Celebrate!

Flannery had two birthday parties on the same day on St. Patrick's Day--it was a little hectic!  But she had a great time at both!  The first was a princess party for a friend from her class, and the next was a jumping party at a "bouncing house" for the son of my dear friend, Randi.    Flanna got all dolled up with makeup and nail polish at the first party, and then went and jumped for hours at the second.  

Poor thing, she was sooooo exhausted by the end of the day!

the beautiful birthday girl

cousins, getting all grown up now. 

birthday boy!

Do fun times tend to come in waves for you, too?  It seems like we go months without anything on the calendar, and then suddenly everything hits at once!

80 Years Young!

Robi's grandmother "Mema" turned 80 last month, and we celebrated her birthday together today.  We all came to her house a little early to help get some little projects done for her.  We put pinestraw out in her flower beds, planted some pansies for  her, and my brother-in-law fixed a wind-chime for her.  It was a nice relaxing evening all together with the family and a few of her neighbors.  Flannery has so much fun with Mema, and I'm so thankful that they've developed such a sweet bond.

I hope one day when I'm 80, I'll be as full of life and joy, and as loved by my family and friends, as Mema is.

they are so cute together

with her daughters

with her grandchildren

How can you make the day special for someone in your life soon?

Poppa's Birthday

We celebrated Robi's dad's birthday by taking him out for dinner.  

Oh, and there was a crown.  A birthday crown.  

Handmade by Flannery.  And proudly worn by Poppa.

In public.

Now that's love.  

Who do you love so much that you're willing to be embarrassed for their sake?

Mothers' Day Tea

On Friday, my daughter's preschool had a Mothers' Day Tea for us.  The kids were so excited to show their moms the classroom, and their favorite "work."  Flannery and her friends kept saying, "Look!  This is my mom!" to one another.  It was really sweet. 

Flannery showed me where she does "spelling work" and where they sing their scales (the piano).  She even played some notes and let me feel the piano strings vibrate while she played, which was neat.  I especially liked that the teachers had the kiddos serve their moms the food and tea.  The kids were so proud pouring tea into tiny cups for us!

The best part of the visit was just watching Flanna with her sweet classmates.  She has such kind, silly, and just generally good friends at her school.  I know she's going to miss them when we move. 

Do you still know any friends you had from preschool?  I'm lucky enough to say I do! 

April Fools Jokes for Kids

Frozen Bowls of Cereal (Note the blue milk in the cup, too!)

My daughter loves a good joke.  She's currently obsessed with the "interrupting cow" joke, which I really do find funny.  Here's how it goes:

Flanna:  Knock Knock.
Me:  Who's there?
Flanna:  Interrupting cow.
Me:  Interrupting cow--
Flanna:  MOO!

She can never get the timing just right on the first try, but it's still hilarious. 

Anyway, because one of my happiness commandments is to be silly and have fun, I've tried to play a (nice, not mean!) April Fools' Day prank on Flannery each year.  Last year, I gave her pretend food for breakfast, and then my husband gave her one of my dresses to put on for school.  This year, since we were on vacation with my mom, sister, and niece, we were able to pull several jokes together for April Fools'. 

Blue Milk (It looks scary gray in the cup!)

First, I froze two bowls of cereal and milk with the spoons in them the night before, and then when the girls woke up on April Fools' Day, I gave them the frozen bowls for breakfast.  They were so funny.  They poked at the bowls and looked, surprised, at one another for a second.  Then, my niece said, "These are frozen!" 

Early that morning, the girls and I planned a few other jokes to play on their grandmother.  We put blue food coloring in the milk.  So, when they asked their grandma for milk that morning, she pulled a gallon of surprise from the fridge.  They also drew little faces on the eggs so that when Grandma went to make scrambled eggs for breakfast, she would open an egg carton of fun!  The girls were so thrilled to be "in" on a joke, and it really made for a nice start to our day.


I hope that when they're grown up, my daughter and niece will look back on April Fools' Day with fond memories.  And I also hope I can keep coming up with fun ideas (and never mean spirited ones!) each year to keep them guessing!





What April Fools' Day pranks have you pulled, or been the "victim" of?

Adoption is Beautiful

My niece's adoption anniversary party (aka. "gotcha day" or family day) was such fun!  We went out for hibachi, and she just loved all the attention!  I only wish we had a song to sing each year at this celebration.  (I'm working on that for next year!)  We are so blessed to be a part of her life.

I think adoption is so beautiful.  Hard and tough and difficult, too, with sacrifice on all sides.  But the healing power of love and family is beautiful.





So, any ideas for a good "gotcha day" song?

Nana's 80th Birthday

We celebrated Robi's grandmother's 80th birthday last weekend.  I hope that when I'm 80, I'm so healthy and full of energy.  Nana is such a treasure to the family, and I'm so glad we got to celebrate with her! 

This one's my favorite!

What do you want to be known for when you're 80?  What do you want to be able to say about your life by then?

The Birthday Boy!

It's my husband's birthday today!  (That's right...we're both capricorns.  My friend Debi says that's why we're so peaceful and compatible.)

Because celebrating traditions makes us so happy, Flannery and I made some neat cards for him, bought him a cooking class (I promise that wasn't a selfish gift--I really think he'll enjoy it!), and frosted some brownies for his birthday "cake."

Then we lit the candles, and Flanna helped him make a wish.

I think this is going to be a good year for him.  I can feel it in my bones.


What are you looking forward to in this new year?

Celebrate Successes

Yesterday, one of the kiddos I work with had such a fantastic speech session that I just had to pat myself on the back. He's learning to use a picture exchange communication system (PECS), where he gives a picture to communicate when he wants something. I had been trying to back off on the amount of cues I was giving him, but for several sessions, he just continued to need me to put my hand out before he would hand me the picture to make a request. Now in real life, people are not going to put their hand out in expectation that you want something. You're going to have to make your needs known without any prompts. So, I've been trying to "ignore" him, and to turn away and not look at him or give him any cues at all, as if I'm busy working, to see how he reacts to "no cues."

For a few sessions, he would just get frustrated with me. But yesterday, he got it! He picked up the picture of what he wanted from inside his communication notebook, walked across the room to where I was busily "reading," and stuck the picture in front of my face! Not just once, but several times! It was really exciting to see that progress toward independence! To celebrate, I bought myself a coke that afternoon from the drink machine at work. It felt nice to celebrate a little success, even if just in some small way.

Sometimes we get too busy to take pride in things done well. A newly painted porch. A new shrub planted in the yard. A presentation that was well-received. A new recipe that turned out to be a hit. But it's these little successes that keep us going, that help inspire us to keep plodding along toward bigger goals.

So buy yourself a coke after a good speech therapy session. Make yourself a smoothie after painting that fence. Treat yourself to a bubble bath after a long day planting your garden. Small successes bring big happiness returns.




What little thing were you successful at today?

Happy Independence Day!

Today we shared in the tradition of Independence Day Fireworks! Sharing in family traditions is something that always brings happiness to our family, and the fireworks extravaganza tradition was no exception!

Flannery said her favorite part was the "grand finale," which she called, "when they all happened at the same time." Too fun!

And I loved that the photos of the fireworks look like an amazing jellyfish exhibit I once saw at the Chattanooga aquarium.










What Independence Day traditions do you want to keep? Any new ones you want to start?

Donuts with Dads

Today, Flanna's school had a special program to recognize the students' dads. Donuts with Dads was reportedly a big hit, and the teachers said that a class full of children with a donut sugar high was really entertaining.

Here are some cute pics of Robi and Flannery before school. So sweet!

Seriously, sometimes I can't believe how lucky my daughter is to have such a fantastic dad. I fell in love with a great guy, but I just got lucky that he turned out to be good at being a dad AND a husband. I'm so thankful for him.



What are you thankful for today?

Celebrate Accomplishments

Our friend Christopher graduated last weekend. He got his MPA (Master's of Public Administration) from UNC Chapel Hill. We were so proud of him!

We went to the graduation and to a great catered lunch at the School of Government on Saturday, and then we got to have lunch with him and his family on Mothers' Day, too.

It took a lot of hard work for him to get his master's degree. And a lot of sacrifice, too. Like being brave enough to move away from family and friends to start school. And living states away from his fiancee for two years. And lots of long nights of studying. And lots of brutal hours of research and writing.

But in the end, he got a great degree from a very well-respected program in his field.

It was one of those experiences where the pieces of the experience were probably not so happy. Figuring out a new town on your own. Classes. Research. Studying. Writing. Internships. Driving back and forth long distances to visit fiancee, friends, and family.

But the whole of the experience brings a lot of happiness. A degree. Pride in an accomplishment. Relief at being finished with hard stuff. Friends and family celebrating your awesome talents and work ethic.

So, hooray for Christopher! I hope he gets to take the time to just revel in his accomplishment for a week or so! What a milestone!



What's something that brings you happiness overall, but that while you're in the midst of it, it's not actually all that happy? (For me, it's probably traveling...the actual process of traveling is so stressful to me, but the experience is always a good one when I look back on it.)