Hectic Days - Happy Days

Last weekend was eventful, to say the least.  My baby girl turned 5 and we partied all weekend!  

Friday, which was her actual birthday, we went to Red Robin for dinner with Grammie, Nunnu, Aunt Nicole and Angelina.  Nana and PapPap kept the boys at home...they weren't feeling well - lots of sniffles and coughs and little fevers (poor things).

After dinner, we went over to the mall.  Our initial plan was to set them loose in Giggle and Smiles for an hour or so but because it was Friday night, they were to capacity and not taking on anymore kids.  They were disappointed but we made it up to them by taking the girls into Clair's and letting them ride the Merry-Go-Round AND the Monster Spider Jump!  

Saturday, it was off to Aunt Lorrie and Uncle Lenny's house for a joint birthday party with Katie, who turned 18 this year!  Fun was had by all and we had some yummy cake from Oakmont Bakery!

Then on Tuesday, Danika and I went to get haircuts.  Well, I went to get a haircut and then Danika decided she wanted to get her hair cut, too!  Here's the final product: 

Cute, right?  

Everyone seemed to be feeling better and on the mend by Wednesday and it's been business as usual around here since then!

Hoping to have another exciting (but not too exciting) weekend full of lots of laughter and smiles!

It really doesn't get any better than this.

Hanging in the Snow

My kids and I were hanging outside in the snow today . . . I was hanging a little differently than they were, thanks to a few too many "adult" gummy bears and Chocolate Cokes made with Chocolate Vodka and Coke.

They wanted to go outside.  We finally had enough snow that they could actually play in it.

They begged and I took an Advil.

They pleaded and I drank a glass of water.

They cried and I gave in,  put layers of clothes on them and boots, and went out with my camera.

I'm glad we went out for the hour or so we were out there.  I am glad that they had fun and I got some good pictures (and some much needed fresh air).  I'm especially glad that I wasn't "mean, hungover mama" and I got my butt moving...

Now they are back to playing Xbox and watching Nick Jr.  I am back to hydrating, although I'm feeling pretty good now...must've been the fresh air!

Pinterest Blog Hop?? Count me IN!

I may have mentioned before that I have a little bit of a Pinterest addiction.

In fact . . . I'm not only an addict, I'm a Pinterest Pusher, too!

You can follow me on Pinterest here:


So, this morning I was reading some stuff on Facebook and came across Crystal and Co.'s post about a Pinterest blog hop!  I knew what I had to do - I had to write my post ASAP so I could get in on the action and then spend the rest of the day looking at the pins of all the new people I would be following thanks to this wonderful idea!

Here are a few of my favorite pins from this week -

1. Grilled Cheese Roll-Ups - unlike a lot of my pins, I actually made these and they were WONDERFUL
2. One Year of Organizing: Monthly Checklists - I only looked at January, but these seem doable!
3. Hanging Convo Hearts - I'm thinking of having the kids make these out of paper and doing it year after year . . . like their Valentines to each other!
4. Hootenanny - this is another one that we actually tried and it came out pretty good!  The kids loved it with a little syrup and it was REALLY easy!
5. Launch Pad - I REALLY REALLY want to make one of these to hang next to my dry erase monthly calendar.  I think I would like to do it for meals.  I WILL do this this year...It's a pin I'm going to follow through on!  hehehe
6. Magic Sauce - okay . . . I haven't made this so I can't say it is magic for sure but just LOOK at how yummy (and easy) it looks!!!
7. Fabuless Freezer Cooking - if this is NOT your first time visiting, you probably know that I did Once A Month Cooking last year and am planning on doing it again this year.  I thought this site had some great ideas for recipes that me and my partner in crime should check out!
8.  Valentine Smores - how cute are these?  With a little sign that says "I love you 'Smore" each day"  :)

If you aren't on Pinterest and would like an invite just leave me your email address and I will send one off to you!

So, here's the deal - Straight from Crystal and Company

In the spirit of Pinterest, please pin this post and a few of the links posted. In turn your post will all get a pin from me and others who link up. Feel free to use the linky to post your pin address, blog post or some of your favorite links, including your own!

Make sure you leave your pin name so I can follow you. Follow me, Crystal and Company as well as my cohost, SusieQTpies Scraps of Life and  3 Boys and a Dog, too!

Happy Pinning!!!

Project Life 2012

You may remember that I was REALLY excited last year about stumbling across and ordering my Project Life kit.  I can't find the post . . . but trust me, I was EXCITED!!!  I did awesome the first 3 months.  I took pictures, printed pictures and wrote out little journal entries for 3 months!  Then . . . I got busy and I got overwhelmed because I got behind and I kept putting it off and putting it off.

As of right now, my 2011 Project Life is a pretty cool album/scrapbook that is about 1/2 done.  I have a lot of pictures filled in (thanks to Snapfish for having their penny prints!) but not a lot of the journal cards done and I still have to fill some pictures in here and there.  I will finish it when I have time but I have a feeling that isn't going to be anytime soon.

I decided to go a different route for 2012.  I'm doing the Digital Project Life over at Shutterfly.  I'm thinking it will be a better fit for me because I can do it on the computer and don't have to drag a bunch of stuff out and then put a bunch of stuff back to get any work done on it.

Personally, I would much rather have a more tactile, unique album that is filled with ticket stubs, programs, receipts and such . . . but being practical, this is the easiest and best fit for me RIGHT NOW and I would rather have my memories preserved and the stories remembered than an unfinished product and a box of misc. memorabilia piling up.  I think I may just opt for taking pictures of those special things and then *gasp* throw them away!!!

I picked the Turquoise Edition . . . because I like brown and green.  I have the first week and a half done - and we aren't even a week and a half into January yet!!!!

Just thought I'd share - and here are some of the pictures that found their way into the first few pages: