Happy Birthday Sunnie!

Well, almost.

Our dog Sunnie (Who is a mutt: 1/4 poodle, 1/4 sheltie, 1/2 who knows what.) is turning a year old on the 13th. She sure has changed over the past year. I mean, when you buy this:

And end up with this:

Quite suprising.  Her black nose turned pink, and she developed an orange/white coat. If you part her fur straight down the middle of her back, you see that she has two white stripes, like a skunk or chipmunk Even stranger, she closly resembles our previous dog, Buddy, who passed away a few years ago. Anyway, here's a few more pictures of Sunnie:

The Last Summer of Pirates?

In our family we are big Pirates of the Caribbean fans.  We can't wait til we can jibe ho the end of school along with immersing ourselves in the latest trevails of Jack Sparrow!   Who else awaits this fate?  Are you sad they didn't really film in Saint Augustine?

A Cute Christmas Gift

I first made these when Annie was a baby, and then again with Emily. We made these our of baby food jars (This year we got 50 on craigslist. Score!), some christmas fabric, ribbon, candy, and labels. First, just wash the jars out. When dry, glue labels on it and fill with candy (I used a variety of M&Ms and Tootsie rolls). Then, cut circles out of the fabric, slightly larger than the lids of the jars (We traced the rim of a tupperware bowl). Glue it on the lid and tie with a ribbon. These are going to teachers & co-workers. It's a great cheap craft that everyone will love!

Top 5 Holiday Favorites

With the holidays just around the corner, we're all looking for great gifts. Here are my top 5 favorite gifts and treats for the holidays that are guaranteed to bring holiday cheer!

5. Martha Stewart's Recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies


© 2010 Martha Stewart Living

 This recipe is fantastic for Christmas gifts for family, friends, and neighbors. It's also very easy to make, and uses ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen. Our family loves to make them whenever we have the time. The recipe makes 48 cookie, and is only 4 steps. Try it for yourself!










4. Ambient Fire DVD

We live in Florida, where in the winter, we rarely have cold weather. It can be really hard to get the mood for the holidays without a fire. That's taken care of with this great DVD which gives you lots of options of fireplace fires to enjoy on your TV. We'll crank this baby up on the 80 degree Christmas Eve we almost always have! Can Santa come down the DVD this year? Does that even make sense?

3. Insta Snow Fake Snow Powder

Living in Florida, snow is hard to come by. But we love the Insta Snow! We looked at this tiny bag of white powder with some trepidation. The simple instructions say to add 10 ounces of water and get instant snow! Well, that sounded good too, since we rarely see a flake in north Florida. Here's what happened...we added water to our little packet in a bowl and instantly it exploded into a giant bowl of snow! It feels soft and cool and really looks like snow! The instructions on the website said we could actually make a snowman so we tried this by freezing it for an hour, but the kids couldn't wait that long and hauled it outside to start playing! The photo shows my little one enjoying the Insta Snow in Florida! You could use this stuff to make snow for your little fake Christmas scenes, surround your model train sets, or just play with it. Some people actually buy a giant amount and throw it on their lawns! It is also non-toxic, so you could, theoretically, eat some (bleh). They actually sell a size that would make 8 gallons of fake snow - I think it would be funny to dump into someones hot tub! This makes the Fake Snow Powder a great little stocking stuffer for people who can't find the real stuff!

2. Smencils Scented Pencils

They are really strongly-scented usable pencils with the smells of gourmet foods. We tried out Rootbeer flavor. The kids thought it was cool, it smelled exactly like a freshly-opened can of rootbeer. Smencils are made from recycled newspapers and bathed in cool scents that last! Even the shavings smell good. This would be a really great stocking stuffer for kids of all ages, especially people who love scents. Or teachers!

1. Bob's Candy Canes

Okay, seriously, what's Christmas without candy canes?