Photos From Fall

Lots of water has passed under the bridge since the last post. The munchkin is in 4th grade now, and our schedule is busier than ever! Here are a few photo highlights.

First day of 4th grade!

We had a sleepover for the munchkin's 10th birthday party. Here they are painting fingernails.

We had a mystery-themed party, and used the Slumber Party kit from Dramatic Fanatic. I highly recommend these party kits! The directions were very easy to follow and the girls had a great time. Check out the cute cake my friend made to go with the theme!

For Halloween, we decided to continue the mystery theme. The munchkin was Shirley Holmes, girl detective, and our beagle played the role of her trusty sidekick, Watsonya. I found the pattern for the costume at the Martha Stewart site, and I found a huge cut of houndstooth polyester for less than $3 at Goodwill! Can't beat that!

 

One of the biggest highlights of recent days was Mary Beth's tennis tournament win. First place in girls 10 and under at a USTA Satellite tournament!

She won 4 matches to win the trophy. In two of the matches, she lost the first set then came back to win the second set and ultimately a tie-breaker to win the match. I suspect that it was her "never give up" attitude that won the first place price. Later, I asked her about it. "Well," she said, "some kids get all frustrated when they're losing, and it makes them not play as well. I decided that I would not let it bother me, and I wouldn't get lazy. I should just keep trying my best."

Wish I could bottle that.

More Scenes From Christmas

We spent Christmas eve and day in Florida at my husband's brother's house with them and with their parents. We always enjoy Christmas on the farm with our family and all of the animals. Our dog Bella considers it a Lowe dog family reunion! Some of these photos have already appeared here, and some are new.

Elf Mayhem

The elves are here. Yep, I said elves. This year, we have not one, but two elves on our shelves. Ironically, this was the year when I thought maybe, just maybe, there'd be no elf.

"Mama, is Zippy real?" my 9-year-old munchkin asked just before Thanksgiving. "Suzie's mom told her that she was too old for an elf, and elves come from a store anyway."

I thought fast. "Honey, you've seen the Elf on the Shelf display at the bookstore, right? So, you already knew that you could get elves at the store."

"Yeah..."

"You know, some of your Santa presents come from stores, too. You knew that, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, just because something comes from a store doesn't mean that Santa isn't involved." I held my breath. I'm not sure if I was hoping she'd buy my explanation or keep asking more questions. I've been a little ambivalent about the elf from the beginning.

"Ohhhhhhh!"

Sigh.

So, why do we have two? It was Thanksgiving night, and we were staying at my parents' house. "I can't wait to see where Zippy is tomorrow morning!" said the munchkin at bedtime. Uh-oh. Zippy was still at his summer residence in back-home-closetville.

"Honey, Zippy usually doesn't come until Dec. 1."

"But, Millie said that her elf was coming the day after Thanksgiving. Why would hers come then and mine wait until December 1st? I'm 100% SURE he comes tomorrow!"

After she went to sleep, I asked my mom, "Don't you have an old little Christmas elf that was grandma's?"

"I think so."

"Can we look for it?"

"Oh, Lord, that stuff's all packed up in the storage boxes in the closet. We'd never find it."

The closet had boxes stacked to the 12-foot ceiling. The elf was in the 9th box.

There was a note from Santa the next morning. Turns out that Zippy took a kick to the head while helping Santa feed the reindeer.  He'd recover, but in the meantime, Scotty would be filling in. After a few days, Zippy and his bandaged head appeared with Scotty and they've been working together. We think Scotty might be an apprentice. He's a little less mature than Zippy and is sometimes discovered doing mischievous things like eating our chocolate chip cookies, riding on the Zhu Zhu puppies, or drinking syrup.

I'm thinking that there's just no escaping Santa's elves. There will probably be an elf in the house when she comes home from college.

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Welcome, blog hoppers!

Happy 9th Birthday, Munchkin!

Her actual birthday's still 19 days away, but thanks to other weekend commitments in the coming month, the party was today. It was a beautiful day for it, and we couldn't have asked for nicer girls. They were all so polite and well-behaved. One of them even said, "Wow, Mrs. Lowe, you did a lot of work for this party!"  I just love her! The pennant banner above was easy to make using scrapbook paper, an alphabet stencil, a marker, and some ribbon. I could have bought one, but this one's more special.

The munchkin opened her present from mama and daddy early after mama and Auntie finished decorating the cake. Since the theme of the party was "An Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social," we had some fun with the cake.

My poor photography doesn't do the cake justice. It was adorable! Tasted good, too. Again, we could have bought one, but then I we wouldn't have had the satisfaction of seeing (and tasting) something we did ourselves. Besides, sis-in-law and enjoyed making it together. I thought it looked great on my vintage milk glass cake pedestal.

I found some cute ideas on the internet using Starbucks Frappucino bottles, and adapted them for our party. It was really tough to drink all of those Frappucinos. (Ahem.) The round portion of the bottle label was free to print from the website Eat Drink Chic, and you can edit the words yourself.  I attached them to the bottles with clear packing tape. I ordered the straws here:  Pink Polka Dot Drinking Straws.

Our party started with chalk on the front drive. As the girls arrived, I had them draw their dream ice cream sundae. We had some quite interesting and large pictures to enjoy!

Next, we enjoyed an ice cream cone relay. The girls divided into two teams which they named "Ice Cream" and "Sprinkles." They took turns balancing a styrofoam ball on a waffle cone while they ran down around an obstacle and came back. We played for the best two out of three, and the winners got to be first in line for the food.

The girls really enjoyed playing a version of Duck, Duck, Goose that we renamed Banana, Banana, Banana, Split.

The girls created their own ice cream sundaes. I used some of my vintage Lu-ray pastels to hold the toppings.

All of the topping labels were found at Eat Drink Chic.

Since I'm a complete ribbon junkie, it was easy to use ribbon I had to create this ribbon topiary for the table. (Click here for instructions.)

There might have been just a little too much sugar at this party...

Of course, presents were next!

I found a bunch of ice cream cone containers of bubbles, so I let the girls take them outside and go crazy with them after the presents.

I send the girls home with gift cards from a local ice cream shop. I put each one in a glassine envelope and used a little wooden ice cream spoon as a tag. The printable tags that say "Thanks for Coming" are from Eat Drink Chic.

Labor Day Weekend Accomplishments

I did it! I accomplished enough to feel like I'm not behind, and at the same time, I had a lovely, enjoyable holiday weekend. In addition to the usual laundry, grocery shopping, and playing for church, I got a couple of clutter spots cleaned up, did some shopping for myself, caught up on some work for my piano studio, and spent most of Monday blissfully crafting in preparation for the munchkin's 9th birthday party next weekend.

We're having an ice cream-themed party for just a few girls, and I'm having a great time planning all the little details. I've found lots of inspiration on the internet. Here are a few photos that have sparked ideas:

Amy Moss at Eat Drink Chic

One Charming Party

I did a practice run on this cake last weekend. It turned out great! I'm not so good at piping that pretty edging, but my sister-in-law is, and she's coming up from Florida. Woo-hoo!

Living Locurto

A Little Loveliness

Amy Atlas at Sweet Designs

Amy Atlas at Sweet Designs

Bakerella

I'm seeing beautiful tablescapes, lots of vintage-style elements, custom labels, grosgrain ribbon, pretty paper straws, and everywhere a pennant banner. I'm incorporating all of these elements into the munchkin's party. I can't wait to share the pictures!

Camp Superfluous

Happy

Sad

               For reasons I still can't quite fathom, I am paying good money this week to send my 8-year-old drama queen to...

drama camp.

 

Afraid

Confused

Angry

Surprised


Next stop, Broadway!

Too Much Information

"Hello? Mrs. Lowe? This is the school nurse. I have your daughter here in the office...

          I am alarmed.

Now, I don't want you to be alarmed...

          I am very alarmed.

She was on the playground, and...

          OMG, I knew she was being far too brave on those monkey bars. She's probably fallen and cracked her head open. Is the ambulance on the way? Where are my shoes?

she caught a ball and it bent her pinky back...

          And it's broken. Is the bone sticking out? Will she still be able to play piano? Where is my other shoe?

and I think it's probably sprained a little, but it's looking much better.

          A sprained pinky? That's all? Oh, no, your voice sounds WAY too serious for a sprained pinky. Keep talking...

They called me down to take a look at it, and she was reluctant to let me see it. I tried to explain to her that it was just a little bruised, and that bruising was nothing more than a little bleeding under the skin..."

I interrupted, "I know where you're going. She passed out, didn't she?"

"Yes!" The relief in her voice was tangible. "I guess I just gave her too much information!"

The minute she said "explain," I knew. After I reassured the nurse that this wasn't the first time, I brought my baby home to rest on the couch and get over the embarrassment. I guess I can give up my dream of having a doctor in the family if the mere mention of blood knocks her out!

Poor kid, she gets it honestly. I didn't pass out over blood, but the nurses where I got my allergy shots learned to have me lie down first. The important thing is to never use the word, "faint." I hate that word. "Fainting" sounds so weak and pitiful, and it's terribly embarrassing when someone says, "She fainted." The only worse way to say it is "swooning." "Passing out" or "blacking out" is much better. That sounds like you had a serious medical event, and it's more likely to attract concern than laughter. Hey, you might as well get some attention for it! Whatever you call it, it isn't uncommon, but it can sometimes call for a trip to the doctor.  Read more here: When Children Faint. And, uh, somebody tell those folks at Duke Health to drop the F-word.