circus

For Christmas we got Jane a box of circus animal crackers and wrapped up some tickets to Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey Circus to go with them.

This was pretty amazing:

(video is also here if the above doesn't work)

Jane loved the "flying" girls. They were wearing glow-in-the-dark costumes and they were so high up that it was easier for her to see.

I think Jane had as much fun eating as she did watching the show. Check out her pretzel. It was bigger than her head!

Our Circus Selfie

Josh was the funniest with his intermission question.

I'm glad we got to go! It's so much fun being a parent and watching your kids be amazed. We are so fortunate!

Our #DisneySide Valentine's Party {+ giveaway}

The kids and I were so excited to host a Valentine's Party to show off our #DisneySide!  I was selected to be a host of a Disney Side @Home Celebration! The idea behind the party was to bring our love of Disney Parks to life. We decided to let our Disney Side shine by hosting a Valentine's party for our family and friends of all ages on Friday evening.

My sister graciously offered her house for the party and I quickly made up some invitations on HP Photo Paper with @MyPrintly. So easy and adorable!

Next we started gathering our Disney things.  I ordered a cake pop maker from Bon Ton and with Shop Runner I got it shipped overnight for free. It made the cutest brownie pops!

We had a fun filled prize table for the guests who participated in the games.

As guests started arriving they got to check out the prize table and talk with one another before we started snacking.

Here is a picture of the food table. Lots of goodies for Valentine's Day and plenty of Disney themed food! We had kettle corn, heart bell peppers and strawberries, Mickey tie-dye cake, Mickey pizzas, and Mickey brownie pops.

The Mickey Mouse pizzas we made disappeared quickly.

and the Mickey Mouse tie-dye cake was a huge hit as well!

At the party we played hot potato with a stuffed Lightning McQueen. This game was great for laughs.

A few guests tested their knowledge with Disney Trivia questions.

One of the sweetest things that happened was when my cousin's son got so excited he'd won a prize that he started jumping up and down. He ran to the prize table and gleefully chose a bottle of princess nail polish and ran back to show his dad. He dad started laughing that he'd chosen nail polish from all of the prizes on the table, but then he excitedly exclaimed, "It's for Mom!" So sweet!

We played Pin the Nose on Olaf (I used this printable to print it poster size).

We played Disney Bingo.

We made Valentine's Day cards for Ronald McDonald House like I mentioned here.

A few guests completed Disney themed activity sheets and coloring pages.

This was so much fun that it might become an annual event in our family. Everyone loves Disney and Valentine's Day is a good time to get together for silly games and treats.

Check out the many ways you can host your own Disney Side @Home Celebration here. There are some really cute ideas!

In addition, if you weren't able to attend I still have several Disney themed prizes leftover from our prize table. I'll select a name on Friday night and the winner will receive a prize pack full of Disney stuff from Disney Parks, Mom Select, and myself. Use the widget below for your chance to win. Good luck and happy Valentine's Day, friends!




Disney Side Prize Pack

Winter Jam 2015

Are you going to Winter Jam?  We are and we're so excited. It will actually be the kids first real concert and I'm a little anxious to see what they think of the experience. I'm so thankful that we have the opportunity to do this with them and thrilled that their first concert will be a Christian show.

The show this weekend in Greensboro starts at 6 pm but doors open at 5 pm. If you're not local you can check out the other tour dates here. There are shows through the end of March. Tickets are only $10 and there's a whole slew of artists that will be performing including For King and Country, Jeremy Camp, Building 429, and Francesca Battistelli. I think I'm most excited about hearing "Fix My Eyes."

You really can't beat a concert for $10 especially with a line-up like this. If you're going and you see me, please stop me to say, "Hi!" It's going to be a lot of fun!

Full disclosure: Family Christian was kind enough to send us two free tickets to attend the event. We plan to purchase additional tickets at the door.

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Don't forget I have a giveaway going on here that ends today.

stories

Jonathan was telling the kids about the Superbowl last weekend because Josh asked what it was. Josh also asked who he wanted to win. So he explained that he would pull for the Seahawks for several reasons but mostly because of Russell Wilson being a former NC State player.  Josh didn't know who that was so Jonathan told him that he was a quarterback. Of course then Josh wanted to know what a quarterback was and before Jonathan could really answer, Julianna chimed in that a quarterback is the type of dog that Bella is.

Jonathan and I were flabbergasted for a minute. I suppose I have to connect the dots here. My sister's dog Bella is a Labrador Retriever which I think in Julianna's brain sounds like wide receiver, hence quarterback = black lab.

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Another Superbowl related story:
We went to a restaurant where the television was showing a basketball game. Josh looked up and said, "Mom, I think that's the Seattle Seahawks on TV!"

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Josh was telling Julianna a story. I don't remember what it was about. I only remember the bit about "those black and white TV shows... like from the eighties."

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From the backseat of my car I heard, "Oh knuckle nuts!"

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At the circus as intermission was beginning I stood up and told the kids, "Let's go find something to eat." Josh's reply was simply, "But are they going to pause the show?"

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up to

reading - 
I've just finished Siblings Without Rivalry which is a book about how to help your kids get along. I didn't realize (I guess ignorantly) how much influence I had over this as a parent.  I'm also getting ready to start Unbroken and will have a review up for that this weekend. Next on my list include a book by Jen Lancaster and The Unwanteds which I've heard is a good cross between The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Although we all know that no book can compete with those two, I'm willing to try to find one.

hosting - 
My #DisneySide party is coming up this weekend. I'll write up a complete post next week but I am so excited getting all of the preparations done this week. The anticipation of seeing everyone enjoying the party is killing me and we got these adorable Mickey Brownie Pops that we've been practicing. So much fun!!!

thinking - 
I wish I could do this again. It was so much fun when Jonathan and I went before but I just don't know when we'd find the time to do it over the next couple of months. Life is just so busy sometimes! It would really be fun to do with a group of girls too so maybe I'll plan for it sometime in advance and see if anyone wants to come.

wearing - 
My mom, sister, and husband all ganged up on me because they were tired of seeing me wear my LL Bean coat from Christmas 1994 and they bought me an early birthday gift... a new coat! It's so nice and fluffy and much more in style than my previous one.

celebrating - 
We've been celebrating a week or two of no 3rd grade projects plus super duper report cards at our house. We used to let Julianna pick a fun activity to do to celebrate her good grades but the past couple of times we've given her money for them. It's working pretty well, I think, and it gives her the opportunity to celebrate whichever way she wants.

considering - 
I keep thinking about running this 24 hour race in May. Some friends of ours have done it before and are recruiting a relay team to run for 24 hours. You camp in a field and run as many 5k loops with your team as you can in 24 hours. Sounds fun but I don't know if I can convince Jonathan and scrounge up the $100 registration fee.

what I'm loving Wednesday (a day late)

We'll be making these at my upcoming #DisneySide party but I'd like to share the link in case any of you wan to participate as well. The Winston-Salem Ronald McDonald House is asking for Valentine's Cards for the families that are staying there. Many of them are dealing with difficult circumstances and their family is split because of it. They might not be able to spend Valentine's Day with all of their loved ones and a card just might bring a smile to their faces. Please consider making a few extra Valentine's cards this week and sending them to the address below.

The Ronald McDonald House of Winston-Salem
419 S. Hawthorne Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27103

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Julianna showed this one to me. All I have to say is EXCELLENT! Well worth the three minutes to view.




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I love my church and if you're local I really don't have enough words to describe how much I think you should come. We're kicking off a new small group called Summit Runners and if you're a beginning or an advanced runner who has a passion for fellowship with other Christians then you really should come check it out. There's more info here and if you're totally not interested in Summit Runners then I encourage you to check out all of the other small groups that are starting up.

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Another running link: You still have time to join a winter training program with Fleet Feet. Here's a $20 off coupon that's about to expire next week. The programs that are about to start are great for beginners. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The accountability that you get from group fitness is incredible and the friendships you'll form by being a part of one of these programs are priceless.

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BONUS: I love how Jane says quadrilateral. Check it out.

a quick letter

Dear Julianna,

I'm writing you because I have some things I want to tell you. If I told you these few things that I've been thinking about you'd likely just roll your eyes. My words would probably fall on deaf ears because you're at the age where you're starting to realize mom and dad don't always know everything. You're beginning to believe that you might know a bit more about some things than we do and I know that'd only going to get worse as you get to be a teenager. At any rate, I want to tell you a few things I've learned.

I've learned that when you're 35 or 36 or 37 your worth doesn't come from other people. Your worth comes from yourself. No one can say how good you are or how worthless you are except you. Don't let other people determine how you feel about yourself. There's a reason God made you just the way you are and remember that He doesn't make mistakes.

I've learned that the best thing you can do in life is just be kind to people. Love others just the way you would want to be loved. You'll be amazed at how much easier it makes all of your relationships. If other people see that you are just plain kind, they'll want to be near you.

I've learned that confidence is worth a million bucks and a million bucks is a LOT. If you don't think you can hit a home run then you probably won't, but somehow if you begin to believe that you can run a marathon then you can. It might be natural to think that you can't do some things as well as others, but fight the urge to believe that. Believe in yourself and you can do whatever you want.

I've learned that it may seem like one of the most important things in life is to have a lot of friends, but it's not. Being popular doesn't guarantee happiness. The most important relationships are the ones that are honest and true. Just be the best you that you can be and your relationships will happen naturally.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

I certainly don't know everything, Jules, but I do know these things. Your 35-year-old self will look back on your almost-9-year-old self and wish you had known that your worth comes from you, that kindness is valuable, that having confidence is key, and popularity is not. I pray that God helps you grown and learn and that you become all that He made you to be.

Love you, Doodlebug!
Mama