I'm Outta Here

I'm getting ready to go out of town for a week to visit my sister Laura in Ohio, so I thought I'd share a few of the things I've done before I go.  I made a Harry Potter apron for my sister-in-law Amanda's birthday.  If you don't already know, Amanda really loves HP.  So she had an HP themed birthday party and we played HP Scene It, drank Butter Beer, and got sorted into houses.  You know the usual things you do at a 28 year-olds birthday party.  Anyway I think she likes the apron.  Super cute, right?

I also made a Valentines yarn wreath - Don't act surprised, you knew I was going to.  I decided for V-day I needed to make it super frou-frou and I fell in love with the pink and white swirl yarn - makes me think of candy.

But mostly I'm excited for my little vacation.  I'm going sans-husband and am really looking forward to some girl time with my sis and her 5 girls.  Hurrah! But before I go I have to leave you with this little nugget.  As you know my brother Mike has been living with us for the last few months, and last night upon realizing that I was leaving today without Mark, he said, "Mark, I have two word for you: Risky Business."  (And now you know why I need some girl time.)

Countdown to Christmas

We had a super fun and busy Thanksgiving with our families.  All the Crenshaw cousin's were together except Bob's kids, so it was wild and crazy and loud and poor Uncle Mark was tickled to within and inch of his life.  Just what family togetherness is all about.

I have also (of course) continued making my yarn wreaths.  So I've finished Christmas (love that little gold bird)

and my winter wreath.

I think the winter one is my favorite to date (oh, except maybe for my Halloween one) - I think the argyle (which just makes me think of a cozy winter sweater) combined with the snow and the owl is too adorable.  Even Mark and Mike both said they liked it the best.  So it's boy approved.  And that's saying something.

And now we're in the countdown to Christmas - or more aptly called the countdown to Doctor Who.  I partly blame this on the fact that we have no kids yet - I'm sure if we had kids I would think of Christmas first and Doctor Who second.  But as it is, as soon as Thanksgiving is over (or in this case as I'm shoveling turkey in my face) I immediately think "Doctor Who!  Doctor Who!  I can't wait for Doctor Who!"  I asked Mark if he felt this way too, and he gave me a long, weird look and firmly said "No."  So I guess it's just me.  Though now that I think of it, a few months ago Mark was definitely this way about Skyrim.  So I guess it just depends who and what you're talking about.  The point is, I'm excited about this year's Christmas special.  Especially once I heard the name of it:  The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe.




And if you just watched that trailer you're a bit excited too - admit it.

Spooky, Scary.

Werewolf bar mitzvah - spooky, scary.  Boys becoming men.  Men becoming wolves.  I have had that song stuck in my head for days!  Which is basically ridiculous and a weird thing to wake up singing every morning for a week.  But since it's almost Halloween - I suppose it's fitting.  Speaking of... I've been keeping myself busy doing a few fun crafty Halloween things (when I'm not on Pinterest pinning more things I want to be making).  A few weeks ago when my sister Laura and her girls were in town we had a slumber party and made headbands together.  The girls were so creative with what they put together, Holly and Lucy both made some fun and adorable choices combining felt, feathers, multicolored pom-pom balls, leaves, and wiggly eyes.  And Sophia in particular was very specific about what she wanted, so I made several Harry Potter themed headbands for her.  All if which I completely forgot to take any photos of while they were still here.  (Despite the fact that my camera was in my purse the entire time.)  But since Lily was sick and couldn't sleep over with us, we made her a few headbands too, so I got at least the one photo.

I also made this Halloween yarn wreath for my front door.  I got the bird and the glitter spiders (notice they are the same spiders as the headband) from the Dollar Store and I had everything else (in fact I inherited the convict orange yarn from someone and have been wondering for a long time when and how I would ever use it- success!) so once I bought the wreath, it only cost me $5 to make.  Love it.  And they are so easy and fun to make that I can not stop myself.  As promised I am well on my way to making one for every season, Halloween, and Christmas.  I've also decided that I need to make one for birthdays.  I will show you them all as I finish them.  I did make this Harry Potter one for my sister-in-law Amanda.  She loves HP and after making headbands with Sophia, I had this idea to mix the two colors of each of the houses together to make the flowers.  I had a little bit of HP fabric left over from her diaper bag which I used for a few flowers as well as the band to hang it with.  And then instead of a welcome message on bunting (as I have often seen on theses wreaths), I made little banners also in the house colors with an iron-on HP font.  It's kind of crazy, but I think I love it.  (Did I mention that I'm a little bit addicted to these wreaths now?)

My Husband, Carmen Miranda

Recently the members of the Crenshaw family that live locally (that would be us, Susy's fam, John's fam & Mike) have decided we should do a weekly (or at least bi-monthly) Sunday night dinner and game night.  So we take turns hosting and all pitch in for dinner, then play games.  Well we try to play games, but sometimes we are too tired and the kids are too crazy.  But we're attempting for some family time, so that's what counts, right?

This past Sunday we were at Susy's house and after dinner we decided to play Zobmondo, which is basically a board game of 'would you rather.'  As in would you rather have 2 peg legs or hooves for hands?  You get the idea.  Anyway when it's your turn you read the appropriate question and write down which one you think the rest of the group will choose - if you guess correctly you get to roll the dice and move forward on the board.  So when it was Mark's turned he asked us the question: "Would you rather be a part of a religion that required you to wear fruit on your head everyday or dye a large section of your hair bright red?"  We all pretty much immediately and unanimously said "dye our hair red!"  To which many added that it would actually be kind of cool and we would like it.  Mark was quiet and looked bummed, so we all asked  "you got it wrong?  You really picked fruit on your head?!"  He said yes, to which we all died laughing and said, "why on earth would you think we would pick that!?"  So he very calmly and seriously explained, "because then that way I could have fresh fruit whenever I wanted."  Ridiculous.

Also as a side note my sister-in-law Meaghan just posted this photo on facebook, their amazing wedding is featured in this months Brides Magazine.  So if you come across it, you'll have to check it out.  And I, of course, am going to buy it - cause that means my sexy Bond-looking husband is in it too!  (See how it's all about me?)

A Wedding in NYC

We just got back from New York City for Mark's brother John's wedding.  It was a hectic long weekend - but we had a ton of fun with family and friends.

Before all the wedding hubbub started Mark and I got to do the 30 Rock/SNL tourist thing-

Friday night the rehearsal dinner was in Battery Park - so we got to eat delicious food with a recognizable view-

John & Meaghan's wedding was on Sunday afternoon and it was beautiful!  They got married at the Church of Our Lady of Peace-

Then they took photos in Washington Square Park-

The reception was at the Bryant Park Grill - right next to the NYC Library - where Mark and his younger brother Matt practiced their co-best man speech, and lots of fun was had by all.  (I can't remember the last time I danced to Outkast or heard a more amazing rendition of Purple Rain.)

Partners in Crime

So recently I have been spending my time rearranging and redecorating my house (I use redecorating loosely because I am doing it in the most affordable way possible - moving art from one room to another, repainting canvases, putting different photos in frames, etc...). Part of this process included asking my mom to send me old family photos - and when I say old, I mean old - I'm talking ancestors, baby. I decided it would be great to combine current family photos with old family photos all in black and white in my living room. I also went to the McKeon's and got some photos of Mark's family and scanned them in. And I am loving all the family mixed together.

Wedding photos of my parents, us, and Mark's parents






















Here Mark and I are playing together in the backyard wading pool

















My mom also sent me this photo of myself at age 6, which looks quite a bit like my niece Sophia (now age 6)











































My Grandma Wade with her twins and my sister Laura with her twins





































My mom as a toddler (with her twin brother Bill) and my niece Lily






















My mom in college and my sister Laura







































I think that was my favorite part about this whole experience - finding how much our old family looks like our new family...

Went To Ohio And It Was Pretty Cool

My parents with 10 of the 11 grandchildren. (Oh how we missed Abby! And John and Amanda too, of course)

We went to Ohio for Alice & Penny's baby blessings and had a fab time. We told lots of jokes, watched silly stuff online, went to Amish country, only got a little bit sick (a nice 24 hour stomach flu made it's way through the family), and learned a lot.

Sophia taught us about getting a man:

Sophia (talking to me while I put my make-up on before church): Girls love to wear make-up. Especially on Sundays.
Me: True we do like to look nice on Sundays.
Sophia: Yes, on Sundays girls put on their prettiest dresses and their make-up and go to church in the Singles Ward so they can meet boys. My mom told me.
Me: Oh really?!
Sophia: Oh yes, my mom told me that girls love to go to the Singles Ward and when they see a handsome boy they flip their hair like this (she flips her hair) and say "Well hello there." That's what they do.

Holly and Lucy taught us some jokes:

Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: banana
Laura: banana who?
Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: banana
Laura: banana who?
Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: banana
Laura: banana who?
Holly: knock, knock
Laura: who's there?
Holly: orange
Laura: orange who?
Holly: I said banana too many times!

Lucy: (this joke is told entirely by Lucy all in one go, really fast - she made it up herself, can you tell?) knock, knock. who dere? tato. tato who? tato in my eyes! (at the last line, she always covers her eyes and dies laughing)

I made some bubble skirts for Laura's girls and they had a great time modeling them for us - what a bunch of divas!
























































And the twins, of course. Seeing a new baby is always cute, but seeing twins is sooo much more adorable! I can't get over it. And just so you know which is which, Alice has darker hair and Penny has lighter hair.

















Laura introduced us to hashtags on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - Hilarious! We especially enjoyed the worst pickup lines and worst dates... (kiss it, with a midnight voice)

And lucky for Laura we introduced her to the Miley Cyrus show on SNL - the show with the most epic theme song that gets stuck in you head, but only forever. It's pretty cool!

Previously On...

If you haven't been hanging out with us for the past 3ish months (so I've been a little slack at the blogging lately- so sue me) here's what you've missed:

Redecorated our bedroom (thanks to a little help from my mom for supplying the comforter and 4 sexy throw pillows)

















Made a diaper bag for Heather Winters

















Had some new nieces - Alice and Penny Chabo were born 11/30/10 - come on! how adorable right?!

















Had some snow

















Had some Christmas

















Had some more snow, so we had a white Christmas (in NC who woulda thought) and watched some Doctor Who

















Made a hip bag (aka cooler way of saying fanny pack) for my sister Susy to use when she runs - she ran her 1st marathan at Disney earlier this month

















Had our 5th anniversary (which I incidentally have no pictures of) and a Happy New Year!

Now we're looking forward to going to Ohio to visit my sister Laura and her family next week. Can't wait to meet those twin babies! (And see the rest of my family too of course.)

Jam Tomorrow, Jam Yesterday...

So I have discovered that I am absolutely in love with Blackberry Jam (you will note that I love it so much it must be capitalized like a name). I don't think I ever paid too much attention to Blackberry Jam before - always going for Strawberry or Grape and occasionally Orange Marmalade or Apple Butter. But when my parents were out here getting their house ready to sell my mom bought some groceries and then left them with us when they went back to VA. And one of the things my mom left me was a jar of Blackberry Jam! And I've been eating it on toast and biscuits and homemade Belgian waffles ever since - delish! (I highly recommend - it is totally better than syrup. A little butter and Blackberry Jam on top of your waffle and you are set.) In fact I even had a completely random moment that is the closest to sleep eating I've ever experienced - one night I woke up at 1:30am and I was STARVING! I'm talking stomach growling, couldn't go back to sleep hungry. And so naturally I thought, "this is weird, I must just be really thirsty" so I drank a glass of water and nothing, still starving. I kept telling myself "you are ridiculous, just go to sleep" but my stomach kept saying "go eat toast with Blackberry Jam right now!" So I did. At 1:30 in the morning I got out of bed and made myself some toast with Blackberry Jam. It made me laugh so hard at myself and I kept feeling like Liz Lemon with her night eating.

And in other fun Blackberry Jam anecdotes- my sister Laura and her family came to visit a few weeks ago and on Friday night her 3 girls Sophia, Holly and Lucy spent the night with us. So I made toast for breakfast (I was feeling lazy- don't judge - I'd done a whole big Taco Party with rainbow cupcakes the night before, even the best Aunt deserves to make toast occasionally). I asked them what they wanted on it butter or jam and what kind of jam. Sophia chose just butter, Holly chose Blackberry Jam (what a genius!), and we decided to give Lucy one with just butter and one with Blackberry Jam and see what she liked the best. Naturally Lucy licked all the jam off her toast, then ate the bread and didn't even touch her plain butter piece. So I got up to put jam on her second piece and Sophia asked if she could have jam on her second piece too. Of course you can, Sophia! And while I was jamming the toast she explained why she had asked for butter but now wanted jam, "My Daddy always buys sugar free jam in Amish country, and I don't like it at all. But I could tell by the way they were eating it that it was not sugar free!" What an astute observation - the logic of a 5 year old is nothing short of genius.

Photo Recap

I've been quite busy recently with the new job, birthdays, getting ready to move, and the zombie invasion... So I thought I'd give you a little photo recap to catch you up, before I'm off to behead a few more unsightlies.

Laura's hubby Travis came down to visit with Sophia and Holly so we had a lot of fun with them. (If you didn't already know my sister Laura is preggers with twins and has been on bed rest.) Two of my favorite moments are as follows. We went to the pool and while walking home Holly said, "this is a long short cut." I gave the girls a bath and was too lazy to get the kids soap and shampoo, so I just used some of mine. They really loved using a bar of soap and sudsing it up in their hands. I explained to them that the soap was lemon-verbena to which Sophia said, "it's pretty funny we're making our bums smell like lemon!" I agree Sophia, I agree.


Grace and her best friend Mark had a birthday party. Grace turned 2, Mark turned 2 + 23.






















Lily had her 2nd birthday party. We played games and went out for ice cream. I made her and Claire pillowcase dresses and decided to make Susy a matching apron too. (PS- Lily loves to be naked. As soon as we came back from Sunni Sky's she said "diaper off.")





























































(that's her daddy's pinching hand)


And then obviously the zombie invasion.

















Yes, this is an actual photo Mark took, it's just a few blocks up the road from us, it all started 4th of July weekend... It's been quite a nightmare, as you can imagine.