one last big party before we move

Hold tight, friends, cause this may be a long one.  So grab a snack, drink, get comfy.  Go on, I'll wait.

Ready?  Okay.  So as you may have heard, we're moving!  So of course it makes sense for us to be organizing, packing some things we want to make sure make it okay, sorting through the clothes and items we'll need to get us through the next 2 weeks before we actually make it to the new house.  So since that makes sense, we do the opposite.  We throw a huge party instead! 

My very awesome and adorable babysitter/nanny, Annie, is getting married in October and we're gonna miss it.  Boo.  So I threw her a wedding shower with the help of one of her friends to make up for missing her wedding.  I got a lot of help from my parents, too.  Brian took the kids to his parent's house, and we got to work!  My dad helped clean the house and deck, and made runs to the store for last minute items we forgot.  Thanks dad!

My mom helped with the decorations and all the cooking.  Thanks mom!  Here is the kitchen counter while we were working on both.  And maybe drinking some wine in the process too.

I wanted to make pennant banners in the wedding colors for decorations. My mom helped me cut all these out, and then she stamped some of them for me. Annie loves skulls and Gothic details, so we went with that.




I wrote on a few and my mom threaded the pretty black ribbon through.

And here are a couple shots of them hung up.  I think they're cute.  I'm obviously obsessed with pennant banners.  I have a pennant banner problem.

I made my tomato pie recipe into little tartlets, which turned out better than I thought they would.  They were all gone, so I guess they were pretty good!

Annie requested "cute" little finger foods, so we also made cucumber sandwiches, caprese kabobs, veggies and fruit with dip, and small cheese sandwiches.  Also made was a big ol' punch bowl of sangria that we kept refilling all day.  Annie's friend, Boo, also contributed lots of cute decorations, all the dinnerware, door prizes, favors, and really yummy homemade blueberry cupcakes.  She was an awesome co-host.

I stole pictures off of Annie and Pete's wedding website, and made a photo garland for them. 



Here's Annie and her adorable niece checking out the pictures.

We all ate, drank, and were merry.  And then Annie opened presents!  She got quite a good load of loot to take to her new home.

Uh, notice that I made her sit in my awesome new chair that Brian hates.  Brian, just an fyi, I got LOTS of compliments on it.  It's staying.  Anyway, Annie was so sweet, making sure to thank each person, and commenting on what she loved about each present.  And she may have cried just a little.  Her friends seemed almost as sweet as she is.

Annie's family seems great, too.  Annie's sister, mom, aunt and soon to be mom-in-law.

Annie with her Grandma and sister.  Generations of beauty!!

And here is Annie with her two maids of honor.

These girls worked hard writing down all the gifts and making this lovely bow bouquet. 

And here are all the brides"maids" that were present.  I think there are two more out there that couldn't make it.  Annie is blessed with a load of good friends!

I wish I had taken a picture of the spread before it was attacked, but here it is more than half way gone.  My mom found this perfect fabric to use as a table cloth.

And to leave on a sweet note, here is Annie's niece enjoying those great cupcakes!

It was a party filled with:

Annie, I wish for you and Pete a life time of love, health and happiness.  Always be on each other's side, and the rest will fall into place.  God Bless!

ordinary moments

This week's You Capture is ordinary moments.  We have lots of those around here!  With kids, there can be a lot of ordinary punctuated by something extraordinary.  Just seeing how fast they change can be extraordinary!  Here are a few ordinary moments from our house.

eating breakfast

watchin' tv

waiting for papa

playing on the swingset

playing fort in mama and papa's bed

crafts... er, art? maybe both!

I've been busy.  No, not packing.  That would be silly to actually do any packing with only a week to go before we move.  Silly.  I work best under pressure.  Actually, I'm not sure that I do, but it's the only way I've ever done anything.  I should join a 12 step program for procrastination.  Maybe I'll get around to it someday.  Heh.

So I've been busy being crafty.  What is it about that word that conjures up little old ladies making doilies in their rocking chairs?  I would say I've been busy making ART, but that's not REALLY how I would categorize what I've been doing.  You let me know how to label it all, okey dokey? 

Here's the onesie I embroidered for my cousin's new baby, Eliza.  Don't you love that name?  So cute.  I love doing these baby onesies. 

And I finally finished the painting for Rowan's room that I had started back last winter.  See?  Procrastination.  It was my first endeavor into mixed media painting, and it's my new favorite.  I think I'll make a billion more of these because it was so fun and so easy to do in pieces.  I drew a lot of inspiration and instruction from Kelly Rae. 

The pretty afghan was a wedding present made by my mom.  Who is very crafty herself.

I stamped Rowan's name on the little flags, which were inspired by the awesome pennant flags that my friend, Kelly (also super crafty), made for Rowan's birthday.  They hang in her room and look so pretty there, so I thought it would be cool to echo them in this painting.

I added rose petals from a bouquet of roses Brian had gotten me before we were even married.  Eons ago.  I had pressed them, and they were just sitting in a box, waiting to be shown some love.  Here you go, rose petals!  Love. 

I wanted to add in things that would be special to Rowan later like the rose petals.  I added a couple pages from a vegetarian recipe book that belonged to one of my grandmothers.  Not that I think Rowan will be vegetarian, more that it was something passed down to her from past generations.

Sweet rice delight sounds gross to me.  Which is why I felt ok tearing it out of an old cookbook.  I layered all sorts of papers all over, and then painted the birdies over them to go with the birdie bedding in Rowan's room.  I like how imperfect and layered it all looks.  I like to think its imperfections make it charming.  That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

There is also a postcard with a picture from the Book of Kells as a nod to the Celtic roots of Rowan's name.

Now do I hang it up in her room, or put it in the pile to be packed?  I think I'll hang it up so there is more to do later.  Cause that's how I roll.

trains and fletcher 4-ever

Yesterday we rode on Thomas the Tank Engine.  And got to see lots of others at the train museum in Union, Illinois.  It was a perfect day for Fletcher.  He rode on Brian's shoulders, pointing to where he'd like us to take him.  Yes, your majesty.

I think Brian liked this train as much as Fletcher.  It's a reproduction of some important train from a long time ago.  I don't remember. 

I heart sun flare.  I want to marry sun flare and have its kids.  Brian says I have a problem.  And that sun flare doesn't make a good picture.  But I love it. 

I think it's pretty.  But I took some of the same pictures without the sun flare just for Brian.  But this is MY blog, so you get to see the ones I like.

I think Fletcher liked Thomas just fine, but he liked the ride on Thomas even better.  We were in the car directly behind Thomas.  This is pretty much what Fletcher looked like on the entire ride.

I liked the vintage ads in the vintage train cars.  I love that they have kept the same ads that were up when the trains were retired to the museum.

Brian took this one.  Obviously, since I'm in the background.  But how great of a shot is this?  Good job, Brian!!

The museum has some old trains in sheds where they have them all made up just like they were back in their heyday.

And this train kitchen was ahead of its time.  All stainless steel!  Pretty.

It was a good day to be Fletcher.

And the icing on the cake was that before bed, Fletcher pooped in the potty!  Yay!  Don't worry, I didn't take a picture.  Let's just say it was impressive, none the less. 

shaving already

Fletcher.  Not me.  I've been shaving for a while now, thanks.  Fletcher is now peeing in the potty, drinking out of a big boy cup, and sleeping in a big boy bed.  And now I caught him shaving the other day!!  Boy how time does fly.

Oh hi.  You're just in time.



I was just about to use this!



First I start up here.

Then I move it around like so.



You aren't laughing are you?  This is SERIOUS, OKAY?

Seriously SMOOTH!!! Heh.

Like a baby's butt.

Go on, give it a feel.  I'm irresistible.  The babes have been all over me.