Archive for the ‘Birthdays’ Category
Miss Me?
Monday, October 19th, 2009
So, I guess you’ve notice it’s been a few days since I’ve blogged. I was on vacay last week in Texas and am just now able to sit down and write a post. I’ve missed you bloggy world!
Our trip there and back went well.The girls were pretty good on the plane flight. I was impressed! We really enjoyed ourselves. The first few days were hectic with planning Katelyn’s 4th birthday part, the actual party itself and then getting our pictures taken but after that things slowed down a bit. I’ll finish our trip recap with some pictures. So, let’s go..
What We Did On Our Trip To Texas Last Week (In Pictures)
We met, held, hugged and kissed on cousin Brooklyn.
A lot….
Madelyn called Brooklyn her “sister baby”. Is that a hint?
Uhhh….help?
Wait…. how did this picture end up here? She gets to hold Brooklyn all the time! (I thought this was the best shot of them!)
We visited with Geemaw and Geempaw and got spoiled rotten.
We ate out at all my favorite restaurants. Which are many in Texas.
We visited with my grandparents…
My uncle James…(who went with all his nieces,nephews and nephew’s in law to see a movie. He’s cool like that)
My sister and her husband…
My brother….(for the record Maddy was still calling him “uncle Bob”)
Katelyn playing with uncle Bryan and Uncle Waylon.
We sang together…
And here’s a little video of our song…
We celebrated Katelyn’s 4th birthday with a big shindig at my parent’s church. It was a Strawberry Shortcake theme.
The kids played some games…
Katelyn opened a ton of presents…
Madelyn even got some presents of her own!
It was a great trip! It went by way too fast. We look forward to hopefully being able to go to our family reunion next summer.
You can see the rest of the pictures from this trip on my Flickr album
I didn’t have to time to edit and fix these pictures at all so they are there in all their uncropped glory. I don’t usually do that but couldn’t wait to post these pictures.
And as usual, you can also check out this album if you go to my “Pictures” tab at the top of my home page. Click on the “October 09 Trip To Texas” link.
Katelyn’s 4th Birthday Party Pictures
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
We celebrated Katelyn’s birthday here at home a little early this year since we’ll be in Texas next week for her actual birthday. I have to say that her party this past Saturday has been the best, most well planned, least-stressed-on-my-part party I’ve thrown at my house.*Pats self on back* I wasn’t running around like a chicken with my head cut off this time. I had signs posted around my house like ” Please don’t use basement bathroom” and a cooler labeled “Water”. Now, you may be wondering why this is even important. I’ll tell you why. Usually when I have parties like this at my house I get asked many times over “Which bathroom should I use? Upstairs or downstairs?” My basement is a huge mess right now and instead of stressing about getting it clean for the party I just decided I wouldn’t clean it therefore no one could use the bathroom down there. Plain and simple. Melissa logic. I put a “water” sign on my cooler in the mudroom so everyone would know where to look to get water. There would be no questions about where they should get water. Tap? Fridge? Aha…right here in this cooler.
This may not sound like a big deal but it lended to the smoother running of things. Mike ended up taking Katelyn to dance that morning while I finished up last minute details. It also helped that my inlaws watched the girls the Friday before while I cleaned and prepared my house.
Here is a run down of the party. You can check out the rest of the pictures on my “Pictures” page. Just go to my blog’s home page and you’ll see “Pictures” at the top. Click on the “Katelyn’s 4th Birthday” link.
The Cake
It was a Princess and Prince themed party. I ordered a princess cake and we had pizza,salad and punch. I allowed myself a tiny moment of guilt for not making Katelyn’s cake myself. And then I moved on. The store I ordered the cake from had just run out of Disney Princess figurines (naturally) so her cake had a crown and scepter on it.
The Birthday Girl
Katelyn was being difficult while I was trying to take these last two pictures. She didn’t want me to take anymore pictures of her at that point, hence the “party pooper” face. The little boy with her in the middle is Keith. He’s a friend from church.
The Party Activities
My mother in law’s kind neighbor was cleaning out her attic and found 13 plain wooden music boxes in plastic wrap that she had gotten for pennies a while back. She didn’t have any use for them so she gave them to me! They were perfect for painting and decorating. I cleared off our train table and set it up as a craft table (another self-congratulatory pat on the back!). I had paints, glitter and stickers for them to decorate with. They seemed to enjoy that. All in all we had nine children and various parents and family attend the party.
Madelyn’s box
It kind of blends in, but, inside the box there’s a wooden heart that pops up when you open the box and spins while the music is playing. Some of the kids painted the hearts or stuck stickers on it. I believe the tune that it plays is “Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies” from “The Nutcracker”.
Katelyn’s box
After painting and eating lunch we played two games. One was a game where I wrapped a Sweet Tarts box many times over and the kids had to pass the gift around while music was playing and whenever the music stopped the child who had the gift got to unwrap a layer. The child who ended up with the box at the last layer of wrapping paper got to keep the gift. The other game we played was “Slipper, Slipper Who’s God The Slipper”. One child sad in the middle of a circle and had to guess which friend had the princess slipper behind their backs.
The Gifts
Katelyn and her friend Lainey(Keith’s, the boy from above, sister)
The Party Favors
My friend, Trish (Lainey and Keith’s mom) is seen here modeling the princess crown and the silly glasses-nose-mustache mask the girls and boys got to wear at the party. Along with those and the music boxes the kids also took home goody bags I put together. The goody bags also had stuff that my mother in law’s neighbor gave me!
So, the party was a success! Now we’re headed to Texas next week to visit my family and while we’re there we’ll celebrate Katelyn’s birthday with my family as well. That girl is spoiled!
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the pictures in my “Pictures” section on my home page.
All About Me On My Birthday
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
Today, I turn 31. I don’t know how that can be. How have I reached my thirties already? I feel 21 still. OR 17.
Some days I still feel like that insecure 17 year old from high school. But, most days, I’m thanking God that I’m not that 17 year old anymore(well, except for wishing I still had the body of that 17-year-old)..
I was 17 and 16 here)
(can you believe I thought I was fat then??)
I was born tiny, at 2 lbs,
(this was my first birthday)
and and never got too much taller! I still wish I could be just a bit taller…
Especially with my very tall husband
(This was taken at my bridal shower)
I used to bite my nails, worry about what other people thought, and hate talking on the phone
I still do those things. Well, most of them. I only bit my nails every now and then.
I used to think it was uncool to hang with my family….
I don’t anymore. Now, I miss them like crazy…
I went from a friendly, sensitive, wear-my-heart-on-my sleeve, singing, dramatic, animal loving, crying-at-the-drop-of-a-hat little girl..
To a friendly, not-so-sensitive, seemed-like-I-was-single-forever, wear-my-heart-on-my sleeve, singing, not-so animal- loving, more reserved, crying-at-the-drop-of-a-hat young woman..
(this was taken when I was 19 or 20 in the infant room where I worked in NH. Can you believe I thought I was fat here too?)
To being a not-single-anymore, mom of two little girls
(our first family shot after Katelyn was born)
To a coffee loving, worship- team- piano -playing and singing, Sunday- School- teaching,blogging addicted stay at home mom
(who, for real now, could stand to lose a few pounds…)
I thank the Lord for all the lessons I’ve learned, the maturing I’ve done, and yes, even the the trials He’s brought me through since then. I thank Him for the husband he’s given me and my beautiful children. And I know He’s not done with me yet!
So, on this day of celebrating my 31st birthday I thought it would be fun to post some “About Me” surveys. You’ll learn more about me than you ever wanted to know!
Alphabet Soup Of My Life
A – Age: 31
B – Bed size: California King
C – Chore you hate: cleaning my tub
D – Dog’s name: Benny
E – Essential start your day item:COFFEE!
F – Favorite color: purple/pink/brown/turquoise
G – Gold or Silver: silver.
H – Height: 5′1 and a half
I – Instruments you play: piano
J – Job title: Prefessional mother.Maid. laundress.cook.errand runner. Kisser of booboos and chocolate milk maker.
K – Kid(s): Katelyn and Madelyn
L – Living arrangements: Own my own house. A 1936 colonial
M – Mom’s name: Aileen
N – Nicknames: Mel, Missy
O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth: appendix out and c-sections
P- Pet Peeve: Too many to list!
Q – Quote from a movie: “I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed but can you ever just be..whelmed?”
R – Right or left handed: right
S – Siblings: Twin sister in Heaven, Melanie, Steph and Bryan
U- First word that comes to your mind for “U”: umbrella?
V – Vegetable you dislike: brussel sprouts
W – Ways you run late: not getting up early enough
X – X-rays you’ve had: knees and back
Y – Yummy food you make: chicken, casseroles and brownies
Z – Zoo favorite: monkeys
My Firsts…
1. Who was your FIRST prom date? We didn’t have prom. We had banquets so I guess it would have been Jason Graham. He was two grades ahead of me. I asked him.
2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? If you count my first love as being my first boyfriend then, yes! It was Mike.
3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? a sip of beer. It was horrible.
4. What was your FIRST job? preschool assistant in TX
5. What was your FIRST car? Honda accord
6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? Nobody yet. But probably will be my sis
7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? My girls
8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? LOL. My parents!
9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? Brazil? Not sure if we flew to a different state in the US before we left for Brazil.
10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? Andrezza Cadete from our church in Brazil. And yes, we still talk on FB
11. Where was your FIRST sleep over? I don’t remember.
12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Mike
13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? Christina and Peter Capobianco
14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Went to the bathroom
15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Rebecca St. James
16. FIRST tattoo? musical staff
17. FIRST piercing? ears
18. FIRST foreign country you’ve been to? Brazil
19. FIRST movie you remember seeing? Care Bears Big Adventure or something like that
20. When was your FIRST detention? in high school. I think it was for tardies? I do remember getting just one.
21. What was the FIRST state you lived in? Oklahoma? I was born there but don’t think I stayed for too long.
22. Who was your FIRST roommate? As in live in a house together? Mike. Steph and I shared a bedroom as kids so I guess it could be her.
23. If you had one wish, what would it be? To move to TX
24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance? cake decorating or sign language
Madelyn’s Birthday Pictures
Friday, August 28th, 2009
My first “official” post on my new blog design! I’m still getting used to how this works so this post actually took me awhile to finish. I finally got through the 300+ pictures Mike took of Madelyn’s party last week. As with all the parties I host, I need two of me. One to hostess and one to take all the pictures that I want.(Did I mention my hubby isn’t very good with the camera! lol) We had a cookout with family and friends. There were 9 kids that came. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The theme was teddy bears.I didn’t make Madelyn’s cake this year. I felt very guilty about it but with the stress of trying to move things around that week I felt justified in ordering her cake from a bakery. It really simplified things and made things easier. It was beautiful and delicious!I was going to try to make a teddy bear cake and that would have taken a lot of time! I gave out cloth party favor bags with bears on them. My mother in law’s neighbor was going through a bunch of her stuff and she found that she had a ton of these nice, cloth party favor bags with bears on them, party hats with bears on them, a box of tops and jacks and other party favor stuff. She gave them all to me! So I put crayons, sticky notes, tops and jacks in the the bags. I only paid for the crayons and sticky notes, and those I got on sale at Walmart!! What kid doesn’t love sticky notes? Madelyn got a lot of nice toys too. It eventually started to rain so we all had to squeeze inside but thankfully we had eaten and hang out outside for a bit before that happened.
The birthday girl….
The cake…. 
The opening of gifts…
The family and friends….
Uncle Bob and his daughter Kara
Nana and Papa with their three granddaughters
And one more of the birthday girl…(Mike does get kudos for this one)..
