Sunshiny Day

Today was one of those days where we reveled in sunshine & just enjoyed hanging out in the backyard.

At a garage sale this morning I found a little table, perfect to put back in our woods.  Dirty...yes...but nothing keeps the kids busier than a bucket of water.  Hey for 4 bucks we they will be happy to wash it!

Okay, so maybe only Annie & Rocco are happy to wash it...as for me...I am just kicking back & enjoying a good book.

& as for Bo...well he is on snack break of course!

But, he was sweet enough to pick me a flower or two :)

So it's a dandelion...but you girls all know...when our boys pick us dandelions...we sport them proudly!

And after 45 minutes of washing the table...

Annie declared, "I wish I had a servant."

Don't we all honey...don't we all :)

Annie's Party Planning...Favors

   My sister KATE & I just started planning Annie's 6th birthday party.  Her first friend Party!  It is not until June but we LOVE parties & have so much fun planning. 

Here is a little peek at a party favor:

What girl doesn't want a little turquoise box?  :)

With a little jewelery inside...

We will keep sharing little bits as we get them :)

I mean really, don't you just love a party?

boxes: Party City 12 for $9.99 - baby shower isle

bracelets: Target dollar bins - prom bin- $1.00 each

If you need the bracelets...get there before they run out!  I had to run to 3 Targets to get enough.

Clutter Free Quest

    In my attempt to make life simpler as a mom, I am actually dedecorating (no...not a real word).  The decorations in my kitchen get dusty & clutter up the counter space.  I still want a finished look in my home but I don't want anything cluttering up the kitchen. 

    Here is my latest phase of the plan.  I took all decorations off this counter & designed this little shelf to add a pop of color.  My husband whipped it together & I am smiling everytime I see it :) 

    Amazingly enough this simple change has helped my keep this counter spotless for 2 weeks so far.  And it is a cinch to wipe down now.  If you have any more ideas for simplifying my life...I am all ears!

Giveaway WInner

   A few posts ago Anne of Fiona and Twig joked that she wanted Annie.  I told her Annie was in the mail & even the eye shadow did not scare her :) 
   Well, I am not sending her Annie but I am sending her the bowls & journals!  She was picked by a random number generator.  It is just cheaper to mail the goods anyway :)

   Anne please email me with your addresses & I can get them into the mail this week!  Thanks everyone for entering!

libbiedoyle@gmail.com

Look at What I'm Dripping With...Little Boys.

Wednesday I didn't have a chance!!! 

     First, I had a Slip & Slide, brand new in a box, in the front closet.  Bo took it out, spread it out, & dumped water on it...IN MY KITCHEN!  I caught him pretty early so he had only dumped a glass or two. 
    I knew it would be a long day since we had to stay off the grass all day, our lawn guys just fertilized.  I wanted to keep him busy so I set him up with the water table on the deck...here is how I found him a few minutes later:

    When I dried him off & got him redressed I set him up with some Apple Jacks for lunch.  I was crazy, I thought, "Oh...I have a few minutes to blog...he is watching T.V. & eating lunch.  That was not the best idea...soon Annie was yelling, "MOM!!!!  Bo is drinking out of the milk carton!"  See, the mistake was that I left the box of cereal and the milk on the table.

   The dangerous part was that the milk was about 2 inches from my camera...that is the only reason I even took the time to grab my camera.

   Yeah...not my best day :)  This comes the day after Bo "Freed the ants" from Annie's ant farm...I found it opened lying on the carpet...ants gone. 

   Later that night, I got a little break from mom duties (Bo) when I went to church to teach my Pioneer Club boys.  Now instead of 2, I had 6!  But lucky for me...these boys behaved beautifully!  We even got done with our activity early & I challenged them to a contest.  Who ever drew the best picture of ME will get a sucker next week.  See what you think:

Here is what they had to look at:

Not my best...but considering that I was still breathing after the day I had, I'm okay with it :)

Here are their masterpieces:

Conner

Griffin

Joshua

Benjamen

When I went to see Nick's he looked at me embarrassed & said, "I think I made it too big."  I am going to choose to interrperate it as, "You are much skinnier than this."  :)

Nick

& this guy drew my sister Kate who was teaching with me.

Elijah

He nailed it :)

So what do you think?  I am pretty sure I will need a whole bag of suckers!

Just think if Miss Hannigan had an orphanage full of boys :)

Tomorrow the giveaway ends!  Hope you are in!

Colorful Giveaway

My daughter must have gotten her love for a

POP OF COLOR from me :)

   On Sunday, before church, I sent her to her room for a time out.  When I had her come down she came down like this:

    I just stared at her with a straight face (VERY HARD TO DO) & she goes, "What?" 

    When I just kept staring, eyebrows raised, without smiling she couldn't resist a smile of her own & asked, "Can I go to church like this?" 

   Keeping my straight face I just said, "Just this once."  & I had to turn & walk away because it really was too funny.  Then later, of course, I had to take a few pics.

Well... Annie's & my LOVE OF COLOR will translate into a giveaway for you! 

   This summer I have picked up some colorful things & I bought a few extras for one of you!  I am in LOVE with the new LIBERTY OF LONDON's designs all over Target & I have been a madwomen  writing in this cute little mini journal set:

   First, just to thank my followers & faithful friends I thought it would be fun to randomly pick a commenter on my last post HOT CHICKS & send them a set of these mini journals.   Karen of
Karen R. Evans was the lucky winner who didn't even know that she was entering a giveaway :)  Karen has become a dear friend & I love visiting her blog too!  Hi Karen!

So on to the REAL Giveaway...

...I also am crazy about these happy bowls from Target.

Seriously...how cute would you be taking watermelon balls to a picnic in one of these?  Yeah...you'd be cute :) 

So the winner of this Giveaway will receive a set of bowls AND the journal set.

2 chances to enter: 

1) Just leave a comment & please make sure it links back to you somehow.

2)  Please just let me know if you are a follower in your entry for another chance.

That's it!  I will pick a winner Sunday & get it up Sunday night. 

Good Luck Girls!

Hot Chicks

   When you have a sis like Kate your kids get pretty lucky!  After school yesterday we trecked out to her house to visit her new little chickies. 

Annie squealed with delight.

For Bo, it was LOVE at first sight.

And Rocco...I wasn't sure how he would react.  I thought he would be scared....but as it turned out, it was the chicks who were scared...look closely:

Luckily Aunt Cake was just to the right to save the chicks.

Good job Rocco, be gentle, good boy...

NO, ROCCO NO!!!!

Man that baby is fast!

Let's leave those little guys alone now.

Oh, oh...RUN, CHICKIES, RUN!!!

Great News!

   Besides the great little news, like Rocco did not play in ONE toilet today, (am I the ONLY ONE who can shut the door :) a few weeks ago we got some good news about Annie's bracelets!

   First, I want to share a BIG thanks to many of you who supported Haiti by buying a bracelet from Annie or by leaving sweet comments to encourage our family.  She raised 677$s!!!  I am soooo proud of her!  It was an interesting adventure for the whole family!  A lot of time & love went into making them & all the boys in our family were VERY patient with us, although my husband is very glad we are done. 

   This simple idea turned into a HUGE learing oppurtunity for Annie.  She learned about mailing, money, & how to be a good saleswoman.  We mailed bracelets to 11 different states and even Ireland!  She had her bracelets sold in a salon and she had a fun oppurtunity to sell some at Chatfield High School where my sister-in-law teaches.  Most importantly she learned how to share her love for Jesus to others when they would ask her, "Why are you doing this?"  It was pretty cool for a mom to see.

AND NOW FOR THE COOL NEWS! 

   A few weeks ago GOODHOUSKEEPING magazine...

...contacted me & asked if they could feauture my Annie's Bracelets post in their July issue...YES!!!!  Of course!  Now the contract is signed, all the photos have been submitted & we are sooo excited!    And now...we wait...for July :) 

   So THANK YOU to all my friends (YOU) for all your love & support for my baby girl and Haiti!  You will never know how your support has touched me and my family!  Thanks again!!!!

XOXO

Lib

My Peeps

I know, I know, Easter is over but we still have the Peeps that I couldn't resist buying because...let's face it...those pink bunnies are soooooo cute!

So, today after school the kids enjoyed a cup of bunny coco.

And it wasn't long before Bo figured out how much fun it was to stick the bunnies to his cup.

That way you can eat 'em right off the side.

At first, Annie was happy to tell on him. 

But soon...

Her cup had a bunny too :)

Got Peeps?