It’s a little gimmicky, but it’s oh, so cute.

You saved our party!  We are eternally grateful….

The Claw!!!

How fun would these be for your next birthday party?  Toy Story, Pirates, Space, Superheroes… and you can customize the bubbles.

I think it’s great.  You can find it at paper&CAKE and download plenty of cute printables while you’re there!

This, my friends, is a bowl.  An amazing and decorative bowl.  And you can make one super, duper easily with a dollar and a thrift store.  And an oven.  I hope yours works.

Wouldn’t this be fun with a retro party?  I like a more refined event, but this could be a lot of fun with music or big bands or swing dancing… what do you think?

Find the tutorial HERE.

Yes, I want one.  Yes, I STILL want one.

Can you blame me?  Grosgrain Fabulous is having a giveaway, HERE.  Go check it out.  And if you win – can I borrow it?

There’s a lot to update you on.

First of all – my husband and I are getting a divorce.

We are trying to do this as decently as possible – Phillip and I have been working out the decree details ourselves, and will sit down with our lawyers to finalize the arrangement, but this is called “collaborative divorce.”  We are trying to do what’s best for the children and for each other.  This is a tremendously difficult and sad time, and we appreciate your prayers and kindness.  It would be easy to judge us or to wonder what “went wrong.”  It is what’s best for our family and that we have prayed diligently to know what to do and we are doing our best to do it with grace and dignity.  This isn’t a bitter custody/divorce battle and we don’t want to create “sides.”  We love our family and our extended family and friends and we know how awkward this can be for you.  You’re still allowed to talk about Phillip with me – he’s my best friend.  You’re allowed to invite us both to the same event. :)  And we really hope that things will be better for us in the future.

Secondly, we are moving (yes, all of us) to Washington, as soon as we can sell our home.  So if you know of anyone looking for a nice neighborhood in a beautiful suburban paradise in TX with a strong church presence and low crime, great shopping – honestly, Dallas, TX is the best (well, our area is).  I’m a little sad that we’re moving.  Nowhere else can you find schools like these!  Nowhere else do you get such incredible outlet stores and high-end shopping right next to each other.  We got all of our high-end appliances at clearance discount, and we live in a cute home in a very rich area.  If you’d like the benefits of living in a wealthy town, without having an inheritance of your own – check us out!  I’ll be posting a website soon for our home when we get a realtor.  Microsoft is extremely generous and we hope to be moving soon.  Let me know if you’re interested!

Lastly, things are amazing.  My oldest daughter just started her first day of school yesterday (well, public school – I’ve been teaching her at home for three years now), and we are all loving it.

Please do not duplicate this at home.

Four years ago, we moved into this house.  At the time, I saw the lack of fire alarms and bought and installed several.  I also bought a fire extinguisher.

It sat on a shelf in our laundry room for four years.

Tonight, I finally hung it on the wall.  Now, unless you’re a woman, you probably don’t get this (and you’re probably not reading my blog).  But a project this small that takes four years to finish is A BIG DEAL.  The good intentions, the years of accumulated guilt every time I did my laundry – all finally GONE.

I wanted to celebrate (quietly – the girls are asleep – another cause for celebration), so I took a picture.  (It’s not crooked – the camera was – half second exposure, people!  Cut me some slack.)

Isn’t it the most beautiful fire extinguisher ever? 

And it’s on the wall – on my wall.  Oh, bliss!  Oh, heavy cloud of unfinished business no longer hanging over me!

I think I’ll hang the first aid kit next!