It's Beginning to Look ...

A lot like Christmas! And it feels like it too! Brrrr! We've officiall decorated the house .. and just maybe it's enough inspiration to actually share a home tour (mayyybe).

And last weekend we spent the weekend in French Lick with my dad's side of the family celebrating Christmas. It was the most magical, fun (insert all the great words) here weekend!
The kids and I arrived a few hours early and shared some Diet Coke and carrot cake with Papaw.

The we put on our matching PJs and headed to board the Polar Express! While waiting to board our train car we wrote letters to Santa (and I was super surprised at the kiddos requests!).









We picked out our spots on the train and settled in to make our way to the North Pole.



Lainey is still boycotting photos :)

Well, sometimes.

The whole ride is about 1.5 hours and you head through the Indiana forests. There are dancing and singing elves that entertain you, and serve you cookies and hot chocolate.



Once you make your way to "The North Pole" Santa boards the train and the kids go CRAZY! They're so enamoured with the whole to do!

After we arriving back to home base we wrapped the night with way too much pizza and bowling!
 
After the kids got a (ahem) full night's sleep, we had a big ole breakfast and then headed to watch the choir carol in the atrium of West Baden.






Then the younger little's took a quick nap, the older ones got ice cream and we made our way to ride the ponies!!





Lainey was EXSTATIC and rode Trixie.



Bennett patiently waited for his turn and was atop Sam.



After we had our fill of the ponies we headed to view the grounds and once again visit with Santa. Trolley rides were everyone's favorite.



And we wrapped with a grand finale dinner at Hagen's on a spectacular golf course view. And let the little's open a few gifts in the atrium before calling it a night.





It was the very best start to the Christmas season and we can't wait for more celebrations this holiday! A special thank you to my parents for planning such a great getaway and giant hug to all of my family members that's shared in all of the fun memories with us!!

Three Birthdays One Party

The beautiful little girlies had much to celebrate and I just had to share the details with you. Their mama is one talented lady ya'll … and one of my favorite mommies (and she herself just celebrated a big birthday September 6th! Happy Belated muh lady!).

The most precious little gift bags for all of the kiddos!

 And the most delicious cupcakes and adorable spread.

 Not to mention, she found a way to make a balloon cuter. Who knew that was possible?

 The obligatory one year mantle photos. Always a crowd favorite.

 And these precious high-chair banners.

 Oh well hey, there's one of those precious little ladies.

 And two more!

 Oh, and another!

 And I'm seeing double.

 Now triple! :)

 Now cake time!

 Bahahaa. That's one way to eat cake!

 Favorites.

 I couldn't love these ladies more (and that little fella .. well, I think we all know how I feel about him).

Ice Cream Cone Head Candy!

A while back I posted about my sweet niece Emmie's 5th birthday party.  I was charged with handling some decor for the Ice Cream themed party and was able to come up with some cutesy decorations thanks to some Pinterest inspiration. And, today I wanted to share my take on the Ice Cream Cone Headband.  

Most of the designs used an actual ice cream cone. And, although I will say that certainly looks more authentic, the reality of a 5 year old (or any youngin' for that matter) not crushing the flimsy waffle cone is a bit far fetched. 

I knew she needed a party hat, even if its sole purpose was to wear it for 5 seconds while blowing out her candles.  And once I saw some ice cream cone headband samples I was set on finding a sturdier alternative.  Challenge accepted!

Supplies needed:

• Paper Mache cone
• Any headband
• Felt
• Hot glue / gun
• Pipe cleaners
• Ribbon
• Cotton ball or other end piece

Directions:

Get all of your goodies ready to go!  Any color scheme is accepted and this can be tweaked, embellished, or repurposed for another theme for years to come!

I chose to use 3 layers of felt, because I wanted to mimic 3 melted scoops of the goodness (and because I always want at least 3 scoops). Simply cut the felt in various sized circles and layer them so you can see all of the colors.  I hot glued all of the layers together before I attached them to the headband. To make sure I liked the placement.

Next cut a small rectangle and securely attache the rectangle underneath the headband to the bottom layer of felt.  I wanted mine at an angle, so I attached it more towards the right side.

Now it's time for the cone.  I hot glued the embellishment ribbon prior to attaching the cone to the top layer of felt. 

I left a little additional ribbon at the bottom of the cone, so once I attached the cone to the felt the additional ribbon would cover up any glue that spilled out the sides. Simply hot glue the bottom of the cone to make sure it is secure on the top layer of felt. 

And that's the basics my friends. Now, its time to embellish!  I started by simply adding a glittery cotton ball to the top :)

Next, I added some glittery pipe cleaners to give some extra pizazz.  I simple put small slits in the second layer of felt.  The allowed the folded bottom the pipe cleaner to be easily hid and tucked away, while the top side was ready for swirly fun!  I simply rolled them around a tumbler stray ... a pen/pencil will give you the same effect.

And to finish it off, I added some cute ice cream stickers and a felt #5 for the birthday girl!  

So cute, and so easy! And what kid doesn't love sporting ice cream not only smeared on their face but also on their head?!