Whew...Happy New Year!

OK...so the fun thing about having a blog is that I can brag on my kids and husband at any time. (sorry about that!) The verdict is still out to see if any of the boys are going to be artistic like their father...but this was a fun start!

One of my favorite new traditions for our family is that we create many of our Christmas gifts. There is something about having the kids involved and creating something that you can not buy in a store that makes me VERY happy and takes the stress out of the chaos of the season! Here is one of our pieces from this past holiday and everyone in our family had a part in the creative process. I came up with the idea, Michael drew the head of the angel, Wesley's foot is the body of the angel, the twins hands are the wings and Christopher "fancied" it up! This particular piece was for my mom.

Thanks for allowing me to brag on my guys...I thought this was such a fun family project that I had to share! Happy, happy, happy 2012! I hope that it's filled with lots of activities and fun times for you and your family!

Halloween, Bugs and Potion...OH MY!

My husband is DEFINITELY the creative force behind Wacky Kracker. His talent allows our business to grow on a daily basis. It’s entertaining to throw a design suggestion at him and see his artistic talent take flight. I “dabble” in the creative side…I keep my eye on trends and give him suggestions but it is definitely his creative style that is the driving force behind this company. I have clients that will send me pictures and request to have it redrawn “Wacky Kracker” style…the ultimate compliment!

In my previous life, I was a personal chef. Cooking has been and still is a passion for me. I’ve been told that God gave me the experience as a personal chef because He knew that I was going to have 4 growing boys to feed. Soooo…this Halloween I had a few tricks up my sleeve and relied on some bribery techniques. I threatened the kids to be on their best behavior because my magic potion would turn them into a toad. It’s kind of like the “Santa” bribe. The “potion” will know if you’ve been bad, so you better be good or when you drink it…POOF! I also told them that they were going to have to eat bugs if they wanted to eat ANY of their Halloween candy. My oldest was onto me by this point but he played the game well! They were pleasantly surprised to see that the infamous bug was a twice baked potato with shrimp legs. I was told that it was the most creative dinner to date.

Christopher’s got me when it comes to drawing but I’ve got him when it comes to food. What a fun combination! I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Halloween! Have a happy week!

We just experienced our first Akela Cub Scout camp this weekend. (My back will never be the same.) I was excited about this trip for many reasons…time alone with my oldest boys, Christopher sleeping in a “tent” for the first time in his life, camping with some friends, and bonding with the boys while shooting wrist rockets, BB Guns and arrows. We had a fabulous time but we will be better equipped in the future. We had “THE” 5 star camper beside us. He had the Taj Mahal of tents: heater, indoor light, $200 flashlight and much more. The only thing he didn’t have…a coffee maker. He assured us that he will bring it next time. I knew we were in trouble when one of the dads walked up and laughed while we were struggling with our tent and said, “Now that’s an old tent…I haven’t seen a tent like that since I camped as a little boy!” Don’t get me wrong…I was grateful to have that OLD "teeny" tent on that COLD ~ Friday night! We squeezed in that tent like a bunch of sardines to keep warm! Body heat is an amazing thing...

Here’s where the trip was a little challenging…I was one of a few women that participated in this “guy” bonding adventure and now I know why. They seriously use a Latrine!!! It was a hole in the ground, with a wooden seat and 4 wooden walls…YIKES! What happened to the community bathrooms with running water at most campgrounds? And NOWHERE in the information about the weekend did it mention to bring toilet paper. This camp is definitely attended by mostly men. I had to use the buddy system with my sweet son so that he could “stand guard” while I used the restroom. Not one of my proudest moments but he was a real trooper. I pride myself in being a boy mom but the “latrine” is where I have to draw the line.

Needless to say, this weekend inspired me to design our PRINTABLE camping line of stationery. This is the perfect time of year for camp outs and s’mores. Have a happy day everyone!

Creepy Crawlin' Spiders

One of the many reasons that I love this business is that 90% of the time I’m dealing with MOMS!! I’m always so inspired by other’s creativity and suggestions. I have noticed over the last year that a lot of moms are looking for DIY solutions. So, I worked tirelessly this weekend on a new product line for Wacky Kracker. We will slowly start adding DIY printables for our most popular design themes. I decided to roll-out this new adventure with our 8-legged Halloween friend.

I was so whipped after staring at the computer for 2 days, that I headed towards the kitchen (as usual) to refocus my energy. So…with kids in tow, we decided to honor our lil’ spider with none other than CHOCOLATE “spider” cakes! How cute are these? For all of you moms out there (or grandmothers) looking for an easy project for the kids…this is it! **Ding Dong, poxy sticks, candy eyes and chocolate frosting** Let the kids go to work. The messier the better…just prepare yourself for the sugar high afterwards…yee-haw!

Have a happy week everyone!

Bats...eeeekkkk!

When I think of Halloween, I think of black cats and bats. Bats completely “creep” me out! It’s my least favorite exhibit at the zoo but my boys are so intrigued by the dark, cold and STINKY cave. I have vivid childhood memories of hitting a tennis ball high in the air ~ in my front yard ~ at dusk ~ and bats flying out of the trees to check it out! Yuck, yuck, yuck!

As we were putting up some of our Halloween Decorations this weekend, I decided to make a few bat-friendly projects for the kids. These bats aren’t stinky or creepy…

*I made bat straws for the boys. We’ve been labeling our drinks for the last 2 weeks b/c of our battle with strep throat. I thought this was a fun way of keeping the cups separate!

*One of our friends in the neighborhood got sick this weekend...so we sent him a Bat-O-Gram to let him know that we were thinking about him!

*On Friday, I found out that my oldest was…BLIND AS A BAT! I cried in the doctor’s office when he was reading the chart because he couldn’t see any of the letters. I was mortified…Mom of the Year Award…AGAIN! I LOVE his new look!

*And of course…here is our whimsical version of a bat. These are fun little stickers to attach to your Halloween goodies that you send out this year!

Have an awesome week everyone!

Pumpkin Fun

Fall is here! I always mark the beginning of the holiday season with our Annual trip to Lake Catherine. Last weekend, my father and his wife treated my family to a little cabin in the woods. This is a precious time for our family. There is NO internet and we all just eat, play and talk…A LOT! I love the holidays but they are a little frantic around our household because it is the busiest time of year for my family and our business. Every year I try to prepare for the 3 month period but somehow things can get chaotic FAST. Last year I got a virus on my computer and one of my best printers died. I was soooo close to a nervous breakdown. This year as my oldest and I were in the kayak I said, “When things get really stressful in the next couple of months, I’m going to remember this moment!” There is something about being on the lake…with my kids…and the ducks that makes everything OK!

*This year I took 4 pumpkins for the kids to decorate. Notice that I only purchased 4. I knew that if I were going to buy one for Christopher…I wouldn’t see him for the rest of the weekend. His pumpkin would have been an artistic masterpiece. I had more fun watching Christopher try really hard to let the kids express their creativity without taking it away from them. It must be difficult to be so artistically talented and watch your children be perfectly content with painting the whole pumpkin green and calling it a day.

*I made these pumpkin tea lights to decorate one of our tables and I think they are PRECIOUS (if I do say so myself)!

*We have 5 babies being born throughout our family over the next couple of months. I’m NOT going to drink the water! I love these lil’ pumpkin baby shower invitations to celebrate Fall babies!

From my hectic life to yours…I hope that your upcoming holiday season is a joyful and peaceful time of year! Let the ride begin…

Frankenstein

This is my favorite time of year! I get to combine all of my passions…family, food and crafts! There is something about the weather changing that makes me want to stay at home, play with the kids and EAT! As many of you know, I tend to be somewhat compulsive. This week my “fixation” was Frankenstein. I’m sure that it has everything to do with having 4 boys. (I had to buy pink shoes for my tennis match last weekend just to get a lil’ of my “girly” back…A splash of pink keeps me balanced!)

So here’s to my big green friend…

We started our weekend with a houseful of boys on Friday night. (mine and several others) I had them draw their own Frankenstein faces on plastic cups and we made some Green Gook Punch. (You know…the lime sherbet punch served at most bridal showers.) Ohhhh…how they loved to draw the scars on Frankenstein’s face.

We woke up Saturday morning and had to be at their school for a community service class project…planting flower beds. Nothing like waking up 6 boys under the age of 9 after an "all-nighter" for a project involving manual labor. However digging in the dirt was the perfect project for this group! It was a fun activity for our whole family! So…what better gift to give our teachers on Monday…Frankenstein Soap with it’s very own Frankenstein packaging!! (You can roll your eyes now…I told you that I'm a little compulsive.)

And the last project of the weekend…our Frankenstein stationery! Our Big Green Friend is now offered online at Wacky Kracker. Thank you Christopher! Cheers to a wonderful weekend! Have a happy day everyone!