Thanksgiving 2012

This was a very different Thanksgiving than we are used to. Luke had to stay in Florida so we were daddyless. My mom didn't host my families Thanksgiving for the first time in my memory and had to work on top of that. Then of course, the abscence of said husband made getting kids ready and jumping place to place very difficult for me to do alone. All that aside, this was Jude's first Thanksgiving and I enjoyed watching him eat ALL the traditional foods.



Jude ate...

- mashed potatos
- stuffing
- noodles

- ham
- turkey
- sweet potatos

He ate half of his sisters plate..

 

 

The Thanksgiving dinner after glow

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Cool Cats

This was a year of Halloween firsts for our family! Jude's first Halloween, our first shot at door to door Trick or Treating, and our first Halloween without daddy :( Minus that last one, we had a wonderful time.

Isabelle really wanted to be a leopard/cheetah cat so I decided Jude's costume should match. {yes, I'm one of THOSE moms}

Cheetah Girl and Tiger Boy

This was our first Halloween back our small town of Indiana so I was worried about the selection of costumes we would have to choose from. Luckily, Mamaw found Isabelle's mask, bow tie, and tail at WalMart and I found Jude's tiger costume there as well. We already had the cheetah dance leotard, tights, and shoes so I made the fluffy skirt and we were it business.

My Cheetah cat with her kitty pumpkins

We of course had to draw on kitty noses and whiskers which Jude was NOT a fan of...

Smeared Whiskers



Isabelle requested one bent whisker so it would look like she had been in a fight

A couple more pictures and it's Trick or Treat time.

Before we went door to door, we of course had to make the rounds of all our family and friends.



Getting out at our first stop, Aunt Tami's

Uncle Craig

Being greeted by Lily at Grandma Linda's

After we had mad our car visits, we walked around our neighborhood and down to the sheriffs department, which had a really nice set up for the kids and by then it was getting dark and very, very, cold so we headed home to check out the loot { I had a very funny convo with Isabelle about what "loot" means lol}

Needless to say, We had an Spooktacular Halloween :)

New Blog

Hello blogger faithfuls! So, I am waaaaaay over due on a blog post but I have an excuse, I promise, well maybe I have several but anywho...I have started at new blog! I will continue to blog about our family, life, outings, recipes, organizing etc. here on this blog, but have started another one for the sole purpose of sharing our new home with you! We will be putting in LOTS of elbow grease to make our new, old house shine like the top of the Empire state building {Annie anyone?} and would like to share the process with the masses.

So, if you are interested in painting, home renos,diy, and home decor I hope you will take a little time to visit From Florida to Flora!

Beer Tasting Birthday Bash

My Dad and his twin sister turned the big 50 last month! My mother in and I decided to throw them a party but were struggling to find a gender neutral theme besides he usual "over the hill", black, or your super old themes. After much thought and hours of pouring over Pinterest I came up with an idea I thought would suit them both, Beer tasting!

Once we had our theme nailed down, it was time to discuss decor. With the help of Pinterest yet again and a little of our own imaginations, we came up with several beer themed decorations made from bottle caps. { If you are one of the many people who collected bottle caps for me for weeks, I appreciate it so so much, thanks again}

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 For the names, I sat and hot glued each bottle cap into place. I had plenty of tiny cuts and burns on my finger when I was finished to show for my hard work.

I also glued caps to empty formula cans to make a utensil holder and for people to toss their bottle caps into when opening their beers.

Extra bottle caps inside of punch cups with some flame less candles, made for nice lighting all around the party.

We picked 5 different kinds of beer for people to sample. We labled each bucket with a number and then the numbers were written on the chalk board. We set out little cups and after tasting each one, guests marked their favorites on the board (of course I didnt get a picture of this after it was done)

We also had tubs of soda, water, and regular domestic beer for non-drinkers and picky drinkers.

 

 

 

Of course, its not a party with out food! Once again, I was caught up in keeping things flowing for the party and did'nt get to take pictures of it all, but this was our menu.

 

Baby Burger Sliders

Chips

 

 

                                                                  Veggies and Dip

                                                                  Not pictured

                                        Baby Brat Sliders
                                        Solo Cup Tacos
                                         Mini Cheesecakes
                                         Mini Apple pies

Several guests also brought along snakc mixes, popcorn, sausage and cheese etc. which we placed around the tables along with some "50 sucks" suckers and candy.

Most of the buckets, bowels, platters, etc were purchased at the Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, or Target and most were on clearance. Since we wanted to write the numbers on the buckets and the names of the food dishes on the platters, we taped off and spray painted lables on them with chalkboard paint. The bottle caps were free and we borrowed corn hole boards for some mid party entertainment. All in all it was a great party! I had a great time planning it and I think the guests had a nice time too!

Some fun party people, including my grandma

The birthday girl, deep in conversation

Isabelle had a blast running around all night with her cousins

Birthday boy!

Two of my favorite men, My daddy and my brother

My other mother, Janny Janny

My actual mother

Even the dogs had fun

Happy 50th!!

Jude, 9 months

I have already filled you in on what Isabelle has been up to, so here is what our baby boy Jude has been doing!

Swinging out in the yard with sissy

Jude has learned a lot since we have spoken last! He is sitting up, crawling, pulling up, traveling, and has developed a love for tv..

Captivated my Elmo

Let's get a little closer

Trying to kiss Elmo

In yet another tv trance, the show??

Dr. Oz!!

Hi Dr. Oz!

Besides tv, Jude also loves music. He will crawl towards any music he hears, loves musical toys, and has a blast banging his drum...

He is always making funny faces...

Innocent angel face

Always drooling, working on my one tooth

Goose

Crawling around Miss Molly's classroom

Sideways tongue

Looking like his cousin LP

Speaking of cousins, Jude got to meet his cousin, and future best friend Charlie! 

They had an awesome time grabbing, babbling, and looking at each other..

Jude has also earned a new nickname...Houdini. Since he has started crawling, he is EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING. He even works his way through my many make shift barriers..

Helping himself to some chips

Sneaky

Hi mom

I made it

Since big sister has started school, Jude has had to adjust to her schedule. This means pushing nap time until after lunch which makes for a sleepy boy...

He just couldn't make it

Poor  boy

But he is always happy, tired or not..

Jude Lucas, 9 months