BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.....

This is my life for the past 6 weeks.

It started the day after Thanksgiving.

 Big Blue Tarp Dividing my house right down the middle!

Living on one side,

Building on the other!

Eating outside because of NO DINING ROOM TABLE

(I am truly sick of take out- please someone give me some sauteed brussel sprouts 

or cabbage or spinach or I'd even take canned green beans!)

Digging through boxes to find the Paper Plates or salt and pepper

trying to find my back porch

no walls 

no doors

no ceiling 

no floor

no stove

no microwave 

endless cleaning

massive dust

banging

pounding

drilling

sawing

but I'm NOT complaining

Instead I am thankful for these 2 guys

One who takes time away from his little 

family to help his ma and pa!

And the older guy for taking on this task!

They are both a jack of many trades,

Demolition Men

Electrician

Carpenters

 Framer

(part of my new pantry)

Drywall Hangers

I am anxiously awaiting the "Finish Product"

Maybe in a few day's I'll post a sneak preview....

♪♫ OH WHAT ♪♫ FUN IT IS TO RIDE♪♫

CHRISTMAS TRAIN @ MCCORMICK RANCH- A MUST!

Ah yes, it was finally cold enough for jackets, 

gloves, and hats in AZ!

But this little girl AKA "Cupcake" 

refused to wear her hat and gloves.

So instead, Nanny will snuggle with her as much as possible.

(good reason huh!)

Where is "Thomas" the train??

(we didn't have the nerve to tell them it wasn't Thomas)

 this LITTLE boy just had to get down 

and run around like the BIG Boys!

 NO NANNY- ELMO is SCARRRREYYYY!

NO way Wyatt was looking at COOKIE Monster either!

 Kisha brought snacks!

 Most adorable smile ever!!!

 All loaded up and ready for the ride of our lives! 

 Sorry for the blur- but that's what you get when you are trying to hold onto little boys, while riding on a train, and trying to snap a pic at the same time.

 What a wonderful time we had.  
I think it finally put me into the Christmas spirit!

 Gotta Love this kiddo who has learned to "play" with the camera!

Merry Christmas One and All!

THIS GUY- WE LOVE!!

THIS GUY!- Who was 86 years old this year, 

keeps giving us scary times.

He is the most genuine, loving, kind hearted, 

compassionate man I know!

He was admitted to the hospital again because of a possible stroke.

All the test came back negative.

We are sure glad the VA hospital takes good care of him.

He was discharged yesterday evening and is on his way 

back to the Ranch......

will he ever slow down?

WE ♥ YOU GRANDPA!

MRS CLAUSE SEWING FACTORY IS CLOSED FOR THE SEASON!

Yep- Finally! Mrs Clause is done.

(In case you are concerned, the doctors say 

her fingers will recover from all the pin pricks : )  

But whew! The sewing machine 

(which has been smoking because its been working so hard j/k) 

is finally put in its case and put away for the season.
and just in time- eh!

This little boy and his baby brother are into anything 

"Cars and Trains" says their Mommie!

So with a few purchases made at the local thrift store 

totaling about $11

and a card table we already had (free)

Mrs Clause was able to create this

Race car/ Thomas the Train tent. 

  This tent comes complete with a front porch, roll up windows 

and an open up back roof (since the front has a porch),

and a mesh bag to store the train tracks, cars, or what not's used by a famous Dale Earnhardt or  Famous Ringo Starr Conductor. 

 
or maybe Wyatt's Conductor Hat and Conductor Overalls

I forgot to mention that I also found the car rug 
at the thrift store for ........

wait for it...

wait for it......

wait for it..........$1.99

And it looks BRAND NEW! 

So, the total cost of this tent is  $13.00

(can you see me taking a bow?)

I think Mrs Clause did a pretty good in keeping with the

"Goodwill to all men" Christmas theme.

(hold the applause please.... hehehe)

GI JOE

WHEN TO COMES TO BEING A BOY- ITS HARD WORK.

LOTS OF BANGING AROUND, LOTS OF NOISE AND A LOT OF SWEAT-

RUNNING, JUMPING, CRAWLING!

Hopefully... this little boy

Will enjoy his new GI JOE card table tent he's getting for Christmas.

So he can play ROUGHEM -TOUGHEM 

SHOOTEM UPEM- GET THE BAD GUY! 

As loud as he wants!

If you want to make a GI Tent for your GI JOE Grandson 

GOOD LUCK!

Some Helpful hints: Nothing is set in stone. 

Use your imagination! Remember it doesn't have to be perfect 

because a GI JOE can use his imagination and is NOT particular!  

Go to your local thrift store and 

purchase all the "chamo" looking stuff you can find.

It doesn't have to be real chamo- 

I even used burlap, mesh, and green corduroy 

Maybe even pick up an Army Shirt or two.

 It's really cool if you can find one with patches!

 Then get your brain to working because there is 

NO pattern that (I could find) to make one.... 

 Clip Clip here, sew sew there- 

Oops pick it out and resew... (I think you catch my drift)

Be sure to add a couple of wings for a 

"secret hiding place mission" crawl through spaces....

Use the pockets for his secret mission papers 

or even his little army guys toys

- use every single inch of the chamo shirt somewhere 

(because that is what made this a little more expensive than by Pretty Pink Princess Palace )

don't forget to include some chamo windows so no one can sneak up on your little GI JOE

Dont forget the back, cause bad guys like to sneak up on the rear!  

And you def need a quick access place to keep his guns and grenades when his tent is under attack.

The Card table for this tent cost $12.50 ( a little more than the last one)

The material and what not $6.50

Army shirt $4

About 4 days of sewing

 So there you have it..... 

A Cool GI JOE tent for the cost of about $25.