the first of many birthdays (fairytale land)

 December is the month of LOTS of birthdays for our family. We have Emma, Jeb, my brother-in-law Matt, Gwyneth and my sister Regina all in December.  Our first was Emma's.  She wanted a fairytale party to include Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.  The were big plans to include all of these, but she then decided she wanted a pinata.  SO, we adjusted and ended up with a fun and fast party!  In our family we make our own birthday cakes and have home parties.  So here is the castle cake I made.  I think it looks pretty good and kids were in awe that I had made it myself!

When all the guests arrived we made magic fairy wands.  I bought dowels, foam stickers and foam from Wal-Mart.  I then die cut the stars at work and we made little slits with scissors to put the dowels in.

We then had introductions and moved on to Pin the Hair on Rapunzel.  We made this the night before...

The princesses and prince were very patient and supportive in the game.  We then lined up to go have some fun with the pinata.  It's always iffy how well it will work.  I think it was pretty successful and no one got hurt!

When we came back in we had some lunch and cake and then opened presents.

  One of her gifts was a bouquet of flowers from a sweet little boy!

  In their goody boxes they got "Jack's Magic Beans" to take home with them.  It was high paced, but LOTS of fun. 

So excited and beautiful!

Ready for the party!

We moved on to Barnes and Noble where Emma sang with some of her classmates.

On Emma's actual birthday we had muffins for breakfast and she got to blow out candles and open presents before school that morning!  I can't even believe she is 6 years old!

Thanksgiving

A few years ago I claimed Thanksgiving as the holiday that I would have at our house.  I was a major control freak about it.  I had to cook everything and it had to be "gourmet." The kids and Jeb had to wear what I wanted them to.  However, I have let go of the control, for the most part.  Everyone who comes brings at least one thing.  I do the turkey, a caramalized pumpkin pecan pie and some sides.  We had lots of fun this year.

This my mom, Jeb's parents and Jeb getting ready for dinner! 

 My brother, Benjamin brought jalapeno bacon mac n' cheese and fancy mashed potatoes as well as some REALLY yummy wine!

The turkey was great!  We always have the conversation about basting.  I DO NOT baste however, people always try to do it for me. Last year they were all looking in the kitchen for a baster and asked me and I said I don't have one.  I DON'T BASTE.  This year, Jeb was using a spoon to pour some of the liquid over it and I almost freaked out.  All the food was wonderful and it was great to spend a relaxing time with family!

OH MY

It has been a long time since I posted.  The fall was very busy and I have finished my first semester of grad school with a 4.0.  I am going to update the blog by starting with Halloween. We had a great time getting dressed up and spending time with friends!

 We spent the day walking around Central Market in Southlake and going get new coats with our great friends Barbara and Mike.  The girls had lots of fun!

Gwyneth went to a Thriller camp and got to be a zombie! She had soooo much fun! :)

We went trick or treating the a big group of people in a very fun neighborhood that closes the streets and everyone trick or treats at the same time.  Once we were done there we went home and the girls camped out in the front to hand out candy in our neighborhood.  They had LOTS of fun.  Gwyneth was a diva, Emma was a Flarairy, and Amelia Kate was Sleeping Beauty.  Fun was had by all!