2015 New Years Glow Party

I saw this party idea on pinterest and then just bought what I could find at the dollar store and some hats, since for Tatum, hats= PARTY time!

 

We felt so lucky our friends Dane and Korine were in town and could come over for our little dinner party! And Dane's parents are good friends with SueAnn, so everybody there had a friend!  The Dellenbachs were the perfect guests!

Getting set up is almost as much fun as the party itself! To give you an idea, my budget was $20, so this is what I could get for 10 people for that price!

Wand Wars!

I just love this shot!  You can kind of see the black light in the back-- it used $4 of my budget and wasn't worth it.  Also, I made "glow in the dark jello" which uses tonic water and is supposed to make it glow in the dark, but also makes it taste bitter.  Mine tasted bitter, and didn't glow...

Bowling!  I was a little nervous having the kids throw balls right toward the wall of glass doors, but luckily it was all okay!  They had fun both knocking them over and setting them up!

Korine's chocolate cake took the cake!  After thinking about it for almost a month now, I think it was the best cake I've ever had.  It was really so so good.  And, she used gold dust atop the juicy, beautiful raspberries, so that didn't hurt either.

I mean, it was really reallllly delicious!  Here is the recipe from King Arthur Flour.

And, the Name Game, or Times Up, whichever you call it.  We only got through the first round before it was 9pm and time to celebrate the New Year!  What a relief to feel GREAT about going to bed early this year!  I always beat myself up about not liking staying up so late, but this year I had zero qualms.  It was really nice.

The place settings:

Bring it on 2015!

Christmas Morning 2014

This was SUCH a fun Christmas year!

She is at the cutest age and everything is just such a thrill!

Sorting out her red/green m&ms.  Big business.

We started the morning at the downstairs tree by the chimney, where Santa came.  Her doctor kit was the big win, she has been giving us all about 40 check ups a day for 3 weeks now!

The most excited she got about a single present was her play dough kit!  I think she loved it so much because she knows and loves play doh already, so the kit with a roller, stamps, cutters and all sorts of accessories really just blew her mind.  She couldn't breathe she was soooo excited!  

Next was her ELSA princess dress from Auntie Beana!  SUCH a hit!  She loves it and continues to wear it every day.

Beana also strung those popcorn strands, which was a a labor of love, and Tatum really enjoyed.

Our timer group shot:

That turned out to take 10 photos, making us all go crazy (Scott?!) doing weird poses.

Her bubble gun!  Which she got frustrated with, threw on the ground, and already broke :(  This gun lit up, was refillable and had so much potential!  What a shame!

Our little 3T girl!  Growing up so fast!

And a GREAT part of Christmas:  The Low Country Boil!  I really love doing this on Christmas day because it is so EASY to make, has hardly any dishes (Its a one pot wonder, and if you do it right you don't use plates or silverware either!) and is just really delicious and filling!  I can't wait to do this for years to come!  

Kilbasa (sp?) sausage, red potatoes, corn cut in thirds, raw shrimp, 2 packets of Zatarans shrimp boil seasoning, lemon wedges, and any other seafood you want!  Throw it all in the boiling pot (Which takes a long time to reach a boil, mind you) at appropriate intervals and it's time to strain and eat! 

We ALWAYS serve it with fresh squeezed lemonade.  The perfect zing.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2014

Gingerbread House decorating contest!

I told Maria (my new SIL!) that of course she was winning since they had no kids on their team ;)  Their house turned out so cute!

Lucy loved ALL the candies!

A palm out front?  Can you say California Christmas?!

And our little angel, who really believes she is the BEST gingerbread house decorator out there!  You can barely see in this pic her stick on earrings- her first time!  She kept pushing her hair behind her ears so we were sure to notice her fairy earrings all night long!  

Beana's molten lava cake!  I don't know if anyone could finish the whole thing it was so rich and delicious!

Our finished house!  We named ours "The Northridge House" since our box came with many broken pieces that we rejoined together.

Our little elf bringing a cinnamon roll for Santa and carrots for the "reindeers!" She was realllly into it.  And since coming home she has asked me where OUR chimney is so Santa can come.  I reminded her Christmas is over for this year and luckily we were at Grandmas so Santa could come down her Chimney!

Earlier in the day we made Reindeer Food to sprinkle out on the grass so the reindeer would know where to find us.  I had never even heard of this until the day before when Scott's aunt (who is also a kindergarten teacher) told us you HAVE to leave oatmeal/glitter/sprinkles out so the reindeer will guide Santa to your house!

This was the perfect recipe! 

 It must be Christmas:

 And our morning activity, salt dough ornaments!  Obviously Tatum did them ALL, but can you guess which 2 Scott helped with and which 2 I helped with?  

 It was fun to have some other kids over for Christmas Eve and watch Tatum just play and play.  She needs a perma playmate, big time!

 This little girl is so spoiled.  And an honorable mention for SueAnn's Christmas sweater!

 CLASSIC.  

 Beana came home late and FOUND SANTA delivering the presents!  Check it!

And prime rib for the dog.  Seriously.

Newport Boat Parade

The boat parade goes on for 3-4 days in mid December, but we've never been here for Christmas early enough to go!  Three cheers for a month off school and the chance to check it out!

 Some boats are more festive than others.  One had Santa sitting at the top singing and waving to all the kids.  T loved it!  We wandered around the houses on Balboa Island which were also decorated to the nines before eating at Rubys on the pier!

We came here directly from getting Scott at the airport.  He was super wiped out from finishing finals only a few hours before his flight, but cheery anyway.

I'm kind of in love with this new coat from Grandma!  

2014 in Review

Who doesn't love a photo year in review?!  Putting this together took about 10 minutes this year since I did all the formatting last year :)  It was pretty hard to pick just 1 image from each month, so I decided not to stress over it and just pick one that looks good in a circle.  Enjoy!

Early December

Tatum's best little friend.  They do preschool together and it is the highlight of Tatum's life. Here they are squeezing lemons for letter L lemonade!  Her girlfriend has 3 other siblings, but for T, this is the chance she knows she will get a friend to play with and she cherishes it.  Just this week she started begging me to "Have a friend over, mama?!"

CHRISTMAS JAMMIES!  I wanted jammies to T so badly and thought if I want them I better make them!  I even have a bit of extra fabric so you may see jammies similar to these in years to come.  This was my first time sewing with knits (unless you count a swimsuit, which is a little different, and didn't come out a raging success...) and I couldn't be happier!  Amy with Peek-A-Boo Patterns does such a good job and the fit and instructions really make it easy to sew!  This was also my first time using a double needle on my regular machine and it rocked my world. I love sewing because I can get exactly the look I want and exactly the fit I want- which is saying something for a skinny skinny girl who can't normally keep her pants up!  

My New York Threads tag made it into a clothing item!

I fulfilled all my doll orders from the flash sale.  That was fun and a nice change from bedding, but it was indeed a flash sale and I won't be another any time soon.  But while I was at it I made a "baby sister doll" for our newest.  The original "Tatum" doll is on the left and the new doll on the right.  It has become "the doll" and Tatum cares for her, kisses her and treats her as the baby sister.  I had to make an executive decision about hair color, and well, I went with orange.  We'll see!

Oh, and, an elf!  I only had a knit in solid red, so he's a little stuffy, but a fun decoration nonetheless!

Tate and I have been doing Christmas projects every day.  Thank goodness we have Valentines and St. Patricks coming after Christmas because the girl fixates on holidays!  She loves marshmallows and this snowman was a hit!  I only wish I'd taken a picture of her project less than 24 hours later once she'd sneaked all the marshmallows off the page and ripped it to shreds.  Hope Elmer's Glue doesn't kill you!

They have been filming at the top of our street for a while.  Let me tell you, that crew takes over!  Like, 12+ trailers with crews and food tables and cameras galore.  At first we thought it must be an ebola documentary, but under further investigation, it is a new comic show for Netflix.  Pretty random and I'll likely never see it, but the guys on the street say that they are throwing "SO MUCH MONEY" at this thing that I will surely hear about it!

Things got pretty cold for a week or so after Thanksgiving, but now it is back up in the 30's so we are managing.  We have a bunch to do before leaving for a California Christmas.  Tatum and I fly a few days before Scott- I guess just one more cross country flight solo.  But flying alone with a child sounds EASY since I have a confirmed seat and since Tate has her own seat!  No problem.  Scott is working like a maniac to do prepare for his finals, and is doing a darn good job!  We haven't seen him for about 2 weeks and Tatum's behavior is showing it.  She needs some wrestle time with Dad.  

Until next time!

xo