Our First Official Wedding For A Piece Of Cake Weddings & Events

This was the first wedding we helped plan and coordinate outside of Chantilly Place.  This was for my neighbors the Arnold's.  It was a lot of work but worth it in the end.  It turned out nice and they were really happy with it.  It was the first time I really felt like a real professional.  Everyone was asking me where to put stuff and how I wanted it!  They just kind of turned to me and told me to take the reins and run with it.  I felt like it really helped me get my feet wet.  I loved that they had the lights and chinese lanterns (that added so much to that space).  Our backdrop along with our linens and chair covers made everything look really nice.  It was a great wedding!

Meet Miss GiGi Amor

Well, we finally decided to name our dog GiGi.  What a cute little girlie.  Too bad she's probably already doubled in size since these pics.  I couldn't resist putting some bling bling on her.  She's the only girl I can dress up.  We came up with the name sort of by accident.  We still couldn't decide what to call her and I was grasping at straws and threw the name Gidget out there...because I love that show (totally an oldie, but a a goody).  Anyway, I was like "Gidget Glines" and then Ben said "GiGi" and I instantly fell in love with it.  So, GiGi it is.  I think her papered name will be Miss GiGi Amor.   I like it, it has a nice ring to it!  It kind of sounds like Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Nicole's Vintage Dick & Jane Inspired Baby Shower

It's been a crazy couple of weeks!  I have been prepping for this shower and my neighbors wedding, and game night at my house, and taking care of our new baby...I mean puppy.  Now I just can't wait until our little nephew arrives!  This shower was so much fun to get ready for.  The inspiration was the classic Dick & Jane books.  So I got ambitious and made my first quilt.  I must say that it turned out great considering my sewing skills.  I am really proud of it.  It is probably the best quilt I'll ever make.  Although I couldn't have done it without some help from Ben's sweet Grandma Vella.  She showed me how to do the picot trim.  I actually learned a lot about sewing from this little project.  Now it's too bad my machine is on the fritz.  I was really on a roll.  I must admit, I didn't 100% sew the blanket.  I had to rely a tiny bit on my BFF Stitch Witchery!  Pam, Connie and I collaborated and came up with the decoration ideas.  We incorporated yellow, white, red, and vintage teal blue as our color scheme. Pam did the main course...yummy french dip sandwiches.  Connie, Vella, and Julie provided the delicious fruit and green salads.  And I was in charge of the desserts.  We had lemon bars, chocolate cupcakes, sugar cookies and huge lollipops as the take home treat.  I have to give a shout out to my girls Rachel and Hollie for the help with the lollipops...I couldn't have done it without Rachel telling me about them and Hollie shopping for me and shipping it out to me.  Thanks chicas!  We had a great turnout and Nicole got the nicest gifts.  Their little guy is going to be totally styling.  Nicole is such a sweetie and I was so glad to be able to have her a fun shower.  I know I am a little biased, but it was my favorite baby shower.  Now I just need Malissa to have a baby girl so I can throw the sweetest tea party inspired shower!!  I'm already dreaming it up in my head...

Meet the dog without a name...aka the newest member of our family!

Well, we finally did it. We took the plunge and got a dog. And it's a girl!! I had to insist on a girl, since she may be the only baby girl I'll ever get? She's a purebred Lab. We got her on Wednesday, April 28th. She was exactly 7 weeks old. She was born on March 10th. We weren't really planning on a dog lately, but the timing just seemed right. One of Ben's friends/subcontractors breeds them and had a litter. He asked us if we wanted one. We thought about it for almost a week and decided it may be now or never. I'm not prego, I don't have small baby and it's almost summer, the perfect time to get/train a dog (at least in my opinion). So we just did it. It's been an adventure so far. I think she'll really be a good fit for our family. I didn't realize how much doggies did #2 a day. I thought once maybe twice?!? Think again! Hopefully it's just a puppy thing, kind of like a newborn baby and they poop a lot at first? Now our latest dilemma with her is the we haven't found a name yet. There are a few that have made the cut, but we haven't settled on one yet. The possibilities are Zoey, Lola, Gigi, and Leia (like Princess Leia of Star Wars). I think Gigi is my favorite for her. The reason is she is kind of prissy (a dog after my own heart) but she is kind of spunky too. That is what I think of when I hear Gigi. Ben comes up with the names that he likes off his sci-fi shows, hence Leia and Zoey. I hope we figure it out soon, it would be a lot easier to train her. Ben and I are both indecisive so it could be a while. Were open to suggestions!

Diddle Diddle Dumpling and Crushing On Carly...

I haven't made a post for a while and wanted to do an update of what's been going on around our house lately. So, Carter has a shoe fetish. He loves to a) say the word shoe or "shheewww" as he pronounces it. It is one of the latest words in his repertoire and b) he loves to put them on all by himself. He walks around the majority of the time in shoes, even in the house. He sometimes gets upset if we try to take them off. He's just all around addicted to shoes lately. The only problem is he often goes around with one shoe off and one shoe on...so he's adopted the nickname of Diddle Diddle Dumpling!

And for Maddix, I think he's crushing on Carly...i Carly that is. He loves that show lately and always asks to watch it. His fascination with her started from School Of Rock, which she has a major part in. This is a show Maddix has watched a few times and gets a kick out of, as do I. Well, one day i Carly was on and I pointed out that she was the girl from School Of Rock and he was hooked. I have to admit though, Maddix isn't the only one who likes i Carly...it's actually a really cute show and I enjoy it right along with him!

Window Treatment...Before & After

So, I guess you could say I've had the winter blues lately. It is freezing cold here and we still have a ton of snow. Not to mention the fact that nothing eventful has been going on lately. So, when I get really bored and am basically homebound, what else is there do to except spruce things up a bit? Well, I've been surfing the net a lot lately and have been inspired by one of my favorite blogs...The Thrifty Decor Chick @ thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com. She has great ideas and all on the cheap. Well she has opened my eyes and made me realize how important window treatments can be. I've always been intimidated by them and not really known what to do. Also, since our plan has been to build & sell several times I didn't want drill holes into the walls even though fixing them with a builder in the house would be super easy....well for anyone really. Just a little spackle paste and touch up paint. Anyhow, I got thinking about this tablecloth I've had that I absolutely love (it's a toile, and I love anything french country) but can not use anymore because my new table is square and the table cloth is oval. So, I decided to make a window treatment for the breakfast nook out of it. It was pretty simple, but took a lot of tweaking until I got it just right. And best of all it was almost free. The material, ribbon and liner (an old bed sheet...a liner was really a must for this, and was something I figured out later in the process) all were free b/c I had them on hand. The only thing I had to pay for was a tension rod (still couldn't bring myself to drill anything yet) which was about $8 or $9. Overall I am pretty pleased with the outcome. I do realize just how much more custom window treatments make a home look and I'm totally converted! I'm even working on some for the master bedroom made out of the matching bedskirt. I haven't quite gotten those right yet...but I'm working on it. So we'll see, at least I've been occupied for a while. Here is the before and after.

Maddix's 4th Birthday Bash

Maddix was lucky this year and had a two day celebration for his 4th Birthday. His Grandpa Lou came out for the weekend and he had lots of fun. Maddix, Grandpa, and Mom built a snowman and a snow fort. He and Grandpa even had a little snowball fight. We then went bowling. It was his first time bowling and enjoyed it for a while. At the end he was kind of done with it. We then went home and had pizza and some ice cream and cake and got to open gifts from Grandpa and Brenda. Then on Sunday he got sung to by the primary kids for the first time. He thought that was pretty cool! And finally he had another party Sunday evening with the rest of the family! This year he wanted a scooter...so a scooter he got, a long with a ton of other things from all the grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncles. He definitely is loved and spoiled by us all! Oh yeah, the theme for this party was Mickey Mouse. We dodged the Spongebob bullet, luckily, only because they were out of the invitations!

Happy Everything

You know those holiday decorations that say "Happy Everything" and have something to represent each holiday throughout the year? Well this is what I feel like saying. I've totally been slacking in the journal/blog department for the last part of the year and haven't made any entries. So here is a recap of the holiday season for the end of 2009. Halloween Super Heroes...

Maddix debated between being Wolverine and Buzz Lightyear, but the Wolverine won out. So Carter got to be Spiderman instead of Woody. Carter was practically busting out of his 12 - 18 month old costume. Good thing it was spandex! We went trick-or-treating on Main St. which I thought would be quaint and fun, but it was way too crowded. We gave up and went home after going only one block! Then on Halloween we took the boys around to the grandparents houses and that was about it. Maddix really just wanted to stay home and answer the door and see all the ghosts and goblins, so we should have just let him do that instead. Maybe next year he'll still want to do that? Who knows? Live and learn I guess. All in all it was a pretty good halloween. My favorite part was the cute pics!

Thanksgiving at Grandma & Grandpa Glines'

This year we enjoyed Thanksgiving up in Neola at the grandparents house with Ben's immediate family and extended family of some aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was nice because my mom was invited too, so it was great to be able to spend time with both sides of our families. We had a big group with tons of good food. I was a little surprised at Carter. He usually goes to town at meal time and I thought he'd be in heaven on his first Thanksgiving of solid food, but he just ate a little. I guess there was too much going on to sit still and eat!

Christmas Eve

We did our annual traditions on Christmas Eve of playing in the snow and going sledding at the park, had lasagna dinner, and let the boys open a present of new jammies. This year they got to open jammies and a game...Hungry Hungry Hippos which we played with the 2 grandmas. It was a lot of fun, Carter could even participate in this one!

Christmas Morning

I think Ben and I were just as excited if not more that Santa brought the boys a ride on tractor. I think it will be so much fun for Maddix to give Carter rides in the trailer. This was a fun Christmas. Like I said we were so excited for them to see everything we had to wake Maddix up (he slept in because he wouldn't go to bed until late) so we (mostly me) wouldn't miss his reaction. At first Carter was more excited about it and wanted to sit on it first. He's a little too short to reach the petal, but he sure likes to try! They've been riding it in the unfinished basement and we can't wait for the snow to melt and they can go all around the yard. We spent Christmas day out in Roosevelt with Nana Connie and Ben's family. Then the day after we headed out to Huntsville to see Grandpa Lou and the rest of the gang.

New Year's Eve Party at the In-Law's house

We had yummy treats and played games all night, which consisted mostly of Clue to kill the time, which is probably my all time favorite with the "party crowd" a.k.a. the girls, while the hubs watched tv and the little guys played toys. Thanks to Maddix's late nap, he made it into the new year wide awake. Carter zonked out about eleven o' clock and Dad barely made it and then nodded off too. All the girls of course made it. Our brains were fairly sharp playing the game until midnight hit and then it was like somebody clicked a switch and we all were saying silly things and acting crazy. It was a lot of fun!