Four Glorious Years

Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet boy...

the greatest {early} Christmas gift I've ever received.

Dressing the Boy

Mom dressing toddler:

Oooohhhhh... these Superman underwear will help you do really good in school today with listening ears and helping hands.

Next your cool soccer jersey that's red and blue......and what is this number right here?......

OK, show momma how you can zip and snap your jeans all by yourself.

And remember, the grey part of your socks go on the ________??? Bottom! That's right! You're such a big boy!

And when you brush your teeth make sure you get alllllll the way to the back! Good job!


Dad dressing toddler:

Dude, get dressed, brush your teeth and make sure you bring your shoes down with you. You've got 5 minutes.

Tie One On

Last night when I was wrapping some party gifts, it occurred to me how hard it can be to get a bow tied on a package so it looks juuuuuuuust right.

I learned this little trick several years ago and thought I'd share it here.

I love to use tulle (found at craft and fabric stores) because it is easy to work with and very pretty.

Also, as a rule of thumb, I use the gift I am putting the ribbon on to "measure" how much to use. I usually use 4x the longest length of the package. Sounds a little corny, but it really does work.

For the bow:
Place your ribbon around the back of your gift and cross tie it around the front one time.

Next, turn your gift in the opposite direction from where you want the bow oriented in the end. My gifts are "vertical", so I will turn the gift horizontally for the next step.

Cross tie your ribbon again to form a knot. This is one reason why I love tulle so much. You can pull it really tight and it doesn't damage or crinkle the paper. Then tie a bow. You will see below that the bow wants to lay in the opposite direction in which is was formed. Instead of laying straight it is slightly off center.

Turn your gift again so it is oriented in the direction in which you intend and straighten the bow a little and it will stay.


Fluff and primp and add a tag. I like to put my ribbon on the upper 1/3 of the gift and add the tag below for something different. For this tag I used a large 3" scallop punch and initial stickers - both from the scrapbooking section at Michael's.

Happy wrapping, y'all!

This Manager is Busy, Y'All

Adam has his very own Nativity on the bookshelf in his room.

He calls it the Nak-tivity.

Sorta like activity with a Baby Jesus and a couple sheep thrown in for good measure.

The Nut and the Tree

It's that glorious time of year again around our house- also known as It's Time to Have Our Family Pictures Taken and Do Not Give Me Any Lip About Wearing That Sweater.

And, I cannot believe my husband's son would act up this way!

Look at how my husband's son is totally ignoring the photographer.

My husband's son is not even looking at the camera!

What terrible manners!

How rude!

Too bad The Little Nut belongs to The Crazy Momma Tree.