Sweet! I just added a blogging app to my phone so now maybe I'll have time to at least draft some new posts when I'm out waiting on something. We'll see how it goes!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Kendall's Birth Day
Kendall is five! Each birthday morning I try to go in and snap a picture. 
Kendall really wanted a Barbie birthday cake but it has been years since I made one so we made one *together* the day of her birthday, I frosted and I let her decorate it to her hearts content! No one but family was going to see it so it was no pressure for me. And honestly...it ended up being THE BEST tasting cake I ever made!
Kendall really wanted a Barbie birthday cake but it has been years since I made one so we made one *together* the day of her birthday, I frosted and I let her decorate it to her hearts content! No one but family was going to see it so it was no pressure for me. And honestly...it ended up being THE BEST tasting cake I ever made!
Kendall turns 5! The Party
To say that the holidays are a stressful time for me is understatement. In addition to the regular craz of Thanksgiving, present buying, school parties, Christmas, visiting family, Christmas parties, baking *need I go on?* I also have Kendall's birthday as well as Avery's right after New Years and then my birthday sandwiched in there as well - but that's not really important...not anymore! But the hubby still tries to make me feel special which I love about him.
Kendall turned very shy when everyone started singing to her! The cotton candy party favor had the kids in hysterics...who knew it'd be so popular?!
So where was I!? Ah! The birthday party. I get overwhelmed by the people I see on blogs (which I read too much) that have these huge extravagant parties for their 1 and 2 years olds. These parties take more time, effort, planning, baking and decorating than my wedding. I'm a part-time working woman/full-time mom so the realistic woman in me says "forget what everyone else is doing and just get 'er dun and have a happy kid."
So I did! I'd love to have endless hours to transform my entire house or backyard into a fairytale land but I don't so I opt for Plan B and take it elsewhere and I'm happy about it. Kendall wanted a Barbie/Tinkerbell/Princess/all-of-the-above party so I found some cute princess printables that she agreed on and went to work.
We also decided NOT to have it at the house (again - trying to stay away from stress and I'd rather come home to a clean house) so we went to the local inflatable bouncy place so she could jump to her heart's content with all of her best friends. It was a great 2 hour extravaganza that I still spent WAY too much time preparing for. However, part of the preparation was also for Avery's birthday too since cake freezes well. Thank goodness.
Here are a few pictures of the party! (if you click on the picture below it should open up into a big picture so you can see the details) Mike had a great time with all of the kids. Kendall didn't like these sort of jump parties until she was 4 - but Avery - our child with no reservations - LOVES THEM! 
Kendall turned very shy when everyone started singing to her! The cotton candy party favor had the kids in hysterics...who knew it'd be so popular?!
Let's see...what's next...Christmas decorating!
Well, I was going to attempt to do one blog entry a day to get caught up but...well that never happened. So I'll just cram as many as I can into the next 30 minutes until my kids get hungry again or need a diaper change or want to go outside or come inside or brush their teeth or start a movie or have a snack or want a drink... *sigh* I know...I know...someday too soon they'll be telling me they don't need me at all...
CONFESSION: I contemplated getting a fake tree this year.
Water spilled (all over my new heirloom tree skirt that my grandmother and mother and tirelessly worked on)...ornaments broke... Mike and I's very first ornament as a wedded couple that his mom gave us. It was frosted glass and said "I DO". None of the other ornaments broke and I yelled "NO! It's A SIGN! OUR RELATIONSHIP IS DOOMED" and then we laughed and threw it away. I mean there was no way to save it.
So anyway, real trees are such up keep...the water, the needles but then seeing the $250+ price tag (even on sale) for artificial trees...well, it just wasn't in the budget this year. So we got a gorgeous tree from our local HEB. We aren't ready for the "drive out to the country and cut our own down" yet...it's just too much trouble with Avery and when I plan this big exciting treks they always seem to backfire. Does that happen to anyone else?
CONFESSION: I contemplated getting a fake tree this year.
Because *flashback to Christmas last year* Kendall woke me up in the middle of the night to turn her nightlight back on or something and I walked her back to bed and BOOM - saw our 8 foot Christmas tree lying horizontal on our living room floor. I was so out of it that there might as well have been a stranger standing in the room. Scared the you-know-what out of me.
Water spilled (all over my new heirloom tree skirt that my grandmother and mother and tirelessly worked on)...ornaments broke... Mike and I's very first ornament as a wedded couple that his mom gave us. It was frosted glass and said "I DO". None of the other ornaments broke and I yelled "NO! It's A SIGN! OUR RELATIONSHIP IS DOOMED" and then we laughed and threw it away. I mean there was no way to save it.
So anyway, real trees are such up keep...the water, the needles but then seeing the $250+ price tag (even on sale) for artificial trees...well, it just wasn't in the budget this year. So we got a gorgeous tree from our local HEB. We aren't ready for the "drive out to the country and cut our own down" yet...it's just too much trouble with Avery and when I plan this big exciting treks they always seem to backfire. Does that happen to anyone else?
We got this beautiful 9 foot tree - the most beautiful and tallest tree we've ever had. We had it almost a full month so it was very dry and very droopy and I was more than ready to get rid of it the day after Christmas but for the most part it was perfect. And this year I decided to tether it to the spindles on the stairs behind it.
Just in case.
So here is our evening decorating the tree on December 7th. As expected Avery did more "un-decorating" than decorating but the girls were totally into it. I look forward to next year when the bottom half of the tree doesn't have to be as sparse and non-breakable.
So here is our evening decorating the tree on December 7th. As expected Avery did more "un-decorating" than decorating but the girls were totally into it. I look forward to next year when the bottom half of the tree doesn't have to be as sparse and non-breakable.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Just in case you didn't get a Christmas Card...
...I ran out.
So don't be offended.
Considerate my efforts towards saving the planet.
I met a girl a few months back at Bunco and then she emailed out that she was doing a little Christmas promo to do pictures at Christmas time...for cheap. I went the cheapest route because of my 2 year old daughter. She hates the camera. I promise I'm not a member of the "mamarazzi." I try to live in the moment with my kids and not photograph everything that they do but Avery still runs as soon as she even suspects a camera.
She's getting better but well, not this day. She was AWFUL! So it was impossible to get a good family shot so we gave up and went with the candids. So maybe in another year we'll sit down for a REAL family photo shoot...that costs real money. Mike and Avery are so looking forward to it.
So don't be offended.
Considerate my efforts towards saving the planet.
I met a girl a few months back at Bunco and then she emailed out that she was doing a little Christmas promo to do pictures at Christmas time...for cheap. I went the cheapest route because of my 2 year old daughter. She hates the camera. I promise I'm not a member of the "mamarazzi." I try to live in the moment with my kids and not photograph everything that they do but Avery still runs as soon as she even suspects a camera.
She's getting better but well, not this day. She was AWFUL! So it was impossible to get a good family shot so we gave up and went with the candids. So maybe in another year we'll sit down for a REAL family photo shoot...that costs real money. Mike and Avery are so looking forward to it.
BTHO Nebraska! 11.20.10
Tailgating before the Aggie game against Nebraska. It was so much fun. Mike had a golf tournament so I attended the game with my college roomie Sarah and her husband and friends. It was a blast (until I had to drive home). It took forever (and it was like 1 am in the morning when I finally got there. The Red Bull didn't seem to kick in until AFTER I got home).
The gang...Brad, Brandon, Sarah, Greg, Brit and me
Gametime!
Herbie!!!!!
Thanks to my Cousin Jeff for the Apple Pie to keep us warm. We shared it with some drifter Huskers. 
Sarah and I before the game
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