Making Progress...

I made some progress today on the decorating... got the front windows cleaned.... this only happens once a year.... right before I put the tree up.... and OMG they were sooo dirty.... the outsides could use a good cleaning as well. I took them apart and cleaned the insides.... and both sides of the storm windows. Vacuumed down cobwebs that I had deliberately left up for Halloween.... lol... great natural decor.... and vacuumed the dust off the curtains. I took down the blinds that are broken and replace the ripped lace sheer..... and put up the icicle lights and single candle in each of the three front windows.... well that is minus one string of lights in one window... I can't find that third string... I know it's here somewhere.

So I started upacking some boxes looking for the missing string of lights.... I had no intention of actually taking the stuff out and putting it up but I did anyways... how else was I supposed to see if those lights were in the bottom of the boxes???.... and while I had it out I figured I may as well put it where I normally do right??? So "the stockings are hung by the chimney with care"... and the mantle is decorated and lit with garland... as well as the entertainment center... the Yule log is on the hearth..... and various other trinkets are sitting about..... and I still haven't found that string of lights! I have several more boxes to go.... but come to think of it... I probably put those lights in the box with the tree.... because I have to put those up in the windows before I put the tree up.... otherwise I can't get to the windows to do it.

So the house is beginning to look festive... Steffie is excited... she decorated her lil pink Barbie tree... and watched Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.... and she can't wait to get the tree up.

Oh and that tree up there at the top.... that's our tree from last year.... this years will look the same... providing the lights work and I don't get frustrated and pitch it to the trash after dealing with them for hours and trying to get the broken branches to at least look attached.... I really need a new tree.... but this one will hopefully make it through one more year... I've been saying that for 3 years now!

Now I'm off to check out what Black Friday may have to offer... that is providing I have some money to shop with when it rolls around.... and a babysitter.

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

When Do You Deck The Halls?

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet? When do you usually start?

I used to have my own lil tradition of decorating... on Thanksgiving night I would always put up my tree and the rest of the decorating would follow. I decorated every room in the house.... including the bathroom and the outside as well. Then I would spend New Years Day taking it all down and packing it up.... leaving the house looking naked.

Then for some reason as the years passed I started getting in a festive mood really early.... as soon as my Halloween decorations came down the first week of November I started decorating for Christmas..... maybe because I had 3 lil ones and I wanted to stretch out the festivities for them as long as possible.... maybe because I just loved the way the house looked with all of the lights and red and green and jolly hohoho.

I don't know exactly when it changed... but in the last several years it's been hard for me to get in the mood. Our house burned in January of 2000 and I lost all of my decorations that I had amassed over many years.... it's still kinda sad to me... those decorations held a lot of Holiday memories.... but that's not why it's hard either. I have built up quite a new collection... nothing like what I had before.... but enough to decorate nicely. The bathroom doesn't get decorated anymore.... but maybe someday... and I don't have any outside decorations anymore either... but the living room and kitchen... where we spend most of out time have plenty. This year feels really hard... it just doesn't seem like it should be time yet for the Holidays to be upon us.... I'm not sure why. But I'm forcing myself to do this... I finally got all of the Halloween boxes put away... and we pulled out the Christmas boxes.... we've started getting the furniture moved around so the tree can go in the window. I'm hoping that when I get the house decorated it will start to feel more like Christmas is near. Steffie is excited.... and wanted to put the tree up today... but I'm trying to put it off a few more days.... I'm just not quite ready yet... but I'm pushing myself to do it. It will probably be up in the next few days.

Now let's just hope the lights on the tree work!

Have you started yet? Do you have any decorating traditions? Does it feel like the Holiday season to you?

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Happy Halloween and Samhain Blessings To All

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and Samhain Blessings!

Steffie had a great time Trick-or-Treating. We were all exhausted by the time we were done.... walking the hills in my Mom's neighborhood gets harder for me to do each year.... I'm really out of shape. And unfortunately only about a quarter of the houses there participate now... it's really sad.... my older kids used to get their huge bags filled and so heavy they could hardly carry them.... Steffie didn't even come close. But she had a lot of fun and looked adorable.... and the rain held off so we didn't get wet. We met up with my sister and her family and friends at my Mom's house... we've always trick-or-treated there.... but I'm thinking we may need to scope out a new neighborhood for Halloweens to come... we'll see.

Here are pics of her in her Jeannie costume... I layered some other clothes under it to keep her warm.

Ready to go to Nana's

Jonathon, Steffie and Gracie

Steffie and Gracie

Hope everyone had a great evening!

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Halloween Cupcakes....Mmmmm

We did our last Halloween project for this year.... cupcakes! We didn't do as many projects as I had hoped we would but I think Steffie had fun on the ones that we did. Tomorrow is the big day... she's really excited about trick-or-treating. I'll be sure to take pics. Let's hope it's not raining!

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Pumpkin Carving Time!

We finally carved our pumpkin today. I didn't want to do it too early because I didn't want it to rot before Halloween.... but it's soooo hard to wait. Here are our pics....

Daddy and Steffie... cleaning out the goo....

Steffie showing off the lid....

All done...

All lit up...

Steffie likes her new friend...

Happy and proud...

The kitten kissing Mr Jack... you have to click on this one for a bigger pic to see it better

Baby sitting on Mr Jack's head....

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Wordless Wednesday - Stevie Nicks Looking Enchanting and Witchy For Halloween

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

A Few Fun Freebies

FREE hot cocoa and cookie at Barnes and Noble this Saturday!

If you are going to be out and about on Saturday stop into Barnes and Noble and enjoy a FREE kid's size hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookie at any Barnes & Noble cafe Saturday, October 24, 2009 only! Just print this coupon to redeem.

FREE Halloween toy & discount from Sears!

On Halloween, kids in costume will receive a FREE Mattel toy, while supplies last, at participating Sears toy shops. Call ahead to see if your local Sears is participating.

You can also print this coupon for $5 off a $20 toy purchase at Sears. Valid through November, 1 2009.

Home Made Simple: $35 in FREE coupons!

Reqest a FREE coupon book from Home Made Simple with $35 in coupons. There is a limited supply of coupon books available and usually include high value coupons on many P & G household products. Limit one per household, while supplies last. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. These coupon books are great!


Get your FREE box of chocolate covered fruit from Edible Arrangements!

Get your FREE box of chocolate covered fruit from Edible Arrangements!

Sign up by Facebook here! You will get a coupon by email in 1-2 days. You have until November 21st to use it!

Win a Friendly's Factory Tour and Free Ice Cream for a Year

Kids can win a Friendly's Factory Tour and FREE ice cream for a year!

Only residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia (DC) who are between the ages of 6-14 at the time of entry are eligible to enter.

We don't have a Friendly's in our area but my kids loved to go there when we lived in MA.

To enter:

• Visit the game here!
• Select “Begin Mission” and follow the on-screen instructions to register and play the games. You will even make your own avatar!
• Play the game. It's fun!
• You will automatically receive one (1) entry for each point you receive via game play up to a maximum of 60,000 points
• You will need Sprinkle Vision glasses which are available, free of charge, at participating Friendly’s locations (FYI, I found this out the hard way! Just couldn't understand why I couldn't make out the writing on the site! Thought I had eye issues all of a sudden)

• Click here to see the details in PDF format!

Hurry,ends December 31, 2009.

Have some fun and enjoy some freebies!

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

A Lazy Saturday

Steffie and I spent our Saturday just hanging out and playing.... oh and doing laundry.... had to get some kind of work in there ... right??? We played with her new V-Smile... which she really likes a lot. She loves to play games and these are just right for her age... they don't move too fast and they are just challenging enough for her to be fun and not frustrating. She loves the Handy Manny one.... and the Dora one... but her favorite is the alphabet one that came with it. She is very into learning to write right now and it has a feature that lets you write the letters with the special pen that comes with the joystick. I think this is a great first gaming system for her age..... and I love that it's pink and purple. The one thing so far that I don't like is that it did not come with an AC adaptor! What's up with that???? You have to put batteries in it ( 4 AA) or buy one separately.... we have enough toys that require batteries... so I guess we'll be investing in the adaptor as soon as our budget allows. We're broke again already... her party cost a fortune :(.... but it was worth it.... they're only little once.... and birthdays should be fun.
We also played play dough.... she loves her play dough and we haven't played in awhile.... she used to want to everyday. I bought some halloween cookie cutters at the Dollar Tree the other day so we cut out halloween shapes and decorated them. Actually I spent more time softening up the stiff play dough than playing.... which was no fun. We need to buy some new.... again when payday rolls back around...lol... or maybe just make some..... I'll have to check and see if I have everything we need for that. I'm sure she would love to make her own. If anyone has a suggestion for keeping play dough soft please share.

So that was pretty much our day.... a long lazy Saturday....

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~