Birthday party

This is Natalie's birthday cake. Isn't it beautiful? I thought so. :)




This is Natalie's birthday cake 4 hours before her party.



I tried moving it from the table to the counter, and the cake slid off the board right onto the floor. I was devastated. I called Jared, who happened to be out with the boys running errands, just sobbing. He couldn't even understand what I was saying, and thought something was wrong with Natalie. It was very sad.

This is Natalie's birthday outfit. She liked twirling in her skirt. She didn't really want her picture taken though. I'm quite lucky that she was semi smiling in this picture.



Well, being the great mom that I am, I spent the remaining 4 hours before her party, making another birthday cake. Luckily I had most of the extra ingredients on hand, and Jared ran to the store with Natalie for some more frosting. She was trying so hard to blow out those 2 candles. :)



This is one of the gifts she recieved. She loves her Dora purse and earrings.

It was a fun party, and the kids had a blast.

sneek peek

Here is just a sneak peek at what tomorrow will bring. :) I will update with more pictures after Natalie's party. Here is her outfit for the party.

This is going to be her new bedding that I made. She has a thing for Dora these days, so I thought she would enjoy this. :) crib sheet, quilt, and pillowcase.

Reminiscing

Two years ago today, this is what I looked like.

Two years ago today, the labor pains started, and I ended up here.

Two years ago tonight (2 AM), this little bundle entered our lives. She has a rough start, but she is a fighter, and I am thankful every day for her in our family. Happy Birthday baby girl.

Natalie's Birthday Skirt

Last year for Natalie's birthday, I made her a tutu to wear for her party.

I wanted to do the same thing this year, but I wanted to do a real skirt that she could wear again. I found the cutest pattern on HERE, that I wanted to use. I don't buy patterns very often, I usually find free patterns online somewhere, but when I saw this...

I just had to buy it. I found the perfect fabric to match the theme for her party, and went to work. I haven't made her shirt yet, but I plan to just applique a "2" on a white shirt with the same butterfly fabric.

She wasn't in a real picture-taking mood. She was too enthralled in her new obsession..."Dora." Here is a close up of the fabric. It has little sparklies all over it. :) Too cute on her.

PILLOW FIGHT!!!!

It has been so rainy, cold, windy, and just plain yucky outside for the past month or so, that the boys didn't want to go outside to play. Now, that wouldn't normally be a problem, but with my boys, it is. They are the type that HAVE to burn off energy, or they are just soooo hyper by about 5:00 in the evening. One day, I was just fed up with how hyper they were, and told them to grab their pillows. We had our very first pillow fight, and I must say, the boys had a BLAST! They loved every minute of it. When I told them it was time to get pajamas on, they didn't even fight me on it, because they had worn themselves out really well. :) I think this might have to become a tradition in our house on rainy days. They both did really well, and I can't say that anyone won. They both got some really good hits in on each other. Jacob kinda had a hard time holding his pillow, so I may try to find him a littler one to use. Natalie was laughing so hard at them, and then she ran to her room, and came out with her little pillow too. :) I was helping her hit the boys, so I don't have any pictures of her in the fight. It was fun, and they really enjoyed it.

too busy

I know it has been 2 months since I posted last, and I am going to use the lame excuse of " I've been sooo busy." Which in actuality, is true. Natalie is turning in to one michievious little 2-year old. She definitely keeps me on my toes. This is what happened when I tried to put a load of laundry in the dryer.



Stinker.
She has also decided that diapers are for babies, and she is not one. :( She is doing good with the potty training though, so I can't complain too bad. Only 1-2 accidents per day. And that is usually because she can't make it to the potty fast enough and get her panties down. We are working on it though. I am not afraid to take her places anymore, as long as we bring her potty chair. She refuses to use big toilets yet, so along comes the potty chair. EVERYWHERE. I even took it to walmart with me the other day. I got some strange looks, but she stayed dry, and we were there for over an hour, so I don't mind the looks. :)

Jacob is his nutty self. Had a great birthday. I can't believe he is 4 now. That is just crazy to me. I also think it is really funny, that his favorite present that he got was a pack of bubblegum. :P Silly boy.

Cody has decided that he hates school, and it is such a pain to get him ready in the mornings. Every day, he tells me he doesn't want to go to school. It is sooooo boring. Tough luck kid, it doesn't get much better.

I have been forging on on my weight loss journey. I have now lost over 50 lbs., and I feel so much better. I still have a lot to lose, but I am getting there. I have also accomplished one of my New Year's Resolutions already. I ran a 5K!!! Feels great. I may try to hit a 10K before the end of the year. We'll see. Here is a comparison picture so far of my journey. :) Sorry no smiles. I was using the self-timer on the camera, and I can never get the timing right to smile. Oh well. You get the idea anyway. :)

Beloved Blanket

Oh how I miss you. I loved the way you could comfort my daughter, and turn her from a screaming, crying mess into completely content in a matter of milliseconds. You put her right to sleep with your soft minky fabric. You didn't care if you were filthier than the dirt, even though I did. But, you decided to leave us somewhere in the vicinity of the Phoenix Zoo. Let me tell you, that car ride home was not fun! Having to endure a 9 hour car ride with a tired, crying, tear-streaked toddler is not something I want to do again. So, although you decided to leave your best friend, you can and WILL be replaced.

Just as soon as I get the fabric in the mail. :)

This is when Natalie first received the blanket. It was a gift from her grandpa for her first Christmas, and it hasn't left her side since.

This was this past summer. I try to make her leave it in bed, so it doesn't get as dirty, but she sneaks it out most days. :)

No more APPLES!!!

I would not shed a single tear if I never saw another apple again. Honestly. The last week in October, one of our neighbors organized to get some Fuji apples from Washington. When they arrived, he emailed everyone that was interested, and he was selling them for $0.45/lb.! I couldn't pass that up, and since my kids LOVE the homemade applesauce that we made before, I decided to go and get some. I came home with 100 lbs of apples. That was a Friday, and all day Saturday was spent peeling, coring, cooking, blending and bottling these apples. I managed to get 68 pint jars of applesauce. Wow. They still had some apples left on Monday, so I decided to go get just a few more, so we could eat them, and I could try and make some apple pies. I just couldn't pass up the 45 cents a pound price tag. I knew Jared was going to be gone all week for work, so I didn't want to get too many. On Monday, I came home with another 100 pounds of apples!!! What was I thinking?!?! I did go and buy an apple peeler this time though. Those things are so cool! With this 100 pounds, I made apple butter, apple juice, and 1 lonely apple pie. I am pleased to announce, that all of the apples are finally out of our house. Well, except for the 20 or so that are in the fridge for the kids to eat. I am so over apples......until next year at least. ;)

My Heritage

I did this with all 3 of my kids, and Natalie's and Jacob's said the same thing, but Cody looked 19% more like Jared. I can tell, but I thought Natalie had a little more of me in her. Guess not.

My first tutorial :) Doll Cradle

I don't know if anyone would be interested in learning how to do this simple doll cradle, but I made it anyway. First, you need an oatmeal canister, or mashed potato canister. I chose mashed potatoes, because that one was bigger for our family. :) Make sure it is clean and dry. Glue the lid closed on it.



Then, leaving both ends intact, cut half of the canister away. Lines don't have to be perfectly straight.

Lay it on it's side, to make sure it rocks okay. Straighten up the edges if you are a perfectionist. ;)

Decorate any way you want. You can cover it with paper, or scrap fabric, or leave it plain. I haven't decorated this yet. Natalie saw it, and wanted it immediately. Add a "mattress" which for us was just some rolled up scrap fleece. Make a little pillow if you want. I used the same scrap fleece. Add a baby and a blanket, and give it to your little one. Our blanket was the same scrap of fleece. :) Natalie plays with this all day long, and has for a little more than 2 weeks now. I should decorate it more, but eh..she likes it plain, and I am being craft-lazy.