Taylor's Tea Party

Today is the day before my Taylor Ann turns three years old.  She got to have two little friends over for a "Max & Ruby" tea party!  I have been so excited, because this is the fun part of having a girl...pink, pink, pink!  I loved being able to invite Taylor's two "first" friends, and it just so happens that their mamas are a couple of "my" best buds, too!!!

Being on a very strict budget, I almost cancelled it, but then I realized that since her birthday is right after Valentine's Day....I got ALL the decor and much of the snacks for 75% off regular price!  I will write about how fun it was to do this party with a tiny budget on my Money Saving Blog !  PLUS, the main decoration was a hand-painted poster of Taylor's Favorite T.V. friends,  MAX & RUBY, from my dear friend Karen !! 

Thanks Karen!!!

We started out with some free play for the girls, then rounded them up for snacks.  We had pigs-in-a-blanket, strawberries & grapes, strawberry jam sammies, vanilla goldfish that took dips in pink icing, and all sorts of little "pink" goodies.  Then we moved them right along to the strawberry "Max & Ruby" cake with pink ice cream.  Taylor tried so hard to blow out her three candles, but wasn't quite windy enough...thank goodness she has friends to help out! 

All she wanted from me for her bday was a Max & Ruby cake...she got it!!

Next, we let the girls open presents and goody bags.  Taylor got a Dora puzzle and a Fur-Real puppy from Gracie. She has been doctoring it all day, it looks and sounds so real! LOL!  She got a hand-made Max & Ruby coloring book (thoughtful and must have taken forever to make!!), a Max & Ruby sticker book, and a golden dog from Katie...she is coloring right now with her new crayons!! 

Later, after everyone had left, I was cleaning and Taylor comes up to me and says, "Mommy, I really really loved my birthday...tank you for my party!"   Seriously????  I just stopped in the middle of what i was doing and grabbed her up and hugged her... for a long time....I just love this little girl.
                                               Happy Tea Party, Taylor Ann !!! 

Taking time to "just" play

I was busy cleaning upstairs when I hear Taylor just playing away...all by herself, talking, chit-chatting, and having a great time.  She was playing with little animals pretending to doctor them and help them find their Mamas...babies kept getting lost and she would "help" them all feel better and find the way home and back to Mama...I just love her and her sweet ways!  Blake would have been destroying something, but I guess that's why they call him a "boy"!! 

Anyways, I finished up the laundry and then decided to join Taylor in some playtime...we started off singing songs with motions then we decided to play Little People.  She had to be the dog (always something with animals) and I was the veterinarian that works at the firehouse?!?!?  Don't ask, because she WILL have the answer and it will be LONG...lol!!  We played for about 45 minutes which is forever for busy-body me!!  Lately, I'm paying attention to how fast she is growing up and trying my best to take time to play and enjoy...we had the best time and even though she was upset when I stopped playing, she got over it quickly, and returned to playing.  WILL play again later today because, I "promised" !!

Time out for a movie and a good cry

Monday, I could tell that it was the first day back to school after a prolonged "snow day" vacation...it was difficult for us to wake up, get ready, and get to school on time.  By the time Taylor and I headed to pick Blake up, we were both exhausted and cranky...Blake was no different. 

I thought the kids might be coming down with a cold or something, because of how emotional and moody they both were...Billy is busy with the boat show, so I decided to skip making dinner and just order a pizza.  We had our pizza and all three settled in our big comfy chair to watch "Where the Red Fern Grows".  It was on TV and was my favorite book ever!!

I know this might not seem like a BIG deal...easy dinner and movie with the kids, BUT....for us, it is!!  I cannot tell you the last time I watched a movie with them...I always plan to, but the movie barely begins and I run around to clean, do dishes, fold the last load of laundry, check my email, answer the phone...etc...  This time, I literally sat with one kid on each side of me...my arms were around them (i couldn't even wipe my own tears from this heart-wrenching movie), and we all "watched"...the WHOLE movie!!  We all cried, talked about the events afterwards and then cuddled up in bed together and was asleep by 8pm!  That was an easy early night that we all needed!

It's a Bell Pepper "Taste Test"

I set the kids up to take a bell pepper "taste test".  Their assignment was to taste all three colors of peppers and report which they like the best...I can't believe it actually worked, but it got Blake to eat them all up!!  Taylor loves all veggies, but Blake doesn't even want to try them usually!

The OUTCOME.....Blake voted for the red, because it was the sweetest and Taylor voted, " I yike dem' ALL tree"  She loved them all!!

100 items for the 100th Day of First Grade

Blake could not decide what 100 items to pick, so we decided to just do 100 stickers and write out "100" on the front of his shirt, but after working mega hard, by the next morning ALL the stickers peeled off!!  So, back to square one!!!

He decided that he wanted to use his cards hat, so we strung 25 items on each of the 4 strings.  He picked bells, cheerios, buttons, and letter beads that spell out " BLAKE WAYNE SULLIVAN AWESOME"

All by herself

My baby girl is growing up so fast!  Taylor is 2 years old, soon to be 3.  She is becomming such a Big Girl...Last night, she came in got undressed, went potty, put on her pj's, and was ready for bed!!!   I'm happy BUT at the same time SAD!

I almost forgot about the "other" stuff she did "all by herself" 

lipstick

This looks scary to me!!

AND...she was excited to find "the biggest band-aid" EVER !!

Making bird feeders

Blake had a homework assignment, building a bird feeder.  Actually two different kinds.  All of  us got involved and had a blast!

Taylor made a "bagel" bird feeder.  Thanks to my friend, Karen, for the idea...we took half of a whole wheat bagel, smeared the flat side with peanut butter, and dipped it into wild birdseed.

Gotta take a break to lick the spoons!

Blake made a pine cone feeder.  We used one of the pine cones that we picked up this fall on a walk to school, spread peanut butter on it and rolled it in the birdseed. 



Finished product!

 For the final one...we used an empty peanut butter container to make a "real" feeder!  Of course, when Daddy gets involved the power tools have to be included too!!

Their favorite part was "feeling" the seed...and making a huge mess!

This one got taken by a squirrel...Taylor was so mad!