and then michigan beat ohio state......

and all was right with the world!!!!!

go blue!

the day after thanksgiving (black friday)....

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving.  we did here.  i hosted dinner for 21 family members yesterday....it was chaotic and loud and wonderful.  the food was fantastic and plentiful....i still feel like jabba the hut this morning.  the day went by in a blink as it always does. 

 these pictures were taken at the very beginning of my thanksgiving morning as i prepped the turkey, stuffed to the brim and wearing his cheesecloth diaper.  gotta keep all of that gorgeous stuffing inside, right?   and as the day was so chaotic, these were the only pictures i took. but be assured the turkey was beautiful when he came out of the oven and provided us with a meal to be truly thankful for.

i woke up in a total fog after taking two benadryl tablets before bed the night before.  my friend had told me that she takes them to help her sleep and she sleeps good and hard every night...her doctor told her that it was perfectly okay as they are non-addicting and harmless....

it didn't work for me....

it had the opposite effect and i was up half the night with my brain buzzing and feeling like i wanted to crawl out of my skin.....

never.ever.again

don woke me up at 8:00 am which was the time i had wanted to get my turkey into the oven.

c'est la vie.  

the turkey got into the oven at 9:45.  

in the end, the fog lifted, the turkey was done to perfection and the 

day went off without a hitch.  the sides and the desserts were fantastic.

 and as hostess, my refrigerator is filled with leftovers...

we will be doing some shopping later today after the crazy crowds have dispersed.

you may have noticed the bottom cabinets were finished being painted and our new flooring is in. 

more on that later.

enjoy the day after and all of those tasty leftovers.  i know we will.

how could i be the mother of a thirty old???......

and how could someone so incredibly beautiful be something that i created??

i am in total awe of her. she is just as sweet and wonderful as she is beautiful.  she is a hard worker, a college student and a fantastic big sister and daughter.  

she is a great wife and homemaker.  

and she is a fantastic mama...

her girls, my beautiful granddaughters, are the light of my life...

one, the oldest is just like her.....sweet, sensitive and the image of her mama.

she is smart, loving and generous.

and she exudes sweetness....

and the other, the youngest is the polar opposite....sassy, fearless and one tough cookie....

she is also smart, loving and generous. 

(and she just oozes sass, doesn't she?)

this picture completely describes their personalities.....

happy birthday, shannon my love.....

(sorry this is two days late!!)  

xoxo, mama

neighbors are such a blessing......

we have some wonderful neighbors....they have six kids and are just the greatest family i know.  since i had the girls for the weekend, they went over to their house to play on friday night.  while i was helping them clean up all of the toys, i saw the scariest toy i have seen in a while.  it was a mechanical monkey..you know, one of the ones that have real looking eyes.  i commented to their mother, angie, how disturbing and creepy i thought it was.  she laughed and said that she hadn't really looked at it in detail before, but upon examining it again, agreed with me.  little did i know that the wheels were already turning in her head.

 the next night i took austen and the girls out to eat while don worked on the kitchen floor and we inadvertently had dinner at the same restaurant.  when they left before we did, angie thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to hatch their little plan.  she sent the three older boys over to my house with the monkey.......well, this is the email i sent to them today.  i think you can get the gist of the rest of the story in the email.....

From: me

Date: November 6, 2011 11:08:09 AM EST

To: them

Subject: to my wonderful neighbors

dear ethan, muaz and aiden.....(and the rest of your fabulous family)

thank you so much for the monkey.  imagine how horrified surprised i was to see the scary and nightmare inducing cute little monkey in my bed last night.  

i was so comforted to see his adorable eyes as he stared at me from between my pillows.  you guys are just the best EVER!!!!  he had to sleep downstairs last night though, because champ was lonely and really wanted to have a companion.  the evil little adorable monkey slept on top of champers cage so i wouldn't have to have it anywhere near my bedroom he could guard him through the night. 

this morning i made sure that i gave the monkey to tessa to hold on to so that it didn't end up in the garbage can it could get just as much loving as it could get....

she loved it a lot and hopefully squeezed the life out of it  gave it lots of hugs and loving.

 and i am sure that she didn't mean to show that rude gesture......i think she loves him just as much as i do!!!!

thank you so, so much for my unbelieveable shock wonderful bedtime surprise......and be assured that i did not have any bad dreams!!!!

all my love,

mrs. mandernach

:D

christmas presents.....

i decided to try my hand at building something. from wood. by myself. 

so i went to home depot, got the wood and instead of having them cut it, i used the miter saw as a chop saw and did it myself.  

who knew that this pile of sticks could end up like this.

i got the plans for this cute little farmhouse doll bed from ana white's website.

she has all kinds of projects on her site ranging from furniture to toys to household decor. 

she gives you the plans for each project including the materials list and cut list for the wood. 

i don't think i would have attempted this if it were not for her excellent directions.

it was really easy and it only took me a few hours to finish it.  i just need to cut a piece of plywood for the bed platform and i think i will add a piece of wood across the center for extra stability.  

it will fit scarlett and tessa's american girl dolls and any of their other babies.

the wood for the second one is cut and i will put it together sometime this week.  

this project was very easy to do and very inexpensive.  

here is the cost breakdown:

2 1x2x8 @ $0.82 

3 1x3x8 @ $ 1.25

1 2x2x8 @ $1.37

=  $6.76 for the wood. 

i also bought two packages of screws (2 @ $5.58) for this project so i didn't have to scrounge around in don's hardware bin.  it was just easier this way.  there were a lot of them left over. 

i already had the paint and sandpaper.  

and that is for two beds.  

i thought that such a sweet country bed deserved sweet country bedding to dress it.  i have no experience in quilting but really wanted quilts for the little beds.  i decided that i would search for some kind of a patchwork printed fabric so i wouldn't have to sew all of those tiny squares myself.  i wasn't too hopeful that i would find something though, that wasn't too cutesy.  

imagine my surprise when i found this fabric 

at joann's.  i didn't know that they even carried anything like this.  

it's perfect.  and already quilted for me....i found this fabric for the back of the quilt. 

i love the mini-graphic print and it will be so cute when it is done.  

i already have the batting for the center and i plan on binding the quilt with fabric in the same color as the roses. i love how easy that this is going to be to put it together since most of the work is done for me.

 i think that the girls will love these beds, but in the meantime

i plan on using one of them for a couple of newborn shoots....

it think it would be perfect for that and i plan to make an extra one for me eventually. 

be sure to check out ana's site if you want to experiment in easy, basic woodworking. 

 i'm glad i did. 

linking up at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/2011/11/welcome-to-45th-masterpiece-monday.html