Love it When that Happens

Have you ever planned and planned and then planned some more for a special event only to have it go completely and utterly horrible??  Yea, me too.

BUT, that did NOT happen this weekend my friends.

Happy Dance!!

Everything actually went according to schedule. 

{{gasp}}

I wasn’t even late (I’m always late.  I try not to be. I can’t help it… getting better though)!! 

WARNING:  THERE WILL BE MANY PICTURES IN THIS POST!!

My main centerpiece for the gift table was a bouquet of baby clothes!!  I saw this tutorial here on You Tube and based my arrangement ideas from it. 

I used pants, onesies, bibs, bloomers, and a ruffled skirt in the bouquet.  The above green flowers are a little skirt that I rolled tightly and then folded in half to make two “blooms.”  The leaves in the arrangement are green velvety  poinsettias from Michaels.  There are two different types of pink silk/paper flowers tucked throughout the bouquet to add a bit of variety.  I would have taken pics of the process, but it took both hands and sometimes my feet to get everything just right.

I found this picture frame at Marshalls (Love that place).  I knew it would be a perfect little touch and that my sister-in-law could use it as a decoration in the baby’s room after the shower was over.

I covered the the cardboard backing in green taffeta and added a rose with double sided foam tape to the front of the glass.  I didn’t use hot glue as I wanted her to be able to used it as an actual picture frame later on if she chose.

Voila… easy but extremely high impact!

Time to wrap the presents…

The largest box was topped with sock roses and a tulle bow.

I tried to make each one just a bit different.

Now for pictures of a few other décor items that made me smile.

(these are going on my mantel now, btw)

crinkle paper and vase filler jewels

paper roses, spiral wood filler, eucalyptus

Oh, and the bunting (see all the details here) now lives on the wall above baby Charlotte’s crib. 

In my defense, I DID warn you about the large volume of pictures.  My friend Jessica made all of the food and an adorbs diaper cake for the shower. 

Party food/baking and me: not so much. 

Decorations: all over it like flies on poo during a hot summer day in Georgia.

Linking up here and here:  

this week my blogger friends!

Apple Festival

So, I mentioned that I was all excited about fall this year.  We were actually able to go somewhere as a family that didn’t involve a sporting event or grocery shopping!!!  Honestly, I don’t know that last time we were able to do something fun like this with the kids. 

Our destination:  The Apple Festival in North Georgia.  It only took us about an hour and a half to get there and it was WELL worth the drive. :))

Who would have thought that picking apples could make ALL of my kids so happy??

As you can see, Finn is over the top and Max is assuming his tween picture attitude.  Despite his “Seriously, Mom?” look that I want to slap off his face, he was almost as excited as the little ones (at least that’s what I’m telling myself.)

I don’t think Finley stopped smiling until he fell asleep tonight.  He kept running through the trees, knocking all the low apples to the ground, and SQUEALING in delight. 

In proper independent style, Emily took off on her own so I wasn’t able to get as many pics of her.  I was the loud mouth mom yelling, “EMILY” every minute that I couldn’t see her.  I’m sure everyone there was thinking, geez lady control your kids already.  She found some of the biggest apples… like seriously BIG:

It’s bigger than my hand!

Jack with one of our bags of loot.

In the car on the way home, Finley said, “What a wonderful memory we made.”  Geez, he’s 3!  Where does he come up with this stuff??

Family Ties

As some of you know, my immediate family does not live close.  My mom lives in southern Louisiana, my sister in Colorado, my brother b/w Nigeria and Louisiana, and my dad in Arkansas.  When the weather starts to change and fall is upon us, my soul aches for these special people.

Me and my sister on our road trip this summer

My mom

My sister’s eldest and my youngest

Sister cousins (since they don’t have sisters of their own)

Hopefully my mom will road trip here next month AND we are planning a family trip to Colorado over Thanksgiving…. happy dance! :)

~Enjoy your family today~