Some Like it Hot!

So this was the theme of the bridal shower I just had for Jason's little sister.  She just turned 28 so she's really not that little, but she will always be his little sister to me.  :-)

Anyway, she and her fiance met at Buffalo Wild Wings, and I was trying to go kind of old Hollywood glamour so I tried to mesh the two with the Some Like it Hot theme.  I know it's kind of a stretch, but once I get an idea I do whatever I can to make it work.

I made the invitations to look like a movie theater with the title on the screen.  I made Monique the starring lead character, the date was the premiere day and the time was the showtime.  Jordis and I were the directors.  I had a picture, but alas, it's on my old computer.

I decided to go with the colors of red, black and white after finding the plates and napkins I liked at Hobby Lobby.  It also kind of went with my Hollywood movie idea and matches my great room, too.  I created some decorative touches out of tissue paper and scrapbook paper, and also found quotes from old Hollywood acresses and sat them around in frames. 

I served hot wing bites, hot and sweet sausages, queso and chips, and popcorn since we had the movie theme going. For the dessert table we had red velvet cheesecake brownies and hot fudge cupcakes with buttercream.

I also got some pop in bottles to go with my theme. 

Jordis made her own gift for her Nanny Mo, wrapped it herself and put it on the gift table.  It was so sweet.  I think she gave her some Mardi Gras beads, a bouncy ball and a pencil.

Jordis also felt the need to sit next to Monique in her princess chair and help open presents. 

It was a beautiful day so we went outside to take pictures before everyone left.

Jordis took this one.

Lately

We sure were busy last month. Both kids and my mom had birthdays, there was Easter and Jason went back to work. On top of that I went on a field trip with Jordis' class, we've been doing online school with Xan and have been trying to keep up with getting the kids to church every Wednesday night, my busier work schedule, hosting a bridal shower for Jason's sister and trying to get the fence finished. Of course I have photos of most of these things, but my laptop finally went kaput, so that's why I haven't been blogging about all of these fun times.

I just got a new laptop last week and got pictures downloaded from Monique's bridal shower so I will have something to post soon.

Happy May, everyone!

Rolling in to April

On April 1st we got invited to a birthday party for one of Jordis' friends from church.  It was at the skating rink that we had actually considered renting out for our own kids to have a joint birthday party, but we ended up skipping big celebrations for them this year.  The kids were pretty excited about going.  Then they got skates on.  Xander had on roller skates and Jordis roller blades, but neither was successful, so Xander quit skating and Jordis switched to the skates that go on over your shoes.

I think I had more fun skating than either of the kids, even though it wasn't nearly as easy as I remember it being when I was younger.

This is my friend Becky, the birthday girl's mom.  Sadly, we were both wearing roller skates and still look really short.

I'm not sure what this was about but I like when both of my boys are laughing together.

So handsome!

Working Girl

Anyone who knows Jordis is fully aware that she loves to be a helper.  Cracking eggs, washing dishes, cleaning baseboards, she likes to volunteer for pretty much anything.  I want her to learn skills, but there are some days that her "help" leaves me more flustered than not.

A few weeks ago she came in quite handy though when it was time to paint the fence posts Jason had put up in the yard.  She is like her momma and LOVES to paint.

Today she decided she was going to go to work with me.  She didn't even really ask, just told me she was packing her purse so she could come with me and have things to do.  Typically I would have to let her down and tell her no, but my boss is on vacation so I called her assistant and she told me she didn't care if I brought her.  So off we went.  Jordis brought some 3D glasses, a mini Santa Claus puzzle, a pencil, a red crayon, an orange marker, a necklace made out of beads and pasta, a miniature bible that came with her baby doll, her DS, and her wallet (filled with play money, of course).

As any typical woman would do, we had to stop in the restroom as soon as we entered the building.  In fact, we had to go to the restroom four times over the course of the afternoon.  Maybe because I taught her how to use the water cooler, or because she became a connoisseur of hot tea while we were there. 

A co-worker gave her a few of her (personal, not stolen from work) file folders to put her drawings in that she created with an ink pen and her one crayon and marker.  I also let her open my mail and will now probably start hiding my letter opener at home.  Whew!  She can wield that thing.

I was very impressed with how well she entertained herself even though she had more fun with my phone than she did with any of her own things.  Apparently she knows how to use the camera.

I think she might grow up to be the girl who goes to work and takes pictures of herself on the copier.

She was looking like quite the professional by the time we left to come home.

 Come on, Mom!  Places to go, people to see.

Spring Break

Our Spring Break has been pretty low key this year.  Jason's sick time from his shoulder surgery ended and we've already taken an unexpected vacation, so we've been hanging out at home.  On Monday, the kids and I had a play date at our neighbor's house.  Actually it was a coffee date for the moms and you were invited to bring your kids, but for the sake of the kids we called it a play date.  It went well considering we had seven kids there aged 7 and under.

Xander and Jordis got these fun glasses from my dad and step-mom in their early Easter basket, so we've been laughing about them as well. 

We've been letting the kids stay up late and play their DS's together.  We give them until 10 but they usually can't hang that late and end up in their rightful beds, sound asleep, all on their own.  We've really lucked out with these two and the disciplined sleep habits they both have.

And of course Mr. Jake has been getting lots of extra love and attention this week as well.

Spring Break is almost over, but the excitement is just beginning.  Tomorrow is Easter AND Xander's birthday.  I feel a sugar rush in our future.

It's that time

Spring is officially here, although the way the weather has been lately you'd think it's arrival had preceded the real date. My hyacinths came up two weeks ago and my neighbor, Dena, split some of her daffodils and I added those to my collection. Actually, the kids did it for me. I was so impressed.

The kids have also been enjoying some time outside, which I love.  The winter's are usually long with them cooped up in the house.

And Jason's time off from shoulder surgery has come to an end, so we've been enjoying as much time with him as possible.

As well as enjoying some beautiful days.

Hope you're enjoying your Spring, too!

Feeling Green

This is the first time I can remember wearing shorts on St. Patrick's Day. The weather has been so pretty that I keep forgetting it's technically still winter. The kids started off the day with their annual breakfast of green scrambled eggs.

We had pizza with festive holiday napkins for dinner while we watched this week's episode of Swamp People. I also made cookies for the occasion. I love an excuse to make dessert.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Dance Fever

Our local Daddy-Daughter dance was last month, and it couldn't have come soon enough for Jordis.  No joke, she's been asking about it since last summer.  See how excited she was?

She was slightly more patient for the hair styling this year.  And I do mean SLIGHTLY.  Two days previously we had decided to go on vacation, leaving right after the dance was over, so getting these two ready and out of the house was hectic when we added trip preparations to the mix.  But they couldn't have looked any more stunning.

Jordis had quite a few friends there this year.  Here she is dancing with a few of them, instead of her date.  (Sideways, of course, because for whatever reason certain pictures will not upload here the way they are showing up in my computer.  I think it's an i-phone thing).

And of course a few trips to the ice cream bar.

  Xander and I usually have a dinner date during the dance, but we had to make it a quick one this year so we could get home and finish packing. So I suggested the KFC buffet.  Xander loves mashed potatoes and he loves buffets, so he was a pretty happy guy.

Then home we all went to finish packing and load up the car for our trip south. 

Happy Heart Day

They say that Valentine's Day is overrated, or a Hallmark Holiday, but I love any reason to turn an ordinary day into a celebration.  Especially with little ones in the house.  Jordis was dressing for the holiday a few days in advance.

I was pretty excited that my Valentine's treats for bible study turned out exactly like they looked in the picture.  That rarely happens.

I also got a box of chocolates from my secret sister.  Yum!

Jordis and Xander each brought home a ton of cards and goodies from their classmates.

We ended the day with breakfast for dinner (and a picture that for some reason keeps showing up sideways even though it's upright in my computer...grrrrrr).

Hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day, too!

Happy New Year!

I know, I haven't blogged in a while. A long time, to be exact. I usually do my blog posts at night when Jason goes to work. But since he's been off for his shoulder surgery/recovery, I've been enjoying having him here EVERY night since November 28th. It's so nice to have someone here to talk to that I haven't been spending as much time on my computer in the evenings.

So, Happy 2012! Let's see how quickly I can catch you up.

We had a lovely Christmas season. I didn't put up all of my trees or decorations and Christmas still came. Imagine that.

I took the kids to a pancake brunch at our local Arts Castle a few weeks before Christmas. It was a good time, albeit crowded. Xander volunteered to cut Jordis' sausage links for her, so I had to capture that.

Jordis also had a very nice visit with Santa.

Then Xander told everyone in the room that Santa was fake because he was wearing a watch and Santa should know what time it is since he is magical. Luckily we were about done at that point, so I quickly ushered them out of there.

We got a dog. Meet Jake.

A friend of a friend couldn't keep him and because of his age we were afraid he wouldn't get adopted if they took him to a rescue, so now he's ours. I'm not a fan of big dogs, but if they were all like this one I would love them. Well, except for the shedding. I'm still having issues with that part.

We had a nice, low-key Christmas with our Latiolais/Hartman/Bradshaw families.

The kids were not very grateful for their gifts this year and were complaining of being bored a few weeks later, so we took away their birthday parties for 2012. I love planning the parties so this absolutely kills me, but they need the lesson and it will save us money, so I'll get over it.

Not much else has been going on except for our serious lack of winter. The kids were so excited when we first got some snow in January and it barely covered the ground.

Other than that we aren't doing much, which is kind of okay with me. But I will try to find something to blog about more often.