Weekend Review

On Friday, our friend Jenna came to town for a visit.  She is a cutie-pie who shares the same interests as Emma, so she is a wonderfully easy guest who keeps Emma happy and busy!  With some help from big brother, they built a fort for playing dolls.  The also both LOOOOVE to craft.

We played with homemade play-doh, colored lots of pictures, and made rainbow sun catchers.  I'll post more specifics about this craft later in the week.  Thanks to the half bottle of glue we used, ours is still on the kitchen counter drying.

Jenna came back later in the evening so we could have dinner together, and the girls asked for more crafts.  So, we made impromptu Valentine people.  Nichole and I cut out hearts and hearts and a few more hearts, then sat and visited while the girls assembled.

We finished off the evening with LOVE BUGS.

I think these turned out super cute!

The girls water colored coffee filters for the wings.

Saturday morning, my neighbor Holly hosted a Valentine cookie decorating party.  The girls all came in their pajamas for breakfast and decorating.

Holly did this at Christmas too, and I was sure it would take her a full calendar year to recover from the chaos of toddlers using royal icing and sprinkles in her dining room.  I was amazed that she stepped up to bat again so soon.  The trauma of the first cookie extravaganza is still fresh in my memory, but Holly brings new life to the term "multitasker".

Her husband was out of town this week, she logged over 60 hours at work, her baby got sick, and she was suffering from extreme neck pain.  Yet, by 8:30 in the morning she had already been on her Starbucks run and was in the throes of mixing together six shades of pink icing for an under-five crowd to lather on her dozens of homemade cookies.  Holly makes me look like a lethargic underachiever.

And I'm secretly hoping she hosts an Easter cookie party.

Just so I can see her in action again and take more notes.

"How Not To Panic When Young Children Are Having Fun With Messy Food In Your House."

I think I could study Holly's example all year long and still never conquer my fears.  I'm grateful for her hospitality.....and for the Scotchguard on her furniture.

Yesterday afternoon we went to Nana and Papa's farm so Kaylyn and I could make homemade mints for Nana and Papa's 50th wedding anniversary bash next weekend.  We've been busy cooking up plans for a fun celebration with them, and I can hardly wait.  I love party planning, and what a special occasion to mark!

There was much talk yesterday of a BIG storm that was due to hit about 3:00 this morning, and sure enough, just like clockwork, we bolted upright in bed at 3:05 when an ENORMOUS crack of thunder clapped down on top of our house.  The buzzard was up prowling the house making sure everything was okay, and our power was out.  I was so keyed up by it all that there was no hope of going back to sleep.  So, Buzz gave me his cell phone so I could lay in bed and watch Downton Abbey on Netflix.  Well, that didn't exactly lull me to sleep!!  I just finished season one, and season two isn't on Netflix for free.  WHAT am I going to do???  I'm completely hooked!

The power came back on about 10:45 this morning.  We skipped church because our van was trapped behind the electric gate, I had thawed meat in the fridge that needed to be cooked, and my Mom's washing machine flooded her laundry room.  Kind of a kooky Sunday, but luckily all the bumps were minor and we made it through with no major consequence.

I pulled that homemade play-doh out again to keep Emma busy while everyone scattered off to various jobs this morning, and it kept her busy for hours.  

I had a list of odd jobs to tackle this afternoon so I could start the week fresh and prepared.  I pecked away at it most of the day, but by 4:30 I abandoned it altogether and went to the movies with my man instead.  We saw Parental Guidance, and it was darling!  A full and fulfilling weekend, and now I'm ready for the start of a busy week.  Thursdays are notoriously a beating for our schedule, so I'm trying to schedule small Valentine treats throughout the week so we don't miss out altogether.

What I really, really wish is that I was going to bed right now with access to Downton Abbey Season 2 on my ipad, but we all know that would signal the official end to productivity, so I suppose (way) deep down I'm grateful that I'll live out my week in agony over the Season 1 cliff hanger.  :-)