This is the day I get the rest of my classroom stuff, even though I still can't get in.

I sure hope I can get in soon, though! Classroom stuff is taking over every part of my home and it is driving us ***NUTS!*** I'm hoping this week sometime??? Maybe by Saturday I can have my classroom decorating party??? Please pray for me. :) I don't know how much longer we can live like this:

In other news...

I love Extra dessert flavors! They are (slowly) helping me wean off so many sweets.

Polymer clay is quickly becoming a new favorite medium. The girl I tutor made these beads this week during our arts and crafts time! I will be making many more treasures and will share as we go.

I have another craft to share but it has to wait 'until after my sister's birthday...just in case she reads this in the next week. :)

"Healthy" chocolate peanut butter oatmeal is my new favorite thing. It's actually a *lot* healthier than it sounds. :) And it tastes like I'm eating a no bake cookie for breakfast every day. Win!!!

This week was entirely too hot. It needs to cool down about 20 degrees. Obi and Voodoo agree!

That is all.

Progression of a Puzzle

I'm not really a puzzle person.

 

But it's winter and we needed a few fun things to do besides just have the TV on all night long.

 

So I bought a challenging 1000-piece puzzle (challenging because it was all black and white puppies).

 

Here's how the months of January and February went down:

Sometime around here we caught Obi sneaking puzzle pieces when we weren't in the room with her...finally figuring out just what had happened to those two edge pieces (not to mention ALL the other pieces we couldn't seem to find...)

And around here is where I was able to do the math...51 pieces, to be exact.

As finished as it will ever be.  :)

Ah, the joys of puppies.  :)

Happy Halloween!

Here are some of my Halloween projects and pictures this year.  :)  Better late than never, right?  :)

Voodoo wanted to tell you all to enjoy the holidays.  Next year I have decided we are sewing our puppies' costumes if we still don't have a baby and we are going to take THEM trick-or-treating...and then eat all the candy.  :)

This was actually SUPER FUN and SUPER EASY--a skeleton wreath!  I went to Walmart the day after Halloween and they had a 12-piece foam-like bone set for $5.  Some hot glue did the trick!  I think I want to find either a crow or a bottle of "poison" to add a little something more to it...and maybe a mini chalkboard "Enter if you dare" sign...but I can't wait to put it on the door next year!  Spooky, isn't it?  :)

For "dress like a hero day" at school (which also happened to be our Halloween party), I borrowed Paul's Air Force shirt.  I tried to fit into his old pants, but...no.  Hahaha.  :)

Speaking of our Halloween party, this is "Super K...to the rescue!"  It is when she really just started talking again, and she was adorable all day long.  I also thought this little kid-friendly craft they did was worth sharing!  It's just a ping pong ball, an orange battery-operated tea light, and a sharpie.  You can decorate the ping pong ball any way you want (she drew a jack-o-lantern/skull face), then use an exacto knife (parents' job, obvi) to cut a little "x" at the bottom.  It slides right over the tea light and looks awesome all lit up--especially with lights off!  How cute is that?  The kids LOVED it, and I bet since you sorta have to buy that stuff in bulk anyway they would be really cute lined up on a dresser or mantle or as a centerpiece.  :)

I also briefly dressed like a witch.  'Cause I could.  We didn't actually go to a party or hand out candy or ANYTHING, but this witch hat and wig were calling my name and I felt like I'd be deprived if I didn't dress up at ALL, so I wore them as I did my daily errands one afternoon.  :)

One reason this post is actually much later than the publish date would suggest: I had to wait until I "finished" (or at least finished ENOUGH) my 4-sided/4-season stackables!

I still have to add some vinyl.  But I like the look of it just the same, stacked on top of each other OR side-by-side.


Obi's "hiding places"

Here are Obi's favorite places--some where she can "hide" or get away from Voodoo, and others that she just feels super comfy and can sleep for hours at a time:

Under the kitchen table.  I think she likes how dark it is there more than anything.  Can you see her hiding in the shadows?  :)

ON the hope chest.  This is relatively new (this month), and for some reason really entertains me.  Maybe it's because she has to curl up so much to be comfy on it.

Curled up in front of the bookshelf to my left, between the couch/chair and the wall.  This is where she goes when the lawnmowers come on--she gets SO panicky and this is the only place she feels safe.  After her little panic attacks, she usually falls asleep--and loves it when we give her a blanket.

Of course, ANYWHERE with "Daddy!"  She LOVES him and follows him around the house anywhere she can go possibly cuddle with him.

Wherever her "spots" are, Voodoo always finds her.  Obi always gives up trying to hide.  And they always end up on the couch, falling asleep together.

Just some Voodoo :)

This is the requisite monthly puppy post. :)  When you don't have kids, you tell stories about your dog. 

And take lots of fun pictures.  But I'll spare you and only share a few.  :)

This is Voodoo telling me to STOP digiscrapping and notice her, already!  :)

This is how Voodoo and Paul watch TV together.  Obi doesn't seem to register anything about the TV, but Voodoo watches it with us sometimes.  And now she's found a comfy seat to do it on!  :)

She didn't totally love wearing Paul's shirt...but she sure looked cute and cozy in it!

These are the moments I don't regret having puppies around.  :)

10 things that we frequently say to our dogs that people without dogs (probably) never say:

10. "Obi, stop chewing on your sister's face.  Chewing on her face is not an option."

9. "Aww, her little poop is so cute!" (We said this a LOT when we first got Voodoo!)

8. "No! Poop is not for eating!"

7. "That's enough!  I'm putting you in the CAGE! And you're in there for the rest of the day!" (Don't you parents sometimes wish you could say that? AND, we get to squirt them in the face with a squirt bottle to reprimand them...you probably shouldn't do THAT to your children, either...although it would be funny once. ;)  Hahaha!)

6. "Ew, don't kiss me--you just licked your butt!"

5. "You better behave or I'll eat you--I *AM* Filipino!"

4. "No! No humping!"

3. "Awww...did the big bad vacuum (or garbage truck, or blender, or pretty much anything that makes noise) scare you?  It's okay.  Please don't pee on the carpet.  See?  I'm nice!"  (This is usually said with a proffered hand for smelling/licking.)

2. "Don't sniff my crotch.  Obi!  DON'T SNIFF MY CROTCH!"

1. "Does everything I say sound like O-U-T?  No bark!  No!  ...I don't even have my pants on yet!"

*Sigh*  Having two dogs is a little crazy some days...but look at these faces. 

Obi

Voodoo

How can you not be content at the end of the day with these two little pups ready to love on you no matter what crazy things you've said to them?  :)

Puppies are Playing!

This is kinda a big deal, because Obsidian (the big one) hasn't really liked Voodoo until recently...and even then, today is the first day they've SHARED anything!  And as soon as she realized she had a new playmate who would play with the rope anytime (unlike us), Obi has been very gentle--she could just trample Voodoo and take it away if she really wanted.  :)  I'm one happy "mama" this evening!

Now that they've got this figured out, they haven't really stopped playing this all night...at least, not for long.  :)  Happy Sabbath, friends!