Reflections on 2010

2010 always sounded like we'd be living in a space age era with hovercars.  Not so much.  2010 was an interesting year for our family that provided good things.

I found these questions over at (In)Courage that offers a great format for reflecting on the year.

20 Questions for a New Year’s Eve Reflection

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
**Dave getting a job.  We started off the year unemployed and ended it in job that could have only been orchestrated by the Lord.  It has been new, challenging, and sometime uncomfortable to work through the learning curve, but we believe the Lord didn't design us for comfort and teaches us great things through struggles.
2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
**Managing 3 kids in a new schedule (Dave's hours were drastically different from before).  It has been a challenge to raise 3 littles and keep my wits about me at the same time. Being diagnosed with Graves' disease.  It was a challenge to work through before I knew I had it.
3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
**the job - getting a pretty clear picture of the main even of the year
4. What was an unexpected obstacle?
**Working out the details and expenses of Dave's dad care and move to LA and then him unexpectedly dying the week he arrives.  It was a shock.  We had so many ideas about the good things that would come from this move and to have it end abruptly was not something anyone was prepared for.  We grieve mostly for his sister who was more than excited about this move.
5. Pick three words to describe 2010.
**Challenging, Growing, Deepening 
(I took out two questions here)
8. What were the best books you read this year?
**The Help!  Hands down the BEST book.
9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
 **Okay, this one is tough.  I feel overly blessed and humbled by my friends.  Each and every one of them adds value to my life.  I mean, my list would be off the page and I'd have to describe what I love about every single one.  Let's just leave it with - I love all my friends deeply and value them all uniquely. (hope that doesn't sound passive)
10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
**Gluttony!  I learned more about my eating this year than anything else.  I learned what happens when I'm gluttonous and how it affects my relationship with my children and husband.  I draw on it almost everyday and I continue to learn from it.
11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
**I figured out ways to handle my frustrating with my children better.  I learned that teaching them a lesson in the moment of frustration or anger does nothing.  I learned that love teaches much more and that to teach a child, dominating anger will not work, it crushes and my goal as a mama is not to crush the spirit, it's to encourage it.  I want my children to know they are loved at all times, they just might not get away with what they think they should.  And that can be communicated with a smile on my face.
12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
**It was all tied into gluttony.  I need help to conquer these types of struggles and that I do alot of asking and now it needs to move onto seeking the Lord in scripture (goal for 2011)
13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
**the just makes me want to write a snide remark :)  I don't know.
14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
**I learned to think and wait before speaking.  That often times emotions are added to the mix and they will make a situation work.  I learned to not ask so many questions and instead ask only those that are important and not just to tickle my curiosity.
15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
**I'm now working for Angela at Frugal Living NW.  I love being able to work from home and there are a ton of creative outlets.
16. What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
**Eloise, Lily, and Sam.  
17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
**the computer, isn't that every moms?
18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
**just sitting with my kids and playing (I'm not very good at that)
19. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?
**I think we already covered this...gluttony and trust
20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2010 for you.
**Full on the right things.  Cheesy, but true.

Christmas activities

One of the best things we did this Christmas was re-enact the birth of baby Jesus.  I saw the idea over at Impress Your Kids and we had a little time to spare before we went out one evening, so we went with it.

Eloise was Mary, post birth, in the stable.  Lily was pregnant Mary, on the journey to Bethlehem.  Sam was a stragler.  Here's how their story went. 

Both Mary's prepared for the journey, pictures before leaving.

 They managed to lay down and get some rest before leaving.

 Then they began the journey to Bethlehem,

 on the path Lily created with all the pillows and blankets.

 They arrived at the stable, animals watching,

 

 where Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. (sorry for the blurry picture)

 Then she laid him in the manger.

 And Sam just looked cute the entire time.

 It was a really fun way for us to bring the story to a level where they could understand it more.  Next year the girls told us that mom and dad would be Mary and Joseph and Sam will be baby Jesus.  Eloise and Lily will be playing the part of the angels. 

catching up

it's been a while..yet again.

*Eloise is 5.  She napped 2 hours today.  She's still up (it's 9:30) and I'm pretty sure she'll be up until midnight.

*Do you know how hard it was to wake her from that nap?  It took several trips into our room, me turning on the light and Sam jumping on top of her head.  She wasn't too happy about the head jumping.  But he did start calling her "EZ" for Weezy.  These two are BFF's


*Sam is starting to talk more.  It's weird to have a non-verbal kid following to VERY verbal daughters.  There is alot more whining and tantrum throwing.  I guess that's what you have to do when you don't have any words to use.

*We cut Sam's hair for the first time last night.  I pinned him in my lap, Dave cut and the girls tried to crowd around in our tiny bathroom.  It was like two people trying to wrangle a slippery pig, crying and squealing included.  I should have put a lollipop in his mouth.  Oh well, no he no longer has a baby mullet.

*Eloise needs to get her hair cut too but can't decide between short or long.

*Eloise has preferences...who knew?!  She will only wear skirts with tights (the ones with feet, not he cute ones with leggings) and has an hour long dialogue with me about what type of coat to wear.  It was incredibly frustrating to deal with at first.  She has so many cute pants and really, if it's cold out, wear a coat.  But, I realized that she has preferences. She's becoming her own person and wants to have an opinion about what she wears.  It's going to happen sooner or later, so why not make it an enjoyable process for the both of us instead of a battle. We'll take a trip to a cute store, (my choosing, of course) and let her pick out some cute skirts and tights we both love.  Problem solved.

*I took Lily and Eloise seperately to buy gifts for each other.  They each had $5 to spend and it had to be something the other person liked.  Eloise had so much finding something for Lily and Lily had so much fun finding things for herself.  We had to do some prep work helping Lily learn how to keep a secret.  So far, so good. 

*As for the gifts, Eloise picked out a small doggie for Lily and Lily picked out a pretty bracelet for Eloise.  Cute!

*We made Christmas cookies the other day.  All my sprinkles are gone.  But what's a sugar cookie without a lb of colored sugar on top?

links

I haven't linked for a while so I thought I would share some of my favorites.

*This thai peanut noodles is delicious.  I'm loving this so much that I just might have it every night.  I've made it with both tofu and chicken - of course everyone else in the family prefers chicken.  Really, what's so bad about tofu?

*I'm passionate about our culture of extreme parenting and how it affects mother's and their relationships with other mother's and their children.  I absolutely loved this article on engineering perfect children. 

...You know the child I am talking about: precious, wide-eyed, over-cared-for, fussy, in a beautiful sweater, or a carefully hipsterish T-shirt. Have we done him a favor by protecting him from everything, from dirt and dust and violence and sugar and boredom and egg whites and mean children who steal his plastic dinosaurs, from, in short, the everyday banging-up of the universe? The wooden toys that tastefully surround him, the all-sacrificing, well-meaning parents, with a library of books on how to make him turn out correctly— is all of it actually harming or denaturing him? ...

*Thanks to Cutzi, I made these Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls.  I made them in my bread machine using the dough setting.  Dave actually said they were one of the best he'd ever had. I saw this list of pumpkin recipes and I just couldn't help sampling a few.

*And here's a Thanksgiving printable we think is pretty cute.

Have a great Thanksgiving!  We have much to be thankful for.

Super great cookies.

Dairy and my digestive system don't get along all that well.  (bet you wanted to hear that, huh?) So, I've been trying to make some changes.  We currently drink lactose-free milk which helps all of us (and yes, all you raw milk drinkers, I've heard it helps.  I'll buy into it someday.)  But I'm starting to notice some other dairy foods make me free pretty awful.  So begins the elimination of dairy journey.  Super fun, huh?

I found this blog, Oh She Glows.  Most of her recipes are vegan and at first, sound a bit strange. But, I wanted to try a few a see what they were like.

First, I tried the Pumpkin Pie Banana chunk oatmeal cookies.  So good!  Everyone devoured these.  They are like a breakfast cookie.
Note: don't put them in a ziploc bag.  They will get really soft.  The counter makes them a great consistency.

Here's my modified recipe: (I omitted the banana, I didn't have any on hand)

1 Flax ‘egg’ (2 tsp. ground flaxseed + 2 tablespoons water)
1 cup regular oats
1 cup Barley flour (or whole wheat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 tbsp mini chocolate chips
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (just got a sweet deal on Amazon)
3/4 cup canned pumpkin

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375F. Mix flax egg in a small bowl and set aside. Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Mix wet ingredients in a small to medium sized bowl and then add flax egg. Stir. Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients. Stir well and shape cookies onto a pan. Makes 12 large cookies. Cook for 13 minutes at 375F.

Then I tried the Pumpkin Pie Monster smoothie.  The almond milk is taking some adjustment and the kids definitely didn't like it and Dave would even look at it b/c his face once got shoved into a pumpkin pie and it makes him dry heave now.  But I managed to get it down.

Some have mentioned using tablets to help ease the dairy intolerance, but I'd rather just adjust my eating so that I don't have to take a tablet before every meal that includes a dairy product.  I'm eating more vegetables and fruit as a result which is a great thing for a former vegetable hater.

I've really enjoyed following Oh She Glows.  I love that she has worked through her negative relationship with food and has arrived loving to cook and work out.  Something I'm aspiring too.

*And just to tack this on because I just read it, we're totally doing the "day" thing (you have to read it).  And I'm going to be fun!!!

Favorite recipe

I've found a great recipe that works well for all family members (except Sam, he doesn't eat anything except carbs).  It's really easy and delicious.

Hearty Pita Tacos
From Taste of Home - Healthy Cooking

• 1 pound lean ground beef (I use ground turkey)
• 1 small sweet red pepper, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 can (16 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 2/3 cup taco sauce
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 whole wheat pita pocket halves
• 6 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• Sliced avocado and additional taco sauce, optional

Directions:

• In a large skillet, cook the beef, red pepper and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the beans, corn, taco sauce, olives and seasonings; heat through.
• Spoon 3/4 cup beef mixture into each pita half. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with avocado and additional taco sauce if desired. Yield: 6 servings.

My notes:
I usually make my own pitas, but store bought are good also.  I also add shredded lettuce.  If I don't have time to get all the spices out I just use 2 tsp of taco seasoning.

weighty issue (pardon the pun!)

So many thoughts milling about my brain so I'm just going to throw them out and hope they make sense.

I have a poor self-image.  (how's that for starting out?!)  If someone were to compliment me on my skills (organized, efficient), I would feel over the moon.  That would encourage me the most.  If someone were to compliment me on my looks, it makes me want to crawl out of my skin.  Why? Not sure, but it seems like a good time to tackle it b/c I've got two tiny girls that are growing up fast and their watching what I'm doing.  And how I respond to myself is how they will respond.

So how did I realize this?  We had pictures done in the park the other day.  It was a perfect afternoon.  The not so perfect part - the location.  The day was beautiful.  But we were in a park.  Rule #1: NEVER, and I mean NEVER, have your children's pictures taken in a park with a playground.  They are distracted and unable to focus on the task at hand.  They're 1,3 & 5.  Makes total sense.  I wouldn't be able to focus either if my mother never took me to parks.
No one would look at the camera, Sam was incredibly cranky and I was getting more and more anxious by the minute.  The flow was not happening.  Finally, the day was finished.  Here's just one example of this day was NOT flowing (gotta love that scream)

 On the way home Eloise threw up in the car from being carsick, Sam gagging himself and Lily watched on in horror as I'm frantically begging her not to have a sympathy throw up.  Once we got home, my first response was to eat myself silly from all the anxiety.  Or bake.  I resisted both but it brought up a good point that this is not the way to deal with frustration and it's not the way I want my children to deal with it. (side note:  Lily threw up in her bed the next morning at 4 a.m. from coughing so much....what are the chances?)

The above story to say, when i got the pictures back, I was in a few.  I could barely look at them.  I was tearing myself apart.  Granted, the outfit I chose was not the best, and I'm okay admitting that, but it was not the outfit, it was me.  Immediately I went to my overall look and weight. Well, I need to lose 30 lbs.  That's what would make this all okay.

Nope, it's not what would make it all okay.  Because when the lbs are gone, I still haven't deal with the heart issue of it all.  Do I love the person God created me to be?  When He created me He took delight in what He made?  If my child comes to me and says that they don't like their hands, my first response would be, No.  They are perfect.  They were created for you and they are exactly as intended.  Beautiful.  So, I'm imagining, as I look at myself and think all these negative thoughts, my Father in Heaven is thinking the same thing.  No.  I made those perfect.  I designed them just the way I wanted them to be.  Take delight in my creation.

So I'm trying to connect it all together.  I haven't come to any conclusions besides what habits I want to break for my children.
First, stop seeing other people in terms of weight.  Weight does not determine their success or failure in the world.  And it certainly does not determine their worth.
Second, start seeing myself through the eyes of my Creator.  I know how to eat well.  I know when imbalance is off.  The key isn't working myself into a place where I feel like I'm pleased.  It's being pleased with the design I started out with and learning how to eat the great foods that God created for us to eat (I could start learning to like raw carrots.  It might be tough, but I'll try).
Third, to make sure my girls NEVER see me demean myself because of weight.  I DO NOT want them to demean themselves because of it.  Therefore, i have to model it.

This is such a big concept for me to get, but I'm committed to the refinement.  I'm committed to taking this issue of weight and kicking it to the curb.  And please remember, I'm in no way saying that losing weight is not a good thing.  It's great.  I'm so proud of the accomplishment when people lose weight.  I'm proud of their commitment, dedication, follow-thru, and decision to work hard to get their bodies to a place where it's flowing in a healthy way.  I commend all of that.  I just want to be satisfied with who I am before that process starts.  To know that my Father is pleased with His creation regardless of the 20lbs I'm still carrying around.

Two of my favorite pictures

 Everyone is actually looking at the camera.  It's a miracle!

Sometimes I look at pictures like this in complete disbelief.  THAT is my family. Crazy!  Am I really old enough to be responsible for all those people?

How cute are they?

halloween

Halloween was great fun this year.  We love our friends and we love trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  Near the end, Lily was saying her candy jack-o-lantern was too heavy and she needed to go home.  We gotta LOT of candy.

Our pumpkins, the princess and the pirate

 Our little animals, kitty, poodle, and the chicken 

(yes, I know, he looks like a girl)

 Our dinner group kids

 My sweet girls

 the little boys.  They are 10 weeks apart (Sam is older) and Matthew is 10 lbs heavier (maybe)

They started talking to each other after we'd left them there for a few seconds.  

I wonder what they're thinking.

 the girls of the group

 And our little girl chicken

 All the candy two little girls could ever want and Charlie Brown's: The Great Pumpkin.

Such a fun Halloween

stomach flu

I loathe the stomach flu.  Similar to the way I feel about getting a cavity filled, in fact I might actually take the cavity.  I know I would, no contest.

I know some have an easy time with the stomach flu.  One kid pukes once.  Lucky people. 

This got a few of us talking about which you would rather have: Stomach flu or head cold?

See in our house, kids go big on the stomach flu. They throw up in car seats (I've lost count of how many times I've taken a car seat apart to wash it), they throw up in their beds, and they throw up on their mom.  Sam had it last Sunday (as in 10 days ago!) and it was so sad.  Little guy threw up 6 times.  6 people!  All in his bed. 

My mother has a strong affection for bleach.  I don't.  But when it comes to the stomach flu, I love the smell of bleach.  I quickly went to work on cleaning the entire house, washing hands 1000 times and doing laundry.  3 days later, no one had it.  We were safe.

Yesterday, Eloise got it.  This time she threw up on the sidewalk on the way into church. Super great, huh.  She was fine all day and then threw up last night, thankfully in the blankets on the couch.  Bust out the bleach and laundry, again. 

All is well and no one else has it.  Life can resume in a day or so.

So after all this, give me a head cold any day.  No bleach, laundry, tearing apart car seats and making beds 3 times in a matter of an hour.  And you always know when a head cold is coming on, the stomach flu, it's rather sneaky.

What would you rather have?  Stomach flu or head cold (you can't say neither b/c that's a given)

what's happening?

*Sam is walking all over and into everything.  He even figured out how to climb up the chairs and onto the dining room table.  I found him up there pushing buttons on my laptop.  He didn't open anything sketchy.

*I bought Sam's first pair of shoes at Target the other day.  We have the fancy kinds from Nordstrom from friends but they don't have velcro and this mom-of-3-kids-who-don't-know-how-to-tie-their-shoes, isn't about to tie a squirmy infants shoes.

*I had no idea where the infant boys shoes section was at Target.  I actually thought for a moment that they might not have one.  Welcome to the world of little boys.

*We decided that we would send Eloise to public school next year.  The choice was right and it is what we believe the Lord has called us to do.  I can't say that this will be the choice for the next two kids, but I can say that we're listening intently for the direction

*She's doing great this year.  We're working on letters, numbers, and anything else she wants to learn. I think we're heading towards reading.  I just need to get a few books that might help in that process.

*Sam is in LOVE with his big sister.  He walks around the house giving her hugs all day long.  Lily and Sam haven't quite formed that bond yet, but it's probably b/c she's so rough all the time.

*Dave arranged a girls night out at Pok Pok for my birthday.  If you're ever in Portland, be sure and hit this place up.  Very different, very authentic Thai but OH SO GOOD!

*I'm currently stuck in the rotation of 3 lunches for my kids: Gardenburgers, grilled cheese, and PB & J.  BORING!

*Sam doesn't eat anything.  Literally.  He loves carbs, pretty much like Eloise and myself.  But I've managed to work up a sweet smoothie that he'll drink down with  no problem.  At his age, with Eloise I thought I did something wrong, with Lily I thought I was doing things right (she was eating everything), with Sam I realize that they are born that way.  He'll get his veggies in soon enough.

*I cut the peels off my kids apples.  There.  I said it.  I have no shame.  My mother did it for me and I do it for my kids.  I know, all the nutrients are in the peels, but people, when you have texture issues, it doesn't matter.  They're still eating the apple.  And Lily will eat an apple whole with the peels just not when I cut them into slices.  There are worse things I could be doing.

*I made this chicken pot pie last night, very good.

happy Fall!

pumpkin muffins

Best pumpkin muffins ever!!!

Seriously!

Here's a new recipe for pumpkin muffins.  She has the original version but I bypassed it and went straight to the ones with honey.  I purposely didn't try the original ones b/c I thought they would be better and i'd never be able to try the honey ones.  BUT....I was pleasantly surprised and I LOVE the ones with honey.  I did reduce my cooking time to 20 minutes and that seemed to work perfect.  They are moist and oh so delicious.  We added a few handfuls of mini-chocolate chips to ours.  Lily said we needed to add 111 handfuls.  We only added 4.

And I just discovered a sweet recipe for some cheesy chicken pot pie.  I'll be making it this week as I have a ridiculous amount of already cooked chicken in my freezer. (BTW - you should really be following Kitchen Simplicity, her colorful Monday's are gorgeous)

And while I'm on the food topic, I've got to remind myself here that working out really does make me feel tons better.  I've slowed down a bit over the last two weeks because of traveling on the weekends, but I've got to get back into the groove.  I'm determined not to overeat amidst this holiday tri-fecta we're about to venture through.

weekends

Where did the last two weeks go?  My word, we've been busy.

Two weeks ago, Dave's work took the entire staff to Five Pine Lodge in Sister's, Oregon.  It was great!  We had a fabulous time getting to know everyone better, enjoying our beautiful room, and having a wonderful evening out without kids (we had babysitter's).  Our kids slept great and even enjoyed the gigantic bathtub with water falling from the ceiling.  (I don't think the owners thought about what would happen if three small children were in there together = LOTS of water everywhere!)

Last weekend I got away for a girls weekend.  It's my annual INN girls weekend.  We've been doing it for 10 years!  This was the first time I'd been away from Sam all weekend.  It was great to have conversation late into the night without the worry of being woken up by someone or getting up to face the morning of feeding kids.  We shopped, ate, talked, ate some more, and drank lots of coffee.  Nothing better.  I love girls weekend! Pictures of that are on someone else's camera.   I'll have to hijack the card to be able to upload.  But we're all super cute, I promise.

Sam started walking.  Sweet boy.  He has a fever today and has been crying non-stop, so the walking was accompanied by consistent noise coming out of his mouth as he followed me around the house all day.  Super fun!  He's living up the lodge life here.

Now that these fabulous events have concluded, we're enjoying a week of nothing.  I'm menu planning and gearing up to make some serious pumpkin treats.  And trying to keep the waist line small too.

the great pumpkin post

I posted over at Angela's blog, Frugal Living NW, my big pumpkin post, but I thought I would bring it over here as well.  I know that I have some serious pumpkin lovin' people.




I would put pumpkin in just about everything.  But I draw the line at pumpkin lasagna, which I have made, but pumpkin, in my opinion, is saved for the sweet end of the spectrum.


For the breakfast pumpkin lovers:

::Pumpkin Scones — just like Starbucks.  These are easy to make and taste just like the real thing.

:: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls — I haven’t tried these, but you bet I will soon.

:: Pumpkin Pancakes

:: Pumpkin Oatmeal — this is a great one for babies.  I fed this to all my kids, with a little less sugar.

Pumpkin desserts:

:: THE Pumpkin Dessert — so delicious!

:: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

:: Pumpkin Cookies

:: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares — very easy

:: Pumpkin Cheesecake — my all time favorite!

Happy Autumn and happy pumpkin baking!

what we're doing

Kinda felt hungover from the Fairy party this week. I think I recovered today.

I'd like to point out that even though I pulled off the fairy party, the rest of the house looked like this behind closed doors. Can't do it all, right?

Just keeping it real

I love this post by Kelle Hampton. So true about the ordinary. BTW - if you are not reading her blog, you should be. Start here and bring a tissue, it's amazing.

I'm making these for dinner tomorrow night. I spend way to much time on Our Best Bites. It just makes me hungry and now that I've been doing the Shred almost every day, I don't really need another reason to be hungry.

We're loving Starfall.

And we're also enjoying Barefoot Books. Super great in the morning to listen to.

It's approaching pumpkin season soon, my favorite and I plan on posting the Great Pumpkin Post. Lots of my favorite recipes to share. I'm already digging them out. If you have some I need to try, comment and let me know.

Garden Fairy Party

I love throwing parties. It's so much fun dreaming about what it will look like, searching the internet to find great ideas, and coming up with a frugal way to pull it all together.

This year Eloise wanted a Rosetta party. Rosetta, a garden fairy, is on Tinkerbell. So we decided on a garden fairy party. She got to invite 5 friends, one of which was her sister.

When I did my first search I found Tom Kat. Oh man, I love this blog and I love that she turned her passion into an amazing business. She had given her daughter a fairy party and I loved all of her ideas. I quickly got to work on tutu's, fairy wands, and wings. All of which came out exactly how I wanted them.

I got my inspiration for the cake from here, scroll down to see the Silvermist cake.

Decorations were great fun too but I couldn't exactly put into words what I wanted so I had to wait until the last minute to work with it. Martha Stewart has a pom pom tutorial that made it easy to whip up these pom poms. They are selling on Etsy too, but I don't have to pay for shipping. I borrow some toile from some friends and flowers from our church. My mom helped with the tablecloth and live flowers and we were ready to go.

She picked out a few items for the food. It was at 3 so we did snacks. Honey Wheat pretzels from Trader Joes (her favorite), pickles, olives, cheese, pixie sticks, pink chocolate over oreo's, sparkle juice, hot dog rolls and strawberry cream cheese star sandwiches.

Our little fairies began to arrive and select their fairy gear.

Aren't they all sweet looking

They ran around and played for a bit and then we began the The Great Fairy Treasure Hunt. Dave and I hid a treasure box with small fairies inside. Then we did 5 clues around the yard. It was fun to watch them running in their tutu's.

I love all those little girls searching for the clue. so cute.

This little guy couldn't decide if he wanted to be in on the action or make a run for it. I think he chose to run. My mom was sure to keep him entertained.

We ended the day with blowing out the candles

opening gifts

laughing and sprinkling pixie dust all over the yard. It was a really fun party and I'm so happy with the way it turned out.

A big thank you to Nana who helped to make this happen. We love you!