Valentine's Day Party

One of the things I thought I'd love doing as a mom is getting ready for my kids' Valentine's Day Parties. I like to make stuff, so I thought that we'd just sit and make all sorts of really cute little valentines together, enjoying our quality time and enjoying the process of making stuff together.

That was before I was a mom.

The reality is, I called Lillian from WalMart the other day with an almost dead battery, so I was trying to quickly explain that there were no princess valentines (seriously WalMart? no princess valentines?) so she'd have to pick another kind of valentine to give her class. She didn't even know what valentines were, so she wasn't getting it. Nor was she getting the fact that my battery would be dead in about 45 seconds. I explained that her choices were Cars, Disney fairies, puppies and kitties, and "mary" from the dancing movie. "Mary" is actually Selena Gomez, or whtaever her name is, who was on a Cinderella dancing movie that Lillian watched one time. Since Selena (Serena?) is on Wizards of Waverly Place, Lillian sees her on stuff everywhere, and always points out "Mary."

So of course that's what she picked. Mary. She doesn't care that the poster that came with them says ALEX in very big letters, because it's Mary.

And I got a box of allergy safe (for her class anyway) FUN DIPS for the kids, because I knew if I bought the SUPER MEGA BIG bag of skittles and starbursts, I'd eat about half of what was left after we made her seven valentines for her class. So I went with Fun Dips, just so I knew I wouldn't eat them all. I'm all for a fun dip every once in a while, but I can only handle so much of the lik*m*aid sensation.

So there you have it. I got a box of non-homemade valentines of a tv show I don't know anything about, or even if it's appropriate for kids. oh my gosh, is it? I never even thought about it! someone please tell me if it's not! and fun dips to go with them.

And I didn't even help her get them ready. Judy did. I've been running a little ragged these days with my dad being here to paint, stuff all over the place, Steve gone like 15 hours every day this week, and no time for valentines.

and that, my friends, is reality.

Happy 'Valentines Day Party' Day. :)

owie

Last night at the superbowl party I was enjoying the fact that I don't have to have a baby on my lap at all times, or a crawler that I have to chase around, making sure they don't get into stuff. Those are fun times, but every now and again it's nice to not have to be "on duty" every second.

Lillian and Josiah are totally fine playing with their friends, and Brielle has mastered stairs, can play on her own, and as long as the toilet lid is closed, we're usually okay.

So I was upstairs at the Wassenaars' chatting with the ladies, probably about labor and kids (is that ALL we EVER talk about????), when I hear a huge THUD and a really short cry, which I KNEW was going to be REALLY loud once Brielle caught a breath. I love it that even though there were 14 kids there, I knew in an instant that it was Brielle crying. So I RAN down the steps and found her with her little hand on her face, and her mouth WIDE open, doing the silent cry thing while she waited for a breath.

She instantly had a big bruise on her face, which surprised even the pediatrician at the party. It was FAST. And then her snot was a bit bloody. :( I felt so bad for her. I guess she doesn't have stairs mastered after all, and these happened to be unfinished wood stairs, and she just scraped and bonked her little face on the way down. :( After a few snuggles with Daddy and a couple pretzels, she was back to her old self again. However, when Nolan kissed her goodbye for the night, she made sure to point out that he kissed her owie. :)

I can't help but chuckle a bit at my reaction. One of my friends asked me if I was okay, and I totally was. But I think back to when Lillian was a baby, and any little thing that happened to her made me cry (like when I stepped on her bc I didn't see her on the floor bc of the laundry basket I was carrying, and many many many more little things). But I guess as time goes on you learn that kids DO get bumps and bruises, and DO survive, and probably get over it a bit more quickly when mom's not crying about it. :)

So anyway, I snapped a few pictures and asked Brielle about her owie. Last night it was mostly just red and raised a bit with a bruise. Today her whole cheek was bit more swollen, and even under her eye got a little black and blue. And she's got a red spot on the opposite cheek and her nose where it scraped. It's hard to tell from the pictures, because you can't see the distortion in her face when she makes facial expressions and such. And the lighting in the video is bad, so you still can't tell too much. But I happen to think she's still quite cute with her little swollen cheek and scraped up nose and a hint of a black eye.

Last night:


This morning:

update on aria

hey guys!

GREAT NEWS! After waiting for YEARS in NZ and MONTHS in Omaha, Aria (the one who we donated money to) had her transplant last night.

Click on my Aria button on the right to read the updates. Even if you don't know the story, you will see God's greatness in what He's done in their lives.

And of course, Aria's parents are requesting prayers for the family that lost their child. I can't imagine what they might be going through. Each time I prayed for organs for Aria, I also snuck in there that they wouldn't be MY children's organs. Such a great loss. And even if it's a "successful" surgery, Aria still has a 30% chance of not surviving the transplants. Hard to imagine that God would allow that to happen after all this, but we certainly don't always understand His ways.

So PLEASE, even though you don't know her, pray for sweet little Aria. and her parents (Hamish (HAY-mish) and Anita) and her brother Asher.

And if you STILL haven't donated, you can still do that! I had one friend just clean out the change in her car and give it to me. It was OVER two bucks, so if you think your finances can afford two bucks, TODAY is the day to donate! Just put "I read Andrea's blog" in the comment section so they understand why it's a small donation. We still haven't reached $100 bucks.

Here is the link again, just in case. :)

**UPDATE! I hadn't seen a couple of the donations before I wrote this, but turns out we DID break $100! While we met the goal I had for my blog, there's still a long way to go til the MacDonald's reach their goal for fundraising, so don't let that stop you from donating! :) Thanks for your help in raising over $100 bucks! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE PINKADINK

Hey everyone! Today marks ONE year since I started this journey of 'the pinkadink.' It's come a long way, if I do say so myself. :) To celebrate, I'm having tons of sales for the whole weekend! Brand new products are on sale, and also, all red or pink flowers and bows are on sale for Valentine's Day too!

So stop on over to www.thepinkadink.com and check it out.

AND, my friend Mary is doing a giveaway for me on her blog! Wanna win? www.theyellowdoorpaperie.blogspot.com. She rocks! :)

do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The good news is.....thanks to Mary at the yellow door paperie, I have a PINKADINK BUTTON! If you have a blog and want a button for your side bar, just let me know (thepinkadink@gmail.com) and I'll send you the html code! AND, I'll send a free gift from the pinkadink to everyone who does it! :)

THANKS Mary! Tomorrow I'll give you a GREAT reason to check out Mary's blog!

But the bad news is....I'm a little bummed about the result of my 100th post. :( We did get about 5 donations or so, so THANKS to those who donated! If you tried and couldn't for some reason (which I know happened to a few people), try again! I know I tend to forget things unless I get a reminder, so here's your reminder if you're like me!