Boo Ya'll!

Just had to take a minute to say...
BOO YA'LL!
Sorry, I just couldn't resist. ;>
It's Halloween and the kids are ready to dress up and beg for free candy.
You know today is one of James' all time favorite days.
I hope you have a wonderful evening.
If you're in our neck of the woods stop by.
The goody bags are ready and waiting!
Happy Halloween!!!
God's blessings, Sarah :D

Halloween, Hinson Style

Hi friends!
Every year our friends have the greatest Halloween party.
It's a fun and informal adults-only dinner.
Ms. Patti always schedules it on the Tuesday before Halloween,
because she's routine like that.
Which I can totally relate to. ;>
The past two years we just had too much going on so we sadly declined our invite.
Not this year.
As soon as the invitation arrived I told Andy that there was NO WAY we were missing out!
I lined up Nana & Pa Bill to keep the boys for us.
We RSVP'd early and then the only thing left to do was come up with a costume.
Hhhmmmm...
think, think, think.
The last time we went as Raggedy Anne & Andy.
They made for cute & comfy costumes, just not very original.
But then my genius husband got inspiration from my new glasses,
and our costumes were born.
After a trip to the Goodwill,
some amateur seamstress skills
and a last minute run to Cato's we were all set.

Without further ado I give you...

Sarah Palin


and her Secret Service Guard!


Oh yeah, Big Daddy was bustin' it with his air soft gun! :)


What follows is a photo session courtesy of Joseph...
thanks son, I promise these photos will bring you laughter in our old age.





Of course James wanted in on the action too.
A girl can never have too many body guards!


Last, but certainly not least, is a peak into the party.

Our gracious hosts Dr.Phil & Ms.Patti,
as Fiona & Puss -n- Boots.


Two Priests and A Truck


Swine Flu...
gross and hilarious!


Hope you enjoyed doing Halloween, Hinson style!
God's blessings on your day, Sarah :D

Lookin' Like A Mom

While getting ready for school this morning James was his normal chatty self.
He was telling me about what all was going on at school today when he mentioned a volunteer.
James says this volunteer comes every Tuesday and helps out.
I immediately assumed it was someone's mom and began my inquisition...
Me: What's her name?
James: I don't know.
Me: Is she related to one of the kids in your class?
James: I don't know.
Me: Well, does she have short hair or long hair?
James: blank stare
Me: Is it _____'s mom?
James: NO, I've seen _____'s mom, and she just looks (eyes big, face twisted, mouth hanging open) like a MOM!
Me: Oh so this girl isn't a mom?
James: No, I think maybe she's a teenager. :D

Hope you enjoyed the world according to James'.
Have a great day!
God's blessings, Sarah :D

Friday's Fellas

Hi all and happy Monday!
This weekend was filled with l-o-t-s of continuing education for me.
Yes I did successfully complete 20 CERPS on Saturday and Sunday...
SCORE!!!
Now, just a few more to go before I meet my requirements. :>

Friday night brought a couple of extra boys over for dinner and a movie.
I made a crock pot full of soup and Andy baked a few frozen pizzas.
For dessert he treated us to homemade Rice Krispy Treats... yum!

Sometime during the movie the boys went from this

to this!



It wasn't long before an all out boy brawl broke out.
No worries,
no child (or parent) was harmed in the making of these memories. ;>



Although they were having good clean-ish fun,
I still had to send them outside.
They had a great time until James fell in a pile of dog poop...
I've yet to receive an explanation for that one.

So really, what was I doing during my Friday night with the Fellas??
Why I was crafting of course!
I had to do something SUPER girly to maintain my estrogen balance.
Here's my BOO banner I made from ribbon, toile and scrapbook paper.

The boys were sweet enough to complement my work.
But really, what do you think??

God's blessings on your Monday, Sarah :D

Halloween Wreath

Hi friends, happy Thursday!
I've been working on my lactation recertification this week.
But, I do have a crafty creation that I wanted to share with you.
Several weeks ago my friend told me about the Halloween wreath she was making and because she's cool like that, I decided to make one too. ;>
Here's the 411:
First, purchase a floral wire wreath and a couple of yards of Halloween fabric/ribbons.

Second, cut your fabric into strips with pinking shears.
I'm a lazy crafter so I folded my fabric and cut it all in one section.

Helpful hint:
Make sure to cut your strips about 6 inches long.
I tried it with shorter strips and it was just too hard to tie.

Now, take your 6 inch strips and tie them on.
Because I'm slightly OCD I chose to tie mine in a repeating pattern.

I tied the first strip around the bottom two wires, the second strip around the top two wires and tied the third strip around the middle two wires.
Then I swapped to a new fabric started again.
I also went back in and added strips of ribbon and black toile.

This is how the wreath looked once all the strips were in place.

Last but not least, here's the wreath with a little added bling!

So, do tell, what do you think?
Hallow-wonderful
OR
Hallow-what-were-you-thinking??
I love hearing your feedback!
God's blessings on your day, Sarah :D

Leprechaun Pie??

Hi all and happy Monday!
Today was especially productive for me...
cleaning bathrooms,
monthly business taxes,
scheduling classes at the hospital,
running errands...
yes, ADD at it's finest. ;>
Oh how I love checking off my to do list!
But, the best part of the day was eating dinner with Nanny & Op.
Nanny made a new recipe of Hamburger casserole, black eyed peas, macaroni & cheese, turnip greens and cornbread.
Mmmhhhh! :)

As I was poking around before dinner (which is a given) I spied a pie dish covered with aluminum foil.
I lifted the corner of the foil revealing a delicious looking pie and asked
"Who's this pecan pie for?"
Nanny explained that we were having it for desert, along with vanilla ice cream.
About that time James came busting into the kitchen yelling
"I wanna see,
I wanna see the Leprechaun Pie!!!"

I love the world according to James.
God's blessings on your week! Sarah :D

My Hubby, My Hero

When I came home from picking up the boys this afternoon,
I found this...

Yes, that'd be Big Daddy, tools, dirty hands and my good hand towels. ;>

Ok, here's a little history.
Our bathroom faucet has been leaking for quite sometime.
A couple of weeks ago we made a trip to Lowes and picked up a new one.
Nothing like a romantic date on the plumbing aisle!
Anyway I really loved the new faucet we picked out and couldn't wait to have it installed.

Since the boy's bathroom has the same faucet I took a quick pic of theirs to serve as the Before picture.
So, Before.

And, After!

Ah, my hubby, my hero!
God's blessings on your weekend, Sarah :>

Hello My Name Is Sarah...

Hello my name is Sarah and I am addicted to crafting.
Yes, it really is a problem.
This morning while at Office Max I picked up a few craft supplies.
While checking out the clearance section (which was my first mistake) I found the coolest texturizing tools.
I can use them for paper projects and more.
I think they'll come in handy with my next Halloween crafty creation.
The thrifty side is that I did get the entire setup for $9.00!

Did I need them?
NO
Will I use them??
YES!!!
So I've heard that admitting you have a problem is the first step,
just consider this my confession. ;>
Don't forget to check out Thrifty Thursday over at Bloggeritaville.
God's blessings on your day! Sarah :D

Hand Sanitizer Take Two

My sweet friend Allison is doing her nursery with monkeys... CUTE!
When she saw the Monkey Hand Sanitizer that I made for James' teacher she said it was her inspiration piece.
I couldn't have her only admiring it from afar so I made her one too.
This one was slightly different yet just as cute.
What mom doesn't need hand sanitizer when all those visitors come to see the new baby?!
So, do tell, what do you think??

God's blessings, Sarah :D

Two-fer Tuesday

Wanna know what happens when your baby sister calls you at 8am and says she has a doctor's appointment in 45 minutes and NO babysitter??
You go from a morning doing this...

to this.

OH NO,
that's 2 REDHEADS for the price of one!!! :)
So after we made up Sa-Sa's bed,
and us big girls went potty in the BIG potty,
I fed this princess an entire banana.

Then this princess showed me what she'd learned at gymnastics.

But what's girl time without a craft?
That's when the Halloween loving Addison and her Aunt Sa-Sa busted out a crafty creation.
We made a pumpkin for the princess to decorate her room for Halloween.
I'd seen the project online where you use a square of fabric, one roll of toilet paper, plastic grocery bags and some ribbon.
It took a little coordination to keep us all safe, entertained and productive. ;>
The results were worth it, just look at the joy on her face!

Wanna know why this little monkey's laughing?

Just look at what she was doing to baby Claire!

A morning filled with feisty girls and a crafty creation?
I consider that a Two-fer Tuesday!
God's blessings on your day, Sarah :D

Halloween Apothecary Jars

Hi all and happy Friday!
The boys were out of school so they enjoyed a busy day here at home.
While they played outside with their friends, Andy & I talked to the adoption agency (details here).
No worries, we're hoping to add to our family, not subtract from. ;>
After I straightened up the house I was ready for my therapy session...
a quick and easy crafty creation.

I started with my underutilized apothecary jars.
They are kinda small and not very glam.
But, I just couldn't pay PB prices for them.
In all honesty they were 3 for $20 at Big Lots several years ago.
The smallest one bit the dust, so now we're down to two.

While grocery shopping earlier this week I spotted this 69cent bag of split peas.
I loved the color, shape, and price!

I also picked up a bag of candy corn.
Because really, what says fall like candy corn?!

I played around with the layering process until I found what worked.

Once I was happy with the insides, it was time to decorate the outsides.
I added Halloween colored ribbons and black toile.

Around this time all the boys and their friends came inside.
They played twenty questions with me while I snapped pics...
Mrs. Hinson, did you make that?
Oh I love candy corn, can I have some??
Why are you putting candy corn in a jar if we can't eat it???
Wow, you must be really proud of your candy jars... why are you taking pictures of them????
Oh sweet boys, they'll never understand the decorating process! :>

I think they look pretty cute beside my Halloween pic.
What do you think?
Should I save up my pennies for the Pottery Barn version next year?!
God's blessings on your weekend, Sarah :D

Checkbook Cover on the Cheap

Hello and happy Thursday!
We always love Thursdays around here, and this week especially...
the kids are out of school tomorrow, HOORAY!!!
Today I'm linking up for Thrifty Thursday.

I bought this little treasure a few weeks ago.
I got it at Monogram's Plus in the clearance room.
The clearance room is always my favorite but it was even better on the day I purchased this.
To celebrate the owner's birthday they were offering everything in the clearance room at 75% off.
I ended up snagging my new checkbook cover for $3.00.
Everybody together, SCORE!!! :D
I loved the toile print, but it was screaming for some attention.
I busted out my Brother and monogrammed my business name...
A Mother's Gift.
Yes, this was a business purchase/crafty creation! ;>
I restocked my ribbons recently so I had a great variety to chose from.
I added the brown print on the top and then layered the pink on the bottom.
My sewing skills still aren't perfect, but for now they're good enough for me.
So here I give you the front,

and back.

I'm calling it my Checkbook Cover on the Cheap!
So do tell, what do you think??
God's blessings on your Thursday, Sarah :)