Happy Birthday, Paige!

My little sister turns 24 today- which means I'm older, but I'm choosing to ignore that fact today. ;) I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures of the two of us and tell her how much I love her- I always have.
While I also love my brother, there is definitely a uniquely different bond between Paige and I- a bond that only sisters can have.We've helped each other through a lot of things, been there for each other, laughed together, cried together. Growing up we shared a room at first, but my parents split us up because of the fighting. Funny enough, we always held "sleepovers" in each others rooms after that. We need our space, but just not TOO much space.I've enjoyed living close to her and having her come over to hang out and play with Serra. She was there for the birth, and a lot of the struggles as well as milestones! I can't imagine my life without my little sis in it.
It makes me really sad to know that someday we'll be moving up to Idaho away from her. While it's only 3 hours away, I know that will mean we won't see each other as often. I'll miss dropping by her school randomly, going out to eat, shopping together on Saturdays, and all the other things we enjoy now.
I hope that the things I do for her today can make up for what might be missing on her future birthdays when I may not be as close.I love you, Paige, I'm proud of you and the person you've become- here's to another 24 years!

What we did for V-day

First we had our Valentine's breakfast- heart eggs and toast with red jam.

Serra LOVED breakfast!

Then Serra posed for some pictures in her heart pajamas and headband.

This is Serra's first Valentine from her "boyfriend" Benjamin. :)

Then Ian treated me to 3 of my favorite activities that I haven't been able to do in a long time because he is not a big fan...

First was bowling.

Then rollerskating.

And finally putt-putt.

Serra had fun on the arcade car [we never actually played, she just sat there and pushed buttons.]

Overall it was a great day- we went to Olive Garden with my sister for lunch and had a small dinner at home. It was a jam-packed day of fun, treats, and romance. Maybe next year we'll go on a date with just the two of us. But for this year, it was more fun having Serra around!

Happy V-Day!

Hope you all have a romantic day- to whatever varying degrees you deem necessary! :)

Ranting

Okay, so just let me rant for a minute. I am SO upset about the whole catalog thing and how they work. It's just not fair to smart people like me who don't impulse-buy. I see something I want, add it to my list, save for it, and then I buy it. However, for the first time, the thing I had my eye on for so long has just vanished! I can't find it anywhere online to purchase- and I want TWO! So I still have it on my list, but probably won't ever get to buy it- and someone would make a quick buck if they would just keep things for sale that they used to have for sale! I understand that some things go out of style- or just get outdated, like computers, etc. But these are still cool! So if any of you happen to come across them- or anything like them- let me know! These specific ones are called Bristol Tray End Tables- the cool feature I really like is that the 4 "drawers" are actually folding tray tables.
Okay, that's the end of my rant- see, it wasn't so bad. :)

"Bye, Bye Pacifier!"

Without telling me, Ian put Serra down for her nap last Saturday- binkie-less! She didn't even fuss. So he told me and we decided that maybe it was time to take them away. You would have thought they never even existed! She didn't ask for them, or fuss at naps or night time... until she found our pacifier hiding spot. I couldn't stand throwing them away until I KNEW she would be fine without them. Well, I didn't "hide" them very well and she found them and immediately wanted them. [This was yesterday]. And she keeps bringing her "Bye, Bye Pacifier!" book to us- I think to tell us what she's wanting. After long debate, we decided that if we gave them back to her now, it would just make it that much harder when we took them away again. So they're still gone- she hasn't found them- and life is starting to get back to normal again today. Hopefully she can forget all about them again- I have planned to throw them out officially this Saturday. Wish us luck!

The Prettiest Girl

I'm sorry to say to any of you who are girls, or have girls, but THIS girl is by far the prettiest girl in the whole world! The pictures don't do her [or her gorgeous dress] justice! But even in these poor pictures, you can tell- she's something special!

Who would have ever thought that a girl who could make a face like this....

Would be able to look like this? :)

Craft of the Month- January

I didn't really get a specific craft done this last month, but I unpacked my craft room! I decided with Murphy's Law, if I unpacked everything then we would sell our house. :) And if not, then, well at least I have all my craft stuff unpacked and can DO things! So here's a picture of some of my craft stuff unpacked- my poor sewing machine is still on the floor because I haven't unburied my sewing table yet.