Crafts

Okay, so in my last post last week I talked about wanting to make those great holiday banners.  I was VERY excited about it and that Sunday went out to get all my fabric.  I decided to make two banners:  One that was a reversible one for Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, and the other would be for Easter.  Since March is this week, I figured I should start with the St. Patrick's Day one.   It was very easy to do, and the most time consuming was actually the cutting out and not the sewing.  The girls had fun helping me decide the patters for each side as well which was fun.   Saturday I finally finished the banner and was so pleased!  (See, isn't it cute!)

St. Patrick's Day side

Valentine's Day side

I went to go hang it on my entertainment unit thinking that it would be "understated elegance" by being a little festive, without screaming holiday or having a bunch of little knick-knacky things out everywhere.  So I figured this would be a piece of cake! Just slap a little packaging tape on top and "tah-dah", it would be done!  Nope.....  Taped one side and it wouldn't stick.  Taped the other side and it wouldn't stick.  Taped it to the back of the unit and it still wouldn't stick.  So I figured, "I know! It must be the tape!"  There was no way I was letting the wind get blown from my sails.  After digging around I found some masking tape and figured that oughta work......right?????  Nope. However it was pretty comical for my family to watch me tape one side, and then RUN to the other side to try to tape it up as the first side came tumbling down.   Seriously....it was a sight!!  =)   By then I was frustrated and even thought of just hammering some nails in it.  I know, I know....BAD idea.  Don't worry, I didn't do it!  Eric was sweet and the next day brought home some of those 3M sticky hooks to use.  PERFECT!!  Well....it WOULD have been perfect if it would have STUCK.  I am not sure what finish is on this unit, but it must be some secret military thing because nothing sticks to it!!  UNTIL today.  Picked up some of that blue sticky tacky stuff (that looks like strips of blue play dough) and stuck it onto the hooks.  And TAH-DAH!!!!  It worked!!!

I know, I know....it might not look like much,  but after all I went through to get it up there, I am VERY pleased!!  Now time to make the Easter one.....   =)


Today the girls were "crafty" and made some "rock boxes".  They LOVE collecting rocks, yet don't have a great place to put all of their "treasures".  So after collecting some today while at a park, we decided to make some rock boxes.  I found some child size shoe boxes for them and covered them with construction paper, and then they got to decorate.  It was SOOO much fun for them!!  They are pretty pleased to have their own place to keep all their treasures, and are now looking forward to finding more!

Surgery

On Friday Ella went in for surgery to have her adenoids removed.  She was such the trooper first getting up at 5:30, and then not being able to have any food or drink all morning.  Eric and I were nervous for her, but we made it as relaxing and easy going as possible.   She had been having a hard time breathing and it had gotten worse.  She was even noticing and called it "bubbles in her nose" that was making it hard for her to breathe through her nose.  (Poor thing!!)  So she knew that the surgery was going to be when she went to sleep and the doctor would take the "bubbles" out so she could breathe well.

The surgical center we were at was very nice and the staff there was wonderful!  They were so sweet to Ella and really made the parents feel comfortable.  After we went back to pre-op Ella had to change into a gown and those hospital sock things.  I had to laugh because of all things, THAT was what she didn't like - the attire!   We waited for about an hour in pre-op which was hard for Eric and I because we were in one of those "curtain rooms" and Ella was on my lap wrapped in her blankie that we let her bring, saying she just wanted to go home.  The way she said it, so sad and tired, well....it was hard for me not to let the tears come.   Thank goodness for the i-phone because she was able to occupy herself with her cupcake game.  The nurse who took her back to surgery was very sweet and told her she could bring her blankie with her.  I think she saw Ella get a little nervous at that point, and that made her feel better.

Eric and I waited in the waiting room during surgery for about a half hour or so.  We kept ourselves busy playing Scrabble on our phones which kept our minds off the surgery.  Of course when they called our names to be able to go back to see Ella, we jumped up so fast you would have thought a fire was under our chair.  Seeing Ella in the bed, sound asleep with her blankie, with the IV and monitors put me in tears.  The surgery went very well, so we were extremely pleased.  Ella had a difficult time waking up which was hard for us, but when we were able to take her home she was snuggly with us and was very happy to be leaving.

At home she enjoyed laying on the couch, watching movies, and eating popsicles.

Such a trooper she was!!!  Eric and I were SO proud of her!!  She has had a wonderful recovery and has hardly needed any pain medicine.  Right away we could tell a difference in that you could hear it was easier for her to suck her thumb.  We have also noticed she is sleeping better at night and is breathing a LOT easier.  The best part is that SHE is excited that she sees a difference.  So clearly it was bothering her too.  We are SOOOOO happy that this has been a success and that she can have an easier time now. I am glad that all went well, and am glad that it is all behind us.  We love you Ella and are SOOOO proud of you!!!!

Below are pictures of them with the flowers that their great grandma sent them.  (VERY sweet!!)  Ella's was to get better soon, and Abby's was for being a good little sister and helping take care of Ella.   They were VERY excited!!

Movie Night

This weekend it was cold, windy and rainy.  Which was the perfect weather for a fun family movie night!! After the girls got in their jammies, we snuggled up together and got ready for the night.  We loaded the family room full of snuggly blankets and lots of pillows, enjoyed mini ice cream cones (yummy!) and watched Disney's "Alice in Wonderland":

The girls LOVED the movie!  It was their first time seeing it, and they are at a fun age for all of those great Disney classics.  I have loaded up our Netflix que with many more for future upcoming movie nights!  We are surprising the girls by taking them to Disneyland in a couple months (Shhhh!  Don't tell them!), so we figured it would be fun to "study up" on some classics so that they "get" some of the rides and attractions there a little more (the tea cups ride, Dumbo, etc.).   It made for such a fun family night for all four of us.  When I asked Ella why she liked "family movie night" so much she said, "Because we get to snuggle up with each other, and stay up late!"  ("Late" being 8:30. Ha!)

This week I am also hoping to make some cute holiday banners like this:

http://myblondeambitions.blogspot.com/2011/02/double-sided-bunting-tutorial-for.html

Got the fabric today for Valentine's Day (next year of course), St. Patrick's Day, and Easter, so hopefully it will turn out!  =)

Happy Valentine's Day!

It is so fun to do Valentine's Day when you have kids I think!  I just love all the fun heart stuff to do and the girls really get into it.  =)

Last night after the girls went to bed I got to work:  I decorated the kitchen table with lots of pink and red. Pink table cloth, pink balloons, Valentine place mats, Valentine dishes, their chair envelopes with a heart on it, well....you get the idea.

The look on their faces when they woke up was priceless!  (If only I had my camera ready!)  They were SO excited!!!  They loved all of the decorations and enjoyed cards, candy (Mmmm!) and little gifts.  For breakfast I made cinnamon rolls (their favorite), strawberries and of course.....pink milk (yummy!!).

I remember how much fun it was having Valentine's day on a school day growing up.  You got to decorate a bag for all the Valentines, bring cards for the class, and have a party/exchange.  It is fun to see that same excitement now with Ella.  She was SO excited to bring her cards to her class and her gift to her teacher!  The last hour of class was their party and parents/siblings were invited to come.  (So Abby too was very excited!!)  The school had tables for the kids to decorate cookies, and then they watched a cute little Franklin Valentine movie afterwards:

On the way home I treated the girls to "Old MacDonald's" for a happy meal.  (We rarely do this, so it was a BIG treat for them!)  Then we spent part of the afternoon making and decorating cupcakes.  (And eating them of course!)

Thumbs up for yumminess! 

Abby really took her time and then I learned why:   =)

"One for me...."

"One for the cupcake..."

It was so much fun!  After an afternoon of playing outside on the swings and many, many games of hide and seek, I sit back now and am so grateful for all the love in my life.  I have a wonderful husband, and two amazing daughters.  I could not ask for anything more!  The love they all give warms my heart each and every day! Happy Valentine's Day to my amazing family!  I love you SO much!!!!

"Rapunzel" Party!

This year for Ella's birthday she really wanted a "Rapunzel Party".  After seeing the Disney movie "Tangled" back in November, Rapunzel has been the BIG thing in our house these days.   So, we made a Rapunzel party!  We had it in the backyard again this year, and thank goodness the weather cooperated!!  It was FREEZING (literally!!!  The lows got into the low 20s!) just a few days before, and so I was THRILLED when it was sunny and warmer the day of her party!  

I LOVE decorating for parties!  Seriously....I LOVE IT!!  So I had SO much fun coming up with things for this party. There was not a lot of "Rapunzel themed" party things out there, which was great because then I got to do a lot on my own.  We did a lot of purple and pink (because as Ella reminded me, those were Rapunzel's dress colors) with some hints of the character. I made this birthday banner myself.  I put silk flowers on the ends of each strip, and the square by the "happy" and "5th" has a cut out picture of Rapunzel.  (I found Rapunzel valentines and cut out the pictures.)  The treat table was full of yummies:  pink chocolate dipped pretzels, pink heart marshmellows, drinks, chips/salsa and Rapunzel fruit snacks.  The cupcakes were pink and purple flowers.  We even had the "Tangled" soundtrack playing on the little stereo! See, I told you I love this sort of thing!  =)

I was able to borrow some cute tables and chairs as well.  I made flower centerpieces that had pink ribbon and a Rapunzel cut out on them, and then I had a craft for the kids.  If you have seen the movie Tangled, you will know that a constant throughout the movie is the "floating lights" (lanterns).  So the kids were able to decorate their own lantern!   =)

My WONDERFUL family!

We were pleased that Ella's party happened to be when Eric's aunts were in town!  We have not seen them in over 5 years, and they had never met any of the girls.  So it was a wonderful treat to be able to see them!  We wish they could have stayed for a longer visit, but we enjoyed the time we had!

All the aunts! (Including our own Aunt Kim.)
Kim, Phyllis, Lynn and Theresa

It was fun to have family and friends over to help celebrate!

Grammy and Grandpa came out from CA for the party!

The happy birthday girl!

We also did a pinata again this year!  The kids LOVED it!! It was nice to be able to hang it from the swing set this year, instead of having Eric hold it and fear a kid might miss and hit him!  (Ha!)

Helping to hand out the goodie bags to fill with the fallen treats.

Going after the treats!  Luckily I pre bag them so each kid was to find 2 bags of candy.  Works GREAT!

The very end we had cupcakes.  We did flower ones and Ella wanted purple for hers (for Rapunzel of course!).   =)

This year we decided to wait till after the party to open presents.  It actually worked out great because then Ella could take her time with each gift and it was more relaxed.  We just had family still here for it and it was a perfect end to the day!

She was THRILLED to get the "real" Rapunzel dress and has worn it EVERY day since!  Thank you Theresa!

VERY happy girl!

The "band"!  Aunt Kim, Abby, Ella and Madison