Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. Things have been crazy busy.

The twins turned 4 years old on October 4th and we had their Carnival Party on the 5th. My parents drove up from North Carolina and my sister and her family drove all the way from Nashville to help us celebrate! We had a full  house Saturday night and it was so great to have all of us together again.

The party turned out fabulous but it was A LOT of work. I took their birthday off from work to do party prep and was literally non-stop from 7:00 am until 10:00 pm.

(when I start to post about their birthday party next year, y'all remind me how much work it is!  Deal?)

At 3:00 pm, I took a break and took some treats to the kids' classroom (cookies, pretzels and juice). I think I could have only done that and the kids would have been happy. Christopher thanked me at least 5 times for coming.

Friday evening, the kids opened their presents from us and they made out like bandits. Chris is currently into anything super hero (Iron Man, Spider Man, Batman).  He also wanted some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stuff.  Kendall's favorite show right now is Little Einsteins and wouldn't you know?  It's out of production and they no longer make new toys.  After some searching on Amazon, I found a set that was decently priced and not considered a "Collector's Item".  She also received some Bubble Guppies and Team Umizoomi stuff.

Are they spoiled?  YES! 
These kids are a true blessing and I just have to spoil my babies on their special day!  :)

I tried to make their party as carnival-like as possible, considering we were really just in our front yard. LOL!  Thankfully it didn't rain but it was unseasonably warm and turned out to be a 90 degree day! Everyone accepted the invitation and we had almost 40 people attend.  Quite a crowd!

For food, I made cupcakes that looked like popcorn, funnel cakes, cookies that looked like corn dogs, popcorn, soft pretzels, cotton candy, peanuts, hot dogs, chili and sausage & peppers. Oh, and we had a nacho bar too. Phew!

For games, we played ring toss, corn hole, basketball, beanbag toss (knock the cans over) and I found a really cool Duck Arcade game where you shoot the ducks and bells ring and music plays. We also had face painting, a Photo Booth (which was the hit of the party, by the way), a "Kissing" booth, a "Fortune teller" (Magic 8 ball and Fortune cookies) and Spin Art. Do you guys remember doing Spin Art on the boardwalk at the beach?  Sooooo much fun!

I had planned to make these really cute goldfish soap favors but after just one, I quickly realized that 1) I didn't buy enough supplies to make 12 of those suckers and 2) it was WAY too time consuming.  So, I made one and bailed on the idea.  But, it is cute!

On the big day, I was so busy that I completely forgot to take pictures. Duh!

Here's a few taken by some of our guests.  You can get a little bit of an idea of the decorations.  We had 6 tables set up across the parking lot.  The games were set up to the right and you can sort of see the food table all the way in the back.

The next morning, we woke up and I suddenly remembered that we completely forgot to give the kids their BIG birthday present.  I couldn't believe we forgot!  Pop Pop and Daddy sneaked down to the basement to put them together and then we surprised the kids.

It was an exhausting weekend but I know the kids' will have such fond memories and that's all that matters!

Step Right Up!

I'm having so much fun planning the twins' birthday party.  I just finished creating their invitation. 
(personal info has been blocked).

So happy with it!

Blogging Accident

Who knew that blogging could be dangerous?!

I dropped my laptop computer on my foot and broke my toe.  I never got it x-rayed because they can't do anything any way but I'm pretty sure it's broken. 

It's been 2 weeks and it does look a lot better than the last picture that I posted although it's still bruised and swells by the end of the day. 

Other than that, we're winding down our summer.  The kids will transition to their new classrooms next week and start Pre-K. 

PRE-K!  Where has the time gone?

I'm also in full planning mode for their birthday.  If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know how I love to plan parties!  This year, I decided to do a carnival theme.  We live in a townhouse development so we don't have a lot of outdoor space but luckily, I have the best neighbors in the whole wide world!  They have agreed to move their cars so I can set up the carnival in the parking lot and have a "real" carnival setting. 

Now, if I could only control the weather!  Praying it cooperates and it's a nice, sunny fall day.  'Cuz I don't have a Plan B!

We've also decided it's time to put the kids in big kid beds.  They've been in toddler beds for 2 years but they are starting to look like giants with their feet almost touching the footboard.  Their cribs convert into full-size beds so they should have plenty of room.  

Am I weird that I was happy to pull their cribs out of storage?!

I've had fun picking out new bedding and finishing the decorating that I started earlier this year when we moved Christopher into his own room.  The mattresses will be delivered on Friday so I'll try to post pics after I get everything together.

Oh, and can I just say that it's a lot of fun buying 2 sets of mattresses at the same time?

Yeah, not so much.  Cha-ching!

Wordless Wednesday: OUCH!

I've been dealing with this the last 2 weeks

Vacation and Proof that Miracles Do Exist

We took a mini vacation to my mom's last week and had some much needed relaxation and fun in the sun.

We got on the road by 7:00 am and started on our 5-hour trek to North Carolina.  The car was loaded with movies, games and did I mention movies? 

Oh, and one of these.

It was our first road trip since the kids have been fully potty trained and one can never be too careful, right?

We made great time and only had one short pit stop.  I was really excited to get there because my sister and her family drove in from Nashville and it was the first time my family has been together since Christmas. 

Friday, we stayed at my mom's and visited with some other family that lives nearby.  She has an awesome salt water pool so it was a lot of fun for the kids.

Saturday, we got up and headed to the beach.  My mom's house is about 20 minutes north of Kitty Hawk and we got an early start to avoid the incoming OBX traffic.  We were set up and sitting on the beach by 8:30 am. 

I wasn't sure how the kids would be this year with the ocean and sand.  Last year, they had a great time but as many of you know, kids' opinions change as frequently as the weather.

Chris was super excited to jump in the waves again this year.  His only problem was trying to convince one of the adults to go down with him because the water was nippy!  Kendall was still afraid so we stayed near camp and had a great time digging and playing in the sand.

We packed up around noon and headed to our favorite local restaurant, Awful Arthur's. 

I'm not too proud to admit that I ate a pound of steamed shrimp by myself.  It was soooooo good!

After a quick stop for ice cream, we headed back to my mom's for naptime.  The rest of the afternoon was spent at the pool and was fairly uneventful.

Around 9:30 pm, Chris came into the living room and said his tummy hurt.  He ate 2 tacos for dinner so I thought maybe he had some indigestion and I gave him a Children's Pepto.  At 10:00, we started heading to bed and that's when all hell broke loose.

Chris vomited EVERYWHERE.   At that point, I thought it would be a "one and done" so we got everything cleaned up and put them to bed.  I decided to sleep on an air mattress in their room, just in case.

About 30 minutes later, he got sick again.  And, proceeded to throw up every hour until 5:00 am.

At 2:30 am, Kendall sat straight up in bed, started crying and vomited all over her blankets.   And, she proceeded to get sick every hour until 12:00 pm Sunday afternoon.

I was completely exhausted and was literally up all night - I never went to sleep.  Hubby came in from 2-4 am to help but who can sleep when 2 kids are vomiting?

Around 5:00 am, my stomach started feeling a little funny but I thought it was just in my head.  Psychosomatic stomach flu.

But, as the morning went on, I started feeling worse and worse.  I napped for most of the day with horrible stomach cramps and waves of hot and then chills.  You KNOW it's bad when you are praying to vomit. I finally got sick at 6:30 pm.

By Monday, we were "on the mend" but stayed close to home, just to be safe.  Thankfully no one else in the house got it.  My niece had something similar the Saturday before they left and I'm convinced we caught it from her!

We headed home Tuesday and as always, it's good to be home.

The rest of last week was spent getting back into routine with school and work.  Friday night, I missed a call from my friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer in March.  She left a voice mail that just said she had something exciting to tell me.  I texted her as soon as I woke up yesterday morning but she didn't reply right away.  Finally, around 5:30 pm, she posted in her Caring Bridge journal.  I couldn't believe what I was reading.

2 weeks ago, she had surgery to remove the tumor.  While the chemo did it's job to stop the cancer from spreading, the tumor didn't shrink significantly.  While removing the tumor, they also took tissue samples from the lymph nodes.

Friday, she received the biopsy results. 

THE CANCER IS GONE!

As in, no cancerous cells in the tumor, the nearby tissue or the lymph nodes.  It is truly a miracle.

In March, she was told she would have a year to live if treatment didn't work and to be told the cancer is gone is truly God's work. 

I cry every time I think about it. 

Truly the highlight of my week.  Ah, hell.  My year!

{WINNER} - Grace Adele Giveaway

Congratulations to HOPE IN VIRGINIA! 

You were randomly selected to receive ONE Grace Adele bag and ONE Grace Adele clutch of YOUR CHOICE!
(see exclusions below). 

I just know you are going to LOVE the stylish and organized bags of Grace Adele. 

You can start shopping at https://suzannebanks.graceadele.us.   Just email me with your choices or if you have any questions.  My email is located under the "Contact Me" section on the website. 

P.S. - It's great timing because the NEW Fall/Winter products will be available starting tomorrow, August 1st!  Spring/Summer items are available as supplies last.

Giveaway prize excludes the following items from the Spring/Summer catalog:  Laney and Bella leather bags and clutches.  And, the following items from the Fall/Winter catalog:  Carly and Taylor leather bags and Paige and Quinn leather clutches.  Total prize amount limited to $120. 

I'm Raising Magic Mike

My husband and I like music.  We aren't die hard concert go'ers but we do like a good diddy now and then. 

When the kids were babies and as they moved into toddlerhood, we started having Dance Parties in our living room.  At first, it was songs that my husband and I like because the kids didn't know any better.  As they've gotten older, they suddenly have musical prowess and recognize "good" songs from "bad" songs.

They have inherited my old 3G iPhone and have mastered how to turn on the songs they like.

You know, the "REALLY" good songs like.....

Mambo #5. 

Oh yes.  Mambo #5 is Chris' jam. 

The other night, he turned it on and at first, he started doing the typical toddleresque dance of jumping, waving his hands and generally just being off beat.

And, then something happened.  He became the male version of Elaine Benis. 

You know what I'm talkin' 'bout, right?

Body parts were moving at times they didn't need to be moving and he started throwing his leg out and rolling his fists in circles.

And, then it happened.  He pulled down his pants and started spanking his ass.

I was so torn.  I laughed and then I didn't want to.  It was funny yet completely inappropriate. 

And, then he danced over to me and asked, "Do you like that"?

I went to my wallet and gave him a dollar bill.