Airplane Birthday Party

I have 3 boys. My third son is the first to show any interest in "typical" boy things: balls, trucks, cars, planes...

So I was looking forward to doing something a little different for this birthday party (no Lego's and no Star Wars... yeah!)

We kept things pretty simple and chose ONE thing to focus on: airplanes! (or as my 2-year-old says, "apane!")

Conversation Heart Cookies

Are you a magazine hoarder?

I have piles of magazines at home, usually filled with pages that have been marked by myself. I fold down the edges of articles or pictures that I like: recipes I want to try, table decorations I like, a trip I want to take, etc.

Can't throw cookies away?

Christmas has been over for a while and I just can't seem to throw some of my decorated cookies away.

So I decided my stovetop hood cover needed a little something...

Don't worry, Mr. Snowman, you've got at LEAST 2 more months before spring comes!

Life: beautiful (and snowy!)

Have you read this magazine yet?

If Martha Stewart were to become a devout Christian, this is the magazine she would publish. The photographs are beautiful, the recipes delicious, the craft ideas genius and the articles are... ok, I need to read the articles. I've started a few of them, but I just can't stop looking at the pictures!

Christmas Cookies!

One of my favorite holiday traditions was decorating Christmas cookies at my parent's house growing up. Our gingerbread man tradition didn't start until we were a bit older, but we embraced it fully.

Retirement Cookies

After working at 3M for 35 (or so) years, my dad retired this summer. It was his first job out of graduate school, and he's been there ever since! His job took us to Washington, D.C. for a year (I was in 5th grade), which provided a very diverse learning environment for me coming from a not-so-diverse Minnesota suburb! His job then took us to Brussels, Belgium for two years (I was in 8-9th grade). I was pretty upset at the time, trying to get the hang of junior high, but those two years in Europe were amazing for my maturity and our family bond.

Besides all the moves, 3M has been really good to my dad and I have fond memories of the people he worked with and visiting him as a little girl. My parents had an intimate retirement dinner at their home this summer with friends that have been an important part of his career at 3M. I wanted to provide something special for the party as a surprise.

Jane Austen bridal shower

After my last blog entry I felt I should write about something more positive and uplifting. Rainbows and puppies perhaps? I have nothing much to say about rainbows at the moment, and the only thing I can say about puppies is that I've always wanted one... The thought filled all of my childhood diaries, and every Christmas and birthday I held my breath, hoping... I even created a small black lab puppy out of my mom's old stockings, put eyes on him and gave him a tail. Then I'd carry it around with me, imagining I was holding a real puppy in my arms.

Ok, I'm feeling better now. You? Good.

My brother married an amazing woman this summer. I was fortunate enough to plan a bridal shower for her this spring, along with my other brother's (also amazing) wife. Knowing that the bride-to-be enjoys Jane Austen, we decided to do an English tea, complete with scones, sandwiches, cookies, and of course tea!

Alien Cookies

Did you cry at Toy Story 3?

I did.

My oldest is only 7 and I'm already thinking about how sad it's going to be to say goodbye to him when he decides to leave the nest.

So when Andy's mom walks into his room after he's packed for college and says, "oh, Andy...", I almost lost it. My two oldest boys were sitting next to me, and I'm so glad it was dark in that theater...

On a much brighter side, I couldn't get enough of those cute, little aliens.

"The claw..."

We were getting together with some of my old high school friends and all of their kids, so I thought I'd make some alien cookies the weekend after the movie opened.