Party Post (you'll see what I did there)

Oh my I just don't even have words!

This weekend we loaded everyone in the car and headed to Tyler to celebrate Camryn Joy's 4th birthday!  I am exhausted from all the fun and I think my children are too.  It's a good problem really.  Especially on a rainy Monday (which we used to recover!).

Friday morning (as you know) is dance for Emery.  Everything was fine and dandy and normal until it was over.  Emery decided she was ready to leave NOW.  My mental plan was to eat lunch at home and then get on the road, but of course the 3 year old had something else in mind. (wanna guess who won that one?)

We left around 11 and dropped Peppa off at her hotel and got on our merry way.  Everyone napped (well not everyone.  Don't worry-  I drove, babies napped) until we stopped in Huntsville for a little lunch and play time.  I found a Sonic that had a wonderful playground, so that way we could eat outside and stretch our legs for a little bit.  These people were amazing!!!  Super sweet and friendly staff and the playground and all the outside tables were clean- East Texans really know how to do it!

 Eating some cheese on Dino.

After we ate it was time to get back on the road!  Emery watched Tangled and Beckett slept in between talking to his cars.  My kiddos did an AWESOME job traveling this time.  I was a little nervous about driving them solo but they did a really good job.  As soon as we walked in Gigi's house Emery and Beckett had to say hi to Nay Nay and Emery had to show off her recital costume she got that morning at class.

Isn't she just a picture of elegance and grace??? :)  Ha, I love my crazy lady.

We spent the rest of Friday destroying Gigi and OK's house and asking about Camryn Joy and when she would be making her grand appearance.  Finally the most anticipated moment arrived Saturday morning and they were reunited at last!  These 2 girls are SUCH good friends.  They are so, so different but it really seems to work for them, it's hard to describe but they ALWAYS want to be together.  Gigi and OK's house isn't right if Camryn Joy isn't there.  Its fabulous she has such a good cousin sister friend.

 

These 2 are going to be good buddies too, they just don't know it yet.  This was the best picture I got of just the 2 of them.  Busy little boys they are!

So, while the little ones played the mamas got to work on decorating for the party!  Camryn was very specific that she wanted a "pink and purple polka dot party".  She had also given Sarah very specific instructions that she wanted to paint a picture- such a good party planner she is already.  So, if Camryn wants to paint- we paint!  Sarah let  me help decorate and set up for all the fun and after some rest in Gigi's bed it was party time!

Sarah- can I please, please, please have Wild Man???

 I love a good theme for a party and dressing for the occasion.  A pink and purple party?  Yes, please!  Dressing like my dad (a first I'm pretty sure), double yes please!

How is this sweet girl 4???

 The painting really was fun (good idea Camryn!).  Everyone got on board and now Camryn has this awesome piece of artwork for her house.  I love it!  We all got to add our own special touch to it.  It's alot like life, really.  We all love her dearly and in a way we've all come together with our own unique perspectives to make something beautiful!

 

 Camryn Joy ate the icing out of the middle of her cake- only this girl!

After all the painting and pork and potatoes it was time for presents and running around like crazy people (I'm not sure what the kids did with the rest of their evening, :))

 It was a fabulous party and I am so so happy to celebrate that sweet girl- enjoy your party at school today lady, you deserve it!!!  Sassy loves you!!!

Love is in the Air

Another Valentine's Day is in the books and it was a fantastic one!  This is the 8th Valentine's Day that Matt & I have celebrated together (aawww) and some things have changed but some things are still the same.

Emery & Beckett woke up to another surprise in their mailbox- candy, a necklace, and dinosaurs!  This has seriously been such a good motivator for Emery in the morning.  I've been struggling with getting her downstairs in a timely fashion and this has really helped.  She's so excited to come see what Gigi's brought for her.

 Since our 1st Valentine's together Matt has always given me a stuffed animal from Hallmark and the tradition continues with the kiddos.  Emery and I have been trying to guess what the animal is going to be this year and she was super excited to come downstairs and find out- puppies for them and a rabbit for me!

 A quick photo op before we headed to school! (I love Beckett's shirt- it says All You Need is Love)

After we dropped Emery off at school my friend Cheryl and I headed over to the Y.  We usually go to the gym together and then go our separate ways but today we were feeling adventurous!  We checked the class schedule and saw that Body Attack was starting at 9:30 so we decided to give that a shot (I haven't done a class in years, much less one called Body Attack- good grief!).  I had plans to attack some pizza for dinner so why not attack my body in the morning.  It was pretty much 60 minutes of jumping and running and push ups and my body is feeling attacked today!

After a quick shower and some lunch at home it was time to go back to school for Emery's Valentine's party (Why do the hours of 9-2 pass so quickly on school days???).  The homeroom Mom for her class is pretty much amazing.  She's super talented and works really hard to make parties fun for them.

 Cute food!

 Fun games!

Thanks Heather! (This was a game to see who could make the tallest tower out of candy hearts)

We walked home with our friends and all the 3 year olds got in a fist fight over who got to push the button to cross the street.  It was awesome.  And by awesome I mean hilariously embarrassing.  Moving on.

Matt came home and had more treats for his special ladies- flowers and our oh so romantic dinner- pizza rolls!

 We had a couple more gifts for the kids that we opened up after dinner.  Emery got a dress and Beckett got a Thomas set.  This was so fun for me to go to Target by myself and pick something special for each of them.  Nothing makes Mama's heart happier than to see them happy and laughing and playing.  

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day as well!

Today is my sweet neice, Camryn Joy's, 4th birthday.  I adore this little lady and I hope her 5th year is absolutely wonderful for her.  Happy Birthday Camryn Joy- Sassy adores you and hopes your day is fantastic!!!

Randomness

I have so many pictures on my phone that I have to share, but I can't really seem to connect into one pretty little post.  So here they are- totally random, but of my Valentine's none the less.

 This is Matt & Peppa's nightly routine- Peppa hugs!  She's the biggest little lap dog you've ever seen and I am just ROLLING when this happens.  (I've attempted the Peppa hug with no success- it's not easy!)

 It's been super rainy lately and my little people love to stand on this stool and look outside.  They are so precious!

 

 Emery came downstairs last Friday convinced that THIS would be an acceptable outfit for dance.  It, in fact, is not sister but nice try.  Boho ballerina?

 Gigi sent us a Valentine's mailbox to give them little treats this week and Emery & I assembled it the other night.  She is loving this!  What's the way to a 3 year old's heart?  Giving her random stuff everyday.  :) (Mama has enjoyed filling it every morning too!)

 I have to confess- I LOVE popcorn. Like,  I eat a bag every day.  It's yummy and I can munch on it while I watch something classy on my DVR like The Real Housewives of Fancy Land.  I made myself some chocolate covered popcorn the other day and OH MY the deliciousness.  I shared some with Beckett (who loved it) and Emery (who did not).

 We had a random Skype date with my sister the other day and it was so fun!  Emery asked her if she had a skunk and the closest thing Sarah had was this hedgehog.  Emery was so excited- she had to take a picture.  

 I just love this picture of Peppa.  Cheryl took it the other day when we were outside (Emery was painting with Eli and Analise at their house).

 These 2, snacking together, love them.

 Beckett on the playground the other day. 

 You've got to keep a close eye on this one.  Give him a shovel and a big sand pit and he goes to TOWN like a crazy man.  I should've taken a video of the enthusiasm he used to shovel as much sand as he could into his mouth.  Like any good Mom I had to take his picture before I told him to STOP because- Dude.  GROSS!

Kroger success yesterday.  (I love our Kroger!)  It was Ash Wednesday so the free cookies were these giant chocolate sprinkle mask cookies.  They split one- it was huge.  Then we came across the $5 movie bin that had just been put out and everything was even still in alphabetical order (if you've ever dug through one of those things at the end of the day you know how exciting this was for me!).  Then we have a friend, Sean, who always bags our groceries and just keeps the kids rolling!  He tickles them and plays peek-a-boo with them and they think he's so funny!  

Cookies... win!

Movies... win!

Laughter...win! (as long as your not at the dinner table, right Mom?  Haha, love you!!!)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Who are these children???

I don't know what I did to deserve yesterday, but IT. WAS. AMAZING!  Didn't I just write from the trenches?  Funny how quickly things change isn't it.

So, obviously, it was Monday and around here Mondays are catch up days.  We don't have school or dance, but we do have a big pile of laundry and a messy house (and jammies that apparently haven't been worn enough over the weekend and are begging to be worn one more day!).  I also wanted to bring dinner to a friend and make some Valentine's crafts.  No pressure, just a few fun things we could do at home and it turned out to be rainy and cold so we (I) didn't really want to get out in it.

After breakfast we started on the Valentine's.  Emery was SO excited to do these and the stars aligned for me.  She made Valentine's, Beckett ate breakfast (his and Emery's), and I cooked.  Hello, can time just freeze?  Stop right there, done.  Emery's really enjoying doing crafts lately.  She tries really hard to follow directions and she's learned to write her name at school so any activity involving writing she's all about.

We pretty much spent the rest of the morning like this.  My babies played together SO WELL!  It was pretty chilly outside, but I was able to open the back door and let them come and go as they pleased.  Emery is a very creative little girl so she instructed everyone on a whole host of games: receive your invitation to the ball, serve breakfast, sell cookies, play violin just to name a few.  Sweet little Beckett is just as happy as can be to play along and be with big sister. (Again- I'm inside cooking kind of feeling like I'm in Bizzarroland, but not wanting to jinx this so I go with it)

We sat down to watch Curious George for a little while after lunch and little Beckett fell asleep on me, holding his baba.  (I about died right then, call it a day!)  This gave Emery and I some time to read and hang out together.  She might be my wild lady, but she loves a book.  She will sit still and listen to the whole story- even a long one, and I love to read with her.   We read 3 books and she laid down too. Aaahhhhh.  Did you hear that?  It was this Mama feeling like she could breathe again.

We spent the afternoon making the rounds to all our friends houses to play and then to deliver food which is always so fun for us.  We walk out our door and see our friends, how great is that?!?  Another Valentine's craft arrived from Gigi so we made our mailbox and practiced checking the mail (quite a bit really.  Apparently one needs the proper form before opening the mailbox).  Oh, and we ended the day with The Bachelor.  Doesn't get much better than that.  Well, I guess if we would've won a million dollars, or if Camryn Joy had actually been at our door when the doorbell rang (like Emery was hoping, but unfortunately was the mulch truck) it could've been a little better.  But I'll take it!

Not feelin' it...

So, looking back on my post about phases here we are in another one.  It's been kind of a gloomy week around here (weatherwise and mentally).  I wish I could shake it, and I know it'll pass, but I'm just kind of smack dab in the middle of it.  I'm a light at the end of the tunnel type of girl, I can make it through pretty much anything as long as I can see the end!

Emery's not been herself lately.  She's tired, she's winy, she's hungry, she's hot, it's Tuesday- everything has been setting her off this week (and quite frankly her Mama too). 

She came home early from school on Thursday because she wasn't playing on the playground and was too tired to be there according to her teacher.  This isn't like my sweet baby girl.  She loves school and her friends and (surprisingly) her favorite thing about school is the playground.  Beckett and I were on our way to the grocery store when the school called so we stopped by and picked her up.  I finally called her Dr.'s office and the nurse said it sound like a mild virus that's been going around that pretty much makes you tired.  Personally, I think she just made something up to make me happy.  I mean, what else do you say to a Mom who is worried because her 3 year old is tired... Um, lady, try putting the child to bed. 

So, we've spent the past couple of days staying home, relaxing, and watching alot of Cinderella.  It's been kind of nice to spoil her a little bit and just let her do whatever she wants.  We went to dance, the craft store, played princess and it's been nice really.  Mama even got some much needed free time this afternoon.  I took myself to Target and then came home to a quiet, empty house.  I unloaded groceries and casually made my way to the park where everyone was.  Aaaahhhhhh! :)

Tomorrow starts a new week, a new beginning.  I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day and my very special Camryn Joy's birthday.  It's GOING to be a good week! :)

Cupcakes!

I really just LOVE this picture and all of those sweet babies lined up oogling at the cupcakes!

Last Thursday was my friend Cheryl's birthday (Happy Birthday Lady!!!).  She asked all of us to go eat cupcakes with her after school and, um, hello...  Yes, please, on so many levels. Cakes, cupcakes, cookies you name it.  If it's sugary and sweet it's my weakness- and if it has icing, I'm done for!  :) 

After school pickup we all headed over to the Oh La La Bakery for some delicious deliciousness.  As soon as we walked in the door we saw huge displays of cupcakes, pies, cookies everything.  These sweet babies instantly walked up to the cupcake case and started picking out which one they wanted.  And, really, this wasn't staged or forced at all.  It was so precious!  Thanks Oh La La for letting us tear up your shop for a little bit so we could celebrate our friend! :)

The Weekend in Pictures

We had another great weekend around here.  I really love having everyone home, spending time together on the weekends- it's so recharging to this Mom.  Monday mornings come around and I feel great! Yay! 

We started off Saturday morning at Wal Mart, like all great things do I'm pretty sure.  It was one of those mornings where we needed several random things and Wal Mart seemed to fit the bill for all of them.  With our 2 little ones in tow we decided to go since we could kill several birds with one stone.  We met this adorable little girl in the paint section- she's 3 and her name is Emery!  These two were so cute together I asked her Mom if I could take their picture.  They kept saying "Hi, Emery!" to each other. 

This will probably never happen again to these two girls so I had to document it!  (And just for the record they both picked out their own clothes- it's Wal Mart, you can get away with it).

We also picked up 2 fishing poles to take to the lake across the street after naptime.  We saw our friend Philip as we were coming home and Emery HAD to show him the fishing poles!  He has a fishing pole too, so that afternoon we loaded everyone (and everything) up and headed to the lake to catch some fish!

 We even let Peppa in on the action.  She isn't quite the patient fisherman yet, but neither was anyone else in our group. 

 One wagon for the little kids, one wagon for the big kids.  We had quite the caravan going on!  We are so lucky to live in this planned community.  We are within walking distance of schools, restaurants, lakes, trails, playgrounds.  It's wonderful and we are pretty much outside all the time.

 Matt was SO excited to take her.  We went about 5:30 and didn't get home until close to 7.  Beckett and I pooped out early because we were cold, tired, and hungry- the triple threat of grumpiness for these 2. :)

Unfortunately, all the fun led to this on Sunday afternoon.  A sick little lady who fell asleep at 11:30 in the morning, on my couch, in the middle of lunchtime craziness.  She ran a low fever all afternoon, but seems to be ok today.  She snuggled with Daddy, watched Lady and the Tramp, and ate some jello.  Beckett and I went to get dinner and spend some more time outside.

(My poor, poor little baby.  You just hate to see them feel bad.)