WINNER!!

Craftmom - Wins - Magnificent Manicure Kit !!!

Keep an eye out for more contests!!

Pumpkins, Facepaint and Invites for the Spookfest...

Sunday we drove to Kenosha Wisconsin to see my MIL and hang out - it was supposed to be Halloween day out there (the Sunday before Halloween - from 3-6 - been that way for YEARS) NOPE NOT THIS YEAR! It has to fall on Halloween lol ... Amber was upset but we made it up by going to Smith Pumpkin Farm out there and getting her face painted, some nice hot apple cider, walking around picking up small mini pumpkins and Grandma spoiling her rotten with a candy covered apple that has sprinkles... ohh I can't wait to be asked to cut that up and have her eat it - can we say sugar high??

It was fun, nice to get out and it was really a nice day weather wise, so it all worked out. Some pictures

Click here to view these pictures larger

But in all the excitement I FORGOT to make her invitations for the party Saturday... I had to quickly make invites this morning - found a neat template online Click HERE

Then I whipped out the cardstock, some old ribbon, my glue gun and poof! I've got an invite that's not horrible lol Let me tell ya, I had 2 hrs and a kid calling from school asking if there were done yet and could I add pjs to the list since its pjs day and we didn't know. Ughh... Its definitely Monday!!

Closed and Open



Close Up on the inside

Christmas is 63 days away... Crazy isn't it!

Christmas is 63 days away... Crazy isn't it!

I'm done planning Halloween - just getting ready to enjoy it. I've gotten almost everything I need for the thankgiving dinner except the big ol' turkey. lol so now... now I concentrate on getting christmas gifts and trying to get good ones that she'll enjoy. Mike's a little harder, he wants big big gifts that even grandma can't afford to help get lol.

So what do you get a 12yr old preteen??

BAB - (Build a Bear) - we've done this since she was 3. Mike came home from North Carolina (I think that was the state lol) and he had this little white teddy bear and she slept with teddy all the time. He was gone for weeks at a time for training so this was great, she still had a little piece of him :) So we continued the tradition years later adding onto her collection of bears, bunnies, dogs, kitties.. etc. And the collection of clothes for these guys - did you know that the bunny has a sun umbrella (I don't even have one lol) - Just don't know when to end the tradition, what age is appropriate to say, lets pass on your bears and bunnies to someone that really needs a hug? Of course Teddy has to stay. No questions asked about that one!

DS (Or DSi) - Nintendo, I love you!! lol On rainy days, on long car drives, when your sick in bed or just bored silly from weary days - you can have the kids play their DS. Tons of fun games, educational, training games (the pet vet ones makes her take care of animals or they get sick and get taken away from her). Our Nintendo is on the way back to them since its broken and we are still under the one year warranty. - Now what games do I get her that are girly and she'll like? We just got Wizards of Waverly place for halloween - she bought it :) She turned in her old games and was able to pay 1.45 for the new game. Teaches her responsibility too! Also do we upgrade her to the DSi? I don't allow internet access too much with her. She's got her sites she can go to, but we don't do facebook or anything like that. So is the DSi appropriate?

Clothes - I learned along time ago that she loves shopping and clothes just as much as me but she doesn't want them as presents lol. UNLESS its a warm fuzzy sweater she can cuddle up in or pjs that are fleece bottoms. Everything else just gets that stare of, 'come on mom - what were you thinking' lol

Dress up - yes we just got out of the dress up stage with the dresses and shoes but she's into the other preteen stage - MAKEUP! they want makeup, earrings, necklaces, bracelets - and they need to be 'cool'. I've stuck with the Avril Lavigne line and did Claire's for the earrings. But the makeup I haven't done yet. Lipgloss yeah. But not the other. She breaks out alot from things so What brand do I get?? What do I get?? I know Twilight items this year are a must so I'll be on the look out for the necklaces and bracelets from that :)

Cooking - my moms and mother in law have always sent Amber holiday baskets (full of junkfood) and toys. They started putting in the muffin mixes that you can get for like .89 cents and she can just add water. I hate the stupid Easy Bake Ovens. So this was a nice turn for us and we all enjoyed it. (The wild berry ones are her favorite!) Last year my gf got her a cute apron to wear. She loves to cook!! So what should we get her this year? She has a couple cookbooks. This is her favorite hobby and loves making dinner with dad, so I need to include something for it with christmas.

Books BOOKS books! - I can't stress enough how much both Amber LOVES to read. She can suck down a book and just not let go of it at bedtime. But I want her to finish the books completely before going onto another one. Yeah at her age she should be able to do this, but we are a little behind maturity wise for her to keep up. Would buying her a little journal to put notes in about the book, too 'schooly'? Do I buy her a couple sets of books or just keep it to one?


What I already have for Amber? umm not alot lol. Normally I'm stacked to the cieling with gifts hidden in the basement. This year, not so much. I have a dolphin bank that was handmade that she can put in her room. Help her learn money and earning it better. And I have a vampire book collection - My Sister is a Vampire. We had to get them off Ebay since they don't make the #2 one anymore in the states. But that's about it... I've got alot of shopping to do Lucy!!

Toy Review! Magnificent Manicure Kit - WIN ONE!

Hi ladies - told you I'd have a couple more coming :)

Magnificent Manicure Kit - by Elmers

Scientific Explorer partnered with UC Berkeley's Great Exploration in Math and Science (GEMS) program to create fun educational science kits like the Magnificent Manicure Kit.

I know Amber loves interactive toys - ones that she can make things with and we've gotten past the stage of playdoh and the easy bake oven. This was a fantastic idea for her... age appropriate and she could definitely handle the concept :)

It's has also been picked as the Creative Child Magazines 2009 Toy of the Year Award in the Educational Toys category!!

You get everything you need to turn your house into a nail spa for the day:

• Crystal mud
• Bath salt
• Lavender mist fragrance
• Cucumber melon fragrance
• Soaking tray
• Measuring spoon
• Mixing spoon
• Pipette
• Lotion base
• Dye
• Glitter
• Nail buffer
• Toe separators
• Pumice stone

We invited a bunch of girls over (ages 11-14) and bought a couple extra toe spacers at target at the $1 section to keep it sanitary :) They had a ball!! They made their own crystal mud and sea salt scrub - their hands were really soft afterwards. And they did their own manicures. All the kids loved adding the stuff together and measuring it all. I'm allergic to a lot of things but didn't have a problem with these items at all :)
(waiting for permission from parents before posting pictures)

Available at Toys "R" Us and www.toysrus.com - Age range 8+ ... retail price $19.99

BUT Get your chance to win one here!!
1. Go to Elmers Science Fair and tell me what your project would be!

2. Subscribe to my Facebook

3. Subscribe to my Blog above

4. Subscribe to my Gymbohaven Newsletter

Contest Ends Oct 26th!

Breast Cancer Awareness Special

BEAUTIFY YOUR HOME AND SUPPORT BREAST CANCER RESEARCH.


October is Breast Cancer Awareness month - 10% of all orders placed through Independent Demonstrator Amy Serpe during the month of October will be donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation. Browse my website, www.AdorableExpressions.com then call me or email me with your order. It’s that simple, that’s all you have to do to help support Breast Cancer Research. If you do not have internet access, don’t worry, you can still help. Give me a call and I’ll bring our Idea Book to you!


This is close to my heart - with my Aunt Ellen and my sister Heather having breast cancer, the reality hits home hard. I've already scheduled my first appt to get a mammogram due to my family history. Check yourself regularly and tell the doctor of any little bump - don't worry, they will check it with out question. Knowing early increases your chances of survival!!

Know the statistics
Your chance of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years:
•Age 20, 1 in 1,837;
•Age 30, 1 in 234;
•Age 40, 1 in 70;
•Age 50, 1 in 50;
•Age 60, 1 in 28;
•Age 70, 1 in 26.

A few facts about Breast Cancer.

Although the breast cancer diagnosis rate has increased since the early 1990s, the overall death rate from breast cancer has dropped.

It’s estimated that approximately $8.1 billion is spent in the United States each year on breast cancer treatment.

Breast cancer is the fifth leading cause of death in American women, following heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and other respiratory illnesses.

Barring a cure, an estimated 5 million Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer over the next 25 years. More than 1 million could die.

On average, mammography will detect about 80%-90% of breast cancers in women without symptoms.

About 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no known risk factors for it at all.


As an added bonus…
Orders placed between 5:00pm - 8:00pm on Monday, October 26, 2009, will receive a 10% discount! Mention this coupon to receive discount.

Jenni Hunts Holiday Toy Guide - It's Here!

Hi Ladies,

Thank you for letting me share with you the free reports and the Holiday Toy Guide. I know everyone has their own way to research, plan and act for the holiday season but this one always seems to fit me best. It's all done for me and I'm ready to roll. What could be easier??

The 2009 Holiday Toy Guide is ready...

They have jam packed the Holiday Toy Guide package this year... but, you'll have to act quickly because there is only a limited number of memberships.

There has been some concern of eBay getting saturated - so they are doing their part by limiting the number of people who get their hands on the 2009 Holiday Toy Guide...

You can learn all about it here:
http://www.holidaytoyguide.com

Enjoy,


PS. There are only 468 memberships left right now... so if you want one, you should get it here today.

Http://www.holidaytoyguide.com


*Please note that any and all commission earned on this will be used for our upcoming Operation Santa Claus program.