My Puppy Bobo

    With a sick babe I hadn't really worked on Bo's costume yet & his first Halloween Party was at noon today.  I had a lot of gluing to do this morning but I really thought Bo looked adorable when the costume was finished. 

     The costume really is just made out of a girl's sweatsuit from Target.  I turned it inside out to make it fuzzier.  (Each piece of the sweatsuit was only $3.50 in the Toddler department.)  I used an extra pair of sweatpants for the hat.  I turned them upside down & cut off the legs.  I used the extra legs to make the tail & the ears.  He didn't really like the collar :)  But he kept the costume on!

Bobo The Puppy

We sprayed Annie's hair orange today for the party.

We didn't intentionally have "Annie & Sandy," but when Annie & Bo are together they remind me of them.  When Annie was little she had an imaginary dog name Dumbdog, all one word, because she thought that was Sandy's name.  It is hard not to say that today, "Come here Dumbdog."   Oh Sweet Bo.

It is very hard to get pictures of 2 kids together...this is the best I could do!

Annie's Doodle

"Sure Annie...I 'll draw you a puppy." 

"Oh, Mom...I love it!!!   She's just beautiful!!!  Can I keep her?!!!" 

It is funny what can make a kid's day.  Her smiling eyes made mine as she clutched this little doodle to her chest as though it were a rare diamond.  Thanks Annie Girl.

Funny Kid 2

Looking through my Facebook Statuses I came upon one of my favorites:

Today Annie ate up the last of the chocolates from Kate & Dan's wedding that she found at my mom's. They will be married 15 years in August.

Morning Treat with Friends

This morning I had a chance to visit with some friends over a cup of coffee, pumpkin muffins (thank you Joey), & yogart parfaits.The yogart bar preparation was just dumping things into bowls & cutting strawberries.  So simple...so good. 

When Annie got home from kindergarten she thought she had hit the lunch jackpot when I let her make her own lunch from our leftovers.  Thanks for the good company Amy & Joey!

Funny Kid 1

My little sister, Rachael, posted this facebook status one day about her oldest:

I'm not sure if Isaiah was actually swinging from the chandelier...I just know I found him standing on my dining room table holding the chandelier that was now dangling from the ceiling by a couple of wires.

Mission Accomplished!!!

These are Halloween costumes that my mom made us when we were little.  Luckily I wasn't attempting anything near this difficult!  I mean just look at Big Bird's feet!

Here is the the proof that I did the work.  (I had to post this for my sisters or they would never believe me.)  Once I had my mom's help to get the bobbin thread to come out :)  *very embarassing*  then it went pretty well.  It took about 4 hours. 

Here is Annie's finished Annie costume! 

For Halloween we will spray her hair orange.  I will put up a picture of that when we do it. 

Now I can focus on Bo.  One puppy costume coming up!  It should be interesting! 

Costume Craziness

 
This is my Annie. 
This is the Bee costume I made for her last Halloween.  Simple.  Sew a few stripes on a dress I bought at Target.  Guess what Annie wants to be this year?
Little Orphan Annie. 

 
Now you see the pile that sits on my kitchen table waiting to be turned into Little Orphan Annie's dress.  Should be funny...see I don't really sew.  I wish I sewed, I have a sewing machine...but I am really terrible at it.  When I dug my sewing machine out today to tackle the project one part was missing & one part was broken!  "BO!"  (That is my 2 year old son).  In a week from today I need this pile to be a cute little dress.  Here we go!  Check back next week & please...Pray!

My Favorite Things

I confessed in my last post that growing up, I would sing Broadway Musical songs often to annoy my older sister. I still am singing Broadway musical songs! I love them! I even named my first child Annie! So in it only appropriate that my first post after my intro would be based on one. I thought I would share just a few of my favorite things so you could get to know me a little.



First up...God! He is my savior and my life decisions are based on a deep faith in Him. You can't know me with out knowing that I am a Christian & I live for him.

You knew it was coming...My family! Annie, Bo & Rocco. I am sure you will be seeing a lot of these little buggers. I always said that I never wanted to collect anything because I didn't want people to give me items for my collection every chance they got. Well these little chickens stole my heart & I do have a little collection. I probably have about 10. Mostly displayed in my kitchen windowsill but a few in other spots around my home. Now I wish people bought them for me! Sadly...My Mom is the only one who has bought a few for me :) Actually My Mother-in-law passed one down to me that was her moms! That was exciting! Aren't they cute?!

Coffee!!! I LOVE coffee. I drink it black at home but who doesn't love it loaded with chocolate or caramel at Starbucks? My sisters think I am nuts because I spend lots & lots of my husband's hard earned money there...but one sip...relaxes my whole body! My husband Kelly agrees & if he thinks I am getting crabby...he will sneak out & run & grab me a mocha...Nonfat, decaf, no whip. My kids are as addicted to Starbucks as I am. When my kids turn one I love to get them the kiddie steamers for a buck. Hey...it's a buck!

Red & Polka-dots. This pic covers 'em both :). The heart of my home, the kitchen has them both. I will blog later about my kitchen...because I love it! Red was the color of my childhood bedroom & I trace my love for it back to that red gingham wallpaper (love gingham too). Every summer I find myself buying at least one tube of red lipstick. And I never met a polka-dot I didn't like.Jeans! I will refrain from showing you a pair of mine as they are way too big. But hey...I am working on that-cut me some slack here :) But I do love a comfy pair of jeans & nothing makes me crabbier then putting on a pair of drees pants. Sunday mornings are very hard for me as I don't like to wear jeans to church...thus my Starbucks trip to cheer me up. Even Rocco love his little jeans! That's my boy!

I will leave you with the words Annie & I made up for her that go with My Favorite things:

Cupcakes, tea parties & fluffy pink tutus,

Walking around in my plastic high heeled shoes,

Dancing & twirling with mom as we sing....These are a few of my favorite things.

Bunnies & doughnuts & going to Sunday School,

Playing with my cousins around in Rachy's pool.

Playing at the Park with my Dad on the swings...These are a few of my favorite things!

You know the rest :)

Lib

My Story

This is where my story starts. The middle girl sandwiched between 2 others. Katie, Libbie & Rachael...The Carlson girls. We had so much fun growing up together.  Thanks to my loving amazing parents I have a million memories of a happy, wonderful childhood with my 2 built in best friends.

This is us now all grown up & all staying home 10, & counting, kids between us. I still am in the middle. 20 minute drive northish to Rach, 20 minute drive south to Kate. I would get jealous if it were any other way. I see a sister probably 3-5 days a week. And days I don't...well, I am either REALLY busy or on the phone with one all day. It is so fun to be raising our kids together. The kids are all so close that they act like siblings rather than cousins.

We are all so different, yet so the same. Even though our last names have changed we are still...The Carlson Sisters.

These are my kiddos. This is the best picture to explain my life right now. This is my Annie's first Day of Kindergarten.

Here is my whole fam on a recent trip to Northern Minnesota. I met my husband the last semester of college & after a little "stalking" (him the victim), he fell right into my trap & ended up married to me. He is an amazing man. We are a happy little bunch. Life is so good that sometimes I almost worry that something bad is just lurking. But for now...I will enjoy my little blessed life and thank God for it every single day. Thanks for reading as I blog about our simple life.