Decorating......

I love decorating the house for Christmas.  Some people will tell you that my house looks like "Christmas threw up" in it because I have Christmas stuff EVERYWHERE!  I am partial to snowmen for some reason so you will mostly see snowmen in my house---a few Santas but we are heavy on the snowmen over here.  :)

I decorate most of the house alone--I have a crazy system I use with pictures from last year etc.  I will talk about that more when I take it all down in January.  :)  The trees however bring a lot of little person help.

The boys both helped me with the tree this year---Brody version of helping was tossing the un-fluffed branches into the tree but he was helping nonetheless.  ;)  Travis was into helping with everything.....branches, lights, ornaments you name it!  I did have to say "we need some ornaments in this blank space" a bunch but oh well.  Below are some pics of the kids decorating the tree and a few pics of the decorations in the house. Enjoy!

Throwing in the branches

Holding a branch--he ran away soon after this

Travis and the tree

Ornament time!

I made Daddy help too--otherwise it would have taken all night!

The tree with presents under it!  I am messing with the settings on my new camera....

Hall table

Sofa table

Mantle

Coldest VT/UVA game EVER!

I don't know if it really was the coldest game ever but man did it seem like it!  The high last Saturday in Blacksburg was around 34 and there was a nasty 20+ mph wind!  Wind chills were easily in the low 20s.  Thankfully we were able to leave Brody with Grammy and Poppy--he hates to be cold and refuses to wear gloves--not a good combo in that kind of weather......

We made sure the right team won but we were frozen at the end since the sun went behind the stadium in the 3rd quarter and then we really got cold!

Tailgating in the car

Travis and the Kantsios boys playing football

Catch it!

Serious football player

Walking to the stadium

In our seats

Putting our fingers in our ears for the flyover and cannon

Flyover

Trying to see the flyover--with our fingers still in our ears....

HOKIE BIRD

Happy boy

He loves going to Tech games

Bud Foster

Very cold

Daddy loves his shirt--sorry Aunt Tammy

We won!

Thanksgiving 2012

I am letting the pictures speak for themselves........

Travis wearing Grampa's turkey hat

Grampa wearing his Oktoberfest beer mug hat--not sure what this has to do with thanksgiving.  

Brody is "helping" Gramma work her iPad  ;)

Grampa got "Big Ben" for Travis to put together--all 346 pieces were put together in less than an hour!

Grampa, Travis and Big Ben

Annabelle and Paxson playing

The little people

Turkey dance?

Turkey in the fryer

CHEESE

CHEESE

MORE CHEESE

1/2 of the people at the table---not sure what happened to the other 1/2  ;)

Travis is helping Grammy with a word game I think

Brody is sleepy--long day but wants to help Grammy first

Christmas prep is in full swing.....

Normally on Black Friday I spend almost all day decorating the house for Christmas.  This year I could only spend a very small part of my day doing this since we were heading to Blacksburg.  Here is a glimpse into the craziness that is my house.......

Click here for a few pictures.........

AH HA!

Brody loves his pacis.  I mean he really loves them.  He would use one all day every day if I let him.  He knows that pacis are for nap time and bed time ONLY but he also knows where they are stashed when he's not in bed.  I had been wondering how he got a paci sometimes when I swore to myself that I had collected them all and put them in a drawer he can't reach.  Until today.......

I have also been wondering why his booster seat has been upstairs in weird places lately......but then I saw......He took his booster off his chair in the kitchen and walked it upstairs so he could be just a little bit taller to get into the diaper/paci drawer.  Well played Brody......well played.

Does someone on your list love Uno?

If so you need to run out to Target right after getting this coupon!  This toy is normally $32 but is marked down to $18.99 until close of business on Wednesday (tomorrow).  There is also a $10 off coupon that can be found by "liking" them on Facebook.  Then they will send you an email that looks like this:

facebook UNO To redeem your offer, print this email and take to a participating Walmart, Toys R Us, Target or Kmart location. $10 off UNO Roboto at a participating Walmart, Toys R Us, Target or Kmart location Expires December 31, 2012 Claimed by Sandy Ross Barcode: 574299992617 Redeem at a participating WALMART, TOYS R US, TARGET or KMART location. Retailer: We will reimburse you the face value of this coupon plus 8¢ handling, provided it is redeemed by a consumer at the time of purchase on the brand specified. Coupons not properly redeemed will be void and held. Reproduction of this coupon is expressly prohibited. (Any other use constitutes fraud.) Invoices proving purchase of sufficient stock within the past 90 days to cover coupons presented for redemption must be shown upon request. Mail to: Mattel, Inc., CMS Dep’t. #74299, 1 Fawcett Drive, Del Rio, TX 78840. Cash value .001¢. Void where taxed or restricted. LIMIT ONE COUPON PER ITEM PURCHASED. Share Offer · Like UNO This message was sent to you because you claimed an offer. This message was sent to smrfyross@hotmail.com. If you don't want to receive these emails from Facebook in the future, please unsubscribe. Facebook, Inc., Attention: Department 415, PO Box 10005, Palo Alto, CA 94303

I printed it out and VOILA!  I got one of these games for JUST $8.99!  The reviews on Amazon are awesome--Travis loves the regular UNO game and I know he will love this one too!

$101 of gifts/toys for $41?!?! Read on.....

Right now you can get a voucher for $40 worth of stuff from Ecomom.com for $20 on Plum District.  If you couple that voucher with Ecomom's fabulous "Pre Black Friday" sale you can get $100 worth of stuff for $40 and get free shipping!  They are taking $40 off every order over $100.....so when I paired that with my Plum District voucher I got $80 off!  Some of the things I got were for Christmas but some I am saving for birthdays and Christmas next year!  If you like Melissa and Doug toys you should definitely score this deal. The voucher is available on Plum District for another 3 days and the sale at Ecomom is through the 25th.  Happy shopping!

Here is what I got:

Melissa & Doug See Inside Alphabet Peg Puzzle
Melissa & Doug DYO Magnetic Princess Fashions
Melissa & Doug Joey Magnetic Dress Up Doll
Melissa & Doug Magnetic Numbers
Melissa & Doug Decorate your own-Ballerina Fashions
buttercup and JAKE yummy lip balm set
Melissa & Doug Chunky Construction Puzzle
Melissa & Doug Sushi Slicing Play Set
Acme Party Box Placecard Chalkboards-Set of 4
RICH FROG Rulers of Rock and Roll

Turkey craft

I did this last year with the kids and it is super cute and easy!  You can see last years' here.  The idea is very simple....take a pine cone, some construction paper, felt and google eyes to make a "thankful" turkey!

Here are our new turkeys on the island.  Travis is thankful for friends, school, family, video games and sports.  Brody is thankful for his family, Giggy, ABCs and Mommy's iPhone. 

Working on the craft

Cheesing it up with the craft