Annabelle's birthday party

Annabelle's birthday party Saturday was great! We had planned a garden party, but the yard was too wet, so it was more of a garden-themed party. It was a real baby party--seven of the twelve children were under two years old. I made French vanilla cupcakes with lemon-cream cheese filling and buttercream icing. For the flowers I used pre-colored fondant and flower-shaped cutters. For the butterflies, I piped melted chocolate onto wax paper in the shapes of wings and bodies and filled them in with yellow candy:



Annabelle, of course, had her own little cake to smash up herself:



The favorite snacks of the party were chocolate-covered pretzel sticks molded into the shape of daisies:



The creation I was most proud of was my fruit flower basket:



The kids planted marigolds in flower pots to take home. Here are Lily and James posing with their flowers and Annabelle trying to put her flower back on its stem ofter she pulled it off (she later tried to eat it):




In all, it was great fun, and Annabelle was a happy (almost) one-year-old.

Spring Break Adventures

We had a great family vacation over Spring Break. We started out on Friday night, March 10, but we got out a little later than planned. Annabelle had to have a bath after she decided to turn herself into Miss Tomato Head at dinner. The girls slept almost the whole way to Arlington, and when we got there Mom and Dad were there to meet us. Annabelle didn't need any time to warm up--she went straight to her Granmommy and Papaw.

On Saturday morning, we went to the Dallas Arboretum for the Dallas Blooms festival. We had to stop Rebekah from climbing right into the flower beds. They had an artisans' show where we bought a glass ladybug necklace for Rebekah, and the gardens gave us some ideas for our own flower beds. We especially liked the Women's Garden, which had beautiful statues and water features. There was a Texas frontier town set up, and Rebekah enjoyed exploring the little houses. They had a display of bonsai trees, and three of us voted for Best in Show. Rebekah chose a tiny one with no leaves for Best in Show--I guess she thought it needed some encouragement.


We left the gardens to meet Mom and Dad back in Arlington for lunch at Spaghetti Warehouse, but we had a little trouble getting there. We had just bought a Tom-Tom GPS to help us get around, and we used the restaurant location that was already programmed in. Well, instead of Spaghetti Warehouse, Tom-Tom took us to an ACTUAL WAREHOUSE. So much for Tom-Tom.
After lunch, we went swimming in the indoor pool, which was our main reason for choosing that hotel. We walked to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner that night, and Rebekah got up and danced with all the waiters.

On Sunday, on the suggestion of Dad and Shannon, we went shopping at Cosco--only they would think of Cosco as a vacation destination--and then Mom and Dad went home. The four of us then went to the Dallas Zoo. Rebekah's favorite part of the zoo was the parrots, the carousel, and the giant tortoises. Annabelle was more interested in the french fries from the snack bar. That evening we went to Dealy Plaza so Shannon could see where Kennedy was assassinated. Shannon was awed by the historical significance of the place while the girls were happy to frolic on the grassy knoll.

On Monday we went to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. They had a dinosaur exhibit that included a simulated fossil dig for the kids. It was actually the first time that Shannon had ever seen real dinosaur bones, too. Rebekah was impressed with the giant prehistoric sea turtle that was suspended from the ceiling. Comparing it to the tortoises she had seen at the zoo, she said, "Mommy! That biggest turtle can fly!" After the museum, we spent the night at Derek's house and visited his church. We drove home on Tuesday.

Wednesday, to extend our vacation even further, we went to the Aggie baseball game. Before the game, we went shopping to outfit ourselves in Aggie shirts, and Rebekah picked out hats for the two of us. We all had a good time watching the game and cheering for the Ags.

By Thursday, Annabelle had another ear infection, so we didn't make it to the art museum as planned. On Saturday, Rebekah and I went to Michael's for a kids' craft day where she made a collection of ladybugs and a magic wand. Speaking of making stuff, here are the invitations to Annabelle's birthday party (with our address covered for the sake of the internet).

pictures to go with the last post

Here are the pictures that I promised in my last post.


Rebekah in her fancy dress setting out the break-and-bake cookies.

Rebekah making valentines for the home-bound church members.

A card I made for my grandmother out of candy boxes.

Rebekah and Shannon working in the yard.

Rebekah's poison oak on her chin and her cheek (you might have to click on the picture to see it).

Shannon's poison oak on his arm.

And because it would be criminal to let this post go up with no picture of Annabelle, here is her first ice cream experience. She stole my cone and smushed her little face right into it. She thought it was especially funny when I took a bite while she was holding it.

sick day sewing projects

Annabelle is sick today, so I'm staying home with her. I can't get too much school work done while also watching her, but I did throw together a couple of quick sewing projects. I took a pair of pants Shannon was getting rid of and made stuff out of the legs. I made a laptop sleeve to protect my laptop while it's in my school bag and a tote bag out of the other leg. I like piecing things together out of already existing items because part of the structure is already there. It's not quite as hard or tedious as cutting something from a pattern. I also like making bags because they are very forgiving--they don't have to fit, and if the stitches are sloppy, it's less important than if it were on your clothes. Even with stopping several times for Annabelle, these pieces only took me an hour to make. Here's another view:

Christmas shirts

Here are the girls in the Christmas shirts I made for them. Annabelle's says "Jingle Belle" and Rebekah's says "Jingle all the way." The holly berries are red buttons. I liked this picture better than the ones where they were looking at the camera because this is how they look most of the time--Rebekah is making silly faces and Annabelle is looking at Rebekah. You can click on the picture for a closer look.

Hooray for Christmas!

We're all excited about Christmas out here. We've got the house decorated and we've been enjoying the festivities around town. I'm awfully proud of my mantle. I got the decorating idea from a Southern Living Christmas book that Mamaw Evans sent me for my birthday. After I hung the stockings, Rebekah walked in the room and said, "Mommy! You decorated red socks! That's so silly!" and she laughed for about ten minutes over it.



Our tree looks like something out of a department store because we bought a big package of red balls at Sam's and that's all that's on it now--except for one little white bear that Rebekah found and stuck on there. It will be more personalized and less Martha Stewart-y once we get out the rest of our ornaments. I've always wanted to be able to put my Christmas tree in a window that you can see from outside, and this year I can.



On Saturday we went to Christmas in the Park where we saw a friend perform with her dance class. After that we stood in line for an hour and a half to see Santa. Annabelle tolerated the wait well considering we didn't get done until 9:30. When we finally got to Santa Claus, we knew it was worth the wait. This year was Rebekah's first time to see Santa because I was determined not to subject myself to the long lines until she asked for it herself (we didn't even try with Annabelle). Rebekah crawled up in his lap and hugged him and touched his beard--she was starstruck! She wouldn't even look at the camera because she wouldn't stop hugging him. She did manage to ask him for a piano. When we left she said, "Santa Claus loves me." On the way home both girls fell asleep and Rebekah never woke up even when Shannon changed her clothes and put her to bed.



On Sunday we went to the Christmas parade, which lasted for over two hours! It was so hot that we were wearing short sleeves, and I took off Annabelle's pants and let her just wear a onesie. I actually saw some little girls in sun dresses. Santa was at the end of the parade, so we hung on until the end. Rebekah and Annabelle both perked up for the marching bands, and of course, I'm encouraging that. I just know I'd be the best band mom ever :)

Cooking has commenced

I have made a caramel-chocolate-pecan pie for the adults and turkey sugar cookies for the kids. The pie filling is made of caramel candies instead of Karo syrup, and the crust is crushed pecans instead of pastry.

Sunday project: fairy castle bedroom

All of us were pretty much stuck at home today because we are sharing one big cold--just in time for the girls to start their new daycare/preschool. I did manage to get a project done. I created a fairy castle bedroom for the girls out of a Wallies paste-up mural. I have been looking at them online and when I saw them on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $14, I couldn't resist. The kit had a big castle and a little one, so it was perfect for the girls' shared room. Take a look:

Rebekah's side

Annabelle's crib

the window between their beds--Granmommy made the letters on the window

Annabelle's side

Some crafty things

Worries over moving have led to insomnia, so what better time to blog? As always, my busy schedule has not prevented me from making little things here and there. Crafting is my favorite means of stress relief.

I've saved all of Rebekah's broken crayons for her whole life, and recently I melted them and made them into new fun shapes. I also made some tractor crayons for James. This is super easy. Just sort the crayons by colors--all the various shades of a color will mix into one shade--and melt them down. I used a pickle jar and set it in a pot of boiling water--they melt fast. Then pour the melted crayons into candy molds that you can get at a craft store for less then $2. Warning--I lost the purple ones because I put too much water in the pot and when it bubbled it knocked over the jar. So not only did I lose all the purple crayons, but I also had to wash them out of my pot.

I have also been saving wine corks for years and I finally did something with them. I painted a plain wooden tray, sliced the corks in half, and glued them down to make a wall decoration for the kitchen. If I were to do it over I wouldn't have cut them--that was tedious--but you'd need a lot more corks.

My favorite crafts lately have been greeting cards. I have found that I spend less time making my own cards than I spend at the store picking one out. I like doing these because if I need to wind down after the kids go to bed, I can just get out my box of supplies and make one. It's nice to be able to have a completed project in one sitting. Here are some I did for Mother's Day. The one with the picture of the girls is my favorite. Click on the picture to see more detail.

Sewing for the girls (not just mine!)

Yesterday I took a couple of hours (really, it only took a couple of hours--I'm getting better at this!) to make some things for Rebekah and Annabelle. I found some great fabric for super easy sundresses, and I got carried away. I started these on Saturday, and spent a lot more time trying to get the sizes right--not easy to convince a two-year-old to stand still for a fitting! But once I had a prototype, the rest went smoothly. I actually made SEVEN--three for Rebekah, two for Gracie and Siera so that all three girls can match when we get together this summer, and a top for me so Rebekah and I can match. I also bought some pink gingham for Annabelle, but I won't be making her dress until I see how big she is. I know it's cheesy, but I couldn't resist the mother/daughters ensemble. I'm hoping that I can wear my top before and after the baby is born--it will be a good transition piece until I can wear my regular clothes again.

I also made Annabelle a lovie blanket to play with. I think she will like the high contrast of the white background and bright dots. I hope she'll get attached to it as a security object because I have enough of that fabric to make another one just like it. And I made her a bright red swaddling blanket. I found this fabric around Valentine's Day and loved it--how often do you see a red baby blanket?

Baby crafts

There are more and more babies all the time! Last year, among my friends and family, there were five new babies, and this year there will be at least five more, not even counting Annabelle. So this week I have been sewing after Rebekah goes to bed at night. It's nice to have a sewing machine now--I can make crafty gifts much more quickly than some of my other hobbies. I actually started crocheting a pair of booties for Annabelle while I was sitting at the hospital waiting on Dad's surgery. I hope I finish them by April, but I can't make any promises. Those little buggers take a long time.

Here's what I've made:

I'm of the opinion that you can't buy a decent baby blanket--they're all too small or too heavy--so I like to give homemade baby blankets as gifts. That also lets me pick out fun patterns and colors. So there are four blankets for four babies coming between now and May. I've already made one for Annabelle, but she'll probably get another one. I don't think that Rebekah is willing to share hers.

I also made this, which came out of my own imagination:

It's a lovey. It's a square of about 11 inches, with bunny ears on one corner and two tails on the another. It doesn't really look like anything, but I think a baby would like it because it is easy to hold in tiny fingers, and it has the fun little pieces on the corners to chew on. And it's safe for a baby to sleep with. And you can throw it in the washing machine. It's a good way to use some scrap fabric. I didn't make one of these for Annabelle, but I probably will later.

Bekah also got a valance in the yellow Care Bear print to go on one of her windows. It doesn't match the valance on the other window, which is a blue Care Bear print, but she picked it out herself. At least we're consistent with the Care Bears. Which is why Annabelle needs new crib bedding. I think big sister's Care Bears are off limits for the new baby.