Nothing like taking a year or so off from the blog....

I would like to say I have been so busy that I couldn't ted to my blog, but truth is, I just choose to do other things.  Instagram is so much easier than blogging.  So. if you Instagram. follow me at Georgineb1.

2014 was a blur.  Charley turned 4, B started 2nd grade at a new school and turned 8! and Charley started reading and writing.  I turned 43!  Where has time gone?  We also hit Disney in October for Halloween.  We did it a little differently and stayed at the Beach Club Villas, where we had a kitchen, so eating at Disney was way better for me than relying on their restaurants (giant turkey leg?).   Christmas was not the easiest for me.  It seems like so much work!  We toned it back a bit and told the girls they could only ask for a few things from Santa.  Otherwise, Charley would circle everything in the Target Catalog and say she wants it.   The year ended with both girls getting Chicken Pox! Yeah, really weird.  B has been vaccinated and actually got more spots than the unvaccinated Charley.  Truthfully, we tanked them up with Lysine and they got maybe 40 spots total between the two of them.

This past January, the little bit turned 5.  I couldn't believe she wanted a Frozen party, really an over played theme, but I made it work.  I cut at least 200 snowflakes to hang from the dining room ceiling, blew up (OK, Mike did it and used a pump) 50 balloons for the family room, and had a sugar Olaf made.  Anna and Elsa heard about the fabulous party and couldn't help but crash. There are a ton of photos - here are a few.  Robin also took a bunch so it was a well covered party, photographically.  

I spent a bit of time at Charley's school painting chairs with the kids for the school auction.

We went to see the baby goats at Rustic Road Farm (great place for local pork, chicken and eggs).

What else?  There has been plenty of art making, pretzel bun making, granola making, sewing.  We are spending a lot of time making a lot of our food.  I am tired of looking at the back of a package to see it has food coloring or preservatives or something our kids should not be eating (or us for that matter).  

B, 8, is into karate (currently a red belt).  Charley, 5 is into ballet and acting.  Both are makers and love Netflix.  They paint shirts,  make stop motion films, make dioramas, potion making and Perler beads.  Mike took them to the Daddy Daughter Dance.  I have been sewing Alabama Chanin Style and well as machine sewing and doing some painting, drawing and stamp making.  Bird/squirrel watching/feeding, crazy hair day, snow, days off school, hand making valentines, legos.  We are not busy, but we get stuff done.

 B painted the board she cracked at a martial arts demo.

I can't believe it is already late March.  

Charley's Birthday Weekend

Well, Charley turned two on Friday.  I can totally remember when she was born.  I almost had a tear in my eye when I saw her sleeping, and remember how little she was that first night, all cuddled up with me.  Cha Cha has grown quite a bit, and now has the vocabulary to match.  She isn't using complex sentences, but she is stringing up to five syllables together, and saying things spontaneously.  It is wonderful - most of the time.  Her and B just chatter, chatter and scream.  Life is noisy in the Brady House.  

I almost forgot about planning a party for the Chicken.  With Christmas and my 3 week long sickness, it just about slipped my mind. I didn't have time to order an invitation, so I made my own with the Silhouette software.  The sock monkey and balloon is one of the shapes you can buy and I made the little trampoline.  We were originally going to go to the jumpy place for an hour and a half or so, then come back for real food and cake.  But, our floors are being installed and the house is a disaster area!  (Basically, the girls and I hang out in the kitchen and art room.  Pretty much everything else is being worked on.  So, let's hope they get finished FAST!)  So, I changed the party to a place called MOnkey Bizness.  A place where kids can climb on stuff, jump in a jumpy house, slide down slides.  It really is a fun place, and the girls love it there.

Aren't they kind of cute?

Charley's actual birthday was Friday.  She didn't have school, so on Thursday I sent her in her birthday outfit, with cookies for her class.  She came home with extra cookies (yeah!) and a crown.  Charley really seems to like the birthday attention, and it only got better for her. I made her shirt from the same sock monkey, but I used the Silhouette designer edition to add in the rhinestones.   So, the monkey was cut from the Silhouette heat transfer material and rhinestones for the heart and number two.

I made this cute little necklace from Shrinky Dinks and Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.


Charley woke up to Dora balloons and this last minute present:

On Thursday, Charley played a little bit on B's playground.  They had one of these little Fred Flintstone cars.  I got it, because really, all I got her were some Polly Pocket like Dinsey Princesses and a tee shirt.

B has discovered feety pjs.  Won't wear anything else.  I lucked out, Target had them on clearance!



After speech, Mike took all us out for birthday lunch.  Then, since we had no where to sit in the house, I took the kids to the jumpy place.  Where, I found out, it is a good thing we were not going to have Charley's party there, because she doesn't like the darkness of the enclosed jumpy houses.  There were a couple she played in, like below:

B went down these giant slides.  I really wanted to join her, but Cha Cha wanted nothing to do with them.

Though, Charley did find a slide that was more her speed.

 

When we got home, I kicked the floor guys out and we opened presents.

  

Then we got ready to go to sushi dinner with  Dorota and Medium Tony.  Charley got ready by brushing her teeth with her new toothbrush (yes, that how desperate I was for presents) and putting her princesses in her "new" purse.  That lion is Nala from the Lion King.

 

This was Dorota and Tony's first time eating sushi.  I think they liked it.   B and Charley really like Dorota.  She comes in the house and they try to drag her up to the playroom.  At dinner, B had to sit next to her. 

Charley LOVES miso soup with extra tofu.

Tony, trying sushi for the first time.  See the look on his face?  He isn't sure.  Verdict?

He likes it.  But Tony liked the tuna better than the salmon.

We came home to have a little cake.  Chuckie is a champ at blowing out candles!

Saturday morning B asked if we had any blueberry muffins.  Yes, but no, because they had some mold on them (yes, that is gross, but wait, we turned it into something cool).  So we got out the microscope to check it out.

A friend of ours gave us tickets to the Museum of Science and Industry.  It is a cool place, but so much to see and explain.  B like the weather wing.  I like Coleen Moore's doll house.  We all like the baby chicks, though, it made me want to go vegetarian again.

Sunday morning was low key.  The party started at 2 and since it was at the Monkey Bizness, I really didn't have much to do.  Mike picked up the balloons (we had Dora refilled) and we picked up an Edible Arrangement and chips and guacamole on the way to the party.

Charley taking full advantage of her birthday weekend.

Lee and Jeana met us there early and we set some stuff up.  Lee ran and got some tableclothes.  She also brought the cake.  It was a stunner.

Jeana took a break from studying for finals.

Grandpa even got into the fun.

We had lots of friends there.  I don't want to post the pictures of the kids, because I never asked their parents if it would be OK.

Do you love the cake?

 

How about the birthday girl?

 

Marci, Markus and (shy) Max made the drive to the party.

 

Here are the cute favors - chocolate covered oreos.  

We brought the presents home and had fun opening them.  We also had fun playing with some.

 

I think she had a good weekend.  She is a little tired today - who isn't though!  Mike and I stayed up watching the new karate kid.   I want that 2 hours back!