Mama's turned into Santa's little Elf!

Everyone that knows me, knows that I LOVE the holiday season....  Around November I start planning my Black Friday shopping plan and load my Christmas CDs in my car. Sorry munchkins.... LOL! I have changed things a bit this year though.... I have started CRAFTING HOMEMADE GIFTS!!! I love it! So much fun!

Burlap Wreaths starting $35 and up.... Ornament Wreaths starting $40 and up!

The Holidays are Here!

Well this year has flown by! And now here we are in full swing of the holiday season!! So my crafty self has decided to make homemade gifts and holiday decor! All are custom... So excited!! Here are some of my gifts and decor for sale.... visit my only store! www.kriscraftycreations.wix.com/kriscraftycreations

Have a great day everyone!

Kris's Crafty Creations Homemade Gift Shop is now OPEN!

I am so excited to say that I have created an online gift shop and it is open for business!

Come on in and check it out! http://kriscraftycreations.wix.com/kriscraftycreations

All gifts are handmade with love by me :) Have a wonderful day!

Welcome November!

Wow, this year has gone by so fast! I can not believe that next month marks the end of the year! We had such a fun Halloween yesterday! My munchkins are growing like weeds! They had such a fun time trick or treating..... Madisyn was Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Dominic was a pirate....

Have a wonderful day!

Time to get moving......

Recently I have decided that I am going to share my crafts with the public. This will help me to earn some money and keep my sanity while the munchkins are at school.....

So I am now selling my homemade hot/cold rice packs and homemade facial scrubs..... So far so good! Orders are coming in and I am now busy.... very busy! LOL

I guess it's time to add my available stock on my blog for all of my loyal friends to view and purchase via Paypal or credit card...... We will see!

Have a great day everyone <3

Our Disney Vacation Countdown Begins....

So I have been MIA for the past couple weeks.... dealing with the wisdom teeth issues and just regrouping. On the mend and now it is time to focus on the next task..... OUR DISNEY VACATION!!!

We are all so excited! We have all of our Disney CDs in the cars and it is nonstop Disney conversation in the house....

We are winding down to the last couple of days for the kids in school.... We have Dominic's parent/teacher conference today and Madisyn's conferences tomorrow.... I know they will both be positive :)

This is normal for us, but it will be a much needed vacation to connect with family. Cannot Wait....

It is Day 5 post surgery and I am hoping that I will be able to have real food soon.... See you all soon!

Another busy day in the life of Mama

Tuesdays are always our chaotic days! Scouts and Cheer... need I say more?!

Getting really excited about our upcoming vacation..... well in October! Had a great day yesterday.... the hubster is now training for a higher position which will help us tremendously! WTG Baby!!!

Today I have the task of taking Maddie's Flute into the shop and prepping for my cub scout meeting tonight. Award night tonight and I am excited and nervous at the same time since I will be preforming a bob cat ceremony for one of my wolf cubs.... wish me luck!!!!

Well, I have to get off of here and get some housework done before I get unmotivated..... see you all soon!

Stay at Home Mamas need money too....

So I have decided that I can still contribute to our family income with a home based business. I tried AVON and it was great for a while, but fizzled out quick with little to no money in my pocket. So I have done my research and a lot of thinking.... I have decided to join the Origami Owl team.....

I am super excited and know that this is something that my daughter will eventually like to join me in later! So I signed up for the waiting list.... Yes, I said waiting list to become a designer.... Hopefully this happens soon since I would love to share my stuff for Christmas! Wish me luck!!! I am ready to be off and running soon!!

There's no down time for Mama

So I have been having issues with my mouth since I took a newer medication. Since stopping the medication, my gums and teeth have not been the same so I put my big girl panties on and went to the dentist. Come to find out, I need both wisdom teeth extracted on the bottom.... UGH!

So here I am, swollen face and in pain, but there is no down time for a mama..... still time to make dinner and help with homework.... Hope everyone else is having a great day!

Saturday Morning.... A day with my munchkins.....

Today is the day of the week that I look forward to.... a day with my munchkins....

Dinner is planned and I have already ran my errands, did some housework, etc....

Now it's time to plan my activities with the munchkins.... homemade play dough and maybe another project... And of course I have to plan dessert since the hubster is a fan of my new found obsession of trying new desserts.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Canning Anyone?

I am loving being a stay at home mom! And while I am at home, I have noticed that I am actually using the pins that I have accumulated on Pinterest.....

With this said, I am going to attempt to start canning! I am excited and I think the hubster is too. First things first.... I have to get some mason jars and I think they have a canning kit at Joann Fabrics or at Walmart. Maybe Amazon.... either way, I think that this would be a good opportunity to learn something new and share it with my munchkins.

Maybe they can pass it on to their kids later in life.... I think my first canning projects will be homemade dill pickles and orange marmalade made especially for my father in law.... wish me luck!

Good Morning Sunshine....

I have been up since around 4 am.... Not complaining though. I love getting up and spending time with the hubster before he leaves for work, plus I had to make his lunch....

Today is my catch up day.... I will be finishing all of the things that I did not get to yesterday. Oh and it is half day for the kiddos.....

Banana muffins in the oven and getting the kiddos moving. On the menu for dinner tonight, Mama's Famous Chicken Casserole... I will add this recipe today with pictures! Have a great day!

I love rainy days....

It's raining out and it inspires me to bake.... craft..... clean....

Should be a productive day in the Estrada house.... Thinking I am going to make a banana cream pie, finish some fun crafts that I will gladly post on here for your viewing pleasure.

Laundry is on my list of to dos and maybe I will finally get to the loft.... The highlight of my day will be planning an activity for Cub Scout Parent Info Night...tonight!

See you later.....

The first Saturday of every month.... Home Depot Day!!!

I love it when I am able to find inexpensive things to do with the kiddos. Especially the Home Depot kid craft days! This is the day that the kids get to go and pound out a project.... FOR FREE! They get an apron, their project materials and a collector's pin. It's fun and they are able to use tools that they normally do not use on a day to day basis. It helps with hand - eye coordination and helps them learn how to use their critical thinking skills.... Best of all, you do not have to register to do them. I found that Lowes offers the same thing, but they have limited spots so you have to register way in advance in order to get a spot. At Home Depot, all you have to do is show up between 9am and 12 noon. Easy Peazy!

Next up... eye doctor appointments for the kids, then my monthly grocery trip.... Have a great day everyone!

Just one of those days....

Tossed and turned all night with a bad toothache that has decided to stick around for a bit.... Guess it's a good day for some chick flicks! watching movies while cleaning the kitchen makes it a lot better....

Tuesday... Craft Day.... Cub Scout Night!!!

I love this day! I think Tuesday is one of my favorite days of the week because we always have something to do. I dropped the kids off this morning after over sleeping 30 minutes.... Darn alarm!

Today I am going to put together my Menu Board for home to help plan the week's menu. I'm really excited to do this. I am also going to make homemade play dough.... The kids will be so surprised to see that!

I have the BBQ pulled pork in the crockpot - so dinner is cooking already :) I just love crockpot meals, especially on Cub Scout day! Oh yeah, Cub Scouts are every Tuesday night for an hour... of course I'm the Wolf Den Leader. It Pack Meeting night, which means I get to hand out my den awards and we do some fun stuff as a pack.... Can't Wait!!!

Well, I'm off to straighten the house a little.... today's tasks include tidying up the loft and foyer, dishes and vacuuming..... See you later!

Monday....Time to plan the week....

Monday really came too fast. Last night I thought it was Saturday..... lol. This is the start of week 2 for the munchkins. They are already comfortable with their new school hours (they go in earlier and get out earlier than years before), and they are settled in their class routines. So proud of them!

Tonight we are having homemade beef and vegetable rice bowls. Sounds yummy! I updated some of my coupon info and added my huevos rancheros recipe, hope you all enjoy.

I have also decided to make a craft page for all of my crafty followers! It will be up soon!! Tomorrow is our second cub scout meeting and it is Pack meeting which means bring on the awards! Dominic is receiving 2 achievement awards that he worked on this summer. Can't wait to see his face when he gets them.

Have a great day and I will see you all later.

Sunday.... Coupon Day.... Yay!

I look forward to Sundays, especially Sunday Newspapers. I have been couponing for a few years now and I must say that it is addicting! Today's newspaper had five inserts so there were plenty of coupons to clip....

It was a nice day today, the munchkins were very happy and not fighting as brother and sister do all the time. Leftovers for dinner so I must say it was such an easy day today.... Time to get the kids in school mode again and pack up the backpacks.... Can't wait to see what the week has in store for us..... crafting, chores, planning our monthly grocery shopping trip.... all I know is that I love being able to be here for the munchkins when they wake up and be here for them when they get home. 'Til tomorrow everyone.... have a great night!

Feeling Crafty.... Here's my Family Week Board

I was feeling a little crafty this morning, so I decided to make this cute Family Week Board. I just used a picture frame I purchased at Walmart a few years ago, I think it was about $5 and looked through my scrapbook paper for fun designs. Then I cut the scrapbook paper to fit into the frames and used a permanent marker to hand write the days of the week. Now I can use my dry erase markers on this and put all of our  happenings on it for the week. It beats having a calendar up for all to see, then you don't display your bill due dates. :)

Healthy Spaghetti .... Yes please

Cleaning Dominic's Room..... I may end up on a Milk Carton!

I finally caved.... I could not take one more day walking pass the room of no return. SO I went in hoping to eventually make it out alive. Let me tell you, I am surprised that there were no science experiments in there waiting for me. I did however find wrappers and kool-aid pouches all over!

Rule 1: Absolutely no food or drink in the room.... Guess that did not last long, but it will definitely be enforced now!

Rule 2: Make sure your laundry can not walk on it's own! I saw a lot of questionable clothing items in there.... UGH!!

Rule 3: Everything has a place, PUT IT BACK!

Let's see how long this lasts :) I should have done a before and after picture. Hope everyone has a great day!

Friday Already..... Now what?!

This week flew by.... Yesterday was a slacker day for me I guess, thank you Mr. Major Migraine! Now back to business. I think today is the day to start getting my Family Organization Binder together, I'm kind of excited. I found a lot of resourceful things to put into my both that I would have not thought about via Pinterest. By the way, has anyone else ever just stopped and asked what you did before discovering Pinterest? Seriously! :)

Eventually, I will be weeding through my pins and putting together a project list for the kids and I to do on the weekends while Daddy is away at work. Then on his days off we can build the Adult projects while the kids are at school. Sounds like a pretty good plan as long as he is on board. :)

I also think it is time to get our family photos updated.... the one that I put up on here was in 2009. And boy you can tell if you have seen my munchkins lately. I guess it is time to see my options in the area. Gonna stick to our country themed house with our cowboy boots and jeans. Just glad that we live out in the country, maybe we can find a site with an old tractor and barns. I can't wait to post them!!!

Guess it's time to get the munchkins up for school.... see you later! Hopefully I can post pictures of my binder once it's finished....

Press On Nails..... Epic Fail!

After a short nap and a mineral bath, I feel a little better. I had a huge migraine that refused to go away. So I thought, "Hey maybe I will finally put those press on nails on".... yeah right! Why do they make it look easy? I have glue all over my fingers and at least two fingers were stuck together for a good ten minutes.... Epic Fail!!! I'm gonna just stick to going to the professionals. Hope everyone is having a great day. Almost munchkin time!!! 'Til then, I will be frantically taking off the finger nail glue......

Not noon yet..... Really?!

It's not even noon yet and I feel like I have already accomplished so much. Dinner is defrosting and I have already taken the munchkins to school, got gas, and ran to Walmart. Believe it or not, running to Walmart after taking the kids to school is the best time to go. Walmart is quiet and it is nice to walk the isles and look at things I don't really need. At least I made it out of there under $100.

Before school I had to deal with the "I think I'm sick" discussion with my daughter. It's only 4 days into the school year and I am already hearing it?! This is gonna be a long year, LOL! I was surprised Dominic was awake and ready to go on time.... yesterday we had a hiccup, tears and all in the front of the school. Seriously.... breaks my heart. But today was much better for him.

Time for a break and Army Wives on the Netflix.... Maybe a few episodes before the cleaning starts up for the day. Maybe I can sneak in a nap too since I was up at the crack of dawn....

Up at 4:30 am.... Seriously??!!

Well I guess I am going to get a jump on the day early. To be honest, I have been lounging in bed since 2 am... don't ask me why because I don't have an answer. :) Since I started my SAHM (Stay at Home Mom) journey Monday, I of course stalked Pinterest on ideas about SAHM life. So far everyone has said it's important to have a routine for organization and SANITY.

Time for CPR.... Coffee, Plan Routine! This should be fun and interesting.... with a busy family life, we are definitely long overdue. Madisyn recently was able to attend a 3 day cheer camp and now she is hooked. SO first on the list is register her for cheer today or tomorrow. I actually found a less expensive competitive cheer program, so this will keep her active and allow her to have fun and meet new people.

I also have taken the position of Den Leader for the Wolf Den. Dominic is super excited to have me as his leader. We just had our first meeting Tuesday and boy did we do a lot. Achievement 1 in the Wolf Book down only 11 more achievements to go! I have to say, I felt pretty awesome watching the boys have some much fun and know that I helped them feel good about themselves. The leader uniform is something to get use to since I am not a button up shirt wearing person.... give me a T-shirt and jeans and I'm set. :)

Well.... guess I should really start planning and finishing my coffee. 6:30 wake up for the kids will come up quick.... I'll be back later to share my progress and add to my recipes.

First week of School..... Here goes nothing!

So this week my two munchkins started school. Madisyn started sixth grade and Dominic started second grade. Needless to say middle school is foreign land and I'm sure I will have to come up with a guidebook for first timers. There are new expectations not only for Maddie, but for me too! Seriously?

Dominic, on the other hand, has this down. He was the one that was the most excited to get to school and talk about his adventures with his grandparents in California this summer. I guess that is why he just turned and waved once he entered the classroom.... no kiss goodbye, no hug.... where does time go?

I'm actually pretty lucky that they both go to the same school still. Yep, their school is kindergarten through eighth grade. We are at the mid point of the week and so far so good. Maddie is still getting the hang of changing classes and understanding the expectations of homework daily. In elementary there was a packet of homework to be done weekly, no more slacking Maddie. :)

All joking aside, I couldn't be more proud of them! 

I can do this... Mama's First Blog

Welcome to my blog! After working for most of my adult life, my wonderful husband has given me the option to stay home and raise our two munchkins, Madisyn and Dominic. So I decided to share the ins and outs of our family journey together.... Trust me, there is never a dull moment! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy our stories....

~Kristina