Sunday, June 17, 2012

Mermaids and Pirates O' My!!

As of late, I have been on a wee bit of a blogging hiatus!  My nap times and after bedtimes are filled with planning an under the sea Sophia's turning "3" birthday extravaganza!  Lil Red will be '"3" in August... I know, I know, why am I planning now???  Well, my grandparents, Red's great-grandparents, have decided to come for a 12 day visit in 2 weeks.  After much thought, I started thinking how great would it be for the greatgrandparents to be here for the birthday party..... well, they cannot come in August, so I am just moving the party up a month and a half early!  Yes, I have 13 days to make my parents yard seem like it is "under the sea"!  After spending a nap time on PINTEREST, have I mentioned I love me some PINTEREST, (seriously, people have some of the most cool and creative ideas, I kick myself and think.... why didn't I think of that!)  Anyways, here are a few of the ideas!
At Sophia's request... "I wanta mermaid party....yes!!"

Ariel, The Little Mermaid, will be making an appearance!  I sketched her up this morning, all she needs is a little paint!  Her shells are a little misshaped, but maybe no one will notice!  It looks as if the Bear has noticed her! 
 Sebastian and Flounder, the sweet sidekicks!
 Going with the theme of the party, I tried to make the letters look like they are submerged under water... thus the bubbles!  I just painted over the old designs that I did for baby bear's cowboy birthday party.  My sister and I painted them blue and I added some bubbles the next morning over breakfast!
 Ta-da!
 Jellyfish made out of colored plastic bowls!  This is a PINTEREST find!  Thank you to the pin from the highheeledhostess.com  Great ideas!  The ones in her picture were just precious
 Yes.... these guys are currently in the kitchen and hanging from the inside of my garage door!
 How funny is this idea, from PINTEREST!  Follow Adrienne Kirkham to see these funny hot dog octopus' from her daughter's birthday party!  I am thinking that these would be a hit with our family!
 The Titanic watermelon!  Find me on Pinterest for this gals picture (she made it for her Titanic party), I kept clicking on it and it would not take me to her page anymore:(  Now, to just find someone that can carve a watermelon to look like a ship!  I must have this on the food table...so cool!

I have got so many fun ideas in the works.  Still so much to do!  I cannot wait to see Red's face when she dives into her party!!

Stay tuned more fun to come!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Hi, my name is Caryn.....

and I am a PINNER!!
I'm a pinner are you a pinner?
Today, I have found some of the coolest ideas, and I will be doing them ASAP or when I get around to it!  Seriously, these pinners are super geniuses and I just spent way too much time looking at things that I just loved!
I love these bookshelves.  I found this one on marthastewart.com

I just really like this idea to use planters on the wall for your childrens toys.  So fun and will add something, other than a picture, on the wall!  I already have a spot in Baby Bears jungle room in mind for these and will be trying this soon!  Pictures later!  I found this idea on bhg.com site

This pin was from Nichole Gabriel
Rain Gutter Bookshelves!
I am so pumped about these DIY shelves out of the rain gutters!  Genius!
I also found a tutorial from Raising Olives , this is the blog spot of Kimberly, who is a homeschooling mom of 11!  She really has so many wonderful ideas on her blog too!

Find me!  I am cforesee

Monday, June 11, 2012

Double Date

This weekend, we were invited to go on a double date with some friends of ours.  The night was sure to be a success, seeing as how we were going with other people, and on our past dates we skipped the movie and just go grocery shopping... hopefully, with friends, they would not allow us to ditch them for a trip to the Wal-Mart!ha!  We got a baby sitter/ little sister to watch the kids and off we went to dinner and a movie!

We were so excited to meet up with our double dates, Nathan and Lindsay.  Nathan and I grew up together and have always been the best of friends.  When he married Lindsay, 12 years ago, I quickly saw how incredibly wonderful she was and now she is one of my dearest friends.  We often frequent each others houses for play dates and always have a fun time together.  I insisted that we take a picture since we were in dresses, had showered, and were wearing make-up!  (stay at home mommies you know you should always be photographed when this happens... ya never know when it could happen again).
We met up at Johnny Carinos for dinner.  I was not even messing around with food, I was really craving the super size bucket of popcorn, so for dinner I ordered chocolate cake (I know, what am I 5 years old, who even does that). 

Funny tid-bit!  Yes, this picture is of me and my dress!  DYING!  So, this is my new maxi dress, it is brown and white and yellow along the bottom.  Yes, this new maxi dress has a smocked top..... uh huh.  Notice anything?  How about the smocked top should be resting across my bubbies.... not on top of them!  I wore my dress just like this for the majority of my date.  At least Aron said that I looked pretty.  Just pitiful.
We laughed and talked about funny things, and we could have spent the rest of our night there talking, but that movie popcorn was calling my name!!!  Off we went to the movies....
Ya seen it?  It was a scary movie.  I do not know much about what was happening since I sat with my fingers in my ears and my head down.  (FYI, not a fan of the scary movie, but I really wanted to be with this group of friends!)
The bonuses of the movie:  it did not last forever.... and it had Jesse McCartney in it.  Remember him?  He sang that song, Beautiful Soul and Because You Live.  He was one of those teeny bopper singers whom I have not heard much from in awhile... it was because now he acts... who knew?

Anyways, the date night was a fun time, and I cannot wait to go on another date soon!!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

What's happening?

 1.  I love a good t.v. show.  Last week, I mentioned The Hatfields and the McCoys... well, I loved it.  Next week, I am anxiously awaiting the "new" Dallas.
Did you ever watch this?
Will you be watching??

2.  Nap times at our home used to be a time where I would shower, do some laundry, get a jump start on dinner.... NOT ANYMORE!  Over the past few months, I have been on a reading frenzy!  I love to read, but since having children, I lost the energy and focus it would take to even read a book.  So happy that I have got it back, but the problem now is that my nightstand is flooded with books!  It is looking a little library-ish on my side of the bed!  My brothers sweet girlfriend has even let me borrow her NOOK and I am reading as many Janet Evanovich books as possible before she comes to my house to confiscate it!  So, have you read anything that is in the pile to be read or something that should be in the pile?  Please let me know!

3.  Red neck Riviera here we come!
I am so ready for vacation!  I even started writing out my "to pack list"!  Now if I can just figure out how we will all ride in the car, comfortably, for 13.5 hours!  Y'all, start praying for us now!!  That long in the car with Red and Baby Bear!!!  OYE!

4.  What happened to my baby??
It seems like she was just born yesterday, and now.. (sniffle sniffle) she is going to be 3!  How did this happen?  My baby is a big girl!!
With the birthday approaching, I am getting ready to start planning!  I am thinking Strawberry Shortcake or a Disney princess party (Rapunzel).

5.  Not such an insane week.  It seems like I have fallen off of the "insane train", have no fear, I will be jumping back on the "insane train" tomorrow.  Sometimes, ya just feel like working out, and then sometimes you just feel like baking a strawberry cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles and eating that for a few days.  I am not proud of myself, but honestly, I am a fabulous baker and I needed to feed my family!  Ha!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Hope for LaGonave, Haiti

Today, I was lucky to hear about LaGonave, Haiti.  Have ya heard of this place?  No, it has not been discussed on CNN, the Daily Record has not been discussing it in the papers, and honestly, I was not even aware of its existence on the map!  Well today, I was so lucky to hear of this place, LaGonave.  It is an island in the Gulf of Gonave, Haiti.  It is 37 miles long and 9 miles wide with a population of about 100,000 people.
The speaker I heard is Barbara Freeman (she is a friend of my friend, DeLinda, whom I adore!).  Her son, Matt, with his wife and children were missionaries in LaGonave. One day, in 2006, Matt was riding his motorcycle to work, and he was involved in a traffic accident that took his life.  Matt's family, after much grief, created an organization, Hope for LaGonave, Haiti, that would continue the great works that Matt was doing for this island.  Now, 400 children in La Gonave are given an education that will hopefully equip them to become useful productive citizens and they are also being fed lunches throughout the week.  With this ministry the children of La Gonave are given an education and are taught God's Word and this will enable them to teach generations to come, as well as, and open their minds and hearts to find hope in Jesus Christ.
After a few minutes of listening to Barbara speak about her love for Haiti and it's people I am just feeling led to blog about her and her family's cause.  So, if you have a moment, please check out their website, Hope for LaGonave


Friday, June 1, 2012

date night

Let me start by saying, last night Aron and I went on a much needed date.
It has been a while since we have gone somewhere alone, just the two of us, together, to talk, and sit, and look at one another.  I am just gonna put this out there, once you have the kids, your dating life starts to look kinda sad.  We do not go out for meals with just us and the kids, because our children are at that nutty stage where one moment they are incredible happy smiley precious babies and then in the next moment they lose complete control begin yelling words like "no" and crying (this would be the moment where Aron's face would turn 50 shades of red and I would begin smiling like nothing is going wrong and then I would have a hot flash).  Sometimes our children are like a box of chocolates... ya never know what you are gonna get!  Ha!
So anyways, back to the date.  It was so nice.
My SIL asked if she could watch the kids for us for a few hours and we jumped at the offer.  The kids were dropped off at her house by 5:30 and we were out her door by 5:40.  Once the car doors shut, we just looked at each other and Aron pressed the pedal to the metal!  For the first few minutes we did not even talk.  Yes, just silence.  We made it to the bypass and our conversation was all about the kids (we must have already been missing them)!  Fear not, we went on with our date and ate dinner at Abuelos.  We feasted on chips and salsa and then stuffed ourselves with tacos and enchiladas!  It was heartburn city and we couldn't have been happier (I guess if we did not get the heartburn but whatev) it was a happy time.  After dinner, we planned on going to see a movie, but the movie was not going to start for another 35 minutes.  Instead, we went to Wal-Mart!  So sad, a date night, and we went and did our grocery shopping!  Ha.  It was totally okay though, we were desperate for food at our house.  The fridge was starting to smell like the old produce in the bottom drawer and the cabinets were holding a whole lotta somethings that could make a whole lotta nothing!  Our next few meals were looking like popcorn, a few granola bars (oat n honey, the leftovers in the box), a 3 month old box of cereal which is pretty much empty (we are hoarders) and a couple a random canned goods.
So, yes.  Dinner and then grocery shopping... I know you are all jealous.
After our shopping spree (seriously, we had two carts when we left).  We were walking out of Wal-Mart (Aron leading the way and I am right on his heels pushing my cart) and we are approaching the front row space that is holding a beat up jalopy with its doors wide open.
(I am already thinking that it is a good thing I am walking with my husband cause that car totally looks like a getaway ride I had seen on a recent episode of Americas Most Wanted, and I was totally creeped out with Lurkey McLurkerson in the front passengers seat and the 3 bummy looking galoots, who I am afraid were allergic to anything bathwater and soap related, squished up in the back seat). 
I tried to not even glance their way, telling myself to just keep looking forward, and then it happened..... one of the galoots in the back made some sorta cat call (which really sounded more like a cat that was in a fight and losing) and then his buddy with "summer teeth" (ya know, summer teeth, sum mer here and sum mer not so there) belted out a good ole, "hey baby" (which PTL (praise the Lord) I am married, because if not I am so very sure that the phrase "hey baby" woulda just made me wanna jump on his happy train and be a passenger to where ever he was going... NOT REALLY!)  Let me just say, I was a little shocked, and then I murmured at Larry, Moe, Curly, and Creepy McCreeperson the first thing that popped into my head, "ya buncha butt heads."  Really, butt heads??
Anyways, Aron (my amazingly protective husband with nice man arms just keeps on trucking to the car).  We get to the car, and I look at him and say, "ummm thanks for defending my honor."  Aron, my sweet precious soft spoken husband says, "whaaaat?  they were talking to the girl behind you!"  I was shocked!  I started looking all around the parking lot for this goddess that had captured the attention of the galoots, and I saw no goddess, in fact I saw no one!  I just looked at Aron and let him know that they were soooo talking to me, because I still got it.  He just smiled and said, "okay".

I know what your thinking... geez Caryn, it sounds like a lame date.  Umm, not so much.  We got home (and I will keep this "PG", since this is a family blog and my grandparents read it), but we got home and went at it!  Yes, we "went at" a few things that have been neglected with 2 children running around!  We cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes then folded and put away all of the clothes (7 loads that had been in our bedroom floor).  I know... we are just a couple a crazy kids!!
At 930, we were missing our babies, and we got off the couch to go and pick them up.  I think they were a little sad when we got there, they had way to much fun with their aunt and cousins.


















Date night = success