Mustache Bash....

I know I'm a little behind... but here's a look at our St. Patrick's Day Mustache Bash Party... it was one really great day... all the girls had fun playing with all the mustache things... mustache suckers, mustache rings, mustache party blowers... and oh so much more!

They loved playing all the games... like... "Mustache Hot Potato", "Pin the Mustache on the Leprechaun" and "Leprechaun's Pipes" (to see who could keep the ball in the air the longest)... oh and let's not forget the "Leprechaun Scavenge Hunt" which led them to the special hidden surprise!

Merry Christmas...

Wishing you the very best Christmas...

May your home be warm and filled with wonderful food, family, friends, lots of laughter, tons of love & many many blessings... on this very special day of our Lord's birth...

Merry Merry CHRIST-mas!

Thurs{day} Thoughts...

With my daughter getting old (every moment)... I've been thinking about my own childhood. There are some memories that are so strong and some that seem to have faded along with time. Why do you suppose that is? Getting older and memory loss? Or is it just life has taken over and we need reminding of those pleasant days of when we were young... 

I like to believe it's just life... and in return, I love it when my now life brings back memories of my own childhood... One that happened just this week...

My daughter, loves loves loves dogs... she loves playing and sleeping with her stuffed doggies... she also loves pretending she's a doggie... it's adorable... I never get tired of seeing the joy she gets from her doggie playtime.

And this week her playtime triggered one of my own childhood memories... We didn't have a dog when I was a child... but one of our favorite things to play... was doggie. My little brother would pretend to be our "doggie" and my older sister & I would play with him and put bowls of water & food out for him... we would do this for hours... just like Rainee... I love this memory of my own childhood, but also love that Rainee is making her own "doggie" memories...

It doesn't take much to make a memory... or to trigger one that's been forgotten. What is one of your favorite childhood memories?

Rainee's Angry Bird Party...

I told you we were having a simple Angry Birds Birthday Party for Rainee... with cupcakes and such... Wellllll... I kinda went overboard on doing some fun things for her party... Because you know... you only turn 8 once! Soooooo I whipped up a fabulous bit of birthday fun. You've seen the invitations here...

Now for the party stuff... I wanted to do something for the snacky food... so, for the candies... I rolled brown lunch bags and made nests for the put worms, eggs and Angry Bird poop... instead of cakepops I made lollipop covers and put them on my cakepop stand.

I also made Angry Bird faces for the buckets that held the chips and cheese balls. 








Rainee also wanted to play a few games... so together we made some green pigs...we painted cans, then decoupaged pig faces on to them that I'd printed... We used these Angry Bird Pigs to shoot at with sling shots... and also for Angry Bird Bowling. Rainee wanted to do this fun game we'd done at a baby shower last year, so instead of drawing a baby... the kids had to draw an Angry Bird on top of their heads with a crayon and paper plate... and our last game... the tried and true cotton game... except I changed it up a bit and said the cotton balls were eggs and they had to put them into the frying pan... too fun... The kids loved the games!!!!

Here's Rainee with her silly friends and her cake table... 

And before our guest left... each received a thank you for "crashing" my  party bag... with a water play sling shot, a mini frizbee and some candies...

All in all it was a very fun party and Rainee had a blast!!!

Angry Bird Birthday Invitations...

Rainee had been wanting an iPad tablet for sooooo long... that back in October I told, I would try to get her one... BUT... it would have to be for her birthday... AND...  she could either have a party OR a tablet... not both... so Rainee decided on the tablet... sooooooooo there wasn't going to be a party...

But as her birthday came closer... AND... mommy being mommy... I couldn't let her birthday go by

without her sharing it with a few friends & family... so when I told her we could have a cupcake party... no fancy thing birthday... what would she like this years birthday theme to be... she said an Angry Bird Party... And of course, me being me, I could just buy invitations... I had to make them... so here they are... Rainee's Angry Bird Invitations... and I love love love them...

Now that they're done... I've had so many people wanting to buy them... I'm thinking about putting the a digi file along with instruction on how to make them in my etsy store... what do you think???

Photos of the party will be coming... have a fabulous Wednesday...

Happy 8th Birthday Rainee...

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY... RAINEE... she's having a great day so far... donuts & hot chocolate for breakfast... Nerf guns from daddy... and after many months of crocheting and selling hats, coin purses, cup cozys, water bottle holders... mommy was able to buy her a tablet... just what she wanted... it's going to be a wonderful day... we love you Rainee! Happy Happy Birthday...

Turkey Dinnerwear...

This week Rainee and I have been trying to make a craft a day while she's off from school.... So, when Rainee saw this fun little craft she just HAD TO DO IT... too cute.. too too funny!!!

Every Days Secret Ingredients...

Rainee is such an incredible little girl... and for so many reasons I know I'm very lucky to be her mom!!! Her beautiful smile brightens any day... always making it more enjoyable... it's just one of my days secret ingredient I can't do with out!!!

This layout is done with this weeks sketch from SketchyThursday. Thanks for making it possible for me to do a fun playful layout with extra photos I've had lying around... thanks bunches!!!

Make today lovely... share a smile...

Believe In Yourself...

Every day I put some kind of little note inside Rainee's lunch... sometimes I write the note on her napkin... sometimes it's on top of her sandwich... she loves finding them. And she makes sure to tell me where she found it that day.

But along with those notes,  each week I also make her a new card... and inside I put something encouraging to help her get through a difficult day or week. It's another way to show Rainee, I'm thinking of her. And this year she really needs that extra little bit of love... Two of her friends moved away this summer, and although she has other friends, she's finding herself eating and playing alone most days... so those notes (and my prayers) are a little bright spots in her day!!! I think it's important to encourage, support and pray for our kids... because they can have some tough days too!

I hope your day is filled with lots of hugs & kisses from the little ones in your life... have a wonderful day!



P.S. Be sure to enter the giveaway sponsored by UPrinting, here.

Second Grade Mini...

Ever since Rainee started school (including preschool), I've made a mini book for her to keep in her backpack... for those days when she's having a rough time... or just misses her family. I know it's something she falls back on often throughout the year... because at the end of the year... it's pretty much thrashed....

Anyway... For this year's back-to-school mini I made the cover to look like a box of crayons.... and the photos inside, are from this summer. I think it's a great way to let her know I'm not far away, even if I'm not right there.

Make today special and enjoy it!

Summer Is Over... And It's The First Day Of School...

When my husband went on vacation... I thought... I think I'll take a blogging break too... which I never thought would turn into a whole month off... but I needed it... and I'm so happy to say... I'm back... ready for a new school year... ready for blogging...ready for more creating... and my new (paid) 2/hr a day job at Rainee's school.

So today, I thought I'd share Rainee's first day of 2nd grade photo... and the rest of the week I'll be showing you all the fun things I put together to make her 2nd year start off wonderfully...

sooooo Rainee enjoy your day and your new school year... I love you bunches!!!

See you tomorrow... have a lovely Tuesday...

Right Before My Eyes...

I've been wanting to do a layout about the changes I see in Rainee... every day there is something new changing with her.... her personality... her height... her confidence... her independence... even her smile with all those teeth she's loosing. She's really bloomed since she started school. And although I miss all the stages of her life that have brought her this far... I am excited to see what each day brings... right before my eyes.

Thanks for buzzing by... I hope your week is full of joy and tons of laughter... 

Almost Seven...

I love it when I see layouts of a child days away from turning one year older... they encourage me to do this... not just one year... but every year. Layouts/photos like this remind me of how fast time flies... because before you know it a year has come and gone... and every day is precious.

They also encourage me to take more photos... because, you know, we all have photo of our child on their birthday... but what about those last few days right before? I know I have a few over the last 6 years... but I am so focused on the birthday... and the party... I forget to take the last photos of Rainee before she turns another year older.

But this year... well, this year... I remembered!!! Yeah!! This is such a great photo of her! It's not only right before her birthday... but it's also right before she lost her latest tooth... and is now smiling with her latest toothless grin at seven. I am so happy I was able to capture Rainee and one of her last few days of being six year old... priceless.

Thanks for dropping in... have a lovely lovely Wednesday!

What's Your Favorite...

childhood toy??? This is our new challenge for TAAFOMFT. I love this challenge... because I knew right away what toy, even what photo I was going to scrap... Rainee with her doggie. We've had doggie since she was a year and a half. We found him right before Christmas... when I was doing some last minute shopping at Kmart... and to keep her happy we went in the toy section to find a toy to keep her occupied while I got what I needed. She played with a few things, but little did I know, the moment she saw doggie it was all over ... we weren't leaving without him.

He was a cute little guy... and he was keeping her happy. But the moment it came time to put him back.. she wasn't having it... she wasn't letting him go. I tried telling her it was his bedtime and he needed to go to sleep... even a store employee joined in to help me get doggie to bed... but she wasn't having it, if she had anything to say about it. She wasn't letting him go... he was coming home to live with us! So like any good mother would do, who has a crying child... I caved. What??? With the tears flowing... her sad little face starring at me... I had to buy him. Once home, the only thing she was interested in was doggie... Christmas came and went, with lots of other toys, but doggie was it. She was only interested in one toy... doggie... she wouldn't let him out of her sight... he went everywhere with her... he was her constant companion... at breakfast... nap time... lunchtime... bath time... reading books... bedtime... it didn't matter what she was doing or where she was going... doggie was right by her side. He's been a good friend to her.

Since doggie came into our home... Rainee's had quite a few other favorite toys... but when she's really tied or has had a bad day... she always turns to doggie for an extra bit of love... he'll always be her favorite... no matter what.

Now it's your turn to show us your favorite toy. We'd love for you to play along and check out what our very creative TAAFOMFT DT have chosen as their favorites. Whatever yours is, share it with us... on a scrapbook page, a card, a mini book or project. We can't wait to see what you create!

Happy Birthday Rainee... & One Year...

Happy Happy Birthday to my wonderful little Rainee... I hope today is extra special... enjoy it my little love... enjoy it!

And before I go.... I wanted to say it's hard to believe it's been a year since my dad passed away. It's been a difficult year without him. It seems like just yesterday I could reach for the phone to tell him about something that was going on here... or to let Rainee have her cute little chats with him... which they both loved. He taught me so much and he continues to do so even now.... I was blessed with a loving, kind and generous dad and will be forever grateful. At the time is seemed a bit sad that his passing was on Rainee's Birthday... but we've come to see it as papa giving her one last birthday present... leaving behind with her a little piece of his beautiful heart. One very special gift. Love you dad... and we still miss you.

One More Tooth...

Well last night, right before bed, Rainee came running in all excited showing me another tooth had fallen out!!! That makes 4 now!!! And of course I had to as a good mommy, document the event!!! As I laid in bed with her, after reading books... this was our new tooth conversation...  

• Rainee: Mommy, will another tooth grow back? 
• Me: Yes, why? 
• Rainee: I was just wondering, because the last tooth... number 3 still hasn't grown in... and I don't want to walk around with this hole in my smile.
• Me: Hmmmm let me see... well, sometimes teeth take longer to grow in... but don't worry it will come in... I think this one is waiting for more space, it looks a little squished in there.
• Rainee: You mean space like this?
• Me: Yup, like this cute space.
• Rainee: Thanks mommy, I was just wondering because it's just taking so long and I've been wanting to see that new tooth for awhile.
• Me: Soon, Rainee, I'm sure it will be soon....

That's it for today... I have so much too do... with only today and tomorrow left for school, the first grade class picnic and Rainee's 'real birthday' tomorrow... I'll be happy when this week is over... to take a breath... have a great Wednesday! See you tomorrow!