SwEeTbUg Is ThReE!!!!!!!

This little one was soooo excited to turn three and have a birthday party with a custom Care Bears cake designed by her Mimi. Weeks before her big day she instructed Mimi on the exact colors that every part of the bear must be. She brought me magazines with pictures in it of a table decorated for a birthday celebration and told me this is what she wanted, and most importantly I must have birthday cups that weren't paper!

She may be little, but this girl knows exactly what she wants!

I can't believe that she is three because I remember the exact moment when I held her in my arms and it seems like a couple of months ago. Although she has an older sister's footsteps to fit into this girl definitely toots her own horn. She is so different than my Isabella and in many ways reminds me of myself if I had no restraints and half the nerve. She is a true firecracker with a love of life and a giggle that comes from so deep within I wonder if it hurts Her laughter is contagious and something I look forward to hearing daily.

She had a wonderful party with family and friends.

Here the kids are making icecream sundaes. Again, this was her idea and she insisted we have gummy bears for toppings.

On the night of her actually birthday after a night out at Jose Pepper's.

For a birthday lunch we dined at the new Fritz's in Shawnee with our special Aunt Krista! I love this place no matter where it is, but it was an extra bonus that it is so much closer than Crown Center and it was CLEAN (which means I didn't get stuck to the seat!).

Our special friends Staci, Mia Kate, and Jillian joined us.

Thanks for a great lunch girls, it meant the world to Margaret!

Introducing Ari and Walt!

Shortly after our beloved fish Pippi passed away I let the girls pick out new fish to fill their fish bowl. Of course they each wanted one this time around and they picked out these lovely goldfish. I was little nervous about these guys, which is why I am just now posting about them because I wasn't sure how long I could keep them alive. I was nervous for several reasons. I have never had a goldfish, only beta's, and when I researched anything about them they just sounded more high maintenance and let's just say I get to the fish when I get to it.

Much to my surprise they have been a delight! They are constantly playing with each other and chasing each other around the bowl which has been so much more entertaining than what Pippi would ever do. And also to my surprise, they have been alive about a month now!

Isabella named her fish Ari (a play name that they have had for ages, don't have a clue where it came from but usually it is Walter's name when they play) and Margaret named her fish Walt (this is actually what she calls her brother when she is being sweet to him). Wondering if these guys will last the full year-and-a-half that Pippi did...we will see!

Happy Birthday Barbie!

Today we celebrated 50 fabulous years with America's favorite doll, Barbie.

I took the girls to the Toy & Miniature Museum of Kansas City for the celebration. This is another place I have been wanting to take the kids but wanted to wait until they were old enough to enjoy it. It was such a fun and magical place that brought back many memories of my childhood toys.

The girls loved the Barbie exhibit which featured the original Barbie and how she has changed through each generation. I learned a few new things about Barbie myself, at one time they made a pregnant Barbie and also a grandma and grandpa Barbie. Who knew! They also had crafts for the kids, they got to make bracelets out of beads and Barbie shoes. And best of all they had a full birthday honoring her with yummy cake and icecream.

Another favorite at the museum was all of the dolls and dollhouses. The girls loved peeking into the windows of each house to see what was going on inside. It was amazing to me all of the details that each house had. Each room was lit up and just full of coziness.

All in all this was a great way to spend a cold and rainy Saturday, I highly recommend it!

Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

This weekend we had a family outing to the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. This is really just a hop, skip, and jump from our house so I am wondering why it took us so long to go on this journey but we finally made it there and it was well worth it!

Obviously the gardens are not blooming this time of year but the trails and the scenery are just awesome! Even though a lot of nature is dying right now it was still beautiful with waterfalls, wildlife, ponds, and fantastic trails that twist through the thick of the trees. I have definitely found my new running spot and best of all it is like ten minutes away!!!

The kids had a great time too. I wondered how it would go with no play equipment or designated "park" area for kids but I will tell you they really took it all in. They got to climb trees, see gopher tracks, waterfalls, frogs and turtles in the ponds, and best of all...

we got to meet this little dear family. As we were winding through the trail we came across a family of four. They were beautiful and so peaceful. We were super quiet and they let us get as close as we could. They just looked up at us several times but never ran away.

The kids were in awe. Walter kept trying to get closer, I think he wanted to touch them.

It was a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather and show the kids all of Gods wonderful creations!

Diaper Study

I just finished a diaper study that I was doing for a research company here in Kansas City. It was fairly simple and I got 15 days worth of free diapers plus $125.00!!! If you are interested email me and I will send you the information. You can set up a profile with them and they contact you when studies come up that you can contribute to.

Easy way to make some cash:)

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween. Lots of family and lots of yummy food!

My three munchkins all geared up and ready to go.

Walter was a trooper, he loved going around the neighborhood getting candy. By the end of the night his poor little bag was dragging on the ground.

One of my favorite pics!

She picked this one out on her own as well. She wanted to be a cowgirl, "yeehaw"!

He couldn't believe all of the candy.

The neighborhood crew!

One of my neighbors dressed up like a really spooky old man. They had no idea it was him, they look petrified!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Clown or Frankenstein?

To continue with our Halloween theme Walter decided to show his true spirit in the festivities!

As we were playing at the park last week he took a spill as he was about to go down the slide. Of course I was waiting at the bottom to catch him as going down the slide is something that he has been able to do on his own for quite some time now. He did not fall off of the slide, he just hit the edge of the slide, which is made of hard plastic and is a nice rounded surface. One would think that this would leave a nice goose egg... no such luck. This, in fact, broke open his forehead which lead to huge amounts of blood and a nice first time trip to the ER for some stitches. Yes, my little man had to get stitched up! He got three stitches in the middle of his forehead which left me to decide if I should change his costume from clown to Frankenstein!

I have to say that this was a very traumatic experience, more for me than him. With my girls I don't even think I have seen blood so I went into complete panic when there was so much on his little face that all I could see was his eyes.

He was absolutely fine and it has shown no signs of slowing him down.

Let's just pray this is just not one of many ER visits to come.

Witches Brew!

The Halloween festivities started off with a parade and a party at Isabella's school.

As you can see she decided to be a mermaid this year. We saw this costume in Target one day and she practically laid on the ground begging me to buy it for her. She had me convinced that it was her life long dream to be a mermaid for Halloween. Who could resist that?

The party was filled with yummy treats and lots of spooky games. They ended by performing one of my favorite Halloween ditty's "Witches Brew". I remember this from my own childhood and have spent the last two weeks relearning every word as it is sung throughout my house daily:)