Getting Older

My birthday was August 23rd. I think we started celebrating on August 1st. I think everyone in the house gained weight, between the two birthday cakes and the in general attitude of "why not? it's my birthday month!"

{Bluebonnet Bakery in Cowtown}	{Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana}

There are quite a few things about getting older that I love: watching my kids grow, a deepened love for my husband that comes through many years of life together, a great appreciation for deep rooted friendships that comes from bearing one another's burdens and celebrating successes, and becoming more comfortable in my own skin.

And lest you think I'm about to get deep, I really appreciate the excuse to treat myself that comes with turning another year. And all the birthday discounts: West Elm, Kendra Scott, Vera Bradley, Anthropologie... Yeah, birthdays are awesome.


We had supper at Joe T. Garcia's with my parents and brother to celebrate one night, then on my actual birthday, I picked Cane Rosso because fancy pizza is at least somewhat kid-friendly. Birthday cake is one of my favorite desserts, so rest assured we took great care of those beauties at the top. If you need me, I'll be eating salad and hanging around Pure Barre until August 2015.

Third Birthday Party at Chick-fil-a

I wanted Jack to feel like he got a big kid birthday party compared to Annabelle's at home. I thought long and hard and realized that it's considered a treat at our house if we dine in and play on the play place at Chick-fil-a. We normally hit the drive-thru on our way home from somewhere else. So, to party and play inside Chick-fil-a was a big winner.


This boy is growing up so fast. We're so proud of him and of how much he's growing and learning. He was a wonderful two-year-old. Even with all the changes we had at home this past year, he took it all in stride. I can't wait to see what his third year holds. I love him so much!


More people showed up than I expected, but it was easy enough to add a few more kid's meals. They all had a great time playing in the play place, which is perfectly geared for kids his age. One exit and easy to watch them all while parents visited with one another. He had a blast!



His invitations were done by 3 Little Monkeys Studio on Etsy and printed by MPix. She also did the favor tags, which I printed at Office Depot on 100 lb card stock. I thought CFA lended itself well to a western theme because of the Cow and chicken. Our favors were cowboy hats.

I want to say a lot about throwing a party a Chick-fil-a here, because I didn't find much online when I googled it.

Our local store has party packages, customized to the number of party guests and the number of nuggets you want in the kid's meals. The package even includes nugget trays, fruit trays, and tea for the parents attending. SOLD. The Cow made an appearance for an extra $10. Can't beat that!

They invited me to drop off any party decorations the night before, and their wonderful Marketing Coordinator had my banner up and tablecloths out before we arrived. All we had to do the morning of the party was show up with balloons. She even unloaded those from my car and placed them on the tables! She also kept the pace of the party going, getting drinks for each child, letting me know when the Cow was coming, time to open gifts, and eat. It was so nice to have someone else watching the clock.

By the time it was over, she already had leftover cake, nuggets, and fruit boxed up, my cake knife and server washed, and the trash was cleared away. It was all done while I was thanking people for coming and passing out favors. In short, it was awesome.


If you've ever dealt with Chick-fil-a, you know that everything is "their pleasure." They are absolutely fabulous at Customer Service, and this was no different. Our experience was so good that I sent a hand-written thank you to our local Store's Owner, complimenting his staff on a fine job.

Note: I was not compensated to say these wonderful things about Chick-fil-a. I just really appreciated their service.

Mama Monday: The First Birthday

Our sweet daughter turned one last Friday. Her party on Saturday was the culmination of a two week sprint of celebrating birthdays, since our son turned 3 just two days before her birthday. As the chief celebration officer of our family, I am tired.

Of course, it was worth it.


Her party day was blessed with beautiful, blooming spring weather, as gorgeous as the blessing she is to our family.



We did a "sunshine" theme, although I didn't expand on it as much as I could have. It was a wonderful celebration, regardless. Pink and yellow were mostly what I went with. The menu was chicken salad sandwiches on split croissants, party sandwiches, cookies, fruit, chips and salsa, and of course, the main event -- birthday cake!

I love this picture. You can see my Pop, Annabelle's great-grandfather, in the mirror of the jewelry box. When he came in and hugged my neck, he said, "This party looks like something out of Better Homes and Gardens!" I love him so much, and that is simply classic Pop. (And that was a very generous compliment!)

My parents gave her that jewelry box, which went well with our gift to her. We started her a James Avery charm bracelet with the birthday cake charm. She won't wear it for a while, but we thought it was perfect for this milestone.

And I Think To Myself...

what a wonderful world.

Happy First Birthday, my beautiful, sweet daughter.

You are a treasure, and I love you so much!

Every Week, A Party

February has flown by! I know it's because I've been procrastinating getting everything together for the two birthday parties we have going on this weekend and the next. So many people have told me how convenient it is that my kids' birthdays are two days apart, making one birthday party for both of them a snap. However I am a birthday GIRL, and it would not have gone over well with me if I'd had to share a party with my brother, much as I do love him.

Therefore, I can't imagine making my kids share a party, at least not at this stage in the game.

So that means over the next 7 days I'll be making two bakery stops, two balloon stops, and two very different party themes happen. I'm tired just thinking about it, but I'm doing it to myself so I'm not asking for sympathy.

Jack's birthday will be at Chick-fil-a. I know every mom on Pinterest just gasped in unison at the thought of me not having special customized wraps on his bottled water, but it's his favorite thing in the world, and who am I to deprive him of it? He loves to play on the playground, and I love their diet coke, so really it's a win-win for both of us. Plus I can prolong cleaning up my house for company for the next week when we have Annabelle's party here. I even sprung for the cow to make a special appearance. He's going to have a blast!

While I've been sporadic posting around here lately, I've been on some other blogs recently:

You may have seen my post here regarding our trip to Cook Children's Urgent Care. They featured that post on the Cook Children's blog We Do it All For Kids. It's a great resource for any parent, not just locals, so check it out. I can't say enough good things about Cook Children's.

My latest post over at Fort Worth Moms Blog is on new date night dining options in Fort Worth. We tried Cane Rosso late last week, and it was delicious!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jack!

To the boy who made me a mother, who brightens my days, and gives me a million reasons to smile and laugh. You are loved far more than you can possibly imagine, and I hope your second birthday is one of the happiest days of your sweet life so far. The day you were born was definitely one of mine.

You are a cherished blessing, my precious little man!

Love,
Mommy

At 2, Jack is singing his ABCs, counting to twenty, loves "The Wheels on the Bus" and in particular requests the babies, wipers, and mommies verses. He loves church, bubbles, and Chick Fil a and the occasional tater tot from Sonic. He's getting a tricycle from us to celebrate today!

Birthday Weekending

This is a long post about my birthday. Long. Very long.

As I mentioned in my last post, Thursday was my birthday. I'm the type who has no shame when it comes to celebrating that particular event. Apart from Christian holidays, it's my favorite. As such, I took the day off because I could think of nothing more fun than a lunch date and pushing trucks around the floor with my sweet kiddo all afternoon.

With a short pause for a dental appointment, I picked Jack up and headed to my favorite tea room, the Rose Garden, a small hole in the wall place in The Fort Worth Mercantile where he and I split a very delicate dish known as "the sampler." You know, chicken salad, fruit, a cup of soup, and quiche, plus a small tea sandwich on their deliiiiiiicious pumpkin bread. These are the things birthdays are made of.

My handsome escort for the day was an absolute angel. He sat up at the table with great manners, ate his food with the appropriate "yum" for the pumpkin bread, and generally charmed all the ladies in the room. I really couldn't have asked for better behavior and was such a proud mom. He is usually good, but he was just over the top great that day.


We went home and napped and played, then headed to Reata for supper that night. All I wanted was chicken fried steak (a baby craving--had not had one in years!), and that was the only place I could think of that served it. We dined early since Jack was with us and it's a little more upscale, but he was great there too. A little more wound up since he was with Daddy, but really good.


What is better than birthday cake?

Pink birthday cake!
As I was also off on Friday, we set out for Northpark Center to meet my friend Sherry and her children for lunch and an Anthropologie personal shopping appointment to address my rapidly thickening waist. (Another post on that coming soon. I have loved Anthro personal shopping for years now.) (Also, poor Jack--if he knew what a sister was, he would probably be praying for one.) We had a great time, and it had been far too long since I'd gotten to visit with my friend! We headed back to Fort Worth for naps, Pride and Prejudice, and leftover cold pink birthday cake from Bluebonnet Bakery, not necessarily in that order.


Later that night, we met my parents and my college roommate/BFF/maid of honor plus her guy and her parents at Joe T. Garcia's for fajitas and--let us pause to remember--the guacamole. The weather was amazing for such a late August night, so Joe T's patio was a great party.

I spent the rest of the weekend hosting a baby shower, doing laundry, making cinnamon rolls for church, going to church, and reading a P&P "continuing story" type book.

In sum:

days off + favorite tearoom + Reata + pink cake + lunch w/ friends + supper w/ friends + Northpark + new clothes + naps + Pride & Prejudice + time spent with family + Joe T's + guacamole = my perfect 32nd birthday!

Party Recipes

Sign inspiration from Sarah's blog, Life {Sweet} Life
I had very good intentions of making chocolate chip cookies, but by the time Thursday came around I decided to go with storebought. What can I say? It is my heritage and is also likely to be my legacy.

But as for the other stuff, one of the major hits of my holiday season party circuit were these small sandwiches, and I thought they'd be perfect "little man-wiches." There are all kinds of variations of this on the internet. Here's how I did it:

Sweet Ham and Turkey Sandwiches
1 12-count package of King's Hawaiian sweet rolls
3 slices of deli turkey, quartered
3 slices of deli ham, quartered
3 slices of swiss cheese, quartered
1 stick of butter, melted
3 T. sugar
1 T. poppy seeds
1 T. onion flakes
1 T. honey mustard

Spray the bottom of a baking dish with cooking oil. Slice the rolls and prepare the sandwiches with a quartered piece of turkey, ham, and cheese. Melt butter and add sugar, poppy seeds, onion flakes, and honey mustard. Drizzle over sandwiches evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 or until golden brown.

{I quadrupled this recipe on Saturday, which used an entire package of deli turkey, ham, and swiss cheese.}

I've tried to make Pioneer Woman's mac and cheese multiple times now, and each time, although my roux tastes great, the resulting mac and cheese is gritty. And that is gross to me. This one comes to us from recipes.com, by searching "easy macaroni and cheese." It's so easy. And my little Jack loved it, so it will be making appearances at my table often.

Manly Mac 'N Cheese
16 oz. macaroni
16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, sliced (I used mild but will try with sharp next time. Also, I bought pre-sliced.)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 can of evaporated milk

Cook macaroni. Layer a third in the bottom of a greased casserole dish, topped with 1/3 of the cheese slices. Repeat this two more times. Pour the can of evaporated milk over the entire dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly on top.

Our Little Man's Little Man Birthday Party

This weekend has been a blur and a dream. Or a dream of a blur. Not sure which. My boy has been so fun all weekend long. I don't know if it's the sugar or what, but even in Sunday school yesterday, his teachers mentioned that he was all smiles and talking up a storm. I'm sure he was recapping his party. Right? He's been extra loving and full of grins--just what this mama needed to soothe her "where did my tiny baby go?" heart.

Our family and friends came from far and wide! I was surprised by the turnout, but so thankful that everyone was willing to come and celebrate with us. It doesn't seem adequate to say that we are truly blessed, but that's it--God has blessed us so much.
Of course I wanted to display photos of our sweet guy throughout the year. The old ties I used were mostly from my Pop--my grandfather--which I loved. He cleaned his older ones out for me. I remember him wearing the brown one I tied on the glass vase holding the cookies back in the 80s. I also picked up a few more at Goodwill for $1 a piece. My Pop was there, and I think he liked how it turned out.

The photos hanging on the mirror in my entry hall are all from my Instagram feed. I found a great vendor called Prinstagram that exports your photos to posters and books. So easy to use and shipped to me in a week. I'm going to dry mount this on foam board and take it to the office. I love all the color and the random snaps from our everyday life from this past year.
The cakes were from Bluebonnet Bakery, a wonderful, delicious old bakery here in Fort Worth. As you can tell below, Jack tore it up. That label "A gentleman never forgets the ladies," is on the fruit tray. (My bokeh got a little out of control.) We also had "little man-wiches" and "manly mac 'n cheese." And of course, chips and salsa. There's a reason it's the official snack of the state of Texas.

I know you've been on pins and needles waiting to see what would adorn the table since I gave up on the polka dots. Thankfully, fabric.com shipped out super quick (without paying extra!) and got some navy and white striped fabric to me by Thursday so I could whip up a table runner that I loved. (I will be the first to tell you that no one probably noticed it but me, but it made me happy.)
And the star of my little show here. We love him more every day. He is more fun every day! Those early newborn days of waking up in the night are just a dream now--a far off memory. His independence grows with each passing day. Soon he'll be walking, and I'll be running to keep up with him. So with a bit of nostalgia for the past, I'm looking forward to the days to come. It's just so wonderful!

I hope you don't mind.

I hope you don't mind
that I put down in words,
how wonderful life is now you're in the world.

{Thank you, Sir Elton. My sentiments exactly.}

Happy First Birthday, my darling son. I love you so dearly.

First Birthday Sneak Peek

I think most people giving it any serious thought would agree that a child's first birthday party is really for his parents. Moreover, it's primarily for his mother. In this Pinterest-crazed society, man, is there a ton of pressure put on yourself to craft a beautiful, creative, semi-homemade, age-appropriate themed party at the end of which your young tot will have absolutely no recollection, even when you show him his masterful and detailed baby book at the age of 20. I would love to tell you that I am better than conforming to society's norms on this and am settling for a simple cake and ice cream party.

But that would be a lie. I love a party, but I especially love a themed party!

Here's a sneak peak of the invitation for Jack's first birthday party. It was designed by Empress Stationery, and those girls were a dream to work with. I've been following their blog for a long time now and was so excited to finally contact them with a project. I'm trying to invent another reason to use them again soon because they do such exquisite work.


But all that being said, I don't have a lot of time to plan all those amazing details that everyone likes to pin. I'm okay with that. On top of my job, I have 2 other events that I'm planning, and somehow everything falls in the same week. I've pulled a couple of ideas for Jack's party, had some of my own, and we'll just see if I get it all taken care of.

For this year, we've invited mostly just family, and so far, almost everyone has RSVP'd yes! It's going to be a full house, therefore, I'm hoping for good weather for us to spill into the backyard. Who knows though? Yesterday the high was 73 degrees, but the Sunday before, we had snow. Texas living. I love it. (No really, I do!)

Easy Birthday Banner

Quick Note: Amy over at Total Tippins Takeover has a fun giveaway from Willow House. Go over there and win it!

As I was prepping my house on Friday afternoon for our company that evening, I realized the house was wanting in birthday decor. I love birthdays, so how could this be? I didn't have time to get the baby loaded and off to the party supply store, so I started racking my brain for ideas. In the age of Pinterest, none of us should have any shortage of ideas, amen? I headed to my little craft closet and took inventory. I have almost an entire bolt of burlap that my aunt gave me leftover from my cousin's rehearsal dinner last summer. I decided to put some of it to work.

I needed something simple - no time for the sewing machine! I always have to budget at least 30 minutes to wind the bobbin and thread the needle. I am sad in that respect. I made a quick little template from poster board that I very randomly keep hidden behind the hutch in my dining area. As for the template, I eyeballed it. Thinking that I would want to fold the top over whatever I used to string it together, I gave a little extra length.

Using my rotary cutter and self-healing mat, I made quick work of the banner flags. No one is more challenged than I am in the skill of using a rotary cutter. But usually even I get straighter lines than I do with scissors.


After my cuts were made and I had ironed my fold over at the top, I pulled out my faaaaaabulous Christmas present from my parents. A Silhouette Cameo!

(My cutting sheet is extremely dirty. I should work on that.)
One tip I found online for the Cameo: if your paper is tearing when you pull it off the sticky mat, blot it with a clean old t-shirt to lessen the stickiness. That worked for me.
With one sheet of card stock, I cut out 'happy birthday' to create a stencil. I just eyeballed the letter position on each flag and used silver glitter glue on the stencil because that's what I had on hand. After the letters were on, I grabbed some jute and spaced the flags to my liking, then hot glued the fold to create a little sleeve where I could adjust if needed.

When I hung it up on my mantle, I decided it needed a little color, so I ripped some scraps from my scrap bag and tied them on. In the end, a happy birthday banner in 30 minutes, made with things I had on hand.

A little hard to see the glitter in this light.

And where was little Jack during all this, you ask?

Rearranging the pantry, naturally.

Birthdays are my favorite {especially my own.}

So I think I documented here last year that I am no longer in my 20s. Actually, now that I think of it, I never blogged about my 30th birthday party. It was at Joe T's and my wonderful husband along with my wonderful college roommate organized it. We officially announced to many of our friends that we were expecting a sweet, little baby. And I took an awesome trip to NYC with the ladies in my family to celebrate.

I was fairly convinced that this b-day would be a little bit of a letdown because I'm working (a lot) and of course it was thirty-one.

C'est la vie, and all that, you know?

But I also did not take into account this little boy.
He is the biggest blessing to come out of year the thirtieth.
And his daddy brought him over to take me to lunch.
How sweet is he?

{Referring to his daddy, in this case.}

And while I worked the rest of the day, they went shopping (for golf stuff, don't get too excited)
and then hung around to meet me for supper. We went to The Porch, which
was completely Jackers friendly.

And then we had this.

{Gooey Butter Cake, homemade vanilla bean}

I think I posted on FB that this was my favorite birthday.

And you know what?

It was.

New York State of Mind.

I'm finally taking the time to write about our trip to NYC from almost a month ago. This blog is the closest thing I have to a scrapbook, so it really doesn't bother me when I post out of order. I mean, if it were my real scrapbook, it wouldn't be done for another decade, so I figure a month isn't so bad.

For my BIG birthday, my husband let me pick where I wanted to go. The last trip I had been on with the ladies of my family was back in 2008 (I think) when we went to LA and were on the Dr. Phil show. (Not really on it, but there was a close up of me in the audience looking shocked and appalled at the subject matter. Another story, another day.)

On this trip I was to be the tour guide, which was a bit iffy since I've been to NYC twice before but had yet to figure out which way was up either of the other times. Because I am so wise now in my ripe old age, I actually took the time prior to leaving to study the map. (You may feel free to laugh at that. I do.) However, we only got lost once, and it was because of an unscheduled subway change up on Sunday morning. I call that victory, my friends.

Since the group was comprised mostly of first-timers, we stayed one block off of the iconic Times Square at the Millenium Broadway Hotel. It was a perfect location for the sites we were planning to see.


We saw two shows while we were there with tickets bought at the Times Square TKTS booth. The seats were FABULOUS for both of them. Here we are before West Side Story. Our first evening there we saw Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes and the cute-as-a-button Kristin Chenoweth.

My mom and me taking in the sights.

A carriage ride through Central Park. First time for me!

Riding the Staten Island Ferry with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

Of course we would stop here. One must.

Other highlights were Magnolia Bakery, Canal Street (twice), Ground Zero, the Financial District, Rockefeller Center, Chinatown, Little Italy. Wow, thinking about the walking we did is making me tired.

While visiting Henri Bendel, I consulted with a makeup artist. As a gift to myself for turning 30, I was outfitted with a proper eye cream and concealer (and of course a ton of other stuff.)

I am convinced that at most, I now look 29.

This young lady and I feel the same way about turning 30.

This is going to be our best year yet.

Seriously.

Sneak Peak: NYC

My man sent me to NYC on a girls' trip for my BIG birthday!
Aunt Julie, me, Mom, and Aunt Sheri on the Empire State Building Observation Deck.

More of Brad's 30th Birthday.

Our last couple of weeks have been so fun! As per my usual MO, we celebrated Brad's birthday for several weeks. Now it's June, and time to move on because seriously everyone in my family with very few exceptions has a June birthday--including my parents who are born on the same day, a few years apart.

But back to Brad! He's THIRTY!

When I started brainstorming a fun group activity for B's birthday, the first thing that came to mind was something I had remembered a couple of our friends mentioning a few months before--indoor rock climbing. There is a great place over in Arlington called Dyno Rock where they had climbed. The folks at Dyno Rock were wonderful to work with and let me set up the party wherever I wanted in their warehouse/rock climber's paradise.


I thought it would be fun to throw him a surprise party since it was a big birthday. Let me just mention here that I am terrible at keeping surprises. I have such a hard time at Christmas not just coming straight out with what I buy my people! The venue was not far from the Ballpark at Arlington, so I had high hopes I could have a friend faux-invite him to the Ranger game, but they were out of town. And I knew Brad would check out the schedule and figure out that something was up. So, I punted and just had them swing by the house and kidnap him a couple of hours after I left to go "shopping."

When my accomplices stopped by, they had him convinced we were going somewhere that he would need a swimsuit, so he had no idea what was going on. So awesome!

I ordered pizza delivered to the location to save some foot work and had cake along with trail mix as snacks/favors. It seemed appropriate for the night's activity.


Some of our awesome friends gathered with us to celebrate Brad's thirty years. One thing that is cool about Dyno Rock is that kiddos can climb with a parent (and a signed waiver, of course) so we had all ages.


I love that guy so much and am so thankful for the day he was born. He's my best and favorite.

Birthday Fun

Last Thursday we celebrated a momentous birthday of one of my absolute favorite people. My dear friend Alisia was one of the first people I met at Texas A&M. She has been a true blessing--a gift from the Lord--in my life. She is a gorgeous person, both inside and out! And this past week, she entered a new decade of living life to the fullest.

All guests were requested to bring 30
things to give her for her 30th birthday.
Isn't that a cute idea? That was all Jessica!

Yum!


We dined at Lambert's, which wasn't nearly as important as the company, but I must say it was delicious. A must try for a fun night out.

RAIN DELAY

To celebrate Brad's TWENTY-NINTH birthday, I got tickets to the Yankees game last Tuesday night.

For about two and a half hours, I was convinced that we were experiencing the world's most expensive hot dog and snowcones, complete with $12 parking fee. First pitches that don't get thrown until 9:30 PM--well that just doesn't really go with the commute I have going on everyday. But the Rangers won anyway, and it was an adventure!

We stayed as long as possible, and then found out the next day that our tickets will be honored at another weekday game. Bonus!

That's rain in the background, and maybe some hail.

Hokey Pokey Super Star

My man has a birthday today!

We celebrated with friends last night.
Thank you guys for celebrating with us!

He wanted to go to Babe's Chicken.  Little did he know they make the birthday boy (or girl) do the hokey pokey.  I mean really, that's what it's all about. 

And wear a chicken hat.

Let's see that up close. Wow, not just a hat--a beak too.

Now that's almost a bonfire.

Happy Birthday Brad!!!
This year is going to be the best!