My New Cutting Table

Hubby managed to finish one last project before he abandons us leaves for TAD.  One day before we are set to drive to Texas (yes you read that right, we're doing a 3 day drive with 3 kids), Hubby finally finished my quilting/cutting table!  Yay!!  I have been waiting years for one.  It didn't take him years to build it, although it seems like it to me, I've just wanted one for that long.  He designed the table and made it to my height so I don't have to kill my back cutting fabric out when I'm working on a quilt.

My new table with one side folded down (ignore the mess in the background)

He made the table on wheels so I can easily move it when he's gone.  There is a wing on either side of the center console that can be lifted up to create as much cutting/table space as I want.  When I want to save room, I simply fold down both sides and roll it to the side of the room.  It can hold all my cutting mats without having to worry about them getting bent, and has three cubbies for whatever I feel the urge to stash there.  I'm thinking I'll find some nice baskets to put there.  As of right now the cats seem to think the cubbies are for them.  Hubby did an awesome job and I can't wait to start using it!

Nine Lives

It's a good thing cats have nine lives.  Apparently Boo's are going to need them.  I walked into her room to find this:

She thought it was hilarious and left them there all night as a weird sort of decoration.  I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not.  Will have to keep a close eye on her when she's around our real cats.  :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Mr. R has been looking forward to Kindergarten graduation for weeks now.  We've been practicing his songs and poems for the ceremony at home for weeks.  They took graduation pictures close to a month ago and I couldn't wait to see him walk across the stage and get his "diploma".  Unfortunately Hubby wasn't able to attend the ceremony so that left me with two cranky little girls as companions.  Boo was cranky because she didn't get to participate in the graduation and Hiccup because it was interrupting her nap time. 

The Kindergartners paraded in and filed on stage to perform their songs and poems they had practiced.  Super cute! After they all sat back down the principal gave the parents five minutes to come up and take pictures of the kids while they where sitting down before they started handing out diplomas.  Then they were called one by one to the stage to get their "diploma".  The school had set up several picture stations in the hallway so that parents could take pictures of their graduates.  I thought that was really thoughtful of them and was really glad for it.  Otherwise I wouldn't have much to show for the day.

I had to stand at the very back of the cafeteria during the ceremony with Hiccup in the baby carrier because she wouldn't let me sit down.  I attempted to take pictures as well as video but it didn't work out so well.  The video is alright if you ignore the crying baby that pretty much drowns out all sound.  The pictures were less than stellar because my flash didn't come on and Hiccup kept trying to pull the camera down. 

The graduate

Mr. R with his proud sister

After the ceremony the kids went back to their classrooms for a small party.  They got to keep their cap,  tassel and boutonniere.  Once in the classroom they were given their actual diploma which was in a really nice cover that included another graduation photograph.  Mr. R told me he had lots of fun and he can't believe he gets to go to first grade next year!

A Very Tangled Birthday

Boo's favorite princess is Rapunzel.  The girl is obsessed!  She was never a girly girl or into princesses until the movie Tangled came out.  Then that's all she thought about.  We didn't need to ask her what kind of party she'd like to have for her 4th birthday.  I did draw the line at a princess party though.  I told her that she would have to include the little boys she was inviting and make it a more gender neutral party.  So the result was a Tangled Painting Party.  If you haven't seen the movie, which I can't even fathom since I've seen it over a hundred, Rapunzel loves to paint and she paints every square inch of her tower.  I got on Pinterest to get some ideas.

We didn't really decorate for the party.  We thought it'd be lost on that age group and had so much to do that weekend with my mom visiting, Boo's last day of school, her dance recital, and the party that we took the minimalist approach.  The one decoration we decided to go with was Rapunzel's hair.  We bought a roll of yellow plastic tablecloth at Party City and Hubby hung it up from the ceiling and then dropped it down from the second floor.  Again, you have to watch the movie...  Boo loved it!  Hubby put it up during nap time so when she got up she was excited because Rapunzel had come while she was sleeping.

Rapunzel's hair wrapped around the ceiling

For the food we stuck with the painting theme.  Pretzel sticks were dipped in chocolate to look like paintbrushes.  We dipped Rice Krispy treats on a stick in icing to resemble paintbrushes as well.  And of course it wouldn't be a Tangled party without Rapunzel's tower.  The base is made out of styrofoam and a dowel rod.  I stacked iced cake donuts on the rod and topped it with a jumbo muffin and an ice cream cone that I painted with melted chocolate.  Then a little green frosting piped along the outside to resemble leaves and vines (humor me, I tried my best) and the tower was done!  We decided to serve cupcakes instead of cake because we thought it'd be easier to serve to a room full of 3 and 4 year olds.  Sticking with the painting theme we made painter's palette cupcakes.  Hubby had some leftover wood from a project and cut out a artist's palette big enough to hold the cupcakes.  Then we simply frosted confetti cupcakes with bright colored icing and arranged them on the palette.  Boo loved it and it was definitely the easiest birthday cupcakes we've made.

Blowing out her candles

For an activity that doubled as a party favor, we gave each child an 8x10 canvas.  Before they arrived we used vinyl letters to put their names on the canvas.  Everyone had their own palette of paints and free pick of the paint brushes.  Once they were dry you could peel off the vinyl letters and the child's name was in white.  We had some beautiful pieces of art when they were all done.

Of course, what's a party without a piñata?  Our kids have always had a piñata at their parties, but this was the first year that we had a store bought one.  Usually my parents pick one up at the San Antonio flea market, but now that we live farther away that wasn't really an option.  We bought a pull string kind because the picture was better but decided that we'd let the kids hit it because that's the fun part.  Hubby  hung it up using a ladder and curtain rod because we didn't have a very good tree branch available.  After the first few hits though it was obvious it wasn't going to work.  He was brave enough to hold it for the kids while they took turns hitting his fingers the piñata.

We sent the guests home with a set of watercolors that had an adorable note, courtesy of Pinterest, thanking everyone for coming.  Boo had a great time playing with her friends and is already planning her party for next year.

Dance Recital

Boo's dance recital might have been the most stressful event this year for me.  Fun? Yes.  Stressful? Most definitely!  Boo's been taking dance, ballet and tap, once a week since September.  Around April the dance teachers started to get worried because only one mom had volunteered to be a room mom for the recital.  I then got guilted into being the second room mom.  That meant dealing with nine excited and scared little girls ages 3-5 for four Saturday rehearsals as well as the dress rehearsal and recital.  Our group of girls did fantastic during rehearsals.  We never had one freeze or burst into tears like some of the other groups.  Instead we had costumes that had to be fixed (cowboy hats) and wouldn't stay tied (yellow ribbon belts).  

Lining up during dress rehearsal

The recital was held at the Opera House downtown.  No one was allowed cameras or video during the actual recital so if you wanted pictures or video you had to take it during the dress rehearsal.  I made Hubby come to the rehearsal with Mr. R and Hiccup so he could video. He gave the camera to Mr. R so the pictures from the rehearsal our courtesy of our six year old.  Mr. R apparently thought another group had better costumes because he had taken more of them then of Boo's group. Hubby said that Hiccup spent the time watching the dancing from her own private viewing area.  She apparently snuck behind the curtain and was watching in the pit with all the teachers.  After the rehearsal we went to the airport to pick my mom up who had flown in to see the recital. 

During the recital I did film as much as I could behind stage on my iPhone.  Probably still not allowed but with all the chaos backstage I figured no one would notice.  

Boo finding her number during dress rehearsal

Their ballet dance was "Pop Goes the Weasel".  Their tap dance was "Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl".  The girls had to change shoes and put on cowboy hats in between dances.  Thankfully their age group  didn't have a true costume change. We did have a little girl's shoe fly off during the recital and we had never gone over what to do if part of your costume falls off with the girls.  The little girl did run off the stage but we just quickly put her shoe back on and told her to go back and finish the dance.  She hesitated once and then took off.  I was so proud of her!  The only other thing that happened was the girls forgot to come off at the end of their dance when the next group (who preformed the exact same dance) came on. We did almost everything short of walking out on stage to get their attention before they finally heard/saw us and danced off.  I was so proud of Boo though.  During rehearsals her timing was always a little off but during the actual show she did fantastic!

Backstage and waiting to dance

A view of how little space our girls had

Boo is the second from the end closest to the camera.

Boo is the third from the end closest to the camera.  It's pretty easy to see her.

After Boo's class performed we went to a staging area and the girls had a party.  Just what they needed at 8pm, cake and cookies.  We were the last of our group to leave since I had to wait until every child was picked up.  When we finally found Hubby he gave Boo a dozen roses.  She was so excited and proud to get her very own bouquet!  She can't wait until next year.

Field Day

It's time for Field Day at Boo's school!  She normally doesn't attend school on Fridays, but since it is the last day of school for everyone they had a field day.   Pre-K graduation was first thing in the morning and Boo's class had two parts in the program.  After the graduation ceremony everyone headed outside for snack and field games.  They could move around at their own pace and after each game were allowed to pick a small prize.  Boo quickly raced through all the games.   

Egg race with Grandma looking on

Octopus ring toss

Sack race

We left early before lunch and the ice cream sundae party.  Boo was very upset to find out that everyone would be getting ice cream but her.  I wish we could have stayed but we had to get home to meet Mr. R's kindergarten bus.  I also didn't want to tire her out too much because tonight is her big dance recital!  It's a fun filled day and it's not over yet!