Soccer Saturday!

Soccer maddness kept me from writing much today, but I do have a few pictures:

As if a funfilled day of soccer wasn't enough, we decided to torture ourselves and make a Costco run.  Of course that's where we ended up eating lunch....

I say it every time, but that was my LAST trip to Costco!

Check out the kid's jerseys!  Our favorite number, 5!

We love Soccer Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Tips For Planning a Unique Baby Shower

Who doesn’t love a baby shower?  How much fun it is to honor the new Mommy-to-be by showering her with gifts!  We all gather around while she opens her gifts, and we “ohh” and “ahh” at the tiny little socks and onesies.  It’s as if we have never seen a baby before, and this one will be our very first glimpse of one!  What a joy!

Are you looking for new ideas to make a baby shower fun and exciting?  I have given dozens of baby showers, and here are 10 of my tips for planning a unique one.

10 Tips For Planning a Unique Baby Shower:

#1- Pick a theme that represents the Mommy's style, or her nursery decor.  I am going to a shower this weekend that will have a seashell theme.  The Mommy-to-be is decorating the nursery with seashells, and that theme will carry over to the shower.  I'm sure some of the gifts will also follow this theme.

#2- Pick an invitation that will make a statement and introduce the theme.  

Here's a sneak peek of a few...

#3- Besides date, time, and place, be sure and include where the Mommy-to-be is registered.  Also mention any nursery themes and colors.

#4- When you order the invites, pick a set of matching Thank You Notes for the Mommy-to-be.  Set a basket out with the blank envelopes at the door, and as guests arrive, have them fill out their address so the new Mommy won’t have to hunt them down later.  Afterall, she will have much better things to do! :)

#5- Of course all Baby Showers must have GAMES!  The last baby shower I went to had a couple of them that I loved.  The guests were required to chew up a piece of bubblegum and shape a baby out of the chewed gum.  It was hilarious to see all the different creations!  Another fun game is a quiz where you match the Hollywood Star with their baby's name.  Example:  Gweneth Paltrow would match up with Apple. 

#6- When planning the menu for the shower, keep it light.  Ladies enjoy mingling much more than eating!  Remember to serve a little something salty and a little something sweet.  Petit fours are always perfect.  They are pre-cut, decorated, and oh so yummy! 

#7- It can be fun to ask guests to wear something special to the shower.  For example, I once went to a "Fancy Hat" shower.  We all wore our fanciest hats.  It may be as simple as asking guests to wear a certain color that matches the nursery.  Or maybe all pink or all blue depending on the baby's gender.  It sure makes all the pictures come out nicely.

#8- Take lots of pictures!  I liked having pictures of all the gifts I opened at my shower, and of all the guests present.  It is so fun for my daughter to look back and see what she received at her baby shower, and who was there.  I also have pictures of the decorations, food, and the games!

#9- Pamper the Mommy-to-be and spoil her at her shower.  Give her a little bell to ring whenever she needs something.  Tell her the bell is hers to keep so that her family will only be a "ring-a-ling" away when she needs them after the baby is born. 

#10-It is always nice to give your guests a little something as they leave.  Some nice party favors include pastel colored candies, little boxes with truffles inside, a small hand lotion (baby powder scent), and small candles. 

I hope these tips were helpful to you!

~Alisha

:

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a Tiny Prints gift code worth $50, plus 25 FREE Tiny Prints greeting cards—a total gift value of $149.75!

What would June Cleaver Do?

Last night, as my husband and I lay awake in our bed, listening to our baby boy cry himself to sleep, he sighed out this wish, "I wish for one day our life could be like 'Leave It to Beaver'.  

Maybe I wasn't meant to hear this wish, maybe it was a thought meant to stay inside his head, maybe it just slipped out in a moment of foggy "half sleep".  Nevertheless, I heard his wish, and I took it as a challenge of sorts. 

In order to carry out this wish, I must put myself in the shoes of no other than June Cleaver herself.  And might I add that she has some pretty big shoes to fill!  Let's see, where to start?  I figure I should hop in the shower first thing in order to have plenty of time to work on my hair.  I'll have to dig deep into the depths of my closet to find a proper dress to wear, and of course, the practical pumps.  Next, I head to the kitchen to don my apron before preparing a hot breakfast that must be served at the perfectly set table.  After breakfast, I shoo everyone out the door with their lunches, and plaster a big, wide smile on my face.  Once everyone is out of the house, it is time to clean the kitchen, make the beds, and then make a few phone calls.  I'm sure June started dinner sometime before noon, how else would she be able to hold it all together the way she did at the 5 o'clock hour?  Ahh, the 5 o'clock hour at the Cleaver's....  I think this is where my husband's wish was born.  June greets Ward at the door with a smile.  She leads him to his Easy Chair where his paper is waiting to read, and then fills him in on the day's events uninterrupted.  Dinner is served in the dining room promptly at 6 o'clock.... 

Now let's examine a typical morning for Alisha:

I wake up at midnight, 2 am, 4 am, and 6 am to nurse my 10 month old.  I get out of bed at 6 am and plop the baby in the highchair so I can make some coffee. I pour cold cereal for the other kids with my eyes half open. I make lunches, feed the baby, pick clothes out for the kids, braid McKinley's hair, empty the dishwasher, help kids finish up last night's homework, sign permission slips, change the baby, get dressed, load backpacks, run out the door. I load the kids in the car only to realize baby needs another diaper change.  I goo back into the house, change the baby again, race out the door.  (No shower, no make-up, no dress, no apron, no pumps). 

I usually have time to think about dinner around 5 o'clock.  Instead of making the beds,  I fill my morning walking with my kids and volunteering at their school.  I usually check out Facebook, list a few items on Ebay, and play with my baby.  Then it's time to pick up the kids and drive them to various activities.

Unfortunately, my husband tends to walk through the door the minute all hell breaks loose.  Baby is crying, dinner is burning, laundry still needs folding, kids need help with homework, everyone is hungry!  Needless to say, the table is not set, my hair is not neatly coiffed, my feet are bare, my clothes are spit up on, and my "June Cleaver" smile is hidden somewhere underneath it all. 

After careful review, I realize I can't entirely make my husband's wish come true.  But here is what I will do. I will run a brush through my hair and slap some gloss on my lips. Tonight the table will be set, the laundry will be folded, dinner will be ready.  Chances are, the house will be bustling as always, but I will make coming home worth it.  I will greet him at the door with a big, wide, smile on my face!



Fresh Cut Grass

I did that thing again.  I seized the moment and rocked my precious son to sleep instead of tackling the laundry pile.  I told myself I was going to mop the floor today, oh and scrub the bathrooms too. I am so thankful that my housework will wait for me.  Housework tends to be patient that way.  I guess it's a good thing I live in a house that "cleans itself!"

The cooking experiment from the other day didn't work by the way.  I didn't get a single recipe or dinner idea, so I was forced to come up with dinner on my own.  I decided to go all out and make lasagna.  The good news is it was bland enough to feed to the baby, and he LOVED it!  The bad news is I made a double batch and froze one, so we get to eat it again in the near future.  Please, it is not too late to send me your EASY, FAMILY FRIENDLY dinner ideas...

Did you remember to notice something "for the first time" today?  I did.  I sat and watched the gardener mow the lawn at my kid's school.  Hagen was enthralled, so I figured it was worth sitting for a while to watch the mower cut fresh patterns in the grass.  The smell alone made it worth it.  It's amazing how the smell of fresh cut grass can open the floodgates of childhood memories for me.  In a matter of seconds I was whisked to a summer morning in the suburbs of Denver.  Back to the days of cartwheels, swingsets, trampolines, soccer games, swim meets, and golf lessons.  Ahhh....

Well, now I'm back in California, back to the reality of being a grown up.  A grown up in charge of picking up her kids from school!  Off I go to hop on the walking school bus (WSB).  There's lots of horse poop along our WSB trail.  I'm wondering if the smell of horse poop will induce a wonderful memory for my kids someday?

Seeing things for the first time...

I love the way Hagen holds his hand out to examine how the sun shines on it. 

He has the same look of awe on his face when I serve a new type of food on his highchair tray. 

I am the luckiest person in the world, because for now, I get to show him things for the first time.  I was there the very first time he squealed with delight as he petted the neighbor's kitty cat.  I was also there when my friend's puppy licked him to pieces and got the same response. 

Showing Hagen things for the first time has opened my eyes to all sorts of things...some good, some not so good.  

I am noticing airplanes in the sky again, and little things like birds sitting on the telephone wire.  I notice how the wind makes the leaves blow, which then makes a "shadow show" on my family room wall.  I notice trash trucks that go BANG, and fast cars that go VROOM!  I notice organic, tear free, and hypo-allergenic.

I notice things from the ground up.  My eyes are now so keen for choking hazards and safety issues around the house. Legos, paperclips, twist ties, hotwheels, cupboards he can open, drawers he can pull out, pebbles that Everest drags in on his shoes, dust bunnies, large food crumbs... the list goes on and on.

Too bad we get complacent to all those ordinary things that make my baby boy go "Wow!"  Wouldn't it be nice if every now and then we noticed the little things?  What if every now and then we literally "stopped to smell the roses?"  My challenge for you today or tomorrow is to see things from the ground up.  Take notice of all those little things God has created.  Pretend you are seeing them for the first time.  Possibly you will find something He created purely for your enjoyment, so ENJOY it!

Remembering 9/11/01

We remember 9/11.

We remember those who lost their lives.
We remember those who lost their loved ones.
We remember those heros who helped.
We remember those who continue to protect our country.

Today I am teaching my kids why we remember...

The house that cleans Itelf...

That's right! I live in a house that cleans itself.  Well, it's supposed to.  I even read a book with that same title, "The House That Cleans Itself."  I devoured the entire book cover to cover in a couple of days.  I did everything the book said for me to do.  It was a wonderful book that included an easy to read format, humor, diagrams, and even scripture to keep me motivated. 

For days I walked around picking up wrappers, socks, dishes, shoes, etc., etc., saying, "this is NOT how the house that cleans itself is supposed to behave."  I would point out to my family that they had to pick up after themselves because we, "live in a house that cleans itself!"

Everest did as he was told and tried very hard to follow my new rules, but I heard him comment to my husband, "Dad, I don't get it... why do I have to pick my things up if the house can clean itself?"

Well, he had a very valid point.  Did I really think reading a book about keeping my house clean would work?  Would the same thing happen if I read an entire cookbook?  Would dinner appear on my table just like magic?  I guess I'm willing to find out.  Please send me your favorite family dinner recipes and/or the title of your favorite cookbook.  EASY and FAMILY FRIENDLY are the key words here!  I will let you know if it works!