Three Boys and a Girl

Yummy Necklace

2012-03-09T13:54:00.000-05:00

While we were all trying to get through a nasty head cold last week, the boys and I were going nuts from being stuck in the house all day, every day. We were sick of each other and bored. Truth. I had pinned enough things on Pinterest to last me a year and the boys had played with all of their toys multiple times. I started pulling out activities for them to do so that I could ensure they would both still be alive by bedtime. One thing that turned out fun was making a food necklace for movie night. I bought a few foods with holes in them and grabbed some embroidery floss from my crafting desk and we were ready to go. Graham wasn't very good at it, but Parker was a pro. Though he won't admit his enjoyment in making jewelry, I think Daddy even have fun making the necklaces.

The options are endless, but I was trying to keep the necklaces somewhat healthy and non-messy. I really wanted to put chocolate covered pretzels on it, but figured Graham would be covered in chocolate, therefore my living room would have been covered in chocolate if I did. The list of foods we used:

Cascadian farms fruit O's

Cascadian Farms chocolate O's

Pretzels

Gerber cookies

Gerber Pinwheels

Glad we are over the sickness and able to be out and about this week!

The Helper

2012-03-06T10:36:00.003-05:00

Last month was a wild one. Lots of stuff going on. I didn't blog much because I didn't really have time. While going through last months photos, I found these and thought they were cute enough to share. In a 10 day span, I made three cakes. I love to bake, but that was about enough for me. Graham was such a big helper and lent me a hand on his daddy's. It was a last minute thing and I only had and hour to whip something up while David and Parker were swimming at the Y. It wasn't pretty, but Graham and I had a blast making a mess and it tasted delish! Vanilla cake with strawberry filling and butter cream frosting.

Yes, he's on the oven. No, I didn't leave him at any point.

Baking made him hungry.

A little bit even got in the bowl.

Yes, I'm aware you're not suppose to let them do this.

He survived. And made sure to clean the handle.

He didn't quite understand why wouldn't let him re-dip the spatula. My kids really did inherit my sweet tooth :)

David was surprised and loved his little hot-mess-of-a-cake ;)

I can't wait for the day that Graham bakes me a birthday cake! You think it will ever happen?

Be Gentle

2012-03-01T18:08:00.003-05:00

What a blessing it is to be a parent. I now know first hand what rewards lie with the position, and I am becoming increasingly more familiar with the difficulties. I think everyone struggles with different hardships, but I'll be transparent today and let you know one of the things with which I struggle most. Judgement. I am fully aware that I do not battle this alone. It plagues a lot of moms. I would dare to say most moms. Sometimes we make up in our heads judgement from others because of our own insecurities, and at other times, it's very real.

It's as if the second you find out you are becoming a parent, you adorn yourself with a sign which hangs directly over your head that reads, "Please judge me." Yes. Please judge me for how much weight I gain during pregnancy and how I choose to labor. Please judge my intelligence for staying home and/or my lack of commitment to my child for working. Please judge me for the method in which I choose to nourish my newborn, and how I diaper my baby. And that's just a few issues linked with the birth of your child. Later, there's the homeschooling versus private and public issue and how to deal with behavioral problems. Not to mention the lovely vaccination opinions. Those seem to be thrown out in every direction. The list could go on for years. I'm okay with judgment in general because it's natural to have an opinion and think yours is best. I'm totally guilty. However, I hope I'm never guilty of making other people feel bad for doing something different than what I feel is best. If I have, I'm sorry.

Why this post? Well, I've had lots of conversations lately with moms who feel like everything they do is under the scrutiny of others. And it's hard to swallow. Yes, the root is pride, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. I tell myself all the time that it doesn't matter what others think of my parenting or decisions, but the truth is, I care. Some personalities just care. I've gotten better over the years to not let it effect me as much, though. I feel like that's where my improvement has been made. I don't think I'll ever not care, but I find it freeing to know that I am now making decisions based on what David and I feel is right and not based on pressure from outside sources. I still feel it, but I don't allow disapproving judgement to entwine itself into my decision making process anymore.

I guess my real reason for writing this post is to say I think we mothers need to help each other out. Be conscientious of how you state your opinions. It's okay to give them and to have them. Even strong ones. However, if you are going to talk about your opinions, which I think can be invaluable to others, just be careful how you do it. For example, when you talk about the benefits of breastfeeding, please don't make it out like those who choose to bottle feed care less about their children. Or, if you are adamant about private schooling, don't make it like those who chose to allow their children to use the public school setting are handing them over to the wolves. Furthermore, just because you don't want to home school your children doesn't conclude another mother's choice to do so means they want to produce weird, unsocialized little people. These examples are not my opinions. I'm just giving scenarios of opinions I've witnessed.

It's so funny for me to talk with my husband about my issues with judgement. He truly could care less what others think in most cases. I find that quality about him so attractive. I wish I wasn't plagued the way I am. So, if you read this and you're thinking, I don't give a rip when another mom talks about how brave they were to have birthed their child without drugs, consider yourself blessed. I had to fight inferiority complexes because I had a c-section and was straight up numb from a very needed epidural. I had to work through major issues when the truth is, it takes insane amounts of bravery to bring a child into the world by any method.

Again, I'm not saying keep your opinions to yourself. I'm also not saying it's wrong to disagree with another parent. I'm simply saying it's hard enough to make decisions as parents without feeling disapproval and judgement from others. So, please be mindful of how you place your opinions out there for others to read or hear. Let's build each other up and encourage one another instead of ridiculing and judging aloud. Let's be confident each in our own opinions and decisions that we don't need to defend them to the world in a way that would discourage another parent. Have your opinions, but please,

be gentle.

A moment of gentleness from my two crazy hoodlums.

Big (unofficial) News!

2012-02-24T13:29:00.002-05:00

I should probably wait until this is more official (that's the advice I've been given), but I'm so excited I want to share! Drum roll please...

We are moving!

How many people thought I was pregnant? Ha Ha. Nope.

Okay, so we're not moving to a new state or anything...yet. We are relocating about 20 minutes west of Charleston to be closer to where David works. After I had kids, I developed a real desire for a big yard. It's nearly impossible to get that in Charleston. If you do have one, you paid premium for it or it's straight up hill. Everything is a hill in WV. Not wanting to have a lot less of a house just to get some flat land, we decided to head towards what's called Teay's Valley. It's flatter and has more housing options. Yeah, I'm majorly bummed about leaving my cute, charming little city, but let's be real, it's only 20 minutes.

Like I said, it's not quite official yet because we still have to get through inspections and closings. Fingers crossed. I am aware that there are some deal breakers out there when it comes to passing inspections, so nothing is 100% sure yet. I'm a little nervous, I'll be honest. But right directly behind the apprehension is sheer excitement. We have a tentative closing date around late March. If something falls though, we will quickly begin our search again. Either way, we are moving.

I'll go into more detail later about why we decided to move, how we sold our house, and how long it took to find our new pretty (almost) home-to-be ;) I just couldn't take the secret any longer! Not to mention, I'm sure a few of you are suspicious of all my recent activity on Pinterest ;)

She's not perfect and is going to require some love and attention, but here is a first look at the house I really want to become my home. I was so excited when they accepted our offer. More pictures to come when the REAL papers are signed!

Let's just hope and pray I don't have to write a later post about why the deal fell though. Like my husband always (sometimes annoyingly) says, "It'll all work out." He's right. If this isn't meant to be my house, then something else will come along.

Under a Pile of Books

2012-02-17T10:54:00.000-05:00

Baby Graham has a cold. Lots of snot and a mild fever make for a cranky, clingy little boy. Basically, I've accomplished nothing today. He keeps bringing me books and plopping down on my lap. To be quite honest, I've got nothing better to do, so, reading it is! Everything else can wait.

LOVEly Day

2012-02-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

I love my little family. We had a lovely day together minus a few hiccups where love came in the form of discipline. It's so much more fun when love is displayed through heart pancakes or sprinkled covered sweets. Aunt Sarah watched the boys last night so David and I could enjoy an evening out together. It's been nine years since he asked me to be his wife in good times and bad. We've had both, but mostly good. I am so blessed to be loved by such a great man and by two affectionate little boys.

MeMaw sent a package of goodies for the boys to open on Valentine's Day and I promised to get pictures. They loved all their surprises ;)

The Bible says in John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends." And then in John 3:16, that act is carried out. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Kind of makes my love look weak. I am so grateful to experience that kind of love.

While thinking about all of the love I experience in my life from the perfect love of my Savior to the imperfect, yet humbling love of my family, a song has been playing in my head all week. This is a ramped up, more modern version of what goes on in this semi-traditional girl's head, but I love the lyrics added to such a beautiful hymn. "Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead."

Now That is Love.

Park Weather

2012-02-08T22:28:00.003-05:00

We have had the most mild winter since I've lived in West Virginia. It's crazy. I'm usually freaking out about the cold and dying to feel the sun on my skin by this point. Don't get me wrong, I'm still really looking forward to spring and sun dresses again; but I'm seriously okay with the fact that it's still winter. We've had random beautiful weather in the months that tend to be relentless with snow and freezing temps. Monday was one of those beautiful, unexpected mild winter days. David is on a week-long business trip to Washington state this week, so I have to plan my days with more to do than normal so I don't go crazy. It was so nice to be able to incorporate the park into those activities. I pushed Graham in the stroller for a mile while Parker ran by my side. Then, we played on the playground for 30 minutes before doing another lap around the track. This time, I insured a good nights sleep by letting Graham run too. We were only there for an hour total, but they were completely worn out. SUCCESS!

Though I'm loving 55 degrees and sunshine, I'm a little sad that there hasn't been enough snow this year for a snowman. There's still time. I feel crazy for even saying that.

Classic Mom Post

2012-02-03T15:23:00.009-05:00

So, a few blogs ago, I posted that my boys had both accomplished something big. It's true, and now I'll share Grammy's big deal.

Graham is potty trained. Can you believe it? I know! I never expected it so early. Not that 2 years 5 months is remarkably young and shows early genius signs or anything, but if you know Graham, you'd understand why I was hoping to get the job done before he left for collage. In all seriousness, I was hoping to begin the big-boy journey this summer, but I was nervous for even then. Potty training was so easy with Parker, but still I had these feelings that Graham, with his APGAR 2 score and all, would give me a fit-of-a-time when it came to potty training. NOT AT ALL. I never even had to bust out the timer method that worked so well with Park. Here's how it all went down...the toilet. :)

One afternoon after Graham got up from a nap, he was crying because he was holding his pee. He has been doing this for months. He would eventually stop fussing when he alleviated himself in his diaper. I had set him on the little potty a few times to see if he'd pee in there, but only a few times was he successful because he didn't really have much control over when he went. I don't know why he started holding it, but it was only during nap time. The rest of the day, he was happy to just go in his diaper. And I was just fine with that. After I changed him this particular day, Graham was just running around in a pull up. We used them some times because we had a lot left over from when Parker was being trained at night. They are easier to pull on and off of a wild ~~animal~~ child.

I decided to chat on the phone with a friend when Parker came in and told me that Graham needed to pee. I was like, "Wha?" I told Parker to take him in the bathroom and have him go. I was sure it wouldn't work, but thought they'd leave me alone a minute so I could talk. A few minutes later, the brotherly pee team emerged from the bathroom with cheers. Parker informed me that he had gotten Graham to go pee. He was able to pull down Graham's pull-up and seat him on the frog throne all by himself. Such a good big brother. I checked it out, and sure enough, there was evidence in the little frog toilet. Yay! That was my first thought. My second? Hmmmm. Do I really want to do this? I gave them both a few chocolate chips for a job well-done, that is, Graham's peeing and Parker's coaching.

When Parker figured out he could get paid for his efforts, the game was on! Every few minutes, he marched his brother to the bathroom and demanded that he produce pee in the potty. I didn't even have to be present. Parker would pull down Graham's pull-ups or underwear and Graham would do his thing. It was amazing. They managed 6-8 successful trips to the bathroom that first day and I kind of felt pressured to actually potty train Graham for good.

The next step was getting him to poo. For you weathered, veteran moms out there, you know this is the tricky part. He had a few nasty accidents. One in which he was actually trying to go in the potty. I won't go into detail, but I'll at least say, he went only a small amount in the frog. The rest was on the bathroom floor and strewn though the rest of the restroom and hallway in the form of brown little footprints. Um...yuck. I'm not the mom who says it's okay to mess yourself, either. A lot of parenting magazines tell you to not scold them at all. I don't believe in ripping them a new one for an accident, but it's not okay and I didn't want Graham to think it was. I told him he made me sad, acted somewhat disgusted (it's the truth, what?), and reassured him that I knew he could do it the right way. I wasn't cruel or mean. That seemed to work for him and on day 3, he went in the potty. The big potty. The potty where I could just flush the nasty away. It's like graduation day for toddler moms.

The rest is history. He figured out how to stand and go which makes going in public soooo nice because you can just stand them on the potties. He usually tells me when he needs to go or I make him when he starts "the dance". I still put pull-ups on him when we are out for an extended period of time in public, just for insurance, but he usually keeps them dry anyway. We've had a few accidents here or there, but he's made it, pretty successfully I might add, to big-boy-hood.

WOO-HOO!!!

I told him I wanted to take some pictures of him in his big boy undies to commemorate the occasion. I figured these pictures are much better than him sitting doing his business ;) I know it looks as though I've posed him, but I promise all I did was throw him on my bed. He wouldn't sit still so I let him flounder about and I just kept shooting. Occasionally I'd get him to look at me. Ladies, eat your hearts out.

GQ Baby all the way!

Girly Gift

2012-01-30T10:59:00.001-05:00

I had a super relaxing, quiet weekend with my best friend. It was straight up medicine. I had actually been fighting something that caused me to feel really crummy, but it was a lot easier to hang, chat, bake, and create than to manage and parent children all weekend. It was good timing for a mommy break. So thankful to my wonderful husband for keeping the boys so I could enjoy a kid-free weekend.

Heidi's sister-in-law is having a baby girl in March, so Heidi threw her a shower this past weekend. It was beautiful. I came down to attend the shindig for two reasons: I've become fond of Caimbrin over the years and I wanted to show her my love and support, and because Heidi wanted me to help her in the kitchen before the shower. We had so much fun baking and making :) I'm sure Heidi will be blogging about the frilly shower in the next few days, so keep posted on her blog to see the girliness.

I found a fun "happy stacker" pattern from Heather Bailey a while back and finally decided to make it. Can I just say, this was way trickier than it looks. I got to see it in baby Cora's nursery before I left Florida and it was just perfect in there! So excited for Caimbrin and Brian. May God bless you two and your new coming addition.

Can't wait to see baby Cora playing with her new toy!

Coffee Love

2012-01-18T10:37:00.001-05:00

I hate to throw away any container that is glass or metal. It's weird, yet has proved to be beneficial many times. I have a plastic container downstairs that is full of spaghetti sauce jars, wine bottles, coffee tins, baby food jars, etc. You just never know when you might need one for decor, a gift, or a cute project. I rummaged through the bin this time and pulled out an old coffee canister for a project. This was my inspiration. I found it on the Family Chic blog.

I wanted a bigger version so that's why I used a coffee canister instead of a soup can. I didn't really like the white, so I left the tin its original color. Also, so that it would stand out more, I chose to use a ribbon I had instead of embroidery thread. I used a knife to poke the holes and then a kabob skewer to make the knife slit round (I'm sure there is a better way). I finished it off by using a little red acrylic paint around the top and bottom to make it pop. Parker picked out the pink flowers for inside the tin, and voila!

I've got some exciting news for my next blog. Parker and Graham have both made had a big accomplishment. Can't wait to share!!!

Burlap Heart Wreath

2012-01-17T09:04:00.000-05:00

I was looking for some type of wreath to put above my mantle and came across this one on the My Blessed Life blog.

There was no tutorial at the time, so I just decided to give it a shot with cardboard, burlap, and hot glue. It took forever to make but was super simple. I cut out a heart shape from a cardboard box. I chose to make it with a heart hole in the center to give it more of a wreath-y look, but you could use a solid heart shape too. Then, not meticulously, I cut strips of burlap into squares. The squares were not all the same size but stayed around the four to five square inch range. Then, I grabbed the center of the burlap squares and gathered all the edges away from the point like you would tissue paper before you stick it in a gift bag. I then added a dab of hot glue to the point of the burlap square and placed it at the bottom of the heart. You essentially do this for the rest of the heart placing the burlap squares closely to one another. You decide how "dense" you want your wreath to be. The closer you put the glued ends of the burlap squares, the more dense your wreath will be. I cut out two smaller cardboard heart and wrapped them in yarn because the burlap wreath looked so lonely up there by itself.

I'm off to figure out whether my second (loud) blessing is ready to potty train or was just messing with me yesterday when he repeatedly (like 8 times!) went potty for his older brother. Wish me luck. And patience. And lots of floor cleaner. :)

Heartstrings

2012-01-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

After finding this pillow on the Ucreate blog, I decided I wanted to make two for my sitting chairs in the living room. Actually, I really just wanted to make covers for the pillows since I like the size and shape of the pillows for the chairs and they'll need to be converted back to "normal" after Valentine's day. They turned out cute. My stitching is a little messy around the appliqued hearts. I'm still trying to get use to my new awesome machine ;)

I should add a button for closing the back cuter, shouldn't I? Aight.

Hill of a Time!

2012-01-16T08:44:00.001-05:00

So, we have a huge hill for a back yard. Welcome to Charleston. It's so hard to find any property in the city that isn't on the top, side, or bottom of a hill. Our hill has always been annoying to me until Friday. We got a small amount of snow and since this year has basically been void of the pretty white stuff, I decided we had better get out and enjoy it. After bundling up for the 23 degree frigidness, we climbed halfway up the hill. Actually, just the boys did while I stayed at the bottom. David got them set up and let 'em fly. I caught them at the bottom to keep them from flying off the wall. It worked perfectly. There was so much laughter coming from those two little boys. I think David and I had just as much fun until I tried to sled down the hill, flew off the wall, and landed on my butt in the mud. Not cool. That was enough for me.

Later this week, it's suppose to hit 65 degrees. This is wild people. I can't believe how easy winter has been this year. I'll take it!

Paper and Felt

2012-01-13T14:16:00.003-05:00

These few little projects are super easy and won't break the bank. If you are like me and like to craft, you may not even have to hit up the closest craft store.

Card stock paper and a stapler.

An old frame and scrapbook paper.

More scrapbook paper. For someone who doesn't like anything about scrap-booking, I sure do use a lot of this stuff.

Felt and some messy zig zag stitching ;)

I used a heart punch to make uniform felt hearts, but you could cut them out too. If you can sew a straight line, you could totally make this little heart banner.

Yesterday, I worked on some pillows. I'll share soon. I had to bring my sewing machine into the playroom so that I could actually work, but the boys just gathered around and watched me sew. They are fascinated by the machine. How old do they have to be before I can teach them to use it? Needless to say, the pillows took a lot longer than necessary. Today, I'm off to go sledding with my boys. It's finally snowing, so we're going to take full advantage. They are so excited! Stay warm. I recommend hot chocolate, a super cozy blanket, and a good book for this winter weather.

a little obsessed

2012-01-11T10:19:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I have to admit something. I'm a little obsessed with pom poms. (Yes, I am sure you've noticed and I am just stating the obvious.) Why? I have no idea. Some people get fixated on chevron, burlap, or owls (the list goes on). I just happen to really like the texture and feel of Pom poms. I can imagine how much I'll hate them in a few years and/or months, but for now, I'll use the for everything under the sun. Sorry. It's not that I lack diversity, but new ideas for their use keep popping up. First there was the garland idea. Then the Christmas tree decor. Then even my packages got embellished with the fluffy little balls.

What now? Well, I've been stalking these cute lil' pom pom flowers for a while.

(Images are from here, here, and here.)

Since Valentines Day is coming up, I used the opportunity to bring these bright little flowers into my house. I originally was going to make a large bouquet, but opted to keep it simple this time. Maybe I'll add to it for spring. :)

One fantastic blogger I like to follow posted a project where she converted an old vase into a lovely little piece of art. (Check out her blog, Sugar and Cloth, for some great ideas!) Thanks Ashley for the inspiration! It made a perfect home for my pom poms. :)

More LOVE-ly projects to come!

Feeling the Love

2012-01-10T17:30:00.001-05:00

Thought I'd share one little project I finished for Valentines Day. It took only an hour. The possibilities are endless, so create your own love ;)

8 years later

2012-01-04T16:10:00.003-05:00

December 27th, 2003.

Eight years later, we are still happily married.

Eight years later, we are still working (hard) on us.

Eight years later, we are still excited about our future.

Eight years later, our vows still mean as much as they did when we first said them.

Here's to true love. Not blind, not fairytale, not perfect.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Christmas Number Two

2012-01-04T10:30:00.001-05:00

My parents couldn't be with us on December 25th this year, but they made it up here for a few hours the next day to do Christmas with us. I was a little worried my boys were going to expect the tree to just keep "refilling" with gifts because we had emptied it on Christmas and then it was full again the next day. We are so blessed...I hope my boys learn that at an early age.

He did not get this for Christmas, but this picture cracked me up.

Excited about some sea creatures!

This kid loves him some sting rays.

David got some new kicks. He's elated. I wish we had a boat to go with those boat shoes.

My dad needed some smelly spray that wasn't for hunting. I'm pretty sure Lacoste smells a heck of a lot better than doe urine or whatever that deer luring spray is made of.

If you know my Grandma, you know this woman is never caught without a disposable camera in hand. She's like an official disposable camera photog.

I had way too much fun with gift wrapping this year. Everyone will probably get tin-foil wrapped gifts next year because I'll be over the whole "pretty gift" thing. Ummm...doubt it.

New Gator jerseys!

I am a very happy girl. New machine!

I packed up all the Christmas decor yesterday. It was awful. I shed a few tears and felt miserable. What in the world? I've never had issues putting away the tinsel before, but this year was so difficult. Maybe because I had so much fun, it was just hard to let it go. I don't know. My house feels empty and so boring after all the coziness of Christmas. I've got to get on the Valentine's Day bandwagon so that I have something to make my house feel more like a home again. Actually, writing that just got me a little excited about some projects I have planned :) It's the only time of year I feel pink is allowed to enter my home. Bring it on!!!!

25!!!!!!!!

2011-12-27T14:00:00.001-05:00

We finally made it to the 25th of December! Parker thought it would never come. Graham? Well, he is still pulling off random numbers from our calendar making it clear he had no idea what was going on. Oh well! Now, Christmas has come and gone, but not without wonderful memories made! It was just the four of us together on Christmas morning and I really did feel giddy waiting for the boys to wake up. When the sleepyheads finally awoke around 7:45 and ran out to see if Santa had indeed come, they couldn't believe their eyes! He had left quite a mess of snow.

Last but definitely not least!

Singing Jingle Bells!

Reading the Christmas Story.

Present time! Santa's first.

Graham decided he wanted to trade in a few of his new trains for Daddy's audio book.

David opening his big present!

It was wrapped 10 times down to a tiny jewelry box of guitar picks! I'm such a trickster ;)

Not sure what Graham had planned before I made him get down.

Stockings!

Christmas cuties.

Family Christmas photo 2011

I hope your Christmas was as blessed as ours. My boys made my Christmas so special. Was is perfect and void of chaos? Um, hardly. I'm not in a fantasy world and I do have two toddler boys. There were moments of crying and utter selfish fit-throwing (Parker and Graham did some whining too-ha ha!), but when the day came to a close, we were a family who loved one another and had spent the day celebrating our Savior's birth. Good times!

Christmas Eve Eve and the Next Day

2011-12-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

Before I show you the fun we had on Christmas, I'll show you our two day adventure leading up to the main event. Since pictures tell it better than words, I'll stop talking. (Can I get an amen from all the readers who are sick of my long post?)

Jumping on the air mattress is 99% of the fun on Christmas Eve Eve

...two fell of and hit their heads. Momma called the doctor and the doctor said...get off the flippin' air mattress.

We calmed them down with a good 'ol game of candy land.

The only way to get him to go to sleep was to move him across the room from his brother. Zonked.

I was the only one left awake. Time to play on my iPhone.

We headed to Nana and Poppy's for Christmas Eve.

I'm serious. This boys has an obsession with trains.

We got our Christmas pajamas on when we got home baked Santa some cookies.

Getting things all set up!

Beyond excited.

Putting out our reindeer food.

Graham wanted in on the action too. There is a lot of ~~glitter~~ reindeer food in my front yard. We'll be seeing it for months.

It worked. Thanks to the fantastic tasting reindeer food that guided the sleigh in, Santa came and did not disappoint.

Whirlwind

2011-12-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

The last four days have been a whirlwind of shopping, wrapping, and enjoying the last few days of this special Christmas season. Our advent calendar has had us drinking (more) hot chocolate, opening new books to read, acting out the nativity scene (pretty sure there is not going to be a future acting career for either of my boys), and making a gingerbread house. I didn't capture each moment because, well, it's hard to always take pictures and be present, ya know? I do my best. Parker and I spent 3 hours on the gingerbread house one morning while Grammy was at Nana's house. We had so much fun together and made a real mess. Tonight is Christmas Eve Eve. We will be camping out around the tree. The boys are stoked. I have no idea how this will work with Graham. Oh well! 'Tis the season for celebration (and sleep deprivation!)

I encourage you all, (as I'm reminding myself) to soak up as much of this time with your family as you can. Try to not let the stress of any hustle bustle, family drama, or failure to accomplish all you wanted steal too much joy from this blessed season. Jesus was born, I have a beautiful family, we are generally healthy...so this truly will be a Merry Christmas!

Second Annual (mini) Bake-a-thon

2011-12-21T10:19:00.000-05:00

Tabitha is one of my favorite people in Charleston. We connected the first time we met because we both love music, the beach, and baking. She's fun and easy to talk to and she likes to hang out with me. That's a bonus, you know. We got together last year to bake Christmas cookies, so this was officially the second annual bake-a-thon. If you can really call 5 hours of baking a bake-a-thon. Probably not, but it is as good as a full-time nurse anesthetists student and full-time mommy can do. We had fun and plan on continuing our tradition every year. Maybe someday we'll turn our event into a real extravaganza. How fun would that be!?!

I decided to only make 3 kinds of cookies this year since I was limited on time.

Egg nog cookies. I have to admit. I wasn't a huge fan of these. I saw them on Pinterest and thought they looked delish. Really, they came out more like glorified sugar cookies. They weren't bad, but the egg nog flavor wasn't super distinct.

Parker really wanted to help Tabi dip her chocolate peanut butter balls. I was able to dissuade him.

I'm telling you, this kid loves to bake. He just stood and watched. Don't feel too bad for him, though, I had let him do his reindeer cookies just a few hours prior to Tabitha coming over.

Though totally easy and requiring little work, these 6 layer cookie bars are so scrumptious.

The last ones turned out pretty yummy. There are a few tweaks I need to make to the recipe, but they didn't disappoint. Watch out! Next year, you won't be able to eat just one.

What sugary things have you baked this season? Do share!

not me

2011-12-20T13:37:00.000-05:00

"I not eated the chocolate."

Shopping, Cookies, Lights...and Tears.

2011-12-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

Our calendar activities continue.

Day 16- Decorate Cookies

Day 17- Go shopping for Mommy, Daddy, and Brother

Day 18-Drive around to see lights.

The boys waiting for mommy to check out. They had so much fun shopping for each other. Graham only mildly understands the concept of something not being for him, but better to start early right?

The funniest part about this picture other than the fact my husband was taking a picture of me with a shopping cart in Target is...

...what my boys were doing under the cart.

There were a few flakes falling on our way to load up the car and Parker was trying to catch them in his mouth.

Rolling the dough.

Graham did a superb job decorating his reindeer. If you can't tell, his masterpieces are on the left.

Parker was very particular about the color and placement of his m&m's.

Graham shut the party down when I wouldn't let him eat the raw cookies. I probably should have left this activity up to just Parker. Oh well. Here's to a good try.

You can see how happy he was about the cookie decorating.

My little baker.

Waiting for the cookies to be finished. A long 8-10 minutes.

Ready to find some lights! We decided to just stay close to our house because it was getting late. These big smiles are from the egg nog I put in there sippy cups ;)

I told the boys to pick out their favorite house. This one won.

The victory for this house had nothing to do with the fact that they had a Brachiosaurus, a train, and a helicopter all in one yard.

Really enjoying this year and the memories I am making with my boys. Maybe next year Graham will actually get the idea of cookie decorating and find some joy in the process. Let's hope. No more baking drama.

A Movie and Popcorn

2011-12-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

It was family movie night again, and this time we busted out a real classic. No, not Rudolph or White Christmas. We laughed and ate popcorn to Elf. I mean Will Ferrell totally = classic, right? The only way to get Graham to watch a movie and sit still is to pin him in his high chair. As long as he has food and a seat belt, he's good to go. He watched the first 30 minutes and then it was his bedtime. I wasn't sure if the movie would bore Parker, but he actually really enjoyed it. I thought he was going to choke on popcorn from laughing so hard when the Raccoon jumps on Buddy.

nine through fourteen

2011-12-14T23:06:00.002-05:00

I'm really not good at the whole witty title thing. Sorry.

Day 9: decorate initial ornaments

Day 10: St. Alban's lights
(my gangsta 4-year-old)

Day 11: See Santa and pick out 2011 ornament
Well, mommy made a little mistake not checking to see if Santa was going to be at the mall on Sunday at 5:00. He wasn't. Ooops. I decided to let them pick out an ornament instead and take them to see Santa on Monday night.

Day 12: paper snowflakes

We didn't get to do Day 13 as planned. Parker got in trouble with the YMCA childcare leaders for being disobedient, so we didn't celebrate by making the planned yummy s'mores. He was sad, but that's life. Bad behavior hurts. He should learn it early.

Day 14: make a birthday card for Jesus

Can you believe we only have 10 days until Christmas? Wildness.

Late Night Wreath

2011-12-13T11:09:00.000-05:00

Last week while my husband was out of town, I had a bit of insomnia. What can one do at 12:00am when the kids are asleep and there is nothing else to do? Make fabric ornaments, of course! I saw the cutest ones ever on a blog called Whipup, and decided to use all my bright scrap fabric to make them. My tree was already full, so I put them on a wreath I had and hung it above the fire place. The mantle is still lacking, but I'm sure I'll have another night of boredom soon where I can whip up something else.

Pack it Pretty

2011-12-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

I am one of those people who love to wrap. I look forward to it all year and actually get excited to sit in the middle of the living room with stuff all around me. This year, my favorite discovery is wrapping with hot glue. The brown paper I bought doesn't hold tape well, but the hot glue worked like a charm! I'm not finished, but I thought I'd share some fun ideas for packing your Christmas gifts this year. Inspiration for the packaging came from Pinterest, other blogs, and my own little wild mind :)

Happy Wrapping!

Dinosaur Tree

2011-12-11T14:15:00.000-05:00

The first thing we did to decorate our house for Christmas a few weeks ago was put up a tree in the boys' room.

Dollar store dinos + mod podge + gold glitter = perfect toddler tree decor. I just wish I would have used green and blue glitter. Next year :)

We've been adding ornaments like crazy from all his projects at school and church. There are many interesting versions of baby Jesus hangin' with Triceratops. What a combo.

Charging

2011-12-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

My MacBook was dead for four days due to a malfunction in the power cord. It may or may not have had anything to do with a certain 2 year old who felt the need to suck on it from 12-24 months old. :( Good news, though....we are back and fully charged!

Let's catch up! Day 6 morning

Day 7:

Graham decided he didn't want to get his hand or foot in paint, so Parker had to do both.

Graham entertained himself with watercolors while Parker and I worked with dangerously permanent acrylic paint.

Day 8:

With the boys bathed and somewhat calm, I attempted including Graham with a project that involved glue. It went fairly well.

I don't know how he didn't paper cut his nose.

This kid is obsessed with coloring right now.

I love his little hands. I'm a little sad that they don't have baby chub on them anymore :(

3,4,5, and some T-Rex

2011-12-05T21:23:00.001-05:00

I botched up our day three activity. I was planning on taking Parker to this local comedy show that was doing a Christmas special, but realized the day of the show that it didn't start until 8:00 pm. Ooops. Parker would have been fine most likely, but we had to get up rather early the next day. I apologized to him because he was really excited. I made it up to him by taking him to see Aurthur Christmas in 3D at the theater. He loved it. Score.

Day four involved making lists. I decided it would be good for us all to think about what we were thankful for before we began wanting. They boys enjoyed decorating the lists with stickers.

Since he felt the need to cover his words with stickers, I'll tell you Graham's #3 is trains and his #5 is Parker.

Mommy and Daddy need to work on having cheaper wants. Graham covered his second desire with a snowflake, but it was funny. He wants a cracker. Easy enough.

The first thing Parker does when he gets up in the morning is run to the calendar. This morning was Graham's first day joining him. The veteran helped the newbie see how it was done.

Day 5 read, "Cook a breakfast dinner with mommy." Parker was all about it. We ran short on time tonight, so we whipped up some eggs, with sausage links and spinach. The boys helped me cut up the little smokies (which they called mini hot dogs because they had never seen them before). Don't worry, the knife blades are completely dull. No lost fingers.

Mini sous chef number two can be demanding sometimes.

Look at that face. I mean, he was serious about some cutting.

Adding the spinach like a pro.

The face of approval.

Big 'ol raspberry.

They got cleaned up after dinner...

...and put on their pajamas. They were beside themselves because both had a T-Rex on their shirt. I mean, really, how cool is that? You have no idea.

I couldn't get a picture in focus because Graham wouldn't quit jumping.

So easy to please. Tacky pj's and we're good to go.

Reunited

2011-12-05T11:18:00.010-05:00

Am I allowed to say that last week was very relaxing? Is that bad or against some Mothers' Code of Conduct? It is wrong that I enjoyed the quietness of my home with only Parker in tow? Well, it's the truth. Even if it does make make me look like a not-very-nice mommy. If I am being completely honest, which I am known to be, I even questioned my decision to have a second child as early as I did as well as my desire to have future children. Last week, I never seemed to get to that crazy frustrated point that I so easily get to with two little boys. David came home to a calm, happy atmosphere where dinner wasn't cold or unfinished. I was able to keep up with the house and laundry while still playing Candy Land on a regular basis. I was able to decorate my home for Christmas in peace while Park played quietly in his playroom. Parker spent hours coloring instead of pushing a screaming, laughing two-year old around in a play shopping cart. I could go on, but you get my point. Life was less stressful and INSANELY easy with only one young child to parent.

Before you start to think I'm an awful person, let me describe when my thoughts started going the other direction. When I got through the security checkpoint to wait on my second bundle of joy to come through the door with my Dad, I started to get excited. The second Graham saw me, he yelled my name and ran fast to my arms. He tightly hugged my neck and I was so very thankful for my little "handful." Don't get me wrong, I have never wished I didn't have Graham. It has little to do with who Graham is, just the combo of two rambunctious boys together that wears me thin quickly. They are both so well-behaved apart, however, together they seem so difficult and hyper. They bicker when together, yet can't stand being apart. I am trying to figure out how to manage their combined energy, but it's just hard. Really hard. I'm slowly becoming better and they are getting older, thank goodness.

I became even more aware of how thankful I am to have had both boys when Parker saw Graham. They embraced, shared peanut M&M's (thanks Papaw), and locked hands. They walked around the airport for the next few minutes talking while never letting go. It made me so happy to see they genuinely missed one another. Their true affection for one another was clearly shown. Parker repeatedly kissed Grammy's face. Moments like this help remind me of why I chose to give Parker a sibling. Last week, though undeniably peaceful, started to look a little boring to my new found "airport" perspective. Life is all about perspective anyway, right?

Just so you don't think everything stayed all merry and bright, I'll let you know I had to break up fights in the backseat on the way home. I also heard more tattling in the three hours before bedtime than I can count on two hands, but my home is back to normal. Crazy, loud, dysfunctional normal. But there is lots of love. There will always be lots of love.

Day Two

2011-12-02T22:09:00.000-05:00

Hot Cocoa and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Does it get any better?

Day One

2011-12-02T00:17:00.001-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love the Christmas season with all of the traditions and celebration. I wanted to make sure my boys had an Advent calendar this year since they would be old enough (especially Park) to understand the countdown. November was a busy month for me so I didn't get to making the calendar until this week when I got home from our Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Florida. (We had a great visit, by the way. The weather was perfect and the shopping was, well, Florida shopping. Let's just say, I got stuck in the Banana Republic Outlet for over two hours. Ouch. )

Anyway, I decided I didn't have time to make the cute felt calendar I had dreamed up in my mind from Pinterest inspiration. I had to go with a paper model. For being made in one afternoon, I'm happy with this bright little festive piece. Everyday there is a new Christmas activity and starting half way through, we'll begin reading the Christmas story in sections from Matthew and Luke. I really want this time of year to be a big celebration of our Lord's birth.

Parker is so excited about waking up in the morning and reading the card for each day. The visual countdown really helped him understand how much more time we have...the chocolate Hershey bar in each envelope brought a little cheer too ;)

Note: You won't see Graham helping decorate the tree because he's still on vacation this week. My parents wanted some time with him, so Dad will be flying Graham back to me this weekend. Since I knew we'd be leaving him down there, we got our tree as a family before we left for Florida. I doubt Grammy would have been much help decorating anyway, considering his inability to leave shiny things alone.

Day One: Decorate the Christmas Tree.

Before:

After lights and garland. (Yes, those are handmade pom poms. There are over one hundred and I have the blisters on my fingers to prove it.)

Don't think I wore my winter pj's for decorating the tree. The sad truth is that I had them on all day long. I never left the house today, so the flannels never left my body. Don't judge.

Daddy helped hang our nail ornament to remember the importance of why Jesus was born. He always had a destiny with a tree and I am so thankful.

All finished!

Merry Christmas! Get your countdown on!

scrap fabric ornament

2011-11-16T11:37:00.003-05:00

As often as I can, I try to get the boys involved in crafty projects. I love to make things and I enjoy sharing that fun with them. I don't care that they are boys. They love being artsy and I want to encourage that aspect of their creativeness. Mind you, Grammy is a little young to help much with any of my projects, but even he gets a thrill out of a paint brush or yarn ball. Last week he helped me make a prototype Christmas tree for our upcoming, first ever Girls' Craft Night (I am soooooooo excited!!!). I would place hot glue dots on the yarn tree and Graham would, very carefully, assign a pom pom to the spot. He was very proud of his job.

On this particular scrap fabric ornament, Parker and I waited until Grammy took a nap so that the whole kitchen didn't get lathered in Mod Podge. Parker was actually a big help.

I found this inspiration ornament on Pinterest for something Parker and I could do together.

I wanted to change it a little to make it ours so I got out my basket of scrap fabric. Don't you just love the endless opportunities you have with scraps? Parker and I picked a few and laid out our supplies. (I forgot the popsicle sticks in this picture.) What's so great about this little project, besides the fact that my 4 year old could help with most of it, is I didn't need to buy anything.

After cutting the popsicle sticks into varying lengths for the branches, Parker painted on some Mod Podge while I covered the stick with a strip of fabric.

Parker then painted all the sticks that would be the tree trunks.

I promise, he actually really enjoys his alone time with me ;)

Once the Mod Podge dried, I used sharp scissors to cut closely around the popsicle stick. We then glued the fabric-covered sticks onto the brown painted "trunks" and let them dry. I was out of hot glue sticks or I would have just hot glued them together (would have been much easier than all the extra Mod Podge.)

We added a ribbon bow on top...

...and a twine hoop for hanging the ornament.

TA DA! All finished. We made 6 total. I think they are quite charming. A bit colorful, yes, but I'm kind of digging that this Christmas season.

I blame the crooked branch on Parker ;)

Saturday Afternoon Stroll

2011-11-14T14:08:00.001-05:00

The Carriage Trail in Charleston, WV is so pretty in the fall. It's great for an afternoon stroll which is exactly what we did two Saturdays ago. We wanted to enjoy the outdoors while there were still leaves on the trees. Good thing...they are all gone now :(

I promise, I did not tell them to do this. But, cute right?

Great parental supervision. Glad they didn't fall in the creek.

A boy and his stick. Every. Where. We. Go.

We found some really large leaves.

My pretty little city.

Blurry, but I love his joy! He chased me down the entire trail at full speed. This kid has some major endurance, people.

They had to catch up.

We got a bonus in addition to the beautiful leaves and endless amount of sticks for the boys (a must for a successful walk in their opinion). We got to see a train! Up close and personal is an understatement for how near we were to this roaring diesel engine (according to Parker) and coal cars. I mean, the boys were in heaven.

When we heard the train coming, they got as close to the fence as possible. And yes, Graham's bibs often become superhero capes.

The next few shots tell quite a story of my boys personalities. The train was about 4-5 feet away. And loud. Very loud.

Notice which child is backing up and which is holding the fence in a death grip.

Parker finally turned and ran. The noise and wind from the train were pretty startling. He loved seeing it go by, but from a safe distance.

Graham, however, held his place. We weren't sure if he truly wasn't scared or if he was in shock, so David decided to grab him.

Nope, not a single tear. He was in amazement.

You can just see him trying to process what he was watching.

They were bummed when the end came and kept asking for another like I had some power to just make them appear.

David videoed the experience and the boys watched it over and over again.

What a great (cheap) Saturday afternoon! If you don't understand what the big deal is about modes of transit (buses, big trucks, planes, trains, etc), then my guess is that you've never had a little boy. I never had to introduce or emphasize this passion of theirs, it simply just came about. I didn't think I'd allow myself to be such a cliche mom, but we all know things change when you actually become a parent, right? I proudly digress. Bring on the transportation. We are planning a real train ride with the boys for the spring. Can't wait!

Leaves Galore

2011-11-11T15:51:00.001-05:00

One of the most obnoxious things about my house is the number of trees in our yard. Massive trees. Massive trees dump massive amounts of leaves. That means every fall I have to find a way to get rid of those leaves or they will get rid of my grass. Not good. I discovered the use of a blower a few years ago, thank the Lord, but it still takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R! The only good thing about all the leaves is the fun to be had in them. The boys are in heaven in the leaf mountains. They decided to jump off chairs into the piles, so I grabbed my camera. Boys are so wild and so much fun. They slept well last night.

I have no idea what Graham is doing. Just being Graham I guess.

This smile cracks me up! Sweet face.

Green-eyed boy.

Prepping for flight.

I hope he lives his life this way.

Graham's attempt at soaring looked a little more like falling.

We jumped until the stars came out.

The boys think that I put all the leaves in a pile for them. I'm going to let them keep thinking that until tomorrow.

Time to get back to work. Only 100 billion leaves to go :(

A Different Kind of Post

2011-11-10T12:30:00.001-05:00

If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you know that some of my favorite people in the whole world are the Mitchell's. Heidi, Mike and Lincoln are more than just close friends to me. They are ~~like~~ family. Right now, that part of my family is having to deal with a situation in life that is really difficult. I know that we are all handed things in life that are unwanted and painful to endure, but knowing that little phrase "life isn't fair" doesn't always help when you are diagnosed with latter stage kidney disease at twenty-nine years old. When most of us are just getting our lives established and (naively) secure, they were slammed with an undeserved, unwarranted battle. They've been troopers through the whole situation. Heidi has fought our arduous medical and insurance systems with determination while Mike has continued to run his successful home inspection company with little to no complaining of his exhaustion and discomfort. I am proud of them. Really proud.

You can read a more detailed account of Mike's diagnosis and their road to transplant by following these links to Heidi's blog.

Feeling a Little Like a Job

Perspective

One year of CKD

The Road to Transplant

From the Bottom of Our Hearts

Good News, Bad News

If you feel impressed to help out, there are a few things you can do.

1. Pray. I don't always understand what it accomplishes in each situation, but I know that God hears us. I know that he desires for us to ask him for needs. This family has a need.

3. Be an encouragement. Kind words can go a long way and tend to be much more helpful than advice. (Unless you have kidney knowledge...that's extremely helpful!)

4. Give. A trust fund Facebook page has been set up for Mike's Transplant and medication costs. I don't know about you, but I view health as a gift. Let's pitch in and help give Mike and his family a chance to receive that gift.

Michael John Mitchell Trust

Thank you and God Bless.

Amish, Corn, and the Mountains

2011-11-07T15:43:00.001-05:00

Last week I had visitors. We love having people in our home for many reasons, but especially because it breaks up the monotony and allows me to speak with other "big" people during the day. Yay for conversations that don't include the words "T-Rex" and "Diesel". My mom and Aunt Jenny came for a week and, wait, hold your breath...my very own brother came to see me!

I had a great time with my family. The first two days of the girls' visit were spent in Amish country, Ohio. Parker came with us and was such a good boy for all the shopping and eating. We also braved the corn maize in Milton, WV. My brother chickened out because he didn't want to get muddy. The mud didn't deter my boys. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of the experience. They enjoyed all the slipping and sliding.

We also headed to the mountains one day for a beautiful fall drive. The leaves were as gorgeous and vibrant as ever. Graham even had the thrill of watching a coal train wrap itself around the valley at the Hawk's Nest lookout. He was mesmerized. I have to admit, it was pretty good timing.

Thanks for coming to see us, Mom, Aunt Jenny, and Jeremy!

Have I mentioned yet how much I love Fall?

A Couple of Things...

2011-11-01T12:22:00.001-04:00

Originally, Parker was going to be a gum ball machine for Halloween 2011. I thought it would be the cutest thing ever and he loves balloons (which would have been the gum balls). I had decided to make Graham a baby version of Albert Einstein. Well, that all got thrown out the window while Parker was watching a Cat in the Hat episode one morning. He suggested that he should be Thing 1. I thought it sounded like a perfect idea since Graham could be Thing 2. Though I was sad I couldn't make Graham's long hair wild and white, I imagined wild blue wigs blowing in the wind to cheer me up ;)

Their outfits were made with red flannel pj's, black puff paint on white felt, and a blue feather boa hot glued onto a hat I found at Jo-Ann's. Don't their characters totally fit their true personalities?

Some people ask how I get my kids to sit still for pictures. Well, I took a million for starters, and candy corn for bribes works like a charm. When you don't feed your kids candy on a daily basis, they are helpless to overcome its power. They'll do anything for it ;)

Even hug their brother.

Their reaction to being told they were getting candy corn for sitting still enough for pictures.

And of course, Thing Two has to do everything Thing One does.

Thing Two's hair was never on his head straight.

Do I always look this tired from my Things?

Um, does anyone else thing Graham looks just like David in this picture?

I said, "Say Woo!" Mom obliged, Graham stared, and Parker looks like he's praising the Lord.

Hittin' the streets.

This hair blowing in the wind is exactly what I imagined. It made me laugh all night.

Thing Two had a hard time keeping up with Thing One.

Feeling intimidated.

I can't believe how into it he was this year. He ran as fast as he could door to door collecting as much loot as possible. That's my boy! I trained him to look for good candy.

Thing Two kept messing with his hair and ended up looking a little like Daniel Boone. Should have used a little more hot glue.

Sharing his sucker with Mommy ;) She did not mind at all if they do.

The sucker really slowed him down. This picture is a great example of why everyone should learn to use their camera on manual. I handed the camera to David and set it on auto. The auto slowed down the shutter speed to allow in more light, but auto didn't know that we were trying to capture life in motion. Blurry feet.

Halloween sugar coma.

Jumping with excitement!

He really doesn't know how to walk.

Graham got tired so he sat down and decided to survey his inventory.

Daddy is a great option when little legs get tired.

Notice the chocolate running down his face.

Three generations of Things.

Aunt Jenny stayed at our house to hand out the candy. Parker finished the night by helping her.

I love the sweet Things of life.

I hope everyone had a safe, fun Halloween night and ended up with as much sugar as we did!

Pumpkin Paint

2011-10-29T20:33:00.000-04:00

Last week, the boys and I enjoyed some pumpkin art. They were all about it.

What I learned this week...

2011-10-19T10:42:00.002-04:00

1. Four-year-olds, no matter how well-behaved you think they are, can make painful mistakes of disobedience. Just ask the little green-eyed boy in my house about his burnt finger and the lawn mower.

2. It's really hard to only eat 1200 calories a day.

3. Lolly pops and TV make it much easier to cut a two-year-old's hair.

4. I can pull-off real bangs. Who knew?

5. A clean house on Monday morning makes Monday not so much a Monday.

6. Leaving a sippy cup full of skim milk in your car for over 12 hours will make your vehicle smell like death for 2 days. Nasty beyond all reason.

7. Surgical tape will not stop a determined two-year-old from picking his face.

8. Pandora toddler radio is as obnoxious as it sounds, but has incredible results when used on two bickering siblings. Fighting instantly turns to singing if you crank it so loud they can't hear each other. It works. You should try.

9. I have the right to have my own opinion according to my eldest. Isn't that nice of him?

10. I need to work on my baby's alphabet. Badly. Right now it sounds like this: A B C D E F Bee H I Shay K nuh nuh nuh nuh P Cuu R X why N Zee. Not kidding.

I haven't learned my lesson about this yet. Parker told me he's wearing his snake-belt (seat belt) so he won't fall out. That makes it a totally safe activity.

It's okay he's missing half of the alphabet in the song, he loves to "read" and I know the other half will soon appear at the end of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sooner or later. It really messes him up that they have the same tune. Oh, and don't mind he doesn't have on pants. Pants are for when you leave the house in our family ;)

Have you learned any valuable lessons this week? Do share. It's quite cathartic.

Autumn Love

2011-10-11T14:49:00.003-04:00

I adore this time of year. I'm trying to ignore the post-fall season that will soon follow so that I can completely enjoy the fab temperatures and beautiful colors right now. I don't usually gussy up the house for fall because I like to decorate early for Christmas. However, this year I did a few things to add some festiveness. It's working! I'm craving all things cinnamon and can't wait for our first bonfire. Maybe this weekend?

I made these from fabric scraps and a straw wreath. A little wild. Kind of like my family.

These wild yellow flowers are everywhere along the side of the road right now. I took advantage and grabbed a few :)

My friend, Jenn, gave me this little dessert stand. Before painting it some fun color, I decided to use its natural warm wood color to add to the fall feeling in the dining room. Thanks Jenn! I love it.

I promise I will stop the bunting madness soon...maybe. I can't help it. They are just so cute. I couldn't decide which scrap fabric to use so I just used all of them. Every "flag" is a different print.

Pinterest and root beer bottles made this decor possible.

Happy Fall! I'm off to go buy some mums.

Boys' Room

2011-10-07T16:15:00.006-04:00

During the summer, I worked on completing the boys' room. I wanted to make it a place that they would love, which essentially meant the room needed to be outfitted with dinosaurs, airplanes, and trains. Doesn't that sounds like a super cohesive "theme"? Eye yi yi. Good thing I have more of a random kind of style. I'm just now posting pictures because it took forever to get my husband to put up a different light fixture...and I forgot.

We have white wooden blinds, but I lifted them to allow more light in for pictures. I hope our next home has white windows. I'm so over the blackish brown thing.

Instead of going with a normal twin size bed, we opted for two toddler beds since Parker already had one and because we wanted them to share the smaller bedroom. Two twins would have been too big and I don't think either boy is ready for the top bunk. We picked up Graham's from Wal-mart for $60. There are cuter options out there, but I wanted quick and cheap. I'll probably paint them some fun color if and when I redo another room with them in it.

I wanted to do a collage wall with art work from the boys, but Graham really hasn't done many things that are framable (no offense, G). I felt bad, so this week, he's been painting and coloring up a storm. I'll include his masterpieces soon.

I let Parker pick photos (with my subtle guidance-lol) for his wall.

I didn't really want to spend money on fabric not knowing how long we'll be here in this home, so I just used some scraps and ric rac to make a valence.

The dresser is a funny story. If you would have driven down our road on a certain night about 5 months ago, you would have seen my husband dragging an ugly, banged up wooden dresser down the street. I was leaving the house to go to somewhere and saw one sitting on the side of the road. We needed a small dresser for the boys room and it looked to be the perfect size. I'm all about free or cheap, so I called David and told him to go check it out. He called back a few minutes later and said he had drug it to our home. I laughed picturing him going down the road with a piece of trashy furniture. I had to fix a few drawers with some screws, but I think it is adorable after getting sanded and painted. New hardware can work miracles.

I got the knobs from Hobby Lobby for super cheap. I love them.

I put up the rainbow to remind me that he knew "roygbiv" randomly at age three from reading a storm book. I couldn't believe he had taught himself the correct order. (It's actually in reverse, but hey....it's better than some adults.)

Parker painted the watercolor "apple tree" right after turning three. I think it's beautiful.

This is from his first year of preschool when he was learning to trace the letters.

I used an old picture frame to make these monogrammed wall hangings. Spray painted burlap and rope can make some really cute art!

It's hard to believe that Graham is now the age Parker was in this picture.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was the cutest idea ever!

I found this old car-shaped cologne bottle at a thrift store a few months ago.

Creepy little dinosaurs and metal plane ornaments just scream Parker and Graham.

I ripped this page out of a storybook. Precious isn't it?

I couldn't decide on a light, so I just grabbed a lantern from Home Goods and a pendant light fixture from Lowes. Not perfect, but much better than the flush fixtures that were originally put in the bedrooms. Trust me.

The bookshelves were made from screwed together crates.

The train bunting is made from an old book and red striped flags. Parker really likes it and always wants to talk about the different trains in the pictures.

The closet is a tight squeeze, but I added an extra shelf since their cloths are little and now there is plenty of room.

We've spent a lot of time reading in that little corner.

This antique rocker was left in our home when we bought it. I just gave it a new coat of paint and made a cushion for it.

The boys' favorite part of their room is when I turn on the light at night. Parker says the shadows look like a spider web. Ew. I hate spiders, but I love their little room.

I think I need to address my bedroom next. It's a bit of a disaster. Winter project maybe?

Soccer Mom

2011-10-05T11:44:00.000-04:00

Yep. That's me! Honestly, I don't think I fit the stereotype very well, but it's so much fun! I love watching Parker in cute little shin guards running around in circles. He is the littlest one on the field, but don't tell him-he doesn't know it. He is learning skills now, so maybe next year he'll be ready to make a goal!

Check out that form!

His tongue out helps him focus.

I think he missed this one and fell on his butt. Watching 4 year olds play soccer is almost like going to a comedy show. Hysterical.

Graham likes being able to run free while bubby practices...

Sometimes he watches...

...and sometimes he gets in trouble for trying to get "stuck" in the net. He doesn't like to be scolded.

I'm new at this whole "drive your kids around to different sports" thing, but I don't know why it gets such a bad rap at times. I am enjoying it and I think it's one of those things you just have to be doing to understand. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm one of the "cool" soccer moms. Ha! Let me believe it anyway.

Two Cute!

2011-09-29T16:37:00.000-04:00

Baby Graham's birthday was in August, so we asked Heidi if she would take his two years photos while we were down visiting at the end of the month. Of course, she obliged. She's got a little bit of a crush on my boys. I started scheming what to do for his pictures, and it quickly came to me that I needed to involve airplanes. He's sooooo into them. We'd never done a themed session with either of my kids, so I thought it would be fun for a change. I gathered some items and made a few paper airplanes out of an old atlas. Booyah. Adorable. I LOVE almost every picture from the session. We threw in a few "favorite book" pictures as well.

I adore these pictures the most because they truly capture Graham's personality. His expressions and spunk are frozen in time so I can always look back and better remember this time and his sweet face. Thanks so much, Heidi!

Really Parker?

Just a few of his favorites.

I think that last shot just screams "life of the partaaaay!" Love that boy.

1st day of preschool

2011-09-28T10:45:00.000-04:00

I love preschool. So does He. Here goes another great year!

11 years

2011-09-26T16:34:00.024-04:00

That's how long it had been since Heidi and I had taken a trip together. Just us. This summer we made a decision to end that way-too-long era. Our last trip together was to South Africa when we were 16 years old. Yeah, a lot has changed. Our friendship? No. Actually, I think Heidi would agree that our relationship is much stronger today than ever.

We had to pick a location for our little sabbatical. There were many places we both wanted to go, but only a few neither of us had ever been. We quickly decided on California. Heidi had been to 5 of the 7 continents, yet had never made it to the west coast of North America. Ridiculous. Once we chose California, I knew I wanted to go to San Diego. Why? Well, my favorite dentist lives there.

My childhood best friend, Sheena Howell, moved to San Diego about a year ago after graduating dental school. How could I go to California without seeing her? Heidi was down with the plan, so we booked our tickets! Woo-Hoo! We received a little bit of bitter-sweet news right before the trip. Sheena had to fly out the day we were to get there to go to two interviews. She had applied to 3 endodontist programs and they called her last minute to give her the interview dates. I was bummed she wouldn't be there the whole time, but she was scheduled to be home late on Wednesday and we didn't fly out til Friday evening. I was glad I was going to see her despite missing the first few evenings. I am proud to announce she was offered a position at two of the three programs. So happy for you Sheen! She'll be moving to San Francisco next year for three more years of school. I think she's a glutton for punishment, but I am super proud of her. I cannot thank you enough, Sheen, for letting us stay in your place and use your car. You were the best host ever. You even supplied your supper sweet fiance to drive us to your apartment the first night. Five star service for sure! Sheena and Bobby are getting married in April and am so excited to be a part of their big day.

Can I just say, this vacation was everything I hoped for and exactly what I needed. Heidi and I got to just do what we wanted. No kids pulling on us as we got ready, and no husbands standing at the entrances to stores as we bored them to death with shopping. No offense, Mike and David, but shopping is so much easier without boys involved. In general, we are perfect traveling partners. We like to do and see pretty much the same stuff, so there's none of that awkward silence when making plans. Heidi, let's make sure we don't go 11 years again without another "just us" trip!

We did so much on the trip, but actually didn't take as many pictures as expected. It begins to get a bit monotonous when it's just us with a new backdrop in every picture, you know? So, I promise we're not cocky or self-obsessed, it's just that picture taking is hard with only two people.

Balboa Park

A cute little restaurant on the harbor. I love this picture of Heidi. So pretty.

Only we would make sure we stopped at a cupcake place. Yum.

I'm a lotta-bit obsessed with seafood, so Heidi, who's not-so-much-impressed with the likes of ocean creatures, let me pick the Coronado Boathouse restaurant one night. Thank you! My lobster bisque and halibut were to die for!

One day, we left the schedule open to just drive up the coast. We started in La Jolla and only made it to Oceanside. Our plans were to make it to Laguna Beach, but we kept stopping to shop, eat lunch, grab frozen yogurt, and shop some more in all the cute little towns ;) Oh well, it was fun driving along the cliffs and admiring the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

Both of us have control issues with driving, so we took turns every other day. It worked out and neither of us died of any panic attacks. I may have had my eyes closed while in the passenger seat, but I survived ;)

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing an outdoor play. While wandering around Balboa Park, we found a replica of the old Globe Theater. Next door was an outdoor stadium where there were Shakespeare plays going on all summer. Lucky for us, Much Ado About Nothing was on schedule for Wednesday night! The play was hilarious. I try to be all cultured and enjoy plays/shows, but sometimes I just want to leave at intermission. Not this one, it was completely entertaining. It was neat sitting out under the stars, wrapped up in a blanket, watching super talented actors.

The first night Sheena got home we went out to celebrate her getting into the San Francisco

program. Thanks Bobby for a delicious dinner! Great choice of location and food! (That means a lot coming from a self-proclaimed professional food critic-lol)

It's hard to believe Sheena and I have known each other for 24 years.

La Jolla is so pretty, even on cloudy days. I love my warm Florida beaches, but the ocean/cliff combination is new to me so I kind of dig it.

The only thing I regret not getting to do is going out on a sailboat. I mean, I didn't really expect to, but wouldn't it have been nice? I have such an affinity to boating and water from my childhood. I love that part of my growing up years. Doesn't San Diego have a pretty skyline?

We were too wimpy to get in the 66 degree water past our knees but I couldn't leave California without getting my feet wet in the Pacific, so we explored a little bit of La Jolla Cove. You aren't going to believe this, but we got to see Clyde and Seymour!!!! Okay... no, we didn't hit up the California Sea World because of my unsettling obsession with that place, but we did get to see seals in the wild! So EXCITING!

Do you see that one out on the rock?

I didn't realize at this point that the seal had dove into the water and I was just posing with birds. Whatev. It's still pretty.

The last day before went left for home, we drove to Southern California wine country to see a vineyard. It wasn't Napa Valley or anything, but the mountains and grape vines are just so romantic and pretty. I had to restrain myself from going up and down the isles fanning my arms as if to put out flames. (If you're lost right now, you've never seen Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds.) We ate in the winery's restaurant and even got to hear Train play for a radio event. Okay, so we weren't out on the patio for the concert, but we did get to hear four songs through the restaurant's walls. Still way cool.

Another really fun thing randomly happened on our trip. The last day before we flew out, one of my closest high school friends flew into San Diego for some business, surfing, and vacation time with his girlfriend. I got to eat dinner and chill with them before heading back to WV. It was so good to see you Nick and Katie!

Heidi and I are already planning our next big trip. We intend on bringing our husbands on that adventure if they behave. I say that like I have a job or something to pay for such an endeavor. Just kidding hubbies. We love you, but we just needed some girl time. I can't thank you enough for giving it to us. Also, thank you to my in-laws who watched my boys while I was gone. David was in Seattle for most of the time I was gone, and yet, I still never worried for my little guys. Such a blessing.

Want to read about this trip from a different point of view? Check out Heidi's blog of our fab vacation!

Here's to great friendship and exploring new places!

Back to my Roots

2011-09-22T10:42:00.005-04:00

When we weren't gallivanting around theme parks, we were chilling at my parents house. My parents got Parker a new bike and he spent tons of time learning to ride it well. What I wouldn't give to have that amount of wide open spaces for my boys. They are in heaven. Don't mind that Parker's helmet doesn't fit...

He was almost into the gear as much as he was the bike.

We spent time swimming at the condo pool. Graham is fearless and Parker is doing a great job honing his skills. If we could get him to lift his head and breathe, he could go forever. Right now, his distance is determined by how long he can hold his breath.

Graham loved how he could just walk into the pool. He'd go until his nose went under. Such a ham.

David might kill me for this, but it just makes me laugh. I love that my little boys have such a great remodel because they want to be just like him.

PawPaw and Bubby.

I love baby Graham's face in this one.

He's such a lover. He always wants to rub his face on yours. And his favorite phrase right now is, "I lub you so mush."

Learning to float.

Right before heading home, we made it to the opening Florida Football game. Not sure whether I dig going to these games more because of the nostalgia (I've been going with Dad since I was in 5th grade) or because I really enjoy the whole feeling of live football. Either way, I love the SEC.

Go Gators!

The Parks

2011-09-21T10:23:00.004-04:00

I promise soon I will stop blogging events and return to real life posts. I'm beginning to settle into a fall routine which includes preschool, hot chocolate, football, and falling leaves. However, just a few more vacations blogs before I bust out the fall decor and how to make a perfect s'more posts. I can't help that summer time is where most of the traveling and big-event fun takes place in my life.

What a wild month mid-August to mid-September was for me! And by wild I mean freaking fantastic. So that I don't end up with 100 pictures on one post, I'll break my Florida trip into two.

For those of us born and raised in Florida, the theme parks were a part of our yearly, dare I say monthly, childhood activities. We would get season passes and hit the parks late in the afternoon or on rainy days so that we would only have to wait in line 10 minutes for Space Mountain. Though some of the grandeur of such extraordinary places is lost in the availability, all of the excitement returns when you step back in one of these parks with children of your own.

That's what took places a few weeks ago. We not only got to experience Disney with the Mitchell's (baby Lincoln's first time!), we hit up Sea World with my parents. We had taken the boys to Disney last year, but Graham was yet a baby. It was fun to watch him take it all in as a two year old. I'm pretty sure from the deer-in-head-lights-look on his face, Lincoln was in sheer amazement all day.

Parker was finally tall enough to ride everything except one roller coaster, but we kept getting rained out. Oh well! Such a great day with great friends.

That's Graham for you...already bored.

You ever found an incredible deal on a dress, like $5 and buy it, only later to see a picture of yourself in it and realize why it was only $5? Okay, well, that's what happened here in these pics. Not sure what was I thinking.

Parker's a sucker for those smash-a-penny machines. Apparently, so is Mike.

The sights, sounds, and smells are so unique to Disney.

I'm smiling, but wasn't super happy about being dragged on this ride. I feel so sick after getting off.

Here's a little fun comparison. This year's carousel...

And last year's. What a difference one year can make! I plan on getting one of these every time we go. I hope he doesn't mind riding the pretty pink ponies when he's 15.

This ride pleased sir Lincoln. I love this picture because it's probably one of the last of him with only two little teeth showing. He's got a mouth-load now.

I included this next shot to simply document that my child is not the only one with behavioral issues. Lincoln is clearly pushing Graham in this picture. Rumor has it, he got kicked out of a nursery for causing harm to other children. Parents these days really need to get a hold of their children. (Don't worry 'lil Linc, I'm sure he had it coming!)

Too bad Grammy didn't get to experience the Congo Cruise. At least he wasn't trying to hop out of the boat! Thanks, Mike, Heidi and Lincoln for creating these memories with us. I treasure them.

On to Sea World. Sea World has always been my favorite of Florida's Parks. I love sea life and it's almost magical how close you get to be with these amazing creatures. Mom and Dad took the boys for their birthday gift, and David and I couldn't stand to let them go without getting to see their excitement, so we came too ;)

He gets so tired of me taking pictures when he's trying to focus on the show.

Some guy won a prize whale and gave it to Parker. He's a little obsessed with this whale.

My mom had a complete hip replacement surgery only 2-3 months ago. Prior to surgery, she couldn't walk around her house, and now she's tackling theme parks. I am so happy her pain was gone so she could keep up with her favorite little men.

David was in desperate need of a haircut, but there just wasn't much time. Thanks for lacking vanity, babe, I actually really like that about you most of the time :)

Lucky for David, his long free-spirited hair didn't stand out with the rest of us around on a rainy day. Mine looked like a matted rats nest, and Graham, well, I have too much fun messing with his.

Favorite show hands down. Clyde and Seymour have my heart.

While we took Parker on one of the kiddie coasters, Graham rode the carousel 6 times. Not kidding. Mom indulged him.

My boys are so difficult some days, especially because of their closeness in age. However, when I see a picture like this, it reminds me to notice the relationship they are developing. Though I play referee 75% of the day, they truly have honest affection for one another. It's like watching a best friendship evolve.

We ended the day wet and tired, but with more great memories made with my family.

Random, Random, and more Random

2011-09-07T14:30:00.000-04:00

I feel like I'm in hyper-speed right now. Everything is moving so fast and I'm doing my best to take it all in. We had the boy's birthday party, then a two week break before we headed to Florida for family vacation. While in Florida, we hit two major theme parks and a Florida game. We got home on Labor day and while I'm home this week there are numerous doctor appointments to make, birthday parties to attend, and projects to complete. Parker's back in pre-school this week too. I'm trying to breathe. But hold on. I leave this coming Monday for San Diego with my best friend!!!! The roller coaster continues. I can't wait but I don't really have time to think about that trip yet.

I doubt I'll have time to blog about Florida til after San Diego, but I'll leave you with all sorts of randomness from this month before vacation.

We spruced up the back yard and play area. We try to do a little each year to improve the disheveled exterior we were handed when we bought this house. It's far from perfect and maybe even pretty, but it's getting there! We added lattice around the air conditioner to hide it's metal-ness, and some hardy shade-loving Hosta plants along the wall.

I sanded, stained, and painted an old picnic table. We needed some outdoor seating, but I didn't really want to spend the money this summer. We already had an old picnic table, but it was a sight for sore eyes. I think the end product was really pretty for only spending $8 on two cans of white spray paint. I already had the stain and polyurethane from my hardwood floors.

I think the boys play on top of the sand box as much as they do in it.

I bought some laminated fabric online and made and pennant bunting for the play area.

More randomness. We love to read to our kids. I feel like a lot of Parker's verbal skills are attributed to his love for reading and books. Our house is typically a very loud place with two little boys running wild, but when reading time begins, you can hear a pin drop. I love quiet time. Love.

Though we had already celebrated the boys' birthdays, we took just Graham out on August 17th to spend time alone with him. He enjoyed a ham, cheese, and spinach crepe and the Creperi Cafe, and then woofed down some vanilla frozen yogurt topped with rainbow sprinkles at Yogurt Mountain.

Parker finished his first level 1 swim lessons at the YMCA. It went well. Kind of. Okay, maybe not. If I have time when I get home, I'll extrapolate on this adventure. Glad we did it, not sure we'll do it again in this setting. Doesn't he look all modest covering himself? Hilarious.

I can't imagine how much fun I'll have next week, but I know when this mad rush of events is over, I'll welcome the semi-predictable monotony of our fall schedule. This week has been super chilly. Fall is truly in the air!

Crik or Creek?

2011-08-22T13:16:00.000-04:00

I guess it depends on whether or not you live up a holler or a hollow. Good 'ol Mountain Momma will mess up your speech.

We have done a lot of traveling this summer (state-side), and as everyone knows, it can be a bit expensive to haul four people all over the place. Honestly though, I wouldn't have it any other way. David and I have both agreed we'd rather travel and create experiences with our children rather than have a large mortgage. Some people can do both. Maybe some day, but for now, I'll take my four-seater Altima, modest home, and Target clothes to pay for a few more gas miles and plane tickets.

However, what this means is that when we are home, I must find cheap entertainment. I found the neatest little spot in Coonskin park where we can just pull over the car and play in the stream. It's ankle deep and filled with all sorts of creatures that completely intrigue Parker and Graham. I have such fond childhood memories of playing in the creek on vacations to our Christmas tree farm in North Carolina and also building "dams" behind my late great-grandmother's apartment in Indiana. Yes, I was a bit of a tom-boy. I had an older brother so I didn't have a chance enjoying Barbie dolls. (I still don't understand why you'd want them other than to cut and style their hair.)

We've gone twice to this little location. Don't worry, Graham isn't wearing a dress. His already-to-big play shorts stretched out when they got wet. We're ghetto like that.

"Air-ane!" Another bonus of this place is that because it's right next to the airport, planes fly directly overhead every few minutes. Graham is slightly obsessed with airplanes.

Parker doesn't share as much affection for the noisy passersby.

Get out and enjoy this beautiful world...and find a local creek. It's hours of free entertainment. Cha-ching!

Blueberry Cupcakes

2011-08-18T08:16:00.001-04:00

This is a delicious muffin or cupcake recipe. Once again, Martha was the genius behind it. She recommended pairing the cupcake with whipped cream and berries, but I prefer using a cream cheese frosting. I'm sure either option is equally heaven.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
2 cups fresh blueberries plus more for garnish (I choose to do a little more than 2 cups in the batter)

What you'll do:

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk flours, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is mixed in well.
Beat in vanilla.
Reduce mixer to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk and beating to combined after each.
Fold in blueberries by hand.
Fill each paper muffin liner 3/4 full and bake 25 minutes for standard size and 12-15 minutes for mini.

*My mother-in-law took Graham to a West Virginia blueberry farm to pick the berries I used in this batch. They were so sweet!

He's Two

2011-08-17T13:31:00.004-04:00

Baby Graham,

What a ride it has been with you. From our scary birth story here, to your persistent and opinionated personality during the second year of life, Daddy, Parker and I have been so blessed to have you as an addition to our family. You are hysterical. How did I manage getting two little comedians? You and Parker can be exhausting at times because you compete for the most attention and funniest move. When not trying to be funny, you're either diving into an adventure (aka trouble), wallering on me, or crying. You kind of cry a lot for a two year old, though I've seen much improvement in the past few months. I think your more fluent use of words is helping lower your frustration level. Yay for language. You also love to sing. Loudly. You have quite an extensive list of favorite songs you use to wake me up in the morning.

-Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

-Country Roads
-No more Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

-Happy Birthday

-Dinosaur Train

-Sleepy Town

Sometimes you just make up your own lyrics. My little song bird, I love you more than words can express. We're going to have so much fun this year.

-Mommy

(It's not often that either of us get to hold Graham when he's sleeping, so when it happens, it's super special. Recently, Graham woke up early from a nap and David held him on the couch for a little while. He fell back asleep and I grabbed the camera. )

Choo Choo!

2011-08-12T14:21:00.011-04:00

Best Birthday Weekend EVER. (Thus, longest post ever.)

It all started when I went to pick up Heidi from the airport on Friday morning. She and Lincoln flew in for my boy's combined birthday celebration. Parker and Graham LOVE watching the airplanes fly on and off the runway, so instead of going inside, we waited at the fence for our guests. Gotta love small airports. We watched Heidi get off the plane with Lincoln. We started yelling and waving at her. Then I noticed a guy get off behind her and he seemed to be helping her. I thought, "That guy looks familiar. That guy looks really familiar. That guy is my DAD!!!!" I started doing the ugly cry because I was so surprised and happy.

When you live away from your parents, you have to not think about how hard it is to experience everyday life without them close by. It's been difficult, especially after having children. I cope well, but when they show up to something that you really wish they could be there for, the emotion of how truly important it is comes welling up from within. My mom and grandma soon made it off the plane as well and I was so thankful for another visit with them. Everyone was in on the surprise but me. They played me like a fool. My dad lied through his teeth about not being able to come when I begged him the week before and my mom deceitfully sent me a check in the mail to "help" with the party knowing good and well she would be there. Sneaky little people they are. I just love being surprised, so thank you everyone who was in on the sneak-the-family-in plot.

I was exhausted when the weekend was over because I had stayed up past 1:00 am every night chatting with my bestie and running around like an banchee trying to finish last minute projects. I was proud of myself this particular occasion. Instead of stressing out like crazy, I ditched some plans and projects so that I could better enjoy the moment. Things weren't decorated exactly like I had planned, but I also wasn't a psycho tyrant mother. I'm maturing ;) The only thing that caused some distress for me was the stinking forecast. It hadn't rained in weeks and hasn't rained since. The day of the party? 60% chance and it down poured. All day. Until right before the party. The sun came out and I was singing the Hallelujah chorus. I didn't want to cram 40ish people into my modestly sized home and thank the Lord I didn't have to. It was hot and muggy, outside didn't get gussied up for the party, and my yard was a mud pit, but we still got to go outside. Yay! I'll take what I can get. I didn't have any true panic attacks and I didn't kick anyone out of my house. Success! In fact, I smiled so much the whole weekend that my face hurt on Monday.

I love making memories and I cannot say thank you enough to everyone who helped make this one very special for our family. Now for the explosion of pictures!

Pom Pom love!

Pom Pom love. I had a finger cramp after making these. Seriously.

I just love Pinterest for all of its wonderful ideas. My life would not be the same without hot glue, but my fingers would not be burnt and stuck together either. Oh well. The hardships of crafting.

Thank you, Momma, for making all the sandwiches for me!

Zucchini spice cake pops with cream cheese frosting. Wish I had one of these right now.

Oh the things you can do with scrap fabric!

Parker requested chocolate cake this year. I paired it with white chocolate buttercream and fondant decor.

I put candy in the balloons and the kids got throw darts to find it. Big hit.

Somebody stole some chocolate cake...caught!

Jenn and baby ~~Matt~~ Cecilia. Gorgeous gals.

Aunt Heidi made the boys dinosaur tails. Oh my gosh. Cutest things ever. They haven't taken them off since the party.

A dinosaur hat from Aunt Sarah completed his outfit.

The two most sarcastic people I know. That's why I like them so much.

No words necessary. Les, thank for crashing the party. It meant a lot to me ;)

My mommas and great friend were such a help. They cleaned my whole kitchen before the party was even over. Love you guys...thank you so much!

As Parker would say, "It was traintastic!" Oh, boys.