Homemade Christmas.

We love University of Michigan football and Nick is already following in our footsteps. He loves to watch the players run and jump and touch the banner at home games. We decided to make him a banner just like it! I used felt from Joann's. Jeff printed out letters for me to use as templates. I cut out the letters, tacked them down with glue, then hand sewed them on. I sewed casings on the sides so we can put the banner up on dowels and I put grommets at the top so we can hang it in the basement. I am so thrilled with the results and I can't wait to give it to him on Christmas!

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for each new day.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for Nick's daycare, because knowing he is well-cared for makes it easier for me to pursue my career with peace of mind.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for getting a do-over each day.

Merry Christmas, Mom.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for alone time, every once in a while.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for a holiday that reminds us how much we have for which to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for libraries.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for chocolate.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for control+z.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for the United States Armed Forces.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for treats that help perk me up when I'm down.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for the human capacity for creativity.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for crockpots - a working Mom's best friend.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for days when I get enough sleep to actually feel rested.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for my job.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for NPR.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for college football, imperfect as it is.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for modern medicine - when it's used judiciously.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for my mom message board, without which I could not have survived the past 2.5 years!

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for the international media, flaws and all.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for music.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for technology.

30 Days of Thanksfulness.

I am thankful for books.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for my family's health.

30 Days of Thanksfulness.

I am thankful for my son.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for my husband.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful for my sister.

30 Days of Thankfulness.

I am thankful that I was born in the United States of America, the greatest country in the world.

Debt.

We have been mostly adhering to Dave Ramsey's baby steps for about a year now. We are about six months away from meeting our goal of being debt-free except for our mortgage. The primary tool we have used is a budget. We use mint.com to track our spending and keep us on budget. We hope to stick to a budget even after achieving our goals, it'll just be a more relaxed budget! Here is a link to a good post about creating a budget: What are the best features of a winning budget?

Homemade Halloween Costume 2011.

Jack O' Lanterns.

Best.Truck.Ever.

Halloween Crafts.

Today we were home sick, so we took advantage of the day at home to do some Halloween crafts. I wanted to do these milk jug ghosts last year but I ran out of time and thought they were more difficult than they really are. I just cleaned them out, peeled off the labels, drew faces on one side (keep the cap on so the jug is more sturdy when you draw the faces), then I cut holes in the back using regular scissors and strung Christmas lights from jug to jug. It's raining tonight so I'll have to take a picture with the lights on later. We also carved pumpkins. I'll post a picture of those later too.

Haircut.

Being "gazelle intense" doesn't leave much money for haircuts. My hair was really really long - too long, in fact. So my friend Emily offered to cut it for me. I admit I was a little nervous, but it was so long we decided she could cut it and leave enough that I could have it re-cut if I didn't like it. Luckily I love it!

First Flowers.

My son picked flowers for me for the first time today. Swoon!!

25 Months Old.

Today my son is 25 months old. For some reason, that seems so much older than "2." I am having a hard time with this. :(

Espresso Machine.

I decided to splurge and purchase a home espresso machine. I researched all the different types and settled on a superauto - the kind where you push a button and within 35 seconds or so, you have a shot of espresso. I bought a Saeco Vienna Superauto off of eBay. We've had it for a little over a week and WOW - I feel very spoiled! I've had at least one latte a day since we bought it. It is an amazing little machine. But I am already looking forward to an upgrade in a year or so :)