Family Day at Halloweekend

Yesterday we had a fun family day at Cedar Point.  During the weekends in September and October, they have something called Halloweekends.  Most of the rides are open, and there are several fun Halloween activities you can attend for no additional cost.   We had not been to one before, but we will be sure to go back in the future!

I noticed an interesting trend yesterday.  Everyone seems to be posting  name signs  on their bathroom doors..  Tarzan uses the restroom in a McDonalds in Michigan.  (Sorry it is so blurry, I was trying to quickly take the picture of the bathroom door  and not look crazy... LOL)    Hens and roosters use a bathroom at KFC near the park.  Why they would want to go to the bathroom in a place that serves chicken, I have no idea.  Dolls are welcome to use go at Johnny Rockets in the park.  Has anyone noticed this trend at other restauraunts near them.

The weather we had for the day was gorgeous!!  It was in the mid to high 60s all day, and only got chilly at night.

Zombie Elvis was in the house.  Thank you very much.

Yep, she is still my mini me!

This cracked me up.  While I know what it is for, I was wondering if  there was a family washing machine. LOL!  It costs $5 to have the family drying experience.

Kara told me that I could take a picture of her in the stockades, but then when the time came refused to get in them.  None of my kids would cooperate for this fun photo op.. Boo!

I soooo want to ride this ride.  If I get the okay for the heart doctor this week from my stress test, I will so be on it next time..  I was really good yesterday.  I only rode  easy rides and one mild coaster.

Good thing we got to see these in the daytime..None of us are fond of scary clowns.
I just found out  that I have a secret talent when it come to scary things!  Keeping others calm in "haunted houses."  Did you know that if you don't like to be scared there is a prime place in line  to be in during your time in one?  The best place to be is 2nd or 3rd person  in the group.  While we are not big fans of gory haunted houses with weapons, we knew the ones at Cedar Point would be "safe". Children were welcome.  There were signs that they were designed for older kids and those under 4 feet should be accompanied by a responsible person.   There were no weapons, no blood, mostly just people in make up  jumping out of hiding places. When we went in, Kara immediately grabbed my hand.  I knew she was scared so I calmly talked her (and myself)  through.  We were in 2nd in line behind another couple.  The woman in the couple in front of us was an easy target. She kept getting scared because the "monsters" always seem to jump out at her. .  As Kara and I would walk in a room, I was say out loud. See, there is a person right there...  Now that you see them you have no reason to be scared. Kara  immediately calmed down and was then just fine  through the entire house.  Since they could see I was talking to a child, the monsters  didn't really jump out at us.  When we were done, the woman in front of us thanked me because my calming talk to  Kara also calmed her down. LOL!  Kristina who was right behind me, also heard me and she was also able to stay calm.  Who knew I could calm a room down just by talking.

This picture is also really funny.  Kyle was "passed out" in front the of saloon in Old West/Mine area of Cedar Point.  The girls and their dad wanted to go to Eden Musee a spooky wax museum, but Kyle did not want to. We sat on this bench to wait which happened to be in front of the saloon.  Kyle decided he was tired while we were waiting,  and laid down to take a short nap.

By this point it was getting late, and we were all tired.  We took one last ride on the Giant Wheel, the large ferris wheel where you can see the entire park.  It was beautiful, but very cold at the top.

While I physically feel good today (the day after), my feet are really  hurting.  I did end up swelling with hives again at the end of the night. I wore comfortable shoes, but not ones I am used to wearing more than a few hours.  I am still a bit swollen, thought it is subsiding and I have a few blisters on the top of my foot.  Even with the foot discomfort, our family day at Halloweekend  was so worth it.

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Dare to Share #27

Giving the cat a "furhawk" 

This Dare to Share intro will be kind of short.  I just shared two days ago what has been going on this week.  My fever finally broke by Thursday and now I am dealing with laryngitis.  My family doesn't seem to mind, they all think I talk to too much..  :)  Now that I have been on my other meds for a week, I am finally feeling human again.  I am getting my strength and energy back.  YEA!!  I am feeling well enough to join my family on a very fun family outing.  I won't share too much of what we are doing yet, so I have plenty to share next week.    

Other updates to our week..

Houdini really has disappeared for the final time..  We have not found him.  She is hopeful he somehow got outside, but I am pretty sure we will find him someday in the future.

I had a thyroid ultrasound this week. The actual ultrasound was quick and easy.  I won't know the results until they send them to my dr in about a week.

I just paired up with a wonderful sponsor for our upcoming Crafters Dream Giveaway that will be starting in about a month.  We are already up to 30+ blogs so it is even bigger than the last one!

Well that is what I have to share, what do you have to share??  


Link up and HAVE FUN!!

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Have You Tried Jingit Yet?

I know I just wrote about Jingit last week.  I have been trying it out the last few days, and I love it! I have earned over $4 in less than a week just by watching a few ads of my favorite brands, and answering a short survey.  They even have a phone app where you can earn even more money  when check in at your favorite stores.   One feature that I really like is money you make with Jingit can be downloaded to a debit card, so you earn your money in real time.  It is super simple to sign up,  and you can use Jingit on your computer, tablet or phone. So why don't you give Jingit a try.  Just click on the Jingit banner to get started.  

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Easy Spider Wreath

Last night I made an easy spider wreath using materials I bought from the Dollar Tree.   I have horrible lighting in my house at night.  I took some more pics today, but I am not sure if they are much better.

The supplies I bought were a straw wreath, a black spooky net clothes, 2 spiders and some spider ribbon.  I bought extra not knowing how much I was going to use.

Only one cloth, was enough to cover the wreath.  There was a part where there was some excess.  I allowed it to hang down because it looked like a spider web.

I attached the spiders with a needle and some thread..  I didnt feel like breaking out the hot glue gun.

For now I have the wreath over the mantle.  I think I really like it there.  I  might add some leaves when I bring out my Halloween decorations.

I will be posting this easy spider wreath at this amazing linky parties HERE!

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One of Those Weeks

Sorry I have been quiet for a few days..  It has been one of those weeks and it is only Wednesday.

Monday morning we discovered Houdini the salamander escaped for the 4th and for what looks like final time.  We have looked all over and  he still  has not turned up.  I really don't think he can survive this long without water.     Monday we also had a girl scout meeting and Awanas, so we had a full evening.

Tuesday was another hectic day.  Kara had choir club, and dance class.   I had to go to Kyle's school for meet the teacher/curriculum night.  Once I got home, I didn't feel so good.  Within 2 hours, I had a 101 fever..   I went to bed early, because I felt horrible.

Today I felt yucky most of the day, but my mid afternoon I started to feel better.  I am pretty sure I have a head cold with a scratchy throat, congestion etc..    Kara had another dance class and we also made a Dollar Tree run.   I am very excited that my store has a large stock of the craft pumpkins in right now.  I was planning on making some more pumpkins for the Pumpkin Gang this afternoon, but I can not find where I stored  them.   I picked up a few tonight, and when I find the others, I will have a nice number to craft with this fall..  It  looks like another early night though, because I just took my temp and my temp  is 100.6 again. UGH!!

Tomorrow I have a thyroid ultrasound.  My Dr feels it is enlarged and she wants to have it checked out.  When the called to confirm today, the woman I spoke to didn't think me having a cold was going to be a problem. I hope not, since I don't want to reschedule.

Tonight I did make a really cute spider wreath, but I can't post it yet because I do not have any good pictures.   The lighting in my house is horrible at night.   I promise to share it tomorrow.

Well off to bed now, since I have to get rid of this fever.

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Another Homemade Year..

It is that time of year again.. Time to start thinking about what we are going to make  Halloween this year.  I will let you in on a little secret.  I majored in Textiles & Clothing in college.  While I was never planning on being a fashion designer,  (I am not a big fan of sewing)  I do enjoy making costumes.   My kids LOVE the fact that they can come up with a crazy idea every year, and I will figure out some way to put it together.  I also like that I claim that I am using my college degree.. LOL!   Here are some of our favorite costumes from years past.

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Dare to Share #26

Ahhh...  What a good night's sleep will do..  I slept over 9 hours last night.  A much needed 9 hours of sleep.  Sometimes I think that cats really do have  the life!

One thing I have to share this week that does not have to do with Drs. appointments is our new friend. Kara has not named him,  but I have!  His name is Houdini!!  3 TIMES he has escaped his container.  The first time I found him at the bottom of the stairs with the cat covered in fur/hair etc.. I thought he was a goner!  I was mad at the cat thinking that she was the culprit. I was surprised when I put him in a small bowl of water and he bounced right back to life.   We then  moved the container into a closet to keep the cat away.  The next morning I had the shock of my life when I found him laying in the upstairs hallway with the cat again.   There is NO WAY she got in the closet to get him out.    When then moved him into her brothers room with the other lizard/salamanders.  He was in his container when she left for school.  I checked him again 20 mins later and he was GONE.  The cat had been locked out of the bedroom, so I knew it was not her fault. When I was mad at her, she was actually HELPING me find him.  I knew I had to find him this time because my son would freak that there was a salamander loose in his room, and Kara would freak that he was gone.  A little while later, I saw him just walking around the floor by Kyle's bed.  RELIEF!!   We have made sure he can not escape his container again. I wouldn't mind if she let him go, but it is getting very cold at night and she concerned that he would die.  Good thing I am an animal lover softie,  since our house had turned into Kara's  personal zoo.  

Do you have anything that you would like to share?  There are no rules.    Link up as many posts as you would like.    

While it is not required, it would be great if you follow in some way, to keep up with the weekly parties.

I would also love it if you would share my button somewhere on your blog,  so more people know about the party.





<center> </p> <p> <a href="http://pamspartyplanning.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src=" http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/Kristisma3/button2.png " style="border: none;"/></a></center> </p> <p>

Now link up and HAVE FUN!! 

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Where's The Party?

I know there is normally a brand new linky party right about now.  It will still happen, just not until Saturday.   Tonight I am just too tired. It's been a long day.   I had my follow up appointment with my Dr about my bloodwork, and did finally get some answers.  I definitely do have at least one autoimmune disease.  I tested positive with antibodies for Hashismotos, which is an autoimmune thyroid disease.  Basically it means my body is attacking my thyroid making me very tired, achy and more forgetful than normal.  I am going to have an ultrasound on my thyroid next week , because my Dr feels it is a bit enlarged. We are still not 100% sure what is causing the hives, but I did test in the very high normal range for Rheumatoid.   Normal range is 0-20, and I am currently a 17. Right now we can only monitor it since the number is not high enough for a Rheumatologist to treat it.  My Dr. did give me an anti inflammatory med, that she is hoping will help eliminate some of my symptoms and might even help the hives.  I still need to have an echo stress test in about a week to make sure there is not heart issue. I did not have it on Thursday, because my appointment was scheduled at the building where he only had consults.  This afternoon I also  had my very first mammogram.   I was a bit nervous, but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. The side squish is uncomfortable, but only for a minute.    I was told that since it was my first one, I might be asked back for more pictures since they do not have a baseline to compare it to.   They told me absolutely nothing  today.  I was only  told I should hear back in about a week, and that my Dr will get the report in 3-5 days or so.  For someone who is not supposed to stress, I have had a lot to stress about this week.  One  way I am going to try and help some of my  thyroid/hive  symptoms is to try a more Gluten Free diet.  When I saw the heart doctor on Thursday, he mentioned it when he saw the pictures of my hives.   While I know I will really struggle going totally Gluten Free, I am going to try Gluten Lite to see if helps.  Right now it is all too much to think about, so I think I will go to sleep.  

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Christmas Crafters Dream Giveaway

I'm so excited to bring you, along with My Merry Messy Life, Earning-My-Cape, and Tutus & Tea Parties, A Crafter's Dream Christmas Giveaway! 

 

This is a group giveaway opportunity with a Christmas, crafting, and supporting small business theme! Each blogger is offering her/his own giveaway worth $25 or more. It will run from October 21, 2012 to November 4, 2012 and bloggers, as well as shop owners, are welcome to sign up to join in the celebration. Bloggers who are not crafters and shop owners who are not bloggers can still join the giveaway by pairing up together! If you need help finding a shop or blogger to link up with, we will do our best to help.  

 <a border="0" href="http://earning-my-cape.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-crafters-dream-christmas-giveaway.html"target="_blank" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh547/EarningMyCape/a-crafters-dream-christmas-giveaway.png"/></a>

About our theme:

Christmas is just around the corner, and the time to start crafting our gifts for friends and family is now! Some of the blogs in the giveaway group will be giving away some awesome crafting supplies! 

Sometimes we want to give a handmade gift, but just don't have the time or know-how to make them ourselves. This is a great opportunity to support small businesses and shops who offer handmade items! Some of the blogs in our giveaway group will be highlighting such small businesses and offering giveaway items for them, as well. Even if you don't win the giveaway, we hope that you will keep these small businesses in mind when shopping for that perfect gift for your special someone.

Here is how it will work:

Bloggers:

• Each blogger will run their own unique giveaway, worth at least $25 or more, on their own site using Rafflecopter as the entry form. Please set your Rafflecopter to start at 12:01am October 21, 2012 and end at 12:01am November 5, 2012. You have total control over what you would like to give away (as long as it ties in with our Christmas/craft/small business theme) and to whom (country). 
• Please announce that you have joined on Twitter using this hashtag - #ACraftersDream, and/or make the announcement on your Facebook Page.
• Facebook Group - (this is optional) find our group, A Crafter's Dream Giveaway Group, on Facebook and request to join (you must be using Facebook as your actual name and not through your blog page for it to work)
• Please write a post announcing you have joined the giveaway, and include the html from the form that you will fill out.
• Grab the giveaway button and put it in a prominent place to promote it on your site! The more bloggers who sign up, the more entries we ALL get!
• Please fill out this form to get started.

Shop Owners:

• You can team up with a blogger on your own, or we can help match you with a blog to sponsor with a giveaway item worth $25 or more, from your shop.
• Please announce that you have joined on Twitter using this hashtag - #ACraftersDream, and/or make the announcement on your Facebook Page.
• Facebook Group - (this is optional) find our group, A Crafter's Dream Giveaway Group, on Facebook and request to join (you must be using Facebook as your actual name and not through your blog page for it to work)
• Please fill out this form if you would like help being paired up with a blog.

Bloggers, please enter your blog link below.

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An Oldie but a Goodie

As you know I am currently under Drs. orders to take it easy this week. My appointments are in the next few days.   I have been thinking of crafts that I want to make, but haven't quite had the energy to make them.   So instead of a week with no posts, I thought I would bring back a few oldies but goodies.  

Does anyone remember the Halloween themed frames I made last year using dollar store supplies?   I am excited that I am going to be putting them back out soon.  They are such a fun way to display your favorite Halloween photos.  

Want to see the full tutorial?  

You can see it HERE!

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Earn Money with Jingit

Have you heard about Jingit yet?  I heard about it for the first time about a week ago, and I think  it sounds interesting.   Jingit is a fun new way to earn some  extra money for those upcoming holidays.    You get paid to watch ads,  give feedback to your favorite brands and more.   Anytime you see a Jingit ad online, if you click it the ad pays you!   I have tried it, and it is super simple.   There is a very easy sign up process, and Jingit will not sell or share your personal info.   So why not give it a try, just click on the banner.

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Super Shout Outs

My plan was to post my features from the last few parties  yesterday. Well as you know, I have a pretty good excuse as to why I didn't. I have been feeling better today, and have been taking it easy just like the Dr  ordered.  Today, since I am feeling better, I am finally sharing some of my favorite links from the last few parties.




Addicted to Recipes shared how to make homemade creamsicles, which happens to be one of my favorite froze treats.  I have not tried to make the yet, but still really want to.



I love ladybugs and watermelon, so I couldn't resist featuring Creative Kids Snacks adorable watermelon ladybug dessert.



This duct tape pencil pouch by Make It Easy Crafts is such a good idea now that the kids are back in school.   Buying a pouch at the store can be really expensive, and I like how you customize your own pouch depending on the tape you chose.



The Seven Year Cottage caught my eye when she said she has been known to set hair bows on fire.   She gives a great tutorial on how to make curly ribbons for all kinds of bows and crafts.



How cute are TuTus and Tea Parties duct tape band-aids.  This is such a fun way to customize your boo boos.



Is this wreath by Life on Lake Shore Drive gorgeous?  I just love all the colors.

Thank you to everyone who has been linking up the last few weeks.  I really appreciate everyone, and love looking at what all of you  have to share! I also want to say thank you for understanding why I sometimes am a slacker on posting weekly features.

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The E.R. once again

Well once again a day was spent in the hospital.  This time it was a bit different though.  This time it was me.   I am using an old picture from one of Kara's ER  visits, because I forgot to take any pictures while I was there. Since I was the patient, it didn't cross my mind.

On Friday, I was not feeling good all day. I was achy and exhausted. During my trip to Target with my daughter,  I felt really short of breath.  Later while laying down, I was having pains in my chest on and off.   Around two in the morning,  my jaw also began to hurt.  I was unsure what to do at that point.  Was it bad enough to call 911, or was I making myself worse with stress and anxiety?   When the pain started to go away, I decided to go ahead and go to sleep saying some extra prayers.  This morning when I woke up, I still didn't feel good.  When I started having shortness of breath again, we decided I needed to be checked out. We needed to be safe, rather than sorry.

We got to the hospital around 1 p.m.  My initial EKG and lung test were good.   They put me in a room  to give me more tests.   I was hooked up with an IV line and plugged in a machine to constantly check my heart rate and breathing.    One of my tests came back too high.  The E.R. Dr was concerned enough to send me to have a C.T. scan to check for a blood clot.  I also had another chest Xray.  Both of those came back clear, so a clot was ruled out.  Around 5 p.m. the Dr told me we had two options.  Even though my tests were coming back okay, she had not totally ruled out a heart issue.  Option number one was to stay overnight and have a stress test in the morning.   Since I already have a stress test scheduled for Thursday from my physical last week, she was willing for me to go with option number two.  If a third enzyme test came back clear, then she would allow me to go home and  wait until my scheduled stress test.   The third test was taken 6 hours after my initial test around 7:30 p.m. Around 8:30, I found out that my 3rd test was clear too. Woohoo! I was going to be allowed to go home.   I was released with the instructions to take it easy for the next several days and to come back in if needed.  I had my first bite of food of the day around 8:30.  I was so hungry and thirsty, because I had not been able to eat or drink all day long. (it would affect the test results) While we are still not exactly sure what is going on, a few things have now been ruled out.  Now I just have take it easy all week.  Not to bad for Drs. orders.  

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Dare To Share # 25

Sorry I have been quiet on the blog the last few days. I don't have anything to share about my health situation quite yet.  My appointments and test results  are not until this time next  week.  I have been very tired the last few days, and today I was on the achy side. I could be tired and achy because we had a lot going on with the kids  this week.    Monday was our first girl scout meeting of the year.  Tuesday and Wednesday, Kara went back to her dance classes.  Thursday was meet the teacher/curriculum night for Kara's grade.  I also went to Kara's school book fair twice this week.  On Tuesday I went because there was a book Kara really wanted me to see.  Unfortunately, it was sold out by the time we got there. I was told it was going be restocked in a day or two because more had been ordered.  When I went back on Thursday, I was surprised to see that the hard copy of the book was over $17. I didn't mind spending $6.99 for paperback, but I was not going to spent $17 on one novel.  Kara chose another book that was a lot cheaper.. Whew..

Another big event happened very early Monday morning.  If you missed it, you can see why Kara is standing in front of a new hamster cage HERE!

You can see all of the fun things I found on my most recent trip to Target HERE.

Another fun thing that I would like to share this week is the upcoming ornament swap hosted by my friends Lauren of TuTus and Tea Parties  and Robyn from Robyn's View/  This looks like a lot of fun, and we would love you for you come over and sign up to join the swap.


Now on to the party!  
There are no rules, link up as many posts as you would like.  Feel free to post anything you would like to share.  I will be doing features this week and sharing thenm on the blog, Facebook and Pinterest.
While it is not required, it would be great if you became a follower so you know about upcoming linky parties.  I would also love it if you post my button (on the button page) somewhere on your blog  to get the word out about the party.  The more the merrier!

Now link up and have fun!

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Friday Finds from Target

I stopped by Target with my teen tonight to get a gallon of milk.  45 minutes and $60+ dollars later, we left the store with many great finds this week.  If I bought everything I found today, my total would be closer to $200, so some of cute items I just photographed.  How cute are these owls I saw in the Halloween section. They stayed at the store. (for now)

I so wish that Target had these a few months ago for our Woodland Party.   I found forest animal craft kits near the party/stationary area for only $2.00 a piece.  The hedgehog and fox are Kara's favorite animals.  Luckily she was not with me tonight or they would have come home.  They also had owl and squirrel kits available.

In the Dollar Spot I found these super cute reflectors for kids to wear during Trick or Treat.

Are you ready for some football?!   Well you would be if you had a football themed crock pot.

Every porch needs to have their own Avengers Pumpkin.  

Kara did actually see this while we were at the store looking for a birthday gift.   She has already asked me to buy it.  I "might" consider it, if I can get it on clearance later in the season.

Here are some of the items that actually made it home.  I really liked these little containers in the Dollar Spot.

Cute $1 rolls of wrapping paper.  Great to use for crafts or back drops for the blog.

One of the males in my family will be getting this for Christmas.  I found it for 70% off!

Shhhh!  Don't tell Kara, but here is her first Christmas present.  I found these art kits for only $2.48 each!

Kristina found this super cute rug for her room, for only $9.98.

She also bought this fun pillow for only $3.88.   I am so proud she is a bargain shopper like her mama.

As usual, I found a ton of cute things around the store. Be on the lookout for what you can find the next time you head that way.

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