Wednesday, December 14, 2011

planning for Lainey's bday this Saturday

Elaine really likes the movie, Tangled. For her birthday dinner I decided to make decorations that are Tangled-themed. She doesn't know! She'll be surprised. :)

Lanterns are a symbol in the movie for Rupunzel following her dreams. So it wouldn't be a Tangled birthday if lanterns weren't everywhere. These are how they look in the film:

 
Today I made these two lanterns to sit on the table.
I got little fake battery-operated candles from the Dollar General (3 for $1) for inside the paper lanterns.
I made cupcakes and mixed icing to look like very dark blue (light the nighttime sky) and put lanterns on top. I hope to find yellow star sprinkles to sprinkle around the lanterns on each cupcake.

Jimmy's Bday



Monday, December 12, 2011


My boss/friend, Rick, read this article in the Denton Record Chronicle 3 weeks ago.  It shows how the mall's new owners envision re-designing the mall's facade.


The sad news is that this illustration that went public 3 weeks ago shows our exact location to the left of the mall's main entrance, but without our store. That patio/grill is in our current location!

Rick asked the mall office about the architect's drawing, and they wont confirm or deny anything about relocating us. They just give him some BS about not discussing renewing leases with any tenants at this time. The store could be moved elsewhere in the mall, or even be asked to leave the mall all together! I pray that Rick has the strength to handle this move, whether into the mall or elsewhere.  In any case, I think the mall management is being really inconsiderate not giving us a heads up before seeing the design in the newspaper.

Rick says he'll tell his employees when he knows more about what the future holds. The costume store's lease isn't up until in the Spring.

Friday, December 02, 2011

Avast Matey!


Elaine is excited about a pirate-themed birthday party she and Allan are attending tomorrow. I borrowed from goodies from the rentals at work for them to get to dress up. 


Allan has been asleep most of the evening. He woke me up every 30-45 minutes last night with different reasons.... can he have a juicebox, his tummy hurts, can he watch netflix (at 4am!!), can he sleep with me, can he sleep in the living room? All night! Then Jimmy got a call from the elementary school today to pick up Allan because Allan was too tired. Of coarse he was tired; we were both up all night. Allan has been asleep on the sofa most of the evening, then Jim moved the little guy to his room. I really hope he stays asleep tonight and yesterday was just a freak occurrence.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

My kids literally kept themselves occupied for a week with STRING

She taught Allan
Her teacher taught her how, then she googled more tricks.

Jacob's Laddar with her eyes closed (video):

Since Elaine probably wont stumble upon my blog....

It's probably safe to let yall know some of the presents we got for the kids. For Elaine's birthday, December 17th (9years), I ordered her an MP3 player that can pick up the local radio stations and play MP3s. She's listening to music more lately, a sign she is growing up.
For Christmas from us, Elaine's getting a 'Tangled' Barbie doll. She loved that movie, thus her costume in October. The other thing she's getting from us is the boardgame 'Operation' and a 'Toy Story' Wii game.
For Christmas from us, Allan is getting a Captain America shield, which is also a functional frisbee. He's also getting a 'Avengers' Wii game. He's very much into the 'Avengers' (who are Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Ant Man, and Iron Man).
All of the Avengers

We didn't get them any DVDs, but I can recommend some they'd enjoy. Allan liked Thor, Captain America, and Kung Fu Panda 2 this year. He said before that he wants the Iron Man movies. He'd play with action figures from any of those movies. He's more into heroes than cars this year. He plays a lot with his Transformers and ‘Bionicle Hero Factory’ toys, and Legos. In tops and jeans he wears a size 7. Socks he's a size 2.

Elaine loved 'Tangled', but she doesn't have it. She'd like Princess Diaries, Bolt, Monsters vs Aliens, or any of the Toy Story DVDs.  Other things she'd like are beginner sheet music for her keyboard, warm snow boots (size 3 or larger), magnetic earrings (her ears closed up) and nail polish. She likes monkeys, butterflies, astronomy, and peace signs, if that gives yall any gift ideas. Her favorite colors are aqua and pink.
This shirt is a woman's size Small, taken last week.
Clothing is tricky for Elaine. We just bought her a winter coat... had to be a woman's small to fit around her tummy. She can wear a child's XL (14-16) shirt or dress, or woman's small shirts for a looser fit (but we'd have to roll up long sleeves). 
When we get her woman's small capri leggings, they are the right size and the correct length. Otherwise, I end up altering her pants to be 6 inches shorter, since they are meant for adults. Skirts are very convenient, since they can fit at the waist and not be too long on her. Everything we get that goes around her tummy is elastic, like cute gaucho pants (her fav) and leggings.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

If signature will be required upon delivery

Dad had trouble mailing the kids things last Winter because (though he didn't ask for it) a signature was required to deliver his package to us. Fed Ex or UPS or whatever kept trying to deliver the package during normal business hours... when we were all away at our jobs.


The solution last year was Dad ended up re-mailing us the package to my work address, so someone would be able to sign for it. In case this is the case again; my work address is as follows:

Liss Decker-Brank
c/o Costume & Dance World
2201 S.I-35 E. Suite M-13
Denton, TX 76205

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Kids teaching about Wind and Ice Erosion

The kids helped Codi with a video project for one of her classes, as you can see...

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmav3d_wind-and-ice-erosion_tech

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Canton First Monday Trade Days, Nov 6th 2011

Most dealers at Canton wont let you take photos of their crafts, so they aren't copied. But the Build-a-cross place lets you take pictures so you can copy their designs by buying their blank wooden crosses. These are the pictures I took of their store.


Carrollton Family Festival Nov 5th 2011






October 31st

Tangled (Rapunzel) and the Human Torch (from Fantastic 4)

Mom took us to Magic Time Machine! I had never been.