my girl and I

Yesterday afternoon my best girl and I got away for a little movie date. We saw.......yup, you guessed it, Disney's Tangled, the story of Rapunzel! Even better, it was in 3D! I wasn't sure how the little pumpkin would do since those glasses sometimes make me queasy, but she did great! Other than a few spooky parts with Rapunzel's impostor mom, it was a really cute movie.

Grace's favorite part: "When they got married. Awww...I liked it when they got married, mama!"
Mama's favorite part: It's a toss up between Paschal, the cute little chameleon, and that frying pan!!! Now that kind of frying pan skill I like!

And then in an unprecedented moment I broke my own "no toys before Christmas" rule. Walmart happened to be right next to the movie theatre and we needed to pick up a few ingredients for dinner sooo...I caved!

Yup, Grace walked away with a little Polly Pocket sized Rapunzel and accessories. Can you see how proud she is that she talked me into it happy she is? Of course we couldn't come home empty handed to this sweet little guy... (thanks for the super cute jammies, Mimi!!)
...so we got him a little Weebles racing car, which quickly became his new favorite weapon of choice toy. Have you ever been wonked with one of those egg-shaped weebles? OUCH!

The Christmas transformation is almost complete...almost! We've had to be creative this year thanks to that cutie patootie in the footed pj's up there. More soon!

North Pole Breakfast ~ 2010

Super, our elf, made his first appearance of 2010 this morning!!!To celebrate, we had our first ever North Pole Breakfast! There's that little sneaky guy! He wrote letters to the littles...
...and brought a little treat!Warm socks to keep those piggies toasty...after all, it's reeeeeally cold in the North Pole! Daddy read the classic Elf on the Shelf, which reminded us that we can't touch Super...so he brought a little puppet the littles can play with any time they want! And then it was time for classic North Pole breakfast food... Snow-covered Donuts... ...and Floating Glacier Hot Cocoa! He even brough a big Peppermint Kiss straight from the jolly old fella himself...and teeny tiny Kisses from Rudolph and the other reindeer, of course! The donuts were a big hit... ...but the laughs shared ...and the memories made - like a little someone's first taste of hot cocoa - were even better! Such a fun morning spent together...Can't wait until next year's North Pole Breakfast, our new tradition to celebrate the start of the holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

No crazy 3am shopping wake up calls around here! Around 11am, I took the littles to meet Noonie & Papa J at Bass Pro for a quickie Santa picture and lunch while Lance hung our Christmas lights. As you can tell, they were thrilled with this particular Santa...HA! Thank goodness for a much better experience with our regular Santa last weekend :)

They were sooooo excited to see these though...he, he, he - kids! After lunch we went to see none other than The Cat in the Hat!!! A local store sponsored a reading of Dr. Seuss books complete with a visit by that most famous cat. Both Grace & Hudson loved the reading and sat so attentively but when it came time to get their picture taken with the Cat...no love for him either! Can't believe I ventured out with both littles by myself on Black Friday, but we survived and even managed to stop at Hobby Lobby to take advantage of some great deals.

By the time we made it home, Lance had all the lights hung on the house, the Christmas tree up, lights hung on it too (yes, we have an old tree), and all the ornaments out so we could start hanging them right away. Thank you, hon!!!

I thought I'd lost one of my faves and was getting upset, but then Grace found it for me - whew!
Grace was really into trimming the tree this year so I went ahead and pulled out their special theme ornaments for the year so they could enjoy them longer. For the little pumpkin, a mini replica of the vintage Fisher Price schoolhouse in honor of her first year of preschool! That little house is sooo cute...it has a little bell that rings and everything - love it!Isn't it cute?!?! Hudson's turn!
Whatcha think of that impromptu tree skirt over his lap???
Cute, huh? HA! His newest trick is taking his diaper off and running naked all around the house...hence the well-positioned tree skirt at that very moment! Dr. Seuss...in honor of his 1st birthday!! Perfect for this year's theme ornament! Super, our elf, makes his debut tonight!!! So excited to see the littles' reaction to him in the morning! And I have a special treat for them too...something that's certain to become a new tradition for our family...a North Pole Breakfast, courtesy of our little pointy-ear friend! I had so much fun setting our table! Pics tomorrow - can't wait!!!

blessed to bless

Our list of thankfuls is a mile long, but some of the most important ones...
our loving & forgiving God ~ faith to believe ~ family ~ friends ~ freedom ~ flexible jobs ~ wonderful schools ~ grandmas who spend time with & help us care for our littles every.single.week ~ warm beds ~ food to eat ~ past hurts that make current joys that much sweeter ~ the gift of creativity ~ escaping the car accident unharmed ~ and of course these two little ones that fill our hearts with indescribable joy! Remember these? She was so excited to give them to everyone today. I think her smile says it all.We had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch that made "gobble, gobble 'till you wobble" a reality for all of us. Mimi made the most wonderful Buttermilk Salad - YUM! - recipe coming soon! I loved the prayer reflection my sister-in-law shared with us.

But my most favorite moment was when Grace quietly approached me and in a hushed little voice said, "Is it time yet?" I knew exactly what she was talking about. Time for our "surfing (service) project"! Seeing her excited about helping others made my day. We had a great time filling up Blessed to Bless bags that we'll be delivering to the Salvation Army soon, for their local shelter. We still have a few items to add...I think a little someone wants to add some artwork :)

I think we were blessed much more than the recipients of our bags will be. I loved listening to Papa J's story of giving a homeless man his jacket. I loved seeing his face light up when he told me he made an extra bag all by himself when he was shopping for supplies for our bags, just to keep tucked in his car to give to someone in need.

But the biggest blessing for me came a few nights ago when I was putting Grace to bed. She was rather quiet and pensive. I asked her what she was thinking about and she told me she just wished she could put a bathtub in the bags "because I bet people that don't have a home would really love to take a bubble bath". It was in that moment that I knew she got it. Her little 3 year old mind understood why we were making the bags.

Sweet little pumpkin, I too wish we could put great big tubs in their bags...bubble baths to carry their worries away, if for only a moment. But instead we'll pray that God will hold their hearts no matter where they are tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving!

five little tidbits

1. Like father, like son...like mother, like daughter!

Lovin' this picture I captured over the weekend......they really are two peas in a pod!

2. I love that Grace asks me almost every single day what kind of project we're going to do today. A girl after my own heart, I tell ya! She's so excited about our "surfing project" (service project) and she can't wait to pass out these sweet cards she made for family members on Thanksgiving Day. I was going to mail them but when I saw how excited she was naming each drawing..."Sally, the girl turkey","Brown, the boy turkey" and so on...and deciding who would get what, I figured she'd love nothing more than to hand deliver each and every one of them.3. The Christmas lovelies have started making their way into our home and I can't wait to see our house transformed this weekend! One thing Lance & I have been pondering...how in the world to keep our little tornado - aka Hudson - from taking down the tree! HA! Funny but so true!! He loves nothing more than to take down anything and everything in his way. I'm not even sure that putting the special ornaments up top will be enough, but we'll see. Thank you Mimi & Pop for this super cute sock monkey ornament for Hudson! Grace loves her ballerina too! 4. Speaking of projects and Christmas pretties...I'm super excited about this one! Just a little sneak peek for now :) 5. Today we received a super fun invitation to our neighborhood's Holiday Cookie Exchange!!! There are lots of elderly couples in our neighborhood with the most interesting stories of yesteryear so I can't wait to hear the stories behind their favorite cookie recipes at the party. I need your help! Do you have a particularly yummy cookie recipe that you wouldn't mind sharing? I'm hoping to make some out-of-the-ordinary cookies for the exchange. Suggestions??? Photo Credit: Bella Grace Party Designs

The outfits are pressed and the ingredients are {mostly} bought and I can't wait to spend Thursday with loved ones...definitely missing some of my favorite people though (you all know who you are...so wished we lived closer!). I'll be dishing up some Make Ahead Party Mashed Potatoes and trying my hand for the first time at Pumpkin Vanilla Flan. We'll see how it goes...

Hope you have a blessed THANKSGIVING!

Operation Visit Santa...

...was a huge SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!Can you believe NO TEARS??? From either of the littles!

I was sure Hudson would burst into tears as soon as he saw the jolly old fella, but nope, he just sat there like a pro staring at Santa's beard.

Maybe it helped a bit that we had two huge lollipop bribes props thanks to a sweet blogger friend who tipped me off that Target had some super fun big lollies in the loveliest shades of aqua blue/red and bubble gum pink/red. Thanks Amber Kor.!!!

Grace didn't want to talk to Santa...he, he, he...but she did manage a quick "I-really-would-like-a-Dora-house-puhleeeeaze" on the way out while clutching her little TaDa dollie tight to her chest, so I guess there's no way around the gigantic yellow house now! ;)

Can't wait to see the pictures! YayYayYayYayYay!

drool worthy

Lovin' the sweet little vintage pillowcase I found this week... My first thought was to turn it into a pillowcase dress for Grace to wear this Spring...But when it arrived in the mail and I saw it in person...............................
I just don't know if I can stand to cut it!!!!

I'm thinking it's going to end up being a very sweet addition to the little pumpkin's bedroom ;)So what do you think...
To Cut or Not to Cut?
That is the question! he, he, he

I'm SO itching to hit up the garage sales, estate sales and vintage shops!!!