Sunday, February 28, 2010

And It Ends With A Bucket

The girls had their last basketball session on Saturday morning, and it will probably be the last time that both girls will be on the same team coached by their dad (at least for a while...since they are 3 years apart in age). Emily and Laney were so excited to play cousins Megan and Madison! Jon's sister, Suzanne, and her husband, Kyle, coach Megan and Madison's team, so it was fun to cheer both teams on!

Aunt Suzanne giving Laney a pep talk. Laney loves her Aunt Suzanne sooo much (and Laney loves the fact that she has "yellow" hair like her Aunt Suzanne)! Laney and Madison were guarding each other (and Uncle Kyle is in the background)! I loved this because I think they were probably talking about baby dolls or something NOT related to basketball! Wrong way Laney! And finally, Laney scores! All four girls are in this shot! The girls received certificates and ribbons at the end of the game. Laney also won a raffle for a FREE 6 week session! I usually am pretty reserved, but I bellowed a big "WHOO HOO" when her name was called! :) She was embarrassed; therefore, Jon had to take her up to get her prize. Sweet girl!


We celebrated the end of a basketball season by eating dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We laughed because Henry double fisted it all night. He ate so much food that we thought his little tummy was going to POP! Emily found a new love...peanuts. I don't know what she enjoyed more...eating the peanuts or throwing the shells onto the floor! Ha! This was the first time that the girls played on a team together and had their dad as their coach. I will always cherish this, but don't expect this mama to make a celebration bucket...unless I get to use both hands! :)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Artwork...Texas Style

Perhaps it's playing Miley Cyrus's Party In The U.S.A. on youtube for my girls numerous times a day, or maybe it's those oh so cute varieties of cowboy boots and hats, (or it could possibly be Matthew McConaughey's delicious Southern drawl ?) ...but I love a little bit of country.
And what is "country" without a beautiful cowgirl?
This little gal is going to live in a nursery, so I wanted to add some fun colors. I hope that Baby Lillian (who will arrive in a few months) loves her cowgirl art!
...And you better believe that this sweetie remembered all of her attire! I know that this little man would give her a cowboy wink!

Cowgirl up, y'all!
Have a crazy fun weekend!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Oops, I Think I Did It Again

Unfortunately, yes you did, Mother Nature. It snowed again. All. Day. Long.


You used to be on my "Good" list. You were one of my "peeps". The only "peeps" that make me swoon now are these cute and sugary loves from heaven! Although my friendship isn't the same with them, because I cannot get outside to jog these chicks off my hips! I will blame you, Mother Nature.
Because it is cold outside, Laney and I have resorted to baking. And more baking. (She was so excited that it was her week at school for snacks!)
My sweet baby boy is climbing every chair in the house because he cannot get outside to "run off" his built up energy. As soon as he figures it out, I'm sure the walls are next on his "To Do" list.


Pushing around the garbage can has been quite fun too!
Our "pleasantly plump" kitty needs the temps to rise so he can exercise...so we can open up the screened in porch. Perhaps he was an Olympian in a previous life, because he races through the house only to jump onto the screened in door, do some sort of swimmer's flip turn, then races back to where he started...fluffed out tail and all.
Because outdoor activities are non-existent, nightly entertainment is in our living room. The girls laugh their heads off at the horribly silly Knock Knock jokes that Jon reads to them from the computer! We are desperate for some warmer weather, Mother Nature. Our little outside friends are even begging (Yes, Mr. Squirrel is in prayer position). (Mr. Fluffykins is just begging for my WARM daily bit of casserole.)
When warm weather blows our way, you will definitely be in my Top 10...and will have many new "peeps" as well! Hugs to warmth! :)

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Regret...BIG TIME

I have two tattoos.
Two tattoos that I highly regret. Two tattoos that I highly regret, even though spring break ( 16 years ago) with a large group of sorority sisters "bonding" over getting inked seemed uber cool.
The tattoos I oh so regret that were once vibrant colors...yellows, greens, pinks and purples...have faded and smudged, leaving what looks like blackish purple drawing attempts by Koko the gorilla.
I regret my tattoos, and here is just one more reason why. Last night while I was taking a bubble bath, my four year old came in.
Laney: Mommy, are those the alphabets on your feet?
Me: Ummmm, yes baby, not too pretty are they?
Laney: (with a pure look of disgust) Hmmmm...weird.

From the look on her face, I do not think she will be sporting a tattoo in the near future. If she does start to talk tattoo craziness, I can hopefully traumatize her more by providing the rest of my inking experience:
As I sat in the chair (in my chino shorts and new J. Crew madras belt), one of my sorority sisters (whose new purple cross tattoo on her hip was oozing blood down onto her shorts) asked the man inking me (who had no sign of any uninked skin on his body) where he learned to do such a great ink job. His response, "Prison". Lovely.
Cheers to ink-free skin!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Eating The Weekend Away

Our local hot dog and ice cream stand opened last week and we were over the moon with excitement! On Friday night, we hit both stands! This will be our Friday night routine until next fall! Ha!

Laney loved her ice cream! And Henry cheered while I fed him ice cream. There is still snow on the ground here, so eating ice cream just made Emily a bit chilly! (Notice that HUGE smile on her face!)
Saturday morning didn't bring smiles though. Laney woke up with red spots all over her body! Jon and I were quite nervous, since his grandma down the lane has shingles. After a trip to the doctor, we found out that she had an allergic reaction to her medicine (from last week...ear infection, and potential pneumonia..{which I think (Dr. Lauren...ha) was a misdiagnosis !}). She's been on oral Benadryl and is fine now. Poor Laney. The past few weeks have been rough for her!
Saturday evening we had some errands to run, so we took the children to Red Robin for dinner. It was such a fun dinner!
Our Sunday has been nice and relaxing. I ran 5 miles and cooked and baked a meal for our family and Jon's grandparents. Jon bought the girls a $5 over the door basketball hoop, and they loved it! They sounded like a herd of elephants up in Laney's room while they played basketball and baby dolls!
And finally, this made me smile today!


I hope that you all had a relaxing weekend!

Friday, February 19, 2010

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's...


Super Henry!

Did the cape not satisfy? Boots too?
I really need to order an amazing little Super Henry suit from here. I've been a fan for a few years. Perhaps the girls may enjoy too!

Happy, Happy Friday!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Presents For A Cross-Trainer

Look what my sweet husband brought home the other night! He knows that I just love fresh flowers! I try to keep some in a kitchen vase at all times. I don't know if it is their beauty or fragrant smell, but whenever I see them, I smile and think of the warmer weather to come!



AND...I am a HUGE red licorice lover! My wonderful sister also knows this; as a result, this was delivered to my door yesterday! Wahoo! I cannot wait to eat my Yard Of Licorice! My sister, Andee, is a rock star for shipping this baby from lovely Savannah, Georgia! Thanks, girl!



Now that I have my licorice, I have to up my mini marathon training! Training has been going well. Jon created a training plan for me (and my girlfriends). This week I am to put in 12 miles and one night of cross training. Jon and I have been cross training to the 30 Day Shred.



Last night was the first night of new gymnastics sessions! Here's Laney and I before heading off to her class. I warmed up, demonstrated (a bit) and spotted 3 classes of kiddos...which wore this gal out! :) So, maybe Jon will let me count that as a cross training night! Ha, ha! I had a lot of fun teaching three classes in a row! It took a lot of planning for me to be able to do this though. My parents came to my home help out. (They will every Tuesday night for the next 6 weeks.) Jon, Mom and Dad helped shuttle the girls to and from the gym (which is a few miles away) since they are in different classes. My mom brought a wonderful dinner and a yummy dessert! I didn't know she was bringing a dessert too, so I baked a dessert for everyone to enjoy while I was gone! ;) It is an oldy but a goody (recipe at bottom)!



So, after a great night of gymnastics fun, the kiddos were tired! Jon and I settled down to watch American Idol (kind of a snoozer last night). Here's our little American Idol a bit earlier! Henry was loving the singing microphone! Perhaps a future American Idol? Or maybe just an adorable future gymnast? :)



Off to eat some dessert! Perhaps I need to take lessons from Emily after indulging. This pix was taken a few years back. After dressing and naming herself... "Exercise Girl"! Is this a cross-training outfit or what? :)

Lauren's Dump Cake:
1-20 oz. can crushed pineapple and juice. (put in 9x13 pan)
pie filling (pour over pineapple) ...I use cherry
dry cake mix (spread over pie filling)
on top of cake mix place:
1 cup coconut
1 1/2 stick butter (cut in thin slices)
Bake 50-60 min. at 350. Enjoy!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Spring Painting

There is still a lot of snow on the ground and we are always bundling up, but SOMETHING in the air is whispering, "spring". With Spring, comes fairly inexpensive knits and denim that can be layered. I love these little bargain finds (Wal-mart, Target, etc.) because...with bargains comes paint! Here are a just a few paint adventures that I've taken with my bargain finds.

This was painted for my friend's little girl for a sectional basketball game! This is my girls' school and their babysitter is playing for a sectional title tonight, so I thought it would definitely be appropriate to show first!
I'm a kitty lover, and my sister is too! I sent this to my sweet niece, Abby!
This is my first EVER shot at painting on denim. I bought this adorable bird pin from etsy...my inspiration for the rest of the jacket. Emily wore this, and now Laney will wear it in the spring!
My niece Megan was the first of the girls to know the words to EVERY SINGLE High School Musical song! This was for her!
My friend had this made for her son's birthday. He shared a new announcement with all of the guests... on the back!

I created this outfit for Emily last year, but it was way too big. She will be sporting "Mermaid Emily" at the beach next month!

Here's Laney's outfit! (Sorry for the "front" pix!) It's "Luau Laney"!

A customer ordered this for her little girl who will be sporting it on a nice, warm vacay!

A friend wanted a princess fairy shirt for her niece. This fairy has a lot of glitter paint and is sporting a sewn on tulle skirt!

This is one of my first "boy" outfits! And...I shipped it to...ICELAND! Yep! ICELAND!

I'm guessing that the little boy wearing this will still have to layer! Hopefully, we can start peeling off the layers here in snowy Indiana though! Spring is coming everyone! So, what shall I paint for spring? :)