The Happiest Place on Earth

We're back from Spring Break at Disneyland. I'm proud to report that only one meltdown occurred during our three day extravaganza. It involved being tooooo tired to walk any further and wanting to be pushed in a stroller. The situation was diffused when my husband offered to get me a tasty Mickey shaped beignet. Talking me down with pastry... a recurring tactic in our relationship.

Unlike her mommy, this one handled herself beautifully, no bribes needed. Okay, maybe other than the light up ears.

Houston, we have a costume!

Okay kids, I pulled it off... Barely... By the skin of my teeth... Snipping the last thread seconds before walking out the door... No exaggeration. Six yards of fabric, fifteen yards of cording, one broken needle, and a whole spool of thread later, I finished. But check out the coup de gras... Behold the bubble helmet!

This crowning touch could not have been pulled off without the help of some obliging friends who are handy with a jigsaw.

Much fun was had by all.

My services were paid for in candy. All is right with the world.

Cloudy with a Chance of Magic

Today we awoke to an overcast sky and a fine mist of rain falling. It was the perfect weather for sleeping in, but the alarm clock beckoned. I let the Baby Girl carry her umbrella with her to school, after she promised not to run over to the coat rack throughout the day to play with it. Sadly, the clouds parted before noon and the temperature rocketed into the nineties. So much for fall. After arriving home The Girl decided that she had to play dress up, and that the umbrella was an integral part of her ensemble.

Oh yes, and hot pink wedges were the order of the day as well. And no, I did not let her wear those to school. But yes, she did ask.

So glad you stopped by for a visit! For a complete list of all things sunny and pink please pop over to the blog of our wonderful hostess Beverly. Happy Day!

The Day The Circus Came to Town...

There were party favors galore

Ellie the elephant took center stage

Balloons were yours for the asking

Candy and trinkets were the order of the day

Special yo yos awaited a spin

The garage became a magical tent

There were games to be played

And prizes to be won

Decorations came to life

Elephants were on parade

The peanuts were fresh

The scent of sugar was in the air

Sweets abounded

Darling circus animals found their way onto a cake

There were tickets to be earned

invitations to be accepted

and ice cream to be shared.

The wishes of this five year old came true!

The Pink Stuff

This is what 45 bags of homemade cotton candy look like. My baby girl is turning five today, and we are all a flutter with preparations! I'll show you more treats soon. Promise.

Thank you for dropping by today. For a complete list of today's Pink participants spin on over to the blog of our delightful hostess Beverly. Hope you have a sweet day!

Little Miss Liberty

Wishing you a fun filled 4th, a delightful Pink Saturday, and merry making all around!

For a list of other Pink participants, make like a fire cracker and pop on over to the blog of our amazing hostess Beverly.

Backstage Ballerinas

My daughter recently had her end of the year ballet recital. Here is a peek at what the tiny dancers do to pass the time while waiting for their turn on stage. Color. Who knew? Why was this never the subject of a Degas painting? It's perfect. I hope this urge to color lasts for a few more years... I don't know if text messaging will look as adorable.

The Recital

My baby girl just had her first piano recital.

She is four.

She is fearless.

She is fabulous.

Her feet didn't touch the ground as she played.

Neither did mine.

Sweet Ride

With summer just around the corner my Sweetie decided to get his black beauty out of storage and get it all shined up for weekend spins. He always wanted an all American muscle car as a teenager, but he had to wait till his thirties for that dream to become a reality. He painstakingly restored what was once a white, beaten up, single owner 1968 Ford Mustang to the souped up ride you see above. Whenever I am trying to think of something to blog about, he always says, "Why don't you write about the Stang?" This comment is always met with an eye roll from me, but this time I decided to humor him. After all, he did spend a lot of time getting it all slicked up, and he deserves some props. He should really enjoy what time he has left with this car though.

Because I know a little girl who already has dibs on it.

Birthday Vignette

My sister celebrated her birthday this week, so I wanted to create something extra special for her.

I love to wrap gifts, but this time I decided to forgo that and display all of her loot together.

Recently we discovered the world of Peacock Park, and were immediately smitten. I wanted her birthday vignette to have that sort of feel to it.

I found many of the goodies on Etsy.

The touches of nature came from a local nursery.

The other bits and bobs I'd been saving for just the right moment.

I love it when all the details fall into place.

Ooh, and the homemade carrot cake wasn't bad either.

Pink Saturday...Family Circus Style

Have you ever read the cartoon strip Family Circus? If you have you might remember that the artist who draws it sometimes takes a vacation, and while he is away he lets his little boy draw the strip in his place. With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to let my daughter create my Pink Saturday post this week. The above photo shows some of her favorite gifts from Christmas. Even though she is only four, the girl LOVES to decorate. She arranges and rearranges her toys on an hourly basis. She is all about the display, the textures, and the layering. But you want to know the coolest part about her little vignettes?

She takes pictures of them with her own little digital camera! I'm sure starting a blog must be on her to-do list in 2010. Did I mention that the girl is precocious?

For a peek at other magical pink creations pop over to the blog of our fabulous hostess Beverly for a list of all of today's participants. Happy Day!

Tradition

The first Christmas my Sweetie and I were married a cute little tradition started. On Christmas Eve when it was time to unplug all the outside lights and turn off the tree before turning in for the night my husband said, "Let's leave them all on tonight." Now I'm the type who would leave every lamp on 24/7 if left to my own devices, but my better half is not. He's the frugal fellow with an ever mindful eye on the electric meter, making sure I don't send that little spinning contraption (or him) into orbit during the month of December. Giddy about leaving the lights on, yet curious about the logic I asked, "Why?" He sweetly responded, "So Santa will be able to see the house." A tradition was born. Global warming and exorbitant electric bills we care not for thee. On Christmas Eve, the lights stay on!

For Christmas traditions both sentimental and silly pop over to the blog of our fabulous hostess Beverly for a complete list of today's participants. My tree will light your path. Merry Christmas!

Christmas 1974

I don't remember what was in this package, but I do remember that the Christmas I was four my family bought a brand new artificial tree and all new candy land themed ornaments to go on it. We previously had a white tree with all blue ornaments, but that year we wanted something different. I remember vividly going to Sears to help pick out the new tree and all that would go with it.

The ornaments were my favorite part. There were gingerbread boys, girls and houses along with glittery white reindeer and snowmen that looked like sugar cookies, yet were made out of styrofoam. To my four-year-old sensibilities all these delightful decorations looked good enough to eat. So much so, that is just what I did. One by one I sampled each type of ornament. I left some of the houses with tentative teeth marks in them while the gingerbread men suffered more severely by having whole bites taken out of their heads. What was not bitten was at least licked. Hey, I'm not proud, I'm just reporting the facts.

In this photo I was caught red handed, absconding with yet another decoration. I can't tell if a gingerbread man was about to be crippled or if a reindeer was about to become lame, but it didn't look like I had much remorse over the whole thing. So much for our new decorations.

Thanks so much for strolling down memory lane with me. For more fond recollections of Christmas past, pop over to the blog of our wonderful hostess Beverly for a list of today's participants. Hope your Christmas is delicious!

Snow Day

I'm so excited! School was cancelled today because of the snow we received overnight. My four- year-old was a little grumbly because Friday is Show and Tell Day at her school, and she hated to miss it. The girl lives for performing. LOL! I on the other hand was elated to stay home. My high schoolers have their own daily version of show and tell, and frankly I have seen and heard enough of them to tide me over for awhile ;>)

To detract from the trauma of missing Show and Tell, we decided to spend some time making paper chains for Christmas decorating. We had quite the assembly line going. She would glue and I would make the paper loop. I started referring to her as "Glue Girl," and she then started calling me "Paper Lady."

In my opinion they are never too young to learn the value of crafting in pajamas.

Hope you are having a cozy day!

Pink Lady

Well kids, Halloween costume 2009 is complete, and with minimal cursing I'm pleased to add.We have been having loads of fun modeling and practicing the twist. Boy can this skirt twirl! Now while I didn't let the Baby Girl pound on the treble clef with her saddle oxfords in true 50's fashion, I did let her pose on the bench so you could have a full length view.

She loved that part almost as much as the costume!

Thanks so much for stopping by our little sock hop today. For a list of today's participants please twist on over to the blog of our fabulous hostess Beverly. It will be a treat. Happy Halloween!