Ikea owns my heart!

Life has been going here. I feel like this blog has taken a big backseat since we moved here.  I feel bad for this, but I've found myself. I craft now, a lot. I love making things and I love that people love my things! I have orders come in weekly for something or other. I'm finding my niche and creating things that I love.

I've also found that being in a home that you like makes you want to make it better. For the first time, we have curtains in our living room! It's wonderful! Not only do they provide the much needed glare protection off the TV, but it looks amazing! We have three huge windows in the living room and beautiful beige floor to ceiling curtains! Thank you IKEA!

I've also been getting more and more done in Little's room. He loves it and so do I. It's the little kid room I always hoped to make for my child. It has a theme that isn't common, and it's all matching and amazing! We just made him a reading spot in bed since he's so interested in reading so much now. With a little help from IKEA's picture frame shelf and an amazing lamp that screws into the wall(with a push button and cover over the bulb!) he has the perfect spot for bedtime reading!(and no more getting out of bed to turn the big light on and off!)

I have a few more projects I want to do before my parents come to visit in a few weeks! It's been 4 years since they've been over here and they've never seen this house! SOOOOO excited.

I hope everyone out there in the bloggy world is doing great!

Valentines Day!

I love Valentines day. I always have. When we were little our Dad would always play cupid. We would wake up in the morning to find something just for us from cupid. He always made it special for us and I remember the beautiful things he always got for me and my sister and how to always out did himself getting for our Mother.  It's one of my best childhood memories. I've tried to keep this alive(even though I have a boy).  The house is always decorated and he wakes up to something from cupid every year. We also always do our pink heart pancake dinner!

This year I've been making most of the decorations for the house, and I'm loving it!

Little's Valentines day cards for his class!

Banner I made from a book that was headed to the trash(Nicolas Sparks to be exact! Something spilled on it and I hated that it was wasted!)

Ribbon wreath! I love having these(hate making them though!). I want one for every holiday!

Birthday Week!

Here in our house, we do 'Birthday Week!'. We mostly do this so Landon isn't over whelmed with Birthday stuff right on his birthday. He always has gifts sent to him from our family and I feel he appreciates the gifts he gets from them a little more when that is the only gift he gets that day. He plays with it and calls to thank whoever got it for him. I don't know if I would do this is we had more kids, but it sure is fun doing it now!

The Navy life is never as you want it to be. You don't get to pick when they are gone or home and date ALWAYS change. J was all set to be home for Little's birthday. He was going to be home the day before! Then something happened and they came home early. They said they weren't going to leave till their next set time, then it changed, and changed again.....he was going to leave a few days before Little's Birthday. I was crushed. It was going to be the first Birthday he had missed. I think I would have been fine with it if I had known the whole time....but it kept changing. I was sad.

So Birthday week started with Daddy home. We went to Rainforest Cafe for our big dinner the first night since J was leaving. We had a blast as usual and L got the cutest little elephant to add to his many others.

Then J didn't leave.

We had more Birthday fun over the weekend! Lunch, movies and tons of at home family fun(with a gift from family opened each night). Then on Sunday night we surprised L with his favorite cake, candles and a loud edition of 'Happy Birthday'. Monday morning we got up early, got DD and took Daddy to the boat to leave. At 8PM we got a call to come bring him dinner! They didn't leave again! Haha. The next day or so, them leaving was called off. He WAS going to be home for everything! Hahaha. Gotta love the Navy!

So J got to spend the rest of the week with us and Thank goodness, got to help with the party!

Little woke up on his birthday to Balloons covering his floor and streamers blocking him in his room. He loved it! Later that day, J got out of work early and was able to take cupcakes to Little's class with me. L was sooo excited that his Dad was there and even more excited when he got to stay and help out in the class for the rest of the day!

The week ended with the Birthday party. It was a long week, but I'm sure it's the things like this that Little will always remember(or I hope he does!)

Mad Science Birthday Party!

This past weekend, Little had his 7th Birthday Party! It was a HUGE hit!

When the kids arrived, they were stopped at the check-in table. There they got funny Dr. names, a name badge and a goodie bag with glasses and a mustache. Then they headed into the main room and did sticker sheets while everyone else arrived. (the check-in table was so much fun. The kids got really into the names they were given and the glasses and mustaches were great!)

(all of the decorations!)

I made keep out & disaster area door signs and we had eye balls hanging in all of the doors.

After everyone was there and settled, we got ready for the science experiments! First we did 'Instant Snow'. The kids got a kick out of the growing snow and I highly recommend having large plates they can dump it on to play with it! Haha. Those plates saved me! Next we did SLIME! We let the kids mix the slime and shake it. It was so fun to watch what kids were in to it and what ones thought it was gross.

(Little with his experiments)

Next, we ate! I froze candy brains & eye balls into ice cubes and we served them with sprite and water. We also had jello petri-dishes with worms and pizza(brain-bit pizza, eye ball pizza and penicillin pizza). Little wanted lime cupcakes with lemon frosting this year! What a combo!

(Food)

After lunch we did cake and ice cream.(and a few family pictures)

(I love his get-up for the party!)

When ate was done and the party was winding down, the kids got in a line and I filled their goodie-bags. We had test tube candy, bags of blood, petri-dish lolli-pops, Radioactive Rods(glow sticks), gummy eyes, brains and other body parts, sticky eye balls and other little trinkets. They also got to keep their slime(if the parents okay'd it!)

(Table of goodies!)

It was a really great party and I'm so glad everyone had a great time! Little is so blessed with so many amazing friends here. It's going to be hard when a lot of them move away this next year.