Prepping Season....

This time of year is always FULL blast and our lives feel like it is going a million miles per hour. Spring brings us warm weather which we all know this So Cal girl loves but when you live in Arkansas aka Tornado Alley you are ALWAYS on your toes and prepping for storm season. 

Not only to we prepare and freshen up the kids "survival" skills this time of year but we are also FULL swing into party planning. Today marks just a little over a week before the first birthday party of the 2016 takes place and the planning is no different this year than any other. 

We have hit Pinterest aka my LIFE saver hard for this year birthday themes 

(you can find them here) 

but I am also OVERLY EXCITED about them too. 

On the 12th we will be having my oldest daughters 14th birthday and she has gone with Horror Movie themed... we are talking food, decor and MORE! PLUS this year I am allowing here to gather a handful of friends to stay the night for a horror movie marathon! Can you hear the screams yet? 

(insert evil laugh here)

On TOP of all of this this week is Read Across America and the elementary school girls have this week JAM packed with fun days to participate with each day to show off and celebrate Dr. Suess!

Yesterday we got to wear many colors as they shared his book My Many Colored Days followed by today being crazy sock day of course in spirit for The Foot Book! 

Tomorrow is Cat in the Hat so naturally it's crazy hat day and Thursday is  Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! as the kids get to wear their school colors, but we are all stupid EXCITED for Friday's theme as they will be sharing I am NOT Going to Get Up Today!  and the kids get to dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss Character and OF course Aaliyah and her bestie JUST HAVE to go as Thing 1 and Thing 2 and it fits them PERFECTLY! 

I started working on these things over the weekend and I just have to say if I was smaller I would TOTALLY be stealing these costumes!!! They are ADORBS if I do say so myself :)

 And because that is NOT ENOUGH this Thursday the Middle School and the Junior High kids are out of school that day for CAPS which is the day that they get to pick out their classes for the 2016-2017 school year....

UGH! 

Of course THIS morning is the morning that it HIT me like a TON of rocks that I will have a "HIGH SCHOOL" student next year....

#maniamfeelingold

But there of COURSE THERE IS MORE!

I am sadly having to get ready to go back into the work force and to make it SOOO much better it will be overnight yet again for at least 6 months. I will be shooting for a department manager's position which will take me to days and a pay increase so here's to hoping! 

Which means I have to swap my sleeping schedule... yet... again... 

Does your house have a crazy prepping season too or is it just me?!

Our Valentines Weekend Recap PLUS Life Lately

It has been WAY TOOOOO LONG!

First I have to say that I am SO very sorry that I have been majorly MIA here...

I guess that I am NOT doing so hot with my blogging goals so far... does it at least count even a little bit that I DO think about blogging daily...even JUST a little?

Anyways...

As you can see life has been CRAY CRAY on my end... SO much has happened since I last left you with my hair-tastic post....

But lets start with a recap of our Valentines weekend recap shall we?

Friday night the elementary girls came through the door right after school all hyped up... of course because they had their bellies full of valentines candy and goodies from their annual valentines parties but also because this particular Friday meant Valentines Dance AND a the beginning of their three day weekend thanks to today being President's Day...

Friday afternoon I managed to cook dinner and get 4 VERY EXCITED and HYPED up girls ready for their BIG night of dancing...

Wonderful #epicfailrealization came later when it dawned on me I only got ONE out of FOUR of the girls' pictures after they were decked out...

WAY TO GO MOM!

Saturday was pretty laid back around here, we ran errands and went grocery shopping because we all  know how fun that can be...

Saturday night we lined up our kitchen table with Valentine goodies for our loves and on Sunday morning you would have thought it was Christmas in our house!

For our LOVES

From MY LOVE! 

 The rest of the day was filled with our wild child's drama and movies in between. 

So it was a typical day after the spoiling of gifts :)

Today all the kiddies are home and since it is wet and rainy out I plan on overhauling some rooms that are in desperate need of some deep cleaning with hopes the rain will let up long enough to get a photo sesh in for my sister and her babies...

As for where we have been?

Here is a quick recap... 

Prepare for pic over load!

Aaliyah had to have a tooth taken out on the fly... no more crowns for this princess! :)

We have been bargain shopping like mad over here :) 

We squeezed in a girls day!

 I am working on a new home decor project... which usually takes a day... has been a WEEK and counting :/

The hubby tried his FIRST ever cinnabon!

Of course I updated my chalkboard for Cupid's holiday!

 A friend of ours was murdered at the age of 20. He had just recently graduated from High School and had his WHOLE life in front of him... I have known Trevon since he was about 12 or 13 years old and he was like a son to me. My heart and mind has been very numb over the whole ordeal...

Trevon you will be missed dearly and never forgotten!

My prayers and thoughts are with his family and friends. 

I still HEART ipsy!

We are party prepping for Dakota's birthday next month!

A dear friend of Alora's is in the hospital. Today marks day 11...Prayers are with Aiden and his family

With a mild winter we have been able to get out and do some yard work as we work towards making our house our home!

There has BEEN SO much more happen here but I of course can't blog it all! 

What have you all been up too?

It Is A Party Over Here!

With my sister now living super close we are now able to tag team birthdays and that means 7 birthday parties a year! 

Since I am a HUGE party thrower and LOVE birthdays I am SUPER excited about this year. 

On Friday I shared with you all the party themes that we have thrown together this year for my kids so I thought it would be fun to share with you all what we have planned for my sisters kids.  

This last weekend we started off our party year with my youngest nieces 3rd birthday!

Of course all little girls just have to have a Frozen birthday and that is just what she got! 

I will share with you all how things turned out later this week.

Bring back the 80's

In July her oldest daughter turns 10 and she is bringing back the 80s with a full blown 80s themed party! 

We are talking neon, big hair and 80's music...

I am super excited about this party and I hope you will be back to see how this went.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

When we hit August we start a marathon of parties back to back...

Towards the end of the month we celebrate my nephew turning 13! Thank God the force will be with us for this party since we will officially have 3 teenagers after this year ends.  

Alice in Wonderland

In September my sisters 3rd kid will be celebrating her 8th birthday and why not have an Alice themed party! We are talking teacups and so much more! 

This years party plans have gotten us pretty excited here and I hope that you will follow us to see how they all turned out! 

Do you plan themes for your parties....

And the Theme Is...

If you stay and hang out with us here on the blog for any length of time you will come to find out several things about me.

#1: Birthdays in this house is a HUGE deal!

#2: I plan for these things WAY in advance...

Perfect example... I have the theme picked out for 2 of my daughter's sweet 16's ALREADY!

#3:  I tend to go OVER THE TOP for them and I REALLY don't care...

Growing up I was taught that each year you are given on this earth is a gift. A gift from God and should be celebrated. As a mom I couldn't thank my grandmother enough for giving me this knowledge to show and share with my children just how important their lives are not only to God but to me. This is one of the things that I hope they will pick up on and continue on one day with their own children. 

ANYWAYS...

As you may have guessed I have already been brain storming what the 2016 birthday parties will bring us and I can tell you that we are SET with themes for my three girls and I am EXCITED! 

Plus since my sister and her kids are here we get  more to plan and that makes me even HAPPIER and we are one shy of having them worked out. Once we do I will share them also. 

So without further ado...

Here are our birthday party themes this year!

HORROR MOVIES:

 My oldest turns 14 in March and to be honest I am SCARED TO DEATH! 

I think it is really the number that gets me but the knowledge of knowing the things that I did at 14 worries me too but that is another story we WON'T be going into :) but either way I am fearful. A TON has changed in a year and she is no longer Mommy's "baby" but a young woman and recently that fact hits harder and HARDER each passing day...

Dakota chose her party theme this year since I said no horror movies til she was 14 and she thought it would be great to make it a BIG deal and use her birthday party to do so.

Since I am SCARED to death of her growing up it fit well for us both. 

I am not a horror movie fan these days and refuse to watch them anymore but it is HER day and I am REALLY EXCITED to do this one...

GHOSTBUSTERS:

My youngest Aaliyah will be 9 in April and I am really unsure why she decided on this one but since I was a ghostbuster fan as a kid myself you can say I am kinda proud...

She has never picked a simple party for mommy so I love the challenge she gives me every year for her big day!

The hubby's bday is also the day before her so when she picks a unisex party like this it is easier for mommy to feel a little less guilty that daddy got the shitty deal of a birthday party that is well peacock themed like last years... 

I am grateful he is a good sport about these themes because LORD knows it takes a strong man to embrace pink, fairies, Minnie Mouse and peacocks as a birthday themes...

BONFIRE:

Alora ends our birthdays for the year in September and this year she graduates from the tween status and graduates to being a TEEN...

YES THAT IS 2 TEENAGE GIRLS IN MY HOUSE!!!!

Since her birthday is in the fall she opted for a bonfire themed party... 

and since we ALL LOVE bonfires you know I am game!

Ideas are running 90 to nothing in my brain and I am keep having to think about I still have A MILLION other things to worry about first.... 

Speaking of birthdays this weekend we get to celebrate my youngest nieces birthday with her Frozen aka Elsa Party! 

Stay tuned for more updates!

Which party are you most excited to hear more about?

 

Ringing in 2016!

Well 2015 ended and 2016 began with a bang! 

Our New Years Eve "party" turned into a straight out PARTY that I am sure our kids will not forget for a few years to come...

 Only problem is  now I am unsure how to top this one...

hmmmm...

 There's no better way to end a year and start a new one than with family and our babies... we held a straight out party! We partied hard... had 3 pass out early, one throw up, 3 party crashers that hung out for a while, a fight, drama, drinks spilled, danced in the new year and laughed the night away... 

Earlier in the week I sat down and threw together activities for the kids and placed them in paper bags with times on them. 

Each kid got to draw one activity and they varied from dressing up to doing a craft. 

This years craft was making memory jars!

Each kid got to make a jar to keep their favorite memories of 2016 in and they loved this idea!

We also did make overs, wrote down our favorite memories of 2015 and of course shared our resolutions for 2016...

This is one of my favorite activities for several reasons...

1. Some are REALLY funny "resolutions" 

2. It is SO cute to listen to the kids from the different ages come up with their ideas... 

They are as follows:

Dakota 13:

Try New Foods, Wear more dresses, Dye her hair and try a new hair style 

Ashton 12: 

No pictures taken for the year, to dye his hair, and be a vegetarian for 6 months... at first he said vegan but his tone changed quickly when we said no cheese :)  

Summer 9:

Go mud riding, play soccer, and own a horse

Riley 12:

Not to be "fat"... not sure WHY this is an issue at this age! UGH!

Write more music

Get good grades

Alora 12: 

Play softball at her best ability

Raelyn 11:

Work on anger

Work on softball skills

Aaliyah 8:

Hang out with Ashton more

Eat meat only... smh...

Kara 7:

Pet a goat...

Lanie 9:

Get better grades

Crystal 33:

Get her GED

Start culinary art school

Get a place and ride

Anthony 31:

Well the hubby is STILL anti-resolution.... 

maybe ONE year this will change... 

Sandra 31: 

If you missed mine on Friday you can find them here

Our Party Crowd!

The youngest party animal :)

Of course the day and night was filled with food galore that my sister and I threw together for the kids to snack on through out the party.

 and once we hit the dance party stage of the evening it was on! 

I threw together a play list on Spotify and used Alora's bluetooth light up speaker to set the mood. We gave the kids the living room area, turned off the lights and let them dance the night away while the adults hung out in the kitchen chatting and enjoying some wine. 

At midnight the kids enjoyed their "wine" aka sparking cider and their midnight "kisses"

Of course we got a few "awww that's gross" remarks when I did get an actual midnight kiss from the hubby... got to love kids...

After they toasted and "kissed" away I sent them out the door with noise makers and for a running lap around the house...

They took A lap into like 20 but whatever :) 

Three of the kids didn't make it to the count down and we found them either like this...

Or in a random bed in the house. 

We had one get sick and throw up...

We had 3 kids show up we didn't know...

and I had red solo cups and paper plates scattered through out the house...

We ended the kids party with a sleep over and a movie and us adults stayed up drinking, having music wars and chatting... The party stopped when my sister's 2 year old told her it was time for bed at 5 am...

Dang party pooper!