Uncle Gary comes to visit...

There isn't much that excites my kiddos more than having Jason's best friend Gary come in town (Especially when he brings Christina with him). This past weekend, we were delighted to play host to both of them, who made the trip out here to celebrate Kylie's 6th birthday. While wrestling around on the couch I snapped a couple pictures of the rascals. Enjoy!

This one is by far my favorite!

Beck trying to tickle Gary



Kylie and Christina, Ky was like a leech to her all weekend =)

Kylie's 6th Birthday Luau...

When I asked Kylie 6 months ago what she wanted to do for her 6th birthday, it was an automatic, "I want a Hawaiian party, mom!" Hmm....a luau in the middle of January????....well, alright then! We ended up renting our neighborhood club house for the extra space and I went to town preparing! However, with her birthday directly following the chaos that is Christmas, I was a little low on creative mojo and I had to do a lot of last minute to-dos!

The Invites: I had this SUPER CUTE idea I was going to do for invites. HOWEVER, they were tough to do and would have cost probably $50 in paper alone when all was said and done. The thrifty side of me (haha, yeah right, more like the little Jason that sits on my shoulder while I shop) told me to do the right thing. Besides, with about 35 invitations to make, I thought twice about all the work! I used a 50% off coupon at Michaels and got a set of 200 cards/envelopes for $10. I ended up using the cards for MUCH of the decorating as well as thank you cards. Although they didn't end up looking amazing, they worked, they were easy, and the paper was cheap!

Decorating: We had an hour in there before guests started arriving. I thought we would have been done decorating in like 20 min. Boy was I wrong, we were still going when the first kids arrived! My dad almost passed out blowing up balloons...by the end of the party, they were a big hit! What is it with 5/6 year olds and popping balloons? There wasn't a single one left once everyone was gone...

Craft time: I had two crafts planned. This is a shot of the sand art table. Kids colored beach themed pictures then filled the sand areas in with real sand. I think this was their favorite. At one point I looked over and the table had about 20 kids all crammed around hard at work decorating.

Tissue paper Hawaiian flowers: Alright, well this craft was kind of a bust. I did a practice flower before hand and it seemed super simple and fairly quick. Not sure if it was beginners luck or what, but none of them turned out very cute at the party and the kids had to have a lot of help, oh well, can't win them all =)

The AMAZING cookies my mom made for goodie bags. I actually had a mom email me after the party stating that the cookies were AWESOME and wanted to know what bakery we ordered them from....my mom ROCKS!

The cookies and some candy went in some sand buckets as party favors. Picked them up for $1 each and the cookies cutters for $4 total. I used left over cards from invites to make the tags.

The tags read, "Castles in the sand, down by the sea, a bucket for your shells, and your memories! Thanks for coming!"

This was a Pinterest inspired idea. I used the invite cards to make tags spelling her name. And then placed a pic of Kylie at 1 yr, 2 yr, etc. It was really neat to overhear everyone looking at them on their way in the door.

Greeting table where kids would get their lei on the way in and their goody bucket on the way out!

Cupcakes, once again, by my mom. They had a gum ball as a beach ball, parasail drink umbrellas (I got 200 count from OTC for $4) paper flip-flops, and sugar for sand.

The birthday girl in her lei, flower hair tie, hawaiian shirt and grass skirt! She had so much fun! My old college room mate Kelley was in town from Houston and was sure to stop by with an old grass skirt she had that Kylie was THRILLED to wear at her party.

Action shot during craft time...

Hard at work at sand art table...

What would a luau be without a little limbo? I wanted to rent the "Dance like a hula girl" DVD, but thought twice when Ky said she wanted to invite her whole class, including the boys.

Ms. Ashlyn showing off her tissue paper flower...

Give these girls crayons, glue, and sand and they're set for life!

Blowing out her candle...

A quick shot with mom and pops while decorating! I really couldn't have done it without them and the help of my sister. Uncle Gary and Christina were also crucial in terms of helping kids out with crafts and snapping pictures while I ran around like a crazy person!

Opening gifts...

Playing hot potato, or rather, hot coconut as we used two coconuts instead. We also played duck,duck, goose. but it was hula, hula, coconut.

All in all it went pretty well. WAY more kids showed up than RSVP'd. So I wasn't ready for that...resulting in a shortage of goodie sand buckets, which I had to then make more of and deliver the next day. Ky said she had a blast, and in the end, that's what maters.

Whew, now a chance to rest...well, at least for a few weeks, Stratton turns one next month...!

Silence is golden...

Its noon....and quiet. The boys happen to be on the same afternoon nap schedule..or is it that I MADE them go down together? What difference does it make? I don't hear a sound minus the rain on the window and the hum of the computer, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I believe everyone has their "thing." You know, the thing that helps you keep sane in this crazy world of parenting? For me, it has always been the few moments of peace I get each day. Or use to get. Ever since the boys schedules have shifted I've been going days without any "me time" It doesn't have to be a lot, an hour of time where I can do whatever I want, or sometimes nothing at all, can do AMAZING things in the way of recharging and refocusing. Is that selfish? Or is it proof that all day long, every waking minute, I'm thinking completely and entirely of the kids? Although something tells me that isn't so healthy either.

This morning I was watching Beck play with his cars while I fed Stratton in the kitchen. He picked up his big rig and said to the bulldozer, "Hello, how are you doing today dozer? Good? Yeah? You want to make parking lot? Yeah? Ok, let's go" At which point he started to line all the cars up.

And it hit me. He's growing up so fast. It seems like yesterday he was taking his first steps in the playroom, and now he runs around the house like a crazy man. I remember how terrified he use to be of the black cloth that hid beneath the wood chips at the playgroup and would occasionally pop up and dance with the wind. This material kept him away from the swings for a solid 6 months, if not longer. Now, he stands right on top of it as he waits to be lifted, without a second glance at the "monster" right beneath his feet.

Yesterday I let him sleep an extra half hour during his nap. BIG mistake. Last night, the clock hit 9 pm and he was still in his room talking gibberish and laughing at himself. At one point I heard him say, "Momma, I bump my head on bed. HaHaHa" Who knows what he was doing in there?

He's getting too big too fast. An extra half hour of nap is enough to keep him up way too late at night. I can no longer sneak a cookie into my mouth and tell him its nothing. He knows, and will invariably want one as well.

After dropping Sissy off at school this morning Beck told me he wanted to go. I asked him where, and he said he wanted to go to school. Why can't they stay little forever?

Two is a terrible age for MANY reasons, It is also one of the MOST AMAZING ages.

Beck, You are a HANDFUL...and then some. And I wouldn't trade any second of it for anything in the world!

This week...

This week I've been trying to get things marked off the to-do list for Kylie's birthday party next weekend, however, with the boys naps no longer lining up, there's always someone around getting into trouble and causing mischief....

I told him to strike a pose and he laid down on the floor and gave me this face....

He's on the move and into everything. His favorite is any sort of cord. Vacuum Cleaner, Computer cords....he could care less if its plugged in or not...he's also very obsessed with Ky's hula hoop currently....

Happy New Year...

We celebrated the end of 2011 with none other than the First Annual Alcorn Silly String War! Safe to say that Ky was the clear winner. She played with the stuff for an hour, long after all the cans were empty. Beck disliked every minute of it since the string comes out wet and sticks to you. He basically hid on the side of the room and watched... I love starting new traditions, however, next year we'll try and move this party outdoors. It was a beautiful sunny day at 70 degrees but for some reason we battled inside. Needless to say, I'm still cleaning up silly string from various parts of the house! I don't remember it being that messy as a kid, but then again, I was a kid, what did I care.....

Happy New Year from Stratton!

Ky tried to give J some "hair" by covering his head with silly string...

The champion...
Us right before the battle began. J tried to get an action shot. Ended up spraying me right in the eye, and didn't even get the shot. My eye was watering for the rest of the day...way to go honey...

The floor of the living room after the chaos...

Beck diggin' the noise makers...

Goodbye 2011...

Today is new years eve. The cusp of new beginnings for many people, hope for a new start, and a chance to right old wrongs. As I look back at the last year a few thoughts pop into my head...

Warp Speed: This time last year I was 7 months pregnant, physically miserable, mentally exhausted, and uncertain of how our family would handle the addition of #3. Today I am thankful for Stratton, the biggest of surprises that has turned out to be one of the most amazing blessings. But man oh man, how time flies by! In no time at all that baby boy will be turning one. And for the first time in a long time, our house will be empty of baby bottles, formula, and such. I can't go so far as to say that I'll miss it, but I will look back upon it with more of a faint, reminisent smile than I originally thought I would.

Appreciation: I have the most amazing husband. And if there's one thing I hope to do better at in the new year, it is to make more of an attempt to show him how much he means to me and to our family. He is my rock, and he should know how much he is loved and appreciated.

Blessings: We made it through the year relatively healthy all things considered. Stratton's birth, Ky's eyes, J's kidneys...the list could go on, we're not exactly what you would call a healthy family. But 2011 was good to us. It was the break we'd been looking for and desperately needing since before Beck's birth. In 2011, we breathed...usually with one kid on our hip, one pulling on our leg and the other calling for us from across the house, but still, we breathed. I LOVE the chaos that is our life. And I wouldn't change it for anything.

Heading into the new year I hope for more of what we already have. A house filled with laughter, a family filled with love, and a life filled with the Lord's blessings.

I have a feeling that 2012 will bring with it change for our family. And that's alright, we've been waiting for some of it. And even the unexpected change that is yet unknown, we'll dive in with our hearts strong, our heads clear, and our family close.

I hope the new year is good to you and yours, and I pray that you get everything your heart desires...and if you already have it (like I do) my wish for you is even simpler, I hope for continued satisfaction that fills your heart with joy and peace.

Cheers to 2011, and Welcome 2012

Merry Christmas

Jason and I were up fairly late on Christmas Eve getting ready for the morning festivities. We had to pull all the gifts down from the attic, fill stockings, and put together Ky's barbie house (which turned out to be one of J's worst nightmares). We got an early start to Christmas morning when Stratton was up and ready to get going at 5 am. By the time the other two woke up, he was ready to nap, which actually worked out nice because we were able to focus on the kids that understood what was going on, but as a result, he missed any pics that were taken (which wasn't much)...

proof that santa came! yeah, they're green grinch cookies...pretty yummy too...

Santa wanted to make sure the kid's didn't peek, so he wrapped their bedroom doors. Ky was so confused when she woke up. She ended up army crawling under it because she didn't know what else to do...
Final shot before heading to bed Christmas Eve...I know I have some pretty good kids....but I'm not sure they deserved ALL they got =)

Our attempt at getting the Christmas pj shot we take every year. Not very successful....as is evidenced by Stratton screaming...

We started the morning by praying and talking about why we celebrate Christmas, and then we sang happy birthday Jesus. After that, it was game faces on as opening began!

Ky ripping into her doll house..

Beck checking out the dump truck Uncle Keith and family got him...

Kylie very happy to pose with her new "I can be: Bride barbie set"

Cars backpack, what a BIG BOY!