Outside My Kitchen Window: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

All Things Loved in September

I love this idea that I got from this blog. It's nice to be able to sit back and reflect on the good things.

1. The start of college football. There is nothing like watching a game on a cozy Saturday afternoon.

2. My Jamison's birthday and party. I am extremely excited about the way the party turned out and just touched at how big my little girl is getting.

3. I went to my first Stampin Up! workshops this month and really fell in love. The people are so nice and the things you can make are endless. Now I just have to get in that basement and start stampin.

4. Apple crisp. My friend Jodie made this the other weekend and it was so yummy and then she gave us the recipe (so nice of her!) and so Rondell and Jamison made one this week from the apples we picked.

5. Fall. I love the change from Summer to Fall. The weather is cool and crisp and the air just smells great. Below is a picture from last year of the tree in our front yard.

101 in 1001 Update

I know that you all have been wondering how I've been doing with my 101 Things in 1001 Days (see it here). I thought I'd give you an update in order to satisfy your curiosity.

6. Figure out a menu planning system and plan meals weekly. I have been doing really well with this. I made a menu sheet using Word and I fill it in every week. It has helped so much when going to the store and I also coordinate with our calendar, so I'll make more simple meals when Rondell has to work or skip a day if we have plans.

23. Pack Rondell's lunch 3x a week. This has been going well too. I try and actually pack something for him each day and on the days that I don't it usually means we didn't have anything to pack. This makes our time go faster in the morning.

30. Organize holiday items in basement. If you remember from the basement overhaul, I organized all my holiday items. I recently pulled out my Fall bin to put out my decorations. I am so happy for everything to have a place.

34. Call about garage repair. I did finally call a few weeks ago and the door is now fixed. It cost us less than we thought it was going to cost, so that was very nice.

61. Make one new recipe per month. This has been going well too. This week I made chicken tetrazzini for the first time. Thanks Jolanthe!

63. Research a new planner system that works better. I ordered this planner and so far I LOVE it.

65. Buy a label maker. I got one for a great price and it has come in handy (see here).

68. Learn how to make banners. I completed this by making the banner for Jamison's party. You can see it here. I made it so that we can use it again and again.

69. Buy my first Stampin Up! stamp set. I bought two! One is a retired tag stamp set I got from Lisa (I used it on the tags for Jamison's goody bags) and the other one is a brand new set called Hello Again (you can see it here).

So there's your update. I'm excited to continue to work on my list. What are some goals that you've accomplished recently? I'd like to hear about them.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

It's Her Birthday And I'll Cry If I Want To!

Six years ago today I was in the last day of my first pregnancy. I was pretty nervous because I was going to be induced later in the evening to finally meet my little girl. My dad and Renee were there most of the day and Renee made me a great dinner.

Then it was time. Time for Rondell to take me to the hospital, meet my mom and have a baby. I cried because I was scared, not knowing what to expect.

26 hours later, after a lot of pain, a successful epidural, the shakes, nausea, a fever, plenty of tears and then heading off to surgery, my baby was here. Her eyes were gray and she was so tiny.

I was tired and overwhelmed...completely overwhelmed. This little person belonged to me and I was responsible for her...me (and Rondell).

My mom stayed with us for a few days and I cried when she left. But then my friend Melanie came and she took good care of me, but I was still overwhelmed. This sweet baby girl belonged to me (and Rondell).

Jamison was a beautiful baby...getting more and more beautiful each day. She was so full of energy and just as sweet as she could be. We had rough spots with her frustration because of her speech delay, but overall she was a happy little girl. I can't believe she's 6 today.

My baby...MY baby. That is who she will always be.

I love this little girl more than words can ever express. She's thoughtful, creative, energetic, loving, intelligent and sweet. I cry today from the joy of realizing she's my responsibility. I am grateful that God blessed me (and Rondell) with such a wonderful daughter and I look forward to watching her grow.

Happy Birthday Jamison!

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Simple Woman's Daybook (Party Edition) - September 28, 2009 **Picture Overload Warning!

For Saturday, September 26...

Outside my window...it was a gloomy and rainy day, but that wasn't going to stop the fun.

I was thinking...so much about the party that I couldn't sleep. Luckily I had some great help. Aunt Roni amd Mommy were there to help set up and play with the kids while I was getting everything ready. Aunt Roni even made me breakfast! My great friend Lyndsey (check out her blog here) came early to take pictures of the set-up and then took all of the amazing pictures that you'll see below.

I was thankful...that all of Jamison's friends were able to come.

Hannah

Caden

Annika (Hannah's little sister)

Drew

Reese

Quinn

From the kitchen...cupcakes. I saw the idea for rainbow cupcakes here and thought I would give them a try. I am very happy with the way they turned out.

By the looks of it I think the kids liked the way they turned out too. I also served ice cream cups instead of buying ice cream in the tubs and this was the best ever! We didn't have to hassel with scooping out ice cream for each child.

Jamison was reading...all of her cards. She was just so adorable as she read each one. You could just tell that she genuinely cared about the words. She even hugged one of the cards because she thought it was so nice.

I was praying...to relax during that party. I have a tendency to get all worked up during parties because I was then to go well. I prayed that morning to God to give me patience and not to worry about the little things. It's a good thing I put in that request because there was a little mishap.

See, I came across this post about a this mom giving her daughter a pizza party. In the post it showed putting something down on the baking sheet to write each child's name so that you'd know who each pizza belonged to. So we put down wax paper (how many of you know where I'm going with this). As we're waiting at the table for the pizza my mom and Rondell come in to inform me that each pizza has stuck to the wax paper. So, off to Little Caesar's Rondell went.

At least they had fun making the pizzas.

The great pizza mishap of 2009.

I created...so many things for the party.

I made a rainbow banner. I've seen this idea all over blogland, including here. I decided to go with these colors and for it to say Party Time so that we can use it over and over. I used by Cricut to cut out each letter and to cut out the balloons. Rondell then laminated each square for me.

You can see here that I tied it together with ribbon.

I made a sign for our door using my Cricut for the letters and then made the little pizza to coordinate with the invitations.

I made menus for each child to have. They were able to check off what they wanted on their pizzas, what drink and which ice cream they wanted.

I was SO excited about the tags for the goody bags. I got the idea here to make little aprons. I had to play around a lot to get them cut out just right. I cut out two sheets of cardstock, making one slightly bigger than the other. In order to made the apron shape I wanted to use an oval punch, but I didn't have one. So, I ended up using a circle punch and just had to cut where it was too round (I don't know if that makes sense). I ended up getting the perfect cut out on one of my practice sheets and just used that as a stencil to cut out all of the other aprons. Then I used brads and ribbon on the top. Finally, I stamped it with my Yum Yum stamp.

I bought aprons (super cheap at Hobby Lobby) and used paint to write each child's name in his/her favorite color. I added the balloon to Jamison's apron.

Around the house...

Here's the table set up. I had each child's apron on his/her chair and the pizza toppings in bowls for them to make their pizzas.

They played pin the pepperoni on the pizza.

The finished product.

A few of my favorite things...

Jamison...all smiles before the party. She was so excited.

My sweet girl getting ready to make her pizza.

Caleb being a complete gentleman when Mila got there.

A sweet picture of Marja and Mila.

There's nothing like friends...Reese and Jamison.

This is by far my favorite picture. She just looks so happy.

Blowing out her 6 candles.

Jamison when she opened her gift from Hannah. Hannah made her some paper dolls and Jamison just thought that was so great. She gave Hannah the biggest hug.