Happy Birthday Jackie!

How many times can I say time flies? I've said it before and I'll say it again...slow down Jack, you are growing up too fast! Jackson or as Sadie likes to call him Jackie, turned 9 last week. Mother nature decided to give him a little surprise and snowed. He wasn't going to let snow in April ruin his special day!

I was excited that I finally got to use this Birthday banner a friend made for my b-day last August! It looked adorable.....Thanks Camie! Jack was excited to open the card presents first....he knew that meant $$$!

We took a trip over to the Science Museum because Jackson can't get enough of that place. He had some birthday money to blow, but somehow didn't think the stuff in the gift shop looked as cool when he had to use his own money, so he went home empty handed!

Jackson got extra lucky and ended up with an ice cream cake and cheesecake! (it's a long story)

All in all, I think his birthday was a success, even without a party. Happy Birthday Jack!

We interrupt this spring break blogathon to bring you this breaking news:

This is how I feel about the whole situation below:

John Parrish is in trouble.

Major trouble.

Trouble beyond description.

Why you ask? Well, I was putting away laundry today when I found his stash. I feel hurt beyond words. I keep reaching around to pull the knife out of my back but can't quite reach.

What was in his stash? Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. That's right, he was hiding thin mint cookies from me. That dirty dog. He will never get away with this. How could he possibly think that I wouldn't find out about this betrayal and deception. I wonder what other goodies he has stashed from me throughout the years. I don't know if I can ever trust him again.

I'll be expecting a big, huge apology when he returns.

A fun day at the MOA

Tuesday afternoon John headed to the valley of the sun. On the way to the airport, he met us for lunch at the MOA. We ate at Wolfgang Pucks restaurant where they have fabulous butternut squash soup. MMMMMM

As soon as John left the real party began. We headed straight to Nickelodeon Universe to get our ride on. Can you believe my boys went on this roller coaster? OK, I guess for my boys that is not such a big surprise.

The boys spent a lot of almost unsupervised time while waiting in lines. (I had Sadie and couldn't go on most of the rides) I was pleasantly surprised how well they treated each other in such close quarters. I guess even they can manage to get along when fun is on the line.

You know your t.v. might be on a little too much when your toddler yells out Sponge Bob! She couldn't wait to go meet him. Max on the other hand tried to pull his arm off and almost got escorted out.

We stayed the entire day and Sadie did better than I could have imagined. I honestly thought she was going to be my excuse to leave early......."ok boys, Sadie is getting way to tired, we have to go now"......but she was a trooper and waited around like a little champ. To end the fun filled day we stopped by our favorite Crepe stand and partook of it's yummy deliciousness. Do you see a theme in our outings? There is nothing like topping off a fun day with a sweet treat!

Spring Break Part One

Last week was spring break for my munchkins. Whenever we don't have any hot vacation plans I always dread spring break. As this was one of those years, I was honestly not looking forward to it at all. Maybe it was the fact that John was going to be out of town for a few days and at school for both weekends of spring break.

I decided to make the most of it and planned some fun little adventure every day, and you know what? We actually had a great spring break!!

On Monday we hit the Science Museum. Jackson got to bring a friend along, so he was in heaven.

Normally Sadie is happy strapped into her stroller, but not today. I think she has decided that checking everything out is way funner! She had no clue how to play with or what she was looking at, but she loved every minute of it.

Getting a good happy shot of Max is like striking gold. Consider me rich today.

This picture isn't the best, but I had to put it in here. This is the Mississippi River in all of its flooding glory. If you look closely, you can see a fence in the water. The river also covered the sidewalk.

We capped off the trip with Izzy's ice cream. As always, the salted carmel did not disappoint. I'm almost glad that Izzy's is so far away or I would be there on a daily basis.

Next stop on our spring break extravaganza: The MOA

This for that

Everybody knows that in almost every instance, you have to give up something to get something. You want to be a hot skinny mama? Say no to Rocky Road, and yes to diet and exercise. You want to pay off debt or build a nest egg? Quit eating out, and pack a lunch man. You want to sew a seriously cute skirt in a day? You have to let your 1 year old run wild and trash your house. Can you guess what one I did today?

That's right, for giving up a somewhat clean house today,

I got to make this:

A seriously cute skirt for Sadie!! I found the tutorial online here.

Yet again, lets review....

this:

For this:

This:

For this:

I don't think I like this trade off. I think I'll stick to doing projects during nap time and when the kids are in bed from now on!

I forgot to mention

My parents and niece Kenzie Lou flew into town for a cold winter visit in mid February. Sadie took to my Mom immediately. She actually gave her a precious silly band within minutes of her arrival. She doesn't share her bands with anyone! They flew in a day after my pops b-day, so I whipped up a scrumptious chocolate cake to celebrate. (that was honestly more for my chocolate loving Mom)

For whatever reason, I didn't get the camera out much while they were here, which is such a bummer because we had loads of fun. We hit the MOA, Science Museum, got a little crafty with Kenzie and ate and ate and ate.

I have to say though, that the biggest memory I'll take with me was watching all the boys make us ladies Sunday morning breakfast. I love that every time my Dad visits, my boys beg him to make his secret family recipe...creamed eggs.

Another unforgettable part of the trip was the fact that we had a major snowstorm the day they were suppose to leave, so had to stay an extra day. My kids were thrilled. My parents, not so much! Hopefully they've learned their lesson and will visit when the weather is nice next time.

I don't even know who I am anymore

Anyone who knows me knows that I am into almost anything crafty as long as it doesn't require a sewing machine. To be honest, I'm a little afraid of them. My MIL once gave me a used one an within weeks I had messed it up so badly that it was not fixable. This left me broken and shattered (just kidding) and less than excited to try anything that included a sewing machine.

Well time heals all wounds right? A couple months back, I was shopping for some fabric to cover bulletin boards for Jackson and Max with my friend Esther. She was inspired to make a dress they had on display for her daughter and asked if I would like to make one for Sadie. I agreed, and then simultaneously winced, cringed and gritted my teeth. I think the most stressful part of the whole thing was picking out the fabric, but I must say it came together nicely.

Because I don't own a sewing machine, Esther and I took turns on hers. I was instantly smitten! This baby has a self threader, button controlled speed, and all the bells and whistles. Thanks to Esther (and her machine), I love to sew!!!

This dress took hours and hours to make, but for my first big sewing project, I think it turned out great! (Just don't look too close!)

A few things come to mind when I look at Sadie in this dress:

1-She better not have a growth spurt anytime soon.

2- I am either going to frame or bronze it when she grows out of it. Do they still bronze things?

3- If I were to sell it on Etsy, I would have to charge about $649.99 for it to be worth my time.

4- The JGP3 pose must be in the blood. (am I right Parrish's?)

I wish I had a nicer camera so you could see the detail on the back better. The ruffles were probably the hardest part. Thanks Esther for your help on that!

Now I'm just waiting for my new machine to arrive in the mail to start on another project....this time something much simpler!

Why do I even bother with the head bands? One of these days she might keep one on!

We Can Do Hard Things

I have been searching for a long time for something to put up in the entry way. I wanted it to be something of interest because it would the last thing my boys see when leaving the house. So the other day I was cruising through etsy and I found this little gem. I've always loved this saying. I was instantly smitten and knew it had to be mine! I know it might be cheesy, but teaching my kids that they are capable of accomplishing anything they set their minds to, no matter how hard it is, is one of my number one priorities as a parent. I think it took me close to thirty years to figure that out, so I want my kids to get a head start on it!

Speaking of hard things being accomplished......

I finally got around to paining my bedroom. I took several pictures, and none really came out close to the real color, so you'll just have to come over and see it for yourself. The hard part about this job is that I did it all by myself in one day! That's right, I moved that massive bed! It was tough, but well worth the effort.

Next on the list is Jackson. He has been working really hard at school, and just moved up to the accelerated math class. Way to go Jack! Here he is with a picture of one of his heroes, Mr. Einstein!

I'm not sure if this counts. Max didn't quite do something hard, but he sure did land hard. Close enough right? While swimming last week, Max decided it would be awesome to jump in the pool and to a twist while he was at it. This resulted in him hitting the edge of the pool with his chin. Being the ever tough boy that he is, he wanted to keep swimming so he didn't think I was privy to this information. (I was in the shallow end with Sadie) I noticed from afar that his chin looked swollen, so swam over to check it out. He had a gaping cut on his chin and was swimming like it was no big deal. Much to his dismay, I made him get out. 6 stitches later, and he is doing great, but still mad that I made him leave the pool so early.

Sadie my lady continues to endure her overbearing mom who tries to place flying saucers on her head daily.

As for John, he told me I couldn't follow him to school, work, or the gym to snap a shot of him doing all the hard things he does!

Redo for two

I've been wanting to fix up Jackson and Max's room for quite some time. It's cute and all, but it truthfully looks like I let them decorate. (cuz I have!) There are random posters and pictures tacked up on every wall, and nothing to tie it all together. I have an amazing friend that is always coming up with fun decorating ideas on the cheap. When I saw one of her latest projects, I just had to copy it for my boys.

Along with the project, I also decided to do a little furniture rearranging. Here's a couple before shots of their cluttered messy room.

The few things I changed up made a big difference in the feel of the room. I found three posters and framed them. (thank you joanns 40% off coupon!) My boys were super stoked because they were robot and spaceship themed. I also hung two shelves and displayed some of their favorite Spaceship Lego creations. (so they won't get destroyed by Miss Sadie, and it also freed up room on the dresser)

And last, but certainly not least....the project! I made fabric covered bulletin boards made out of ceiling tiles for each of the boys. Aren't they cute?

This was project was up my alley. It involved fabric, duct tape, and Velcro......and no sewing machine!

And yes, that is a laundry basket....this is a real life blog people.

Fads gone wild

If you don't know what Silly Bands are, then you have been living under a rock for the last 12 months. Sadie being ever so trendy has decided to jump on the silly band-wagon. And yes, those are paint swatches on my wall, they've been there for months. I just can't make up my mind. But I digress....

Sadie can't get enough of her buh buhs. (Sadie speak for bracelet) She loves them so much that if you ask her to have one, she will give you a look something like this one and say MINE!!!

I'm hoping that like all hot trends, this one will come and go quickly like my hyper-color shirt I had in the 7th grade.