Spring Sing

If you are looking to smile today, just check out these pictures of Lucy at her annual Spring Sing.   I mean seriously, can anything be cuter than a crew of 3 and 4 year olds performing?  Melt my heart.

And although these cuties were crammed in on the risers like a bunch of sardines, Lucy managed to get all the choreography in..and was even able to add a touch of her famous perfomance exaggeration.

If only these pictures could "sing"...

Songs about Spring, Lucy's newest twirly pink dress, and my darling sunshine performing her heart out....I'd say that's a great kick off to Spring Break! 

Off to pack for SB2K17....

Two Toots

I don't mean to toot my own kid's horns, but I'm about to....one toot for determination and another toot for just plain cuteness.

The first toot goes to Jack for determination.  Jack graduated with his second degree brown belt this Saturday.  He's been up to this for 5 years now.  Never did I think, when we started this little venture way back when, that he would still be at it.  And on his way to a black belt at that!

I am über proud of his commitment, hardwork and determination.  Way to go Monkey J!  And a giant congrats from your adoring Mommy.

I assure you Jack was feeling mighty accomplished here despite his body language...he was just totally over the pictures by this point.  But I had to get at least one with that new belt on...amazing!

So my second toot is for total cuteness.  Brace yourself for this.  Just as I didn't imagine being in karate for 5 straight running years, I never expected one of my daughters to be playing t-ball.  But, I totally love it!

I mean just look at this girl.  She can go from a pink glittering tutu to this.  She never stops amazing me and I adore her for that.

When  Lucy is not chatting it up with her girlfriends on the field, she truly is a focused ball player.  Which I'd have to say is another toot for her considering our family's history with t-ball.

Lucy got two hits to the outfield at her first game of the season.  Way to go Lulu!

She ROCKED the bases with her pink helmet and cleats.  She had begged for a bow {which is another reason I adore this pink princess} and I vow to make it work for the next game despite the challenges her hat and hemet create.

Another Super Saturday down and I am tooting horns all the way to bed tonight.  So proud of these kiddos!

Annie Nostalgia

"The sun will come out tomorrow, you bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, they'll be sun...."  I have this song on repeat in my head.  Nothing like a good Annie tune.  And I mean nothing!

I am a total Annie fanatic.  If there is one movie from my childhood that had me near obsessed it was Annie.  I can't even begin to count how many times I saw that movie, sang along to every song, and sobbed and celebrated with the little red head.

My kids have already been tarnished by the updated version.  Now, don't get me wrong, I was pleasantly surprised with the re-make, because, If I'm being honest, I did cring at the thought of my beloved Annie being ruined.  However, I just couldn't take that my girls thought that the "brown haired Annie" {as they like to call her} was the real deal.

The pop music, trendy clothes, and millennial version was darling and all, BUT...the real Annie has red hair, grew up in the 1930s and lives in an orphanage for Gosh Sake.  I couldn't go on with my girls having this all wrong any longer.

So as soon as I heard Annie was coming to town you better believe I hit ticketmaster faster than you can say Daddy Warbucks.  I found the girls the most darling red dresses and counted down the months, weeks, and days, until my ORIGINAL red headed orphan arrived to town.

We were joined by another mommy daughter duo which made the day even more fabulous.  We had a delish lunch before the show and walked to the theatre on a terribly cloudy day.  I find that noteworthy because when we exited the sun was brightly shining...we all got a kick out of that.  Good Ol' Annie...the sun will come out tomorrow.

We took our seats at the beautiful Fox theatre and enjoyed an amazing broadway version of the show.  All three of us girls were mesmerized and tickled by every song, dance, costume change, and scene.  Shew...I can finally breathe a sigh of relief....my girls LOVED the real Annie.  And I adored sharing it with them.

We are now the proud owners of the original soundtrack, which is on repeat in the car!  Who knew my girls would not only fall in love with the "red headed Annie", but also her 1930s music {sans any bubblegum pop}?  

I am a happy Mommy.  The classics always win out.

Setting Sail

Ahoy there matey!  I just spent an entire week aboard the S.S. HFE with the best shipmates a girl could ask for.  Our Teacher Appreciation Week trio was back at it again.  And I can't imagine a better crew to be onboard with.

Have you guessed, we went for a nautical theme this year.  Everything from the food to the decor to the daily gifts revolved around the S.S. HFE.  Not only do we get an entire week to spoil the teachers and staff, but, we also get our very own classroom to do it in.

Imagine the nostalgia doing a bulletin board brings back for me.

We fed the teachers breakfast, lunch and dessert every day.  If you have ever taught, you know just how incredible that is.  It is o-fish-ally the greatest gift.

Some of the meals are just too fun not to share.  Like S.O.S Save Our Salad...

A Sink Or Float Cereal Bar...

Fish & Chips...

And one of my favorite dessert days was....Float Your Banana Boat, complete with ice cream, bananas,  toppings and of course, boat shaped bowls.

The pictures I have hardly do the week justice.  Our crew was so busy treating the staff that it was near impossible to get the camera out, much less use it.

As I mentioned we gifted the teachers each day of the week as well.  A few of those included monogrammed cups with notes from students inside {messages in a bottle}, a roll of lifesavers {you are a lifesaver}, boat totes {you "tote"-ally float our boat} and a sand pails filled with all their faves.

We literally swabbed the deck from 6:45 am to 3:30 pm everyday and I have to be honest, every minute was totally worth it.  You know I have a soft spot in my heart for teachers.  The staff's over indulging gratitude, the smiles because they didn't have to pack a lunch for a whole week, and working with an amazing team pretty much sent me OVERBOARD.

Not too mention who doesn't love spending a week theme-ing it up?

Although our crew is feeling quite shipwrecked with exhaustion after a very long week, we have agreed to sail this ship one more year!  Our wheels are already turning...

Love you Co-Captains...can't imagine a better dream "boat" team. 😍  I'm off to take a much needed snooze....this ship is docked for the night.

Lucky Morning

Top O' The Mornin' to Ya!

I wasn't here this morning to see my little's faces at breakfast, I was already at school co-chairing Teacher Appreciation Week, but that is another post in itself.  However, there was no way I was letting them think the leprechaun had forgotten about the Cibulas due to Mommy's exhausting commitment.

So Jack, Maggie, and Lucy woke up to a much deserved spirited breakfast.  And by the accounts I received, it sounds like they were all feeling mighty lucky this St. Patrick's Day morning.

Those cuties were properly dressed in green when they came by to wish my a lucky morning in the Teacher Appreciation Week room...oh, how I wanted to pinch those sweet cheeks!  Nothing like a week of absence to make the heart grow fonder.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to Ya!  Off to put this worn out volunteer to bed.

Pleased As Punch With The Porch

Happy March!  I figured now was as good a time as any to share my new porch, since Spring is hopefully in the air.

I couldn't wait any longer for decent lighting.  It seems it doesn't exist out there.  I would wait for the clouds to part and as soon as they would, I'd get beautiful rays of sunlight which made it near impossible to get a picture without a glare or shadow.

That being said, it's lovely to sit out there, sun or clouds, but not lovely to take pics of.  Oh well, I am still pleased as punch with our new porch!

Without further ado, here it is...

Actually, let me just preface with one thing... this is a small space.  I'm not even going to try to pretend I know the square footage.  But, to get all that I wanted out there I had to be pretty choosy.

When you walk out from our indoor sun room this is basically the view you have.  A table right under your nose and the living space just beyond it.  I HAD to have a table to seat all of us.  We love family dinners outside and I'm looking forward to playing games and crafting there too with the kids.

Once you get past the table, we have a cozy living space.  A couch for hubby to watch TV from and an airy coffee table that he hates.  Again, with the spacing I wanted to keep the table small and "see through".  The aforementioned hated table is from West Elm and the outdoor couch is from Arhaus.

The blue herringbone throw pillows are from Pine Cone Hill.  Once I found these, I knew the previous jute ones {that you may or may not remember from a previous post} were out of here.

Across from the couch are two swivel chairs.  I knew they were perfect when I spotted the pair at Arhaus...compact, swivel, and covered with Sunbrella fabric {just as the couch}.

I tossed these pillows from Serena & Lily on them and added a concrete table between from Joss & Main.  I am tempted to re-do my entire house with Serna & Lily...love!

We added the fireplace and had the brick white washed with the trim color per our contractor's suggestion.  I am so thrilled with the way it turned out.  As you can see, we've already enjoyed a fire or two out there.

The dining table is in full view from the fireplace.  I got the table from Ballards and the two end chairs from Cost Plus World Market.  Both are perfect for outdoors.  I knew because of spacing issues, I could never get away with four more chairs.  So I found two teak benches on Overstock and had cushions made from Cushion Source {highly recommend if you want pillows or cushions made online}.

I had the cushions made with Sunbrella fabric as well.  But as you can see, I'm still too scared to take the wrapper off.  Eek...I'll do it come official Spring.

The beautiful throw is from my sweet mother in law.  Imagine my surprise when this showed up in the mail with a thoughtful note saying...thought this would look pretty on your new porch.  Made me smile from ear to ear.

I found two little outdoor end tables at West Elm.  They just so happened to match my stone table between the swivel chairs.  Since succulents are all the rage right now, I picked these little guys up at Target.

And the rug is an indoor/outdoor from Dash & Albert...another love of mine.

I have been wishing and hoping for a place to put an oyster bowl in my house.  I finally found one!  And although it's actually a clam bowl from Ballards, I am adoring it.

 For extra {and very little space taking} seating I added a couple poofs to the front of the fireplace.  Another find from Target.

But of all the decor, my favorite thing about this space is the detail put into the railing.  I worked very closely with my amazingly creative contractor and we came up with this design and color pattern.  I wanted to keep it simple and clean but make it pop.  In my eyes, mission accomplished.

As you can imagine, we are looking forward to spending Spring, Summer, and Fall out here.  I'm envisioning many happy memories to come.

Now all this decorating and updating has got me itching to take on another project...my poor hubby.