PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

Monday, February 1, 2010

hearts, hearts EVERYWHERE!...........{valentine project #1}

There's something about February...

or maybe it's just that PINK and RED happen to be two of my favorite colors...

whatever the reason, I always find myself tackling LOTS of fun little projects during the shortest month of the year.

Last night, a bunch of these from another project ended up like this Aren't they cute?! And such an easy and fast project, too! Here's a little close up: There's just something about little girls in knee socks...even better if those little knees still have a bit of toddler chubbiness :) Speaking of cuteness...a dreaded trip to Walmart for some cleaning supplies this afternoon ended up in the most delightful little surprise. Remembering THIS fun find from my friend Jenn C., I detoured to the girls section, where I stumbled upon this sweet little number with cute little pockets to boot! And for just $6 you may even want to get it in the pink colorway too! Hmmm...maybe another trip to Walmart is in my future. After all, I did forget the dish washing soap :)

And a little sneaky peaky at the other set of hearts I've been playing with...Tell me I'm not the only one bitten by the craft bug ♥

Friday, January 29, 2010

party inspiration

You know how we love BAKING around here...

Aren't these the cutest things ever?!!

CuPcaKE LiNEr CoRsaGes!!! with step by step instructions in this sweet magazine I stumbled upon this magazine at Barnes & Noble sometime this past Fall and I LOVE it! Look at the eye candy spreads That one makes me think of Easter egg hunts and all things pastel, spring, and dainty.

Like these from my collection The little pumpkin's birthday this year is truly a collaboration of love.

Thank you Angel & Jenn for helping to make it extra sweet for Grace!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

My Little Pony

Don't you love how all the 80's toys are making a comeback???

Grace loves My LiTTle pOnieS. Especially the tiny little ones.

She took this one to school this week for show & tell. He's so tiny I'm surprised he even made it back home in her backpack. I was sure he would get left behind.

And how about that "valentine" wreath? I was so excited to find it when we cleared out our storage facility a couple of months ago. We had two and they hung on the doors to the church the day we got married.

Sweet memories...perfect for V-day!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

what a week!

It's been crazy busy around here. We've been going in a million different directions but getting a lot done. Most importantly we registered Grace for preK! Yipee!!! So we at least know where she'll be going this Fall. Huge. weight. off. my. shoulders. PreK-3. Wow, I can't believe how fast these three years have flown by. The little pumpkin will turn 3 in six short weeks! How I love my little girl!

We had a lovely weekend. Noonie had some things to take care of in Dallas and so the munchkins and I went with her and made a weekend of it. Lance had a chance to enjoy a quiet weekend at home and when we got back he had reorganized our garage! For Christmas, Noonie and Papa J gave us a garage "re-do", complete with some amazing shelves Papa J built himself. Thank you Noonie & Papa J and thank you Lance! It looks WONDERFUL! I'm so excited!

A few pics from our weekend (all with my old camera so sorry they're not so great)...

Lunch at a wonderful little tearoom

Hudson sitting in a restaurant high chair for the first time (and **gasp** no highchair cover! My, how things change for baby #2!)

Doesn't he look handsome in that little vest??? Love it! Thanks so much Herman, Heather, Emerson & Marshall!!! This little boy LOVES to eat! Grace showing me how to sit like a lady, hands gently crossed on her lap, feet crossed :) Incidentally, she also started calling me "my mama" and not just mama, and "my noonie" and not just noonie this weekend. Everyone is now "my ..." So sweet. Of course, everywhere we go, the little pumpkin's request is for Chuck E. Cheese. She was such a great traveler we just had to oblige :) This was also Grace's first trip pull-up free!!!!!!!!!! Yea!!!!!!!! We had reverted back to using pull-ups, but once and for all we threw them out the window. She's been accident free for over a week! And going on her own without having to be reminded. We still have a few kinks to work out, but it's big girl underwear for this little pumpkin - even to school. Yea! This time, Hudson was able to join in on the action! His first ride!!! He loved it! First time at IKEA. Not sure why we've never been to the actual store, but we loved it! Even had lunch there. Who knew IKEA had a great, kid-friendly lunch menu?! The little pumpkin loved this pink bed! And just for fun...check out Hudson's new trick...he likes to scrunch his nose/face like a little old man! HA, HA, HA And now that the school dilemma is over, I'm enjoying some fun Strawberry Shortcake birthday planning. Even found enough SS vintage birthday invitations to send out. So excited about that! More to come!

Friday, January 22, 2010

P.M.S.

No, not the kind you're thinking! I've been MIA all week and it's because of a little symptom I'd like to call "Preschool Madness Syndrome". Yup it sneaks up on you full force and makes you lose all sensibility. Hmmm...now that I think about it, it does have a lot in common with the well known moniker!

Your days consist of visiting schools, attending open houses, filling out apps, debating in your head the advantages of 3 day/5 day/full day/half day, traditional/faith-based/montessori, drop off & pick up times, enrichments, certified teachers, uniforms, admissions testing, tuition equivalent to a mortgage...ok luxury car payment, but you get the picture!

It's no wonder I've slept 4 or less hours every night for the past week. I go to bed praying for clarity on our school decision for the little pumpkin. I wake up with a new front runner every morning :)

There's even a camp out. Yes, a camp out. I used to laugh at the ridiculousness (is that even a word?) of it all. That is, until it was MY little preschooler, and then all of a sudden pitching a tent for 24 hrs - yes 24 hrs - in a parking lot on a Sunday in February seemed "necessary". That quickly passed. I think the justification was due to the lack of sleep.

Being the self-diagnosed OCD person I am {only partially kidding}, I made a nice little chart to compare all the schools, except the list keeps changing and now I need 11x17" paper to fit them all in.

Even my poor hubby has schools on the brain. Seems to be our main topic of conversation these days. Except he told me my chart was Information Overload {shhhh...he's right}. Seems so frivolous when you think about Haiti and all the suffering they have endured.

Whatever happened to kids staying at home until first grade? Or at least kindie?

But we're close. Really close. We're down to two. We both agree on our choices. Our minds are finally made up....I think.

I love it when God throws you what I like to call a little "God-wink". You know a little unexpected joy in the middle of a stressful time. An affirmation as if to say "I've heard your prayers, you need not fret any more". Like the sweetest little voice yesterday belonging to an almost three year old singing "He's got the whole world in His hands" soon followed by an even sweeter request for a Gorilla Bar (granola bar) just to keep it in perspective, you know :)

An unexpected block of free time today allowed for a visit to a school that wasn't even on our original list but quickly became one of our top choices. After all, what could be better than sweet teachers you can immediately tell love children in a nurturing Christian environment? No Open House needed here, just warm people full of hospitality. And then a God-wink to seal the deal. After inquiring about their schedule the kind lady told me that for next year they are changing their school days to the half-days that SPECIFICALLY match our ideal school days for Grace. We can even register next week if we want and pick the teacher that I really liked from today's visit. Wow!

So it looks like P.M.S. will soon be over. THANK YOU to all of you who have helped us in this process! And thank goodness for a little weekend getaway. If I owe you an email, I'm so sorry I'm late...now you know why :) I'll be catching up early next week!

Monday, January 18, 2010

mama, I want a juicy cake

It all started with me asking the little pumpkin what type of birthday party she wanted to have.  She thought about it for a while and came back with, "Mama, I want a BIG juicy strawberry cake.  A PINK juicy cake."

Let the party planning begin...
Cupcake liners and wire stands from Bake It Pretty

And then just to keep things interesting, she said...."I want George cupcakes too" :)  Hmm...okay.  The little pumpkin LOVES birthdays.  A girl after my own heart :)

From time to time she'll surprise me by recalling one of her little friends' birthdays and telling me all about it - the birthday kid's name, the theme, what they did, and of course how much fun she had.

So Strawberry Shortcake it is.  Even better, Vintage Strawberry Shortcake.  I LoVE it!  But most of all I love that little pumpkin!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Noonie's Birthday and 911

You're probably wondering what those two have in common right? Well, read on!

Friday was Noonie's birthday. I took her to Olive Garden for lunch - YUM! Grace was too excited to wait until Noonie's party on Saturday so we gave Noonie our gifts early. Grace gathered a bunch of little trinkets from her Playroom and presented them to Noonie - too sweet! The little pumpkin is such a giving child. She really doesn't hold back. Sweetness. Saturday, Papa J hosted the most wonderful dinner party for Noonie. He did all the planning, cooking, arranging and everything was just FaBUloUs! Check out the gorgeous flowers...Way to go Papa J! Noonie loved Grace & Hudson's card for her. Grace had so much fun making that cupcake card with mini pom poms for sprinkles and of course, glitter :) Papa J and Hudson enjoying the party. My contribution - Tres Leches Cake from the Pioneer Woman's recipe. So super yum. Find the recipe HERE. And right before this: THIS HAPPENED: As we were clearing the table for dessert and chit chatting, the little pumpkin made her way to the phone where she proceeded to call 911. Yes, 911. Noonie taught her how to dial it a while back just in case of an emergency. Well Noonie, she really learned! None of us realized what she'd done since she hung up right away. But just seconds later, the lady from 911 called back to make sure we were ok. So embarassing! Apparently Grace talked to her and everything :O That little one, she keeps us on our toes, I tell ya!

Here's to many more FUN birthdays, Noonie!