So Andrew thought I was joking when I asked him if I could start putting up Christmas decorations on the day after Halloween. I wasn't. But he thought it was a little much a little too early so we agreed I would wait until Thanksgiving day (which is a Cowley tradition) That was an awfully long wait for me! I mean we are talking 3 weeks! So this is how I kept myself busy in the meantime...

Thats right boys and girls! Chantal did crafty things!
Last year I wanted a candy tree SO bad but I couldn't find decorations anywhere and so, I set to work making gingerbread men (the edible ones) and such. And much to my surprise (or maybe not so much) my extremely well trained and well behaved dogs ate the majority of them before we ever got to Christmas. I have to be honest, beating the crud outta my dogs for eating my Christmas ornaments kinda killed the Christmas spirit for me. So this year I went out looking at Christmas decorations and guess what?! There are candy ornaments and decorations EVERYWHERE!!! UGH!!! What can I say, Im a trend setter ;) (PS. you can totally thank me for bringing back tie dye) but since Im not willing to pay upward of 5 flipping bucks for one stinking ornament, I decided to get crafty, these are the result of that craftiness (If you are not impressed or cant tell what they are supposed to be, please feel free to keep your mouth shut about it cause I spent WAY to much time working on these things. I would probably cry if someone said something negative about them)

here are some close ups...
The FELT gingerbread men. Pretty sure my dogs wont eat these ones.

Thats right... its a gumdrop ball... thats all

 My giant peppermint candy! I heart styrofoam!

 These are my favorites, mostly because they took the most work and I spent a lot if time messing up and readjusting. Who doesn't love giant gumdrops?! This picture does not do them justice.

The all wise Chinee

So a week or so ago I got online and entered the info needed for the Chinee to tell me what gender this kid inside me is. They told me it was a boy... And they were right! We went today and saw the little fellow. I really didn't need the ultra sound to tell me either because if the all wise Chinee tell you something, you don't question it. Actually in reality I didn't need the chinese calendar to tell me either. At first I thought it was a girl but a week or two ago I had this moment where I just knew it was a boy. No doubt about it. So there we have it, we are going to be blessed with a baby boy in the spring! Speaking of blessings, we must be doing something right because we have been extremely taken care if lately. A few examples:
We just repainted our living room. We went to home depot and got our paint at the paint desk (where no one said anything about saving money)On our way to the check out a lady stopped us and asked if we had heard about the paint plan. Apparently if you check out at the service desk instead of the regular check out they will give you 10% off. Some how we ended up get more like 30% off! Blessing? Yes!
Example #2:
we also got a couple new chairs for the living room. Before we went to go get them we called to make sure they were still there. We were told there were three left so to come down and get them! When we got there, they actually only had one, that was out on the floor. They told us since it was their mistake they would give us the one on the floor (which was in perfect condition) for 20% off and if we would wait for a week to get the second one when the shipment came in they would give us 10% off. That saved us over $100. Blessing? Absolutely!
Example #3
we went to get a Christmas tree that was on sale. When we got to the check out line the checker on the next aisle over turned around and handed me a piece of paper saying "here, use this". It was a coupon that saved us an extra $20! Blessing? Most definitely!
Example #4
Andrew was leaving work a couple of days ago, frustrated by a situation that had been causing him problems for a very long time. As he was walking out the door a plant manager pulled him back in and offered him a promotion! Andrew is now a supervisor! Wahoo! Such a blessing on more than one level. He needed the change so badly!
Example #5
Our totally crazy and perfectly healthy little girl. Hands down the best thing that has ever happened to us! Now we get to add a brother! How lucky our we? Now we just need to find a way to show our gratitude and pay it forward.

Sugar? No. Honey Honey!

So for those of you that dont know. We have honey bees. We actually harvested the honey a couple months ago but Im just now getting around to blogging about it.
This is the very first day we got the bees and Andrew is getting ready to put them in the box. Notice his socks tucked in to his pants. So stylish.

Here are a few of the bees (and it really is a few in comparison) a month or so after we put them in their new home.

and here is a couple of shots of us bottling it.

I tried to upload some video of some of the process, but it didnt work and I dont have the patients to try again. Sorry?

Anyway, it kind of a fun process and its funny how comfortable you get with bees. At least with honey bees, I still dont trust the rest of them.

Our pumpkins and a black cat named Binx

Here is a pic (finally) of the finished painted pumpkins and as promised, my kid is dressed this time. Im sure I dont have to explain who's is who's. Its pretty easy to figure out.

Now for the cat... One night about a week or so before Halloween we were just pulling in to our drive way when all of the sudden AnDee starts yelling "Kitty! Kitty!" and pointing up. So, of course we look up to find an extremely black cat with extremely green eyes sitting on our roof. Yes, our roof. Right at the peak of the roof to be exact and to add to it, the moon which, just so happened to be full, was directly behind it. Spooky? yes. Well... the cat never left. It has adopted us and NOT the other way around. I dont feed it. It doesnt come in my house (gratefully) but what it does do is come running every time it hears us outside and lets my kid beat the crud out of it. I think this might be the best pet ever!We named it Zachary Binx because Im pretty sure that is may be THE cat that was in Hocus Pocus.

Spooooooky Halloween!

The most spooky part of this halloween was most definitely me in my ridiculous costume. No doubt about it. We went as the Flintstones because I was far too lazy to try to put lollipop kid costumes together. These where enough work for me. I didnt make mine but I did make AnDee and Andrews. I heart hot glue :)

Here is one of just the Bug. The picture is from my phone which equals poor quality but she is cute regardless.

Anyway... We didnt go trick or treating (which I was very sad about) but we did go to our ward trunk or treat (which was MADNESS!) AnDee seemed to enjoy it so I guess it was worth it?

Snow

So remember how it snowed a week or so ago? AnDee thought it was AMAZING! We walked outside and she practically screamed "WWWWWOOOOOWWW!!!" Im glad she likes it. That means the whole winter wont be spent in doors. Plus, much to my surprise, her bumble bee dress also doubles as a snow suit.