Dance with My Daddy

Another Valentine leftover...the Father Daughter Dance. She is all dressed up and ready to go.

She picked the dress, even told me how to do her hair.

She and Daddy are ready to go.

Having fun at the dance or, as she calls it, the ball. My little Cinderella.

Here are a few pictures Riley took on his recent trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Thought y'all might enjoy them too.

A Little Late, But I Still Love You

Sorry I am late in wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day. You know I still love you all anyway. On the actual Valentine's Day I was busily decorating 26 little individual cakes for Meredith's class at school and then helping at her party.

Here's a picture of how they turned out.

Since it's a little something pink, I'll share with everyone at Pink Saturday. To check out all their great stuff visit Beverly at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Cupcake Party

For her 7th birthday, my youngest decided on a cupcake party. I would make the cupcakes, the girls would decorate. This was the easiest, happiest party we've ever done! The girls had a great time, they stayed busy the entire time, and everyone got along beautifully. I limited the number of kids to the number of chairs we had around the table--six. That was the perfect number. I think that's going to be my standard rule for kids' parties from here on out.

These are the invitations that we made. I just used some pretty scrapbooking paper in the colors that she liked. I traced around a large lid for circles that I cut in two for the icing, traced around a coke bottle top for the "cherry", and used the hole punch on some trimmings from the scrapbook paper for the sprinkles. We then drew a number seven with a glue stick and added glitter. The party information was on the back.

Hobby Lobby's Christmas ribbon includes lots of colors besides green and red. Check it when they have their after-Christmas markdown and stock up on colors for the year. That's where I got the pink ribbon I added to the back of the chairs.





I found cupcake stickers that I added to plain bags and wrote their names on each one. I added another sticker to each napkin. Snacks were served in mini cupcake wrappers. Also at Hobby Lobby, I picked up these little wooden cupcake ornaments that were in their Valentines Day merchandise for the girls to decorate. I also found kits to make your own candy necklaces.

Here is one of the brooches we made for each girl. She got to design each one. We used large and small cupcake wrappers, old buttons and trim.

The table was set with different types of sprinkles and toppings. We also made cupcake bracelets out of craft foam. Hope this gives you some inspiration for your next party. Super simple makes it super fun.


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Grey Hair

Wanna know why women get grey hair?

They have sons.

Only a son watches a BMX stunt show at school and says to himself, "No problem, I can do that."

But the cuts and bruises from that, and a skateboard fall earlier in the day, weren't enough.

There's always room for more drama when you're a boy's mama.

Only a son has to get his head examined (literally) for running into a metal pole on the playground. Not once. But twice.

At least this time he picked a different playground.

Remember that old commercial where the boy asks the wise old owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?

At our house, we're asking how many licks can one kid take to his head before his mom starts making him wear a helmet every time he leaves.

If you see a kid in class or at the mall wearing normal clothes and a football helmet...he's mine.

Life Rules

Meredith was in her room playing with her white board. I asked it what she'd written and she said it was rule for how people should be.

It says:

This is good for you!!!!

1. Be nice

2. Shar (share)

3. Help the persin ho neds help!!!!! (help the person who needs help)

I think even though she's only six she really did a good job. Out of the mouth of babes...

I'm going to visit Sue at Rednesday at http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com and hope you will too.

Cookies for Back to School

We're gearing up for school this week. Yes, we start back early down here. I guess it's too hot to do anything else. So if they've got to be back at work, we might as well make it sweet. Here's a great recipe that Jack likes to help me make. They make large cookies, great for sending one in a lunchbox or for something special when they get home.

Jack's Jumbo Triple Chippers

4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. pecans or walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat butter and sugars in a mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add in flour mixture. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop dough onto greased cookie sheets by level 1/4 measuring scoop (told you they were bigger). Bake for 12-14 minutes. Cool on sheets 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks and cool completely. Makes 2 dozen large cookies.

The recipe would probably give you at least 4 dozen regular size cookies if you want to use a regular cookie scoop.

DC Visit...We Didn't Catch a Glimpse of Compromise

A few pictures from our day in Washington.

Riley took this of the Washington Monument.


Checking at the fossils at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum.

Now those are some big Jaws. How would you like to go fishing and catch that?

Up close and personal. Meredith takes a look at some nature photography on display.

Tea Party for Two

Meredith's "bestest friend in the world" Kate came for a visit this week. Meredith had just finished a book from the library called 'Tea Party for Two' and thought it would be fun to have one of her own. There was a picnic basket, pink cloth, peanut butter and honey sandwiches because they're Kate's favorite, grapes, crackers and cupcakes. There was no tea at the tea party, just like in the book. They chose apple juice.

Here are the ladies under a shady tree enjoying their cupcakes--pink sprinkles of course.

Oh darling, they're so divine!

Happy Pink Saturday. May it be as sweet as a cupcake. May you find a shady spot and enjoy the company of a good friend. Visit some of your blogging friends at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Red, White, Blue and Overalls Too

Here's my Hoosier all decked out for the Fourth of July.


A close-up of my pie rack that my neighbor painted for me.


My old flag painted on wood that I found at a garage sale.


Our dessert for the 4th...Star-Spangled Fruit Tart.


And what could be more American than a little boy in overalls? That's my favorite picture of my youngest son when he was two.

I'm connecting with the others over at Rednesday, even if I am running a little late. That same little fella (now not so little) got a good report from the doctor today. Maybe we'll finally get to celebrate a little summer.

http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

Another Verse, Just Like the First

I thought I'd better report in. Patient #2 is home from the hospital. His surgery went well this morning. I was afraid his surgery would be worse than his sister's, but he has really surprised me with how well he's done.

At this rate, he'll be all well by tomorrow. Probably not. It took his sister a full two weeks to recover. I'm just waiting for the anesthesia to wear off and the real work to begin. My cousin Sharon gave Meredith a stuffed animal that had a squeaker in it when she had her surgery. That toy turned out to be a life saver. Every time she needed something she just squeaked the toy dog. Ry is now using it for his turn. They have the comfort of a toy and a built-in calling device. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone else who has to play nurse to little ones (and not so little ones) that can't talk.

Pink Saturday Special

Hi there. I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. That pneumonia really knocked me for a loop. I've had it before, but this one was rough.


Being sick, I missed lots of posts, like Mother's Day. I thought for this Pink Saturday post I would share some of the things that Meredith's class did for Mother's Day. It's all very 'pink' since that's her favorite color.



They invited us to a Mother's Day brunch which was fun. They sang lots of cute songs and served us breakfast casserole and pound cake with fresh strawberries. When I was walking to the class, the wall outside was lined with portraits the kids had made of their moms.



Wanna see me?





I look like I've been to the Tammy Faye Baker School of Cosmetology. At least my accessories match my outfit.

This is the placemat that we had at our table. There's a picture she painted and a description of her mom. Can you read what it says?

"My mother's name is Kelly. My mother is 38 years old. My mother weighs 700 pounds. My mother's favorite food is salid. My mother liks to shop. My mother loves me because I am a prinsas."

How did I get to be 700 pounds eating all that "salid"?

The card says that I'm as pretty as a ladybug and that I'm smart because I can add big numbers. One good thing, I'm always smiling.

Hope you have lots to smile about this weekend. Be sure to check out all the participants at Beverly's Pink Saturday anniversary. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Two Mohawk Tuesday

Here are the hair cuts. Where have my sweet little boys gone?

We've washed and washed, but the red paint just doesn't want to come out.

And here's sister, who always wants in on the picture taking.

On the upside, they've got the look for starting their own punk band.

Lizard...the Newest Fashion in Earrings

Here's Riley showing off the latest rage in accessories for you. Don't ask me why he likes to dangle lizards from his ear lobes. It falls into that mysterious category called "boy".

Riley wants you to be sure to notice that the lizard has a forked tail. If there's one thing a boy likes more than a lizard stuck to his ear, it's a mutated lizard stuck to his ear.

They come in small, medium, and gator-sized. The smaller ones blend in with whatever you're wearing, making them the perfect accessory. Act now, supplies are limited.

Finally Back Where I Belong

It seems that in the couple of weeks that I was out of commission in blog land I managed to miss two major holidays and loads of great stuff. There were so many things I wanted to share, I just didn't have the time...or the brain power. We got a different computer and I couldn't get my pictures to load onto the blog. The pace is slower this week and I was able to slow down long enough to work the kinks out on the computer. Sweet, sweet normalcy.

The major cause of my busy-ness was with the school. I am president of the parent volunteer group at our elementary school and last week was Teacher Appreciation Week. We had something different planned for each day and we made a couple of the gifts for the week.



Here are the cakes from Thursday's Cake and Coffee time. One of the moms sells cakes and did them for us. Didn't she do a great job?

We've misplaced the cord to our industrial size coffee pot, so I had to make many, many little pots of coffee that day. Do you have any idea how long it takes a pot of coffee to brew when you've got a line of ladies waiting? FOREVER!

This is the outside of one of the boxes we made. They were waiting for the teachers on Monday. Each one was a little different. We used those clear plastic crafting boxes with all the compartments. Each compartment was filled with a teacher necessity--rubber bands, paper clips, hand sanitizer, chocolate... We purchased one big book of scrapbook paper and used it to cover the boxes.

The infamous candles. We made over 90. When I went to Meredith's Mother's Day Brunch on Friday each child had drawn of their mom and told what their job was. What did Meredith say? "My mom makes candles." And there was a picture of me surrounded by lots and lots of monagrammed candles.


The leftover paper from our scrapbooking box tops got shredded to make the straw in the bags. (We volunteer moms are thrifty.) The little tag on the bag says, "Thank you for letting your light shine in the hearts of our children."

I'll show you how to make the candles later in the week--super easy. Except when you're doing 93.


Other things we did during the week--

Monday--breakfast from Chick-Fil-A, survival boxes pictured above

Tuesday--salad luncheon (that was a big success, a definite thing to do again)

Wednesday--monogrammed candles

Thursday--cake and coffee

Friday--gift cards and notes from students

We also had daily drawings for teachers and staff of things we'd collected from area businesses. One of the big prizes on Friday was a 1/2 day sub (time off) for two of the teachers. When I went in the class and told the first grade teacher she'd won a 1/2 day sub she got so excited she jumped up and down and squealed. One of the little boys in her class asked, "Why is she so excited about a sandwich?"

That's a little of my time away. I'll share some more later. Have a wonderful Monday. It's great to be back, I've missed you all!

Playing Pink

Playing In a little girl's room Nodding each time she asks, "Mommy do you like..." Keeping these special moments treasured in my heart

Hope your Saturday is PINK too.

http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Our House, in the Middle of Our Street

I always liked that song by Madness from the '80's. I thought today I'd share a bit of the happenings at OUR house.

It all started with a rustling sound in my rosemary. I looked to see what it was and there was this rabbit. I guess that's what I get for putting out that bunny flag in the backyard that says "Happy Easter". It was some sort of banner that apparently means help yourself in rabbit-speak. I will give him some credit. By the time I took the photo he'd hopped over to another flowerbed and ate a large dandelion that I'd yet to pull.At the time the rabbit was making his rounds in my garden, my neighbor and her chihuahua puppy had come for a visit. The puppy's name is Chloe and can often be seen wearing a sundress. The puppy started running in spastic circles at lightning speed all around my yard. The kids were trying to catch it for Brenda, my neighbor, before she spotted the rabbit and took off on a chase. Rabbits in bushes, spastic chihuahuas, fruitless chases and me trying to water the peppers. This is a typical moment in my life and the sort of site you often see at my house.


Measuring around 1/3 of an acre, our house manages to produce a lot of action. It is home to pirates (see last week's post), host to neighborhood boys' WWII re-enactments or Star Wars intergalactic battles, depending on the day and, as you can see, boasts monkeys in the trees.Be careful when you walk near the fort or behind the shed, there are quite a few potholes from attempts to dig to the center of the Earth.


This little yard isn't all play. I do manage to squeeze in a few pretties, like these purple irises. They look so delicate but they're made of tough stuff. They make their home right in front of my water hose and are constantly being bumped and battered in the daily treks to water the vegetables.The flowers are often transplants from others. The African irises came from my parents' old home, the thrift from Mrs. Louise. Everywhere I look is a reminder of the ones I love.



I've got vegetables and fruit growing everywhere. There are vegetable boxes, herbs in pots, squash in the flowerbed and cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets.Here's a little baby tomato. Nothing beats a homegrown tomato.


One final thing to share. Meredith was drawing quietly during the sermon at church on Sunday. I looked to see what she was drawing and here it is. Isn't that what we all long to see from our kids? 'I love home.' This drawing is a keeper.

That's a typical evening at our house. Like the song says, our house IS a very, very, very fine house.