Rule #8

Rule #8 Never miss a very important party.

This is Olivia.  Olivia the Pig.  And she is a witty, smart, funny, creative, and spunky 6 year old pig on Nick Jr.  She's also the focus for Hallie's 5th birthday party.  After searching high and low for the perfect Olivia, my super sweet and extremely talented husband drew her out (er, created her on a computer) for me. :o)  Didn't he do a super job?!  I probably could have bought the image on etsy.com or found it somewhere...but he saved me.  And now I (and by "I", I mean he) can create all the Olivia paper goodness I want!

This is a first for us.  We are actually having a "character" birthday party.  However, I'll do my best to take as much of the character theme out of it as possible.  I'm not a huge fan of character parties.  But Hallie loves Olivia the Pig.  And we do, too.  So Hallie will be having her Biggest Big Day with Olivia. :o)  I have found tons of cute ideas online...but since we're having her party somewhere other than at home, we have to abbreviate some of the decor.

Here are our inspiration plates that we'll have at the party along with solid aqua and red:

I really love traditional party hats.  But I'm having a hard time finding the colors I want.  I did find this, though, and I love it.  I'm hoping my mom and I can whip these up!

Drinks...I'll take off the wrappers and put ribbon with an Olivia tag on them:

Kids will be given these fun straws for their drinks:

We'll have a candy buffet and the treats will be put in here:

And I (and Hallie, too, I'm sure) want lots of polka dot balloons like these:

The "Sweet Shop" buffet will include:

*Giant Pixie Sticks

*Strawberry Sour Punch Straws

*Pink/Red/White M&Ms (thank you Valentine's Day)

*Swedish Fish

*Strawberry Frooties (like Tootsie Rolls but so delicious)

*Peppermint balls (the ones that melt in your mouth)

The only problem I'm having is coming up with an actual food menu.  Sure we'll have a sugary sweet treat table.  We'll have yummy cupcakes and possibly cakes and cookies.  But nothing to actually keep the kids from throwing up all over place from jumping around and partaking in more sugar than I'm sure they're used to.  If you have ideas about what sweet kiddies could eat at the party, let me know.  Otherwise I'll just stick to my chicken fingers and chips. :o)

Here are links to Hallie's past birthdays!  I still cannot believe she is ALMOST FIVE!

Hallie turns ONE:  Cupcakes

  

Hallie is ONE: Alabama Party--Cupcakes again!

Hallie is TWO:  Monkeys

  

Hallie is THREE: Princess Party

  

Hallie is FOUR: Ladybugs

 

Hallie is FOUR:  Alabama Party--Monkeys

  

Baby Echols

Yep.  We've got a sweet little honey bun in the oven. :o)  We are over the moon and Big Sister Hallie is super excited.  She has been asking for a baby brother (quite specifically) for some time now...so I suppose if she doesn't get a baby brother, she might be a little disappointed.  She even has names picked out--for a brother or a sister.  If she has a baby brother, she'd like to name him Shoo-Shoo.  And she'd like a baby sister named Butterfly.  LOL.  Needless to say, she will not be allowed to help pick out any names. :o)

Hallie is expecting to become a BIG SISTER on/before/after August 17, 2012! :o)

Eye of the iPhone

 Well, last week was a busy week to say the least.  It all started *last* Friday night when I left school very close to 7 pm.  I'm certain that wasn't on my list of things I hoped for when I decided to become a teacher.  Nonetheless, Hal and I headed out to the car...and it was dark/almost dark.  My school isn't in a sketchy neighborhood, but people who are sketchy sometimes walk in the neighborhood and play on the school playground...teenagers in particular who find it interesting to graffiti our new playground and leave "interesting" articles of clothing under the slide.  No, I am not kidding.  So when I got to my car--hands totally full--and I was trying to get Hal into the car all while some "seemingly shady" people crossed the street and then parked themselves on the bench close to my car making me very nervous and my phone was ringing, I did what any normal person would do and I sat my bag on the ground and my basket of papers to grade (or "file") onto the back of the car.  The part that I did that wasn't normal was walk right by my bag to get into the car and then drive off...without ever picking up the bag.  Oh, and that bag (which was a lovely bridesmaids gift from my sweet friend, Stacey, complete with block monogram) contained my laptop bag (which yes, had my laptop in it) and a school iPad so I could find yet more apps to keep my kids entertained during literacy stations and math stations.  Sigh.  Horrible end to a week.  And a horrible beginning to a week when I had to tell my principal.

The fact that life goes on is evident through my iPhone camera.

Because it did.

Thankfully my principal was understanding--at least on the day I told her. :o)  But it made for a very, very, very (need I go on?) week.  I was so sick over it.  I'm still sick over it.  Not only was something that didn't belong directly to me stolen. (Yes...it was stolen.  I went back to get it the next morning when I realized my stupidity and it was gone.  Not only that, but a teacher's friend's friend--say that three times fast--was there about 30 minutes after I left walking her dogs and saw the bag.  She called my teacher friend and asked what to do with it...I'm sure she thought it was just full of papers.  So she went to put her three big dogs back in the car to do something with my bag...when she got back probably 3 minutes later, the bag was gone.  And someone was thrilled with their find, I'm sure.  I'm still praying that person will be honest and return it.  But now that a full week has passed, I'm getting less hopeful.)  On top of it being stolen, it had *everything* related to my needs for school on it (the laptop, that is).  I mean everything.  Lesson plans.  Units I've bought from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Other units I've downloaded for free.  Lesson plans (oh the lesson plans...sniff, sniff).  Important documents that were e-mailed to me that I then downloaded.  You name it, it was probably on my laptop and needed in my classroom.  So frustrating.  All because I was stupid.  All because someone was selfish and dishonest.

Again, life goes on.  And I'm thankful it does.  I need to stop beating myself up for something that was an honest accident.  And I need to realize that what I had, I no longer have...and I need to be thankful for what I do have.  As my mother-in-law said, it could have been a lot worse.  And at first, I couldn't go there.  This was my fault.  But now, I'm able to realize that it could have been worse.  Someone could have come up and stolen the bag from me, harming Hallie or me.  So at that thought, I suppose I'm a little thankful that it's gone because I was mindless.

So...here's what the rest of the week held...

My sweet girl got a haircut. :o)

Hallie got to wear her favorite sports team gear at dance.

I wanted to throw this thing out the window b/c it's slower than Christmas.  It's a student station.  However, I was thankful to have *something* to write my lesson plans.

Hallie got a McDonald's Happy Meal after Cubbies. :o)

There are many of these on my phone.  It's one of Hallie's new favorite things.  She creates a classroom.  If you'll notice, there are three students (animals) and each has their backpack because they are showing what they brought for show and tell (which is what Hallie's class does on Fridays).  Along the wall are their lunch boxes (which is where Hallie's is kept in her classroom).  Too cute. :o)

And the greatest...ha...Hallie got her first black eye thanks to a kid named Josh at the Chick-fil-A playground.  She was going down the slide on her tummy (feet first) and he went too close behind her.  When she stopped at the bottom, he didn't.  When I asked her how she felt about having a black eye, she said, "Great!!" :o)

We ended the week with supper at Cheddar's.  It sure is loud in there, but it sure is yummy.  And we had good company with Jonathan's parents.  This photo is courtesy of Hallie. :o)

Summer 2011...just a *little* late.

This past summer, my sweet friend, Amy, took some pictures of my sweet little family.  She sent me all the pictures and Jonathan edited them for me.  He finally finished some of them.  Finally. :o)  I love them.

Where is it 80 degrees in January?

Believe it or not, I can answer the question that is my post title.  Waco, TX.  That's where it can be 80 degrees in January.  Mid-January.  Yesterday and today to be exact.  Crazy, old weather.  Evidently January did not get the memo that it's supposed to be freezing cold and snow!  Ah...to live in a place where the four seasons actually exist.

If it's going to be Spring-like weather, we're going to act like it's Spring-like weather...short sleeve and all.  And on top of it all, we're going to go to the park and enjoy the wonderful weather.  We're even going to call some sweet friends that we haven't seen in a long time in hopes of them meeting us at the park!

Hallie and I really enjoyed our visit with Miss Becky and sweet Audrey Claire!  Hallie kept wanting to play with Audrey and have Becky and me go sit on the bench.  While Becky admitted having that picture in her mind, it wasn't quite feasible with a not-quite-one-year old little one.  Hallie didn't understand and whined that she and Audrey needed to be alone to play.  haha.

Hallie rode her scooter to the park.  She was tired, but a good sport!

Sweet Audrey!  She was cackling SO hard while her mommy was pushing her in the swing...I wish I had it on video!  This little girl *loves* to swing!

As soon as I kneeled down to take a picture, Audrey threw her hand up.  Think she's had her picture taken a time or two?!

Sweet girls!

Look at those sweet blue eyes and that cute toothy grin!

 Hallie kept getting stuck in the tunnel...love this little girl and her wonderfully sweet smile!

And Hallie rode her scooter all the way back to Mommy's classroom.  

What a wonderful afternoon at the park with sweet friends!

Alabama Christmas

We arrived in at my parents' house in Alabama around 4 am Christmas Eve.  I don't think we've ever taken so long to get from Texas to Alabama...and I'm not really sure how the 17 hours happened.  Nonetheless, we made it safely, and I don't think I've ever been so glad to be at my parents' house!  Christmas Eve, my dad read the Christmas story to the three girls.  I can't say that Hallie was doing her best at paying attention--she was slightly wild.  But it was a sweet moment.  Afterward, Nonna read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to them and then we got ready for bed.  Hallie gave her elf, Whitney, big hugs before placing her under the tree and set out milk and cookies for Santa.Hallie was *very* sad to see Whitney leave, and she's thinking of asking Santa if Whitney can come back to visit for Hallie's birthday.  I'm sure he'll oblige.  I mean, even elves need a vacation. ;o)  Hallie had tons of fun playing at Nonna and Pop's house...especially with her two cousins, Abby and Hattie Grace!  Those three can make some noise, let me tell you.  Whew.  When it's Hallie and HG, they're fine...playing gracefully and sharing beautifully.  When it's just Hallie and Abby...the same.  When it's all three...a new World War could erupt at any minute, and you've never heard so much tattling in your life. :o)  Still, it's fun for cousins to play together.  Note to self...take ear plugs on our next vist.  Ha!  

During our visits, we always plan something big...and according to Jonathan, it usually involves riding some kind of train.  Ha!  This time we had planned to take the girls to the American Girl store in Alpharetta, but it just didn't happen.  There was a whole lot of resting going on.  It was exactly what we all needed!  On our trip home, we realized we had been in Alabama for ten days.  Ten glorious days of resting.  Ten wonderful days of sleeping until 10:30 (Hallie, too!).  Ten yummy days of my mom's breakfasts or Hardee's biscuits (YUM! on both accounts).  Ten days of Hallie getting so spend with Nonna and Pop.  Wonderful memories made.  My mom and I did some shopping, and of course we got to eat at Top 'o the River (the fried pickles were super delish this time!).  We got to spend time with my dad's family, too.  It was a great ten days!  Turns out we didn't have much of anything planned during those days either...even better. :o)

Hallie kept waiting for it to snow.  This Christmas was completely different from last year which had a LOT of snow.  I was going to link you to the pictures, but it appears I didn't put that on the blog last year.  Oops. I know I uploaded them to Facebook.  Ha.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and were blessed by the true meaning of Christmas.  And I hope you all have a wonderful 2012!  Happy New Year!

Pop reading the Christmas story.

Opening some of Hallie's Santa presents.

These are all for me?!  Let me tell you...it took her about 5 minutes (or less) to open them!

A little bit of craziness at Nonna and Pop's house!

Hallie and her new American Girl doll that is supposed to look like her. :o)  At first she named her Ruthie...then she changed it to Katherine b/c "Abby already has a Ruthie and it's a REAL Ruthie...my doll isn't a REAL Ruthie, so I'm going to name her Katherine."  Whatever you say, Hallie. :o)

Sweet cousins--Hallie and Nora

My cousin and BFF, Stephanie!

This is how we are normally. :o)  Love these girls!

Hallie and Abby with Reecie.  This is right before Reecie climbed up the screen...the screen fell into the kitchen onto the table.  Both girls stood there with mouths gaping open.  Reecie proceeded to meow, turn around, and walk down the screen back outside.  That cat is "some cat".  Ha!

Trying to get Reecie to climb the tree.  She was being kind of obstinate. 

Ah...she finally decided to perform!

Abby & Hallie were outside playing (look at the short-sleeves...I told you it was VERY different from last Christmas when it was FREEZING!)...I walked up on this and Abby saying "Hallie...see if you can fit down in that hole."  LOL  (Don't worry--the hole was only about two feet deep (it was for a post).

There was a lot of playing tag...

So...we had a very Merry Christmas.  Oh to move to Alabama some day and be closer to my family.  That is my hope and prayer.

Christmas via iPhone

Hallie watching a movie en route to Alabama.


Saying goodbye to Hallie's elf, Whitney, until next year!


Santa visited sweet Hallie!


Santa Nonna visited all three girls.  They're not spoiled at all.  Ha!


Hallie with her two favorite things--her LeapPad and her AG look-alike doll, Katherine.


It's always hard to say goodbye...Nonna, don't kill me for posting this picture! ;o)


Three sweet cousins--Abby, Hallie, & Hattie Grace


On our way out, we stopped by church to say bye to Pop.  Love this picture!

What rhymes with slacker?

Well...I don't know...but I know WHO is a slacker.  That would be me.  Ha.

I got this wall post today on Facebook:

Kyetra McCary Belton

I need to see some blogging Mrs. Echols. I miss Hallie updates.

Need I say more?  Sigh.  Let the updates commence...