Have you ever given your toddler the camera?
You should.
I don’t know why but I adore these shots!!
I did clear out the memory card first… just in case those little fingers found the secret combo for deleting the whole thing… ha! Eli has figured things out with the TV remote that Hot Hubby can only dream about.
<<<——— Self portrait…

This shot makes me want to buy a house so I can paint walls and create the funky (probably bright red) kitchen of my dreams…

Cora Jane eating… Cheerios and my favorite piece of furniture (black hutch, thanks Mom and Grandmom)…
“Mickey” by ELI…

(I have a cute craft coming out tomorrow. You’ll have fun making it with your kiddos and you’ll have fun playing with it after your done too!)

Here is our voting adventure…A highlight every election is the house we vote in. Let me tell you… the owner is a piece of work. I have never seen him but his decor is quite memorable! Every wall in the voting room (his living room) is covered in art.
“Art? (you’re thinking)… What’s so wrong with that?”
I would classify this “art” as 70s porn. Yes, you read that right 70s porn. I’m talking naked (yes, full on naked) pictures everywhere. There are statues too!
Oh dear!
Cora is rocking her Eli’s Lids Halloween tee…

Eli looks sharp in his Eli’s Lids tie tee…

(These pics are from Eli’s first time voting 2 years ago!)
We GET to vote today!!! I love voting. I have voted in every election large and small since I turned 18. Voting was kinda a big to-do in my family… an honor and a privilege.
Plus, if you don’t vote your not allowed to complain about the government or it’s policies!
These are pictures of Eli’s first time voting. He was almost 2 months old!! Later I’ll post pictures of us voting tonight.

I had so much fun doing the Tribute to Betty Rose that I think I’m going to do a tribute every month (or so).
In honor of my mom’s Birthday today, she is the lucky tributee! She is also the star of Suzie Says so you’ll get to know a bit more why she is so incredibly awesome.

Things I love about my mom Suzie…

1. When she says she is praying for you she REALLY is praying for you.

2. She was the Room Mother for my Kindergarten class and kept the job till I was in 6th grade!! In fact she fell head first into all my activities… Pioneer Girls, ballet, swim team, cheerleading, sorority, cake decorating class…

3. She never made me clean the toilet while living at home because she knew I would have to do it for the rest of my life… she was right!!

4. She adores my dad, who happens to be her high school sweetheart!

5. She made most of my clothes growing up. She is an amazing seamstress… but she’s never made a Lid… go figure!

6. She did crafts with me ALL the time growing up. I heart crafts and sewing because of her!

7. She respects our wishes not to spoil our kids with “stuff” (though I’m sure she would rather not), and she makes up for it by spoiling them with loves and kisses!

8. She can find the best deal on ANYTHING you need.

9. In between visits she collects things she thinks I’ll like, or that I’ll find interesting (newspaper articles, pictures from a magazine, note from a friend, sewing stuff…) and she puts them in an envelope with my initials on the front.

10. She delivered me naturally Franklin Breach (look it up) OUCH!!

11. My tooth fairy left a trail of fairy dust (not glitter to a 7 year old!) from the window sill across the room to my pillow and in my hair!

12. She loves to buy scrapbooking stuff and take scrapbooking classes, but she has only scraped 3 pages.

13. She can pull off an awesome party with an hour’s notice.

14. Everybody she meets LOVES her! I’m not kidding… you can’t help but fall in love with her after talking to her for just a few moments.

15. She got her Bachelors Degree right after High School, got married, then worked cleaning houses to put my dad through school. Then she had me and has been a mom ever since!

16. She is compassionate and gracious to those in need. She takes in stray cats and teens to live with them till they get back on their paws or feet.

17. She made homemade meals every night and we always had dinner together as a family.

18. She made up her own chocolate chip cookie recipe and it is AWESOME!! Seriously, they are the best homemade cookies in the world. If you’re lucky maybe I’ll share it here one day.

19. She (and my cool dad too) took me to Williamsburg, VA for a huge tea party when Felicity, an American Girl doll, debuted.

20. She still can’t email and has trouble using her cell phone… this can get flustering… but overall it is kinda cute.

21. She thinks she is so funny… and don’t tell her but she really is pretty funny.

22. She is an adventurer. She (along with my dad) honeymooned for almost a month across Europe and the Middle East. Her favorite country on the trip… Jordan!

23. She supports me in all my hair-brained ideas i.e. Eli’s Lids.

24. My senior year in High School she had all my friends (sometimes 30 kids!) over every Tuesday for a Homemade lunch. This is something my friends still talk about today, 10 years later!

25. She is truly proud to me my mom, and Hot Hubby’s mother-in-law, and Nana to my kiddos.

In honor of my mom’s (Suzie Says…) birthday I’m posting some random Suzie Says advice.

Suzie Says…
Never clean you floors before a party.
Of course we want our houses to look spic and span before we have guests over, BUT after the first few people come inside your nice clean floors will be shot to c*%$. So you should save time on cleaning floors and put it towards the favors or decorations or…

Suzie Says…
Use a silicone hot pot holder as your hot glue gun pad.
These work a lot better then the store bought hot glue pads and they are cheaper too.

Suzie Says…
Store your Tupperware lids separate from the bottoms so they never get mixed up or lost.
This might sound kinda strange BUT you will be a lot more organized and you’ll save tons of space too, because you can stack the Tupperware and the lids can stack near by.

Suzie Says…
Always wipe off your milk cartons before you put them in the fridge.
You can’t tell but milk cartons usually have milk on the outside and when it dries it will flake off on the bottom of the fridge. You’ll be able to wait a bit longer in between cleanings and it is much more sanitary… who knows who has touched the cartons before you have!

Oh and last (but not least) Suzie Says…
ALWAYS wipe front to back!

The Blessed Nest Gals chose a winner!
Nissa from Nissa’s Niceties. She chose the pink Snowboarder Lid, pictured on the left <<<<<-------
Nissa’s Comment…
“I love the pink tomboy lid! Even though my princess is no tomboy, I think it’s perfect for her! Thanks so much!”

As an early Christmas gift to all our Lid Lovers we are lowering our prices through the holidays. Get your Christmas shopping done at Eli’s Lids now because the prices will go back to normal on January 3rd!!!

I always LOVE shopping boutiques, but working them is a catch 22 for me. I love that Eli’s Lids gets sales and exposure and I hate that I spend all my money on the other stuff at the boutique. So this year I’m only doing two. My first one was today and my mom is having one in a few weeks… more on that later!

This is where I met Shannon and Patrice…

Check out Patrice’s stuff here.

Brad got to flex his muscles in front of me while lifting Lid boxes...

What makes a “good day?”
For me it is a day that is playful AND productive!
Playful:
You know those days when you can’t help but think “I am such a good mom right now!” You got out the craft supplies, you read 100s of books, you had your kids help with lunch, you went to the park, you danced and sang and colored and…
Productive:
You think “I got SO much done today!” You super glued that broken toy, you paid the bills, you wrote thank you notes, you exercised, you vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen, scrapbooked a few pages, planned dinner AND made an extra casserole for the new mom down the street…

“Playful only” days my dishes are still in the sink, play clothes on the bathroom floor and paper piles are everywhere (why the hay do I have so many!?!?!?), but my kids can’t wipe the smiles off their faces.

“Productive only” days errands are completed, my chores are checked off, and my kiddos watch a lot of shows (educational, of course!).

Fortunately for my kids (unfortunately for my house) we seem to have more playful days.
But today…. aaaaaaa…. today…. was a perfect balance.
We danced and had a family sing along (they shake/pound instruments, I sing loud and off key), we played dough (though we did loose the green somewhere), we did bubbles, we slid slides, we snuggled (a lot!), we played baseball, we built with blocks…
AND
I paid our car registration, squared away the taxes, laundry, blogged, send out Eli’s Lids orders, called my grandmom, made 5 pounds of carrots into baby food, filed paper piles, finished a birthday gift, vacuumed…
Best of all the day is young! I still have time to play and do a lot more. And my Hubby will be home soon and well get to do some playing of our own!