Serious Moves.

A couple of weeks ago, my boys experienced a thin slice of heaven. Our family of five became a family of nine for a few days ... and four of the nine members were boys ... under the age of five! And I have to agree with them ... the entire time (minus the occasional superhero meltdown) was fabulous. And delightful. And remarkably easy and carefree ... which is amazing ... given that we were severely outnumbered by toddlers!!

These sweet friends ... Greg, Amy, Roman and Reuben ... needed to escape the storms pounding the Midwest ... and we jumped at the chance to have them stay with us!

And of course the boys ... couldn't have been happier. Not a moment was without costume ...

Or fantastic moves.

Or big plans to save the universe.

From complete destruction.

It was serious galaxy saving business. FOR ALL FOUR DAYS.

Superhero bliss.

And then we had even more fun when this crew came over. Michelle was the maid of honor in our wedding and I returned the favor (11 weeks after Eli was born) in her wedding and Amy was her other bridesmaid. And she is due to have my "niece" or "nephew" in May. Can't wait!

We left Uncle Ben to entertain the munchkins while we chatted ... and chatted ... and chatted!

And what trip to the desert is complete without cupcakes and yummies?

And sporting your crazy face.

And practicing your moves.

And more moves.

And more moves.

And ... well, you get the idea.

Until finally ... even the toughest of superheroes was in need of recharging!

Amy and Greg (and crew) ... Can't wait to have you out here again ... or you could just move back :) Yes. Please MOVE BACK!!!

Happy LOVE Day.

Our good friend, Ava, came over last week ... to Miss Carrie's School of Crafting. She used to attend Miss Carrie's School For Higher Learning but she graduated ... and went to real school. Anywho ... we moved. A LONG WAY AWAY from Ava. (Okay ... so we moved just a couple of very small blocks across the 'hood ... but still) ... we just don't get to see this sweet girl as often as we'd like.

So ... we invited her over to make Valentine's Day cards. Or airplanes.
There was counting. Sorting. Stacking. Piling.
Fun. Fun. Fun.
All to create some fun airplanes. Out of Smarties, gum, Lifesavers and rubber bands. Super cute. And easy. Except if you're J How. And have to write your name 18 times on the tags. "This is HARD. My name has six letters in it. Six letters is a lot of work 18 times!" Something to consider when naming your child ... apparently. I never considered the "child labor" involved in giving him such a long name :)
The box of goodies ... all set to take to class.
And this little LOVE BUG ... who finally has enough hair for a BOW!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Getting The Bug.

I LOVE decorating for any holiday. I suppose there are a few that I let slide by ... can't say I busted out the Groundhog day decor this year ... but if the holiday can be celebrated for more than a day ... I say ... DECORATE!

One day, while J How was at school, the E man and I hit up JoAnns and purchased a few red and pink things ... for our kitchen table.

And then ... I made 4 of these ... I had seen something similar at PB Kids ... but at $15+ a bag ... that got a little pricey for the three kiddos (and a nephew). And you know how my brain works. Yep ... I figured there was a free pattern I could find on the Internet .... and make them myself at a fraction of the cost.

Super easy (except for the 9 zillion steps involved) and a little crunchy. Um ... I thought I was using interfacing and used WonderUnder instead. So ... instead of the fabric being a bit more "stable" ... it crunches. Oh well.

And when the sewing bug bites ... I just keep uncovering more ideas. Found this Anthropologie knock-off pillow ...

And decided that it needed to come to my house. A few scraps (and THREE DAYS later ... the dragged out life of a sewing project with three children in the house) ... it adds a spunk of color for the grand Spring pillow makeover project.

And that bench. Covered in some fun fabric ... on the $1 bench my mom found years ago at a garage sale. That bench has been covered at least once a year for the last 8 years ... and even got its legs painted this time around.

And just so you don't think the Charmings have been neglected. Here's proof.

I did get up from my projects ...

and ventured outdoors to enjoy the 70+ perfect weather! Which in the desert ... still means it's time for a fleece and long sleeves :)

Here We Go Steelers.

Last weekend, our home was PARTY CENTRAL! Once the Angry Birds left ... the gold and black football fans quickly took their place! Ben's mom had bought Steeler cupcakes a few days before and the boys could talk of nothing else ... "When is the football party?"

I took the boys to the park ... so they missed the kickoff ... but upon their return home ... they were greeted with a spread of food that made my "I live for sugar" kid's heart do a double take!

That one ... there in the black jersey. He was in heaven. An entire bowl full (make that two entire bowls) of M and M's. At his level. And no one (at least for a few minutes) interfering with his portions!

The Benster and AEB ... sporting the same scrunched up nose face that I did as a baby!

Back again ...

And again. (And then the M and M's mysteriously disappeared. And a week later ... he's still asking for M and M's ... for every meal and snack!)

Ben and his crew of Pittsburgh offspring ... (who are not allowed to wear these colors all throughout the football season ... we switch it up a bit and throw in some red! Which looks way better with their coloring!!)

The whole crew ...

And ... the long awaited CUPCAKE ...

Guess I'll have to find some more cupcakes for the Superbowl? Guess I need to wash up the jerseys for Sunday. And find something for myself in gold and black???!!