my saturday at home

Pearhead Baby Handprint/Footprint Ornaments

Saturday...
I painted my fingernails...and toenails.
Parker played with his trucks and dinosaurs
I put away laundry.
I built a fire in the fireplace and wished dear hubby was home to build it for me. (It takes me a little longer) :)
My floors were covered with toys of all shapes and sizes
I tried not to think about work.
Cooper did some serious walking.
We crafted new handprints of the boys.
I laid on the floor and played...hard.
We totally had a pajama day. Loved every minute of it.

And I had to put this picture in here from the other day. I couldn't believe it when I walked over to see both of my boys sitting quietly thumbing through books...at the same time. AT THE SAME TIME. To some who might not be as familiar of the nature of our household, that might seem ordinary. However, I do not remember a time since Cooper was a baby and sleeping a lot during the day, that both boys were quietly entertaining themselves at the same time. Do not fear though. I can assure you that this moment was just that...a moment...that lasted about 21 seconds. Mmmmm...what a blissful 21 seconds.

And then I smiled when both boys were ready to tussle again. Aaahhh, now that's more normal.

P.S. This post was typed on Saturday...and then here we are on Monday night....when I finally have time to load the pictures. ;)

birthday cake & balloons...toys & tots...one special day!

What a special day we celebrated on Sunday!!! Clay & I are still having a hard time believing that it has been two years since we were blessed with this precious little boy!

Friends came to join in the celebration with us Sunday afternoon. Thank you so much to each of you who helped to make Parker's birthday even more special!! I wish you could have seen the look on Parker's face when his friends just kept showing up at the door. Forget the presents! All his friends were there to play...who needs anything else?!
Even though he was sporting a really bad cough & developing a runny nose, he was having the time of his life that afternoon. Those kids were partying like it was 1999!! (Did I really just say that?! ...well, it's true!)

Though he didn't touch his cake & ice cream, he looked super cute posing next to the birthday treats & blowing out his candles!

Friends that came to play: Tanner, Tyler, Greta, James & Bella!

I think Parker was excited to receive his first "big boy" 4x4 tonka truck from mama & daddy!

The children had a blast playing basketball, building a fort out of the bricks, watching the movie "Cars", playing with the little animals & kicking the balloons around on the floor.

We had very simple decorations this year since there wasn't a specific theme (other than Blue!). I made Pom Pom tissue flowers to hang from our ceilings...you can get instructions on how to make these here. Clay blew up balloons & we let them rest on the floor throughout the living room (the kids had a blast with these!! ...simple & inexpensive entertainment!).
I was planning on framing his invitation & having it on the table with the gifts, but ran out of time at the last minute...so it just sat out. His cake was scrumptious & from Byerly's. It was white cake with buttercream frosting; I was more than willing to eat what Parker didn't want of his share! ;)

After arriving, the kids played for a bit & then one by one they came up to do their craft (thanks for the idea & poem, mom!!!) Each child was making 3 notecards to take home with them. The cardstock was cut & folded into cards prior to the party. Clay helped me cut circles out of sponges for the 3 parts of the snowman. The kids sponge-painted a snowman on front using the circles. After drying, either the mom or the child drew the little eyes, buttons, mouth & nose. In the inside was a little handwritten poem:

"One circle, two circle

then there were three,

This little snowman

is to you from me!"

They all turned out so cute; I was really pleased with the results. The idea was for the children to be able to use these as thank you notes or everyday cards to send to family &/or friends. I absolutely LOVE sending out handmade cards to family & friends that little Parker's hands helped to make. I think it makes it so much more special & fun for the sender as well as the recipient! (And you know I always make an extra for his scrapbook of course!)
Our best family photo of the day! The other ones all have Parker's hands in his mouth..that little stinker! :)

Giving hugs as thank you's for his gifts from friends...

Here's to another year of fun and adventures with our little toddler! :)

treat bag toppers

Fun way to dress up goodie bags...treat bag toppers! The original idea came from Becky Higgins....love her!! She has such neat homemaking tips & ideas; plus, Becky is a terrific scrapbooker! Her style is simple & clean...her work always stands out by the creative layout and/or the one or two timeless embellishments she adds to her pages.

Presentation really is everything, so I will be using this idea for my future "goodie bags!" I think about how often I'm giving out happies for gatherings, birthdays, the holidays, baby gifts, etc...bag toppers are my new favorite thing! :)

I made my treat bag toppers with a piece of cardstock that I had on hand & 2 stamps! I smudged the sides with a distress ink, then just stapled the cardstock to the bag...took less than 10 minutes to put together! Simple thing, yet it really adds a lot to the overall look of the cookie bag! (You could do these with Ziploc snack bags or sandwich bags or whatever you have on hand...the bags don't have to have a top that closes..mine didn't. These were bags I already had on hand from Stampin' Up from several years back.)

{The yummy chocolate chip cookies are from my Nanny's (my mom's mom) recipe box.}

creative girlfriends...

Time to brag on my creative MS girls!!! This last week, when I went to Grenada for a visit I was able to see my long-time girlfriends Natalie & Ashley. (Terra was in Nashville so we missed her!!!) The four of us have been friends since cheerios and barbie dolls were the best things ever made...we have remained the best of friends through the years. Though we are all different in our own ways, there are a lot of similarities...one of these being our creative outlets. We each have our own little way of expensing our creative energy! As most people know, I love photography, scrapbooking and organizing.

Natalie has always had a passion for painting; she has dabbled with it for years and has really made some neat paintings. Over time, by word of mouth, when people would see the paintings in her home, they would ask her to paint one for them too and so forth. Here is one of her latest that fashions precious Case's (her little boy) room! She can paint just about anything, but has a real knack for paintings for children's rooms and still objects such as fruits, flowers, etc.

Natalie has a blog to showcase some of her paintings: http://painterscanvas.blogspot.com

Ashley, attorney by day, creative artist by night...has always had an eye for art. She won quite a few local art contests when we were in elementary and junior high; we always knew she would either be President of the U.S. one day or an art teacher! :) She has a knack for uniqueness; if you take one step in her & her husband's home, you'll see what I mean. To sum up her style...a southern rugged vintage...I get inspired every time I step foot in her door! Here are some of her latest creations...she made her own pillowcases and then crafted these adorable pins to attach to the fabric! I love it!



We've always tagged Terra as the "little Miss Martha Stewart" who has an eye for decorating (furniture, painting...you name it!) and organizing her space with a comfortable, simple but BEAUTIFUL look! I will never forget one of the summer's when we were home from school and the many projects she took on! She would find old pieces of furniture to refinish and paint in vibrant colors; they of course, all turned out so pretty! Here is one of her creations!



These girlfriends inspire me in so many ways, and I LOVE how we each have our own little niche of creativity. The picture at the top is of the 4 of us at Terra's Bachelorette Weekend in Nashville, TN back in October of 2008. How fun! I love you girls!