"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"



Merry Christmas from the BP!

Reasons why I love this time of year:
-Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks (if you haven't tried some, get some...I've had two in one day even)
-Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate in a Christmas mug at home
-Enjoying time in my sweats or fleece penguin pj's on the couch watching Christmas movies
-Christmas Music!! I highly recommend Michael Buble's new Christmas CD...even my 12 yr old students love him.
-Wrapping Christmas presents
-The movie Christmas Vacation....love it!
-Fleece slippers
-Looking at Christmas lights (for all family readers out there, I do enjoy this, just not in swirly neighborhoods, packed 10 in a van, for 30 minutes...I DO get car sick)
-Receiving Christmas cards (Thanks Jana, Lauren, and Libby...others, feel free to join the movement)
-Anticipating snow days (I'll give that some time)
-And the true reason to celebrate; the birth of or our Savior

Time to get back to watching Polar Express and sipping hot chocolate!!

The Turning of a New Page

Change: verb (used with object)

to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's name; to change one's opinion; to change the course of history.

 

(No, I'm not changing my name, I'm always changing my opinion, and would like to think I occasionally change the course of history.)

 

A very big, exciting change happened to Tracie (owner of the BP*...aka- my landlord).  Her man got down on one knee and they will be tying the knot in May!  He'll be moving into her place...surely you see where this is going.  Change and a dis-banning of the BP.  We're thrilled for Tracie and Gordon, and this was a long time coming, so luckily I had a head's up to this change.  (Tracie knew I needed that due to my lack of love for change.)

 

The BP has been my only place of residency since graduating from college and opening the door to the real world and it's been a great place.  It's always been totally worth the 25 minute commute to work in order to live with these fun girls.  Jessica and I have begun the hunt for a new place and after some major strike outs...let's just say the house I found for us to look at had both of us scared to get out of the car in the daylight.  She said she needed to teach me how to use the "street view" on google maps.  We think we've found what could be the BP2.  So as much as I hate change, I think I can handle having a dishwasher, garage to tuck Lola the Corolla into, and master bedroom w/ bathroom and walk-in closet.  Now don't get me wrong, the original BP will always hold a special place in my heart.  :)

 

Here's a quote from one of my all-time favorite books, "So Long Insecurities" by Beth Moore. 

 

"God uses change to change us.  He doesn't use it to destroy us or to distract us, but to coax us to the next level of character, experience, compassion, and destiny.  How will we ever change if everything around us stays the same?  Or what will ever cause us to move on to the next place He has for us if something doesn't happen to change the way we feel about where we are?  God is thoroughly committed to finishing the masterpiece He started in us (Philippians 1:6) and that process means one major thing: change."

 

So I must say, I'm embracing this change and preparing to turn the page to a new chapter in life.  Congratulations Tracie and Gordon!  Feel free to still call it the BP :)

 

* Bachelorette Pad

A Day of Craftiness

As previously mentioned, DIY projects aren't always my thing.  However, this day of craft for the Sauder girls was very successful, if I do say so myself.  (Which I do.)  Crafty Barbie had seen the idea of making headbands on pinterest.  Which I hate to admit, I don't really even understand, but I've heard it's the newest, coolest thing.  So over Thanksgiving, my mom, The Kid, and I crafted it up. 

It's not very often (like never) that I'll use this blog as a platform for my wonderful "how-to" segments.  So pull up a seat and take notes.  First you buy some of your favorite fabrics, elastic, and any buttons, gems, or bling you want to accessorize.

You'll need a hot-glue gun, sewing machine (for basic sewing), iron, and some patience :) It helps to have a template, or a strip of fabric, cut out that fits around your head to use to cut out your fabrics.  After cutting out your strip of fabric, use the iron to crease the edges up to make it easier to sew. 

Honestly, this is when I'd pass the ironed strip to my mom for her to sew, so I'm not quite sure how to sew it.  Just run that strip of fabric through to sew the ironed edges down.  Next, sew in a piece of elastic to connect the ends of the strip. 

Finally you get to bedazzle the headband with flowers and buttons or jewels.  For this you take a different colored fabric strip and roll it up or fan it out how you like it.  There's really no right or wrong way to create the flowers.  You just need to hot-glue the fabric as you go to keep it together.  Then glue that to your headband.  Enough of me trying to explain this....check out pictures.

Mom with a finished product



The cheetah line



My day's worth of crafting


Now some of you lucky readers out there might be receiving one of these priceless, beautiful products for Christmas....so act surprised :)  Put your sweats on, get some yummy hot chocolate and stay in for a day of crafts!

Tis the Season

I just couldn't bring myself to title this post anything related to "Thanksgiving" due to the fact that it is now officially December. Crazy.  So know that this post is all about Thanksgiving, nothing about the Christmas season really.  A very deceiving title. 

With that out of the way, Thanksgiving break was great!  Yes, I can say 'break' because a joyous privilege of teaching little rugrats is that I still get multiple days off for Thanksgiving.  I personally apologize to all those out there who have "real jobs" and only received one day off.  I don't think I could ever work year round....not made for me. The Sauder clan, including Jana and Cade, who you'll be seeing many pictures of, made the trek down to Tulsa to be with my mom's side.  What a great time of  food, laughter, and even some daring Black Friday shopping!  This was really my first official venture out on Black Friday.  We went to Wal-Mart late Thursday night for me to get a new TV and Jana to get a little kitchen for Cade.  Notice our different seasons of life? :) We joked with Jana that everyone else waiting in line for these kitchens would be parents of girls....she didn't seem to mind. Cade is at the age where "imaginitve play" is important, so kitchen buying we did.  My mom still has a little kitchen that we all played with growing up and this entertained Cade for hours.  So I guess getting him is own kitchen for Christmas was not such a ridiculous idea.

Isn't he so cute!?

I'm going to interrupt my Thanksgiving post to brag on the cutest, smartest little boy ever.....Cade of course.  His latest thing is knowing people's names and giving kisses!  "Genchie" (Gentry) is one of my favorite words of his right now.  Whenever I enter the room he says it, so this solidifies the genius that he is.  Some adults can't even say my name.  We're not talking a basic "Mary" or "Sara", people.  Genius.  He's also very into giving long, almost seductive kisses....on the lips :) And when you laugh about it he just wants to pull you in and give you more. So cute!

Here are some pictures from our time in Tulsa and Great Bend.


Money-Manager Barbie balancing the checkbook...didn't know people still did this.




Cade and Aunt "Genchie"




Technology savvy Grandparents have a TV that plays 3-D movies
Three Blind Mice?





Even "Papa" enjoyed 3-D!



Cade is becoming quite a Momma's boy as he and Jana are best buds



See what I mean? Genius.




The Sauder girls




Grandmama made us all scarves to match our colleges




Cuddling with little Cader



A little out of order, but here's the Thanksgiving table

Freshman Follies

My parents, grandparents, and I made another venture down to Cowboy Country this weekend to watch The Kid perform in the annual "Freshman Follies".  What is that you ask?  I've been asking the same thing for the past 3 months as Show-Biz Barbie has been preparing for this since September. 



Do they look alike, or what?

As much as I hate to admit it, everything seems bigger and much more elaborate, (notice I refuse to say better) at Oklahoma State.  Freshman Follies is a song and dance production for the Greek community.  A sorority is paired up with a fraternity, try-outs are held, and a lucky 15 from each house make the cut.  There are older people in the house who are the "directors" of the show, meaning they create the story-line that must be evident, write the songs, and choreograph the dances.  The show is decked out with full make-up, costume, props, etc. 

I feel like I can't even begin to accurately convey how big of a deal this show is.  They put nearly 250+ hours of rehearsal into it.  It's been practically impossible to get ahold of The Kid because she was always either headed to, currently at, or tired from being at "follies" practice.  I made sure she was going to get me a ticket to this grand event! 

Pi Phi was paired with Beta and their story was about 3 kids wandering in the forest who walk into a house of stone.  Everyone who goes into this house gets turned to stone and never make it out.  Most characters were 'stone', which entailed complete body paint,  black eyes, and creepy white rags.  (See pics below)

See what I mean?  Creepy was no understatement.  Pi Phi definitely had the best developed story-line and choreography.  And that is why.....they won!  I'm sure I don't understand how big of a deal this is, but I'm so proud of Creepy Stone Barbie and all her hard work!  Now hopefully you'll have time to sleep and call me back :)  Enjoy some more pics.

And in normal Sauder family fashion, we went out for ice-cream after the show to celebrate.



The Kid after all the make-up was washed off.





One of those days...

This about sums it up....It was one of those days where numerous times throughout the day I ask myself, "Why on earth do I teach crazy, hormonal 12 year-olds? I mean really, some days I truly feel like I'm on a battle-field just trying to put out one fire after another.

"Johnny, sit down"...."Suzie, look up here"... "Billy, stop talking"... "Mary, put that away"..."Billy, stop talking"..."Sally, give me that"..."Billy stop talking"..."Timmy, do not make that high-pitched, blood-curdling, scream at the top of your lungs sound because you lost the game ever. again. (True story)

Seriously, today seemed much crazier than the day after Halloween when I thought they'd be all hyped up on candy. 
This is when I go to my happy place (a nice, warm beach) and tell myself 8 days till Thanksgiving break.

Cowboy Country

At first I was in denial that The Kid wasn't going to go to K-State....who wouldn't want to be 7-0 in football, wear purple, sway back and forth doing the Wabash, and chant K....S.....U....Wildcats!? Sounds like a stinkin' great place to me!

I would NEVER be the one with her on her campus visit for OSU comparing everything to Manhappiness.  I would never think of saying, "Yeah, K-State has that too..." or "Orange would be nice... if you're in prison or celebrating Halloween..." Nope, not me...never. 

(Insert sarcasm font for the above paragraph)

However, it seems that a few months in and The Kid is loving life in Cowboy Country!  Jana, my mom, and grandparents and I visited her this past weekend and were able to see that nothing has changed.  MaKenzie is still the social butterfly she's always been.  Her dorm room seems to be the social hot spot for the floor, she's stopping and chatting with all the people she knows on campus, and busy running off to the next thing she's involved in.  I think it's safe to say she's adjusting well to college life....and looks pretty cute in that prison orange.  :)

First stop was some lunch at Mexico Joe's....give me some yummy mexican food and a Diet Dr. Pepper and I'm a happy camper.

The Kid was a great tour guide for the town.  She took us around to some cute shops, because of course, she's still just as cute and stylish in Stillwater as she was in GB.  We walked around campus and took in Theta pond and the library lawn.  A very pretty campus, but they've got nothing on the beauty of limestone at K-State. :) 

The weather was gorgeous down there!  Needless to say, I did not need my sweater, scarf, jeans, and tall brown boots....but all 3 of us showed up on Friday with the "boots memo".

Here's The Kid in her dorm room.  It's still so weird to me that she's in college!  We are getting old...

The weekend we visited was also the weekend for her initiation into Pi Phi.  Now Jana and I were both Gamma Phi's at K-State so this whole arrow and angel thing is new to us.  But it was so neat to be at the reception after her initiation and meet all of her friends and tour the house. 

Of course, Jana and I tried to pry some sorority secrets out of MaKenzie, but fear not any Pi Phi fanatics out there, she wouldn't crack.  I'm hoping we'll wear her down over time....all-in-all, a great weekend!  Thanks for the tour, Kid!

Voilà!

Below are some pictures of my finished dessert cupcake plate from Color Me Mine.  I must say, this is probably one of the best outcomes for any kind of artsy project for me. 

Here it is being put to good use as it holds my Halloween treat of chocolate covered pretzels...thanks, Mom!  (And no, I don't think you are ever too old to receive goody bags from your parents for various holidays.)

 In addition to pretzels, I also got cute purple, fleece "Boo" socks, caramel popcorn, and a headband my mom and The Kid made.  In the past I've been known to receive anything from a full fleece matching pajama set to cute jewelry.  I think I've already mentioned I have the best ever mom. Time for me to sit and eat pretzels off my cute plate!  If anyone has a birthday coming up, let me know and I'll serve you up something yummy on the "birthday" plate. (something store bought, I'm sure)

Color Me Mine

This past Thursday evening, my small group planned a Girl's Night Out for dinner and a pottery painting party.  I have the great priviledge of being a part of "The Squad" (a name that came about the first week and has stuck)  There are six of us that meet on Tuesday nights and share life together as we help to sharpen each other in our walks with God.  Below are some pics from our pottery adventures. 



So many options to choose from

Color Me Mine had an overwhelming selection of options and a wonderful Disney section, I might add.  It was harder for me to pick something because I don't drink coffee, so no real need for a mug....I don't have my own kitchen (thank you, cheap rent) so no colors to match or need for any kind of kitchen trinket. 

Due to my upbringing, I contemplated this....(if you know my Dad, this makes perfect sense)

However, I ended up with this little number...

It's hard to see what it is because of all the white, but it's a cute cupcake dessert plate.  You pick out your paint colors, brushes, grab a seat and get started!



Working hard

Others chose plates, bowls, spoon rest, platters....a wide variety.  It was so much fun to chat and laugh together as we painted our projects!  We even took a time out to go next door and grab some ice cream from Cold Stone.  (Girls after my own heart)

The almost finished product.  I ended up adding a darker blue to line the stripes of the cupcake.  Just gotta wait about a week for it to be fired and finished up :)

I couldn't resist taking pictures of the bathroom.  To say the owner of this place is talented would be the biggest understatement of the century.  The walls were painted with a Tangled theme and looked awesome!!



Here's the gang (minus Erica) with our painted pottery!

What a fun group of great girls!  It's time to plan our fun girls night for November!   

Corn Maze

As previously mentioned, I'm doing my best to embrace Fall, and what better way to do that than a corn maze? Thank you, Groupon, for allowing us to enjoy this event at half price.  I love groupon.  I'm currently waiting on "Alterations by Sarah" to finish hemming my pants for half price, also thanks to groupon....but back to the corn maze....

It's located near my school, so of course, I was lucky enough to spot a few students wandering around, but it was dark and they don't really expect to see their teachers out having a social life, so none of them even recognized me.  But I was definitely not avoiding any of them...not me....I'd love to smile and say hi on this Saturday evening....(A life goal of mine is to invent a sarcasm font)

Ok, back to the maze....I think we were under the impression of, "How hard can a corn maze really be?"


This hard...

 Here's Jessica making our plan of attack.  Through the cow udders, around the tractor, beside the silo and we're done.  Piece of cake.

After watching the "Corn Maze Safety Video" (seriously), we were given an activity page and on our way. 

Because we are rule followers, we filled out our activity page as we went.  Which actually ended up being a great guide for us to see if we'd been to certain places of the maze already. 



How do we read this map? Where the heck are we?



So are you dying to know just how hard this maze was?  Fifty-four minutes hard.  We were lost in the same general area for a good twenty minutes.  It was a good time!

Here I am saying "Embrace Fall", "Set out your pumpkins" blah, blah, blah...and it was over 80 degrees today.  Crazy Kansas.