HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

We're taking the goblins out to Jedi Mind Trick some unsuspecting homeowners out of their candy. 

Have a safe and Happy Halloween
from the Deneweths.

<3, Tabi :D

p.s. With any luck, you'll get a photo overload treat tomorrow. (hehehe)

Halloween Eve

Today I:

• Voted (via mail). Woo!
• Washed all the bedsheets and lost a pillow case. Seriously. I can not figure out how/where/what??? I mean, how does that happen?
• Froze my booty off in my house since I know my husband would freak if I turned the heat on.
• Had a serious talk with my body and told the kids to do the same. We talked about getting sick and feeling better and if we are going to do it (get sick), we need to wait until after tomorrow. Only one chance to Trick Or Treat per year, you know.
• Dropped off the pumpkin Roxy painted for Lilly, but had to run off pretty fast because someone had to pee so bad.
• Didn't feel like cooking, so I got a pizza from the Spirit Night place. It was meh. But it was easy peasy cooking/clean up!
• Got like 4 texts letting me know Disney purchased LucasFilms for $4 billion. ...
• Told Christopher if he didn't clean Leia Mouse's cage tonight I will be moving out.
• Tried to not hurry because I heard it makes fast take longer, but Riley was still late to school.

So, what did you do today?

<3, Tabi :D

Full Moon Day / Halloween Eve Eve

Excuse my rambles, I am trying to kick this awful, grumpy virus/cold/weather-induced-whatever-it-is and have been foggy for at least 4 days now.

We have been busy little monsters over here.

Halloween Crafting

Remember that post about how the kids decorated the house for Halloween? It turns out, I couldn't stop there. Halloween crafting has been really fun this year! Since then, Roxy painted a Fancy Nancy pumpkin, we made glass jar Jack O Lanterns, that cute little baby Mummy-Pumpkin (I literally couldn't resist), and just for kicks (because I got bored)... yesterday we went out and bought a bale of hay and made scarecrows!

After all that, I came across this article and am now feeling the urge to go out and buy a ton more pumpkins and decorate more more more!!

I will control myself, though.

2 Days Till Halloween

The countdown is almost complete. I am crossing my fingers I get some great pictures of the kiddos decked out in their costumes. I am super excited about all of them this year. This is the first year they are all custom, not brought from Party City, legit costumes. Not only that, but I can honestly say I am absolutely satisfied with the outcome each of them.

With all the excitement of the kids' costumes, though... another year goes by that I get neglected. With this blog as my witness, I will have a costume next year and I will go to a grown up Halloween party, even if I have to throw it myself. ( Can you believe I've never been to a grown up Halloween party?? )

Anyhoo - 

I just wanted to pop in and post a few photos and ramble a bit. I have 3 loads of laundry calling my name and my last task... have a glass of wine whilst figuring out this scary mail in ballot I've got to complete and mail in before it's too late.

Eep! Wish me luck.

haha. Funny how the scariest part of this Halloween post was about my mail in ballot.

<3, Tabi :D

House of Deneweth Halloween Tour

This year, the little goblins wanted so badly to decorate for Halloween and started asking to do so, oh around... August 30th.

So, by the time it got into the first week of October, this Mummy decided to let those little goblins go at it and decorate the house their way.

They started out with amazing pictures of scary witches, ghosts and Jack O' Lanterns, then moved on to some creepy cobwebs all over. Then, when Gramma came over, the house exploded with ghastly amazingness.

So amazing, it just has to be shared and documented for posterity.

If you were wondering, why yes, that wreath was made entirely of coffee filters and kid/Gramma collaborated handmade adornments.

One week till Halloween!!! Yippee!!

<3, Tabi :D

This is me: participating

Even though I love to be nonconformist (lol), sometimes I participate in various blogosphere activities. This one, I am really looking forward to: The Vagabond Studio's Thankvember Blog Hop.

True story, and this is getting personal: Even though I have no religion, I do say my "prayers" every night. In my head, I make a mental list of what I am thankful for in my life and then I move on to my mental list of things I need to work towards (such as patience, confidence, focus, etc.).

Mentally listing out the things I am grateful for is a big part of maintaining my inner peace  happiness. I am that person that always wants more more more. But, the more I take inventory of all the awesome things I already have, the more I find my wants becoming less and less. I have what I need and I am so happy for that.

This is the reason I am looking forward to a month of blogging with focus on what I am thankful for. I really do have a lot. I am one lucky girl and I'm excited to share some of that with you next month.

Interested? It's a blog hop, so come on and join in! :)

<3, Tabi :D

Two birthday parties and a Crush

This weekend was filled up with two birthday parties, Halloween costume preparations and lots of cookies and cake.

I made these. They. are. delicious!

I learned the Bear has a crush on Fifi. ( awwwwwww ) He wrote her a letter we are sending in the mail today. And he really wants her to come over and play two player Portal with him. <3

<3, Tabi :D

p.s. I apologize for the double picture, that second collage is jinxed and I give up.

Currently...

A little family update on what we are all currently up to. 

So, you probably realized this before I did, but there is less than 2 weeks to prepare for Halloween! Eep!!! The kids did an AWESOME job decorating the house for us. It is super spooky in here. They must have been trying to drop a subtle hint that I need to get cracking on their costumes.
< segway >

ME: Currently, I'm obsessing over finalizing the kids' costumes... Well, in Zoie's case, starting her costume. Roxy chose to be Aayla Secura for Halloween. You probably have no idea who she is, which is why hers is proving to be the most difficult costume. Aayla is a Jedi from Star Wars, who of course is so awesomely fantastic that you will not find an easy ready-made costume for her anywhere. Especially for a 6 year old girl. Luckily, I have an amazing friend who will crochet just about anything for me I put in a request for. She did the hard part for me and created the headpiece. You can sneak a peek at that here. (So "adorkable" - tee hee. I stole that word from @bonniegrrl ). Riley will be a Jawa. His costume is pretty much complete, as you can see above. Yep, that's the Bear in there. He makes the cutest Jawa ever! Zoie will be an R2D2 ballerina princess. Hmmm, gotta get started on that one.

ME again: I'm also currently totally over the whole school schedule. I'm ready for summer. I've been designing and doing a little web marketing late nights and squeezing in daytime hours, too. That stuff, + school = one exhausted Mama. Plus side: my skills are no longer rusty. Down side: lack of sleep is starting to catch up to me.
(Shameless Plug: if you know anyone who needs any kind of graphic design work done, hit me up!)

Roxy: She is rocking the first grade!! This week she scored 100% on her math test, and her teacher tells us she is pretty much the perfect student. This really doesn't come as a surprise to me. ;)
She lost her first TOP tooth last night and talks a little funny now. The tooth fairy visited, left her fairy dust EVERYWHERE & left Roxy FIVE DOLLARS!
Besides being the exemplary student and talking funny, she's also keeping active with gymnastics and going to Family Body Flow with me every week. AND, she's recently been a huge help in the kitchen. This one is growing up so fast... sigh...

Riley the Bear: This guy has a huge Portal obsession. It's all he draws about, all he writes about and finishes up his chores and homework so fast so he can get his Portal time in. He's really good at it, too. ... Oh yea, he's WRITING!! This kid = one smart cookie!
Did you see that cute owl he decorated? That was all him. I was worried about his creativity at one point, pssh: nothing to worry about there! He also stays active with gymnastics, he's getting so good at his tumbles. And what a sweetheart my boy is, he definitely takes after his father with his gentle nature. I may or may not foresee myself being judgmental of his future girlfriends.
Ms. Zoie Rainbow: ... has recently discovered Dora and Diego. She's a total Doraholic. I kind of wish she still had the zero interest in TV she once had. Sometimes it's hard to get her to come to the table to eat. Sometimes, she wakes up and asks for the iPad before I can even get a chance to say Good Morning, Sunshine!  She's a persistent one, this girl. I'm sure it's the 2 year old in her.
Besides being a Doraholic, she is potty trained!! Like, all the way!! And off her binky. She is a full fledged toddler. ... no more babies in this house. :(
She still loves playing with her babies and is getting more and more independent every day. She is my little mini-me neat-freak/helper. She helps with dishes, laundry, wiping off counters and cleaning up spills on the floor. She even yells at the older to kids to clean up their messes. This makes me a proud Mama. <3

Daddy of the house: Would currently like me to wrap this post up and fix dinner. Sheesh! He's all, "Get in the kitchen, woman!" (j/k... sort of)

... so I guess I'll go ahead and do that. And hopefully have time to work on costumes tonight, too. Later peeps.

<3, Tabi :D

... and we have a WINNER!!!

Congratulations to Shari Dalton,

the winner of my very first blog giveaway. She wins the Cleava!

Hey! @tabi_d is awesome. Cleava giveway is on NOW at Tabi Happy!! What's a Cleava? Check it: tabihappy.blogspot.ca
— 409cope (@409cope) October 16, 2012

A big thank you to everyone who entered. Thank you for playing along and thank you for all the new GFC follows, tweets and new Facebook followers.

You guys rock my socks and I'm so happy to have you here. :)

<3, Tabi :D

Parent Tip #113

Tonight, Roxy and I went to family Body Flow together. At the end, there is a short period of relaxation/meditation (the most relaxed 5 minutes of my week!). Tonight, the instructor said this,

"Think about something you did today
that you are proud of."

What a great idea!! It could be anything! Whether it's the drawing your preschooler did this morning at center time, or how well you handled the two year old tantrum when her 'popop' (lollipop) fell in the dirt, or how you rocked those warrior twos.

This is my new favorite dinner time topic. I tried it out tonight. What a positive thing for everyone to do! I actually found, it was easier to pick one thing for each kid I was particularly proud of them for today, then myself.

This will be a great exercise for the whole family to build up confidence in the things we do.

What I'm proud of that I did today: I made it all the way through dinner and baths without losing patience and everyone ended their day happy and in good spirits.

<3, Tabi :D

Five Things That Make Me Happy.

This week's installment of Five Things That Makes Me Happy Friday...

something that I usually do every Friday. 

Our dining room wall is haunted!!!!

1. It's getting spooky over here. Halloween music, Halloween decorations, Halloween tricks and treats. I love it all!
2. I'm going to a wedding tomorrow!! My one family member (my cousin) that lives in Florida is getting married. He lives 2 hours away from me and I haven't seen him in eons! I'm excited to meet his honey and I'm excited to see some of my far away family. :)
3. Also... I have a date tomorrow!! The kids are staying home, so Christopher and I are taking advantage of this opportunity to have a date. It's my first since our anniversary (back in May).
4. Two year olds rock! Last night when I was getting kid 2 to settle, the 2YO came in and cuddled up. I went through part of our normal bedtime routine with her:
   

   
   
   Me: Did you have fun today?
   Zo: Yea!
   Me: What was your favorite part?
   Zo: Ummmmm.... JUICE!
   Me: Who do you love?
   Zo: COOKIE!!!!
   
   
   
   

5. #KidPresident If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the video. I love these internet kids. They crack me up!!

What is making you happy today?

<3, Tabi :D

 

p.s. BOO!

What's Up, Wednesday?

I've seen a bunch of bloggers do Wordless Wednesday post and I'm hijacking the idea.

Partly because sometimes I enjoy just pictures. And partly because I have to start dinner and 2 kids are buggin' for some lemonade refills.

Enough words. Here you go.

<3, Tabi :D

A Post About Boobs... well Cleavage

**A review and giveaway**

Boobs are amazing things. We are born with nonexistent boobs. Then puberty hits, they blossom and just as you get used to your new pair... BAM! You're pregnant and they go through an entirely new metamorphosis.

I've had 3 pregnancies and so my boobs have changed A LOT in the past 10 years.

Example:

Above left: Me, one year ago. Above right: Me, Sunday.  Same shirt. Totally different cup size.

Don't feel bad for me, though. I like my smaller girls. They feel more like me. My husband won't mind if you feel bad for him, I'm sure.

I remember a few times when, after returning back to work after having child 1 and child 2 and wearing a work shirt I normally wouldn't have any issues with, I would have loved to have one of these...

I don't know about you, but working post pregnancy with engorged boobs... the last thing I wanted to deal with were men with wandering eyes.  

When Cleava contacted me to do a review of the snap on camisole, I was excited! I thought back to those days when I wish I had coverage. Living in Florida, layering up shirts is sometimes a horrible idea. 98 degrees with layered shirts might look more appropriate, but is no good when it sends you into heat stroke.

So, I got my sample in the mail and then I realized something: This is a problem I no longer have. Yay for little boobs!

No worries, though. This little ditty did not go to waste! I have a pregnant friend who was willing to test it out properly for me. 

Meet my lovely friend Nicole (and Ian).

This is Nicole in her everyday pregnancy top, showing her big girls off.

"Sometimes, you want to be able to be able to bend over to pick up your toddler, or give your Preschooler a hug and not have to worry about anything popping out." - Nicole

Nicole tried out the Cleava. Here she is, same top, with Cleava coverage.

Here's what she had to say about it:

• It's comfortable!
• I'm not worried about anything falling out when moving around or bending over.
• It could be a good tool for using while breast feeding. 
• It is a bit wrinkly, and when I look down, you can see the snaps... which might be weird if someone else spotted them.

My husband happened to be home when we tried this out. After taking pictures, he walked down the hall as we were talking and said "It looks like you're wearing a baggy shirt underneath."

She had the snaps on the smallest setting, fiddled with it a bit and we kind of came to the conclusion there really was no way around the wrinkles. This isn't a huge deal and it's not even horribly noticeable, but this is an honest review and it's something that came up.

My conclusion on the Cleava: It's not for everyone, but I definitely could have used this in the past. This product solves a very real problem for some people. While I think the design could be perfected a bit (to eliminate the wrinkling), I would recommend it.

Want to WIN a Cleava? Enter my giveaway!
The winner of the Cleava will receive a color or style that is selected by Cleava,
it may be any from the online catalog or a new design that is not yet available to the public. 
Giveaway contest is only available for USA and Canada.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Random Thoughts.

Not that it's that time yet, but how will these kiddos communicate with their friends?

Last week Riley's VPK class was learning about fire safety. One of the homework assignments was to go over a fire safety checklist in the home. We tested the batteries in our smoke detectors, the location of fire extinguishers, we discussed different ways we can get out of our house, a meeting spot, how important it is to crawl to safety if the house is filled with smoke... And then we got to the part where it said to post an emergency number next to the home phone.

 

What.

I don't think we are odd in America in the fact that we have no landline phone; only cell phones. Up until a year and a half ago, we did have a phone (not even landline, but a modem phone), but seriously never ever used it.

And so, at that moment, while reading that checklist, I realized that my children may never use a phone that has actual number buttons and not a touch screen. They may never hear the sound of a dial tone. Or have to worry about their brother or sister listening in on their private calls.

And then I thought... how will their friends call them to chat about boys or what they are planning to wear on picture day, or whatever it is kids talk about these days.

Are those days over?

God, I feel like a dinosaur. 

Things have changed. I suppose when they do get to that age, they'll set up their iMessage accounts and chat, or FaceTime, maybe. I guess this means we might need more than one family iPad.
It's a good thing I've got some time to save up.

<3, Tabi :D

p.s. I decided in the month of October to hide little monsters in all of my posts. Have you found them all?

Five Things That Make Me Happy.

This week's installment of Five Things That Makes Me Happy Friday...

something that I usually do every Friday. 

 

1. This picture the Bear drew of Daddy with 'Crazy Bear Hair' (aka a Mohawk).
2. Zoie's fishy face.
3. Yesterday, just before a crazy/windy/scary thunderstorm graced us with it's furious presence we spotted a turtle in the road. Crossing over a 5 or 6 lane street, entering into an intersection... without intervention, this guy didn't stand a chance. My husband the hero, jumped out and scooped him up. We drove over to a nearby pond and he braved the storm to release the little guy to safety. Saving turtles makes me happy.
4. Roxy's writing style makes me happy. I think she should start her own blog. What do you think? This little story she wrote on the way to school this morning says,
   

   "Dear Daddy,
   Can you wate intele your birthday? Well, I can't!
   I have a dog. Well, tow. Not one. One is brown and one is lite brown. One dog is littl and one is big. Oh! I forgot to tell you ther names. The small dog is Sidny and the big dog is Bently. What cinde of pet do you take care of?"

5. Back to yesterday... on the way home after picking up a pizza, we saw yet another little turtle acting dangerously. The hubs resumed his turtle hero duties. Saving TWO turtles in one day makes me twice as happy.
   

What is making you happy today?

<3, Tabi :D

Things that are necessary.

1. Cuddles.
2. SLEEP.
*Sleep is something I definitely need more of
in my life right now.
3. Ice Cream.
4. Laughter.
5. LOVE.
6. Change.
7. Chocolate.
8. Communication. 
9. Space. Emotional, physical, mental.
10. Creative Expression.

This is me, brainstorming my priorities... in no particular order.

<3, Tabi :D