Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The only difference between "zero" and "hero" is a little de-youper.

Me:  A., are you ready for your super-de-youper Super Hero Birthday Party today?

A.:  Mom, don't say that...you sound like Barney.  He's not cool anymore.

Me:  (Standing there with my mouth hanging open)  Oh....ok.

 I was broken hearted.  Not because my son told me that I wasn't cool (let's face it, I'm not a cool parent, and I don't plan to be a cool parent...), but I was heartbroken because my boy is growing up.  He's outgrowing things (people and phases) and growing up.  I was watching him at his party, and I just wanted to bottle him up.  Just hit the "pause button" for a few minutes and try to remember everything about him at this age.  These past six years have gone by so quickly.  Honestly, I am grateful for each and every moment I get to be a mom to A.  He really has a good, sensitive heart, and I love that about him.




Ok, anyway...A.'s birthday party!  We had the party at the Love Shack because we have the wide open addition for all the kids to play...not to mention that any "destination" party spot STARTED at $12 per person.  Our budget for this party was $60- not likely going to only invite 4 kids to A.'s birthday.

So, anyway, the "blizzard" subsided, and we had the most perfect weather to start the party with sledding on the front hill.  In addition, I could stand up by the road and greet all the parents and kids when they arrived.
I certainly envy these kids their energy!  They ran up the hill so many times, it was awesome.  The adults had fun lining the kids up at the top of the hill and provided a gentle push to start the kids racing. 
Dave and C. even got in on the fun.
Then we went inside for the festivities.  A. wanted a Super Hero Birthday party this year.  So, we made all the kids super heros. 
I started the party by "hiding" super letters around the party zone.



When they found a super letter, they each child got a cape with their initial on it.
 and for a craft, they decorated masks with foam stickers. 
A. was Super Q.

Here's all the kids lined up on our addition stairs all Super Heroed up in masks and capes.
C. appreciated being one of the big kids.


Then, cake - the cake matches the invitations exactly!  (thanks, Becky!)  Sorry, can't show you the invitations, though.  Our address is on them...so you'll just have to take my word for it.  :)









Then, presents...
A. was so funny.  For every present, he'd say, "OH THANKS!  THIS IS ALL I'VE EVER WANTED!"
Yes, for.each.present.
:)
Then, the balloon guy came!  (He's actually our youth pastor, but to the kids, he was the balloon guy!)  The children had him tieing, twisting, and taking orders for balloon stuff the entire time he was there.  AND- all proceeds from his work go to our youth ministry....how awesome is that?!?!?

My personal favorite was A.'s birthday crown.


Which he wore for more time that I had anticipated him wearing it.

Then, C. tried it on...

Poor kid- the crown was taller than he was!

By the end of the day, I ended up wearing it outside...(sorry, no pics of that..ha!)  I never knew that balloons were good insulation from the cold.  My head was perfectly warm.


Anyway....


Once all the balloons were done, I had 30 minutes to burn and 7 completely sugared kindergarteners on my hands.  Back out to the sleds we went.

The kids all told me that they had a great time. 

A. said it was "AWESOME!"

 I'm so glad he enjoyed his birthday.
By the end of the party, Dave and I were pretty tired out...

But, judging from the snoring on the kitchen floor, I'd say someone else was even more tired.

Poor Molly-girl didn't even flinch when I threw a cracker at her nose.  It bounced off and landed on the floor almost under her nose. 


She just kept right on snoring.



When I tucked A. into bed that night, I asked him how his 6th birthday was.  He replied, "It was Super, mom.  Just super."



Special thanks goes to my mom for helping me out during the party and cutting the masks for me on a machine, St. John's for letting her use their machine, Tom Chester (the balloon guy), Gina Kaye (the super letter creator), Becky Bakker (the cake maker), Bob and Sandy (the folding table owners), and the cricut machine (for actually cutting fabric letters!).  Thanks to you guys for helping me make Adam's birthday super.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Pleased to meet your aquaintance...





I'd like to introduce you to my...







construction site making,

supervising,

observing,

corn box loving,






tool "borrowing", mechanically inclining, wheel turning,

Two wheel riding,
Tooth loosing,
BAckpack toting,
Kindergarten LOVING,




Grandparent loving,
Papa Ken buddying,



Cousin playing (and missing),

Trolley riding,
Funny face making,

Daddy helping,
Life loving, happy, sensitive, smiling, laughing, playing, full of energy six year old.
As always, I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoy him.

Six years ago, today, God trusted me to raise His child.  We have been so blessed by him.
Happy Birthday, A!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Tan Lines

Pardon the "out of season-ness" of this post. It's been in my draft list for some time. I just think...since we're under a "blizzard warning" and all, I'd post about the ...ahem...lazy days of summer.


Dave and I are creatures of habit. We're also fiercely brand loyal- but only when we find something that works well for us and is within the budget.


I've been wearing the same brand of sandals for the past 4 years now. I have extremely flat feet, and really need some good arch support. I am now finding that I have a permanent tan on my feet. It fades during the winter, but never really goes away. And as soon as I pull out the sandals of summer, the lines just darken right up.


Ok...brain stumper of the day....


...based on my tan lines (try not to let my scary looking toes distract you from the task at hand), which brand of sandals do I wear all summer?




And bonus question:


What brand of ....um....whatever...does Dave wear all summer to cause the tan line sported below?







The winner? Well, I don't know what the winner will get...perhaps an awesome giveaway in disguise...or not. :)


Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Snow Day today

Today, it looks like this outside. 
Snowy, blowing, freezing rain, sleet....
We're actually under a blizzard warning
yep- school is cancelled.
Not that it would have mattered much for A. anyway...he wasn't going regardless.
The poor kid is sick as a dog.  He actually got sick in the car on the way home from school yesterday, and proceeded to get violently ill for the next few hours.
He seems to be on the mend now- asking for drinks and hasn't gotten sick for 6 hours now.
But, he sure is tuckered out.
I hate it when my kids are sick...makes one nervous and tired mommy.
His birthday is on Saturday, and we're planning on having about 10 of his classmates over here for his first-ever friend birthday party.  I've been dousing the house with Lysol...and will a few more times between now and then.  Please pray for healing for A. and health for the rest of us.



In the meantime, the toddler....
well, he's wearing his Elmo swim trunks and a sweatshirt (that I made him put on) and making himself breakfast.


Please pardon my crazy messy work station in the background.  It's been neglected for a few days - organizationally.  Hopefully I'll have time to straighten up the house today- its driving me nuts!

Extra credit:  Any guesses as to whose blog I was reading before I snapped a picture of my little one? 
Hint:  It's on the right monitor.  :)

Monday, December 7, 2009

I was featured

I follow this blog- who designs blogs and highlighted it on her blog...Anyway, I loved the idea of this blog and thought I would submit my "story."  It's about bad dates.  I had a terrible bad date experience (actually, more than one...but that one is first and foremost in my mind), so I wrote to them and submitted the story.  You can read it by clicking here.  Do you have a bad date story you'd like to share?  Hope you laugh as hard as I did.  :)

Friday, December 4, 2009

Five Question Friday


My Little Life

Time for Five Question Friday!  I've not been uber consistent with this blog hop, but I do enjoy it! 

Here goes!

1. Favorite gift you are GIVING this year?
There's a few that I'm making with my cricut machine.  I know one of the recepients reads this blog, so I will not show the entire project until later (stay tuned!).  But to see a little sneak preview, look here.

2. How many parties are you attending between now and Christmas?
Not sure...as little as possible, really.  :)  This time of year really gets out of control with all the parties and expectations.  I try to keep it as simple as possible.  We have a work party tomorrow, an advent celebration Sunday night at church, small bible study party, and a friend get together.

In addition, A.'s birthday next week.  We have friend and family parties to throw on top of it all.  I do feel so blessed to have all these things to attend, but really...do they all need to happen in the same week?!?!?

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
All of em.  Except Feliz Navidad...long story, but so annoying.

4. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why?
Mrs. Ritter.  Kindergarten.  What's not to like about Kindergarten.

5. If you had a choice to live in any other period of time (other than now) what era would you choose and why?
Not sure...but I do know that I love the older days when people were content to live their lives, materialism wasn't rampant, and homes were much smaller with less stuff.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Pleased to meet your aquaintance...

I'd like to introduce you to my...

Backpack toting, balance loosing,


tantrum throwing,
window breaking,
gum chewing, U of M jacket sporting, post-it note winging,
pumpking sitting, out-loud laughing,
hat hoarding, fashion no-no creating,



Big boot filling, body coloring, brown endorsing,
Brother cuddling,

stripe loving, self-dressing,

door knob cramming,


hair doing,
Loving, smiling, playing, caring,
two year old.
Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoy him.