Piiirraate Party!

Since day 45 was Noah's pirate party i am going to do a post on it because it was that much fun. Noah has recently been intrigued by pirates and i thought it would be the cutest theme for his birthday! I saw SO many fun pirate parties online, but i really wanted to do a few things on my own.

I bought the essentials at Target which had an ADORABLE pirate section in the party section. I then went to Party City where i found the pinata, balloons, and lots of little trinkets to add detail such as chocolate gold coins and other fun things. Since it was Noah's party i had all his favorite foods: baked mac' n cheese, pizza, cheese puffs, and watermelon.

I wasn't sure about the cake and figured it would be easy to do cupcakes. I didn't find any fun pirate cupcake ideas i liked, but i did find this treasure chest cake and thought it was SO cute and unique! I also liked how there was a video tutorial.

Overall, his party was a success and he LOVED it. He is at the age where he really understands that it is his birthday and he's been talking about his party ever since. Here are some pictures to make up for my Day 45 post :)

I use to do monthly pictures of Noah on our glider, but now that he is 3 i think it will be cuter to do yearly ones in front of our chalkboard wall! I love how it came out!


Noah's watermelon pirate ship. Got the idea HERE




Baked Mac'N'Cheese






Treasure hunt! Got the idea HERE




Here is Noah's present from George and I. We splurged and got it from HERE


I think he is going to have ALOT of fun this summer.


Here is the treasure chest cake i stayed up late making. It was pretty easy and turned out good!



Here is my little pirate. I cant believe he is already 3. I love you so much Noah. You have my life complete and i couldn't imagine it without you.

It gets better. And it does, and it did.

I am so happy to still be doing this 365 project. What a neat thing it will be to look back on these posts a year from now. Like i said in my other post, things have been going SO good over here. Belle is 6 mos old, Noah just turned 3 today and they have been such blessings in my life. As they get older i get SO sad because i know that these moments are fleeting. My last summer semester at Augusta State is half way through, and i feel more confident than i did in the Spring. Not that i thought i wouldn't make it, i just felt like it was never-ending and i didn't know HOW i would do it with 2 kids. Sometimes i feel SO behind everyone else because of my 2 kids and i have to work THAT much harder. Don't get me wrong i would NEVER EVER regret joining the Air Force over going to college. If anything, the one thing i regret is getting out of the service. Joining the Air Force was hands down the best thing i've ever done, but i feel like i was meant to teach, and there is a light that is finally getting bigger at the end of my tunnel. So here are my pics to get me caught up on this project.

I take SO many pics and i probably always will. I want to capture every little thing about my children because the time goes by so fast. There is nothing like a great picture, to make you smile, to make you cry, or to make you remember something you had forgotten. Here are my pics for Days 38-44.

Day 38: I scheduled to have our family pics taken at the end of March and after 2 reschedules due to weather, we finally took them! I've had a few sneak peaks of them and they are turning out beautifully. I am so excited to have some pics of us as a family of 4. I feel like our family is so complete since having Belle, and i look forward to hanging some new pics in our home. I rarely take cellphone pics of myself, but here is me all done up and getting ready to get dressed to go. I rarely take the time to do my hair and makeup so since this was a rare occurrence i snapped a pic. Here is the girl behind the blog :)



Day 39
"Mama come build a foo foo wit me!" These are the words i hear daily. But lately i can't pass them up. I LOVE building trains with Noah. It's actually pretty relaxing and it lets me get my creative juices flowing. Well as much as you can by building a train. Here is one of the tracks i built Noah on Day 39. He asks almost every morning to build him a new one so he can play with it the rest of the day. He's so cute. Apparently Mama is better at it than Daddy.



Day 40
I have been sewing alot lately! Not enough to have amazing projects to show you, but at least an hour a night. I'm working on something i kinda thought up in my head and i'm ALMOST done. Hopefully i'll finish this week and then i can post a pic. Belle has been OBSESSED with washcloths lately. In the bath she goes crazy chewing on hers because she is teething. She also loves crinkle toys that make noise. So i made her this. It's a little crinkle square and she absolutely LOVES chewing on it! I was pretty proud. I whipped it up in about 20 min! Oh, and FYI i used an old Pop Tart wrapper to make it crinkle ;)



Day 41
I felt bad the next day that all my sewing projects are geared towards Belle. SO i tried a crayon roll. This is something i see on etsy alot, and it's suppose to be an easy project. I wanted to give it a try before i used some cute fabric because i dont want to waste cute fabric. So i cut up an old button down shirt of George's and whipped this thing up. Noah actually LOVES it, so i will be making him a better one with cuter fabric.



Day 42
This is just a cute pic of Belle that i couldnt resist. Her hair is getting so long and looked so cute in this headband. She was getting ready to eat breakfast and Noah was making her smile as usual. She loves him and looks up to him so much. It melts my heart to see how excited she gets over him. She has been eating baby food that i make twice a day and loves it. I love my lil mamacita and cant believe she's going on 7 mos old!



Day 43
Speaking of what a great big brother Noah is. He has been asking to help more lately and this day he asked to help me feed Belle. I let him sit down with her in his lap and he lasted about 5 minutes. Hey, that's progress! But he is so good with her and really does like to help.



Day 44
This was the day before Noah's 3rd bday party and instead of cleaning and getting ready for it, i was doing crafts with Noah. We LOVE doing a letter a week where we color or do some type of craft that involves that letter. I've been working with Noah on how to write his name, so we've started N. I did noodles for N and Noah had alot of fun with the glue and noodles.

31-37 Yes I'm cheating

So i dont have any excuses this time for not regularly blogging since i have my computer back EXCEPT that school and children have kept me busy, and for once i'm not complaining! Maybe it was my parents visit that got me out of my funk. I had been feeling so down and out, and just in the slumps for quite a while when they got here. Having them here to lend a hand in cleaning and playing with the kids LITERALLY felt like i was at the most expensive resort far away. It all hit me the night before they left, i laid in bed that night with the hugest knot in my throat thinking, "How am i going to do it once they leave?" I was dreading the rut i was in when they had first got here, but to my surprise a few days after they were gone i found myself rejuvenated, refreshed, and motivated to get all the things done i had been wanting.

I've gotten back on a great running schedule, which had gone downhill during Spring Semester. I have also been doing so many fun activities with the kids, and i've even been working ahead this semester and getting my homework done days before it needs to be turned in. If you havent met me, i can be ONE BIG STRESS CASE and procrastinator all in one. All that to say, there is nothing like mom and dad and little extra love to bring you right back to where you were. Thank you mom and dad SO much, for everything. Here are my days 31-37 all summed up in a few great pictures i got while they were here :)

Maybe we're in love

Ok so I have alot of "splaining" to do. Let me just give you the EXTREMELY short version. My Macbook got sick, i had a heart-attack and we were apart for an entire week. With that said, i missed blogging. I really did. The entire time i kept thinking that my 365 project is ruined and how much i wish i could keep up my blog. I may have been a little dramatic because i was told by Geek Squad it could be as long as 4 weeks before i would be reunited with my bff again. One week later here we are! I think i am 2 weeks LATE on my 365, BUT that doesn't mean i haven't been snapping pics!

My parents came to visit last week, and we had the BEST time! I got some great pics of them and the kids together, and i might just do a 365 "RECAP" week for when they were here. Here are the 3 pics leading up to their visit: Day 28, 29, and 30.

Day 28

A new dress i whipped Belle up one night after she went to bed. It was a practice shot and i've been meaning to try this pattern again. I'm getting better on my sewing machine and love it because after the kids go to bed George will usually lay in the room and chit chat with me while i sew.



Day 29

This was a friday night and George had a work dinner to go to; so i randomly decided to paint our bathroom. That's how i roll, yo! I absolutely LOVED how the dark teal turned out in the loft/playroom, so i wanted to do a whole room that color. This is just after one coat, and i absolutely LOVE the way it's turned out. Our Master bath is almost done, i only have one more major project to do and then i will do a finished product post. (P.S A finished patio post is coming, I PROMISE!)



Day 30

This was the Saturday my parents got into town. They didn't fly in till late Saturday night, so the kids and I just relaxed around the house while George was at work. Here's my silly little girl bummin it in her woolies. I love my kids. And i especially love lazy days with them.

First vacation of 4!

We survived our very first family vacation of 4! It was exhausting and included remembering alot and constant multitasking, but it was SO fun and the kids did wonderful! We stayed in Myrtle Beach for 3 nights and really enjoyed laying out on the beach and playing in the pool. The hotel we stayed at was great and had SO many fun things for Noah to do. As well as a poolside bar for George and i :) Dont think i forgot about my 365 project. I took SO many pictures, but like to sometimes include pics on my blog that i dont post on my facebook. So here are my days 22-27.

Day 22
With our beach trip only 2 days away George and i were SO excited to get away from work and just our everyday life for a few days. We always lay in bed and joke and talk before going to sleep and this night i remembered i hadnt taken a pic for my project. So here is one of us before bed :) Love him.



Day 23
I should have been packing for our trip since we were leaving the next day, but i let Noah paint my mom a picture for mother's day since her and my dad will be here to visit next week! :)



Day 24
I couldnt have thought of a better place to go to dinner for Mother's Day than Margaritaville. Margaritas are my ALL TIME favorite drink and i had SO much fun with the people i love the most.



Day 25
I am SO glad i took my Boba to Myrtle Beach. In case you didnt know, i LOVE wearing my babies. I wore Noah till he was 2 and found it SO much easier than putting him in a stroller or basket at the store. My favorite carriers are the Sleepy Wrap for newborns up to 3 months, and the Boba for 3 mos and older. I had an ergo and loved it but couldnt resist the Boba since i loved the Sleepy Wrap so much and it's made by the same company. George and i had alot to take to the beach (towels, bags, umbrella, chairs ect) so it was SO easy to throw Belle in the Boba and help George carry stuff. I even wore her on the beach for walks, and around the pool as i took pics of George and Noah playing. I got alot of looks but most were smiles and nods. Here is a pic i took when i got back to our room on Monday after a day out on the beach.



Day 26
Our last day in Myrtle beach was SO exhausting. We spent all day going from the beach to the pool and by that night the kids were just ready for bed. After bath time they both cuddled in Noah's bed and Noah let Belle play with one of his trains. Times like this really make my heart melt. Seeing them two together makes me so happy. I hope they are always this close. Belle loves Noah and looks up to him so much.



Day 27
I know i'm a dork but i LOVE those cheap, cheesy beach tourist shops with every beach item you can think of. We took Noah to one to let him choose a souvenir and i couldnt resist getting them shirts. How cute are they when we got home. i think i might have to get cheesy shirts every time we go on a trip from now on.



Now i have 3 days to clean, clean, CLEAN, before my parents get here to visit. And i have exactly 1 week until my summer semester begins. My very LAST summer semester before i graduate!

19, 20, 21 Kids are like weeds

I swear kids are like weeds. They grow SO dang fast! I tried giving Belle a little bit of rice cereal a few weeks ago and she wanted NOTHING to do with it. So i let her be, and now that she is 6 mos old i thought i would try again, but maybe some sweet potatoes would do the trick. I bought a little jar of sweet potatos and fed her a little to make sure she wasnt allergic and loved it before i busted out the gool ol Beaba maker. Well she LOVED them! I went to Earthfare and they had some great ripe purple sweet potatos that were in season. I picked some up for Belle with some bananas and apples. I went home and finally got to use my Beaba for the first time! I scored this thing on Craigslist for $80 when i was pregnant with Belle. The woman had twins and had only used it once before she realized she couldnt keep up with her babies. It came in the box with the manual and even these cute storage containers. It was practically new! Belle LOVED her purple sweet potatos!

Day 19 Baby food making :)




Belle is usually the first one in the bath before bedtime since she falls asleep around 7pm and then Noah is next. Lately, Noah has been sprinting upstairs before Belle's bathtime and jumping in the tub before her. SO i've been bathing them both at the same time, which saves me alot of time. Belle laughs SO loud and SO hard when Noah is in the bath with her. She thinks he's the best. She is obsessed with playing with the cup, what kid isnt?

Day 20 Bathtime



I've been enjoying my time off of school SO much! It's been so nice to just relax and spend time with the babies without stressing about homework and deadlines. Yesterday I took Noah to storytime with his friend Max whose mom is one of my best friends. We ended up going to lunch with the kids and just had such a great time! I love good friends. Anyways, on top of running i've been experimenting with my sewing machine here and there. I dont know ANYTHING about sewing. I've never even touched a machine, so when i bought one i was completely clueless. I've been dying to make Belle all these cute dresses i see other moms making, but i feel so dumb when it comes to sewing. Well a sweet classmate of mine had a bunch of girl patterns of dresses that are just TOO cute and she sent them to me! I was SO excited and had a little bit of fabric left to try a dress. So here is my very first. I have to admit, it was a learning process, but i feel ike i might know a little more of what i'm doing the second time around. I cant wait to go get more fabric!

Day 21 My first dress for Belle :)

Front


Back

sixteen......

I'm slowly getting back into running and it has helped me SO much lately. I dont know if it's because i've been feeling better, or because the semester is out, but either way, i like the feeling. i've been trying to run every other day about 3-4 miles. So far so good. The kids really sent me into hiding there for a few weeks, but i think right now is the calm before the storm. They always get REAL good and everything will be real calm before the next big crazy phase. Here is my Day 16 picture of my sweet angels. I really do feel like my heart has grown since having my 2nd baby. All day i go from spending time with Noah and just loving him more and more, to spending time with Belle and loving her more and more. I love to see them together and their relationship blossom. I have so many wishes and dreams for them. To just be happy, always be themselves, and to love eachother unconditionally.

Day 16



My day 17 picture is kind of embarrassing, BUT it sums up George's days off SO well :) Lately, Noah has been getting out of bed and coming downstiars to spend some time with me. Sometimes it's before i go to bed and he snuggles with me on the recliner and the couch while i watch tv. It's kind of like "our" special time, and other times he comes down when i've already gone to bed and climbs in between George and I. George isnt a snuggler and i definitely am, so i've enjoyed Noah sleeping with us because he LOVES to cuddle. Here we are Sunday morning, George's first day off, sleeping in while George and Belle make breakfast :)

Day 17



This picture is perfect because you can see our headboardless bed :) I have been on a manhunt for a bed, or headboard, for awhile now. I had a certain idea in mind. I KNEW i wanted wood, i wanted something older and preferably just a headboard versus a whole bed. I love the idea of changing a bedskirt and showing that off in a room. I've searched craigslist, the Goodwill, and yard sales. Finally George was getting ready to just build me one and i even played with the idea of making a fabric one like this post here. But finally today during one of my usual Goodwill runs i found EXACTLY what i was looking for........a solid wood, older style, king size, headboard. There was a woman who was a little too late behind me, and as i ripped the tag off to buy it she asked if i was really going to get it. I was like pshhhhhYEAH! I scored some GREAT things today and decided to take a few pics. So my Day 18 are some pictures of my fun Goodwill finds today!

Day 18 Let's start with the bed :)



Don't mind the messy pillows, i need to work on getting some nice ones now that we have a headboard! We're playing with the idea of painting it, but for now we're loving it the way it is :)



Here are some of my other fave Goodwill finds. I got alot of cool things and i'm not going to post ALL the pics, but here are a few. Getting a little ready for Spring!

The blouse is vintage and i LOVE the detail around the neckline. It's kinda hard to see in this pic. The shorts were my size and i just couldnt pass them up, and everyone needs a skinny black belt that you can throw over dresses or cardigans.



I dont know if i would wear these 2 together, BUT this dress is SO comfy and will be perfect for my student teaching next year. And this belt was just TOO cute to pass! I got some AMAZING belts today. I'm kinda belt obsessed.



This dress is alot like the black but a little shorter so i might have to pair it with some tights. I'm pretty much obsessed with this belt. It has the most gorgeous stone in the center like a belt buckle. It's just so unique.



I'm SO excited for our upcoming beach trip, especially now since i have a couple more cute pieces to wear at the beach! And i just heard that my parents will be here to visit on the 14th too! SO much to look forward to! The summer is starting off fantastic!