Kelly's Blog Children's Parties

Kelly's blog this week is featuring children's parties. Although I am not linking this to her blog I thought I'd share ella's first party! I really spent a lot of time thinking and planning her first birthday! It was so exciting to me and a chance go all out! I seriously worked for months! I went with a pink and green polka-a-dot theme. It was a hot, fall day and one that I will never forget.

I decided to make as many of the decorations as I could. I got a lot of my ideas from etsy and other blogs and in my usual attempt to save money (actually I don't care so much about the saving but I knew what I wanted for her first party and knew if I wanted all that I'd have to make it myself!) I used lots of cute scrapbooking paper and saved lots of money rather than chunking money on cheap party supplies. I saved everything so yes eliza will someday have a pink and green polka-a-dot party herself. I made the cakes, cupcakes, and food. We borrowed the tent, tables, and chairs from our church (we have some good connections!) My one splurge thing was that we hired a family friend who is a photographer to take the pictures. I knew I wouldn't have time to take them and I wanted Kev and I to get to enjoy watching ella and I didn't want to not have pictures. I am so glad I did this. I may always consider doing this! I bought her cute cupcake outfit from a consignment store when she was about 3 months old. I saw it and knew it was worth saving! Her cute puddle jumper shoes came used from ebay! I say all that to say that you can have a cute, cute party and stay on a budget...it just takes a lot of work!

I am now thinking of her second party which is actually right around the corner. We will be having it early this year because I don't want to have a newborn at the party! She is going to have a pink and brown monkey party! I have been collecting cute things for a while now. It may be more low-key this year but I still want to make it cute and special. I am debating if I want to invite a few of her friends or just keep it to family again! Our families equal a pretty large crowd so we may just do one or two friends. I recently saw the idea of inviting as many friends as your child's age. I thought that may be a good idea. Ok...now for the pics. Remember these are from last year. She looks so little!


Good ole betty Crocker cake mix!

Costco dozen roses, 1 yard of wal-mart fabric cut into squares and a spool of ribbon!

Scrapbooking paper to make the napkin rings and it was fall so we had candy apples!

Party hats made from Scrapbooking paper and thin elastic!


The tent and my Happy Birthday sign made from scrapbooking supplies!

Yes, I did pick out his outfit to match ours! He is so agreeable!

Bib and Birthday crown! I wanted to order these...but instead I found a how to make them on-line!

The cakes. I used a small Wilton cake pan and made two layers!

And last but not least my most precious birthday girl!

Wordless Wednesday!

When Life Gives You Blueberries....

go make some muffins or just sit and have a cry! This will make more sense in a minute. It's been a challenging day today. I sit here trying to process, get my thoughts together... while listening to ella have a full-on conversation by herself. I think she just said...mommy, happy! I guess from my sour expression I am not looking so happy!

We headed out for lunch when I knew we should just eat at home...but I was craving a yummy cinnamon bagel and hazelnut cream cheese from panerea bread. Ella thought she was in charge and refused to get in her stroller. She screamed, "Mommy, I hold you!" as we had a battle of the wills in the parking lot! As much as I would like to just hold her it is getting more and more physically challenging..esp while ordering, paying and carrying our food! I won but not without a physical struggle! We should have just headed home then! So we made it through lunch or me eating my lunch with ella playing with the buckles of her stroller...and pushing it into one not so friendly lady who evidently wanted a nice, peaceful and quiet lunch! I should have warned her when she sat done close to us!

We decided to make a quick run into Costco for some cherries and blueberries! This went well until the whole entire Costco sized container of blueberries dumped out in the bottom of the stroller as I was getting it out to pay! Evidently the tape that was supposed to hold it together was broken! So here is the big pregnant girl squatting down picking up hundreds of little sand and fuzz covered blueberries while holding up the entire line. While all this is going on ella begins to scream for me because she can no longer see me. Whew! I think my patience was gone but I tried to hold it together for the sake of the public!

We rode quietly home thinking the worst was over! When I got home I went to open ella's car door to get her out and what do you know those stupid blueberries fell out of the car and hit the driveway! All 500 of them began to roll down the driveway! I couldn't believe it! Do I leave them for the wild animals! Do I waste the $5.00 I just spent on them. I knew my husband wouldn't like that! So I did what most would do...big pregnant girl bent down in the 100 degree heat and began picking up blueberries. Ella was still in her seat and was ready to get out! She began screaming to get out! It was hot...and it seemed like the job was never ending. I finally couldn't take the screaming any longer, decided to leave the rest and unbuckled her! I guess she couldn't tell that mommy was on her last thread because she thought it would be a fun time to play chase! I was hot, tired and frustrated. I got her inside as fast as I could and put her in time-out! It was not a pretty scene. In fact I prayed that none of my neighbors were watching as I carried her inside kicking and crying...along with the blueberries I prayed wouldn't open again!

This is life! Normal annoyances like flat tires when your running late for work (that was kev's morning)...dropping an egg on your freshly mopped floor, and children who want their own way! After ella was in time-out I sat down for a few minutes and had a good cry! I felt like such a terrible mommy! I know my tone was anything but loving and I was frustrated and lost my patience with her! Oh how I need the Lord's help today! I need His help to soften my harshness when I am frustrated. I need his help to see the big picture of life when normal life annoyances seem to be overwhelming. I need His help to love and nurture my precious bundle of energy on days when I have none.

So today life gave me some blueberries, I've had my cry and later I will make some muffins!

Do it Yourself Crib Sheet

If you have been reading my blog you know that I am attempting to sew some of my crib bedding in order to save some $$$! So far I have finished the crib sheet and the curtain! They were both relatively easy (and I am a beginner) and they each took just one evening! I now have the crib skirt and quilt left...which are the most intimidating to me!

I did buy a pattern but really didn't use it at all! I found some good tutorials on-line and they were the most helpful! Patterns to me are like reading a foreign language (even the ones that are supposed to be for dummies!)

Here are my steps:

1. Wash and dry your fabric so it will shrink before you sew it!

2. Cut a 45 by 70 inch rectangle. (I found several different measurements on-line!)

3. Cut out a 9 inch square out of paper of scrap fabric for a template! (I also found several diff. sizes for this too!)

4. Cut a 9 inch square out of each of the four corners. Your sheet will look like this.

5. Iron your ends under all around! There is a fancy sewing term for this....but just fold 1/4 under and iron and then 1/4 under again so that when you sew there will be no stray ends to fray.

6. Sew around your sheet.

7. Now for a french seem. This is a fancy way to say a way to have a good closed seem. You are going to sew parts where you cut out the squares to forms the pockets of your sheet! You sew the the two right sides tog. which feels like you are really messing up. Then trim any excess. Flip to the back and sew the wrong sides. When you open it...it will be right!

8.Elastic! This was the part I was the most unsure about as i have had very little exp. using elastic. You cut (4) 10 inch strips of 1/4 in. elastic. You will fold the elastic in half and match the middle of the elastic to the french seem you just created! Start in the middle and use a zig-zag stitch and sew over the elastic as you pull it! This is all you do. Make sure to back stitch your ends. Do this to each corner.

9. You now have a crib sheet! Woo Hoo!

22 Months Today!

This was about the best picture I could get! It is hard to get a decent picture of a busy little one!

Ella is 22 months today and I cannot believe how fast it is going. It seems like the months and years just fly! She is such a joy to her daddy and I. She is growing, learning and changing so much!

Ella at 22 months:

-is talking all the time! I love when she says "dank do mommy!"

-Is super apologetic! Anytime she gets in trouble it is soon followed by "sorry!" She sometimes gets sorry and excuse me confused and if she bumps into something always says "sorry!" I hope she will always be sensitive like this!

-She loves to be outside and is super energetic!

-She loves to help her daddy! She always tells me she is gonna help daddy work! They take out the trash and he lets her help him fix things around the house. He is so patient with her and gives her a screw driver and lets her help! Maybe she'll be handy like her daddy!

-She loves playing with her babies. She is really starting to pretend play! I love to watch it! The other day her baby got in trouble and she put her in time-out! It was hilarious because in a firm little voice she told the baby to sit...walked away and told me that baby was sad. She then went back to the door (our time-out spot) asked baby if she was happy....got the baby up and hugged and kissed it! She was copying me to a T! Can you tell we have done this a lot!

-She is still a picky eater! She loves apples, mac and cheese some days, chicken some days, veggie straws from costco, oranges, cherries, and well...that is about it. She has a mind of her own when it comes to eating and has from day 1! This is always stressful for mommy!

-She knows our town and where things are. She knows where to turn for church, her grandparents house, target, wal-mart, her cousins house, the doctor, etc.

-She loves to for us to sing! Her favorites are "If your happy and you know it!" and "Love somebody!"

-She is now praying at our meals (copying our words) which is so sweet to hear.

-She loves to look at her scrapbook and pulls it out almost everyday! She also likes to look at Sam-ewls and tells us Jesus which means he lives with Jesus! I love that this is just common understanding to her.

We love her and thank the Lord everyday for blessing us with her. The wait for her was long and painful, but was so worth it! I am so thankful that the Lord waited and gave us her. I am thankful that God knows what he is doing when he blesses with children. I am thankful he has a plan for us and also a plan for ella. I cannot wait to see what the Lord will do in and through her as she grows to know Him!

28 weeks

This pregnancy is moving along! I am excited to be entering the 3rd trimester and we are getting excited about adding eliza to our family! I had a check-up today and also my glucose test....hoping to pass! I measured right on target and eliza had a good heartbeat! I saw a diff. doctor on my last visit because my doc. was out on vacation and she couldn't believe that I was already 28 weeks. I will now have appt. every two weeks!

Eliza's room is making some progress. Kev painted the armoire we bought off of craigslist white (it had been bright pink) and he painted the room pink! I am still trying to decide if I like the wall color. It is bright...although I thought I was getting a soft pink! It is so hard to pick out a paint color! He has already said he is NOT repainting it so I better learn to like it. I also started washing ella's old newborn and 0-3 month clothes. Looking at each outfit was like unpacking a memory box! I also saw that I did a lousy job removing stains. I guess I was too busy with being a new mommy to even care...but now I have some work to do! Anybody know a good stain remover for things that can't be bleached. It reminded me of the need for lots of burp cloths and bibs...as ella had some reflux and her baby clothes prove it! My material to sew the bedding has been ordered and is on the way! Pray that this is not a terrible decision!

We had almost decided to just get ella a big girl bed...as kev thought this would be a wiser investment! This was until we let her sleep with us on Sat. night when she was sick. The girl was all over our bed. From headboard to foot board. She only lasted for about two hours when I decided it was in everyone's best interest for her to go back to her bed. Needless to say we have re-thought the big girl bed thing! I know she would fall out on her head!

have a good day!

Happy 4th!

We have enjoyed a rather quiet and relaxing 4th this year! Although it wasn't what I'd been planning...it was a good day! It all began last night when kev, ella and I went to our favorite little local restaurant for dinner. We were having a great time.

Kev was enjoying a huge stack of their yummy pancakes (they are so good you even want them for dinner)! I was enjoying my chicken sandwich and fries and ella was working on her grilled cheese, fries and lots of ketchup. She likes to dip anything in ketchup and lick off the ketchup and leave the food! She decided to eat some lettuce off of my sandwich which is odd because she has never liked it before. She was chomping down when all of a sudden she gagged and well it was all over at this point! She threw up everywhere! It was terrible! So of course we clean up...I head to the car..covered and strip her down. So here is our dilemma...had she caught my stomach bug from Monday...5 days later or did she just choke on the lettuce and it made her throw up??? So we forfeited my plan for Dunkin Doughnuts on the way to a family day at the beach so we could stay home and make sure she was ok. She has been 100% fine since that one episode...so I am thinking she is fine. It was probably best that we stayed home because my husband is in the midst of summer school which is consuming every spare second that he has. It is a 5 week course that includes....A LOT! If I didn't know that God had called him to go to seminary...I would be saying that this was the wrong season of life for this. We miss him and hate that he just has so much studying, reading, paper writing, and lecture watching to do everyday!

So what did we do today....



We splashed in the pool!

We played outside and had a yummy cook-out at mimi and papa's..we missed all our cuz's being there! !




Our annual 4th of July picture!



It was a great summer day!