Christmas Tree

I got my Dining Room Christmas Tree finished today. Tomorrow I hope to get the Living Room Tree up. I am ready to be done...I really love my house when it is decorated for Christmas. I tend to even keep it somewhat clean (imagine that??!!) when it is all decked out. My favorite thing to do is to have all the Christmas lights on and listen to Christmas music at night. Especially when it is cold enough to have a fire! It really is the best time of year.

Here is a pic of my DR tree. The rest of the house is a wreck, but at least the entrance is done!:-)

I love decorating the Chandelier with ornaments.

I made this swag to go over the foyer mirror last year. I am not the best bow-maker, but I guess it will do...

I really don't have one single style when it comes to Christmas decorating. I use red, burgundy, gold, silver, whatever color through-out the house...I like it all!

I decorated a little Ole Miss Tree for Brendan. I used some store-bought ornaments and I hand-painted some balls myself. He is very proud of it.

Colonel Reb

I will post more as I finish decorating...including some craft tutorials.

The Pickle Pop

Each one of my kids have their own tree in their rooms. Katie's Christmas Tree is decorated very girly with a pink boa, purple bracelets, pink necklaces and silver glitter balls. It matches her room very nicely!:-)I was getting ready to take a picture of Katie in front of her tree, when I found her getting something out of the freezer. It has to be the worst, nastiest Popsicle in the entire world. I knew she was drinking pickle juice today, but I figured she was doing that just to show out in front of her friend...like fear factor!LOL But this is too much! She froze the pickle juice into a Popsicle! YUCK! AND she actually liked it!! Surely pickle juice can't be good for you! I mean, I love pickles too, I have sipped on the juice as a kid, but this just makes me gag! I will say that at least she didn't eat it all in one sitting...she is saving it for tomorrow!

She sure was proud of herself!! Just as proud as she could be about her concoction!

...The Pickle Pop...think that would catch on? Maybe we should market it????

Christmas Card Stress

It's time to shoot our Christmas Card pictures again. Last year we did them in front of the Christmas Tree. I think I may do "beach shots" this years.
For the 2008 pictures, I really wanted to get the dogs in the picture, but we had such a hard time getting that "just right" shot. I ended up using one without them.

Looking back at the pictures now, I guess I could have used this one...but I didn't. I think it was because Patrick's head was cut off(?). You can imagine how many shots it took to even get this one...
It is nearly impossible to get 4 kids and 2 dogs to all simultaneously smile at the camera with all of their eyes open...

This one would have been cute, minus the fact that you could see all the way down Max's throat!

Here they are trying to get the dogs in the pic again...

Opps, now Brady isn't happy...

This one could've been cute if Patrick wasn't hidden behind Max...

Poor Max, he is really wanting outta there!

A little brotherly rough-housing...

I thought if I changed the background, maybe I could get a little more cooperation...

NOT!!!

You can tell that everybody is getting aggravated by this time...

So we ended up ditching the dogs and got a couple of really good shots...

Geesh...it tires me out just looking at these...

Wish me luck on this years pictures...I am gonna need it...

Beauty Alternatives

I am the queen of the DIY beauty products. I am also always looking for alternatives to the expensive over-priced products that are sold. Some are worth it, but some are just marketing ploys that you are basically paying for the packaging. Here are a few beauty secretes I have stumbled upon.

My first one is something I discovered on another mommy blog. When I read about it, I was like "Gosh, that really makes sense, why didn't I think of that?" But it does sound a little crazy. Nipple cream for lip gloss! And it WORKS!! I swear my lips have never felt better. I have had a lot of problems with chapped lips and I couldn't believe how it helped them. Better than any chapped stick or lip treatment I have ever used...even Vaseline. It is called LANSINOH Brand Lanolin for Breastfeeding Mothers. It is awesome.
The next one is an alternative to a more expensive make-up primer. An example is Smashbox Photo-Finish Primer which costs around $35.00. Monistat Chafing Relief Powder works just as good. They are made from virtually the same ingredient, Dimethicone, which is a silicone base polymer. If you don't believe that it works, check out the reviews on drugstore.com! And it only cost around $7.00 bucks!!!

My last tip is plain old sifted Corn Starch. I discovered this little tip myself. My sister had bought one of the more expensive Mineral Make-up brands and I really liked the Finishing Powder that came with it. It made your skin feel so soft and smooth. I looked at the label and low and behold, what do you think was the main ingredient?? CORN STARCH!!! I sifted it to make it very light. You just have to use a dab, because if you use too much, of course you will look like a ghost!LOL Just tap your brush and lightly apply it all over your face as a finish after applying your base and blush. Simple, Cheap and Effective!!

Chicken Pot Pie

Easy Peasy Recipe of the Day!
I got this recipe from a neighbor when we lived in Madison. She cooked for my family after we had our 3rd child, Katie. It was so good that I just had to get the recipe from her. I was so happy to hear how easy it was to make, but yet perfect for a potluck or something where you need to bring a dish.
You use a refrigerated pie crust (like Pillsbury Rolled Pie Crust), and you can buy the cheap aluminum pie pans if you take it somewhere and you don't have to worry about getting your dish back.
Chicken Pot Pie
Pillsbury Rolled Pie Crust
2 Cans Veg-all or 1 package frozen mixed veggies
1 can Canned Chicken (or any chunked chicken)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

Pre-heat oven as directed on pie crust. Line one of the crust on bottom of pie pan. In bowl, mix together veggies, chicken and soup...salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture in pie pan and top with remaining pie crust. Bake as directed.
I usually use a fork to press around the crust, cut off any extra dough and cut 4 lines in middle to vent. Enjoy!

Busy Day

Yesterday was a very busy, crazy day. Today will be just as busy, but hopefully not as crazy. I'm going to two Thanksgiving Feasts today. First, Brady's pre-school is having a Thanksgiving program and lunch. After that, we will whisk to Brendan's school for his family Thanksgiving Feast. I guess dieting is out of the question today. I have a couple of things I plan to blog about as soon as I find the time. I have a recipe I have been wanting to post and also I would like to post a few Internet safety tips. I will try my best to post today. I'll also post pics from our Thanksgiving festivities. Hope everyone has a wonderful hump day!




The Saints necklaces on the leather cord are $17.00. If you are interested please send me an email or facebook me. christiewlogan@yahoo.com

Raising Kids in the 21st Century

Raising kids is so different now-a-days! I mean, I can tell the way society, technology, everything has changed from the time I had my 1st kid all the way to my 4th. It's quite bizarre, actually. Brady really made me realize that today. And ya'll step back now, because this is deep... I was telling Brady he better behave and act like a good boy because Santa Claus wasn't going to bring him any toys if he wasn't. I told him that Santa was watching him and knew if he acted naughty...and Brady wanted to know "where are the camera's at???" I tried to explain to him that Santa didn't need hidden cameras, that he could see you without them, but how funny is that? 15 years ago, Patrick wouldn't have even thought of video cameras, email, facebook, the Internet... I guess this really is the 21st Century!! Our children are growing up expecting video cameras, cell phones with Internet access, youtube, all kind of cool stuff. But if you ever read the book "1984", Big Brother (not the TV show!LOL) really is watching you...it is just that the "government" is not the one watching...in reality, WE, have become our own Big Brother. (told you it was deep!!LOL)

Not that I am complaining, everybody knows how I love my technology! What would I do without my facebook fix!!?? It is just one of those things that make you go hummmm...

New Font & Design For Stamped Necklaces

I got a new design....the Fleur-de-lis for my Saints necklaces!! The Saints are so HOT right now!! This would be a great way to show your support for our Bayou Boys!!

I also got a new smaller font....

Of course, I had to make myself one with all my crew's names...for advertisement purposes!!:-)

They are $20.00 each with $5.00 extra for each additional disc...Taking Christmas orders now!

Panthers Win Championship!!!

I am so proud of my Bren Bren's peewee football team!! They won the Long Beach Youth Football Championship!! WOOOOO HOOOOO GO PANTHERS!!! You can see by their faces just how proud these little fellas are!! It was a special win considering that the team we beat had beaten us twice before. These guys worked really hard for this championship and they deserved it. The score was 0-0 for most of the game until our quarterback, Nick, scored an awesome touchdown. Bren made some really good plays...including an awesome catch. Here he is in an action shot! Coach Joey and Coach Brian walking off the "winning field"!

GOOD JOB COACHES!!!! You both ROCK!!!

Coach Brian giving Coach Joey a "Good Game" pat on the back!
THE FINAL SCORE!!!

Bren getting his "Championship Medal"!

Bren with his Medal! He's so proud!

Chase with his "Championship Medal"!

Bren, Chase and Nick!!

The Crew!! Bren, Chase, Nick and Jack!! Some awesome football players!!!

Bren, Chase, Nick and Jack! I love these guys!!

These boys had an wonderful season and what a great way to end it!!!

I also want to thank the Saints for a great season. They played really good too. Many of the players are friends of Bren's, he has played baseball with a bunch of them. It's hard playing against your friends but I guess that's all about sports. With that, I just want to say....GOOD GAME SAINTS!

The Broom Mystery Solved

My Broom is Standing Upright Alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was a very crazy day. My neighbor called and told me that someone had received a text saying that "the planets are all aligned" and that if you stood a broom up it would stand upright all by itself. I thought she was pulling my leg when she told me hers had been standing alone all morning in the middle of her kitchen. I was in the car on my way to pick up Brady from school but could not wait to get home to try it out. When we got home and it actually worked, we were pretty amazed! The planets must really be aligned! We all posted pictures on our facebook pages informing all our "friends" in facebookland of this phenomenon.

Here is Jan's broom standing in her kitchen... And Jennifer's

And Amanda's

Quiet freaky to see. I googled "standing broom" and didn't find many concrete answers. CNN even did a story on the mystery of a broom standing alone at a consignment shop. One physic's college professor said that the broom bristles are strong enough to hold it up. Some said it was a ghost...or electricity...the vernal equinox...the list goes on...

I decided to do some investigaion on this "broom" mystery. I asked some of my "smartest" friends I know.

My neighbor, Mark, told me that the broom stands on its bristles because they’re stiff enough to support it with its center of gravity within the footprint of the bristles. There is nothing magical about that. Some people think you can stand an egg on its end during the vernal equinox. The day has nothing to do with it. Which means "no aligned planets".

I also emailed a very smart source who said that it has nothing to do with any gravitational pull but that it's about the very low center of balance on a broom. If you try to balance a broom on your finger - it's roughly only an inch up from the bristles. When you look at everything above that point, it SEEMS like a lot, but in reality, the base is wide and heavy, and the top is light and narrow.

So, there you have it folks...You science lesson for the day...Thanks Mark and Asia!:-)

Mystery Solved.............................................or is it?????????????? HEEEEEHEEEEEEEEHEEEEE (witches cackling)