Never Ever Let It Cool...

My youngest, my random, corky, always in her head, sweet little girl turned FIVE!

Madalyn planned a party that reflected her perfectly!! Yes, you read that right... Madalyn has been planning exactly what she wanted out of her 5th birthday for almost a year.  HOT CHOCOLATE PARTY was her first of many requests........ with Christmas music playing.  So I set the scene with lots of help from Pinerest.

Jennycookies was a huge insperation

 

 

Mug of Hot Chocolate Cupcake I found here

 

She wanted her friends to decorate their own mugs, so we bought porcelain markers because unfortunately the pinterest sharpy idea was a FAIL!

 

The kids also painted their own marshmallow for their hot chocolate. A huge hit!! We have done this quick little bit of fun a few times since the party.

This brilliance was found here

And of course they had hot chocolate!! We made stir sticks so the little guests can make it themselves. 

 

Madalyn had a few other requests that I did not grant....... She wanted the grown ups to decorate their own cupcakes and she wanted to some how have the hot chocolate poor out from out ceiling..... sorry girly!  I did however give in to her last request.... watch her favorite movie with her friends... Polar Express!!

 

Thanks to the best bunch of friends a girl could hope for, Pinterest.com and Tom Hanks... Madal's Birthday dreams came true!!!

As for me....... I'll let you know when I emotionally recover from my youngest turning FIVE!!

Future Mom Blogger

What happens to the generation that is raised in the time of Mom Bloggers??

Here is Madal talking about being a mom to her Angelina mouse. Unfortunately I missed the beginning of her conversation where she was telling me how she got Angelina's outfit on clearance for $2. Anyway... here is the future of Mom Blogging.

(So sorry for the unmade bed)

Outside the Bag

Having kids, most of the time, the least expensive way to buy bedding is to do one of those "bed in a bag" sets. One stop shop, all for a low price. I LOVE a low price and I live for a deal, but I also desire more character in my rooms. I find the bed in a bag approach to be cute, but a little generic for me. Like this:

So I took the window valance out of the girls set and came up with some other uses for it.

My first project was OH SO long ago. Remember this one...

Matching doll quilts are still a favorite.

Next I framed some fabric, so simple and easy.

My third idea I got from a cute little blog. I think these fabric letters are so stickn cute!!

Last, thanks to craft and cocktails night, a little Mosh Posh, paint and canvas.

Note: Not loving my first attempt, but my second try... I LOVE!!

My girls do love kits!!

F Words

I love all the monogram crafts that are out on pinterest right now and I love the look that my friend have in there house when they display their last name in fun and creative ways.
I just love the look!!

Here

Here

I feel that with the last name of Freed having a giant F in my house would not be cute and playful, but look a little more like this...

FAIL, FLOP, FEARFUL...

With this in my mind I try and resist the urge to jump on the monogram bandwagon of cuteness. Instead I went to the store to buy a H and M for the girls room (I will reveal that soon!!) and while I was there and fighting the urge to buy a F, I picked one up..... "Why do you want an F, Mom?" Hannah asked. "Why do you think, Hannah?" I answered, sure that she would instantly answer FREED!! "Ummmm" she thought, "FUN!" she blurted out. "Nooooo" I said shocked that she didn't think of the obvious. "Friend" she tried again. "Fancy, Fantastic!"

My innocent, positive and sweet little girl, THANK YOU! I realize that it is not the letter F that is the problem, it is where my heart is, that is the problem. My heart aches everyday with the thought that my body Failed to carry our third child to term. All of my hopes and plans for the year came Falling down and I am left Fearful of what will come. Will I ever become pregnant again? FAILING FEAR... Will this just happen again, if I do become pregnant? FEAR!

We are Freed, and we are Fun and Fantastic and we will Flurish. We will be Fearless because God has our Future in his hands.

So in an effort to change my heart I bought the letter F.

I think it looks Fabulous!

Problem Solving in the Land of Girls

Ok, so you remember a flipping year ago when I bought these...

Of course you do, it has only been 12 months!!!!

Well I had big plans for them... I took them apart and painted them and than........ they sat for almost a stickn year before I literally cleaned the dust off of them and finished my project.

So here is the problem in the land of girls.... ALL THE HAIR!! I'm not just talking about what clogs my drains and vacuum, but what we use to tame all the hair. Brushes, bands, ties, ribben, clips, elastics, combs........ x3!!!

So I use the frames in a small effort to take care of our tangles mess of hair stuff.

Add a couple a couple 50 cent frames to the wall for some color and we are off to a good start!

So the clips have a pretty new home, now to figure out what to do the brushes, bands, ties ribbon, elastics and combs. : )

DIY Valentine's Day- AKA Pinterest Spin Offs

With an endless amount of brilliant ideas streaming through my computer screen, I question if I can still come up with an original idea or are all my crafts just going to be my own variation of something I see in the wonderful world of pinterest.

V-day DIY #1- Craft and cocktails night with the girls will forever be inspired by pinterest.

Craft found on pinterest here:

My spin:

V-day DIY #2- Who doesn't love book page crafts.

Idea found on pinterest here:

My spin:

V-day DIY #3- Strictly platonic Valentines for school.

Idea found on pinterest here:

My "a little more mom friendly", prepackaged and so wishing I could have found round clear bags... spin:

Happy Valentines Day!!

Thursdays

I have not Blogged in a while, I have been debating if I should even write on the topic. Writing is healing and for so many people blogging is a way to work out their thoughts and feelings.



For most of my married life I loved Thursdays. I looked forward to every Thursday meeting up with Josh, my parents and my brother Joe for Nepalese food. After I had my girls Thursday was a day of rest and refueling for me at my local Mother of Preschoolers group.


This year, it was on a Thursday that I surprised Josh with the exciting and joyful news that we were expecting our third child.

It was a Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, that we said goodbye to our pregnancy and our little baby. Brokenhearted

Today is our forth Thursday without our baby. Even though we are moving forward, and everyday of the week gets a little easier and we are starting to make new plans for our family, Thursday still stings. On Thursday that part of my heart that belongs to my third child feels a little more empty. Especially this Thursday, December 22nd, a date that was etched in my heart and etched on my baby brothers headstone twenty-two years ago.

It was on a Thursday that my youngest brother met my youngest child, before me, in Heaven.