Playgroup Valentine Party 2013

Brystol has been in a playgroup with the same bunch of six little friends for as long as she's been alive. Their mommies and I were all pregnant at the same time, so it's been fun to connect a couple of times a month over the last three years to play and visit and watch our little ones grow together. Brystol calls all her playgroup buddies her "best friends," and I really hope it stays that way for a very long time.

Since the initial playgroup was formed, two of the other mommies and I went on to add more kiddos to our families (both Elleigh and Piper fall in that second wave), and one of those same mommies and I are pregnant again right now. It'll be interesting to see if the second (and third) wave playgroup participants continue to get together even when the "original members" begin heading off to school.

Today was our annual playgroup Valentine party. As a simple craft, all the kids decorated white bags with crayons, markers, and Valentine's Day stickers. The bags were meant for the collection of Valentines, which was awesome because I completely forgot to bring containers for my girlies. After craft time, we shared some snacks. For my snack table contribution, I brought some chocolate-dipped marshmallows inspired by Pinterest. The original blogger raved that her marshmallow snacks were super-easy to make, and stated they took her "all of about 10 minutes" to put together. They took me a LOT longer than 10 minutes to assemble, and while my product was no where near as cute as the original, they were tasty -- that is, if you were able to successfully peel away the mini-cupcake liners I carried them in. Needless to say, not a snack I plan to make again anytime soon.

Valentine Party Fun

Playgroup Friends (minus two)

Playgroup Friends with the Freshman Class

Preparing Simple Toddler Valentines

With our Playgroup Valentine's Day party just around the corner, the little ladies and I put together some simple valentines for friends. Brystol chose to decorate some giant lollipops we picked up very inexpensively at a local discount store. We used our search engine to find a ready-made sheet of hearts, then printed them on light-colored card stock. She colored the hearts, then attached a little punched circle that read, "I'm a SUCKER for you, Valentine."

We easily could have taken things a step further by busting out the stickers and glitter, but since Brystol was content with simplicity, I saw no need to complicate things. My sweet girl was super excited to share these easy-to-make treats with all her "best friends."

Doing anything with these two little ladies, however, is anything but easy. Double the grabby hands and double the independent attitudes meant we needed something super easy and quick to make. I looked all over Pinterest for ideas I could implement with things I already had on hand, but I couldn't find anything easy enough for our needs. After pulling together some things from around the house, I had an idea that seemed somewhat unique (with "unique" now being defined as "not easily found on Pinterest").

Piper enjoyed a rousing game of chocolate keep away...

... while nearly-two-year-old Elleigh was tortured by the fact
that we all kept touching the supplies she suddenly deemed her property.

As for supplies, we used the same hearts printed on sheets of pink and red cardstock on which we wrote, "All our love, All our kisses... ♥ Elleigh & Piper." I cut them from the sheet leaving a little border around the outline. Instead of hand writing our sentiments, we could have possibly typed them up in Paint or by using a PDF writer. These little hearts would be simple to whip up with a Silhouette, as well (if you know how to use yours -- unlike me).

We used clear treat bags picked up on clearance, as well as some unopened bags of Christmas kisses -- also picked up on clearance. We sorted out all of the red and a few of the silver Kisses, leaving the green-wrapped Kisses for some St. Patty's Day treats.

Five Kisses packed in a folded treat bag, then stapled closed with a sweet little heart, and voilà...

a simple toddler valentine.

Making Mother's Day Memories

My mom came over to spend Mother's Day weekend with us. Since she now has terminal cancer, she's being very intentional about spending time with friends and loved ones, and spending Mother's Day weekend with me and with a large portion of her grandkids just fit. We went to church and dinner on Saturday night, then had a lazy Sunday morning opening gifts and going out for breakfast. I had flowers delivered to Mom's house before her weekend with us, and James and the big kids put together the "Grandma & Me" Hallmark Conversation Book for her to open on Sunday. Hearing the kids share special memories about their Nanny was precious, and Mom really treasured the gift.

James and the kids showered me with gifts and goodies, and Mom gave me the "Close to Me" Willow Tree figurine. The card insert read, "Let us always remain close. These figures stand for the bond that no distance can tear apart." She said when she saw it in the store, she just sat and cried, and when she gave it to me, I did the same. My relationship with my Mom hasn't always been perfect, but we've always been together, and the fact that she'll die sooner than any of us expected breaks my heart. I will miss her more than anyone in the world, and she insists that she'll miss me even when she's in Heaven -- though I seriously doubt that. Having Mom here to make Mother's Day memories with us was very special, but I sure wish things were different and we were together this year because we love to celebrate together, not because it might be our last opportunity.

Making Mother's Day Memories

Easter 2011: Celebrating

Our family had an especially sweet time celebrating Easter with our newest little bunny. The big kids were still excited about dressing up for church and unloading baskets, and Brystol really got in on the fun, enjoying the new toys and "can-nee." We'll need a bigger table to set out baskets next Easter!

Bub, Age 10

Gracie, Age 8

Brystol, 21 months

Elleigh, 6 weeks


Scenes from the Day

Happy Easter
from Our Family to Yours

Easter 2011: Jesus Is Risen!

"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake,
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven
and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid,
for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here, for he has risen, as he said."

Matthew 28:1-6 ESV

❤ A Sucker for Love ❤

We're exchanging valentines at Brystol's baby playgroup this month,
so I made some sweet little cards to exchange.

The cards I made are loosely based on a Family Fun project I spotted.
They're simple cardstock hearts with scalloped edges
and a DumDum sucker attached. The sentiment reads:

I'm a SUCKER
❤ for love ❤
Happy Valentine's Day!
from Brystol

Happy New Year -- Welcome 2011!

We rang in the new year in Oklahoma with our friends Marcie and Tobey. We spent a couple of days together watching movies, shopping after-Christmas sales, playing dominoes, and just hanging out, laughing over decades-old jokes. For New Year's Eve proper, Marcie hosted a small gathering of friends from church and served up all the delicious fare she's known for (while I contributed to the spread with the store-bought fare I'm known for. Plus some cake balls. I did make cake balls... and peppermint bark... and the cheeseball Marcie made was my recipe. Hey, maybe I'm not such a culinary loser after all!) Some board games were played while everyone was around, but I had to steal away to quiet an over-tired baby. When I returned, the other couples -- also with over-tired young children -- had to leave. At the end of the night, we four friends watched the ball drop and welcomed the new year with our children. The kids were sent to bed, another couple of adults dropped in, and the game playing resumed. In all, we had a great time. I can't think of a better way to ring in a new year or a better family to share it with.

Happy New Year!


photo credit: 111newsviews

Christmas 2010: Spies and Dolls and a Great Big Trip

On Christmas morning, James woke me up, his face in mine, whispering, "Wake up! It's Christmas!!" He'd been up for a while, anxiously awaiting the gift exchange. Though he'd never admit it, he's the biggest kid of us all! My mom must have heard us and she drowsily began dragging herself around upstairs. We had time for a cup of coffee in front of the beautiful fire James built before waking the kids. Yes -- we had to WAKE the kids. All of them. Even the baby.


I love our new Pottery Barn stockings! I generally just ogle the PB catalog and look for some cheap knock-off, but early in the season PB offered free shipping and free monogramming through their Facebook page. I could not pass on that good deal! I was concerned the little elfin stockings I chose for the kids would be too small for all their goodies, but they're the perfect size and adorable.


Brystol had a Yo Gabba Gabba Christmas. Usually Yo Gabba Gabba stuff is impossible to find, but I hunted around online and not only found some fun Gab n' Sing plush characters, I also found them on clearance for $8.50 each (reduced cost after online coupon, plus free shipping!) through Bealls Florida. The Muno character was not only not available through the same site, he's apparently a collector's item and available for $100 or more through collector sites -- yikes! I thought I'd try my hand at sewing together a simple Muno plush, but all the red minky was sold out at the craft store.

I did put my sewing skills to use, though, and I made Brystol a DJ Lance Rock doll. While hunting for toys to purchase, I discovered the Gabba Friends fan site, and featured there was the idea for creating a DJ Lance doll at home. I did as the original creator did and ordered an Urkel doll on eBay. I ordered the smaller, non-talking doll. Not only was it cheaper, but there's no chance it will spit out an Urkelism -- I like that better. I found some free doll clothes patterns online -- one for a turtleneck shirt and one for pants. I picked up about $2 worth of fabric and felt, then combined the patterns to make the super cool orange jump suit, making modifications for fit and style. The most significant change I made was using felt instead of fur for the hat. Brystol is still small enough for things to frequently make their way into her mouth, so for now, felt is a better option.

Brystol also got her first Asian baby doll -- the little almond-eyed Bitty Baby from American Girl. Gracie got an Asian doll when she was just a bit older than Brystol and it's still a favorite.



Gracie also got a new doll this Christmas -- a Just Like Me American Girl doll with brown hair, green eyes, earrings and braces. Gracie already had Chrissa, the 2009 Doll of the Year, but she really wanted a doll to resemble her more closely. I'm so pleased we bought her one this year -- she is really enjoying it. Also, I think this might be the last year she asks for baby dolls, a thought that makes me oh-so-sad. Gracie was also happy to get a new robe and slippers and a portable DVD player -- perfect for watching movies while at home or on super-long road trips with Mom.


I had a lot of fun pulling Bub's gift together. Though he's way too cool to admit it to the general public, he still loves imaginative play, so for his big (what would be a Santa) gift, I created a spy kit. I had a hard-sided case onto which I decoupaged the words "TOP SECRET." Inside, I tucked a video watch, a snake camera, rear-view spy shades, a magnifying glass, notebooks for field notes, a small flashlight, handcuffs, a machine gun, tiny tools, several badges, fake mustaches for disguises, disposable gloves, a brush for collecting fingerprints, a itty-bitty microscope for catching even the tiniest clue, and a Top Secret spy manual full of secret codes, recipes for invisible ink, etc. He loved it as much as I hoped he would and has been playing with it nearly nonstop.

He also added to the Tomica train universe that has taken over our game room, a pillowcase like his favorite candy, and substantial collection of Goosebumps books I picked up secondhand.




James got boring grown-up gifts that he both wanted and needed: new shirts for work, books, cologne, cold weather wear for his work up north. New video games made up for the boring.


We gave my mom lots of fun stuff. We gave her a new digital camera since she lost hers in a recent flood, but my favorite gift to her was this fun shirt. Mom works for the Home Depot -- perfect!


Without a doubt, though, this was MY Christmas. Christmas is usually okay for me, but James really, REALLY outdid himself this year. For who knows how long, he'd been conspiring with my BFF Marcie to plan a GIRLS-ONLY FOUR-DAY TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY. I had no idea. James kept saying things like, "I think you're going to like your gift," and he and the kids wrapped packages to be opened in a certain order. Gifts from the kids had a travel theme, but we do travel, so that didn't clue me in. Then I opened James' first gift to me -- a bag with a big apple inside. (Is that a clue that it's time to diet again? Have I said yes to one too many Christmas cookies?) The second gift was full of pictures -- one of a cityscape, one of what I thought was a planet, and one of some body of water. (Actually, I now know that the "city" was a picture of the Waldorf Astoria where we'll be staying, the "planet" was Mars, and the "body of water" was the sea. Mars + sea = Marcie, my dearest friend and travel companion. Very clever.) Here I am, crying like a blubbering idiot after James tells me what all the clues mean (because I totally couldn't figure them out on my own).


This gift is awesome because not only is it a GIRLS-ONLY FOUR-DAY TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY, but it also represents so much sacrifice. James travels a great deal for his job, and he really works the system for airline miles and hotel rewards and points. He spends so much time away from our family that we do not waste those miles and points -- they're reserved for family time together. For James to use some of those points to fly my friend from Oklahoma to Texas, and then to fly us both to NYC and home again means so much, then to use his hotel rewards to book a room for us at the Waldorf Astoria -- an 8-star hotel in a class of it's own -- is sacrifice. Moreover, for James to take off work during his busiest time of the month to stay home alone with three kids -- I cannot even describe to you what sort of sacrifice that represents. His generosity has blessed me deeply, and while I am super, SUPER excited about my GIRLS-ONLY FOUR-DAY TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY, I'm more excited about the love James showed through this selfless gift. I am a truly blessed woman!

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Today, my family celebrates the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We wish your family peace and joy both today and throughout the holiday season...

"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

Luke 2:1-20 ESV


photo credit: Evans & Sutherland

'Twas the Night Before Christmas: Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve 2010

S'mores Bites: Wherein I May or May Not Have Invented Deliciousness

As we prepared Christmas sweets this year, we had a special little helper in the kitchen, although I think more chocolate made its way into her mouth than onto our candies. I love these little pretzel kisses. They're so good and so easy, and one of my all-time favorite treats!

Speaking of treats, this year, I invented a new little sweet for our family. (Mind you, I use that term loosely because I'm certain someone far more inventive than I has suggested this snack in the past.) We love s'mores and have spent many winter evenings roasting marshmallows in our fireplace. Brystol's gotten bigger and so far she's been very good around the fire -- she hardly even notices if one is burning, and she's never made a move to get close to one. Because we want to neither draw her attention to the fireplace nor make her think it's okay to put things into the fire, this winter we've only made s'mores with the big kids while the baby slumbers. We've all been missing the taste, so I went on the hunt for ingredients to make s'mores bites.

I wanted to use graham cracker sticks, but I looked at a three different stores and couldn't find them anywhere. I substituted Teddy Grahams for this first batch -- not the best option, but a decent alternative. I placed Hershey's kisses on each cluster of two and warmed them in the oven (at 250) just until they were slightly melty to the touch (maybe 5 minutes). While the kisses were warm and gooey, I pressed a mini masrhmallow into each one, then I put them in the refrigerator so the chocolate would cool and set. Delicious!

Christmas in Aggieland

When Bub was one and I was pregnant with Gracie, we traveled from our home in Oklahoma to East Texas to spend Christmas with my father-in-law and James' grandmother. Our whole car was so full of baby paraphernalia there was barely room for the gifts we were bearing. It was on that long trip in that very crowded car that we decided we'd stay home on Christmas until our kids flew the coop. The decision made sense, really. James has one brother who, until this year, was single and had a very flexible schedule. James' dad and grandmother were the only other two in his family we ever spent a holiday with. They were both teachers until retirement, so because of the school holiday, they had the flexibility needed to travel as well. We had the kids and James has always worked in industries that require him to work through Christmas Eve. Staying home and creating Christmas for our kids was so much better, and if family members wanted to celebrate Christmas with us, they were welcome.

This year, though, James' brother Jerald got married and his wife, Hayley, has long spent her years dividing the holidays between one parent in Tennessee and the other in Georgia. They flew to Georgia for Thanksgiving and were driving to Tennessee for Christmas, and because of the way the holiday falls, they were going to have to drive straight back to College Station after the holiday to prepare for the post-Christmas reopening of Jerald's restaurant. They wouldn't have the chance to see us until the next weekend or later. Because Christmas is OVER for me on December 26th, we opted to head down to B/CS in advance of Christmas to share a meal and exchange gifts.

It was nice to get away from home this weekend and to escape the holiday hustle and bustle, even if only for the night, and we love spending time with Jerald and Hayley, so that was a bonus. And the kids -- they were SUPER excited to open presents early. They never get to do that!

Littles in Front of the Loot


What Could It Be?


Taking a Peek


No Need to Finish Unwrapping -- Wheeeee!


The Ripping and the Shredding


My father-in-law joined us for our pre-Christmas celebration in College Station, so while our regular family holiday will still happen at home on December 25th, this year it will just be us and my mom around the tree. Because Jerald and Hayley still need to figure out what works for their little family with regards to future holidays, I don't know what Christmas will look like next year, but the arrangements for this year mean a lot less work for me. I think we'll open presents, share a breakfast casserole and watch movies and/or nap all afternoon -- that's a Merry Christmas!

Charlie Brown in ICE! at the Gaylord Texan

Because a friend shared a great deal and we got BOGO event tickets, we went to the Gaylord Texan to see ICE! for the first time ever. Before ever arriving at the exhibit, though, we enjoyed the lights and holiday displays in the hotel. The Gaylord is already a gorgeous venue, but at Christmastime, it's unbelievable. Everything is lit and decorated and no detail is overlooked.


We explored the lobby briefly, then made our way to the main attraction. ICE! is an unbelievable 14,000-square-foot exhibit that features a variety of holiday scenes and sculptures hand-carved by 40 visiting artisans from Harbin, China. The display is comprised of two million pounds of ice and is kept at a wintry nine -- yes, nine -- degrees. This year the Gaylord Texan and ICE! recreated Charlie Brown and the Whole Peanuts Gang from a Charlie Brown Christmas.

Bundled in the Mandatory Blue Parkas


The ICE! Exhibit


Kids Enjoying the Ice Slide


Our Message to You
(Note: please ignore the random lip-licker. James took the photo.)


ICE! was truly a spectacular experience. Here is a little PR video from
the Gaylord in Tennessee, but the concept and process are the same.