Shannon's World

Our Little Gardner

shannon — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:08:28 +0000

We received the most amazing b-day gift for Libby this week – a homemade gardening apron with her name on it + all kinds of pink gardening tools. The gift is from the family I babysat for close to 13 years ago. I started babysitting for them in 1991/1992 (when they had 2 children) and stopped babysitting for them in 1996 when I graduated from highschool (and there were 4 kids in the family). They have been so generous to me and my family for many years!

The gift arrived just as we were preparing to plant our Easter grass in egg shells.

New summer drink

shannon — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:26:58 +0000

My friend Julie sent me this recipe and said it was outstanding…can’t wait to try – SOME DAY!! I have a few similar recipes, but this looks outstanding.

White Peach Sangria

3 bottles white wine (I used Sav. Blanc-Charles Shaw from Trader Joe’s 3 bucks a bottle)
1 ½ cups White Peach Schnapps (or regular peach schnapps)
1 can frozen lemonade (thawed)
2 cans Peach Fresca (I found a 12 pack at Trader Joes)
1 bag Dole frozen peaches
Fresh fruit (strawberries, grapes, apples, blueberries)

Who wears short shorts?

shannon — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:35:44 +0000

. . .and Silvermist socks?!

Princess, Princess EVERYWHERE!

shannon — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:10:32 +0000

The theme of Libby’s birthday party this year was Disney PRINCESS’! She loves ‘em and we had fun pulling all the decorations together.

We welcomed guests with a princess wreath. I recycled the “It’s A Girl” wreath my Mom made when Libby was born and added her favorite Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Prince Phillip paper dolls.

The princess theme continued in the entry way with princess flowers, balloons and 4 foot cutouts.

I spent some time looking for a gender neutral craft and was able to find plain, white, cardboard crowns at Michael’s. The kids decorated them with crayons, markers, jewels and foam shapes.

I was able to find the “vases” above after a quick trip to Goodwill – for a total of $2.50+tax. I was so excited to find them, especially since I was looking for something else. One is a trick or treat bucket that Libby can reuse for Halloween. Mrs Potts was a music box at one point – she was missing her top and played music intermittently but worked great as a centerpiece! The tablecloth was purchased by-the-yard at a fabric store (Joanne’s, I think) – it worked great for my long dinning room table!

For favors, the girls received princess lip gloss “watches” (snagged from the stocking stuffer section at Target after Christmas for half price!) and crown-craft books (purchased at a $1 book sale held by a local publisher). The boys were a little more challenging! I went with a Prince Phillip theme for them (Sleeping Beauty is Libby’s favorite princess/story). I was able to find foam swords (Prince Phillip uses a sword to fight the dragon) in Target’s $1 section and then my Mom and I made capes. We used felt so no sewing was required, cut out each boy’s initials and glued them on. My Mom sewed the ribbon across the top to tie around each boys neck.

Libby is 3!

shannon — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:33:48 +0000

We’ve been celebrating Libby’s birthday since Friday but today is the official day and as most Mom’s would say, I can’t believe I have a 3 year old. . .time flies!

On Friday we had a very small party for the girls in the neighborhood after they got home from school. They all came in fancy dresses or princess dresses and we enjoyed cupcakes with pink icing and frosting (Libby helped to make the cupcakes and decorate them!).

Saturday evening we hosted our Mom’s Group friends for a big party – 6, 3 year olds (4 girls, 2 boys), their mom’s and dad’s, +7 little brothers and sisters! Believe it or not I think things went really well. The kids played really well together, did a craft, ate a pizza and fruit salad dinner and of course, b-day cake and ice cream.

The weekend ended with a final b-day celebration – Mike’s family joined us for a spaghetti dinner, cake and ice cream. Libby had a fun time playing with her cousins; it was great to be surrounded by friends and family all weekend.

Special thanks to my Mom who was here and helped cook, clean and create – I couldn’t have done 3 parties in 3 days without her!
More pictures to come . . .

Casual Dinner Party

shannon — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:48:37 +0000

Mike’s cousin and her husband are coming to town from Massachusetts this weekend and we’re having them + Mike’s brother and his family over for dinner on Friday. 6 adults, 3 kids and I need some ideas . . .

S-P-R-I-N-G!

shannon — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:39:07 +0000

The weather man is predicting temps in the 50s this weekend . . .here come’s SPRING! With all the talk of warm weather, my thoughts turn to Easter (it’s so early this year – barely any time between St. Patrick’s Day and Easter).

Here are few links/things I’m thinking about doing this season . . .
Easter Basket Cupcakes and Cookies

Chocolate Nests – Does anyone else remember making these when they were little?! I found variations using shredded wheat and corn flakes, but I always remember using chow mein noodles.

Crafty envelope bunnies – great to hide surprises or maybe even place cards?!

Easter Grass . . .we received a kit last year at an Easter party – I’m hoping the grass seeds are still good as the egg shells are drying on the window sill and we’re going to plant this week.

Sam & Libby

shannon — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:02:32 +0000

This post isn’t about shoes (!), but about some friends who came over on Sunday for a play date and lunch. Here’s Libby (practicing her big sister skills) with Henry’s younger brother Sam.

Still Cookin’

shannon — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:53:31 +0000

Libby and Nanny made cowgirl cookies on Saturday, shortly after Nanny’s arrival. These jars were a favor from AnnaCate’s 1st birthday party – how fun!

More Books and Book Club discussion . . .

shannon — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:19:40 +0000

While at book club earlier in the week a friend mentioned an interesting NPR article she listened to about the book Making Toast.

Long story short, a mother of 3 died on her treadmill from a rare heart condition. Her parents, almost immediately left their home in NY and moved in with their son-in-law and 3 grandkids in MD. The book captures their journey growing into their new role and grieving the loss of their daughter.

Here’s a link to the interview on NPR.