good for a wildcat....PARTY!!!!

We had so much fun celebrating our little guy last night!  We always feel so blessed as our house fills with those who love our children so much! 

It's really hard to believe Mason is 3.  REALLY hard to believe.  I have a small pit in my stomach at the thought of having 2 preschoolers.  Not babies, not toddlers.  PRE-SCHOOLERS.  If you ask me, that's not fair one bit.  Time should NOT go this fast.  

But at least it gives us a reason to party!  And this house was full of purple pride all day yesterday!  Starting with a K-State win over Mizzou, and ending with a house full of purple people, eating purple cake!

My parents are here for the weekend - it's always so fun to have them here for the kids' parties.  We started the day off at Drubers, and then home to watch K-State play and get ready for a PARTAY!!!!

Here's a peak at his K-State party...

Game Day gift bags for the cousins who LOVE K-State too, so we know this stuff will be put to good use!

We had some face-painting...

and then the K-State fight song before opening presents...

We had him open up his present from Nana and Papa, and he had NO idea what was coming next!

We kept asking him what he was going to need a helmet for if he didn't have a bike, and he really wasn't sure.

Then Daddy came in from the garage with this...

I didn't catch it on camera, but his expression was precious!

I know it looks big.  We were afraid it would be. With Taylor, we bought her the 12 inch bike, it was perfect size, but she is pretty much already grown out of it.  So we felt like we didn't really get that much use out of it.  And being a Princess bike, we couldn't pass it down to Mason.  So this time around we went for the bigger bike.  Even if it meant he had to grow into a bit, we have some time before summer gets here.

But to our surprise, he can do it!!

We had to pretty much BEG him to come in for cake and ice cream.  He did NOT want to stop riding his bike.  It was freezing cold and dark - but he rode in circles around the deck maybe 100 times.  Then took a quick break to continue the celebration.

And then right back outside.

Plus some more hoops while not letting go of his balloon,

and a fun puzzle that he got from Nana and Papa.

And tomorrow he turns 3.  We'll be spending the day doing a few extra special things with our favorite little guy!!

a purple kind of day

If you come to our house today, you'll see lots of this....

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This little guy is turning 3 on Monday. 

And by his request - today we are celebrating with a K-State party!!! 

The game is on now - he's upstairs shooting baskets in his K-State jersey, pausing to watch Jacob Pullen rain down 3's.

(check out his form!)

While this sits on the counter as far away from the ball as it can possibly be,

we've got the purple face paint ready to go,

and family will be joining us for a "tailgate" dinner and K-State fun!

I'm glad I have parties to distract me from what's really happening right now - my baby is turning 3!!

Seriously.  Why does this have to happen?

our week

Sunday:

On a whim, I decided to finally put a post on Craigslist to try to sell my car.  My 1994 Nissan Sentra, that my parents gave me for Christmas my junior year of high school.  (thanks to my dad for reminding me of some of those details!) So I've had this car for just over 11 years.  It drove me back and forth to high school and back and forth from Winfield to Manhattan for college.  Then it drove me from Manhattan to Newton many many weekends after Dave graduated and moved back home.  And once we were married, it's carried our children in infant seats, and then toddler seats.  It's taken my hubby back and forth from work and home many many days.  It had super gas mileage and required very little work over the years.  But having a collection of 5 vehicles (Dave's truck, the Nissan, Dave's Cuda, my grandpa's old truck, and now the Durango we just bought which is a story all of it's own) is not very realistic, nor do we have room for them.  And it's really bad when our children begin counting them up and commenting on how many we have!

 So we decided we'd sell the Nissan.  I posted it on Sunday afternoon on Craigslist before I laid down for a nap.  We had no idea what to expect.  But we definitely weren't expecting the outcome we got.  And I was definitely expecting to get a nap in.  But instead, In the first 5 minutes, Dave got 3 calls.  All 3 people headed from Wichita to our house.  Dave informed them all that others were coming at the same time.  So we rushed out to clean the car up a bit and figure out what in the world we even needed to know to sell a car on the spot like that!  They all 3 were here at the same time, taking turns driving it.  The 2nd guy was willing to pay just what we wanted for it.  He handed us cash, we wrote up a bill of sale on a piece of paper, signed over the title, grabbed all our stuff out of it, and he was gone. 

In the mean time Dave's phone continued to ring off the hook all day.
5 minutes plus 30 minutes drive time - the car was sold.

As calls kept coming in we just laughed.  We laughed because it was JUST what we needed.
This waiting game as we try to sell our house is frustrating.  And although the car is NOTHING in comparison to the house, we know that God knew we needed a pick-me-up. And selling the car that fast gave us just that. 

Dave did tell the guy that if he would buy our house he'd throw in the car for free. Unfortuneately for us, he just bought a new home. And yes, I did stand there and take a picture of the guy driving away in the car, even though my husband told me not to.

Monday {Valentine's Day}:

Dave came home from work with a rose for his 2 girls.  Mine was red, Taylor's was pink.  Mason got a Hot Wheels.  We felt so loved!  He decided he wanted to start a tradition of this - a rose for his little girl every V-Day. We wondered if she'd really care about a rose.  But she surprised us and was SOOOO thrilled.  Her reaction was priceless. 

  
That night we had a SUPER FUN couples party with our small group!  Laurel had such fun decorations with a fancy table set. The guys planned the dinner. Steaks, chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, bread, fruit kabobs, green bean casserole and even walked around the table serving it to us.  It was so sweet! 

Tuesday:

I hear I missed a fabulous M2M night at our church.  They rescheduled for a night I had a show, so I was bummed to miss it.  Even more bummed after I heard how amazing it was.  On the upside - God is always working.  He sent me to a hostesses home that NEEDED a night to focus on other things than what was going on in her life at the time.  She needed to laugh and enjoy friends.  I didn't know this till I got there.  The night was such a blessing to her I think, and to me too.


Wednesday:

I got sick.  Nana saved half the day by watching the kids.

Thursday:

Still sick.  And the day was just overall depressing.  With such beautiful weather I hated being stuck in the house feeling so awful just resting.  I wanted to be outside with my kids.  Instead, they got to enjoy the day with Aunt Barb, and had plenty of time outside.  I was just sad it wasn't with me.  The weather made me want to clean, but my body couldn't do it.  Instead I got more down by looking at how messy my house was around me and having no energy to do anything about it. 

So I made steaks and sweet potato fries for dinner - trying to make the day a bit better.  And a DQ trip and some American Idol with the family definitely helped too.

Taylor is doing such a good job writing her name.  The only letter I helped her with was the Z.  Man, not many kids have to learn that one, huh?

Oh, and my hubby bought a new toy that he thinks will come in handy if we get our new house.  If we don't get it - I guess we'll just sell it.  I'll let you guess what it is :-) 

Friday:

Date Night!!!  The kids are headed to Aunt Stefanie and Uncle Steve's house for a slumber party - and we are headed to dinner and a movie- praying I can actually breath out of my nose.

Saturday:

Hockey Game!



Hope you're enjoying your week!  I'm praying I can enjoy some of this beautiful weather soon!

what I {heart}

So in honor of the {heart} holiday soon approaching, I thought I'd share some of the things that I love. Not the obvious ones, like my handsome husband, and my precious kiddos and such.  I wanted to share some of the less important things that I love - but still very important to me!

1.  I {heart} a cup of hot french vanilla cappuchino every morning.  I do NOT love coffee, nor like it.  But give me a cup of this mix, and I'm in love.

2.  I {heart} a clean shaven face on my hubby.  I never new I loved this so much until he decided he wanted to grow a beard.  He says it keeps him warm when he's working out in the cold.  He has NEVER in his life done this before, so I'm not sure what got into him. Luckily he shaved it off yesterday. 

3. I {heart} naps.   

4.  I {heart} cooking.  I really do. The feeling of putting a yummy dinner on the table that my family loves is one of my favorite things!  Especially when I can tell my hubby is in heaven over it.

5.  I {heart} Cape Cod jalapeno sweet and spicy chips from Dillons.

6.  I {heart} Bavarian cream bismarks from Drubers.  With a cup of my cappuchino.  And I especially love when my hubby surprises me with one.

7.  I {heart} my long cardigans from Target - and layering them on everything - especially dresses with jeans or leggings.

8.  I {heart} Lisa Leonard's "What I Wore Wednesday" posts.  I forget to check every week - so some weeks I scroll back and catch up on her cute outfits from the past weeks.  She's why I love my target sweaters so much, and dresses with jeans.

9.  I {heart} being encouraged and inspired by the daily posts and devotions at Proverbs31 Ministries and (In)Courage.

10.  I {heart} Pepsi.  Surely some of you had no idea of this one, right?  Maybe this should have been at the top of the list.  It's a good week when I have all 3 in stock at home.

11.  I {heart} nachos - both the concession stand type and the kind I make at home....plate full of tortilla chips, with melted cheddar cheese, salsa poured over the top, and my newest addition is a spoonful of sour cream and a pile of jalapenos.  Yummmmm.  (with a Pepsi)

12.  I {heart} the Jesus Storybook Bible.  Not just for my kids.  I love it for ME too!  Seriously, it has gotten me so excited about God's Word and the stories from history that all point to God's plan to save the world.   I know it's written for kids to understand - but wow, I'm learning so much and noticing details and connections that I have never seen before!

13.  I {heart} greasy cheese fries with yummy ranch. If this is before a medium rare steak, it's even more perfect!

14.  I obviously {heart} food, seeing as just about half of these loves are food-related. 

15.  I {heart} tshirts and sweats.  

So what do you {heart}?

a dose of spring

How about some spring fashion in the midst of this massive amount of snow that was just dumped on us?

I always try to share a bit of the newest season's fashion at my jewelry shows.  I'm not an expert.  In fact, I find the research kind of overwhelming.  Lots of resources state different things.  BUT, there are always a few trends that I see repeated across the board.  And really all in all, you'll probably be pleased to know that the new trends aren't too far off last year - so I bet most of your 2010 pieces will still be very much in style!

So are you ready for a little spring????
Here's a hint: stripes, florals, and khakis—HUGE.

There will be lots of feminine details - sheer fabrics, lace, florals and ruffles

Banana Republic

Flowers on everything...

purse and sandels from Banana Republic

 Old Navy

Old Navy

There will be a 70's comeback - and leading the way will be the high waisted-wide leg trousers.  But don't worry, you don't have to get rid of your skinny jeans yet, it might just be a good time to re-introduce a pair or two of wider-legged pants into the mix.

Old Navy

Old Navy



The HOT colors will be orange, green, honeysuckle, and blue. The combination of honeysuckle and vibrant blue means that we could be seeing some of the coolest and brightest looks we've seen in a long time. In one place I read that we should think CANDY COLORS!! The trick with color is that you want the right bold color near your face. Everyone has at least one bold color that looks good on them.

Check out Spring's Color Palette to see examples of all the colors.

You'll also see lots of stripes - especially with a nautical theme

I am pretty sure this was from Kohls

Old Navy

And lots of military inspired/surplus looks...

Old Navy

Banana Republic

And when you're not participating the bright candy colors, neutrals will be a great look this season too...

Banana Republic

Another fun thing about this spring is that you'll be seeing lots of prints.  But it’s not just the prints, it’s the mixing and matching of prints. This means you can have more creativity, it conforms to thrift-store shopping ethics, and lets you wear pieces you have in more ways than you ever thought possible.  You can go as simple or as crazy as you'd like. 

source

So there you go.  A little peak at some spring.  Hopefully that brought some sunshine to your day, and not just the urge to go spend lots of money!  If so, don't blame me. Or at least take me with you.

18 inches

I'm not actually sure how many inches of snow we have.  I've heard all different amounts from all different credible sources.  But I'm going with 18inches, that's what I've been hearing the most. 

We took the kids outside while Daddy started shoveling, while he was waiting to get the snow blower from the neighbor.

In the mean time this showed up...

Friends with big toys come in handy sometimes.

So we're playing in the snow again today, and hoping to go sledding later.

Mason helped Daddy shovel.  Then he decided he wanted to go inside.  So we took all the winter gear off, and then he informed me that once his hands were warmed back up, he was going to come back out.
Oh REALLY???
2 minutes later, he was ready.  So everything went back on.

 Man, we have a lot of snow.