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Monday, March 28, 2011

reunited and it feels SO good...

so a few months ago, i did a little recap of how i rang in 2011 by meeting with my favorite blog-turned real life besties Jill, Sarah, and Kristy.  It was truly a day of epic proportions.  before leaving that day, we had already set the wheels in motion for our next meet up.  operation dallas was soon underway!  Although we can't wait for all our kiddos to meet up, we decided the dallas reunion needed to be just for the mommas.  a two day shopping/eating/bonding extravaganza.  and that, my friends, is exactly what we did!

the girls arrived at my house a little after noon and we headed to lunch at my favorite mexican restaurant, Gloria's.  y'all.  the service was terrible.  i think the waiter was just mad that kristy sent back her drink :)  it took him 20 minutes to take our order, and then jill's came out wrong.  lucky for him, we had so much to catch up on, that it was nice to sit and talk! 

after lunch, we headed to the outlets for some serious shopping.  we covered every inch of the outdoor space.  SO fun.  it think we all bought things we just needed :)  before we knew it, it was pushing 5 so we decided to head to the hotel for a little r&r before dinner. we got some fabulous presents!  jill gifted us with '"grown up" best friend necklaces from Julie the Fish Designs.  the plan is that every time we meet up, a new charm will be added.  love.  sarah gifted us with personalized wine glasses.  perfection.



there is a little 'c' in the center :)


after gifts, it was time to primp for dinner! jill busted out the dust it and sprinkled her magic on each of our hair.  in jill's words "just enough to make it big and a little trashy".  we added eye liner and a little too much mascara [maybe that was just me!] and headed to the melting pot.

the mandatory bathroom photo!

let me just say, i was a little nervous about dinner at the melting pot.  due to my aversion to most foods, i tend to stay in my little bubble of restaurants that i deem safe [i.e. restaurants that 5 year olds prefer].  but i figured this was girls weekend, and i needed to take one for the team. ummm, turns out...it was fabulous.  seriously.  the cheese fondue was perfection, and i even tried apple dipped in cheese and.i.liked.it. [could have been the sangria, but i'll never tell!]  we skipped the entree and went straight for dessert.  best.decision.ever!  jill and i got the "smores" and sarah & kristy had the "big night out'.  ohhhmmmmmgeeeee.  it was fantastic





"oh....my....word..."- jill

after a good two hour dinner, we headed to the car and we greeted by a police cruiser who has just pulled over another car, parking us in.  we watched as the officer arrested this young girl who i swear didn't even bat an eye.  we all confirmed that if it was one of us, we would be hysterically crying!  sarah tweeted about the incident, and was asked if the girl who was arrested was one of us!  haha!  too funny [jill, we would totally post your bail!]  good times.
it totally looks like kristy is in t.r.o.u.b.l.e!


saturday morning we were up bright and early for day two!  we headed to northpark for a little more shopping and breakfast at chic-fil-a.  after the mall, we headed to sprinkles!  we all got our cupcakes to go but it was still a 'must' on the trip :)



after sprinkles we headed to a little nail boutique for pedicures before it was time for the crew to head home.  it was a wonderful weekend with some of my very best friends.  you know these girls are lifers when they see you in ratty pj's and no makeup and still want to be your friend. or when they still love you after giving them the wrong directions on how to get back home. 
true friendship.
  love you girls so so so much!

here's to mena in june!!!!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

[wednesday] giveaway!...

so.  if y'all have been reading for a little while, you may remember me mentioning that i started a side project where i have been making handmade vintage-rolled rosettes and bloom flowers for the perfect accessory.  with spring in the air and summer well on its way, i thought it was time for a little giveaway!

love.Blooms.here

 For this giveaway, one lucky reader will get a custom necklace of their choice!


Entering is Easy! Here's how:

visit the website HERE.  take a little look around love.blooms.here and then:

1. become a follower of love.Blooms.here, and let me know you are following! [one entry]
2. blog/tweet about this giveaway, and leave me a comment with your blog/tweet! [one entry]
3. leave a comment letting me know your favorite item in the shoppe! [one entry]

Do all three, and you'll get three entries! See, EASY! Contest will end on Sunday, March 27th and the winner will be announced on Monday!

Thanks for entering!!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Just A Swingin’...


this weekend, we took full advantage of the gorgeous weather! on saturday we met up with brad, sarah & preston! sarah and i took the kiddos to the neighborhood park for a little fun in the sun!

Preston drove his car and was in love.  apparently, the connection between a boy and his toys is pretty strong :)


our first stop at the park was of course the swings!  The kids [and sarah] went down the slide a few times too :)




i was busy snapping photos [ i l.o.v.e. sarah's camera]

and posing in a few too :)


we headed back to the house and the kids had some popsicles! preston's first time, and i think he was a fan!

 

a great afternoon!!

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on sunday, ava and i cleaned house and did laundry before heading out to our little park.  Ava has mastered the monkey bars, and couldn't wait to get out there and add a few more blisters to her little hands :)


i hope you guys got some good weather and sunshine this weekend too!  happy monday.

Friday, March 11, 2011

a dose of random...

* its friday.  can i get a hallelujah?

*we had a student - led conference last night with ava at her school.  she presented her animal research project to us.  it was about spiders.  on the very first page, in her big kindergarten scrawl she had written:  "Spiders ar in SEX"  translation"Spiders are insects".  i almost died.

* my babe is going on vacation [ it is her spring break] without us for 6 days. yikes.

*hubs and i have never been with just the two of us for 6 days in a row since ava was born.
 double yikes.

*at breakfast this morning, ava declared: "i am so glad it is friday because tomorrow is saturday and on saturday i'm going to daddy steve & sherry's and i don't have to listen to you yell for six.whole.days.

*i wasn't as sad that she would be gone after that comment!

*i have to go to target to get her a swim suit because her suit from last year is too small.

*she leaves tomorrow and i haven't packed one.single.thing.

*i'm planning on making a ton of vintage rolled rosettes this weekend 
[ i have a few orders to fill! yay! ] . 

*anyone need to place an order? Love.Blooms.Here

*i'm trying to get the hubs on board to buy a new computer for home.  and a new camera.  both negotiations are not going in my favor.

happy weekend!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

born to be a star...



star student.  the most coveted title in kindergarten.  on friday, february 18th, miss priss got the shock of her little lifetime when it was announced that she would be the "star student of the week".  she was so excited.  hearing her recap how she found out was priceless.

mrs. s:  "this week's star student had a little bit of trouble at the beginning of the year.  she couldn't sit still on the carpet.
ava:  i don't think it's me...
mrs. s:  "she has been showing so much improvement!  She is always helping me in the classroom, and helping other students."
ava:  that is definitely not me.
mrs. s: "so this week's star student is ava!"
ava: i can't believe it is me!!!

priceless, i tell you.  we had lots of fun projects for the next week in order to make her "star student" week extra special. 

monday:  make a special poster showcasing your star student and their family.



tuesday:  complete the interview paper. the star student will be interviewed by mrs. s in front of the class.

i was surprised that she chose "ABC's" as her favorite song.  when i questioned her, she rolled her eyes and said "mom, you have to sing it in front of the whole class, and the ABC's are easy!"

wednesday: bring your favorite toy/game to share with the class.

 
again, i was surprised that she chose aurora as her favorite toy.  she is quite the tom boy, and i was thinking it would be buzz lightyear or her baseball that went to school.  again, she rolled her eyes and explained that the movie of sleeping beauty was awesome because the prince kills a dragon to save aurora.  duh, mom.

thursday:  bring one sample of your hobby/collection/interest to share with the class.

this was NOT a surprise.  girlfriend has over 100 sillybandz.  that she is not allowed to wear to school [my rule --- i loathe silly bandz, and don't want her getting in trouble for playing with them at school]  she was so excited to get to take it to school, even though she was only allowed to take one :)

friday:  bring your favorite book to be read to the class.


ava loves this book, mostly because she can read it cover-to-cover all by herself.  she was excited that she would read it to the classs instead of mrs. s. :)


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on friday, buddy bear got to come home with ava from school [ bb is part of the star student -- we got him a week late because the star student the week before forgot to bring him back to school :) ] honestly, it worked out perfectly because bb comes with a journal and you write about what fun things you did with bb!  so we took bb to brad and sarah's house!  he got some play time with preston :)



he also got to tag along with aunt sarah, ava and i to see justin bieber's never say never in 3D [ aunt sarah's reward for ava being star student :) ]




she was a little sad when it was all over. it was great to see her so excited about school and learning that if you do you best, you will be rewarded :)

star student or not, we are so proud of our little nugget!

"if i could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the balm of my hand". - author unknown