Rain & Laughter

(Blazer(similar) & Cami - Maurices, Long Sleeve Tee – Aeropostale, Jeans – JCPenney, Heels – Gift, Bracelet & Earrings – Claire’s, NECKLACE - Urban Peach Boutique, Polka Dot Scarf – Thrifited)

Our seasons are off by a month this year.  Instead of April showers bringing May flowers we are having blizzards in the beginning of May and starting our April showers this week, at the end of May.  Which means our May flowers will probably be coming in June.  

However, all of this gray weather and rain has not dulled my mood and I had a blast when I went out with some girlfriends of mine last night for dinner.  I laughed so hard you would not guess that I’ve been doing Ab Ripper three times a week for the last two months.  My abs were quite sore last night, as were my cheeks from all the laughing we did last night!

Looking forward to our 3 summers of BBQing and KFC fighting, Michelle and Alyssa!  Only you, two will get this;-)

*Hooking up with the Pleated Poppy @

Greenbay Packers Birthday Party!!!

My son has been planning his 6th birthday party since August when preseason football started and the Greenbay Packers hit the field.  I’m pretty sure you can guess he planned a…

A GREENBAY PACKERS BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

My son wanted his Packer party to be a Packer vs. Viking party because his daddy is a Viking fan and he wanted the Packers to beat the Vikings.  Something I had no problem with:-)

I set to work transforming one of our dinning room walls into Lambeau Field’s scoreboard.

I hung 2 yellow table cloths from the ceiling and strung green and yellow balloons across the top.  My scoreboard is 2 pieces of black tagboard taped together and enhanced with pictures from Packer/Vikings games and the score reflected here is the score from the last game the Packers and Vikings played together (Wild card Packers vs. Vikings 2013).  I also made sure that the scoreboard proudley announced “Lambeau Field Home Of The Greenbay Packers” and their 13 World Championship Titles!!!

The table is set with a field goal post made from PVC and some of my Packer’s memorabilia, except the Packer helmet and that nifty Vikings’ hat with the Packer emblem, those are the birthday boys!

Featured on the left side of the cake table is an official NFL football, that awesome Vikings’ hat that just needed a Packer’s emblem, a copy of my Packers Stock Certificate, a sign I got while at my first Packer game at Lambeau Field and some cute little cupcakes with cake balls on top in the shape of footballs!

Better image of the cupcakes…

On the right side of the table is my Packer flag from when they won Superbowl XLV, my son’s Packer helmet, some Packer Yearbooks, Sports Illustrated, etc.  Also the passes from the tours my husband and I took of Lambeau Stadium and the invite for my son’s party lean against the soda bottle!

A close up of the invitation to the big event!  I made his invitations look like a ticket to a football game!

And the cake…

I should have taken a picture of all of the food but I didn’t and for that I apologize, but we celebrated football style and served up all sorts of football/appetizer type of foods.  Some of them I’ve blogged about in the past like jalapeno popper dip & layered taco dip.  In addition to these we had plain (for the kids) and BBQ cocktail weenies, fruit salad, chicen nuggets and lots of chips.  We also had green punch for the Greenbay Packers!

We were supposed to go outdoors and play a game of football but the day was cold and rainy so we didn’t get to and I had no back up plans as far as games go for this party but we had a lot of fun without games just hanging out with each other!

A few more fun pictures from his friend and family party, where he hit everyone up for money in hopes of getting a Kindle Fire…

His actual birthday when he got a big boy bike without training wheels, a bat for t-ball and some other small gifts, some play time at the park and then Dairy Queen!

And, yes, he got his Kindle Fire!!!

Happy Birthday, Pierce!  We love you so much!!!

Teacher Appreciation Month!

May is Teacher Appreciation Month and I thought I’d share with you how we show our kids’ teachers that we appreciate the love and care that they pour out to our children 180 days out of the year.

Our school has a special week set aside for teacher appreciation and during that week my kids and I make up special gifts to give to their teachers. One for every day!  Last week was just that week and these are the 5 little gifts we made to say “Thank You”!

Day 1

Bracelet & Necklace

I knew that my son’s teacher liked the bracelet featured above because of a comment she made on FB so instead of making her something this day we got her this set of bracelets instead.  However, my daughter still wanted to make her teacher a necklace and made the one featured below.  (Directions on how to make this necklace here @ The Idea Room.)

Day 2

Mani/Pedi In A Jar…

We filled jars full of everything a woman needs for a DIY mani/pedi…

…a buffer, brush, files, cuticle pick, finger/toe dividers, nail polish and of course a bit of chocolate!  Then jazzed it up a bit with a leopard print tag and a special message!

Day 3

I completely forgot to take a picture.

Yep, two thumbs down for that one:-(

But it was a loaf of my basic white bread all tied up with fabric and bows and accompanied by a mini jar of homemade strawberry jam!

I actually do this one every year during Teacher Appreciation week because well, who doesn’t love a fresh loaf of bread and jam?!

Day 4

Monster Cookies are a SWEET thank you!

I found this idea on Pinterest only it’s ment to be a gift from the teacher to the students.  We switched up the saying from “Your One Smart Cookie” to “Thank You For Making Me A Smart Cookie!”

Day 5

This is another gift I’ve given every year since my oldest daughter was in Kindergarten,

Flowers…

I love to do flowers because it’s a simple way to say, “Thank you for planting seeds in my children and helping them to grow!”  I try to come up with a different saying each year but they always express the same sentiment.

Here’s a quick tutorial on how we made these…

I typed the saying “Teachers Plant Seeds Of Knowledge That Will Grow Forever!” on Word and pasted a swirly little design then printed it out.  Next I taped it to a window…

so that the outdoor light would make it easy to trace on to the precut fabric that I taped on top of that.

Then with my handy dandy Sharpe I traced over the words and design.

I then fastened this around the flower pot with some jute rope and voila!

I always have my kids sign the cards/tags that accompany each gift because their handwriting is special and helps to make it more personal.  Plus my kids like to do this!  On the last day I also include a little thank you card from my husband and I and express our gratitude for the time they’ve taken to work with our kids and the love and care they’ve shown them each day.

Good teachers are such a blessing and once again we were blessed with some great teachers this year!

Thank you so much Mrs. Swan and Mrs. Piskie for loving on our kids and making this school year fun for them!

The Need For Speed

(Tank, Jeans & Wedges – Maurices, Necklace – Gift)

Yesterday afternoon I was outside working on my tan as well as pricing items for our garage sale this weekend when I realized I had only 15 minutes until I needed to leave.  That meant I needed to change from “tanning pricer” to “have it together mama” fast.  

So after I whipped my hair into a messy bun, threw on the basic makeup some cuffed jeans, a basic tank, a cute pair of wedged sandals I was feeling pretty good.  Of course I had to wear the  two pieces of jewelry I am not without these past couple of weeks my “Lynn’s Hope” bracelet for my wonderful friend who’s now cancer free but still recovering from a very difficult surgery and the BELIEVE necklace she made me two Christmases ago!

Yep, this comfy, casual but cute outfit is what comes out of the need for speed!

Bright & Comfy!

(Striped Blouse & Skinnies – C/O Old-Navy – Eau Claire, WI)

I wore this outfit for the first time while volunteering at my kids’ school on Friday and I am LOVING it!  The pants are bright!  The shirt is oh so comfy!  And a little girl told me that I am beautiful and looked like I just walked out of a fashion magazine!  Mm-hmm, yep, she’s my new best friend!

This blouse is made of such soft, thin fabric that will feel so exquisite on cooler summer days!  Already have it paired with few things in my closet and looking forward to wearing them!  So just a heads up…it will be featured in a few posts this summer:-)

Waiting For Evan

I had a really fun time last night and felt super blessed to be able to capture the family being featured in this blog post.  Not only is the woman in the pink shirt a cousin of mine but also one of my best friends.  They have been on an awesome adventure the past year or so as they have decided to adopt a little boy from Ethiopia!

A few weeks ago they were sent pictures of their little man and now know that in a few weeks they will be able to go there and meet little Evan and just a few months after that Evan will be home with them cradled in this loving families arms!

I’ve been caught up in their excitement as they are…

Waiting For Evan

Congratulations Luke & Sarah!  I cannot wait to meet little Evan!  He’s going to be so blessed to have such wonderful parents and three great siblings!!!

*Evan cannot yet have photos of him on the internet so I had to blur out his picture in the images where his picture is displayed.  

Well Hello Spring!

(Shorts & Denim Top (C/O ON – Eau Claire, WI – ON) - Old Navy, Sandals (old) – Maurices, Necklace & Earrings – Claire’s, Bracelet – Gift)

The weather has been a bit brighter and warmer around here.  Thank God, since our last snow storm on May 2nd was one of our biggest this year!

Thankfully it quickly melted away and mother nature has finally provided me with the perfect weather to grab a good book and a blanket and head outside during my daughter’s nap time!

Also, note that I got my second tattoo this weekend!!!  Yep, already got another. It was three weeks to the day and I probably should have waited but I really wanted this one before summer to show off in my sandals!  

This represents one of my favorite verses 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”

The anchor is a sign for hope.  But my tattoo is not only an anchor it also holds a cross, for faith, a heart for love, and an infinity symbol to show they will always be.  That they remain forever.  And along side my foot says “Faith, Hope & Love” with the word “Love” being bigger than the other two words to show that it is the greatest of the three!

I also did this in honor of a dear family friend who I’ve mentioned and asked prayer for on FB.  She is a woman I love dearly, like a very close aunt, who has been battling cancer.  A group of ladies and I got anchor tattoos for our hope in Christ to restore Lynn to perfect health.  She is always in my prayers and thoughts, but especially today as she undergoes a very serious surgery to get the last of the cancer.

 Love you, Lynn!  Looking forward to doing crazy wild things with you again soon!