool ornament ideas!!!

Oh, and because I just COULDN'T resist, because I love my fur babies probably as much as my skin babies, here is my black kitty getting very comfortable in the boys' school basket...I guess he was ready for the break too :)

*updated to add: here is the recipe to the tuxedo brownies in the first picture :) SOOO Yummy! If you are pampered chef nut like me, it will call for your mini muffin pan, tart shaper, and that huge icing decorator thing...BUT, you really could practically use whatever to smash the little brownies down when they come right out of the oven...just not yer finger...Yeah, I was not thinking and tried that...and then for the filling...pipe it in with whatever your have on hand :)

OH! And I nixed the white chocolate and milk for the filling and added a little red food coloring to it then, here's the fun part, smash the tar out of some candy canes and sprinkle over the filling as a garnish...and voila! A pretty Christmas treat :)