{Friday}

it's friday.

and i'm glad.

made it all week with out a mocha which made this "mocha friday", as aubrey and i so affectionately call it, all the sweeter. we saw our favorite girl, kelli jo who is always ready with smiles for us and hugs. i just love this time together. we sit super close in our booth. (and if we don't get a booth we are super bummed and will get up and move mid-way if one becomes available...any other crazy booth stalkers out there?:))

we came home and played with our neighbors while the snow fell.

looks like another snowy possibly trapped in the house weekend.

but that's fine by me.

one more chapter of this to read and then we have a movie to watch.

maybe tonight?

now wouldn't that just end our friday with a bang?

or should i say a plie?

:)

stay warm.

have fun.

find joy.

show love.

have a happy day,

cindy

{Weekending}

hello friends.
seems a little funny to post a weekending post on tuesday right?
well, with two snow days in a row with wind chills in the -25 range we are dealing with weekends that just seem to go on...and on...and on around here!:)
i guess that's certainly nothing to complain about though huh?

after the hustle and BUSTLE of last weekends harry potter extravaganza having nothing on the calendar felt soooooooo good. we basically just hung out. took life slow. and relaxed.

we still ate some amazing food.
homemade pizza and an awesome pork roast dave cooked all day and made into tacos. i swear i love just about anything made into a taco!:) and the pork fried rice he whipped up monday with the leftovers was pretty amazing too!:)

we had a fun morning...turned to afternoon...monday.

panera for breakfast, a trip to target, the book store and finishing at michael's.

wow.

what a trooper daddy was!:)

we baked.

we played.

we read.

we baked some more.:)

riley and i made pudding pops.

remember those?

so fun and they loved 'em.

getting healthy has been on my mind. (funny that comes right after the shot of pudding pops!!:))

guess it's that time of year...or it could be that my pants are getting snug!:)

either way, i have set up a few little things to try and get me on track.

starting with a healthy breakfast, apple at lunch, mocha's only on "mocha friday", ice cream only on the weekends and water water water!!! 

egg whites, spinach and hot sauce on a thin...thanks tara.

continuing my treadmill and video in the early am will hopefully help too.

i need some new inspiration there too really!

so i started with a new play list...tunes motivate me greatly so hopefully this will do the trick. 

for awhile at least!:)

in other "on my mind" news, i am still trying to get this little blog of mine caught up and finally to the place where i can just sit and type. about nothing! i do that so well right!:) haha! preserving the memories of the big things are great. and important. but it's the little things i like to talk about the most.:)

right now as i type, riley and aubrey are playing dollhouse....singing instead of talking.

blueberry muffins are warm on the messy kitchen island.

janey is dancing to tangled in the basement.

the dryer is beeping at me. again.

and we have zero and i mean ZERO plans for the day.

the little things are good.

have a happy day,

cindy

{Janey's Harry Potter Party}

i think the dream of a harry potter party started brewing the moment she cracked open book one.
this has been the most anticipated and thought about and talked about party in our history!:)
and all worth it for my little sweetie.

i don't think i had an original  idea when it came to this party though.
seriously.
if you dare to look at harry potter parties on pinterest or the web you will be inundated with ideas that are out of this world.
seriously.

so that being said...welcome to our little version of harry potter world!:)

of course a snow storm was blowing and  ruining our brick wall entry way!

::the great hall::

the best part had to be the candles from the ceiling...dave rocks the fishin line and staple gun!:)

dave made wands for everyone out of paper and glue.

sooooo cool!

::honey dukes sweet shop::

::potions::

::party favors::

janey and one of her assistants waiting for guests to arrive through platform 9 3/4!:)

we started the party with some fun trivia questions while guests were arriving and then played the "guess which character's name is on my back" game. so fun. these girls knew A LOT about harry potter. 

then janey helped the wands choose their wizards.

cause that's how it is ya know...the wizard doesn't choose the wand, the wand chooses the wizard.:)

the spell books were a huge hit! 

and it was so fun hearing them all pronounce those crazy words!!

  then down to the basement for our snowy owl craft.

potion time!

daddy made a very good snape!

and had all the good gear to bring home from work!!

that was so awesome and they loved loved loved it!!:)

back to the basement to practice transfiguring things.

with play doh and our magic wands of course!

potion number 2

after a quick trip to honey dukes to fill their goodie bags, we went to the great hall for cupcakes and magical color changing drinks.

with some pop rocks thrown in for effect.

the last time she heard "happy birthday to you" as a 10 year old.

hope you loved your party my little 

gryffindor girl!!

links:

wands

spell books

cupcakes (we just made regular vanilla though:))

signs

inspiration