birthday dilemma

So the man pitched two ideas for birthday gifts to me the other day & I'm pretty stumped. Idea number one is a laptop which I would get early so I could have it when I start my classes. How awesome would that be! We do have a Mac but with both of us finishing up school that's a lot of sharing lol.

Idea number two is this.....

Now before you say ewww lol... I have wanted a bearded dragon since my chameleon (Colin) died in high school, so this is a long time coming for me lol. I absolutely love them and the thought of actually having one makes me beyond excited. The dilemma is I have 2 cats & a dog & 2 kids so can I really take on another living thing.... I'd like to think yes, but that is my fear. Financially I can... I can afford the  tank and monthly food & care but am I gonna ever going to see him once my little man starts walking lol. (cause that's a whole different ball game) So I'm currently considering my choices but either way I'm super excited!

share my blog people... even those who tell me you love reading it but aren't members ;) BOOM!

have a terrific day

-kate

happy holidays

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I love spending time with friends & family & seeing my kids smile. There is nothing like it. Here are a few pictures I took during our Christmas chaos :) 

My daughter loved all of her gifts thank goodness because I was ready to claim Santa's as my own at any moment. No parent wants Santa to show them up... how much would that suck. I really missed our families this Christmas, but we did have a couple friends over and it was awesome. I told the guys that I wouldn't feed them unless they wore pajama pants :) Seeing our one friend show up in Star Wars pajama pants was beyond words awesome lol. (and a chewy hat to top it all off)

We baked Christmas cookies the night before and what a mess, but tons of fun. After my daughter iced the cookies and put sprinkles on she would swipe her finger across the top and taste the icing. So needless to say Santa's cookies looked a bit beat up :)

After a day full of gifts, laughs, food, friends & baileys I was beat. Hope you all had as much fun as I did.

O and one one more thing on the topic of gifts my man got me this....

It's a guardian angel ring & I love it!!!! I also got The Office season 7, a North Face jacket & gloves, The Nightmare before Christmas & Lego Harry Potter :) He knows me o too well :)

Have a great day

-Kate

Room Re-Do

It's been awhile.... turns out I have pneumonia & mono.... which is absolutely no fun by the way. But I did want to quickly post about my room re-do progress.

 Before completely empty

After!

It's not quite done yet.... but it's a work in progress.

Have a great day!

On our way to town yesterday "Tootsie Roll" came on the radio... it may have been the highlight of my night right next to my bahama mama & the shenanigans at our table at applebees (cause clearly that's where the cool kids go) 

I haven't posted in awhile and it's because Christmas is kicking my butt.... it's only 13 days away & counting. Trying to figure out which gifts are from mommy & daddy and which are from Santa may be the hardest thing I've had to do in awhile lol. Not sure what that says about my life. Because, you don't want Santa to show you up. My worst fear is that my daughter will jump for joy when seeing what Santa brought and completely forget about my gifts, when we both know that I bought the kick ass gifts too. Toss in a mimosa and I could possibly claim to be Santa... shattering the illusion forever. This statement may have made me sound like a lush... let me clarify. Every Christmas morning my mom had a mimosa or a few give or take so now that I have my own kids and do the whole Christmas thing I completely understand whey she opted for that after her coffee instead of just another cup. Even though it's a time to celebrate and appreciate your family, it is crazy stressful. The amount of cooking I'll have to accomplish is daunting... the wrapping and the praying that the cats don't destroy the wrapping paper before the kids come in, the numerous phone calls from relatives that come at the most inconvenient time possible.... Christmas has stress written all over it.

I am so behind on Christmas cards I have to frantically address them today and mail them out tomorrow. The funny thing is though that I had planned on ordering them in November and mailing them out the first week in December, so it's not like I forgot about them this year I just pushed it back a few weeks lol. My man re-arranged my closet last week...who knows why, but he misplaced my address book. So today should be full of excitement. 

On another note, I'm still waiting for my new furniture to arrive so I can go pick it up. I am so excited to post the after pictures for my front room... you have no idea. 

Have a great day!

gift ideas

The perfect gift is hard to find, there is always that one person on your list who either has everything or they "want nothing." I've decided to put a small list together of things I think would make great gifts for everybody on your Christmas list... but hopefully you have already started :)

For Her (under $100)

    keep the faith keyring $98 & pearl artistry bracelet $98  @ Sundance

 blossoming hand-warmers $40 & hearts desire jewelry stand $45 @ Sundance

For Him  

depending on how much you really want to can spend I have a few ideas for the men in your life...

pit stop flask $25 & the chronographer watch $320 @ Sundance

for the geek in your life the i-pad starts around $500 

I would also check out Urban Outfitters for some fun gifts (for him & her) They have some vinyl which is always great to have, gag gifts, gifts for your "hipster" friends... so go take a look if it so pleases you...

The reason so many of my ideas are from Sundance is mostly because it is my absolute favorite store. If you have quirky friends you should take a look around Pier1 Imports (my second favorite store) 

If you have some shopping to do for the kiddos in your life go check out the Land of Nod (where 90% of my kids gifts are coming from) They have some pretty cute stuff! Also lets forget ye olde Toys R Us... avoid the creepy doll isles & you should be fine.

Here are a few Land of Nod items...

The pink speedster is $99 & the pull toy is $69 (a little steep I know but they have a bunch of different animals the cheapest I believe is $29) The speedster also comes as a fire truck for the boys :)

cute puppets @ Land of Nod $9.95 each

Cute hats are always great for kids, I just bought my son a wolf hat and it is by far the cutest things I've ever seen.  Baby Gap is a great place to find cute kids clothes. And recently they have been having great sales. 
For more personal gifts for your loved ones check out Shutterfly. I make a yearly photo book (obviously every year lol) & for special occasions. They are a great gift for family member that live a ways away.

KATE

Christmas Gift Preview

I've decided to share some of the fabulous things I will be getting for Christmas!

here are a couple things for my little man...

 

The little guy is still hard to shop for since he really can't do a whole lot. I love shopping for my kids & if you have to shop for kids and are tired of the terrifying dolls you see in toy stores I highly recommend The Land of Nod. They are part of Crate & Barrel & I absolutely adore them.  

And now for a look at what my daughter will find under the tree...