Not All Who Wander...

...Are lost.

Or have busted out of their crib.  Just my kid.

 The other morning, I'm getting ready after my shower and I hear Joey on the monitor.  He's just woken up and babbling in his crib.  I hurry to finish getting ready before I go upstairs to get him.  Only, before I can finish what I'm doing, I hear "Hey Mommy?  Hey Mommy?" and it sounds A LOT closer than on the monitor.  He was out in the hallway of the upstairs, walking back and forth, hollering at me through the railing.  What. The.

 I never heard a thud, or anything that sounded like I child heaving himself out of the crib.  I was totally shocked (and a little creeped out - I don't know why but the thought of my children roaming freely throughout the house when I think they're in bed scares the living daylights out of me.  I'll probably legit have a heart attack when they walk up to me when I'm in bed asleep!)

"Here, have some blue cupcake and get over the fact that I can jump of my crib Ma."

My friend Mica said maybe he'd forget, and so far, it seems he has because he hasn't tried it again.  But just in case, we are taking the frame out of his crib and putting his mattress on the ground.  That oughtta prevent another escape.  I'm not ready for him to be in a toddler bed just yet.

House Updates: Morgan's Room

Slowly but surely we are making tweaks to our new home.

First up, I replaced the light fixture in the foyer.  We decided to try the Ballard version of the Orb Chandelier because the price was so much better.  I'm not sure if I totally love it.  I like it, it goes well with our decor...but it almost doesn't feel large enough for the space or something.  It seems a little too low-key and I think I was hoping for something a little more "WOW".

Here it is from a weird angle:

And here it is lit up at night:

Next up is Morgan's room, which is really the only room that's received any sort of attention.  She wanted PINK! Walls! PINK! Everything!  I've been trying to tone it down a few notches with some white & gold and so far, I'm happy with the results.  But I feel like I'm just winging it.

I'd love to replace the ugly ceiling fan but am unsure with what?  That's not something I want to replace every few years like the rest of the decor as she grows up.

Both kids' rooms are not very large so I don't want them too cluttered.  I have plans for that rocker & ottoman to move out, but I'm getting resistance.

I've been able to re-use some things from the old house.  Like the big "M" above her toddler bed, I had for forever but never used.  I bought a can of glitter gold spray paint (and someone better stop me with that stuff because it's freaking fabulous and I just might paint a child or two) and went to town.

 The wall dots and sheets were from Land of Nod.  We are thinking of adding more dots on the "M" wall.  The quilt is from PBKids.  (And Morgan hates it.  Threenager much?)

 I got this sweet print from Society6.  She's very into "Ballaweenas".

 I also ordered this adorable gold glitter heart pillow that has yet to show up.  Apparently it's lost in transit.

And if you ever talk to my husband, PLEASE make no mention of the fact that the cream colored furniture does not match the white trim and white toddler bed. #sorepoint

So far, that's all I've gotten done.  I have a really pathetic guest room that needs a major overhaul.  We hosted our first out of town guests this past weekend and I was embarrassed, but comforted by the fact I could use the out "We just moved in!"

Morgan's 3rd Birthday Bash

I forgot just how much I love to throw a good party, and this one was SO much fun!

Saturday late afternoon, we hosted about 40 family members and a couple of our friends (who also have young children) over to celebrate our sweet girl turning 3.  We also invited our new neighbors across the road - their little girl is in Morgan's preschool class and I see them every Tuesday and Thursday -- small world.  We went through a lot of food, a TON of beer and lots of bottles of wine.  Sunday was rough for this old lady, but we had friends staying the weekend and we all just lounged around while the kids played.  It was perfect.

Anyway, I didn't get many pictures because I was busy conducting house tours and having fun talking to everyone!  The birthday girl had a BLAST.

My dear husband wanted to be in charge of the cake and he did an incredible job! 

We had Chick-Fil-A catered (her favorite) and I swear every last crumb of food got eaten.

Her gift from her cousins was a Plasma Car. SO. MUCH. FUN.  Though I may have been a little too lenient letting them drive it all over the hard wood floors because now they're all scratched to hell.  Oh well.

By Sunday night she just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

I've learned turning 3 means a whole lotta crowns/tiaras/sparkly shoes/sunglasses/and Minnie Mouse EVERYTHING.  She insisted on the birdie shirt before her party, then switched to her Minnie Mouse (Halloween Costume) dress for the party.  As long as she was happy, I didn't care.

We love this little sweetheart more than we can express!  

I'm off to continue cleaning my house...it's been an all-day affair but I'd do it again in a heartbeat for my sweet girl.

First Time Fun in the Snow

OK, I will confess:  I hate the snow & the cold.  Most people do, right?  But I REALLY hate it.  So much so, that I don't even take my kids out to play when it's cold outside.  Easy to see why I'm not the fun parent, right?

Last Sunday, after a few more inches fell on top of the few inches we already had, we ventured out into the mild (30's!) temps and had some fun.  Daddy was working allllll weekend long and we needed to get out!

Luckily I had bought snowpants on clearance last year from Target and they were perfect for this year (probably next year too, score!)

"You're telling me this is going to be fun, right?"

"What is this contraption you have me in Ma?"

It's deceiving, but just past that snow in front of them, it drops off significantly.  That would be our front yard.

The snow was up to his knees

 We built a sad little snowman and I really wished I had a sled to pull them around on...but we still had fun.  I taught them how to make and throw snowballs, haha!

He fell a few times and couldn't get up

His little profile kills me!

 We came back inside and I made hot cocoa for all of us.  They both went down for a nap, although only one of them slept.  When Joey woke up later on, some of our friends were passing through again.  Joey says "Deers!  Look!  Deers!" and Morgan yells at them "Hey Bambi! Wanna come play with me and Minnie?"  I wasn't up for another 30 minute bundling session in one day so we watched from inside, ha!

Who's the fun mom now?