Of all things Spring

I plugged in my camera to download pictures for (what I knew was) a long overdue blog post but I was not prepared for the 2 bazillion pictures that had accumulated there. I know it's been a while but gracious, how did I get this far behind?

So without further ado...the posting of all things Spring(y)!

Back a few weeks ago, while the snow was still melting, or possibly even while it was still falling, I decided it was time to bring some spring colors to my decor. I'm not creative (or wealthy) enough to change up all my decor seasonally, but I like to change up some little things here and there. My built in cabinet in the dining room is where I usually start.

 I found these fun spring colored dishes at the thrift store.

Our Easter was more than a little non-traditional. We hosted some family a couple of weeks before Easter. I decided I could make a few pintrest-y things to make it festive and cop out of the full course feast. So we swapped out ham and mashed potatoes for a carrot-shaped cheeseball and bird nest cupcakes. I thought it was a great trade and no one else complained.

We had (new) friends over for brunch Easter weekend. Why yes, marshmallow peeps ARE a breakfast food, I thought everyone knew that.

 

 Easter dresses have never been a big deal for us (of course) but I do usually find that we could all use some spring wardrobe help this time of year. I was a teeny bit excited to find the matching gingham shirt and skirt at 2 different thrift stores last week. That's a whole lot of handsome going on there, with a touch of priss on the side.

Don't let that pose fool you, she can keep up with every single one of those boys!

Sunday evening we had a birthday party, so instead of an egg hunt, my kids had and egg sandwich for Easter dinner. I hope they won't be scared for life! How about you? Do you do the whole, great-Easter-feast thing, or are you with me on the easy way out bandwagon?

One Party, Two Party, Red Party, Blue Party

My little buddy turned FIVE {5} this week. 

 

It sure doesn't seem that long since I was timing contractions on the way home from my doctor appointment where they assured me that "nothing was happening." Two hours and a bit of scrambling later our tiny 7 lb. bundle was safely in my arms. And yes, we made it to the hospital. 

Since this is his last year at home with me before he starts school, I decided to invite 

a few little friends and throw a party.

Found this adorable free download and added my own text.

School was closed the day of his actual birthday so we had to postpone the party

a few days. I wasn't exactly prepared for all the older siblings to join us too.

We settled for pizza and cupcakes for dinner.

Legos. His one and only request. Not because we don't already have 

thousands of them, but because he needs some that are his very own.

That's pretty important when you're the 4th boy in the family.

Party Time

Make your own 'Cat in the Hat' hat.

"Seuss-O"

(always more fun when played with M&M's)

Playtime

and 

Lunch

The Menu

Green Eggs and Ham{sandwiches}

Hop on Pop{corn}

Go! {Hot}Dogs Go!

One Fish, Two Fish, Goldfish

Fruit pops

Cupcakes

Ice Cream 

Punch

 

The 'Cat in the Hat' cupcakes were super easy.

1. Use a rolling pin to roll one marshmallow flat.

(I put a heavy pan on top of mine for a few minutes to help them stay flatter.)

2. Dip another marshmallow in melted red coating chocolate.

(This may be easier to find in stores if your child's birthday is a few weeks from Christmas.

 I'm not really sure, I never looked for it any other time.)

3. Attach the dipped marshmallow to a flattened marshmallow using the melted chocolate.

4. Dip another marshmallow in the melted chocolate and attach to the top.

5. When those layers are dry turn the whole thing upside down for one last dip on the top.

 6. Allow the chocolate to harden and place on top of cupcakes that are already frosted.

Bingo! You're done.

What a sweet bunch!

The Favors

I found a whole bunch of Dr. Seuss stuff in the Dollar bins at Target (inspiration for the party)
a couple of months ago, including 'Cat in the Hat' plates and erasers.
Everyone got to take home their plate, an eraser and a book.
(collected from yard sales and second hand stores)

I do believe we made some fun memories for the little man (and his Mama.)
I shall try to focus on the making of more of those in the next few months and not think about
the fact that the big yellow bus will be snatching him away from me all too soon.

Because....

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." --Dr. Suess

Christmastime [was] Here -- Family Traditions Edition

When our first child or two was still very young my husband and I spent some time discussing what traditions we wanted to start for our little family. A few of these traditions go back to those conversations but I've since found that the best traditions are not the ones that you plan but the ones that are such a hit this year that we couldn't imagine not doing them again next year.

This is one of those traditions.

Several years ago our neighbors invited us to their church for Christmas Eve services. Most years my family gets together on Christmas Eve but we decided at the last minute to drag our kids out to the 11:00 p.m. service. Was it the thrill of going somewhere w.a.y. past bedtime? The candle light? The drums and music? I don't really know, but they LOVED it. Every year since they start asking mid November if we can go to church at midnight. This year there was no 11:00 service but we enjoyed the 6:00 service just as much and a certain 7 year old was pretty proud when I handed him my real candle with real fire. Small children are given glow sticks, this was a right of passage moment for sure!

Our tradition of spending Christmas day at home is one that came from my parents. They determined when we were young that we would not be part of the rat race wherein you rip open presents at one Grandma's house so you can run another Grandma's house for more loot. We've done this with our kids too and I think it's my favorite of all traditions. It makes Christmas day relaxing and calm. The very best gift a Mama could get! We usually grill steak and throw some baked potatoes in the oven for a mid afternoon meal. We don't often buy steak, so it's a special meal that requires minimal time in the kitchen.

Stocking stuffers (usually exciting things like toothbrushes or batteries) are torn open with bedheads and pj's. Breakfast is simple, fruit and pastries, (with a side of bacon, by special request this year) and must be cleaned up before "real" gifts are opened.

Someone new read the Christmas story this year and did a pretty fantastic job of it! I don't believe Caesar Augustus is included in the first grade sight words list.

 
The "real" presents were not numerous but they were well received.

Important life skills are being learned here. Gotta teach 'em young!

 

The problem with that whole "White Christmas" dream...
  it makes it hard to break in a new bike.

Mommy was pretty excited about her gift this year too! Not necessarily surprised, but definitely excited!
My husband spoils me! Looks like I'm set up to return the favor now.

Another evolving tradition is that of handmade gifts. This is a good time of year to start searching for ideas if you'd like to make your own gifts this Christmas. I, however, tend to get my best ideas the week or two before Christmas. Here are a few of this year's projects....

Reindeer Root Beer for the guys.

These were super simple and you can never go wrong with food gifts.

Hand painted signs for the ladies...

Slowly convincing my husband that saving the boards from the part of the barn we tore down was a good idea.

I had a lot of fun making these but they were somewhat time consuming.

Maybe I should have started before December 15th.

 ***************

We spent the end of Christmas week with Garry's family. His 2 sisters were here from out of state and the whole family was together for the first time in 2 years. Two brand new baby nieces to be spoiled and loved on. Food. Games. Cousin time. And a round of family pictures. Never a dull moment!

 Somebody was pretty sure she was solely responsible for baby holding and nuk retrieving.

 

  If you happen to notice the blanket behind Little Miss Adorable, it's another last minute DIY gift idea.

I've had several requests for adult sized ones for next year. =)

 Plenty of food. Always.

This picture may or may not have been requested as appropriate compensation for their act of goodwill.

 You guys rock!  Really, you do! 

(Even if you have to remind us...frequently.)

Game time.

It's been 5 years and 5 new grandchildren since our last attempt at family pictures.

It was painful but we endured to the end for the prize.

And yes, bribery during family pictures is one of our favorite traditions too!

Christmastime [was] Here -- Part I

Our Christmas tree, finally up and decorated after much drama and stress.

 

I thought we'd go small this year, save a few bucks and not overwhelm our living room. I didn't realize until it was wrapped and ready to go that they were priced by variety, not size. Oops! there goes the "save a few bucks" plan. When we were ready to set it up, we discovered a crack in the tree stand. So it spent a few redneck days propped in the corner in a bright orange bucket. Classy huh?
 

 After 2 trips to the store we were the proud owners of a brand spanking new tree stand with bolts too short to even reach the skinny truck of our dainty little tree. The husbands patience may or may not have been running a bit thin by the time he screwed extra pieces of wood on either side and made 2 trips to the hardware store for bigger bolts but finally that baby was upright...until we started to add lights and garland. Sigh. In the end, she was a very pretty tree. I decided to stick with neutrals this year and I loved the way it turned out. My kids did not agree, they were a tad bitter that I ignored those pretty red balls.

This was my moment of enlightenment this year. I admit to being a little stingy about the Christmas tree decorating at my house. I just don't have the stamina to allow a 5 year old to arrange all the ornaments in a 18 inch space. This year I gave them this little yard sale tree and some sturdy ornaments and made it there tree. The arranged and rearranged to their little hearts connect, with all the red they could find! Bingo. This tradition will live on another year.

 The Mr. dutifully adds sparkling charms to our rustic barn and charming cottage. Our big front porch just begs for icicle  lights. Even he admits that they are pretty enough to be worth the hassle.

While he spruces up the outside, I tackle the indoors. My {super} limited chalkboard skills struggled for several hours to pull this off.

My first grader got inspired and whipped out his own version in less than half an hour. He insisted he needed water to dip his chalk in too. =)

We made a few special treats, although not nearly as many as most years. I had some fun experimenting with my peppermint essential oil. Mmm!

Peppermint Stripe Popcorn. 

Our Christmas celebrations took us to the cabin with family for a long weekend before Christmas. It was a glorious four days of "nothing to do" in the midst of crazy busy preparations and parties. We drank coffee, played games, read, drank coffee, slept in, snacked, relaxed and drank another cup of coffee. That poor coffee maker didn't know what hit it.

We let the kids act out the Christmas story. Finally we have a "Mary" after 8 boys in the family. She was quite pleased with her roll as "Jesus Loves Me's" Mommy. (That's what she says instead of Baby Jesus, I hope no one ever corrects her!)

So it wasn't quite Broadway but they had fun and I heard they're making a movie out of it, special thanks to the only cousin not pictured and his new ipad.

We returned from our relaxing paradise on Monday with 36 hours to finish wrapping and preparing for Christmas day. Coming up in the next post, some of our favorite family traditions.

Super 7

[one last Birthday post for awhile. promise]

The second November birthday comes 5 days after the first. After [literally] making a list of options, weighing the pros and cons, and much deliberation, he decided on a Superhero theme. I'm sort of surprised we haven't used that one before but it was still up for grabs.

His actual birthday was on a Saturday. Usually at our house the birthday person gets to choose the dinner menu but when I realized we would not be home for dinner the night before or the night of his birthday I convinced him that we could do a Birthday breakfast. His choice, French toast, bacon (3 pieces for each person :) doughnuts and coffee.

The kids were all playing with markers the night before and I found this fun napkin art on the table when I was ready to set it for breakfast. I thought it was super sweet of his big brother to make it for him but after my photographing, and  moments of heartwarming I was informed that in reality, He made it for himself. Silly boy (but I still think it's kinda cool.)

He spent hours cutting, gluing and crafting these 'Supertreats' for his school classmates. I helped a little but he did the majority of it, a plan that worked out well for both of us.

I do appreciate the teacher's gracious smile when I delivered them to his classroom. I may have been her worst nightmare but she didn't let on. Cake + icing + sugar coating + lollipops = well, you can guess.

We invited cousins and family for his party. Mama cheated this year and ordered a giant sub from Subway. It was much tastier then the "Wonder Dogs" that were also served. Superpower veggies, some jello (I think I'm wearing this one out but it always comes in the party colors and the kids love it. I almost never make it any other time. I get bonus points if there are several colors in one serving too.) popcorn and cake and ice cream fueled the many Superheroes present with plenty of energy for the night.

Daddy made a laser obstacle coarse in the hallway.

Grandma made capes and masks for all of them at different times over the past year so everyone was able to come in costume. Swords and weapons of various kinds seemed to be required as well. The lasers did not fair well.

True to my take-the-easy-way self I decided not make red, yellow, and blue icing (yuck!) for the cake, M&M's are much easier, (and tastier) thank you!

 

Complete with "the moves."

I of course find it hard to believe my little buddy is SEVEN already. Cliche I know, but I must still say it!
These days you'll find him kicking a soccer ball, reading, creating a rubber band something, reading, stashing the food away, playing games, reading, telling a joke, trying to keep up with his big brother or reading. He sailed through the school transition thing without so much as a speed bump and I think sometimes he keeps his teacher stepping trying to keep him busy. But at the end of the day, he's still Mommy's snuggle bug and I'll be doing everything I can to keep it that way for another 7 years. I love you SuperReagan!