Too Much, Too Thankful

Is it even possible to have too much to be thankful for?  Too thankful?...is that even a thing?

Maybe it's the season, but I feel like I'm about to get really sappy on you again.  But geez, I can hardly count my blessings.  So many wonderful family and friends and I had the pleasure of hosting of few of them for Thanksgiving this year.  I'm either getting really giddy just thinking about it, or {gasp}...more sap is on the way.

I can't really think of another year that we have hosted Thanksgiving at our house {except for the month Maggie was born, and trust me, that doesn't count}.  So, believe it or not, I was super thankful to decorate my first Thanksgiving table.  As for the cooking, I didn't dig that too much, put preparing a seat for our guests was loads of fun.

I climbed a couple Magnolia trees to add some greenery to the kids table. {okay, not really, but I was definitely trespassing in a few yards}

As for the adult table, it was a little more of that and actual real linens.  Initially, I grabbed this picture to show a friend how to do place cards.  And although it's not the table in it's entirety, I thought I would share anyway.  Let you imagination fill in the blanks...pheasant feathers, candles, boxwoods...

Now just imagine, that my thankful tank is about a quarter of the way full.  Yes, decorating a table will do that to me. But, in no time, my gauge was past the half way mark.  I mean, wouldn't yours be?  Just look a these sweeties making their VERY MESSY gingerbread turkeys...

Ooooh, ooohhh...and I spy an amazing Aunt doing all the dirty work!  I just might have been overflowing with thankfulness at this point.

What a delish mess!

But it only gets better....be still my heart...Baby Brecken's very 1st Thanksgiving...at my kid's table.  Love!  That little turkey is as cute, squishy, smart and as happy he looks.   I seriously can't get enough of this little guy.

And even once Thanksgiving passed, I continued to have too much to be thankful for.  Our guests stayed throughout the weekend {and yes, I was even thankful for that} and we made a big ol' to do about it.

We ate and played, and ate and played some more.  And once again, I was reminded just how much I have to be thankful for.

See what I mean...too much to be Thankful for.  And I assure you, I am too Thankful for it all.

Love you sweet family!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Grateful For Pre-K

I'm trying not to get too sappy, but seriously, is there anything cuter than a Pre-School Performance?

And how, in this ever loving world, can I be on my very last year of Pre-School?  

Deep breath...I'm trying to soak it all in, while holding back the tears of utter joy.  And "Joy" is the best word to describe this little Pre-K'er of mine.

If you want to feel good about yourself, just hang around my little Lucy.  I mean just look at how happy she is to see me...and this is all the time.

Between recording, picture snapping, and sobbing, I thoroughly enjoyed Lucy's Thanksgiving performance this week.  And accurately, her Indian name was, Bright Sun.  I couldn't have said it any better.

After the performance, we dined on a divine feast, cooked by the class themselves!  I'm not even kidding, when I say, Lucy shucked corn, snapped beans, and mixed cornbread stuffing all week.

And just look at the darling crafty place setting she had for Clay and I.  LOVE!

I am so incredibly grateful for this little one and one last year of Pre-School.  What a blessed mama I am.

Now, if she could only cook our real Thanksgiving dinner.

Let's Get Emojinal!

I LOVE a PaRtY!  LOL! #birthday #maggie's 8

I hope you love a party too, because get ready....#lots of pictures #so emojinal #best party ever

I imagine it goes without saying, but Maggie wanted to celebrate her 8th birthday emoji style!  This girl can't get enough of those things.  We tossed ideas back and forth.  I think she was leaning more towards a rainbow of neon colors, but somehow the black and white with pops of yellow kept entering my brain.

Luckily, Maggie puts full faith in me when it comes to party planning, so I took the initial reigns and she quickly jumped right on board.  Maggie was beyond thrilled and I'm convinced it's her favorite birthday party to date.

You know the food table and the backdrop is always my central focus.  I'm all about making that the star of the show {after the birthday kiddo that is}.  Lots of party decor came from Hobby Lobby this celebration.  When I hit the party aisles there, I squealed with delight...black, white, yellow and Emojis galore!  I think I left with two carts full of goodies.

#8 was a Michaels clearance find, which couldn't have been more perfect.  It is now proudly housed in Maggie's bedroom.  All the cutsie signs are from Etsy and the white picture frames are from Ikea.  I thought they were a great touch for an Emoji party.

I, of course, used my black tulle table skirt which has pretty much paid for itself by now.  I adore those things and own a rainbow of colors if you ever need to borrow.  Again, off Etsy.

 The girls dressed the part, while Jack scooted off to a friend's house.  I could hardly rationalize making him sit through a faux sleepover with 8 girls.

If you've ever tried to name food after Emoji's, I'm sure you know, it's near impossible.  So for the first time, I decided to forgo naming the meal and just filled the table with every kind of yellow food I could think of...and lots of fun little signs and sayings.

Amazing, what candy eyeballs can do.  The girls were giggling out of their seats over the sandwiches.

Seriously, sour lemon raisins...who knew?  You never know what you will find when you are the hunt for yellow food at the grocery store.

The dessert table was super fun and totally "emoji"fied too.

I just used emoji stickers for regular old water bottles, so don't waste your time trying to find Emoji water.  I filled them with lemonade, because hey, it's yellow.

The birthday girl decorated her own cupcake and was uber proud of it.

Since Maggie wanted to keep her party super quaint with only 8 girls, it freed me up to set a table for the guests to dine at.  This may have been my favorite part.

All the cute plates and table runners are from Hobby Lobby.  I stuck the silverware in little Emoji change purses, which the guests took home post party.

Each girl had a goodie bag hanging on the back of their chair.  It was filled with all kinds of Emoji goodies and a pair of personalized pjs for the faux sleepover.  It also served as a great way for them to  carry around their crafts once completed.

And speaking of crafts {and games}, Maggie and I planned to keep these girlfriends busy!  Again, with the smaller group it lent itself to a few more challenging art projects.  And we did them all together as opposed to stations.

The chick-a dees set themselves up at the craft table and we got started.  Our first project was Emoji socks.  I definitely wanted to get this one in first to make sure they were dry in time for the sleepover part.

Each girl chose an emoji from the template page I had printed out.  They hand drew the pieces on felt with a fabric pencil, cut the pieces out, and then glued them to the top of their socks.

And look how cute they turned out.  Crazy sock day...here we come! {BTW...socks are from Amazon}

Our next craft, was canvas Emojis.  I cut each individual part of all the emojis out on my Cricut almost as if making a puzzle.  The girls chose an Emoji, traced the pieces, and then painted.

Some of them even got creative, like this little one, and added a few hashtags.

We took a quick break from crafts and played two rounds of Emoji Bingo {per Maggie's request}.  The winners each got a fun Emoji prize.

And our final craft was the most challenging, but a guest favorite.  I found my personal kids to be completely obsessed with pony beading this summer.  So I tossed the idea past Maggie and she was game.

It took a little teaching, but once the kiddos got it, they were loving it.

I gave the guests a few Emoji beading templates to choose from and they got started.  And wouldn't you know, most of them picked the poop emoji!  Should have known!

{and in case you wondering where this cute little guy came from....that is Ben, Maggie's bestie...tough having an only girls party, so we invited him over for the cupcakes and the faux sleep over...he managed to squeeze in a craft too}

In between crafts, the girls played around in the yard with all these Emoji toys I found at Five Below, or...

....Emoji nail polish {from Justice}...

or...the photo booth.  These extras served as entertainment while I set up the next craft and supplies at the table.  It was perfect and it got the girls up and around.  They were always squealing with delight when I called them over for the next craft.

Since the party was a later afternoon/evening event, we served dinner which consisted of a lunch menu.  Pleasing 8 picky eaters is not easy.

Before we made the move inside {it was getting cold}, we celebrated Maggie with cupcakes and a birthday ditty!  Love this girl! #allherbesties

That is way too many candles for my baby!

Okay, I lied, one more outdoor activity.  Maggie begged for a piñata and wouldn't you know, I was able to find an Emoji one.  What do they NOT make with Emojis on them these days?

Oh my goodness, it's time to get inside...we were freezing come sunset!

The girls snugged themselves up with their personalized pjs {and cute emoji socks}.  They spread blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags they brought from home all over the basement floor.  It was time for a faux sleepover!

What better way to top a Emoji Party off than with a viewing of The Emoji Movie! The girls were absolutely perfect and seriously sat through the whole movie all snuggled up with one another.  Pure sweetness!

The best part, they all went home at 8:00 and got a well deserved night's sleep.  Now that is my kind of sleepover.  

Maggie was literally over the moon at the close of her party.  What an amazing group of besties she has.  It makes me so Emojinal just thinking about it.

Happy Birthday my Sweet Maggie!  8 is going to be great...I can already tell!