Max and a Scavenger Hunt!!

Good Morning Everyone!! It is very Decemberish feeling day today outside! But it is just fine with me. It makes for a cozy home inside! If it were a little bit colder out, I would even go as far as having a nice fire in the fireplace this AM.  (Update: It is now afternoon and raining. We are starting the fire as soon as I post this! haha And Baking something good too!)
Onto the elf of the day, Max! Our silly little elf thought it would make for a lovely morning, by having a bow scavenger hunt! T started out finding Max in the entertainment center by the fireplace, relaxing in Jim Shore's Santa Sleigh! He picked the perfect spot to sit and watch as she tried to find all the bows he hid.

He wrote her a little note, telling her there were only 13 days left til Christmas, so he thought it would be fun to find 13 bows hidden around the fireplace. :-) She had so much fun playing "I Spy". After she collected them all, she was suppose to hang on to them for a special surprise. So tomorrow morning, we should see something in place of the bows....like a little treat. (Hmm...gotta think about that one. ;-)  Here a few pics from our eventful morning!

 

 

Where was your elf hiding this morning!? Post to my site so that we can see all the funny places your children find their elves! We would love to see the pictures!

Happy 12/12/12! 

Yesterday's Missed Max Post!

We were a little busy yesterday, so I didn't get the chance to post where we found Max come the morning! T came into the Living Room and promptly asked where he was. She was a little frustrated at first because she could'nt find him for a bit. Then after searching high and low, she finally found him perched on my Apple wall sconce next to the Christmas Tree Countdown! He had noticed that she forgot to change the star to the next day, so ge reminded her not to forget our tree and left her a little treat! She was very excited to see a Bubble Gum Sucker that she could have for breakfast! (Which btw I think she had a total of 5 licks of and then "doesn't want any more"....That's my girl, no candy before breaky!) She loves Max so much....makes for one happy mommy to see her enjoy something so much!!

Check back later for some more of our favorite elf, Max. :)

Max, Barbie & Friends Had Game Night!

This morning we found Max and a few of his pals all gathered around a festive game of Candyland!
Max and Barbie decided they wanted to celebrate their victory with a horse ride to the castle. Sigmund the penguin, Sheila, and Chuck E Cheese were all cheering them on as they took their ride! 
Here are a few pics from their game night fun!!

Max was trying talk his friends into a little adventure for tonight...we shall see if he can get them all to agree and explore with him!
Be sure to check back in the morning for tonight's activities with Max and his friends!!

The Elf with a Sweet Tooth!

Max, our elf seems to have a sweet tooth... This morning when T woke up to find Max, she found him on the buffet over our newly built Gingerbread House! Not only did her sweet little elf decide he wanted to help decorate, he wanted to have a little snack as well! Looks like Max thought Marshmallows would help make the yard look like a winter wonderland! He layed them all around like little soft white snow clouds!
Wonder where he will end up tomorrow morning!? Check back tomorrow to find his new hiding spot!!

MIA, a new Layout & Christmas time!!

Hello again! It has been a good couple of months since I have posted anything on here, but that's what mommy life is all about.
Hopefully I can pick up the ball again and get it rolling. I really love the idea of documenting our little life and all the chaos and fun that goes along with it!
Bare with me while I try to catch up on life around here at the moment!
Since it's getting closer to Christmas, I thought it was only apropos to change the layout of my blog to something more festive! Hope you enjoy!


The house and outside atmosphere is really feeling like Christmas at the moment. The weather is very nice for North Florida! Perfect for playing outside and getting some yard work done!
Everyday during December, we try to make a Christmas craft, watch a Christmas Movie, Read a Christmas book, or Bake some Christmas Goodies!
The most exciting thing around here at the moment is our new tradition of "Max", our Elf on the Shelf!! The delivery man brought him two days ago, so that night he flew to our home from the North Pole. :-)

We were going to the grocery store that night, so once we got the kiddos in the car, we set "Max" up on the window over the Christmas Tree. T was somewhat sleepy when we got home, but she did notice he was there right before she went to bed. When she woke up the next morning, she was absolutely amazed to see that he had moved to a different spot in the house! Forgot to take a pic of him over the window, but took pics from then on out!

Here is "Max" sitting in the entertainment center watching "Mickey's Twice upon a Christmas" and having some Reese's Pieces! He had written the kids a note and left them his book to read!

 

After we read T the book and it was time to name our newest addition to the family, we gave T her choice between Tinsel or Max (because that girl loves her Max & Ruby like nobodies business!). Obviously her love for cartoon characters naturally beat out the more traditional holiday name!

Max it is!!

 

Yesterday we thought we would build our First Annual Family Gingerbread house! T is finally old enough to enjoy and help out in putting it together and adding all the candy pieces, so it was time to start the tradition! We had so much fun putting the icing everywhere and then taste testing along the way. I mean really, what is the point in playing with and building a house with cookies, icing, and candy without sampling! Here are a few pics of our sweet Gingerbread House...

 

 

Eating our Twizzler's while decorating!

 

 

 

 

The finished house!

 

 

Hope you enjoyed catching up a little bit with us! More post to come in a little while...little man just woke up from his morning nap!

 

 

Happy Holidays!!

Teryn @ My Hovy Home

 

Slowly getting our World in Order!

   Sorry it's been a while since I have posted anything new, but with all the moving, organizing, cleaning, laundry and full-time mommy duties it has been a little crazy around here! I have no clue why some people say moving is easy. I'm telling you it's definitely not. Hubby just about killed himself getting all of the big furniture into the new house by himself (for the most part). Our friend came up for a week and helped out a bit, but even he ended up hurting himself and was bed-ridden for the rest of his visit.
   I have been slowly getting everything the way I want it for now. Once you move into a new place, it's hard to get a feel for where things should go until you actually live there for a while. Well duh. I should have put the Vacuum in the Laundry Room closet, not the Hallway closet. Little things start to bug me after a while if I don't like where they currently reside. Any who, progress is being made and I am not losing my mind anymore from all the clutter. As for the new house...I AM LOVING IT! There is so much more room here, than our previous rental house. Plus I can not say enough how much I love living on our own farm full of Privacy!!! Our new home is a 4/2 Palm Harbor Energy Efficient Modular Home sitting on 23 secluded acres and I am proud to call it ours. When hubby and I were looking for houses, we always said we wanted Energy Star Appliances as well as a well built home. I love everything about this house; from the Electric Gas Hot Water Heater and my lovely Gas Range to the little things such as having a sink in my Laundry Room and the Kids having Huge Walk-in Closets!

   ***I hate gloating and this post is not meant to hurt or say "my house is better than yours". Trust me, there are many people out there with homes far better than ours, and there are many people out there who are far more less fortunate. I feel very Blessed, that we were able to even buy a house at this point in our life and provide a nice new home for our children. I know it can be worse, a lot worse! In fact there was a time where hubby and I were living in an apartment behind my great grandmothers house that was smaller than a hotel room! (Yes, it's true. And I was preggo at the time!!) But Please don't judge. I am just extremely happy and grateful to be living in this beautiful home and want to share it with friends and family! *** Now back to my happy Rant!

Here are a few pictures of our new abode.
                              

 My China Cabinet in the Dining Room area of the Kitchen.

 

 

 Our Gas Range (Swoon.)

 

 

 The Counter to the Right of the Range.

 

 

 

 The Kids Robe Hooks in their Bathroom by the tub.

Yard Saling and a Lovely Find!

   Good Morning! Woke up extra early this morning, due to a sweet boy who thought sleeping was overrated! At least I got to spend a little extra time with my mom before she headed off to work. :-) Since I have a little extra time this morning, I thought I would share a little bit on my wonderful finds at the yard sales yesterday!

   I had searched Craigslist the day before, stumbling upon many many sales going on and some even had pictures! (Which is always a plus!) Found quite a few things that were promising, but the problem always seems to be, beating the others to the goodies! So I started to prioritize by the things we needed most. I had seen a listing for a set of 4 bar stool, which were the exact same ones I had planned on buying from the store. I thought, Oh yeah!, Maybe I can score those and pay a whole lot less than brand new! That was going to be my first to check out....of course once we get there, the woman selling them told me she had sold them the day before to a friend! Ugghh...At least I found a cute Farm Animal Counting book for the kiddos for .50 cents! T was very happy when I gave it to her for a little prize! (Her happiness is better than mine, plus she got a little extra treat that morning....pancakes from the golden arches, needless to say she was in a good mood!)

But all was not lost and the day was not over. I headed on down a few streets away and found some beautiful vintage pie plates for a buck a piece! (Applause!)

After that quick little stop, we headed a few miles south for some more good finds... Atlas,I found a place that was having a Multi-family sale and racked up some really nice goodies. First thing I find was a box with a beautiful set of Pier 1 Imports Cranberry Dishes; 6 bowls and 6 plates to be exact. The lady had priced them at $5.00 a set, but she would gladly take $5.00 for the whole box, plus a cute little basket I had picked up as well! (Yay!)

***Using Mom's Couch for a background!***

At the same sale I also came across a table full of Disney VHS Movies and a Dora DVD, all priced for a mere .10 cents each. So I picked up ten for the Little's and once again T was thrilled! Hubby is planning on using one of those VHS to DVD recorders, and ta-da...brand new movies for the kiddos without fortunes spent! (Forgot to take a pic) But I picked up most of the ones we haven't already bought...James and the Giant Peach, Muppet's Treasure Island, Baby Shakespeare, Baby Van Gogh, Baby Einstein's Neighborhood Animals, Little Bear's Adventures, and a couple others. Glad the Little's will have some new as well as educational movies to watch!

A few other little things we got were...

This cute canvas picture ($1); Think I will end up hanging it in our Master Bathroom!

Some Brandy Sniffers (.75 cents for both); Also going in our Bathroom for some cute Decor!

T got this sweet Ariel pillow and a cute new Sleeping Beauty Bathing Suit (that was never worn..Her daughter outgrew it before she had the chance to use it!)--$3 for both!

I also found a very old and beautiful antique lamp for M's Nautical Room! (Will post before and after pics later when we are actually living in the house!)

On the way home we were going to stop at one more, which we never found, so I assume they quit. As we were driving trying to find the place, I stumbled upon someone who had thrown out a pile of things for the trash. In that pile were a Complete set of a 1987 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica in great condition!!! WHAT!!?? I must be dreaming....RIGHT!!?? I mean who throws out something like that?? Obviously these people, but I was Over the moon! My dream is to have a beautiful and LARGE home Library one of these days! I want my kids to Love and have a passion for books as much as I do now! Slowly but surely I'm getting there, and thank my lucky stars I drove past that house. Needless to say my trunk was full by the time we got back to Mom's. (Unfortunately, 1 was missing and the other book was gone beyond saving, since they threw it in the trash can with their nasty leftovers from 3 weeks ago! Blahh!) So I am missing book 11 and 30...Boo. I will find them one day!

Thanks for Visiting!!

Beach Pictures of the Little's!

 On Thursday we decided to have dinner and a photo session at the beach on a spur of the moment. Since we all had our hair done that morning...we thought, hey now is a Great time! I am so glad we did, because now hubby and I have some beautiful pictures to hang on our new walls!

   T had a wonderful time because she got to have her hair fixed and play at the beach all in the same day!
  M had just as much fun playing in the sand and grabbing it with his finger! (By the way, little man is 7 months today!! Oh my how it is flying by....First Birthday plans will be playing around in my head later!)
   My girlfriend came to the beach with us and took over 250 pictures! So I only have a few for now, but once I get them on canvas (I will make another Post). A big thanks to her for all the beautiful pics of my babies!

Here is a little sneak peak!

Thank's for Visiting!!

Big Buck Show In Lakeland

   Yesterday we took a little trip up to the Lakeland Expo Center to see The Big Buck Expo & RJ and Jay Paul from Swamp People! My best friend Emma, Myself and The Little's had a pretty great time checking out all of the Hunting and Fishing gear.


T loved riding around in the stroller with M looking at all the Deer, Gators, and Fish! Her favorite thing there was listening to all the different deer calls!! She even thought some of them were real! She said she was going to get that deer and hang it on the wall like Daddy's! Ha ha Love that girl!

 
I was not looking my best...but it didn't matter because we still had fun!

Plus we got some autographs and our pictures taken with the Swamp People!!


A little better.. but still my hair is horrible! No worries
 because my bestie above will be taking care of that problem soon!


T & Myself with RJ and Jay Paul! (Of course I had to Blink!)



It was a fun night and we had a Blast!


Thanks for Visiting!

Our Fourth of July!

   
   This year's 4th of July holiday was a good one, but could have been better had the hubs been here to celebrate it with us! We are currently staying at my parents house in Bradenton while our new house is being finished. The hubby
is staying at our rental house until everything is done and we can finally move in. But since everything is already moved out of the old house, it makes it a little hard to keep the kids occupied in an empty house! So we headed south to the Grandparents house for a little mini vaca until we can finally move in!

   We ended up in Palmetto for the Three Dog Night concert at the park, which included some yummy hamburgers with a bucket of fries, $2 dozen glazed doughnuts, glow-sticks and lighted balloons, and some wonderful fireworks!

Here are a few pics from our little fourth!


Our little firecracker T with
 her 4th of July attire!!
(Yes, she was wearing my Flip-Flops!)

 
Sweet boy with Mamaw!

     
Three Dog Night (Who were Amazing!)

   
How could you not love that smile!!

    
Ready for the fireworks, with her special light!!


Hope your Fourth was as fun as ours!!

Starting My Journey into Blogging!

   Good Morning! My name is Teryn and this post will be my first entry to my blog! I am very excited to see what this blogging world is about! Ready to share my families creativity, recipes, helpful tips, family fun and other goodies with our distant family/friends and fellow bloggers!

   If you don't already know me, I am a 25 year old stay at home mom to two very beautiful kids!Sometimes I call them Thing 1 and Thing 2. :-) Thing 1 being my daughter (T) who just turned 3 in February and Thing 2 is my son (M) who is going on 7 months and will be 1 come December!  My wonderful hubby works full time, which allows me to stay at home with the kiddos until they both are in school.
  We are currently in the process of moving into our new home (5 years coming) on our 23-acre farm in Northwest Florida. I have always had a longing to live on a farm since I was pretty young. Hubby grew up on a farm in Southern Minnesota--which I absolutely love everything about that state!!-- so you could say he knows the ropes when it comes to farm living! Hubby also loves to build things, so whenever I need something made, he is handy with the hardware!!

   I hope to learn and share many things over time, although some of which may not be the most spectacular, but that's all a part of growing this blog. Working towards bigger and better things over time! Hope you come back soon and enjoy this growing experience with me and my family!