Happy SWEET {Valentine's} Day!!

Today was the day before tomorrow!

The day before Valentine's Day!

Two of my three boys are teenagers and are really too 'cool'

to celebrate it much anymore.

It mostly just means a day of

 sugar {hoarding} for them.

But, my baby {okay, he's 10} is still young enough

to have a party at school and get excited!!

We had three main objectives today:

1. The Party Snack

2. The Valentine

3. The Valentine Box

And none could be sub par. We've back ourselves into

a corner when it comes to this. We've set a bar that's high

in quality and creativity. So, it's a bit of a pressure to

find something new, fun, and exciting!

First, we tackled The Party Snack.

I knew right away what we should make!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes. 

I've been working on perfecting this recipe for awhile. 

{The first time I made them they were very dry.}

But, I think I've finally hit on the right recipe!!

Normally, they're topped with a cherry but for V Day

I chose a pink heart marshmallow!

Check one off our list!!

Next:

The Valentine

This was a bit more challenging for us. Caden {my 10 year old} is 

quite specific in what he wants. Nothing too girly, too cheesy 

or glittery {this one KILLS me--NO GLITTER?? I live, eat and 

breathe for glitter!!} So, off I went in search of the perfect

Valentine! I found the winner

at this wonderful blog

 http://www.nellie-design.com/2012/02/valentines-bouncy-ball-favor-bag-tags.html

So, we got to work!

Caden prepping the Valentine's!

And this is what we got:

My horrible picture doesn't do it justice! 

It's a cello bag with a bouncy ball 

inside. A header {available at the blog above}

 says 'Valentine, you make my heart bounce!'

Cute, but not too cute!

Check another off the list!

And last,

The Valentine Box

{Gluing takes LOTS of concentration!}

We pulled out all my scrapping supplies. My boys have remarked more than

once, 'What do the kids who have Moms that don't 

scrapbook do?' Thankfully, they'll never have to know!! 

They always have a plethora {I l like that word} of 

supplies at their fingertips!

Here's are version of a design we saw online!

Oh yeah, that's an Alligator Valentine Box!!

Very boy-ish and cute!!

WHEW! I think we're ready for tomorrow!

From our family to yours:

Have a SWEET Valentine's Day!!

Be SWEET to those you love!

Tracy

You Rock!

My husband {Brian} came to me last week

and {sweetly} mentioned he needed

to come up with an idea of something to give all his {50} employees to

celebrate what a GREAT job they did last year.

Now, my husband knows me and knows that mentioning this

to me sends me into a {creative} frenzy. My first creative stop

was to my Pinterest boards! {OF COURSE-is there anywhere else to go?}

http://pinterest.com/tracybakes/ {hint hint: visit my boards!}

Anyway, I found the cutest Pinspiration to make {If you Pin, the word pin is like the word

Smurf to those blue, little people. You begin to use it as a verb, noun, adjective

and it finds it's way into everyday conversation!}

At this point, Brian realizes it's out of his hands and he leaves me drooling on the keyboard.

So, Saturday I took over the dining room table. Spread out my scrapping stuff.

And got to work! Here is my most favorite scrapping tool~~My Big Kick!

I love it {and I'm pretty sure it loves me.}

And I got to work making these:

Cute, huh? {and easy to make!!!}

All you need is:

Packages of Pop Rocks {be sure to get a couple extra~~trust me, you'll eat a couple}

12x12 Card stock

Adhesive runner

Either letters you've made, bought or a marker

Cut your card stock into 3x6 inch strips. I cut 4-3 inch strips first and then simply

cut them in 2 {Gotta keep it simple!} These fold perfectly around the

package of Pop Rocks. Add a line of adhesive to the inside of the

strip and stick it to itself!! LOOK you've made a belly band!

Here's where I used my Big Kick.

I cut out all 350 letters {that's a lot of letters!}

You could just as easily use

stickers or even write it on with a marker!

And, you're done!!!'

The original pin said 'You Rock Valentine'. How adorable is that?

But, since, I'm not wooing all 50 of my husbands

employees, I stuck with just 'You Rock'.

Sweet {P}Inspiration,

Tracy

What a Sad {Little} Blog!

My, oh my! How terribly sad! My poor {ignored} blog!

Life has just been so busy and crazy with the holidays! My intentions were to post

all our wonderful decorations, traditions and holiday fun!!

But {unfortunately} we had sick ones and craziness abound!!

{Soooo..} Here IT is!! A NEW year and a NEW post!

{about time, huh?}

I've been doing a lot of contemplating on what my new year's resolution should be {one that I may actually keep!} And, finally, I've made a some decisions!

First...........

GET ORGANIZED

I mean really {really, really} organized. I dream of it when I lay in bed at night {yep, sad as it sounds!} Oh, how much happier {and easier} life would be! With lots of help from my favorite site ~http://pinterest.com/tracybakes/~ I am getting lots of ideas and help!

Here it goes. EVERY day. I WILL organize at least ONE thing in my life!

Second.....

Simplify

I guess this goes along with organizing! But, we have too much STUFF in our life and our home. We have too much physical STUFF that we don't need. It's time to get rid of the excess and stop bringing it into our living space! We have too much emotional STUFF in our lives. So many things we dwell on and spend time on that really don't deserve {or require} the energy we give it! It's time to BE DONE with it!!

We're going gangsta on it and cutting it out!!!

Third.....

Prioritize

{see how bad I am, this should have been first!}

Faith, family, friends, work, school, volunteering, cleaning, entertainment.......

There is so much!! The stress all these good things in life can cause! Why? Because I can't say NO and I let myself become overwhelmed. Here's where I put my foot down and say NO!

{NO, NO, NO, NO, NO........just practicing!}

It's time to decide what's most important and what deserves my time the most!

WHEW, I'm exhausted from just thinking about all this. But, it's time to move forward!!

Who's with me?

What are you life changing goals?

Sweet decisions made,

Tracy

Sweet {and a little corny!}

First {let me apologize!} I'm sorry!

I had to use my cell phone to take

photos this evening.

And they just aren't very good!

But on a night like tonight {the night before school}

they will have to do!!!

I just finished a part of the Welcome Back

gifts for teachers in 2 of the

elementary schools in our district.

{We have 3, but I am PTO co~president of only 2}

These will be for each teacher:

If you can't make out the tag

{again, my poor photography skills!}

it says

'Your PTO

wishes you a GOOD year & PLENTY of fun!

Thanks for making our kids Sharpies!'

And here is what's in the goodie bags........

Good & Plenty {s} and Sharpie markers :o)

The original concept I saw included Smarties and Sharpies.

The very cute tag said 'Thank you for making our kids

Smarties and Sharpies!'

But, I didn't have any Smarties in my PTO stash.

And when I went to buy some, can you believe it?

I couldn't find ANY!!!

So I had to do some {fast} thinking in the

middle of Sam's Club and

came up with the above.

{I know} sweet but a little corny!

But, then again, so am I!!

Be sweet to your teachers!

Tracy

{Sweet} Memories

We're on {final} countdown here at our home!

School starts in 4 days! {YAY!}

My kids are excited {can you believe it?} for school to start.

I'm blessed that way :o)

I ran across a blog entry from another {old} blog that I used

to write. And there was the post I wrote on the

first day of school for the boys.

They all had their first day on the same day!

We had homeschooled until Austin was going into 5th, Ty into 4th

and Caden into 2nd {grades}.

{Flash forward to today Austin will be a Freshman, Ty going into 8th and Caden into 5th!!}

It was a {bitter}sweet day for me.

We've come a long since then, all of us!

So enjoy a {well, my} stroll down memory lane.......

5:15 am this morning, my alarm goes off. I lay there a moment wondering why in the heck I have to get up at such an ungodly hour--then it hits me. Today is the day my children, my precious babies, go to public school for the first time. I get up and drag myself to the kitchen, pop my meds (for those who don't know, I've been battling high blood pressure and not winning that battle! I'm on my second med for it, which at least doesn't make me pass out and pee every 5 minutes but has yet to prove it will bring down my pressure from 168/120) and start making scrambled eggs with sausage. I wander out to the living room where I find my oldest son, Austin, all dressed and eating toast. He smiles and says 'Hey Mom!'. When I question why he's up already, he answers he doesn't want to be late for his first day of school! I stumble to the bathroom where I find Ty, my middle son. He is shivering and with his big blue eyes staring into mine he whispers 'Mom, I'm nervous.' I hug him and reassure him that he's a smart boy who makes friends easily. I send up a quick prayer to God to watch over him. Back in the kitchen I continue to make breakfast and check off in my mind all the things I have to do yet. In comes Caden, my youngest. He announces in his sleepy voice 'I'm not going!' I stop the protest with a simple 'Yes you are. It isn't a choice.' He stomps back out to the table and sits to pout while he waits for his food. Breakfast is quiet and the boys all seem to be daydreaming in their own minds. Showers, teeth brushing, hair brushing (which Ty labors over for quite a while to get the righ look) and getting on new clothes seems to fly by in a moment. Christopher arrives (little boy I babysit, who will ride the bus to and from our house) and his face mirrors all the anxiousness of my own children. I get him breakfast, dressed and ready to go with ease. We get back packs adjusted, shoes tied and pictures taken. We make our family cirlce and I pray aloud for Jesus to watch over them and protect them. Before I know it, we are out the door and down to the bus stop. That big yellow bus pulled up and on they went with a last call from me to be good and have a great day. The short walk back home was a tearful one. Homeschooling was definitely easier I can't wait unitl they are home to hear all about their day!

Sweet Sunday!

Tracy

Sweet Site!!

Have you pinned?

I've been pinning and love it!

It's a fairly new website called 'Pinterest'

It's a just like a virtual bulletin board.

If you're like me you run across lots of

{great} ideas on the web and then later

forget where you saw them!

Well, Pinterest let's you post a picture of that

{wonderful} idea and also captures the link to

the site!

Another great things about Pinterest is the ability to follow

the boards of people with similar interests.

Take a moment and check out my boards!

If you want to join let me know and

I will send you an invitation {you can only join

by invitation!}

http://pinterest.com/tracybakes

Sweet pinning!

Tracy

The Other Woman.....

I would like to introduce you to the other woman

in our lives. She's funny, a little overweight, sometimes smelly,

slobber-y, sometimes not too smart and downright adorably sweet!!

It's our dog.

{Zeta}

An Olde English Bulldogge

We got her from a breeder when she was only 10 weeks old and made

herself right at home in our family.

She's my sweetness today {and lots of days}

She knows when one of us needs a snuggle and never leaves the side of someone in our house

who is ill {the poor dog about goes crazy when more than one

of us is ill at a time!} I have a confession to make,

I'm not a dog {or any animal}

person. I like them fine

but really never have been attached to one.

That is before Zeta

{who's full name, by the way, is Zeta-Girl Fancy Pants Schroeder}

She's wriggled her big bulldogge self into my heart

and seems she'll be staying there.

Who makes your day a little sweeter?

From the first {sweet} woman in our house

Tracy