Turkey Day 2012

We spent Thanksgiving in Connecticut with the majority of my extended family (at least on the Hyland side).  There were 25 people PLUS 3 little girls and 2 babies for Thanksgiving dinner.  The house was loud but full of love!  We had a lot of fun seeing people we haven't seen in a few years and catching up with those we get to see more often, like Livi's Godmother, Lisa.  

Here are some 3-D pumpkins and felt fall leaves:

The little girls helped me out with this one.  We used them to hold popcorn and pretzels.

My niece helped me out with the wording on this bunting.  I love the scalloped turkey face and her handwriting is adorable.  Thanks Aves!

And a close-up...

Then we have the place settings. 
My parent's dining room has a slight nautical theme with maps and striped walls.  So it just made sense having these mayflowers as place settings:

My Mom changed something on me last minute so I needed to make 2 more Mayflowers but was out of the pretty taupe cardstock.  Sooooo...Mom and Dad (the Hosts of T Day) got Mayflower cargo ships with giant pilgrims (by Aves).

The cool table had the Native American table settings.  I love these feathers! 

The little girls' table was Pilgrim themed.  I wanted to get some brown butcher paper for the girls to draw on but Mom did one better.  She found a paper table cloth that was designed to be colored.  AWESOME!  Insert Pilgrim hat crayon holders!

The last table was my turkey table.  With help from my Dad (and some extra railing he found) I was able to pull these together.

We are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends!  We hope everyone had a great holiday and spent it with the ones you love doing what you love.

{I am most thankful for the Fighting Irish and their 12-0 season!}

XO
Maggie & co.

Fall Teacher Treats

I thought I should recap Halloween and Thanksgiving treats before posting about our Thanksgiving Day!  For Halloween I made a family pumpkin.  The orange part is Natalie's palm prints, the brown stem is Olivia's footprint, and the green leaves are mine and Andy's thumbprints. Really cute and something  I will eventually frame and use as decor.

I scanned it and shrunk it to fit on a tag for Natalie's teacher treats.  I dyed melted chocolate and dipped pretzels into it to make pumpkins then added green M & M's for stems.  I had leftover glass containers from my sister's baby shower and some green crinkle paper.  I attached the sign to a stick and VOILA...a pumpkin patch!

The pre-school had a Halloween party and I made the mummy wrapped juice boxes.  Super simple and quick but I cannot find the picture to save my life!  Ugh!  I think it's something you could do for almost any holiday.
For Thanksgiving I bought a bag of Reese's pieces.  I created the tag using one of my favorite DJ fonts.  The turkey is Natalie's thumbprint and I added the colorful details.  Love finding leftover bags!

Our Love Story in Numbers

This was one of the first items I pinned on Pinterest and I just got around to doing it. My friend gave me this frame and I still have not forced a "family of 4" picture so I had to improvise. I love the "love dates" and I'm all about nautical aspects so I merged the 2 together. I started with my husband's birthday, my birthday, the day we met, the day we got engaged, the day we got married and our daughters birthdays.  Then I added the coordinates of those places. A great gift idea...

Now off to start planning my DIY (with assistance from the Blood ladies) Tinkerbell costume for Nat!

xo
Maggie & co.

Lady O's Baptism

A couple weeks ago {prior to the 2 week vacation} Olivia was baptized.  It was a wonderful ceremony and we were surrounded by the best people.  We asked my cousin, Lisa, and Andy's good friend, Ken, to be Livi's Godparents.  Here is a round-up of the prep and celebration...

{MENU}
lunch meat sandwiches, cheese/crackers, fruit, pasta salad, key lime cheese ball with graham crackers, chocolate dipped pretzels, chocolate stuffed raspberries, and cupcakes.

This is to show how silly that a box of cupcakes make 24 but my stand only holds 23...

 {DECOR}   

Handmade Baptism Subway Art, Ribbon Topiary Tree, and Wreath.

This was during the process. It's Mimi getting her hair did...

Again the day was great.  The kids jumped in the pool after the party and had a blast.  Thanks so much to everyone who helped out {even during our A/C crisis}.  What fabulous people Livi has in her life to help celebrate all these special days with her.  Here's some love from her...

XO

Maggie & co.

Happy Summer!

Natalie's last day at her current school is Friday and I just finished up gifts for her current teachers, previous teacher, school director and dance teacher.  We have enjoyed our time at Alpha & Omega and will miss the whole staff next year.  But just think, Livi will be there in no time.  For now, we look forward to Natalie becoming a Little Cougar in the fall (which I am SUPER excited about!)  Can't believe she'll be in pre-k though!  Again for inspiration I searched Etsy and Pinterest and this is what I decided on...

Top: little pink tin bucket (Hobby Lobby) with travel size germ-x (Target), sunscreen (Publix), and a nail polish (Target) all wrapped in a towel (Target). Tied with raffia (which can give you splinters- I know from personal and very recent experience).
Bottom: reusable plastic drink containers (Hobby Lobby) filled with a variety of propel and crystal light water mixes (Publix).
BTW- I love this stool from IKEA.  Best $14 I have spent at that store!

Close up of the pink container for her teachers

Beach Day Recipe Tag

Drink container tag

So there you have it.  All I have to do is bake a box of muffins for the fantastic staff and I'm done.  Happy summer to all but especially to all you teachers out there!  Now I'm off to enjoy the little bit of sanity I have left before summer begins...

You Wake Them...You Take Them!

We've been in the new house for almost 3 months now and we are still putting it together.  Yes our beds are together and painting is done but it's the little things now like a "baby sleeping" sign for the door.  I am going one step further and removing the door bell all together- it's too loud anyways...  I looked on Etsy and Pinterest for inspiration and decided on a wood plaque that I had Andy paint (several coats).  I purchased 3 sets of cute alphabet stickers from Joann and went to work.  Now I am pretty sure I bought it all before Olivia arrived- but better late than never...

Then Natalie joined the fun.  She had minimal help with the letters...She's such a smart cookie!

Teacher Appreciation

So I know teacher appreciation was last month but I am just getting back into a routine after Olivia's arrival.  Since Olivia's birth, Nat has been going to school 3 days a week- which worked out great for Mommy during Teacher Appreciation Week! {Only 3 gifts}  Here are just a few things I did for Nat's teachers at her school.
*You will notice that The Wednesday gift is missing- it was a small glass container of flowers and the tag read, "Thanks for helping Natalie bloom".  Stupid camera...

Thursday Treat

Friday Fun

Friday Yummies for the whole staff

Now off to figure out end of the year gifts.  Nat's End of the Year party is Wednesday and her last day is Friday.  Then it's off to Little Cougars in the fall.  I am so grateful to her current school for everything they have done.  We'll miss you guys!