ten (plus) smile tuesday

in the past week it has turned downright frigid outside...but we are warm and toasty, snuggled up in our sweatshirts and hats...still smiling. and okay, we're not really wearing our hats inside...but they look so stinkin' cute i almost wish we were! :) as you read through these smiles, you might also think i skipped straight from halloween to Christmas...forgetting all about good ol' thanksgiving...but nope, i'm definitely looking forward to some turkey, sweet taters, and pumpkin pie...just getting a head start on the Christmas crafting. :) anyway...on with the smiles.

1. time with two delightful girls...and there babes. thursday morning i met with two other gals who are interested in meeting together to sharpen and encouraged one another as wives, moms, and women. i'm so excited about this intentional time...and the blessing of our first get together. and, of course, it was quite fun to have jill and brennan stick around for a bit afterwards...as you can see, the girls LOVE them!

2. my new autumn table decor...have i mentioned that i LOVE candles...they just make me feel at home and cozy. it really is the simple things in life...and elizabeth thinks it is incredibly special to have all the candles lit.

3. this incredible recipe for pumpkin spice lattes in your crockpot. personally i think it is better than the starbucks version...and MUCH less expensive...not to mention you can enjoy it without going through the hassle of buckling the kiddos in carseats and leaving the house! :) you really should check out "a year of crockpotting"...so far all the recipes i've tried are really tasty and easy...and how fun that today's post goes right along with my smile #2). now if only i could invite each of you over to indulge in one of these tasty treats with me...but no worries...i shared them with jill and chrisy when we met thursday morning!

4. its the little things in life...really. when some friends canceled at the last minute saturday night elizabeth was quite bummed out, so we turned our carry-out pizza into a pizza picnic. kate thought sitting at the little table rather than the highchair was fabulous fun, and elizabeth, well, she just plain thought the whole thing was great fun. amazingly enough kate sat there through the whole meal (and didn't want to leave the table even when the rest of us were finished!). bonus #2 was discovering a new pizza place nearby...with awesome prices and our favorite pizza and breadsticks by far. (and just in case you wondered...we ordered bacon and tomato pizza...and if you haven't tried that combo you really should....YUM!)

5. red velvet holiday cookies...found this recipe in a magazine (i posted the recipe on good stuff maynard...so click on the cookie name or here to check it out!). mike declared that these are his new favorite cookie...they were elizabeth and kate tested and approved as well. as for the Christmas-y sprinkles...what can i say...the choice was between orange pumpkin sprinkles or these...the Christmas sprinkles were a better match to the red cookies....

6. the arrival of my first swap package from sweet aminta...aren't these the cutest cards ever! :) the package came complete with tasty chocolates as well. i am also delighted to know that my swap packages are on their way (and a couple have already arrived)...this was such a fun little project...and i'm getting excited about the Christmas swap!

7. crafty goodness. i feel like my time to craft comes in bursts and spurts...and the past week has been full of crafting...including these fun and easy magnets. you just need clear rocks (i found these in the fake floral section at wal-mart), magazines or scrapbook paper, modge podge, and magnets (i used the disc ones found in the craft section at wal-mart). trace the rock on your paper (or small pic from a magazine...which is what this set was made from), cut it out, modge podge it, stick pic to rock. use hot glue gun to attach magnet to back...and voila! i'll be making LOTS of these puppies this season...in fact, i already have. this set went to shanna with her swap packet.

8. remember the socks from this post? here they are now...well, at least a few pairs. (clearly some are still waiting for mouths, and the big guy is missing eyes...but you get the idea). i have 12 more monkeys waiting to be sewn together...and i'm working on a few different hat and scarf ideas. some of them will most likely hit the shelves of my etsy shop...but most of this monkey making frenzy is due to my sister's phone call and news that she would be willing to include them in her booth at the big crafty (a craft bazaar in asheville, NC). bring on the monkeys! if any of you are interested in a monkey (i have Christmas-y and non-Christmas-y leave me a comment or e-mail me theyakmom AT yahoo.com) and i'll set one aside for you...i'll even give you a special discounted price. :)

9. perhaps my favorite crafty endeavor this past week...a muffin tin advent calendar. this was such fun to create, and i can't wait to fill it with holiday activities, traditions (new and old) and fun for the month of december.

10. family time. we were planning to head to the prayer service at church sunday night, but at the last minute my oh so wise husband realized that what was best for our family was perhaps some downtime together instead. and, while praying is definitely a fabulous thing, and i'm sure the service was a blessing...he was so right. we headed to red robin, enjoyed some togetherness and balloons...and oh my, kate was so into wanting a balloon...so cute!

11. this face...this is kate lunging for me as i tried to capture a smile...the face is priceless! :)

12. i wish i had video of this last smile...it is too precious. i'm going to try to get video tonight, because i simply know it is something i will cherish as long as i live. last night at bedtime elizabeth snuggled into my lap and chose her two books...one of which was "go dog go". she proceeded to read the entire book to me...only missing a few words here and there. i know it was from memory....not reading per se...but it just illustrated to me what a sponge she really is at this age (and reminded me that she really DOES remember even when she pretends not to). the cutest part was listening to the inflection of her voice as she read...showing excitement, pausing, and all of that...this little girl really has been listening when mommy and daddy read! she also amazed me by "reading" the Monkey's Miserable Monday book from M week (a couple weeks ago) to Kate yesterday afternoon. i was finishing up dinner and oh how it brought joy to my heart to hear her say, "here kate kate...i will read to you." even better...when i peeked around the corner kate was just sitting there...right next to elizabeth...listening and pointing to the pictures. melt my heart! :) hopefully i will have some "go dog go" video to post soon! :)

13. snapfish...took advantage of the free 8x11 photo book offer last week (the coupon ended friday...but if you have it be sure to make your book by the 23rd!)...i created a color book for the girls using pictures from around the house and writing little poems to go with the colors. it is more kate's speed...but elizabeth will love it simply because of the pictures from around the house (and of her and kate!)...and the fact that she helped find the items. i also just ordered our christmas cards today...i know, its early...and they definitely won't get sent out until much closer to Christmas...but snapfish had two great offers...your first 20 cards were just a penny a piece plus shipping (so $6.00ish) (with the code CARD08)...then i placed a second order for the rest of my cards, using the coupon code (SHIPALLFREE)--this code is good today only. (i did two orders since you can only use one code per order...it was cheaper this way).