Swelling

... with pride.
I mean I really admire them. Really, truly.
Amelia, well, her bravery, wisdom and sense of humor.
Abe his love, tenacity, spirit.

Excerpt from my devotional this evening ...

Scripture: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)
Reading:
"To My Child"
from a "Gift from God: Meditations for New Mothers"
"When did I lose that self-delight? What happened to my awareness that every day I can do some things I have never been able to do before? What made me content to stop trying out yesterday's impossibilities to see if they could be done today? Does being grown up mean being content with 'what is' when we could be striving for 'what could be'? Inspire me, Child, to stretch my world as you stretch yours."

Sweet Somethings

Abe just looked at me and whispered, "Mommy, can I play with your hair? ... Because I love you." He's been so loving lately.
For those of you who really know our Brother, you know his personality is INTENSE. I've really tried to encourage him to calm down and be more gentle.
He's working really hard, bless his heart. We even have a sticker chart now to mark each day of school he does not get time out. However, he is VERY cunning. Last Friday I asked if he got timeout to which he replied, "No, just a rest. I had to take a rest, mommy." Suspicious, I asked, "Why, Abe, why?" "Because I was sweaty, mom!" Rest=timeout.
Tonight in Target he went over to some earrings and said, "Mom, aren't these so gorgeous?" Surprised at the use of the word "gorgeous" I looked him in the eye and said, "Yes, Abe, they certainly are." And he walked right over to me, hugged my leg, and told me he loved me. Random. But it melted my heart. I just wanted to scoop him up and kiss his sweet cheeks ... the ones he's been super cheesing with in photographs lately. Sweet, sweet boy.

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

Bridger's 1!
We celebrated Saturday at his house in Simsboro. It was great to go home. The weather and our busy schedule had kept us bound to Shreveport pretty much since Christmas, so it was good to be surrounded by family and friends celebrating Bridger's first birthday.
Aunt Amanda and Uncle Daniel rented a "jumper" for the day. And even Papaw, Mimi, Mrs. Sue and Mrs. Debbie got in on the fun. Quite frankly, it's a feat to get my daddy to a birthday party much less to participate in the reindeer games. But boy did he ever!!!!
After the party, my parents took the children on to their home for the evening. I joined them later. It was nice to be relieved of parental duties for a night.

A Date to Play

The weather has finally started looking up. And the children were itching to get outside, so I promised them good behavior would be rewarded with a trip to the park and a Geauxsicle (a locally owned popsicle shop) today. They held up their end of the bargain. And as an even more special treat, Aunt Amanda, Uncle Daniel and Bridger came to town. So we were able to throw lunch in there and have our sweet nephew/cousin join us at the park.

Millie's Hot Shots!

Not 5 minutes ago we received a package from JDRF. Congratulations to Millie's Hot Shots! We placed fourth in the family team division! Awesome! Our first year, and we had such a tremendous response. Thank you, friends, family, Sigma Kappa sisters and complete strangers for time, money, commitment and prayers for our cause ... our Millie. We love you!

Happy Valentine's Day

I must say I think this is one of my favorite Valentine's Days yet! Was able to help Millie Bug and Brother get all their class projects done and enjoy making the day special for them, too!
Millie keeps saying she has had such a great day.
We started celebrating yesterday with a yummy lunch. Then we did a little grocery shopping, and for my Valentine's Day gift, Daddy made me a pork loin with cranberry sauce and rosemary/garlic roasted potatoes. It was so yummy, especially with that glass of wine! He and I watched the Grammys together while the kids watched their own little movie. Before hitting the hay, I read our entire library of Valentine's themed books to the kiddos. This morning, they dressed in their loveliest attire and ran to the living room to open their treats: Buckets of Love filled with a placemat to color, a whimsical cartooned place setting, a small box of chocolates, and a book (Millie, Junie B.; Abe, a puppy book he flipped over at Barnes & Noble). In their mail boxes were sweet valentines from Cupid (Grandaddy and Becca). They were in awe of their $5 bills!
After a breakfast of pancakes, strawberries and whipped cream, both were off to school. Daddy went with Millie for chapel this morning. She was the leader today!
She enjoyed making and giving her classmates and teacher valentines!
I went to Abe's party. He such a silly boy. As I was finishing up mailboxes, I heard him lead his friends in a theme song to a boy band show on Nickelodeon. Yes, leading. He started it off, and his friends joined him. "Yeah, yeah, listen to your heart now." So glad we don't have cable! See how impressionable just a few minutes of TV at Mimi's is!!!
He had a great party. And he was the leader in his class today, too! They made sweet cards with handprints for mommies and daddies, enjoyed specialty doughnuts from Krispy Creme, and then played outdoors!!!!! It's been a while since they've been able to do that. Both kids came home with some of the most precious valentines -- some even handmade! So sweet!
Abe came home at 1:30 and has been asleep ever since.
Millie's still going full blast.
We'll end this special day with bedtime story time at the library!
Love, love my valentines!

Snow Day No. 3: Feb. 9

A snow day with NO snow! These days with no school and yucky weather are taxing on the Weight Watchers plan. I've eaten enough of these things to make me WANT to go to the gym tomorrow! Funfetti and strawberries and cream frosting with red sprinkles.

A fun dinner table to cheer the kids up!
(featuring my new cupcake stand courtesy of a Target gift card from Santa)

Look who had great chapel manners Tuesday!
I'm proud of this little girl for so many reasons!

Pajama Jeans

Um. I invented those things. It's called wearing your maternity jeans 1-plus years postpartum. The look of jeans with stretch. Oh so comfy!

No-Sew Apron

I've been meaning to make little dishtowel aprons for Millie and her cousins. I've had the towels in my craft bin for a while now. When we were snowed in this weekend, I craved crafting. I was definitely short on supplies, so my ultimate design was limited by what I had on hand. I'm not really a zebra-print kind of gal, but given the circumstances, I think it turned out cute. It's way big for Millie. She has to double the tie around her waist. Truth be known, it's a perfect fit for me. Haha. But Millie's it is!
I had originally planned for this to be a little practice-sewing project, but my machine's at mom's and Millie's bobbin is well I don't exactly know, and that's the problem.
Anyway, a dishtowel, some ribbon, fabric glue and a few embellishments later, Millie has another apron for her collection, and the crafting was temporarily out of my system. Temporarily.

Special Delivery

Could not resist making a mail slot for Millie's desk while she was at school today.

Snow Day No. 2

And schools have been cancelled in anticipation of another tomorrow!

So About This Cupid Thing ...

Yeah, I kind of got out of control buying for the kids this afternoon. And well, then I got to thinking, if they have buckets, they need to be filled. And if they have to be filled, who's gonna do it? The Valentine's fairy? Romeo? Yes, out. of. control. Traditionally, our valentines to the kids have been a box of candy, a book and a Barbie or some other, as Brother would say, "manly" toy. And they've come from us, mommy and daddy.
That box of candy, it's special. It's tradition -- one my Daddy started with me and mom years ago. He is a pharmacist. When I was little, he worked in a real pharmacy in a small town, like he walked to work, people. You know, the pharmacy wasn't one of those chain things either. There were real people behind the counter who knew you and your daddy and your daddy's daddy, who really cared about your well-being. No windows, no microphones, no 'tudes. Honeycutt Drugstore had a little gift shop in the front. On Valentine's Day, Daddy walked home from work like he did every day, but on Valentine's day he always had a large heart-shaped box of Russell Stover chocolates for us ... Always. And opening that box and savoring every morsel was the highlight of our evening. I remember that ... vividly. And how loved I felt. And well, that deserves to be passed on from me ... not Cupid. Love you, Daddy!

V is for Valentine's

Be still my heart. Valentine's Day with the kiddos just may get my heart a pumpin' again, just what I need to awake from this winter hibernation.
I'm co-room mother for Brother's class. His little party will be short and sweet. I made these cute little cards as invitations to parents. He and his classmates will have heart-shaped doughnuts and juice, do a craft and exchange valentines cards. There will also be a story time. I'm in charge of the doughnuts and juice boxes. I'm looking for a way to jazz up the boxes. I'm considering using these or something similar.
Since the party and attention spans are so short, I'll be providing their "mailboxes" for their valentines. Paper plate holders! Remember these?

Brother has chosen Toy Story 3 valentines with tattoos.
It should be a fancy little simple soiree for the PS3-3-dayers! I plan to dress him in his red tie and vest, jeans and sneakers. What a handsome little valentine he will be!
As for Millie Bug, well she's been busy planning her own little valentine love fest, complete with name "badges," papercut hearts and a list of trinkets to fill her classmates' buckets. She, like me, prefers lists. So here's her little list:
1. These paper treat bags.
2. Decorated felt bookmarks.
3. The name badges.
4. The paper hearts.
5. Hello Kitty valentines cards with pencils.
6. These adorable lollipops with mustaches and lips. I think the rainbows will get a kick outta those.
7. Some sugary goodness yet to be determined.
She's steadily been working on our Valentine's Day tree at home. We wanted some cookie cutter ornaments but didn't have the money for them. When she realized there were heart ornaments in the treasure chest at school, she has taken great care to use her earned trips to the chest to pick out more heart-shaped ornaments for our tree. Such a sweetheart my girl!
I can't wait to dress her in her new red silk dress from Crewcuts and white cardigan. I'm on the lookout for a showstopper hairpiece. Almost makes me want to revive the photo booth!
For the teachers, more sugary sweetness. I picked up these cute "chalkboard" mugs at Wal-Mart. They are filled with pink, heart-shaped marshmallows. I think I may replace them with homemade marshmallows. And each will be accompanied with a classic valentine (You can buy some here.) mounted on a delicate doily and kissed with a magnet.

On a side note, I've repeatedly raided Target's $1 aisle. Is that place heaven, or what? I've picked up lots of goodies for the kids' visit from Cupid. Yeah, I just made that up. I needed something/one to blame all the frivolous spending on. So new tradition: The children will be visited by Cupid this year and every year from here on out. Maybe.
All this planning, and I still need to work on valentines for my own honey. Ideas, anyone?

Snow Day Prep

We received notice earlier this evening that school is cancelled in anticipation of Snow! Snow Day No. 2 (Feb. 4, 2011)! The children are beside themselves. To prepare, I loaded up on lots of Valentine's goodies to keep us busy: decorations, playthings, cards. Both Millie Bug and Brother are snuggled up together on their bottom bunk hopefully dreaming of making snow angels. This was after they peeked out the window numerous times and until Daddy finally opened the front door so we could all admire the snow falling. The night was so quiet; the snow so pristine. Nothing like it except Christmas morning -- quiet, pristine and perfect. Milk and cookies for snacks and then off to bed. A busy morning in the snow awaits!

'Eat, Pray, Love' All the Way to France

Maybe it's a case of the winter blahs. I'm tired of being cooped up. And it's quite stifling. But every year about this time, I feel the urge to pack up my kids and hubby and go. Take that leap of faith. Explore the world. Not just visit, LIVE!
Two sources have been quite the inspiration. Design Mom, Gabrielle Blair, has packed up her crew and moved to France. I have followed her journey here. Can you imagine what those children will get to experience? And she makes it look so easy.
And then this weekend, my husband brought home the "Eat, Pray, Love" DVD. I'm sorely behind on my reading. DVD have become the CliffsNotes of my adulthood. Blasphemy. But whatevs. It's that or nothing. Anyway, I LOVED the movie. It stirred some yearning within. I so LONG to break free and LIVE. Just me and my family, taking a leap of faith, packing up and heading wherever the hell we want to. What's stopping us? We're young, the kids are young, we have nothing really tying us down to where we currently live. It's been obvious for a while that we are outgrowing our home. Eventually, we're going to have to make a move, but where? Not here. Not back home.
So lots of prayers needed here. I feel change on the horizon. It could be something earth-shattering, or it might just be spring. Ha. Thank God for seasons of change.