Thankfulness 2013: Day Seventeen

Six years ago I was bawling my eyes out.  I was doing pretty well at not crying until I saw my dad that day.  He was tearing up a little and that set me off.  I cried for the next half hour off and on.  Lovely pictures that makes of course.  It was my wedding, well, it was just before my wedding and during.  I was a very happy watering pot that evening.

I am so very thankful for my husband.  He has been an amazing partner, friend, supporter, shoulder, rock, father, and every other role he has played in our lives together.  I could not imagine a better man for me.  He sees me at my weakest and loves me.  He shows so much support when I am excited about something (he even looks over my cards and enthuses over them without my asking him to).  He knows me, quirks and downright oddities.  I am thrilled to have been with him through two deployments and two kids in our eight years together.  I can't wait to enjoy the evening with him when he gets home from drill...

I should really consider looking back over the last 6 years and see how many he has been away for though.  I think we are about half of them!  Oh well, army doesn't get put on hold for anniversaries.

Thankfulness 2013: Day Sixteen

Party Day!!

This afternoon we had our first HouseParty!  It happened to be a Lego Duplo event and it could not have been a more perfect event to be selected as hostess for.  I am thankful for the opportunity to have friends over for fun and in no little part am I forgetting the free products that the company gives us for having the party!

Thank-you House Party and Duplo for the chance to host this party!!

If you're not familiar with House Party, it is essentially a website that you apply to host parties sponsored by various brands (clothes, electronics, toys, food, crafts, etc) and the sponsors send you out a Party Pack.  This pack has the main pieces of your party.  In our case it was filled with six sets of Duplos (see the boxes in the photo?), paper crowns, posters, plates, napkins, stickers, coupons, etc.  You are required to share the items given at your party with your guests.  For this party, the kids come play with the blocks and take home the crowns, posters, stickers, etc along with a snack bag and coloring sheets that were printed off for them (to match the theme of planes and pirates of course).

Check out both House Party and the sponsors that they work with!  It is such a fun time!

**By the way....that pirate ship cannon actually shoots...and it is pretty fun.  I may or may not have played with it when I set up all the sets last night.**

Thankfulness 2013: Day Seven

I love my Keurig!  I am not a coffee drinker.  Now that I've confused everyone as to why I even own a Keurig, let me explain...

I love hot chocolate and I love hot cider.  I do not like pretty much any microwave version of said drinks.  I've tried a lot of choices out there and none are quite as good as the Keurig as far as instant goes.  My wonderful husband got me a Keurig as a gift one year and I've been happily consuming hot beverages through the cold months ever since.

The only thing that beats out having a Keurig is having creamers with it.

So this holiday season, I'm thankful for the return of seasonal flavors of coffee creamers to add to my hot chocolate!!  Mmmmmm.

Bachelor and Wedding Cards

Mid-October we had a blast with my buddy the night before he got married.  We all went to the pool hall (very nice place called Billiards that has about a hundred tables and also a minor-friendly area so that your teens can have a game going while the party is swinging along.

I've been having fun with ribbons and that is a near-3-D glass.

We had so much fun and honestly I couldn't be happier for the couple.  I've watched my buddy go from happy, to domestically happy since meeting his other half.  I also had fun making the card for his bachelor party and their wedding card.

Tri-Folding needs some practice still...and more math.

I love this card! It was such a PITA to get the trifold to line up where I wanted it to but eventually my 'adjustments', which were total guesses after a while, began to come together.

My buddy (the groom) was impressed as he totally knows my lack of a creative ability in all prior arts.  I didn't get the bride's take as she was busy doing the important hostess work.  (We were invited to the gift opening the next day.)

It is hard to see but the suit's details are drawn on.

I'm not going to lie though, I was awfully excited that my buddy drew attention to his card at his bachelor party.  He overheard me telling another person that I had made it when they were asking me about it.  It made me feel pretty damn awesome.

On another note...we got to do all this celebrating over a child-free weekend.  Score another big point for the event!

Pumpkin Patch Party

Our realty office that worked with us on the purchase of our current house sent out invites to join them for a small Halloween pumpkin patch party. It was held outside their office building and it was a chilly and windy day per MN luck.  Of course it was sunny but the event was in the shade of the building sadly which meant that it didn't help one whit.

It would have been a great event if the lines for things such as balloon animals (or flowers as the blurry yellow and green object in the photo is) or the wonderful face painting stand had been in the sunlight!  So while it was a fun hour of diversion, we stayed long enough to stand in the two lines, pick out the pumpkins for the kids and bundle back into the car and out of the biting wind.  Hopefully we get a warmer event next year!

Happy Release Day to Theresa Romain! (link to giveaway)

I love romance novels.  I LOVE historical romance novels.

I have a new favorite cover out there just today!

ITTTT

Plus, there are giveaways for it going on right now!  Tonight is a Twitter party for the release of It Takes Two to Tangle ( #TwoToTangle ) and there are prizes for both pre-registering (here) and while the party goes on.  <3  So excited to read this book...and stare at the cover in person.

*Giveaways are closed but still...how gorgeous is this cover???  9/4/13*

The Wedding Card

I am so excited about the wedding card that I made to go with those coasters!  I just had to share it...sadly the pictures don't show all the fun of this card.

I used the main color that the couple has selected for their wedding (and their home decor items) plus some textured specialty papers.

The paper beneath the card is their invite which I compared with some of their registry items to get as close as I could to the color I wanted.

The striped paper is very slightly textured.  The black paper is a fabric paper straight off of a Michael's specialty paper rack (I used it for the graduation cap in these cards).

I added the buttons and used my scoring envelope folding tool to add the texture to the 'vest' (teal part) myself.

Lastly I added the stamp from the coasters to the inside of the card just for an extra punch of detail.  This card is 5 1/2" x 8", folded.  

I really hope that y'all like the image of a suit as the background for a card!  It could be used so many ways.  Obviously I added a cutout image of a wedding dress for this particular occasion!

So what do you think?  Does it look suit-like?  What would you use this card for (with what different accessories)?

Custom Stone Coasters DIY

Custom Stone Coasters

As most new crafters, I find the vast majority of ideas pouring from the Pinterest screen that is almost always open on my computer.

I've had this particular project hanging out just waiting for someone to send me a wedding invite.  This weekend was my first wedding of this year so I finally got to break out this gift idea!

Photo is my first attempt and I like them!
I got the instructions HERE.

I hope that it lasts as well as the original crafter makes it sound.  I adore the idea of custom coasters for a wedding gift.  I've got the supplies, I'll be making a set for ourselves soon enough but I've got some card crafting to finish up first!

(The link to the instructions doesn't lead to a single post but a long line of crafts on that blog.  Just scroll a ways down until you see either that can of wax or tiles that look similar to mine.)

One final tip:  The people at the home improvement store told me that the wax is meant only for wood so it may not work.  I'll let you know but the original crafter hasn't come back to say that it hasn't worked anyways.  I'll likely try a stone tile sealer down the road and I'll come back to update when I do.

Have you made these?  How did the process go for you?  Do you have a lifespan of well-used coasters yet?  Give us your best tips!

Vacation!

Never again.  Okay, maybe in a couple years.

We spent a whole week away from home.  With a toddler--who doesn't nap.  Yup.  Insane might be a little strong of a word but I'd think psychologically draining would be a minimum to aptly describe a vacation with two very young children.  Specifically a vacation that isn't touristy.

Water is so much fun if I'm dressed!

We went to my family's lake cabin.  Alyssa doesn't like to swim...or wade...or do anything with the water except sit on the dock and splash her feet.  Distraction and tiring activity #1...gone.  Oh sure, the rare moment of running through the waves splashing on the sand were there (I was given photographic evidence as I was not the one capable of getting her near water).  Too bad they were few and far between.

Sand playtime was a huge hit but unfortunately that is not nearly as energy spending as swimming.

Learning to Sit!

Wyatt decided to throw up between every.single.meal.  Not sick, not to the point where we were running to the doctor because he was under-nourished or getting dehydrated (no where close to this level thankfully).  Just a constant need for burp cloths to handle puddles of spit-up every half hour or so.  Laundromat--yay!

Walk of Flags 2013

The two vacation portions that were undiminished:  #1- Chris and I got the chance to go into town and see his veteran's flag finally.  They are put up by volunteers throughout the summer (daytime only) and the town is lined with over 1800 flags each time.  Each one represents a veteran and the sight of the town lined in these flags is gorgeous.  I grew up passing them and never thought I'd see one that personally means something to my family.

#2- We (adults) were able to watch the fireworks on the Fourth shooting over the lake.  Behind the treelines there are two more lakes.  I'm sure you can see in your mind a fraction of how amazing our show is every year.  My kids sleep like rocks.  Perfect! The only thing that would be better is if they could (HAPPILY) stay up to watch in awe and excitement the same show that I grew up watching.

Those kid's poles catch all the best fish!

From now on, our lake trips will be half weeks (four days or less).  I think our grasps on sanity and the toddler-ness adjustments will be preserved much better for this timeline.  Touristy vacations would be easier because there are places to go and distract them with....wear them out until naptime is back in the game!  (Dream on, Momma...)

Card Making and Resolutions

Do you adore cards?  I love searching through the card aisles for hilarious or heartfelt messages.  My favorites are usually found among the Papyrus brand.  I simply love the handmade look and the oftentimes simple designs.  This is probably one of the reasons I decided I wanted to make cards instead of purchase them.  At typically $3 per card, and 4 Mother's Day or 5 Father's Day cards each year (that would be 9 total for me to buy--I buy for my grandmas and grandpas) just those holidays alone made it worth a try.

We are approaching Father's Day and I have not purchased a single card this year.  We've had birthdays, the Valentines, Mother's, and Father's holidays, and graduations, and even one bridal shower.  I have been LOVING the time spent card making.  Shapes and colors are what it comes down to artistically.  This is perfect for me as my siblings got the physical talents of music and art, I simply have the 'ear' or the 'eye' respectively for those talents.  When it comes to colors, that is my area of art.  I love to work with colors and textures but I can't draw a stick figure to play hangman.

I'm progressing in techniques and embellishments but I'm still very much a beginner.  Catch a recent glimpse at where I've been in this adventure:

Metalic Markers!

Love the lined paper (it is a heavyweight and dry embossed with alphabet).

Later I added "Grandpa" vertically...gotta work on my spacing that direction.

Love my gears dry embossing folder.

I love the texture this embossed frame gives when it is cut out!

Ribbon flower and traditional paper pattern!

Matched up the black paper with the green after embossing and added some ribbon accent threaded through.  (Added the age later because my Mom wouldn't appreciate if I posted that online for all to see!)

I am loving the progress I've made (if I had pictures of my work from the beginning of the year, I'd show you, I swear).  This is exactly what I wanted to accomplish as my "New Year Resolution"!  Progress in a skill, something tangible but not with pressure behind it.

I'm proud of these even if they still have visible flaws.  Trust me, I can see them, but I put a lot more effort into these than I did picking out the perfect card from the store before.

To all the graduates out there over the last couple weekends:

You have accomplished something important.  You've taken a big step.  You are capable of doing some great things!  Keep going!  Push yourself forward and achieve your next level of awesomeness.  Good luck in all the amazing things you try.

Happy Mother's Day

Wyatt wanted to give me a present today.

This was the face doing baby laughs/talking at me as I cleaned up the side of my jeans in the Best Buy bathroom today.  The lovable brat decided burping wasn't as productive as spit-up.

Such a freaking cute boy regardless, he had me laughing most of the clean up process.

To all you Moms, Happy Mother's Day.
To all you trying to become Moms, I am thinking of you today.
To all of you missing your Mom, I am wishing you happy memories today.
To all you women, you shape others' lives and we love you.
Happy Mother's Day!

Eggs and Candy

Loves her bucket!

Saturday was a heroic attempt at Momma taking two kids to a local city-wide Easter Egg Hunt at the community center.  If you'll recall we just moved here so we haven't been to any city events, or even to the center before the Egg Hunt.  We had no clue how things could be expected to go.

The set up was a little odd and didn't seem to have enough coordination/signage for newbies like myself to get to the events at the times that they were scheduled (elevators for strollers being on the wrong side of emergency doors that were disabled to allow access but no signage or propping or volunteers letting us know that it was okay to go through being the biggest issue).  Once we got to the egg hunt on the other side of the doors, we found out that we were too late for the under 5 age group but we were able to stay for the older group's hunt.  I was admittedly a little nervous because the 'big kids' on either side of us were literally being held back by their parents at some points.  To make sure my three year old wasn't trampled by the older kids who were in a feeding frenzy after seeing the candy all over the gym floor, much like a shark on the trail of blood scent, I held her hand and helped her run out to a section of the floor where there was a lot of candy and eggs but that many of the kids had passed over or hadn't gone for.  Strategy is a learned thing....those elementary school kids all leapt right on the piles at their feet and ignored the center of the gym.  So Alyssa got a safe and easy spot in the middle of everything and had a nice slow time of picking up what she wanted and putting it in her bucket.  I was amazed at how simple it was.  Alyssa loved it once she got out there but she was nervous at the start because of the microphone and speakers being used and the large crowd of kids all getting more and more excited.

Part way through the candy/egg set up.

Watching the beginning of the setup (pre-line up)

The sweet and patient three year old at my side waited very nicely until the whistle blew signaling 'go'. (As soon as the bigger kids started lining up at the cones, we did also.)  This group was the older kids and the parents around us kept seeing their kids being upstaged by a toddler.  I saw the shock on a couple parents' faces and must say, I'm damn proud of my girl.  I'll admit I didn't think it was going to work out that way at all but YEAH!  Way to go, Alyssa!!  The year that I have to physically hold my child back is the year that we end the public egg hunts though.  That was hilarious to watch and horrifying to think of having to do.  I was super impressed with the mom who had all three of her kids in her hands at once though.  Talk about juggling!  (She did get them calmed down to the point that they didn't require restraining any longer which was great.  Those eggs being laid out are like laying a slice of cake in front of the no-sugar-for-lent-ers!)

Overall, we had a blast with the mini games, the hunt, and the coloring and stickers after that were very happily participated in.  The Easter Bunny didn't get any hugs or handshakes or even a high five this year but hey, it took a very very long time to get to know Santa too.

One of Those Moments...

We love to snuggle them.  We love their tiny noises, fingers, toes, lips, nose.  We love the big smiles on the small faces.  We love the tiny clothes...well, until we have to launder them.  Our babies are our tiny obsessions.

We adore our little men and ladies...and then the day comes.  That day sneaks up on all of us eventually.  That day hit me smack in the face two days ago.  My little man....my TWO MONTH little man....he just upgraded to the 6 month clothing.  Seriously!  Just break my Momma heart.  I was so excited to put him in the onesie that I had, but about 3 minutes of playtime on the diaper changer after getting dressed and I was not so thrilled by the idea anymore.  I realized that my big headed baby had just hit a new milestone and had no clue how exciting and saddening it makes his Momma.

Isn't he cute though??  I'm totally loving the onesie.  As a Disney freak, I couldn't pass this one up in the Disney Movie Rewards site.  Their rewards aren't always the same so this may or may not be there when you go looking for it (because I know everyone will want one!).  So enjoy the cuteness while I go snuggle my little, but always growing, "MisterMister".

Family Moments

Yesterday just before nap time, I loaded up Wyatt and myself for a trip up to my family's place.  Alyssa and Papa were staying behind because we have 2 more of these 3-4hr trips this month and that is A LOT of driving for a toddler.

I was super excited to be getting a mini vacation from two child parenting...until the goodbye.  Alyssa gave me a hug and said "Me miss you lot and lot!" and then started crying.  The Momma heart breaks a lot and lot at that moment even if you were just telling her she can't throw toys across the room for the hundredth time that hour.  You just want to bundle that toddler into the car with you and be damned the consequences of long car rides.  If only her missing me for a little over 24hrs would equate to a perfectly behaved child for the equivalent amount of time!

Regardless of the toddler's preferences, Wyatt and I hit the road and made it with time to spare to see my brother's play at the college.  He had a role in The Odd Couple and did spectacular!  The whole cast was great and the evening was filled with laughs.  Uncle Ben got to meet his nephew for the first time after the show.  My brother is 16 and absolutely dotes on Alyssa and I am certain will once again shock me with his love and caring for children with his nephew.  (None of us thought Ben would be so adoring of children even if they have claims on him as uncle!  He just didn't seem the type...I love my baby brother!)

Overall the trip has been a blast and super relaxing to give Momma the recharge she needed.  Now I'm going to attempt a quick trip over to my grandma's as a birthday surprise to her so she can meet her newest great-grandson for the first time.  Happy 76th Birthday to her!  Times like these are to be treasured.  Have a great family-filled day folks!

Candy Crafting

We had a 30th Surprise party for a very good friend of ours towards the end of February.  We wanted to get her something special but as her passion is for her horses and we know nothing about them, I went the more crafty route and decided to satisfy her sweet tooth instead.  Get yourself some cake pop sticks or sucker sticks from your local craft or party store, hot glue the favored Fun Size chocolates onto the ends and start filling up whatever vase you love.  Accessorize in any fashion!  I used some glittery spiral sticks, spiral holographic confetti, and holographic tissue paper plus some curling ribbon as a topper.  It was a big hit as I kept overhearing people talk about it in such a positive light.  Talk about an ego boost that night!  So I present to you, my first ever, Candy Bouquet!

Our Three Year Old!

Just a little glimpse at a THREE year old!

There is an indoor play place with inflatables and a small ball pit where we went to play with a couple friends.  Other than the obligatory 1/2hr adjustment to new experiences (ball pit) and one fairly fun-ending collision with another excited running toddler that effectively sent us back to our place for cupcakes and ice cream a little early, well, you can see that she had a blast!

So excited that her birthday was blood free and the guest list actually was able to make it!  2012 was a good birthday year!  (For those who noticed and were wondering, there was an outfit change due to a lunch spill....Ah the life of toddler clothes...)

Birthday Recaps and Wishes

Birthday Party Track Record

2010:  Blizzard--No one could make it.

2011:  Running, falling, massive split lip just after guests arrive (even cake and gifts were not fixing this one!)

2012:  Well, we shall see....

No matter what happens with today's party, our first baby has turned THREE and I am so grateful to have her in our lives.  She acts like a preteen with just a tiny bit less attitude issue most days and Papa and Momma are only scared of rather than dreading the decade worth of preteen-ness.  The only thing missing are crushes and those can happily wait that decade!

Having Papa home this year makes this exciting for Momma because there won't be a rush to upload pictures or attempt to arrange a perfect skype call.  There won't be the heavily mixed emotions of sadness and joy and trying to mask half of it to keep the day upbeat and happy for a birthday girl.  Mostly though, it is exciting for that little girl and her Papa.  They get to share the day together this time!  Real hugs, real kisses, and real playtime with toys being handed back and forth rather than trying to shove them through the laptop screen!

So to our daughter:  Happy Third Birthday!  Momma and Papa couldn't be more amazed, proud, or awed by you and we definitely couldn't love you any more than we already do!  You are cherished.

Big Week!

With Christmas pretty much done (we do have one more group rolling in this weekend for a mini holiday) we have to cruise right along into BIRTHDAY season!

This year Alyssa turns 3 and she is ready to eat her body weight in cake if we let her!

This year is going to be a small little party but we are used to that.  Our family parties have been all but cancelled for her in the past.  Born into the snowy winter, turned one during a blizzard where we made it to my grandparents' house just barely where the party was going to be (obviously no one else made it there), turned two and the blizzard held off until that night and was only slippery roads and light snow during the day (we called that a success because everyone made it to that party!).  This year we aren't even asking family to come down.  Between Christmas trips and shortly to be followed with at least a good chunk of them coming in January to meet the little boy...well, it seems pretty tough to pull off.  Instead we are having a little friends party!  Alyssa is SO EXCITED when you talk about parties but she has no idea what is in store for her this weekend.

There is a place near us that has those inflatable jumping things, you can take your kids (ten and under) to jump for a small fee and let them at it.  We invited a couple other toddlers to join us there for a couple hours of jumping and then we will come back home to eat cupcakes and ice cream before the day is over.  It should be a great time even with such a small group!

In the meantime we have plenty to keep us busy until Sunday.  Monday we had our little Christmas Eve, Tuesday was the Santa Christmas and we went to Wreck It Ralph that night (big hit!), Wednesday some family came down for a playdate at Chuck E Cheese's, Thursday brings a growth ultrasound and doctor appointment, Friday we close on the house followed by buying paint and probably getting the first coat up in Alyssa's new room to prep for Saturday's painting too.  We also have more family down Friday night to celebrate a mini holiday on Saturday and hopefully some extra hands painting too!  That is plenty for one week, right??

Our 2012 Christmas Chaos

 Well the holidays are wrapping up for most of us.  I thought I'd give you a glimpse into our chaos...I mean Christmas.

"So Excited"  (post xmas energy high)

We opened our gifts on Christmas Eve after lunch (when Papa got home from work).  She was thrilled to FINALLY be allowed to open the presents!

Our attempt at getting Papa his iPad back since it is useful at work for him.

Her big gift this year was the LeapPad 2.  Once she was told that it was a tablet like Papa's she was sold.  Hopefully this attempt at getting Papa his iPad back for work is successful but only time will tell.  So far so good though!

She got a lot of trinket type toys which are always a big hit.  She was introduced to the Kaleidoscope this year. 

Christmas Day brought Santa of course...That fat man always seems to out-do us parents!  He knows just what our kids want most it appears and I'm almost resentful that he brings out the show stopper.  Anyone else?

Yup, Santa left a present AND a stocking!

Serious?  A whole musical instrument set?  Boy Santa really knows my kid!

Thankfully she still loves that tablet we gave her...She keeps going back and forth between the drum and the tablet so Momma's feelings are spared this year.  ;)

I'd like to leave you with just a little bit of silliness that all picture sessions are required to have:

That perfect picture that took all sorts of luck.

Hope your holidays were fun, silly, exciting, and full of family time!