Free November 2012 Computer Desktop Background

Happy November friends! I hope you are all in candy comas after last night! AND if you've used any of our Halloween printables, we SO want to see! Tag us in your Facebook photos or on Instagram, so we can be amazed by your party genius!

NOW: Desktop Calendar comes in two sizes, widescreen, and regular. Make sure you grab the one that fits your computer screen best!

1024x768 version   |  1280x800 version

(regular sized monitor)             (Wide screen monitor)

This months desktop features the Modern Fall free digital scrapbook kit from Persnickety Prints and some elements from My Memories Suite, our favorite digital scrapping software! To hear why it's our favorite, and to get a $10 off coupon, visit this link.

REMEMBER! Use code STMMMS32407 for $10 off your purchase PLUS a $10 coupon in your software to use in the My Memories Suite online store!

Happy Halloween from US.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

i can't even think of a title.

Hurricane Sandy is going on right now and naturally, our lovely county has closed everything down. We had no school today, and it's been cancelled for tomorrow as well.

We still have power, and internet, and I don't think we'll lose it. In the last few weather related calamities, my neighborhood has been fine. All around us, power is out, but our little area is always just fine. I like to think it's a perk of living in a newer house.

The crazy weather is making my body hurt, though. Luckily, I have pills for that.

Speaking of pills, my neuro gave me some new migraine samples to try, because the ones he wants me to use are POWDER. And I have to mix them. And it tastes like toothpaste and cough syrup diluted with chalk, and instead of my head feeling better, I laid on the bathroom tile trying not to throw up. SO. I got a different kind of medicine, (a regular pill, that I just swallow, thankyouverymuch), and I don't like it either. It made my chest so tight, and then I was paranoid, and also WIDE AWAKE and itchy. So I decided I'd rather have a headache.

And now I'm going to do my homework before I lose (or not) power.

Free Printable Skeleton Cupcake Wrappers

In case you're in need of some last minute Halloween cupcake wrappers, then try these:

Just click the picture to download these free skeleton cupcake wraps.  And have a Happy Halloween!

Free Printable Halloween Bingo

Get our free printable Halloween Bingo game with four bingo cards, a set of calling cards, and instructions.  It's lots of fun to play and we guarantee that your kids will probably kind of like it, maybe.

The Nerve of Some People

I officially have carpal tunnel in both wrists.

It was fun. I got to have an EMG, which is code for: your doctor is going to shock you 1000 times then poke you with a needle repeatedly while you just sit there and pretend not to notice.

I also have a pinched nerve in my elbow, which is fun. And also, I have non-carpal tunnel nerve damage in both arms. GO ME.

I just get annoyed that I have to have these sorts of tests. I mean, I KNOW I have carpal tunnel, YOU know I have it. Do I really have to have these kinds of tests? Especially when there's nothing they can really do. The doctor's just like, "Yep, you have it. Keep wearing your sexy braces."

Not that he really said they were sexy.

It's just dumb because then we have to go over all the causes of carpal tunnel. Well GUESS WHAT SHERLOCK: I USE MY HANDS ALL THE TIME.

I sew, I type, I cook, I clean, I paint, I draw, I play the piano, I do hair. Everything that I love to do uses all ten of my fingers.

Plus, I have nerve issues anyways, it's not like this is a big surprise.

At any rate, for now, we do nothing. I'm supposed to wear braces to bed, and whenever I wake up with numbness in my hands, I should wear braces that day.

Of course, this means that I need to get new braces, because even though I HAVE them, they don't MATCH, and if I have to look like an idiot during the day wearing braces, I should at least have the decency to have them match. I mean, I wouldn't go out wearing two different shoes. IT'S PRACTICALLY THE SAME THING.

DIY Perry the Platypus Halloween Costume for under $10

My 6 year old really wanted to be Perry the Platypus for Halloween. I thought this was an awesome idea, so I made it happen, for under $10. 

First things first, I hit up our local thrift store for any fabric in the right color. I had my fingers crossed that I could find an sheet or blanket, but I happened upon two adult sized sweaters, which worked out fabulously. I also purchased an orange baseball cap for Perry’s bill, and I already had felt to use for eyes.  also pictured slightly: a green fedora that I painted brown, because I could not find a brown fedora in an acceptable price range.

The arms for from the long sleeved sweater were turned into pants. I also trimmed down the sweater vest to fit my child, and used the extra fabric from the sides to add small sleeves to the vest.

For Perry the Platypus’ head, I built his face around the collar of the sweater. (If you found a hoodie, that would be great, but I didn’t, so, you know, I improvised.)

I added a third rectangular piece to the back of the collar so it could fit over our rather large heads.

I made sure to stitch the ball cap to the head piece so that A) we wouldn’t lose any pieces and B) it’s easier to put on one thing than two.

The last thing I did was make the tail and shoe covers. Using an old orange sweatshirt, I cut off one arm for the tail, and used the remaining fabric for feet. I attached elastic to the backs of the shoe covers for stability. 

And that is how we came to have one pretty happy, Perry the Platypus trick or treater in our midst.

The Letter G and Opposites for Preschoolers

This week we're going to keep doing Halloween stuff for our preschool activities.  Because it's fun.  So we're covering the letter G (for ghost) and then doing a matching opposites game.

	We're going to watch this awesome "Gimme G" Storybots video over and over and over.  And then we're going to print out the letter G tracing page and letter G coloring page from storybots.com
	We're going to make one of these ghosts out of a paper plate and hang it up. Idea courtesy of Kaboose.
	I saw the idea for this paper bag ghost craft on Oriental Trading, but I didn't want to have to order supplies, so I just threw together a printable for it instead. It has a cute poem on it and you can make the ghost say, "Boo!" because the mouth goes up in the flap of the paper bag. Also we made a boy and a girl ghost. Because my children require it.
	Since I also want to cover opposites, we're going to print out this sheet of opposites flash cards and play concentration with them. Then we're going to walk around the house pointing out other opposites until my preschooler gets the idea (or I get sick of pointing to things...whichever comes first).

So that's what we're doing this week!

And then...

Tonight we tried a new bedtime routine called "Put the younger kids in bed first because they need more sleep".

It did not go well.

First, Taylor had to come down the stairs and tell me that her hands weren't working right.

Then Daniel had to come down and tell me that Taylor was looking at him.

Then Taylor had to come and tell me that she wasn't looking at Daniel, she was looking at his monkey.

Then I had to go and turn off the light again.

Then Taylor had to come down and tell me that her head was hurting, and that there is a mean boy at school... except that she couldn't remember his name, and maybe it was a girl? Or maybe it was her teacher. Mostly, she just was sure that she couldn't go to sleep if people were going to be mean to her.

Then Taylor had to come down again, because she decided Daniel was being mean to her.

So Daniel had to come down and tell me that he wasn't being mean, he just accidentally looked at her.

Then Taylor had to remind us all that she never said you could look at her.

So Daniel reminded her that he never wanted to look at her stupid head.

Then Taylor said that Daniel's head was stupider.

And Daniel said, "NO IT NOT!"

And Taylor said, "UH HUH!"

And Daniel goes, "NUH UH!"

And then our Dad roared up the stairs "SHUT UP AND GET IN BED"

And then Daniel and Taylor had to talk about how mean Dad was.

And then Daniel remembered that he was hungry.

And Taylor remembered that she was thirsty.

And then I remembered what it was like a long time ago, when my kids were babies, and my house was silent and still from 6pm to 6am.

And then Taylor looked at Daniel again.

Rinse. Repeat. Times six.

Things of Pinterest

Fall colors are tons of fun, so why not gather some of the fallen leaves and do something with them?  I found a lot of great leafy ideas on pinterest:

http://www.kokokokids.ru/2011/09/fall-leaves-craft-ideas.html

I love this leaf animal - and there are so many other great animals to make too.  The best part is - you can gather all the supplies (leaves) on a brisk autumn walk.

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/foliage-friends-671141/

 Or if you don't want to make a whole picture out of leaves, why not throw them in with some doodles?  Regular doodling is fun, but doodling with leaves - WAY MORE FUN.

http://www.themotherhuddle.com/leaf-creatures-leafin-the-fun-to-the-kids/

 Let the kids have a good time before your leaves get too crunchy and glue them to a craft stick and throw on some googley eyes.  They won't last forever, but they'll last long enough to have some fun!

http://buildmakecraftbake.com/2009/04/how-to-hammered-flower-and-leaf-prints.html

 Get some watercolor paper and some juicy colorful leaves and hammer out some natural prints.  It's cool that these prints use only the leave's natural pigments.

http://familyfun.go.com/earth-day/earth-day-crafts/nature-crafts/leaf-mobile-1024890/

Make a leaf mobile by drying some leaves and sticking them between clear contact paper.  Or you can do it the Martha Stewart way and dip the leaves in wax.  Either way, your mobile is guaranteed to last awhile!


You can check out our other pinterest favorites by looking on our pin boards!

The Letter S for Preschoolers

So I took a few weeks off of worrying about preschool.  It's because we moved.  And that is my excuse - it is a good one.  This week we're just casually getting back into it, and we're covering the letter S and doing a review of colors (my daughter knows most of her colors, but it never hurts to go over them again).

• We'll be playing with the Skeleton paper dolls I posted yesterday.

 • We're going to put together this articulated skeleton, because he has a crazy face and I love him. You can download the skeleton for free at Origami and Stuff 4 Kids.

• We'll be going on a walk to gather brightly colored leaves and then we're going to make animals out of them after we name the colors and all that good stuff.  (If you want a better idea of what I'm talking about make sure to check our "Things of Pinterest" tomorrow, because it's all about art you can make with leaves!)

 • We'll be printing the tracing page and coloring page for the letter S from my new favoritest of all time websites Storybots.com.  This website is amaaaaaaaazing.  It's super cute, fun for kids, has great videos, and it's from the creators of jibjab, whom I already adored.  The website is new so they're still working on some of the videos and stuff, but you can get the corresponding app in which you can put your kids' faces into cute story books and make reading even more fun!  My whole family loves it!


And that's what we're doing this week!  Hopefully now that we're mostly out of boxes we can keep up our preschool schedule each week, so check back next week!

This week in Binghamville

So I ran out of the meds I take for UCTD (undifferentiated connective tissue disease) a while ago because my doctor wanted to see how my body handles not being on them.

My body is revolting.

My hands hurt so badly that it makes me want to cry. The joints in my fingers feel like they're frozen, and I've been dropping everything and unable to get a solid grip with my right hand, which kinda makes it hard to function because I'm right handed.

At any rate, my appointment with the rheumatologist is in 10 more days, but I'm going to call up tomorrow and beg him to refill it NOW, so that my hands will work again. I really like being able to bend my fingers. Plus, why can't all medicine be magical and work instantly? Even if I get my refill tomorrow, it will take another couple of weeks to take full effect, and that's just crazy talk.

In children news: they're doing alright. Taylor had two cavities filled, because she has been blessed with my soft teeth. Blayne is in some gifted math program, and it's going okay, but I'm monitoring it closely, because if she starts getting overwhelmed, I'm pulling her out. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that she's being challenged, but they expect her to do all her regular schoolwork, PLUS the extra crap. So far, it's okay, but that girl wants to please everyone and would never complain about anything, so I have to be extra vigilant in my supervision.

Thaddeus is crazy as ever, and his schoolwork is going great. He needs to work on his penmanship, but he just doesn't have time to waste on writing things neatly. That kid moves FAST.

Then we have Daniel, who is in the throes of a terrible growth spurt, so his body hurts all the time, making him a miserable person to be around. AND we had to get him new shoes, but he doesn't know how to tie his laces, but we couldn't find any big enough with velcro, so I have to tie and untie his shoes every day and I hate it. I've tried showing him how to tie his shoes, but he gets frustrated, which leads to fits, which leads to missing the bus, and IT'S A WHOLE THING PEOPLE. Plus, we got him hi top sneakers, because they are awesome and were on sale, and it's probably the worst decision I have ever made in my life. Hi top sneakers for children that can't tie their own laces are the devil.

The end.

Skeleton Paper Dolls Printable

We loooooooooooove Halloween.  It's creepy and fun.  I made these boy and girl skeleton paper dolls for my kids to play with this week, because skeletons are also creepy and fun (and these ones are sort of cute, too).

You can download these paper dolls for free, and you'll get:

• boy and girl skeleton kids
• t-shirt and jeans outfit for each
• pajamas for each
• pumpkin costume
• mummy costume

Just remember that all of our stuff is for personal use only, no redistribution allowed.  And if you love us make sure to share that love on facebook, pinterest, or, you know, where ever.  Thanks!

Doing it Well

I feel like all I talk about these days is school. But that's mostly because that is what my life revolves around. Therefore, GET USED TO IT.

Mostly I want to tell you how hard my software design class is kicking my trash. Like I've said before, it's not that it's HARD, it's just tedious, and I always feel like I'm not quite getting it. (Especially right now, when we're talking about looping, and dead ends, and indirect relationships between parallel arrays, and I. AM. LOST.)

ANYWAYS.

Today, my professor wanted to have a 2 minute meeting with all the student, and talk about where we needed to improve, and what our grades are and what they should be and all that good stuff.

I was silently giving myself a pep talk and hoping that I was pulling a C. Because, as I've said, I FEEL LOST.

Imagine my surprise when I found out I have an A.... a HIGH A. And he said that I was doing "fantastic."

AND MY MIND IS BLOWN.

Because I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but apparently, I'm doing it well.

Halloween Round-Up

It's no secret that Halloween is my favorite holiday. I mean, I just LOVE everything about it. (Okay, well, most everything.) Costumes, candy, tricks... I just think it's a super fun holiday to celebrate.

And we have our share of Halloween crafts, treats, and printables on this site, so this is our friendly reminder post that is going to round-up all of the Halloween goodness!

1) candy corn pizza | 2) toilet paper roll monsters | 3) spooky flip book | 4) cheesy mummy snack

1) Halloween lunch note jokes | 2) Halloween poem printable | 3) Boo printable | 4) witch parking printable

1) Halloween Party Printables |  2) Halloween crayon box  | 3) monster bookmarks  |   4) spider eyeball topiary   |  5) monster bash party printables

Happy Haunting! 

Free October 2012 Computer Desktop Background

Man alive people, I'm sorry the desktop is late! I have a million good excuses that mostly come down to LIFE, but it's finally here and ready for download!

October is my FAVORITE mostly because I love Halloween SO SO MUCH! (All the fun, with none of the pressure!) This month's desktop makes use of the Little Ghoulies kit by Just So Scrappy, but it's not TOO Halloween-y, so hopefully you all can enjoy it!

As always, the desktop comes in two sizes, so make sure you grab the one that fits your monitor best.

1024x768 version   |  1280x800 version

(regular sized monitor)             (Wide screen monitor)

COMING SOON:  I made a totally cute Perry the Platypus costume, and I'm going to show you how I did it.