Life {Sweet} Life

DIY Craft Tray

2012-01-31T13:01:00.000-06:00

Manny really likes to color and do more "crafty" things now, much to my delight. :) The challenge, as with most things, is keeping it all organized. I love this concept I saw from Family Fun via Pinterest. It's quite simple and inexpensive, so I knew I had to give it a try. Less than $3 later, my little organizational heart was full of joy!

What you'll need:
--a muffin tray (more on this below)
--cups
--magnets or velcro

1. I bought my muffin tray at Dollar Tree, but they also have jumbo sized ones at Wal-Mart for $5. I wanted to keep this cheap so just used the $1 version and it's working fine. The jumbo ones would allow more room for the cups to sit, but the regular one works fine as well.

2. The original idea covered the bottom of the cups with a magnet sheet. I didn't have big enough magnets to do that, so I thought I'd just use magnet strips. Well those didn't hold all that well, so I decided to use a piece of velcro instead, and that worked great. I just attached a piece to the cup and the opposite piece to the pan and it holds them in there perfectly.
3. Fill your cups with fun stuff and you're good to go! Manny loves fuzzy pom poms and popsicle sticks (random that I know that, but that's what happens when you leave your craft stash where your toddler can get in to it), so I filled a few cups with colorful ones. I also picked up a small playdoh set at Dollar Tree with some letter cutters.
This little tray has provided lots of entertainment and I'd definitely say it has been a hit with Manny. So much so that it's impossible to keep his little paws away from it. :)

Project 366: Week 4

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Oh, Baby Sister {An Update}

2012-01-27T10:07:00.000-06:00

Well, I think it's safe to say it's long overdue for an update on Baby Sister. I have had good intentions, but clearly that's gotten me nowhere. I am definitely in the honeymoon phase of this pregnancy, and loving every minute of feeling good and being productive (most days). I am lucky that the sickness of the first trimester is behind me and this pregnancy has been enjoyable.

I've seen all sorts of cute pregnancy documenting ideas on Pinterest, but it's just not realistic to think I'll actually do any of those at this point. Of the ideas I've seen, I thought Manny holding the chalkboard would be the simplest. Ha! That is what I'd like to call a momentary lapse in judgment...oh how naive I can be. As you'll notice, he basically messed with the chalkboard the whole time, then decided to pick it up and run off with it like a thief in the night. For this type of photo shoot to be successful with him, we'd need at least 2 more people there to distract him. So yeah, definitely not happening here anytime soon.

In the end, we decided a solo picture might be best - though I didn't do a great job of positioning the sign where you can still see my belly. We took these real quick before Patrick left for work yesterday morning, and while they aren't the best pictures - for a 5 minute photo shoot, I can't complain. And now at least we have a few pictures to document my pregnancy (I'm 25 and 5 in these pictures). Better late than never, right?

Actually I do have one other belly shot - this was taken at 20 weeks exactly.

I also realized I never blogged about my "official" ultrasound in which they would confirm gender. When I went in, the ultrasound tech was surprised to see I was by myself as she said normally people bring someone with them to that. Then she said - "Oh wait, are you one of those who cheated and found out early?" So I confessed I did, and she wanted to know what I was having. I wanted to say, "That's for you to tell me!" But instead, I told her that the last tech was fairly certain it was a girl. After taking a look, she said she "thought" it was a girl too. However, she wasn't super convincing. And to make matters worse? Do you see what she wrote on the picture? "LOOKS LIKE A GIRL" Really?! Whatever happened to plain ol' Baby Boy or Baby Girl. So it made me start second guessing, and I asked her and she said she was "fairly certain" it's a girl and would be surprised if it wasn't. So I guess it really is; I just thought it was strange that she said "looks like a girl". I mean come on people, commit already!! But the first tech was certain it's a girl, as well as Patrick, so I guess that's good enough. :)

What else? Ah yes...naming her. No, we haven't decided on a name yet, though I'd say we are really close and have it narrowed down to 3 choices. Patrick is Mr. Laid Back so is in no rush to name her. Doesn't he know there are monogrammed things to be ordered?! Actually now that I say that...I'm realizing maybe that's why he's dragging his feet on settling on a name. He's trying to buy as much time as possible before I start shopping perhaps? :) Actually I have only bought ONE thing for her so far...and it was just a pair of pj's. So I'm not going out of control as he anticipated I would. Honestly though, I think it all boils down to staying so busy, which can be a good thing!

Well hopefully it won't be so long before I update on this precious little girl again. She's really starting to move around a lot (at NIGHT of course!) and I forgot what a precious feeling it is. We are so thankful for an uneventful pregnancy thus far...keep behaving sweet girl! :)

Gabi's Sweet 16 Party

2012-01-26T13:17:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned last week, my lovely niece Gabi turned 16 this past weekend, and we had a wonderful time celebrating! I have to say I did a horrible job at taking pictures. The lighting in the place we were in wasn't great so a lot of the pictures just didn't turn out, and of course things were crazy. The saddest part is that I didn't get a single picture of me or Manny with Gabi! So instead, I will share this picture from when Gabi was my flower girl in homecoming many many years ago. However, it does seem like yesterday and it makes me feel so old to realize this little girl is now 16! (P.S. How about MY HAIR?!)
I shared about the invitations for her party here, and wanted to thank everyone for the kind words about them. I promise they're easy to make, so give them a try if you're looking for something different.
Gabi knew we were having a party for her, but she had no idea that my sister (Becky) had a lot of fun surprises in store. Becky rented out this huge lodge that was awesome and we all stayed there for the night. On Saturday, we went out there to set things up, but Gabi had no clue that's where we all were. Becky had dinner catered, and we also set up a sweets table with all sorts of snacks. For the backdrop, we did streamers taped to a strand of lights and hung them using 3M hooks. Thanks so much Ashley for this adorable idea! Our wall backdrop wasn't the best type for this (it was actually a rock fireplace), but I still think it turned out cute. It would be perfect on a solid color wall as I think it'd really give the streamers a chance to stand out.

The first surprise of the night was when Becky had a limo pick them up at their house! Manny was pretty excited about it too...poor guy thought he was going to get to cruise off in it. Not so fast buddy. From there, the limo took them to the lodge, and again, Gabi was surprised when she saw the place and everything set up.

We ate dinner and hung out for a bit. Manny loved hanging out with my nephews, and anywhere they were - you can guarantee Manny was only a few steps behind. He also took some time to love on my dad of course, and was a little pouty when I wouldn't give him anymore chips.

A little later, they went to pick up one of Gabi's friends who wasn't able to come earlier because of a basketball game. While they were gone, my sister's boyfriend brought Gabi's car to the lodge and had it sitting out front with a big red bow on it so it was the first thing she'd see when they pulled back into the house from getting her friend. Gabi had NO clue her mom had gotten her a car, and it was so fun to see her reaction! It absolutely blows my mind to see her behind the wheel. Remember Gab - NO TEXTING, TWEETING, OR FACEBOOKING WHILE DRIVING!! :) (And yes, I know you know...I just have to say it anyway.)

And I have to share this picture of Manny that my mom took. He kept lurking by the sweets table begging for handouts. It cracks me up that he is licking his lips here...who knows what he'd snagged.

So yes, it was a fabulous time and Gabi really appreciated everything my sister and everyone else did. It was a special weekend for a VERY special girl...love you and so so proud of you Gabbers! :)

Tuesday Tidbits

2012-01-24T08:00:00.004-06:00

--I shared about my love for Red Stamp here, and since then have decided to give their actual mailing services a try. I've used it to mail a few different postcards out - including one to Patrick while Manny & I were out of town this weekend, mostly so I could see first hand what the quality was like. :) I have to say I am SUPER impressed with the quality and overall service! Ordering through the app is fast and simple, and it took about 3-4 days for them to arrive. They were $1.99 each total, including postage. A few of the ones I sent were the pop-out kind, so the photo is perforated and can easily be popped out. (You can see an example of what it looks like in the top right picture - this was popped out of the postcard in the top left picture.) So yes, while a handwritten card is still #1 in my book, I have to say this is a very close second right now. It's just SO simple and I love that it can be personalized with a photo without me ever leaving my house or doing anything other than opening the app on my phone. The simplicity just speaks to this busy momma's heart.

Oh and I have to share a story about the one I sent to my niece Ellie (bottom left picture). The picture I used is one of her and Manny from last May, so it's a little old but I adore this picture so decided to send it. My sister said when she got it, Ellie asked, "Who's that little boy in the picture?" My sister told her it was Manny, to which Ellie responded, "Oh, from when he was a baby and still had long hair?" SEE?! Even she noticed Manny's hair got whacked!!

--A couple of weeks ago I saw a scarf tutorial via Pinterest that I wanted to try. I love scarves - I'm obsessed really and have way too many - and I'm always looking for different ways to tie them. I loved this particular method shown in the tutorial, but after giving it a try tweeted this picture and said that all it did was leave me sweaty, choked, and never wanting to wear a scarf again. Because after messing with it forever, this was the closest I got - which still wasn't it. I am pleased to say that I have since mastered the technique, and would like to retract the previous statement in which I may or may not have over-reacted. With a little more practice, I think I've finally gotten it down. So yes, this was a proud moment and what my accomplishments are boiling down to these days. You take what you can get, my friends. If you're interested in the tutorial, you can see it here.

--Since posting about How to Do Project 365 from your Phone, I've had some people ask me why their picture sizes are so small when posting from the BlogPress app. To be sure you're maximizing your picture sizing, follow these steps:

1. Open the BlogPress App.
2. Click on "Settings" on the bottom right of the screen.
3. Scroll down until you see the section that says "Editor Options" as shown in the screen shot above.
4. Click on "Photo Scale", and make sure your images are set to Large Size.

I don't know if that will completely solve everyone's problems, but I think that should help some of you at least.

--I have been wanting a few more canvases to put up in our house, so I was excited to see the deal on Doodle Deals today. It's $39 for $80 worth of product. I'll probably get the 16x20...now to decide which picture to use. Being indecisive is exhausting! If you're interested in this deal, you can see it here.

Happy Tuesday! :)

Project 366: Week 3

2012-01-23T08:00:00.002-06:00

Friday Fragments

2012-01-20T12:38:00.000-06:00

--I got an email the other day from someone who had been searching for BumpIt reviews, and came across a post I'd written a few years ago. I forgot about this, and more importantly this picture of my mom that I shared in that post. Isn't her hair something else?! I mean, the width alone is unbelievable. So if you're curious what this is all about, you can read the saga that was my attempt at using the BumpIt here, and you can also read about "the moment we first met" here...yes, I was a tad dramatic in these posts. And yes, I still have a special place in my heart for infomercials. And no mom, this picture will never get old. Sorry. :)

-- I realized last night that I never shared the birth announcement that I did for my friend Ashley awhile back. Her sweet little guy Judd was born at the end of October, and I was lucky enough to get to play photographer and take some pictures of him when he was just about a week old. Isn't he precious?! She wanted something simple, so I set up this picture so it would include lots of white space. Then to design it, I just put his info on the front, and the back was navy, green, and turquoise argyle. Very simple but I love it! It was inspired by this photo I saw on Pinterest.

--You may have noticed that some of my posts now have a "Pin It" button at the bottom of them (scroll down to the very bottom to see it on this post). This allows you to pin a post directly to Pinterest if you wish. Karen shared a great tutorial on her blog on how to do this. It was really simple, and I like the fact that I can just erase the html code as I'm posting if I don't want that post to have a Pin It button there. Thanks for sharing this Karen!

--I mentioned in my Project 366 post that Patrick and I went to a gala Saturday night. It was the Winter Gala for his work, and we had a lot of fun. I had a ridiculous time, however, trying to walk in heels again. I don't know what I was thinking, but it was a sight to see. I'm pretty sure at times it looked as if I'd had one too many drinks (which I hadn't) so I'm sure people were curious about if this pregnant girl was getting her drink on. Regardless, it gave us a good laugh, and we enjoyed getting out together for a bit.

Well that's all for today...hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Candy Box Invitations

2012-01-19T08:00:00.004-06:00

My sweet "little" niece is turning 16 this weekend, and I absolutely cannot believe it! It seems like just yesterday she was born. We're having a party to celebrate, so I came up with some invitations to send out. We decided the perfect thing would be box invitations like the ones my best friend did for Manny's baby shower.

Her party is going to be red & turquoise, which I LOVE of course. These didn't quite print the shade of blue I wanted, but I still love the way they turned out. I bought the red boxes at Michael's ($1 each) and designed an invite the dimensions of the box to go inside. This box was 3.75"x3.75", so I made it just a little bit smaller so it would nest in there perfectly. I used a few glue dots to hold it down to the bottom of the box.

For the outside, I also just designed something a little smaller than the box and used glue dots to affix it to the box. And of course, I filled the inside with some yummy "sweets" to match the party theme. I tied it together with a coordinating ribbon, but forgot to take a picture of that part.

Can't wait to celebrate you this weekend Gabbers!! Love you so much!! :)

20 Months

2012-01-18T12:24:00.000-06:00

Dear Emanuel,

Oh buddy. It's been awhile, huh? I'm a little sad that I totally dropped the ball on the last few monthly letters to you, but I have a hunch you won't mind a bit. Yesterday you turned 20 months old, and I knew it was time for another letter. I'm not sure how often I'll be writing these from now on, simply because...let's face it. Life is so busy. But there are so many things you do that I want to remember, so hopefully I'll find a way to get those documented somehow.

--I took some pictures of you for a 16 month post, but I never got around to actually writing it. When I look back at these pictures now, your transformation into a little boy just blows me away!

--I remember the day I took these pictures you were being so funny. You kept pointing across the street and yammering away. You had one of your rubber duckies and a soccer ball, and wouldn't put those down. You are so funny about always having some kind of object with you. It doesn't necessarily have to be the same thing, though you do have your favorites, such as the horse from your barn set or either of your Curious George stuffed animals. You love to give kisses, especially to George!

--Around 16 months old, you started getting your feelings hurt. If we'd verbally scold you, you'd cry and be sad. It was SO pathetic, and always made it a challenge when it came time to discipline you. Fortunately (I guess?) now you throw fits when you get in trouble, so we don't feel all that bad. You're a strong-willed little guy who seems to carry a lot of my personality traits...which at times, is frightening. :)

We have started seeing a little bit of your temper lately...yes, it is shocking, but you do get worked up from time to time. When you get really frustrated trying to do something you can't, or if we're making you do something you don't want to (like put on a coat), you've started shouting "dadadadada!!!" It seems as though you're using daddy's name as a curse word almost, and daddy doesn't understand what he ever did to deserve this. He said he probably needs to spoil you more, but I don't think that's possible as he's pretty much wrapped around your finger as it is. You guys are the cutest buddies and watching you play together is so sweet. You get sad when he leaves for work and race to the door when he comes home, and I know it certainly makes his day.

--You love trains and cars, and are always on the lookout for them. You say "wheee" when you push your cars around, or sometimes even when we're riding in the car and take off you'll shout it (that's when I know I'm going too fast - thanks Safety Man). You love to say choo-chooooo and push your trains all over the place too. Drawing and coloring are some of your favorite things to do, and I'm sure your Mimi is thrilled to see the chalk in your left hand in these pictures. You seem to switch back and forth on which hand you use, though favor your left hand - same with feeding yourself. I'm curious to see if you'll end up a lefty like your Mimi! You love to play ball and have learned how to make baskets in your little goal. It's the cutest thing ever to see you so proud! You also like to spin in circles until you fall down...silly boy. :)

--You absolutely love to play with your belly button. It definitely has become like a comfort thing for you. If you're sad or tired, you are almost always playing with your belly button. It's kind of cute but also kind of strange. Your daddy says there are worse things you could be playing with though, and I certainly won't argue with that. Let's keep things north of the border, okay buddy?

--I'm not sure whether to be proud or ashamed, but you are a whiz with electronics. You love playing on our phones and the iPad. It always makes us laugh when you march right over, pick it up, and get your little pointer finger going to unlock the screen. Your favorite game by FAR is Tozzle (a puzzle game), and of course any of the games with animals. You also like to watch YouTube videos. Oh yeah, and tweet links to the videos you're watching. I can't figure out how to unlink my YouTube and Twitter, so I tried to hide the YouTube app in a folder...which, of course, you found. Little stinker.
--You are quite the little chatter box. As your cousin Ellie says, it seems you speak Spanish, though I think your English is starting to improve. You say a lot of basic words and will repeat many things we say to you. You used to say "a-weeeeeeze" for please, then you shortened it to "weeeze", and now it's usually just "wee". You still do a quick swipe across your chest like the sign language for please when you say it. You also sign thank you when you say "dank you" or just "danks". "Woah" and "wow" are other favorite expressions of yours, and you usually use them in the appropriate context so it's pretty funny. You love to make animal sounds, which comes as no surprise given your crazy love for animals.

--And I'm sorry Bub, but I have to include this one. Almost every time you take a bath, you poop in the tub. I don't know what it is - I guess it relaxes you? Pretty gross, but on the bright side? If you're ever constipated, I know I can put you in the bath to take care of it.

You are so much fun buddy, and you make the long days totally worth it. It is challenging but fun to learn and grow together. You have become my little sidekick and I just love you to pieces. You bring daddy and I more joy than you'll ever know.

I love you baby boy!!

XO,

Mommy

DIY Activity Center Tutorial

2012-01-17T13:02:00.000-06:00

I saw the idea - where else? - on Pinterest to use an oil drip pan as an activity center. With so many refrigerators not being magnetic anymore, I thought this was the perfect idea for an activity space for kids. The person who originally posted about this used it as a magnetic board just as it came, so that is a perfect and simple option, and still looks cute. You know me though - I like to complicate matters :) - so I changed it up just a bit. Here is what you'll need if you'd like to make one too.

Supplies
--Oil Drip Pan (I got mine at Wal-Mart for $10)
--Chalkboard Paint (I used Martha Stewart from Michael's)
--Spray Paint
--Painter's Tape
--Moulding (optional)
--Small paper mache' box (optional)
--Magnets (optional)

1. Spray paint your drip pan if you wish. Since I was running low on spray paint, I didn't paint the side where I knew I was going to put the chalkboard paint. You'll notice there are some words embossed on one side of the pan, but I don't think it's all that noticeable once you put magnets on it.

2. Use a foam brush (or brush of your choice) to paint half of the board with chalkboard paint. Now. As you can see, I let my impatience get the best of me, and painted despite the fact that I was out of painter's tape. I do NOT have a steady hand, so the results were a little rough. That decision still haunts me.

3. Because of my mistake above, I decided to pick up a piece of wood moulding from Michael's to cover up my messy line. It was on sale for $1, and I just used a regular pair of scissors to cut it the length I needed to fit the board. Then I spray painted it the same turquoise as I'd used on the rest of the pan, and glued it down.

4. Michael's also had some of their wooden shapes on sale for 17 cents, so I picked up a few and hot glued a magnet on the back. I also added some alphabet magnets from my teaching days.

5. For the chalkboard side, I bought a little box from Hobby Lobby and added a few old stickers to it. Then I hot glued 2 magnets on the back so I could use it as a chalk holder.

And that's it! Manny absolutely loves it and it is providing lots of great entertainment. The person who originally posted about this said she used 3M tape to hang it on the wall and that worked fine. Right now, I just have it propped up in the living room until I decide where I want to put it permanently.

Happy Tuesday! :)

Project 366: Week 2

2012-01-16T08:00:00.003-06:00

How to do Project 365 from your Phone

2012-01-13T08:00:00.006-06:00

One of the things that often gets brought up when I'm discussing Project 365 is how difficult it can be to keep up with. So after a few requests and one demand - you know who you are :) - I decided to share a way you could keep up with Project 365 from your phone. No, this isn't how I'm doing it right now, but I do think it's a great option and this is possibly a way I will stay caught up with it this year once I have a little baby and wild toddler to tend to.

There are a variety of apps that would allow you to do this fairly easily from your phone. For this post, I will focus on 3 apps that I think make a good combination for this purpose.

For starters, you need an app to blog with. BlogPress is definitely the best one out there. It used to be free, but then it went away for awhile. Thankfully now it's back, but it's $2.99. I will say it's definitely worth it though given the options it has.

Next, as I mentioned yesterday, I'd recommend the Project 365 app. This isn't a must, but it does make it easier to stay on track and know if you've taken your picture for the day. I love the fact that you can set reminders to take a picture. This is a free app.

Now for the picture & journaling portion of it, I would recommend the Red Stamp app, which is also free. I think this is such a fun app! You can basically build a little "greeting card" and then email, text, or save it to your phone for free. Or you can pay to actually paper mail your designs...pretty cool and very user friendly! I will say that if you save the design to your phone, etc., it has their little logo on the bottom, but I don't think it's bad at all - did you even notice it in the photo above? Anyway, let's get started!

1. Download Red Stamp and open the app. It will show all the options of card types. Most of the different themes have photo designs in them, but I think there are plenty of great designs in the "photo" section.

2. Browse through the designs, and select the one you want to use. I decided to go with a single photo design so I could journal about that particular picture and it still be large enough to read.

3. Once you click on an individual design, you just tap in the boxes to add text and a picture. You can even zoom or shrink to adjust your picture to the template. You'll also notice a variety of color options on the right side of the screen. Just click on them to preview the colors and choose the one you want.

4. When you have it the way you want it, click the "Send" button on the bottom right. This screen will pop up, and you can choose what you want to do with the image. I chose "Save to Photos" so it would be in my photo roll when I went to blog from my phone.

5. Next, go through and choose different pictures from each day of the week, change the text, and save them until you have a design for all 7 days. Then open BlogPress, insert your 7 images, and post it!

I think after doing this a few times, it would become fairly easy and quick to do. I did notice that some designs might be better than others in regard to being able to easily ready them. Generally speaking, the ones that have darker text seem easier to read, but that's not always the case...just a matter of personal preference I suppose.

Well I hope this is helpful to some of you, and if you use another app to do this I'd love to hear about it too. Go Team Project 366! (haha!!)

Thursday Randoms

2012-01-12T08:00:00.003-06:00

--So my newest obsession is this Fruit Infusion Pitcher. I pretty much just drink water and don't mind it, but sometimes it's nice to have a little something extra. This pitcher is such an easy way to get flavored water without having to add fruit to your cup every single time. This picture is of some blueberry cucumber water, which is so refreshing. I also like to put strawberries and lemons, or lemons and limes...there are lots of combinations I want to try. You can also make flavored tea with this. Can you sense my enthusiasm about this?! Ha! And no, I wasn't asked to post about this...but I love when simple things make me happy so I thought I'd share it here. I bought mine on Amazon but I've also heard Bed Bath & Beyond carries them. I checked a few stores though and they never had any so that's why I ended up just ordering online.

--Thanks for all the sweet feedback on my new Project ~~365~~ 366 format. (It's so hard for me to remember to say Project 366. It just doesn't flow.) It seems this new format is actually much easier to read, and I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks again for the input. I also wanted to mention an app I'm using to help me keep track of my pictures. It's just called Project 365 if you search the app store, and I use the free version. I started using it towards the end of last year and never posted about it because it went crazy on me when I did a software update, so I thought it might not be a good app. After a few people have recently mentioned how much they love it, I decided to delete the app and re-download it, and so far it seems good to go! It has a feature where you can set a daily reminder to take your picture too, so that's super helpful.

--I also wanted to say thanks for everyone's encouragement and support about my post asking for advice on Manny's attachment issues. He went to MDO on Tuesday, and it was a rough drop off. Quite a few people suggested having him walk in instead of carrying him, so I did that. And it was SO sad....as we started walking towards the building his lip started quivering and he started whimpering...he knew what was coming. But he kept walking, just very slowly. When we got to the room, it was crazy...LOTS of kids crying, I'd say probably because they were just coming back from break. Anyway, I dropped him off as quickly as I could, and he wasn't thrilled, but calmed down pretty quick. (I listened around the corner.) When I went to pick him up, they said he had a pretty good day overall. They noticed that he would go get toys to play with but bring them back over by the teacher; he just always wanted to be close to her. He wouldn't take a nap (which is a WHOLE other bag of issues I won't go in to) so during nap time, they ended up taking him to the nursery (6-12 month olds) to let him play. And you know what? They said he just took off running in there and had a great time playing independently. So they think his regular class just might be overwhelming to him...who knows. He isn't around kids his age really all that much. All his cousins are younger or older, and he loves playing with them, so I don't know if that has something to do with it or if this is just a random phase? All I know for sure is he's too stinking cute...and I'm praying he settles in soon. :)

Well this post ended up kind of long, rambly, full of run-on sentences, and the use of the word "so" at least 97 times...imagine that. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday! :)

Project 366: Week 1

2012-01-11T13:28:00.000-06:00

So here we go again! Yep, I'm jumping in to Project 366 (it's leap year!) and am a little nervous. I know this year will change greatly after the birth of little sister in May, so I might start doing my posts differently at that point. Who knows...only time will tell! I was so overwhelmed by all the template choices out there, and ended up buying this template and changing it up to fit my needs. I decided to include the daily summaries in the actual image, rather than separate text, so that way when I go to print the book all I have to upload is this image below. Again, that's what I've decided at this moment. But? I am SO indecisive, you might see something totally different next week. Oh the excitement, right? But for now, this is what I have this week. Let the fun begin! :)

I know not everybody reads these posts (understandably so), but if you do, I'd love some feedback on if this is too hard for you to read in this format or if it works okay. I'm particularly asking my email subscribers (read: family members) if this format translates okay to email? Thanks for your help!

A Day at the Museum & Some Advice {PLEASE}

2012-01-09T11:57:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed a nice weekend at home with not a lot going on...it was great to have nothing planned for a change! On Saturday, we decided to go to the Science Museum.

Manny was obsessed with the water table and we spent the majority of the time there. He would push the boats and ducks and say "whee" the whole time. There were some bigger kids there, but he bellied up to the table without hesitation and held his own.

Once we drug him away from the water table, he had fun checking out the optical illusion room. Of course he thought the table and chairs were cool, though he was a little frustrated he couldn't climb up on them on his own. They also had these little circle mazes on the floor and he would spin around on them until he got so dizzy he fell down. Silly boy.

Now. On to more important issues. I need your advice. PLEASE. For the past few weeks, Manny has not done well when I drop him off at nursery or MDO. As soon as we walk in, he immediately snuggles in to me and starts whimpering because he knows what's coming (which absolutely BREAKS my heart). When I hand him off, he starts crying but they can usually calm him down with toys or a snack. However, he still wants to be held, and if they put him down he starts crying and won't stop unless they pick him up. So it typically results in them calling me to come get him since it's not realistic for him to be held the whole time. I've only been called to come get him at MDO once right before Christmas break, but he starts back up tomorrow and I'm worried it's going to be more of the same. I'm fortunate that his MDO is great and always really patient with him. He does have a favorite teacher there though, and she's a sucker for holding him a lot...which I told her she doesn't need to, but I know she's just trying to be helpful.

Here's the thing...it's not like I hold him a lot at home, so I don't know why he's insisting on being held these other places. In fact, I rarely hold him at home because he's always on the go and is excellent at independent play. I've tried going in and helping him transition by playing with him there, etc., but that only seems to make it worse. I know most likely this is "just a phase" and will pass, but if you have any input or advice on what to try I'd love to hear it!

Christmas 2011 {Part 3}

2012-01-08T15:32:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm finally to my last Christmas post for 2011...our little family Christmas at home. After traveling for the holidays, we decided to have our Christmas on Wednesday because Patrick was only working a half day that day.

We got Manny a few fun toys, and for his "big gift" we couldn't decide between a kitchen and a tent. Any time we're somewhere with a kitchen, he loves to play with it. But he also is really into tunnels, exploring, etc., so we thought a tent would be fun. I looked around a lot, and in the end, Patrick's vote won out and we ended up getting a Mickey Mouse play center, which was RIDICULOUSLY HUGE. Not exactly what we had in mind. And oh yeah, part of it is a ball pit. Having already experienced the fun that is having a ball pit in my living room (read: I spent 93% of my time tripping on or picking up balls), I was less than thrilled about this decision. But figuring that he'd absolutely love it, I decided to say oh well and allow this eyesore into my living room. And I say eyesore simply because it took up HALF THE ROOM. Not exactly inconspicuous. But more on that later.

Manny woke up at his usual time of about 8:00, and I had Patrick go in his room and give him his milk in there instead of bringing him out. I wanted Manny to be in a good mood for opening presents, and of course I wanted to be out there to snap some pictures of him coming out, so that's why we did it like that. Manny definitely knew something was up because of this change. Whenever he finished his milk and Patrick was trying to get him to come out of his room, he was a little hesitant and kept clinging to Patrick, but he eventually made his way out. And when he did, he was a little overwhelmed, but also very excited to see everything.

Of course it comes as no surprise that he immediately went for the barn. He absolutely LOVES animals, and this horse has become his best friend. He takes it with him everywhere! (Check out that bedhead by the way...nice. And I'm talking about Manny, not Patrick. Though I'm sure Patrick would be thrilled to know I posted this pic on the world wide webs. Good thing he doesn't read my blog.)
It was hard to get Manny to pay attention to anything but the barn, but we eventually lured him away and he noticed the play tent. He went straight to the ball pit portion of it and started throwing the balls out of it...naturally. (Please note he's still carrying his beloved horse too.)

After that, he made his way to opening a few presents, and playing with some of his other toys. Again, you'll notice the horse nearby in most pictures. I love the picture with his bottom lip pushed out. I do that a lot when I'm thinking or working on something...in fact, I just realized I'm doing it as I type this! But it always makes me laugh to notice him doing it from time to time too.

He loved his rocking monkey. He likes to ride on it and say "Whee!" and "Hoo-hoo-ha-ha!" It's so sweet.

Much to ~~my delight~~ our surprise, Manny never really ended up showing much interest in the play tent. We left it up for almost a week, and he barely went near it at all...other than to throw the balls out of the ball pit. No thanks. SO when I saw this kitchen on sale for $45, we decided to exchange it. And I am so glad we did...he absolutely loves it, and I can walk through my living room again. Win-win!

Well that's it's for our Christmas recaps! It was a crazy busy holiday with loads of fun. I get tired just thinking of doing it with 2 kiddos next year...but I absolutely cannot wait!! :)

Project 365: Week 52 {WOW!}

2012-01-06T08:00:00.003-06:00

YEAH!!! I made it all.52.weeks. I really can't believe it, but I am SO glad I stuck with it. I remember deciding I was going to do this project, and subconsciously figured I'd probably quit doing it a few months in...or sooner. My blogging may have been sporadic and non-existent at times this past year, but I have to pat myself on the back for keeping going with this project, and catching up when I fell behind. But enough tooting my own horn...let's look at our final week of 2011! It was actually 8 days, so I changed the template a little so I could fit all the pictures into one collage.

December 24 - This is Manny's new favorite way to sleep in the car. I have like 30 pictures of him sleeping like this...I just think it's adorable!
December 25 - Manny absolutely loves my nephew Hayden and had a lot of fun hanging out with him Christmas day. Manny loves to play ball, and Hayden is always so sweet and patient to "play catch" with him.
December 26 - Hayden, Gabi, and Manny hanging out in the kitchen before we left my parent's house. I'm pretty sure Manny was plotting how to sneak a cookie here.
December 27 - Manny is climbing everything in site, and for some reason he just realized if he climbed up on his toy box, he could reach the light switch. He spent about 30 minutes that day turning the lights on and off. Awesome.
December 28 - We went to Incredible Pizza with my nieces, and they had way too much fun. Manny LOVED the little carousel.
December 29 - We did a little shopping at Target, and he used his cuteness to charm Gabi into getting him out of the cart for a shoulder ride. We absolutely loved having Gabi stay with us for the week, and miss her so much. Come back Gabbers!!
December 30 - I had a dr's appointment this day, so Gabi was awesome enough to baby-sit Manny for me so I didn't have to drag him along. She texted me this picture of him while I was gone...of course he'd found another little table to climb. I'm pretty sure he pushed it over to the TV so he could be closer. She said he was watching TV like this.
December 31 - And this is the last picture of my sweet baby boy in 2011. I took it right before midnight while he was sleeping soundly. I really wanted to pick him up and rock him but I resisted. :)

Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to continuing this project in the coming year. Once I got in the habit of taking a picture every day, it was no big deal. Yes, 99% of the pictures are from my phone, but I don't care...plus it takes pretty good pictures. I know a picture a day can be overwhelming, but these have been good for me to document all of the things Manny does. So here's hoping 2012 is just as successful! :)

{Free Printable} I Love You Because Message Board

2012-01-04T08:00:00.011-06:00

I was browsing Pinterest the other day when I came across this pin from a content housewife, and knew it was something I couldn't wait to make. Patrick & I used to be great at leaving each other little notes, but it's definitely slowed down lately. I knew this idea was perfect, and something that we'll (hopefully) do on a regular basis. I've been trying to focus daily on all of the little things I'm thankful for. Blessings, big and small, are all around us, and there's so much I take for granted. So this works perfectly with my desire to be more "intentional" in showing my husband just how amazing I think he is and how I appreciate the things he does - no matter how little.
And yes, that includes him putting his clothes IN the hamper. Quite the accomplishment in our house, friends. :)

If you want to make one, it's quite simple. I've made a printable in a few different colors, and shared them for download below. Just click on the link or the picture of the one you want to download. After you download it, print it out and put it in an 8x10 frame (if you don't already have one, they are half off at Hobby Lobby this week). Then use a dry erase marker to write messages on the glass. Easy peasy, and so much fun!

Enjoy! :)

Christmas 2011 {Part 2} & A Sweet Surprise

2012-01-03T11:06:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year friends! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. We sure did, but are ready for things to get back to normal. And by that, I mean I have to stop eating everything in site. I never finished posting about our Christmas, so I'll share some today, and then wrap it up in one more post.

After we celebrated Christmas with Patrick's family, we made a quick trip up to NE Oklahoma to celebrate with my family.

The pictures are mixed together here, but we started Christmas morning with stockings for the kids. My sister & I decided to go ahead and do stockings at my parent's house that morning since the rest of the fam wouldn't be over til later in the day. You can see though that all Manny really cared about were the fruit snacks. Next year those will go at the very bottom. :) I also thought this little picture on the bottom left was such a cute idea. My niece Livvy brought this home from school. It's a little gift that says To: Livvy From: God, and inside is a little baby Jesus. Such a sweet idea! The rest of the pictures are from later in the day when everyone was there. Manny got lots of fun presents!

We tried to get a family picture together, but you can see how that went. Manny was way too busy ~~throwing fits~~ playing to pose for a picture.

When the kids were passing out & opening presents, I was surprised to have one of them bring me a big box. Since we only do gifts for the kids (other than a Dirty Santa exchange after the kids are done), I wasn't expecting anything. Well wouldn't you know, Patrick surprised me in a BIG way - definitely 1 of the top 3 surprises he's pulled off only behind my 30th birthday party and our engagement (I thought I'd blogged about that but can't find it - I need to do that!) Turns out it was a gift "from Manny". The card on it was SO sweet that I didn't even care what was inside. I took a picture of it, but since you can't really see it I wanted to include it here so I'll have a record of it. :)

To: Mommy
From: Manny
This is for all those late nights/early mornings, all those dirty runny diapers, all those temper tantrums - past, present, & future. For all those times I stand on your bare feet with my shoes, jab or climb on little sister in your belly, or pour out all my snacks all over the grocery store floor to hear them scatter across the aisle. For all the runny noses and the times I tell you I am done with my food by either spitting it out onto my shirt or throwing it across the room or onto the floor. For the times I rearranged your cabinets or the laundry for that matter, especially after you just folded it. For the times I empty out the bathroom drawers into the bathtub or the times I am crying and whining and WE don't know why. But what I DO know is that it doesn't matter how little sleep you get, how sick you may be feeling, or how grumpy I am...you are always there for me! For this I will always love you. Merry Christmas!
Love, Manny

After I read it, I couldn't stop crying...it just really meant a lot to me. I am so blessed with a thoughtful husband! I absolutely love the coat they surprised me with, but I will always cherish the card and sentiment behind the gift. :)

As you can see from the picture above when I was kissing Manny, he was way too busy playing with my phone to pay attention to me. He really wasn't all that interested in opening presents at times because he's so obsessed with my phone! This is what he looked like while the other kids were opening gifts. Not the whole time, but still...he's a mess! We ended up hiding it so he could focus. Ha!

My parent's totally spoiled all the kids, and it was fun to watch them open all their gifts. My mom made THE cutest aprons for my nieces...I'm a little jealous of them! :)

My parents even bought some sweet gifts for little sister (who we are hoping to finalize a name for soon!) I love the look on Patrick's face in this picture. He doesn't know what to think about all the girly stuff. And honestly, I don't either...but I love it. :)

We were so lucky to have our Grandma Joy join us for the day too. She is the sweetest thing, AND brought me an awesome jar of pickles she made! Thanks so much Grandma Joy...I'll be ready for more soon. :)

It was definitely another fun family Christmas celebrating Jesus' birth, and a wonderful reminder of the blessings in our lives. All that's left now is our little family Christmas at home, so (for those of you that are still reading) I will post about it later this week. :)

What to Do with Christmas Cards?

2011-12-30T14:26:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned just a few times, I love getting Christmas cards. I can never bring myself to throw them away, and always have good intentions of doing something with them. But alas, they typically end up in the great photo box of doom, never to be seen again. I vowed this year would be different, and I'm happy to report that thanks to Pinterest, I have 2 fun new ideas for my Christmas cards! So I thought I'd share these with you today before your cards get lost in the post-holiday chaos.

Eighteen25 shared about turning your Christmas cards into a little book, and I thought this was perfect! I like this idea for a couple of reasons. First, there's very little cost involved. All you do is print your cover, then get some book rings to hold them together. I also like this because unlike when you put them in a an actual photo album, you can still see the front and back of the card, as many people are now using double-sided cards. Oh, and also? This idea works well because cards come in SO many different sizes that it's hard finding the right photo album to put them in. So yeah, I think I've made it clear that I think this is a great idea. :) I love that it also took me only about 10 minutes to do this. For the free printable and full tutorial, go here.

The other fun idea I came across via Ashley Ann Photography is to take photos of your Christmas cards with your phone, then assign that picture to that person's contact info. Then when they call, their cute Christmas card photo will be displayed. I've loved doing this just because I don't have photos for most of my contacts, plus these are usually everyone's favorite pictures, so I'm sure they'd love that their pictures are getting used for this! :)

Do you do anything special with your Christmas cards? I'd love to hear about it if so!

Your Design Questions, Answered

2011-12-29T11:36:00.005-06:00

First, I want to say I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to read, comment, or email me. I really do love hearing from readers, and getting to know you guys better is so fun. That being said, could I ask a HUGE favor? If you don't have your email account attached to your profile, will you please do so? That way I can respond to you if you leave me a question. If you don't know how to do it, Libby has a great tutorial here.

If you don't want to attach your email address to your profile, be sure to include it in your comment or email me directly instead. I will do my best to respond from my phone right when I get it, and it's not possible to do if your email isn't there with the comment. :) I've been horrible about keeping up with emails in the past, and I seriously want to change that going forward. So I'm going to try to handle them a little differently...who knows if it will work or not, but I just know I need to try to find some organization somehow...so wish me luck. :) Now on to what this post was supposed to be about!

I get a lot of questions about how I design stuff, so I wanted to put a post together that will hopefully answer some of the questions people have. If you've been reading my blog for very long, it is probably apparent to you that my design knowledge has changed & grown as time goes on. The main reason for that is because I am self taught, and have no real training in design. So it's kind of a learn-as-you-go approach. I mention that just to encourage those of you who want to learn - it's totally possible if you just take the time to explore and try to figure things out.

Now for some of the most common questions I get:

What program do you design in?
I design in Adobe Photoshop. That hasn't always been the case, but that is all I use now. I have never used Photoshop Elements, but from what I understand, it will work just as well as Photoshop for digital scrapbooking type projects. It is A LOT cheaper than Photoshop, and if I hadn't been given Photoshop, that's what I would've bought. You can download a free 30 day trial of it from Adobe here, and I would recommend doing that before you can buy it. That way you can try it and see if it's something you'll really use. I will warn you that if you've never worked in a program like this before, it will seem overwhelming at first. I had NO clue what I was doing to begin with. BUT with time, that all changes...just make yourself play around in the program, and google google google any questions you have! There are SO many great tutorials out there. If you decide to purchase Photoshop Elements, it is usually cheapest on Amazon. I've seen it as low as $40, but I think it stays around $60 - $100 most of the time.

I want to learn to digital scrapbook or make my own printables. How can I do that?
As I mentioned, I am completely self taught through trial and error and just reading random tutorials, so that's one way. Since then, I have discovered an amazing site with lots of classes that would probably make it much easier to learn - www.jessicasprague.com. She has online classes that I've heard wonderful things about. I've never taken any of her paid classes, but occasionally she will offer a free class and I always jump in on those just for the exposure to new tips. When you first join her site, she offers 2 free basic classes - you can see the info here. I would definitely recommend taking those classes to get started.

Where do you print your designs?
For items such as cupcake toppers, banners, and water bottle labels, I typically print those at home. I don't have a fancy printer; just a normal HP inkjet. I prefer to print on matte presentation paper because it really makes the color vibrant. I usually buy my matte presentation paper at Target or an office supply store like Office Depot.

For invitations and cards, I prefer to have those printed by a professional printer. Vista Print provides good quality products at great prices. Be sure to sign up for their emails - don't ever just pay the price on the site. They send a lot of emails with specials, so that can be annoying, but if need be just sign up before you know you need something. Also, I never choose the fastest shipping option from there. The slowest option says it can take up to 21 days, but I've never had it take anywhere close to that. There is a considerable price difference, so that's why I mention that. I have also heard good things about mpix and WinkFlash, but I have never personally ordered from them.

How do you make matching or custom labels?
Again, these are designed in Photoshop. I just design something the dimensions of the type of label I want to use, and coordinate it to match whatever I am mailing.

Where can I buy digital designs such as clip art, background papers, and elements?
There are a LOT of great digital scrapbooking sites out there. For freebies, Shabby Princess has some great kits. I used these a lot at first when I was trying to decide if digital scrapbooking was something I'd get into. You can also find a lot of freebies if you just google "free digital scrapbooking" or something along those lines. To purchase kits, ScrapMatters and Jessica Sprague are great, as well as etsy. Keep in mind a lot of this stuff is for personal use only, but many designers offer a commercial license if you plan to sell your designs; you'll just need to purchase that separately.

What program do you use for your Project 365 collages?
The template I used in 2011 is a free download from The CoffeeShop Blog, and is a Photoshop file. She has a lot of free templates, and I think the majority of them are compatible with Photoshop Elements.

Well I think that covers the questions I get asked the most. If there is anything else you'd like to know (or if you have any advice or tips to share), please leave a comment or send me an email and I'll try to update this post. As I mentioned, I am definitely not a professional but I just wanted to share what little knowledge I have for those who have asked. Hope this is helpful to some of you!

Top Projects of 2011

2011-12-28T10:28:00.001-06:00

Today I am linking up with Rhoda to share my Top Projects of 2011. It's always fun to look back at the year and see what I did. I will say most of my top projects are actually parties, but if you've ever thrown a party, you definitely know that's a "project". I compiled this list based on the number of page views each page received. So here they are, in no particular order. Click on the link or picture to be taken to the post for each project.

DIY Baker's Twine

Manny's 1st Birthday Party

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Invitations

DIY Printable Water Bottle Labels

DIY Easy Banner Tutorial

Pretty in Pink Baby Shower

Little Man Baby Shower

Vintage Football Sip & See

Prehistoric but not Extinct {40th Birthday Party}

DIY Gumball Machine Candy Jar

LiveStrong Party

It was fun looking back and seeing what the year held! And was also refreshing to realize I did something this year other than eat. Though that is mostly what I did at these parties. Such is life! :)

Project 365 Options & Week 51

2011-12-27T11:46:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all the great feedback on Project 365! I am still deciding on how I want to continue doing it, and will let you know when I come to a decision. In the meantime, I had some requests to share some of the ideas I've seen for doing Project 365.

There are a variety of ways to do it, and so you just need to decide what your purpose/goal is in doing it. I knew I wanted to print mine as a book, so a collage of each week rather than individual pictures seemed to be best. Also, I did this strictly for my own record keeping. I didn't upload to any of the Project 365 forums or link-ups, but I know there are a lot of great ones out there if you want to interact more with other P365ers.

--The template I used this year is a Photoshop template that is a free download from the Coffee Shop Blog, and can be found here. She actually has tons of free Photoshop templates. The one I used was not designed to be a P365 template, but it works perfectly for it.

--One of my favorite digital scrap designers, HayNay, just came out with some fun Project 365 stuff. You can see it here.

--I know not everyone has Photoshop, so another option would be to use Picnik or Picasa to make your collages.

--Sarah at Naptime Momtog is hosting Project 366 Rewind, which includes weekly prompts. You can read more about it here.

--There are also quite a few Photoshop templates sold at Jessica Sprague.

Now for week 51...WOW! I really can't believe I've made it this far.

December 17 - My parents came to visit for the weekend and we did a little shopping. Manny absolutely loves my dad and always wants him to hold him as soon as he sees him...so sweet! :)
December 18 - Manny has been quite the help with Christmas decorating this year. He likes to randomly put his books or toys in the tree. I was walking by and noticed this book tucked in the branches and it just made me laugh.
December 19 - Patrick & Manny love to wrestle and play when Patrick gets home from work. Patrick got kind of tired after playing for a bit, so was just laying there but Manny wanted him to keep playing. So he started trying to pull him up by the hair...such a tough little guy!!
December 20 - I was doing the dishes when I heard Manny in the hall saying "choo choo!" I walked around the corner to see he'd found where I was keeping his Christmas presents! Guess I need to do a better job of hiding those next year.
December 21 - I was getting ready, and walked in to find Manny climbing to the very top of the toilet. He is SUCH a climber right now!
December 22 - Today was Manny's last day of MDO before Christmas break, and they had a pj party to celebrate. I love him in these pj's!
December 23 - Manny absolutely loved my mother-in-law's village, and wanted to play in it the whole time we were there...even though it definitely was not something good for him to be playing with. :)

Christmas 2011 {Part 1}

2011-12-26T12:11:00.000-06:00

We have had a wonderful weekend celebrating Christmas! I thought I'd go ahead and post about the first part of our Christmas as I know there will be lots of pictures to share. I normally use the BlogPress Lite app to blog from my phone, but I can't get it to work. I tried deleting it and re-downloading it, but now I can't find it in the app store. Anyone have a blogging app they recommend? I'd like one where I can insert photos throughout my post rather than all at the end like the Blogger app does.

On Thursday, we headed down to Dallas to spend some time with Patrick's family. My mother-in-law has a huge village she sets up on her hearth for Christmas. It's really pretty, but not exactly a good thing for Manny to be playing with. :) He seemed to think it was his own personal playground though! We kept calling him Godzilla because he was always lurking over the village, and I just knew anytime he was going to blaze through it. He actually did pretty good, considering how tempting it was. Patrick gave him the okay to move some of the village people and animals around, and Manny had a lot of fun lining them up on a different table across the room.

Patrick's parents got Manny this awesome new ride! He looks so cute cruising around on it.

They also gave him tons of neat books and a few toys. Thank you guys so much for your generosity...Manny loves all of his stuff!

We stayed there through Christmas Eve, then headed up to my parents house. Manny was worn out from all the playing and fell asleep right when we got in the car. I love when he sleeps like this. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Be back soon with more pictures. :)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-23T08:00:00.003-06:00

I wanted to get Thanksgiving posted before Christmas got here and it got lost in the shuffle completely. I've already shared about our Gender Reveal Party, which we had Thanksgiving Day right before we ate at my parent's house. Manny was a little solemn & pouty after the whole reveal...I think it might have overwhelmed him. :) I love his sweet face here!

We had fun hanging out, and of course Manny got Hayden and Jenny to read him his favorite book. I love that Manny & Zeke are starting to interact more...I know they are going to have so much fun together in the years to come! We also had a joint birthday party for my brother Caleb, sister-in-law Tonya, brother-in-law Matt, niece Ellie, and me! All of our birthdays are in November & December, so we took advantage of having the family together to celebrate our birthdays too. Here we all are blowing out the candles on the cake. :)

Then we went up to the "farm" to check out the animals. One of the horses just had a baby so the kids all wanted to see it. They were having way too much fun and we couldn't stop laughing at who knows what. I tried to take a picture of Gabi making it look like she was jumping over the horse, but I guess it might look more like she's about to kick it. Ha!

I wasn't good about getting pictures the rest of the day, but we had a great time, and from there went to Patrick's aunt's house to celebrate with his family. And actually now that I think of it, I wasn't good about getting pictures this whole week! I have my mom and sister Jenny to thank for taking these - so thanks you two. :) I've really got to get better about getting my camera out. But I digress...back to our weekend!

On Saturday, we set out for "Grandkids Day Out". This is a tradition my parents have started of taking all the grandkids on some kind of outing, and a lot of us "older kids" end up tagging along too. It's always SO fun, and my parents always find something fun & unique to do with the grandkids. This time, my dad took it to a whole new level! He's always buying things at auctions & selling them, and he bought an airport shuttle so all the kids could ride together on the outing! Of course being the Trader Joe he is, he sold it right after the big outing. It definitely served it's purpose for a fun-filled adventure though!

Here is the majority of the crew ready for take-off. My sister Becky, me, and the younger babies rode in our car for a more comfortable ride. :)

We went in to Tulsa to check out the Christmas lights. They were gorgeous and we had lots of fun, even if it was a little chilly. Nothing a little hot chocolate won't take care of!

After the lights, we headed to Ted's for some awesome Mexican food. With such a large group, we had a bit of a wait and Manny kept trying to run into the bar. Awesome. Luckily Laci was really good about chasing him down and keeping him under wraps. We also let Manny have some queso, and he was quite the fan.

Mom & Dad, we can't thank you enough for a wonderful weekend filled with fun memories! Thank you for being such such amazing parents AND grandparents to our family. We love you bunches!! xo