Party Week Part 2

I closed out the second half of party week with the girls.  Honestly, there was no better way to end the festivities.  

Lucy had her darling Christmas Pre-School party.  And although, I wasn't one of the party moms, Mrs. L graciously allowed us all to attend.  It was a tight squeeze but who wouldn't want to be squished right up against this cute thing?

Lucy is always so welcoming.  It's such a pleasure to attend any event involving her.  She's always happy to see me {unlike another one of my "too cool" kiddos} and she always participates independently in any activity with a smile {unlike one of my other "clingy" kiddos}.

As you can imagine, I was running on fumes by the close of this ever so festive "party week", so we are going black and white on this lovely picture of my exhausted self and Lu.

I topped off my week with Gingerbread Houses with my favorite Kindergartner.  This is such a fun tradition at the elementary school.  They moved it to the cafeteria this year, which I thought was a brilliant idea!

Maggie worked diligently on her house until it was just so.  She had even made a blue print the day before in Ms. R's class.  Precious!

It was such fun to watch her creativity at work.  She had a door, a pathway, and even a snowman in the yard.

Adore this little princess of mine.  I don't think she could get any sweeter if she tried.

So now that party week has officially come to a close, we are waiting with bated breath for the arrival of family, Santa and Christmas morning!

We've still got a few more traditions to get in too!

Party Week Part 1

Here we are mid-week and I am two holiday parties down, two more to go.  I swear I still only have 3 children {I promise}, but my sweet Kindergarten kiddo has two events this week.  If you are doing the math that makes 4 parties.  Have I mentioned I LoVe kindergarten?

So I started my week in Maggie's classroom.  Give me some cute little kindergarten kids and I am a happy mama.  Oh, they are such dolls!  

Maggie's teacher opted for a New Year's theme for their holiday party.  I can't lie it was a refreshing twist from the usual "winter" take on it.   We were all supposed to dress in black and white...it was a quite a formal event.

I had the pleasure of working the party hat making station.   As easy as that may sound, it wasn't.  

The ever adorable and AmAzInG, Ms. R....

I did sneak away from my hat assembly table to catch Maggie at the photo booth.  Darling!

She even let me jump in with her!  I am happy to say she still adores her Mommy.

The New Year's celebration ended with lots of horn blowing and some impressive dance moves.  I'm so excited I get to see this little group one more time this week!

From there, I helped party plan and man Jack's 2nd grade festivities.  Yes, yes, we did the "Snowman" theme.  I mean there aren't a lot of options.  However, I did try to jazz it up a bit.

We made snowman canvases, which turned out adorable.  I gave the kids buttons, felt and of course paint.  They got so creative.  Unfortunately my son was too cool to do so. Why I chose to take a picture of only his still remains a mystery to me.

We played a great Snowman Race game.  The kids were super well behaved after a long dissertation from me.  I was so worried it would get out of control, but it actually went swimmingly.  And the kids had a blast doing it!

We ate a ton of snowman snacks, which I am so bummed that I forgot to snag a picture of.  But, trust me they were super festive and fun.

And then we topped the event off with a photo booth.  The 2nd graders had a great time with this!  A party must do!

And as I'm uploading these pictures, I just realized I haven't edited one of them.  Oh well, forgive me, wrapping paper and presents are calling my name.  Time is of the essence.

I'll be back with the second half of party week before you can say, "Christmas!".

The Christmas Spirit

We are seriously getting into the spirit around here.  I had a slow start {not exactly sure why}, but I am full throttle into Christmas mode now.

Tis' the season for Clarence to return...that silly elf.

We got our Christmas tree up and decorated nearly a week late this year.  Maybe that was the reason for my delayed spirit.

But now that it is up, I sit and marvel at the beauty of this season.  Especially at night when the kids are asleep and all the lights are off except for the tree.

And boy, am I about to drown in wrapping paper!  Jack and I calculated that if I wrap 5 presents a night I will be finished by Christmas Eve.  AHHH...!  So I am trying to average 15 a night in hopes of having that week before Christmas to just relax and enjoy my kids and the holiday.

The kids and I spent the evening putting together these little Christmas treats for their friends at school.  I got a little lazy this year and just grabbed a couple boxes of candy canes and created this tag.  My kids think it's fabulous though, so it works for me.

And this little elf is just full of Christmas cheer!  How could I not get in the spirit with her around?

The most endearing moment to date this season goes to my Christmas gift from Maggie.  She just couldn't wait any longer to give it to me.  I think she's heard me request a diamond upgrade one too many times...ha! She really wanted to get me the pink one, but she "knew how much I wanted a silver one".  

Is that pure sweetness or what?!? It's a shame it isn't real.

Cheers to the Christmas spirit...and I'm about to do just that...off to a ladies only  Christmas party!

A Date To The Nutcracker

Oh my, I am forever grateful to my dear friend, Cristina, who introduced Maggie and I to this newest Christmas tradition.

In case you are wondering, I haven't been living a hole, and, yes, I know what the Nutcracker is.  But the big ballet in the big city just hasn't been in the cards for us.  At least just not quite yet.  I mean we do have a bed time around here.

And this brings me to why I am so grateful to my aforementioned friend.  This year she introduced Mags and I to the sweetest small{er} town company show of the Nutcracker. She also tipped us off on making sure we bought tickets to the Sunday show, which included the Sugar Plum Tea with the dancers!

While the boys went to an FSU basketball game and Lucy spent a "special" day with Grandma, Maggie and I got dolled up in festive attire and spent the day on a Mother Daughter Date.  It was just divine.

We arrived for the tea at the theatre and dined on tea sandwiches, sweet treats, and delicious punch. Somehow this is about the just of Maggie's plate. I had to do my motherly duty and throw some fruit on there.

And although, my Mags was loving those sweets, nothing, and I mean nothing, could compare to meeting the real live dancers!  Maggie was in awe of their costumes and gracious smiles.  We made our rounds and got every single autograph offered.  This little autographed program has become one of Maggie's prized possessions.  {just one more thing for my pack-rat to add to her collection}

Personally, my favorite was the Sugar Plum Fairy, who absolutely stole the show!

As if the precious tea and meeting the dancers weren't enough, we were with the sweetest group of friends.

Girls only day!

Before Maggie dozed off to dream of sugar plums and ballerinas, she made me promise that we could go again.  She doesn't have to ask me twice!  

Can't wait until little sister is old enough to join us.  mmm...girls are so much fun!