Paw Paw and Granny's house

My dad lives in New Waverly, TX, along with my grandmother (Granny.)  New Waverly is a small town close to Huntsville, and is where I used to spend my summers growing up as a kid.  The house is on two acres of land, has a small pond, and is surrounded by lots of nature.  Even now my dad has his own water well, there's no trash service, the cell phone towers are too far to get good reception, and you can't get cable TV/internet on his land.  It's funny to think how primitive it still is considering the town is only an hour from Houston.  I had to use my imagination to keep myself entertained all of those summers that I spent there.  I drew lots of pictures, made mudpies in the dirt, rode my bike, swung on a swingset that my Dad built, and played with my granny's numerous dogs and cats. 

Now my kids love going to PawPaw and Granny's house.  They get to swing on the same swingset, make mudpies in the dirt, and play with Maggie, their little dog. 

Jack, Brian, and Maggie

My dad has taken up several hobbies over the years.  He is excellent at woodworking, can build practically anything, and is very meticulous.  Besides his favorite pasttimes, hunting and fishing, he has made intricately detailed model airplanes, built wood furniture, made bottles and bottles of wine, brewed his own beers, and built a smokehouse for smoking meats and making sausages.  One of his current hobbies is gardening.  He has turned a large portion of the backyard into a garden full of many fruits and veggies.

We visited him not too long ago and helped him plant some fruits and vegetables. 

Country Boy

PawPaw and Jack talking to each other



Arden and Brian planting seeds

My dad always send us home with homemade sausage, newly brewed beer, and lots and lots of produce!

April Fools

Halle and Arden played a joke on me.  They got me.  My heart stopped when I saw this.  Naughty girls. 

pretending to have cut herself with a knife.  That's ketchup of course.

Where the Wild Things Are

My house is a disaster zone 90% of the time.  Seriously worried that the government will come condemn the place. Ok, maybe it's not that bad, but at times it's almost Hoarders material. 

These are the reasons why my house is a mess.


this



and this



and sometimes this

Once upon a time (a year ago actually) I had it in my head that my house would be perfect and spotless.  I mean, I would be home all the time so the laundry would be done, the dishes would always be put away, and my toilets would sparkle, right???    Then reality set in.  And reality is now crawling and has a mischievous sister.  My house constantly has Cheerios on the floor, spilled chocolate milk (spill-proof cups are NOT spill-proof, by the way) clean laundry mixed with dirty laundry, dirty diapers, dishes over-piling, and all the crap the kids have pulled out to play with (toy makers should be imprisoned for all the cluttering little pieces they make.) 

I clean my house inside and out.  Thirty minutes later there should be caution tape up.  Jack has pulled all of my clothes out of a drawer, DVDs out of a cabinet, and all of the wipies out of the box.  Arden has decided to play dress up with every pair of shoes I own and then use 39 markers to color one picture.  Their attention spans are 4 seconds tops so before you know it they are on to the next thing.  Arden will clean up when I tell her to, but ONLY if I'm constantly on her to do it.  I try to confine Jack to his playpen or walker, but then he just screams and screams because he wants to get out and explore.  At this point I go on strike because I decide I'm not going to spend my whole life cleaning; the little creatures that overrun it can figure it out on their own, lol.

He found the hairband bin



random brown PlayDoh I found in my shoe

one day's work in Arden's room



This is a toilet paper roll that Arden chunked in the toilet.  This is Charmin MEGA roll.  I was so mad!  Note there is no water in the toilet... because the paper soaked it all up.

 I'm really not complaining.  I LOVE my job as a stay at home mom and all the craziness it entails.  And thankfully I have a husband who understands there's wild animals living among us.  It's just that I need a cage.  A really big one the size of my house.  The end.  :)

Arden's Favorite Things Fourth Birthday Party

If you haven't figured out by now I love to plan parties!  I enjoy the challenges of finding the perfect decor, staying within a budget, and making the cake.  I almost enjoy the planning more than the actual party. :)  I wanted this birthday to be big and special for Arden since she didn't have anything special last year.  I had a newborn and just wasn't up to it. 

I hoped to make Arden's 4th birthday unique and filled with my own ideas.  This was hard for me since practically every idea has already been done.  Pinterest will prove that.  Now I LOVE Pinterest and used some ideas from there, but I am proud to say that I did a lot of stuff on my own.  It might not have come out exactly as I envisioned, but it was fun trying!

This post will be both about the preparations and the party itself. Will I be bragging on myself in this post? Heck yeah!  I worked hard on this party and did an awesome job if I do say so myself! 

I racked my brain for weeks trying to come up with the perfect theme for Arden's party.  Initially Arden wanted a Caillou party.  BORING!  Then I thought about a fishing party since she loves to fish.  My Little Pony, Barbie, Dora, and other themes came to mind.  I just didn't want to do any of those.  I wanted to do something more original.  So I thought of an idea to feature all of Arden's favorite things!  I scanned Pinterest to see if others had done this, too.  I found one lady that did a favorite things party for her 90 year old grandma.  It was a really cute party and I copied her idea of the frame as the centerpiece.

Invitation
Now that I decided on a theme, let the planning begin!  I created an original invitation with the help of iMovie, YouTube, and Crystal's voice (because we all know I sound like a tortured cat when I sing.)
Here is the invitation.  It's sung to the tune from the Sound of Music.  I absolutely love how it turned out!  Check it out!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY8vZY2ZUJ0

Decorations:
Arden's favorite color is yellow.  Perfect!  My kitchen walls are yellow.  I like the trendy yellow and gray color scheme so that is what I chose as the party colors.


The curtains are made out of two yards of cloth and strips of fabric.  The tablecloth is also just cloth from Hobby Lobby.  The signs flanking the table are lists of her favorites.

Wooden/paper plaques featuring Arden's favorites.




the circle garland is just paper circles attached to string.  I like to use floss for string because it's sturdy.

Pinterest-inspired wall decorations.  The circles on the wall are made from an assortment of tissue paper, printer paper, and construction paper. I love how they came out. I might just leave them up!



My creation.  "Adore" in yellow

a rag-tie garland I made from strips of fabric.  Arden also wore a rag-tutu.  Arden's favorite drink is chocolate milk so I used empty Starbucks Frappucino bottles to mimic old-fashioned milk jugs.  I found the old-fashion paper straws on Etsy.  I served chocolate milk and lemonade (another of Arden's favorite drinks) 


 

The kids then used stickers to personalize their bottles.



 

Food: 

I served Arden's favorite foods:  pizza, goldfish, Cheetos, cheese, and fruit, and marshmallows.  She also loves hotdogs so I served pigs in a blanket as an alternative.

 



My creation. Caillou pizzas for the kids. Pepperoni and macaroni for his cap. Peppercorns for his face. I know, I'm awesome. ;)



Arden is attached to her baby blanket and calls it "Sweet Blankey"



Marshmallow Roses because she loves marshmallows, loves flowers, and her middle name is Rose.

 

Cake!

Arden's favorite stuffed animal is a Hallmark interactive stuffed dog named Bell. Bell is not mainstream so I tried to think of a way to implement her into the party theme. That's when I decided to make the cake look like Bell! Considering this is my first 3-D cake ever to make for a party, I think it turned out really good. Crystal and Jessica gave me guidance as I was carving it out. I scared them more than once as I made bold moves with the cake. I think they had a heart attack when I picked up and repositioned the entire head! So funny. They were so concerned that I would crumble the entire project. I know it doesn't look perfect, but not too shabby for an amateur! 

 

The making of Bell

finished product



Arden with Bell... and Bell



Another of my creations..  cake pops in the shape of puzzle pieces. Pre-icing they were interlocking to form one big puzzle. Let me tell ya these were a pain in the butt! Crystal and I had trouble figuring out how to put the stupid puzzle back together after I cut them!

The Main Attraction

What little kid doesn't want a Pony at her party?  Especially when My Little Pony is a favorite toy.  We had so much fun with this animal.  We were supposed to only have the pony for two hours.  The guy that owns the pony asked if he could drop it off the night before the party because he had to work the next day.  So we had the horse for 24 hours!  Score!  The guy gave us pink hair spray to paint the mane and tail.  Arden immediately named the pony Fluttershy and tried to put bows on its hair.  Poor pony considering she was a very obvious he.  He also pooped.  And pooped.  And pooped.  Along with neighing.  Very loudly.  Brian had plans to ride him up and down the street.  For the pony's sake I didn't allow it. 

The kids took turns at the party riding it.  They chased it around, fed it, and petted it.  It was the highlight of the party.  The bigger kids even had a chance to ride it.

 

 

Games

The kids know that when they come to my parties I will have activities planned. Immediately I was being asked when the games were going to start.  Ha! 

Pinterest-inspired fishing game.  I made fishing poles out of sticks, strings, and magnets.  I then made 30 fish out of foam and paperclips.  The kids fished by picking up the fish with the magnetized pole.  They had twenty seconds to get as many fish as possible.  They then got to choose a prize for every fish they caught.   

cheap and easy dollar store game.  Pin the Star on the Princess Wand

Pinata!

And of course there was the trusty sandbox and swingset.  I also had bubbles and a bubble machine to keep the kids entertained.  The weather wasn't as gorgeous as it was for Jack's birthday party, but it was still mild and pretty.   

 

After cake Arden opened some great gifts:

cute clothes, shoes, toys, purses, makeup, a water-spinning Cinderella, Build a Bear gift card, Barbies, My Little Pony, Rapunzel PlayDoh, handmade bows, and a remote controlled Barbie car!

In her new green shoes with her remote controlled Barbie car.

 

Party Favors

A creation of mine: pillowcase bags.  I worked hard on these bad boys.  I asked each mom to submit a list of each of her kid's favorite things.  I used tagxedo.com to generate customized word art for each guest.  I then printed them onto iron-on transfers and put them on pillowcases.  I inserted a drawstring  into each pillow case so that they became pillowcase/bags.  They can be used as a traditional pillowcase, as laundry bags, as overnight bags, or whatever.  

All of the Word Arts I created

an example of the party favors.

As a pillow

as an overnight bag

And the lovely Halle modeling it as a laundry bag, lol

Well that sums up the party.  It was a success, and as usual I was extrememly exhausted by the end of it.  It was a good exhaustion though, and I hope Arden forever remembers the party with her own song, Caillou pizza, the Bell cake, and the pooping pony.  :)  Arden told me, "This is the best birthday party ever!"  That made it worth the effort.  :)



and a random picture of brother Jack chillin out enjoying a marshmallow pop



Little Mommies

That's what my girls think they are, anyway. 

Halle scolds Arden, and most of the time it's when Arden is being disrespectful to me.  Halle uses the rational, calm, yet stern mom-voice that I use.  "Arden, you don't talk to Mommy that way."  "Arden you need to say you're sorry to Mommy because that wasn't nice."  "Arden, Mommy asked you a question.  When she asks you a question you need to answer her."  Halle says all of these things in the exact tone that I use and sounds exactly me.  It's so funny.... and nice to know that Kid 1's got my back.

Arden has her turn of being mommy when she is scolding Jack.  Arden tends to take on the meaner, eratic, badder mom-version of me....  the one that she tends to personally encounter on a regular basis.  "Jack!  Stop!  No, bad boy!"  "No, Jack, don't do that!  Leave that alone!"  "Jack!  Do that again and you're gonna be in BIG trouble!"  "Do you need a spanking?"  Halle then intervenes.  "Arden, Jack is just a baby.  Be nice to him.  Would you want someone to be mean to you?"  
Ha!!!  Kids.  Gotta love 'em.  :)

You're Under Arrest



At least that what Arden looks like when I have her put her hands on the car, lol.  Doesn't she look guilty in this picture?  :) 

Hargrave Hoodlum

 

 

Why does she look like she is about to get frisked?... Well because I have a fear of Arden darting in front of other cars when we are in a parking lot and getting hit.  It always makes me cringe when I see kids running through a parking lot.  It's hard to safely get in and out of my vehicle with small two kids in tow.  So... I make Arden put both hands on the car if she has to wait on me.  She has to keep both hands on the car until I say it's okay to put them down.  This makes it easier for me because then I know she's not running around while I'm busy getting situation.  She stays like this until I've gotten Jack out and into his stroller.  For some reason this works better than me simply telling her to stand still. 

 

 I'm sure passersby think we're weird.

Spring Break

We didn't have big plans for spring break, but that didn't keep us from staying busy.  It was a super gorgeous week.  No rain and the temperature was perfect.  If we weren't away from home, the kids were playing in the sandbox.

That sandbox has hands down been the best thing we have ever done for the kids.  They LOVE it and will play for hours.  All three of them.  This means freedom for me!  I was able to sit back and read a book in the backyard while they played.  Sure there's sand on my floors, in the bathtub, and in the washing machine.  I don't care, though.  It's nothing compared to the great time that they're having.  I think Halle has built a thousand tunnels and Arden has built a thousand and one castles.  Jack just eats the sand.  His poop now comes out gritty.  Seriously.

The first Saturday we went to Myleigh's Frosty the Snowman Party.

Arden dressed in toilet paper as Frosty

Myleigh has been begging Crystal for two years now to have a Frosty party.  Seeing that her birthday is in March, Crystal shot her down.  Crystal relented this year and Myleigh got her wish.  It was such a cute party! I forgot to pack diapers for Jack in his diaper bag, so poor kid had to wear Delaney's size 2 diapers!  (he's in a size 5)  They were Brazilian cut on him, ha!  We then all stayed the night as Crystal's house while I was on call.  I got called in around 10 pm so the party was over for me.  Brian and the kids stayed and hung out.  I didn't sleep at all that night, and went to retrieve my family from the Green's around 7 am.

On Sunday evening (after I slept all day)  Mike and Christy came over for a small birthday celebration for Jack.  Ryan, Christy's son, was in town and also came to visit.  He now lives in Georgia for work, so we don't get to see him very often.  It was nice to catch up with Ryan while we watched Jack open and play with his gifts.

 Halle was so cute on Monday.  She had mapped out an itenerary for the entire day:
9:00-12:00  arts and crafts - make puppets
12-12:15 puppet show
12:15-2:00 do something from Pinterest (I kid you not, that's what it said)
2:00-2:30 play outside
..... and so on...... She didn't exactly stick to the itenerary seeing how she rolled out of bed at noon, but she tried, lol.

After the puppet show we made an impromptu trip to the park with Crystal and the kids, so the schedule was soon forgotten.

Monday and Tuesday was filled with playing in the backyard and at the park with the Green kids.  Crystal and I also practiced making cake pops for Arden's party.  I usually do a trial run on my cakes a few weeks before the party to make sure it's not a total disaster.  I also do it because I enjoy making and baking.  Jessica also comes over and helps out with the cake decorating and we have a great time doing it.  My kitchen turns into one big powdered sugar/marshmallowy/chocolately mess.  And my family loves practice cakes...  because somebody has to eat it of course!

Wednesday Halle had her friend, Jenna, over.  We went to the park, had lunch, and then went to Chuck e Cheese.  The girls kept hitting the jackpots on the games, so they won lots and lots of tickets.

At Chuck e Cheese Jack kept sucking his toes.  Ewww!

Thursday was spent at the zoo with Jess and the kids.  Besides me getting lost on the way there, and Jess getting lost on the way back, it was pretty uneventful.  I swear they moved the zoo; it wasn't in that location the last time I visited ;) Trying to keep up with 5 kids was both fun and tiring.  This was Jack's first trip to the zoo, but he was too tired and still too young to enjoy it. 

On Friday we attempted to see a movie at the drive-in with the Greens.  The closest drive-in theatre is thirty minutes from our house.  We've been there several times and it has never been very busy.  With the perfect weather and spring break it was a different story, though.  We got there forty-five minutes before the movie started to get tickets and hopefully get a primo spot.  When we got there, though, the line was already a quarter-mile deep.  The cars were lined up down the shoulder of 2920.  After twenty minutes of inching forward we were able to see a sign that said the movie we wanted to watch was sold out.  With dejected and hungry kids (we had planned on eating at the drive-in) we made our way back home and came up with plan B.  We set up the tent in the backyard and let them watch a movie inside the tent on the laptop.  They had a blast doing that, and Gracie stayed the night.

Saturday the kids ran around in what Arden called "sprinkles"  Brian turned on the waterhose and let them play in the driveway.  They then constructed bows and arrow out of hula hoops pieces, stick, leaves, and thumbtacks.  They had a good time shooting the arrows.  Halle is a good shot; she may might be the next Katniss.



Sunday we went to a crawfish boil with our Sunday School group.  Halle perfected her crawfish peeling skills.  Our Sunday School teacher came up to me and told me that my daughter (Arden) had gotten into something and had white stuff all over her face.  She found someone else's sunscreen.  Needless to say she didn't get a sunburn that day.

Well that's all she wrote!  That sums up our Spring Break!