Pink and Green Birthday

We had Big Bear and Me Too's birthday party yesterday.  Me Too's birthday is in November and when I called ASI to ask about scheduling a party, the soonest date they had was Dec. 17th.  That got my wheels spinning for a double party since Big Bear's is on New Year's Eve.  It ended up being way cheaper than having two parties.  And since the girls all do Adventure Princess together, many of them know each other so it was tons of fun.  I decided to do a pink and green theme.  Me Too's favorite color is really purple but pink is a lot easier to find.  So here's what the party room ended up looking like...

 Big Bear's green side

 Me Too's pink side.

Most of my inspiration for the crafts you see are from...where else...PINTEREST!!!  Best place EVER!!  

The puff balls turned out super cute I think - even though the pink one is kind of sideways.  I found this craft here. They are super easy and fun to make - check out her tutorial but it's just cupcake liners on a styrofoam ball.  I think I'll add liners to the bottom which I left blank to go on the little candle holder that I got from the Dollar Store and spray painted white. 

 The G & the K were also super fun to make.  I found the little balls at Hobby Lobby a long time ago and knew they'd be adorable super glued onto chipboard letters.  I had tons left over so I put them in some little glass votive holders and super glued ribbon to them.  I stuck a little flickering candle light that I had gotten from the Dollar Store long long ago when preparing for Me Too's Rainbow Birthday Party.

I forget where I got the idea to do the popcorn for the goody bags.  It was sometime after a failed attempt at melting crayons into shapes with cookie cutters.  I don't know how people do that...I've read tutorial after tutorial and blog post after blog post and can't make it work for me.  They turned out cute but WAAAAYYYY more expensive than I expected - long story but it had a lot to do with my not being either smart nor able to speak up when things go wrong.  That's another blog post for another day when I feel like spouting off.

See the little box up there?  I found those (the pink only shown here but of course there is a green one too) at Hobby Lobby as well.  They were on clearance - probably because there is no way to latch it.  There is what looks like a latch but it doesn't actually work.  I had NO clue what I'd do with them but got them anyway knowing I'd figure something out.  And I did - just hours before the party!  I had decided to make candy coated marshmallow treats and realized it would be fun to use the boxes to display them!

Last is my cupcake stand.  I painted these Dollar Store plates using stencils that I made with my fun fun toy...my Silhouette Cameo!!  I super glued them to a candle holder that had been clear glass but I spray painted white for a Christmas display. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how these turned out.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it all turned out.  

 And the kids had a blast.  They have such sweet friend with such sweet families.

  In fact, we stated specifically on the invitation NO PRESENTS.  Apparently, our friends don't follow directions!

Here's a video of the kids having fun!

Hope you enjoyed our pink and green birthday as much as we did!!

I Am NOT A Democrat!

We're enjoying some downtime here at Wheelbarrow Manor. It's nice to be home with no where to go. There is still a lot to do though. I have to get the playroom ready for Santa and grandparents to load us up with a new bunch of toys! We are very blessed!

We got Big Bear and Me Too up at 2am last night to see the eclipse. The red moon was really neat! Big Bear is very interested in anything science-y.

One of the best things about being home is getting to spend time together like we don't get to do when school is in session and we're rushing around from here to there. Sometimes this means some interesting conversations. I would like to share one I just overheard!

So Big Bear, Me Too and Campo were in the other room. Apparently Campo said something and Me Too was arguing with him...nothing new there...and Big Bear told Me Too that she was being a democrat. Me Too yelled at Big Bear and said, "I am NOT a democrat." Big Bear answered, "Well you won't let Campo think what he wants to think. That's being a democrat."

I was literally crying I was laughing so hard. I don't think she really did know what she was saying but it was still SO funny!! And very close to the truth as I know it!!

Election Day...And Night

Sorry I've been MIA lately. No major excuses besides just, well, life!! Sometimes it just gets the best of me! Let me fill you in on what's happened with Kenneth Sheets and other stuff!

Election Day 2010 - POURING rain...and I was standing out in it. I was a poll greeter for Kenneth Sheets. Myself and a candidate for judge would stay in our cars until someone would arrive to vote and then we'd jump out with our signs. After lunch time I decided to leave since traffic was slowing down and my car battery was dead! I got a jump and finally got to go home, take a shower and get warm thanks to my mom picked up my kids at their respective schools. Thank God for her that day or I don't think I would have ever warmed up.

Now you would have thought that I would be exhausted after that, and I was, but election day adrenaline was pumping and I was ready for the Dallas GOP party. We headed out to the Hotel Palomar where most of the Republican candidates set up camp to watch election results. We got there and found Kenneth's suite where spirits were extremely high as the early voting totals had come in and Kenneth was winning! We tried to temper ourselves a bit because there was a long night ahead and anything could happen. At some point we all made our way downstairs to the big party. I have never felt anything so electric. The energy in that place was unbelievable and even now, several weeks later, I'm getting chills as I type! I have never experienced anything like it and don't even know what to compare it to!

As I stood there looking around and taking it all in, Kenneth's campaign manager Ronda showed me her cell phone. There was a text from their consultant informing her that 5 of the "deathzones" or areas that would be tough for Kenneth to win, had gone his way. He said that it looked like Kenneth had won. We are all screaming!! As much as we believed wholeheartedly in this man, he was a relative unknown running against a well liked two term incumbent and no one really knew how it would go. We headed back up to the suite to wait some more for results to keep coming in and to let Kenneth get his thoughts together for his speech. Once the concession phone call came through, we all headed back downstairs and Doug and I got to be up on the stage with Kenneth and all his supporters and staff as he made his victory speech.

It was one of the most incredible nights of my life. I will never, ever forget it. I can see how people get lured in by the energy and excitement of politics.

In other news...Big Bear had her Pinewood Derby and won an award!! A separate post will be coming with pics and more details. Let's just say, I've never seen a smile that big!! Me Too turned 5!!! A separate post will be coming on that too. Her birthday party is this weekend so I'll wait until I have those pics and details. She has strep throat right now but started antibiotics today so I'm hoping she'll be up for having the party. I'm hoping that I am up for having the party as my throat is suspiciously getting sore and throughout the day I have felt worse and worse. Luckily, Doug off early tomorrow so if I need to run to the doctor I should be free to do so! Campo is chugging along! He is turning 3 in just a few weeks - acckkkkk!!!!

Oh and I started working with my first Handwriting Without Tears client. I did his evaluation and report and am now tutoring him once a week. He is a 3rd grader and I'll have to admit I was quite intimidated by the thought of working with a 3rd grade boy at first. But, after I left the house yesterday, I texted my husband and told him that I hope Campo is JUST like this boy at that age. He is very well mannered, very sweet and very cooperative. And his mom emailed me this morning and said that when his dad asked him how it was he answered, "Kinda fun". I'll take that!!

That's it for now!!

Fair Fun!

We made it to the Texas State Fair last week! It was super fun! The girls decided they wanted to ride their first roller coaster. It was a little one in the kiddie ride section. We thought it would be little and slow enough that they would have fun. Boy were we WRONG! I was watching Campo ride another little ride and could hear poor Me Too's screams over the very loud rides. Doug finally gave the ride operator the cut off sign. Big Bear got off the ride and immediately said, "Never, ever again". Me Too didn't stop crying for about 20 minutes. She said that she did NOT like the fair at all. Once she started to settle down she did mention that some cotton candy might help her feel better. It did the trick!

It was actually heartbreaking for me. I am terrified of rides. I was very hesitant to let them go on the rides in the first place but everyone else seemed to think it was fine. So to hear those screams of sheer terror just made my stomach do flips. But...all in all, everyone survived and my children now know that roller coasters aren't for them!

Other than the ride disaster, we had a wonderful time. We had yummy food and saw lots of animals. The best activity was actually the only free one! It was an exhibit called Little Hands On the Farm. The kids enter a farm yard and are given an apron and a bucket. They go from building to building doing different activities such as feeding the chickens and gathering an egg or milking a cow and getting a carton of milk. By the end of the exhibit, they had a bucket full of items that they "sold" at market. They were paid some funny money which they then took to a little store where they could "buy" some snacks. It was precious and the pictures are adorable!

Campo on a very slow ride that did NOT scar him for life!


The awful dragon roller coaster that terrified my poor girls.


Campo loving the car show!


The family with Grammy and Big Tex!


All of us in front of Big Tex!


The family in the animal building!

The kids at the Little Hands exhibit!



Feeding the chickens!

First Day of First Grade!

Big Bear had her first day of first grade yesterday! She was so excited - I thought she'd never fall asleep on Sunday night! She finally did and was up early Monday morning. Doug got to go into work late so we all got to take her to school for her first day.

After dropping her off I had to rush straight to my school for First Aid/CPR training. Uggghhh!!! That is NOT a fun day - let me tell you! Campo and Me Too went to babysitting with the other teacher's kids.

Needless to say, it was a LONG day for all of us. We basically came home and all crashed until I scrounged up enough energy to order some pizza!

I'm so glad that Big Bear loves her teacher, her class and her school! I think it will be a great year. Now, if I can survive this week of classroom prep and training, we'll see how the year will shape up for the rest of us next week!

Oh...and...guess who is room mom for Big Bear's new class????

Kindergarten...one week down!

We survived the first week of kindergarten. So far, so good. This kindergarten stuff if tough! Having to get up EVERY morning...I'm used to having two days off!...and get her somewhere only to turn around and go back 7 hours later! Get the little ones down early enough to be able to turn around and go back! Answer Me Too the 1000 times she's asked me when she gets to go to kindergarten. Make sure Big Bear has her lunch, homework, etc. Tough stuff!! But she just loves it. One day last week around 5pm she announced that she was ready to go back. I had to explain that she had to wait until the next day! Her teacher seems so great and I've already gotten to know a few moms...at least by sight. Our first PTA meeting is Thursday and I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure that one day those things will be a beating to me but for now it is exciting and new.

We went to the high school football game this weekend to see our nephew play in the marching band. The girls had never been to one, despite our intentions to go to one for the past several years...just never panned out for some reason. They loved it. Big Bear decided that instead of being a paleontologist, now she wants to be a mascot. She would not deviate from her new passion despite our best efforts to explain to her that she could be a mascot in high school and THEN a paleontologist later!

I took some pictures with my phone and am going to try to figure out to get them from there to here so you can see what cute and spirited fans the girls were!

Tomorrow I go back for the first day at our school. Me Too and Campo will both be in new classes too. It's going to be strange going to school without Big Bear. We will really miss her tomorrow. It's going to be a crazy week with all of us having to be lots of different places at different times! My mind is constantly racing with what is coming next, how will we coordinate people and things, what do they need to take with them, how will they get home...ARGGG!!!

Off to make dinner now!

The Principal Called...

And Big Bear hasn't even started school yet! No matter how old I am, the principal still makes me nervous! No, she did call but it was one of those fancy schmancy call-everyone-at-one-time voice messages. She was reminding us that tomorrow night is Meet the Teacher Night! YIKES!! It's really here...the dreaded and feared kindergarten. I'm no longer one of those moms with little kids who can make play dates any old time or fly out of town on a moment's notice with the family. Not that I really did too many play dates at any old times...they were usually at the same times that I'll be able to make them once Big Bear is in kindergarten. And, considering our financial situation, we NEVER fly out of town on a moment's notice with or without the family. In fact, we NEVER fly out of town with a lot of notice either! But, you know what I mean. I'm now tied down by a schedule...drop off, pick up, volunteering at the school and such. I'm a...school mom!!!

On another note, I'm also about to become a soccer mom! Big Bear and Me Too are both going to be playing soccer this fall. This is something I never anticipated. I think I played one season? And although I don't remember for sure, I'm thinking I didn't like it for the same reason I didn't like basketball several years later...too much RUNNING!! I really don't think Big Bear will like it either, just knowing how she is...a little too much like me sometimes. But I do think that Me Too will enjoy herself. She'll be playing with a bunch of kids from her class at school and she loves those kids. She has a freakishly lovey dovey close class for only being 3 years old. Seriously, it's adorable how much those kids enjoy each other!

Okay, that is all for now. I just wanted to share my exciting phone call! I'm sure there will be more to share after Meet the Teacher Night! Big Bear...I'm not worried about. Me...another story! It'll be amazing I actually survive this kindergarten thing!

Saying Goodbye

Tomorrow is going to be a very sad day for me. It is the last day of the summer session at the school that I teach. That part actually makes me happy! But, I have to say goodbye to two teachers who I will miss a great deal. One in particular I have known since I was in first grade. We were very good friends my freshman and sophomore years in high school but then went out separate ways as we made new friends in different groups. After high school I never really saw her but would run into her mom or get a Christmas card and knew what she was up to. I knew she was the assistant director at the little day school where I now work. A few years ago I called her to find out information about sending Big Bear there. From that phone call, not only did I end up sending Big Bear there, but I also ended up finding a job I didn't know I was looking for! I was still struggling with the fact that I wasn't a stay at home mom and desperately wanted to be one. But this job, teaching at this school, afforded me the next best thing...a job but one in which my children were very near by while I worked. Anyway, my friend is going to work full time. All of her kids are in school now and her family needs the extra income. I am going to miss her so much. What a blessing it has been to reconnect with someone from my past at this time.

I really enjoy teaching pre-K. I know it is not my forever job...however, it is my wonderful, couldn't have asked for a better situation for now job. My kids are down the hall from me all day long. I know their teachers very well. I know all the kids in their class because I pass them in the hallway, peek in the classroom, and even sometimes get to share library or playground time with them. I can watch them during the day when they don't know it - eating lunch, interacting with their classmates, sitting in group time or laying down on their nap mats. This brings me to the really hard part of tomorrow. It is Big Bear's very last day ever in preschool...in the school where I am so close to her. She will never walk into the school with me in the morning. I'll never peek at her in her classroom again. I won't pass her in the hallway anymore. I won't know her classmates or teachers as intimately as I do now. She is going off where I can't be with her. I can't hug her when she's having a bad day or smile while watching her practice for the Christmas program. I know this is supposed to be a happy time...she's so happy and excited about it. But I'm just not...I'm so, so sad. Nothing will ever be the same. I know in my mind that it has the potential for being much, much better but my heart is so sad right now at the fact that it won't be the same as it is now.

Here are some pictures from her very first day at our wonderful school...

This is from her second year there...although it's obviously not a first day picture. I don't have any and I'm not sure why! I know it is a horrible picture but it has her brand new backpack...you can see the box in the background. So it's close enough to the first day?? I know - it's awful!

And from the first day this year...

Next up...first day of kindergarten pics!

My Cousins Wedding

My cousin Melissa got married a few weeks ago. It was the first time that Big Bear and Me Too have ever been to a wedding. I was so excited for them to go - I just knew they would love it! And they did! I thought they would be most impressed with the bride in her beautiful dress and flowers and all. Nope...it was the flower girls that caught their attention! When the flower girls got to the front of the chapel we couldn't see them anymore. Me Too was wondering where they were, why they dropped flowers on the floor and then stood up on my lap - luckily we were in the back row so she wasn't obstructing anyone's view - so that she could try to get a glimpse of them. As we left the chapel Big Bear told me that now she wants to be a paleontologist and a flower girl when she grows up! The girls were more than thrilled to get to dance the night away with the flower girls whom they admired so much! They are the daughters of the groom so I'm looking forward to trying to reunite them some time in the not so distant future. In the meant time, the girls will be content with naming all of their stuffed animals and dolls after their new beloved flower girl friends.

Here are some pictures!

VBS+First Day=Crazy

Today was the first day of VBS for us. Big Bear has been the past two years and knows the drill but it was Me Too's first time to go as a true VBS'er instead of hanging out in the nursery. Campo, of course, is putting in his time at the nursery. And last, but not least, I did my part as a volunteer. Truth be told, I don't know who loves VBS more or gets more excited about it, me or the kids. It really is a lot of fun. You always get to meet new people but what is more fun to me are my VBS friends. There are certain people that I only ever see once a year at VBS. Some I look forward to seeing, others I forget about every time until I see them. So fun! Me Too and Campo had a little trouble at first but quickly got into the groove...Campo even got comfortable enough to drink some bubbles! And no, he's not burping bubbles!

What was really fun was getting to see Grampy. He came over to speak to the kids at the end of the day and the girls really got excited to see him!

Here are some pics. Notice how unhappy Me Too is at the pictures with Grampy. She was tired and hungry at the end of the day. She really did have a good time!

VBS 2009

Splash...No Swim

We were invited to go to the KC pool with some friends of ours today. The KC pool is a big deal. If you are a Knight in that council (I think that's the word...) then you belong to the pool. This is a different council than our parish one. This one is several parishes that go in together. (I'm probably not explaining it right...my hubby isn't a knight so I'm not up with all the lingo). Lots of neighborhood people want to belong there because it's really nice so they stay on waiting lists for years until they get that lucky phone call. We've never gotten on the exclusive wait list because even if we got that lucky phone call, we wouldn't be able to shell out the cash!

Anyway, the kids were so excited. I was so nervous. I wasn't sure how keeping up with 3 kids at the pool was going to work...especially now that I have a toddler. My girls haven't started swimming lessons yet and we don't go to the pool much so they aren't very good swimmers. You can imagine my relief with both Big Bear and Me Too were telling me that they only wanted to play in the kids pool. The KC has a really great kids pool with a big shade over it. It slopes down and the deepest part is only a couple of feet. There is a lifeguard right there too which makes it nice when you're trying to look in several different places. We've taken Campo swimming over at my mom and dad's house as well as just the little pool out in the backyard...you know the little blow up kind...as well as had a sprinkler on. He will have NOTHING to do with any of it. He cries when I try to put his hands or feet in the water to splash, he cries when I show him the sprinkler, and he even cried watching the rest of us swim one day until someone took him inside. He loves baths so the only thing I can figure out is that the pool/sprinkler water is cold and he must not like that. But, I feel like I have to keep trying so at one point today Me Too and the family we went to the pool with all really wanted to go to the big pool. So we headed over with Big Bear throwing a tantrum the whole way because she just wanted to stay in the little pool. I got in the water with Campo and he started screaming his head off. Me Too got in and immediately started screaming her head off. And Big Bear was already screaming her head off on the side of the pool. We were quite the sight! I tried to calm everyone down but they just all started screaming louder so we went back to the baby pool and stayed there the rest of the time. My kids just really aren't pool kids. It's my fault for not exposing them more...I'm just really not a pool mom. Oh well, my only hope is lessons which we'll be starting soon. Maybe that will help all of us! But, for now, we'll just stick to Big Bear and Me Too mostly just splashing in the tiny pool in the backyard or going to the spray park.

I look at it this way, at least I'll save money! It cost me $12 to get in...and all they did was splash! But, at least I got a little sun and some time to chat with my good friend!!

Me Too's Sing A Long

Me Too had her first school program! She's such a big girl and she did such a great job. Some of the kids shut down and wouldn't do anything but no Me Too. She was having so much fun. And the first time everyone started to clap, you should have seen the look on her face. She loved everyone clapping and cheering. I leaned over to Doug and said, "I think a star is born!". Grammy and Grampy were there also which thrilled Me Too to no end! Here are some pictures from the big day.



Big Bear will be having her last one at the end of the month. It's these little events that serve as such monumental time markers. For Me Too it means she's big enough to start doing stuff like that at her little school and for Big Bear it means she's about to start doing stuff like that at a new school.

Big Boy Haircut!!

Campo got his first haircut today! He looks like such a big boy! And he was so good! The girls got cuts too. Check it out!

Easter Stuff

Finally, Easter pictures! My Lent was good - not great, not bad. It could have been a lot better I'm sure. I went to the Holy Thursday mass and Good Friday service which usually blow me away but didn't this year as much as usual. I wanted to go to the Easter Vigil but circumstances that happened earlier in the week all sort of snowballed into a situation where I just couldn't make it. On Thursday night after the mass I got home and crawled into bed. Just as I got super comfy and started thinking about how happy I was to be there, Doug ran in and said he had cut his finger and needed to go to the ER for stitches. I called my poor dad who was just wrapping up...not only from the mass but wrapping up his day which had started with a 6:45am men's prayer group. Yikes! Of course, later we realized that there were a couple of other people we probably should have called but Grammy and Grampy are the first ones I always think of and the ones who would need the least instruction as to the care of our kids and where to find things in our house etc. So off we went to the ER and got home around 2am. Now I do not do well with lack of sleep and that proetty much just ruined me for the next few days.

We decided to go to 7:30am Easter mass after realizing we would only be getting to mass about 30 minutes later if we wanted to get a seat at the 9am. It turned out to be one of the nicest Easter masses I've been to since I've had kids. We weren't squeezed in and it didn't last super extra long because the crowd for communion wasn't too long. The kids did great. Me Too got very upset though. With her bottom lip sticking out she told me how sad she was that the shepherds put Jesus on the cross and that he was dead - she's 3, okay, give her a break...she knows more of the story than some! I told her no, we were there to celebrate that he was not dead anymore, that he had risen! But we were sitting in the front row and she looked up to the huge crucifix hanging high in the middle of the altar and pointed and said, "No, he's dead". I tried telling her that it was just there to remind us of what he did to take away our sins. Well, there was no convincing her otherwise and how do you explain that one to a 3 year old?

The only bummer of the day was the pouring rain which caused us to abandon the girls' sandals (which took two trips to get the sizing right) for tennis shoes with their nice dresses. Oh well! After we got home from mass we had cinnamon rolls, bacon and eggs. It was all dark outside from the rain and inside the house was warm and cozy and breakfast-y smelling. It was lovely!! The kids found their Easter baskets and we all got naps in at some point.

Late in the afternoon we headed for Grammy and Grampy's house where we had a lovely dinner and more Easter basket surprises!

Here are some pictures!