Potty Princesseseses

A few weeks ago my willful, obstinate, refusing to pottytrain almost 3 year-old daughter came across pictures of us last year at Disneyland. Since she wasn't even 2 at the time, and it was way before the "PRINCESSESESES" obsession set in, and I guess she doesn't really remember going. She flipped through the pictures over and over, her little voice getting higher and higher with each picture of her little self with Pooh, with Snow White or on a ride. Then she came to the picture of her and I standing in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

"WHAT DAT MOMMY?!" she squealed. "It's Sleeping Beauty's castle, baby..." I replied. She shrieked. Literally, she shrieked and then yelled "WE GO DERE NOW MOMMY! NOW!!!!!" Without even thinking about it, I just said "Well, they don't allow diapers at Disneyland, honey. You have to be a big girl and pee on the potty to go."

B.I.N.G.O.

That was 2 weeks ago and home-skillet has been sporting her princess branded skivvies ever since. So tomorrow is the big day. We are going with her friend CeCe (who's mom Maria also jumped on the "no diapers at Disney" bandwagon) and we are going to wear our new Belle dress, have breakfast with the princesses, and have an all-out princess extravaganza. She hasn't stopped talking about it all day. I'll be amazed if she sleeps tonight. 

The only thing left to think about is what the hell am I going to wear?

Put on your yarmulke...

This is the first year that Lucas has been asking questions about different religions. Since Jason and I are both half-Jewish, we decided it was a fabulous time to pull out the menorah and start the celebrations of about 1/2 of our ancestors. 

While Mama needs to brush up on her Hebrew, we had a wonderful night learning (and re-learning) about the meaning of the celebration of light.

Those of you that have been following me for awhile may know that we are lucky to live in a house that has been in Jason's family for about 50 years. A uber cool "atomic ranch" beach bungalow that hit an unfortunate time in the 70's for an upgrade and ended up with a little too much pink and carpeting... Living in a 50+ year old house has challenges, a major one being that wall and roof insulation apparently was not the norm for new construction in 1958 and we had been told the fireplace was not in working condition. While we are lucky enough to live in an environment where we don't need to worry about the physical elements, it DOES get chilly in the house. A few weeks ago we had an inspector come out and he delivered the wonderful news that our fireplace and chimney were fine working order and could be used.

The little fire transformed the living room. On a stormy wet night, the whole house was warm, cozy and glowing. We all put on our jammies and piled on the couch to watch a few Xmas shows and it really felt December around here. 

*One more note...

Let me just say, after years of hating the fireplace and decorating it for various holidays and swearing at the hard stones, just putting up a new screen and grate made the whole area 10000X better. Really?! Why had NO ONE suggested that to me in the past 4 years?! $25 at Target updated my living room by 50 years. After smacking myself on the forehead, I begun to get excited for some more of the little things we are planning and looking forward to 2010 when we can get this house party started!

Please and Thank You

Have you ever gotten a Thank You card in the mail for no apparent reason? Something that you did for someone, that you didn't even realize was worthy of the time for a thought-out thank you? I love that. 

But even "expected" thank you cards can be special. The final note of a great party. 

After Zoe's birthday party, I wanted to use one of the special pictures from the party, but I wasn't sure how... I browsed a few sites like Shutterfly and Tiny Prints but after nothing really "grabbed me" I then wondered though the Paper Source (happy place) for inspiration. What I ended up with a simple card, with a heat embossed thank you "tag" on a ribbon holding a picture.

While normally I would keep with the theme of the party, this time I used the picture of Zoe to set the tone of the colors used. 

While simple looking, the heat embossing of the tags, then cutting them out, did take time. The effect looks simple and somewhat effortless, one of those things you think you can bam out, but in reality, it did take a few hours. Additionally, while there is something to be said about a "handwritten note", I personally can't stand my handwriting. I do include a personal note in Thank You cards, but I do them on the computer, print them out and glue them in. 

My favorite finishing touch of late is to line the insides of the envelopes with a beautiful paper...but since I ha close to 25 of these guys to get out, I opted for plain green envelopes. My biggest problem is over-doing it, then it becomes stressful and zaps the fun. Remember that simple can be elegant and just putting a little thought into the project is what makes it special!