Gobble, gobble.

Turkey time in Colby, Kansas with the Denneler family. Lots of food, family and the occasional shooting of firearms. It's also Dan & Margaret's 49th Wedding Anniversary! What a great day to celebrate all that we're thankful for.

Little Miss Olive

We finally had a chance to meet Olive Marie Glanzer this weekend. (I worked with Matt at SHS, and he & Chrissy had their first baby about 3 months ago.)

And I with a great name like Olive, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to bring some olive-themed sugar cookies. Oh, and a little pimento-red had. It's a tad big right now, but she'll grow into it.

Gus and Bea liked Olive too. But they LOVED Bailey the dog even more. We could have left them there all day to play. (Which probably would have given Matt & Chrissy a chance to think twice about having more kids.)

Welcome to the world, Little Miss Olive. So nice to meet you!

Eric's lastest distraction.

I'm terribly jealous of this wooden "mistress" that's now sitting in my garage. Mostly because she's occupied my husband's thoughts, hands and precious spare time the last two months. But also because she's so elegant and beautiful and perfect.

Eric's been wanting to make a Krenov-style cabinet for a long time now. So once the backyard rocket ship was mostly complete, I set him free to whittle away in the garage. And whittle, he did. And plane. And carve. And dovetail. And on. And on. And on. For what seemed like FOREVER. (OK. So I'm exaggerating a little. But I don't like competing for my husband's time & attention.)

But she's done. And she's fabulous. A solid cherry body with maple shelves, glass door fronts and gorgeous long legs. (Hummm...now I'm beginning to see why he wanted to spend so much time with her.)

And believe it or not, she's for sale. Eric built this just to build it. He does that a lot. And we truly don't have room for it in our house. So if you're interested in this one-of-a-kind, hand-made, solid-wood, Denneler/Krenov original... let's talk. We're asking $500. (Or $5000 if you actually want to pay for all the man-hours it took to create this little beauty.)

Whooooo doesn't love owls?

I don't know about you, but I just love the look of these funky retro owls. So bright. So cheerful. Almost makes me want to have another baby, just to decorate the room in owls. Almost.

One of my regular freelance clients contacted me last month to help her with some invites for a baby shower she's hosting in December. (This woman hosts more parties than I've ever been invited to in my life, seriously. She is definitely the hostess with the mostess.) But the best part about her invite requests: complete creative freedom. Whatever I can dream up - theme, color, size - anything goes.

So this time, it was owls. A sticker on the back of the envelope says "A little birdy told me it's a boy." And inside, the owl's wings open to reveal the invitation. It's a Month-to-Month shower, so guests are asked to "feather the parents' nest" with a gift that would be fun or appropriate to use at a specified month - 3 months, 16 months, 24 months .... That way, the couple gets 40 different gifts for the first 40 months of the baby's life. Kinda neat huh? Instead of 8 onesies that the kid will grow out of in the first 30 days.

Obviously I had fun making these. It was a real hoot.

Ta-da! Ta tas!

Stayed up late last night making 36 pairs of "boob cakes" for the 2nd Annual Dig for the Cure volleyball tournament at Ell-Saline High School in Brookville, Kansas this weekend. (It's a breast cancer fundraiser started by one of my old high school buddies, who is a cancer survivor herself!)

This year's boob cakes are strawberry flavored with butterscotch-caramel buttercream icing. And the "nipples" are made of gummi Lifesavers and pink chocolate meltaways. My favorite part is the packaging though. That pink box just sells it.

I don't know if cupcakes are a cure for cancer, probably not. But it sure can't hurt to try.

A knight in shining armor and his noble... poodle.

For the first time ever, we let the kids pick out their own Halloween costumes - no building, gluing, sewing, painting or flocking involved. And it was kind of nice. Gus wanted to be a knight - his school's mascot. And Bea had a plethora of costumes to pick from: a chicken, a pink poodle, a witch or a banana. Friday at daycare, she chose the banana. But Saturday night (in true female-fashion) she changed her mind and wanted to be the pink poodle. Whatever.

The weather was perfect for trick-or-treating. Ideal, actually. We went door-to-door for over an hour and gathered up more Reese's Peanutbutter Cups & Kit Kats than any two kidneys can possibly handle. And what's the deal with Almond Joys? We got a ton of those. Blech. Kids don't like Almond Joys. Grandmas like Almond Joys. Stick to the Snickers, folks.

Spooktacular 2nd Grade

Every Halloween at Gammon Elementary School, the parents of each grade decorate vehicles for a Trunk-or-Treat costume parade. And since this month wasn't crazy enough at our house, naturally I volunteered to do the 2nd Grade trunk. Just shoot me now.

Not bad for a couple hours of work though, and Eric's handy saw skills. It was a big hit. I'm thinking next year, we need to add some lights, spooky sounds and fog. Better start working on it now, huh?

A scary-good time at the pumpkin patch.

Mr. & Mrs. Denneler

One cat, two kids, three water heaters and fourteen years later ... Happy Anniversary to us!

Just taking a short break from "projects" at the Dennelers this month, while my mom recuperates at our house from her latest back surgery. The second one in less than a year. For anyone interested in the medical terminology, she had a spinal fusion from T10 to S1. (Basically, they used a small hardware store of screws and rods to straighten her spine and relieve the pinched nerves down her legs. ) Bea says "Grandma needs a bandaid." Well, that's true. But Grandma Nette also needs a boatload of pain killers to make it through the day right now.

This has been quite an ordeal. I don't think any of us expected her to be in this bad of shape after surgery. But we're finally starting to turn the corner and she's moving and walking more. And smiling and joking more. So the healing process has begun. Wish us luck and sent any extra prayers you might have laying around.

Back surgery is not for wimps. That's for sure.

OK. So I'm no Mr. Peanut.

Just a follow-up story on the peanut plant I attempted to grow this summer. I did not kill it. Hooray. But I don't think this crop of nuts is going to feed a family of hungry squirrels. Boo. Maybe a light snack.

After a fairly unsuccessful summer produce crop - only three tomatoes and a handful of green peppers - I think it's time to hang up my gardening gloves. I'll stick to flowers. And grass. I'm really good at growing grass.

We are go for launch!

The backyard rocketship playset is nearing completion. There's just a few finishing details and accessories to add, if Eric's patience can stand it (and me.) Not that I've been a difficult project manager, but I have a feeling I've used up all my spousal favors on this one. He's tolerated every crazy request and suggestion that I've been able to throw at him. After all, it's for the kids, right honey?

OK. I admit, this rocketship was as much for the kids as it was for me. Deep down, I had an unfulfilled desire for a playhouse that my dad promised me he'd build and never did. Not that my dad could have even attempted to build something like this. Not in a million years. But when you're a kid, don't you believe that your parents can do anything? I did.

The coolest thing is, Gus is going to remember Eric building this for him. And Bea will see photos of herself at age 3, giggling with delight inside the rocket swing on a spectacular fall day.

Thanks Dad. We love you to the moon and back.

Our Bea is Three!

One of these years I'm going to hear "Mom ... enough with the bumblebee cakes already!" But until then, I plan to keep Bea's birthday buzz-a-licious.

This year we celebrated with a Number Three Bee-striped cake and some Oreo bumblebee cookies. I'm thinking that Nabisco needs to become the official sponsor of next year's party if I keep pimpin' their product - seems like I use a lot of their cookies in my stuff. (Hey, Nabisco, call me.)

Happy #3, Bea. You make life so sweet.

OUCH!

Two weeks ago, Gus stepped on a Hawthorn tree branch in the backyard, and this thorn broke off inside his left foot. Eric took him to the emergency room, but x-rays didn't show anything inside. So they put a bandaid on it and sent him home. Well, he hobbled around for two weeks while his foot turned red and swollen and full of pus. Obviously something was still wrong. So we went BACK to the doctor for antibiotics. And then last night, a 1-inch thorn freakishly shot out of his infected wound.

Ewwww.

Amazing how the body heals itself. Gus is finally on the mend and walking with both feet again. Thank goodness. (I can't imagine how bad that must have hurt.)

A Shocker Rocker.

Well, I've done it again. I volunteered Eric to help me with a project. (Somebody coined the word: "voluntold." That's probably more accurate.)

The WSU University Relations department was asked to donate an artist's chair to the Orpheum Theatre's "Red Chair Affair" this month - a charity event to raise money for new chairs in the theatre. And after brainstorming with my workmates, we decided on this cool Shocker Rocker. The only catch was, we needed someone to build our fantastical idea. 

Eric to the rescue. He built our pint-sized, WSU rocker in no time flat. And I took it to Signs Now to have the vinyl graphics applied. 

Now go bid on this! Tickets for the "Red Chair Affair" are available online at www.redchairaffair.com. And thanks again Eric, for making me look good.