Birthdays and the Like

Lovely is a lovely seven. years. old. now!  Sheesh!  Girl, you gotta stop growin'!

For her b-day, she asked for a doll that looks like her.  Me being the cheapskate that I am refused to buy an American Girl doll that only came in pjs for a mere 100 buckaroos, so I found a babysitter My Generation doll that would do.  Lovely's happy.  'Cept for the lack of other clothes, that is.  

On Lovely's b-day, we had a party in the frigid park with her classmates and other friends from school.  Yes, it was supposed to be in the 50s.  It wasn't.  Never mind.  The kids all had fun and I only got a little sick afterwards...

Here is Snugglebug sticking a tail somewhere on the donkey.  I had no idea this was a gals-only kinda game, but none of the boys at the party opted to play.  Hmmm...

We did a How to Train a Dragon kinda theme...kinda...Here is Lovely with her cousin and the cake that was amazingly the easiest cake I have ever designed--out of cupcakes!  Woot, woot!  And, it was yummy, too!

What would a party be without the gifts?  Lovely raked it in, and then took fo-eva to write the thank yous...but they did finally get done...finally.

Sisters.  What can ya say?  They love, they yell, they push, they pull, they hit, they smack.  They're great when one has to use the bathroom in a restaurant, tho, since they can travel in twos.  Here is one of those rare sister-lovin' moments. 

And this is at g'ma's house.  What could it be???

DarthLovely, of course!  Yes, my nerd of a daughter wanted a Darth Vader mask for her birthday.  What could I say?  I knew it was meant to be when I picked it up, pushed the button, and it said, "I find your lack of faith disturbing." --One of my all-time fave quotes from the dark side.

And to round out the fall and bring in the holidays, here are the girls dressed as a cowgirl and her horse, although Snugglebug looked more like a horse on top of a horse. 

Happy Holidays!

Mother's Day Tea

Mother's Day Tea

Kindergarten 2011

Lovely dressed as a bear

They also sang a song they. I must say, it was too adorable!  There were cookies, scones, fruit with dip, tea, and punch.  The girls were required to wear dresses and the boys were required to wear nice shirts and ties if possible. 

A *Heart* Surprise

A New Use for the Hat Box :)

Hubby surprised me when I got home!  I don't remember getting anything for Valentine's Day last year, so this was a very nice surprise!  In fact, I was completely oblivious to the surprise as I walked right past it to the backyard to check on swingset building progress.  When I came back in, I finally noticed it sitting on the dining room table.  I normally get roses, but I kinda like the tullip change :) 

Have there been any surprises in your life lately?

Happy *Heart* Day



Cards of Caring

Happy *Heart* Day, everyone!  Unfortunately, I had to work Saturday afternoon and since my babysitter is out of town, I brought the girls with me to work.  Let's just say I'm ok brining Lovely, but I will resist brining Snugglebug back if possible! 

Luckily, I only had one appointment, so I took the opportunity to work on Valentine's Day cards for Lovely's class.  I debated buying ready-made packaged ones, but I decided against it.  No, these aren't all nice and neat and picturesque, but they are from our imaginations, using our hands and our time.  Not only was I able to listen to Lovely decide what she thought each classmate would like to receive (right down to the colors of the card), but I was able to do some semi-mindless art therapy to ease stress. These are actually two pieces of construction paper glued together, the inner piece having a pop-up square so Lovely could glue cute hearts to pop-up at their new owners!  (Some even have googley-eyes!)

Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?



Old Hat Box and Hat, Finaly Dust Free--Almost

This is a hat box I rumaged off with from the family farm in Pennsylvania.  It was dirty and blackened, but I was surprised to find it made of a vinyl material--so easy to clean!  It even came with a really cute petal hat that I ashamedly probably ruined with water (I had to remove the spider webs some way!).  I think I'll turn the box into some sort of craft box, but I haven't decided yet.  For now, it's sitting on my dining room table, thankful that I removed it from the dusty clutces of a 200 year old attic.  Any ideas for the box?

Thankful Thanksgiving

A Bountiful Feast 

A Restful Afternoon (no, hubby's not really grumpy, though one might wonder)

Two Sweet Girls Who Still Fight Over Getting To Sit In My Lap

Can you believe how old they both look?  (No, I don't mean me!)

Happy Turkey Day Eve!