Talking to Her

My favorite favorite favorite thing these days, is listening to this one tell me stories.  Anything.  Literally anything and everything she says or talks about, is hilarious and amazing to me. The way she tells stories is so funny and entertaining, I could listen to her talk all day.

Okay, I DO listen to her talk all day.

 :)

Here she was talking to me, and I was snapping because I am in love with her serious "story-telling" faces.

This was midday, not even close to naptime.

"Mommy, look at us! Ariel and I are pretending to be sleeping outside!  We are outside, not inside, and we are having a SLEEPOVER!"

 "And guess what?  After our sleepover, she is going to call her best friend Cinderella to come over and play!"

 "Okay, g'night!  You can leave the door open, because we're just pretending."

I mean, okay.  I'm in love with talking to you.

Our Park

Fun Fact: Mommy LOVES the park.  Like, maybe more than the kiddos.  I have the parks in my town/surrounding towns ranked according to a few different things: fun activities (a park without swings? Really?), cleanliness, how crowded it is, and how creepy the people are that frequent the park.  (One park by us has approximately 13 parents ALL smoking while they play with their kids.  I mean, if you want to smoke, that's fine...just don't do it on my kids.  The park was literally hazy.)

So you can imagine my excitement when we moved to our new community, and we have OUR OWN PARK.  Not only is it our own private park, but it. is. perfect.

Observe:

 Can  we JUST take a moment to talk about Reagan's hair.  I mean, really.  It's almost not normal how cute it is.

 Our park is right on a LAKE!  (And an outdoor pool. And a Beach House restaurant. More on that in the summah-time. ;) )

 Joy.

 Daddy teaching Reilly on the big girl swing!

 And then all the girls went down the slide holding hands!

 Teasing ;)

 Baby + Daddy.  Nothing sweeter.

This park is sure to provide us with hours and hours of fun in the years to come.

Dear New Park,
You magically came with our house, and we didn't even see you until yesterday.  And yet, you are perfect.  You make us smile.
Love,
Us

Light Fixtures

This was the Birthday of the Light Fixtures.  It was kind of accidental, but I got a lot of light fixture for/around my birthday.  And I couldn't have been more excited!!

Light fixtures being your favorite birthday gifts : a sure sign you are getting old. 

This was the first one, a birthday gift from my parents. And boy, is she a beauty!  She lives in our entryway.  Perfect mix of statement, yet understated.  I just love it. 

After our fun trip to New York, this was a surprise that I came home too, from my amazing Hubby.  I mean, the thoughtfulness of getting the gorgeous chandelier for me, but also of putting it up for me as a surprise!  It was the funnest surprise to come home to. :)

 Speaking of light fixtures, this was the first one Hubby and I tackled.  It was a total DIY project, and man are we proud of this puppy.

 

These suckers go for like 80 bucks online.  But we used glass from an old (read:ugly) fixture that came with the house.  We got a cheap mini-pendant lamp kit from Home Depot, and voila!  I love it. 

Another surprise light fixture, was this one that Hubby made as well!  This hanging lamp was actually my idea.  These lamps are ones that Hubby uses in Mantown, and I always loved their industrial look.  They are like $7 at Home Depot, which was exciting!  I love when things that I think are cool, are actually really cheap as well. 

So the only thing we didn't like about this fixture was that the part that attached to the ceiling didn't match the rest of it.  So here is what I did to fix it!

1. I got a can of semi-gloss black spray paint.

2. Haphazardly tape newspaper up to the ceiling.  Make sure you use the most minimal amount of tape. 

3. Begin spraying.  Totally forget that spray paint drips. Start panicking.

4. Try wiping the light fixture and window sill immediately with wet paper towel, watch it smear around and not work at all.

5.  Take out the Magic Eraser, and magic erase the surfaces.  Become even more marveled/frightened of the Black Magic Eraser and it's mystical cleaning powers.

6. Suddenly realize you are still wearing your rings.

7. Magic Erase your rings.

8. Return to your project and quickly finish spraying.

 

This did not come off after multiple scrubs.  You should probably be more careful than me.  My motto is craft now, fix later.

 But look!  My light!

 I love it so much.  Yay, $7 work lights - turned - ceiling lights!

Yes, my sink was full of dishes.  That's why this picture was strategically taken.
Yes, I chose to spray paint before doing my dishes.  Ya gotta have priorities, that's what I always say.
No, I never say that.
It's time to mop my house.  Let's see what makes it's way ahead of that chore today. :)

This Day.

This day will be remembered as the day that I caught the bug that has been going through the house, no matter how much I tried to resist.

As well as the day that Reagan was THE HAPPIEST and giggliest I have literally every seen her.  I needed that today.


This day will be remembered as the day when Reilly acted 4 times her age, and said things like "How are you feeling now, Mommy?" and rubbed my face.  I needed that today, too.

This will also be the day that none of us, even for a second, entertained the thought of changing out of our pajamas.

Now I am feeling a bit better, and Hubby is fixing tea and soup.

Even on a day like this, I find that God provides everything I need. And for that, and these people who I live with, I still find reason to be thankful for days like this.

Party Details

 These are all the fun things that we prepared for Reagan's big day!  I have so much fun picking a theme and making all the decorations and thinking of food ideas.

 I printed all the pictures that I took each month and made a little display of her growth.  I love looking at it!

 Here's the tissue paper puffs, which were the funnest things ever to make.  SO magical.

 Reagan banner, made from paper so pretty that it shouldn't even be considered paper.  It's literally covered in glitter.  And if your wondering who took that gorgeous photo, it was of course Gina Lenz.  Go get pictures taken, tell her Kate sent you!  For real, you won't regret it.

 A close up of my little beans pictures.

 Reagan Birthday hutch!

 

Reagan Birthday calendar!  We kind of get excited about birthdays. :)

The inspiration for the whole "Lucky Charm" theme was this dessert!  I didn't really follow the recipe, but instead layered vanilla pudding, fresh whipped cream, and lucky charms.  We put it in the freezer just to let it set for a half hour, and instead forgot it in there and left it in for about 5 hours. HA. But I recommend it partially frozen!  My brother named it "Death By Vanilla", because it is a vanilla-lovers sugar-filled dream.

 

Some of the beverages, water with lime and cucumber and iced green tea.

 

Sister's AMAZING creation!  Green sangria - containing every green fruit imaginable (pears, green apples, limes, honeydew melon, kiwi, grapes), white wine, champagne, and some Midori melon.

Like I said, AMAZE.

 Magically Delicious cupcakes :)

All the desserts!

Also on the menu was: Irish Beef Stew (containing beer AND wine, to die for), St. Patty's Pesto Hummus, and Lucky Charm Pasta Salad. :)

Can't wait till our next party "on May" in Reilly's words!  The theme is already decided, and some decorations will be recycled because that's how we roll. :)

And Reagan's theme for next year might also be decided as well.  Maybe. Top secret.  Party planning is addicting! :)