the "almost" slumber birthday party

Oh, the "almost" slumber party!  It has come and gone, and we all survived. :)  We celebrated Meredith's 10th birthday party with another Dramatic Fanatic themed party...this one with a slumber party theme.  Again, it was a hit for all involved.  (We did a similar camping themed party for Claire's 10th birthday a couple of years ago.)  

For several reasons, we chose to do an "almost" slumber party instead of an actual slumber party.  One of those reasons included the fact that there were 20 girls here that evening celebrating.  What a fun time, though!

The girls had the option of coming in character or in their pajamas.  I scoured Pinterest for as many slumber party/sleepover party ideas that I could find.  You know me, I chose the cutest, easiest ones. :)  All of these ideas (and more!) including the printables and recipes that I used are on my almost slumber party Pinterest board.  

Here are some photos from the setup:

The Menu:
-sleeping bags (not pictured because I didn't have them baked when I took the photos): crescent rolls filled with pepperoni and cheese with dipping sauce on the side
-yogurt bar: yogurt in individual cups with strawberries, blueberries, and granola for toppings
-bed bugs: red and green grapes on small kabob sticks
-cuties
-bacon and eggs: white almond bark with little m&ms and pretzel sticks
-crispy bites: rice krispy treats made with fruity pebbles cereal on small popsicle sticks
-donut pops: donut holes on kabob sticks (by the way, I just wrapped a shallow box with kraft paper and poked holes in it for the donut pops holder)
-donuts
-water bottles: covered with fun duct tape and an owl sticker
*the food label stands are sitting in jumbo marshmallows...they worked perfectly for our camping themed party, so I used the idea again.

I decorated the tables with cereal-filled jars.  I added some larger cereal bowls and spoons as decor as well.  Believe it or not, all of the cereal in the jars and bowls was eaten by the end of the night!  It totally cracked me up.

Streamers were used to make a photo shoot area which was a fun addition:

The girls watched a movie and ate popcorn to end their night.  I found the popcorn bags on Amazon:

We sent home little boxes of cereal with the girls:

...and a little note on the back:

This was a really fun party to put together!  The owl theme was sweet, and I went with it because I found printables and matching duct tape.  Meredith had a great time and so did all of the girls.  I always love planning for and doing parties like these, but I'm also thankful to not have to do them every year.  I don't think my sanity could handle it.  Now, I get a three year break until Amelia's. Whew! :)

Happy Birthday, Meredith!

Happy Birthday, Meredith!  You are officially ten years old, and it doesn't quite seem possible that we've had you that long.  However, my photo records prove that we've celebrated each and every birthday up to this point.  It must be true. :)  

Since we kind of go "all out" for 10th birthdays around here (I'll post about her party soon), I thought I would put together some photos to document Meredith's ten years.  

#1: Day 1.  Really practically minute one.  What our anesthesiologist lacked in timeliness, he made up for in photography skills.  Since she was a c-section baby, I have photos of her literally half in/half out.  They are some of the neatest photos (as long as you're not grossed out by that kind of thing).  This particular one was probably 5 minutes after she was born, but I just love how we're holding hands.  Meredith is a complete cuddle bug, and I'm not surprised that we're touching already. :) 

#2:  Six months old.  Such a fun age.  So much personality.  She was a very pleasant baby, and I'm certain I had no major complaints.  By this point, her hair had finally calmed down a bit, and we were starting to drop the nickname, "Crazy Hair Mer."

#3:  Age 2.  This photo was taken on her 2nd birthday.  I remember making cupcakes with little ducks or chicks on them for her.  They were kind of last minute, and we ate them at my parents' house.  It wasn't much of a celebration. :)

#4: Age 3.  Three fingers in the mouth, elephant in the other hand, happy toddler.  This is the point in life when we started fighting over socks.  We would have 20 minute battles over wearing socks or not wearing socks.  It was a huge deal for her for several years.

#5: Age 4.  Not battling those socks anymore.  Embracing sockless winters with the agreement that she didn't have to wear socks as long as she didn't complain if her feet were cold.  We found fuzzy shoes and boots that helped as well.  This was also the point in life when I wondered where my sweet little toddler had run off to.  These were some very trying times in parenthood.  Meredith was all over the board emotionally, and most of her wardrobe bothered her when she touched it or looked at it.  Whites and stripes hurt her eyes.  Pants were too tight.  Shirts itched.  Shoes were too tight. There was a lot of stomping, screaming, and crying.  She fought a lot of things.  This was a hard stage to navigate.  But she also had this soft, sweet side which is captured so beautifully in this photo.  I honestly didn't understand how two very different personalities could be possessed by one child.

#6: Age 5.  Lots of prayers.  Lots of patience.  A few clothing items that she would wear over and over and over and over and over again.  Taking into consideration that this child valued comfort above all and that she was ultra sensitive to touch and smell made life much more tolerable during these days.  It was a learning process for all of us.  Still wouldn't wear socks.  This photo shows her painting, and she just loves all things artsy.  

#7: Age 6.  She's coming along.  Still no socks.  Still no white shirts.  Still no jeans.  Finding more pleasant days than unpleasant days during this time.  That newest little sister of hers (Olivia) fully brought out her most admirable qualities, and they often comforted each other in their times of need.  I snapped this photo to get an idea of lighting as I was prepping for Olivia's newborn photos.  The lighting was beautiful, and I've always loved this image of her.  

#8: Age 7.  She's wearing socks with her tennis shoes...now this is progress!  She's down to having an emotional outburst probably once a week which seems like such an enormous improvement from the three previous years.  The Lord is kind.  Her love and compassion for others is shining through everywhere, and that littlest sister of hers is one of her very favorite people in the entire world.

#9: Age 8.  We've completely figured out the wardrobe.  Black knit pants and nice soft shirts.  We've come a long way. :)

#10: Age 9.  Kind, compassionate, caring, and as sweet as sugar.  Begs each and everyday for another little brother or sister to love...which doesn't surprise me at all.  Wears jeggings, socks, and several different shirts. :) Major growth spurt on so many levels.

#11: Age 10.  This photo was taken on Friday.  We hosted her 10th birthday party.  She played an actress in the drama for the evening which is why she looks especially grown up.  I'd be tempted to say, "Slow down!" But she's only getting better with age.

Meredith, 

You are sweet, spunky, compassionate, and creative.  Art and babies are your two favorite things, and your heart is as big as your smile.  You told me yesterday that you hope to buy an island house in the middle of a lake, get two dogs, and live there painting pictures.  You are so encouraging and such a great teacher to the younger people around you.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if you decide to be an elementary art teacher someday.  What a blessing you are to our family.  We love you more than you know. 

On a side note, I've thought a lot about what I might have told myself had I known that good days were on the other side of those rough years.  I don't know exactly what I would have told myself other than encouragement that is so obvious: This too shall pass.  

It did.  At the time, though, I think I was clinging to the most positive personality aspects of Meredith that I could see, and I prayed so often that those would shine through someday.  I knew they were there, I just didn't know how to make them stay.  When we made it through a day without conflict, I rejoiced.  I found a lot of comfort in my friends.  I found a lot of comfort in my prayers.  

I found that the more I knew and understood the things that set her off, the better I could prepare her for the next task or event.  She needed downtime, physical touch, and a lot of rest, not to mention she doesn't like to be surprised about what's coming next.  It's been a learning process along the way and continues to be.  

May I remember these things as we deal with all of the bumps, u-turns, potholes, and detours along this road ahead.  And during the quieter and more pleasant days, I pray I remember to take lots of photos and to be especially thankful for the beautiful landscape that surrounds me.  

lego mania

I am not exaggerating when I say that the girls spent the entire weekend playing with legos.  They built, sorted, and made an entire little village on the one side of our playroom.

Two funny/scary things came out of this.

First of all, Olivia obviously walked through one area of the village and wasn't quite as careful as she should have been.  Amelia commented, "I think a tornado came through here!"  Meredith responded, "I think it was a Livi tornado."

Second story:
Did you know that you can download lego plans from their website?  People are pretty rough on their instruction guides around here.  So, when the girls were putting together some of their older sets this weekend, they had the computer sitting down low on a kitchen chair so that they could see the plans from the computer.

Our laptop typically sits on the counter right next to where they have been working this weekend.  At one point this morning, I heard Olivia say to one of her sisters, "I held the computer, and I didn't even drop it."

Cue pride from the child.  Cue panic from the mother.

We then had a very serious discussion about how "you may NOT move Mommy's computer! You may ask Mommy to move it for you, but you may not move it yourself!"  ...followed by prayers of thanksgiving that she didn't drop it. :)  Whew!!

the first post of 2015

January.  The month for New Year's resolutions.  I definitely have a few goals for the year, yet I don't think I'm doing so well thus far.

Per the recommendation of my blogger buddy, Sarah, I started an Instagram account.  This may or may not be contributing to my lack of blogging.  More than likely, it is.  However, I confess that I've been really enjoying not being on the computer much lately.  And I confess: I love Instagram...like, really love it. 

Plus, I have that fancy new smart phone.  And who blogs from a smart phone?  No one.  I Instagram and Facebook from my smart phone.  They're so easy, but they're certainly not my blog.  And I love my blog.  

One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog once a week.  I'm obviously not doing well because it's January 23, and this is my first post of the year.  I'm not even including a picture.  Shameful, I know.  We'll see how I do.  

We've been enjoying a lot of downtime since Christmas, even since school resumed the first full week of the year.  It has been nice.  One of my other New Year's resolutions was to go to bed earlier and get up at a consistent time in the morning.  I'm always all over the board.  My friend, Deanna, is totally keeping me accountable for this one.  And until tonight, I've done extremely well at keeping my curfew.  Tonight? I've blown it already, so why not blog a little more?

Claire and I are spending a weekend together next weekend, Meredith's 10th birthday is just around the corner, and I have weekends out of town for various reasons through May.  I feel like I've been a planning fool over the last couple of weeks, and it seems that there is still a lot to do.  Putting out the hottest fires first.  I know everything will come together, but I've got way more tabs open in my mind than I'd like.  

Did I mention that our Christmas decor hasn't yet left the house?  I didn't, I know.  That's because it should be embarrassing.  Most of it is finally in boxes, but the tree is definitely still standing in our kitchen with lights on it.  This is, BY FAR, the latest it's ever still been standing.  You can call it "festive," but it's definitely because I'm lazy and didn't insist that my husband find the Christmas boxes in the barn until this week.

You know those people that pull their Christmas decor out in October?  Yeah, we're like them only backwards.  We're leaving ours up until February...maybe.

I must admit, though, I haven't minded.  It's made January a bit more festive in our home. :)  Sometimes our trees are literally falling apart if we stare too long at them, but I'm pretty sure we bought the most hearty, glorious tree of the bunch.  As soon as we saw it, we claimed it.  (The Hallelujah Chorus may or may not have played as we looked at it for the first time.)  We definitely got our money's worth this year.

Okay, back to 2015...I'm completely looking forward to this year.  It feels like we're growing up a lot.  The girls' birthday stretch is upon us, and when it's through, we're going to have a 12, 10, 7, and 4 year old.  Boy, those numbers look big.  

Parenting this 9-12 year old stage is an interesting journey.  It has reminded me of my early years of parenting when I had zero clue on what to do.  I read so many parenting books then, and I have felt the need to do the same with this era.  I feel like I am constantly sponging information off other moms who have been there/done that.  They are secretly my mentors, and I am beyond grateful for them.  I have found myself praying for my children more than ever.  Obviously, as a parent, I know that I'm having an impact on my children, yet the weightiness of it all has really been impressed on me recently.  I'm stepping it up.

There is so much more that I could say, but I really do need to get some sleep.  I do have to run my household in the morning.  And Deanna will probably text me first thing in the morning, and I'll have to confess that I didn't get to bed until 2:21.  Hopefully, she'll spare me public humiliation.  Anyway, if I can keep my blogging resolution (and snag the computer from time to time in the evening), I'll have time to say more.  Until then, I pray 2015 is a blessing to you.

olivia: age 3.5

There is so much sweetness wrapped up in this child that I don't even know where to begin.  Age three and a half suits her well.  Josh put together the top bunk of Amelia's bed, and now Olivia is sleeping in the bottom bunk with Amelia on the top.  

After 11 1/2 years of constant use, the crib is unoccupied.  Bittersweet, for sure.

Olivia has transitioned extremely well to her big girl bed...probably better than any of her sisters.  She likes to follow those three big sisters, and since they stay in their beds (mostly), she stays in hers.  

She loves her Grandmas, Grandpas, sisters, Pipper (her stuffed dog), and flashlights (see story below).  She has a weird habit of talking about dying.  I have no clue why, but she is constantly asking about people dying.  We just roll with it. :)

She is a total giggler, and the girls can make her laugh in a heartbeat.  She is so affectionate, and she just gives great hugs.

While the girls are doing school, she plays by herself so nicely.  Playing in her little kitchen, looking at books, and playing with her dolls keep her pretty distracted throughout the mornings.  

Okay, so the flashlight story....

This photo is framed on my bathroom counter:

Olivia was in the bathroom with me the other day while I was getting ready.

Olivia: When did you take this picture, Mom?

Me: That was at Thanksgiving a few years ago at Aunt Jill's.  You weren't born yet.  You were in my belly.

O: Yeah...I couldn't see then...it was really dark...and I couldn't see...uh-cause I didn't have my fwashwhight.  

If only she could have had her flashlight in the womb. :)

Love this little stinker pot.  She is a joy every single day.  

home sweet home addition

Our house.  We purchased our house seven years ago.  It was repossessed.  It was disgusting.  And that is a kind description, really.  

Really.

The short version of the story is this: We walked into the house, and part of the ceiling was lying on the floor.  I looked at Josh and said, "We are not buying this house."  

Josh is a visionary...not to mention he was obsessed with the 5 acres, the barn, and the 1/4 mile long driveway.  He was in love.  I was disgusted.  

We discussed it.  It met and surpassed all of my expectations except for the condition of the house (we were looking for a paint and carpet house since we had two kids and were trying for a third).  

We put an offer in, we found out we were pregnant with Amelia the follow week, and our offer was accepted a couple of weeks after that.  

We couldn't believe that we owned it.  It was amazing, exciting, and overwhelming.  

Josh worked tirelessly...and then some.  Of course, there was so much more work to do than expected.  We thought we weren't going to have to redo everything.  We were wrong.  The house was torn down to the studs, and Josh worked on it for 7 months straight.  Amelia was born 17 days after we moved in.  

There was only one major thing missing from our house.  An attached garage.  It originally had a garage, but a previous owner had turned the garage into a family room and a laundry room.  So, no garage.  

We have wanted to add a garage since day 1.  There is never a good time.  

Then, we had to decide where to put this garage and if there would be more than a garage.  Our house was built in the 70s.  It is obvious to me that people who designed houses in the 70s had z.e.r.o. clue that people need to STORE things in their houses.  Closets, anyone?!  Seriously.

Please allow me to whine for a moment about my "first world problems".  

We have closets, but they are itty-bitty.  Josh and I share the one in our bedroom.  Claire, Meredith, and Amelia share one in their bedroom.  Olivia shares the one in her room with all of our homeschool curriculum, winter coats, Halloween costumes, the pack 'n play, and kites.  

Seriously, though, we only have 3 small closets in our house.  Three...for six people.  We had a front coat closet when we first moved into the house.  We stored all of our coats, hats/mittens/scarves/etc, our luggage, and all of our board games/similar items there.

Then our furnace died.  And it was in the attic.  And the furnace guy said that the new furnace had to go in the coat closet.  Cue dread from Jackie.  

I had to find new places for all of the things in the closet.  And these aren't random we-don't-need-these-things items.  I'm not a hoarder.  I get rid of so much stuff on a continual basis around here.  Josh accuses me of not having a sentimental bone in my body. 

So, we currently have 3 bedrooms plus an office (doesn't have a closet {of course!}, so it's not considered a bedroom).

When we decided on the addition, we needed an entryway to the existing house.  The most logical place was our current office.  However, if we enter through the office, we can't use the office as an office.  

The current office is hardly usable because it tends to be the "catch all" room in the house.  It currently houses two desks (one for each of us), a huge utility shelving unit that holds pantry-type food/our canning jars/old photos/etc, a bookshelf, our safe, random Christmas things that can't go in the barn, my nice cooler, and 126 other things that are randomly piled everywhere.

It is a disaster.  I organize it once or twice a year, and it never holds because it's just a catch-all.  Horrid.  I just keep closing the door.  

Okay, so with this being our new entryway into the house, we needed a new office.  What else are we lacking?  Storage.  

Josh cannot stand the thought of adding on to our house and not doing it right.  We're already spending the time, money, and energy.  No regrets.  We're planning on staying here forever.  No regrets.  Storage room, it is!  

One thing that I've always disliked about our current house is the entrance and entryway.  It is small, tight, awkward.  I could go on...I'm whining again, I know.  So, we're getting a beautiful new entryway.  

Our current office will be converted into half entryway, half pantry.  I am so spoiled.  

Do not let me complain about anything house-related again...ever...I mean it.

The new entryway meant that we needed a new driveway to the new side of the house.  

Can I take a moment to completely brag on my amazing husband?  He designed all of this himself.  This man continues to impress me with his skills.  How do you learn how to do things like this?!  I have no idea, but I'm beyond thankful for it.    

And here is where we (finally!) begin with the photos, which are in chronological order...

This is our current driveway.  It continues forward, then curves around to the left.  This will remain the same...we're just adding the new driveway there on  the left where you see the dirt/opening in the trees.  This photo was taken pre-construction, and you can see our house back there on the left.

The concrete guys pouring the foundation!!  They were supposed to start at the end of January.  This was the beginning of October.  Patience, patience, patience. :)

Josh even got in on the action.  The foundation is being poured!

Foundation complete!  This photo was taken from the back yard.

This is the opening for our new driveway.  I love it.  I'm standing right in front of our future garage looking down to where the current driveway crosses.  We are considering connecting them in front of the house, but our septic system sits near that location.  We'll see if we can make it happen.

This is kind of a hard one to see, but this shows what is already there.  House in the middle, barn to the right, the new addition is going out the left side of the current house.

The builders came early on a Monday morning.  These TWO guys were incredible.  It was amazing to walk away for an hour and come back to see what they had accomplished.  

This is after Day 1.  This is our new entryway: porch, front door, a window on each side.  The garage is on the left (not pictured).  The office is behind the entryway.  

This is after Day 2.  Sorry for the crooked picture.

The backside after Day 2.  The opening that you see is one of the windows in the office.  The remainder of the wall to the right of the window is the storage room that goes across the back of the garage.

Day 3.  Eek!!  The design of the roof makes it look ginormous.  It's all aesthetic (plus attic storage!!).  

Day 3.  See those big tire ruts?  Yeah, a large delivery truck got stuck there for a couple of hours during Day 3.  

Another view.

Backside.

Day 5.  Amazing.

Up close.  

They did everything in 7 days.  It is now roofed and wrapped as well.  Once all of our doors arrive, they'll come back and install them.  

Now comes the hard part.  The DIY part.  We've barely picked anything inside the house...lots of ideas just nothing in stone.  There will be plenty of decision making to do over the next several months.

We are super excited to use these new spaces. I can't wait to have a garage!!  

halloween 2014

I'm a week late here, but I feel like I rarely take photos of my girls in their Halloween garb despite their continued cuteness.  This year, I vowed to document it.  I even made Olivia dress up in her costume JUST to take her picture...the other girls were already dressing up for another party.  

Claire and Meredith decided that they wanted to have a theme this year.  Meredith chose to be a detective (Nancy Drew), so Claire went with a robber.  

Claire put together her own costume this year.  She already had the pants, sweater (that used to be mine...gasp!!), and hat.  She made her mask out of felt and duct tape, and she made her money bag from a cheap reusable shopping bag.  So easy.  Loved that she did it herself.  

I wish Meredith could have sewed hers herself. :)  I made her detective cape from a Martha Stewart tutorial.  I've never made anything with the bias tape on the edge.  It was pretty easy to use, and I thought the edging really dressed it up.  She didn't want a hat (which probably saved me a ton of time), so I made her a quick headband to match.  She had a little magnifying glass earlier that week, but it broke, so she had to stick with just her notebook which had a photo of the robber inside. :)  

My little minion. :)  She won the creative costume award at one of our parties.  Yellow shirt and suspenders ordered from Amazon.  We took a sock hat and covered it in yellow duct tape.  With the help of Pinterest (of course!), I added goggles (Ball jar rings), pipe cleaner hair, and printed eyeballs and laminated Gru emblem.  It really was a fun little costume. :)

And my cute little chicken.  Awww.  This one probably came from a resale for less than $5. :)  I love that I can put her in anything and she's happy!  Makes things easy.  The best part of these kinds of costumes is how WARM they are!  I can't appreciate it enough for a little 3 year old on a cold Halloween night.