Bring it 2011!

I am not usually one to look back on a year and think "Wow! I sure am glad to see that one go." But I must admit that the year 2010 has not been a personal fave of mine. However, it sometimes takes the not-so-fab moments in life to bring out your personal best. We are determined to find the good in all these rather common yet difficult experiences.

We (Shan & I) felt many personal strains this year...emotionally, physically, and financially. We weathered an almost-layoff, but by the grace of God, Shannon found a great job in just the nick of time. With a job change and this DREADFUL economy we have learned to manage our money differently and "Dave Ramsey says" is the most frequently spoken phrase in our home. I suffered from (still am) some very annoying and sometimes debilitating health issues. I am hopeful that we can resolve those or at least get some relief in the new year. I have also had some personal struggles that I shared with all of you through my blog(s).

I was on a quest to get organized (still am) and even devoted an entire blog to it. That was WAY too much for me to keep up with. So I am learning that for me, organization is a state of mind. It's little steps everyday that keep me organized, not a few weekends or late nights of major tasks.

I have struggled with returning to work to not only help financially, but to use my $$education$$. We decided to continue making sacrifices to allow me to be at home with my boys. We also decided to focus on my home-based business for extra income and for a creative outlet. i have gained many new clients and loved serving my returning clients who continue to support me.

I had many worries about family members who were dealing with life changing issues. I am in the process of handing those worries to the only one who can truly handle them. I realized that sometimes problems are much bigger than we are and that's all we CAN do.

Don't get me wrong, there was lots of good in 2010, but the not-so-good was extremely prevalent and seemed to be the headliner of this year. Having to deal with all of these pesky issues has caused a great deal of frustration and anxiety in our house. BUT we are learning to trust God more than ever and listen to our hearts. Through fighting all this anxiety, we are praying more and counting all our blessings. We have leaned on our amazing families, realized who our true friends are, and have grown closer as a family. Also, in blogging about all this over the year I have met some fantastic "blog friends" who have also been super supportive. I just love this community!

We are going into the new year with positive attitudes and hope for a better year. We pray that all of you have a happy and safe new year's eve and that 2011 brings you much joy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

from What's Bakin'?

Let's get this Pawty Stawted!!!

As I stated earlier...I love planning my children's parties! Fulton has requested an ice cream social. So I got my wheels turning and went to my favorite place for some inspiration...the Internet! I created my inspiration board from some other great blogs and websites.

Ice Cream Social Inspiration Board



Photo credits:
Red and Blue Tissue Poms http://sweetlittleparties.blogspot.com/2010/09/win-happy-birthday-to-me.html, Balloons http://www.simplybabystuff.com/brownblue.html, Invitations and Toppings http://katelandersevents.blogspot.com/2010/03/ice-cream-birthday-party-for-boys.html, Tablescape http://rufflesandbells.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/woodsy-poppy-red/, Take-Home Treats http://sugarshop.typepad.com/sugar_shop/2009/02/rice-krispy-treat-pops-tutorial.html, Cupcake Toppers http://thetwosavvysisters.blogspot.com/2010/06/new-party-collectionvintage-baseball.html, Ice Cream Tent http://www.dandydonsicecream.com/

I was blessed with S and F being born right smack dab in the middle of college football season. So we either have to do parties on "off" days or Sundays. So we chose the Sunday following F's birthday. I used my Mom Agenda planning section to get me started.

The Details
Date: 9/12
Time: 2:30-4:00
Where: Our house
Menu: Cupcakes, Ice Cream Sundaes, Toppings- sprinkles, jimmies, cherries, crushed oreos, chocolate chips, gummies, m&m's, sugar wafers, cherries, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, whipped cream, Beverages- bottled water, red and blue kool-aid
The Decoration Ideas
Color scheme: Red, white, light blue, and brown- fabric/tablecloths, paper pinwheels, tissue pom-poms, napkins, bowls, spoons
Games and Favor Ideas:
Pin the cherry on the sundae, cherry on the spoon relay; ice cream scoop, ice cream foam pop-gun, or rice krispie pop
(We actually decided against games because it was forcasted to be very hot and it was a shorter party. And party favors...Sometimes I think parents throw away plastic toy party favors as soon as the child goes to sleep and it ends up being a waste of money. So we went with the rice krispie treat pops.)

Ice Cream Social Event Board

(Click photo for larger view)

Left to right: cupcake tree, autograph mat (Each MM has one from every birthday. They are my favorite mementos and I hope they'll be theirs too.), treat basket and treat, personalized water bottles and kool-aid on ice, toppings, wagon with gifts, invitation by Letter Bugz, blowing out #5, cupcake toppers and ice cream tags, paper pin wheels lining the walk to greet guests, tissue pom-poms suspended from ice cream tent.



This is what we ended up with! F loved it and was so excited when he walked outside to see the staging. He said. "Wow! This is MY party!" I was very pleased with how it all came together.

 

Practically Yours,

An update

A simple equation for my readers:

+

+

=

I am a speech therapist by trade and a stay at home mom by the grace of God, the hard work of The Yard Man, and the little sacrifices we make as a family. In an earlier post I was struggling with how I could use my degree and still be at home with my MM's. I also want to still be able to use my talents and keep my creative juices flowing. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!?!

Which leads me to my update on a few things...

# 1- So I have been researching part-time speech therapy prospects and have a couple "in my pocket goin' jing-a-ling-a-ling". (Go on...I hear ya...sing it sista.---I loved that song.) The extra cashola sure would be nice and it would keep my foot in the do' for future speech gigs. Not to mention with these particular prospects I would be available for my little MM's. I just gotta keep praying one of them will work out.

# 2- I have been trying to revamp my business website Letter Bugz Social Stationery! I have decided to move away from stationery and focus more on my themed invitations with coordinating thank you notes, favor labels, and address labels, as well as photo cards. I will also be adding children's birthday party services soon. These will include a variety of services such as; custom invitation packages, inspiration boards, handmade decor, and full-service party planning for a WIDE range of budgets! I have been praying for a while now for God to help me use my talents in a way that others may also benefit and the LORD knows how much I love planning fun parties and entertaining! So, I am going to give this a shot and I am hoping He will give me the strength and knowledge I need to get this up and running. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, so I also hope I can count on your support and prayers as I dive in to something new.

# 3- On an organizational note: Daily I think about how much I enjoy planning parties and celebrating birthdays. But at least three times a year I am reminded exactly how much I LOOOOOOOVE it! Well it's one of those times of the year. Tomorrow, September 9th, is MM2's 5th birthday. I can't believe it! About a month or so ago, I asked MM2 what kind of party he'd like. He said he wanted an Ice Cream social! So I have been hard at work shopping around for specials on supplies for DIY decorations and all the party necessities! Details to come!!!
 I have been plundering through photos of the past 5 years to include in MM2's celebration of life presentation at school. This reminded me that back in the summer I began organizing all my printed photos from 1974 to present and got stuck somewhere in the early 2000's. I need to get on it again! I was on a mission and I have fallen off the wagon. But Hobby Lobby and Target have great stylish photo boxes for storage and I bought a few last time they were on sale. Organizing photos makes projects like this very easy...only MM2 was born in 2005 and I didn't make it that far in "operation photo organization".

Any who...just an update.

Practical Tip- I am trusting in the Lord. He knows me best of all and it will work out the way it is supposed to!

Practically Put- Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6

Practically yours,

Football and Birthdays

Sambo and our precious neighbor Michaela before a game and Foo at his first tailgate


This time of year is awesome! The smell in the air, a roaring stadium, football tailgate parties and so on. But October is also a very busy birthday month for us.

I chose to get married in June in an effort to avoid football season. Now, we are quite the "Cocky" family but some how I managed to deliver 2 children right smack dab in the middle of football season!!!!!!! Sam will be 4 on the 15th. Fortunately, I have good connections with head man at USC who offered to always make sure Sam gets the off-weekend for his birthday.
(PLEASE!!!) So I guess it could be worse...like the Clemson weekend. Anywho, I am throwing a fabulous Superhero party and hosting his first all boy party. I created his invitation (and Fulton's 1st Birthday---that's one of my pots, as you may have read in an earlier post~). He is growing up so fast!!! He is totally in to Superman Spiderman Batman ETC...

This party planning thing can really cause a headache. My friend Allison and I hashed every possible pro and con for Saturday vs. Sunday parties, early vs. late, and Adults/Children vs. Children only parties. We're shooting for Saturday mid-afternoon. If both parents come great, if not that's great too.

Back to the Gamecocks...Fulton is attempting a right of passage in our house. "Go Cocks" is on the tip of his tongue. If the blogger had the IPA I would transcribe it for you. But it sounds something like "Gu Ku" short "u" sound (schwa sound-for those of you who had Sister Cecilia at good ol' St. Joe's for phonics or for all my Speech Peeps out there). Okay...Rambling is over and it is almost bed time. More later.