Hy-Vee - Red Hot Weekend - March 13th & 14th

Hy-Vee - Red Hot Weekend - March 13th & 14th

Just saw this from HyVee. They will be running some special deals on the 13th and 14th plus they are handing out special bonus coupon booklets for everyone who participates. Last year the coupon books in the spring were good for over $50 off in HyVee brand products. If you are headed out to shop this weekend would definitely be worth the trip. Make sure to check the specials online, they are not releasing them until 5 PM on Thursday.

http://www.hy-vee.com/company/press-room/announcements/red-hot-weekend-march.aspx

Happy Birthday Thomas!

We had Thomas's birthday party on Sunday. Thomas wanted to have a Star Wars party so we did all things Star Wars. This was the first year that we let him help pick out everything (on a budget of course). These days he loves super heroes, anything related to science, and star wars. He has grown up so fast! I find myself wondering what happened to my little boy. He is so big now!

I made the invitations using an invite we found online. They turned out pretty cute. Thomas loves to play Lego Star Wars on the Wii with dad so it was a perfect find for us. They were cheap to make too because I just printed them from Walgreens for 10 cents each.

We ordered our cake from Ginny's Cakes here in North Liberty. Normally I am not one to do the custom cakes but she also did Oliver's first birthday cake. I was so impressed I wanted her to make a cake again for us! She did such an awesome awesome job! She custom made us an R2D2 cake exactly like I wanted it to be! Thomas's face lit up when he saw the cake. R2D2 was a big hit with everyone else at the party too!

I tried to get a couple of pictures taken for all the out of town people that couldn't make it. We decorated the place black, blue, and green and with little stars everywhere.

Thomas got lots of presents and loves his new toys. We are going to be getting rid of some of his old things he doesn't play with anymore. We will be donating them this weekend with a special post-birthday party trip. We do this every major holiday and birthday to keep it simple around here.

Here is another photo of the main living area. Brent set up some fun music for us to listen to during the party. We played star wars music of course plus a bunch of Thomas's favorite songs and a few party songs.

Here is Thomas with his birthday cake! He was smiling so big!!!

Here Thomas and Austin are posing by the big Darth Vader and Yoda poster we found at a party store. It was a lucky find and you can be sure it will be going up in the basement play room!

These were the "yoda sodas" we made. They were made with lime sherbet, ginger ale, and lemon lime soda. They were extra fizzy and green like yoda! I found them online and couldn't resist, it was too cute of an idea to pass up! We also served "galactic pizza" and "space snacks."

And what is a party without a couple presents? Here Thomas is opening some cool star wars gear. All the kids had a blast testing out the new toys.

Grandma got him a star wars coloring book and pajama set too!

Oliver was so cute at the party. He was calm here but he loved the balloons and the remote controlled R2D2 his brother got.

March is here!

What a wonderful month it has been already! I celebrated my birthday on the first of March and the boys and I have been enjoying the little bit of "warmer" weather we have had. Spring is definitely on it's way and we are all excited for some spring time fun. To celebrate my birthday Oliver and I enjoyed some yummy chocolate.

The result was a sticky chocolate mess as you can see but fortunately no damage was done. Last I checked a little bit of chocolate is actually good for you so we treated ourselves to a couple pieces.

Ollie and Thomas have been playing a lot lately in their little play house. The boys love to play peekaboo and hide and seek using the play house. We can't wait for the snow to melt so we can pull it outside for the summer.

Oliver also has been really enjoying his Elmo's World DVD lately. Elmo is his favorite and he loves to dance around the room when Elmo is on. It is pretty cute to watch him do it. Funny thing is Thomas didn't care for Elmo near as much as Ollie does. I remember when Thomas was little we got him the TMX Elmo and he didn't care for it at all! Wish we had hung onto it because Oliver loves Elmo and all of the Sesame Street characters. Funny how different the two can be sometimes!

A SUNBEAM on a beautiful Sunday day!

The boys had such a fun time at church this morning. Thomas went to Sunday school and learned about giving to the poor. Meanwhile, Ollie met a new friend named Kayla at church. Kayla is 13 months so she and Ollie are about the same age. They played together in between the services and decided to dance and sing with the band today. Ollie and Kayla showed off their moves for everyone to see. They were so cute playing together.

Then during service Thomas got to sing with his preschool class. They sang the sunbeam song about how Jesus wants them to be a sunbeam. Thomas is quite the good singer now. If you can get him to sing for you he will sing really loud. He told me that the sunbeam song is his favorite song to sing.

Cookies for Church!

Mmmmm hot and fresh cookies!!! And no they are not for me. Our focus for the second week of Lent was to give as much as we can of ourselves. Through out the week we focused on what we can do to be kind to others and how we can use the gifts God has given us to bless others in our lives. So to wrap up the week, I am bringing some yummy MONSTER size cookies for the treat cart at church. I am going to have to resist the temptation to eat these all up, and to keep the kids out of them too. But it feels good to give.

Thank you Lord for blessing us and allowing us to give back to those around us. Sometimes all it takes is taking the extra time to listen to a stranger who needs help. Sometimes you ask us to give financially. And other times you call for us to use our own great gifts that you have given us and share those with others. Help us to make sacrifices and share our gifts so that we can share joy and peace in your name. Amen!

Here is the recipe for anyone who wants to try it! We found it on Cooks.com and used the Easter M&Ms for some fun spring colors!

M & M PARTY COOKIES

1 c. shortening 1 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. granulated sugar 2 tsp. vanilla 2 eggs 2 1/4 c. sifted flour 1 tsp. soda 1 tsp. salt 1 1/2 c. M & Ms Blend shortening and sugars. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in 1/2 M & Ms. Reserve the rest for decorating. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate as desired and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Don't let that angelic face fool you!

Don't let that halo over his head fool you. Ollie is quite the busy little toddler these days. Just one day after his little accident Ollie was getting into everything as usual. He thought it would be really cool to practice his jumping skills by climbing onto of the potty and diving off. And of course, every body needs a good book on the potty right? Ollie chose his favorite book to jump off the potty with.

Seriously, that picture right there is proof of why they strongly recommend you have good insurance for children under the ages of 3!

I did capture one calm one of him. Only here he is sitting on top of his books. I guess this is how we have story time these days.

And since we were both feeling a little blah we indulged in some homemade chocolate cake. Ollie was not happy at all when the cake was gone. He wanted more!!!

All kidding aside, he is quite the angel isn't he? Love you baby boy!

It's official--Oliver is my dare devil child!

Oliver had his second trip to the hospital last night. Poor little guy had to get stitches. He was chasing his big brother and hit his head on the metal bed frame in the bedroom. Fortunately it wasn't too serious but it did require some stitches. The doctors were so good to him, his surgeon even tried to get him to laugh and sang him a song. His nurse stayed with us the whole time and talked to him about cars and Elmo, she really helped me keep him calm. I am so thankful for Mercy Iowa City's medical staff. They took such great care of my little baby boy. I can't thank them enough!

Today Oliver is back to his normal, usual self. He is running around and being goofy again. I think we might just have to bubble wrap everything though so he doesn't have a repeat experience. I guess I better start saving up for all those future ER trips from my little dare devil!

Here is my tough little guy:

Thank you Lord for taking care of my baby boy last night and please continue to bless him with a super quick recovery.