Super Hero Cape for the Boyfriend

Pin It My little girl has a "boyfriend." Since they were babies in the nursery at church, they have been best buds. For the longest time if you asked Elena where we were going on Sunday mornings, it was never "to church" it was always "to see Colten." When asked by a high-school girl if he would be her boyfriend, Colten simply replied, "I already have a girlfriend and her name is Elena."

This weekend, was the "boyfriend's" birthday party. He is into being a super-hero so I made him his very own super-hero cape and mask. I think it might have been a hit. After he opened it, he happily wore it for the remainder of the party. The only problem is, I'm going to have to make one for Elena now, too!

Elena Modeling Colten's cape

We're on the move!

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I knew it was going to happen. I knew it was going to happen soon. But when it finally did, I cried like a baby...Kate started crawling yesterday. I have said before that she's more of a Mommy's girl than Elena and she stayed true to her reputation yesterday. She crawled for the first time across the bedroom floor to me. To make the story even sweeter: once she touched my leg, she looked up at me with her silly little, open-mouth grin and exclaimed softly, "Ma-ma, Ma-ma."

Yes, it's been tough at times for me to be at home. I loved being on the go when I taught. I loved being around my colleagues. I loved the small accolades that came when my students performed well. Being at home all the time leaves me feeling a bit secluded. Being at home all the time magnifies the fact that I am not the best house-keeper. Being at home all the time means a lot less income. The bottom line is that it's not always easy, but yesterday made any sacrifices we've made worth it all.

One day I hope to go back to work, but today, I'm going to enjoy these moments and treasure them up in my heart. Mommy is so proud of you, baby Kate! You and your sister are worth it all!

Blog...what blog?

Pin It That's about how this year has gone so far. Back in the fall I got addicted to my blog (so much so that my husband started to call it my main hobby). That isn't a bad thing, unless other things are left un-done. My little personal challenge in November was GREAT! I loved it, but I think I got a little burnt out with posting every single day. I promise, I'm going to get back into it. I loved making new bloggy friends and learning neat new tricks to try from the bloggy world, but I guess I'm now taking the time to put some of those neat ideas to work...my latest all-consuming project has been planning parties for my girls. Elena turns three in March and Kate turns one in April (and spring break/Easter is sandwiched in between). I LOVE to plan parties and knit all the little details together with my own special touch. I'm having a BLAST working on them right now.

My inspiration was a huge roll of lime green gingham fabric that my Grandmother gave me. I'm using it with reds and pinks for Elena's party and with baby blues and white lace for Kate's. I'm trying to go for two totally different looks using a single fabric as the inspiration. When they're both complete, you all can let me know how I did.

Here's a sneak peak at one of the custom design elements I created for Elena's party. Can anyone guess what the theme is?

I can't wait to share all the details, but you'll just have to enjoy this for now.

Snowed in with Smores

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I don't mind admitting that I have never been a big fan of smores. Though I like graham crackers and chocolate, I don't really care for marshmallows. When my daughter saw a camping segment on Sesame Street where they were making smores, she decided we had to do that. She insisted that mommy tried one, too and I begrudgingly agreed. To my surprise, they were great! I had just never had a smore made by my husband before. He knows just how to make them: just enough marshmallow to melt the chocolate and make them gooey (he says it's an art).

Making smores has now become a regular event in our household. Rarely do we build a fire in the fireplace without making them anymore. So, when the threat of snow was reported earlier this week, others went to the grocery store for milk and bread and we went for marshmallows, chocolates and graham crackers.

Today we are snowed in with about 8-10" outside and yummy smores by the fire inside. He even sneaked in a bit of my favorite ingredient of coconut today. I can't imagine a better way to spend my afternoon. Thanks, Honey, for the perfect smore!

Oh, Coffee! How I've missed you.

Pin It Normally this is my morning beverage of choice:

but for the past few days this has been more of a necessity for me:

and this for my girls (note the variety of flavors):

This morning I was thankful (especially after another sleepless night with a sick baby) that my tummy was finally settled enough to enjoy my morning cup of coffee again. Though I am certainly NOT back to normal by any means, I sure did enjoy my coffee today. I didn't realize what a treat you were but I won't take you for granted any longer!

A Date at the Movies with my Girl

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Since I am still breast-feeding Kate, whenever there is a need for me to go run an errand or be away from home for an extended period of time in the day, it often ends up that Elena stays behind with Daddy while Mommy and Kate go out. I've been wanting to do something special with Elena; just the two of us. This weekend I decided on the perfect activity: a movie.

I had been waiting to take her to the movies until:

1. She was old enough to sit (kind-of) still the entire time

2. There was a movie appropriate for her age

3. She knew how to be (sort-of) quiet

4. There was a movie I would enjoy as well

5. It was something I was willing to pay the exorbitant amount of money to see

6. There would be a lot of other young children in the theater

so MINE wouldn't be the only one distracting others from the movie

7. There was a time when I could leave Kate behind without worrying about missing a feeding

She is really into princesses right now. I was reading Kate's new "Fairy-Tale" books to them and we came upon Rapunzel. That's when I knew it was time to see Disney's new movie, Tangled.

SO, after church yesterday, we ate lunch and got her to take an early nap with the promise of doing something special with just Mommy. We got there early to get just the right spot. I went all out and bought popcorn, candy and drinks. We had a long discussion about how to sit, how to be quiet, how not to be scared when the lights went off, etc.

I don't know who had more fun: Mommy or Elena! When the first preview was launched and the speakers around us came to life, her eyes could have lit up the room (and luckily her high-pitched squeal of delight was muffled by the sound). She was captivated by the huge characters on the screen and I heard her exclaim often, in her breathless little dramatic way, "Oh, Mommy! How BEAUTIFUL!" There were those times when she was more interested in getting another "chocolate" than watching and I often had to remind her to use her whisper voice to ask for them. She got so excited that she jumped out of her seat and stood at the rail in front of us a few times as well, but all in all, I would say she did a great job for a 2.5 almost 3-year old!

Yep, I'm a sap, but when she cuddled up to me at the end when Rapunzel hugged her parents and the emotional music began to swell, I'll admit there were a few tears streaming down my cheeks. O.K., make that A LOT of tears streaming down my cheeks. She's growing up way too fast, but I'm glad I can be there with her for those special firsts and pray that she'll always know I'll be there for her through whatever she may face in life. Mommy loves you, Elena-doodle!

2010 in review

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2010 was an amazing year! I tried to take a moment to choose a top event from each month...this was as close as I could get (though admittedly some of the events occurred in the same month). God has certainly blessed my little family. Thank you for the memories and here's to 2011!

1. Transformed the "Cat" room into the Playroom 2.Got really big!  3. Planned an Elmo party for a special two-year-old 4. Brought a new life into the world 5. Spent a scary night in the hospital with a darling baby 6. made a special trip to Savannah for a special Father's Day 7.Worked on Potty Training (ALL Year!) 8. Built a playset with my own two hands 9. Visited the Apple Orchard 10. Picked pumpkins 11. First trip to the ER for stitches 12. Sewed a lot of cute outfits AND enjoyed a wonderful white Christmas with my precious family!

I'm linking up with:

Little Red House-Mosaic Monday