Lost tooth, twice

So Goofball's bottom two teeth had been awfully wiggly this last week, so last night we decided to try to pull the wiggly-est of the two. We pulled and pulled, even trying to lasso the darn thing with dental floss, with no luck. I made Goofball promise not to lost his very first tooth while he was at school today, because then his very sentimental mom would miss the monumental event. So he lost his tooth at school, of course. To top it off, he lost it! After it fell out, he told the teacher's assistant (who is a very sweet young woman, but clearly doesn't understand the erratic behavior of my pre-kindergartener!), and she told him to PUT IT IN HIS POCKET! Well, he didn't. Instead he wanted to show the entire class what they too had to look forward to. And now it's gone. I pulled myself together upon hearing this tragic news and am now composing a letter to the tooth fairy explaining this whole debacle.

The Crazies get Crazy

Up until now, finding things to do, besides just hanging out at home or the park, when Grandma and Grandpa are in town was hard to do. Our kids were too small to do most things, and you can only take guests to the zoo so many times before it becomes fairly redundant.

Monday, we went bowling. The bumpers worked like a charm for Goofball, who pumped himself up for each turn by throwing up his fist, shouting, "Victory is mine!" Goofball coined his signature "Run and Toss" bowling form. He also discovered that bowling shoes and floor are the perfect combination of slippery-ness for some seriously hard-core breakdancing. Even Sweetpea loved heaving her little 6- pounder up to the line and giving it the slightest nudge, just strong enough, to get the ball down the lane (except for that one time that her ball actually started come back at us in the opposite direction it was supposed to be traveling). At its fastest, her ball clocked a whopping 1.45 mph. Did you know the new lanes have counters that actually clock the speed of the ball? I didn't. We also rode the new(ish) Phoenix light rail train from a spot near our house to downtown's Old Spaghetti Factory. We got an eyeful of some interesting public transit folk and some great views of downtown. Both extremely entertaining.

On our last night together, we joined the Snowbirds (The "Bluehairs" as Gary calls them... any Arizonians with me on this one?!) down at the Organ Stop Pizza. Loud Organ Music for an hour. Awesome. Some super cheesy fun. The Crazies couldn't get enough.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great visit! Please come see us again soon (we have one Goofball very anxious to give up his bed again for you!)

All Dolled Up!

So, Did you notice anything different? New hairdo? No. I look like I've lost weight?! Oh, go on... but no. My new and improved BEE-YOU-TEE-FULL blog?! Why yes! Thanks to Sharon over at Redbud Designs, this here blog is all gussied up and ready for the new year! Grab my button over there on the right, and spread a little love on your blog too.

Do you love it as much as I do?

Goals 2010

I cannot believe how much my life has changed in the past 10 years. Ten years ago tonight I was with a great group of friends making a time capsule (Which has yet to turn up! No one remembers what we did with it!) and cautiously mocking those preparing for Y2K. Remember that?! We are all married now, and many blessings have been given to each family. So I'm reflecting on the past year, and decade, and thinking about what is important to me to accomplish this year. So, here's my top 20 list of things I want to do this new year. Some are more eternally important than others, but I do adore checking things off a list, so I figure I'll be more motivated this way!

1) Become a Stay-at-Home mom, and do it well

2) Take a cake decorating class, or two

3) Take a sewing class, and sew more

4) Make a quilt for Sweetpea's big girl bed

5) Finish landscaping our yards

6) Read the Bible all the way through

7) Find a new home church, and get involved

8) Be a good friend and make connecting with friends more of a priority

9) Have a Girlfriends weekend with my college friends

10) Have a weekend away with Gary

11) Call out of town family at least once a month

12) Have a baby

13) Build L'alfabeto, my Etsy shop, and spend more time on it

14) Participate in two Christmas Boutiques

15) Find, and set aside time for, a couples Bible study with Gary

16) Spend time with God, everyday

17) Pray for the things in my life that are important, consistently

18) Expect, and pray for, a miracle of supernatural proportions for Kate

19) Grow out these pesky bangs (Why do I keep thinking bangs are a good idea?!)

20) Laugh more

I know I will add to this list, and I hope to revisit the list several times this year to stay on track. I know several of these things are beyond my control, but they still need my time and attention. Do you have a list?

Trip of a Lifetime

Way back before actually giving birth to our child, Gary and I made some bold statements about what we would and would not do as parents. The only declaration that actually stuck was we were NOT going to take our child to Disneyland before he or she was five years old so we wouldn't have to deal with naps or strollers there (I know, I know, meaningful stand to take eh?). Thus began our new family tradition of taking one child at a time to Disneyland for their 5th birthdays. Once Goofball was born, we got a big old water bottle and started saving our spare change to take him there for his fifth birthday. Even after Sweetpea was born, we continued saving vowing it would be just the three of us for his special birthday trip. The big 5 seemed monumental, as if it would never actually arrive. Well, it finally did. Last week Gary and I took our Goofball to Disneyland for three solid days of spoiling rotten. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. Everything went so smoothly... great trip over, perfect weather, no long waits for rides, one very well behaved wild boy, and two trips to the Starbucks across the street. We were so giddy and could hardly wipe the big dopey grins off our faces all day. It was so special to give him the undivided attention for a little while and watch our sweet boy turn into a bigger little boy.
So, I have to digress... even though the trip itself was phenomenal, our hotel experience was less than ideal. Oh the hotel room was fine, we're not too hard to please. We were missing bath towels and I dabbed myself dry with a wash cloth, found another human's hair in the tub, and occasionally heard a small beeping sound coming from an unknown source... again, I can work past this. The fireworks from Disneyland started promptly at 9:30 and lasted until 9:42 all the while sounding as if someone was going postal outside our door with a missile launcher, hand grenades, and an assault riffle, again... minor inconvenience. However, just a little piece of advice... no amount of covers to the ears can muffle the throw caution and modesty to the wind couple next door. If you're going to get your hanky panky on, please keep it down lest a bewildered mother has to explain what that noise is to her sweet, not quite five year old. Just saying.

Project 320

Do you know about Project 320 yet?

Please head over and read all about it. The goal is to build a well, to provide clean water for those who desperately need it, to help save lives.

As a little "thank you" for donating, you can win LOADS of amazing goods from some very talented ladies.

Frosty

So if you're like 95% of America... you are in the process of switching over all of your household light bulbs to the new energy efficient CFL variety (if you're not... you should!). At our house, as the old energy guzzlers burn out, we replace with the new and improved. Well, this week the last of our bulbs finally kicked the bucket and that left me with supplies for this adorable little ornament, which will soon be sent off to live at Goofball's teachers' houses. Although, they are just so cute, I think I'll make an extra one for our tree, I just love snowmen!

To get started:
1) Gather these supplies: an old lightbulb, various shades of acrylic paint (white is a must, but the other colors are up to you), some iridescent glitter, modge podge (although this isn't mandatory as I discovered today), fabric scraps, tiny bit of orange felt, sponge brush
2) Paint a thin-ish coat of white paint on the bulb part only (leaving the top silver for now), and sprinkle on the glitter while the paint is still wet (this saves you a step and eliminates the need for modge podge). I found that sticking the silver end in the playdough freed up my hands while it dried.

3) Dab some dark paint for the coal eyes, mouth, buttons, add the tiny orange felt triangle (I used a hot glue gun)

4) Add a scrap of fabric for the scarf, add some detail by cutting some fringe in the ends, hot glue that baby on...

5) Paint the silvery top a color of your choice, wrap some ribbon around the the top, and you've got yourself one darling little snowman ornament... doesn't it feel great to be crafty AND green :)