sweet pictures & a mantle redo!

I'm at training today, learning the latest on prosecuting child abuse cases and testifying in court...sad, sad stuff, so I thought I'd share with you a little bit of happy, even in the form of a prescheduled post ;)Lance has been out of town for work for the past 4 days so during one of the late nights I decided to FINALLY put away our Spring/Easter decor and redo the mantle - I'm sure he'll be excited to not look at bunnies anymore - HA!

As an aside, let me just say this: THANK GOODNESS that by the time this post publishes he'll be only a couple of hours from being home! Yay!!! Single parenthood is HARD!Last Fall, Leah, a friend and sorority sister took some amazing pictures of the littles. It took me FOREVER to decide which ones to order but I finally did and they came in last month. Oh my, just seeing the pictures compared to the canvas one in the middle from when Hudson was just 4 months brings tears to my eyes! They grow up so very fast. And yes, I'm slightly obsessed with pumpkins and aqua blue {I love my aqua blue chair!!} so Fall pictures are a must. I've even sent them out as Christmas cards for the past 2 years...pumpkins and all!

Hope you're having a great day!
Hug your littles extra tight and please say a prayer for all the littles who live the constant nightmare of abuse at the hands of those they love & trust.

Hudson's last day of MDO

Today was Hudson's last day of Mother's Day Out. I guess this is the time of the year when everyone starts pondering the same thing, but my goodness, how time flies!

This was him at not quite 15 months old...all "baby", and now at 23 months...100% little boy! (and yes, still not interested in looking at mama's camera - HA!) Although we did the whole Teacher Appreciation Week not too long ago, I still wanted to send his sweet teachers a heartfelt note and a little something to thank them for a great year with my jumping/ running/ climbing little monkey......so I went with Sonic gift cards because who doesn't love a Sonic slush???!Hudson had the best time today! His MDO program rented two inflatable bounce houses and had happy meals for all the kiddos. We sent home a simple & sweet treat for all his friends: PoPSicLes!...in little bundles of 4 because popsicles are one of Hudson's favorite things in the whole wide world! One of the moms took this pic of Hudson and I this morning as I was dropping him off...My baby boy is growing up **sniff, sniff**

Thank goodness he still has another year in the
"baby school" as we like to call it in our family. Can't wait for him to meet Mrs. Maria and Mrs. Patti, the
2 y/o teachers, this Fall!

defying gravity {dance recital}

Last summer this little pumpkin started ballet lessons and look at her now...She danced in her first recital today and we couldn't have been any prouder of our little ballerina! But...oh my, recitals are HARD WORK!!! The hair, the make-up, the rehearsals, the backstage chaos....Aaaaaah!It all started on Thursday, with our first dress rehearsal in the studio...check out these cute ballerinas...they were soooo excited. Anxiously waiting their turn... So sweet! Then Friday...dress rehearsal at the theatre. I think I've earned a new badge on my girl scout vest...the
"I survived being a backstage mom" patch. Earned it honest, I tell ya, honest.

Finally...Saturday....2:00 p.m....show time! Her Pre-Primary class taught by sweet Ms. Rachel danced to "I Love Ballet".
LOVe those twinkle toes!!! Grace, you did GREAT! We're so proud of you, little pumpkin!! You had your very own FAN CLUB there to cheer you on!
{please ignore how bad I look...that's what happens when you're backstage with 70+ dancers in a teeny-tiny dress room for hours at a time}
Thank you Mimi, Lexi, Jade, Noonie & Papa J for the sweet congratulatory presents for the little pumpkin! She loved everything! My sweet Grace,
You were wonderful today! You looked so pretty and we loved seeing you so excited. It was such a treat to watch you and your friends dance today in your first recital!...and don't worry, we'll forget all about the tears over the fancy RED roses. Thank you Noonie & Papa J for saving the day with PINK ones. *wink*

And finally...THANK YOU Noonie for such a sweet gift of ballet lessons - she has LOVED taking lessons this year!!

lovin'...

1. Vintage tablecloths turned little girl dress tops
2. Gumball-colored beaded necklaces...and of course this sweet little pumpkin who tells me things like:
"I was certain you wouldn't mind..."
"Isn't that so interesting..."
"Which do you prefer?...Are you absolutely certain?"

But my favorite...{as she gently runs her hands across a new vintage tablecloth on the dining room table} "Oooooh...are we having a little party?"
he he he...a girl after my own heart!

Sometimes I forget she's just 4 years old...thank goodness for "The Adventures of Opaloopsie and Lucky Ducky"...her bubble bath soap creations...that she wants to turn into a book :)

cupcake liners & beach week

I reorganized my baking supplies and found all kinds of fun cupcake liners & toppers...apparently I have quite the obsession for polka dot liners since I found 15 different types, yes 15!So I enlisted the help of my two favorite baking assistants... {some like licking the batter the best} And together we made...Beach Cupcakes for the little pumpkin's themed week at school!Nevermind the "ocean blue" frosting and brown "sand" sprinkles I had in mind...Grace insisted they had to be "pinkerrific" so strawberry frosting and confetti it was.
--------------------------
Thank you for all the Disney and Sea World suggestions to my last post!

Anyone from Memphis? Lance & I will be there in the next couple of weeks and I'd love some "must see" or "must do" tips!

weekend shananigans

You know it's going to be a fun, lazy, cAreFREe weekend when it starts off with these:Yes, when Lance made it home from work on Friday, we were hiding and as soon as he opened the front door we GOT HIM! he he he He was a great sport and wasted no time seizing our weapons and returning fire.

I've enlisted the help of one of my VIPs to try and save my potted plants. I'm so NOT a green thumb. So wish I was! This shirt says it all...I think we're ready for school to be over and for the summer fun to begin! And in true man-in-training form, he soon lifted his shirt to scratch his belly...he he he...only cute on little ones! We made these for no reason at all except all the ingredients were in the pantry already. I had the cutest baking assistants, but somehow our smores' "roofs" kept disappearing...
Y-U-M-M-Y! And someone has finally broken the "Noooooooo" streak and started saying "Yes".
Are you a stinky boy? "Yaz"
Do you like movies? "Yaaazzz!" So hard to resist that sweet little face! And it's a good thing he likes to ride in the car because...We finally booked our annual Mother-Daughter-Grands Trip! This year we're sticking close to home and going to Sea World! The littles will LOVE that!And opinions needed...Disney with a 2 1/2 year old...Yay, do it, do it!...or...Nay, wait another year?

chomp! chomp!

Can't believe this school year is coming to an end! Last week Grace's preK class took their longest field trip to date...to a GATOR PARK, no less! It was sooo hot and humid, but the littles didn't mind one bit. Now this mama...well, that's a whole other story. I felt like I was on some wild excursion...lame, I know...because I know nothing about camping or "roughing it". All I know is I'm so NOT a camping kind of girl. Not crazy about hot + humid + gators + swamps...I mean, can you imagine being on a little boat and all of a sudden seeing this. Ahhhhhh! I bet he's thinking, "Crazy camera lady, come an inch closer and I'll snap that finger right off!" And why is he so blue looking??? Feeding Time Frenzy!This one was like the mafia boss - no one messed with him! He used the other gators like stepping stones to get higher and higher. Definitely the Jaws of the swamp. So glad the feeding show was over and we could move on to less intense things...like the old fashion water pump......and the {safe} farm animals :) All in all, a very fun day for the KIDS! And thankfully we made it home with all fingers, toes, and limbs intact. Yes, I would NEVER get picked for Survivor!