I Will Call Them...Mini Me

I really want to order a Mini-Me clip for Maya. Emandsprout customizes your hair clip to your specifications. Awesome, right?

{Via Cool Mom Picks.}

Toofless

In the past week, Maya lost her 3rd tooth on the bottom and her 2nd top middle tooth! She's looking pretty toothless and cute, no?

She has lots of questions for the Tooth Fairy, and has been writing her long notes and leaving them with her tooth - and that good ol' Tooth Fairy has been replying! Some things Maya has found out (in response to her very specific questions):

1. The Tooth Fairy is 606 years old.
2. She has blond hair.
3. She is a tiny fairy and has wings.
4. She uses the teeth to make necklaces.

For now, there is one "barely loose" tooth in there. But I think the Tooth Fairy will be taking a break from house for a little while, at least.

Muddy Buddies

Chris has been working on a flowerbed project in the yard (Almost complete, "after" pics to come! It looks fabulous.) and has, of course, had a couple of lovely kids assisting him. We've (finally) had a bunch of rain, which has made digging up the rocky Texas dirt much easier. Plus, you know, it made a bunch o' mud, and what could be better than that?

Check out Mason's new "pouty" face. At age 3 1/2, he's finally adding some 'tude to his nearly always pleasant demeanor. I rather like his pouty face. And I love that I can make it go away pretty easily with some smoochies and/or a cookie.

We have been sick this week. Mason started coughing on Thursday. Maya started on Friday. Simon on Saturday and me on Sunday. Chris, that lucky devil, is still crud-free. We love him for that. I hauled all 3 kids into the doctor on Monday...with all the swine flu mania, I didn't want to take any chances. Turns out we all just have a regular ol' cold. Which is great with me. Gradually, we're all feeling better. We've enjoyed lots of movie time, snuggle time, laying in my bed playing "Would You Rather" and Mason's favorite, "The Raise Your Hand Game". ("Raise your hand if you love your Mommy." "Raise your hand if you want pizza." Etc. etc.) Good times. Maya is venturing back to school today. I'm hoping she can keep her coughing to a minimum. She hasn't been coughing tons...but when she gets wound up, it starts up. (Edited: I thought Maya was headed back to school, but she actually seems worse today than she did yesterday. Poor little dear is snuggled under my covers shivering right now. Such a bummer!)

As for me, I've got last minute party details to take care of. The food, the cake. Etc. etc. I've got all the birthday shopping done. Well, and her birthday isn't until next week, anyway. I'm excited to see how it all goes. I do love birthdays!

Hope you are well and you stay well. There's lots going around - wash those hands! :)

Baby Steps

Watch out, world! Simon's (tentatively) off and running (walking). And on his 11 month birthday, no less! Give that kid a few days and he'll really know what he's doing. For now, we're enjoying his drunken-ambling. Nothing cuter!

{Sorry for the blurry photos. What can I tell you...these are action shots!} Check out that look of pride! He's pretty pleased with himself. As well he should be!

Have I mentioned that dressing my kids in I Heart Mom clothing is a major guilty pleasure of mine? It's my favorite.

Don't miss the 2 second video.

I never really expected the 3rd time around to be as exciting and fun and as adorable as the first or second, but somehow it is. I can't believe my big boy! He's such a blessing to us!

Stripes

How fabulous are these stripes? The colors are perfect. It's a really great Great Room, is it not? (Har har.)

Baby Spoon

I want one of these personalized baby spoons for each of my kiddies - not just the baby! What a sweet keepsake.

Boy Meets Girl Meets Spot

I love my new short sleeved silhouette hoodie from Boy Meets Girl. Of course, the first thing I did was get a brown stain on the back of it. I'm laundry challenged, and I don't want to ruin my brand new shirt (if it's not already ruined). Any tips? I think...it might be stain from my dining chairs. They sometimes every now and then if they're wet leave stains on things. And that's the color it most closely resembles. Think I should just throw it in the wash and see what happens? Pre-treat first? Seriously, I'm a laundry novice. Help!

PS - look how dirty my mirror is. Yuck.

Oh, Anonymous

I get so amused/annoyed (depending on my mood) when "Anonymous" commenters feel the need to bag on the ol' blog. If you're bored, don't read. I'm not trying to please you, Anonymous. It's my spot to post about/bookmark whatever I want, whatever I'm doing, whatever is on my mind...which is, at the moment, party stuff. Guess what? After this party is over, Simon's party will be taking over the blog for 3 weeks. If you're not interested, feel free not to read.

{Hmm, I guess today's mood has led to...annoyed! Being sick and having 3 sick kids probably has something to do with it.}

Party on!

Marshmallow Pops

Marshmallow pops are on the menu for Maya's tea party. They look simple enough, but how do you suppose she made them stand up? Yep, Floral foam (or whatever it's called) under the M&Ms. Pretty clever!

Lollipop Events & Designs

I was planning to throw down a few blankets at Maya's party for a couple of the games and gift opening. Perhaps with this as inspiration, I can do a little better than "throw down a few blankets". This is super cute!

Lots of great eye candy at Lollipop Events & Designs and the blog.

Pioneer Party

This American Girl Pioneer Party from One Charming Party is one of the best kids' parties I've seen...ever! So awesome. Check out posts here and here. I love the simple table setting. I'm going to something for the tea party...alternating short round vases I found at Goodwill and Mason Jars, which I hoard (hello, my maiden name is right there on the outside!).

I also thought I'd buy some green tissue paper and have some of my party helpers wrap up a few flowers for each girl to take home. That way I won't be left with a ton of flowers that I will probably stick out on the deck because they make me sneeze. And what little girl doesn't love flowers?

Shoe Bags

These shoe bags are ingenious. And adorable. I probably wouldn't use them as shoe bags. But they look simple. And I'm sure I could figure out some use for them...

{Via My Favorite Things.}

Carnival Inspiration

Lisa & Geoff had the most amazing carnival-themed wedding. Read all about it on Once Wed. I'm definitely taking some inspiration from here for Simon's party at the end of October.

Love the invites. Love! Too cute.

Cotton candy & caramel apples are most definitely on the menu.

Using board games as centerpieces is genius! Such a fun idea.

I think I will try my hand at making mustaches on a stick. Find out how here.

People amaze me with their cleverness.

Japonicas

So many pretties in this Etsy shop, I can scarcely pick a fave. This one make the list for sure, though. Lots more to see here. Oh, and here, too, on the ol' blog. Nice.

Holding Out For A (Super) Hero

Mason hasn't hit the superhero stage yet, but when he does, I'm all over this reversible cape! Two heroes in one (take your pick...) and it's a steal!

Silhouette Book Bags

May I just say that Dandee's Silhouette bags are genius! Love love! She did an entire amazing craft camp. Read all about it. She's my hero.

Cassia Beck

In love with these amazing vintage-inspired prints from Cassia Beck. Gorgeous! She also has a blog. And a jewelry shop.

{Via Lovely Clusters via Natalie.}

'You Are My Fave' Throws Fabulous Parties

And I love that it's an "Un-Birthday Party", not only because Alice In Wonderland is my fave, but also because, hello, what a fun theme! And a cute cake!

I'm hoping Maya's layer cake turns out well. I've never done a tiered cake before, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Tips, tricks?

Skippy Designs

I am in love with every single print in the Skippy Designs Etsy shop. All of them. But especially the ferris wheel. I want to buy them all.

{I have been bad about keeping track of my "via's" lately. But thank you to whoever it was. What a great find!}

New Picasa Feature = Awesome

I already thought Picasa was the best thing ever, but their latest update is even more awesome! They have a new Facebook-esque "People Tagging Tool". Which is cool in and of itself. People get their own folder, you can quickly find pics you're looking for of a specific person, make quick collages, etc. etc., I'm sure. But the amazing part (for me) is how smart it is! After it has a couple of pictures to go by, it starts to pick up on pics it thinks might be of you. And it's usually right! Even with my look-alike kids, it gets them right more often than not.

See, here. It grabbed mostly pics of Maya as a baby...and one of Maya's cousin Daniel. (Just hit the check to confirm or the X to remove the tag. Or double click the pic to tag it correctly.)

Here's a whole bunch o' Chris...and a couple of his brother Sam.

It catalogs your peeps over to the left(I was just getting started, then got too excited and had to share...). The orange ? to the right means it's found more photos it thinks might be you. Too cool!

You can download the latest version of Picasa here. Do it!

A Grandma's Couch

I would have adored this necklace from Down & Out Chic even if it hadn't been awesomely named A Grandma's Couch. But the fact that is is named A Grandma's Couch makes it all the better. Wish list!

{Via Lovely Clusters via Natalie.}

Everyone Should Have A Friend Like That...

I've got a couple. {You know who you are!}

Sycamore Street Press is one of my new favorites. Lots of cute stuff there. And a blog, too!

Party Details I'm Loving...Part 2

{Lovely + colorful artist party from One Charming Blog.}

{Milk + cookie shots from Simply Creative Insanity.}

{Along the same lines...milk + brownie shots from Celebrations at Home.}

{Cootie catcher invitations from Celebrations at Home.}

{Simple + gorgeous cake from P is for Party.}

{Picture confetti from P is for Party.}

Sparkle Thots

Unfortunately, I have no idea what the Singapore Dollars to US Dollars exchange rate is, so I have no idea if these are bargains of splurges. Either way, they're gorgeous. More here.

{Via Lovely Clusters via Natalie.}

VW Camper Cookbook

A friend of ours who knows about Chris' obsession with all things VW Bus sent me a link to this book. Chris definitely needs it in his collection!

Of course, he'll definitely need it if he gets his way and we take a California coast trip in a VW camper. Did you know you can rent souped up old school VDubs by the week and drive them up the Cali coast? It's Chris' dream come true. He's thinking spring break. National parks. Camp grounds. Beaches. Of course, I couldn't be that close to Disneyland without stopping by. We'll see...

Party Details I'm Loving...Part 1

{Simple + sweet tea party treats from One Charming Blog.}

{Sweet yellow treat favors from Silly Bee's Chickadee via Simply Creative Insanity.}

{Fishing game from Hayley & Joshua's AWESOME wedding on Snippet & Ink. Chris thinks he can make one for Simon's birthday party.}

{Ingenious cotton candy packaging, also from Hayley & Joshua's wedding.}

{Another fabulous yellow party. Via Sycamore Street Press.}

{Adorable Dum Dum tree.}