Flowers for Mommy

The kids picked flowers for me this afternoon.

She gave me these:
He gave me these:
God bless him for trying!

I'm making this for Easter:

Isn't it adorable? It's a Sunflower Peep Cake and it is as easy to make as it is cute:

1 Cake Mix (any flavor works, I bought chocolate)
2 Cans Chocolate Frosting
19 Yellow Chick Peeps Candies
1 1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips ( I got the Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips ~ YUM!)

Prepare and bake cake according to directions on box, using 2 greased 9 inch round baking pans. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing cake from pans to wire rack to cool completely. Level tops of cakes.

Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake.

Without separating Peeps, and curving slightly to fit, arrange chicks around the edge of the cake for sunflower petals.

For sunflower seeds, arrange chocolate chips in center of the cake.

Yield 12 servings.

Enjoy!

This weekend

This weekend we spent a whole lot of time at Lowe's
enjoying the fabulous weather, smelling eating the pretty flowers,
and shopping for lots and lots of these here beauties:
And once we had two flat carts full of colorful lovelies, we spent a lot of time working on our yard. My mom came over and helped us clean up the flower/vegetable beds and plant all of our goodies.
In addition to delighting in our beautiful flowers, this year we hope to enjoy lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, potatoes, peppers, sugar snap peas, onions, scallions, carrots, strawberries, blueberries, pears, plums and grapes ~ all from the comfort of our own backyard! Not to mention the herbs we're growing inside. Talk about locally-grown and fresh. We can't wait!

Not pictured are three Weeping Cherry Trees we got for our backyard ~ two white, one pink. They are STUNNING! I'll make sure to share some pictures as soon as they're in the ground.

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This weekend we were able to spend a few hours with our dear friends, the Prosperos, who were here for a soccer tournament. Although we weren't able to spend as much time together as we would have liked, it sure was fun catching up after almost 4 years without seeing each other.

And to say I was shocked to see how big their boys are is a HUGE understatement. This family is so unbelievably special to me. I first met them back in 1995 immediately after graduating from college and upon starting my first real job. We quickly became great friends. Gabe, their oldest, was about Sam's age at the time. The younger two weren't even born yet. I babysat these boys all the time. And now they are all big young men and It. Kills. Me!

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This weekend Scott and I finally carved out some time and managed to get caught up with some of our DVR shows and this one was incredibly inspiring:

Scott has been a big fan of Jamie Oliver for a while now. Me not so much. I can honestly say that I am much more so after watching two episodes of his new show. His main goals are to make people healthier, make people cook their own food, and make people spend time together during the process. What's not to love?

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This weekend I finished reading this book:
which is officially one of the best books I have ever read. Oh my goodness, it is absolutely amazing! It is a beautiful young adult novel with a heartbreaking subject matter narrated in a very unexpected, yet extremely poetic, way. I definitely recommend it to everyone.

And started this one:
I've only read the first couple chapters, but so far, so good. I'll keep you posted.

This weekend was a really fun weekend!

Overheard

Scott, Isabella and Sam were watching a movie downstairs earlier today, while I was upstairs playing on the computer. Suddenly, I hear this exchange between Isabella and her Daddy:

I: Is that a mean guy?

S: Yes, he is!

I: I don't like mean guys. I feel like I want to send them to God.

S: *Insert sounds of crickets chirping*

So, I don't know about you, but it sounds to me like maybe it's time to introduce our little God-loving Christian girl to the 6th Commandment:

"Thou shall not murder."

She sure does have a great mean guy booty kicking face, crown and all.
Don't you think?

The hottest party in town

As many of you know, Sam's actual birthday party was held yesterday at The Fire Museum of Memphis . And I think it's safe to say that the kids had a big ol' time dressing up like fire fighters, "driving" the big fire trucks, sliding down the fire poles, and learning about fire. I loved that it was spacious and safe and the kids could (and they most certainly did!) run around all over the place.

Such a happy birthday boy.

The BIG firetrucks were most definitely the main attraction.

As well as dressing up with the firemen gear.

And catching up with old friends.

Did I mention he had a great time?

There was even a talking horse named Ol' Billy who told the kids about the history of the Memphis Fire Department during the era of the horse drawn fire apparatus. Although he did manage to scare a couple of the kids, most of them were fascinated with him.

He really did look quite real.Horse drawn fire apparatus Ol' Billy talks about.

Sam seriously enjoyed every single minute of his party.
And although I truly believe driving the truck was way high on his list of favorites, I don't think anything topped actually eating his birthday cake.

Oh, the anticipation,...

Isn't it so stinkin' adorable? The top tier was chocolate with butter cream frosting and the bottom one was almond with butter cream. And all I can say is YUMMY!

Here he is blowing out his hydrant candle.

We're so happy that everyone had a good time. And now that this one is done, I'm off to start planning Isabella's birthday. We're having some creative differences with regards to the location, but I'm hoping we can iron out all the details soon so I can start my very obsessive organized planning.

We ♥ Spring

because of this:

be still my heart ~ I love our neighbor's tree this time of year

and this:

having beautiful flowers in the house makes me so happy

and this:

being able to spend most of the day outside, rather than being cooped up inside

and this:

beautiful kids who bring me bouquets of weeds flowers

which look like this:

and melt my heart every single time

and last but not least, this:

dining on yummy grilled food al fresco, while enjoying an amazing sunset

I hope you're enjoying this beautiful weather as much as we are.

Lately...

I've been so very very busy...

***Being that this is Sam's birthday month (yeah, that's the way we roll around here), I've been planning his birthday party. As you know, we hosted a birthday lunch for our family on the day of his actual birthday, but his big party is coming up this Saturday. So, I've been putting the finishing touches on that little soiree. I can't wait until he sees the big fire truck waiting for him.

***I've been a busy little scrapping bee. Not only have I been busy teaching some fun classes recently (with more coming up), but I've recently made some pages to display in the store.

This one was for their Same Products/Three Looks challenge:

The title is hard to read on this picture, but it says:
Beautiful in every single way.

This one is a store display using the new Little Yellow Bicycle line called Generation Z:

The journaling reads: "Seriously! Is there anything cuter than an
almost 2 year old sporting a faux hawk? I think not!"

And finally, this is a store display using the new Little Yellow Bicycle line called Fresh Print Clothesline:

This talks about how two little girls who are cousins, but did not
much like each other for a while, have turned into the best of friends.

***I've been a reading maniac.
I just finished, and totally LOVED, this book:
and immediately started, and am really enjoying, this one:
I've got lots more sitting on my nightstand. And that makes me SO happy!

***I'm loving this TV show:
The cast is wonderful. The topics are real. And so far I've cried with every episode I've seen. What's not to love?

***I've been hard at work trying to get our master bedroom organized and painted and decorated, as promised on my March 1st post. This has turned out to be a bigger task than I had originally anticipated. Either it's way more time consuming than expected or I've got entirely too many balls in the air. So there may be a possibility that I won't make the March 31st deadline on this one, but I'm working hard on it regardless.

***I'm making progress on my 30 Bags in 30 Days project. I will make sure to update you and show you pictures of the results of this little endeavor at the end of the month.

Well, I think that's it for now.

Talk soon!

Sam Turns Two

Although Sam's official birthday party isn't until this coming Saturday, I always make it a point to do something for the birthday person on the day of their actual birthday to make them feel extra special. As many of you know, I totally LOVE birthdays, so I've adopted this as our own little family tradition. And I can honestly tell you, so far no one has complained. ☺

Anyway, Sam's actual birthday was on Sunday so we decided to invite the family over for lunch and cake. Lucky for us, both sets of Sam's grandparents were able to join us, so this was such an awesome treat for all of us.

We had a wonderful time. Sam loved all the attention, opening his many awesome presents, and of course eating his delicious ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins.We picked a lion theme for his cake since he is currently OBSESSED with The Lion King.

And I would venture to say he was quite pleased with it.

One of his favorite presents, which I foolishly thought would solve lots of problems, but ended up creating additional ones, was this:
Isabella does not let Sam use her scooter, like EVER! And forget trying to wear her helmet ~ that is a sure recipe for a meltdown. So we got him his very own scooter with his very own Spider Man helmet. Well, now Isabella wants to ride his new scooter and he is adamant that she will NOT ride it. Period!

Oh, the joys of parenting!

March SNL Layouts

Here are the layouts we worked on during this month's Saturday Night Layouts class.

Our themes this month were Lucky (for St. Patrick's Day), A Day in the Life, and Easter.

FYI: The LO does not include that funky shadow on the
lower right hand corner IRL.

I might include a picture of Scott and one of Isabella and Sam
together for this LO, since I'm so lucky to have them.

I'm planning on taking picture of our everyday routines for this one:
breakfast and playtime for AM
dinner and baths for PM
full bottle of wine and empty bottle of wine for night time
Ha Ha Ha! Just kidding,...
Or am I?

We actually wove our very own Easter basket and filled it
with paper eggs, which was so much fun!
This was a fun way to use a lot of our paper scraps.

So there you have it!

Next month I'll have the honor of teaching with the fabulous Rhonda, and I can't wait! Our themes for April are going to be: Friends, Family, Travel, April Showers, Be Unique and Mom. Don't those sound fun?

I already have my sketches done for these LOs. So, I spent a few hours at Eclectica this afternoon and picked all my paper. And let me tell ya, these layouts are going to be AWESOME! So make sure you call and sign up early. Stay tuned for a sneak peek to come in the next couple of weeks.

730 Days Ago

730 days ago God blessed us yet again, in a way that only He can.

730 days ago I wondered if it was possible to love another child as much as I loved my first. I quickly discovered it is.

730 days ago I first laid eyes on him, after eagerly awaiting his arrival, and fell head over heels in love, INSTANTLY!

730 days ago we became a family of four.

730 days ago I wondered how much our life would change with this new addition to our family, not knowing the changes would be many, but definitely for the better.

730 days ago my heart overflowed with happiness and joy and pride and hope and ached with uncertainty and concern, all at the same time.

730 days ago was one of the happiest days of my life.

730 days ago was the beginning of a wonderfully exciting adventure together.

Happy Second Birthday, sweet boy!!!

Sam, I cannot imagine our lives without you. You are an amazing gift from above, and we love you SO much!

PS: And yes, that is a faux hawk Sam's sporting on the above pictures. It's his pre-birthday party haircut. Isn't he the handsomest little man ever?

It's Party Time!

We've finally started the family birthday countdown around here. Sam's second birthday is right around the corner and we're having his party at the Fire Museum of Memphis. He is SO into trucks these days, especially fire trucks. He is going to be so excited. I can hardly wait!

These are his birthday party invitations:
It's called a spinner card, because the little fire truck actually spins from side to side. It's really cool. I'll take some video of it later on so you can check it out.

Although I think these are pretty cute, in all honestly I'm finding it MUCH harder to come up with cute invitation ideas for my boy than I ever did with my girl.

Anyway, I'm thrilled to say that they have been signed, sealed and delivered, and that the 2010 birthday party planning season is officially underway. Woo Hoo!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Who doesn't love a great mail day?

I'd say yesterday was a pretty fantabulous mail day indeed.

We received one very welcome piece of mail and two packages from Amazon, one addressed to me and one addressed to Scott.

In the midst of the envelopes and junk mail, there was an envelope from the Department of Treasury. With happy mail in it. Need I say more?

I knew exactly what was in my package from Amazon:
And let me tell you, they couldn't have come at a better time. I'm almost done with the book I'm currently reading, Still Alice, which by the way is phenomenal and I HIGHLY recommend. Anyway, I was starting to panic at the thought of not having another book waiting on my nightstand. Obsessive much? Geez! But lucky for me, this should take care of my addiction for a bit.

I had no idea what was inside the package addressed to Scott so I left it on the kitchen counter for him to open when he got home from work.

As soon as he walked through the door I told him about the package. He told me it was actually for me. Really? So I opened it and found this:
He said he knew it's been a hard couple few bunch of weeks around here, so he ordered books for me since I love them so much, but never go out to Amazon and order for myself. Hmm,... oops!

It figures! The one time I go to Amazon and go crazy on my Wish List, he decides to do the same. Isn't he awesome though? We had a good laugh about the whole thing.

Well, I better go. With this amount of books sitting on my nightstand, I have the license to read read read! You think the kids would notice if I were to, oh I don't know,...lock myself in the master closet?

The perils of being the little brother...

...to an older sister.
Yes my dear friends, he is indeed wearing some frilly 4th of July headband his sister put on him first thing one morning.

On any given day Sam will come out of Isabella's room wearing anything from beads to bows to headbands. All courtesy of Isabella, the local stylist to the stars. Poor boy doesn't stand a chance.

I try to encourage her to dress and accessorize her dolls instead, only to be told they're not as much fun as Sam.

What can I say? She's got a point there!

March SNL Sneak Peek

I love, love, love the month of March. To me it marks the beginning of Spring, one of my most favorite seasons. I love that this is a season of new growth and beautiful colors. And let me just tell you, I'm particularly excited about this month's SNL class.

By now you know me and you know I always like to share a little peak of what we'll be making. So here's a little something to get you to pick up the phone and sign up today.

This month's themes are: Easter, Spring, Lucky, A Day in the Life, and Laughter. Seriously! How can you possible go wrong with any of these themes?

Join us:
Saturday, March 13th
4-8 PM
$29.00

Don't delay!
Call Eclectica today at (901) 377-0730 and reserve your spot!

Hope to see you there!