Party Plans for Brittany

Brittany is turning 14 on the 14Th of Dec. This is considered a golden birthday by some. A special birthday that only comes once in a lifetime. So we are celebrating well. This Saturday I'm throwing her a pool party at a local hotel. I rented the space for a couple of hours and have invited her friends. No wild slumber party this year. I'm taking a break from all that and taking the party elsewhere. We are going to do this Luau style. We'll be thinking we went someplace tropical for the day because it's been snowing this week. It's suppose to snow a lot this Saturday. It'll be crazy but the pool is heated and the jacuzzi is nearby.



I've already picked up her Ice-Cream Cake from Dairy Queen. She wanted something different this year and chose this yummy looking thing.



Dairy Queen cakes are the best. I may have to buy another one for Christmas. {wink}



Here are the invites I made up this year. I added little paper umbrella's, flowers, fish and sandals to give the card something more. I hate a boring invitation. This is more fun.



Brittany turning 14 is a big wake up call to me. Before I know it she'll be driving. That's scary and good. Maybe she'll run my err ans for me and take Jared to school in the mornings. LOL Anyhow, I'm super busy planning this birthday party and getting Christmas presents wrapped. Everything always happens at once around here. If you don't hear from me, I'm up to my eyeballs in wrapping paper. :)

Jazzing up the Tree

Our Christmas decorations were getting tired and boring year after year. I was ready to jazz up the tree. I started off by using brown's, green's and gold's for the color theme.



I then turned some of our old red ornaments into something new by spray painting them with a Carmel Latte color from Krylon.



This is what became of them. They are some funky ornaments but I love how they turned out. I personalized them with what the kids have been into this year and tied some wild ribbon on top. Different right?



This is the ornament that Brittany drew on. She's ALWAYS making these little anime character's in her artwork. It wouldn't be the same if she didn't do something like this on her personal decoration.



Here is Jared's little Christmas corner (HE) put together in his room. He gathered a bunch of decorations I had left over and stuff that he made in school to put on his Charlie Brown Christmas tree. How cute right?



Do you see what I see? Look close at that card and key chain hanging from the branches.



When did Terminator become a Holiday decoration? LOL



It still looks pretty at night though. ha! So that's the way it'll stay.

Tree all a Glow

Our Christmas tree is all a glow and the fire burns brightly. Our night's our warm and cozy out here. Jared and Maddie gathered around the tree last night. I captured a few special moments of these two.







Too Cute!

Waking Up to Snow

The first snow of the season is here. We woke up to a bit of snow on the ground. The kids are making a few snowballs and enjoying the outdoors.






I would rather stay inside where it's warm. I'm busy finishing decorating the tree this morning. I had most of it done last night but it still needs more ornaments. Looks like we are staying home today which I'm happy about. I have a lot to do around here and projects to tackle. I'm taking pictures in the process so I can share it with you. Hope it's a nice day where you are.

What's Old is New Again

This Christmas I'm celebrating with THREE kids. What a difference a year makes.



Not so many years ago, it was just my little girl Brittany & her baby Brother Jared. Here is a picture I've had framed of their first Christmas together. Cute huh?



Quality of this picture is not so good. Sorry for the glare.



Now look who's wearing little Jared's Christmas outfit. Yup, that's the same one he was wearing. I still have it and it fit's Maddie.



What's old is new again. I love that I saved those special outfits.

First Bites

Maddie had her first bite of rice cereal yesterday. She didn't know what to think about this weird stuff we call food. She has been hungry all the time and now that she's 4 months old, it's time to introduce this stuff below.



I took a picture of her first few bites. She didn't like it at first but then she got to love the food.




One happy baby will a full belly!

Roasting by an Open Fire

It's that time of year again. It's cold and miserable if you are outdoors. We have started using the fireplace again. Trying to keep warm and toasty. Jared is already in the holiday spirit. I have put up the Christmas decorations in our house. It's starting to look a lot like Christmas. We are due for some snow this weekend. We had some flurries last Friday so we are gearing up for a cold one. Brrrr!




Brittany and her friends enjoyed warming up around the fire during her slumber party last year.





It gets a lot of use each Winter. Thankfully we are stocked up on wood this year and my hubby keeps the fire going. I think every home needs a fireplace. They really are so wonderful.

Madison 4 Months Old

Maddie is 4 months old today! She is growing so fast.





This is what she can do now.

• She likes to stick her tongue out at you.
• She is very talkative and we love to hear her voice.
• She has said Ma Ma when she is getting upset and needs me.
• She has started to roll over but doesn't know how to go back.
• She reaches for everything and puts her in her mouth.
• She is starting to teeth and sucks on her hand all the time.
• She is a Daddy's girl and smiles every time she sees him.
• She is stubborn when it comes to laughing and will hold back her giggles even though she wants to.
• She looks forward to seeing her Sister and Brother come home from school.
• She likes to go for rides in the stroller.
• She likes to be carried facing forward so she can see whats coming her way.
• She is sleeping better through the night and wakes up only once, twice a night for a feeding.
• She loves toys and can hold them in her hands.
• She is wearing 6-9 months old clothes these days.
• She hates to wear socks and will push them off every time.
• She won't take a pacifier or a bottle still, even though I keep trying.
• She is still wearing a size 2 Huggies diaper.
• She loves splashing in her baby bath tub and will get you all wet when she's in it.
• She is almost sitting up by herself and has a very strong back.
• She loves to stay standing on your lap and use her muscles in her legs.
• She is very smart and learns something new everyday.
• She loves to talk to the angels at the ceiling and smiles, carries on with them.
• She weighs a ton now and it will kill your arm if you hold her too long.
• She's almost ready for some rice cereal and we will be needing a high chair soon.
• She is on a schedule and I'm able to work around her nap times now.
• She is most of all a very, good girl and Santa should be bringing her lots of things this year.

Gobble till you Wobble

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! We will be eating turkey with my in-laws today. I wasn't so sure that we would even celebrate the holiday this year since Robert's passing. No one really is in the mood, but we are going to fix dinner anyhow. I won't have to do any cooking this year which is really nice. I just get to go and eat. The drive to their house with three kids is work enough. I would hate to cook on top of that. I am bringing the Turkey though. I'm buying one that's already pre-cooked and smoked to perfection. Easy, Peasy! A local restaurant is selling them this way and I am jumping on it. Less work for me and it will probably taste a whole lot better. We shall see.



I will be back this weekend and will be checking out those Christmas sales. The kids want big ticket item gifts this year and I'm hoping to find a great deal. The countdown to Christmas starts now in my house. Time to go broke and wrap a ton of presents. Ha! Hope everyone eats well this year. I am thankful for you all.

New Moon

I finally saw the 2ND Twilight movie, New Moon. Last night I was able to sneak away with my friend Anna to watch it in the theater. We were having fun up until I got a call from Brittany to come home, Maddie was crying and wouldn't go to sleep. I went to the last showing of the day so these kids of mine wouldn't miss me and they would all be in bed. Well I was very wrong. Of course they all knew there Mom was trying to have some fun for once and they wouldn't settle down. Ugh! I had to leave in the middle of the movie, race home to take care of these matters. Johnny was home with them, but he was oblivious that the two older kids had called me. He thought I came home because the movie was over. Then I alerted him that I was called to come home to take care of Maddie. He was holding her and she was as calm as could be. So was it really an emergency or were these kids just mad that I wasn't at home with them? After much "talking" to these fun destroyers, I drove back to the theater to catch the tail end of film. Needless to say, I missed all the action scenes so I will need to see it again to know what happened. My friend Anna was grateful I came back, but sad I wasn't able to see the entire film. That's my life people. Kids will always come first and fun second. I at least am enjoying these fun candy bars. Have you seen these? They sell them at Wal-mart. The chocolate bar has three (yes THREE) different flavors inside. One piece is filled with caramel, another cream, and the last piece is full of peanut butter. Can you say, YUM? Perfect candy to take with you to this movie.

Something to Smile About!

Hey, this is my 100Th blog post! Wow, I can't believe it. I'm happy I've been able to find the time each week to add updates to this page. I hope everyone enjoys reading about my little projects and family happenings. I wanted to find a way to keep everyone informed and so far this has been a great outlet. The Kiddies and Me have something to smile about in this great accomplishment.

Maddie is sure happy about it! :) Isn't she just a doll? She'll be 4 months in a few days. I can't believe how time flies. More on that next time, but thank you for continued support and motivation to come this far. Much love to all!