Ugh….Dying Easter Eggs

I hate dying Easter eggs. 

It is one of those things the boys want to do every year.  I know…it is an Easter ritual.  It should be fun!  But it is just sooooo anticlimatic!  We don’t do any crazy artsy egginess, so it’s basically dropping an egg in dye, waiting 5 minutes for it to get enough color and then taking it out.  Whoohoo!!!!  It’s like watching paint dry.  Or watching grass grow.  Or, well, dying Easter eggs.  I know…I’m and Easter Scrooge or Easter Grinch….whichever. 

Just getting started.  Fun!

Parker having fun.

Jack having fun.

Fun is over….eggs just sitting….waiting.

And….the same thing happens every year.  During egg retrieval, something gets knocked over.  Not fun.

Off the table and onto the floor. Really not fun.

The guilty party….not having fun anymore.

Dying Easter eggs.  It’s fun….or not.

A Toast to Jodi

My sister, Tracy, sits on the board of her children’s preschool with a friend named Jodi.  Last year, Jodi found out she had breast cancer.  Her sister suggested that during her weekly chemo treatments, she should have a “theme” and have as much fun as one could possibly have during such a stressful time.  Jodi and everyone around her ran with it and she became known in the St. Louis area as The Crazy Chemo Lady.   Click on the link to see the news story that KSDK did on her.  Very inspiring!  She is still fighting her battle but winning a little each day!

The preschool board wanted to pay tribute to her (she was still an active member throughout her treatment) so they had a little surprise party for her last night.  In keeping with Jodi’s spirit, they had a Dr. Suess theme.  My sister composed this poem for her in Dr. Suess-ish rhyming.  I can’t read it without crying, can you!?

Congratulations! 

Hooray for you!

You made it through chemo

And radiation too!

Let’s jump up, let’s shout

Let’s have a party and let it all out!

From the beginning, your story we’ll tell

And what a great story!

A story good enough to sell!

Things started a bit rocky back in June

Cancer they said, could it be true?

Would you have to change your life so soon?

Would you have to start marching to a different tune?

No need to be glum your sister said

Let’s celebrate life, let’s paint the town red!

She had an idea to spread joy to others

It would take lots of work and plenty of druthers!

So take charge you did and what a blast!

We’ll recap it right here, we’ll make it real fast

Sixteen weeks of chemo

Wow that’s a lot!

A different theme each treatment,

Every week a new plot

A beach party started it all—what a hoot!

In good ole’ Texas style you gave cancer the boot!

There were pirates and princesses and clowns

Even the fun of Mardi Gras came to town

You had two parties, a birthday and garden tea

And did everyone have fun at the fiesta? Si! Si!

You decked out in red in support of our Cardinal birds

And had a safari with hats, but thankfully no elephant herds!

You took a bite out of cancer at the Halloween party

Your friend sent kimonos and fans for a Chinese soiree

Who could forget the luau with fruity drinks and lei’s?

And to finish it all off? Of course it was Pajama Days!

In the midst of it all, you organized a collection

Can you imagine their surprise when they saw the selection?

Over 400 jammies for kids in need

What an amazing person you are, what an awesome deed!

Your spirit was contagious, you helped others heal

You met interesting people, their stories so real

You touched so many lives in your own special way

Mike Bush even did your feature on KSDK!

Next stop was surgery to remove that stubborn lump

Just a kink in the chain, in the road a small bump

Recovery was tough, but you were a champ

With friends and family, life continued like a smoothly run camp

When the results came back with a spot on a lymph node

Would that get you down? Nope! Just another curve in the road

So what was up next, where was the next detour?

A chance to become a Super Radiator!

Once again you astounded us all with your spunk

When you’re around, happiness and joy are a slam dunk!

You saw it as 33 days to spread cheer

And encouraged others to do nice things far and near

Finally the month ended at long last

And you can now say cancer treatments are a thing of the past!

Now that part of your journey is over

I bet you feel like Horton after he found that special clover!

But we are the ones who gained the most

It’s all because of you that we throw up this toast!

You taught us how to look at our life

You showed us how to see good in strife

We learned from you that each day is a gift

No need to get down, someone’s always there for a lift

Watching you, we appreciate everything more

Every day is a blessing, life has so much in store

You leaned on God and he took care of you

We see His face in all you do

We don’t always understand all His plans

You told us don’t worry, He’s the Man!

Your journey will come full circle at this year’s Komen race

You’ve led by example, you’ve shown only beauty and grace

They are honoring you as this year’s Team Leader, and we all think

There is no one more deserving to be wearing all Pink!

You are lots of things and all of them true!

A wonderful mother, wife and great friend through and through

You’ll have lots of labels as you go through life

From “Crazy Chemo Lady” to Emily and Mia’s mom and Jim’s wife

A preschool board member, past exec and minivan driver

But best of all, you can say…

I

AM

A

SURVIVOR

!!!!!

Old Navy Haul

I have been taking a close look at my summer wardrobe to figure out what I needed to shop for.  One thing I knew I HAD to have regardless of price, was shorts that fit, that I like and that won’t look like I am wearing a diaper by the end of the day.  Am I the only person with this problem?  I attribute much of the problem to sitting on my behind in a bag chair or bleachers for hours on end watching baseball.  All my shorts from last year are too big now (a blessing and a curse) so I was on the hunt.  Luckily, Old Navy seems to have come through for me.  I bought these in every color.  They may seem short, but I AM short, so they are perfect for me!  Hopefully they will hold up to the rigors of baseball watching!

I also hate to wear sleeves in the summer.  If I’m going to be outside…I’m going to be wanting some sun.  I bought this, but I think I’m going to take it back.  There is something a little grandma-ish to me. 

Now that I said, I don’t like sleeves in the summer, I show you this purchase!  This is for the rare times that I’m not actually at the ball fields.

Funny story….I tried the one below on first.  I loved the orange.  But when I tried it on, all I could see was a traffic cone.  I just really felt like a construction warning sign or something!  I’m not kidding.  I have found that when I put something on, if anything negative pops into my mind, I will fixate on it and never be comfortable wearing that article of clothing.

I have a bunch of other purchases that I am anxious to wear.  Here’s hoping for some warm weather!

WIWW…or The Lack Thereof

On the off chance that anyone was wondering, I didn’t do WIWW this week because I didn’t put much effort into making “outfits”.  I will definitely start back up when and if spring ever arrives and I am able to break out the warm weather clothes.  I have been focused on this:

And I am happy to say that the election is OVER, Travis won in a very full and hotly debated field of candidates and the signs all over town have finally come down! 

Life can return back to somewhat normal again.  Hallelujah!

That 70’s Show

Every year our school district’s Foundation for Quality Education has a fundraising auction.  There is always a theme.  They’ve done Casino Night, Golf, Hawaiian, Travel and others I can’t remember.  This year, the theme was the 70’s.  Oh my….it was a sight to see!  Some people went all out and it was hilarious.  I chose to go the more conservative route.

The only thing I bought for the night was some big chandelier earrings—which you can’t see.  The shirt is my sister’s and it is from Forever 21.  It is sooooo pretty! I may have to have one for myself. 

I told everyone that I was going for a kind of Farah Fawcett look with my hair but I think I ended up looking like Laurie Forman—the slutty sister from That 70’s Show.  I even googled her before we left and my 9 year old said, “Hey!  You look like her!” 

We had a fun night with friends.  Travis campaigned all night. (The school board election is Tuesday, April 5th.)  And I watched all the $$$ fly out of the big spenders wallets.  I’m always shocked at the generosity of our community after these things.  Pretty impressive!

For Mrs. Peters

One of the teachers at my son’s school had asked me to do a painting for her baby.  They did not know the gender until birth.  (We didn’t find out for our first and did find out for our second and, in my opinion, it is a million times more special/fun to NOT know the sex of your baby until birth.)  They have gender neutral bedding so I just waited until the big day to decide what I would paint.  Little Andrew—to be called Drew—arrived on March 16th!  In the past, I have hated painting stripes, but I think I figured it out and I love how this turned out.  Once again, I am totally inspired by and copying off of Kim Wheeler at Small Words Art.  I even had the mother look at Kim’s artwork and tell me what she liked so this is a total knock-off of Kim’s amazing art.  I give all credit to her for coming up with this stuff!

I took the bumper pad with me to Hobby Lobby to match up paint colors.  Of course, the colors  look off in the pictures, but I swear they are an exact match!  The walls are a lime green color and the crib is white.  (I know—it looks like the walls are striped—that’s the crib up against the wall.)

Pretty time consuming, but I really do enjoy painting so it’s a win-win for me!

WIWW #12

Hello!  It’s Wednesday which means it’s time, once again, for What I Wore Wednesday with The Pleated Poppy!  I keep thinking that it will turn into spring around here, but it hasn’t yet, so I keep on layering!

 

I subbed 3rd grade today—makes me appreciate my own 3rd grader!  To me, this outfit has a 50’s kind of vibe to it.  I mean the 1950’s—not that I look like I’m in my 50’s!   Although…I took this pic at the end of the day and I do look a little worse for wear!

cardigan: Target

shirt: Old Navy

belt and shoes: Walmart

pants: thrifted

necklace: Forever 21

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After several days in the 70”s, Mother Nature brought winter back to us.  Welcome back boots.  I hope you a making a short visit.  I adore Lisa Leonard’s romantic way of dressing.  However, I just don’t like wearing anything flowy or loose.  This is my slightly more fitted version of her looks—or at least that’s what I was attempting.  And I tried her cuffed jeans with boots look but I just don’t think I can pull it off.  Not sure why.

cardigan: Gap Outlet

shirt and jeans; Old Navy

boots: Walmart

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Here I am again with the button-up under the T-shirt.  Still love it.  I pinned on some flowers that I made from one of my husband’s stained old t-shirts.

button-up: Target

t-shirt (my most favorite t-shirt): Gordmans

pom pom flowers: made by me

jeans: Lee from VF Outlet

shoes: Old Navy

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I’m probably going to be accused of over-doing the button-up under a shirt look.  I’m cool with that.  If I were going to the same place everyday and being seen by the same people, I would probably try to change it up more.

navy blue t-shirt that looks black in the pic, plaid shirt: Target

jeans: Silver, from Worn Again

shoes: Naturalizer from Kohls

necklace: Forever 21

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I thought I would throw this outfit in here too.  There I am with my pretty friend, Joni.  I’m kind of standing in a weird, twisty way here….hmmm…..  Note to self, DO NOT WEAR A BELT when your plans include lots of breadsticks and lots of wine! 

cardigan: Gap Outlet

purple tank and belt: Walmart

jeans: Express, but I got them from Worn Again

jewelry: Forever 21

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There you have it!  Next week will include a 70’s themed dinner auction outfit!  Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous week!

Michelle Came Back!

My sweet friend Michelle moved in November and came back for a visit this week. That was cause for a Girl’s Night Out Celebration! We met at a local Italian restaurant where we ate lots of breadsticks and drank lots of wine. Then we went to a local martini bar where we drank more wine and watched the lamest bachelor auction ever. The bachelors were attractive guys but each of them brought about $30. I felt sorry for them—not sorry enough to bid on any of them—but still! I love these ladies and I’m so happy that we had a chance to hang out together for an evening!

WIWW #11

Hello bloggy (and a few real-life) friends! As usual, I am linking up with WIWW at The Pleated Poppy.

I ordered a bunch of shorts from Old Navy this week during their Friends and Family Sale. Once I start wearing shorts, my fashion sense goes completely out the window because all I care about in the summer is my tan and baseball! Can’t wait! However, we have plenty of spring left before shorts weather hits Illinois, so I think I have a few more weeks of trying to look somewhat stylish!

I just love the look of a button up shirt under a short sleeve T. You may be seeing a lot of that around here now that it is warming up a tad.

checked shirt (it’s actually pink but looks red): Target (girls section)

Tshirt and necklace: Forever 21

jeans: Target

shoes: Old Navy

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I wouldn’t be caught dead not wearing green!

sweater: Walmart

shirt and shoes: Old Navy

jeans: Angels from Gordmans

necklace: JC Penney

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Is it the 4th of July? NO! Am I the captain of a ship? NO! I know this get-up is a little matchy-matchy, but I do like it. I wish I had a turquoise necklace to wear with it….that would have been cute!

striped shirt: Gap Outlet (it’s navy but it looks black in the pic)

red shirt: Target

jeans: Angels from Gordmans (2nd day in a row) Funny story about these jeans—they were on clearance for $5.00 and I was excited at that price, but when I went to pay, they had 50% off of all clearance, so they ended up being $2.50. I cut them off, cuffed them and sewed the cuff so it wouldn’t come undone in the wash. They are the best jeans ever—they never get baggy in the booty or knees!

shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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The funnest thing about this outfit is my leopard shoes and you can’t really see them! I need a little bit of spring today and the robin egg blue shirt did the trick.

Cardigan: Gap Outlet

shirt: Target

jeans: TJ Maxx

shoes: Old Navy

favorite brown belt: thrifted

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This is were my warm weather dilemma begins….too warm for layering so “outfits” become pretty much jeans and a shirt. I tried to bump it up a notch with the belt and necklace.

shirt and necklace: Forever 21

jeans: Lee from VF Outlet

shoes: Old Navy

favorite brown belt: thrifted (see that little bit of white showing on the belt? That’s double-stick tape that worked right up until I took these pics at the end of the day!)

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This morning, my youngest said, “Mommy, you don’t look very pretty today.” I asked him why. “Because you are wearing brown stripes.” Luckily, I don’t place much value on the fashion advice of a 7 year old boy. Unless he tells me that I’m beautiful, of course!

“not pretty” brown striped shirt: Target

white shirt: Steve & Barry’s

jeans and shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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I do believe that spring must have finally arrived (although they are calling for snow on Thursday) because I went an entire week without wearing boots—or even socks!

Thank you for stopping by and have a WONDERFUL week!

Slime

Parker has been bugging me to make slime for a while now. I finally relented. It’s pretty simple….glue, water, borax and food coloring and it provides minutes of entertainment. Yes, I said minutes. My kids are pretty much always more interested in the process than the result. Oh well. Now he can quit hounding me until the next project he sees on YouTube.

WIWW #10

Hello there! As usual, I am linking up with WIWW at The Pleated Poppy. I’m betting there will be lots of lucky girls out there sporting flip-flops this week while I’m still wearing boots. JEALOUS!!! Make sure you go and check out as many links as you can! There is always tons of great inspiration.

I put a belt with this outfit, but frankly, I was going for comfort over style so I got rid of it. I do like how belting sweaters and shirts looks, but it isn’t always the most comfortable thing to wear.

Cardigan: Walmart

shirt: Target

jeans: TJ Maxx

shoes: Old Navy

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I keep hearing that primrose is THE color of the season—really anything pink. I’ve had this sweater for a while and it has never been one of my favorites. Maybe now it will become one! Sorry for the fuzzy picture. And look, there is thrifted brown belt who is my new best friend!

cardigan, shirt, jeans: Target

shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

belt: thrifted (I’m 99% sure it is one of those cheapy belts that sometimes come with pants at Walmart)

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I’m undecided on this cardigan. At $20, it is a little more than I like to pay. (Yes, I’m THAT cheap.) However, I see loads of potential—dress it up/dress it down….etc.

Cardigan: TJ Maxx

shirt: Walmart (old---I wish I had one in every color because it is a slightly dressed up long sleeve T with a slight boat neck and buttons on the cuffs—and it’s super stretchy and NEVER loses it shape!)

jeans and shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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This is the world’s most unphotogenic shirt. I think it makes me look a linebacker in pictures, but not in person. It’s those darn butterfly sleeves. I also swear that my necklace really made the color of the boots make sense.

unphotogenic shirt: Gap Outlet

t-shirt: Sears

jeans: Old Navy

boots: Walmart (I originally bought them on clearance for $20 and then I took them back. A few weeks later I saw them for $7.00 so I bought them again.)

necklace: Forever 21

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Jack wanted some face time on the blog. This picture shows how short (I prefer petite) I really am….Jack is only 7 and he’s gaining on me. For the record, I’m 5’2. I started out the day with ballet flats, but then I went outside and froze my toes off, so I changed to boots. It was 35 degrees today but it’s supposed to be 70 degrees on St. Patrick’s day—God willing!

Sweater: TJ Maxx

shirt: Target

jeans: Old Navy

boots: Walmart

pearls: fake, but old.

cute kid making weird face: Jack—his outfit: Nike

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As it gets warmer, I feel less like layering my clothes. This turns most outfits into just a shirt and pants. Not sure if anyone is really interested in seeing that? I know that in addition to ideas about styling outfits, I love to see the good deals that other WIWWers have found. So I guess I will keep plugging away!

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!