Teenage Mom

It's official, I'm a teenage mom.... a mom to a teen that is.

Rylee turned 13 on Sunday!

My friend Krissi, Abree and I went to Rylee's school and decorated her locker Thursday afternoon, so she could see it Friday morning. (I forgot to take a picture, darn.) Then on Friday, while she was at school, we worked on this little project...

a bedroom for Rylee.

Rylee has been wanting her own room for several years now, but we've never had enough space to give her one. Even in our new house we only have 3 bedrooms-- the girl's room, Treyson's room and the master bedroom for Jason and I. (We actually do have another room that we call "the office". It has our piano in it and is used for craft storage and guests when they come.)

As I thought about a room possibility for Rylee, I started thinking about the unused space at the top of our stairs, sort of a huge landing area. I don't know what it's intended use is, but we used it for our computer at one time. Recently, we've moved the computer downstairs into the nook by our kitchen, so the space has just been sitting there mostly empty.

I pondered how I could divide the space, for a little privacy. At first, we thought of buying some type of divider, maybe like an office cubical. That seemed like an expensive, too-much-to-figure-out solution. Then I came up with the idea of a temporary wardrobe closet thingy. I had one that I used to store Halloween costumes in for re-sale, so I it gave me a good idea of how big it would be and how it would divide the space. I thought it would be a good solution. I bought a new one for her room, because my costume one was FULL.

After wrestling with the wardrobe thingy and bending back and cracking my big toenail in half on the bed frame (OUCH!), I finally got the room set up. I decorated with new bedding, painted canvas', polka dots and a great vinyl phrase; "Cinderella.... proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life." (Rylee is a BIG time shoe freak! A perfect saying for her.)

When she got home from school we waited and waited for her to discover it. Finally, we told Abree to take Rylee upstairs to help her with something in her room (she was sworn to secrecy and wasn't supposed to say anything). Rylee said that as she walked up the stairs she saw the wardrobe thingy first and thought that I had created a little craft corner for myself. As she walked around it and looked in, she saw the bed, decorations and note that said, "Happy Birthday Rylee!" We heard her gasp and squeal, "Oh...oh...I LOVE IT!... I can't believe it!... I LOVE it sooooo much Mom!.. Thank you!... Thank you!... I LOVE it!" Such a fun, big reaction... so funny, so dramatically teenager-ish. :)

The room is a work in progress. I couldn't get everything done in that one afternoon. So Rylee and I will work together to complete it and get it looking ultra cute. There may be more photos to come, as it takes shape.

On Sunday, her actual birthday, we celebrated in the normal way.... gifts and cake. Rylee's bedroom was her main gift, but she did open a few others; Wii "Pop Star", Michael Jackson's "One" cd, "Princess Diaries", fuzzy socks, a basketball and Colgate Wisps (she's been wanting some of these for months. Don't ask me why???).
We had yummy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting instead of a normal cake. We also did a sparkler star "candle". Lots of smoke, but really fun and different.

Happy Birthday Rylee!!!

We LOVE you!

With Tiffany in Mind

As I walked into "Real Deals" this Thursday, I was greeted by these beauties.

The colors made me think of you, Tiffany.

Enjoy...

I thought this decoration was especially interesting. They took a Christmas tree and hung it upside-down from the rafters. It created a cool shape and neat effect. I would love to try this in the entryway of my home. Ya right. Getting Jason to figure out the logistics and rigging it up would be another neat effect.

Payday!

Do you like Payday candybars???

If so, try this recipe. It's not exactly like the candybar, but a yummy treat for sure.

Craft Sale

Monday morning when I woke up, I found signs EVERYWHERE for this...

"Taylee's Craft Sale! In the girl's room! and they're CHEAP! Starts Monday. Lasts for 4 days."

In the fridge..
and even in the bathroom!
I guess you could say she had a good advertising strategy. You do go to these 2 places a few times in a day. Hard to miss.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love crafts..and even more I LOVE "cheap" prices. So I thought I'd check out the craft sale, shortly after it began.

Abree too was participating as one of the craft vendors. I purchased a nicely colored princess picture for .05!

Treyson also displayed his wares. He was using his best salesman tactics, trying to get me to buy a Potato Head picture for $1. I finally settled on a Christmas scene for .20. (Did I mention I like CHEAP?! Ok, I AM cheap.)

Lastly, I bought this triorama (kind of like a diorama, but in triangular form), with a 3-D picture of a Christmas past and a snowman. Sooo cute! It was a whole .50!...but well worth the money spent.

Nice craft sale Taylee. I enjoyed my visit.

I believe this is the last day of the sale. Hurry in while supplies last and get your Christmas shopping done early!

Black Friday... a CRAZY tradition!

I'm not normally a morning person. In fact, you may have heard me say, "I'd rather STAY up 'til 4 am, then GET up at 4 am." It's true. So what rouses me at 4 am on the morning after Thanksgiving??? BLACK FRIDAY!!! Black Friday has been a yearly tradition for me since... for a long time.

Once a year, a promising bargain wakes me up insanely early and gets me out the door to:
1. Wait in the freezing cold, for business doors to open
2. Be pushed around by a frenzied crowd
3. Wait, once again, while in line to check-out
4. Risk not even getting the deal I came in for, because there was a "limited supply on hand".

Putting it like that, really does make it sound CRAZY!... and it is.

I've carried on this tradition in many different cities and circumstances. I've shopped by myself (with 100's of others). I've shopped with children (even crazier!). I've shopped out-of-state, while visiting for the holidays (in-laws thought I was crazy). I've shopped for hours and I've been done shopping in less than an hour (once). These last 2 years, I've been able to go with Jason. We "divide and conquer" and then go eat breakfast. Yum!

This year, I dropped Jason off at ShopKo, while I headed to Walmart. The plan was for the first person done, to go to the other one's aid. Jason was in-and-out quickly, with the careful planning and smooth running check-out lines at ShopKo. Meanwhile, I was drowning in a sea of carts and shoppers at Walmart. There was little organization, lots of chaos.

Jason found me by way of cell phone. I had been standing in line for several minutes and had not moved once... except to allow other shoppers to get by with their carts. With Jason to watch the cart and save my place in line, I was able to maneuver through the crowds and find 2 more things on my list. I also found us a shorter, faster moving line. Yay!

When we finally got to the check-out stand, I noticed one of my items was damaged. It didn't look good, but I knew the others were all gone. I asked to talk to a manager, or at least the young kid who was making managerial decisions for the day. He was able to take a few more dollars off, making it worth the risk of it not being fully functioning. --A card table and 4 chairs for $20!..that seemed like a good deal to me. (When we got home we found out that it was mostly cosmetic damage, so it really was a good deal.) Whew.

As Jason and I were leaving the Walmart parking lot, we heard this on the radio...

A loose, simplified version of what happened (at least how I remembered it).

The radio station was asking Black Friday shoppers to call in with their best deals of the day. Lady A called in and said that she got the best deal EVER on a Wii... it was FREE! She had found it in the parking lot of Walmart.
The radio station hosts asked her what she was going to do? Because OF COURSE it wasn't hers and she shouldn't keep it...right?
Lady A said that when she found it, she had looked around, no one was there, so considered it "an act of God", in these hard economic times.
Meanwhile, Lady B called in asking if Lady A had found the Wii at the Fairview/Eagle Rd Walmart.
Yes.
Because she had just been there, set it on the roof of her car while she was getting her child in their carseat, and then took off forgetting it was there. As soon as she remembered, she turned around and went back to the parking lot, but couldn't find it.
Eventually, the radio hosts put the 2 ladies on a conference call and were speaking to both of them... and they were speaking to each other!

Host: Lady A, is there any way we can persuade you to return the Wii to Lady B?
Lady A: "No way! I found it, looked around, no one was there, it's mine!"
Lady B: "No it's mine. I paid for it. I accidentally left it on the roof of my car as I was getting my child into the carseat. I came back as soon as I realized what I had done."
Lady A: "I can't help it if you're so dumb, to be so distracted by putting your kid in the car, that you leave it on your car and take off with out it. It's mine."
Lady B: "I have the receipt for it. I was just there. It's mine... Hey, is that you??? I see a lady sitting in her car, waving her hands, talking on a cell phone. Is that you?"
Lady A: "Hey, you better move your car or I'll hit you! Get out of my way!"
Lady B: "Give me back my Wii!"
Lady A: "You better move or I'll hit you with my car!"
Lady B: "I've got your license plate number and I'll go to the police if you don't give it back!"
Host: "Lady B, you've got the license plate number, just drive away. Don't get out of your car. Just drive away!"
More fighting, shouting and rumbling....
Host: "Are you there? Do we need to call security???"
More rustling.... and then they radio station gets hung up on.

Proof... Black Friday is a CRAZY tradition!


PS- Want to hear the actual conversation? Click here to listen to Mix 106's podcast (Woman finds a Wii #1, 2 & 3).

A Happy Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

I am guilty of hustling and bustling through the holidays and not fully focusing on what is most important. It's easy for me to get caught up in the details of projects, decorating and gifting rather then enjoying, relaxing and serving the people in my life. (Actually, I'm guilty of this all year round if I want to be perfectly honest about it.) This Thanksgiving WAS an exception to that.

We gathered at the Clawson's home for a delicious dinner, contributed by all. During dinner, we took turns asking "conversation starter" questions that sparked stories and experiences past and present. We heard one of Jason's most embarrassing stories of accidentally walking into the girl's locker room, Tawnya's earliest memory of trying to find her lost shoe before mom found out and got mad and talked about historical events that would have been cool to witness, among other things.

We went around the table and shared what we were thankful for. I enjoyed listening to the gratitude of our many blessings including; the gospel, good schools, FOOD! (mentioned several times by kiddos), family members, an income, good health, family safety, and much more. It was sweet to feel the spirit and wonderful to feel the love we have for one another. It was especially sweet to have Grandma Ison there and to hear her testimony. She expressed her love for each one of us and told us how proud she was of us. I soaked up the togetherness and savored the moment.

Many of us stayed late into the night, playing games, talking and just enjoying one another. It was a full day of family togetherness... A Happy Thanksgiving!

PS- Thank you Clawson's for hosting.
PPS-We missed you Tim and Karen!