Bop it! Twist it! Pin it!

I have *finally* DONE something that I pinned to Pinterest.  Don't get me wrong.  I think Pinterest is pretty neat.  I really like the idea of being able to keep up with things all in one place by using the pictures.  But there are all kinds of things wrong with the presentation of Pinterest.  That's not what this post is really about, though. :o)  It's about actually DOING something.  And this morning I did.  I made these lovely little mini cinnamon rolls.  They were delightfully yummy.  I'll let you guess which pictures is of the ones I made.  I'm sure you think it's the first one.  Hahaha.  I kid, I kid.  The one thing I dislike about online recipes is that mine *never* look like the original picture. Who can make something so neatly in a mini muffin pan?!  I obviously didn't worry about where the icing went.  I wanted to make sure it was SLATHERED onto the lovely little buns.  The pan will wash.  My first attempt was a little overcooked, so I'll know to lessen the time next time.  And I'll also use mini muffin cups because even though my pan is a non-stick pan and I greased it, too, they did not come out easily.

Now that I've made the first attempt, maybe I'll try some more recipes that I have pinned to my pinterest page. :o)  Eh...maybe.  Who am I kidding, I definitely won't.  And if I do, it'll be a surprise (for both of us!). 

Give me a J!

On Thursday night, Hallie got to perform a little cheer with her Pre-K class at her school's fundraiser banquet.  It was the cutest thing!  My favorite, though, is Hallie practicing her cheer for her daddy and me the night before. :o)  She was serious about her cheering!

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)