On Christmas day after we dropped off my sister at the airport we stopped by UCLA to take Devan on a little tour. John had a fun time showing her around his alma mater.

Most of the photos we took looked something like this:

However we did get a few good ones including some of the beatiful architecture:

This morning, while my family and I were gathered in the kitchen eating pancakes for breakfast, my Mother asked a fun trivia question.

Mom: "Does anyone know what George Washington called pancakes?"

John: "Hotcakes"

Me: "Flap Jacks"

John: "Freedom Cakes"

Mom: "No. Hoe cakes."

Everyone: "Hoe cakes?"

Me: " Ho cakes, as in, skanky ho?"

Devan: "Skanky ho!!"

Lots of loud laughter ensued with Devan's comment. My Mom then explained that George Washington used to cook pancakes on a hoe over the fire. And then, just for kicks, Devan shouted "Skanky Ho!" again. What a wonderful way to begin the Sunday before Christmas.

I've been feeling very festive these past few days. It actually rained a bit here which made it feel more Christmas-like. Devan even got to try out the raincoat I bought her last year . I haven't gotten around to making as many gifts as I'd like, but I have found time to squeeze in a few little crafts, like this ornament I made for Devan. Nothing fancy, it was the first time I had embroidered anything since I was about ten. My sister came into town with her friend Misty who has been known to read our blog. Shout out, Misty!

I've also been baking like crazy. So far I've made cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, chocolate covered pretzels and christmas tree shaped rice krispie treats. Making treats is much more fun when you have a child old enough to eat them!

I think once Christmas is over I am going to start right away making gifts and crafts for next year. Have you seen Sew Mama Sew? There are so many cute tutorials over there I think if I start now I will have some ready for next Christmas!

The other day I asked Devan:

"Who is your favorite, Mommy or Grandma?"

Devan: "Quinn."

Me: "Who is your favorite, Mommy or Daddy?"

Devan: "Quinn."

Me: Who is your favorite, Grandma or Grandpa?"

Devan: "Quinn!!"

And just to be sure it wasn't a fluke, I asked her again later that night.

"Who is your favorite, Mommy or Grandma?"

Devan: "Quinn!!"

After looking around in some old files of pictures I found this little video that Quinn took when Devan was just a few weeks old. Then I realized that Quinn has been brainwashing Devan since she was born!

We finally got around to putting up the lights this weekend. Nothing fancy, but at least were adding to the Christmas spirit.

I love Christmas lights. Devan is beginning to love them too. We take her out each night when the sun goes down to look at our lights and she never wants to come back in. Also, she's discovered new places to play in the front yard after we put up the lights and were climbing around in bushes and what not. I love the lights, and I always feel a little sad when people start taking their lights down. It makes the neighborhood seem lonely and dark.

On a lighter note, the leaves are finally starting to change color and fall! The best part about this is that it is still so warm that we get to play in the leaves without them being muddy and wet and cold. Hurray for fall!

Today in the mail I received a card for $10 off any purchase at Victorias Secret. So, when John got home from work we took a little trip to the mall. I finally decided on this product.

I didn't get all of those, only the body mist, which was $12 and so I only ended up paying $2 for it. I am a sucker for anything that smells edible. I have collected over the years many lotions, perfumes and body sprays ranging in scents from cotton candy to apricot. I wanted to find something a little different, but this one smelled so stinking good I couldn't resist. It is called strawberry fizz and it smells delicious. Here are some other of my favorites.

As we were leaving the mall I saw someone eating the Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes at The Cheesecake Factory. Again, I couldn't resist. ( I usually have more self control. I don't know what happened tonight). SO delicious!!

This year I made a Thankful tree. It turned out pretty cute:

I picked some old branches from a tree in the back yard and cut out leaf shapes from some card stock.

Every time I walk by it I pick up a pen and write something on a leaf and hang it up. This picture is the first day I made it, it has lots more leaves now! Happy Thanksgiving!

PS Any Carrie Underwood fans out there? I just downloaded the new album and its a keeper!

My Christmas list, in case you were wondering.

This.
These.


For me.

For Devan.


These.

Want.

Love.

Need.

Last night I made these:

Caramels. They turned out great. And so tasty. Before we ate all of them I decided to wrap some up to give away. I used my Martha Stewart bags that I bought at Michaels (using my coupon, of course).

We are trying to save money, so we are cutting back where we can. We decided that we don't need 2 cars. The payments really add up. There are car payments, maintenance, gas and insurance. So we traded both cars in and had a FIT.

No, we didn't kick and scream while rolling around on the dealer's showroom floor. That's what the car is called- Fit.



It is a nice little "econobox" that is big on style. It is quite fun to drive. It was a used 2007 with the sports package. It even comes with "F-1 inspired" paddle shifting which really helps to get the car moving while still getting awesome mileage.


We love it almost as much as the money adding up in our savings account.

It seems like all I ever hear from Morgan is, "Doesn't pie sound good?" After hearing it for so long I finally took the hint and made a pie.

We had some many apples of varying varieties left over from our trip to See Canyon that I had to do something. I have never made an apple pie but thought it would be a nice addition to my repertoire. I used about 6 apples in total. 4 were Alabama Black and 2 were Heaven Sent.

I just wanted to take a moment to wish my sister Quinn luck tomorrow! Like I've mentioned before, she is running the New York Marathon tomorrow! Make sure to tie your laces tight!




(Thats Quinn, the one in the tube).

I love Halloween, but I also love the day after Halloween a whole lot. I love the day after any holiday a whole lot. Here is what I found today.

I got these chicken and lady bug costumes at Old Navy for $5 each.

I also got great deals on some fun Halloween toys at Target, like Halloween Playdough and a Halloween themed Mr. Potato Head. I can't wait for next Halloween when I can give them to Devan. Here is one more costume I got, this was the best deal. I got it at Marshalls for $1! Thats right, only a buck.

Needless to say, Devan will have many costume options the next couple years!

Lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic. This happens every year around this time. I think of my high school years and am reminded of the crisp morning walks to school and the cold Friday nights sitting in the football stadium bleachers. Music has always played an important role in my life and always has the power to bring back many memories. Yesterday I was feeling particularly reminiscent and decided to download some songs that I used to listen to back in the day. I looked at the Billboard Top 100 songs for the years I was in high school and found some great gems that I haven't heard in years. I realized two things while doing this. 1) I'm older than I feel, and 2) I listened primarily to hip hop until I got married, when I decided I should listen to something a little more enlightening. I still love hip hop but have cut back a lot. So anyway, I thought it would be fun to list some lyrics of some of the songs I listened to to see if anyone remembers or recognizes the songs. Some people should know some (Quinn) and others should know most (Jackie). Good Luck!

Apples

Pumpkins

Apples and Pumpkins

Apple Picking

Laughing



Laughing while picking apples

Smooshed Apples

Lots of wind

Once upon a time, before I was a wife and a mother, I had a good paying job and a lot less bills in my mail box every day. Those were the "good ol days" for me. The days when I could buy whatever I wanted without worrying about having enough food to eat at the end of the week. The days when the only thing stopping me from going to the Dave Matthews concert was, well, nothing. Those days are long gone. These days I am often shocked at how economical, almost frugal, I have become. For instance, I have a system for buying clothes, especially clothes for Devan. I will not buy pants that cost more than 10 dollars, and I absolutely will not buy shirts that cost more than 5 dollars. I probably sound cheap, but I have bags full of new clothes for her just stacked in her closet. When you shop the clearance rack you don't always get your first choice of sizes, but for children this is great. And I'm lucky enough to live in a pretty affluent area close to several nice malls and shopping centers with clearance racks that the rich people wouldn't dare touch. Anyway, I could go on and on about my money saving strategies, but here are some of the sweet deals I've found this week.

A package of eight of these too cute little gift bags from Target for 2 bucks:


This bowl from Tuesday Morning for 4 bucks. (This is not a very good deal. I was very aware of that when purchasing it, but it was too cute to resist).

Also, last week I was at Old Navy and I bought this really comfortable, soft sweatshirt for 6 bucks. I was pretty happy with the price. Today I went back and the same sweatshirts were marked down again to $2.97. So I bought another. I had an economics teacher in high school who taught me in order to save money you should wait to buy something until it has been marked down 3 or 4 times. He was right. (Mr. Ropes, anyone?) Old Navy has some killer deals going on right now. If you like Old Navy and you live close to one, I'd take the time to check it out. Oh! I also got free floss at the grocery store with my coupons. If your interested in saving money on groceries, check out this site. http://www.thegrocerygame.com/. If you sign up, put down my name and I get free weeks. It cost about a dollar a week I think, but its worth it. Or check out couponmom.com. This one is free but not quite as good. Well this post has gotten very long. I will leave with a picture I took this morning. Yes, it actually rained!