6 years

Lee and I first met almost 8 years ago on an online dating site. After a week or so of talking we met in person for the first time at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. After a little more than one year of dating we got engaged, and at just under 2 years of dating we were married. About a year and a half later we had Raya, and then 18 months later came Brielle!

This Saturday is our 6 year wedding anniversary, and we are just as cute as ever, if I do say so myself :-)

Here are some more favorites of mine from our family session last weekend (I love black and whites, so there are a lot ;-)

Here's to 6 more years! (But no more kids :-P)



And lastly, just a friendly reminder about my Discovery Toys party going on right now! One of my bloggy friends already ordered and told me she already got notification that it's shipped! So talk about nearly instant gratification :-) Anyone can order (you don't have to know me personally or anything!) ...just follow this link and order like it's a normal website--my party will automatically get credit for your purchase. (I have to get a certain number of orders to actually get credit for having a party, but if we do I'll have to girls come up with a very special blog post thank you for everyone :-) Then your goodies show up on your doorstep! I'll warn you though, it may take great restraint to wait until Christmas before playing with them.

Also as a heads up, there is a "while supplies last" section as well...so if you order early you could get your hands on one of many fun toys before they are gone forever! Here is one of my favorites from that section:

Color Clowns ---it teaches colors and color mixing! (Mix red and blue to make....?) Love it

You need to check out these toys --- Great Xmas ideas for all ages!

Ok, ok....normally I hate those "parties" ...you know, when you get invited somewhere and end up buying things you didn't want or need but you were at the person's house eating snacks and felt guilty leaving without purchasing anything :-P

BUT

one of the few parties I actually have had fun at was for Discovery Toys...they sell awesome educational toys and games for all ages, and recently one of my friends started selling for them. When she asked if I would host a catalog party I thought that with Christmas coming up there might actually be a lot of my blog readers who were looking to buy toys anyways, and so you all might as well get comfy and check out some of these awesome picks I'm going to share with you! And if you would like to look at the full catalog or place an online order you can do so through my party link right HERE (The party will be open until November 2nd.)



Here is a little blurb about my friend who I'm hosting the catalog party through:

As a homeschooling mother of 4, I promote Discovery Toys to enhance my children's learning.  It is such a blessing to be able to play with my children, all the while knowing that they are learning with these outstanding, durable educational toys.  With a life time guarantee, and a satisfaction guarantee, you can't go wrong with these amazing toys.

So anyways, before we get to some of my favorite picks from the current catalog let's talk about the reason why you are already telling yourself you won't be ordering anything: That it's too expensive and you can probably get toys at Walmart on Black Friday for much less, free shipping, etc.

And in response to that let's take a look at Exhibit A from my girls' playroom:

A bunch of broken, falling apart Barbie toys.

The great thing about Discovery Toys is the lifetime guarantee and the fact that they are so well made that you will likely never need to use the guarantee! My girls still play with a Marble-works game at my parents' house that was mine when I was little. 

So, instead of buying a bunch of lesser quality toys this Christmas (or birthdays or just because!) why not focus on a handful of well made, well thought out, quality toys that will really engage your kids and get them learning! (And no, I don't work for them and have not been paid for pimping Discovery Toys :-)

**Break time.....here is Brielle being all adorable like and playing with one of the many Discovery Toys we already own. This game is no longer being sold by them I don't think....I bought it for Raya years ago....but we still love it! If Brielle can't sell you on these toys then I guess no one can, look at her adorable little self ;-)

Now to the catalog (which you can access through that link at the beginning of this post) ....the catalog is easy to navigate with toys/games/books broken up into age groups. However I often check out the age group a little older than what my girls are because there are usually some great things there too which I know my girls would like and be able to grow into.

Let's start with bargain finds....these toys/games are all $15 or less! (And in case you are unfamiliar with toy prices, you will easily spend $15 on one Barbie doll. Heck, one crappily made Barbie dress was like $9 last I checked!)

*Rainfall rattle for the under 1 year crowd
* Night owl puzzle, for ages 1-2 years
* Games on the go , for ages 3-4 years (I really want this for my girls...only $8!)
* Word Magic Mixer, for ages 5-7 (I love the portability of this...I'd have fun playing this too!)
* Wiz Kidz , for ages 8+ (Wish my girls were old enough to play fun games like this!)
* Lumps , for the whole family (kind of reminds me of Yahtzee, only $8!)


And here are some items that are more than $15, but they look so neat that they'd totally be worth it :-)

* Motor Works ...I just think this is the coolest! My girls and I played with it at a fair booth this summer. You use real electric tools to take apart and put together a car/plane/and motorcycle....the girls loved it!
* ABSeas ...I got this game for my nephew Sawyer a few years ago...so adorable and fun!
* Letter Catch ....similar to the ABSeas game, only for the bathtub!
* Memory Match Clams ....unfortunately I think my girls would outgrow this game soon, or else I'd be buying it! Looks so fun and versatile....is it wrong that I envision hiding food in one shell and then shuffling them around and having my kid try to pick the one with food inside? That's a pet trick right? haha :-)
* Money! Money!  ...I think Raya is still a little young for this, but it seems really fun. She is always asking questions about money and so interested in how it all works!
* Flip 2B Fit ...this is an exercise game for kids! I wonder if I'd lose weight playing it? lol ...I love the concept behind this. I think it'd be a great P.E. activity for those of you who homeschool.
* Story Speller ....I think it would be hilarious to hear what Raya would come up with for this game! (And this actually belongs up above...it's only $15!)
*Name that Country ....what a fun game, especially for anyone who homeschools!


Ok, so no pressure, but I hope you all at least check out the catalog and look at some of these awesome games! If you are like me your kids probably get enough "free play" time during the day when you are doing chores around the house and cooking supper etc, so when you have time to sit down with them in a structured way it's nice to have some award winning, tested and approved games and toys that will be fun *and* educational!

**Party closes on Nov. 2nd**

Thanks everyone!

Ballet style -- Trendy Tot Tuesday

Linking up again with Megan, Lindsay, and Kelly for Trendy Tot Tuesday!

Ok, I admit I'm taking the lazy way out this week. I don't feel like uploading new pictures this morning so I have these ballet pictures from Raya's parent observation day on Friday and thought I'd share those :-) Plus, some of you may be interested in our ballet style choices, right? haha

We buy our ballet attire at Target. I don't like ordering online because I find that dancewear runs small, and I like to see it in person to judge the size I need before ordering. Out of all the brick and motor stores I've checked for ballet wear I think Target has the cutest stuff!

Raya is required to wear a light pink leotard, light pink tights, hair up, and pink ballet shoes. (Although other girls in class vary from this a lot and nothing is said, so I guess they aren't as picky as the handbook sounded!)

 

We have 2 different leotards that we rotate right now. She only goes once a week so that seems sufficient for the time being! Since Raya has a little belly on her I prefer the leotards with a built in skirt, especially the ones where the skirting starts high to cover her belly (obviously it's not a huge deal at this age but I just think it looks nicer on her :-P)

The little girl behind her is her BFF this year at preschool

Brielle was sitting in the audience!

Please excuse the crappy pics....the lighting is horrible in this room

Free dance!

I just think little girls are the cutest when they pose like this! hehe

Leap!

So that's all for TTT today, come back tomorrow for an exciting post about toys for Christmas!

Fancy Nancy

One more sneak peek from our family shoot that I copied from facebook .....I loved the reading photos I did recently so much that I really wanted to get one with my girls during *our* session! Here we are reading Fancy Nancy....I seriously have the cutest girls ever :-)

LOVE

And the reason I'm not blogging anything else today is because I've been going through 600+ photos from my two shoots on Sunday!

Check out my album of favorites for this family with FOUR BOYS! Found here  I love their session....although it was a little tricky with less than ideal weather...it was drizzly and rainy right up until I started shooting!

And here is my album for this father/son shoot...the girlfriend set this shoot up and I thought it turned out so cute---and I loved their two boxer puppies! Found here

I'll be back soon with some *real* blogging! Tomorrow is Trendy Tot Tuesday and then I have a super awesome blog post coming soon with some awesome Christmas ideas for all ages! It'll be here before you know it! ;-)

Family Photos

Tonight my neighbor and I exchanged photography services....she's a photographer too and thought it would be a good way for us to both get photos where we are actually in *front* of the camera lens for once! :-)

Love this sneak peak she posted tonight...look at Raya's little leg and Brielle's signature scrunchy nose "smile" lol  (I just copied it from Facebook for now since she's working on the cd)

And here are two favorites I took of my neighbor's adorable family!





So happy family picture day! :-) I'll share more once I get the entire cd from her....stay tuned

Status Update

Here are a few recent facebook postings I've done that I don't think I documented here yet. Enjoy!

Raya is somewhat obsessed with planning future birthday parties because she sees me sewing various themed birthday shirts for my shop. She has been planning her May birthday ever since her last one ended, and she's come up with many theme ideas including the normal "princess" to weirder things like a "caramel" theme. But tonight she came to me very excited and declared she had come up with the best idea yet....she wants a "wedding" theme lol. She wants to wear a wedding dress, dance to wedding music, and eat wedding cake. I'm thinking that birthday outfit won't make it into my shop, as I'm not sure that would be a very popular birthday theme for the general masses

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(Driving by the construction at the round-a-bout)
Raya: Look Mama, it's a pusher! Oh, and a grabber! A pusher and a grabber.
Me: What the heck are you talking about?
Raya: A pusher...and a big grabber is on it. See the pusher sissy?
Brielle: ....Raya, no....that's a bulldozer

Raya is such a girl Sounds like a conversation I'd have with Lee when I try to talk about cars LOL

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So today Harper was trying to steal a necklace from Brielle and broke it. It's actually Raya's necklace so I said something like "well, now we are going to pick up Raya from preschool and she's going to be mad at you for breaking that."

In the car on the way home with Raya:

Me: Harper tell Raya what you did
Harper: I broke your necklace.
Raya: Which one? That's okay.
Harper: No, you need to get mad at me. Get really mad at me!
Raya: It's okay, is that the only thing you broke?
Harper: Raya, do you need to *see* the broken necklace? I broke it. Get mad.

lol...I seriously laugh all day with these girls

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If our conversation on the way to preschool this morning is any indication then I'm in trouble today!

Brielle: Look Mama, a long train!
Raya: That's not a *long* train sissy.
Brielle: Yes it is! Yes it is a long train!
Raya: No it's not. I'm smart so I know. It's not a long one.
Brielle: Maaaaaammmmmaaa! Raya said it's not a long train!
Me: Just let it go Raya, who cares!
Brielle: Let it go Raya, mama said let it go....let it go....let it go.....let it go....
Me: She heard you Brielle.

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Just got back from dance class with Raya and I asked Brielle what she had done with Daddy while we were gone...

"Well, I rode on Daddy's lawnmower three times and I jumped on the trampoline and I saw a big bug."

Sounds fun-filled lol

 

Still Alive!

Nothing exciting to report tonight, but didn't want to go 2 days without posting and cause wide spread panic about what happened to us over here ;-) Lots of photo sessions, picture editing, and sewing going on! Oh, and Raya's last soccer gamewas tonight, and observation day at ballet tomorrow, and Gymnastics for Brielle. We just keep getting busier and busier!

How about a couple cute outfits to hold you all over until I have something more exciting to report? :-)

Brielle's dress is Matilda Jane---Raya's is Gap.

Raya in Gymboree, Brielle in Gap

(Notice Raya's boots? The cold weather means we can break out all her cute boots...but I felt pretty bad when dropping her off today and then realizing it was PE day...oops!)