A WHOLE HAND!!

Yep...that's right, "A" is officially 5 years old today. I can't believe that I have been a momma for five years today, cause as cliche' as it sounds, it does seem 'like only yesterday...' But oh, the fun that I have had with my two lovelies!

A woke up and began the day feeling a little disappointed...after a quick trip to the bathroom for a peek in the mirror, she emerged with, "Mom, I don't even look any different! I thought my hair would be longer!" And then later, she decided that being 5 isn't so bad. "Mom, Ive never been 5 before...this is my first time." Im telling you, the girl is a non-stop comedy hour (except for her intermissions when she is sassy as all get-out).

Now since her birthday fell on a Wednesday, and a REALLY SOGGY one at that, Jas and I decided that we would throw her a little party this past Sunday (which was a pleasant and sunny 70'). We don't do the big blowout birthdays, we try and keep it more low-key; we just had a few neighbors over and my parents, brothers and Auntie Shawna.

Since A loves ANYTHING outside, I went with a bug theme for her cupcakes (ants and ladybugs)...I love them and think they turned out pretty cute (for an amateur baker-mom).

And without planning it, it seemed that the theme of her birthday ended up being LadyBugs! Our next-door neighbor, Carla, got A a set of ladybug lantern lights. They are a little hard to see, but are oh so cute.

And then another neighbor, Zoey (and her momma, Teheresa) got A the real deal. LADYBUGS!!

And since A takes after her momma, and seems to like most things vintage, Jas and I got her this awesome vintage Fisher Price Circus Train...she has already played with it for hours and I foresee many more hours to come.

And as I was getting dinner set up, another neighbor, Bri, took my girls and had a quick photo session. She has quite the eye and I think with as much practice as she has been getting taking pics of little kiddos lately, she is going to get very busy with photo sessions soon.

P.S. Don't mind the ow-ees on Had's knees; with as busy and fast as she has been getting lately, scabs are just bound to happen.

...and one other side note, here is a teaser-picture of a part of our booth. Funky Junk will be here before we know it, but it sure is fun prepping for the show!

Since When...

...OK, it's happened! I FINALLY have to concede to adulthood. I guess that what happens when you get SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED over a quick 6 hour laundry room makeover.

However, this excitement does not come without merit.

A few weeks back while Jas and I were looking at a home for sale, I came across 'IT.'

'IT' being an amazing one-of-a-kind locker; with hooks, three drawers and a closet rod.

I instantly fell for it and Jas of course amused me and said he liked it too. But I could tell this was a love affair that I was embarking on on my own.

I HAD TO HAVE IT!!! I KNEW JUST WHERE I/WE WERE GOING TO PUT IT.

So, being only slightly persistant, I made a few phone calls (and then a few more) and then a week later, I got the call....IT WAS MINE (I mean ours)!!

OH my, but it was bigger than I realized; measuring in at 7' tall, 3' wide and 2' deep.

And along with being only slightly persistant, I might be a little stubborn and sometimes a little overly determined. So Friday, after putting Had down for a nap, I got to work. I cleaned out our pathetic little laundry room pantry; putting all of the goods/crap throughout our entire dining room.

WOW!! I had no clue that we had so much stuff crammed into such a small space. But after seeing it all over the place, I also went to work reprioritizing the things that would eventually go back. Then, I began to hammer out our preexisting shelves...by the grace of God, Had slept through this.

And then, poor Jas got home from work and was 'greeted' by my chaos and the task of cutting and recreating new shelves. He is such a trooper and luckily welcomed the job at hand and got to it. Have I ever mentioned how Blessed I think I am that I have such a 'handy hubby?' Cause I am!! And I appreciate his support when it comes to him helping me to complete some of my crazy tasks/projects.

OK, so cut to the chase....after 3 1/2 hours of hard work and numerous trips back and forth to the garage to cut our new shelves....HE WAS DONE. And then came the task of getting the locker in....Did I mention it is 7 FEET TALL...Cause it is...and not an 1/8 of an inch shorter. And while it is that tall..it's even taller when tipped on edge to get it through a door opening....then it's 7'7" tall. So as Jas and I 'muscle' it into the laundry room, through a very narrow door opening, we realized that the light fixture would have to come down and out. OK, so muscle the locker back out....grab the ladder and screwdriver and out comes the light.

Then muscle it back in the laundry room and shimmy it into place...and when I say shimmy, I mean...PUSH...HARD!!! It is very heavy!!!

So now comes the fun part...I get to use some of my fun enamelware goodies and vintage wire locker baskets to help keep us organized and stylish.

OH HOW I LOVE MY LAUNDRY ROOM NOW!!!

And good thing, cause tomorrow is 'Pajama Monday' and I have got some serious laundry to get done.

SO there you have it...in (an oversized nutshell), I now have to think of myself as an adult...but only when it comes to housework...when it comes to play...Im still a kid

(I was even hula-hooping tonight with A and her friend Zoey. My apologies to the neighbors).

April Showers...

...bring friends and family together to celebrate a beautiful Bride -To-Be. I had the sheer pleasure of hostessing a bridal shower for my cousin Adam's fiancee', Christina this past Sunday. This 'job' put me smack dab in the middle of my element, PLANNING! Oh and that began two months ago; guest list, menu, cupcake menu, cleaning schedule, and on and on and on. Have I ever mentioned that I am a planner (and I secretly LOVE IT!)? So as the big day got closer, I hit up some close friends and neighbors, and gathered fun goodies to help decorate my yard and buffet table. Have I ever mentioned that I have the ABSOLUTE BEST FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS EVER!!! No really! They will volunteer at the drop of a hat to help with ANYTHING! They even show up the night before the big event and relax in our ever so small (but quaintly-cozy) kitchen and wait painstakingly while cupcakes are made and cooled and frosted, and THEN they help taste-test and help determine the nest cupcake of the three. Boy Oh Boy, the sacrifice! HEE HEE! Jas and I loved every second of it.

OK, back to the shower...My Aunt and Christina showed up around 2pm and helped me with the last minute touches before the ladies began to arrive. We had a great time! I love both of these women.

The gals began arriving around 3pm and snacked on a variety of veggies and fruits. Then after an hour of visiting we ate. Oh and how we ate. I had made a tomato-feta salad (mmmm), my mom made a delicious broccoli salad, and chicken ceasar salad sandwiches (my dearest thanks to the Barefoot Contessa for this one).

After we'd finished, we showered Christina with some wonderful and very thoughtful gifts. My favorite gift that she received was a pair of 'chic' rubber gloves, complete with a decorative band of zebra print. They were adorable...and they matched this other 'lacy number' that....let's just say, she won't be wearing while doing dishes. At least I hope not! "Christina, you can thank me later for NOT posting that picture...although, it IS beautiful! Both were gifts from the most vivacious guest, Debbie Haggin, who owns an unique boutique in Kent Commons called Marie Haggin Accessories. I am eager to pay her a visit.

I was excited to make a personalized gift for my newest cousin-to-be. I LOVE ANYTHING PERSONALIZED...and I hope Christina did, too. I did some research and found that their master bedroom colors will be a variety of shades of blue and "Hibbitt" is her soon-to-be last name. So

TA-DA! I really do hope she liked it.

We finished off the party with a trio of delicious cupcakes.

They were:

A Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcake...










A White Cupcake (Christina's request) with a Raspberry-Lemon Frosting...








and A Banana Cupcake with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting....my personal favorite!





Oh they were good...and gave me an opportunity to use my cake decorating kit.

I can't express enough how thrilled I was to be able to throw this shower for such a dear woman, and I am so excited to officially welcome her to our CRAZY family in only a few short weeks.

Blog Post to highlight the, sure to be, beautiful reception, soon to follow.

Hope the weekend found you all outside and enjoying a little bit of the spring sunshine that we were Blessed with.

Quick Update...

WOW...whoever said 'Time Flies,' NAILED IT!! It seems as though each year our spring gets more and more busy; and this year is NO DIFFERENT! In the next few weeks we have: a parade, a bridal shower, a dear friends birthday, a HUGE 'junk' sale, maybe a fishing trip in Moses and all four of our birthdays. Not that I am complaining, cause I work best under stress,

but OH MY, this seems a bit excessive!

My favorite part of our days are the funny quips that Miss. A comes up with. This morning, while running errands, we went past Mickey D's and she came up with this one.

"Mom, I know why they call cheeseboogers, cheeseboogers." "Oh Yeah?! Why's that?" "Cause they have cheese and they're 'boogers.'" "Eww! A, that's gross!" "NO MOM!! NOT boogers from your nose, BOOGERS, like CHEESEBOOGERS!" I about drove off the rode. She Kills me!

Oh and here is where the fun begins (or continues heavily)! My dear friends and I started setting up our 10 X 10 for the FUNKY JUNK SISTERS Show. And my dear husband, Bless his heart is forfeiting his garage for the next 7 or so week so that we have a dry place to keep set up and arrange our fun findings!




And don't worry, we're going to have a Exclusive Friends and Family Pre-Sale, hopefully the weekend before the show! Should be a great time...OH just thinking of how much fun that weekend is going to be, really gets my adrenaline going. I am thinking of keeping a Starbucks Tally...So far, I'm in 1-Caramel Machiato,

...but I foreshadow that number rising quickly, especially, the closer we get to the show.

Look at how cute these blocks are!! Margee and I spent a good 15-20 minutes creating different words with them, and of course, they had coordinating pictures.

I'm not sure that I want to sell them now that I see all of the possibilities. But we'll see.

Hope you all had an INCREDIBLE Easter. We certainly did. Jas and I took A to her first 'Good Friday' service and she was truly touched by the message...which of course, touched her dad and I. Thanks again, Sherry for keeping an ear on Had so we could go. Easter morning, we woke to two girls laughing at an unnatural hour. So Jas took them for donuts so, that I could sleep in. Have I mentioned how BLESSED I am to have him as my hubb? Cause I am!!! A then came in and woke me up and said, "Mom the Easter Bunny didn't hide the eggs too well...cause I see them all." Again, she kills me. However, the Easter Bunny was thinking ahead and left A a note telling her that she could find 14 eggs and that she had to let Had find the other 10.
Then, off to Grandma and Grandpa's for another Egg Hunt with our Louisiana Cousins. Such cute boys! Then back home in time for a nap for Had and Jas and I did chores. WHEW!! Busy day, but OH SO FUN!

Alright, enough BLOGGING fun for me...I've got some more chores to get done.
I guess this wasn't as quick of an update as I thought...but when the words start flowing...Happy Spring to YOU ALL!!

When In Doubt...GO GREEN!

I am proud to consider myself a planner. There I said it...it's out there...and it's true (most of the time). Today, however, was the exception. St. Patrick's Day completely snuck up on me. I was the un-fun momma who didn't hide gold coins around the house from the leprechauns for the girls to find, no green milk for breakfast. Nope, nothing, zero, nada! Until around 2pm, when I decided that the girls and I were making cupcakes...and of course they had to be green and festive. Hmmm, what to do. I've got it! Thin Mint Cupcakes! Minty flavor and more importantly green frosting. One problem...Girl Scout Cookie season is over! Arggh. Oh, but wait, if memory serves me (and it sometimes does), my mom had a brand new pack of Thin Mints in her pantry. So off to grab A from preschool and then off to mom's to BEG FOR COOKIES. I had to promise to share some of our delicious wares, but she obliged.
Of course the whole point of this activity was so the girls could help...which they did happily.
A got to help whisk...



as did Had...and here is a picture of the 'boys' helping to clean up what Had flung everywhere.

(The boys love it when the girls help cook....guaranteed goodies)
I think the girls enjoy the baking time the most.

In the 20 minutes that the cupcakes took to bake...
Had danced on the table, enoyed an ice cream sandwich, and snuck some of the yummy green, minty deliciousness...I mean frosting.



A, meanwhile, took it upon herself to clean our beaters. She is always available for this most important job. Lucky me! And don't worry, I wash them again once she's done.
And TA-DA!! Here is our finished product.
They were as tasty and they looked. Even Jas, who informed me that Thin Mints are his least favorite Girl Scout Cookie, managed to choke one down. Now the big question is...how many will be left in the morning once he's left for work.
P.S. The Chocolate Cupcake Recipe came from The Farm Chicks Blog....and ssshhh, don't tell anyone, but the frosting came from a can. I just added some green tint and peppermint extract. But, again, don't tell...I have a reputation to keep up...(and I still had to get dinner ready).

Here We Grow...

Alright....A and I decided to take full advantage of the gorgeous sunshine we are having on this Pajama Monday. So while Had was napping, we decided to get our vry first crop planted. OK, by definition it's probably not exactly a crop but we did plant two rows of peas.

As we dug and raked over the dirt, we were greeted by a whole bunch of wormy friends (they weren't nearly as excited to see the sun as we were). But they'll do our garden good.

We then dug our trench and proceeded to gently place our 'pea sprouts' into their new home. A was ever so gentle doing this(if only I could convince her to treat her sister the same way).

And then once we decided that we had planted enough of them. We carefully covered them up, and now we are eagerly awaiting them to show thier little green faces . I can hardly wait....it seems as though there are a lot of recipes that are catching my eye that call for fresh spring peas.
And if fresh means from the garden...all the better.

Here is a picture of Carlos doing a little 'quality control,' although, since he is not convinced that he is in fact a cat and NOT A DOG, he may dig them up when we're not looking. Crazy Cat!

...and in case you're counting,

Spring will be here officially in ONE WEEK!