Fabulous First Fiesta!

What a great birthday party we had last Sunday.  Little L turned one!!!!  We had family, and just a few friends over for a party.

Little L was all smiles as her guests arrived.  We started with cake, because we could!!

The top was confetti cake and the bottom was strawberry.  The cake balls around the outside were chocolate.  I piped a little purple on the top and added a band of Mike and Ike's to add some color.  The green cakes are "cacti" and one was Little L's smash cake.

Little L thought the cake was lip smacking good!!!  We decorated maracas and picture frames with markers and fiesta stickers.  The kids picked flowers (dandelions mainly) and ran through the grass.  They also kicked a ball around in the yard while the adults chatted.

The hot dog lunch was a huge success as well.  D tried to eat it in a bun for the first time.  Little L got small bites of cut up hot dogs, which she enjoyed.  Each guest left with a pinata stuffed with toys and candy.

Little L CRASHED after her guests left.  It is hard to be the center of attention.



Tuesday looked like Monday to me

Do you ever have a day that seems to drag on forever while speeding by?  Does one event catapult you into a never ending day in desperate need of a "do over"?  Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was my day on Tuesday.

I got into my car to go to work and saw that my gas light was on.  No big deal as I drive past my favorite gas station on my way to school.  As I started to back out of the drive, I realized that something was wrong with my car.  It wasn't riding correctly at all.  I pulled over right in front of my house only to see that I had a flat tire.  This wasn't a small hole, get a patch kind of flat.  This was an unfixable, my tire is now in two parts torn on the tread, going to need a new tire type of flat.  Thank God for AAA!!!  I got out my trusty card and dialed the number.  I had less than an hour until they would arrive, so I went into my house and after calling work to let them know what happened, I did what any other stranded at home person would do.  I folded laundry. 

When the tow truck arrived, we searched for the spare only to find it between the front seat and middle row of the mini van.  Not easy to get to.  I held up the trap door while the tow guy used tools to get the spare out.  I have NO idea how he would have done it on his own.  He threw the spare on, told me that all of my tires were in a similar situation, and thanked me for calling.  He thanked me!!!  Now, I of course had thanked him profusely for being my knight in a shiny white tow truck, but it was kind of him.

So, off to the tire store I drove.  When I got there, the assistant manager (I think) came out to my car.  He looked at my tire and was very impressed.  It was in two distinct pieces I tell you!!  I was in and out in under 30 minutes with four fancy new tires.  He did try to Pimp My Ride, but a pimped minivan is just wrong on so many levels.  Then I was off to work, finally!!!

When I arrived, I thought that I was 30 minutes before my first class.  I was actually 30 minutes late for a class using the lab for research!!  OY!!!  So, my day officially started at 10, and the first break I got in my day (other than a quick potty break during a research time) was at 3.  I had classes coming in for research, classes I was teaching, and a club I lead.  After classes, I picked up the girls to take them to dance (D dances tap and ballet while Little L entertains the parents).  We finally got home around 7:15.  My day still wasn't over.

After feeding the girls and putting them to bed, I still had work to do.  I baked pizza dough for this weekend when my parents are in town.  I started the cake balls that will adorn the birthday cake I am making for Little L's first birthday.  The sink full of dishes was washed out and the dishwasher was run.  After moving a load of laundry into the dryer, I finally fell into bed. 

It really was a never ending day.  But I made it through with a lot of praying (after paying the tire bill!!), focus on work, and a pie that husband threw into my lunch bag.  Not bad for one day's work.

Irish Eyes are Smiling!

My followers will remember that I made matching shirts for the girls to wear to the Irish Festival this past Sunday.  They came out great, and the weather was warm enough to actually wear them!!!

The girls had so much fun at the Irish Festival.  Little L was a huge fan of the people watching.

And eating.  She has the top of a bread bowl here and it is very exciting for her.

She is shoving more food into her mouth.  She earned the title of "The Linebacker" for a reason!

D was excited by all of it.  She felt the temperature of a fountain.

She visited with all of the dogs.  She especially loved the Irish Wolfhound.  Yes, this one is as tall as she is!!

She watched her cousin Irish Dance from the best seat in the house.  She was getting tired at this point, so the smile is gone, but she is still having fun.

And she loved the attention she was getting for her special headband (which she actually wore all day!)

Most of all, she enjoyed matching her little sister and doted on her often.

All in all, it was a great day!!!

I Made it in March....First Item!

So, I decided that I need to step out of my comfort zone and create some items.  I have a love (but not a talent) for crafting.  I have tried numerous things from knitting to scrap booking to sewing.  All of these have been one hit wonders (or a few more).  So, I chose to make the girls matching shirts for the Irish Festival on Sunday.  I tried to buy matching shirts, but I didn't love any.  I know that to most people, this is NOT a big deal, but to me, it was HUGE!!!  Here is what I did. I found fun (and CHEAP) fabric.

Then I cut matching Shamrocks out of the fabric.

Next, I traced the Shamrocks onto Wonder Under.  This is great stuff for the beginning crafter.

After tracing, it was time to iron the shamrocks to the shirt.

Here is what the shamrock on the shirt looked like.

So far, so good!  Two shirts with shamrocks.

To make the shamrock POP, I traced it with gold fabric paint.

Matching, one of a kind shirts!  Now they just have to dry!!!

Next major project is baking Little L's first birthday cake.  If all goes well, it will go with the theme and be cute as can be!!  Stay posted for those pictures!