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Monday, January 31, 2011

wizards in training

One of Grace's little classmates, McKinley, just turned 5, but according to the little pumpkin McKinley's been "5" for a while and is "so wise" :)
I love that she has sweet friends to grow up with!
Saturday was McKinley's Magic Show Birthday and it was such a cute party! As soon as we got there, Grace was outfitted in a wizard's cape and hat...
dress-up...right up her alley!
Soon, Lovi joined Grace & Kaylen in all their wizardly splendor. The Birthday Girl! Make a wish! Time for the magic show...with Maestro Magician McKinley's assistance, of course! Literally on the edge of her seat during the whole show. Not sure about the tongue. I told her to strike a magician's pose and this is what I got: Happy 5th birthday, McKinley!!!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

New day...new winner! Is it you?

What a difference a day makes! Today was such a fun day. Of course gorgeous blue skies and sunny 65° weather makes everything better!

A little preview of things to come...
So, so, so FUN!Can't wait for the little pumpkin's birthday!!!

In other news...

I'm sad to say we never heard back from our original
Nelle's giveaway winner, so we've drawn again and the new winner is...............................Comment #169, Karinny who said:

I am already a follower here!

January 23, 2011 5:45 p.m.
Congratulations,
Karinny! Be sure to claim your prize by leaving us a comment on this post within the next 48 hours!

Hope all of you are having a FAB weekend!

Friday, January 28, 2011

one down, many more to come...i'm sure.

It was a not-so-good afternoon today. If you've got kids, you know the kind I'm talking about. Let's just say the minute Lance walked in the door, this mama had to take a timeout and head to the store for some excedrin migraine (always does the trick, by the way).

I'll spare you the details because well, who wants to read about toddler mayhem and sassy attitudes, but I will share with you my Public Service Announcement for 2011.

Goes something like this...

Exhibit A
Yes, this little guy gave us {actually, gave NOONIE} quite a scare yesterday.

Noonie was watching Hudson after Mother's Day Out like she does every Thursday while I'm at the office. She was washing some dishes in the sink and Hudson was playing. Next minute, she looks back and sees him leaning over the kitchen island foaming at the mouth.

Now, here's the part where I'm so glad she was the one with him because she's a physician, a pediatrician at that, and knew exactly what to do, and me, well I'm sure I would have freaked out at the mere sight of my little boy foaming at the mouth. In fact as she was telling me what happened over the phone, my mind immediately jumped to 'he's having a seizure, but why is he standing up?'. Thank you Jesus that Noonie was with Hudson!

Here's what happened. Hudson likes to climb. Anything. The boy has no fear. At all whatsoever. He climbed on Grace's school chair, onto her little school table, leaned over the side of our kitchen island, took out the Alka Seltzer that was part of the little pumpkin's rocket experiment (from preK) and started chewing it.

Of course, it immediately started fizzing and foaming as alka seltzers do. Now here's the part that's so scary to me (and yes, I feel 1,000% guilty for leaving the alka seltzer in the rocket tube on the kitchen island. although I had no clue he could reach there).

So as Noonie is telling me what happened my mind starts turning and I'm thinking "oh my goodness, he could have choked because of the size/shape of the alka seltzer" - even though it was broken in half. But NO, that's not even the scariest part. Noonie told me itty bitties can have breathing problems from the foam of an alka seltzer, because sometimes they don't know how to handle it and it can foam up really fast. Nevermind that alka seltzers contain aspirin and are contraindicated in children under 12.

Oh my, my heart sank. I had no idea those things could pose such a threat to little ones.

Thank goodness Noonie was able to remove the yet unchewed pieces, clean the inside of his mouth all over, get rid of the foam quickly, and do everything else needed to keep my little guy safe. Thank you, Noonie! Thank you God that my little Hudson is okay!

So, if you've got a little monkey like I do, please be extra careful where you store any type of medicine... especially the ones you don't think about.
You can never be too careful.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

preschool zoo, french schoolgirl, & monkey business!

This week has been Zoo Week at the little pumpkin's preschool. The kids were asked to bring a zoo animal to school so they could create their very own Preschool Zoo. Here are all the animals lined up, guess which one is Grace's... Yup, Geoffrey the Giraffe has been at school all week! So cute that she picked him because Geoffrey was the stuffed animal Noonie gave Grace on her first day of Mother's Day Out back in 2008! Ahhh...sweet memories...I LOVE preschool art. Check out these sweet drawings... I think we'll call this one Grace's wacky zebra. Love all those crazy stripes all over the place! This morning the little pumpkin picked out this sweet hat to wear with her dress. I thought she looked like such the little french schoolgirl... tried to take her picture but this is what I got - still, so cute! Hudson was looking like such a big boy, I tried to take his picture too, but got this: Tried again...no luck. One second later he was doing this:Yes, he'd much rather spend his time swinging like a monkey than posing for pictures.Finally, little french schoolgirl flashed me a smile. And I'm so glad I still had the camera out to capture this sweet moment... By the time we made it to the field trip, the hat was off. And yes, I had a bow...just in case. I know my girl!

Here she is with one of her sweet friends, Kennedy. Love those two! And I L-O-V-E elementary school plays!!! These third graders made the cutest ocean fish. Check out that octopus! What a day! What a week! I'm ready for the weekend...

Oh, and LAST CALL FOR MS. CARSON, our Nelle's giveaway winner. Hope we hear from you by tomorrow or we'll have to draw another winner!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Nelle's Giveaway WINNER!!!

The last eligible comment was Cori's at 12:57 pm yesterday afternoon, for a total of 215 comments.
And the winner of the
Nelle's dress giveaway
is.......................................................
#97!! Ms. Carson, from Ontario, Canada, who said...

Became a Nelle's Facebook Fan.

January 21, 2011 6:12 PM

CONGRATULATIONS, Ms. Carson!
{I didn't see an email linked to your profile, so please email me at: littlepumpkingrace@hotmail.com with your contact information, dress choice & size}
A great big THANK YOU to Ellen of
Nelle's for sponsoring this fun giveaway! Be sure to check out Nelle's for new spring styles being added daily!

Thank you guys for entering!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

fashion meets comfort

Nelle's Giveaway



So here's our little Friday morning sewing project on the little pumpkin, paired with a skip-hop-jump friendly pair of leggins. Such a fun little playdress, I think!One of the things I love about having a girly girl is that she gets fashion. She loves to dress up and she has definite opinions about what she'll wear {okay, I love that last part most of the time}.

Grace insisted on wearing the playdress right away for our lunch date with Heidi, Madeline & Ella Kate and for her buddy Solomon's birthday, all on Saturday. Of course, every southern girl knows you can't meet your girlfriends for lunch without some jewels...
Grace had a blast hanging out with her friends from school at Solomon's party. The egg race was my favorite! I love classic childhood games like that.Happy 4th Birthday, Solomon!! And now Grace is the only 3 year old in her preschool class - she informed me of this right after Solomon's birthday..."Mama, I can't WAIT for my birthday so I can be four. Did you know 4 is my favorite number?"

She also informed me that she's already planned her 5th and 6th birthdays, complete with what theme she'd like and what color balloons. He, he...guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?

Saturday, January 22, 2011

whoooo loves you?

Nelle's Giveaway



A little forgotten and unused tee + some fun fabrics from my stash and *we*{this is code for "Noonie (my mom)...I have a little project for us" -insert snicker here-} went from this to this! Pretty cute, huh?

I will say the gymbo tees are much stretchier than the target tees we've used in the past, so a bit harder to work with. But what I love the most is this: Oooooh, how I love that little ric rac nicely sandwiched between those fabrics!

Thank you Angel and sorry mom.
What I mean by that is...thank you for the tips, Angel! And sorry to have added the "it's just a teeny tiny addition I want to make to the dress" step that added an extra hour to our project, mom! There's a first time for everything, eh?

So now the question is...to embroider or not to embroider? Here take a peek:
What do you think...
should I or shouldn't I?

Friday, January 21, 2011

Nelle's {giveaway!}

Woo hoo, it's F-R-I-D-A-Y!!!! And what better way to get the weekend started than with a GIVEAWAY!!!!!

I first stumbled upon Nelle's while browsing etsy a couple of weeks ago. This sweet dress made my heart flutter...Apron Dress + Vintage Pillowcase = Major Sweetness! Love, love, love it!

And you know what???? The items in this sweet etsy shop are affordable! So important these days!

So what do you say we get to know the designer behind Nelle's a little better? Here we go!


Name: Ellen
Age:
33
Location:
Hebron, Maine
Etsy Shop
Nelle's &
Facebook Fan PageHow long have you been designing & sewing kids' clothes?
I started in January of 2010. It quickly became my passion. I love fabric and I love creating new things!
What led you to open your etsy shop?
In 2009 I was introduced to the world of custom clothing. I kept saying to myself, “Hey, I could make that.” My husband and kids gave me a Serger for Christmas that year…I was beyond thrilled! I started sewing dresses, skirts, and peasant tops for my daughters…and it wasn’t long before I decided to start selling my creations on a clothing board. About a month later, I opened my store on Etsy.
Is there a story behind your shop's name?
When I decided to open my Etsy store, I called my Mom and asked some friends to get some advice on a name. I wanted it to have meaning…and be able to encompass more than just kids clothing. So we started to brainstorm – and then my Mom said, what about your nickname? Aha! My sister started calling me Nelle (only pronounced Nell-a) in college. So…yes…in case you haven’t already figured it out, it is my name spelled backwards. I know, silly, right?! But I love it just the same – silliness is part of our everyday life, so it's fitting!
What inspires you?
Ohhhh….all of these wonderful, imaginative ladies with your wonderful, imaginative blogs! I am also inspired by fabric, and my girls…so many of my ideas are a result of their personalities. When my youngest daughter puts on one of my dresses she immediately says, “Mom, watch me spin!”
How many kids do you have?
I have 3 kids, ages 9, 6 and 3.
How do you describe your designing style?
Carefree, comfortable, fun…
What do you like to do in your free time?
Sew! Oh wait! I mean, I love thrift shopping, going to rummage sales, and I love to watch movies, and have a pretty long list of TV series I’m addicted to – my absolute favorites are Grey’s Anatomy and Dexter.
And just for fun...if someone came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would they find?
Lots of milk! We go through about 3 gallons in a week!

{ahh, a girl after my own heart!} Ellen has graciously offered one of her adorable dresses for this giveaway! Even better...WINNER's CHOICE!

To Enter:
1. Visit Nelle's and come back and tell me your favorite item (1 entry).

For Additional Entries:
2. Add Nelle's to your favorites on etsy (1 entry).
3. Like Nelle's page on facebook
(1 entry).
4. Become a follower of this blog or tell me you already are! (1 entry).
5. Blog or facebook about this giveaway, leaving the link in the comments (1 entry).

Please leave separate comments for each entry (5 total entries possible).
Contest runs until Tuesday,
January 25, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. CST.

Winner will be chosen randomly and announced Wednesday, January 26th.

THANK YOU ELLEN for sponsoring this fun giveaway! Someone is going to be very happy next week!!!

Don't wait! Go check out Nelle's!