Birthday Party Menu

I have finalized Hannah's birthday party menu.

Tea Sandwiches:
1. Cucumber With Cream Cheese
2. Turkey With Dijon Mustard
3. Roast Beef With Horseradish

Skewers:
1. Grape and Goat Cheese
2. Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese
3. Teriyaki Meatball and Pineapple

Bowls/Cups:
1. Spinach Bread Bowls
2. Ham and Cheese Quiches
3. Shrimp Toast Cups

Desserts:
1. Birthday Cake
2. Mini Cheesecakes
3. Lemon Bars
4. Chocolate Raspberry Bars
5. Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows
6. Strawberry Soup

Drinks:
1. Tea
2. Lemon Water
3. Pink Lemonade
4. An assortment of hot teas

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4 Years!

4 years ago today, I married my high school sweetheart.
It's crazy just how fast 4 years goes by when you're having fun! :o)
More Today Than Yesterday,
               But Not As Much As Tomorrow!
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Oh, How Pinteresting!

I'm linking up with, The Vintage Apple, for 'Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday'.

This Pinterest post is  dedicated to all things Fall. I absolutely heart Fall!

Source: bhg.com via Jennifer on Pinterest




Source: etsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest















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My Loves

No matter what happens during the day; whether it's a day of fits and meltdowns, or a day of laughs and cuddles; these two fill my heart with so much happiness and joy.






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Silly Willy

Colson was being a silly willy the other day and I snapped a few pictures on my iphone. They are all blurry because he was goofing off so much but I still love them. :o)





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Birthday Party DIY's

I have been on birthday party overdrive ever since I decided to have the theme of Hannah's 3rd birthday be a tea party.

I have been crafting away making decorations, etc. so I though I would post a few pics of what I have been working on.

On the invitations we are asking everyone to wear their favorite cocktail hat or fascinator. It will be fun to have everyone dress up a bit! But I figure not everyone will have a hat or fascinator so I wanted to make some fun feather headbands for those who need one. Plus, we are going to have feather boas and necklaces for the girls, and fake mustaches for the guys.
I made two tissue paper 3's—one for the front door and one for the kitchen. This photo doesn't really show just how big they are but they are 18 inches tall. I used old diaper boxes for the '3' shape and then I glued 2x2 inch pieces of tissue on them. It took FOREVER to finish these. I started the first one back in August and I just finished the second one a few days ago. I 1. should have made them a bit smaller and 2. maybe not have made them so full. But I love them. I'm kind of sad I won't be able to use them again. :o(
Then I made tons of paper hearts and paper chains to hang up along side some crepe paper.
I am currently working on the menu. I think I have it about 95% figured out and finalized. I am making all finger foods so my next DIY project is to make display tiers for everything. I'm doing tea sandwiches, little skewers of things, lemon bars, mini cheesecakes, mini shakes...tons of cute things that I can't wait to share with you (this coming week, hopefully)! But for everything I make, I need some way to display them and the only way I am going to have enough space is to go up...so display tiers it is! I'm not going to go crazy but I think I am just going to use cardboard boxes for the stands and those cardboard cake boars as the 'plate'. I am going to make/cover everything in white so it will all have a nice uniformed look. I have a picture in my head of what I want it to look like so hopefully I will be able create it!

I have 1 month to get everything in order. AH! That month is going to fly by!

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The Road To A Better Me—Week 5

This weeks weigh-in:

147.5 pounds

I lost another 1.5 pounds for a grand total of 8.5 pounds all together.

Now, to be honest with all of you, I am beginning to get a little burnt out on this whole weight loss thing. It takes a lot of effort to constantly watch and write down what you are eating every day. I don't know why I feel this way, especially since what I am doing is clearly working, but I do. I guess it's just a pretty big life adjustment. Don't get me wrong, I do reward myself! But there is still that little voice inside my head asking why I just ate what I ate. That little voice is starting to get really annoying! :o/

All in all, though, I am really happy with my progress so far! How can I not be happy??? I have lost 8.5 pounds! Only 11.5 to go until my goal weight of 136. I must keep on truckin'! :o)

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Blog On Fire Award!


8A HUGE thank you to Katie over at Love, Lattes and Lullabies for giving me this Blog On Fire Award! I first 'met' Katie over on The Bump. We were due with our sons around the same time. Her little boy, Colin, is just too cute for words and Katie is one super sweet momma! One day we'll get our boys together to meet one another! :o)

I am really honored to be given this award and to share it with so many great women! When I started my blog back when I was pregnant with Hannah, I never thought that I would have so many people reading my blog. The fact that so many people read about my life is pretty flattering and it makes my heart happy! I am glad that I get to share my little life with all of you and I love reading all of your blogs, as well! :o)

Now the rules for redeeming this award are:

•Write 7 things about yourself
•Pass this award on to 10 other bloggers

So here it goes! :o)

7 things about me:


1. I was born on my mom's birthday. It's pretty awesome. If we have a third child maybe I can try to plan it where it is born on my birthday! :oP

2. I never missed a day of school until I was in the 4th grade. I got hit by a car while walking to the bus and missed a week of school. Then later that same school year, I got the chicken pox. 4th grade was not a good year for me! :oP But after 4th grade, I never missed another day of school.

3. I have always lived within 5 miles of my husband but we didn't actually meet until high school because of the school zoning.

4. I have known my husband for half of my life. We will be the big 3-0 next year (gasp!) and we have known each other for 15 years. Crazy!

5. I am addicted to Coca Cola. It is like my coffee. My dad works for Coke so I guess that explains a lot of it. :oP But even through this whole weight loss journey, I refuse to give it up!

6. *Knock on wood* but I have never broken a bone in my body...even after flying over the top of the car in 4th grade.

7. When deciding on names for our children, it was a given that we were going to keep the 'D' middle initial for all of them. My middle name is Danielle so we gave Hannah my middle name, and Nick's middle name is David (as is my dad's first name and Nick's grandpa's first name) so we gave Colson Nick's middle name. If we have a third child, it's middle name will also start with a 'D'.

Now, onto some awesome blogs that you should check out!


1. Our World—Sara, my bestie, just had her little girl Mackenzie in June. Stop by her blog to check out some cute photos of her little girl!

2. A Mama and Her Boys—Courtney just added a third addiction, a baby girl, to her family. Follow her life about raising 2 boys and now a little girl!

3. Married...With Kid and Cats—Stop by and say HALLO to Tanja, my german 'penpal' since 1994. Tanja has a beautiful little girl, Alessia who was born a year after Hannah. You'll have to translate her blog though as it's all in german! :o)

4. Typically Torin—Colson and Torin are the same age. Go check out this little cutie!

5. And They Lived Happily Ever After—Brooke is the proud momma to Dominic and is expecting another little boy, Bennett, in just a few short months!

6. The Schnick Family—Follow their life as they raise their adorable son, Crew!

7. These Four No More—Jennifer's twin girls were born the same month as Hannah. Now she is adding a little boy to the mix.

8. Our Cozy Casa—Jill has adorable twin girls, Maya and Gianna and a little peanut, Olivia...all 3 under 3. I don't know how she does it!

9. Growing Up Geeky— Mama G has one adorable little girl, Carina, who is just a little older the Colson. She writes some great blog posts so stop by and say hello!

10. Life Is What You Make It—Hilary has a daughter, Addison, who is a few months younger than Hannah. She is one cutie patootie!


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Duneland Heritage Day

Saturday we took the kiddos to the Duneland Heritage Day Festival. It is held at Chellberg Farm and Bailey Homestead every year. It's always nice to go to local events, plus the weather was gorgeous!

Hannah learned about birds, insects and the stars.

And I held two different types of tarantulas. AH!




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A Family Picture

Whether we're trying to have picture taken by someone else or I am taking the picture using a remote, it is always a challenge to get a decent shot. When you have two kids, it's not always so easy to get a family picture where everyone is looking at the camera, smiling, and not throwing a fit or being a diva.

Now my husband might argue that I am the diva in most cases...but in this instance, I am referring to our almost 3, clearly going on 13 year old.

And while I could (and probably will) do a separate post on little Miss Hannah's diva-ness and new found independence, I will just leave this post to some family picture outtakes. :o)






Sadly, we didn't get a photo where all of us cooperated. :o/ I hope we have better luck during our family pictures in October. Amy has her work cut out for her! I hope she is up for the challenge! :oP



Growing Up Gardner


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Passport Photos

I am currently in the process of renewing my passport (so it's in my married name) and getting the kiddos their passports for vacation in February.


I have left myself a good amount of time to try to get photos of the kiddos to use for their passport. Colson shouldn't be to bad as he is still mostly stationary.


Here are the 'tips' that the government gives for getting a photo of a baby:

1:
Lay your baby on his or her back on a plain white or off-white sheet. This will ensure your baby's head is supported and provide a plain background for the photo. Make certain there are no shadows on your baby's face, especially if you take a picture from above with the baby lying down.
2:
Cover a car seat with a plain white or off-white sheet and take a picture of your child in the car seat. This will also ensure your baby’s head is supported.
Seems easy enough, right!? Maybe. We'll see, I guess.


But getting Hannah's photo is going to be a different story. I can barely get her to cooperate for just a random photo, let alone a photo that has to meet tons of requirements.


So, I just wanted to ask all of my readers if you have taken a passport photo of your child? How did you do it? What tricks did you use?


I'm really hoping that Hannah will just stand and let me take what I need but asking an almost 3 year old to stand still and look at me is definitely easier said than done. :o/


Ugh. This is going to be fun...


I'm sure I will have some pretty funny outtakes though, so I will be sure to post them for you. :oP

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The Road To A Better Me--Week 4

Well, I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I still lost weight.

Current weight--149

I lost another 0.5 pounds.

I was really really hoping to see a 148 number but I haven't been exercising lately so I guess I should have known that I wasn't going to lose all that much. But I lost and that is good. I just have to get back into exercising.

In related news, though... I went to put on a pair jeans that I bought just a few weeks ago. I tried them on in the store and they fit so I ripped the tags off yesterday thinking they would still fit...WRONG. They were way to big! I was bummed that my new jeans were too big but then I slapped myself. How awesome is it to have pants that are too big for you? I then got really excited because it was proof that I am actually losing weight.

Often times I look in the mirror and I feel like I look the same--even though I have lost a total of 7 pounds. People have been telling me they can tell I have been losing weight but I couldn't see it myself...until yesterday. It was a great moment! And it is just proof that it's not always the number that is important, it's the inches you lose!

So here's to another half pound lost, new pants that are now too big, and getting back into exercising! 136 is still a ways away but I am confident that I can reach me goal and ultimately lose some more inches! :o)

Just Me With My Babies

It's not too often when I get a photo of just me with my babies.

I had Nick snap a few the other day because Hannah was actually being pleasant with her brother sitting right next to her and touching her (unlike last time).

Of course we were all in our pj's and I had no make-up on...but I don't care. I love it!
Hannah was being her goofy self and Colson had all 4 fingers shoved into his face. :oP

L.O.V.E.

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Oh Snap Wednesday—Colson









Growing Up Gardner


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