8lbs of clothes for $8.15 – some of the most interesting of the bunch, a “Cox for Congress” t-shirt for Kole, and the celebratory Otterfest shirt for me.
Don’t be coveting our new Travelers’ guide to Historic Mormon America. It’s already earmarked as a Christmas gift.
Total spent this trip approximately $31.
My birthday has long been my favorite holiday. Birthdays are so wonderful, because it’s the one day a year that’s all about you.
On Maggie’s actual birthday, we celebrated with family. It was such a special day for her! We went to church in the morning and then out for a special birthday breakfast of french toast. Then it was back home for a nap, and family time in the evening!
Maggie read all of her cards out loud. According to her, they ALL said, “I’m the birthday girl!” And then she’d smile at everyone.
She got some cool stuff – a cardboard house from my parents (reminiscent of the one I got from them when I was 3), and also a camera that she has been using lately to take photos of her brother and the dog, or more often the carpet, the ceiling… we’re working on camera skills! She also got the Lady & the Tramp DVD, a new book, some clothes, a coloring puzzle & some cash from her aunts & uncles.
Ezra gave her this vintage Cabbage Patch Dolls horse for her babies.
Mom & Dad were finally able to gift her the dollhouse we’ve been storing for a few years. I found this natural beauty at the Salvation Army when Maggie was a year old. We had walked there from our old house, and when I saw this thing (complete with wooden furniture), I got really excited. It was 1/2 price hours – so the whole thing was $30. The trick was that I couldn’t pay and then pick up later – it was cash & carry only. So imagine me pushing an umbrella stroller with a 1 year-old with one hand, and carrying this doll house in the other… for about 3 blocks. It was worth it – she loves it!
We had the requested birthday meal of homemade macaroni & cheese with hot dogs on the grill. For dessert – chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! It was a wonderful day full of special memories.
Maggie has been playing princess birthday party pretend for a month in preparation for her big day. I think all of her babies and Ezra have each had a Belle, Snow White, and Aurora birthday party. She saved her favorite princess for herself. And so, last weekend my big girl turned three with a backdrop of Rapunzel from Tangled. When she told me she wanted a Rapunzel birthday party, I got kind of excited and added a whole bunch of new pins to Pinterest. And then, I got more realistic.
The kids are 3. Seriously, will they know if I make Rapunzel themed food? Special decorations? No. And so we had a successful snack of jello, string cheese and goldfish crackers. We decorated with vintage birthday cards and my signature vintage hankie bunting (though the perpetually stuffy noses here have me wishing I hadn’t sewn so many of them together).
We got our copy of Family Fun just a few days before the party, and in it we spied this ribbon-pull pinata. So toddler friendly. They all took turns pulling ribbons and showed unprecedented patience really. When the magic trapdoor ribbon was chosen, the kids were showered in stickers, tattoos, and erasers (all thrift store buys, of course).
We also enjoyed making crowns out of recycled poster board and punch outs from paint strips, and we did spring for a photocopy of Flynn Ryder’s wanted poster to serve as a photo op. It is my goal to have some photo cut out at every birthday party. It’s non-negotiable.
And of course, there were cupcakes.
Happy Birthday little one. Te Quiero Mucho!
You may recall a lofty goal I set at the start of the year. And you may be wondering how that goal is going. What? You’re not wondering?!? Well, I’m going to check in because we are (amazingly) on track!
January unintentionally became art hanging month as we puttered around with a few projects that needed finishing.
The master bedroom got a collage wall:
The family room’s empty frames (hanging since we moved here in June of 2010) got a little DIY art and improved hardware so that they hang straight – yea!
The eat-in kitchen finally saw our hanging scale hung. This was a garage sale purchase from 2010 – $5 scale, $10 basket from JoAnn’s (thank you 50% off coupon). Finally, the fruit has a home!
Unrelated to the unofficial January theme, Kole built a step stool for Maggie to use in the bathroom. (Plans on ana-white.com). Now she can wash her hands without a boost from mom or dad. We used our Menards rebates for the wood & the paint was leftover from her kitchen set redo, so it was…FREE! And, there’s enough wood to make 2 more – such a deal!
There was also lots of sewing, gluing and organizing, and I did finally tackle that tupperware cabinet.
Projects accomplished as of January 31st = 5
P.S. My napkin lit on fire while I was taking these pictures. I noticed the flames out of the corner of my eye.
This Valentine’s Day we LOVE that we didn’t burn our house down.
Snuggles.
The possessive big sister – what? Someone else hug baby brother? Not without her supervision…and participation!
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Careful Grandpa Kirk! Don’t let the Monkeys Jumping on the Bed affect your heart!
