run, jump, play!

Hudson was invited to the birthday party for one of his little friends from Mother's Day Out. He's been to lots of birthday parties but they've always been the parties for our friends' kids, and always with his sister.

This was the first time that he got a party invitation addressed to just him. And yes, a little someone was a tad bit jealous!

So while Lance & Grace had a "Daddy and Me" lunch and ice cream date, Hudson and I had fun at Gymboree. I remembered my camera was in the back seat, just as Lance & Grace drove away, so all of these pictures were taken with my phone. Sorry for the bluriness.

Oh my, he had SO MUCH FUN! He went nonstop the entire hour they were on the play floor. Hudson and his little buddy Thomas chowing down. So cute those two!
Happy Birthday Audrey!! Thanks for inviting us!

one week down!

Whew, we're finally starting to get back into our school routine! Man, those 2 weeks off sure did a number on us all. Sure wish school started around say....9:30 a.m. - HA!

The little pumpkin came home this week with the cutest little calendar. All the kids in her class drew their picture on the cover...... and then each kid had a month. Grace's was August with a back-to-school theme. Isn't that the sweetest little school bus ever? he he he
LOVE IT! June and December had class drawings since there are 10 kids in her class. I didn't take a picture of December, but it's the cutest Christmas tree made out of all their fingerprints. Hmmm...I'm thinking that would make a cute Christmas ornament for the grandparents next year!

We're only 7 days into the new year and so far this little monkey has had a huge bloody busted lip (climbed on the computer chair & fell down) and broken our art easel. This was taken just moments before the huge THUD followed by a piercing cry that had me sprinting into the other room expecting the worst.Thank goodness he was okay! The easel didn't fall on him, it just scared him. I'm guessing he pushed it and it fell over, splitting one of the wooden legs in half. We love that thing. I'm hoping it can be fixed....
Papa J...Heeeeelp! =)

And so far the bento experiment has been going really well. Yay Yay Yay! Now, even before this week I used to do some of the cutting into cute little shapes and what not, but since Monday I've been letting Grace help me pick out what goes into her lunchbox and it's made a huge diffference. So simple, who knew?!
THANK YOU to everyone who shared lunch ideas with me through comments and emails. I really, really, REALLY appreciate it! I think we're finally out of the lunch rut and even snack time has been re-energized with the muffin pan suggestions ;)

One last thing...if you think you may want to make Alphabet Flowers (see HERE) for back-to-school in the Fall or for teacher appreciation in the Spring, now is the time to buy the alphabet magnets!! They're on sale for $1 in the Target value section. They have numbers too {...math teachers}!Coming this week...A GIVEAWAY from a fun, new etsy boutique!!!
Stay tuned!

Feliz Dia de los Reyes!

I grew up with the sweetest Spanish tradition...Los Reyes Magos (The Wise Men). You can read all about it HERE. I'm so glad that my mom is helping me pass this sweet tradition down to my littles.

So...on the eve of January 5th, Grace & Hudson set out to cut a little grass and fill their shoeboxes for the camels of the Wise Men, traveling through the night to meet baby Jesus... They put their little boxes right by their beds... And in the morning of January 6th, Epiphany... The camels ate the grass {made a bit of a mess too, scattering grass every which way!} and the Wise Men left the littles a toy under each of their beds ;) But wait. The littles also filled up a third shoebox and sent it home with Noonie, so she could put it under her bed...and the Wise Men visited her house too! They left presents there too!

Princess puzzles for Grace... And a hammer toy for Hudson! Thank you Noonie {for making sure the camels were well fed at your house, you know} :)
The littles loved their presents! And in case you're wondering about Grace's outfit... Why, it was Rodeo Day at Preschool! Giddy up! Thank goodness for her halloween costume!

And it seems that the Wise Men were quite generous at Noonie's house this year. They left a little something for Lance and a little something for me too!Isn't it cute??? L♥VE it! Perfect for Valentine's!
Thank you Noonie! ...yes, for making sure the camels were well-fed and all ;)

swoon.

so happy i found this 'lil bit of girly loveliness. in fact, i did a happy dance right on the spot!have i mentioned i love all things vintage + easter + apron-related?
oh, i have? i have grandiose plans for this sweet apron, just you wait and see!

hop on over to love, charla anne. one of the sweetest etsy shops i've stumbled upon in a long time. be sure to check out her sold items too.

but wait. she has a blog too! full of vintage eye candy and gorgeous photography. check it out HERE. you'll be glad you did.

...better go to bed or Los Reyes Magos will not come by our house tonight!
'night

salt water taffy & cotton candy

we have a lot of things in common. this little pumpkin that transformed my life and bestowed upon me the sweetest four letter word: mama.

among those things...a love of taffy and cotton candy. yes, sweet tooths. but don't worry, we can appreciate salty too. after all we all know pretzel m&m's are the best ;)

baking & crafting rank pretty high on our priority list. pink, glitter, gloss, wellies and birthdays are up there too.

so after weeks of serious conversations about a certain upcoming birthday, during which pinkalicious, unicorn, hello kitty, and littlest pet shop all had a fair audition, a winner was announced.

may I present you with the inspiration:

yes, my little pony ice cream ferris wheel. thank you bridgette! you rocked it out of the park with that gift!

and after a particularly insightful bedtime giggle-fest brainstorming session (say that 3x fast), we had a theme.

they say a picture is worth a 1000 words so... yes, think old-school...
Atlantic City Boardwalk!

think kitchy, candy-colored, coney-eating, slushy lemonade-sipping, arcade game-playing, silly cutout photo-taking, balloon art-crafting fun for boys + girls of all ages on a {hopefully} sunny saturday in march...march 12 for all you family & friends who share my planning bug ;)

of course, there will be plenty of taffy and cotton candy and a my little pony or two *wink*

and in the end I hope she remembers this: that her mama embraced the creative talents God gave her and used them to do little things to make her loved ones feel special.

I love you little pumpkin and I can't wait to celebrate your 4th birthday with you!
~Mama

P.S. In my giddy inspiration board-making frenzy I didn't save all the links for the photos. None of the photos are original to me...except that sweet little pumpkin on the carousel, circa 17 monts. Please forgive ~J.

new year, new choices

My once good eater has turned picky and my once picky eater has turned super picky, so...............................

I'm getting creative!

Over Christmas I ordered this new lunchbox (classic):and this bento box, the pink one of course ;) pulled out all my kid-friendly cookbooks...and revisited some of my favorite lunch blogs for inspiration like this! Photo Credit: Another Lunch

This morning we had to improvise since I'm still waiting on the UPS man to deliver the lunchbox & bento. We borrowed one of Hudson's little plates and Grace helped me make the selections, including the all-important new pink pudding cup :)Here's to hoping I don't see anymore barely touched lunches from the little pumpkin's lunchbag after school!

And so I'm sending out an S.O.S! If you have any particularly yummy, kid-friendly lunch ideas, will you send them my way? My littles' tummies will thank you!

7 happy things {bunny shirt preview!}

Other than a little someone's busted lip, 2011 is off to a great start!

1. We spent a lazy day at home and enjoyed a fast & easy dinner - chicken & scalloped potatoes casserole and Sister Schubert rolls - yum!2. Then topped it off with chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting decorated by the little pumpkin ;) 3. I've been enjoying looking back through pictures...Noonie gave me such a sweet & thoughtful gift for Christmas - our blog in a book, year 2008!!! I've been wanting to get it printed for some time now, but just never seemed to get around to it - something always got in the way. THANK YOU, MOM!

One of my favorite quotes in the dedication, first spotted while reading one of my fave blogs Clover Lane... So true, isn't it?

I love having our family's memories recorded for posterity. Looking at this page of when we first found out our Hudson was on the way, I can hardly believe how tiny Grace was! My, how time flies. 4. In a mad dash to not let the new year greet me with chaos, a few days ago I decided to clean out the fridge, which led to organizing our pantry, which then led to organizing my baking supply closet. Why is it that cleaning out the kitchen always makes you feel like the house is in order?? Maybe just me?

Anyhow, while tossing out old baking stuff, I stumbled upon a package of pink bunny Peeps from last Easter. They were hard as a rock. But still, cute as ever! I didn't take a picture, but they looked like this: which got the wheels turning in my head and soon I came up with this: Yes, I even borrowed the little pumpkin's favorite unicorn pencil for my sketch...and let's just say thank goodness they don't keep Candy Cane Kisses in stock year round :O

I had all the supplies on hand so it went really fast and soon I had this! On Monday, I'm taking them to get monogrammed. Can't wait to see them with the littles' names, sort of like this: I love how they turned out and can't wait to see Grace & Hudson wearing them this Spring! 5. Speaking of bunnies and Spring...it's no secret that I love celebrating and planning for Easter. When I spotted this sweet little Mouse House on the sale pages at PBK, I knew it would make a sweet addition to the little pumpkin's Easter basket. Isn't it cute?! 6. I love one-of-a-kind jewelry, especially when it has a vintage vibe to it, so I was super excited when I stumbled upon Alona Freeman's etsy shop and found this sweet necklace, which thanks to a Christmas gift card I'll be sporting this Easter :) 7. A recent trip to Kohl's in search of more circus ornaments for Hudson's tree - clearanced at $1.24, score! - led me to this sweet valentine tee for the little pumpkin, which was on sale for 50% off! Yay! She's in love with kitties these days and I love that it has pink, red, and aqua - win, win! And speaking of Valentine's Day, have you seen these? LOVE 'EM! All of them! Now if only the PBK fairy would visit my house and magically leave these by my front door...he, he, he.

Happy New Year!