Fabulous Felt Food!!

So this is what I have been working on lately. Christmas gifts for Aidan and for Abbie. It has been really fun. Take a look!

A pizza making kit for Aidan. He loves pizza and has a wooden pizza making kit at school. I thought it would be fun for him to have his own set - so I made it!

Little green pepper rings, olive slices, pepperoni (with tiny spices on top!), sausage, mushrooms, and tomato slices. The cheese is separate but the sauce is sewn onto the crust. Love it!!

Abbie's food is a set of swiss cake rolls, three carrots, and five chocolate chip cookies. I have pancakes and peanut butter and jelly in the making!

They will both get their food at Christmas. Abbie's food will be from me and Rick, and Aidan's food will be from his Sissy.

I can't wait to see how they like it!!

Halloween! (and other October stuff!)

It's Halloween! We just love this time of year. Here in Lexington, the trees are beautiful with color and some are almost bare from falling leaves. I guess the change started about a week ago. I swear it was an overnight event, all of a sudden it was Fall, gorgeous!

We have been gearing up for Halloween for about a week now too. It kinda snuck up on us - seems like everything is doing that lately! I didn't get the kids costumes in order until about Wednesday. I know, terrible mothering right? I tried to make up for it with fabulous costumes though!

Olivia wanted to be the Billie Jean Michael Jackson (more on M.J. to come!), but I couldn't get that together. So, her second choice was to be a Warrior cat. She has been reading this very popular book series about warrior cats, so naturally, that's what she wanted to be. We got a leotard and leggings, I got her some fur and we made fur bracelets and anklets. We added a tail, a nose and some ears and she was looking the part!

Aidan flip flopped all month about what he wanted to be. A dragon, a knight, a spider, Batman - it was hard to keep up! But, finally he made his decision. He wanted to be a WEREWOLF!! Oh no - HOW was I going to make that costume??! Thank god for the internet. I got some great ideas and, voila! He was a werewolf - check it out!

Pretty darn cute, huh?! He got so many compliments when we went trick or treating. And some folks got the whole werewolf show from him. Growling, howling, etc. They loved it and clapped and cheered for him!!

The kids, and us, had a great time. The temp was just chilly enough, the leaves were the perfect color, and while it was UK's Homecoming and their weren't as many kids out, it kinda felt like a Disney movie in our neighborhood.

We topped the night off with Mummy Dogs (hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough to look like Mummy's) and homemade pizza. The kids enjoyed helping with that!

Remember how I mentioned that there would be more on Michael Jackson? Well, Livi is obsessed with him. Rick took her to see the "This Is It" movie on Weds and she loved it. So did he, said it was really well done. Hopefully, I can see it too sometime. Then, on Friday night Liv and I went to a Lexington tradition - the Thriller walk!

Every year a dance co in town opens it's doors to anyone who wants to come and learn the thriller dance. Well we couldn't get it together enough to go to the rehearsals, but we did make a date to go watch the actual event.

It was so COOL! When we got downtown, there were so many people, I couldn't believe it. The parking deck that sits on Main Street was full of people looking over the edge on all levels. The streets were packed and, there were zombie bodies laying around the sidewalks and grassy areas!! Spooky!

We found a good spot and soon, it began. Running out of the Kentucky Theatre (old movie theatre on Main) came the Michael of the evening and soon, all those zombie bodies got up and walked into the street. The music started and they were dancin!! It took about 40 minutes for the whole gang of zombies to dance their way past us. It was so fun to see! I saw a lot of my students and Livi had some friends that were in it. It was a cool thing to see together.

Now, what will they want to be next year??

It's August!

Woa. August is almost over and we have already done so much this month! Olivia and Aidan started school, I have gone back to work, Rick is on a new path . . . and so much more!

Olivia is in 5th grade! She is thrilled and we are so proud. She has started off really well, she is involved in many areas of the school. STLP (morning show), Accelerated Math, Chorus, and Battle of the Books. And those are just her school related activities. She has also started Girl Scouts and guitar lessons will kick off next week.

Aidan is in PreK-2. He loves it when he gets there, complains before he goes! He is learning fast; ABC's, counting, good behavior, fun songs, etc. Everyday he surprises me with his knowledge! He is getting taller too, finally. That little boy face is changing into a big boy face. I can't believe he is 4 and a half.

I am back to work among other things. I am ready to start directing the Middle School musical, Annie and the Upper School Play, Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. Pretty soon, I will start building and painting the set too. I have had a couple of bites on my business expanding to a couple of boutiques. Nothing is set yet, but I am excited! I am also the leader of Olivia's Girl Scout Troop so that is going to keep me busy!

Rick is doing the house husband thing in addition to teaching at Asbury and subbing for Sayre and Fayette Co. He has been exploring his cooking abilities and has made some delicious meals!

So, that's August - I wonder what Sept will bring!

More Summertime!!

It's July, I know - for like, two more days. Where the heck has the summer gone!?! We have packed so much in this summer. It's been a blast. Here is what we have done, seen, accomplished.

1. Went to VA for 3 weeks!
2. Aidan learned to swim with water wings - he is very proud of himself.
3. Went to Nags Head for a lovely time with Grandpa Saint and Mimi.
4. Farmer's Market Hopped; Williamsburg, Toano, Yorktown.
5. Started a new business, SweetBrier Blooms!
6. Spent the 4th of July in Nags Head.
7. Went to the pool with the kids and Grandy.
8. Traveled to D.C. to go to the American History Museum.
9. Rick went to NYC to direct his first NYC show!
10. I went to NYC and saw Rick and his show!
11. We saw the Little Couple in NYC!!
12. I have been teaching a Drama class at the Sayre Splash Camp.

We have certainly done more than just those things, but whew, even that is A LOT!!

School starts in two weeks, so it will be back to the grind before long. Fall is just around the corner and then, well - I will write about that later.

Summer Time!!

Well, it's June now - I can't believe it, but it is. School is out and summer has begun. Our plates have been incredibly full, as usual! So lemme break it down for ya -

1. Livi was amazing in the talent show and her chorus concert!
2. Aidan has started Pre-K1.
3. Rick has begun the process of moving his offices to a new, hip location downtown.
4. I presented some really cool student made movies to the student body at Sayre and they <3 it.
5. We have already traveled to Texas and back again (amazing trip to see the family!).
6. Had a gig last night at Cheapside Park. Played to loads of people and had a BLAST!
7. Still waiting for Livi's report card but feel certain it will be outstanding.
8. I am officially on summer vacation and loving it!
9. Olivia got her EARS PIERCED!!
10. Aidan is finally outta diapers - woot!!

Of course, that is the quickie version of the last few weeks but that's all I can muster as I am standing over a skillet of bacon right now!!!

More to come . . .

Another Funny!

Aidan is really loving to hit the baseball lately. He and Daddy, and sometimes Sissy, get out there in the front yard and practive America's favorite past time. It's fun to watch them and even hear them from the kitchen! Rick says Aidan has a good arm. Could he be a bit biased? See for yourself and enjoy the video. Oh, and don't forget to mute the sound at the bottom of the page, then you won't hear the music. :)

Party Boy!

Aidan has been partying for the last two weekends!! And he has been loving it! This seems to be the birthday time of year for the kids in his class. He has had lots of invitations. Unfortunately we haven't been able to make all of them, but for the past two Saturdays we made the time for two.

The first was for a set of twin girls in Aidan's class, Bethany and Jadyn. He adores these girls and they are sweet. They came to Aidan's party and they returned the favor by inviting him to theirs.

Their party was at the Explorium. This is Lexington's Children's Musuem. It is fun and while Aidan had been there when he was a baby, he certainly didn't remember and this trip was all brand new to him!

He LOVED it! He absolutely ate it up. He wanted to do everything! I am not even sure he had a favorite section of the museum - he did it all. He was moving so fast I could hardly keep up - upstairs, downstairs, in this room and then that room.


The party started with a craft (making a drum), then cake, then play time. He was a bit crabby at first because he just wanted to get to playtime,
but pretty soon he was enjoying making his drum and visiting with friends. It was really well done and I think we are going to have his party there next year!

This past weekend Aidan was invited to his best friend Luke's party, again at the Explorium. This time, he knew the ropes and knew exactly which parts of the museum he wanted to go to and in what order. And, of course it had to be with Luke. Those two were joined at the hip!!

The craft for Luke's party was a magic trick. Well, not really but the kids thought it was. It was taking certain substances and mixing them together to come up with something new. They made slime and snow. It was so funny to see them mixing it up and not following directions!! Aidan, and most of the children, ended up putting all of the ingredients together so they had blue snowy slime! It was cute!

Playtime was fun. He discovered the bubble room and the Dino games on the computer. Aidan also enjoyed all of the waterplay, and he didn't even get that wet!

So, that's the story of Aidan's big weekend fun, times two. Things are gonna slow down for him this weekend - I wonder if he will notice!?