ice skating

yesterday morning mom and i headed to knoxville with 3 kids in the back seat for some of this

we were definitely wobbly at first and a certain curly red headed girl took a fall that sent me in to silent hysterics (which if you know me well.....you know this means i'm laughing so hard i can't hardly breath much less make noise)!!! she was a great sport.....about me laughing that is!

and in no time the clock was flying by as we skated circle after circle after circle

midway through we warmed up with some of this sinful yumminess where Karlie works

and then back out where everyone got a bit more comfortable

letting go of the sides

even trying to "go fast"

and by the end we all had burrrrrr cold noses and sore legs

but we left happy.....wondering why this was this first time we had visited this place!

kids unleashed

AT THE PLAYGROUND!!!

we've been slightly cooped up in doors, by our choice, with the holidays and some rainy weather. so when we woke up sunday morning to blue sunny skies with a few beautiful fluffy white clouds it was undoubtedly an OUTSIDE day!

even jon and i played......it's easy to be carefree....laughing the afternoon away when you can let that inner kid loose

and that's just what we did

and in fact we didn't just stayed at 1 playground....nope we left the 1st one and headed to the next!

it was a much needed day! i really encourage you to visit a park once in a while

kids or no kids it's good medicine!!

Christmas 'round here

......was filled with cookie making

ugly christmas sweaters

enjoying handmade things by family

learning about marshmallow shooters

getting a german board game that i grew up playing with my grandparents and great-grandparents

feeding the reindeer (aka reingeer per emery)

playing with presents

experiencing how messy our santa was this year

practicing lipstick application

experiencing scary hair

feeding our birds

lounging in jammies and sipping on warm drinks

practicing hula hooping skills

and coloring with uncle

it was a wonderful few days spent with family.......talking, eating, laughing, playing, snuggling, remembering (and some of that brought tears and sadness), smiling, thankfulness, gratefulness........CONTENT with life. Hope yours was good too!!

HELLO 6's

6 years ago this last Sunday around 4 am I tapped Jon on the shoulder and said the words every mother looks forward to saying (especially in the last uncomfortable days of pregnancy)...."IT'S TIME"!!! It was a speedy and easy delivery of which I am so very thankful for. And all I remember after I met her was how utterly enamored I was with this beautiful little girl. So much so that, in the 2 nights we had to stay in the hospital, Jon would wake up periodically throughout the night to find me WIDE awake holding this sweet baby just staring at her or rubbing my nose against hers....I couldn't believe she was mine to keep.

and now skip ahead 6 years.....how is this even possible???

but we continue to hold on to these moments in which she still wants to be held and hugged and kissed (and please note the tie....her new "fashion" {aka style}....she's loving the ties these days)

so this past sunday we celebrated her 6th year of life (the invitations)

she's HUGE into art....painting, drawing, cutting, glueing....she amazes us daily with her artistic abilities! and so a canvas painting party it was!!

seriously.....baby food jars, food cans, juice jars, foil, old shirts from grandparents....add some paint, brushes, and a small canvas and poof!!! a great time had by all kids!!

we are extremely grateful for another healthy and happy year with this 6 year old and pray the same for the upcoming year

.......we never could figure out what brought on the tears...she didn't know either (i must add that it wasn't a bratty "i didn't get my way moment") and she's not even 16 yet.....i think we are in for it (i told my twin yesterday that i'm pretty sure i birthed 2 of the most emotional children on this earth!!!)! i think we'll laugh looking back on this picture one day! it was, despite the few minutes of tears shed, a WONDERFUL day that was spent celebrating her life.....good bye 5's and HELLO 6's!!

Lizzy.....the girly gremlin

A while back I was nosing through some blogs.....it's easy to bounce from one to another and get so lost you have not a 1 single clue how you got there!!! So I found myself here and fell in love with these little gremlins and owls! I was able to find some really cheap sweaters and felt (fyi-goodwill has sales...I know crazy, right, since things are cheap anyway but they have 50-75% off days too). Grab some bottons from your grandma/mom/or extra's you've saved. A little yarn & embroidery floss and you're ready! There is no perfection to making these cuties.....each one turns out different but soooo cute!

So yesterday morning a sweet 6 year old received this one below for her Birthday and FELL head over heals in love with her.....Lizzy is her new name!

You can click below and it takes you directly to the the directions to whip one up yourself!! I think they would be great tooth holders for the "tooth fairy" too!

soothing gremlin softie (free pattern)

Posted using ShareThis

Magnet Tutorial

I found a fun little magnet project which was perfect for little people to help with and a few weeks ago we whipped (literally in NO time at all) up little Christmas presents for the girls' teachers. It's a fun gift....you can spell names, you can use pictures.....let your imagination take over.

I'm going to give a quick tutorial that worked for us.

What you need: All this can be found at a craft store

*Clear glass marbles with a flat edge (found by the wedding decor or floral stuff)

*Mod Podge glue- make sure it's the "matte" kind

*Magnets (the size of these depend on the size of marbles you purchase, just make sure they are a bit smaller than the marble)

*Letters, numbers, pictures- we cut our letters out of the "junk mail" magazines, cut it just a bit smaller than the marble. Also it doesn't matter if the letter does not fill up the entire marble. Remember there is NO perfection to this!

*Scissors

*Small paint brush

*Container for glue (I keep egg cartons and just cut out one slot for each girl, then you can toss when you're finished)

Time to get started!! Spread out something to protect the surface you're working on.

1. Write out the name or word you want to spell, find and cut out all the letters

2. Brush small amount of Mod Podge glue on marble, it does not matter if it gets on sides, it dries clear (a helpful hint: prior to glueing place the letter on the marble and make sure it is VERY clear, some of the marbles are mirror like so we had to do some sorting)

3. Place the desired letter on the marble, turn around to see if adjustment is needed.

4. Brush small amount Mod Podge on magnet and place magnet on top of letter.

5. Leave marbles upside down for several hours or until completely dry. You will know they are dry when you can no longer see the white Mod Podge glue. (as you can see below these are not quite dry but wanted to get a picture)

We tossed the magnets into a little clear plastic bag, attached a ribbon with a little card that read: "These magnet's spell Hillary"

This is so easy and something kids can do from start to finish! Happy crafting!