The long awaited post!

Yea, I know, y'all've been waiting with bated breath for this post. The post that should be entitled... "What the heck I've been doing for the last two weeks or more!"

Let me say, this is the FIRST DAY in a long list of days that we are staying home and NOT going anywhere. School begins next week and we are finally done with everything. Indoor soccer, YMCA Volleyball, 10th birthday party (and party prep...more on that later), traveling, etc. We just needed a DOWN DAY.

This in essence is going to be a big ol blog brain dump. So, skim through the parts you aren't interested in...

Class Reunion
My 20 year high school reunion was two weeks ago. Let me be the first to say that it was awesome seeing people I haven't seen since the last 10 year class reunion (or since high school graduation.) I loved catching up and meeting peoples' families. But, as expected, I mostly visited with people that I was closest to in high school. By 10 p.m., I was ready to go. So much of ME has changed, there isn't much commonality any longer. And that's okay! I didn't expect it and I wasn't disappointed!

All in all, I'm glad I went, it was everything I expected it to be and at times it was MOST entertaining.

And since there was much discussion as to what I would wear to my class reunion, you'll be happy to know that I found the cutest dress at White House Black Market. It's so stinking cute, very flattering and can either be dressed up or dressed down. I wore this dress with some jeweled flip flops for a more casual dressed down look!

And, this dress - Voile Printed Sundress - is now on sale for $60.00! Don't worry, I got it on sale too. Not for $60.... but, close!

Randy & Erica, 8/6/11

10th Birthday Party
Elisan's 10th birthday party was last Friday night. Because we're so much alike, she's been planning this party for over 4 months. She had very specific ideas as to what she wanted to do, how she wanted it to look and who was invited. (I love that about my type-A personality daughter!)
So, I began working on all the party prep stuff at least a month ago... maybe more. Here's how it turned out.

The free PLH digital kit is still available for download here.

This was such an easy party! We served pizza for dinner, then brought the girls down to the neighborhood pool for swimming. After swimming, Randy and I set up a 14 topping Sundae Buffet for ice cream sundaes! The ice cream sundaes were a HUGE hit and I think this may be our new go-to idea for birthday parties. The girls finished up the evening with presents and karaoke. Fun was had by all!

Craft Tutorial

For the party, I also worked on a craft project. I made magnets for the goodie bags using round wooden pieces, Mod Podge Dimensional Magic and the PLH round circles that I designed. The circles can also be used as stickers, tags or cupcake toppers.

This project is pretty self explanatory. My only change in the project would be to use white school glue, rather than a glue stick. I had a few that began pulling away from the wood one they dried completely. The ones I did with the white school glue did not pull away.

Also, in photo 3, on the top row, I'm sanding the paper edges for a smooth finish. Hot glue a magnet on the back and there ya go!

This was a CHEAP, fun and easy craft. A great take-away for the girls and something that will last a long time.

That's all for now folks. I'll leave you with this... a picture of my sweet little guy, TJ. Now, if I can only get him to NOT poop in the upstairs family room. Sigh...

At least he's consistent. And for my sake, at least we can gate off the upstairs!