Back To School on a Budget

School is just around the corner and for the first time ever,

 I am preparing to send two kids to school!

Mike starts kindergarten and my Addy

 will be going to MDO twice a week.

Because my kids have played so hard this summer

and their cloths will prove it, 

I am finding myself trying to,

not just supplement their wardrobe,

but replace it entirely. 

Thus, I have been visiting the clearance section

 of every store in town!

 Wal-Mart had this shirt and skirt for $1.50 each!

Heck ya! Score!

And with a little scrap magic...
I was able to personalize it and make fit Addy's style!

I just hand appliqued on a monogram and the added a bow to a safety pin!

Pretty cute for $3 I would say!!

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Tea Party Playdate

Adelyn hosted her first Tea Party for her girlfriends.

We asked the girls to wear swimsuits and hats...

Addy was not fond of the hat, but VERY excited!

 I pulled out every tea set and cup we had,

my grandmothers doilies,

and a few bud vases with fresh pink flowers. 

We had three outside tables set up for filling and pouring. 

Plus the blow up pool and water table.

 The inside snack table was pretty fancy for the girls...

I wanted to make them feel special like

my great grandmother did for me

 and my cousins growing up!

It was alot of fun, even though it was cloudy.

The biggest hit was this pitcher filled

with water for constant refilling!

We only lost one Tea Cup to a bad fall on the cement!

But like my real Tea Set,

I would rather break pieces

while my friends are using them,

then have them collect dust all alone!

The clouds kept most of our friends away,

so we are doing it again this month 

and hope for better weather!

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Bear Vs. The Seagull

Addy Bear fought a seagull...

and the seagull won!

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Potty Training Highs and Lows

This little cutie has just turned 27 months!  And after several people agreeing she is ready to potty train, we prepared to say good bye to our diaper days...

thus officially ending the baby years, as the diaper bag can now be retired. 

 I entered the process, well frankly arrogant... after all I potty trained my son before he was 2 1/2 in 48 hours... piece of cake!

 I mean isn't it a fact that girls train easier then boys?  Hump!

Mommy's High:  The hunt!  I was so excited to take Addy out to get all our special gear for our big weekend!  It was girl's day and we spared no expense, treated ourselves to popcorn AND a Slurpee at Target, and even did it all in the rain! 

Mommy's Low:  After standing in the book section at Target for over 15 minutes debating myself over buying the only English potty book they had that was a whopping $8.50... I said, "what the hell, ya only potty train your daughter once!" Right? and bought it, only to discover just two out of the 8 buttons worked! UGH! 

Daddy's High:  "Cha-ching!  Just the mere thought of saving all that money led to day dreams of my very own boat!"

Daddy's Low:  "Being handed a turd at the dinner table by my sweet little girl.  Not sure who was more shocked... Addy because it fell out of her bum or me,  because it wasn't chicken! (for real!)"

Mikey's High:  "Sister's potty reward came in the form of Cherry M&Ms-

which she HAS to share... woo hoo!"

Mikey's Low: "I just wanted to divert attention back to me with a silly little show. While making everyone laugh, my arm got stuck in a kitchen chair... to make it worse part of my show required I wear a silly bow in my hair-dumb idea, just look at me! and to make ever more worse before helping me out, my own mother ran to get the camera and was  laughing so hard she shed tears of her own! 

and she says she loves me? It just doesn't get lower than that!"

Addy's High:  "Hmmm, not sure I had one!"

Addy's Low:  "What? No Thomas the Train panties?  What about Goofy? Spiderman?

  So not fair!"

More lows for Addy:  "After begging for a diaper over and over, my mom still forced me into panties!  Nag! Nag! Nag!  If I ever have to hear "need to go potty?" again it will be too soon!  How about trying to make a master piece on the back porch with your sidewalk paints, only to have it washed away by your own pee! 

Or worse, slipping over and over again in your own pee

as you're running across the wood floors to make it to the potty!"

"Listen up mommy, I am too smart and too cute to do anything on anyone elses terms...

after all I am YOUR daughter!"

Yup, we gave up... we will try again in three months!  No mommy of the year here, girls!

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Happy Birthday, Addy Bear!

This past weekend we celebrated Adelyn's 2nd (sigh) birthday by throwing her a Teddy Bear Pic-Nic at our favorite park. The party plans were all inspired by these darling invites from Trinity St Studio on Etsy. Mary was kind (and patient) enough to add the teddy bear! Here is my birthday girl before her party started. Her beautiful dress was made by Lisa from Embellish Kids Boutique on Etsy . We both love and I am pretty sure she will be wearing it weekly at it is perfect for dancing and twirling! Aww, shot of the day... the birthday girl with her biggest fan! She is a daddy's girl through and through. This picture melts my heart! Me and my big girl! There are just no words for what she means to me! Here is our table scapes. I did not get a good picture of the banners, which were the prettiest ones I have ever made due to all the wind, maybe I can get a picture here at home soon! We used the roll of kraft paper to cover the tables again and I laid out some of my pretty scrapbook paper down the middle. The teddy bears and lollipops were from Oriental Trade and made great party favors! Everyone really liked the pumpkins... I just love how the helped make the theme girly! I added a tag to one side of the lollipops and a variety of bows to the bears for that special touch! We spread out a quilt and brought a few pillows for the bears to rest while the kids played on the playground.

How cute is this teddy bear? I named her "good" and her sister "will" after their adoption center (I got two bears that were hot glued to a giant frame for $3.99-score!) The snack mix was candy corn and teddy grams... a pretty tasty combo I might add.

And there she is... GoodWill bear #2 with a flower and bow to make her fit for the party.

Grandma made the cake again and I had very adorable cupcakes with a teddy gram and cupcake toppers on top, but no pictures (sigh, again)

We put together boxed lunches for everyone. We had BLTs, PBJs, and Ham and Cheese sandwiches. I put scrapbook paper in frames I had (from Mike's room) to make sure everyone knew which wich was which.

The boxes were layered with tissue paper, a piece of fruit, a baggie of pretzels and the bear mix, a sandwich and plastic ware tied with twine. The PBJ's were shaped like teddy bears for the kids.

The little kids really enjoyed themselves... I wish I could post this series of pictures of these three cuties eating and watching the park happenings! So funny!

After lunch there was more playing, running, and swinging! Present time! Even while she was opening the gift, she really did not understand they were hers. She kept saying "Mikey's presents" and trying to walk away... However, now that the presents are home she is very clear about who they belong, too.

Then it was cake time! It was pretty great to see all of Addy's cousins, friends, and neighbors lined up to sing happy birthday! Adelyn was a little overwhelmed... well, it was either that or the fact that everyone started singing without her, I am still not sure where the tears came from! At her first party she LOVED the singing so much we sang to her twice. Oh, those two year olds! I want to thank everyone who came to Addy's party for making her feel so special! Thanks to my parents and my neighbor Ashley who helped me make my vision a reality! And thanks to my sweet, lovingly, funny, strong willed, beautiful daughter who fills my life with more joy than I deserve! We are one amazingly blessed family!

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Overly Inspired

So how does a mommy realize that she is overwhelmed with creative inspiration? She wakes and sees she forgot to paint the toes on BOTH feet! What on earth would make a crafty mommy feel this excited and inspired? Planning the 2nd birthday party of her very favorite little girl!

I have to admit, part of my problem was pushing off the party plans for her big event. You see, I am just not ready for my baby to turn two! I am not ready for the baby and toddler years to be just a memory. I want to freeze time or put bricks on her head! Oh okay, the overwhelming, wonderful party ideas on PINTEREST did not help... I had trouble "pinning" down just one theme, center pieces, food, invites.... on and on! In the end I went with a Teddy Bear Fall Pic-Nic... aww! And this little project has been so much fun to make!

The inspiration came from this PIN and led me to Rhonda G's BLOG. I however, painted my pumpkins instead of using stickers and vinyl. The ribbon is layered on with wire! Even Adam was impressed when he saw them. For me they were easy, cheap, and they really fit Addy's personality... bright, girly, and cute as heck... not to mention her bow obsession. (Yes, our bow obsession!)

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If You're and You know It...

Preformed by the amazingly cute and talented...

Addy Bear Fey

Scrappy Hair Clip

I saw these fabric hair clips somewhere on-line, but could not find a tutorial... so, what is a mom to do?... figure it out... Here is how I did it...

First, I used my piking shears to cut many, many strips of fabric. These are about 1/2 an inch wide and four inches long.

The more you cute the fuller it looks. I tried washing one to see if fraying them would make them fuller ... nope.

Next, stack all the strips in random order, right side up. Make sure to spread them out like this... you can do this after you thread it, but it is easier this way.

I used three ply matching thread and tied my knot about three inches from the end, so that I would have plenty of thread to tie my finishing knot later.

So thread each strip onto your needle. It will not be exact center of each strip, but that is fine... hmmm, better even!

And again, stick the needle back through all the strips making about a 1/4 of an inch stitch.

Using the tail tie it all off. Next, pinch the center where your knot is to create a 'base'.

Stitch through the base several times and again knot it off. This is where you can hot glue or sew on a clip or pin. When you turn it over it looks like this... fun, huh? Addy sure thinks so! Maybe I should call them the Happy Scrappy Hair Bow!