Now, before my phone starts ringing off the hook with calls from grandmas, aunts and anyone else who is under the spell of Tad’s baby blues, let me just say that I adore my sweet boy. He has me wrapped around his chubby little finger in such a way that it will rip my heart out when he heads off to kindergarten. Just thinking about it tears me up even now.

But in the cute and innocent ways of any clever toddler, Tad can be “bad.” My eyeglasses are tweaked because he seems to be able to get to them, no matter how well I think I’ve hidden them; furniture, walls, window sills, and my tile floors are “decorated” with his graffiti; we’ve had to lock our trash can in the pantry because he threw away the remote to the television, which we didn’t realize until AFTER trash day came and went.

Still don’t believe me?

Well, yesterday, the kids and I visited a cool new grocery store in the area, and when it came time to load our purchases in the car, I couldn’t find my keys. I knew that I hadn’t locked them in the car. I distinctly remembered pushing the button on the remote to lock the car as we walked into the store.

I tore apart my purse, searched all of our pockets, took every purchase out of the cart, scoured every aisle of the store, had nearly every employee of the store scouring every aisle, had several other customers scouring every aisle, positioned Ariana and a clerk outside within view of the car in case someone found the keys and tried to steal my vehicle, said multiple prayers, and was on the brink of breaking down and having to try and reach BT (a nearly impossible task when he’s in church meetings) to help bail me out.

But then, as I was about to drown in the depths of despair, I heard a still small voice utter words in a language that only a mother can understand–“Ka. Ka.” (English translation = “Car. Car.”)

“What did you say?” I asked Tad.

“Ka, Ka,” he answered as he tugged at the collar of his shirt. And then the light bulb went on. I fished my hand down his onesie in a way that only a mother can, and to the relief of myself and everyone else around me, I extracted the missing keys.

I should have thought to look there sooner, as that is his trademark hiding place these days. In fact, just a few minutes ago as I was changing his diaper to put him down for a nap, I found a Polly Pocket and a few of her little clothes. And a few weeks ago, Ariana shot an amusing video of him dancing after putting dominoes down his onesie:

Never a dull moment, I tell you. Never a dull moment.

Vivi has always been a girly girl, and you’ll hear no complaints from me about that.

I grew up in no-nonsense home without ruffled socks, princess panties, bows, or puff sleeves.  I never had a “friends” birthday party.  My clothes were clean but far from the frilly frocks that I yearned for.  Rough life, I know. 😉 And so I’ll admit that, now I’m a mom, I tend to go overboard in the fancy department.

Vivi’s birthday this year was no exception.

But because “fancy” doesn’t have to mean “expensive,” it was actually one of the cheaper birthday soirées I’ve hosted.

I whipped up matching skirts for the girls with clearance fabric from Fabric.com (I continue to LOVE my new serger), paired them with hot pink tops from Target clearance racks.  Total approximate cost, including the shirt = $3.50.  Other party favors included “fancy” accessories like sunglasses, jewelry, and tiaras from the Target $1 aisle.

We had a visit from Fancy Nancy and then the girls did a coffee filter butterfly craft, ate buttermilk pancakes (shaped like dress up items–used an old Williams-Sonoma pancake shape set I’d picked up on clearance a few years ago) with homemade strawberry syrup and whipped cream, blew bubbles outside, and then had parfaits (ice cream sundaes with lots of fancy sprinkles) for dessert.

Lastly, as a follow-up to the party, I made a ‘Thank You Card’ CD with three Fancy Nancy audio books on it, complete with a custom CD case cover that included a picture that I took of each sweet little girl posing with Vivi at the party.

A few days later, we quietly celebrated Vivi’s birthday as a family, and she received some stuff to work/play in the garden with Dad!  (He’s determined to make sure she has “balance” and doesn’t turn out to be too prissy).

I hope you had a happy birthday, Miss Vivi. As you like to say … we love you all the way up to the top of Cinderella’s castle and back … and then some.

“No matter how long the winter,
Spring is sure to follow.”
~Proverb

“But who needs spring
When winter has been so fun?”
~Tolbert Children

… and the reason why the family blog has not been updated in weeks.

When I woke up this morning, then there was snow.

And a lot of snow came so I could get to play outside.

I played outside with Dad. We built a snowman.

But the snowman falled down. When he falled, it was a bad time.

We putted marshmallows in our hot chocolate.

Tad was on the table eating the marshmallows and he putted the marshmallows in his cereal.

Later, I went out and built another snowman, but the other one was BIG … like THIS BIG.

Tad bit his lip.

Why did the snow come today?

Why didn’t you build a snowman with me, Mom?

Why did Dad wear my hat that Heidi made me?

Why was there only a little bit of vanilla wafers?

My mom loves me.

The end.

At church on Sunday, Tad was creating quite a stir. And I’m not just talking about the loud, piercing screams that he loves to produce at the most inappropriate moments. I’m talking about the MANY people that stopped in the hall as they walked by us and commented on how long Tad’s hair at gotten. The remarks ranged from the blunt “You’ve GOT TO cut that kid’s hair!” to the more subtle “Oh, look at that cute little mangy mullet he’s growing.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I KNOW that he needs a hair cut. But the thing is, I don’t know HOW to cut a little boy’s hair, and I’m NOT about to pay someone to do it.

Thankfully, a dear friend, Cheryl Underly, came to my rescue yesterday. Her husband had been standing near me and the Tadster in the hall and overheard many of the remarks.  He proactively suggested that his wife call and help me give little Goldilocks a trim.

I’m loving his new “little man” do, but I’m not ready for him to grow up.

He looks a lot like pictures of my dad when he was this age, I think …

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I KNOW that if I’m not complaining about how much trouble the little guy is, I’m complaining that he’s growing up too quickly. 🙂

My supremely talented sister, Heidi Ho, recently crocheted a darling little hat for Miss Vivi. From the moment that the hat came out of box, it has been a favorite of Tad’s.  Ho, here’s the picture I’ve been promising you:

I recently received an email from a friend requesting help in supporting Pediplace, a local non-profit organization that provides health care to children from low-income families.

Pediplace needed volunteers to create little Valentine Treat Bags to provide to the hundreds of children they would treat over the coming week.  This project brought back memories of a sweet care package we received from the Junior League of Plano when Baby Tad was in the NICU following his birth.  It was a draining time, and the thoughtfulness of unseen angel volunteers was touching.  Seeing this as an opportunity to pay-it-forward, I signed up to make 30 little goody bags.

I am not a fan of store-bought Valentines … especially not for this type of project … so I set out to design my own. I created the file in Adobe Illustrator and then cut it out of cardstock on my new Xyron Wishblade (a GREAT find at http://www.tuesdaymorning.com).  The scalloped heart is “sewn” with red and white baker’s twine, a new favorite of mine. The white scalloped heart is then layered on top of a larger red scalloped heart and attached to the top of a small treat bag containing a few pieces of wrapped candy.

And now in the spirit of full disclosure, here’s the rest of the story …

It’s past lunchtime.

Baby Tad is awake from his nap upstairs and wants to be rescued.

Cold cereal is scattered all over the kitchen floor.

I am still in my pajamas.

I haven’t brushed my teeth.

Vivi has reminded me that I “don’t look pretty.”

Speaking of Vivi, she is running around in her underwear.

Speaking of underwear, if I want to wear clean underwear today (assuming that I actually get a shower) here’s what my next project needs to be:

I do.

More than I care to admit. (Think BIG numbers)!

I honestly don’t know why I love buttons so much, especially fabric covered buttons, but they are definitely one of my current craft obessions.

This calendar I finished up today (based on a pattern from the book I Love Patchwork!) was the perfect way to curb my craving for quilting (everything came from my stash!), linen, stamping and buttons.

The buttons, each covered in a small scrap of fabric and stamped with a number from one to thirty-one, attach with velcro, making them easy to rearrange each month.

The months are stamped on linen twill tape and also velcro on.

I love the rush that comes from finishing a project!

Last night, we quietly celebrated BT’s birthday with a dinner of yummy waffles cooked on my (I mean, “his”) his new waffle iron. When he asked for waffles for dinner, I seized the shoppertunity and bought “him” the rotating waffle iron that I’d had my eyes on for years but could never quite justify it.  Too bad he didn’t request a steak for dinner … we SOOO need a new barbecue.  🙂  Father’s Day?!?!

Vivi presented him with a shimmery male beta fish which she named “Lauren” or “Elizabeth,” depending on her mood. Trying to explain that her (I mean, BT’s) fish is a boy was an exercise in futility.

Ariana sewed him a Mickey Mouse pillowcase and compiled a list of clean jokes that she figured he could use as source material to spice up his stake conference talks.

But the gift that garnered the most oooh’s and aaaah’s (and is frankly something that I would consider running back into my burning home to salvage, once I was certain that my family was safe) was a GORGEOUS, INGENIOUS, FANTABULOUS shadow box that holds a digital picture frame.

(Link to the Etsy store: http://www.cherishedexpressions.etsy.com.  The shadowbox frame was a custom order).

I love the idea of digital picture frames, but they tend to look too “modern” for my tastes.  I think that this shadowbox concept is an ideal solution.  It gives classy substance to the frame, and the customizable quote in vinyl lettering truly enhances the experience of watching family memories come to life across the digital screen.