Mattie turns 6!

Our little Mattie-girl turned six years old on the sixth of this month.  Unbelievable.  Will my heart ever make peace with the passage of time?  I think no. 

Her birthday was on a Tuesday, and then we had her party that following Saturday.  But, these pictures are completely backwards and all jumbled up and I'm too tired to fix them....which sort of makes them a metaphor for my life.

This is what ended up being the cakes for Mattie's party. 

Not what I had originally planned, but does a party ever come off without a hitch?  The ones I throw certainly don't.  Mattie originally wanted a "rainbow" themed party, and the cake idea that we agreed upon was to have cupcakes frosted in a rainbow of colors, and then arrange those cupcakes in a rainbow shape.  This was completely doable and even easy in my mind, and it would've ended up looking something like this (picture via pinterest):

 But the day before the party she told me she decided she hated that idea and instead wanted an actual cake with a rainbow made out of frosting.  Long story short, I burned the cake the night before the party, and it had to go in the trash, and I ended up at Walmart at 7:00am and had to buy 3 of their bakery cakes and come home and paint the rainbows on them myself, finishing *just* before we had to leave to get to the party.  So, so, so very typical of my life!

Mattie had her heart set on having her birthday party at our local gym's swimming pool.  It is a great party spot, but not the cheapest, so we told her we would do this, but the party was her gift from us (mean parents, ha!), and she was all for it!  I went really light (weak!) on decorations and just had a banner from The Dollar Tree and tableware in rainbow colors...she loved it! 

The present table....we are currently working through writing thank you notes for this haul of gifts:

Mattie opening:

Group pic of all the kids at the party.  We were thankful for a great turnout and so many friends there!

Blowing out SIX candles....I can't get over it. 

I took this picture because in all the hustle and bustle of slicing and handing out cake to 20+ kids, I lost track of Presley for a second....when I looked up, she had found a spot at the table right in the middle of Mattie's friends.  She thinks all of Mattie's friends are her friends too....and they are all very sweet to her:

OK, now back up a few days to the actual day of Mattie's birthday, which was Tuesday, March 6th.  I wanted to do something fun for her so that her actual day felt special to her, so after she fell asleep the night before her birthday, I hung baloons in her doorway , and in the doorway leading into our living room, and above our kitchen table.  I cannot say enough how easy this way but what a HUGE deal it was to her....she thought it was the greatest thing ever and felt very special when she woke up...goal acheived!  I will now have to do this for Presley in October, and for both girls birthdays from now on, that's how much they loved it. 

We had spaghetti at my parent's house that night,and I made her a little cake to have there.  Here's a pic of her blowing out six candles....we were Face-Timing w/ my sister at the time, so she actually took the pic:

Mattie's party invite:

And here's my six year old.  So, so proud of what a precious girl she is.  Hands down the smartest, cutest, funniest, sweetest, most adorable six year old I've ever known, and to think she belongs to me just blows my mind.  Blessed, blessed mama am I.

Valentine's Day 2012

The girls had a wonderful Valentine's Day yesterday....lots of fun, sweets, and partying, which is what makes all kids happy, right? Here some pics of our festivities.

I saw this Valentine idea of Pinterest a while back and thought it was so cute and thought I'd give it a try. This was SO, SO super easy and cheap (about $2.50 for the prints and $2 for the suckers), and Mattie absolutely loved them. I was kinda thinking they were the cutest thing ever, and then I started seeing all this backlash on blogs and facebook about mom's who do too much on holidays to make themselves look better, and you should let your kid do their own valentine's, and blah blah blah. To all that chatter I say, this is the fun part of being a mom to me. Did Mattie hand make these all by herself? No. Did she help? Yes. When I told her the idea, did she love it, and then when she saw the finished product, did she say "best valentine's ever, mom!"? YES! So, whatever....we liked them. Mattie would hand out signed headshots of herself if it were up to her, so this was kind of a version of that.

On Sunday, we decorated a box for Mattie to take to school for all her Valentine's to go in. Lots of fun, and I let her pull out whatever she wanted to use from my craft stash, and I expected it to look pretty hodge-podgy, but she's got some decor ability about her, I think!

I had to take a picture of the card Mattie made for her teacher because I thought it was so sweet. We have been blessed with what is the absolute best Kindergarten teacher to ever walk the planet, and Mattie absolutely adores her:

The inside is what I thought was so precious, ha!:

These are the cookies I made for her class party...another Pinterest inspiration:

I ended up having to take Presley with me to Mattie's class party. Not my ideal situation, but it turned out OK. Mattie was so thrilled to have her there, and Presley felt like such a big girl. She begs me to take her in Mattie's school ALL the time, and she knows Mattie's teacher, so she felt like she was one of the students for an hour yesterday.

We finished our day with daddy bringing home balloons and candy for both girls, and we had a very routine, nothing-fancy dinner, BUT, I turned off the kitchen lights, and we lit candles on the table, so we had what Mattie calls a "Candle-Night Dinner". And daddy did bathtime even though it wasn't his turn, which is about the most romantic thing I could have asked for. Hope everyone enjoyed Valentine's Day!

Pocahontas

Last week Mattie participated in her school's History Parade. I was the proudest mama ever! This was not a required activity, completely voluntary, but Mattie really wanted to do it, and she could not have performed better. She really suprises me sometimes because she can be so shy and bashful, but give her an opportunity to get on a stage, and she's all over it!

We debated long and hard about what character from history she should portray, and finally we decided upon Pocahontas. Mattie loves Pocahontas and we had a Native American costume that I was able to alter to fit her, so this worked perfect!

Next we had to come up with a "speech". Mattie is my first child to go to kindergarten, and I have never been to the History Parade before, so I had no idea exactly how much of a "speech" we should prepare for her. Should it be long, should it be short....I had not idea! So I wrote up a brief Pocahontas life summary and we set about memorizing it over the next week.

On the day of the History Parade, Mattie was nervous, but she had an awesome costume and she knew her speech inside and out, so I kept reminding her of those things, and she ended up doing SO GOOD!

Here's my little Indian girl:


Mattie was about the sixth child to go in the parade, and every kid before her just got up on stage, and said who they were, and walked off. No speeches! I worried for a second that Mattie would panic and do the same, but she walked up and did her whole speech, and I almost levitated out of my chair I was so proud!

Here is her speech, which I'm putting here mainly so I can remember it:

Hi, My name is Pochahontas.
I was born in Virginia in 1595.
When I was a young girl, settlers came to my area.
A man named John Smith was taken prisoner by my people.
But I saved his life!
After that I visited Jamestown frequently, and became friends with the settlers there,
and there was peace during this time.
Later, I moved to England, and I died there with small pox in 1617.

Obviously, there is much more to Pochantas' life, but we were trying to hit the high points!

Here is Mattie on stage:

So, the History Parade is actually a competition, and they give awards by class in several different categories, and then the top performers from each class are invited to participate in the History Parade showcase at the end of the week at The Arts Center. Mattie won all the awards for Kindergarten (best speech, best costume, most creative, best essay) and she was asked to participate in the showcase!

Here she is that Friday on the big stage:

She had to go very first, but she rocked her speech again!

I was so impressed with ALL the kids that did the history parade. Tons of talented kids at her school, and lots of really, really good performances. We love our school!

Flashback Friday

I've seen this on a couple other blogs, and thought I'd do it too. These pictures are a "flashback" to 2008...nearly 4 years ago. This is Mattie as a 2yr old...she's about 27months here, which is about what Presley is now. I love looking back at pictures of Mattie and comparing them to Presley now. They are so different!

Big blue eyes!

Mattie had SO much more hair than Presley has. Presley's is just now reaching her shoulders, and at this point Mattie had already had several haircuts, and it was still down her back:

Happy little 2yr old!

I'm pretty sure no one even bothers clicking over here anymore since I am the world's most inconsistent and irregular blogger, but I'm going to do my best to jump back in to updating this ole blog regularly. I have wanted to post so many times, but just haven't done it for one of several reasons:

-My computer is old and slow, and sometimes does not cooperate with Blogger, and I end up frustrated when trying to post.

-It takes forever to upload pictures.

-I had a hugely, incredibly busy fall and Christmas season with sewing orders. A blessing...but just about every other area of my life was neglected during Nov. and Dec.

-My darling youngest child keeps me ON MY TOES all day long, and when she goes to bed at night, I collapse like I've just finished a marathon. Or in a manner I would assume one would collapse in if one were to finish a marathon.

-My precious first-born also keeps me busy, but mostly with activities, not with toddler shenanigans like her sister. We had a busy fall with that girl!

So, I thought I'd throw out a few pictures and a list, and go from there. Shall we?

THINGS I'M HAPPY ABOUT OR LOOKING FORWARD TO OR JUST THINGS IN GENERAL:

-Starting a new spring bible study at church. We are doing Beth Moore's newest, which is "James: Mercy Triumphs". Excited!

-Mattie turns 6 in March. Perhaps I shouldn't include it under this list...maybe I should start a new list called THINGS I CANNOT BELIEVE AND ALMOST REFUSE TO ACCEPT BECAUSE IF IT WERE UP TO ME SHE WOULD STAY 5 FOREVER. Because that's how I feel about that.

-I did some major cleaning out right after Christmas while my girls were at my in-laws and took a HUGE load to Goodwill. It was much needed and my home feels so much more un-cluttered. I have huge aspirations of keeping it that way, and doing even more de-cluttering in 2012.

-Around the time Mattie was 2, I started running. Not fast, and not incredibly far, but I did do it pretty regularly, and even got up early in the mornings to do it (!). I did a couple of local 5k's and it was something I enjoyed. Matthew runs too, and it was something that we enjoyed together, even though we never really ran together (if that makes sense). BUT, when I became pregnant with Presley, I stopped and I have never started back. I've made a few attempts, but never stuck with it. I am determined 2012 is the year I hit the streets again. I've been walking everyday this week, and I'm thinking of starting Couch to 5k next week. I've heard great things, and it would give me a program to follow rather than just running my heart out. So I'm thinking a spring 5K might be on my list of to-do's.

-Matthew and I are trying to do some healthy eating, and after 3 days, I'm already so over it! We had a bingeful Christmas and both of us basically ate or drank anything that came within reach the entire month of December, and I can't speak for him, but my jeans are not just snug, they're almost inappropriately tight. SO, I'm trying to stick with it. For the sake of those who have to see me in my jeans.

-Around Thanksgiving, or maybe a little before, we went from the status of "Potty Training" with Presley to "Potty Trained". It has been my experience with both girls that at some point, something just clicks with them, and the accidents and headaches of potty training suddenly cease, and they are all the sudden potty trained. I am so proud of her for being such an easy one to train, and oh the joys of not buying diapers or worrying about messes anymore. She is sleeping in pull-ups still, but we are going on week 3 of waking up dry, so I'm thinking I'm not buying anymore of those either. Glory!

-I went through a severe Pinterest addiction a few months ago, and I think I have finally leveled out to being a normal user. Seriously...it's too addicting! But I have done SO MANY projects I have found on there. Maybe I should share some here??

-I have seriously considered deleting my Facebook profile. If my business page wasn't connected to it, and I didn't have several groups that I'm a part of on there, I probably would. I feel like Facebook has made me feel differently, and in some cases negatively, about people that I would have liked otherwise had I not been subjected to their lame or ignorant or negative or self-inflating posts. Can anyone relate to that? Has anyone ever deleted their profile and survived? Do tell.

-Matthew and I have a no-gift policy for Christmas. We like to focus our energy, efforts, and dollars on our girls, and that is enough gift for both of us. This year, however, he surprised me (truly surprised me) with a Kindle. This mama reads a ton, and he knows I have lusted after the Kindle for a long time. I got the Kindle Touch and I love it! I was in the middle of a real book at Christmas that I just finished, so I have yet to actually use it, but I'm planning to start something new on the Kindle tonight.

-Tomorrow is my 11th anniversary. And the Razorbacks are playing in the Cotton Bowl tomorrow night, so I think I know how my anniversary will be spent : )

On to some pictures!

I looked for some Thanksgiving pictures, but it appears I didn't take a single picture at Thanksgiving. So on to Christmas!

As I said, I was insanely busy during Christmas with sewing orders, so I never got around to making my own children a Christmas dress, but I did whip up these quick little skirts to match their scotty dog sweaters and this is what they wore to our Christmas Eve service. Way cute!

I had big intentions of getting family pictures made this fall in order to have one for a Christmas card, and it just never happened. BUT I STILL WANTED MY CHRISTMAS CARD! So, I invested in a $12 tripod from Walmart, enlisted my mother to help (by pushing the shutter release button), and basically took them myself. We got about 150 throw-away shots, but I did get a few keepers and one good one for the card. Success!

Here are my girls being sweet:

My precious, blue-eyed baby:


My little mess of a child:

This was our card:

I did the girls shirts super quick right before we went to do these pictures from an idea I saw on...Pinterest! It's just ribbon ironed on in different lengths to look like a Christmas tree with a button on top. Super easy, super cheap because I already had all the ribbon and the tees, and we got so many compliments on these shirts.

I think that's all for now. I may try to post some more Christmas pictures tomorrow!

School and Soccer

We are on our fifth week of school this week, and Mattie is doing great. It took about 3 weeks for us to kind of find our groove, and for her to get adjusted and used to the longer day, the separation from mama, the short lunchtime, the homework and tests, etc. But I think we're finally in a good place, and can say with some confidence that she is liking school. She is learning to read and I have never seen the child so excited, which thrills me.

With the start of school also comes the start of fall activities, and this year Mattie is playing soccer. She had her first practice last week, and loved, loved, loved it. I think she's going to enjoy sports, unlike her mother....she's seems to be athletic, and has a huge streak of competitiveness in her, so we'll see. Soccer for kindergartners is mostly just cute! Here's some pics of her first practice, and they're all out of order, but I don't feel like moving them:

Sweet, precious friends:


After practice cool-down....it was not that hot, but Mattie wouldn't be Mattie if she didn't have to throw a towel on her head for extra effect:

Go team go!!:

Playing goalie, her favorite, and taking it very seriously!:

iPhone Pics

We have been having the best summer, and although I haven't picked up my camera as much as I should, I do always have my iphone handy for pics, so I thought I'd post some of those. These are ALL out of order, and span from about May to Current, and are basically a bunch of randomness, but some cute ones too. Promise to update more often!

We went to to College Station, TX over 4th of July weekend to visit my brother and his family, and that Sunday we drove over (down?) to Houston to a baseball game. This was SO FUN! I'm not big on baseball, we are definitely a football family, but I have to say, I can't wait to do this again....we all loved it and had the best time!

Mattie at Minute Maid Park in Houston at Astros vs. Red Sox game...SO FUN!



Us. We left PK with Mimi which was a VERY wise decision:
We went to a mall in College Station that had a pet store where you could hold the puppies....basically a little girls paradise. Mattie fell in love with several that day. It looks fake, but this is a real puppy she's holding:

My girls were HORRIBLE on our trip to TX. It's about a 5 1/2hr drive, and we left at naptime hoping that would sleep most of the trip...they were awake and whining THE ENTIRE TIME....until about 30 minutes before we got there, and they both fell sound asleep. My nerves were absolutely shot!

In early June, we made our family beach trip to the Gulf Coast. I'll post more pictures hopefully, but this was Presley at the beach....she would stay at the beach or pool as long as you wanted her to, as long as she had a snack handy. She's eating her favorite, cheese doritos, here:

This pic is from vacation too. My precious nephew went with us, and Matthew being the good sport he is, let the kiddos bury him in the sand. Someone (I won't say who) added the "feminine chest", which is hard to make out in the picture, but really.....who would do that?! (it was me)

Presley is always running away from me! I have been very aware that this is probably her last summer to wear these little bubble suits, so I have been putting her in them as much as possible, because I LOVE to see those baby legs!

Mattie and I....at a restaurant while on vacation:

Gaming nerds! Many times while my nephew was visiting, we had to tell the kids to "put the devices down and GO PLAY!"

This has been a popular activity this spring/summer....going for a 4wheeler ride with daddy:

I am so addicted to "Smocked Auctions" on Facebook. It is SO ADDICTIVE....precious smocked clothing for very reasonable prices, but it's sold "auction style", so you have to be a quick bidder. I got this little turtle dress for PK back in May

Mattie's preschool class went on several field trips the last week of school, and I went on several of them with her. Here we are at the fire station:

Mattie has just about completely given up her nap, which is good since she's going to kindergarten in a few weeks. Some days I make her take one (like today) when I KNOW she needs it, but most days I let her play or watch a movie during that time. And every now and then, she will accidentally fall asleep while playing. This time she happened to be dressed up as Sleeping Beauty, ha!

Sweet friends:

Presley in pigtails....she's saying "Ti-Tuh doh?", which translates to "Where'd sister go?"

This is Presley wearing a gown that belonged to Mattie. It's a little girl's size 4, and Mattie had just been wearing it up until the week before, although it was quite short, so I decided to try it on PK....and it fit. There's been several things I've been able to move straight from Mattie's drawer/closet to Presley's, even though there's 3 1/2yrs difference.

Mattie's first lemonade stand with her neighbor friends:

Presley had a VERY nasty fall a while back:

If ever there were a daddy's girl, Mattie is it....this was one night during the NFL draft, and Mattie watched with daddy as long as she could before falling asleep:

This is from May, I think....I worked so hard and planted all these gorgeous planters, and for a while my porch looked great. All that's living at this point is the sweet potato vine : ( I don't think anything can survive South Arkansas heat!

A while back I found this paper and when I asked Mattie about what it was, she casually told me she was drawing naked people and "booties". Lord, PLEASE do not let her do this at school! I don't think I would survive that embarrassment.

Sometimes I just have to cage them:

Mothers of young girls, please listen to me now: never, EVER, give your child bangs. Because there will come a time when you and she will want to grow those bangs out, and it will be the most frustrating, exhausting experience of your life, and you will end up with a child that looks like this in pictures...this will forever be remembered as "The Summer Mattie Grew Her Bangs Out":

Presley is a rocking baby. She went through a phase where she was over it, but we are back to rocking before bed every night, and I will admit, I absolutely love it. We don't rock long, just long enough to sing a few songs, but oh my, is that not the sweetest time? Typically I'm the bedtime rocker, but lately Presley has decided she will wield her toddler power and make bedtime rocking demands....usually Mommy, but sometimes Daddy. And one night last week...she requested Sister. And while my instinct was to not allow it, I let them, and Mattie rocked baby sister for a good 10 minutes in the dark, while singing to her, and Presley laid completely still. It was the sweetest thing...so I had to ruin it by turning on the light and snapping a picture:

My little teenager fell asleep listening to the "Tangled" soundtrack on my iPod before bed...all wrapped up in her blankie.

This horse swimsuit belonged to Mattie when she was a baby. It's a size 18m, which Presley has outgrown, but it's SO cute, I had to see it on her one time. It's hard to tell, but it's denim colored and has a fringe on the sides of the legs. It gave her just the slightest "muffin top" : )