Happy Birthday Madison!!!

We had so much fun putting together Madison's Princess Party! Here are some highlights... a video follows if you want to see A LOT of photos of all the girls! :)

Our Invitations! We attached them to tiara's for all the girls.

Instead of taking cupcakes to preschool, we took jump ropes instead!

The big day arrives...

The CAKE!

Room Decor

Cake on the table, ready to go!

Treat Bags - many other contents added as activities were accomplished.

Necklace making station

Wand Making

Our own "Bibbity Bobbity Boutique!" We let the girls pick their own lip color to take home, painted nails, put on make-up, dusted them with hair glitter, picked our rings and bracelets! Popular station!!!

Madison waiting for the "royalty" to arrive

Jordan wanted to dress up too - every castle needs a guard!

Make-up

The whole crew! What a party!!!

We had a great time and most importantly, Madison had a "BALL". She loved it!

Click on the video to enjoy more photos!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It was a Fairy Tale day...

And this little princess:

Is now FIVE years old.

It's been a *lovely* day! The fairy godmother is exhausted and will have to post our lovely birthday adventures in the morning.

Sweet Dreams Madison!

Pay it forward

How cute is this idea??? Got this from Autumn. Here goes!

The RULES

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!
2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your 3 Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!

Don't forget to e mail me your address!!! (heidi@brianheidi.com)

READY, SET, PLAY!

Happy Valentines Day!

I'm getting ready to sit down to a special dinner with my favorite people: My family!

Shrimp cocktails, steak with onions and mushrooms, ceasar salad, broccoli, au gratin potatoes, pink lemonade... HEAVEN!

After we are making sugar cookies, eating ice cream, diving into the chocolate and playing wii games as a family. Gosh I love these people!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Valentine Box for 2009

Some of you may remember the Valentine box last year for Taylor. It was that time again, and we wanted something better than last year. You know... BETTER.

So this is the Valentine box for 2009! (What am I going to do next year when I have TWO to make?)






He wouldn't let me put "Taylor's Toilet" or "It's time to POTTY!" on it. Darn.

I hear voices early in the morning

I hear these voices clear as a bell. Especially around 5:45-6:00 AM.

This morning the voice sounded like Reagan.

*reagan*: "Mommy? Can you share?"
*me*: "Uhhh *groan, moan*... What? What do you need?"
*reagan*: "Mommy? Can you share?"
*me*: "Reagan, what do you need me to share?"
*reagan*: Mommy? Can you share your pillow?

We are trying HARD to get her to stay in her own bed. Since Brian is the one that puts her to bed at night and is the "enforcer", she waits until he leaves for work. Because really? How in the world am I going to say NO to the little darling that wants to "share" my pillow?

Reagan has been great at nap time recently. (Boy does this kid need a nap every day. I've never had a good napper so this whole thing is WEIRD.) Nigel (the cat) has been taking naps with her. Sometimes he's a great protector. He's not so nice when he wakes her up.

Reagan and Nigel in dreamland today after taking Madison to preschool. (So tired I couldn't get her coat off before she zonked out.)

In Memory of Grandma Banham

This evening, my grandma, Erma Lyla Young Banham, passed away at the age of 93.

She was a *wonderful* woman whom I will always admire.

Grandma holding Jordan when he was a baby:

Grandma with Jordan and Taylor:

Our 4 generation photo after Madison was born:

Love you grandma! Thanks so much for EVERYTHING! For your caring nature, your soft sweet voice, your example and your courage. We will miss you something awful, but know you have been welcomed "home" to once again be with your sweetheart and lovely daughter who was gone too soon.

Grandma loved pink roses and I must think of getting a nice rosebush to plant in our yard which was once her yard. My home will always be filled with memories of her as my house was hers for so many years. I'm so grateful to have constant reminders of her love around me. :)

Wow. I stink at blogging this year.

Seriously.

Has it really been that long since I blogged? Wow.

I know you've all been waiting for another entry... that is evident by the hundreds of emails I've received wanting me to grace you with my presence. Those are all really nice by the way.

I shall try and highlight all that has happened in the past few weeks, just so we're up to speed.

* Reagan went a full 4 weeks without passing out. She broke that fantastic streak last night however, and we shall begin the count once again. Maybe she can go for 8 weeks this time. Heck, I'd rather it just end forever.

* Had a way ultra fun cooking class at my house on Crepe making. mmmm... crepes....

* Taylor had a blast building a car for the pinewood derby. Fantastic, fun, sweet neighbors brought over the movie "Down and Derby" the day before the race to "pump us up". WAY cute movie for the cub scout age... my boys laughed their pants off. If anyone wants to borrow it I might let you. It was nice to watch a real family film and not worry about "content".

*I was a slacker mom and ran out the door to the pinewood derby without the camera. I have no pictures of Taylor nor his car.

*The house has been spotless and filthy again about 15 times over.

*Jordan has only missed ONE WORD on a spelling test this entire school year.

*Taylor is sick of writing and getting a C- in that portion of his reading grade. Frankly, I'm sick of him writing too, and I don't give a flying flip that he's getting that grade. He loves to read and constantly has his nose in a book. He would do fine if he didn't have a writing assignment every week that required "webbing" out a story, writing one, having an adult "proof" it, and then re-writing a final copy. EVERY WEEK. He's getting an A in math and 2 B-'s in his "reading" classes. Honestly? I think maybe it's a teacher issue and I wrote a note today saying:
"If Taylor is doing so terrible in reading (which is pretty evident from the grade he's been given), then why has he not been moved to a lower reading class?"

Looking forward to a response back. Most likely by email since these teachers seem to fear calling me on the telephone.

*Madison has become even more of a picky eater. Which is surprising because I thought we couldn't get much worse. Soup last night could not be eaten because she saw a piece of celery.

*I've been on the computer a lot, just not blogging because I'm making preparations for our Disney World trip. In May. And it must be planned out now. We have made a countdown chain, worked a "disney dollar" reward system into household chores and the kids work like crazy. I'll be honest: The kids are excited, but I can hardly stand waiting this long. I have never needed a vacation so badly. Every day a chain is taken off the countdown, I breathe a little easier knowing it's actually coming.

*Brian has been working HARD on our master bedroom. Won't be completed forever, but there are noticeable changes that have taken place. Plumbing is almost all in and there is even a door and stairs leading up to our little haven. Can't wait until it's finished.

That's that! :)