finished a project :)

I'm not a crafty person, but my family has this home made Christmas stocking tradition. I didn't get Emily's done last year because there were no supplies in Germany and we moved right at Christmas. We use the stockings on St. Nicholas day so I hurried up and got this done before Thanksgiving.

 These are our other 3 hanging at our home in Germany 2 years ago.

Eric's seemed to be missing something so I added a little to it this year.

gifts

I don't know about you all, but I am starting to think about Christmas. I would love to go outside the box a bit this year, but am not at all crafty. I am hoping to support some WAHMs by buying handmade items. I'm looking for beautiful, yet useful. Toys that require imagination. 

I love these playsilks for little ones. They are so light and pretty you can't help playing with them. My girls have one and use it for a baby sling, peek a boo, a cape, a doll blanket, and more. There are so many gorgeous ones to choose from. This is from BeneathTheRowanTree

 I just recently won a couple pairs of dryer balls. Even though I don't need to use my dryer yet there was one evening when I wanted something dry quickly and I really wanted to give these a try. I couldn't believe how fast the clothes dried! Cutting down on dry time is great for the electric bill and these balls work as a natural fabric softener too. Mine are scented with Rooibos Tea, but they come in unscented and look relatively easy to make at home too. The pair I am using now are from Rhineland Farms

Maybe the little girl in your life would like a tutu? This is another of those things that is supposed to be easy to make, but I haven't had the need yet as we have plenty of tutus given to us. My girls wear theirs all the time and are so adorable :) This pretty tutu is from piper's closet

Maybe Mom would love a new necklace

 Do you know someone who could use some pampering? Hand made soaps would be a great gift for anyone (hint, hint)

This one makes me laugh :) Does the man in your life wish he had a beard? Or just want to keep his face warm? Try this bearded beanie.

Or maybe your guy is a gamer and could use a new case for his iPhone

There are so many gorgeous paintings out there too. So much more meaningful than the generic prints from your local home store. I love this one!

Obviously I could go on and on. The hard part is sticking with a budget and not buying it all :)

Halloween fun

We don't celebrate Halloween in a big way, but the girls do love to dress up and our normal activities this week like story time and playgroup will be in costume. Today was story time.

Last week they made fun spider hats. Such an easy and adorable craft and they love them!

why my house is a mess

This is what happens when I try to wash the diapers

And this is while I mop the floors

while I wash dishes

while I get little sis down for her nap

and I couldn't even tell you where I was when Emily drew chalk circles on the floor and the table and the wall

As I wrote this they "helped" me by taking my damp laundry off the clothesline and putting it on the wet grass.