Ten Things to Smile About: March

I can hardly believe that the month of March is almost over.  seriously.  Wasn't it just Christmas yesterday???

March was a spectacular month for the Darlings.  We gained not ONE but TWO new cousins!!!! Matt's Brother had Baby #3 - an adorable Girl and his Sister had her first - a precious baby Boy!! Being that they live far far away from us, I have no pictures to share.  But you know they would be the top of my list of Things to Smile about this month!!

With Spring Break, we had a ton of things to smile about this month, but I was able to narrow it down: 

1. Daddy & Daughter Dance - Sis was the perfect Alice with the dance theme being "Alice & Wonderland".  This may be their last dance, as it is "totally not cool to do this in middle school mom".  So, I was happy they were able to go this year - I always want to be a fly on the wall at these things! 

2. That same night, Brody earned his Bear Badge, making his next step a Webelo Scout.  He loves Cub Scouts and can't wait to get to Boy Scouts where he can go camping on his own with his Den. 

3. Sis was a part of her school's BlueBonnet Book Club and was selected to go to the district level competition.  It was a Jeopardy - type competition over the 40-something books on the list.  It was pretty exciting - so proud of my girl!

4. Over Spring Break, we headed to SeaWorld and I was a little nervous about if Bubba would enjoy it and how he would last all day without a nap.  He did awesome!  Waited pretty well for the shows and hardly fussed a bit.  He loved seeing the animals and the shows made him laugh.  Best of all, he really enjoyed his first ride!

5. A visit to South Congress in Austin is never complete without my favorite Hey Cupcake! from the airstream trailer. We tried their new John Lemon (get it?) - not bad, but I'll stick with my SweetBerry, thanks! Pastryschools.net should also be able to teach you how to make your own delectable cupcakes.

6. It is really hard to pick a favorite thing we did over Spring Break.  Honestly, we did a TON.  But something that captured us for a good half hour was the Bubble room at the Mayborn Museum in Waco - all the kids loved having a bubble built around them!

7. This picture makes me smile - Bubba was dragged around with us on Spring Break and handled no naps, lots of walking, and forced stroller time like a champ.  One afternoon we sat under a big oak tree in a hanging swing by the river and relaxed.  Sis shot this picture.  Can you see the love??

8. With Dad working, much of the exploring was with the kids & myself. But on Friday night of the break, we were able to take Dad to the famed Coopers BBQ in Llano.  We pigged out - it was so yummy - and still saved room for dessert - Matt's favorite blackberry cobbler!

9. One last thing that makes me smile?  Planning April Fools Jokes!  And the fact that I get to write for Quirky Momma each Monday (ok, that's two things).  Check out this latest post!!  And visit the Quirky Momma website often- there are TONS of great ideas of things to do with your kids for all age groups!

10. Lastly, this fun recap of our Spring Break makes me smile the most - Not the video itself, but the memory of trying to get the kids to dance everywhere we went - Brody balked at the idea, as you can see.  Except at one point - can you see where?



Linking up with these fun ladies today!

Happy President's Day

President's Day was yesterday - and we had a BLAST!!  I'm gonna give you a sneak peek (Instagram style) of what we did - please don't get tired of my Instagram photos...I seem to be on a roll lately....

We had the day off, and I wanted to do some "research" - yes, research (I hear you snickering IA) - I am writing an article on keeping Austin Weird with kids.....

Do these places scream weird to you??  They did to us!!

The Cathedral of Junk.....

 Literally in a backyard in South Austin, this artist has been building his Cathedral since 1992.

 The City of Austin came in last year and almost made him remove it all - that would have been a shame.  These pics do do it justice - we explored for over an hour.  The kids LOVED it - it's 3 stories high and you can climb to the top (yes, it's very safe).

 Everywhere you turned, things caught your eye.  Like this very "Connie-esqe" Barbie in a hot tub.....

 It was stunning and I can't wait to go back.

 Next, we took pictures at my favorite Austin mural.....  we found more murals and took more pics, but those will be published later....

 Lunch at my fav pizza place on South Congress....

Then on to explore this AMAZING costume shop on Congress as well - I told the kids to find the "weirdest costume" they could....but quite honestly, the weirdest things were the shopkeepers - they were characters!!!  This is a WEIRD but fun store!!

We visited a few more stops on Congress, found a few more murals and had a cupcake out of my favorite airstream trailer before heading home......

Yep- I love these cupcakes.....hubby even brought home a dozen for the family for Valentine's Day last week:

 This was my Valentine's Day (thank you soccer practice) and it was perfect!

So I mentioned "research" up above - many of you know I write a family travel blog called R We There Yet Mom?  I have been presented with a few very fun opportunities to write for other sites and have been writing like crazy over the past few weeks....and I love it!!!


And I am THRILLED to tell you that I was selected to be a "Quirky Momma" over at Quirky Momma Kid's Activity Blog.  I post once a week, every Monday afternoon- please come on over and check it out - the site is filled with amazing moms who post all kinds of fun activities and ideas for every age.  Not just toddlers, not just school activities - EVERYTHING - it is an awesome blog.  And I am thrilled to be a part of it!!

Thanks for putting up with my blatant self-promotion and Instagram photos - it's not what I am all about - but it's what I have time for today!!

If you didn't find me from TTUT, go check out my girls - they love to hear what you have going on and I'm willing to be you won't find anymore Instagram photos shoved in your face!!

10 Things to Smile About in January

I have really loved taking a quick minute to reflect back on some of the things that made me smile this past month.  I really am blessed, as every month I have a hard time narrowing it down to only 10 things. But I did and with the help of Instagram, my really fun iPhone app that makes me smile, here they are:

My new Erin Condren iPhone cover - makes me smile every time I pick up my phone!

 My girlie saving up enough money to buy her very own iPad makes e smile every time I see her using it.

 I was completely spoiled for my birthday this year with gifts mailed to me all December.  And then a few trickled in in January and it totally made me smile!!!

 Bubba got a trophy for Best Craftsmanship at his annual Pinewood Derby!  Smile!!

 This little guy started potty training last week. No potty training doesn't make me smile, but the fact that he gets it and is so excited to get a "mnnnnm" does!

 Last weekend, we geocached with my parents - and at one point, we were using an iPhone, an iPad, and a Garmin to find our way.  Smile!

 Sis went to a birthday party at an exotic animals shop.  This adorable hedgehog made me smile.  The 8 foot pregnant boa constrictor did not.

 It's been a sunny-filled month with afternoons to make me smile!

 I recieved this sweet angel in the middle of the month from my hubby's sweet cousin.  I had spoken for her at Matt's Grandmother's Funeral and she sent me this as a reminder that we have an angel up in heaven looking down on us.  smile.

 Lastly, when the Christmas came down, the Love came out.  And my candy jars are full of Valentine's Candy....that I have eaten. I'm NOT smiling about the jar full of candy hearts I have eaten these past 2 weeks, but I am smiling that I pulled this particular one out. See?  Even with the 1200 calories of candy hearts, I'm still hot! 

Happy January!!  One more thing that makes me smile?  Linking this post with THREE fun friends for their memes.  That means hopefully you are visiting from there, will leave me a comment, and come back again soon!!

She Got What?!?

 My girl wanted an iPad.  Started telling us back in October that she was going to ask Santa for one.  Her Daddy and I laughed at that one.

 Determined, she sat down and wrote down every way she could earn enough money to buy her own iPad.  She thought of everything from starting her own Dog walking business to selling all her old DSi games.  And she did - she asked our neighbors to walk their dogs and they let her....and paid her.  She sold all her old games to Game Stop.  Sold all her American Girl Doll furniture on our local Yahoo group.  She started watching the baby for me (I was still home).  And she asked everyone to give her $$ for Christmas.

 He Daddy & I tried for weeks to talk her into buying a Kindle Fire.  It does everything she wanted.  But NOOOOOOOOO - it's not an "Apple" product.  Man, she listened well when I was convincing Matt to let me buy a PowerBook last summer.

 And we had a slight hiccup when "Santa" told her that he would get one.  She recovered well once she saw that didn't happen.

 Finally, thanks to the generosity of our neighbors and relatives, Miss Sis had enough money to buy her beloved iPad.  Last Tuesday, we took a little trip to the Apple Store.

 She walked right in, confident as can be (where does she get that from?), and told the first Apple Kid she saw that she would like to buy a "white 16 gig iPad please."

 Miguel worked with her for over half a hour setting her up.  He showed her cool apps to download and short cuts to run certain programs.

 Even Bubba was pretty patient with the whole experience.  It was as if he knew this was going to be something fun to play with....

 Is it glued to her side at all times?  Yes - though it is downstairs at us at night (we aren't that stupid).  She has face-timed with Grandma, texted all her friends, watched Once Upon a Time (cute show) on ABC, read a book,  emailed me a few silly jokes, and played Pet Hotel.  On Saturday I received no less than 20 texts from her while I was out shopping.

 Do I think that is a wise investment for her to have made???

Absolutely. The joy on her face and the confidence in her heart that she can tackle any goal she sets her mind to is absolutely worth every penny.

Joining up for TTUT with Shawn & Impulsive.  Go link up and talk about anything you want!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like a Pinterest Christmas....

Pinterest.  Ah, what a time suck you are....but wow, have I been inspired!  Cookies, crafts, decorating ideas, dinner.....you had me at hello.  The hours & hours I have spent pouring over your boards and pinning all these great ideas...oy!

And when I actually followed through with the stuff I pinned, I was amazed.  Maybe you can make a "susie-homemaker" out of me yet.

Here are a few of the inspirations that got me going this holiday season..... Instagram style (another fun fun app that I love!)

 My kids and I put this together last weekend - I HUGE PUFFY HEART love it.  I found a way to incorporate everyone in the family.  The bottom 2 fingerprints are mine & Matt's. Inspiration found here.

 I have always wanted to hang wreaths up in my windows, so this year I did - and you know what?  It wasn't that hard or that time consuming like I had assumed it would be.

 Inspired by this.  I have used "Joy" all over my home this year.  I love the way it turned out - again, so easy to make.

 I loved the look of these wrapped french doors seen here. Mine didn't quite turn out as I had hoped, but it adds a fun element of color & Christmas to my front entry way.

 All the inspiration got me to think on my own too - what??  How ya like my Christmas balls I found at the Christmas Affair?  They are hanging from my entry way chandelier.

And in my dining room, I actually put this together on my own.  Vivienne will be proud.  Better be proud....

On top of all the fun decorating, I have been trying a few dinner recipes I have found - all getting the big thumbs up from my hubby.  2 really yummy ones:

Mexican Stuffed Shells found here:

 and Hawaiian BBQ Chicken found here:

And there are some amazing cookies & desserts I am trying this week.  SO much good stuff!

So the verdict on Pinterest? If you don't want to get sucked into something of hours at a time, don't sign up.

But if you want creative ways to store hot wheels cars, dinner inspiration, how to tie your scarves a new way, an easy discipline method, and so on.....dive right in head first!  I'll even invite ya to join! And if I am not yet following your boards, let me know - I want to see what is inspiring you!

I'm sharing this post over at Shawn & Impulsive Addict's Talk to us Tuesday.  JOin in the fun with a post about ANYTHING you want to talk about - look at me, I wrote an entire post on Pinterest and y'all read it!! :))