Let's Party Extra Fancy!

Callie loves a book series called Fancy Nancy about a little girl who does everything extra fancy from the way she dresses to the way she talks! She had her heart set on having a Fancy Nancy tea party with all of her girl friends for her birthday (No boys this year, she said they wouldn't have liked it!). We talked and planned for many weeks! I did my best to make the house look extra fancy (on a budget that is) with pink balloons, streamers, and lavender tulle bows tied on chairs. She even wanted to decorate the cupboards! Boy, is this girl fancy or what!!

The little party guests arrived decked from head to toe in their nicest party apparel (that's a fancy word for clothes). I even let Callie wear lip gloss and blue eyeshadow! The guests decorated their own crowns with gems and jewels (okay, stick on rhinestones), and then make a candy necklace and bracelet, and choose a beautiful ring to wear. These were some fancy party activities!

Since this was a tea party, we had to teach them how to drink like little ladies with their pinkies high in the air, and sip and savor their pink punch! They were very excited to use my real glass punch bowl cups, and where so adorable trying their very best to drink like the the ladies!

Pinkies up!

You can't have a fancy tea party without little cakes and treats, can you! I made the girls their own cakes to decorate as fancy as they wanted with all different colors of frosting and sprinkles. These fancy little ladies were in heaven!

Callie and her masterpiece!

Little Zoe used half her body weight in frosting!!!

Time for cake and ice cream, and all of the fun little surprises her friends brought! Ava was right by Callies side saying "Oooooo, pitty" at every gift she opened! Ava wanted to be a part of the party so badly that she kept running off with the girls dress up shoes!

There is the shoe thief Ava!

Chloe, Zoe, Maya, Regan, Callie, and Elyse.

Callie had a great time, and is still talking about her party 3 week later! I'm glad you loved your fancy party Callie, we loved giving it to you!!!

Costume Party

Chuck and I were invited to our friends Jeff and Annette's annual Halloween Party. Costumes required! We had been so sick the week before the party, that I thought we would have to bow out this year. Well, Wednesday night, we decided we were definitely better, and had better get our act together and come up with a costume! Thursday morning, I stated doing some thinking, and remember my friend Jackie had a great Cleopatra costume, so I gave her a call. I didn't think the dress would fit me because she is tiny, and I'm NOT, so she described how she had made the dress in case I couldn't squeeze into hers, and then I could just use her accessories. Long story short, she couldn't find her costume anywhere, but was able to find her husbands Mark Anthony costume that Chuck could use, so I thought it would be fun to pull a costume together myself! I had several yards of white taffeta that I had gotten free from work, that worked out perfectly for the dress! I ran to Joann's and grabbed a 60% off wig and beaded head piece, 1/4 yard of gold pleather, and some gold rope. I spent less that $20! I threw in some plastic jewels I had at home, some seriously blue eye shadow, gave the wig a much needed hair cut, and voila, I became Cleopatra!

I had a blast making this, and Chuck said to me several times during the night that I didn't even look like myself, and that he felt like he was cheating on me!

Meredith and Chris (that is his real beard!)

We had a blast at the party, and loved every ones costumes, especially Flo and Billy's! At the party, we decided that Chuck's costume would have been better with a metal garbage can lid as a shield, and a plastic sword, and I'm sad that I didn't get a picture of the front of my costume, cause it was cute!

Now, what to be next year......

Someone is excited to be five!

Callie turned five on Oct 15th, and due to lots of sickness, I'm just now getting this post up! After weeks, and I mean weeks of counting down, the big day finally arrived! She was so excited to be five, and woke me up first thing in the morning and begged to open just one present! Well, I'm a sucker, and since you only have a birthday once a year, let her open one. I picked the playdoh ice cream shop set knowing it would keep her entertained on a day I knew we would be house bound for the most part, with sick ones.

She helped me make her cake while Ava napped, and was very involved in the decorating process as well.

Oooo, yummy. Hair in the cake!

The cake after I decorated it, thinking it was cute enough for a five year olds birthday.....

But apparently it wasn't quite "fancy" enough for her taste, so she added her own artistic flair to the cake!

And about a half pound of sprinkles too!

Her Masterpiece!!! After she was finished she said, "Now that's what I call fancy!"

Later that night, after dinner, and dolled up in her Sunday best (on Thursday) she opened up the rest of her gifts, and we all enjoyed her beautifully decorated cake!

Happy Birthday Callie! We love you, and we're so thankful you are in our family!

Now THAT Will Clear Your Sinuses!

Monday morning. Long story short. Busy morning. Boys off to school, all of us girls ready to head out the door in 30 min for yet another Young Women's meeting, and lookin' good I might add, and me quickly loading breakfast dishes thinking to myself how quickly this kitchen clean up is going with out my littlest "helper" who is up in her room entertaining herself, what a blessing.....or so I thought.

Not 30 seconds after this thought left my head, Ava is standing at the top of the stairs, opening and closing her hands like she has something sticky on them. Thinking I should have knocked on wood 45 seconds ago, I headed over to her to see what on earth she got into, when the smell hit me like a ton of menthol bricks! My sleep deprived self left the Vick's vapor rub (the tub) next to her rocking chair at 3am the night before, and she thought it would make great finger paint, and proceeded to paint herself, her whole self, and the rocking chair!!!! My immediate thought was HOLY CRAP, you've got to be kidding me, how am I going to get this grease off of everything! So in the tub she went with no drain stop so the smell would just flow down the drain, and I went into her room to attempt clean up!

I'll be the first to admit that this was not nearly as bad as the ink debacle a few weeks ago, but it was still a mess! I was in too big of a hurry to take any pictures, and I'm not sure how well they would have turned out any way, but if this was smell - a - blog, and I walked my computer up to her room, (Two whole days after the fact) you too would have the pleasure of having your sinuses instantly cleared! Maybe that's why she has slept so well the past two nights.

Out of the Mouth of My Babe

This morning I taught preschool at my house. During our opening circle time, one of the little boys said that his mom had a baby in her tummy. Then another little boy said that his mommy had a baby in her tummy too! Callie, my lovely little Callie, stands up, and says, "My mommy just looks like she has a baby in her tummy, but she doesn't!"

It's a dang good thing there was a room full of children that would have served as good witnesses, because it saved her skin!

Nice Callie. Nice.

Someday you too will get the privilege of looking like you have a baby in your tummy even when you don't. And when you call me crying about how you can't loose those extra baby pounds, I will gladly remind you of your kind little observation when you were almost 5. And then I will tell you that it is just the price you pay to be a mother, and bring beautiful (and blunt) children into this world.

Time to go do some sit-ups.

Oops He Did it Again!

Grant's been throwing things again. A few months back, it was the board book being hurled across the living room, intending to kill a bee, but shattering our window instead. {Do you remember? I'll never forget!}

Tonight it was a fountain pen being thrown across the kitchen at Callie, for no particular reason I might add, and guess what?

The dang thing EXPLODED!!!!

Grant with his "oh crap, this going on the blog, I better cover the ink on my head" pose!

Yes, I said exploded all over my kitchen, me, my floor, the girls, my walls, my drapes, my garbage can, my cupboards, everywhere! I did a great job of keeping my cool, had everyone check their feet for ink, put Ava in her high chair, sent Callie into the tub, and Grant outside, and I cleaned this up.....

Ava enjoyed smearing ink all over her tray, and that cute shirt is now trash!

Ink

Ink

and more ink!

Can you tell my back was turned during the pen chucking incident? Another shirt in the trash!

And here is some additional proof of the huge mess I had to clean up during the 5:00 dinner rush. But good news, 55 minutes later with the help of Mr. Clean Magic erasers, soft scrub with bleach, and good old fashioned elbow grease, my kitchen is mostly back to normal! I'll tackle the shirts tomorrow.

Note to self: NEVER allow another fountain pen in this house again!!!

I thought I would, but I don't.......

Have soooooooooo much more time now that school has started! Maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe it's the fact that I still have 2 busy little girls at home to take care of, whatever it is, I wish I had more time! {BIG sigh} Oh well, such is life!

The kids have been really enjoying school so far. Everyone likes their teachers, and I think they are just happy to be back with their friends, or maybe they are so happy because the homework has yet to get going at a serious rate! They have been riding bikes, skateboards, or roller blades for the most part to and from school, and I'm happy they enjoy being so active! We are all well aware of the fact that this will come to an abrupt end here in the not too distant future, as Minnesota becomes covered in snow and ice, and sub zero temperatures! {Another BIG sigh}

Here's a few pictures of the kids on the first day of school...

Grant 2nd grade, Dallin 5th grade, Callie preschool, and Ava, still my baby!

My cute little (okay very big) 2nd grader!

Ava and Callie on her first day of preschool.

Dallin "I'm too cool for first day of school pictures" Palmer!

Best friends, arch enemies (depending on the minute) heading to the bus stop together!

Now, I must admit, I did do a bit of a happy dance that morning, especially as I dropped Callie off at preschool and headed to brunch with some friends from the ward! We had a great time laughing and celebrating together!

Now it's time tighten up my schedule, set some new goals, and check some things off the list, and make the most of everyday!