Weekend of birthdays

The weekend of October 15 and 16 was a busy one for us. We had two birthday parties to attend-one Saturday, the other Sunday. 

The first was Stella's friend from school, Charlotte. Charlotte's party was up in Milton at a little farm called Raisin's Ranch.   Before the party, Stella made this card for Charlotte.

The kids got to meet Raisin and then take turns leading her around the pasture and letting her jump over the pole.

Of course, Charlotte went first and did great. And looked oh-so-cute doing it.

When it was Stella's turn she wasn't taking "NO" for an answer from Raisin. Stella definitely took the lead and was a boss at pulling Raisin around.

She was so proud of herself. Afterwards, Stella got to ride Houston around.

There was a small petting zoo with a couple of other miniature horses, chickens, goats and a bunny. Stella really loved the soft bunny and crawled inside a few times to show her love.

Stella tried roping the "cow" for a while. Like, really tried. Each time she'd fall short. I finally moved to the other side and snapped a few more pictures. I could tell she was getting tired and irriated about not being able to do it, but for some reason, I swapped the phone over from camera to video. As soon as I pressed record, she twirled it around above her head, tossed it and  landed it perfectly around the bull's horns. That was the only video I took of her doing that and it came out great. She was so excited.

Look at these cuties. At least five of Charlotte's friends from school came to the party.

The kids had pizza and cupcakes around picnic tables. The cupcakes were topped with little plastic horses. Here Stella is eating her icing by way of the horse. She would dip the head into the icing, put the horse in her mouth and suck it off, then repeat.

Stella was excited about us all wearing our boots to the party. We all dressed the part and opted for a cute family photo. 

The weather was great. It stayed overcast for most of the party, thankfully as when the sun did peep out, it got quite hot. 

Charlotte is just the cutest and the sweetest and her mom is so incredibly sweet too so I was so happy to snap this and share with Kimberly.

Giving good-bye hugs.

Afterwards, since we were so far away from home and in such a pretty area we decided to drive around for a while and take the scenic route home while Stella napped.

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On Sunday, we had Ava's party.  It was at Taylor Brawner Park, so much less of a drive.
Again, the weather was beautiful, just unseasonably warm.

The kids have really nice playground equipment but, as kids do, they chose to spend most of their time playing in the rocky drain area.

The Four Amigos....Londynn, Stella, Ava & Harper.
  

Harper and Ava bonding over Rainbow Dash My Little Pony.

More pizza, more cupcakes, more fun for round 2. Stella is a lucky girl to have such great friends.

Operation Shoebox

Two years ago (I think), I purchased items for a Operation Christmas Child Shoebox.  Last  year we didn't do it so this year I remembered early and talked with Stella. I told her what we were going to do and why and then asked her if she wanted to pick out stuff for a girl or a boy. She said she wanted to one for both. 

After school one day we went to The Dollar Tree and picked out 1.4 million items for our girl and boy. Seriously, I spent the most money I've ever spent at The Dollar Tree-$75 and some change. I originally thought "My Lord, that means I had 75 items. How is this even possible?!" But then I got home and looked at the receipt. It was $71 and then with tax it equalled the $75. But then I started weeding through things and realized about 20-25 of those items weren't for the shoebox, they were for the house or personal items. In the end, each shoebox got between 20-25 items and it was slam full. I mean, I could barely squeeze a Q-tip in after we packed them full.  The best part? Stella was super excited to help pick out stuff for each girl and boy and she never once asked for a single item for herself. When we got home she was tired and took a nap. I got a little emotional looking through everything and thinking about how selflessly she selected each item and the thought she put into selecting each item. She picked out stuff she liked and knew that someone else would like it too. I couldn't ask for more.

Girl on the left, boy on the right.

Girl

6 pencils

3 pens

4 erasers-farm animal themed

Fish Pencil sharpener

Notepad

Beach ball

Paddleboard

3-D train puzzle

Hairbrush

Ponytails

Headband

Hello Kitty toothbrush

Toothpaste

Flossers 

Mermaid doll

Purple water bottle

Elsa washcloth

Finding Dory tissues

Pink Flashlight with 4 batteries

Orange Harmonica

Purple Jump rope

Orange Yo-yo

Sun catcher paint set-fox

Elsa puzzle

Pink drawstring bag

Boy:

6 pencils

3 pens

4 erasers-took themed

Fish Pencil sharpener

Notepad

Beach ball

Paddleboard

3-D dump truck puzzle

Small 4-wheeler

Spiderman Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Flossers
6 pack of combs

Green water bottle

Spiderman washcloth

Finding Dory tissues

Red Flashlight with 4 batteries

Green Harmonica

Green Jump rope

Green Yo-yo

Sun catcher paint set-fish

The Lion Guard puzzle

Green drawstring bag

We dropped off our shoeboxes yesterday at Smyrna FUMC. 

The lady accepting them thanked Stella and explained that because of her, a little girl and boy would be getting gifts for Christmas. She gave Stella a sticker that read "I packed a shoebox" and then gave her a bag of a candy/cereal mix. I think its called Muddy Buddies or White Trash, Puppy Chow, they have different names but it's cereal, red & green M&M's, powdered sugar, and peanut butter. She loved it.

As I said above, Stella really enjoyed this and gave so selflessly. I look forward to doing this again year after year with her. 'Tis the season!

Front Porch Re-do

So yesterday evening I got the urge to rearrange the front porch. I love decorating and design and I especially love doing this with my own things. I mean, of course I love finding something new to incorporate into a space, but it can feel that way if you take something from one part of your house and move it someplace new.

before

I'd bought these crates a few months back for $4 a piece off of a facebook yardsale site. I was hoping to mount them to the wall in the office to use for storage and decorative use, but when I got them home I realized they weren't as sturdy as the one I'd purchased from Michael's a while back and they weren't as clean. They were used for storing/shipping produce. I liked their rustic look and wanted to use them someplace and I thought they would look cute decorated for Fall.  

after

This table and it's chairs have sat in this spot since they were purchased off of craigslist (I think) many years ago. Right after we bought the house I believe. The table top was crap so we removed it and Donald put edging around a piece of plywood. I painted it white, the base and chairs red. We don't sit at this much. It's mainly for decorative use. But occasionally we'll eat out here or Stella will color at it. I do like having it out here though and like what it's adds to the space.

before

Both ladders came from Goodwill. The wooden ladder on the right is mostly used to hold stuff or I'll put it in the garden for the cucumbers or squash to climb up. It's not terribly sturdy and the steps aren't very wide so I don't feel comfortable letting Stella climb on it much. The rusted metal one is very sturdy and she's climbs up this thing almost every morning to wave by to Daddy. She also gets on it to wave by to anyone leaving our house. And if you don't stop-she gets so upset. I should probably paint it, but I like how it looks all rusted and honestly, I don't want to spend all that time sanding away rust. Some things I'm ok putting work and time into, but this is not one of them.

The cast iron stove was given to me by my Nina. It was her late husband's. We don't use it as a fireplace (liked I'd hope to do when we first got it) because the bottom is rusted out. So it just sits here looking pretty. 

The rusted plant stand was given to me by a family I nannied for. I'd commented on it several times about liking it and needing someplace to put my plants at our old house. The mom never used it and it was just sitting in her garage so she gave it to me. I love it. And see? It matches the rusty ladder. 

before

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I moved the crates to where the table used to be. This way they are a focal point when you walk up the steps. In the old spot-to the left along the side of the house it was just something you walked by but didn't really take notice of.  Basically, the crates got stacked here right after I bought them and I never moved them.  

after

I LOVE how this looks and think I'll like decorating these crates seasonally.

after

I used a few old colanders as planters for some succulents. The bottom one was devoured by a thirsty squirrel which pissed me off. But I get it, it's super dry and they are looking for water anywhere since creeks have dried up and there obviously aren't any puddles. 
So I now have two bowls of water out-this one pictured here primarily for Bandit when he gets out of the fence, but also for a passing squirrel. And another smaller one is up on the railing.

after

The table was moved over where the ladders and plants were. I put out three mason jars-1 tall, 2 shorter ones with battery powered tea lights.

after

I moved the ladybug light outside on a little outdoor table. It's nice having some light at night when we come up the steps. I don't like using the front porch light because not only does it announce "Nope, no one is home!" But it also attracts beetles and moths which inevitably get in the house. So irritating.  The old mailbox is an umbrella holder.

after

after

Aren't these colorful flowers the cutest? They are made from huge aluminum cans. My mom got Stella two for her birthday. They are in a planter box not pictured just to the left of those two red pots. Then she got us three more. We put these two here and the other one is by the big oak tree but it doesn't want to stay put and keeps falling over. 

after

I really like how everything looks and Stella does too. She helped moved stuff with me. Stella  loves to decorate too which is nice. I told her a few days ago, "Soon we'll put the Fall stuff away and get to decorate for Christmas. Are you going to help me?" Her response, "Of course I am, Mommy!"

Halloween 2016

So Stella and I were pretty busy doing some Halloween crafts this year. I saved two different types of fruit cups and made ghosts and pumpkins.  The ghosts are reversible with battery powered tea lights inside. The pumpkins I made were for Stella's classmates for her Halloween party.

We also made paper plate spiders and toilet paper/paper towl bats.  She really loved making the spiders. She selected the colors, painted them all by herself, helped me stick the legs in the glue and then selected the number and placement of the eyes.
The bats were 99% just me since it required hot glue and an Exacto knife, but she had a say in the color paper and I let her glue the eyes on.  She gave a spider to Emily, Asher and Ivy for their Halloween party and gave a bat to Lolly and Pop.  I think Landon and Huddy aslo received a bat.

We made our annual stop at Smyrna FUMC to pick out pumpkins.

And then we decorated this one, but we never got a chance to carve pumpkins. 

On Wednesday the 26th, we went to Smyrna FUMC's Trunk or Treat with Harper and Londynn.  Stella went as Chase from Paw Patrol.   

A while back I mentioned her going as Goldilocks and having her 3 bears. She was ok with that. Then one day she said she wanted to be a dog-specifically Bandit. Easy enough. I bought a black long sleeved shirt to pair with black cotton pants that she already had. I was going to cut brown patches out and pin to the clothes and make the ears.  I typed in "DIY dog costume" on Pinterest and started scrolling. She found a kid dressed as Marshall from Paw Patrol and for a little bit wanted to be him. But then she saw Chase-her favorite. Turns out, the most difficult part about this costume was finding brown pants and a blue shirt for her. Both are boys attire.  I enjoyed making this and she said I did a good job although she did have a few criticisms, but nothing major.

So grown looking here....and ALL Michael!

Harper as Cat Boy from PJ Masks, Londynn as Elsa and Stella/Chase.  My mom sent her four Halloween cards this year since Stella loves getting mail and checks the mail for her name.  Lolly put Stella/Chase at the top of each card which she loved.

Stella handcuffing Harper or "suction cupping" as Stella called it.

Being a puppy dog at the dog & scarecrow photo cut-out.

When we got home she asked to take a picture of me and Donald. Then she wanted Donald to take a picture of me and her. What a treat! The one of me and D was too fuzzy to post, but this one is pretty good.

That Saturday Donald cut up a limb that had fallen and we had a bonfire in the firepit. We were supposed to make s'mores, but we could tell Stella was fading fast. So we roasted a few marshmallows instead.

And Stella passed out in her teepee about five minutes later.  Donald and I just sat around the fire staring at it, chatting here and there. It was so relaxing and nice-just cool enough.

 We went down the road to a new (to us) Vietnamese restaurant and had Pho for lunch and I put this one down for a nap. Oooh was she a Grumpy Gillian.  I shared this picture on Instagram with the caption "Hoping she'll #riseup in a better mood."

My goodness I have a gorgeous kid.

Sunday evening we met The Green's at the boys's school/church for their Trunk or Treat.  Landon went as THE best looking homemade robot I've ever seen. Tiffany outdid herself on this one.

Stella decided she did not want to change out of her Falcons jersey so I threw some black leggings on her, pulled her hair up, put on some tennis shoes and handed her a football-instant football player.  Although a few people called her a cheerleader. Uh no people.

She wouldn't let me paint the black stuff under her eyes. It would have been perfect.

Year 4 of Halloween pictures with these two.

Then Landon, Hudson and Stella all chased each other around or chased/kicked balls around the field. They definitely burned some energy.

On Monday, Stella had her Halloween party at school. We opted to let the kids bring their own lunch and we would supply a craft, a game, read a story and have something sweet for them to decorate and eat..

I made pumpkin cupcakes (the Pinterest way-box of cake mix & can of pumpkin) but I did make homemade cream cheese frosting.  I brought mini chocolate chips and an assortment of sprinkles for them to decorate their cupcake with. While they ate, I read Room on the Broom. 

The night before the party I let Stella select each pumpkin at tell me who she wanted that particular one to go to. Then she passed them out at the party. 

Owen's mom made this Poke-a-Pumpkin game and it had little treats inside. The kids enjoyed this.

I bought these crates originally to use in the computer room on the wall for storage/decorative use but I don't think they'll work out (not sturdy enough) so I just incorporated them into decor out front on the porch.

I made chicken posole soup and jack-o-lantern quesadillas for supper.  It was warm, tasty and filling before we went out Trick or Treating.

We walked across the street to The Retreat at Old Vinings Lake. 

Old crazy eyes here....

Daddy manned the stroller all night while I walked Stella to each house. Sometimes she'd walk up by herself, other times she'd only go up holding my hand.

This pumpkin was real, about 3 feet tall and had a 2X4 inside of it to brace it. So impressive!

And this yard definitely won for most enthusiastic owners. They turned their garage into a haunted house and the yard was covered in scary stuff. Really scary. Kids were screaming and running out. I told Donald if my parents had been with us, we would have lost them at this house because they would have wanted to join us and meet up with us later. 

Walmart: Garanimals brown jogging pant-$3.88; Chase helmet-purchased this Summer; Fruit of the Loom blue long-sleeved shirt-$4.97
Hobby Lobby: Giant brown chenelle stem aka huge pipe cleaner aka Chase's tail-$2.99; Dark blue stickable felt-$0.99
I already had the light blue and yellow felt from another project.

The helmet was around $25, but obviously it will be used many times for quite some time. So out of pocket for just costume stuff I've got around $15 in it. And it wasn't too complicated. 
Like I said, I enjoyed making this. I almost just ordered a costume off Amazon, but knew I could do this and also didn't want Stella having a generic costume. 

This was a great Halloween season. Stella looked so stinkin cute as Chase and everyone commented on her costume. Curious to see what she picks to be next  year.