Starry Nights

Last week Brent came home and said he wanted to go something fun and Christmassy. So what is more fun and Christmasy than driving around and looking at Christmas lights?!?!? We bundled up, loaded the girl I the car, swung by our favorite donut shop, and headed to Shelby farms for some lights and music. Little did we know there was a bubble snow blower and a petting zoo full of the most precious baby animals ever and 1 really creepy turkey somewhere in between.

As you can see the bubble snow blower was the biggest hit of the night and sadly I can not find any of the baby animal pictures, but at least we will always have the memories.

I think the spur of the moment nights are always some of the best nights.

Happy Birfday To You Cha Cha Cha

Holy Moly this has been one of the best birthdays ever!! Besides all of the sweet birthday wishes yesterday I get to school today totally oblivious to all of the amazing secrets everyone was keeping! I still can't believe my babies didn't say a word about the awesome pajama party we were having today. 

I know I say every year I can't imagine loving a class as much as I do the previous year, but I guess each new class is like having another child and your heart just makes a little more room for each one. And it isn't just the students who I love but the parents are pretty great themselves.  I feel so special and so loved knowing how much effort went into decorating, planning, and putting everything together for little ole me. 

I feel like such a dunce because like usual I came into my room like a hurricane this morning and was even more crazy since we were out Friday because of the icepocolipse 2013 and I couldn't remember where I put anything. Thankfully as I was running around Mrs. Nicole made me slow down and notice the amazing decorations one of my amazing room moms had put up. 

There were banners, balloons, and streamers. 

Soon all of my babies started arriving and slowly I started to realize everyone was wearing pajamas and I started to panic because I thought I ha forgotten about something and I didn't any to say anything bout Mrs. Douglas's polka dotted pants. Thankfully another one of my room moms arrive ditch a sweet surprise of my very on pair of pajamas 

and she revealed the secret of my birthday spa day. All of my sweet babies had kept the secret of the big surprise even after things got a little crazy with school being canceled Friday. 

I can honestly say I have never felt so loved in my life! I wish everyone could say they love their job as much as I do, but they don't have 20 little people telling you how much they love you and telling you hilarious stories everyday. 

Love you little people!!!!!!!

An Even Bigger Big Girl Bed

I purchased this toddler bed off of a local bst site in the spring in anticipation of using it when Mckinley was ready for a big girl bed. I figured since she was doing such a good job sleeping in her converted crib we may as well go balls to the walls and get out the real deal. Since I had bought the bed from someone I did not have any instructions to put it together but I was able to locate instructions online and besides 1 mishap of of putting it together upside down (I had flashbacks of the great fan debacle if 2010). We got it worked out and besides missing 2 non crucial screws that hold 1 of the railings in place (it goes against the wall anyways) it is together and she loves it! She even helped me take her crib apart and I may or may not have whacked her with a board on accident. I am an awesome parent you know. 

Daddy needed a little happy today since sadly his grandmother passed away this morning so he took  Mckinley for a daddy date to get some donuts.  

She couldn't wait to eat her "Nonuts" and sat down in the middle of the floor and went at those doughnut holes like nobodies business! Then she decided they needed to be enjoyed in her new big girl bed. I think she really likes setting her stuff on her new bedside table.

I think she likes it just a little!

I wasn't sure how nap time would go today since it would be easier for her to get out of this bed then the crib with the big blue railing we tested out yesterday and I was not surprised when she took longer to fall asleep, got up a few more times,played more and fell asleep not in her bed but on her new bedside table. We couldn't see her on the monitor anymore and she was very quiet so I snuck in to check and panicked because I don't see her anywhere until I took a closer look. See if you can spot her

Dot worry we transferred her back into her bed because with our luck she would have rolled off of the table she was so lovingly snuggled on and token something. She slept for her usual hour and a glad to two hours and we woke her up for some snuggles and hugs for Nonni and Car Car. 

I will update tomorrow on how tonight went and where she falls asleep. It should be interesting and I am just waiting for her to snuggle into her tent and scare the daylight about of me when I can't find her anywhere! 

Ah parenthood 

A Bed For A Big Girl

I am still not sure what I was thinking or why I decided now was the time for big changes, but for some reason I decided that this weekend was the time for a trial run with the big girl bed. A sweet friend gifted us this bed before Mckinley was born and it was GASP! a drop side crib. I wasn't too worried about this and we just turned the drop side to the wall and we have never had an issue with it. I decided to remove the drop side part of the crib so I just turned the entire bed around and removed the attachments and took the side of the crib off and viola a toddler bed!!!!  We had planned on giving her a big girl bed for Christmas and I even purchased a tiny toddler bed off of a buy/sell site and I planned on redoing it and painting it grey. I guess this was going to be our big girl bed trial run, but it went so well I think we are going to skip the bed redo and save myself a lot of pain and suffering by sticking with the crib turned bed. 

Holy Moly was the monkey excited about this! She climbed in and read books for a half an hour. 

Since this wasn't a convertible bed we didn't have a railing to attach to the bed to keep the wild child from rolling out but I had seen a neat idea on Pinterest about using a pool noodle to create a barrier, but I decided to take it a step further and rolled up a big blanket and stuck that under the bed sheets also. Thankfully Brent's cousins are going to let us borrow a toddler bed rail so we don't have to shell  out any money honey for a new one. 

To add to the excitement of the new big girl bed we decided to go ahead and give her an early Christmas gift. This little girl LOVES her some Buzz and Woody and she was ridiculously excited about her Toys Bed as she calls it.

You think she likes it??

We started our trial run on Sunday during nap time and I am not going to lie because I was pretty nervous about this being a big huge disaster. I decided to apply a technique we use at school for making transitions in the classroom and I told Kinley I was setting and alarm and when it went off it would be time to get in bed, read a book, and lay down. Thankfully she was so excited about her new sheets that when the timer went off she was more then ready to head to her Toys Bed. She fussed for a minute, but to our surprise she layed down and slept for her typical 2 hours. And when the monkey woke up she stayed in her bed for another 30 minutes and then ate her cheese stick  in the bed so I think she kind of liked it.

Then we got scared wondering if night time would go as well as nap time had gone. We went through our usual night time routine of bath, jammies, brush teeth, water, books, prayers, and sugars good night. She fussed a little again, got out of bed once, threw her blankets out, got up and got them, then she got back in bed and went to sleep!

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect such a big transition to go so smoothly. She is slowly testing her limits by getting up and playing a little before going to sleep, she did test the door a few times tonight like a velociraptor testing the fences in Jurassic Park, and she did go to sleep much later than usual tonight, but she is asleep in her big girl bed and I am so proud of my big girl.

Go Tigers Go!

A few weeks ago we decided we wanted to torture ourselves and take the girl to a basketball game. My parents were going out of town and offered to let us and my sister use their game tickets. I was not very excited about this and knew I would probably be exhausted since this was also Parent teacher Conference night, but I decided to suck it up and go just to get out of the house. This also happened to be during the great terrible two's of 2013. I thought there was no way in hell we would be able to sit through an entire basketball game much less actually enjoy ourselves. I guess I didn't give my girl enough credit and I forgot her love for anything fun. We parked as close as we could to the venue and after a cold glass of wine before heading out we went in guns blazing. I wasn't worried about my sweet girl acting like an angel because I am a mom and I am prepared for a full on floor rolling melt down all times. I was more worried about disturbing the lovely people around us especially since we would be sitting on the lower level with the rich people.

 We arrived before the game started which gave us a little time to gauge how the night would go and with a tiger hug and some loud music she was set.

The Tiger was standing at the end of our row when we walked up and my girl who doesn't know what Stranger Danger means ran right up to him and watched his every move the entire game.

Watching the band and the Tiger.

She had 3 laps to choose from .

Taking a break from sitting. She would tell me she had to go potty and when I would say no because we had just gotten up and walked up which means me carrying her up 3 flights of stairs, she would then try "I have to poop" I may or may not have said you have on a pull up so go ahead and go.

God bless you tiny milk boxes.

Why yes I let my child crawl on the floor. She is happy and that is all that matters.

We left with four minutes to go and a 20 point lead. We were about 2 hours past bedtime and my girl was sleepy, but happy. It was a much quieter ride home.

I haven trying to talk my dad into a Kinley Papa date to one of the next games, but he just keeps looking at me and laughing.

Time

Please keep Brent and his family in your prayers these next few days, weeks, months. His grandmother is ill and we do not know what time will bring. 

I am so thankful we went to visit Ma last weekend and I adore these pictures I snapped. Mckinley has always had a sweet spot for her Ma Ma and even during her shy phase always had a sugar for her. 

We love you Ma.

The Good And The Bad

It has been so long since I was able to call myself a runner and it seems  I have forgotten a few things that come with it. 

#1. Somedays you feel like you could qualify for the Olympics and other days you can barely run a mile. This was me today. Thursday I was running an 8 minute mile and today I could barely run 2.5 miles. My legs were heavy but I was breathing fine. I just couldn't seem to push myself past it and ended why should have been a 4 mile run a mile and a half early. Maybe I wasn't ready to up it a mile and need to stick with 3 miles for another week or so or maybe it was just a bad run. 

#2. If you don't use it you lose it and his is something I can really understand. In 2009 I could run 14 miles, but due to some medical issues I was basically forced to stop running. That means I was starting from scratch and couldn't even run a mile without stopping to walk. I never thought I would be able to run 1 mile again and I can now run 3 miles. Next up comes 5 miles and hopefully by spring I can get back on my favorite trail. 

#3. The more you run the hungrier and thirstier you get. I am finding myself chugging more and more water these days and I am hungrier than usual. My diet had drastically changed since the last time I was running consistently and I can't rely on my pre run english muffin pizzas anymore. Now I am not anywhere near my ling distance pizza runs, but I guess I will have to find a gluten free substitute as my distance grows. 

#4. It takes time. My running buddy and I decided to run a half marathon before we started running. We started training in March 2009 and ran the half in December 2009. It took us 10 month running 3-4 days a week to get to 13 miles and we upped our miles every month. I need to remember this. My goal for next year is to run the Road Race Series. It begins in July and runs until November. It consists of 2 5k's, 2 5milers, 2 10k's, 2 10milers, and 2 half marathons. I think by then I could definitely be running 5 miles consistently and a great way to train for the St. Jude half in December  

So slow and steady for now and maybe my legs will start to remember what they can really do. For now I am happy with where I am am and where I am going 1 mile at a time. 

All Clean

This happened today

My house hasn't been this clean since before school started and I had all day to nothing but play with my girl and clean during naptime. My goal is to keep our tiny space uncluttered and to do I chore each day. The dishes will if course be done everyday as usual, but if I divide and conquer it won't get too overwhelming. 

Add my 3 mile run on top of my cleaning spree and I am feeling pretty accomplished today!

Meal Planning An It Feels So Good The October Edition And A Peek IntoNovember

It has been a while since I have planned out an entire month worth of meals and now I am kicking myself for not starting my routine up again before the beginning of the school year. 

The Meals

Stuffed Zucchini

Hawaiian crockpot pork

Turkey tacos

Pesto ranch chicken

Salmon and veggies

Apple cinnamon honey pork

Spinach artichoke chicken

Chipotle spinach and chicken twice baked sweet potatoes

BBQ pork

Cilantro lime chicken

Mongolian beef

I did not add the meals that were on the calendar, but did not get made for one reason or another because we didn't get to taste them so I can't say how good or how awful they are. 

I am so upset that I lost my stuffed zucchini recipe because it was delicious! I think I can recreate it from memory so here is what I can remember in case you want to give it a whirl.

Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats

1. Cut Scoop out the middles of 6 large zucchini and scoop out the middles

2. Saute Zucchini middles with 1-2 Tbsp of butter until soft and set aside.

3. Saute 1 onion finely minced until clear then add 1 lb. of ground turkey (beef) and saute until cooked 

4. Add Sauteed Zucchini back into Onion and ground turkey mixture and mix together. 

5. Add 1/4 cup tomato sauce (you can add more if you like, but don't let it get too runny)

6. Add 1/3 Parmesan cheese to mixture and stuff back into zucchini boats.

Top with cheddar cheese and bake until cheese is melted. 

Another recipe I made up as I went is My Hawaiian Crockpot Pork.

Place 1 pork tenderloin in crock pot and add enough water to cover 1/4 up the side of the pork. Mix together Pineapple juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar to taste and add that mixture to the crock. Cook on Low for 6-8 hours. I am going to try using chicken or veggie broth next time I make this instead of the water

The 2 recipes I highly recommend are the Mongolian Beef and the Spinach Artichoke Chicken. Not everything I make turns out, but these 2 were AMAZING! Brent actually made the Mongolian Beef, but I made the quonia and edemame to go with it.

Now that October is almost done (holy crap that went by really fast) let's take a look at what November will bring. This weekend I will be shopping for next month and I will have to be quick because I will need to go at nap time while the monkey sleeps because I am not sure how B-daddy will be feeling after his lover biopsy Friday. Hopefully it won't be too bad and hopefully he gets good results and we can stop worrying about what high liver enzymes mean. 

As you can see we we still have Turkey Taco Tuesday, and we aren't really trying out any new recipes. We are sticking to the basics and keeping it easy , healthy, and delicious.

I will end this short but sweet post with a sweet picture of my girl and her brand new Buzz Lightyear. one of my babies got him for her and I may or may not have cried it was so sweet!

The Race

Yesterday was such a surreal day. It was our second time racing for the cure as Creedon's Crusaders and oh what a difference a year has made. I know I haven't blogged much about mom's cancer or lack there of now, but it just felt too personal to really blog about besides to say she is doing GREAT! Basically mom has kicked cancer's ass. She has gone through multiple surgeries, drains, chemo, radiation, just to name the easy parts of all of this. We won't even mention the countless days spent in the hospital as a result of the chemo. These past 2 years feel like a dream and it is so easy to forget how bad it all was when everything is so great now. It makes me sad somedays because I find myself saying I am so glad these 2 years are over, but I don't want to forget the good while trying to block out the bad. 

Last year we were much more organized when it came to the race, but we already have ideas for next years race and yes it involves costumes and the hope that I can talk Mom into doing the 5k with us.

This year Nicole and I ran the 5k (and we didn't die and now I am pumped to get back to running), Emily and Debbie walked the it, and Mon and Jen walked the mile. My mom who just had surgery walked a freaking mile and with a head of curly grayish, brownish, blondish (she says) hair! This time last year she felt like crap and was bald as a newborn baby. Oh how much things can change in just a few months. We are so blessed to have this wild amazing woman still with us!

I think we will all have a lot to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Mongolian Beef

I you are looking for a new recipe to try out I HIGHLY recommend THIS one. I have had it pinned on Pinterest forever and Brent happened to spy it the other day when we were looking for some Brent friendly gluten free recipes and he was really excited to give it a try. We went with a really lean cut if meat which was really healthy and only ran about $11.00 for 4 servings. 

I will have I say Brent is definitely the better cook between the 2 of us specially when it comes to meat so I let him do the hard work on this meal (darn). I did however prepare an extra large pot of quinoa in vegetable broth to go with it and some steamed frozen broccoli to eat on the rest of the week. We of course couldn't eat an Asian meal without edamame which was Mckinley's favorite part. This kid lives for edamame! She also loved the quonia and broccoli, but since she isn't a huge fan of red meat I got to finish that off for her which was just awful.

I think if all of our new recipes turn out as amazing as this one did Brent might actually enjoy the gluten free lifestyle. I just want to say P.F. Changs I hate to tell you, but our Mongolian beef might be better than yours.

Plans and Changes

I am finally jumping back on my serious meal planning. Last month I kept everything pretty simple with crock pot Mondays, taco Tuesdays, pasta Wednesdays, breakfast for dinner Thursdays, and pizza Fridays, but I am ready for some new recipes. I also have a new motivation. Daddy D is going gluten free because of a few health issues he has going on and he was told to cut out white flour and white rice. This will be a little tricky because a lot of gluten free products are made from rice flour, but I think kicking the flour habit will be such a huge change on his body a little rice flour won't do anymore damage everything else has already done. I also plan on trying my hand at bread machine baking so we shall see how that goes.

We just got back from our latest shopping trip and Brent had asked if our grocery bills would go up now that he will also be eating gluten free and after seeing our $230 bill got a little scared until I reminded him this was basically a months worth of meals. I plan on us eating leftovers and a lot of these meals can be divided in 2 and frozen for later use which means next months planning will be even easier. I am also psyched about my new to us freezer that will be moving into our shed to house all of these delicious meals.

Now let's take a look at how all this madness come together. There isn't really a science to and now that I think about it almost exactly how I put together my lesson plans for school. I make a plan, make a list, and get to work. I start by searching Pinterest and the internet for interesting recipes (gluten free of course), then I make a big list, figure out what ingredients I already have and what I will need, and then I decide when we want to eat them. I wasn't going  to plan out an entire month, but I just got so caught up in the excitement that I went ahead and did it anyways which just makes my life easier. There are still a few things we will still need to purchase like the salmon because we like that to be fresh and I will need a few more lbs. of ground turkey, but my freezer is full so we will pick that up fresh as needed. 

The first picture doesn't do my kamikaze meal planning justice. Usually there are scratch pieces of paper everywhere, it is missing my computer, and there is almost always a small child in the mix of everything. The snack cup is evidence of her presence.

I typically do not plan anything for the weekends since we usually have leftovers and we spend a lot of time with friends and family so this gives us a little meal leeway.  Now these recipes on these days are not set in stone. If we want or need to switch them around we do it. I am just such a visual and hands on person that I need it to be down in writing so I can process all of the information. We have already switched a few things around (all of the salmon recipes have switched to Friday since Brent takes care of that and I have cross country meets on Thursday evenings) and I have already eliminated a recipe because of a conflict (we do this prior to grocery shopping so we don't waste any $ on something we don't need).

You might wonder how we decide what days we eat what and that is simple. Monday is always a crock pot meal because I am usually exhausted on Mondays after a long weekend and a long day of getting everyone back into a routine at school. I also almost always have a ton of pork stashed in my freezer hence the main ingredient in all of those dishes being just that. We love pork in this house and crock pork is the best! Tuesday is always Turkey Taco Tuesday. Tacos are simple, easy, and healthy. Plus they are easy prep and and clean and I just like the alliteration in the name. Wednesday and Thursday are my days to try out new recipes. Usually they are chicken recipes that I can prepare ahead of time and or freeze for a later time. Fridays as I said earlier will be grill nights typically salmon and veggies. Now don't think we don't ever have any fun because at least one Friday a month we will be throwing in a Mellow Mushroom night since there is one opening walking distance from our house and they have AMAZING gluten free options. 

These next few weeks are pretty crucial for the success of Brent's new healthier lifestyle. I have been through the unglutenizing and it can be rough and you are really hungry at first, but preparation and planning is the key to success so whatever I can do to make this transition as easy as possible for him is exactly what I will do. 

Calling It

As of September 22 2013 I am calling potty training a win! We made it through the zoo in panties (we hit every bathroom in the park just to be safe), but I think 3 days in panties equals potty trained. We aren't brave enough to go bare t night or naptime, but I am ok with that. It lets me hold on to my girl being a baby for a little longer. 

Mckinley started going on the potty around 16 months. We never wanted to push her because I knew she would go when she was ready, but he kind of took to it. Some weeks she would go all if the time an other weeks she wouldn't want anything to do with it so we just went at her pace. It wasn't until this summer that we started pitying on a pretty consistent basis because we were home a lot more and we went pants off dance off when we were at home. I actually feel like this just d if hindered our progress because anytime I did put pants or a diaper on the girl she would just get lazy and just go.  

Finally last week we took her to pick out some big girl panties and she went traight for the Sesams St. pack and there was no going back. I sent Mckinley to Mrs. Julie's in panties and a few backup diapers and after 1 little accident we were good to go!

So we have been in panties since Friday and except for a puddle on Papa and Yaya's back porch we have been in panties ever since. We still wear our cloth trainers because I sure do t have time to take apart the entire car seat and wash it. I am thinking about hitting up Babies Are Us since I need to return some stuff and get ahead on my Christmas shopping and picking up one of them thar car seat pads. 

I may or may not have gotten a little sad when my girl put her own panties on all by herself. I stil can't believe my little squishy punkin head is a big girl panty wearing 2 year old. Good news I can now say put on your big girl panties and deal with it and really mean it! Her booty looks so tiny without her big ole fluffy bum. 

My big girl panty wearer and her 2 boyfriends! 

Bueller? Bueller?

I am alive I promise. 

School has started and I have been very very very tired. With 20 babies at school and 2 at home (My girl and the hubs) I am exhausted at night and basically i pass out around 9 every night  which is unheard of in this house! Add on cross country practice and our first meet logos past Thursday and I am done by the time I get home. I need to post my pictures from the last few weeks of summer, but sadly nothing particularly exciting has been going on so they will be mostly pictures of the Little Lady. I have been pretty good about posting over at my school blog  Insane In The Pre-K Brain. So far our year is going great and I am so so proud of all of my sweet babies. 

Hopefully after my body adjusts to not sitting for 10 hours after sitting on my behind all summer I will have a little more energy to get back to at least weekly updates.

Rifht now we are spending probably one of our last weekends at my happy place, my parent's lake house.  I am probably going to cry when we leave tomorrow and it absolutely breaks my heart that my girl won't remember this place.

 Right now I am laying down in the cave watching sex and the city reruns while my precious angel of a child is playing and throwing dominoes around upstairs. Thankfully we all slept much better after our new sleeping arrangements last night

We had a blast last night with Mrs. Sue and Duane and I am sure the excitement will triple after Robin and the family get here. It should be interesting to see how Mckinley and Jack intersect.  

Hopefully now that I am feeling better I will get to use my new cup my sis got me. 

So that is where I have been and why my poor blog has been so neglected. Now I am off to watch some trashy tv and not move for an hour or so. I think it may also be time for my third cup of coffee. 

I hope everyone else is enjoying this beautiful weekend. 

Happy Labor Day. 

2

It happened. GASP!

My baby isn't a baby anymore. GASP! 

She is officially a walking, talking, defiant, cuddly, dirt under the nails, smart, sweet, hyper active, chatty, outdoorsy, potty training, coloring, throwing, milk chugging, black bean eating, wild, screaming, arms thrown around the neck hugging, absolutely precious 

2 Year Old!!!!!!!

I am still not sure how this happened or how it happened so quickly. I can still remember the night we came home to the house and the dogs met you for the first time (even though I lost the video) and I feel like it was just last night I was rocking the bouncer with my feet praying you would finally fall back asleep after a late night feeding. I will never forget that night the 3 of us were laying in the bed and she finally found her voice and started screaming and I can just picture me sitting in that ugly yellow t-shirt as you took your first steps in between daddy and I. 

How can you already be 2????

I am not going to lie I may or may not have ugly cried on the way home from my parents house after setting up for the birthday party. I will admit I may have been listening to a song that reminds me of my Cathy which was a bad idea in the first place, but I think I just needed to cry and get it all out. 

Now that I am done boohooing about my baby growing up way to fast we can move on to the real reason I am writing this post

The Party!

I am so glad we got most of the set up done the night before since the party was scheduled for 11 because we  were afraid it would be super hot since it was the end of July in the South . Thankfully it turned out to be a beautiful day for a pool party.

My sister was our photographer for the day so I will have to get her pictures, but here are a few pictures from the day.

 We started off the big day with some turkey naturally and then we moved on to some birthday doughnut holes. 

Some of the pre birthday set up. The hat, the decorations going up, the cake, the wreath, lots of Elmo.

Closeups of our pom pom people my awesome MIL and I made

A friend gifted me these awesome giant Elmo and Big Bird balloons. They were a huge hit with the monkey!!

The big gift from Mama and Daddy! She loved it and now we just have to get it from my parents house since we didn't have enough space in the cars to get it home.

A few random pictures from the day.

Last, but not least a little collage I put together from birth your first day on Earth, your first birthday, to the amazing person you are becoming today at just 2 years old.

Happy Birthday my precious wild child!! I love you more and more everyday! You are a precious light in this crazy world and I never want you to change or stop being you because you are fantastic and amazing exactly the way you are!

Mommy and Daddy love you Punkin Head

I started a new blog called Insane In The Pre-K Brain . I wanted separate my family posts from my school posts and I think this will keep things less jumbled and help me be more organized when it comes to blogging. I will link back and forth between the blogs so no one misses out on any of the crazy excitement going on! 

For now I leave you with a picture of the wild child last weekend at her future husband's Ninja Turtle birthday party! This kid has so much personality in that tiny body of hers!

3 more weeks until school starts! Guess I better get my August meal plan started! I am planning a whole month of Gracious Pantry recipes. I contacted Tiffany and asked her if it would be ok for me to post about her recipes and she said I could!! I was just so darn excited she actually answered me back! I can't wait for her cookbook to come out! 

Clean eating here we come!

Birthday #2

I don't really like talking about it because I get all weepy and sad, but I am just so darn excited about planning another party that I am making myself.

Last year I went a little over the top with birthday #1, and like everyone said it was all for me and she would never remember it, but I loved it and wouldn't have done a thing different if I had to do it all over again.

Even though it was a lot of work it was perfect even if the cake was the wrong color (love you Yaya!)

This year we are going for an Elmo motif even though the girl might or might not love Ernie a little more then Elmo these days. I guess you could really say we are doing a Sesame Street motif. 

So far all I have accomplished is purchasing and having my dad print them out. I finally bought stamps today so they should go out tomorrow morning. I guess 2 weeks is plenty of time.

1. For decorations my mother-in-law and are making most of the Sesame Streetcharacters out of tissue paper pom poms. 

2. Food will be very simple with fish bowls of Goldfish crackers, fruits and veggies, etc.

3. I think I will make an Elmo wreath to go on the front door with a big number 2 added on for fun.

4. I will be making 2 little felt Elmo clips to go in the pig tails I plan on creating for the big day.

5. Mckinley's big present (already purchased months ago) will be set out for the little ones to play in that day.

6. The main dish for the party will be a create your own sandwich bar with pb&j, cold cuts, and chicken salad.

7. I origionally ordered a dress with an Elmo and a cute chevron pattern on it, but I have had some trouble contacting the company I ordered it from adn we are currently working with Pay Pal filing a dispute to find out if it has shipped or getting a full refund. In the meantime I found a super cute red and white chevron bubble that I actually like better and I will be picking that up on Wednesday.

8. For the cake I am going simple and easy. I will be making a cake, icing it white, and covering it in sprinkles except for a giant #2 in the middle.

9. A very nice friend gifted us the giant Elmo and Big Bird full bodied balloons and a Happy Birthday banner and I believe that will be the extent of my decorating besides using Mckinley's stuffed animals on the food/cake table.

10. If we have time we might also make some Elmo cupcakes, but if these don't happen I won't be too sad.

11. And last, but not least are the invitations that will hopefully be going out tomorrow. Once I found these I knew we were set.

So that's the plan and I guess I need to get to work and start making some of this stuff. Last year I started months in advance, but I had so many things I wanted to do plus I was so worried about getting her 1 year pics done for the invitations. We won't even be doing her 2 year pics until August this year so you can see I am much more layed back this year about the whole thing.

Hopefully this Wednesday when the Lil Lady goes to Mrs. Julie's I can get the majority of my checklist completed. 

I still can't believe I will have a 2 year old in 19 days!